“Sooooo cute.”
“Isn’t she adorable?”
“Absolutely precious.”
“Oh, Aizuu. You’re adorable even like that. So different from usual, you know?’
The sight prompted comments aplenty from the peanut gallery back on the beach (Loki included). The only one who wasn’t looking at Aiz was Lefiya. Her azure eyes were currently locked on Tiona as a jealous moan rumbled within the depths of her throat.
The beach party didn’t last long after that (and Aiz’s swimming problems remained unresolved). Having played to their hearts’ content, it was time to move on to the real focus of the trip—their investigation.
“If we’re supposed to examine the hole in the bottom of the lake…doesn’t that, erm, mean we need to venture down there?” Lefiya seemed somewhat fretful as she threw a glance in Aiz’s direction.
The Sword Princess flinched at the non-combat-related implication.
Then Aki turned to Loki. “Of course. You know where the hole is, don’t you, Loki?”
“Sure do! I did my homework! It’s in a ravine just a smidgen farther south. Tiona? Tione? I’m leaving it to you girls!”
“Got it!”
“This’ll be over in a snap!” The twins responded with identical winks.
While Lefiya and the others had been fully prepared to help (as inexperienced as they were with water combat), Loki had entrusted Tiona and Tione with the task of investigating the spot.
As the two stepped forward, Aiz’s head shot up with a snap.
“Those swimsuits…are they made from Undine cloth?”
What with all her drowning and bouts of shame, Aiz hadn’t had a chance to look at the two’s outfits until now.
The cloth was a deep shade of blue while the fabric itself was endowed with the divine protection of the spirits.
“’Course it is! Prepped ’em for the girls myself. Not about to send ’em on an underwater quest without it,” Loki broke in proudly.
The cloth, woven with the spirits’ magic and bestowed with specialized attributes, could outperform even the armor of the most advanced smiths. Undine cloth, in particular, boasted improved resistance when it came to water-element attacks and could even fend off intense heat waves, making it an integral asset to any adventurer’s wardrobe.
That being said, the only way to truly invoke its power was to wear it underwater.
Even the strongest adventurers’ movements were still heavily sluggish when trying to navigate underwater; however, by equipping Undine cloth, one could zoom back and forth with ease beneath the waves, greatly expanding one’s range of mobility. It boosted not only water resistance but movement and speed underwater, as well.
While it was pricey, it was an essential piece of equipment if one hoped to engage in any sort of underwater monster culling.
“But to desecrate the cloth of the spirits by turning it into a pair of bikinis…” Lefiya and the others warily eyed their patron deity, who ignored the condemning looks and simply continued talking.
“What’s more, my two lovely Amazons have the Dive ability. Fact is, they can already swim like the fishes! So equipping them with Undine cloth is like throwin’ wings on a tiger…or should I say, givin’ a halberd to an Amazon!”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?!” Tione shot the aphorism-spewing goddess a look of indignation.
The two Amazonian sisters had learned the Dive ability upon their recent level-up—an ability that carried with it the same basic effects as those provided by Undine cloth. The difference, then, was made up by an increase in attack power, making their underwater combat abilities that much stronger.
It was said that this ability was absolutely essential to all those in Poseidon Familia, what with their many endeavors in the wide-open sea.
“I thought that Dive was a fairly rare ability…?” Lefiya questioned.
“Though I’ve heard it’s much easier for members of more seaworthy familias to learn…” Aki pointed out.
“But then how did those two learn it…?” “Yeah, how is it possible…?”
As the dubious voices of their peers rose up around them, Tiona and Tione met them head-on.
“Before coming to Orario, we often accepted requests from fishing villages of the island nations to hunt monsters in the sea. It was how we obtained money for food.”
“Yeah, yeah! Sea monsters can be super hard to take down! But we spent so much time doing it that somehow we got really good at fighting underwater!”
The fact that neither of them liked to lose only spurred their abilities further, as they’d often compete against each other as to who could bag the most kills.
As Lefiya and the other familia members listened to all this with somewhat forced laughs, Loki began rummaging around in her giant bag before pulling something out and handing it to the two girls.
“Here ya go. Weapons! In case ya run into any of those nasty flower critters. These should give it to ’em!”
“And these are?”
“Corbel Edges! Had ’em custom-made by Goibniu Familia from under-coral and sea tiger fangs. Snatched ’em outta the manor’s storage.”
The two daggers were about the same length as Tione’s Kukri knives and surprisingly light, too; the blades resembled water crystal in their translucent marine-blue color. After receiving two each, the girls gave the daggers a few practice slashes before taking off down the beach with a “Be back soon!”
Cutting straight across the sand, they dove deftly into the lake.
“…You know…It might be too late to ask this, but if Misses Tiona and Tione are the only ones necessary for the investigation, why did all of us have to change into swimwear, too…?” Lefiya mumbled as she watched the bikini-clad sisters disappear into the water.
Loki, however, feigned ignorance. “Go, go, go! You can do it!” she shouted, completely disregarding the mage’s question.
The clear, brilliant blue of Lolog Lake was enough to rival even the waters of the south. Drainage from magic-stone production in Orario and Meren was purified via large distillation apparatuses, keeping the water in the lake so clear that people could see far beneath the surface. It was through this translucent blue world that Tiona and Tione swam now, making their way quickly away from the inlet where Aiz and the others had waved their good-byes and gripping their Corbel Edges in one hand.
“Bwuuaterssh’s swwhooaw bbbreeeeaaaar!” Tiona exclaimed with a burst of bubbles.
Tione just rolled her eyes in the other girl’s direction. How the hell am I supposed to know what you’re saying?
There was a peaceful tranquility down in this watery realm that was quite different from anything that could be found on land. Schools of green, blue, and gray fish swam past them as they continued farther and farther through the brine. Down below, seaweed poked up from among the scattered rocks and crags, undulating gently in the current.
Soon, clumps of driftwood and scattered remnants of a past shipwreck came into view. Swarms of dodobass scuttling from view, the two girls looked down silently on the vestiges of the once great ship, its hull eaten away by erosion and decay.
“!”
A strange light suddenly caught Tiona’s eye.
Something shone from deep within the shadows of the ship.
The moment they realized it was the glowing red eye of a giant monstrous fish, with the body easily equal in size to the two sisters’, the creature emerged abruptly from the darkness.
It was a raider fish, and likely the reason the ship had capsized in the first place.
Its red eyes darting back and forth, it zipped out with a swift jerk from a recess on the lake floor in hopes of catching this new prey.
“Whuuuuuuaaaahhhhh!!”
As the monster fish rocketed toward them, Tiona raised her right hand, the one not currently holding a weapon, in the air.
“!!”
“Guwah?!”
With a speed and intensity no less fierce than when on t
he surface, she brought her arm down on the fish with a watery bash.
Her iron-like fist shattered the creature’s face into dust. The would-be predator’s blood sprayed out in every direction as its body was sent careening toward the lake floor below, sending up a whirling cloud of silt.
We might not have done this for a while, but we certainly haven’t gotten rusty!
Well, the suits probably help.
Tione shrugged in Tiona’s direction, and the other girl rotated her arm to stretch.
The telepathic twins communicated with their gazes as they felt the power of the Undine cloth burgeoning their Dive ability.
How long you think you can hold your breath?
An hour or so easy.
And so they continued on, the information Loki had given them guiding their descent.
Deeper and deeper they dived, constantly surveying the area around them. They followed the sloping lake bottom as it curved downward, and the light of the sun from the water’s surface overhead grew fainter and fainter the farther they swam.
A short while later, and after they’d already taken care of more than a few of the brackish water’s denizens—
That must be it…
—they arrived.
The deepest part of Lolog Lake. In front of them, there was a lid so giant it was enough to take their breath away. It was a colossal circular seal, more than ten meders wide.
It appeared to be constructed of either seiros or varmath, and its white surface was so different from the surrounding rock, it looked like the entrance to some kind of sea temple. Though the lid seemed firmly closed atop the hole in the ground’s sloping surface, it was easily sizable enough that dragons and other large vermin could have passed through it in the past. In fact, countless aquatic monsters had made their way to the surface via this very tunnel ages ago in the Ancient Times.
Tiona and Tione sank toward the lake floor, looking up at the imperious form of the gargantuan lid.
What’s that thing…?
A monster fossil…? No, more like a drop item.
In the white stone of the lid was a jet-black figure.
It appeared to be some kind of giant skeleton—no, the leftover bones of something even larger. Its skull was sharp, like a dragon’s, but its spine was long, almost like a snake’s, and two mammoth fins protruded from its back like wings. The broken, cracked bones wound their way around the surface of the white stone like a coil, looking very much like the fossil of a creature long gone, just as Tione had said.
What was this thing? Knowing very little about this hole or the connecting tunnel, they found themselves momentarily at a loss until, finally, it came to them.
Leviathan…
The ancient beast who’d made its way to the surface long, long ago.
The monstrous sea calamity whose defeat was listed as one of the Three Great Quests of humanity, together with Behemoth and the One-Eyed Dragon, who had been brought down fifteen years ago by the party of adventurers led by Zeus and Hera.
I’ve heard that the scales of the Black Dragon can be used to ward off monsters…
Around a thousand years ago, the One-Eyed Dragon left Orario and scattered its black scales in every corner of the lower world. No monster in all the land would come close because of the ceaseless waves of power rolling off them, thanks to the King of the Beasts’ presence still alive inside. It was undeniable after a few indisputable instances of this.
The scales of this Leviathan were the same.
The divine will of Ouranos had barred passage to the surface for the monsters of the Dungeon. Even if any were to make their way through, the moment they saw the black bones, they’d hightail it back to the Dungeon. As trying to simply kill all of them would be impossible, this was the easiest way to ensure none got through.
Upon defeat of Leviathan, the familias of Zeus and Hera had brought back the beast’s skeleton, using it here on the tunnel’s lid to complete the seal.
The “Leviathan Seal,” as the Guild officially called it.
As Tiona and Tione looked out upon this unbreachable gate of contrasting black and white, they found themselves losing track of time completely.
…We should check to make sure there aren’t any gaps in the lid.
Turning their gazes away from the fossil’s empty eye sockets, the twins returned to the task at hand.
Searching the entirety of the great hole, they looked for any signs that a monster had passed through—anything that could serve as a secret path. Each taking a different side, they searched every nook and cranny of the mighty lid, including the surrounding rock.
Their efforts, however, seemed to be in vain.
Not a single scratch! Tiona floated upside down as she waved her arms back and forth in the water.
Yeah, there’s just no way a monster could have broken this seal, not that we didn’t already know…Doesn’t seem like anything even came close, and there aren’t any gaps around it, either…Tione threw a sidelong glance at her sister with a sigh.
Even the many monsters they’d had to tackle just to get to this spot had all but disappeared. The lid, with all its monster-warding properties, was intact and in good health.
Monsters don’t wanna get close, right? So maybe we should search a little farther out? Maybe they built another hole a ways away or somethin’, yeah?
I’m not too keen on scouring every inch of this place without even knowing where to look…
As always, the two sisters found themselves at an impasse. Sending bubbles toward the surface, they took another look around at their environs.
!
All of a sudden, Tione’s eyes grew as sharp as a hawk’s.
Far, far off in the distance, she caught sight of two long figures floating in the water.
Decidedly yellowish-green figures.
Tione!
That’s them, all right! Violas!!
They were off without a second thought, zooming through the water.
The two monsters were swimming not more than ten meders or so from the lake’s surface. And a great many ships were cutting through the water above. The two sisters swam as fast as they could to intercept the giant flowers.
!
Their heated pursuit sent intense ripples of water in the direction of the violas, who quickly became alerted to their presence.
Great buds opening with a snap, they revealed their ghastly fangs and jaws. Then, every one of their mighty tentacles came careening toward them.
“Bweyyh mreallwy mwarh ere!!” Tiona exclaimed unintelligibly as she glided out of the way of the incoming tendrils with grace and speed that could rival a mermaid’s. She used the opportunity to brandish the Corbel Edge in her hand before neatly severing the tentacles.
?!
As the tentacles scattered in the water, Tione dove forward.
She was at the beast’s stiff torso in a flash, marine-blue blade flashing as she neatly divided it in two, just as her sister had.
“Gnngh!”
hwwwuuaargh?!
The weapons, forged specifically for use in the water, cut through the normally impervious skin of the flowers with little resistance. And as the gracefully curving blue glint of the blade separated its head from its body, the flower itself quickly shriveled into nothing.
The remaining viola took one look before turning tail.
Crap! It’s getting away!
After all these years out of the water, the twins’ attacks didn’t cut quite as deep.
Severely injured, the giant flower quickly made its way to the water’s surface, almost as though seeking salvation in the light of the sun.
Tiona and Tione followed after it—until a new ship appeared from the direction of the ravine.
Shit!!
In a fit of rage, the viola shot its tentacles toward the ship’s hull.
“Loki!” Aiz shouted sharply.
She’d noticed it before anyone else, and her voice prompted the rest of her Loki Familia peers
on the beach to look up at the situation forming in the middle of the lake.
“A boat?!”
“And there’s something wrapped around it!”
The galleon that had just appeared on the lake was currently grappling with a set of yellowish-green tentacles from within the brackish waters. Just when it appeared that the severed tentacles would bring the ship down, the viola itself reared its ugly head. The giant flower opened its jaws, fully prepared to sink the vessel with it.
“Holy hell! Aiz! Everyone! Get out there!” Loki shouted.
Immediately, Lefiya and the other mages up and down the beach began casting their spells as Aiz and her fellow frontliners found their footing in the sand and raced toward the ship.
Gnnghh?!
When all of a sudden.
A shadow jumped down from the galleon’s deck, delivering a blow straight to the viola’s head.
“What…?”
The beast’s giant head went tumbling through the air before plummeting into the water.
Not long after, the tentacles that had been gripping the ship separated themselves from the hull as the rest of the flower’s body sank back into the deep. Aiz and the others could do nothing but stare at the spectacle in shock.
“What just happened?!”
“Someone killed the viola?!”
Tiona and Tione, too, heads bursting out of the water a short distance away, were stunned into silence.
The giant flower, a creature that could give even first-tier adventurers a run for their money, had been slain.
As an excited clamor built up aboard the surrounding ships floating on the water, Tiona and her sister could only stare up in wonder at the giant vessel before them.
Then—THUD!
The dark shadow that had so readily ended the viola’s life landed atop a nearby fishing boat, scimitar flashing.
“Rjada ru jheeda…die Hyrute.”
Tiona reacted almost immediately to the non-Koine words—the words of her people. Spinning around with a jolt, she came face-to-face with the woman standing on the boat.
All eyes of the men on the boat were focused squarely on this newcomer and the copper skin laid bare by her revealing clothes. A silken neckerchief covered her mouth, hiding the lower half of her face.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria, Vol. 6 Page 6