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Volume 6 Chapter 1 Part 9

As soon as she finished chanting the spell, a bizarre beast suddenly appeared in front of her.

It looked like a whale with a dog’s head. Among the Cetus, it could be considered to be relatively small, but it was still about the size of an ordinary warship.

(I have to guide this monster while flying on a broom…)

However, since she was in Magic University, her magic power has increased dramatically, and now she knew that the most important thing in magic was not how much magic power you have, but how diligently you practice it.

Siluca ponders for a while on how she should approach it, and then decided that it would be the best ho have the monster follow after her, so she slew as close to the surface of the sea as possible.

When it noticed her, Cetus started following her at breakneck speed.

(I feel like a prey being chased by the predator…)

When she went out to sea, she headed to the area where she spotted Charybdis yesterday. That was the only place where she could look, but at the same time, there was no guarantee that the monster was going to still be there, waiting for her.

Then, she maintained the safe distance from the Cetus and allowed her to follow her for a while. All this time, she could see the ship that Irvin and others have set offshore in the distance.

「Come out, please come out already…! 」

Siluca called out to Charybdis. Of course, she didn’t expect that her shout would be met with any sort of answer from the monster, and yet, after a short while she notice that something strange was happening to Cetus. Since Siluca summoned it, she was spiritually connected with the monster and could feel the same things that the summoned creature was feeling, and what it was feeling right now… was fear. And if such a monster was feeling afraid, then it could only mean one thing.

Siluca felt her heart starting to beat faster.

「Come on, let’s get out of here! 」

Siluca called out to Cetus and began to turn back at full speed, aiming for the cove where Theo and the others were waiting for her.

She looked back, and sure enough, that same large vortex she saw yesterday was forming behind her right now.

A ship that was drifting in the distance was caught in a whirlpool and was now being pulled towards the bottom of the sea at a considerable speed, but Cetus was still swimming against the current.

Siluca feared that Charybdis would give up due to their fierce resistance, but truth to be told, it should’ve expected as much, since even the world of Tartarus must have its own food chain.

Siluca flew at full speed and looked behind to check their situation again. Strangely enough, the Chaos Vortex had disappeared.

「Did it really give up? 」

She thought so at first, but then she saw the shadows of the ships that were being dragged underwater. It doesn’t look like just one ship was enough to satisfy Charybdis after all. And more than anything else, Cetus was still feeling frightened, so Siluca knew that they were still being chased.

(It may have found its true prey for the first time in hundreds of years, so of course it would be chasing it without stopping.)

Siluca hoped that would be the case. Because as long as it’ll keep chasing them, then everything was according to the plan.

At this rate, she should let Cetus swim all the way to the cove, but then again, she didn’t know how fast Charybdis could swim. If it turns out that Charybdis will catch Cetus while still offshore and drags it back to the bottom of the ocean, then the entire thing would fall apart at the finish line.
「Faster! 」

Siluca scolded Cetus and increased her own flight speed at the same time. Before long, she managed to reach the cove she was aiming for.

Cetus used its fin-like front legs to try to reach land. When it was doing so, it looked like a huge seal rather than a whale.

「Stop right there!」

Siluca stopped Cetus from fleeing to the dry land, but Cetus was clearly reluctant to do it and fought to escape from Siluca’s control, but Siluca wouldn’t have it this late in the game. Now, ideally she wanted Cetus to fight against Charybdis. If Cetus manages to actually beat it, then that’s going to be that much better for them, but if it doesn’t, then that’s going to be fine too, since defeating such a monster will certainly not be an easy task.

But Siluca won’t allow it. She intends to fight Charybdis. If Cetus wins, that’s the solution. However, I don’t think it will be so easy.

「How did it go? 」

When Siluca landed on the beach, Theo and others rushed over to her.

「It looks like it’s going to go well. It’s my first time fishing, but it looks like I caught myself a pretty big catch… 」

Siluca answered Theo excitedly.

「All that’s left for us to do is to defeat Charybdis. But that’s going to be the hardest part. 」

「Good thing I specialize in exterminating monsters then! 」

Aishela said as she put on her winged helmet.
「If it’s going to be too big, it might be too much even for you to handle. 」

Aishela didn’t go to the Magic University and became an Agent of the Mages Association, and it seems that she was mainly involved in working with the branch of it that specializes in the armed suppression of Chaos Disasters, Chaos Disaster Countermeasures Agency. Her job out there was largely the same as her job as a mercenary, but instead of people, she was fighting monsters borne from Chaos.

At first, she was only expected to sense and quell Chaos whenever it was needed, but she became an Artist before she even knew it. And after she learned that many of the mercenaries were worshipping Valkyries from the world of Valhalla as their goddesses, she adopted their looks into her armor whenever she was doing mercenary work

「You’ll just have to do your best out there… 」

Siluca encouraged Aishela.

「If you say so, then I guess I’ll really try to do my best! 」

Aishela smiled and turned her body around.

「I’ll do my best too. I won’t let your hard work go to waste. 」

When Theo spoke in a spirited voice, he drew up his sword and shield and let his Crest shine on the back of his hand.

He is now much stronger than when they first met. He has a Baron-class peerage, and since he doesn’t have any subordinate Lords right now, he can use the power of his Crest to its absolute fullest.

「If we’re doing hunting now, then you can leave it to us! 」

One of the Werewolf twins raised a cheerful voice.

「Even the Vampire King is going to be hunted down by us someday! 」

The other licked her lips with her tongue and continued.

Back when the clan of Werewolves form Artuk was fighting against the Vampire King Dimitri in the Forest of Eternal Darkness because of his involvement with Yana the Black Witch, Luna and Emma were especially active in that skirmish. According to the reports, they even managed to tear off on of the Vampire King’s legs and divided the Arts that it contained between the two of them equally. When it comes to the potential they had and their fighting prowess, they might be able to surpass even Irvin someday.

「Although I might not be as strong as Lady Aishela, I’m going to be fighting as well. 」

Irvine also changed into the clothes he wore whenever he was working as a spy, and was carrying a number of old harpoons that he had picked up from somewhere.

Giant monsters aren’t Irvin’s forte, but his agility should be enough to keep Charybdis at bay and the mercy of others.

「This time, I will also fight. 」

Surprisingly, even Priscilla offered to help with the subjugation of the sea monster.

Siluca was often forgetting about that, but technically Priscilla was also a Lord who possessed her own Crest. It was the one of a subordinate Lord bestowed upon her by the bishop of the parish designated by the Order of the Crest. If a young priestess like her possesses possessed such a Crest, then Siluca couldn’t help but wonder just how many Crests does the Order of the Crest really possess and how powerful they are

. In worst-case scenario, the Crest belonging to the Pope may be comparable to those of the Archdukes in terms of peerage.

「With what, that strange light of yours? Give me a break, kid. 」