The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 184

184

– Miria, Miria!

The echo of the past resounds eerily in the hollow space. Ah, is this a nightmare?

– I’m about to resurrect the Demon Slayer.

– Don’t touch those kids!

– Please, please don’t kill anyone. I’ll go with you, I’ll go with you.

– You’re not my sister. Got it?

The next moment, Miria jolted upright in bed, breaking free from the nightmare.

‘Again…….’

Cold sweat turned to chills all over her body, and her breathing wouldn’t stop trembling.

‘A nightmare that hasn’t stopped for 11 years…….’

The moonlight of dawn falling on her face through the window felt eerily heavy.

She listlessly gripped the half-broken sword, a memento of her adoptive father who died on that nightmarish day.

In the terrifyingly immense solitude, she felt the realization that she was alone in the metallic scent of the sword.

‘But, but why…….’

Why did it feel like she could still feel the warmth of the baby dragon in her arms?

And why did it seem like she vaguely saw the outline of a boy in a bamboo hat at the edge of the nightmare?

‘But was he that short?’

His hair color seemed a bit different too. No, what’s the point of even thinking about it?

She shook her head to clear away the wandering thoughts.

She wouldn’t be able to see him again until this was over, and it didn’t seem like this would ever end…….

– Awoo!

– What awoo, you like women better?

– Aba-at.

Miria, burying her face in her drawn-up knees, didn’t even realize that a faint smile had formed on her lips.

* * *

[The bound convoy will depart in half an hour, please proceed to the inspection gate with your boarding passes…….]

The voice of a woman, conjured by magic, echoed over the port of .

Most passengers using the linked convoy board the docks the night before the ships form the convoy.

However, there are quite a few who board late in the dawn, taking the city-owned rowboats.

“Confirmed. Come aboard.”

Over fifty ships lined up in a long row, forming a fleet. Chains glowing in turquoise bound the ships together as if they were one.

The rowboat passengers’ boarding gate was the whaling ship’s gate at the rear of the fleet.

On the waterway crowded with rowboats that arrived earlier, Rain briefly looked back.

‘Is this a temporary farewell to the Arkrad continent?’

Family, school, countless connections…….

He would have to go to a world where everything was cut off. Of course, it wasn’t permanently cut off, but didn’t he think the same thing in his past life?

– Going straight to the Adrion continent right now would put your life in danger.

Karen Den’s warning struck his mind like an alarm.

But where he was going now wasn’t the Adrion continent, but the Tersh archipelago, a stopover between the two continents.

Link, Linkland, Zernyx, Slayers, Miria…….

As long as his nemesis Zernyx was involved, and as long as Miria and Link were involved, he had to go no matter where it was.

‘Perhaps yesterday was the last time I could send a letter to my family.’

He had been sending letters every one to two weeks, but now that the Republic was divided, he doubted whether letters sent from the Adrion continent would arrive safely.

“I’ll check your boarding pass.”

A voice was heard from above.

When he held up the boarding pass prepared by Valensidice, magical runes unfolded a string of characters in the air. It was a magic tool.

B3821, B3822.

“Confirmed. Come on up.”

The witch, who was acting as a ticket inspector on the gate, used telekinesis to pull Rain and Aki onto the ship.

The boarding pass Valensidice had booked was for ship number 38, a merchant ship located slightly behind the middle of the fleet.

Walking along the long gangway connecting the ships back and forth, he pushed through the rows of passengers.

“Ooh…….”

Aki’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the beautifully laid water scales shimmering on the sea surface.

As if intoxicated by the atmosphere of the South Sea, Aki stared at the sea while being held in his arms!

Boo-ooooo…….

By the time they reached ship number 38, a trumpet sounded, signaling the imminent departure.

“Look at that, Aki.”

The sight of seabirds flying up in white from the coastal guard posts at that sound was spectacular.

“Dere’s lotsa birdies!”

Something with a warm temperature landed on Aki’s head as she stared blankly at it. It was Pipi.

“Aki, Aki, Aki.”

“Pipi-dat!”

“Long time, long time, long time.”

Pipi hadn’t been able to meet Aki for almost a week because she was guarding Kora’s side.

“You came. I was about to think you left that bird with me and ran away.”

As Aki giggled with Pipi, Valensidice approached Rain.

Valensidice was dressed in attire befitting his disguise as a merchant. Disguised as a liquor merchant, he had shipped the Slime Slayer in a liquor barrel.

No matter how hard the pursuers tried to track which ship Kora was on, they wouldn’t be able to find her.

“Where’s Kora?”

“In the hold.”

Leaving Aki to Valensidice, he went down to the hold.

The hold, filled with cargo, had no sunlight, so lanterns had to be lit even in broad daylight.

In a place where liquor barrels were stacked high, one barrel with a rather special mark was standing alone in front.

Sitting on it, he asked.

“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“If I come out and get caught for illegal boarding, things will get very troublesome. According to your friend.”

“Still, you’d want to be treated like a person.”

“Anyway, I’m so small that I can rest comfortably inside the barrel.”

That was true.

Kora was the smallest adult woman Rain had ever seen.

“And…… it’s been a long time since I’ve slept this comfortably in recent years, so it’s not bad.”

She seemed to be similar to or even smaller than the Ain [a small, nimble race], Frisvia. She was proud that having a small body was good for slime extermination.

But Link was a really huge guy, so how could such a small descendant be born?

Feeling a strange question, he scratched his forehead.

“You know. Do you usually act recklessly?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The brand on your neck…… you could have died because of that. But to suddenly trust the words of a guy you just met and be prepared to die, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Since the opponent was Zernyx, he must have created a situation where she had no choice but to believe him…….

“Well, I’m not stupid enough to trust just anyone. That was just a trigger.”

“A trigger?”

“I’ve seen you guys once before. In , when I was eating with Miria.”

“Ah, that time we passed by…….”

“Yeah, it was me. It had been a really long time. Since I’d seen Miria smile so happily.”

“……?”

“Miria’s distrust of humans has become extremely severe since that incident. Especially towards men. To make such a person smile, isn’t it worth trusting and risking your life for?”

Miria’s smile…….

Come to think of it, she was a sharp-tongued woman when they first met. It felt like they became close quickly thanks to Aki.

“Miria is in danger, you said? I should hear that story soon.”

Just as Kora took a deep breath and was about to say something, it happened.

“Aba, witch, witch-dat!”

Because Aki kept calling, he couldn’t continue the story at all. He lightly tapped the barrel.

“Let’s continue the story later. It’s a five- to seven-day voyage to get there.”

When he went outside, he saw about a dozen witches flying in the sky.

Flying on broomsticks, fluttering red robes as they moved forward. They must be the witches responsible for the safe voyage of this linked convoy.

Aki jumped up and climbed onto his neck, waving her arms wildly at the witches.

“Annyeong-hatdaeyo! Annyeong-hatdaeyo! Annyeong-hatdaeyo!” [Hello! Hello! Hello! (Aki’s pronunciation)]

“Hello, hello, hello.”

The witches smiled and waved back. He said to Valensidice.

“They’re all young.”

“That’s inevitable. Most of the executives died in the Red Mountains.”

“Should we help them?”

“What? Help how? They need time to gain experience to become executives, that’s only natural.”

Ugh, the conversation was cut off by an uncomfortable groan.

The witches landed in the center of the fleet, arranged in two to three rows, on the largest and most sturdy warship of .

It was the ship that would serve as the command center and wheelhouse for this voyage.

[We will be departing soon. Please disembark from the railing for safety as the ship may shake.]

It was truly a novel sight.

As the witches created a huge wind with multiple incantations, the sails of all the ships billowed in the wind.

Other witches seemed to be gently caressing the currents with magic.

‘As dragons disappear, humanity is changing accordingly.’

To be a True Dragon who has to live in such a final era…… The hand stroking Aki’s head felt slightly heavier than usual.

All the ships raised their anchors at once.

The leading ship cut through the waves and began to move forward, and the other ships followed suit, riding the sea breeze.

“Aba, da sea is movin’!”

“It’s not the sea, it’s the ship that’s moving.”

“Nengji, nengji, nengji.” [Wrong, wrong, wrong (Aki’s pronunciation)]

“Da ship is movin’!”

“Jineung, jineung, jineung.” [Right, right, right (Aki’s pronunciation)]

“That’s right, that’s right.”

Aki clung tightly to the railing for a long time, blankly admiring the scenery of the sea.

Passing cliffs and capes.

Fishing boats pulling up their nets.

Dolphins leaping above the water.

Aki’s eyes sparkled, and she shouted greetings to the fishermen and asked for the word to refer to dolphins.

“Ddolgo-rae taste like wat?” [What do dolphins taste like? (Aki’s pronunciation)]

Whether they heard it or it was a coincidence, the pod of dolphins submerged deep into the sea the next moment and never came out again.

“Aki is hungy.”

The meal was fish stew cooked with butter and hard biscuits, but Aki ate it deliciously.

After chattering like that for a long time, she began to yawn around noon when the convoy came out to the open sea.

The sky and the sea were just blue, so it was natural that there was nothing much to see.

“Aba, I’m sleepy-ooh.”

“I’m a little tired too.”

“Pigon, pigon, pigon.” [Tired, tired, tired (Aki’s pronunciation)]

It was rare to get a good night’s sleep during these five days. He had to protect Aki during the day and Kora at night.

“Let’s rest a bit and see you later. I’ll meet Kora then and talk.”

“As you wish. I’ll guard the hold.”

The cabin was a four-person room.

It was as cramped as a two-person room, dark because there was no sunlight, and smelled of alcohol and vomit.

Still, when he lay down on the hammock bed hanging up and down, his body swayed with the rocking of the sea, and a pleasant sleep washed over him.

“Aki, wake me up if you get seasick. Don’t throw up.”

“I won’t get seasick-dat!”

“Okay, come here.”

When he lay sideways on the hammock bed, Aki curled up next to him.

Wrapping Seresia [likely a blanket or cloth] like a blanket, he held Aki tightly so that she wouldn’t fall down.

The Red Dragon, a flame that had taken on flesh…… In that warm temperature and the quiet smell of firewood in winter, his consciousness scattered.

– We’ll have to break through head-on, Link will have to step up here.

– Link, Link, Link.

– Until the Slayers take over our island…….

– Link, Link, Link.

– I’m just doing this for the money. That’s all.

The voices of the past mixed wildly from the bottom of his consciousness.

Link, Linkland, Miria, Kora.

In the meantime, twilight fell over the sea, and the darkness of the new moon blurred the boundary of the horizon.

As the sea was soaked in midnight darkness, the convoy began to shake violently.

[Pirates have appeared, non-combat personnel please go down to the cabins.]

The witches, who were checking the state of the convoy with clairvoyance magic, moved busily.

The witches who controlled the wind used barrier magic instead of wind, and the witches who caressed the currents created fireballs with incantations.

Those fireballs struck the pirate ships that were rushing in silently!

“Kkeuaak!” [Scream]

“Euaaaaa!” [Scream]

The leading two pirate ships were engulfed in flames, brutally illuminating the night sea. The pirates on fire writhed and threw themselves into the sea.

“Hey, you guys use some fire too! Are you just going to get hit by the witches!”

Among the pirates were mages who couldn’t become witches due to gender issues, or wizards who came down from the Empire to live comfortably by being thugs.

Or those who had self-studied.

Anyway, when the abilities ignited by those thugs on the pirate ship were stuck in the barrier, cracks slowly began to form on the surface of the barrier.

“Anticipate ship-to-ship close combat, all soldiers will move to the decks of the right-hand row of ships.”

As the barrier had to be deployed large and long to cover the entire convoy, its durability naturally thinned in inverse proportion.

If they continued to be attacked, one side of the barrier would eventually break.

And since many witches who were skilled in dealing with such situations had died in the Red Mountains, the response was also very inadequate.

“Prepare to fire! Walk, pull, wait, fire!”

The arrows of the lord’s archers easily passed through the barrier and poured onto the pirate ship.

The pirates raised their shields to block them, but small and large screams soared from here and there.

“Reload! Fire!”

And huge stones and arrows soared in succession from the catapults and ballistae deployed on the command ship.

When the stones and arrows hit the surface of the water, splashes rose, and when they hit the pirate ship, the planks were torn apart and the pirates were torn into chunks of meat.

The sinking pirate ships and intact pirate ships became entangled, broken, and smashed.

“Kkeuaaaaa!” [Scream]

“H, h, hot!”

The chaos of that battle was also conveyed to Valensidice, who was leaning against numerous liquor barrels in the hold.

“Ah, headache.”

Kora peeked her head out of the barrel and stroked her swollen head.

Kora had a thick, green hair color like a slime. As if she had dyed it with that dye.

She said that the slime’s mucus kept splashing, and at some point, it became like that.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems like pirates have appeared.”

“Pirates?”

“Is there a problem?”

“This sea is the Slayers’ business territory, and the pirates are aware of that, so they rarely attack the linked convoy…….”

In the first place, even if they did attack, it was impossible for mediocre pirates to break through the witches’ magic…….

Valensidice’s eyes narrowed.

To attack such a linked convoy, two certainties must be the basis.

“That they don’t have to be aware of the Slayers, and that they are confident in defeating the witches.”

The two premises implied only one thing. That the Slayers were involved in this attack.

“Things never go easy from the start.”

Valensidice, who let out a short sigh, pulled out a liquor barrel and opened its lid.

A short sword and dagger for fighting in a confined space, and old light armor, reflected the light of the hold’s lanterns eerily.

“That’s your gear.”

Kora tried to raise her small body but fell sideways with the barrel.

“Augh.”

Her injured body was not yet fully recovered. Valensidice caught her with telekinesis before she fell.

“I have to go help the witches. Prepare to protect yourself in case of an emergency.”

At the same time, one ship rushed forward at a furious speed from the wavering pirate ship formation.

Fireballs rushed in several times to stop it…… but didn’t those fireballs suddenly disappear at the ramming part?

The rain of arrows pouring over it was completely blocked by a giant holding a shield the size of a house.

“Wh, what?”

“What the hell is going on?”

Confused by the incomprehensible strange phenomenon, the archers seemed to have forgotten to even put new arrows on the bowstring.

As if answering that question, the boy standing on the ram of the pirate ship turned a strange sword halfway and gave a courtly greeting.

Beneath the black hair fluttering in the sea breeze, a playful smile formed on aristocratic features carved like a sculpture.

“Dur-Morris, Mage Slayer. Death to all wizards.”

And the giant standing behind him, 3 meters tall, also clashed the huge shields on both wrists with a thud and put his hands together.

“Dur-Mos! Giant Slayer Randoris! Burus to all giants.” [Likely a nonsense phrase in the giants’ language]

It was a bizarre diction mixed with the ancient language and common language of the old giants. The Mage Slayer amplified his voice with magic and said.

“Everyone, rest assured! They’re pirates! Nothing to worry about! We’re just going to find the runaway girl, then kill and take everything! Ahahaha!”

The next moment, the boy’s pupils blazed crimson, and a pure white flower bloomed, unfolding four petals.

That is…… Bell Siders [a type of magic eye]?!

The red-opened vision deciphers the barrier as a sequence of numbers, and finds the parts where the framework is twisted or the joints are weak.

“Yeah, so this is where you’re weak?”

The boy gave a somewhat lewd smile.

And as he smoothly drew the crescent-shaped curved sword, purple thoughts wriggled along its trajectory.

“Weep, Manabane (Magic Power Rupture) [a cursed sword’s name].”

The power of the cursed sword Manabane was manifested.

And at the moment when the ram was about to collide with the barrier, the power that made up the barrier lost its source and scattered into mist. As the framework of power was severed.

“Now, let’s play! I’ll give 30% of today’s loot to the guy who brings me that girl!”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeee!” [Battle cry]

The next moment, the ram slammed into the bottom of the ship, and a roar of wood shattering resounded.

The impact was so strong that a dozen archers on the deck fell into the sea. Some of the remaining ones spat out blood, as if they had bitten their tongues.

The ship tilted precariously…….

While the Giant Slayer grabbed the railing and climbed onto the deck, the ship tilted to the point of sinking.

“It’s, it’s a giant…….”

“Weren’t giants extinct……?”

The lord’s soldiers seemed to have lost even the will to fight, terrified by the giant’s overwhelming presence.

Blood gushed from the necks of the soldiers who were backing away or kneeling blankly. From the blade of the Mage Slayer who instantly weaved through those gaps.

At that time, a dozen blades of wind pressure rushed towards that Mage Slayer.

“Oh?”

The boy sprang up, skillfully dodging the attack that mercilessly smashed the deck.

The owner of that attack, the man who appeared on that mast, was none other than Valensidice.

Erron Ludwig looked up at that Valensidice and licked the blood on the blade seductively.

“That’s a very sexy magic power…… I’m looking forward to it, I wonder how hot that blood will taste!”