Chapter 48: Underwater Caves

I went deeper into the underwater cave with Rina.

Idmon: "So, what are we trying to find here?"

Rina: "It's a new recruit for the rebellion!"

Idmon: "(t)Rebellion? Are you the rebel leader?"

Rina: "Yes. The one and only, Lady Rina."

Idmon: "(t)I see, Uh... Lady Rina? Who are you fighting? I'm sure the job that I'm supposed to do is to fight in your rebellion, right?"

Rina: "You are quite right! We are going to fight the Sea King, Bouze."

Idmon: "(t) Hmm. Okay. Is he the one leading the Sea-Dweller army?"

Rina: "Oh! You're quite knowledgeable about these things. Yes, yes. And we will take him down, and I will take control of the army in his place!"

Idmon: "(t)understand... what?"

The resistance inside the cave is weaker now. I can walk as I walk on land. We're still underwater, but there's something weird about this cave.

It's like I can feel that land creatures could survive inside this cave.

Anyway, so this girl is trying to usurp the throne of the one we're trying to take down? This errand might be worth it, after all.

Rina: "We're nearly there. Prepare for a fight! They said that this person took out a group of Royal Guards that was serving Bouze as a scouting party."

Idmon: "(t) I thought he was a recruit?"

Rina: "He will be! If he refuses, we can always beat him up!"

Idmon: "(t) If you say so..."

What would she have done if I wasn't here and she got refused?

At the end of the vast underwater cave, we found a room. It's a small room with some furniture set up. So, someone was indeed living here.

And in the very corner of a room, someone was cooking sea creatures.

My suspicions were right. The water inside this cave was an illusion. There is some magic blocking the water from coming in here.

Rina: "Whattt!!!!??? It's a fire! UNDERWATER!"

Rina shouted.

Mysterious person: "Woah! Who's there!?"

He looked behind him and saw me.

Mysterious person: "S-skeleton!?"

Idmon: "(t) Yes, I'm a skeleton. How are you?"

Mysterious person: "AHhhhhh!!!!"

He started losing his mind and cowered in the corner of the room.

He was trying to make himself as small as possible.

Mysterious person: "P-p-p-please. Let me go already!!!!"

Idmon: "(t) Huh? What are you talking about?"

Mysterious person: "Ahhhhh!!!!"

Idmon: "Rina, this guy is crazy. Don't you think so?"

Rina: "Indeed, he's crazy! Still, he's a strong guy! Come on! Beat him up and take him with us!"

Idmon: "(t) What? We don't even know if this guy can fight."

Rina: "He can watch this!"

!

Mysterious person: "Stay back!"

He waved the with his bare hands. He covered his arms in magic.

Hmm. I wonder what's so scary about me. I was wearing my strongest armor, which covered my whole body.

My new helm only covered my eyes and upper skull. My jaw was exposed, so anyone could tell that I was a skeleton.

I was also wearing my

Maybe it was, but I don't feel like it was.

Idmon: "(t) Hey. Human. Why are you so afraid of skeletons?"

He's a human who lives underwater. He must be someone powerful.

Mysterious person: "They're in my dreams. Sometimes I would drown in skulls. Numerous bones have pierced me in the past. He just won't let me go!!! AHHHH!!!"

Idmon: "(t) Who won't?"

While we were having this kind of intense conversation, Rina was eating the cooked sea creatures and watching us.

Mysterious person: "It's not my fault, okay! That spell wasn't even mine! I JUST SUPPLIED THE MAGIC POWER!!! REMOVE THE CURSE, PLEASE!!! I BEG YOU!"

Idmon: "(t) Can you give me a name? "I have no idea who you are speaking of, let alone what you have previously accomplished."

Mysterious person: "Don't lie to me, you monster! Skeleton King Arit!"

Woah. This human looks old, but I didn't expect such a blast from the past. I can imagine the Third SK Arit laughing in their room right now.

We don't even look alike. Skeleton King Arit wore a different armor and wielded a sword and shield. He hung it above his throne when I was there.

Idmon: "(t) Calm down, old-timer. I'm not the Skeleton King, Arit. He lived hundreds of years ago, or maybe even thousands."

I don't know when exactly that happened, but the last Skeleton King popped up hundreds of years ago. Maybe the Skeleton Kings changed faster back then?

Mysterious person: "What? It's been that long already. I. I. Yeah."

Idmon: "(t) What happened between you two?"

While I was uncovering some major truths here, Rina was casting a water spell to produce drinking water for herself.

Head Wizard: "We... we... took down the Skeleton King Arit. I was the Head Wizard of our army back then."

He started his story, so I might as well take a seat. Arit wouldn't tell me this anyway.

Head Wizard: "Skeleton King Arit was strong beyond reason. He had a sword that could cut through anything. Shields, magic, magic shields, and even souls themselves."

Huh. It's like a reaper's scythe.

Head Wizard: "He also donned a shield that could reflect any spell or attack made against it. We got desperate; we asked for the gods to help us."

Idmon: "(t) Which god?"

Head Wizard: "The God of Holy Light."

Woah. That god? That's the god that the Paladins serve right now.

Head Wizard: "The god agreed to help us in exchange for a huge amount of mana or magical energies. It required those energies to summon themselves for a short time and destroy the Skeleton King for good."

Oh, a god beat him? I guess humans were easy pickings for the undead in those days.

Head Wizard: "We perform a ritual that offers all of the kingdom's energy to complete. The rest of our army, which did not possess magic power, sacrificed themselves to hold back the Skeleton King Arit."

Idmon: "(t) What did the god use to destroy him?"

Head Wizard: "As the Skeleton King drew close to the Imperial Castle, it came down from the heavens... A huge blast of holy light. We called it the

That guy He didn't tell me he was this vicious.

Head Wizard: "The curse made everyone have terrible nightmares—every day in their lives. The dream was always about death by bones and skulls. I could feel him tormenting us in our dreams. He's still out there."

He is, but I won't say that to him because that would scare him to his death.

Idmon: "Hey, how come you're still alive?"

Head Wizard: "The curse gave us unaging bodies so that we would suffer as long as we lived. Or as long as we slept."

Idmon: "So, you have been awake since then?"

Head Wizard: "Yes. That's the only way that I could survive. I made some spells to help me out, and it worked, but I would get flashes of those nightmares even when I'm not asleep. It's still a lot better than sleeping."

Idmon: "(t) How about this? You work for us, and I'll try to find a way to lift the curse."

I can convince him (Arit). Maybe.

Head Wizard: "What??? You can do that."

Idmon: "(t) I assure you. More terrible curses have spread throughout the land, and yours are small in comparison."

It's a wild guess, but it's not impossible.

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Head Wizard: "Oh, I've been a coward all those years. There was a way to save my people before. Everyone died since they couldn't take it anymore. Their bodies can't age, but they still die from mortal wounds. My spell was too late to save anyone. When I came back, no one was left. Everyone, I'm sorry."

The old man started crying there. I believed he would cry for a long time, so I lay down and tried to meditate. Rina was sleeping anyway.

Hmmm. King Arit, speak to me.

Huh. Can't you force it that way?

The crying stopped, and I gave up trying to communicate with Arit.

Head Wizard: "I'm okay now. I'll serve you."

Idmon: "(t) What is your name, Wizard?"

Ybab: "Ybab is what I remember... I'm not sure if it's my name, but please call me that."

Idmon: "(t) Okay, I am Idmon. Swear an oath to serve me. I won't turn you into an undead, but I need proof of your loyalty."

Ybab: "Yes, I will follow after you."

Idmon: "(t) I swear eternal allegiance to Lord Idmon. From this life to death, this body shall forever serve him."

Ybab: "I, Ybab, swear eternal allegiance to Lord Idmon. From this life to death, this body shall forever serve him."

Idmon: "(t) Good, if you break that oath, I'm sure you know what happens next."

Ybab: "Yes, Lord Idmon."

Idmon: "(t) You don't seem to sustain any harm from my Mantle of Darkness; why is that?"

Ybab: "A spell protects my body.

Idmon: "(t) I see you're a perfect fit then. Rina! Let us go."

Rina: "Hmmm...??? Oh! Yes. Let's go!"

She was just playing around and was not listening to us.

Rina happily led us out of the cave. That sea-dweller girl. How could she recruit this person if I wasn't there!?

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(Lina POV)

Wahi, the mermaid ghost, led me to their hideout.

Wahi: "We're not that far. Our hideout is the room at the end of this cave."

Lina: "Okay."

I didn't think a ghost would create such things as hideouts.

When we reached the room, I was surprised.

Lina: "What..."

There were only like 8 to 10 mermaid ghosts here. The room was large, but it was mostly empty.

Wahi: "Hmm? What is it, Lina?"

Lina: "I didn't think your group was this small."

Wahi: "I told you we were a lot before! It's just that—we lost a lot of sisters on the way here."

Lina: "Don't cry. I'm sorry about what happened. I know how it feels.

Wahi: (sob) O-okay. I promised Big Sister Nanu not to cry anymore. She's the tall mermaid ghost there."

She pointed to someone who was sitting on a rock. Her mind seems to be someplace else. Wahi and I separated for now because she had things to do.

Lina: "Hello, Miss Nanu?"

Nanu: "Hmm? Yes?"

Lina: "Uhmm... I'm not from around here, and I need help to find someone. He's my master, and he fell from our ship."

Nanu: "Oh, I'm sorry about that. Also, sorry for not greeting you. I thought you were one of us."

Lina: "It's alright. So, can you help me out?"

Nanu: "If it's underwater, the sea serpents must have eaten him by now."

Lina: "NO!"

Suddenly, a ghostly aura surrounded Lina. You could hear faint screams coming from her aura. All the ghosts in the room suddenly looked at me.

Nanu: "You don't need to be upset... If he survived, the best way for him to survive is to go inside one of the underwater caves. There are a lot of them. There is one filled with sea serpents, one with an ancient wizard, and many more."

Lina: "I'm sorry... Please help me go to these caves. I want to see my master. Lord Idmon..."

Nanu: "I see. Well, then, there is something we always wanted to do anyway."

Lina: "What is it?"

Nanu: "We will help you find your master if... you help us kill the Sea Serpent Mother who holds most of our sisters."

Lina: "I thought they were gone."

Nanu: "When they get eaten, they stay inside the magical body of the sea serpents, and it takes some time before they become one with the serpent's magical energies."

I thought about this offer. Lord Idmon would not be happy risking my life to save him, especially enlisting the help of others without his advice.

However, I need to do this.

Lina: "Okay, I'll help you out."

Nanu: "Thanks, sister!"

Lina: "Huh?"

Nanu: "Helping us makes you one of us, you know... Welcome to the Mermaid Ghost Sisterhood. I'll think of a better name later. Haha."

Her face looks brighter now. Earlier, they were so depressed that I thought they might be hostile ghosts.

She hugged me while she said this.

Lina: "T-thank you."

I was never part of any group except for Lord Idmon's.

Even there, I'm not sure if I fit in.

I was always alone. Now, I'm kind of happy.

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Nanu told the sisters what was going on.

Wahi: "Really? Are you going to help us? Thank you very much, Big Sis Lina!"

"Hehe, I knew you were one of us the moment you entered this room," said the mermaid ghost.

Mermaid Ghost 2: "Hurray! We can save the others!"

They were pleased.

Lina: "Hey, we haven't saved them yet. Don't be too happy."

Nanu: "Oh, don't be like that, Lina. I felt your magic power long before you came into this room. You're a powerful ghost, right?"

Lina: "Well, I am a Banshee who turned into an Ice Witch... I can pretty much take down groups of sea serpents with one huge spell."

Nanu: "Right?"

Mermaid Ghosts: "Yay!"

It looks like they're counting on me.

Nanu: "It might be too soon, but we need to get going. Our sisters will continue to dissolve into magical energies if we take too long."

Lina: "It's fine now, but... how did you plan to save them if I didn't show up?"

Nanu: "We... would go in anyway... and try our best."

Lina: "I see..."

They must really care about each other.

Wahi: "Lina, Lina!"

Lina: "Yes, Wahi?"

Wahi: "Take this! It's a present from me!"

Lina: "Oh, what is it?"

She gave me a white pearl. It was glowing because of the magical energies stored inside.

Wahi: "It's our treasure! Each mermaid has a unique pearl! This gift is to symbolize our relationship as sisters."

Lina: "Thanks, Wahi. It's gorgeous."

Wahi: "You can count on it when you're in a pinch. It gives the owner good luck!"

Lina: "That will be useful. Hehe."

I pat her head.

Nanu: "Okay, everybody ready?"

Wahi: "Yes, Big Sis Nanu."

Mermaid Ghosts: "Yep."

Lina: "Ready to go."

All the sisters are ready to fight. Some of them have magical bows, and others have tridents infused with magic.

I followed them out of the cave.

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(Lina POV)

Nanu: "Lina, to see through the darkness of these waters, you need to learn the spell ."

She demonstrated the spell to me.

Lina: "I got it. You do it like this."

I copied the movement of the magic in Big Sis Nanu's body to cast the spell.

Lina: "Oh, I can see a lot better now. It's not perfect, but I can fight better in this."

Nanu: "We mermaid ghosts had the spells bound to our eyes when we were still alive, so they've been active in us until now."

Lina: "That's amazing."

Nanu: "Yes. Oh, we're nearly there."

I could see in her eyes that she missed her life when she wasn't a ghost.

We were floating towards the nest of the sea serpents.

Nanu: "This is where they brought our sisters. We were attempting to flee from the Sea People (Sea Dwellers), but the Serpents caught us.

Before we got to the entrance, five sea serpents came out of the cave.

Nanu: "Attack!"

They launch their offensive. Some attacked with their bows, and the others used water spells to deal damage from afar before closing in.

Sea serpents: "Gihhhh...RAHHHH!!!"

The sea serpents were angry. They were now approaching us after receiving minor injuries from the attacks. Their mouths opened wide to swallow us all.

Nanu: "Sisters, tridents up!"

The mermaid ghosts position their spears against the incoming serpents.

!

When the Serpents got closer, the Tridents released various lightning spells at their targets. and came out of the Tridents.

Sea Serpents: "GUHAAAAA!!! HSSSS!!!"

They weren't dead yet, so I decided to step in.

!

My spell released five lances made of ice towards the sea serpents and finished them off.

Dying Serpent: "Hhiiiii..."

Around 15 sisters came out of the bodies of the sea serpents.

Freed Sisters: "Nanu??? Nanu!!!"

Nanu: "Sisters!"

They hugged each other tightly.

Nanu: "I know it might be cruel to ask all of you to help us when you just got out of there, but we need your help to free the other sisters."

Freed Sisters: "Of course, Nanu, we know how awful it feels inside the bodies of the sea serpents. They're our sisters, too, so we will help."

Nanu: "Thanks! Onward, sisters!"

We went inside the cave now. It was a gigantic cave. Once we got inside, you could already see the sea serpent mother. It was a huge monster.

Lina: "That's it. Isn't it?"

Nanu: "Yes."

There were around 20 to 30 regular-size sea serpents around it. We need to take them out before we fight the mother.

Nanu: "We need to use them."

Huh?

They engulfed a portion of the water with magic. After a few seconds, it turned into a large humanoid creature made of water.

A water element. Its color is different from that of water. It has the properties of mana and water, so it doesn't blend with the water.

Nanu: "This is our strongest spell. We will take on 20 on the left side of this cave. Lina, please do the rest for us."

Lina: "Understood."

The right side of the cave has eight sea serpents sleeping in their nests.

Nanu: "Attack!"

Once Big Sis Nanu signaled the attack, I released a spell strong enough to wipe out those eight.

!

I used the Ice Dome Blizzard combo to trap all eight of them and rip them into pieces inside the dome.

Dying Sea Serpents: "AHHHH!!! HSSS!!!! GUHHHHKKKKK!!!!"

The surprised shrieks and screams of the sea serpents could be heard. They died after a few minutes.

Wahi accompanied me until here. However, she can't fight the sea serpent mother with me.

Lina: "I'll go on and fight the Sea Serpent Mother, okay!?"

Wahi: "Okay! Be careful, Lina!"

I nod at her.

They were doing well. The Mermaid Ghost Sisters attack the sea serpents from afar, while the Water Elemental pushes the serpents back if they try to attack. At least six got taken down in their surprise attack, with only 14 to go for them.

Now, how do I go about this?

Sea Serpent Mother: "Hmmmm. Grmmmpppp....Hmmm...."

The sea serpent Mother was still sleeping soundly. Good thing I could land a surprise attack.

I'll try to end this with one hit. I don't want to know what it can do when it's awake.

My strongest spell. I used it only once before, and it burned me out.

Right now, I could cast it and still have some energy left.

I focus a considerable amount of magical energies into magic formed into a lance.

Slowly, the enormous lance made of ice was forming, and after a minute, I could release the spell.

Lina: "Die!!!"

I released the spell. I was quite far from the Sea Serpent Mother when I cast the spell, so it traveled before it hit.

The ground below was frozen instantly. The water around the spell froze too.

Sea Serpent Mother: "KKkkiihiikkkkk!!!!!! HISSSSSS!!!!"

The Sea Serpent Mother received the hit to its body, and it was frozen. It tried to move that part, and it broke into pieces.

Sea Serpent Mother: "GAHHHHHIIIIIIIII!!!!!"

The sea serpent's mother is cut in half now. Tremendous amounts of blood and magic were pouring out of its body.

Sea Serpent Mother: "Hiiiiiss..."

Suddenly, a massive amount of magic formed in its mouth.

Lina: "A blast?"

It was sending a blast of magic towards me!

!

I tried to make it as big as possible so that I could cover the others too. The blast violently hit the wall.

Lina: "AHHHHHHH!!!!"

I shouted as I tried to keep the up by constantly repairing it with magic.

Sea Serpent Mother: "Oooohhhmmmmm."

It finally stopped the blast after a few seconds. I need to finish it before it sends out another roar.

!

I summoned golems made of ice and half as large as a sea serpent to bother it while I prepared another

I aimed it at the body before, but now I'll target its head.

The frost golems can't move freely underwater, but they can distract the Sea Serpent Mother and take some of its attacks.

Charge... Charge.

The focus was needed since I only have less than half of my magic power. I need to gather enough energy to cast another one.

Three Frost Golems were summoned from my spell. It should be enough.

It was exchanging blows with the Sea Serpent Mother.

The spell is the only tool the golems could use to counterattack, but it was still working.

The mother was five times larger than the regular sea serpent, but the

Frost Golems were still able to block its attacks.

At least for a short while.

The

The Frost Golems were going down one by one.

They tried to punch back the headbutt of the Sea Serpent Mother, but their arms got crushed. They have already done a lot of damage.

Lina: "Come on!!! AHHHH!!!!!"

I ran out of mana!

Lina: "No! Not now!"

My vision was getting blurry, and my body felt dry of magic.

Wahi: "Don't give up! Big Sis Lina!"

! ! ! ! !

Suddenly, a group of mermaid ghosts cast various spells at the Sea Serpent Mother. They finally defeated the other sea serpents.

"Lina, Lina... Are you okay?"

Wahi approached me with worry.

Lina: "Hehehe. I'm just a little tired, that's all."

I grasped the pearl that was given to me earlier. It was in my spiritual pocket. I can put magic items there.

Grr. HAH!

Regaining my focus did a lot. I'm able to finish the spell now.

!

It went towards the confused sea serpent mother. It was desperately trying to defend itself from the barrage of spells. It did not expect another

Sea Serpent Mother: "GHHKKK-"

It hits the neck of the Sea Serpent Mother, cutting its pained scream halfway.

Its head was high up and almost at the ceiling, and it was now crashing towards the floor.

You could hear the ice break into pieces.

Nanu: "We did it!"

Wahi: "Yes!"

Mermaid Ghost: "Oh, my... (sob)"

Mermaid Ghost 2: "Finally!"

After it died, a group of mermaid ghosts came out of the carcass.

Freed Sisters: "Everyone?"

Mermaid Ghosts: "Sisters!"

Everyone was hugging each other. Some of the ghosts thought it was the end already, but others kept hoping that they would be able to get out of there.

Nanu: "Thanks, Lina."

Lina: "You're welcome, Big Sis Nanu."

Wahi: "Lina!"

Wahi hugged me. She was small and was hugging me at the waist.

Wahi: "You did great!"

Lina: "We both did, Wahi."

Wahi: "Hehehe..."

Nanu: "Let's go back first. I want the sisters to thank you before we find your master."

Lina: "Okay... He wasn't here, so I'm sure he's fine."

Nanu: "Yes."

We went back to the cave. There were around a hundred of us now.

I didn't expect to rescue a lot of them, but I'm glad I did.