Chapter 113: The Second Confrontation with the White Whale
If you ask whether dealing with the White Whale is easy or not, Crush, who is currently fighting the White Whale, has now come to a clear realization: the White Whale is not an easy magical beast to handle.
As one of the Three Great Witchbeasts that has run rampant for over four hundred years and caused countless people suffering, Crush had never underestimated the White Whale from the beginning.
She made plenty of preparations for this very subjugation.
But only when actually facing the White Whale did Crush understand that her preparations were still far from enough.
There was too little information on the White Whale—at most, they knew it could fly and could erase all memories of it from people's minds.
Besides that, the only other known fact was that the White Whale had once killed a Sword Saint. There really wasn't much intelligence on it beyond that.
Riding on her ground dragon, Crush looked around at the thick fog surrounding her, unable to see where any of her subordinates were. All she could hear were one agonized scream after another.
The fact that the White Whale could fly was already a troublesome issue.
Now it had created a dense fog and let out a shriek that directly assaulted the spirit.
Crush could not imagine how many people were still fighting the White Whale. If things continued like this, the current subjugation effort would only end in failure.
Clenching the sword in her hand, Crush swung it around her.
The invisible sword aura dispersed the surrounding fog, allowing her to finally see the tragic scene around her.
Many soldiers were curled up on the ground, clutching their heads in agony.
Several swords and pieces of armor were scattered around. But there were no visible corpses.
Their very existence must have already been erased by the White Whale. Realizing this, Crush gritted her teeth and shouted:
"Move the wounded to the rear, even if you have to be rough! Those who can still fight, follow me!"
But when she shouted, none of the soldiers around her moved.
Crush understood that their courage had already been shattered by the White Whale.
At the start, each of them carried hatred, determined to cut off the White Whale's head.
But now, their hatred and courage had been completely wiped away by the White Whale's attacks.
Fear and despair had already taken root and were growing in most of their hearts. Crush knew this subjugation battle had already failed.
Though unwilling to accept it, she also knew that it was no longer possible to continue fighting. The only way to preserve the lives of her people and prevent further unnecessary sacrifices was to retreat.
"Retreat! All forces, ret—"
"Idiot!"
Just as she gave the order, she heard a slightly familiar voice, and Crush froze for a moment. From the side, out of the thick fog, came Subaru Natsuki driving a dragon carriage.
Before she had time to wonder why Subaru was here, she heard a noise from behind and turned her head. The White Whale was charging straight at her.
Its massive open mouth rolled and churned with thick fog.
As Crush raised her sword to strike, she felt something crash into her and the ground dragon.
The violent impact sent her flying sideways. At the same time, the fog slammed into a dragon carriage, shredding it to pieces.
Rolling some distance on the ground, Crush quickly got up. Her ground dragon lay wounded beside her, letting out a sorrowful cry.
"You idiot! Are you trying to die?!"
A voice slightly unfamiliar to her reached her ears.
Turning to look, she saw Subaru Natsuki clutching his right arm, his face full of anger, walking toward her.
"Subaru Natsuki…"
"You can still recognize me, so you must be mostly okay. Whatever you want to say, save it for later. If you don't want to die, get up."
Crush, stunned for a moment, stood up and walked to the injured ground dragon beside her.
With sadness in her eyes, she raised her sword. This ground dragon had fought by her side all along and they had developed a deep bond.
But now she had no way to save the dragon.
The White Whale's overwhelming power left her unable to take it with her. At the very least, she wanted to let it pass peacefully without pain.
The dragon lying on the ground looked at its master and no longer cried out or struggled. It quietly waited for her to deliver the final blow.
Seeing this, Crush gritted her teeth and raised her sword. Just as she was about to bring it down, a hand grasped her right wrist.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving it peace."
"Is that so?"
Muttering, Subaru Natsuki let go of her wrist.
As Crush moved her gaze from his face and prepared to swing the sword again, he grabbed her collar, pulling her forward.
Before she could regain her balance, her forehead was hit by a heavy impact. The blow was so strong it left her mind blank.
"Are you kidding me?! If it hurts that much, if you're in that much pain, then don't force yourself to do something like this!"
"..."
Coming back to her senses, Crush looked into Subaru's eyes, which were now very close. Within them burned a fierce fire.
She could clearly see how furious he was.
"Look around you, damn it! So many people are already unable to move.
Are you going to use your sword to give them peace too?! Wake up! What we should be doing now is figuring out how to get everyone out of here—and taking down the monster responsible for all this!
Is your sword meant to be used against your own comrades?!"
Subaru shoved Crush aside, walked a few steps, and picked up a discarded longsword.
Taking a deep breath, he looked back at the dazed Crush and said:
"The Crush I know isn't someone who'd fall apart like this. Go do what you're supposed to do."
Leaving those words behind, Subaru ran toward the sound of the White Whale's roar, sword in hand.
Left behind, Crush watched Subaru's figure gradually disappear into the thick fog.
After a moment, she raised both hands and slapped her cheeks. She once again returned to being the confident and gallant Crush.
"Listen up! Those who can still move, load all the wounded onto the dragon carriages! I'll cover the rear!"
She shouted without knowing whether the soldiers would obey. But now, she had to grip her sword tightly and buy time for everyone's retreat.
As she prepared to leave, Crush looked at the ground dragon lying nearby and shouted apologetically:
"I'm sorry. Wait here just a little longer. I'll come back."
Leaving those words, Crush ran into the fog, not looking back, following Subaru Natsuki's path and the dragon's cries.
Running through the fog, Subaru heard shouting and the White Whale's anguished roars ahead. A smile formed on his face.
"This is our second encounter, right, White Whale? I thought maybe I wouldn't have to deal with you again... but now, let me use this life to see just how strong you really are!"
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