Chapter 507 – #107_Fish Tank (7)
#507
1.
The cathedral had rooms for the priests and bishops.
Though the wooden bed with a cloth thrown over it was crude, it was still better than other places.
I had looked for a few places to rest, but all that was available were bundles of straw like the ones Siwoo used when he lived in the barn.
If I searched thoroughly, I might find better conditions, but now was not the time to leisurely pick out a bed.
“Shall we organize the information?”
“Okay.”
Siwoo and Deneb took turns sharing the information they had obtained from last night’s battle, or rather, chase, and wrote it down on paper.
“First of all, there’s only one monster in this fish tank. It’s the same as the records in the literature.”
“It seems to be in the sea during the day and only active at night, along with that school of flying fish.”
“If a monster that size was rampaging around in this narrow place all day, it would be unmanageable. Next is time. I don’t know how long the day lasts, but the night is about 4 hours.”
“Only that much? It felt like 8 hours had passed…”
“I started counting from the middle, so it’s almost accurate.”
Deneb, who was pressing her forehead and closing her eyes tightly, looked very tired.
After all, she had used such large-scale magic, then sang a song of vitality for Siwoo, and after the counterattack, she had even joined in the attack herself.
Even Siwoo, a physical type, was feeling sleepy as the adrenaline wore off, so it was no wonder that the noble countess was.
Even in that situation, she was calculating the time.
She was definitely a Gemini.
“As I said before, there are restrictions to maintain a pocket dimension of this scale.
In the case of this world, it would be spatial limitations, activity time limits through the division of day and night, and the compulsion of repetition where the same day is repeated.
And there must be a pillar that maintains this space… In this case, it’s probably that octopus itself.”
“A pillar?”
“In Gehenna, it’s like the ‘gate’ of Border Town. It manages entry and is the core hub that supports the entire Gehenna.”
“Hmm… Does that mean we have to catch the octopus to get out of here?”
When Siwoo tilted his head, Deneb added an explanation.
“I’m sure of it. I checked the water veins and earth veins while running away. If you look at the places where the earth veins and water veins intersect properly, you can roughly figure it out.”
“I was too busy fighting, you’re amazing.”
“There’s nothing amazing about it. I was just a burden from the middle. Anyway…”
Deneb said bitterly.
Was that why she seemed so lacking in energy?
From the middle onwards, she had only been clinging to Siwoo and running away, so it was possible that the countess’s pride had been damaged.
“There are no earth veins or water veins here. Unlike Gehenna, which was sewn together to harmonize with nature, this is an unstable space that has been cut out. And even in this state of being completely destroyed, the pillar hasn’t collapsed… There’s only one answer.”
“That’s true.”
As she said, by the time the octopus returned to the sea, there was no place in the city that wasn’t destroyed.
Not only the buildings but the terrain itself had changed.
“Could there be a pillar in the sea?”
“Even if there is, I don’t want to fight that monster in the sea. It wouldn’t look any different from an octopus.”
“I agree.”
It was only because it didn’t swim in the air like the flying fish that we were able to escape this much.
I couldn’t even imagine how threatening it would be in the sea, where that massive body could move freely.
So, here’s a summary of the background.
-Daytime is rest time, nighttime is hunting time. Each is expected to be around 4 hours.
-Since it’s a world where the day repeats, there will be no changes or variables in the external environment.
-To escape, we must destroy the ‘pillar,’ and as a prerequisite, the kraken must be defeated.
After that, they even organized the characteristics of the kraken.
-Unbelievable size, and the resulting strength and durability.
-Its own magic resistance and rapid regeneration.
-Fortunately, it doesn’t use any special magic or artifacts.
-Relatively slow but powerful attacks.
That would be about it.
Siwoo hadn’t just been running away all night.
He had put on his armor and ribbons, used amplification more than 10 times, and fought in various ways.
However, despite his valiant efforts, the results were clear.
“It seems like it’s the worst match for me. And of all things, I don’t have the Red Branch…”
Siwoo had always relied on improvisation, mind games, and unorthodox movements to catch his opponents off guard in battle.
He had made up for his lack of power by exploiting gaps.
In that sense, the kraken was a difficult opponent.
Even if he used explosive force to cut with his shadow spears and swords, it would be absorbed by its massive body and regeneration.
When he tried to grab its legs with his ribbons and engage in a power struggle, he almost got flung away like a stone at the end of a slingshot.
Even when he shot magic cannons like Deneb, the scales covering its skin deflected the impact.
If he had the Red Branch, he could have at least hoped for a distortion field…
A stubborn mass of physical strength that no tricks or clever moves could work on.
It was the worst opponent for Siwoo, who was specialized in fighting humans and witches.
Perhaps because he had used too much magic while his prosthetic arm wasn’t properly settled, his left hand had been trembling since the end of the fight.
Deneb sighed and said.
“I’ve tried this and that, but I don’t have any good ideas. I even tried to turn it into mush from the inside using its unique frequency, but it’s too big…”
“That’s a problem.”
“If only my sister was here…”
The ‘Requiem’ that Deneb had used yesterday was not a single-use magic.
Originally, Deneb’s ‘Requiem’ should have been repeated several times by the ‘Echo Barrier’ set up by Albireo to bombard the target.
But Albireo was not here now, and the possibility of her coming was close to zero.
The point was the lack of firepower.
After this conversation, Deneb suggested a short rest.
“Will the timing be right?”
“Yes, since we’ll be given a day that’s the same as night, we’ll have plenty of time.”
Unlike Siwoo, Deneb was rich in experience and knowledge.
A truly great painter can grasp the overall composition just by glancing at an object.
If she was so sure, there must be a solid reason.
2.
They took some time to look around the cathedral.
Perhaps because they valued frugality, it didn’t have the splendor and grandeur of the buildings in Gehenna, but it still had a static beauty.
Deneb found some wine in the basement storage and took it.
It seemed to be unused wine.
When Siwoo jokingly said, “Didn’t you tell me about Persephone?” Deneb shrugged and replied, “It’s been confirmed that this isn’t the underworld, right?”
She even took out wine glasses from the closet in the room and set them up.
Perhaps because it was old wine, there was a lot of sediment, and it was bland and sour, making it difficult to give it a good rating.
However, like the saying “hunger is the best sauce,” the wine was a considerable comfort after extreme mental and physical exhaustion.
After the toast, the drinking party that had not been finished continued.
“Siwoo, you’re full of energy. Even though you moved so much.”
“I’m just used to using my body a lot.”
“Is that so?”
In fact, Deneb was secretly surprised by his performance.
She had heard quite a bit about the circumstances of his survival against the Witch of Desire.
She also knew that he had that much power and magic.
However, simply knowing it in her head and seeing it with her own eyes created a completely different impression.
Last night, his back as he faced the giant kraken was awe-inspiring.
His movements that exceeded the speed of sound, the way he spun like a windmill and cut the kraken’s legs, and the way he freely used dozens of ribbons.
Her son-in-law, whom she had thought of as a fool, was sharply trained and seemed more accustomed to combat than Deneb.
Although he may not have inflicted any significant damage, Deneb felt a glimpse of the power that Duke Tiferet had shown her in his back.
She also realized that the reason Deneb had been able to subdue Siwoo last time was only because he hadn’t resisted.
If he had even a little intention to resist, Deneb wouldn’t have been able to guarantee her victory.
But Siwoo had not resisted at all and had obediently taken the beating.
He also hadn’t complained.
She had gleefully beaten her son-in-law…
She couldn’t help but feel complicated.
“Today, I’m going to try a slightly different approach. Countess, how much magic do you have left?”
“…About 30%. I feel like I used it too recklessly.”
She had spent half of her magic with the intention of ending it in the first strike, but it had become a poison since she had failed to deliver the finishing blow.
A witch’s magic is not something that can be charged and used at any time.
Even if she used purified magic water, she had to go through the leisurely process of magic self-assimilation.
If she focused only on recovering magic during the day, the expected time would be 3-4 days.
“Then, for a while, we should avoid direct confrontation and think of a way to deliver a sure blow while accumulating magic.”
“……”
Siwoo made a plan as if it was natural.
Deneb shut her mouth.
That’s right.
In fact, Deneb knew a very quick way to overcome this difficulty.
During his interrogation in the underground prison, she had heard not only about his relationship with the twins but also about his magic charging effect.
He could provide pure magic that didn’t require self-assimilation by ejaculating inside a witch’s vagina.
“I’ll draw its attention for the time being. Deneb, please focus on evading.”
That was why Deneb was worried.
If her lecherous son-in-law used this situation as an excuse, it wouldn’t be strange for him to smile and say, ‘Hehe, Deneb. It can’t be helped since things have turned out this way, hehe.’
If he had, she might have been greatly disappointed in him as a person.
But unexpectedly, he didn’t even mention that ‘shortcut.’
Even though the detour that gave up the shortcut required him to risk his life as bait several times, he took the lead calmly without even mentioning it.
It was another side of him that Deneb didn’t know.
“…Okay. Then let’s do that.”
“Yes, are you going to focus on recovering magic right away?”
Deneb, who felt that her evaluation of her son-in-law, which had collapsed, was being somewhat restored, let out a low sigh.
“Ah…”
She had seen Siwoo’s left hand, which was clearly trying to hide its fear and trembling.
