Touch My Brother and You Die - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I shouted something—anything—and scrambled onto the deck to question the Noitram Elite Captain about the situation. The man, experiencing such chaos for the first time, admitted he had no idea how to respond. Since I was equally unprepared, I snapped irritably.
“There’s no manual for squid attacks in the open sea, so just open fire with the cannons!”
If these were elite soldiers, surely one or two had artillery experience. I couldn’t advise on the cannons myself, so I’d have to trust them with that.
“Crew, hold your positions! We’ll handle this beast somehow!”
I calmed the panicked sailors and took command with as much composure as I could muster. The situation was already chaotic enough that if people abandoned their posts, we’d all perish. If the crew and captain thought only of saving themselves and abandoned ship, we’d all die anyway—them and me both.
My experience managing people served me well. Speaking with measured authority, I gave them confidence, and the sailors regained their composure, determined to keep the ship from capsizing. Though I couldn’t trust myself in this moment, at least I’d prevented panic from consuming everyone aboard.
“Miss! Leave this to me and retreat to safety!”
“Fool, where exactly is safe here?!”
Aster, have you lost your mind too?!
Without warning, Aster blocked my path, drew her sword, and charged at the squid. Predictably, her blade slid harmlessly across its surface without leaving a mark. The mucous coating was clearly the culprit.
“Ugh!”
As I was analytically considering why her sword wouldn’t penetrate, Aster was knocked backward by one of the creature’s tentacles and slammed into the mast.
The impact was violent enough to dent the wooden pillar, and Aster struck it with such force that blood streamed from her head as she went completely still.
Aster couldn’t possibly be dead from that—she was likely just unconscious. But now what was I supposed to do?
“This won’t do, Miss Rocksburg! The creature’s positioned itself where we can’t fire! You must escape!”
No. The Noitram soldier’s cry sent the crew into fresh panic.
As I hesitated over how to calm their fears, I suddenly remembered the note the First Prince had given me.
He’d deliberately marked one of the eight lifeboats black. Surely he’d rigged it with something? So his promise was that if I survived, he’d grant me asylum? If I took that boat, couldn’t I escape alone?
Conflicting thoughts swirled through my mind, but I steeled my resolve.
I’d rather die than live by the First Prince’s designs.
“Target designation. Physical enhancement.”
I cast a spell I’d never successfully executed before. It was an application of lightning-attribute magic theory I’d researched for years, but I’d never had a test subject other than myself, so it had never borne fruit.
Unlike other lightning mages who could only summon powerful bolts, I could control low voltage and low current, allowing me to stimulate muscles and nerves without burning them.
…In theory.
I’d attempted it several times before, each ending with me nearly becoming a charred husk, so I’d sealed the spell away. But now I desperately needed it.
Enhance my body, buy time until I could cast the next spell, remove the mucous coating, embed a blade in the creature’s body to concentrate the electrical current in one spot, then incinerate it from within. It seemed possible.
Three spells and the mana regeneration intervals meant I’d need considerable time and luck, but doing nothing was far worse.
Besides, the matchup favored me!
Electric types have always been stronger than water types!
“Ngh!”
I was aware I’d lost my grip on sanity, but without this, I couldn’t force myself to move. My entire body throbbed and my nerves felt like they were burning, but the spell itself succeeded. I’d already discarded my shoes for maximum effect, yet my first step still wouldn’t come.
I’d never been the type to rely on strength, so why was I bouncing around the open sea fighting a squid?
Indignant, terrified, and trembling, I wanted nothing more than to stay still. But I was the only one who could resolve this crisis.
If I was the only one, I had to move.
“I’m borrowing this for a moment.”
I drew a spare blade from the Noitram swordsman and rushed toward the squid.
Moving at a speed I’d never experienced before, the salt-laden sea breeze stung my eyes, and even a moment’s distraction meant being struck by a tentacle and sent flying.
My durability was paper-thin at best—one solid hit and it would be game over. Cold sweat poured down my face unbidden.
“Hah!”
Three minutes until I could cast the next spell. In the meantime, I had to minimize damage to the ship, so I wielded my sword like a club, batting away the tentacles that came crashing down from above. The slimy mucus prevented me from inflicting any real wounds, but it was enough to knock them back.
Judging by the angle of attack, it seemed to be targeting the mast, but it wouldn’t succeed.
The hostile creature, which had wrapped itself around roughly half the hull of the massive Sailing Ship, flailed its tentacles at me like I was some prize in a whack-a-mole game, but I couldn’t afford to keep dancing with it indefinitely.
I felt mana surging back into me. About one minute left until the next spell became available. The shorter the cooldown, the better.
“Handle the legs! I’ll target the body!”
Throwing caution to the wind, I called out to Noctram’s soldiers to deal with the obstacles, then gripped my sword and took a sprinting stance.
I poured so much force into my legs that the deck splintered beneath my footprints, and my thighs screamed in agony. Every nerve from my head to my toes burned, but I drove my feet down hard, channeling that explosive speed toward the creature.
At this velocity, I could close the distance. The creature hadn’t yet noticed I was nearly upon it. I could sense its eyes hadn’t caught up to my movement, and I felt my lips curl into a grin as I bore down on it.
I could do this. I could chain my attacks into the next phase.
I leaped across the deck and planted my foot on the creature’s leg; the mucus sizzled against my skin with a sharp hiss. Clearly, my body was generating tremendous heat, but injuries could be healed later. Anything was better than death.
And I was sick of being sixteen!
“Area designation! Maximum output release!”
I drove the maximum lightning a 2-Circle could produce into my right hand, then raised my sword high and plunged it into the giant squid’s body.
The mucus crackled and burned away. Once the protective slime barrier collapsed, the blade sank into the creature’s flesh far more easily than expected. The giant squid, apparently capable of feeling pain, convulsed violently, wracking its entire form. Something cracked ominously somewhere above.
“The mast is breaking! Get clear!”
Crack!
I had been backing away steadily since driving the blade into its body, and now I watched in horror as the Sailing Ship’s mast toppled directly toward me. I twisted my body desperately to evade. If I went down with that massive mast into the sea, I’d be taking a deep-sea expedition two thousand leagues down and never surfacing again.
Using only my raw strength, I changed direction mid-air, then bounded off the crumbling mast debris, desperately trying to make it back to the ship.
If only the squid would drift far enough away that we could unleash a barrage on it—what were the gunners doing?!
“Cannons!”
At my sharp command, the cannons roared to life, belching smoke and fire.
Good. The cannonballs didn’t hit, but if we keep the ship moving to widen the gap between us and the squid—
“…!”
I was calculating when I could cast the next spell when suddenly a crushing pain exploded in my chest. I couldn’t even scream—couldn’t even breathe. The world went black for an instant, then the sky came into view, and then I realized I’d been slammed hard onto the deck.
“Cough, hack!”
Blood and foam bubbled up in my mouth—my lungs must have been damaged. The metallic taste made me want to cover my nose, but I couldn’t move a single finger.
It hurt.
There was no other word for it. It simply hurt. I couldn’t even cry out. Something heavy pressed down on me from above, suffocating and unbearable. Was gravity always this cruel?
One more hit and it’s over.
Frustration and rage welled up stronger than any other sensation, and I tried to curse, opening my mouth uselessly—but all that came out was more bloody foam. I didn’t even have the strength to cough anymore.
“Ugh… hah… Miss…?”
Resigned to death, I was waiting for the end when Aster, who had fallen earlier, stirred and staggered to her feet. She planted her sword in the deck as a brace and pushed herself up—and when she saw me lying there covered in blood, her face twisted into an expression of such venom that no human should be capable of.
“Who are you. Who dares—”
Her eyes were terrifying. The malevolent aura radiating from her was terrifying.
She ground her teeth with a guttural sound, then drew the sword from the deck and straightened up.
“Was it you?”
A blue aura rippled across Aster’s blade as she pointed it at the giant squid, now completely separated from the ship.
…Wait. Hold on, Aster. Are you… are you using sword energy right now?
“You ●-faced creature, how dare you speak to a lady like that!”
Listen, no matter how angry you are, you need to watch your tongue!
I wanted to caution Aster about using more refined language, but all that came out was blood and coughing, so I couldn’t stop her crude habit of speech.
If she’d only hit somewhere else, at least I could have scolded her!
“Haaaaaah!”
What is that? A transformation? Is she transforming?
Aster, who had wrapped the aura that had only rippled along the blade around her entire body, approached the squid at a speed invisible to the eye.
In the blink of an eye—truly, just one blink—Aster reached the hostile creature’s body, gripped her longsword in one hand, and pulled her arm back in a wide arc.
A thrust. Her movement was nothing more than a simple thrust. Yet the attack she unleashed with her battle cry produced a tremendous impact.
The concentrated mass of aura, the moment Aster’s attack connected, obliterated everything in a straight line extending from the point of impact, as if erasing it from existence.
From this single move, a hole larger than Aster’s own body was torn through the squid’s body, and it died instantly. The giant squid, unable to mount any resistance, sank into the sea and continued descending, as if it had never moved at all. Even in the gurgling sounds the squid made as it sank, I sensed a kind of impermanence.
“Are you alright, miss?!”
Aster, who had plunged into the sea along with the squid, quickly climbed back onto the ship and checked on my condition. She held me and shook me, crying for me not to die, but her shaking made me so dizzy I felt like I wanted to perish.
“I… I can’t believe it…”
“She really killed it.”
Those who witnessed Aster dispatch the squid gathered on deck one by one to assess the situation.
The giant squid continued sinking into the depths, and once the crew confirmed it wasn’t moving, the tension broke—some began shouting while others wept with relief at their survival.
And among them, some began chanting our names in celebration, calling out cheers for both Aster and me.
Instead of spending time rejoicing and praising me like that, couldn’t someone give me first aid? I’m at the point where I’m coughing up blood now.
I tried to calm them down with murmurs, but ultimately I coughed up blood one last time and lost consciousness.

After a deep sleep and waking, I found myself lying in my Bedroom, wrapped in bandages from head to toe.
Since the birds were chirping, at first I thought it was Rosalite Dacapo at sixteen years old, currently 2 PM, and I wept.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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