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Chapter 9: Duel -total war-
Meanwhile, Ichiha and Tomoe were standing on the beach of the faraway island in the Kingdom that housed a secret arsenal.
“If Ooyamizuchi’s route is as I predicted, His Majesty and the others could be fighting it right now... I hope my prediction was right... Please let it be right.”
“Geez, don’t look so glum.” Tomoe pinched Ichiha’s cheek as he was gradually losing confidence. “You’re the foremost expert on monsterology, and everyone worked together to put together the plan. It’s sure to work. You need to believe in yourself and everyone else more.”
“Tomoe...”
“Big Brother will definitely win. I bet Yuriga’s frustrated she can’t watch,” Tomoe said with a chuckle.
Unlike Tomoe and Ichiha, who had been given time off from the Royal Academy at Souma’s request, Yuriga was a stowaway on their voyage, and had been sent straight back to Parnam when they all returned. She was probably buried under a pile of extra homework as a penalty for skipping school right now.
Imagining Yuriga going through that, Ichiha felt some of the tension drain out of his shoulders.
“Yeah... You’re right. They can definitely take out Ooyamizuchi.”
“Yep!”
And so, the two of them prayed for Souma and the others’ success.
Castor thrust his arm forward and ordered, “All hands, prepare for battle! The Hiryuu will now enter phase one of the operation. Our first task is to blow away that meddlesome fog. Send the wyvern cavalry team back out with explosive barrels! Their target is Ooyamizuchi and the area around it!”
“Roger! All hands, prepare for battle! Wyvern cavalry team, head out with bombing equipment! Your target is Ooyamizuchi and its immediate surroundings! I repeat! Your target is Ooyamizuchi and its immediate surroundings! Wyvern cavalry team, head out with bombing equipment!”
Halbert and the others heard the XO’s voice through the speaking tube.
“Okay, men! Let’s do this!”
“““Yeah!”””
The wyvern cavalry team led by Halbert and Ruby took off carrying explosive barrels. They flew in formation as the two fleets watched, heading straight towards Ikatsuru Island.
Ooyamizuchi noticed the incoming fliers, too.
Telepathically, Ruby asked Halbert, “That thing has a dragon-y face. Do you think it can breathe fire?”
“The brass say, ‘probably not.’ A creature needs a certain kind of torso to breathe fire. But, apparently, that thing has an aquatic body,” Halbert explained, mentally reviewing the briefing.
“Then it doesn’t have any attacks that can reach the sky?”
“Dunno... It’s shaped weird, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it has some unexpected way of attacking us.”
That’s when Ooyamizuchi began stretching its head towards the wyvern cavalry team, for some reason.
Noticing it, Halbert got a bad feeling and immediately ordered, “Circle around to the left!”
Following his command, the formation tried to divert to the left, but as they did, Ooyamizuchi opened its mouth and emitted a high-pitched shriek, sending the right side of the wyvern cavalry team flying backwards, as if they had been blown away. A fifth of the team dropped in an instant.
The tailspinning wyverns showed no sign of external injuries, and Halbert could see the riders who had been thrown from their mounts.
“Captain! The right wing is down!” one wyvern rider shouted at Halbert, but Halbert didn’t stop.
“Continue the operation! They’ve all got parachutes!”
He looked down to see the men’s parachutes opening one after another. With that confirmed, Halbert held up his spear and barked orders. Obviously, even if they did land safely, it was in the winter sea down below. If help came too slowly, their lives could still be at risk. However, Halbert and his men couldn’t afford to stop for them.
“Leave rescuing them to the guys down below! We’re going in! We can’t afford to let this operation stumble in the very first stage!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
The wyvern cavalry headed towards Ooyamizuchi once more.
In a quiet voice, Halbert asked Ruby, “That attack just now, what do you think it was?”
“Extra large-scale wind magic... No, perhaps it was a shot of compressed air. If I were to give it a name, I’d call it an ‘air cannon.’”
“I don’t care what you call it... It’s bad news that it can do it.”
“But it must take a lot of time to suck that much air in.”
“So we should bomb it before it can get off another shot?”
While they were having that conversation, the wyvern cavalry team reached Ikatsuru Island where Ooyamizuchi was.
“Okay, drop your barrels! Our mission is to blow away the obscuring mist! There’s no need to take risks trying to hit Ooyamizuchi!”
Following Halbert’s orders, the wyvern cavalry team dropped their explosive barrels one after another. The explosives whooshed downwards, detonating close to the ground. This gave rise to a chain of massive fires across the island, replacing the mist with black smoke.
~~~~~~~~~~!!
That must have surprised Ooyamizuchi, because it let out an ear-piercing shriek. The wyvern riders all covered their ears, trying to block it out, but Ruby and the wyverns were unable to and staggered from the aural assault.
When the beast finally finished roaring, Halbert asked, “You okay?! Ruby!”
“S-Somehow... My head is pounding, though...”
“Damn it...! The mist looks like it’s clearing...”
Determining that they had achieved the minimum they needed for their mission to be considered a success, Halbert issued new orders, “Men, once you’ve dropped your payload, withdraw at top speed! Don’t worry about formation! Stay spread out so we don’t all get hit by that air cannon. Withdraw to the Hiryuu for now!”
“““Roger!”””
The wyvern cavalry unit scattered, heading for the carrier. Halbert waited until he could see Ooyamizuchi through the flames, then did the same.
“You think those explosions did some damage?” Ruby asked him telepathically as they pulled out, but Halbert shook his head.
“...It looks like the shell on its back, and the carapace covering its tentacles, are incredibly hard. I doubt a gunpowder explosion could do anything to it. Our mission was just to clear the mist anyway.”
“What a monster.”
“Coming from a dragon like you? That means somethin’. I’m starting to see what that ‘kaiju’ word Souma was using means.”
“...But we’re not going to lose.”
“Damn straight!” Halbert said with a sharp glint in his eye, holding his two spears at the ready. “We’re backing off now, but I swear we’ll get it next time!”
Meanwhile, on the flagship of the Archipelago Union’s fleet, the Dragon King, Nine-Headed Dragon King Shana watched Ikatsuru Island burn with his arms crossed. The form of Ooyamizuchi had emerged from the rising smoke. It was so gigantic that he could make out all the details even at this distance.
You finally show yourself... he thought.
One of his subordinates came to deliver a report.
“The Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry team has succeeded in clearing the mist!” he said. “However, it seems that some unknown attack knocked a number of them from their mounts.”
“The ones who fell slowly, huh? The Kingdom has some odd equipment...” Shana sounded impressed, but immediately ordered, “Send out a fast boat! Have the ones who fell into the water rescued at once! They’ll not last long in the winter sea. Save as many of our comrades as you can!”
“Yes, sir!”
As the man ran off to do his bidding, another subordinate raced in as if to take his place.
“Reporting! The Kingdom’s fleet sends a message: ‘Moving to stage two of the operation’!”
“Okay. We will now move to stage two. Stop Ooyamizuchi when it tries to escape from the island. Send a message to all ships! Loose all remaining fire ships at Ooyamizuchi!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
At Shana’s command, the fire ships that had been conserved during the battle between the two nation’s fleets were sent towards Ooyamizuchi. Fire ships were a weapon that took only a small crew to control, and once they were set on their course, the currents could do the rest, so the men could abandon ship.
Recognizing the two fleets surrounding the island as enemies, Ooyamizuchi began heading out to sea to fight back. The timing worked out so that a large number of fire ships rushed into the shallows that were the entrance and exit to the island just as the creature was trying to leave.
Snap! Crack, crack...
The tentacles smashed a number of the incoming vessels, but there were more than its eight legs could hope to sink. Soon there was a pile of fire ships built up from the base of Ooyamizuchi’s neck to its chest. That’s when the fire ships, rigged with the same sort of fuse as the explosive barrels, went off.
Booooooooooom!
There was an even larger explosion than the last one, and Ooyamizuchi’s head was knocked back. The fire ships had a greater amount of explosives in them than the barrels, and the explosion struck the creature’s exposed front—it wasn’t going to get away unharmed this time.
“It’s working! It’s working!”
“I can’t believe the Ooyamizuchi’s hurt...”
“Suffer our wrath! This is for all our friends you devoured!”
The incredible sight had the soldiers of the Archipelago Union’s fleet roaring.
The subordinates near Shana were ecstatic, too.
“Your Majesty, do you think this might just work?!”
“...If this was enough to stop it, we wouldn’t have had to turn to the Kingdom for help.”
“Huh?!”
~~~~~~~~~~!!
Ooyamizuchi’s face emerged from the explosion, and it roared so loud the air shook, as if it was warning them the battle had just begun.
When Ooyamizuchi’s face emerged from the flames, I was alongside my wives and Excel watching from the bridge of the Albert II. I’d already thought this when I saw it in the mist, but damn that thing was huge. It has an overwhelming presence, like I’d expect from a kaiju.
Excel, who was next to me, said, “Sire, we will now begin the third stage of the operation.”
“Have the men who fell into the sea been rescued?” I asked, snapping back to my senses, and Excel nodded.
“We’re sending out rescue ships. The Archipelago Union has sent out their fastest boats as well, so we can count on them to handle it. Our fleet will now advance and tighten the encirclement. Is that acceptable?”
“...Got it. Get started.”
“Understood.” Raising her voice, Excel ordered, “This is a message for all ships! Close to a fixed distance, then turn in sequence!”
The Kingdom’s fleet began moving to follow her directive. They spread out in an arc to seal off the inlet, and once in position, they turned their broadsides towards Ooyamizuchi. They did this in order to focus the fleet’s firepower.
Once reports came in that the fleet had all reached the fixed distance, Excel gave the next order.
“All ships, open fire!”
“Roger. Main cannon, open fire!”
Juna, who was serving as the XO, shouted into the speaking tube, and then there was a blast I could feel resounding in my stomach. The Albert II had begun firing.
This was the start of a bombardment by the Kingdom’s entire fleet. The shells they were using weren’t the explosive type, but the armor-piercing type that were used to smash through walls in siege battles. Ichiha’s analysis had suggested that Ooyamizuchi’s carapace would be unfazed by mere gunpowder explosions. Because there was no explosion on impact, I could only hear the sound of the cannons firing, but Ooyamizuchi was undoubtedly being pummeled with huge masses of metal.
~~~~~~~~~~!!
The kaiju howled, which showed it was working.
“All ships, keep firing, and don’t let up. Sire, the target was that shell on its back, right?” Excel checked with me after directing the fleet to continue the bombardment. I nodded.
“That shell on its back is the hardest part of Ooyamizuchi, but we expect that means that the vital organs necessary to keep it alive are inside there. No matter how much we damage the tentacles, there’s the risk that they can grow back like a lizard’s tail, so Ichiha said we should prioritize destroying the shell.”
“That makes sense. Hee hee, you’ve really found yourself a good recruit.”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
Then Aisha raised her voice, “Sire! Ooyamizuchi seems to be doing something!”
Taking a look, I noticed Ooyamizuchi’s tentacles writhing. Moments later, something came flying towards us at an incredible speed. Is that a tree? No, maybe a boulder? There were a number of trees and boulders coming at us. It looked like Ooyamizuchi was picking up anything it could get a tentacle on and hurling it towards us.
“Can we evade?!” Excel asked.
“No! We’ll just have to pray it doesn’t hit us!” came the helmsman’s panicked response.
Splash! Splash! It probably wasn’t taking careful aim. The vast majority of the trees and boulders either fell short of our ships, or went off in the completely wrong direction. However, perhaps because the fleet was arrayed so as to block the inlet, some of it did strike the deck, and there was smoke rising from a number of the ships.
Throwing whatever came to hand was common for kaiju from the Showa Era, but it looked stupid, and seemed ineffective. Now that I was on the receiving end of it, though, I was finding out just how awful it was. There’s a lot of pure mass being thrown our way at incredible speeds, after all.
Even Excel, as amazing as she was, grimaced in the face of this assault.
“...Sire, will you move to one of the ships in the rear?”
“I don’t think we have time for that. Aisha, get out on deck and cut down anything that looks like it’s going to hit this ship for me.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!” Aisha rushed out on deck carrying her greatsword.
Wind magic was weakened at sea, so I was a little worried knowing that Aisha couldn’t use her Sonic Wind at its usual power. Still, we couldn’t let up on the assault just so I could evacuate. Now was the time to be aggressive. We’ve got to fire until the guns melt... or so I was thinking, but...
“Reporting! It’s about Ooyamizuchi!” one of the marines shouted.
“What is it now?!” Excel demanded.
“It’s turned its mouth towards our fleet and opened wide!” the marine answered.
I looked, and Ooyamizuchi had extended its head towards the fleet, its maw gaping. I felt a cold sweat drip down my back... If this was one of those kaiju movies I watched back in the world I came from, that would be the sign an incredible attack was coming. Don’t flinch. Ichiha’s analysis said it shouldn’t be able to use fire attacks.
Was the attack that blew away some of the wyvern riders coming? From sea level, it had looked like a sudden blast of wind, but while wyvern cavalry were easily affected by the gusts, was it going to be able to hit iron warships with a wind attack?
“...Here it comes!”
Bwiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!
It wasn’t wind that Ooyamizuchi spewed at us; it was a thick pillar of water accompanied by a sound akin to a jet engine firing. It had likely taken in seawater, compressed it, then spat it back out.
A shot of water like something fired out of a gigantic pressure washer struck the fleet sideways. The massive Albert II heaved. I instinctively grabbed onto the railing and put my hand around Juna’s waist to support her as she lost her balance.
“Are you all right, Juna?”
“Th-Thank you. I got careless.”
“...I wish you’d have supported me, too. Have a care for your mother-in-law, would you?” said Excel, who had fallen flat on her backside.
I didn’t have time to remind her she was actually my grandmother-in-law.
Looking around the bridge, there were other marines that had fallen over or had their chairs knocked over. If this ship were wooden, it would have been blasted to wood chips. I had thought of it as a pressure washer, but at this size and power, it functioned as a ranged attack.
“Get me a situation report!” Excel shouted into the speaking tube.
“O-Our ship and the carrier Hiryuu are undamaged! However, a number of cruisers were knocked over by that attack! It’s only a matter of time before they sink!” came the reply from the lookout, his voice filled with urgency.
There had been a lot of power behind that jet of water. The spray it kicked up was still raining down on us like a squall. If it had scored a direct hit, even this iron ship might have flipped over.
I made up my mind and told Excel, “I’m heading out with Naden to rescue them.”
“Sire?! That’s way too dangerous!”
“Since Naden can swim through the sky and sea, maybe she can put those ships back upright with brute force.”
The overturned ships might have lost any further utility to the operation, but if they were turned upright again, we wouldn’t need to worry about them sinking. Even if they couldn’t be completely flipped back, even a little assistance ought to make escaping from them easier.
Turning to Naden, I asked her, “Can you do it?”
“They look heavy, but I guess I’ll have to, huh?” Naden spun her arms around as she spoke. She looked more than ready to give it a shot.
“I’m only needed here when there’re political decisions to make. If I’m just a figurehead, let me go out there and help people. Naden will be with me, so I’ll be safe even if I fall into the sea.”
Excel seemed to think about it for just a moment, but immediately came to a decision.
“It puts you in danger, but you’re already in danger here. We’re short of rescuers, too, so, please, help us.”
“Roger that!”
“Okay. Once we’re done with the rescue, Naden and I will rise up into the sky. Juna, I’ll let you decide how to handle that. Keep an eye on the situation, and deploy it if necessary.”
When I said that, Juna put a hand to her breast and bowed her head to me.
“Understood. Please, take care.”
“You, too, Juna.”
I jumped off the bridge and dove into the sea with Naden in her ryuu form.
“Captain! A black ryuu presumed to be Queen Naden has taken off from the Albert II!”
“We have a message from Duchess Walter! His Majesty is heading to rescue the capsized ships!”
“It’s so bad we even need the king to come out and help...?” Castor whispered to himself without meaning to.
Seconds later, another subordinate came and spoke, “Reporting! There seems to be activity from the Archipelago Union’s fleet!”
This took Castor by surprise and he looked to the east. “What happened?!”
“They’re sailing in formation as they pass beside us! They are rapidly closing the distance with Ooyamizuchi, and appear to be attempting close quarters combat!”
“Wha?! That’s sooner than planned, isn’t it?!”
The operation had called for the Kingdom’s fleet to bombard Ooyamizuchi until the carapace covering it was thoroughly destroyed. Then, once the enemy was robbed of its defenses, the Archipelago Union’s fleet, with their superior capacity for close-quarters combat, would charge in and quickly finish it off. However, Ooyamizuchi’s carapace hadn’t been pulverized yet. It was much too soon for them to be acting.
“This is likely because they saw the water jet attack. Unlike our warships, most of theirs are made of wood. If that burst of water hit them, they wouldn’t last a second.”
“Because their ships are lightly armored... specialized for mobility.”
“Yes. That country’s gunpowder weapons also have a short range, so they don’t stand a chance in a long-range shootout. Maybe they want to get in before there’s a second shot? If they get in close, then even if the boats are destroyed, they can still go ashore to fight.”
Castor ground his teeth as he listened to his subordinate’s analysis.
“He accepted his ships sinking as inevitable? I can see how determined the Nine-Headed Dragon King is.” Castor corrected his posture and ordered, “Send this message to Duchess Walter. I’m requesting she support the Archipelago Union’s fleet.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’re sending the wyvern cavalry team out again! This time, their mission is to distract and confuse Ooyamizuchi! Fly around and attack it! Don’t give it time to attack the Archipelago Union’s fleet!”
“““Yes, sir!”””
Castor’s orders were relayed to Halbert and the wyvern riders, who were standing by in the air above the Hiryuu, using mirrors to reflect light. That was the signal for another attack.
Meanwhile, the most fierce commander in all of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, Shima Katsunaga, was aboard the lead ship of the Archipelago Union’s fleet.
As he stood at the bow, glaring at Ooyamizuchi, one of his nearby associates asked, “Aren’t we heading in too early? I was only told just before we headed out, but weren’t we supposed to approach Ooyamizuchi after its carapace was destroyed?”
“The enemy has long-range attacks, too, so we’ve been left with little choice in the matter. You must have seen the jet of water it spat flip over the Kingdom’s ships, right?” Shima said in a gruff voice, his thick, burly arms crossed in front of him. “That attack would reduce our ships to splinters. That must be why the Nine-Headed Dragon King intends to approach while the creature is still distracted by the Kingdom’s bombardment. While our ships have superior mobility, they lack when it comes to firepower and range.”
“I see...”
“Heh, but what does it matter? If we let the Kingdom’s bombardment do all the work, that would be a black mark on our reputation as mononofu of the sea. After everything that beast has put us through, we need to settle things with it ourselves. If we don’t, the souls of the comrades it’s eaten will never be able to move on.”
“Yes, sir. I agree entirely.”
Shima drew the Nine-Headed Dragon odachi that hung at his hip.
“The Nine-Headed Dragon King’s played me for a fool, but still, what a feast this is he’s presented me with. A chance to face the hated Ooyamizuchi head-on. Men, find your courage and rise to the challenge! This battle will be told for generations to come!” Shima raised his odachi into the air.
“““Yeahhhh!””” the men cheered in response, and stomped their feet on the deck. Similar voices and noises could be heard from all the ships around them.
Every ship must have been trying to raise their morale and rouse the courage to fight the gigantic enemy before them.
Shima thrust his odachi straight forward and ordered, “Listen up! When we approach the beast, we take care of those meddlesome tentacles first! Target the spot where they meet with the torso! That’s where they’re softest and their movement is slowest! Slip past the beast’s attacks and get in close, then focus your attacks there!”
“““Yeahhhh!”””
In the middle of the crew’s raucous cheering, the associate from before stood next to Shima.
“My lord... Is that method of fighting Ooyamizuchi based on information from the Kingdom, too?”
“I reckon it is. They do say they have the foremost expert in the study of monsterology, after all.”
“After seeing that great island-sized ship full of wyverns, the Kingdom seems so far beyond our understanding. I’m truly glad we didn’t have to fight them here.”
The man spoke with a mix of admiration and awe, but Shima responded with a wry smile.
“Well, they’re a reliable ally now, so we’ll leave that matter be. We must focus on the enemy in front of us first.”
“Yes, sir. But its tentacles move so freely. It won’t be easy to get close.”
“And yet we must—no matter how many ships are sunk in the process.”
Just then, another lookout reported, “Sir! The Kingdom’s fleet has ceased its bombardment! The wyverns are flying in this direction again, too!”
Looking out, they could see the wyvern cavalry team flying over the Archipelago Union’s fleet towards Ooyamizuchi. This time, they didn’t seem to be carrying explosive barrels. They were led by a red dragon, much larger than any wyvern. The team of wyverns closed the distance to reach Ooyamizuchi in no time, and circled around the beast while scorching its tentacles with fire attacks. The creature’s carapace seemed to be preventing any significant damage, but Ooyamizuchi swung its tentacles around in irritation, like a cow trying to swat a fly with its tail.
Some of the wyvern riders were struck down, but the others still continued evading the tentacles and attacking. Seeing this, Shima had a realization.
“It looks like the Kingdom’s fleet is supporting our attack.”
The Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry team was drawing Ooyamizuchi’s attention so that the Archipelago Union’s fleet could get closer.
“How reliable. We’ll have to match their spirit.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Archipelago Union’s fleet began closing in on Ooyamizuchi. It was only once they got so near that they were reminded how utterly massive the beast was. He seemed dwarfed next to it, but Shima lifted his odachi up high and gave orders.
“All hands, open fire! Fire the lion-dog cannons—hit it with everything we’ve got! Fire, fire, fire!”
The approaching ships began unloading on Ooyamizuchi one after another. The cannons along their broadsides spewed fire, and the lion-dog cannons mounted on their decks kept shooting fist-sized hunks of lead into the sensitive point where the tentacles were connected to the body.
It was then that Ooyamizuchi finally realized that it wasn’t just wyverns around it, and swung down a tentacle to snap a large ship in half. Shima’s ship lurched with the waves and sea spray kicked up by the attack.
“Urgh! Don’t falter! Send out the ram ships!”
With that, about eight medium-sized ships with pointed bows rushed forward. These ships specialized in ramming their sharp bows into the enemy. Tugged by horned doldons, the ram ship rapidly rushed towards Ooyamizuchi’s tentacle roots. Once they got up to speed, the horned doldons were cut free to escape, leaving just the ships to collide with the enemy.
The lower part of Ooyamizuchi’s tentacles was similar to an octopus’s, and the ram ships cut deep into the roots of them. In human terms, it would be like if someone stabbed a pencil into your shoulder. It wasn’t going to be lethal, but if there were enough of them, it was going to hurt like hell.
~~~~~~~~~~!!
Ooyamizuchi roared, flailing its tentacles about. The rampaging appendages grazed the ship Shima was on, snapping its mast. Despite this, Shima and his men kept pressing the attack. It wasn’t just gunpowder weapons. There were some who fired bows, other slinging magic, and when the tentacles got close enough they even used spears and katanas. Anyway, the all-out assault continued.
The scene looked like a swarm of ants clinging to a cow’s tail, hoping to defeat it. But in the same way that army ants can strip larger creatures down to nothing but bones, eventually, one of the tentacles fell limply and ceased to move. However, the soldiers had no time to be jubilant. They had merely neutralized one of the eight. Looking back up at the remaining seven, they gulped.
Even the ferocious Shima himself was exhausted and starting to get a little worried.
“This absolute piece of shit... It’s a genuine monster. Ugh, I’m starting to hate this.”
Suddenly, they heard a sound from the Kingdom’s fleet.
We take our boat on the mother sea.
To the waves rich with fish and life.
It was a woman’s voice, singing a fishing song from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago.
Under the seabird’s eye there treasure be.
If we’re too slow, the big’un will strike.
Pull in the nets! Heave, ho! Heave, ho!
Let the port hear our song of triumph.
As he listened to that beautiful, powerful voice, Shima looked at Ooyamizuchi again. He would never find a bigger target than this. Finding such a large catch should have been an unparalleled joy for a man of the sea.
The fire returned to the exhausted men’s eyes.
“What man of the sea would hesitate in the face of such a great catch?! Come on, men! Let’s get back to fishing!”
“““Yeahhhh!”””
On Shima’s order, the men rallied to challenge Ooyamizuchi once more.
“Heave, ho! Heave, ho! Let the port hear our song of triumph.”
On the deck of the Albert II, the cat-eared lorelei, Nanna, was singing the fishing song of the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, her homeland, in front of a broadcast jewel. There couldn’t have been a better choice to sing this song that would raise both the morale and magic power of the Archipelago Union’s fleet. Nanna’s family had drifted to a fishing village in the Kingdom eight years ago and taken up residence there, so she had been singing this song for the men of the sea there since she was just a little girl.
Eight years ago would be before Ooyamizuchi’s rampage began, so she had come to the Kingdom before the fish catch in the archipelago became so poor. Because they had always seen a lot of small scale conflicts between the islands, her family was probably driven out during one of them—though she was likely too young to remember. To Nanna, the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago was just a place where she was apparently born, and she had no strong feelings for or against it. She was here because she felt it was only fair that she returned the favor to King Souma and Queen Juna, who had done so much for her, and besides, she liked singing the song anyway.
Hearing her innocent voice, free of any sort of darkness, Excel, who was raising a ball of water into the air to spread Nanna’s voice, let out a sigh. “Is it youth that lets her see her homeland without getting sentimental about it?”
Having drifted to the Kingdom from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago herself, albeit several centuries earlier, Excel’s feelings about it were complicated. This was a country that had driven out the sea serpent race, and she couldn’t help but think about that while fighting alongside them. Juna, overhearing her, shrugged her shoulders.
“You’re always trying to act youthful, aren’t you? Despite your age.”
“...When did you learn to talk like that?” Excel gave her a reproachful look.
“I am His Majesty’s first secondary queen, after all,” was Juna’s nonchalant reply.
When Nanna finished her song, Juna took the next turn, and then Nanna again. Excel smiled wryly, wiping the sweat from her brow.
“Goodness me. It takes a lot out of you performing magic like this out at sea, you know?”
“...Sorry, but please continue. We’re at the operation’s most vital point.”
“I know that,” she replied, refocusing herself.
Suddenly, Aisha came rushing over from the bow of the ship. “Ooyamizuchi is on the move! It seems to be heading forward!”
Now that she mentioned it, Ooyamizuchi’s body did look a little bigger than it had before. It must have been slowly advancing towards the Kingdom’s fleet which was massed around the way out of the island.
“That’s not good. It’s trying to flee out to sea,” Excel said contemptuously.
Ooyamizuchi didn’t seem all that intelligent, but it must have figured out that fighting on land wasn’t to its advantage—either that, or its survival instincts kicked in. If it dove underwater, there were limited options for attacking from the surface, and Ooyamizuchi would be free to attack or flee as it pleased. This needed to be prevented from happening at all costs.
“Send a message to all ships! Begin closing distance and tighten the net! Stop Ooyamizuchi’s advance! Lay down fire on Ooyamizuchi’s path, too! That’s only to intimidate—you don’t need to hit! Whatever you do, do not hit the Archipelago Union ships that are fighting!”
“Yes, ma’am!” One of the marines ran off to relay Excel’s orders.
Juna rushed to Excel’s side and said, “Grandmother, let’s send out that. It should slow it down.”
Excel’s brow furrowed. “By that, you mean... That ship?! Wouldn’t His Majesty have to make that call?”
As Excel thought about it, Juna closed in, bringing one hand to her own chest.
“When His Majesty headed out with Naden, he left responsibility for that with me. He said if I decide it needs to be deployed, I could.”
Excel suddenly seemed to remember that exchange and nodded her head.
“...Right, he did, didn’t he? But will His Majesty be able to coordinate with it properly?”
“If we send the ship out, I’m sure he’ll notice. I believe we can trust him to handle the rest.”
“...All right.” Excel firmly nodded, smiling to Juna. “His Majesty entrusted the ship to you. You give the order.”
“Okay!”
Juna stretched her arm out in front of her and ordered, “Send a message to all ships! The transport ship King Souma will now begin advancing towards Ooyamizuchi. Please, tell all the other ships to make way!”
Meanwhile, at that same time, Souma and Naden were busily working to turn the capsized ships upright. Naden wrapped herself around the ones that were sinking, like a scene in an old kaiju movie (though, twice around was all she could manage at her length), letting out a psychic, “Hahhhhhh!” as she forced them back into the correct position.
As the ships gushed water from everywhere, sailors who had failed to escape came crawling out. It was hard to know if everyone was all right, but Naden was feeling relieved to see that she had been able to be of at least some help.
Emerging from the water once more, Naden heard a sputtering from her back. She hurriedly turned her head around to look. “A-Are you okay, Souma?”
“S-Somehow...”
He had been riding on her back as she worked both above and below water to rescue the ships. His pact with her as a dragon knight protected him from the cold of the winter sea, and he wouldn’t be thrown from her back, but he still couldn’t breathe underwater. It didn’t change the fact that the water that got into his mouth was unpleasantly salty, either.
“At times like this, I wish I had gills like Princess Shabon...”
“Sorry to put you through that, but I don’t think wishing for things that you’ll never have is going to help,” she replied, raising her head to look around. “...Though, I think I’ve got all the ships flipped back over now.”
“W-Well, anyway, as long as the ships are floating, it should be easier for people to escape... and to rescue the ones who fell into the sea, too...”
“But what if the section of the ship they’re trapped in is filled with water and they can’t get out...?”
“This is all we can do from outside. We have to trust in them to handle the rest,” Souma said, looking down below. The soldiers on the deck of the ships that had been set upright were shouting words of gratitude and waving their hats. The two were relieved to think they had at least been able to save some small number of lives.
Naden asked Souma, “What now? Do you want to go back to the Albert II?”
“Yeah, I think that... Hm?”
An image flashed through Souma’s mind.
“What’s wrong?” Naden asked, tilting her head to the side.
Souma closed his eyes and covered both his ears with his hands, trying to focus his mind. He was trying to get a grasp of the situation using the consciousness he had left inside that thing using Living Poltergeists.
After some time, Souma slowly opened his eyes.
“It really is moving... Did Juna move the transport ship? ...Does that mean Ooyamizuchi is on the move?”
“On the move...? Ah! Ooyamizuchi is moving! It might be trying to escape from the island!” Naden shouted, having spotted it in the distance. Souma clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“It’s trying to escape out to sea, huh? As if we’d let it get away.” Souma adjusted his sitting posture on Naden’s back. “Naden, get me into the airspace above Ooyamizuchi!”
“Roger that!”
Souma and Naden danced up into the sky together.
The Kingdom’s wyvern cavalry team and the Archipelago Union’s fleet were still fighting hard in the area around Ooyamizuchi where Souma and Naden were headed. For its part, Ooyamizuchi was using its tentacles to slap down wyvern riders or wrap around and break warships. Each swing let out a low whistling sound, and at this very moment, another wyvern rider was about to be smacked down.
“Wahhhh!”
About to be hit with the force of a truck, the wyvern rider sensed his coming death, letting go of the reins, and covering his head. There was a loud slapping sound, but for some reason, the anticipated impact hadn’t arrived. Hesitantly opening his eyes, the wyvern rider saw a red dragon interposed between him and Ooyamizuchi, blocking the tentacle.
From the dragon’s back, Halbert shouted at the dazed wyvern rider, “Use this chance to recover!”
“C-Captain?! Thank you!”
Once he saw the man had gotten himself back together and withdrawn, Halbert asked, “Ruby, you okay?”
“Th-This is no big deal!” Ruby replied, squeezing the tentacle with both of her front legs, and throwing in a bite for good measure. “One of these tentacles is about the size of Naden! After all the times I’ve tussled with her, a hit like that is nothing to me!”
“You sound confident, but don’t be reckless! There’s only one of Young Miss Naden, but there’s more tentacles where that one came from.”
“Oh, I know that quite... well!”
Ruby let go of the tentacle she had seized as another one came at them from behind. Just after she did, the new tentacle slammed into the spot she had been holding. The sound of two carapaces striking each other was incredible. It was a hard enough impact that some of it was stripped away, so if Ruby had been caught between them, it might well have broken some bones. As for Halbert, he’d have been crushed flat as a pancake.
A cold sweat ran down both their backs.
“Damn it! Those tentacles are way too much trouble!” Halbert complained.
“But if we don’t do something about them, that thing is going to keep fleeing!”
Even now, Ooyamizuchi was sliding along on its tentacles. It moved slowly for its gargantuan size, but was still making steady progress towards the deep sea. The Kingdom’s fleet was laying down suppressive fire along its path, but it didn’t seem to be terribly effective. At this rate, Ooyamizuchi was going to get away.
Halbert slapped his own thigh. “Damn it all! Isn’t there some way to stop it?!”
“...Huh?! Hal! Look at that!”
Halbert looked up in response, and saw one ship, larger than the others, closing in on Ooyamizuchi.
“That’s... the Souma-class transport ship? Don’t tell me they’re planning to ram it?!”
“It’s certainly big enough to have an impact, but I doubt it would slow it down much. Do you suppose they would really throw away a new ship just for that?”
“What is that thing transporting, anyway? I thought it would be a unit from the army to fight on the island, or supplies, but maybe it’s not.”
“Explosives, perhaps? Like the fire ships the Archipelago Union was using.”
“Nah, gunpowder has the power to blow up a barrel or wooden ship, but not an iron ship. All it would do is start a fire on board.”
As they were talking about it, the King Souma stopped a few hundred meters in front of Ooyamizuchi, then a hatch on the deck slowly opened. Once it was finished, something jumped out and landed in the sea with a big splash. Everyone stopped for a moment, unsure of what had just happened.
As Halbert, Ruby, the wyvern cavalry team, and the soldiers of the Archipelago Union’s fleet turned in the direction of the splash, a massive object rose from the sea, scattering water everywhere.
“Wh-What the hell is that?!”
“Another monster?! Nobody told us there’d be something like that!”
The soldiers of the Archipelago Union’s fleet went into a panic at the appearance of a second monster. The soldiers of the Kingdom, on the other hand, stared in disbelief, unable to accept the reality of what they were witnessing. The massive object stood in Ooyamizuchi’s way, its surface shining silver in the sun. It had the silhouette of a dragon, the mightiest creature on land, yet its body was entirely made of machinery.
“M-Mechadraaa?!” Halbert, the first to come to his senses, shouted incredulously.
It was Silvan’s massive mechanical dragon partner that appeared in the Kingdom’s broadcast program Overman Silvan. Standing on its hind legs, Mechadra let out a roar, then raced towards Ooyamizuchi, kicking up waves behind it.