Liza twisted around to dodge the oncoming head-butt and tumbled onto the sand.

“Aah! Take this!”

A part of the snake’s tail had been sneaking up on Lulu, but she shot it down with her Magic Gun.

The two magic users, Arisa and Mia, were too busy keeping the snake trapped to do anything else.

“O Magic Spear, feel my burning blood—”

Liza stood, kicking up sand, and started weirdly muttering with her spear in hand.

“—pass through my arm and gather at thine spearhead!”

Liza’s body let off a faint red glow, and the patterns on the Magic Spear pulsed with red light.

“Come forth, ‘Spellblade’!”

With that final shout, the light on the spear gathered at the tip, turning into the bright-red glow of “Spellblade.”

Liza charged toward the bone snake, leaving a streak of red light like a comet.

With the help of her “Blink” and “Body Strengthening” skills, Liza moved far faster than the scattering of the snake’s bone bullets, leaving a spray of sand in her wake as she leaped toward the heart of the bone snake.

The monster attempted to counter her with a head-butt, but—

“Not a chance!”

Arisa’s spirited Space Magic blocked it.

“Begone, bone beast!”

Liza’s “Spellblade” pierced right through the bone snake’s skull, the overflowing magic cracking it into pieces.

“There’s that legendary move!”

“Mm. Awesome.”

Arisa and Mia praised Liza’s “Spellblade.”

Evidently, Liza’s bad-fantasy-novel-sounding chant was actually a spirit-focusing incantation taught to her by the elf Gurgapoya, her spear master.

Deliberately invoking “Spellblade” could be difficult when one was still learning, so he suggested using keywords like those to help activate it.

“Miss Liza, watch out!” Lulu cried.

The snake’s other head was going straight for her.

“Do not get distracted, I warn.”

Nana fired a Foundation spear at the skull, using “Taunt” to draw its attention from Liza back to her.

“Pochiii!”

Realizing the snake was no longer focused on them, Tama called out to Pochi.

“Charge, sir!”

Using the “Body Strengthening” and “Blink” skills, Pochi came in at incredible speed from the bone snake’s blind spot to stab through the bone protecting its heart.

The bone shards flew across the beach, and Tama dodged among them like a shadow.

“Now, Tama, sir!”

Having lost her momentum, Pochi shouted at Tama.

“Nooo problemooo!”

Tama leapfrogged over Pochi’s back, sneaking through the gaps in the bone snake’s body to arrive directly at the core.

“Meowly Stone!”

With this joking cry, Tama poured magic into the Holy Stone, and a pillar of bluish-white light enveloped the glowing red core.

HISSSSHAAAAAAAAH!

The bone snake let out an angry roar at the unexpected attack.

“You are wide-open, I report.”

Nana’s large shield smashed into the bone snake’s unprotected jaw, and Liza’s “Spellblade” slashed through its neck.

With its head gone and heart purified, the bone snake fell apart into smaller skeletons.

“Finish it!”

“  Ice Koori.”

Arisa’s Space Magic and Mia’s Spirit Magic delivered the finishing blows to the remaining skeletons.

“Good work, everyone! We’ll take a break once we return to the ship.”

I led everyone back toward our ship as I praised their teamwork.

“Master, the ghost ships are coming this way.”

Sensing a change, Liza alerted me.

Evidently, defeating the bone snake had drawn the ships’ attention to us.

“Don’t worry, Liza.”

Once we got off the coast, I could use my intermediate attack magic to wipe them all out in one go.

If I did it here, I might accidentally destroy the city-rock of the grave of the Nonolie people in the process.

“Master, we are prepared for departure, I report.”

“All right, let’s set sail!”

The skypower engine let out a roar, and our ship took off into the sky.

By now, the rain had let up from an intense squall to an average downpour, but in exchange, the wind had gotten much stronger and stormier.

“Dome, close!”

A transparent dome covered the helm and the other seats on the deck.

It was a powerful defensive dome made from the cornea of the giant monster fish Tobkezerra. It could ward off even my Fire Ball or a concentrated Laser.

“Shiiips?”

“There are lots and lots of them, sir!”

Tama and Pochi, who had changed into armor and fastened their seat belts, pointed frantically back in the direction of the city-rock.

The ghost ships were approaching through the curtain of heavy rain, wreathed by black clouds. It was hard to see clearly in the rain, but the silhouettes of the ships ranged from small sailing ships to galleys.

“Big.”

“Th-they’re quite fast.”

Mia and Lulu trembled as they looked at the oncoming ghost ships.

“Master, shall I produce Flexible Shields? I inquire.”

“I think I can slow down one or two of them.”

“It’s all right,” I reassured Nana and Arisa. I appreciated the offers, but we were on track to put a perfectly safe distance between us.

“Master, at least allow me to guard from the stern—”

“No, you could fall.”

Liza, who had changed into her armor, looked eager as well, but I shook my head.

Perhaps due to the intense rainfall or the appearance of the ghost ships, the formerly calm seas were becoming increasingly tempestuous.

If someone fell in there, they could drown in a matter of seconds.

Besides…

“I’ll take care of the rest. You all just stay here and watch.”

I smiled at everyone, then used “Skyrunning” to take off from the poop deck.

The figurehead golem should be able to take care of steering the ship.

“Wow, they really are ghost ships, all right.”

As I came closer, I could see the ships more clearly.

They weren’t merely different sizes—they were from all different places and eras, too.

All the ghost ships in the fleet had tattered sails, and some even had broken masts or huge holes in the sides.

They were each trailed by a black cloud, giving the illusion that they were burning from a direct cannon hit.

All they had in common was the fact that they were floating in the sky and that they were all captained by ghosts or skeletons with rusty cutlasses.

It was a fantastical scene and all but a little bit too horror-flavored for my tastes.

“Okwabeetouga!”

Beneath the sounds of rain and whipping winds, I heard a skin-crawling voice shrieking.

> Skill Acquired: “Hallowed Language”

The inflection was similar to Ancient Language, but apparently, it wasn’t the same.

I quickly put skill points into “Hallowed Language” and activated it.

On the map, I could see that my comrades’ status condition had changed to Fear. That shriek must have had a similar effect to the black dragon’s roar.

I felt bad for them, but I would probably have to deal with this situation first.

“<Ye covetous whelps who dare target the gods’ floating island Lalakie! For as long as there be living light in these eyes, I, the Skeleton King, shall never surrender the key to Lalakie!>”

The bearded skeleton captain of the largest ghost ship shouted from the deck.

Um, aren’t you dead, though?

“<You misunderstand! We care not for the key to Lalakie.>”

Just to be safe, I searched my Storage and the map for it, but the key didn’t seem to be anywhere around.

“<Any thief would say the same. But you shall answer to the Skeleton King, companion to the final queen of Lalakie!>”

The Skeleton King swung a dark-red rapier, and all the ghost ships turned their sides toward me.

“<Fiiiiire!>”

Boom! The ghost ships shot at me with a dull sound and clouds of black smoke.

Cannonballs flew toward me, blazing with black flame.

My Flexible Shields or the ship’s defenses could probably ward them off, but there was no need to put everyone in danger like that.

Instead, I changed my title to Hero and brought out the Holy Sword Claidheamh Soluis.

“<Dance,> Claidheamh Soluis!”

On my command, the Holy Sword transformed into thirteen blades and began counterattacking the cannons.

“<How impudent for a measly thief! Go forth, undead army! Drag these thieves into the next world as your comrades!>”

Upon hearing the Skeleton King’s words, I finally understood.

The ghost ships were all different because they were the shades of the Skeleton King’s victims. That explained why the crews’ clothing ranged from that of pirate lackeys to navy uniforms.

The ghost ships attacked at the Skeleton King’s command.

They were led by former pirate ships, which had naval rams on their bows.

The ghosts who were able to fly took off like carrier-based aircraft, and the deck-bound skeleton soldiers began to fire with guns and bows.

AWUOOOOOOWN.

The skeletons’ cries echoed through the stormy sky. There was no meaning to their words.

Giving a brief, silent prayer for their souls, I swung my raised hand down.

“<Dance,> Claidheamh Soluis—bring the dead to rest.”

My slightly dramatic words scattered on the wind.

The blades of my Holy Sword let off a bright-blue light as they zoomed around like guided air-to-air missiles from a certain mecha anime.

WHOOOSH.

Claidheamh Soluis reached the first of the ghost ships.

The black clouds of the ghost ship and the blue glow of Claidheamh Soluis clashed for an instant, but the latter quickly won out.

When the flash of light faded, the ghost ship was gone, leaving nothing but white ash falling amid the rain and gusts.

All over the stormy skies, the same scene was playing out.

One by one, the ghost ships turned to ash along with their skeletal crews and disappeared.

I thought I heard the skeletons sigh with relief as they vanished, but it might have been my imagination.

“<Impossible! How darest thou destroy my elite troops with such ease?!>”

The Skeleton King shouted with rage as his ghost fleet disappeared.

His pompous mannerisms reminded me of the jet-black greater hell demon I’d encountered in Seiryuu City.

“<Hang in there. It’s almost your turn.>”

“<Such insolence! Art thou perhaps with Doghead?! Then destroying the god-granted floating islands and floating castles was not enough to slake thy bloodlust—thou hast turned thy hand toward the sea-hidden Lalakie as well?!>”

I had no idea what the Skeleton King was talking about at that point.

“<I shall not allow it! Lalakie shall someday return to the skies, destroy the false kings who run rampant on land, and reign over the world once more. This I swore to my wife on her deathbed—>”

For some reason, the Skeleton King was glaring into the swirling black clouds. I’d thought he was talking to me, but it seemed he was shouting at some other person in his memories instead.

“<—and I shall see that promise through, no matter who or what I must sacrifice to do so!>”

This all sounded very grandiose but also maybe a little crazy.

World domination was the kind of goal that should show up only in children’s stories.

As I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, my Holy Sword returned from sweeping away the ghost fleet.

All that was left was the Skeleton King’s flagship.

“<Save that kind of ambition for the living, please.>”

I had a bad feeling about it, so I put a marker on the Skeleton King and his ship.

If conversation was possible, I preferred to settle things with words rather than trying to kill each other, but…

“<Foolish vermin. Feel the wrath of the Magic Cannon granted to me by the gods.>”

The bow of the ghost ship opened, revealing a giant cannon.

Red particles of light began to gather at its muzzle.

…Clearly, this guy was out to kill me.

The red light began to form into a straight conducting line.

This Magic Cannon must have the same firing sequence as the Small Magic Cannon I’d tested before.

“<Tremble in fear, thou earth-crawling worms!>”

Magic circles began to spawn around the red line.

…Yeah, I’m not going to just let this thing fire.

I would’ve let him go if he was harmless, but having a phantom ghost ship with a grudge against us roaming around would be bad for my mental health.

From Storage, I produced a Holy Bullet that had been overloaded with magic power, and then I flung it toward the Magic Cannon with all my might.

A blue flash evaporated the nearby raindrops, piercing the Magic Cannon along with the ghost ship itself.

The ship exploded, leaving a few rings of black dust.

“Was it wasteful to use a Holy Bullet when a few of them could kill a demon lord?”

Within moments, the rain let up, and the clouds began to disperse. The Skeleton King appeared to have been the cause of the storm.

A dark voice spoke to me from the seas below.

“<Foolish vermin—nay, demon who dareth harm me and hide thyself from the spirit world! I shall return Lalakie to the skies, even if thou standeth in my way! No matter what I must offer up in exchange…>”

Just as I suspected, the Skeleton King had some tricks up his sleeve.

According to my marker, his current location was now the Spirit World. He must have used the “Spirit World Passage” he and the ghost ships had.

The Skeleton King had next to zero HP left. He must have fled to this Spirit World place moments before the attack could kill him.

The marker I’d attached to the ghost ship had disappeared, so I’d successfully destroyed that, at least.

I searched around for the source of the voice. If I could hear him, there must be a gate to the Spirit World somewhere.

“<…Let us meet again, elsewhere in time.>”

Finishing his monologue, the Skeleton King’s presence vanished completely, leaving the echo of an ominous laugh.

I didn’t manage to find the gate, but my “Sense Danger” would be on high alert for this guy. If we did “meet again,” I would dispose of him with no questions asked.

You had to deal with guys like that before you wound up with some kind of fated adversary.