The Guimerin King’s Flagship was definitely not a ship built with destruction in mind. From the start, it was a vessel that emphasized the functions of a city or fortress rather than those of a ship. The moment the flagship was half-destroyed, most of its functions were lost.
Yet, the massive hull didn’t just disappear. It was slowly sinking, but the ship was still floating on the ocean.
Fernandez, suppressing his churning stomach, ran through the darkened interior of the ship. It was tilted and twisted, but the basics of a Dark Mage’s training included navigating labyrinths! A little confusion in information was no problem.
Fernandez adjusted the map he had drawn in his mind in real-time as he broke through the ship’s interior. Fortunately, thanks to Abelesas rampaging on the deck, there were no special enemies to deal with…
-Kyaoooo!!!
“…Sigh.”
Fernandez stopped abruptly, glaring at the monster with glowing red eyes before him. Among the vampire clans, those who couldn’t endure the distortion of their souls over long years often turned into such creatures.
Beings ruled solely by primal instincts and a thirst for blood. It was a completely different condition from the Red Hunger.
If the Red Hunger was simply the withdrawal symptoms from abstaining from bloodsucking, then this distortion was a product of time and experience alone.
A Damned One vampire. A nightmare-like existence that combined the strengths of vampires and ogres.
-Slurp.
Fernandez drew a nearly shattered full Saintmetal longsword from his sword belt. One more swing? Two? Either way, this sword’s lifespan wasn’t going to be long.
The unique silver flash of Saintmetal caught the monster’s attention. It frowned and turned its body toward Fernandez. Its yellow teeth gleamed. Sticky drool dripped from its jaw.
-Kyahhhhh!!!
The monster flew. Literally, in the half-twisted ship corridor, it kicked off the ceiling and walls in three dimensions, charging at Fernandez. The grotesque claws on its massive hands seemed to move in slow motion.
-Thud, thud, thud.
Facing the demon, the divinity dormant in his veins began to burn once more. His heart pulsed violently, sending divinity-infused blood to power his muscles.
Temporarily, the fatigue and accumulated damage in his body vanished. The fact that he had fought intensely for two nights straight wasn’t enough to diminish Diemonica’s output.
-Swish.
Thus, half a breath to dodge the vampire’s claws descending from above. Another half-breath to twist the blade and slash the vampire’s stomach. A full breath and a half to twist his body and sever the falling vampire’s neck.
-Chop.
Before three breaths were complete, the vampire’s body shattered and rolled across the floor.
-Clang!
And finally, the full Saintmetal greatsword was destroyed. It had been on the edge from the start. The first encounter was with a high-ranking vampire, and there had been no time to maintain it after cutting through ghouls and vampires. In the end, he had even forcefully driven it into a dragon’s skull.
“Phew…”
Fernandez sighed, fiddling with the sword hilt. He was going to get scolded again when he returned.
-Should I head to the audience chamber?
‘No, to the sanctuary.’
The Elfin Serpent King’s flagship always had a sanctuary. According to memories from his past life, that was the case. Fernandez pressed his tired eyes and traced his memories.
‘Catching one and interrogating them would be the best, but…’
Most of the ship’s structure he had seen with his own eyes was limited to the exterior. The path from the audience chamber to the lodgings, and from the lodgings to the deck.
‘No time. It seems Franzrit has started their offensive.’
-Clang!
-Kyaaaah!
-Form ranks… Uwaaah!!
In the distance, screams and roars could be heard. Were they taking advantage of the King’s Flagship being destroyed?
-In my past life, things must have gone smoothly.
‘Right. Abelesas and Guimerin killed each other, and Franzrit took Infermur. But how? It means King Guimerin revived the dragon without any preparation.’
There was no way King Guimerin would have prepared such a sloppy plan. Whatever the reason, there must have been something worth risking the revival of the dragon. Fernandez scratched his head and headed down the stairs to the lower deck.
The ship’s interior was like a complex maze. But one of the basics of a Dark Mage’s training was maze navigation, and he even had arcane vision.
-Kiiing!
With a simple gesture, an azure light burst from his arcane vision. For a moment, his vision was confused, but soon he could directly ‘see’ the torrent of magical energy flowing through this corridor.
Though most of the Guimerin King’s Flagship’s functions were lost, something massive was being prepared far below, beneath the waterline.
*
In the dark corridor where all light sources had vanished, Fernandez relied on Diemonica’s sharp senses and his arcane vision to walk.
Gradually, the flow of magical energy grew thicker. He hadn’t noticed it while on the deck.
If King Guimerin had used a spell prepared with this much magical energy beforehand, even the grasp of the Five Thrones wouldn’t have been able to destroy this ship in one go.
-Khuhuhu, feeling a bit of regret now?
‘…It’s definitely a shame.’
His stomach churned, and thick blood repeatedly rose up his throat. The grasp of the Five Thrones was one of the most intuitively destructive spells he had created in his later years.
Even if it were a god from the Temple of the Gods, in the material world, there was no escaping its destruction.
