Chapter 244: Whales Who Suspiciously Like Humans (1)
"Holy shit... how the hell do mermaids even fuck? Wouldn't they die if they mess up?"
Standing atop the tail fin of the whale girl who was desperately swimming, I climbed up to her upper body, put on my pants, and grabbed my mana saber. I was confident I could slash down dozens or even hundreds of enemies leaping out of the water like the fishmen, but I had no way to stop foes like sharks that attacked from below the surface.
'Dagger... can I even kill a shark with just that?'
I couldn't use the mana saber underwater.
Even in the rain, the blade gets dispersed or releases vapor, making it hard to use—so using it underwater? Only an idiot with a death wish would try that.
So all I had left was the dagger...
'Orcas are said to target weak spots when hunting other whales and only eat the soft flesh, but sharks have a jaw structure that can tear through thick hide... if they attack like this, it really could be a deadly situation.'
If the whale girl got taken down now, I was as good as dead too. So, I had no choice but to jump into the water from her bleeding lower body and face the sharks.
'Damn! There are so many!'
It wasn't just one or two sharks.
I had assumed there would be maybe half a dozen like the killer whales earlier, and I could deal with them. But the blood trail must have spread far, because I could see at least several dozen.
'I can't take all of them down with just a dagger, can I?'
"Ha... damn it."
While thinking of how to handle the sharks, I smeared the virgin blood still leaking from the whale's pussy all over myself, held my breath, and jumped into the air.
Splash!
As I sank into the cold, black sea, the blood on my body spread out, drawing the sharks' attention. I splashed sea water over myself, washing off the blood to keep their focus on me.
'They're coming.'
I could feel the shark fins beneath the waves rushing toward me.
Normally, sharks wouldn't attack humans, but when frenzied by the scent of blood like now, that logic didn't apply.
Shlick!
I sliced through the dorsal fin of the closest shark, immobilizing it. Then, one by one, I calmly targeted and slashed only the dorsal fins of the approaching sharks.
Since the fins were made only of cartilage and not bone, I could slice through them easily by channeling just a little mana into the dagger. Even if I missed, wounding a shark's side would make it bleed, and the others would be drawn to that blood, attacking the injured one.
After sending about five sinking to the bottom, all the sharks were now focused entirely on me instead of the whale girl.
'Alright... let's get this bastard!'
Splash!
To avoid a shark coming straight at me near the surface, I pressed my palm against its nose and climbed onto it like mounting a horse. Before the others could swarm, I leapt from its back into the air.
Swoosh!
As I soared into the air, water spraying around me, I confirmed the whale girl had swum quite far away. I aimed my mana saber at where I had just been.
"Hup..."
Sssshhhh!
Splash splash splash splash!
The mana saber ignited violently, boiling the seawater. The sharks, scalded by the boiling water, began thrashing in madness.
'Grgh...!'
But the heat didn't last long. As soon as the saber's emitter touched seawater, it shut off. If I accidentally inhaled the vapor, my lungs would burn, and my skin would melt from the steam, so I dove deep to avoid the cloud and then surfaced again.
"Puhah!"
If I had less seawater on me, my skin would have melted. Thankfully, the mana around my body protected me from severe burns, but I still had light burns that stung. And worst of all, I had only managed to kill about three sharks.
'Did I... come too far?'
The whale girl had swum off in a panic, and only when she realized I was no longer on her back did she notice. But she couldn't approach due to all the sharks around.
"Haa... so now..."
As I saw the shark fins gathering around me, I clenched my dagger, ready to sacrifice an arm or a leg.
Whoooosh!
Until I sensed six overwhelming killing intents behind me.
'This presence...!'
It was the same I had felt earlier in the day.
Not a predator hunting prey, but a tyrant who revels in slaughter.
It had felt dangerous before, like it could harm me too, but now, it was just a welcome relief.
Slaaash!
A massive killer whale rammed into a shark's side, sending it flying into the air, spitting blood, just like the fishman from earlier.
Thud! Thud!
Each powerful tail strike sent sharks flying like balls, flipping belly-up on the water, bleeding. One of the dorsal fins neared me and slid under me, letting me ride on its back.
Whoosh!
Like a greeting, the lead killer whale sprayed water from its blowhole and raised its head in front of me.
"Did our baby fall into the sea?"
"Yes, kind of."
"Then you should've called your big sisters! You think it's okay to run off while we were resting?"
"I... I guess not?"
Thud! Thud!
To them, sharks were nothing. A single tail swipe sent two or three flying, and some had already had their sides bitten open, losing their livers.
"Then hop on big sister's back, and let's get you back to the whale."
"Yes. Please."
I no longer needed to do anything.
These killer whales were tyrants of the sea.
Whether hundreds of fishmen or dozens of sharks, they were mighty women who could tear them apart and savor the fight.
Whoooosh...
"Wh-what?"
And as if that wasn't enough, seeing me get on the killer whale's back, the whale girl suddenly charged toward us.
She didn't raise her twin islets like usual. Instead, lying belly-down with her head and blowhole above water, she dove, then...
Fwoooosh!
She jumped from underwater.
Twisting midair, she slammed her back down like a giant weight onto the shark horde, crushing them with her sheer mass and the resulting waves.
Whooooosh!
The shockwave created a massive wave that washed over me, but the other killer whales shielded me, taking the brunt, so I only got a bit wet.
'Hah... right... a whale's sheer mass is a cheat code.'
It only seemed like the whales were struggling before because I was on their backs or they were up against killer whales. But when a whale goes all out, nothing in the sea can stand against it.
"Tch. Look at her showing off because we showed up."
Apparently annoyed by the whale girl's display, the killer whales clicked their tongues while holding me.
"We'll keep following and protecting you. We have to get our baby home."
"Seriously, these killer whales..."
"Hmm? What about us?"
"I love you guys."
They were suspiciously friendly toward humans.
"Reporting to Lord Ballor."
As Sir Balian of the Black Panther Knights delivered his report, Swordmaster Ballor scowled and tugged at his beard.
"Current report details are as follows..."
"Hey."
"Y-yes?"
"Don't report to me. I didn't come here to clean up your shit. I only came because of that crap about the Forest of Mist reappearing."
"Y-yes! Understood."
"One more annoyance and I'll smash your skull. Only say what I ask for."
Lord Ballor was over eighty but had a physique no knight in the kingdom could match. His intimidating aura made even death seem less frightening to his peers.
He was extremely displeased—having to travel to this remote place just to investigate rumors of the Forest of Mist irritated him.
"Damn bitches... when I get back, I'm breaking their necks."
Homunculus or half-dragon bitch, they wouldn't die just from a broken neck.
He was simply planning to show dominance to make them obey. That's how furious he was.
After hearing his newly born son's talent was garbage, he had been so disappointed he decided never to see him again. Instead, he wanted to try for another child, this time from a female knight with Cassandra's caliber.
He was already thinking of claiming Cassandra, who had gone missing—no, who was quietly living on the eastern front.
Buzz!
"So tell me again. The Forest of Mist just appeared and then vanished?"
"Yes. Like magic..."
Wham!
At that moment, Sir Balian was kicked in the stomach, sent flying through a tent and into another.
Even a massive monster wouldn't cause such destruction, yet Lord Ballor did it casually, without even proper footing.
"So you're telling me... I was dragged here for nothing?"
A deadly aura began spreading through the border troops.
Like a beast biting into their necks, ordinary soldiers choked to death without breathing, and even knights stood frozen like statues, unable to breathe, only their eyes moving.
He was a monster.
Not a mere creature, but a god of violence and destruction—a disaster incarnate.
He had risen to the rank of Swordmaster by beating and subjugating all rivals. But as a person, he was the worst—a bastard no one wanted to be around.
No one had ever stopped him, so he never learned manners and never saw the need to.
Still, Guardian Dragon Seyra had sent him here because his strength was necessary.
Crack... crick crack!
With a horrible noise like breaking glass, the space where the Forest of Mist had been split open like a shattered mirror.
"Huff... huff..."
Covered in blood, clothes shredded like they'd been cut by sharp blades, a girl with black hair appeared.
The Hero had arrived.