Chapter 69

I don't know what's up with Leviathan, but for now...

...run away.

If you don't understand something, just go with the flow; it's a basic skill as a former Japanese person. It's a double-edged sword if the people around you are part of an organization unrelated to you, but when you can't grasp the situation, this is the best approach. While adjusting my pace to avoid standing out, I ran in the direction away from the sea. Then, I realized I could hear a voice from a distance.

"Hey, champion! Didn't you say that both the Dragon and the Boat Killer were just minnows? Do something about it!"

I don't think the reason we're running now is either of those.

"Leviathan isn't a Dragon or a fish! I don't know what Leviathan is, and is it even okay to defeat it?"

The way it's being called with an honorific suggests it might be worshipped. In Japan, there are places where they worship some kind of raging god. Even if they're raging, it's questionable whether they should be defeated. If it turns out to be a god of floods that also brings prosperity to farmland, the one who defeats it might end up being a war criminal who destroyed the town.

"Leviathan is a Dragon! It's definitely an enemy we should defeat!"

"...Huh, an enemy even with an honorific?"

"What else could it be that would gather so many adventurers and make everyone run? They don't even use honorifics!"

No honorifics, huh?

Leviathan... an enemy, so it's like 'Domo, Leviathan-San.'?

No, it's probably just one word, 'LeviathanSan.'

Now that I think about it, I've seen this word before in a card game or something.

But what is this C-rank adventurer trying to make me do?

Well, it's my fault for making that comment about the Dragon.

Anyway, if it's a Dragon, there are few people here who can handle it compared to Decibattle.

"OK, I'll go give LeviathanSan a good beating. Where is that Dragon?"

I float a bit with magic to separate myself from the crowd.

If running won't stop the damage from spreading, it's best to take action quickly.

"Over there! You can't see from here, but it should land in about a minute!"

The person talking to me was probably a man in his early 30s.

He seemed to be a wind mage, floating above the crowd like me and approaching me.

When I asked about the enemy's location, the mage pointed in the direction the people were running. However, from here, the crowd was hiding it, so I couldn't see clearly.

"Alright, let's go. Can you guide me?"

Since I'm going to defeat it anyway, it's best to get closer. Since someone from Leviathan's side is here, I'll ask them to guide me.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm weak, and my magic power is running out!"

It's probably an excuse to run away, you coward.

I hurriedly appraised the man to say that.

...Indeed, his magic power was just about to drop from 1 to 0.

"Huh, what—"

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Before I could stop him, the poor mage, who had just lost his magic power, was slammed into the crowd by gravity and swept away. Namu.

Well, I guess I'll go alone.

When I reached the beach, about ten adventurers had already gathered.

To be precise, they were about 50 meters from the shoreline.

"Are you the party gathered to fight the Dragon?"

I asked for confirmation.

A muscular man in the center responded.

"That's right. We can't fight on the water, so we're meeting it here... but with four B-rank adventurers as the main force, it's almost certain we'll all die without even driving it back."

Hmm...

"Still, you're going to fight, right?"

"If B-rank adventurers run in this situation, they're socially dead. If we can get away with just injuries, it's a win. The fact that we have a wind mage is the worst part."

High-rank adventurers have it tough too.

"If there's a wind mage, you can fight, right?"

"It's more accurate to say we can't fight without one. If we get hit by a breath attack, it's over, so we stick to the ground and poke with swords, and when an attack comes, the wind mage blows us out of range."

"Even being blown away hurts, though."

A slender swordsman standing next to me joined the conversation.

Even with my magic sword and mobility, we struggled so much, so I doubt this will work.

"Can you really win with that? Don't you have some kind of decisive weapon?"

"We can't win with this number. If we can return with just a leg injury, we're lucky; otherwise, we'll die. The only saving grace is that Leviathan can't fly."

The previous Dragon was covered in wounds and barely managed to escape, even after being healed. Isn't this too much to ask?

Still, if we don't fight, we'll be condemned, so we have to fight, but it's unfair.

Well, it's certainly helpful that it can't fly, and I don't want to lower morale unnecessarily, so I won't say anything.

"Well, I've soloed an Ignis Wyvern before, so I'll go first."

"Soloed a Wyvern? Are you human?"

Rude.

"My sword is strong, and I can fight with a sword even as a mage."

"No way, it heals faster."

The slender swordsman interjected.

I can feel the difference in atmosphere compared to Decibattle, even in the same frontline city.

"Keep cutting until it can't heal anymore, then cut off its head!"

"No, it can't be cut."

It seems they're underestimating the power of my magic sword.

At the very least, it can cut through a blade staff made of Metal Lizard Metal, a high-quality weapon material, to the point where it's almost useless as a melee weapon.

"Well, something will work out. I'll go check, and it might reduce the damage."

The shadow of what seemed to be Leviathan was already about a kilometer away.

Even if I defeat it, the damage will be significant if it lands, but the distance means I can re-cast my magic armor if I get hit by a breath attack before it lands.

In other words, now that I know it can't fly, I can fight it completely.

"Here I go!"

"My magic power is running out, so don't go! We're prepared for some damage!"

"Besides, on the water, the numbers... Ah, you're already gone. Good luck."

"You're being reckless..."

The slender swordsmen, who were watching me fly away, took a pose similar to a salute that knights used to do somewhere, but I ignored it.

Leviathan's legs didn't seem very fast, so I had to fly about a kilometer to encounter it.

It was ridiculously large, or rather, long.

Its width was much smaller than an Ignis Wyvern, but from the part visible above the water, it was probably over 150 meters long.

It didn't seem to recognize me as an enemy yet, perhaps because it was bad at detecting, but I hesitated to draw its attention.

Of course, I had to.

The first strike is important.

Being able to attack an unguarded enemy by surprise is a different story from the rest of the battle.

The target was, of course, the neck.

Leviathan always moves with its head out.

It would be foolish not to aim for such an obvious weakness.

I carefully held my sword vertically in my right hand, with my left hand on the blade, a specialized stance for fighting Dragons.

I accelerated towards the neck, passing under it and slashing.

...It went in perfectly.

The blade of my magic sword was only about one-fifth the thickness of Leviathan's neck, so it wasn't a one-hit kill, but it was the best damage I could expect from a surprise attack.

Leviathan looked at me as I flew to the opposite side, opening its mouth wide.

I thought it was going to use a breath attack and made a wide turn at the steepest angle possible.

However, Leviathan didn't use a breath attack.

I thought it might be a scream, but there was nothing.

No, it was making a sound, or rather, a noise, but it was too high-pitched to hear clearly.

Even if it made a sound, it was just an opening.

I approached the spot I had cut earlier, slowed down, and struck the side again, then circled back towards the neck.

Leviathan, being so large, moved sluggishly and didn't seem very strong.

It had even stopped moving towards the town, and at this rate, I could cut off its head in less than ten minutes.

It seemed much easier to defeat than the Ignis Wyvern.

Thinking this, I struck the neck again with my sword, but something hit my stomach, and I couldn't help but cry out.

"Ow!"

I looked down to see what it was.

A fish, something like a larger Boat Killer, was falling towards the water.

As soon as it hit the water, more similar fish jumped out in a group.

"Hey, stop—"

They clearly jumped out of the water to target me, hitting my legs, stomach, and face.

The impact was strong enough to make me cry out even through my magic armor.

While the armor was mostly undamaged, it would have been a fatal blow to any other adventurer.

Worse, my vision was severely impaired.

I retreated to the sky to assess the situation.

I managed to get about 20 meters high, out of the fish's range, but they were still flying towards me.

I didn't care what happened to the fish that couldn't reach me.

I needed to check the status of the main Leviathan, which I had lost sight of.

—There, our eyes met.

Its mouth was open.

Oh no, a breath attack is coming.

As soon as I thought that, a blue flame breath attack hit me.

Despite living in water, the breath attack was fire, but I didn't have time to think about that.

The damage was intense.

My magic armor, which was almost fully deployed, was quickly depleted.

The remaining magic power was 80%... 50%...

Finally, the breath attack stopped.

I had about 20% armor left.

Despite its slow movement, it was much more powerful than the Ignis Wyvern.

If I took another hit, I probably wouldn't survive, so I needed to avoid it.

The best way to avoid a breath attack is to get close.

However, the fish were still waiting for me around the Dragon.

If I tried to escape to the sky, a second breath attack would be impossible to avoid.

It was ridiculous to think it would be easier to defeat than the Ignis Wyvern.

Using the fish to protect its blind spots and unleashing a high-power breath attack.

To make matters worse, it fired breath attacks without regard for allies, much like a certain hunting game's misfire princess.

It was the most troublesome opponent, and perhaps my decision to fight on the sea was overconfidence.

However, I didn't have time to think about it.

There was only one way out in this situation.

I had to dive back into the swarm of fish.