Chapter 59
59. Olivia and the Magic Dome
At Jonan's scream from the control panel, Noah frowned and rushed into the Magic Dome.
Jonan hastily stepped aside at the King's appearance, explaining, "Suddenly, the cannon isn't working."
Noah's eyes gleamed as he carefully examined the instrument panel.
"There's nothing wrong with the panel."
As he said, the panel was fine. All the readings were stable.
Meanwhile, the coelacanths continued their attack.
Noah set his jaw and placed his hand on the charging port. The port glowed gold in response to his Magical Power, and soon the cannon fire resumed.
As the distinctive sound of the cannon fire, "dudududu," echoed, Jonan, who had yielded the port to Noah, scratched his head sheepishly before tilting his head in confusion.
"Why did it suddenly stop? Your Highness, I'll take over."
However, Noah, who was injecting Magical Power into the port, muttered in a serious voice, "Something's wrong."
"Yes?"
"Something's wrong, here."
Noah narrowed his eyes, keenly focusing on the sensation in his fingertips. He kept feeling a strange, intermittent catch.
Noah set his jaw and now concentrated all his attention on his hearing.
He wanted to listen to the cannon fire.
Amidst the chaotic noise, he had to strain his senses several times more than usual to hear the cannon fire underwater.
He closed his eyes and focused on the sound for a long time.
Noah slowly opened his eyes.
Amidst the "dudududu" of the cannon fire, he could hear the clanging of metal, "clang, clang, clang."
"Haa… Damn it."
At Noah's curse, Jonan's face turned ashen.
"Jonan."
"Yes!"
"Scatter to the front and rear of the port and starboard sides. It seems like they've attached some junk from somewhere, and it's about to fall apart."
The steel-like head of a coelacanth, leaping above the water, gleamed blue like a blade.
Meanwhile, Olivia, who had been in a panic, had regained her composure.
Methone's calm expression beside her also helped to stabilize her.
"Madam, are you alright?"
Olivia looked at Winifred's face, who was suffering from seasickness.
"Ah… Don't worry, miss."
Winifred forced a smile but eventually closed her eyes, unable to bear it any longer.
"Are you alright, miss?"
Methone, who stood balanced like a cat despite the shaking, asked abruptly, and Olivia nodded.
"I don't usually get seasick. Is His Highness in the cabin?"
"Uh… no. He's probably busy taking down a megalodon."
When Olivia looked at him with wide eyes, Methone felt that she didn't know as much about her fiancé as he thought.
"His Highness served as an officer in the Naval Special Forces for quite a long time. He handles the Magic Dome better than anyone else. He has led fleets to eliminate Magical Creatures in the central sea area several times. All the guards, including me, are from the Special Forces where His Highness served. We've experienced this many times, so don't worry too much."
At Methone's explanation, Olivia blinked and slowly nodded. Judging from the constant vibrations and cannon fire transmitted through the lower hull, the Magic Dome seemed to be doing its job.
Olivia lowered her eyes and carefully listened to the cannon fire. The structure of the Ship-based Magic Dome was clearly drawn in her mind.
There was almost no cannon fire heard from outside the hull. The vibrations were only up and down, not left or right at all.
"It seems like they're only firing from the bottom."
As Olivia murmured, tracing the sound with her whole body, Methone stared at her with wide eyes.
But just then, the cannon fire, which had been boringly continuous enough to build immunity, suddenly stopped.
"Is it over?"
Olivia tilted her head and muttered, focusing on the sound, when sporadic impacts rained down from below like hail.
Methone's brow furrowed instantly.
Are they out of their minds?! Why did they stop attacking! If the ship gets a hole, we'll sink in the open sea!
But fortunately, the attack soon resumed.
How peaceful the cannon fire sounded. Methone sighed, relieved, stroking his surprised chest. He wished he could be in the Magic Dome himself. It was more comforting to see with his own eyes, but he felt restless being in a place where he couldn't see anything.
But just then, Olivia asked him an unexpected question.
"The Magical Creatures are still attacking, right?"
“…Yes, right?”
"Until when?"
"We should be safe when we get about 100km away."
"In terms of time?"
"Well, since it's not a warship, we'll need to go for at least an hour……."
"What happens if the Magic Dome breaks down now?"
Methone blinked and stated firmly, "That won't do."
Without the Magic Dome, there weren't nearly enough people to handle this large ship.
At Methone's statement, Olivia bit her lip for a moment and then closed her eyes. Methone couldn't hide his bewilderment at her sudden behavior, as it didn't seem like a simple act of anxiety.
However, Methone's expression soon turned grim as well. He had also heard it at some point. The ominous clanging sound following the cannon fire.
Then, Olivia opened her eyes sharply, unfastened her seatbelt, and stood up.
"Oh, no!"
Unlike Methone, who stood gracefully like a cat, Olivia staggered as soon as she stood up. Since the ship was large, the impact was significant each time it shook.
Olivia sat back down and thought carefully.
She wanted to rush to the Magic Dome herself, but it was impossible in a situation where she could barely stand. She couldn't ask Methone to carry her, and even if she arrived at the Magic Dome, they wouldn't show her the main body without any connection to the Magic Dome.
Olivia's black eyes flashed as she spoke to Methone as if giving an order.
"Methone, if you go to my bedroom, there's a brown leather bag in the closet. If you open it, you'll find a fountain pen, a notebook, and a silver object about the length of a palm. Bring them to me."
It was incomprehensible from beginning to end, but Methone, overwhelmed by her firm demeanor, turned and moved almost unconsciously.
While Methone was fetching the notebook and pen, Olivia refastened the seatbelt she had loosened. She couldn't even imagine how they were catching the Magical Creatures when it was impossible to even stand up straight with all this shaking.
Soon, Methone appeared with the notebook, pen, and flashlight, and Olivia held out her hand to him.
"Why do you need these now……."
Methone tilted his head and handed over the items, and Olivia opened the notebook and quickly began to draw something. She drew as if taking a picture and said, "We're in a hurry, so don't ask questions and just listen. If you go into the Magic Dome main body and open the machine room door, you'll immediately see the cooler, converter, and Magical Power transport pipes."
Olivia turned the drawing she had made towards Methone and continued, "If you hear a clanging sound mixed with the cannon fire, nine times out of ten it's a heat problem with the converter. Check the coolant inlet on top of the cooler, and if it's empty, put in at least water for now. Don't touch the converter, and if you look at the transport pipes, there's a valve on each pipe."
Olivia marked the valve locations with a circle.
"You need to lower the heat, so you have to close some of the valves. Lowering the valve handle closes it. There should be about 32 on a ship of this size, but keep about 20 open and close the rest. Oh, you have to stop the Magical Power injection when you close the valves!"
While Methone stared blankly at the notebook, Olivia skillfully tore out the page with the drawing. Then, she handed him the torn drawing along with the flashlight.
"You said you're a mage, right? If you put Magical Power into the silver plate like you do with the Magic Dome, it will light up. Use it to illuminate the inside."
He was like someone who had encountered a heavy snowfall in the middle of summer. What an unexpected situation!
"Methone, hurry!"
Only when Olivia urged him, frustrated, did Methone's eyes regain focus.
Yes. More important than how she knew about the Magic Dome, whether this information was accurate, or what the silver object was, was preventing the Magic Dome from breaking down until they passed through the coelacanth territory.
"I understand. I'll come back right away if anything happens, so don't worry too much."
"Don't worry about me, hurry."
Methone rechecked Olivia's seatbelt and quickly disappeared.
As Methone ran out of the cabin and down the outer corridor, he glanced down and saw various Magical Power energies rippling below the surface. It seemed that Noah, realizing the problem with the Magic Dome, had ordered the guards to attack.
But just four or five people's Magical Power wouldn't be enough to protect this large ship.
Fortunately, judging from the fact that the Magic Dome cannon fire was still continuing, it didn't seem to have broken down yet.
"We can't be drowned because of fish heads!"
Methone gritted his teeth and moved his feet faster. He skillfully navigated the corridor filled with various objects, passed the wheelhouse, and even jumped over the iron bridge.
The private mercenaries hired to protect the Magic Dome were hanging precariously on the railings, seemingly without the energy to perform their duties. The mages had scattered to their respective positions according to Noah's instructions, so the entrance to the Magic Dome was empty.
As Methone unhesitatingly entered the Magic Dome main body, Noah, who was injecting Magical Power into the port, turned his head sharply as if sensing someone's presence. Finding Methone, Noah frowned even more deeply than before and scolded, "I told you to stay next to Olivia, why are you here!!"
Methone didn't respond to Noah's rebuke but gathered Magical Power in his hand and shouted, "I'm tearing apart the machine room?!! Take responsibility!!"
Noah's eyes became as fierce as could be.
It was already a terrible night, and now a dog was barking.
And at the same time, a clang sounded, and sparks flew from the machine room entrance.
"It better be a damn good reason!!"
While Noah was shouting, Methone struck the machine room doorknob joint once more with Magical Power, and the steel door soon made a metallic sound, tilted, and opened its mouth.
