In an instant, almost all of those mermaids had their heads lopped off, although I noted that Sariena was left untouched.
The other mermaids seemed to have realised they were outmatched and quickly swam away from them, leaving Sariena floating there by herself.
It took her a moment more to recover before trying to escape but Emilia kicked the water behind her and shot herself forward to grab onto the mermaid’s neck.
The Nekomata captain then held her blade to her neck and they seemed to have reached some kind of understanding as Sariena started swimming upwards towards the surface with Emilia on her back.
I then went to grab Odeta who seemed to be struggling from being underwater for so long and dragged her up with me as well.
I gasped as I broke through the surface of the water, hearing Odeta cough out the water in her lungs as she sucked in lungfuls of air.
The waves were still really rough because of the storm though and I was fighting to keep the both of us afloat. There was no way I would be able to fly with these winds blowing up there.
“Sister… Aster…” She groaned, before passing out.
It was only then did I realise that Odeta was bleeding from her side, most likely an injury either from the mermaids or the explosions just now.
I quickly used my [Close Wounds] spell on her but it could not heal her fully because my proficiency with it was still low. She would still need to rest and recover.
I heard a splash and I turned to see Emilia still riding on Sariena’s back with her sword at her neck swimming towards us.
“Lady Ast…! We have… Get to land… Of the storm! This fish bitch… To one!” Emilia shouted over the rain and thunder, her words barely audible over the sound of the wind.
But I understood what she wanted and gave her a thumbs up to show my affirmation, prompting Sariena to start swimming towards a certain direction.
Wait… We’re really just going to swim there? I guess we don’t really have a choice…
There was no way Odeta was swimming in her current condition so I half carried her and half swam behind the mermaid leading us.
Several times we had to dive under the water again because of the waves and that did not help Odeta’s condition at all, though she still remained unconscious which worried me a little.
I was concerned that Sariena might be leading us in circles but fortunately my fears proved to be unfounded as a dark silhouette in the shape of land appeared in the rain soon enough.
I quickened my pace while fighting against the waves to reach it, trying my best to keep both Odeta and I afloat.
Thankfully nothing else impeded us from reaching the shore and I carried the Amrap up onto the island. There were only a few trees growing on it and the island itself was relatively small. But at least it granted us respite from the waves and the rain.
I carried Odeta towards the treeline to keep out of the rain while Emilia started dragging Sariena out of the water by pulling on her hair.
“Ow!! Ow!! I did what you asked!! Weren’t you going to let me go?!!” She screamed.
The Nekomata tossed the mermaid on the sand and pointed her katana at her just as lightning flashed overhead, giving her an especially imposing look.
“I’ll think about it as soon as I get what I want from you. Who sent you?!”
Sariena spat on the sand, “Who else?! Obviously those wild cats of yours hired us to attack you. That stupid maid girl was one of them too!”𝒐𝓋𝓛xt.𝒸𝞸𝔪
Emilia leaned closer and pressed the tip of her blade on Sariena’s neck, forcing her to lie on the sand.
“I know the mermaid pirates around these parts. We had an agreement of non-interference after we wrecked them the last time they tried. So there’s no way they would have accepted a contract to attack us. I’m going to ask one more time, who sent you?!”
She raised her hands in surrender, “Wait! I’m telling the truth! It really was them! We’re just not pirates! We’re just some people they paid to attack you guys! In fact, they didn’t even keep up their end of the bargain! They were supposed to sabotage your weapons before we started our attack but they failed! You think anyone was crazy enough to attack your ship head on?! I still have that arrow wound to show for it, you know?!”
“How many of you were there and who else is on the ship?!”
“Hell if I know! I’m just some mook that got shit luck! I got hit by the arrow and couldn’t swim away fast enough so I had to cling to your ship or I would have been shot again! Then I got fished up by that girl over there while I was still recovering! I would have been fine just slipping away right then you know, but I got dragged back in because her maid just so happens to be one of them and I would be killed if I didn’t do my part!”
I pretended not to hear her as I dug through my Pack of Folding, trying to find the camping gear I packed in the event that I have to camp outside for Mercenary or Dungeoneering work. This is why I hoard, you see? You never know when you might need these things.
Emilia pressed her blade harder on her neck, drawing blood, “And yet you and your friends were ready to attack us when we fell into the water? You really expect me to believe that was not something all of you arranged?”
“Hey! I didn’t plan that at all! Those guys must have been hoping to still get the bounty and stuck around to try and kill you! I have nothing to do with that!”
Emilia stared at her for a few moments before stepping back, allowing Sariena to sit up.
“Fine. Get lost before I change my mind.”
Without waiting for an answer, Emilia turned away and walked towards me, showing that she had lost interest in that mermaid.
I looked up just as Sariena used her tail to kick the ground to launch herself towards Emilia, a knife she had pulled from who knows where clutched in her hand.
I didn’t even have time to shout a warning before Emilia spun around and swung her katana in an arc while sidestepping Sariena’s attack smoothly.
Sariena spun through the air and landed on the sand, using her other hand to prop herself up and glaring at the Nekomata.
She looked like she was going to try jumping at Emilia again but she suddenly slipped and fell face first onto the ground.
No… She did not slip… Her arm had separated itself from her body from where Emilia had cut her.
“My… My hand!! My haaaaand!!” She screamed.
Emilia flicked her katana, letting the blood on the surface get washed away in the rain as she advanced towards Sariena.
“I gave you more than just a chance. You shouldn’t have any complaints about me taking your life now, do you?”
Emilia did not even let her answer before swinging her sword down, cutting off the mermaid’s other arm.
The mermaid screamed again and tried to back away from Emilia, only to fail miserably as she did not have her arms anymore.
Emilia then stabbed her blade into Sariena’s tail up to the hilt, pinning her to the ground and preventing her from escaping.
With deliberate slowness, she took out what looked like a tanto from her sleeve before pulling the short blade out from its sheath.
“Wait! Wait!! Please… Please! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!”
Ignoring the cries and pleas of mercy, the Nekomata advanced on Sariena and stabbed the blade into her belly, even giving it a few twists for good measure before pulling the blade out.
And instead of ending her life there, Emilia simply left her there to bleed to death, turning her back on her to come towards me.
She’s really brutal huh… Remind me not to get on her bad side…
“My apologies , Lady Aster… You had to see something as unpleasant as that,” Emilia lowered her head slightly.
“Umm… It’s not really your fault… But what do we do now? I don’t think I could carry the both of you and fly at the same time…”
“You don’t need to worry, Lady Aster. I have an artefact with me that helps my people track my whereabouts. It was meant to be used when I’m kidnapped but it should work here too. As long as those damn backwater cats do not succeed in taking over my ship, which I do not believe they are capable of in the first place, we should be rescued within a day.”
Well, that is certainly reassuring… I guess what we need to do is just weather this storm and we should be fine.
With my Pack of Folding, we have food, water and also shelter so even if we have to stay here for a few days, that would not even be a problem either.
Now all I have to do is set up a tent for us and then we can get out of this horrible weather.
…
Ah.
I only have one tent and two sleeping bags… The other one was meant for Katsuki when she accompanied me… There’s three of us now…
This is going to be a problem…