[V12C40] My Song Becomes Your Ship

Monica had gotten back on her feet, but she heard a sobbing voice coming from her hand.

“You fool… You imbecile…”

Only then did Monica notice the black ring on her left index finger. It was Cyril’s artifact, the Key of Knowledge Sophocles. Why did she have it?

Cyril was nowhere to be seen, so Monica had assumed that he evacuated alongside Glenn and Silas. The sobs of the ring left her with a feeling of unease.

“Um, w-where is Cyril-sama…?”

“You mean the Chilly Guy?” Nero replied. “He fell into the sea along with the box.”

“Eh!?”

Nero’s heartless remark caused Monica to drop her jaw. She turned to Isaac hoping that Nero was mistaken.

“Allow me to report on the situation,” Isaac said in a reassuring tone. “Dudley-kun and the Dragon Slayer Mage have retreated, and Cyril fell into the sea with the sealed Gluttonous Zoe, but his contracted spirit headed in to save him. Meanwhile, Theodore has turned back into a black dragon, absorbed Gluttonous Zoe’s power, and successfully summoned the Spirit King of Darkness. I doubt any ordinary spells will be able to kill him in this state.”

Apparently, things had taken a turn for the worse while she was unconscious.

What was Monica supposed to do? She felt like crying right after her return.

(…Cyril-sama.)

Monica knew what the man she loved would say in this situation.

——Give it everything you’ve got.

Monica clenched the paper rose in her pocket, desperately holding back her anxiety and tears.　She did her best to assess the situation.

(There are two threats we need to take care of: Theodore and the gate.)

The summoning gate was not that far away from them. Its doors were wide open, letting out a continuous stream of dark mana. A portion of this mana leaked into the harbor, dying the water a murky black.

There was also a golden net of lightning spread above the water, which had immobilized Theodore.

“…For some reason, Theodore wants Gluttonous Zoe back,” Isaac continued with a grim expression.

As they spoke, the black dragon spat black flames from the corner of his mouth, burning a few strands of the lightning net. In addition, the shadows all over his body transformed into blades that sliced through the net.

Theodore had absorbed Gluttonous Zoe’s shadows for himself. In other words, he possessed the power of a black dragon and an ancient artifact.

This reminded Monica of something.

——He was just like a curse dragon.

Monica had once seen a green dragon that devoured a human-made curse to transform into a curse dragon of her own volition.

The black dragon in front of her was very similar. Theodore had absorbed the power of a man-made artifact, purposely turning himself into a new kind of monster.

“…We just need to defeat Theodore and close the gate, right?”

Monica raised her staff into the air.

“O King of Guidance, the Formless One. Heed my call, and reveal a glimpse of your power.”

This was one of the most powerful spells Monica could perform.

Yellow-green particles of lights gathered to form a shining gate, right above Theodore.

“In the name of the Silent Witch, Monica Everett… Open the gate.”

A dazzling wind imbued with vast amounts of mana flowed out of the gate. This was a portion of the great Spirit King’s power.

“——Come forth from the edge of silence, Spirit King of Wind, Shefield!”

Monica wove this wind into a spear aimed directly at Theodore’s forehead.

To her, sniping through a dragon’s forehead was by no means difficult. After all, she had not ever considered Nero a threat when she first met him.

——But this dragon possessed the power of Gluttonous Zoe.

The shadows under Theodore’s command spread into a second pair of wings, right above his original ones. The shadow wings covered him like a shield, protecting him from the wind.

Monica’s spells easily destroyed the shadows, but Theodore himself was almost completely unharmed.

And in the next instant, the ragged shadow wings swelled up to regain their original form.

(The shadows can regenerate with incredible speed. If he uses them as a shield, my Spirit King Summoning does nothing.)

Monica deactivated her Spirit King Summoning and turned to Nero with a hesitant look on her face.

“I’ve already deployed a large-scale illusion around the harbor,” Isaac interjected. “It should hold for a few more minutes.”

Monica widened her eyes in surprise.

Apparently, Isaac had been doing everything in his power to prepare the stage for her and Nero. He had believed in her, even after she lost her memories.

Monica put on an awkward smile and replied, “My disciple really is amazing.”

“Your praise honors me, Master.”

Monica turned to her partner again. Nero met her gaze with a face that seemed to say he had been waiting for this moment.

“Nero… Let me ride you.”

“Alright, hop on.”

The black cat grinned and covered himself in a black mist. Only his golden eyes remained, staring back at Monica through the darkness.

“Only those I’ve recognized can ride on my back! Well, I guess I can allow my junior too, just this once.”

“I’m honored,” Isaac replied.

The mist swelled into the shape of a colossal creature even larger than Black Dragon Theodore. He grew thick limbs with honed claws, and jet-black wings that blocked out the sun. His mouth was lined with fangs sharp enough to crush a grown man with ease.

Once his transformation was complete, Nero arched his neck and roared at the sky.

Meanwhile, Isaac lifted Monica into his arms and looked at the white lizard on his shoulder.

“Wil, can you handle the footing?”

“Yes, Master.”

The spirit’s magic created a few platforms of water floating in the air, allowing the agile Isaac to jump onto the black dragon’s back.

Next, Wildianu extended two ropes of water to hook onto Nero’s horns.

Isaac sat Monica in front of him and grabbed onto the makeshift reins.

“Let’s do this.”

“Right! Nero… Fly!”

At Monica’s command, Nero let out a cheerful roar as he flapped his wings.

His huge jet-black body defied gravity to soar into the skies, tousling the hair of his riders.

Meanwhile, Sophocles was crying out in shock from Monica’s hand.

“A-A second black dragon…!? How? Why? What’s going to happen to me…!?”

“Come to think of it, I guess we never explained anything to you,” Isaac muttered, as if having just remembered the ring’s existence.

“Who are you even!?”

It should be noted that Isaac had given Monica a succinct and comprehensive report just a few minutes ago. This was in stark contrast to the condescending smile he gave to Sophocles.

To be fair, it would have been a reassuring smile if made with Prince Felix’s face.

“Sorry,” Isaac apologized. “I’m afraid we don’t have any time to explain.”

“Then make some time! I demand an explanation! Waaah!”

＊　＊　＊

There was a young man sinking into murky waters tainted with dark mana.

The season may be summer, but it had not been long since sunrise. The man was assaulted by a combination of the cold water and the dense mana it contained.

For a human, this was akin to falling into a freezing pool of poison.

He was deprived of oxygen, robbed of body heat, and corroded by the poisonous mana. The weak and fragile human struggled desperately, but eventually, he lost consciousness and fell limp.

Even so, his arms refused to let go of the box held against his chest.

——”A human.”

——”A young man.”

——”Shall we take him away?”

——”Too bothersome. The water dragons are already on their way.”

There was no way for sound to reach this deep under the waves.

And yet, the joyous chatter of young women could be heard. Multiple of them.

——”Is he holding something?”

——”A magical tool? Oh dear, it seems to be from quite a long time ago.”

——”Perhaps that’s what filled these waters with mana?”

——”The mana is certainly pleasant to us, but it must be painful to a human.”

The voices snickered with girlish innocence, as they had little investment in the situation.

But suddenly, one of them shouted in realization.

——”Hold on… That human. He has been blessed by the song of our elder sister!”

——”What?”

——”Excuse me?”

——”No way.”

Countless bubbles formed under the surface, expressing their surprise. Their gasps melted into the murky waters.

——”How many years has it been since we were driven from our river, forced to flee into the sea?”

——”To think we would find a human with her blessing in a place like this.”

——”We cannot let someone with our blessing drown in our waters. That would bring disgrace to all Lorelei.”

Their hands stroked the young man’s pale cheek.

Their fingers combed through his silver hair swaying in the sea.

Their lips wove a song that echoed through the silent sea.

——”If your path is shadowed, my song will split the clouds.”

——”If your path crumbles apart, my song will make the bridge.”

——”If your path sinks into water, my song will become your ship.”

A large bubble enveloped the young man’s body.

This protected him from the dark mana and water dragons, as well as providing a tiny bit of air.

——”May glory await at the end of that path. Glory upon you…”

Within the bubble, the young man slowly floated to the surface.

Meanwhile, a shadowy figure appeared underneath him. Once it grew closer, it could be seen as the silhouette of a winged creature ridden by a young woman. For some reason, the woman seemed completely fine despite being submerged in mana contaminated water.

She held the reins with one hand and reached the other to the young man.

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