"Tch! I thought it was safe yesterday, and now this out of nowhere today!"
"Gruu!"
Rei gave a sharp shout from atop Set's back. In response, Set flapped its wings and twisted its body, evading the water balls flying from the sea.
In terms of water balls, Set could use a similar skill himself.
However, the water balls flying from the sea were slightly different from the ones Set used.
The biggest difference was, after all, that those water balls were made not of ordinary water but of seawater.
Also, the size of each individual water ball was not that large, but they made up for it in number.
If Set's water balls were cannon shells, then the seawater balls were shotgun pellets... so to speak.
Of course, that was merely a comparison based on the current situation. In reality, there was a high possibility that beings existed who could use water balls even larger than Set's... true cannon shells.
"Set, get us closer to the sea surface!"
"Grururu!"
Set cried out at Rei's words and descended toward the water, flapping its wings.
But the monster launching the attacks must have noticed Set approaching. It made no attempt to attack further and dove back into the sea.
Rei hurled the disposable spear he held in his hand at the monster, but since he was throwing from atop Set, the throw was inevitably slower than usual.
He twisted his upper body and transmitted that force into his arm to release the spear... but the power that would normally come from his lower body—the most crucial foundation—was absent.
As a result, the power behind the thrown spear was by no means high.
Additionally, the fact that the spear he used was a disposable one rather than the Twilight Spear, his finest weapon, was undoubtedly another reason for the reduced power.
It was a strike made because he did not want to wet the Twilight Spear in seawater, but regardless, the released spear failed to hit the monster that had attacked Rei and his party in midair, merely piercing through the seawater.
"Troublesome."
A monster that used seawater as a defensive barrier would only reveal itself at the surface when attacking, then immediately return to the depths after striking.
Seawater as an absolute defensive measure was nothing but a nuisance for Rei.
(Is it because of the seawater that it attacked Set? ...How annoying.)
No matter how much of a High-Rank Monster Set was, he was undoubtedly a gryphon that flew through the sky.
Given that, it would not be strange for a sea-dwelling monster to judge that it was safe in the water.
Normally, monsters that would recognize Set for what he was and still attack were extremely rare.
That would be something like monsters with low intelligence such as Goblins, or perhaps monsters confident in their own strength.
However, the monster currently attacking Set showed no hesitation or fear whatsoever in its assault, likely because it was in the sea—a location overwhelmingly advantageous to itself.
"Should I strike it when it surfaces, or should I just dive into the sea myself?"
If it were winter right now, the option of diving into the sea would not exist.
But it was currently summer, the perfect season for swimming in the ocean.
Given that, there was no problem with plunging into the sea.
...Strictly speaking, the clothes Rei was wearing and his various other Magic Items would end up soaked in seawater, so it was not truly without consequences.
"Even though there's a hot spring, I'd rather avoid that if possible... ha!"
Confirming a faint shadow visible at the surface, Rei instantly pulled another disposable spear from his Misty Ring and hurled it.
However, perhaps sensing that a spear had been thrown from the air, the monster did not show its face at the surface and instead dove back into the sea once more.
The spear chased after the submerging monster, piercing into the water, but it seemed the monster with the sea as its protective barrier still had the upper hand over Rei's thrown spear.
"Should I just boil the whole surrounding sea along with it?"
Rei considered that for a moment, but doing such a thing would annihilate every other living creature in the area.
If it were for his own consumption, that would be one thing, but killing living things completely pointlessly when they were not even hostile opponents went against Rei's principles.
As a result, Rei abandoned the option of using Flame Magic and once again pulled a spear from his Misty Ring.
"Now then, where will it come from next? ...Set, you stay on guard too."
"Grururu!"
Leave it to me, Set purred.
From Rei's perspective, he would have liked Set to use King's Intimidation to stop the enemy's movements if possible, but that too had a weak effect due to the enemy being in the sea.
It was not completely ineffective, but it still was not as effective as it would be against monsters on the ground or in the sky.
...He had already tried it once, so that much was clear.
"Grurururu!"
Suddenly, Set let out a cry, and at the same time, ten ice arrows materialized and flew toward the sea.
The ice arrows created by the Ice Arrow skill could deal damage to the monster even with the sea as a protective barrier, provided the timing was right.
Of course, the same could be said for the spears Rei threw.
However, while Rei's thrown spear was a single projectile, Ice Arrow consisted of ten arrows.
In that sense, it was undoubtedly more effective than Rei's thrown spear when it came to attacking over as wide an area as possible.
"Oh, did it hit?"
Seeing blood seep into the surface, Rei muttered with admiration.
Of course, judging by the amount of blood drifting on the water, it was certain that the attack had landed but was not a fatal blow.
Still, being able to land a hit on an enemy that had been using the sea as a shield up until now could be called fortunate for Rei.
"Whoa."
Noticing that Set had suddenly tilted its body, Rei balanced himself on its back.
Then, he saw water balls launched from the sea fly through the space where Set's body had been just seconds before.
"It got hurt and got angry? Well, if that's the case, it'll be easier for us to fight, so that's fine."
He muttered, readied his spear, and glared at the water's surface.
Due to the sun making its usual intense presence known, light reflected off the sea, making it difficult to make out the monster's figure.
Squinting against the glare on the surface, Rei held his spear... and eventually confirmed that the water some distance away from Set was bulging upward.
Until just moments ago, he had not been able to pick up on the signs of the monster surfacing so easily, but the reason this was possible now was undoubtedly due to the damage from Set's Ice Arrow earlier.
"Die!"
The spear he threw with that shout flew toward the surface where the monster was about to show its face...
"Gyogyogyouuuuu!"
For the first time since the battle began, the monster's scream echoed through the surroundings.
Its appearance could be described as that of a giant fish.
However, what set it apart from a normal fish was the single long horn growing from its forehead.
Also, while it was not clearly visible to Rei flying in the sky, it appeared that something resembling crab pincers were attached to its torso in place of arms.
"The pincers look packed with meat and delicious. ...Set!"
"Grururu!"
Responding to Rei's words, Set dove straight downward.
The monster must have noticed Set's approach as well; though its face was still pierced by the spear, it hurriedly tried to dive back into the sea.
But... by the time it tried to submerge, Set had already seized the monster's body in its forelegs.
"Gyogagyogyagaya!"
The monster desperately writhed, trying to escape from Set's grasp, but this monster was only strong in the sea.
And even then, its strength came solely from its mastery of the sea as a protective barrier.
Once caught by Set's legs, it was already helpless in that situation.
Though it desperately twisted its body, that action only caused Set's grip to tighten further, and ultimately the monster could not even move.
(Water Ball... no, should I call it Salt Water Ball? Why didn't it use that in this situation? Given that it can't move its pincers and biting would also be difficult, its only means of attack should be Salt Water Ball. And yet... no, is it because there's no seawater? In Set's case, he can use Water Ball even without water around, but this monster can't use Salt Water Ball without seawater nearby. That possibility exists.)
Even while Rei was thinking this, Set flapped its wings and headed toward the rocky coast that served as their base camp.
There, just like yesterday, Elena and the others were fishing.
The difference was that there were several corpses that appeared to be monsters.
(Was I not the only one? Did Elena and the others get attacked by monsters too?)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei noticed that the people over there must have spotted him and Set as well. They waved their hands broadly, and Marina, Vihera, and Bistol were waiting for them.
Since the monster still caught in Set's grip was alive, they did not move directly beside Marina and the others, and instead dropped the monster in a spot slightly set apart.
As a creature that dwelled in the sea, once brought onto land, it was helpless and could do nothing but thrash about.
Rei thought that it might be able to crawl using its crab pincers, but the monster showed no sign of doing such a thing.
Then, as Set landed on the ground and Rei dismounted... Rei pulled a spear from his Misty Ring—not a disposable spear, but the Twilight Spear—and approached the monster.
Set also approached the monster while staying ready to react immediately should it make any sudden movements.
Naturally, doing so brought Elena and the others, who had been fishing at a distance, over to Rei's side as well.
"Gyogya!"
Perhaps seeing Elena and the others, it judged them to be reinforcements for Rei.
The monster concluded that it would definitely be killed at this rate, and with the last of its strength, it slammed its body against the ground and closed the distance with Rei in one burst... but the next moment, with the momentum of its lunge, its body was slammed back down onto the ground.
"Whoa, that's dangerous. I didn't know it still had that much strength left. ...Thanks, Set."
"Gruu."
Still in the stance to pierce the lunging monster, Rei expressed his gratitude to Set... to the Set that had slammed the monster down with its foreleg.
Set purred happily in response to Rei.
"Hey, are you okay?! ...Just kidding, I'm not actually going to ask that. Knowing you and Set, I don't think something like that would be enough to take you down."
Vihera, who had been watching the exchange, said that to Rei and Set with a slightly exasperated expression.
To Vihera, Rei raised his hand in response while flashing a smile indicating he was fine.
"So then... what kind of monster is this? I'm asking just in case, but it's not actually a fish or anything like that, right?"
"No, wouldn't it be strange for a fish to have pincers? Besides, it attacked using a skill, and Set has also judged it to be a monster, so I'm pretty sure it's a monster."
"Gruu!"
At Rei's words, Set purred as if asking for praise.
It had been identified as a monster because it used a skill, but if it had not used one, Rei probably would not have recognized it as a monster until seeing its appearance up close.
Having large pincers was clearly abnormal, but to recognize that, one needed to see the monster reveal itself at the surface.
Given that it lived in the sea, whether one could properly identify the pincers as pincers from seeing it in the water...
(No, pincers would be recognizable. Normal fish definitely don't have them, and they stand out even from above the sea.)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei once again considered what kind of monster this was.
A single long horn grew from its forehead like a Unicorn's, and it had a pair of pincers on its torso.
Those pincers, no matter how you looked at them, could only be seen as a crab's.
Rei tried to recall the contents of the Monster Encyclopedia he possessed, but he had no memory of this monster.
Of course, Rei understood that the Monster Encyclopedia did not contain every monster in the world.
If so, it would not be strange for this to be a completely unknown monster.
Just as Rei was thinking that...
"Oh my. Isn't this a Guzutos? You've brought back quite a rare monster."
From Bistol's mouth, the monster's name was revealed.