Chapter 77: The Battle Beneath the Sea
The enemy spotted by sonar was coming straight at us at 100 kilometers per hour. Tried to confirm with “Thousand-Mile Eye,” but it was too dark—couldn’t see a thing.
“My ‘Hostility Sense’ just reacted! No mistake—it’s definitely a Dragon!!”
Luka, the hunter, shouts. Everyone’s stunned. Dragons weren’t supposed to move through water.
“Should we intercept with torpedoes? Or shut down the engines and hope it passes? Leo, you decide!”
With the enemy closing in, Captain Simon hands the call to Leo.
“Torpedoes won’t work on a Dragon. Shutting down the engines? Who knows if it’ll even notice us… and even if we try to run, it’s 100 kph—we’re only doing 30 knots, like fifty-five kph. Not a chance.”
Leo hesitates—just for a second—then makes up his mind!
“Elias! Use Barrier Art to protect the ship!!”
“Got it!”
“Freyja, prepare to counterattack!”
“Understood!”
Elias unfolds a magic circle in front of his chest. A sudden, overwhelming sensation wraps around the entire submarine. Peering out with “Thousand-Mile Eye,” I see three glowing magic circles floating around the vessel, arranged like shields protecting it.
So this is the Saint Warrior’s skill “Barrier Art”… The next instant—shock ripples through the submarine!!
I check again with “Thousand-Mile Eye”—just barely visible through the light of the magic circles: a massive mouth, clamping down on the hull! Not like a regular Dragon—something evolved for underwater combat. And its size? Easily several times bigger than the sky dragon I saw before.
“Blocked the first strike—but that won’t last long, Leo!!”
“I know, Elias! While you’re holding the line, we’ll go on the offensive. Luka—can you see the enemy with ‘Thousand-Mile Eye’?”
“No good! Too dark to see! I can only guess the general location!!”
Damn it… the fact that we moved under cover of night to avoid the Dragon just backfired… How’s Leo gonna handle this?
“Coming again!”
A soldier monitoring the sonar spoke with rising tension, reporting the current situation.
“Freyja! Stop the enemy’s movement!”
“Got it, I’ll try!!”
Freyja gathered magic into her palm, slowly lifting it upward. Using “Thousand-Mile Eye,” she peered outside—far above, countless lights flickered across the sea’s surface.
At first, I thought they were stars… but no, those lights were falling like thousands of raindrops into the ocean!
“—Stellar Source—‘Radiance Mietia’—!!!”
As Freyja shouted, an overwhelming number of lights pierced through the surroundings!! A few hit the Dragon directly—maybe even damaged it—but without precise positioning, the hits weren’t fatal.
The submarine shuddered violently from the second ramming. Even Elias, holding the line, looked strained. Normally, with the two of them, that kind of Dragon would be easy to take down… but not now.
“Surface! We’re at a huge disadvantage underwater!”
“Can’t do it now! We’ll get attacked if we rise!!”
Leo and the captain argued—tension mounting fast. No choice but to step in myself… I decided, and without a word, left the command center alone.
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Inside the submarine, panic was setting in. The soldiers’ nerves were shot—especially the ones on duty. Leo’s husband was trying to stay calm, but the situation was dire.
Just then—there she went. That… Gojo… stepping out of the room.
I couldn’t help but wonder where she was going in a situation like this, so I decided to follow her. She had that “Spatial Perception” ability too, right? I had to be extra careful not to get caught.
Gojo went into the bathroom. A bathroom? Now? I thought, but then—seconds later—the whole ship shook violently.
Gobbo!! Basha-basha-basha!!
A huge noise came from inside the bathroom! What the hell’s going on?! Then silence... silence... The bathroom door creaked open, and Gojo stepped out...
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I left the command center, lost in thought. I hadn’t planned on fighting underwater... Could I do what Freyja did, using magic from inside a submarine?
I don’t have that kind of finesse. If I messed up, the blast might sink the whole ship. What about summoning? Maybe Giga or Sprigan, if I could call them—but fighting in water? That’d be tough.
So... maybe go with a surefire method... Yeah, that’s it. I thought, and walked into the bathroom.
I opened an entrance to the sub-space and an exit into the ocean. Normally, I’d just connect the two for instant teleportation, but this time I kept them slightly apart.
Since time stops in sub-space, that way, seawater couldn’t get in!
Wait... am I getting smarter? I opened it wider—no water came in at all! I stuck my hand into the ocean.
I can’t pinpoint the dragon’s exact location, but I know it’s coming straight for me! If I freeze that one—this—band—this—strip—of water, I can take it down.
“——Frozen World——!!”
The sea began freezing rapidly, trapping the approaching Dragon—along with everything around it—in a world sealed off by ice!
But the sudden freezing of the seawater caused an explosive expansion, and the resulting surge of water slammed into me! The submarine rocked violently from the pressure of the waves.
"Ah—!"
I was thrown off balance and plunged straight into the sea.
Back in the command center...
"Gojo!? What the hell happened? You're soaked to the bone!"
"Did the sub get pierced or something!? You okay!?"
Wang and Leo worriedly stared at me.
"Nah... I guess I just messed up the toilet's instructions...?"
"Are you kidding? There's no toilet on a submarine!"
Carlo shot me down instantly. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense... If I'd just remembered to fully enter the sub-space, none of this would’ve happened. Guess I still don’t think straight when panic hits.
After that, everyone was distracted by the sudden disappearance of the Dragon—no one could figure out why it vanished, and we ended up crossing into British waters without answers...
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NATO Military Command Center
General Hansen, commander of the command center, received an urgent report early that morning.
"Sir! The surveillance team reports something unbelievable floating in the English Channel!"
"Unbelievable? What in the world—?"
"It's an iceberg."
"What?!"
"A massive iceberg—like those from the Arctic—appeared overnight!"
Confused by the report, Hansen stared at the satellite feed. There it was—undeniably huge. And inside it... a Dragon corpse he’d never seen before.