Chapter 126: Got a Little Closer, Right?
The White Whale's tactics were simple and easy to understand—just one look was enough to figure out what it was planning.
It split into two clones to wear down the soldiers' stamina, then calmly entered the field itself.
Those clones couldn't be ignored either—after all, both of the split White Whales were real and posed genuine threats.
Though the White Whale's plan was simple, the fact that none of the humans on this side could fly, and it remained so far above the ground, meant there were very few ways they could actually attack it.
Let alone knock it down.
This strategy, while simple, was effective—if the creature wasn't up against another madman, its plan might well have succeeded.
"You're ready now."
Standing on the ground, Natsuki Subaru heard those words and shifted his gaze away from the White Whale's true body above, bringing his eyes to rest on Rem's face.
There was a look of worry on Rem's face.
Understandably so—after all, the plan they were about to execute was sheer madness.
She was worried because Subaru, who couldn't fly, was about to have her launch him straight into the sky.
Then he would use all his strength to knock the White Whale down—a move that was basically indistinguishable from pure insanity.
"Don't worry, Rem. I'll be fine. After all, you'll protect me, right?"
Rem blinked in surprise. As she looked at the smile on Subaru's face, the worry in her eyes vanished. She nodded and smiled in return.
"Mm, Rem will protect Subaru-kun."
"You're so reliable. Alright, I'm off—let's drag that high-and-mighty bastard down here for a little chat."
"Understood!"
Rem created a massive ice spike. Without a word, Subaru walked over to it and gripped the freezing surface tightly with both arms.
"Launch!"
With that, the giant ice spike shot through the air toward the airborne White Whale. The high-speed movement made Subaru's heart pound wildly.
As the White Whale loomed closer in his vision, fragments of past memories played in his mind.
Back in the game, did Kamijou also act on reckless, headstrong impulses like this?
Back then—was he scared, just like Subaru was now?
Did he, too, hide that fear deep in his heart, never letting anyone see it?
'I never really did ask him what he truly thought…'
The ice spike brushed past the side of the White Whale. At that moment, Subaru let go—and his body fell straight onto the White Whale's back.
Landing steadily on the creature's body, he looked at the unicorn horn ahead and slowly made his way toward it, anchoring his steps carefully.
He moved slowly, with a face as expressionless as a robot.
Originally, the plan was to hit the White Whale with a full-powered blow to bring it down from the sky.
But now Subaru had changed his mind.
He had already died twice at the White Whale's hands, and each death had been far from peaceful.
The sensation of being slammed against a tree by the creature... of being swallowed whole… just remembering it made him shudder slightly.
'I'm just a normal person… just an average guy with a bit of a chūnibyō complex…'
Yes, he was just a normal guy.
Even after experiencing extraordinary events and gaining extraordinary powers, he still couldn't break free from being ordinary.
He was afraid of dying.
Even with the power to return from death, he was still scared of the possibility that he might not open his eyes again after this one.
He missed home.
He distracted himself with other things to avoid thinking about it. He filled his time with busy work to shake off the loneliness and homesickness.
Before he succeeded in saving others, he often thought about giving up.
He was just someone struggling to catch up to that back he had always been chasing.
So he kept all of those feelings buried deep inside himself.
A hero? A savior? Someone who could do anything?
Those things didn't matter to him.
From the beginning, saving Felt and the others had simply been because he wanted to follow Kamijou—to become someone like him.
But as more and more happened, as he died more and more, as he became stronger, and as his relationships with those around him deepened, Subaru finally understood—
He could never become Kamijou Touma.
He was just a clumsy imitator.
But what did it matter if he was only an imitator?
After all, Kamijou had once said he was just a hypocrite.
Even though, in Subaru's eyes, Kamijou was no hypocrite, the truth was he didn't know the man all that well.
So then… what did it matter if he himself became a clumsy imitator?
The image of Rem dying and Ram crying flashed through his mind.
The kind villagers—all lying cold and broken on the ground.
No matter how many times he returned by death, he couldn't stop seeing their mangled corpses.
And now, having successfully changed all that—seeing Rem, Ram, and the smiling villagers again—didn't that warm his heart?
It satisfied his chūnibyō fantasies. It fulfilled his delusions.
It proved that he really had gotten a little closer to becoming like Kamijou.
Subaru stopped walking.
Standing atop the White Whale's horn, his eyes turned steely with determination.
The tension in his clenched fist and flexed muscles left no room for hesitation.
Honestly, ever since he left the game world and saved those people, he had never once thought about turning back.
"Up close, you're even uglier than I imagined."
With those words, a crazed, twisted smile spread across Subaru's face.
Perhaps the White Whale had heard him—he could hear it responding—but Subaru didn't understand what it was saying.
Not that he cared.
"Now let me think—what would he say at a time like this? Oh, right. It'd go something like this—"
Subaru took a deep breath.
The madness in his smile deepened.
"If you think just sitting up here will keep you safe and guarantee your victory—then let me be the one to shatter that illusion!"
He laughed maniacally.
"Haha! Yeah, something like that. Now let me, the petty little guy I am, land you a punch!"
With that, Subaru took a step forward—and began to free-fall, aiming straight for the White Whale's head.
"Overdrive Burst!!!" His heart rate skyrocketed. Power surged wildly through his body.
"We're not done yet! This is my… full-powered… PUNCH!!!"
Overdrive Burst's energy exploded within him. Subaru felt like a balloon about to burst.
The pain distorted his expression. His tightly clenched right fist drew back toward his waist. Blood seeped from the surface of his skin.
With his eyes bloodshot and locked on the White Whale's head, Subaru let his fist fly just as he closed the distance.
The moment the punch connected, a deep, booming sound echoed across the battlefield.
Everyone looked up toward the source of the noise.
They saw it.
The White Whale's massive body—suddenly plummeting straight toward the ground.
The mist surrounding it was blown away by the powerful shockwave.
With the fog dispersed, the light of the night-piercing magic above returned once more.
In the thick fog-covered landscape, only the place where the White Whale fell was illuminated by light.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as the White Whale crashed violently into the ground, like a meteor striking Earth.
A massive crater formed, dust rising high, and the earth shook with a thunderous rumble.
As the White Whale hit the ground, Subaru—still high in the air—felt the strength leaving his body.
And yet…
A smile appeared on his face.
"Got a little closer… right…?"