Chapter 44 : Chapter 44
Volume 1
Chapter 44 : Self-Sacrifice
Rod hurled himself through the air toward Tia like a moth flying into a flame.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
Eluca could clearly watch the distance between them close little by little, and she could also see the lightning gathering on the lord of the lake’s horn growing more and more brilliant.
With Death’s footsteps drawing steadily nearer, Rod’s actions seemed both laughable and deeply lamentable.
“So Rod, were you in love with Tia all along?”
The thought flashed through Eluca’s mind, only to be cast aside almost at once.
As Rod’s childhood friend, she knew very well what kind of person he was.
Brave, gentle, and kind, he greeted everyone with a smile.
Like the newborn sun at dawn.
A person like that naturally drew the eyes of others.
Yet when it came to love, he was dense as a block of wood.
So no matter who had been flung away just now, Rod would have thrown himself out to save them all the same.
“That kind of gentleness, the kind that scatters warm light over everyone, is enough to drive people mad with jealousy.”
And yet, even so, she still loved him.
So...
Eluca suddenly clenched her wand and ignoring the stabbing pain in her head, poured the last of her Mana into it.
“To think there would come a day when I’d save my own love rival... Well, I suppose it suits the image of a kind and adorable girl.”
“Good thing I accidentally learned this sort of magic before.”
“If I use it now, that should be fine, right?”
“Charm Magic!”
Eluca pointed her wand at the lord of the lake.
As she shouted, a breathy moan almost seemed to echo along with her voice, and pink hearts appeared in her clear eyes.
This was the first magic Eluca had ever learned that required no chant, and it was also the spell she had mastered the fastest.
The talent she displayed with it was enough to frighten even herself.
But her target was not human, so she still felt uneasy, uncertain whether the lord of the lake would actually fall for it.
Bzzz...
Under Eluca’s hopeful gaze, the lord of the lake’s massive body, which had been tense and ready to strike, visibly relaxed.
Even the lightning on its horn, which had been charged to the limit, began to dissipate.
The lord of the lake turned its head and looked at Eluca.
Within its savage eyes, two pink hearts appeared as well!
“It worked!”
Eluca could not help clenching her fist in excitement.
As long as the lord of the lake’s attention had been drawn to her, Rod’s side would be safe. He was a third-rank warrior.
No matter what, there was no way he was going to drown in the lake.
Only...
“ROAR!”
The lord of the lake let out a hoarse bellow.
Its enormous body twisted through the water, displaying an agility and speed utterly unsuited to something of that size.
It was charging this way.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Pink hearts filled its eyes, but reflected behind those pink hearts... seemed to be the image of its dead mate!
At that moment, Eluca felt as if she were looking at a devoted wife, charging recklessly toward the husband she had thought long dead, about to throw herself into his arms with a loving embrace.
It was truly moving.
It would have been even more moving if that devoted wife had not been thirty meters long and capable of smashing a boat apart with a single slap of her tail.
“O God of Ice and Snow, please—”
Eluca gritted her teeth and swung her wand again.
But before she could even finish the chant, the pain in her head nearly made her faint.
“It’s over...”
Eluca’s face turned pale with despair.
Her Mana had been completely exhausted.
Not even the slightest bit could be squeezed out anymore.
She could not even control her own Levitation Spell to dodge the lord of the lake as it rushed ever closer.
“So this is it. Is this where my fate ends?”
With death looming near, Eluca found that she was not especially afraid.
She lifted her eyes and looked into the distance, searching for something.
Unfortunately, everything was blocked by the great waves stirred up by the lord of the lake. She could not see anything clearly.
Still...
“Rod has probably already saved Tia by now.”
“In that case, my death won’t have been entirely meaningless.”
A satisfied smile appeared on Eluca’s face, and she slowly closed her eyes.
“I hope Tia really does manage to win Rod over in the future and make him happy.”
If that happened, then even in the underworld, I would be happy.
...
Yeah, right.
I wouldn’t be happy at all.
...
“Guard.”
A cool, crisp command rang out beside Eluca’s ear.
What followed was a series of shrill metallic sounds, like twisted steel grinding against itself hard enough to make one’s teeth ache, and beneath those piercing noises, the furious roar of the lord of the lake.
Death did not arrive as expected.
Eluca opened her eyes in confusion.
She saw a figure cloaked in a coat and hood standing in front of her.
That figure was so slender, and by all appearances should have been a delicate young girl as well.
Yet the moment she stood before Eluca, Eluca felt as if all the winds in the world had gone silent.
The figure turned back, revealing a poised and graceful face.
“Are you all right?” Ann asked.
“I... I’m fine.” Like a startled kitten, Eluca gave a small nod.
“That’s good.”
Ann turned back around.
“I’m going to kill it now. Protect yourself.”
“O-Okay.”
Eluca stared blankly.
Only now did she finally understand what had produced those sharp metallic sounds.
Metal.
A vast amount of metal.
Living metal!
Silver-white, dark gold, reddish bronze, and even many pieces stained with rust, dark red as if smeared with blood.
Metals of all kinds—and in overwhelming quantities—wove together like writhing serpents, completely defying all physical law as they intertwined, scraped against one another, and locked together into a wall that could not be crossed.
And yet the moment that wall stood before the lord of the lake, it regained the hardness and toughness that properly belonged to metal!
The lord of the lake had charged at full speed and had no chance to stop.
Inevitably, it slammed straight into the wall.
And then...
just as expected, it began shrieking in agony.
Even that exoskeleton, so hard that even magic could scarcely pierce it, was no match for a towering wall built from piled-up metal.
The instant they collided, Eluca saw the lord of the lake’s especially distinctive savage horn snap clean off.
“Honestly.”
Ann rose into the air and slowly flew above the lord of the lake, which was thrashing violently in pain.
She looked down at it, her eyes filled with cold killing intent.
“If you keep causing trouble like this, what am I supposed to do if all the fish I planned to bring back for Young Master get scared away?”
Ann raised her hands.
Her ten fingers curved slightly, then clasped sharply together above her head.
“Imprison.”
Her voice was cold and merciless.
Like a god issuing an absolute decree.
The metal wall disintegrated in an instant, breaking apart into fragments.
And under some powerful law, those fragments reassembled once more.
A forest of metal thorns erupted from the ground in the blink of an eye!
It completely engulfed the lord of the lake!
“ROAR!”
The lord of the lake twisted its body and struggled madly.
Its monstrous strength bent steel, and its hard scales resisted the sharp metal thorns.
But even so, it could not stop itself from being gradually entangled, dragged up out of the water by the ever-growing thorn forest, which continuously branched and spread around it.
Without the water, the lord of the lake’s struggle became even more futile.
“So in the end, it’s just a fish?”
A huge and savage scythe appeared in Ann’s hand, reflecting a ghostly cold gleam.
Stepping down one iron stair after another, she descended until she stood before the lord of the lake.
“A tyrant-class magical beast is only this much after all. Looks like it won’t take long to get a dragon whip for Young Master either.”