The troops were at the ready as Kiyotaka and Emilia were at the front of the troops.
Kiyotaka: (Pinpointing the exact position is impossible, so I'll use that.)
Kiyotaka: [Emilia. Cover your ears for a second.]
Emilia: [Eh? Alright?]
Emilia: (That's strange.)
Kiyotaka: (This is a bit reckless, but it should be fine.)
Emilia nodded, covering her ears.
Kiyotaka: [I can『Re: Birth By Dea...』]
Kiyotaka felt the world around him slow to a stop as a black hand reached to his heart. Crusch noticed Kiyotaka's change in expression. A rare occurrence.
Crusch: (Is it time?)
Crusch: [Now?]
Kiyotaka clutched his clothes at his chest as Emilia looked worried.
Kiyotaka: [Now.]
Crusch: [Prepare yourselves, men!]
Everyone jolted into full guard, being ready when the『White Whale』appeared, its form covering part of the moon as it floated towards them. Its eyes were filled with rage directed towards Kiyotaka. It was a haunting sight. It was like the evil oozing from it could grip a person's very soul. Because of this, Kiyotaka's guard was up before he even saw it. He could feel Emilia shaking behind him. Kiyotaka grabbed her arms, snapping her out of it.
Kiyotaka: [It's alright.]
Emilia calmed down from his touch.
Emilia: [I'm... alright.]
Emilia: (Kiyotaka is here with me... I can do this!]
She then made a determined expression.
Crusch: (The『White Whale』...)
Crusch sweated a little when Emilia lifted her hands.
Emilia: [El Huma!]
Icicles fired, hitting the『White Whale』in its belly, causing it to bleed as blood sprayed down. Crusch looked tense for a second but smirked.
Crusch: [Troops! Follow that young knight and his fool of a mistress!]
Emilia: [That's reaaally mean, Crusch-San!]
Emilia pouted.
Emilia: (And I really thought we were getting along.)
The troops rushed in as some siege weapons fired rays of light that hit the『White Whale』causing an impact.
Kiyotaka: [Emilia. Be ready. They're about to fire the Night-Banisher. Close your eyes.]
Kiyotaka had already familiarised himself with the siege weapons available.
Emilia: [Okay!]
Emilia closed her eyes tightly shut. It was very cute.
Kiyotaka: (Cute.)
A siege weapon fired something akin to a flare as it was sent flying into the air. The flare exploded in the air as the area turned from night to day.
Kiyotaka: (Well, that's much better.)
The『White Whale』roars whipping up the dirt just from its roar. It raced towards Kiyotaka and Emilia as it opened its mouth to eat them, and Kiyotaka raised his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Ul Goa!]
Kiyotaka fired a fireball into the beast's mouth as it screamed in agony.
Kiyotaka: (You're resistant on the outside but not on the inside.)
Then a green slash hit the『White Whale』in the face, and then another barrage of siege weapon magic attacks hit it in the face. It glared at Crusch, rushing at her.
Crusch: (There you are. Look at me, foul beast.)
Crusch: [Disperse!]
The men started relaying the order as they moved away, and Crusch smirked.
Crusch: [It's all yours, Wilhelm.]
Wilhelm rushed in on his Ground Dragon. He jumped off it, drawing his sword and landing on his feet.
Wilhelm: [For fourteen years, I have dreamed of nothing but this day. Fall here and leave your corpse behind.]
Wilhelm: (Today is the day I avenge you...)
As the『White Whale 』charges at him.
Wilhelm: (... Theresia!!!)
Wilhelm jumped up, stabbing it in the head. Wilhelm begins slashing the『White Whale 』as it flails in the air, trying to shake him off. Wilhelm runs on the beast, slashing it.
Kiyotaka: (Wilhelm『Van』Astrea... you're simply spectacular.)
Wilhelm: [How wonderfully cooperative, coming here to be slain.]
Wilhelm fell off the beast as his Ground Dragon caught him. The『White Whale 』roared, trying to turn around and attack him.
Kiyotaka: [El Gona!]
Kiyotaka fired multiple shards of flaming stones at the beast, causing it to flinch as Ricardo rushed in on his Riger.
Ricardo: [Don't you look away from us, moron!]
Ricardo slashed the beast as Mimi and the Iron Fang rushed in, slashing at the beast, drawing blood.
Crusch: [Troops get back!]
The Rigers dropped away as Crusch swung her blade, unleashing a slash that hit the side of the『White Whale 』causing it to scream in agony.
Crusch: [Fire at its flank!]
The mages charge up their attacks.
Mages: [Al Goa!]
A barrage of fireballs hit the creature.
Kiyotaka: (Its resistance is very high, but firing at somewhere like in its mouth will be incredibly difficult.)
The Iron Fang and Wilhelm began attacking the『White Whale 』as Crusch's and Barnes's men were waiting for the beast to be grounded. Wilhelm cut its eye, jumping off and forming a combo attack with Ricardo as Wilhelm cut its eye out from its socket, causing it to yell in pain. Wilhelm used the fallen eyeball to soften his landing on the ground.
Kiyotaka: (My turn.)
Kiyotaka got off Haku.
Kiyotaka: [I'll be back.]
Emilia: [Eh? Wait!]
Emilia: (What's he thinking?!!!)
Kiyotaka rushed towards the beast.
Kiyotaka: [Hey! I can『Re: Birth By Dea...』]
The world stopped around him again as the『White Whale 』rushed at him. A wind slash from Crusch hit it as Kiyotaka calculated the right response and jumped, forming a spear in his hand and stabbing it in its other eye.
Kiyotaka: (I'm not strong enough to do it like Wilhelm yet, but I can at least do this much. And then...)
Kiyotaka let go of the spear and formed his Kopesh Sword, stabbing its face as he descended. This created a cut that ran down its face as Kiyotaka landed on the ground. It turned to him, still able to smell him, as it charged at him.
Emilia: [Al Huma!]
A huge icicle hit the beast square in the face, causing it to veer off course. Kiyotaka saw Haku rush to him as he got on the Ground Dragon as they got away.
Kiyotaka: [It's blind now. We have a massive advantage.]
Emilia: [It's all thanks to you and Wilhelm-San.]
Suddenly, the『White Whale』let out a scream as holes appeared on its body.
Kiyotaka: (That's...)
Kiyotaka: [Everyone get to Crusch now!]
Everyone gathered near Crusch as it screamed loudly. It let out a giant fog, as Crusch cleared the fog using her wind attacks.
Crusch: [Did we lose anyone?]
They shook their heads. Crusch sighed in relief.
Crusch: (It was thanks to Kiyotaka's quick thinking.)
Crusch: [Everyone, get ready. This isn't over yet. It's good we stayed together for the initial attack, but now we're all gathered up, so it'll become problematic. Disperse immediately!]
Kiyotaka: (She's right. Initially, being separated with no idea what's going on would cause a lot of us to be picked off one by one, but by sticking with Crusch, we were able to fix the problem of visibility. However, now it only has to arrive in one spot to take us all down.)
Suddenly, everyone heard a screeching sound as many men fell to their knees, clawing at their own faces. Kiyotaka winced but then walked around, knocking out the raving men quickly.
Kiyotaka: (All this dead weight is going to get everyone killed. It'll find us eventually, so the best play is to bait it.)
Kiyotaka: [Those who can still move get clear of this place now! Felix. I need you to stay here and heal these people so they can get moving, too. As for me. I'm going to draw that thing's attention again.]
Kiyotaka: (I'll need Emilia to cover me, but...)
Emilia: [Let's go.]
Kiyotaka sighed.
Kiyotaka: (What else could I expect from her?)
Kiyotaka smiled.
Kiyotaka: [Yes, my lady.]
Emilia: [Eh?]
Emilia blushed as Kiyotaka patted Haku's head.
Emilia: (He's teasing me, isn't he?)
Emilia pouted.
Kiyotaka: [We're heading somewhere really dangerous, so I'll feed you lots of meat when we get back, so don't die on me.]
Haku roared with determination as Kiyotaka pulled at the reins and Haku rushed forward into the fog.
Kiyotaka: [Everyone who can hear me, cover your ears! I can『Re: Birth By Dea...』]
Time slowed again before he felt himself back in his body and gasped.
He looked back to see something gaining on them, but the『White Whale』appeared in front of them.
Kiyotaka: (It was supposed to be behind us. What is going on?)
Emilia: [Ul Huma!]
Emilia fired a huge icicle, which changed the direction of the beast's charge. But somehow it appeared next to them, looking at them with a red eye.
Emilia: [Huh? But... How is that possible?]
Emilia: (Could it have healed?)
Kiyotaka: [It's eye... healed? No. This isn't the one Wilhelm and I blinded. We need this fog to clear first. I need more information.]
Kiyotaka gritted his teeth.
Kiyotaka: [Can it heal? No... that doesn't sound right. It's been too short a time for it to heal that quickly. Can it duplicate itself? If so, why not use it in the beginning?]
Wilhelm jumped in, stabbing the creature's hide as Mimi and Hetaro used a combo attack. Ricardo rode his Riger on the creature's back, slashing the holes across its body.
Kiyotaka: (Good improvisation. That should help.)
Kiyotaka looked around.
Kiyotaka: (It should deal with the fog in time, but right now it's not a quick enough solution. I think it's time that I perfect that.)
Kiyotaka: [Emilia. I need you to take the reins.]
Emilia: [Um, how would I...]
Kiyotaka jumped up, landing behind Emilia.
Emilia: (I shouldn't have even asked.)
Emilia: [Okay. Leave it to me.]
Kiyotaka closed his eyes, letting strings of Mana out around, extending his range as much as possible. This required complete concentration on his part. Then he felt it.
Kiyotaka: [There's one of them.]
He tagged it with his mana as he felt another string touch something, tagging it.
Kiyotaka: [There are two of them...]
Emilia: [So you were right.]
Emilia: (We're fighting... two『White Whales』.)
Kiyotaka: [To your right. Fire in three...]
Emilia got ready.
Kiyotaka: [... two... one!]
Emilia: [Al Huma!]
Emilia fired a spike of ice as it hit the beast, causing it to scream in pain. The fog cleared up as Kyotaka's eyes widened.
Kiyotaka: [There are... three of them.]
Knight 1: [How could this be happening?]
Knight 2: [No way... we're... we're all going to die.]
Several men started dropping their swords in despair.
Emilia: (No... don't give up!)
Emilia: [Don't give up! Keep fighting! We can still win! Even if it looks reaaally bad, it'll only look worse if we don't fight. If we don't fight, we won't even know who we might forget or how important those people might reaaally be to us. I know you don't trust me, but we have to fight! Come on!]
Kiyotaka: (Ever the optimist, but that was good. Maybe I don't need to teach her how to make speeches.)
Kiyotaka: [Ul Dona!]
Kiyotaka fired a huge stone shard that hit the『White Whale』as Crusch rushed in with Wilhelm and Barnes.
Barnes: [I must... hold my sword!]
Barnes gripped his blade as he felt fear, but then he jumped off the Ground Dragon, attacking one of the clones as it rushed at Crusch.
Crusch: [Lord Barnes! Get clear.]
Barnes jumped onto his ground dragon as Crusch pointed her blade at the creature.
Crusch: [Fire!]
No spells hit the creature.
Crusch: (What?)
Crusch turned to see her men shivering in fear.
Crusch: [Fire, I said!]
She began swinging her blade to attack it, firing slashes of green air. Anastasia's camp managed to catch one of them as they and Lord Barnes began attacking it.
Ricardo: [This thing's lighter than before. The heck's goin' on?]
Kiyotaka: (Lighter? I see, so those are just clones to do your dirty work while you stay up there clear of danger. Then that would be the best way.)
Kiyotaka: [I have a plan.]
Emilia: [You do?]
Emilia: (Then we're going to win.)
Kiyotaka: [Yes, but we need Crusch to rally her men. For now, just keep fighting.]
Kiyotaka: (With this, everything is set in place for those men to pick their blades back up.)
The two beasts rushed at the healing camp, spewing fog as Crusch rushed in on her ground dragon, clearing the fog with a slash, but she got hit by some rubble, being sent off by her ground dragon as she stood up, as the beasts charged at her.
Crusch: [Stand up! Lift your faces! Take up your weapons! Look at that girl. She's despised by the entire world. She has no reason to fight for any of us, yet she risks her life for us all. So, how can we sit around, looking at the ground? If the person who owes this world no favours fights so hard for it, how can we who are loved by it stand by and watch another tragedy unfold upon its soil? Did you all come this far... to wallow in shame?]
Emilia: (Whoa... Crusch is... amazing.)
One of the men threw a mace, hitting the creature as everyone took up arms again. Crusch swung her blade, unleashing another slash that hit the creature as she shouted.
Crusch: [Kill these beasts now, men!]
Emilia: (This plan is completely insane.)
Kiyotaka: [Emilia now.]
Emilia: [Al... Huma!!!]
Emilia fired a massive attack towards the original『White Whale』. A direct hit as a huge spill of blood, and then a second, smaller spurt of blood as it writhed in pain. Kiyotaka climbed up the beast's back, stabbing the creature with daggers as he climbed up.
Kiyotaka: [I'm going to kill you.]
The beast noticed his presence.
Kiyotaka: (If you truly love me, Witch, then forgive me for using this tactic so much.)
Kiyotaka: [I can use『Re: Birth By Dea...』]
Kiyotaka said this as the world slowed, then he jumped off. The『White Whale』chased after him as he fell.
Kiyotaka: (Follow the bait to your death!)
Kiyotaka thought this as he looked to the ground.
Kiyotaka: (I hope Emilia can soften the landing properly.)
An ice slide appeared as lots of snow was on it, and Kiyotaka extended his hand.
Kiyotaka: [Earth Duplication!]
Kiyotaka formed two clones of Earth, as one of them stood on the other and grabbed Kiyotaka's arms, throwing him up slightly as his descent slowed down and then rolled on the slide, reducing the impact as he grunted in pain.
Kiyotaka: [Still too fast.]
Kiyotaka slid on the slide as Haku was waiting, and Kiyotaka got on as Emilia tugged at the reins.
Kiyotaka: [It's down here now, which means we can kill it.]
Kiyotaka looked back to see it chasing them.
Kiyotaka: [Ul Dona!]
Kiyotaka aimed the attack, hitting the top of the creature's jaw, forcing its mouth open.
Crusch: (Now's our chance!)
Crusch: [Fire!]
Mages: [Al Goa!]
The mages fired fireballs into the beast's open mouth as it writhed in pain.
Kiyotaka: (The internal damage is bound to be extensive. Time for the last action.)
Kiyotaka: [Ul Gona.]
Kiyotaka created a sphere of Earth with spikes and fired it into the creature's mouth, aiming for its throat as it went in.
Kiyotaka: [Now!]
Suddenly, an explosion was triggered as the『White Whale』crashed into the ground, grinding to a halt.
Kiyotaka: (It worked.)
Kiyotaka had created a ball with Earth and then compressed flames inside of it to such a high heat that it was constantly trying to burst out, making a makeshift grenade. The『White Whale』couldn't move as it felt the holes in its stomach, experiencing internal bleeding in an already battered state.
Kiyotaka: [It's over...]
He panted in exhaustion, feeling severe pain in his gate.
Kiyotaka: (That was the most mana I've used in an Ul Spell. I think I...)
Kiyotaka felt his strength leave him as he leaned on Emilia's back, who looked surprised and then worried.
Emilia: [Kiyotaka!]
Emilia: (Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.)
Kiyotaka: (I've never felt this exhausted since I was in... the White Room.)
Kiyotaka saw Wilhelm killing the『White Whale』as his eyes shifted to Emilia, who was desperately trying to help him.
Kiyotaka: (I'm not dying. I'm just falling unconscious. Still... she looks cute worrying about me like that... has anyone ever worried about me like this?)
Kiyotaka: (It honestly feels nice.)
Kiyotaka closed his eyes as he fell unconscious.
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Part:
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