In the water?　I think I can see it... ...... or deeper.

　He peered over the edge of the boat to the surface of the lake and stared into his 'right eye'.

　However, there is no sign of any danger between us and the bottom of the lake.

　The only thing that can be sensed is a common-sense-sized mass of fish shadow, and there is no abnormality at the bottom of the lake, which rises sharply towards the destination is a small island.

Ulysses, pull out of there!　Travis, Garnett and Chandler!　Prepare to intercept!　Alexia, prepare the most intense spell ammunition you can find!
What's the matter with you, White Wolf?　You're a serpent, aren't you?

　Garnett and the others immediately take up their weapons and alert their surroundings.

　Ulysses' reaction is also quite quick, and he tries to leave the place at once with maximum acceleration, which he had been reluctant to do until now.

　However, it is one step short of breaking away to the safe zone.

　The surface of the lake rises and falls like a mountain.

　The ship carrying us is caught in the edge of the upheaval, and with Ulysses's navigation skills we barely avoid capsizing as we slide down the steep surface of the water, which has become a steep slope.

'Whoa!　Hey, white wolf!　What the hell is this?!
"We've always been in front of him... It's not an island!　What we should have been aiming for was another little island!　No wonder you can't even see a shadow!

　The small island that should have been the destination - or was misidentified as the destination - was launched high into the air as the lake rose.

　It's not an island, but the top of a giant monster's head.

　It is a huge body covered in armor-like rocks, so huge that you can look up at it.

　A semi-aquatic giant with sharp fins all over its body, thrusting its upper body out of the surface of the lake and roaring with its jaws and gills spread.

　Every single one of us was speechless with astonishment as we looked up at the huge body that this boat could easily ride in our palms.

'Nah ...... half-fishman, giant ......!　The white wolf!　Is this guy a wild demon too?!

　The surface of the lake surged violently with the appearance of the giant aquatic creature, and a massive wave that could swallow the town came crashing down on our ship, one after another.

　Garnett grabbed his sword with one hand and grabbed the edge of the ship with the other hand and held on, then stared up at the massive body from near the stern.

'How could it be!　That stuff is substandard in any dungeon!

　What I thought was the 'closest island from a specific shore' designated by the Demon King's Army was the head of a huge monster that had been hiding in the lake for some time now.

　The place we should really be aiming for is further back from there, an island that can now be seen faintly on the other side of the great waves.

　The mysterious water current of unknown cause was probably due to the effect of that huge thing breathing in the water of the lake.

　The cycle of sucking water in its mouth and spitting it out through its gills must have produced an extremely unnatural flow of water.

By any chance, that guy is ......!

　In order to get support for my intuitively derived hypothesis, I put all my magical power into my 'right eye'.

　--You'll feel a cracking sensation in the area around your right eye.

　It's different from pain.

　There is a sense that this is a natural phenomenon occurring, just like when the skin is burned by the sun and peels off, just like when a young tooth falls out as a child.

　This is a phenomenon that has occurred many times before and then stopped, but I guess it is not a desirable change.

　However, perhaps because of this abnormality, I can feel the sensation in my "right eye" becoming even clearer.

　I can see the identity of the monster. I can see the secret of the lower half of its body hidden in the lake.

　Then you shouldn't close your right eye.
　You should not close your right eye, at least not until you get out of this predicament.

...... I knew it!　That's a medallion hexenbiest like Skoll--Dagon!

　The half-giant, half-fish-man giant monster (Dagon) wields a water-scratchy arm and tries to smash our ship.

　Ulysses quickly turns the ship around and avoids a direct hit, but it is within Dagon's expectation that he will avoid the current blow.

'Watch out!　His bottom half is a giant serpentine mass!
I can't imagine what it would be like for you to say that, though!

　Immediately, Ulysses accelerates and makes a sudden change.

　After a moment's delay, several giant serpents leaped out of the water with their fangs pointed, and rushed one after another into the place where the ship had been a short while ago.

　Each and every one of them is so huge that it is beyond the scope of ordinary demons, and yet all of them have their roots connected to the lower half of Dagon's body, and from the other side of the body, several long tails are undulating as if they were intertwined.

　Or perhaps some of the serpents seen in this lake were the tentacle-like necks that Dagon had extended from the main body.

　I chased such thoughts out of my mind for the moment and continued to stomp on my 'right eye' as I tried to avoid being shaken off the boat that continued to sail like an acrobat.

''Commander!　We'll have to start over!　Fighting like this won't get us anywhere!
'Absolutely!　Ulysses!　Shake it off as fast as you can!

　I took Ulysses's suggestion and immediately ordered him to leave Dagon's attack range.

　Getting into a fight from a sudden encounter is what the opponent wants.

　Currently, once the surprise attack is successful, the battle situation is in the Demon Beast's (Dagon) favor and our disadvantage - we have to reset this imbalance first.

　However, we are quickly made to understand that this decision was a mistake.

''Wait, Luke!　There are no hexenbiests following you!

　Travis' loud voice caught my ears and I turned the gaze I'd been sending in the direction of the ship's progress to Dagon.

　Dagon left us intact as we tried to escape, and without even trying to stretch the neck of the Serpent in the lower half of his body, he turned his body in a slow motion that was commensurate with his massive body.

　Beyond that - the ground base where Leila and the others are waiting.

''Ulysses!　Stop the breakaway!　Get in front of him!
'Huh!　You're going to die!
"Be dead to me!　Otherwise, they'll kill the people on the shore!
'...... d*mn it!　That's what you mean!

　Ulysses turns the helm while spilling curses.

　With a sharp turn that almost knocked the ship's hull over and a sudden acceleration from that state - an extreme maneuver that made me doubt whether such a movement was possible for the ship - the small boat of magic propulsion came around in front of the demonic beast Dagon.

　The moment Dagon caught sight of it, its face, which was as inorganic as an ancient statue of a god, looked like it was distorted in amusement, was it really just an illusion on my part?