Chapter 158: Unleash!
As Rio and I floated into the air from the ship, we began to gather our Magic Power to unleash our spells. First, I focused on a straightforward application of Earth Magic, pouring in as much Magic Power as I could muster. Rio, too, conjured a massive chunk of rock above her head with her magic.
“Huh!?”
“What in the world is that size!?”
“It’s enormous…!”
The gazes from Rex and the others pierced through us, but I ignored them completely. I could faintly hear some shouts in the background, but I continued to pretend I didn’t.
Once the rock reached about ten meters in diameter, I launched it. I didn’t forget to add extra Magic Power during the launch to increase its speed. Following suit, an even larger boulder shot forth from Rio’s direction. The massive object moved through the air, causing ripples on the ocean surface as it dropped fragments of rock into the water.
“Hmm… It feels like the bullet isn’t withstanding the energy at launch.”
Upon impact with the turtle, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the cracks already present in its shell had widened slightly.
“We need to compress the bullet and increase its hardness.”
“Right. Let’s give it a try.”
With no need for stealth, we boldly repeated our experiments. We compressed chunks of rock of similar mass down to the size of a balance ball. If we were going to do this, we might as well shape them like bullets.
“Alright, launch!”
The bullet shot toward the turtle with a higher-pitched sound than before.
“Impact!”
“Oh, the bullet is embedded in its shell!”
“Wow, that’s great! Let’s try various shapes.”
“Right. Should the tip be pointed?”
“Not just the tip; we should consider thickness too. And what was it called? Rifling? Adding spin to the bullet, perhaps?”
“Oh, so that exists?”
We continued our experiments, adding whatever little knowledge we had about firearms. We tried thick bullets, thin bullets, and flat ones, but it seemed that a flat-headed bullet would be best for breaking through the turtle’s shell.
“If the bullet could pierce and then explode, it would definitely increase the power.”
I infused Fire Magic into the explosive bullet, but it didn’t yield the results I had hoped for.
“Hmm. Instead of an explosion, it would be better if we could transmit a shockwave…”
It seemed like it would be more effective to create vibrations rather than a blast. And then there was the issue of launch speed.
“If only we could have a barrel like Linford’s…”
“That’s not something we can easily replicate here.”
I had a feeling that it would take a fair amount of practice to perfect this. I wanted to master it before the turtle landed, but for now, I would focus on what I could do—improving the bullets rather than the launch platform.
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, I noticed that the only explosion sounds I could hear were from when we launched our spells. Glancing over at the two ships, I saw Rex slumped over, while the others were either resting or putting away their staffs.
“Are we wrapping up the operation soon?”
I approached Linford to ask, and he returned a wry smile.
“Ah, yes. Once we’ve fired enough attacks to leave us with just enough Magic Power to return to the harbor, this operation will be over. You two… still seem to have plenty of energy left.”
Had that much time passed? I certainly felt like I still had some energy left, but I wondered what to do next. Continuing the experiments while being watched didn’t feel right.
“I’ll finish it with the next shot.”
“Agreed. I’m starting to feel tired anyway.”
I decided to pour in a bit more Magic Power for the final shot.
“Alright. Go ahead and make it flashy.”
Checking my status, I saw that I still had about 15,000 MP remaining. As for Rio, she had around 80,000 left. I wasn’t sure how reliable these numbers were, but I would use them wisely.
I distanced myself slightly from the ship and began to gather my Magic Power again. As I poured in more than before, I felt the air around me vibrating intensely. No, it wasn’t just my imagination. The pressure from Rio was immense. The ocean surface was also creating unusual waves.
I conjured a super-compressed chunk of rock above me and gradually added rotation to it. Rio was doing the same, but it felt like she was spinning hers faster than mine. We timed our launches to hit simultaneously, with me firing just a fraction of a second before her. I couldn’t match her speed or rotation with my lesser Magic Power.
As the Earth Magic bullet sliced through the ocean, it struck the shell of the Sea Emperor Turtle, sending a shockwave through the air unlike anything we had experienced before.
“Did we do it!?”
I heard a voice from somewhere, but I didn’t believe for a second that we had defeated it, so they could think whatever they wanted. Even after appraising the Sea Emperor Turtle, its HP hadn’t decreased at all.
But then, in that moment…
A sharp, tingling sensation surged through my mind, accompanied by a wave of anxiety. It was a feeling I had never experienced before, but I knew something dangerous was about to happen.
“Rio! Watch out!”
Where was it coming from!? The only threat I could think of was the Sea Emperor Turtle right in front of us, but there were no signs of anything unusual happening on its back.
“—!?”
It was coming from below us! I looked down to see the water bubbling ominously.
“Below us! Dodge!”
As I shouted, I accelerated away from the spot. Something surged up from the depths, passing through the very place we had just occupied. In my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of another flash of light that seemed to engulf the space where Rio had been standing.