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Chapter 18

Edgar, still pouring all his magic into speeding up the ship, stared at them blankly. Witnessing such formidable magic and the overwhelming physical strength that surpassed it, he seemed half-dazed.

"Keep up the speed!"

"Y-yes!"

Snapped back to his senses by Sasha's sharp shout, he quickly resumed his work.

"It's coming back."

As Adrian said, a heavy movement sounded from beneath the sea.

The two mercenaries who had arrived with him tensed their legs, timing their move. The deck cracked slightly under the force of their stance.

Crack—!

The creature, having lost one claw, rammed its body against the stern in fury—just before impact.

The mercenaries leapt and kicked its underbelly. The shell shattered with a crunch. Though thinner than its back, it was still as thick as a large barrel.

Skreeee!

Now blinded by rage, the crab-like creature swung its remaining claw. If this continued, the ship would be capsized by the surging waves before it broke apart.

Veteran sailors followed protocol, staying inside and gripping fixed pillars, bodies low and calm. Those facing this for the first time—new recruits—were trembling or whimpering.

And at the bow, Mage Edgar, watching everything in real time, was on the verge of losing his mind.

With the enraged giant crustacean before him, it was hard to keep his wits—unsurprisingly, Ferry 13's speed was plummeting.

When Sasha turned to look at Edgar, the young mage's face was already pale. The only saving grace was that he still had the instinct to hold onto the ropes.

Assessing the situation, Sasha chanted a quick, concise spell. The ship regained its momentum and surged forward at a fierce pace.

"Hey, you! Duck!"

Edgar barely understood the command and desperately hugged the mast, lowering his body.

The ship heaved violently, and a massive wave crashed over the deck, threatening to swallow everything.

"Pwooh!"

Edgar, soaked to the bone, opened his dazed eyes.

Behind him, a chaotic battle raged between the fierce monster and the mercenaries breaking it apart piece by piece.

'I'm going to die.'

"You won't die. Watch closely."

As if reading his mind, Sasha's words made Edgar blink again.

Every time the mercenaries stepped, the deck dented. The more they struck, the more the monster's fury waned.

Adrian's attack power, of course, was unmatched. Every blow landed precisely on target—not a single strike wasted. Now the creature was battered on all sides, yet its remaining stone-like claw persistently gouged at the ship's underside.

Amid the violent shaking and swaying crew, Sasha quickly chanted another spell. One of the creature's smaller legs burst off in an instant.

Skreeee—! Skraa!

Its agonized cry sent massive ripples across the surface.

Edgar's eyes bulged as he stared at Sasha.

'He's increasing the ship's speed and attacking at the same time?'

Was that… possible?

He watched Sasha intently.

The mercenaries from Camus already possessed physical prowess and talent beyond human limits. With added speed and perfectly timed attacks coordinated by Sasha, their destructive power was beyond imagination.

Just as he stared, unable to look away, the creature thrust its head under the bow.

"Stop!"

At Adrian's command, everyone tensed and eased slightly.

Something was off. The aggressive attacks had ceased, reduced to defensive maneuvers—but it kept stubbornly gouging the ship's underside. As if it had a reason.

Sure enough, the ship didn't capsize or suffer further violent rocking. After a moment, the creature slowly surfaced, its massive form emerging from the water.

"……?"

Adrian frowned and looked closely.

It was cradling a small one—clearly its juvenile. The young one's shell, still soft, bore not a single scratch.

"Why is a juvenile here…?"

Sasha and the mercenaries all frowned in puzzlement. A territorial monster venturing into another domain—especially a juvenile surfacing—only happened after death.

"It's fleeing. Don't attack."

"Yes!"

As Adrian said, the creature warily retreated backward, slinking away.

Bubble, bubble. It slowly sank beneath the surface and disappeared entirely.

The aftermath of the fierce battle was calm. But Adrian's mind churned more than ever.

Reports of juveniles—who should rarely appear—had come in several times now. Were they all coincidences? Was something changing? Was that why the monster had risked its life to enter another territory?

The rocking ship slowly found its course. Adrian swallowed a sigh.

'Nothing will change.'

Whatever the creature's circumstances, he couldn't let his ship and crew be lost.

Gradually, the sailors emerged from within, now that the sea was calm. The captain saluted Adrian with perfect form.

At the same time, applause and cheers of gratitude erupted from all around. Some had tears in their eyes.

Adrian nodded briefly to them and walked to one side. Through the gathered crowd, he approached the young mage, still crouched, soaking wet, clutching the mast.

"Good work."

Edgar Wilson just blinked. He'd only been clinging to the bow, trembling. He looked utterly confused.

"Your quick judgment signaled us, and that's how we arrived here in time. In the meantime, you did as trained and pushed the ship to maximum speed."

"…I, I just…"

Edgar felt his stomach churn, just like when he'd first gotten seasick. Heat rose to his face, especially around his eyes.

The captain and the mercenaries and that amazing mage Sasha had taken down the monster. Edgar wanted to say that, but somehow the brave words of deflecting credit wouldn't come out.

"I—I don't really remember what I did… I was so sc-scared… I really thought I'd die…"

"Being that scared and still following protocol is impressive enough!"

The captain came over to the stammering Edgar, helped him up, and announced to everyone.

"Here he is—the hero who saved our lives! Everyone, applause!"

Whoooa!

Cheers and applause broke out, as if for a cherished child.

Something that had been held back broke, and tears fell down Edgar's face. As if that were the start, he buried his face in his sleeve, trying to hold them back.

"Look at him—so scared he can't stop crying!"

"The hero's too cute to handle!"

As everyone teased the young mage, Edgar sobbed and shouted,

"I really thought I was going to die!"

The fresh-faced, newly adult mage collapsed to the floor like a child and burst into tears.

It was his first time crying since he was six years old.

---

"Hah."

Rolling his stiff neck, Adrian set down his thin leather gloves.

All the fierceness and monstrous strength from earlier seemed like a lie. His face was hollow, as if he hadn't slept in three days.

"I can't keep doing this."

He desperately needed to wash off the unpleasant seawater and rest.

He peeled off his waterlogged shirt, tossing it to the floor one piece at a time, and opened the bathroom door. A thick cloud of steam, so dense it blocked his view, hit his face.

"……!"

His heart pounded instinctively, and he caught his breath.

The sudden surge of energy in an unexpected place sent pain through his entire body. He clutched his chest and clenched his jaw.

It was only steam. He knew that—yet his body reacted as it always did. Perhaps it was inevitable.

He barely suppressed his agitation and slammed the bathroom door shut in irritation. Then he roughly threw on the robe left beside it.

"Derrick!"

"Yes!"

The butler Derrick, waiting outside, hurried into the room.

"……!"

Seeing Adrian clutching his head in front of the bathroom, Derrick's heart sank. Hot steam was billowing out through the door.

Derrick quickly stepped forward, flung the bathroom door wide open, then threw open every window in the room. He hurried inside.

'Damn it!'

Scalding hot water was overflowing from the bath. The maid in charge must have made a mistake. He shut off the faucet, opened the floor drain, and let all the water out.

Not satisfied, he waved his arms to disperse the thick steam. Once things were somewhat under control, he bowed his head before Adrian.

"I apologize. The new maid seems to have made a mistake."

"Fire her."

"Yes, understood."

Derrick swallowed dryly. Expecting a reprimand, he kept his head low. Cold sweat ran down his back.

But Adrian, as if too exhausted even to scold him, turned and entered the bathroom, closing the door.

Derrick straightened up and wiped his face.

'Steam thick enough to block one's vision…'

He shook his head involuntarily.

What Adrian—who had survived hundreds of battles at sea—despised enough to make his teeth chatter was fog. Dense sea fog. It was the phenomenon that appeared when deep-sea monsters rose to the surface.

Visibility was naturally poor, and one had to remain alert, ready to spring in any direction.

That was why the most critical moments were the early stages of battle, when visibility was dim.

And steam resembled that all too closely.

Even knowing it wasn't sea fog, his body instinctively tensed, conditioned as if etched into his mind.

And for the monstrous warriors, including Adrian, the physical toll of such reactions was immense—something Derrick, who had served them long, knew well.

The firing was irreversible.

---

The remaining steam escaped through the vents.

Water, cooled to a suitable temperature, trickled down from Adrian's head to his neck and chest, dripping to the floor. White vapor rose from his thick, scarred body.

He shook out his tense hands. A deep sigh escaped.

'That's three times now…'

Today marked the third time a monster had appeared on a route they'd cleared. And in each case, reports mentioned smaller ones. From today's incident, it seemed as if it had come looking for its young—but nothing was certain yet.

Yulcan's routes were devoid of monsters, but they weren't empty. What could be more threatening than Yulcan, which had killed the adult deep-sea monsters?

This was unmistakably Adrian's territory—Yulcan's territory. So what had driven those creatures to risk their lives crossing boundaries?

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