Chapter 42 : Chapter 42
Volume 1
Chapter 42 : An Unexpected Crisis
“THUMP.”
“THUMP.”
“THUMP.”
Eluca heard the strange sound as well.
“THUMP.”
“THUMP.”
“THUMP.”
The sound was getting closer, and Eluca could hear it more and more clearly.
It was a heartbeat, like the pounding of war drums.
“A heartbeat...”
Eluca’s pupils contracted sharply.
Her hearing was far beyond that of ordinary people, even better than Rod’s despite him being a warrior.
But this was the surface of a storm-tossed lake.
For her to hear a heartbeat this clearly amidst the wind and rain, just how forceful must it be?
And how enormous must the owner of that heartbeat be?
“This is bad...”
“Run!”
Eluca looked at Rod and Tia, who were standing atop the corpse of the lord of the lake, and screamed herself hoarse:
“Watch out be—!”
The final word, “below,” was drowned out by the explosive crash of a surging wave.
The mist blanketing the lake was instantly torn open.
A gigantic black monster burst out of the water, its crimson eyes blazing with rage, while dazzling lightning flickered across its savage scales and bony spikes.
“The lord of the lake...”
“Another one...”
“How is that possible...?”
Staring at the even larger black fish before them, Rod and Tia both widened their eyes in shock.
But they had no time to stand there in a daze.
Rod immediately tightened his grip on his longsword, battle aura coiling around him.
Then, with a visible shockwave, he unleashed his Martial Skill: Lion’s Roar and charged straight at the beast.
There was no chance of escape out here on the lake.
The only option was to meet it head-on!
The shockwave collided with the lightning, and in an instant, monstrous waves surged across the lake.
“Damn it... This thing... is strong...”
Rod was forced back step by step under the giant beast’s pressure, fresh blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
After only a brief clash, he was already at a complete disadvantage.
After all, he had been ambushed, and the one ambushing him was a giant beast nearly thirty meters long!
“I’ll help you.”
Fortunately, Tia was no mere ornament at his side, but a genuine third-rank mage.
“Burn, Crimson Flame Magic!”
It was another instant-cast spell, unleashed without chanting.
A massive pillar of fire, carrying scorching heat, shot violently toward the unguarded lord of the lake.
If it hit, then even if it could not heavily wound the beast, it would at least force it back.
But...
Within those utterly inhuman eyes flashed a disturbingly human trace of mockery.
Under Tia’s horrified gaze, it suddenly whipped up its broad tail and slammed it against the lake’s surface!
Towering water rose into the sky like a wall that blotted out all hope, crashing into the pillar of flame in an instant.
Sizzle.
The intense heat vaporized the water.
As the pillar of fire went out, a fresh mass of steam formed once more, and the area around them was immediately engulfed in a dense morning-fog-like haze with pitifully low visibility.
The new lord of the lake sank back into the water and vanished once more.
“I wanted to say this earlier, but in an environment like this, you really shouldn’t be using fire magic!”
Eluca, who had not landed on the dead lord of the lake’s corpse and was instead floating safely in the air for the moment, used wind magic to disperse the steam as she spoke in exasperation:
“Isn’t that just making things harder for us instead?”
“Y-You should shut up, okay?”
Tia snapped right back:
“You’re not the one standing where I am, so how would you know what kind of magic would have been the best choice back then?”
“Using fire magic on a lake was a mistake to begin with.”
“But didn’t my fire magic kill the first lord of the lake just now? Besides, Eluca didn’t do anything at all, so what right do you have to criticize me?”
“I was only pointing out the mistake—”
“I did nothing wrong!”
“All right, all right, both of you, calm down.”
Rod stepped between them to stop the argument, but his tone was as conciliatory as ever:
“Save your strength. We’re still in the middle of a fight.”
“Hmph.”
Tia gave a cold snort and crossed her arms.
“For Rod’s sake, I won’t stoop to arguing with this bumpkin.”
“Bumpkin...”
Crack.
This was the second time today Eluca had nearly snapped her wand in half.
So what if she was a little prettier than me and had a bigger chest?
What gave her the right to call me a bumpkin?
Did she not know that the Rod she clung to all day came from the very same village as the “bumpkin” she was mocking?
“I knew it. Back then, I never should have agreed to let her join our party...”
If she had not felt that Rod was working too hard, then how could she ever have allowed someone else to intrude on their world of two?
...
I hate her.
...
But they were still in the middle of battle, and the image she had always maintained was that of a soft, adorable, kind-hearted girl.
At a time like this, she still could not get too entangled in petty quarrels.
Eluca forced herself to rein in her thoughts and focused on locating the lord of the lake.
“Because of territorial instincts, two tyrant-class magical beasts should not be able to stay together.”
“Unless one is male and the other female.”
Eluca looked at the corpse of the lord of the lake beneath Rod’s feet.
“Judging from its appearance, the one attacking us now should be the female.”
For most magical beasts, the female was often far larger than the male.
And size meant strength.
“The intelligence of a tyrant-class magical beast is already quite high. At a time like this, what would it do?”
As Eluca thought, her gaze gradually settled on the corpse.
Rod was still standing on top of it, because for a warrior like him, having his feet planted on solid ground would always let him fight better than floating in the air.
“If I were that lord of the lake, what would I do?”
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Eluca’s eyes suddenly widened.
If she were that lord of the lake, then right now she would definitely...
“Rod!”
“Tia!”
“Don’t move!”
Three years of adventuring had already made Eluca act faster than she thought.
So by the time she came back to herself, her wand was already in motion, and a rapid series of Levitation Spells had already been cast on Rod and Tia.
“Eh? W-What are you doing all of a sudden?”
The sensation of a Levitation Spell cast by someone else was completely different from using one on yourself.
It felt as though someone had physically lifted you up, and it was deeply uncomfortable.
Tia thought Eluca was taking revenge on her, and she was even about to complain to Rod.
But in the very next moment, the words of complaint were forced back down her throat.
Because she saw that the enormous corpse of the lord of the lake they had just been standing on suddenly sank beneath the water!
It sank so abruptly that the resulting spray nearly knocked the three of them out of the air.
“Just as I thought. The first thing it wanted to do was reclaim its mate’s corpse. For a magical beast, how could it possibly tolerate its partner being trampled under human feet?”
“And right after that, the second thing it would do is...”
The surface of the lake, which had been raging with waves just moments earlier, suddenly went still, becoming as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the storm clouds above and the two people floating in the sky.
Then the water rippled, and a whirlpool began to take shape, slowly widening.
It was as if some invisible giant hand were stirring the entire lake.
At the center of the whirlpool, the lord of the lake raised its head.
Blinding lightning gathered upon its savage horn.
Its furious gaze locked dead on the two humans who had just been standing atop its mate.
“Just as I expected, its next move will be to attack with all its strength and avenge its mate.”
“But...”
Looking at the lightning gradually gathering on the lord of the lake’s horn, Eluca muttered in stunned disbelief:
“A ranged attack?”