I was now convinced that this tingling sensation deep in my head was some sort of skill. If it was something like danger detection, that would be great. It would be even better if it worked for more than just my own danger, but I wouldn’t get greedy.

“It’s still incomplete, but let’s give it everything we’ve got.”

“Yeah. Just standing around here won’t accomplish anything.”

Now that the Sea Emperor Turtle had started attacking on its own, we couldn’t afford to waste time. Even if its only long-range attack was that breath attack, its power was something we couldn’t ignore. If it targeted the city, the consequences would be unimaginable.

We soared through the air, flying between the burning ships that had been hit and the ones still preparing for departure.

“Shu! Rio, you’re here too?”

A familiar voice called out to us. Turning, I spotted Linford aboard one of the ships preparing for battle.

“Yeah, we’re heading out now.”

“I’m counting on you!”

Giving Linford a quick wave, I increased my speed toward the Sea Emperor Turtle.

“Here comes the breath attack!”

The tingling in my head warned me just in time. Almost simultaneously, the turtle’s mouths began to glow, and twin beams of light shot toward us. Both Rio and I deployed our barriers, deflecting the attacks skyward.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Since she was expecting it, Rio had no trouble dealing with the attack. We maneuvered around to the turtle’s side, a blind spot, and began preparing the railgun. I handed Rio the shock-infused projectile I had prepared and shifted to guard her.

We were now about fifty meters from the turtle’s shell. Its massive neck strained as if trying to turn toward us, but its own size prevented it from fully doing so. Its sheer bulk and resilience were threatening, but this was a clear and exploitable weakness… assuming we had enough firepower to break through its defenses.

Its two heads loomed above the shell, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks. We could unleash our attack from a safe position. If this didn’t work, we’d switch to targeting its heads directly.

“I’m ready.”

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Rio closed her eyes, focusing intensely as magic gathered before her. A twenty-meter-long barrel of pure magical energy took shape, augmented with magnetic magic.

To ensure accuracy, I marked the impact point using spatial magic. At the speeds we were working with, the guidance effect would be minimal, but every little bit helped.

The sheer magical energy being concentrated caused the surrounding sea to ripple violently.

The projectile I had crafted wasn’t just imbued with shockwave properties—it had a secondary effect. Upon impact, it would release a burst of explosive projectiles inside the target, a truly vicious design.

“Firing!”

The biggest issues were accuracy and firing stability. The former could be solved by firing from close range, but if the shot failed, resetting for another would take time.

A deafening explosion rang out as my custom shock projectile was launched.

The impact and the strike were simultaneous.

The enormous body of the Sea Emperor Turtle trembled violently, staggering back several meters.

The shot had landed successfully.

Waves surged outward, crashing toward the harbor.

The two long necks of the turtle stiffened, then violently spewed out a red-black substance from their mouths.

Its heads drooped, and with a resounding splash, they collapsed into the sea.

The immediate damage was clear—its shell was punctured, and massive cracks spread out across a ten-meter radius.

The turtle stopped moving.

Most of the shockwave’s energy had been absorbed internally, but even its massive frame couldn’t fully withstand it. The displaced water caused towering waves on one side, while the sea was drawn back violently on the other.

“Well?”

“…Haha…”

Watching the turtle’s legendary defense shatter in a single blow was almost surreal.

Rio flashed me a victorious smirk, and I couldn’t help but laugh dryly. Even Nir was wearing a smug expression, despite doing absolutely nothing.

Rio’s MP had dropped to about half, though it was rapidly regenerating.

And as for the Sea Emperor Turtle—

＝＝＝＝＝
Status: Deceased
＝＝＝＝＝

“I checked—it's definitely dead.”

“Yes! We did it!”

Exchanging a high-five with Rio, we hugged and shared a brief kiss.

To think we had actually taken it down in one strike… In the end, it felt almost anticlimactic.

“…So, what do we do about this?”

Normally, I’d store our kills in the spatial storage, but this thing was on an entirely different scale. Not even Rio could manage something this massive.

“Hmm… Should we at least take the heads? We’ll need proof, after all.”

The sea had turned murky from the turtle’s expelled fluids, making visibility poor. However, its severed heads had remained afloat, their tips protruding from the water. Each one was enormous—comparable to a high-rise building.

“Good idea. Let’s get this over with.”

Using magic, we lifted the two heads and severed them, storing them in the spatial storage.

It had taken effort, but compared to the shell, the necks were much easier to cut through.

We flew back to the military port, only to be greeted by utter chaos. The harbor was flooded, with one ship stranded on land and another listing heavily. Some vessels had avoided beaching but had clearly suffered damage.

Upon landing, the atmosphere felt even more frantic than before. If the waves had wrecked the ships, well… that was out of our control. Let’s just blame the turtle’s thrashing.

“Shu! Rio!”

As we scanned the area, Linford ran up to us, his expression a mix of relief and disbelief. Behind him, Dogesha approached with a grim look.

“What happened to the Sea Emperor Turtle!? We saw its heads collapse… Did you—did you actually do it?”

Even from a distance, they had seen the moment its heads fell. Considering we had returned in one piece, it wouldn’t be hard for them to put the pieces together.

“Of course. We took it down.”

Linford’s face lit up with joy, but Dogesha’s expression only darkened further.