Pick Me Up!

If it had been an ordinary water cannon, it would have merely brushed past the ship.

However, what the water dragon spat out was flames. Dangerous enough to pose a threat upon mere contact.

“Damn.”

Flames erupted from the side of the ship.

Soon, smoke began to envelop the sky.

Unexpected.

I didn’t consider the activation mechanism of the water cannon.

I never expected it to spew flames from its mouth.

“Kuh, hahaha! Cough!”

The water dragon looked at me, blood dripping from its mouth, with a face full of mockery.

‘If only I had thought a bit deeper.’

I bit my lip.

Jenna’s gaze, peeking out of the water, turned towards the burning ship.

“Huh? Why is the ship suddenly like that?!”

I narrowed my eyes.

The fire was spreading to the deck.

On the deck, heroes and monsters were entangled in a bloody fight.

Mermaids from below the sea were climbing up the side of the ship to the deck.

The water dragon exhaled roughly and then re-entered the water.

At the same time, other members also emerged from the water. Velkist, who noticed the anomaly first, furrowed his brows.

“What’s going on here?”

“It spat out Eloka’s fire through its mouth.”

“What? Does that even make sense?”

If its water cannon worked by shooting water and air from its lungs, it wasn’t impossible.

Just that I hadn’t thought of it.

A desperate voice came through my ears.

A voice with a hint of youthfulness. It was Kishasha’s.

“No one told us that the ship would be on fire! We can’t swim! What do we do…?”

“Wait.”

I looked around.

The boss had gone deep into the water.

‘It went to heal its wounds, perhaps.’

Under normal circumstances, I would have pursued it to finish it off, but there was no time for that now.

First, we had to deal with the current situation.

“Katiio!”

The airship bounced in the distance and approached.

Katiio rushed out from the control room.

“I’m here!”

“Go to the statue of the goddess. Help them.”

“And you guys?”

“We’ll stay.”

I looked back.

“Velkist, Neryssa. Follow them.”

“Only three of us are going to fight the boss?”

“…Yes.”

If the statue of the goddess is taken, it’s all over.

Losing the ability to breathe underwater would make it difficult to continue the fight. That was something we had to prevent at all costs.

I had told Edis to practice swimming and underwater combat, but according to reports, their proficiency was not high. Losing the ship and being dragged into the water would mean immediate annihilation.

“I, I…”

“Quiet. It’s not your fault.”

Eloka bowed her head.

“It’s just a slight complication. We can straighten it out.”

Whoosh.

The airship carrying Velkist and Neryssa took off.

Then, messages indicating the heroes’ fear and bleeding status appeared on the right side of my vision.

The messages soon changed.

[‘Jeril(★★★)’ has returned to the goddess’ embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]

[‘Shurgan(★★★)’ has returned to the goddess’ embrace! His fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]

Two deaths.

‘Things have gotten terribly complicated.’

Heroes had gathered near the area that caught fire.

They had to fight the monsters in front while also looking for the fire behind them. Edis was desperately trying to handle the situation, but it was clear they were being overwhelmed.

“I’m sorry. It’s my mistake.”

“The airship will head there soon. Abandon the ship. Move to the airship with Priasis. If you can’t hold out, it’s okay to abandon the statue of the goddess. Just don’t die.”

Click.

I cut off the communication.

Katiio would handle the rest.

“Is this… okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

Eloka’s complexion had turned pale.

“It spat out my fire magic, right?”

“Yes.”

“My magic caused the ship to catch fire…”

[‘Aril(★★)’ has returned to the goddess’ embrace. Her fighting spirit will be remembered forever.]

[‘Lilinia(★★★)’ falls into panic. All stats decrease by 50%.’]

‘The weaker ones are going first.’

Newcomers were dying one after another.

Monsters kept swarming the ship, attacking them. They didn’t care about the statue of the goddess at the back. It seemed they intended to wipe out the heroes first before capturing the objective.

“It’s my fault…”

“Sis.”

Jenna lowered her voice.

“Nobody knew this would happen. Right, Oppa? Sister Eloka is not at fault, right? It’s not wrong to give your best.”

“If there’s a fault, it’s on me.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that kind of answer.”

Jenna sighed and then continued.

“What do we do now? The monster seems to have gone into the water. And it looks dangerous over there.”

The formation on the deck had collapsed as the back of the ship caught fire.

It was impossible to fight the monsters in front and extinguish the fire at the same time, turning the battle into a chaotic melee. In a melee, casualties were inevitable.

‘…’

A painful miscalculation.

I gritted my teeth so hard that I could taste the bitter flavor of blood.

I swallowed the blood. It wasn’t over yet. Falling apart now would only make us a laughingstock.

‘The boss took damage too.’

It didn’t attack us above water for a reason; it wasn’t in a condition to do so.

Shooting fire through its throat, couldn’t have been done unscathed. Its insides must have been burnt to a crisp. I kept simulating in my head, calculating the situation of both the enemy and us, thinking of ways to respond.

‘…’

Finally, I surveyed the situation on the ship.

Most of the deck was occupied by monsters, and the ship was slowly sinking.

I sighed and then brought my hand to my ear.

“Edis.”

“…”

“Abandon the statue of the goddess. Move to the airship.”

“We’ll finish it. I will not let you get wiped out for being stubborn.”

Edis didn’t respond.

I continued speaking.

“Didn’t you tell me you wouldn’t let your party members die this time? Do you want them to die a dog’s death?”

Edis answered reluctantly.

I cut off the communication.

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