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Natalia and Fan Yen are trying to disrupt the Fluttering Cows that are flying straight toward the Beluga, but there’s no magicians amongst the crew of the Beluga, and Akane’s earth magic and Erika’s acid don’t have enough reach. So the only ones who can do anything here are me, Clarissa, and Marize.

“Ignis Drake!” I shoot out a roaring dragon of flames toward the Fluttering Cows, setting them ablaze.

They’re too far away for initial spells to reach them, but I can use my mana pool to brute force medium level ones to get there.

“Thunderspark Chain!”

And surprisingly enough, Marize is using more simple magic. It doesn’t look like the regular Thunderspark I’m used to, since it looks like multiple of them connected with each other to increase their reach and strike the Fluttering Cows.

Marize was always good at rapid firing spells, and that’s an interesting way of applying that skill.

After us, Clarissa uses her Nebula Breath, which deals the finishing blow to the weakened Fluttering Cows.

“Weird…”
“Captain, what do you mean?”

Hearing the captain’s sudden mumble, Marize asks what he meant.

“I know that Fluttering Cows are very territorial monsters, but we should be really far away from their turf. I’ve sailed through here many times in the past, but this is the first time I’m seeing them. Also, I don’t really get the feeling that those Fluttering Cows are trying to attack intruders.”
“Ah, I was thinking that too, actually. Somehow they feel more scared than angry.”

I actually thought the same as the captain.

The Fluttering Cows don’t seem to be trying to fly through the Beluga because we intruded their territory, it’s more like they’re trying to get away from wherever they came from.

“Even if we don’t know the reason, they’re still a danger to us, so we need to fend them off!” Marize’s shout makes everyone focus again, and we continue our maritime fight.

Fan Yen and I do our best to stop the Fluttering Cows, but they’re too massive and numerous to really slow down. Olivia’s magic is dealing a lot of damage to them too, but things are looking grim.

“Natalia, I don’t like how this looks!” Fan Yen’s flustered voice reaches me while she’s fighting numerous Fluttering Cows.

I’m not surprised by it, as I also see the problem. The biggest Fluttering Cow is heading straight for the Beluga. It’s probably going to crash directly into it, which would be disastrous considering their enormous bodies make them natural battering rams.

“I’ll deal with it!”

I speed up to catch up with the largest Fluttering Cow, and fire at it recklessly, emptying my magazines. That had little effects on the smaller Fluttering Cows, so the bigger one is completely unconcerned about it.

“Tsk.”

I click my tongue as I put away my magic guns into my magic storage, then fly up to the monster’s head. There, I shoot out my arms and wrap my nerve threads as best as I can around the monster’s neck, and then turn up the power of Celaeno to the maximum.

“Damn youuuuu!”

My black wings flutter rapidly and blue mana dust gets scattered everywhere, but all I accomplish is to lightly raise the monster’s head, and there’s no change to its flight path.

We’re close enough to the ship for those on the deck to help, but the rocks Akane slings here, Erika’s acid, and the crew’s harpoons have little effect. Just when I thought everything was lost, Olivia and Marize jump out from the deck.

“ “Hyaaaaahhhhhh!” ”

They shout loudly as they simultaneously kick the large Fluttering Cow, pushing it back.

I immediately let go and reel in my arms while I try to regain my balance in mid-air. Olivia and Marize are pulled back to the ship by Akane’s Steel Silk and Erika’s tendrils.

The Fluttering Cow survived their kick though, so we can’t let our guard down yet. And then, that thing appeared.

“What’s…that…”

There’s no one nearby who can answer that.

Me, Marize, the captain and crew, Clarissa and the others, and even Natalia and Fan Yen who are flying out there, all stop moving and look up in shock.

At first sight, it looked like a gigantic snake, covered in something slimy and glossy. It’s thicker than my fully spread arms, and it extends out of the clouds overhead, wrapping around the Fluttering Cow.

When I look around, I notice that it’s not just one, but many more are stretching out, catching the other Fluttering Cows and even pulling out those that fell into the water.

For a moment, I think that it’s trying to save them, but I’m quickly proven wrong. The snake things carry the Fluttering Cows into the clouds, which is shortly followed by a blood curdling sound of bones breaking, and then a red shower falls down from the cloud.

Whatever is inside the clouds just ate the Fluttering Cows.

“Is that…an octopus?” One of the sailors mumbles that.

Oh yeah, they’re not snakes. They’re the leg thingies of those octopuses Natalia and Ruri caught in the Magic Academy before.

The large Fluttering Cow squeals loudly as it too is lifted up, trying its best to wriggle itself free. But the octopus won’t let that happen, grasping the monster more firmly while letting out a faint light.

A moment later, there’s a sudden bolt of lightning that blinds my eyes, and when I recover, the Fluttering Cow is already gone within the clouds.

“Amazing…”

That bolt of lightning was far stronger than Lightning of Wrath.

Eventually, the octopus eats all of the Fluttering Cows, and then the cloud soars away from the Beluga. I guess it doesn’t have any intention to eat us.

“Whewww… I never thought we’d run into Lord Nyuudou…”
“Is that the name of that huge monster?”

I ask that of the sailors, who all look at the cloud while joining their hands in prayer.

“Mm? Ah, yeah. I was born in Reibana, you see, and we knew him as the God of Safe Travels back in my hometown and the neighboring villages. You’ve just seen how big and powerful he is, but somehow he never attacks people.”
“I see…”

After that, Natalia and Fan Yen made sure that there were no other threats nearby, and we resumed our voyage. Everyone goes to rest inside the ship, but I stay on the deck for a bit longer, looking in the direction where Lord Nyuudou left, and slowly raise my hand.

Lord Nyuudou is literally a creature above our realm. And his power surpasses anything I ever imagined.

Ever since I was small, I realized that I was stronger than the average person. But seeing something on such a different level really puts things into perspective, and how narrow my worldview has been until now.

I think this is the reason why my parents traveled so much too. And one day, I’ll be on that level as well! I clench my fist with determination, having a new goal to reach.

A few days later, the Beluga finally set ashore at Reibana’s Sashimi Harbor.

Lord Nyuudou
Species Name: Nyuudou Octopus (In Seperion: Atlas Kraken)
The last evolution of an Octo-Spider (known as Hexopus in Seperion).

He creates a cloud to conceal himself and lives above the seas between Seperion and Reibana. His main sources of food are large maritime animals and monsters. He never attacks humans, but it’s unknown whether that’s out of sympathy, or even if he can understand human speech. Some believe humans are simply too small for him to care.

He usually isn’t aggressive unless instigated, and is venerated as a deity in some regions of Reibana. Because of that, the Adventurers’ Guild has designated him as a protected monster under the name Nimbus-King.

There have been other protected monsters mentioned before, the Terra-King Garan and Wolf-King Roa, but this is the first one Natalia and Olivia have seen in person.