Chapter 153: 8-10 Of Spirits and Mana

I ignored Sasha’s reproachful look and discarded the pretense of class or secrecy, “As strong than your father?”

Sarala nodded once, then frowned, “No, maybe stronger… It’s fuzzy?”

So she doesn’t know for sure, just that it’s strong.

Sarala was a spirit, a secret that had been disclosed to me some time ago. She had developed an infatuation with Edith, even going so far as to form a contract with her. Though to my knowledge, Edith wasn’t yet capable of using any of that contract’s benefits. That being said, I didn’t actually know the scale we were talking about here; Sarala’s ‘father’ was a higher level spirit, but as to how that scaled to my own frame of reference…

Well, this one is attacking a battleship, so it’s far from weak.

Unfortunately, Sarala herself wouldn’t be much help besides providing this warning; she had ‘grown up’ in human society. She also lacked a proper frame of reference. Most likely, this was the reason why she thought the new presence as fuzzy. Fortunately, there was someone else who might know.

First, I turned to the bridge officer, “I think I understand the gist; bring me to the bridge.”

Drakan naval tradition technically meant that, in this instance, the officer outranked me. He would have to forgive my indiscretion. The captain as well. He had requested my presence on the bridge. It was well within his purview to order it, but he had chosen to request it instead. In some part, this was because Gaia’s Crown was transporting nobility, so the usual traditions were a bit relaxed; mutual respect. But on the other hand, a sea monster was one thing; if a higher spirit was attacking one of the ships, then there weren’t exactly a lot of people capable of dealing with a situation like that.

“Sasha, contact Lord Alriss and have him make ready. I don’t know what his men can do, but it’s better for them to be prepared.” I instructed Sasha and she quickly departed. Then, the other person.

“Eris.” At the sound of her name, Eris stiffened, “Tell me everything you think might be relevant.”

The officer escorting us gave her a curious look; what would some random maid, even one of the queen, possibly know? Granted, Eris was not just an ordinary servant, but he neither knew nor needed to know that.

She paused and collected herself, “I thought you were going to order me to fight it… Considering we’re in the middle of the ocean, it would have to be a water spirit or maybe wind, but I doubt that… I can’t sense spiritual pressure, so there’s no way for me to estimate its power level, but its definitally an adult, maybe even a proto-ancient. …And, I would imagine it’s only upset; spirits aren’t usually hostile like this.”

Her quick explanation caused the officer to do another double-take. Meanwhile, it made me glad Felicity wasn’t here; Claire would have loved hearing someone unironically use the terms “Spiritual Pressure” and “Power Level” in the same sentence. As for her conjecture about it being upset, one could only hope that was the case; I really would rather not get involved with yet another of the world’s god-level factions.

If it comes down to it, I can probably take on something like an Ancient Spirit, if only to hold it off for a bit.

Assuming of course, that such a being would be roughly equivalent to a Hell King. But from what I knew, they were above that. At least the creation story I had heard set up spirits as the first inhabitants of the world; predating the whole cycle of hell kings and gods.

In spite of Eris distracting the officer, we arrived at the bridge in short order and without further interruption. Upon being let in by Sarala, I felt an aura of stifling stillness. Very few people were moving around; everyone was at their station waiting for orders with a certain tenseness. The second thing I noticed lay beyond the bridge and out over the waves; the Will of the Gods was hanging in the water.

At this distance, I could not make out many details, but after enhancing my eyes it was pretty clear what was going on. There was a general gurgling in the water around her hull; she was generating thrust. But there was no wake to be seen; she was not moving through the water. Gaia’s Crown and Might of Man both appeared to have taken up a course that would circle Will of the Gods while maintaining distance.

“Captain, Her Majesty has arrived.” Upon hearing the announcement, all eyes on the bridge turned to me. A moment later, they went right back to their stations.

I stepped forward toward the captain, “I was told that Will of the Gods had engaged in battle?”

He nodded, “This is new; prior to your arrival, the water swelled up a dozen meters; they were lifted well above the water line.”

Controlling the water, definitely a water spirit, and considering the volume, probably an Ancient?

The captain continued, “I called you here because Jewel of Gaia’s Crown lacks the armaments to contend with a monster of that scale, as does the Might of Man.”

So basically, the captains of the two ships didn’t have a way of contending with what they assumed was a giant sea monster. Knowing that I had a lot of combat power, as well as being the overall head of the expedition, they had called me to the bridge of the ship I was on.

Just one thing…

“Captain, I have…” I glanced at Sarala.

Well, she already outed herself to an extent. I’ll do what I can to preserve her secret, though.

“One of Lady Edith’s attendants, Miss Sarala, has a spirit contract; she has identified that we are contending with a Water Spirit, most likely an Ancient Spirit.” Despite everyone’s focus the bridge had still been suffused with a low hum of human activity.

That ceased with my revelation, and the air became quiet enough to hear the proverbial pin drop.

“Contact the Might of Man.” The captain ordered after hesitating for a moment, “Inform her captain.”

It sounded like they were willing to take my explanation at face value. Despite spirit users being so rare as to be nearly unheard of, it made sense that if there was one in Drakas, she would be in the service of a higher noble. No doubt my own position and reputation lent credence to my words as well. The only remaining question was what to do with our information.

And we can’t communicate with the Will of the Gods at all.

Her Mythril hull-plating was a great benefit in combat, however it was not without drawback; namely, the disruption of mana was not limited to enemy spells. Incoming and outgoing signals would be jammed as well. Even my own diary, used for communicating with Drakas, could only send and receive text when I was on one of the other ships, or traveling between them.

The mana amplifier would probably work, but that’s assuming the mages onboard the ship would think to use it that way… No, they wouldn’t have the fine mana control.

In our convoy, only three people would be capable of using a mana amplifier to send or receive something like a message; myself, Eris, and Sarala. And all of us were on the wrong ship.

“Captain.” I cut off the captain of Gaia’s Crown; he was presently informing the Might of Man of our new intelligence, “Forgive me for breaking tradition, but I am taking command of the theatre; have the Might of Man decelerate, and prep the ferry to bring me aboard.”

I need to get back on the Will of the Gods.

“Sarala,” I continued, “Remain here. It is unlikely that a spirit will attack this ship if it senses your presence.”

Beyond just the captains, I was now overriding Edith’s authority over her own attendant, but this was an emergency. Without waiting to see if my orders were carried out, I left the bridge. Behind me, I could here the captain’s shout, “Well, do what she says!”

There was a hint of irritation in his voice, but I would apologize later. Lady Lawrence caught up to me, “And what about me?”

I don’t have time for politics right now.

“Stay with the nobles and keep them from doing something stupid; Edith will be distracted.”

Lady Lawrence looked at our third wheel, and her eyes flashed in sudden realization; she really was too smart for her own good. After all, Edith looked like death itself; Sarala was the spirit, not the spirit user. No doubt, Edith was feeling the Ancient Spirit’s mana through her connection to Sarala. My friend grimaced, “I am sorry to leave it to you.”

Lady Lawrence shook her head, “No, rather it is I who am sorry I cannot do more.”

Sasha appeared then, joining us and matching pace as if she had never left, “Lord Alriss is awaiting you on the Might of Man.”

“Good, please assist Lady Edith; I am borrowing the service of her own attendant.”

And I won’t question how you came to the conclusion that I was going to cross to the other ship.

Probably, she simply had far too much experience with my oft-hair-brained antics and reckless behavior.

“Eris, you and Jacqueline will be joining me.” When I called her name, Eris paled; she hadn’t liked the last time we used the ferry, and the thought of using it while an angry ancient spirit was nearby unsettled even me.

There was a nagging suspicion that I was forgetting something until a flash of excited motion cut the corner of my vision.

Ah.

“Felicity, stay with Edith and Sasha… is what I would like to say, but…”

The rogue catgirl shook her head, “Felicity will stay here with Edith Oneechan; Felicity would only get in Stalineechan’s way.”

I momentarily froze in surprise at her proclamation; I had been about to tell her to just come with me openly. That would have been preferable to her hiding in my shadow. At least I would have known she was there and been able to account for it. But she was being strangely self-aware and had elected to remain on Gaia’s Crown.

“Very well, Edith, please indulge my sister’s selfishness.” Saying that, I emerged out onto the deck, leaving behind a stunned-speechless catgirl and a pair of higher noblewomen with warm smiles.

I don’t know what’s causing her to act in such a selfless way, but it’s a good turn of events-

“No! Felicity is coming with Stahlia Oneesama!” And with that, she backtracked.

Before I had a chance to respond, Felicity dove into my shadow. The last thing I saw was a pair of tails twitching fearfully as they slipped into darkness. Was it something I said…?

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The helmsmen of the Ferry glanced at me questioningly. I shook my head; there wasn’t time to try and convince her to come out and remain, “Very well.”

My group (plus one) boarded the ferry and took our seats as we waited for the siren signaling it was time for departure. It came, and that same lurching sensation assaulted my stomach as the ferry dropped into the water. The transition would take only a few minutes this time, but it would be all the more harrowing.

-BZZT!-

As the ferry made contact with the water, I winced as a staticky sound filled my head. Around me, everyone else seemed to be unaffected. Well, almost everyone; Eris had gone extremely pale. Even more so than she did the last time we changed ships.

-BZZT!-

The same buzzing, much louder this time. Like the static from an old TV.

“Stahlia…”

-BZZT!-

Reaching my hand up, I clutched at my head; the static was getting worse by the second and it was starting to feel like my temples were going to explode.

“Stahlia!” Eris shouted at me; it’s… it’s trying to communicate, and it’s getting angry that you’re ignoring it…”

It…? The spirit…?

-BZZZZT!-

It was getting hard to focus now, but I had enough presence of mind to vaguely realize what was happening. Unfortunately, there wasn’t really a way for me to fix the problem without somewhat tipping my hand. Though only the sailors were in the dark.

“Invoke Authority: Disable Skill [Psychic Shield].”

As usual, my voice rang out and echoed throughout the interior of the small ferry. One of the sailors tilted his head, but the lot of them otherwise continued working their stations. That being said, something else entirely more important changed then.

-Longing, entrapment, enemies, deception-

A string of consciousness, less words, and more like general ideas, concepts and images.

“Is this, the spirit?”

Across from me, Eris nodded, “Yea, but it’s hard to really understand what it’s saying.”

I frowned, “You can understand it?”

Eris tilted her head, “Sort of? It’s wondering why demons are traveling with humans and a nascent spirit. When it got close, it got upset because it got sick? That’s the gist of it…”

She trailed off, looking extremely ill.

I didn’t get any of that, though.

After I rewrote her skill, it should be impossible for Eris to lie to me; her impression of what the spirit was trying to convey should be largely the truth. That really was her understanding of it.

“Your majesty, we’re about to dock with the Might of Man.”

I nodded, “Thank you, and I’m sorry.” Before the man could respond, I glanced at Eris and Jacqueline, “Please.”

The moment we were secure, my two attendants moved swiftly and knocked the sailors out. Hopefully, they would wake up with short-term memory loss. Otherwise, they would need to be fully silenced.

Lord Alriss was waiting for me on the deck, with a number of the more elite knights at his back. He peered over my shoulder at the slumped bodies but opted not to comment, instead waving a pair of the knights to secure them.

“Welcome aboard, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, I’ll get straight to the point; I need to get on board the Will of the Gods. The captain should have informed you that we are dealing with a spirit, potentially an ancient spirit. While traveling, it attempted to make contact with us; the pressure was too much for the sailors, but fortunately, they could hold on for long enough to complete the trip.”

There was absolutely no way in all the nine hells that Alriss was going to buy my blatant lie; he and his men could recognize the sailor’s injuries for what they were. To say nothing of the fact that two maids had apparently possessed enough fortitude to withstand the pressure that had incapacitated a trio of trained navy men. But he knew better than to question it.

“I will tell the captain that we need a transport crew… But is your highness sure this is the best course of action? You are putting yourself at extreme risk.”

Before I had a chance to reject his warning with an “it’s the only way” Eris spoke up, “My lady, I agree, considering who you would be bringing with you…”

If Sasha had been with us, Eris would have been given a punishment for speaking out of turn like that, but she was not. She also had something of a point.

Considering what the spirit apparently said, I probably should rethink… 

“I do not have any other ideas, but I am open to suggestions, Lord Alriss.”

The spirit was originally concerned about demons, apparently. Eris’ species had not changed and though I had been planning to leave her on Might of Man there was still Felicity. Felicity was also technically a species of demon now. The spirit hadn’t attacked us earlier, but that didn’t mean it would remain passive if a demon tried to get closer to it, which would be the case if Felicity continued traveling in my shadow while I tried to return to the Will of the Gods.

Lord Alriss nodded, “I do have an idea, but I’m not sure if it’s a good one, or if will work, or is possible in the first place.”

After receiving my signal to continue, Lord Alriss gestured toward the Will of Gods off in the distance, “Your Highness originally captured His Majesty’s attention after performing a certain feat; does your highness believe she could do something similar?”

After a certain feat? That would be back in Ris, when I beat back the goblins using a fake Anti-Army spell… Oh. No way.

I went bug-eyed as what Lord Alriss was alluding to dawned on me.

Or, maybe…?

The spell in question hadn’t so much been a fake Anti-Army spell; it was very much at that power level, however, it was wholly custom. Not that anyone here needed to know that. In short, I had frozen solid the majority of the goblin’s forces. Looking out at the Will of the Gods in the distance, I mulled the notion over in my head.

Probably, if we got closer. It would really hurt though, and Sasha has my best potions, so I won’t be able to dope.

“If you are asking me to freeze the ocean, I believe I can. However, that would require the Might of Man to bring itself uncomfortably close to Will of the Gods; within twenty yards, since I do not have access to Sasha’s hoard of potions.”

In retrospect, I probably should have brought those with me…

Eris stiffened slightly, only for Jacqueline to (gently) push her forward, “Uhm, my lady?” When she saw me nod she continued with a bit more confidence, “There are three thousand soldiers and knights on this ship, that is; there are three thousand men worth of mana. Why not just use theirs?”

Leave it to a demon to say something so insane.

Lord Alriss looked more confused than anything by Eris’ statement, but if she was suggesting it (and endorsed in silence by Jacqueline), then there was no doubt that it was possible.

Considering she’s a demon of Envy, and a former Original Sin, she probably has a talent somewhere that at least mimics a Succubus’ ability to absorb mana… Then, by using Blood Magic, she could in theory give it to me… But, with that much mana, I could probably freeze a few miles. No, a few dozen. There’s no need for that.

There was just one question, “Will it kill them?”

Eris turned a bit red, “Uhm, no? I’m not what you’re thinking!”

Still, it was better to be cautious, and I really didn’t need “three thousand men worth” of mana.

“Lord Alriss, my newest maid is more talented in certain areas of magic than myself; ask for volunteers, no more than a hundred. She will conduct a ritual to link their mana to my spell. I should be able to freeze a quarter mile around the ships; have the captain of Gaia’s Crown move to a safe distance while Might of Man moves toward Will of the Gods.”

Lord Alriss nodded and began to bark orders as the deck turned into a frantic hive of activity.

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