076 Complete Clear

A Siren is a sea monster that appears in Greek mythology.

She has the upper body of a human woman and the lower body of a fish.

In the world of Noblesse, her song is her primary weapon. If you're charmed by her voice, your mana flow gets obstructed, or you lose consciousness entirely and die. The "singing voice" mentioned here is essentially the same thing as magic; she mixes a trace amount of mana into the sound waves. It’s an attack known as Sound Magic.

But the most annoying part is that almost every dungeon boss summons underlings—the so-called "trash mobs." Each one of these summons is stronger than your average monster, and they eat up a lot of time to kill. To make matters worse, the Siren herself perches on a massive rock surrounded by deep water. Reaching her is a massive pain in the ass.

Well, for your average adventurer, at least.

"Lala~♪ Lalala~♪"

The Siren noticed our intrusion and began to play her beautiful, melodic tune. When I heard it back in the Original Story, I thought it was a lovely voice, but—damn it, the reality of it was ringing in my skull like a jackhammer!

"Ugh—!"

"Kyah!"

Allen and Carta both winced, their faces twisting in pain.

Behind us, the door slammed shut. While withdrawal magic and escape items exist, we didn't have any on us. It was a simple choice: we kill the Siren, or we die here.

Anyone sane would have turned back at the door. Trying to conquer a boss with a party this small was sheer madness. But we were the proud students of the Noblesse Magic Academy. More importantly, we actually had the skills to back up our confidence.

The Siren summoned her lackeys. Grotesque, muddy humanoids rose from the water, their forms shifting in a sickening, fluid motion.

"Debi!"

"Debibibi!"

I chanted Auto Mode and ordered the destruction of the monsters. Debi’s right arm transformed into a Dark Sword while his left became a Dark Shield. He flapped his tiny wings and soared into the fray. I see. It looks like Debi has evolved a bit, too.

"Carta, this height shouldn't be a problem for you! We’ll buy you time, so aim for the Siren’s main body!"

"Understood!"

"—Allen!"

"I’m on it!"

Carta straddled her broom and rocketed into the air. I’d called out to Allen at the same moment, but he already knew what to do without being told. We would clear out the underlings, and if we found an opening, we’d strike the Siren.

The subjugation was on.

"Lalala~♪ Lala~♪"

In the Original Story, bosses had HP gauges, but I couldn't see anything like that here. I also knew this thing had a "Rage" mechanic. Once she hit thirty percent health, her ferocity would skyrocket.

"Gyogyo!"

"Disgusting freaks!"

I sliced one of the muddy humanoids in half with my Dual Sword. I’d already noticed it with Time Lapse, but these things were water-elemental monsters with regenerative bodies.

Too bad for them. I can destroy the very magic formula that holds them together.

I glanced over at Allen. His Light Sword was glowing with an intense brilliance. To my surprise, the water monsters he struck didn't revive either; they just collapsed into puddles with a wet splash. It was incredibly annoying to admit, but it seemed his weapon possessed an effect similar to my own. Pure light... or perhaps it was closer to Shari’s Spirit Magic?

Well, whatever. That didn't matter right now. The Siren did.

"Debibii—!"

Debi was proving himself quite useful. He seemed to realize that Carta was the key to this fight, so he acted as her bodyguard while tearing through the mobs. When a monster fired Water Magic toward her, Debi intercepted it with his Dark Shield.

"Th-thank you!"

"Debi!"

Up in the air, Carta began kneading an absurd amount of mana before releasing it from her hands. There are no shortcuts to increasing one's mana capacity; it requires nothing but steady, grueling effort. Daily training is the only thing that supports your future self.

Carta clearly hadn't missed a single day. Not since we tagged up, and probably long before that. Hah. Of all the plot points I’ve derailed, preventing your expulsion might be my finest work.

Carta’s massive Mana Cannon hit the Siren directly. The impact was deafening, sounding more like a real artillery piece than a magic spell. The damage was clearly significant. The singing stopped momentarily, and the obstruction to our mana vanished.

"Allen!"

"Yeah!"

Now we could go all out. We used that brief window to instantly slaughter the remaining underlings.

However, to my shock, the Siren began singing again. It was a melody I’d never heard before. The water near the center of the room lifted softly into the air, and she began to heal herself.

Wait, what? I've never seen her do that.

"Carta, she’s got to be burning mana for that! Keep firing! Don't let up!"

Nothing in this world is infinite. We kept up the pressure, but the healing showed no sign of stopping. Blessing of Healing and Impulse of Destruction was a complex formula, and trying to chant it while being bombarded by her voice was nearly impossible.

That meant we needed a total, synchronized offensive from the three of us.

"Allen! We’re going to wipe out the underlings simultaneously, and then the three of us will hit the Siren with everything we’ve got to end her instantly!"

"At the same time?! That’s impossible—"

"Just do it! We can do this!"

More underlings surged out of the water. There was an endless supply of liquid for them to form from. They weren't immortal, but their numbers were limitless.

I think I saw Debi nod from above. What a loyal little guy.

Carta began picking off the mobs with smaller, restrained Mana Cannons. The moment the timing felt right, I roared.

"Now!"

We coordinated our strikes, clearing every single trash mob in the room. For a split second, only the Siren remained.

"Unnatural."

"Unnatural."

Allen and I chanted the spell in perfect unison. It was a little irritating that he could just use Copy to do what I had to master through blood and sweat, but I pushed the thought aside.

The Siren had finally entered her Rage state. She set her sights on Carta in the air and unleashed a blast of Water Magic. The sheer pressure of it was terrifying; it felt like it would punch straight through any standard defense magic.

I was too far away to cut the spell down. Which meant...

"Debibi!"

I know. He’s got it.

Debi poured everything he had into a Dark Defense Magic spell, shielding Carta. The water blast was a continuous torrent, so he kept his hands raised, maintaining the barrier with all his might.

Seriously, should I give this guy the title of "Unsung Hero" or something?

"—Goodbye, Siren."

Those few seconds of protection were all we needed. With Carta’s Mana Cannon and the combined strike from Allen and me, we tore through the Siren.

She let out a final, hideous death rattle before sinking into the depths. I don't know the exact mechanics behind it, but as she died, the water in the chamber dried up, leaving behind a crystal-like Magic Core.

This was the soul of the Siren, the heart of the Water Dungeon.

Well, she was actually pretty tough.

"Weiss-kun!"

Carta floated down from her broom, followed by Debi.

"Debibi, debibi!"

"Yeah, yeah, you did good. Stop rubbing your head on me."

I really didn't know what to do with such an attention-seeker.

"...I'm a little jealous of Debi-kun..."

"Huh? Carta, did you say something?"

"No! It's nothing! Nothing at all!"

Her cheeks were bright red. What was that about? Was she still riding a battle high?

"Thank you, everyone."

Allen gave us a bright, carefree smile. God, this guy is always thanking people.

"It’s an exam. Now, let’s go home."

If I recalled correctly, the dungeon was supposed to disappear automatically once the boss was defeated. In the Original Story, it went like—

A low rumble echoed, and the world was enveloped in white light.

[The Water Dungeon has been Cleared]

Ah, right. It was exactly like that.

---

"...Wait. You cleared the whole dungeon?"

When we got back to the Guild and handed the Magic Core to the examiner, he looked like his brain had short-circuited. Apparently, because we cleared the boss, the entire dungeon had collapsed, which meant everyone else's exams were cut short.

Not that I really cared.

"What? You’re the ones who told us to subjugate the Siren."

"No... I mean... when we said 'Siren,' we meant the small Lesser Sirens that spawn in the middle layers. That’s... that’s common knowledge among adventurers..."

"Lesser Sirens...?"

Now that he mentioned it, I did remember some small, weak things that looked similar. I looked at Allen and Carta; they just shook their heads. They didn't remember them either.

They were probably so weak I didn't even notice them.

"No way... We struggled that much against a Lesser Siren, but they cleared the whole dungeon..."

"Wait, aren't those the winner and runner-up from the tournament?"

"Even that little girl too?!"

The crowd began to buzz. Well, whatever.

"So, did we pass or not?"

"Eh? Oh! Yes! Of course you passed! Ahem! The only ones to clear the Rank Exam this time are Weiss Fancent, Allen, and Carta Wiore!"

The room erupted into cries of agony. Apparently, if you fail the exam, your rank drops, which affects your future missions.

Again, not my problem.

I spotted Lilith and Cynthia nearby; it looked like they were finished, too. They’d been told they passed and came running over when they saw me.

"Weiss-sama!"

"Weiss, how did it go?"

"We passed. You guys?"

"Yes!"

"And... who are you?"

"Wha—?! Are you saying you forgot Nell?!"

A girl with drooping cat ears... Oh, right. She was the one who was making it rain.

"The rain woman."

"Rain woman?! My name is Nell!"

"Whatever."

"Nell-san was incredible," Cynthia said with a smile. "The exam was easy thanks to her."

"Hehehe—Cynthia-san was pretty amazing too—"

What a weirdo.

I looked to the side and saw Allen chatting with Duke and Shari. Carta was talking with Cecil and Olynn.

There are way too many people here.

I felt out of place and tried to make a quiet exit, but Duke started waving his arms like a madman. I had to vanish before I got dragged into something—

"Yo! Weiss! Let’s all go to a party! We should celebrate!"

"Go do some push-ups."

"Oh, I see! You’re coming too, Weiss!"

The guy clearly wasn't listening to a word I said. Does he have muscles for eardrums or something?

Duke then turned his attention to Lilith and Cynthia. I expected them to decline, but they looked surprisingly interested.

"Weiss-sama, since we're already here, let’s go!"

"It might be nice for a change. Don't you think, Weiss?"

"...Fine. I guess it can't be helped."

Teacher Milk did tell me to enjoy myself. It was a massive hassle for me personally, but I suppose I should follow my master’s advice.

"De... Debi..."

Debi was wearing a heartbroken expression. Now that the battle was over, he probably realized his time was up. I’d actually forgotten to unsummon him.

Come to think of it, he usually eats mana, but can he eat actual food?

...Fine. I’ll take him along as an experiment.

"I’ll keep you summoned with a minimum mana link. But don't move around too much."

"De, Debii————!"

"I said stop rubbing your head on me!"