HTWBB Chapter 29

Thud. The sound of splintering wood echoed in succession. Screams followed—sounds impossible to hear from ordinary fish.

Rietta instinctively lowered her stance. Warm currents rolled in slowly from the distance, sweeping past her hair. She glanced at the ring of light he'd reconnected around them, then stared straight ahead. The fog filling the corridor churned wildly, as if alive.

"It won't be easy to move underwater."

"Don't worry about it."

She'd always done this. Her adaptation would be as quick as when she'd first learned to swim. This wasn't a situation for weak complaints.

Abel naturally lowered his arm, extending his hand, then clenched it tight with what seemed like regret.

The currents intensified as if they'd been waiting for that brief pause to catch their breath. Demonic energy stronger than before sharply grazed her cheek. The wait was short. Riding that flow, a black mutant lunged at Rietta first.

She bent at the waist, then kicked off the floor with her full weight. Gripping the handle with both hands, she thrust her sword upward with all her strength.

Fortunately, the relatively weak belly wasn't as hard as the scales. Rietta twisted the deeply embedded blade and slashed sideways.

Disgusting blood erupted like a fountain. The thrashing mutant fish struck its approaching kin before crashing into an open cabin.

Rietta cursed quietly as she wiped blood from her cheek. Just from moving a bit vigorously, the wound in her side screamed in protest. The barely closed gash seemed to have reopened.

During her brief hesitation, another mutant shot toward Abel like an arrow. He created an ice sword with magic and rammed it straight into the gaping maw of exposed teeth.

"Kieeek!"

Pierced clean through in one strike, the mutant fish fell without even a chance to resist. Abel abandoned the ice sword that had embedded itself and drifted away. Lingering to retrieve it risked being caught by even these lowly creatures.

He gripped a newly created sword. No sooner were the mutant fish that had rushed ahead dealt with than they swarmed in groups again.

Abel drew in a light breath and exhaled. Too many constraints to move freely. Not just because of the physically cramped space, but also the magic he had to continuously maintain.

He opened his parched mouth to its limit and slashed horizontally at the charging mutants. Crack. The ice shattered into pieces and melted into the sea, vanishing instantly.

He'd lost count of how many. At this rate, there'd be no end unless he decided to blow up the ship entirely. Seizing a brief gap, he glanced sideways. He saw Rietta struggling to pull her sword from gills. Her breathing was ragged.

"How much longer can you move?"

Rietta straightened her body that had flinched briefly in pain and turned her head toward him. Even through the fog, her cheeks and clothes were mottled with dark red blood.

She shoved aside a dead mutant fish drifting slowly. Several attracted by the scent of their kin's blood rushed in madly, tearing at the corpse.

"I'm nearly at my limit now."

Her voice held not a tremor. If not for her irregular breathing, he wouldn't have known she was exhausted.

Rietta was someone who never revealed her weaknesses. For her—someone who didn't know how to lean on others—to say she'd reached her limit meant the situation was truly dire. Then again, she'd lasted this long in a state where injury restricted her movement.

Without pause to catch his breath, Abel cut down a fish charging at Rietta in her stead. He noticed the bloodstain midway down her shirt had expanded its territory. See? She doesn't know how to rely on anyone.

Having made his decision, he clicked his tongue and blocked her path, spreading both arms wide. He thought her a remarkably capable human, rare as they were, but she truly was an infuriating woman. Rietta asked with bewilderment.

"What are you doing?"

"There's no end at this rate."

Abel chanted briefly in that unknowable language of his. In an instant, lines seared into the floor as if burned by fire, and once the formation completed to his desired range, it blazed with brilliant light.

The entire space flickered as if struck by thunder. When darkness returned, the mutants that had been charging in a frenzy all tumbled before him as if blocked by an invisible wall.

That had consumed most of the magic he could deploy here. Abel turned to her with a weary expression.

"Five minutes at most for now. I'll get straight to the point, Rietta."

"Speak."

"Are you a mage?"

Deep blue eyes gazed at him steadily. Eyes that somehow seemed more vivid underwater than on land.

Abel swore he hadn't followed her with ulterior motives. He was far removed from moral notions like feeling sorry or being unable to leave an injured person behind.

His reason for saving the wounded woman had been entirely impulsive, and exploring the shipwreck was driven by irresistible curiosity.

What lay hidden here didn't matter. He was curious about that beautiful coral-haired woman—utterly indifferent to everything except the single purpose she pursued.

'I don't need it.'

Even when offered help, Rietta said that and chose to handle things alone. In his long years, he'd never seen a human so careless about their own safety.

Many chose the fast, life-threatening path over the slow, safe one. But few had the mindset of 'it can't be helped if I die' in the process.

Rietta was one of those rare humans, yet she wasn't trying to die either. From that troublesome tomb to today's shipwreck, she simply focused solely on 'what she was searching for.'

"Does that matter in this situation?"

Irritation seeped through the rough voice, though barely noticeable. Rietta never cared why he did what he did. Her attitude showed she didn't care about methods as long as the situation was resolved. Only minimal cooperation existed.

Now was the same. Even though he wielded magic that the people of this land could no longer use, she had never once asked a related question.

Who he was, how he could do such things. That's why Abel was curious about Rietta. He was a creature that only responded to fresh stimuli.

"Make a contract with me."

"What?"

At the disjointed content, Rietta asked back with slight irritation. Abel glanced at the rings of light encircling both their wrists.

Escaping alone would pose no problem. But then he'd never see this woman again. Therefore, the solution to the current situation narrowed to one option.

Personal curiosity aside, Abel needed Rietta. The one who at the tomb entrance resembling a temple had allowed him safe entry—perhaps the only existence who could give his restricted body room to breathe.

"There are two methods. Contract with me, or catch them one by one until all strength is exhausted."

"What kind of contract are you talking about?"

"Let's simply call it a familiar contract."

"You mean you'll become my familiar?"

Abel nodded.

"That would be correct."

"...If we make this contract, will the current situation change?"

"Definitely. Though I'll need to draw on your magic a bit."

"You're telling me to die."

He laughed aloud at the joke-like words.

"Hardly. Decide now. We really don't have time."

Even during their brief conversation, the mutants were ramming themselves madly. Cracks slowly formed in the defensive line he'd erected. Despite the insufficient explanation, Rietta didn't ponder long. As he said, there was no time.

"Tell me how."

"A formal contract takes time, so for now I need a 'declaration.'"

"Declaration?"

"Say you'll contract with me. Now."

"I don't have much magic left. If I collapse, you'll have to handle it yourself."

"Don't worry."

He just needed enough of her magic to stamp a seal. Finally, Rietta nodded.

"Fine. I'll 「contract with you.」"

Abel closed his eyes with a satisfied expression.

Though the voice came from her mouth as usual, somehow the resonance felt different. Rietta touched her perfectly fine throat. Was that enough?

The familiar contract he mentioned was a term used among human mages. Called differently by each species, it was a contract where one side received magic from the other in exchange for lending their power or providing as much as desired.

However, the process had been secretly passed down within each species. It meant binding each other with promises they could never betray, making 'familiar' the word with the closest meaning.

"Now that the declaration's been made, you can't back out, Rietta."

That voice carried away on the wind. Yes, wind. Wind-like currents again. Rietta discovered fog rippling from beneath Abel's feet and stepped back half a pace.

Even when she tried to move farther, the ring of light that had posed no restrictions until now constricted her arm, preventing her from doing as she wished.

Meanwhile, the expanding spray wrapped around Abel's entire body like a whirlwind. The spray that had veiled him to the tips of his hair scattered in all directions at some point, like bursting water droplets.

Rietta staggered slightly as she felt her meager magic drain away. This sensation was the type one never got used to. Before she knew it, silence had enveloped the surroundings.

"Ah."

Abel's voice like a moan tore through the stillness.