If we were to give it a suitable description... perhaps we could use the analogy of the inevitable outburst that will eventually occur after magic goes out of control.
Fortunately, things haven't gotten as bad as a disaster at the level of an archmage—that would easily destroy a city and its associated ecosystem, and leave lingering effects in the surrounding area for a long time.
However, it should be noted that if it is allowed to continue to devour the surrounding magic at will, the final consequences will be completely unpredictable.
Having also witnessed the appearance of that translucent figure, Swift looked as if she had seen a ghost and quickly moved away from me. However, after only a few steps, she turned and stumbled towards the harbor, indicating that she wanted to help the ships that had not yet entered the harbor to get ashore as quickly as possible.
It's hard to say whether he was stupid or concerned about something else. Anyway, I did add some simple defenses for him, and I didn't have time to worry about the rest.
Hikari and Grey's voices had been gone for a while, probably following my instructions to retreat into the city with the receding crowd.
Everything abandoned on the shore was blown about by the chaotic wind, with fine sand and shells hitting the hastily set-up defenses, while magical water splashed down from the sky, occasionally creating small, spreading ripples.
Abandoned surfboards and lighter boats are tossed about by the turbulent tides and then crashed down, as if you could hear the materials that make their bodies rattle and groan, but that's none of my business.
Several tidal waves were spiraled up and converged into the air, causing the encased translucent shape to form something like a water cocoon. It was unknown why they initially converged or why they suddenly appeared here.
If that is indeed a cocoon containing something, it must be the most ferocious monster in the world from birth.
Thinking about it carefully, were there any rumors circulating in Mermaid Harbor about giant sea monsters?
After a moment's thought, I came to the conclusion: Yes.
That was a legendary creature, appearing in stories alongside the mermaid race. It was a colossal being that frequently roamed the seas, with a dragon-like head and a slender body, and fish-like features covered in sharp spines. This behemoth usually lurked in the water, cruising at speeds far exceeding Sharp Shipbuilding's fastest speedboats. When in action, it could easily alter the surrounding weather, causing storms and torrential rains. With a casual flick of its tail, it could create whirlpools that swept everything away, triggering tsunamis.
That was the mermaid's enemy. It was precisely to fight against that enormous creature that frequently harassed the coast that the people living by the sea chose to join forces with the mermaid, eventually injuring and even repelling it.
If I remember correctly, the legendary sea monster's name was Leviathan.
For me, there is no worse opponent than this.
The lightning and fire I tried to throw at it were torn apart by the increasingly violent airflow and re-disintegrated into magic, converging and flowing towards the core. Even the arrows formed from the replenished [liquid metal] did nothing to reduce the concentration of magic. Even if I planned to use the same move I used against the Chimera at the Sacred Tree Barrier, I figured it would only be able to temporarily disperse the ethereal core. By then, having lost most of my magic, I wouldn't even be able to resist, let alone hold on to avoid being swept away by the storm.
The great tide has already begun.
First it reached my waist, then it was about the height of a person, and then it quickly rose to more than ten meters, and then rapidly climbed to several tens of meters, forcing me to speed up and dodge, thus avoiding being easily crushed like those carelessly discarded junk.
The splashing water droplets could easily penetrate the defenses and stung the face, but it was still bearable. The condensed water was no longer a pure blue as clear as a gemstone, but a dark and gloomy color, as if something was pressed down at its center, exuding an ominous premonition from the inside out.
—It felt like the end of the world was coming.
There was nothing but the approaching raging storm and high tide.
Looking up at the towering, receding tide, I froze in place, as if a childhood nightmare were resurfacing.
It was the same day of heavy rain. Just a short while ago, the weather was sunny and clear, but in the blink of an eye, the fierce wind and heavy rain lashed down on them.
The towering, inky waves drew ever closer and magnified in the chaotic vision, making it impossible to distinguish where the boundary between the sea and the sky lay; all that remained was water, and nothing else.
Then, I suddenly felt a pull from behind.
Turning my head, I saw Hikari with half of her body sticking out of the cave entrance. She reached out and wrapped her arms around my waist, straining her little face and trying to pull herself back, but she couldn't move my body even a millimeter.
I was somewhat speechless: "Don't you know that you can't take someone with more mana than you have in total when you use Voidwalk?"
"I—know—ah—"
Hikari still didn't let go, her eyes tightly shut as she strained: "But, Mr. Yumi, aren't you afraid of water? I'm going to pull you back with me!"
"...I'm not that scared."
For some reason, I suddenly felt at ease. I patted the little silly girl's hands that were wrapped around my waist, signaling her to let go: "I just had an idea, and I suddenly wanted to try it out."
"...What are you trying? Aren't you about to drown?"
In the moment Hikari was stunned and bewildered, I pried her arms open and pushed her back the way she came.
I am not standing here unprepared.
The door disappeared into thin air, and I stood beside the veiled mermaid statue, waiting for the long-awaited arrival of the administrator.
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