Episode 157: The Conquest Begins

"So... barging in is all well and good, but we're not going to be underwater the second we step through, right?"

I steered the ship toward the pale blue temple rising out of the waves. At Shiki’s words, we all exchanged looks. Nobody seemed particularly eager to open the door and test the theory.

But we couldn't just sit outside forever. After a moment of hesitation, I took the lead. I braced myself and pushed the doors open, only to be met with the sight of a vast, open sea.

"Whoa... Of course. Fantasy logic at its finest."

Scattered islands, sunken rocks, and the ruins of crumbled temples stretched out as far as the eye could see. It was a flawless maritime world, a vista that had no business existing in the modern era. Unlike the [Great Sea of Stars] where we fought Perseus, this divine realm—centered on Leviathan—was saturated with a mana so thick it made the presence of Mythologia feel like it was pressing against my skin.

"Do we have to keep using the ship in here?" Shiki asked.

"That’d be a pain," I muttered.

"I’d prefer to be spared another experience like the last one, degozaru," Tsubaki added.

Once I was safely inside, Shiki led Ayane and Tsubaki through the threshold. Bringing the ship into the temple was a non-starter. I supposed I could have summoned a vessel from my Soul World, but as Tsubaki pointed out, getting jumped by another Kraken or Charybdis sounded like a miserable way to spend the afternoon. I stood there, weighing our options.

"Wait, there’s something wrong with the water."

I tried to scan the area for monsters using my usual [Mana Sensing], only to find that the seawater itself was giving off a mana reaction. It was a phenomenon I’d never encountered before. Driven by a weird hunch, I tentatively lowered my foot toward the surface. My boot didn't sink; it held firm.

"Looks like we can walk on it," I said, testing my weight.

"Really? ...Huh, you’re right!"

"No way... wait, seriously?"

I walked a few paces across the waves to prove the point. Kaiser’s eyes sparkled as he hopped over to join me, his mood instantly shifting to excitement. Shiki looked skeptical until he tried it himself, at which point he just sighed.

"Movement shouldn't be an issue, then... though even in Mythologia, walking on the sea wasn't exactly standard," Shiki noted.

Islands of various sizes dotted the horizon, and far in the distance sat the temple I’d spotted earlier. This world was so vast it felt impossible to explore every corner. Finding Levi-san was going to take a hell of a lot of time. To make matters worse, [Mana Sensing] was effectively useless here, likely due to the properties of the water itself.

We weren't going to starve, but I wasn't exactly keen on the idea of camping out in a dungeon. We needed to move fast.

"Master, heads up. They’re coming."

As soon as the last of us stepped inside, the gate slammed shut. The temple that had served as the entrance vanished. In that same heartbeat, a crushing wave of hostility washed over us. The screeching of birds and a hauntingly beautiful, alien melody began to echo from every direction.

"Tch, that didn't take long. Shiki, I’ll handle status ailments! You handle the buffs!"

"Got it... I'll start with durability to see how they play it."

I immediately applied [Sleep Resistance] to the group to counter the Lorelei's song. Simultaneously, Shiki cast a series of defensive buffs. It was a smart move—better to see if we could tank the high-attack Harpies before trying to blast our way through. Given what we'd seen of the Harpies on our way to the [Oceanus of the End Sea], this should have been more than enough for Ayane and the others to handle.

"Battle start! Let's just push through!"

I looked up to see a swarm of Harpies blotting out the sky. The Lorelei surrounding us on all sides seemed to realize their lullaby wasn't working and pivoted to magic. Blades of pressurized water came screaming toward us. I drew [Dainsleif] and released a wave of frigid air, freezing the projectiles mid-flight.

Considering the strength of the enemies ahead—and Levi-san waiting at the end—we had to conserve our strength. The plan was to navigate the sea with the absolute minimum expenditure of mana.

We began our trek across the water, cutting down monsters as we aimed for the distant temple. It was the only landmark we had, and more importantly, it was the source of a mana signature so massive that not even this interference-heavy seawater could mask it.

"Tch, something big is coming!"

We were a few hundred meters from the temple when the atmosphere shifted. The Harpies and Lorelei scattered instantly, fleeing as something rose from the depths.

It was a White Whale. A massive, horned beast that possessed an absurd amount of mana. It was less like a living creature and more like a moving island. It launched itself into a charge, a mountain of flesh capable of pulverizing anything in its path, intending to swallow us whole the moment it breached.

"Lumia, can you blow it up!?" I yelled.

"That's a bit much, isn't it? I'd just get eaten," Lumia replied airily.

"Yeah, me too, Reima... even for me, burning that thing to a crisp is a tall order."

I glanced at Ayane and the others. Their expressions confirmed the grim reality: we were in a tight spot. To bisect a monster that size, I’d have to use [Laevateinn] to fire off a high-tier spell, and we simply didn't have the time. We couldn't dodge, and we couldn't stop it.

Well, if we get swallowed, it’s game over. I braced myself for the impact of the sudden attacker. Then, the world exploded.

"Finally! Some real food! [Kamisari-ryu Secret Art: Ittou Senpuu Amatsu]!"

"A temporary truce, then, Great Hero. [Absolute Technique: Absolute Triaina]!"

Two familiar voices rang out. In the blink of an eye, a massive hole was punched through the White Whale and it was shredded into chum, collapsing back into the sea. Two figures emerged from the spray.

"Wait... Reima? What are you kids doing here?"

Standing there was... a significantly rejuvenated Yamato, and a stunning blonde woman with piercing blue eyes. The woman, who gripped a trident in one hand, grinned at the sight of me. Before I could even process Yamato’s presence, she spoke.

"Ooh! You’ve finally arrived, Hero of the Discarded World!"

She lunged forward and hugged me, completely ignoring the audience. She hoisted me up effortlessly and began swinging me around like a ragdoll.

"Kuhaha! Light! You're so light! You need to eat more!"

"Hey... who the hell are you?"

"Hm? Me? My name is Poseidon! One of the Twelve Olympian Gods, the male god of the sea and earthquakes!"

I knew the name, of course. According to Algol, the Greek gods were the kings of being "trash from the waist down," and Poseidon specifically was an "absolute piece of shit."

But the "beauty" standing in front of me was very clearly a woman. Nothing about this matched the legends.

"Uh... really?"

"Indeed! I am Poseidon. And so, O Hero—I have no experience in this body yet, but I would be delighted if you would mate with me!"