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Chapter 75: The Whale of Oblivion (6)
I gently laid down Adele onto the grass, carefully releasing her from my arms. Once her feet touched the ground, she wobbled unsteadily, her legs clearly trembling.
Seeing that, I offered her my shoulder for support. But she quickly waved her hands, flustered by the sudden gesture.
“A-Ah, I’m okay—”
“You don’t look okay at all.”
I cut her off, frowning as I looked at her. Adele gave an awkward little chuckle and averted her gaze.
“I guess I really can’t fool you, Abel.”
“The fact that you even thought you could—that’s the real problem.”
That habit of hers, always saying she’s fine, still hadn’t changed. Even in the original story, that phrase had caused no small amount of trouble.
Honestly, I’d feel more at ease if she just admitted when she was struggling instead of forcing herself to act strong.
Maybe she picked up on the seriousness in my expression, because she closed her mouth just as she was about to say something else.
“…You’re right. I’m… a little exhausted.”
After a long pause, Adele admitted it quietly and leaned halfway against me.
I held her by the shoulder and looked back up at the sky.
KUUUUOHH—!!
The Whale of Oblivion thrashed in pain amidst the clouds. The mist it had been releasing in every direction was now noticeably thinner, likely from sheer fatigue.
The creature that had once made a blood-boiling rumble was now squirming, trying desperately to flee in the opposite direction.
Well, it made sense. After all, it had been wounded from the inside.
No living being can strengthen their internal organs.
That’s why I couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity to finish it off.
With the hand opposite the one holding the staff, I aimed at the beast.
‘Deploying calculation array.’
Up until now, I had been deliberately lowering the output of my spells because there were people inside the whale.
Focusing only on suppression magic made it hard to keep the beast under control, but…
‘Now, there’s no need to hold back.’
Wuuuung…
The gem embedded at the end of my staff began to vibrate.
An artifact that not only amplified the power of the spell cast by its wielder but even expanded the total mana reserve.
I’d been avoiding using it—after all, it was something I’d obtained from the Imperial Auction House.
Using something like this within the empire would basically be the same as revealing my true identity.
But here—this was a battlefield.
There was no need to worry about anyone watching.
‘Let’s go.’
With this power, taking down the Whale of Oblivion should be entirely possible.
Chwaruruk—!
Dozens—no, hundreds—of magic circles unfurled in midair.
Sensing the threat, the whale stopped thrashing and turned to glare in my direction. Of course, glaring wouldn’t change anything.
Tap.
A flick of my finger, and chains shot out, piercing through the creature’s skin.
KUUUORHH!!
Desperate to escape, the whale surged higher into the sky—but it was futile. Chains made of spatial magic don’t break.
KUUOOOO!!
Perhaps enraged, it bellowed in fury, its roar echoing in every direction.
The chilling pressure crawling over my skin made me smirk. I flicked my finger again.
“Trying to take me down with that?”
Monster Fear.
A skill typically used by calamity-class monsters or higher. It paralyzes the body by invoking the primal emotion of terror.
But it was meaningless against someone like me, who felt no fear toward this creature.
Wuuuung…
Once again, hundreds of magic circles bloomed in the air. I could feel my mana reserves approaching their limit.
If I didn’t have the staff, I would’ve had no choice but to let the beast escape.
But right now—I had the staff.
From the magic circles, hundreds of spears began to launch.
The whale, in a desperate move, tried to swallow the chains—but instead, its body was pierced by the incoming spears, and it screamed in pain once more.
It flailed wildly, trying to get away.
Of course, I wasn’t going to just let it go.
A massive magic circle began forming in the air.
“Haaah…”
At this point, even I was starting to feel drained. To be fair, I had used a lot of mana trying to subdue the thing earlier.
That old feeling of emptiness—it had been a while. I let out a soft laugh, then pushed through to finish the final spell formation.
Wuuuung…
A tremendous vibration erupted from the magic circle, enough to shake the ground itself.
With a flash of crimson eyes, the beast thrashed with all its might, trying desperately to flee.
Of course, it wasn’t like the beast could escape—not with hundreds of chains anchored deep into its body.
“This is the end.”
At last, a massive hammer emerged from between the clouds.
So enormous that it could easily crush a creature the size of a whale, Adele stared up at it, eyes wide with disbelief.
The moment I clenched my palm—
KWAANG!
A deafening roar thundered through the air as the hammer came crashing down, and the beast plummeted like a stone.
The shockwave rippled through the ground, causing the paladins and knights standing on the plains to stagger and lose balance.
Kkwoo-ooohhh!
Letting out what sounded like a mixture of a scream and a final roar, the whale—clearly at its limit—was now barely clinging to life, its breath shallow and fading.
It had survived that last blow, somehow.
“What a stubborn lifeform.”
One of the paladins, who had been silently observing the scene, suddenly bolted toward the Whale of Oblivion. The fury burning in his eyes left a lasting impression.
“No need for me to finish it off, then.”
And behind him, more followed.
Paladins brandishing their weapons, striking without hesitation—slashing and tearing into the beast in a frenzy.
Their blows, heavy with sorrow and vengeance, were relentless.
Seeing that, I lowered my staff.
“You’re still as amazing as ever, Abel.”
At the voice of admiration beside me, I let out a quiet laugh and replied,
“An Archmage ought to be capable of at least this much.”
“Ugh, that was such a conceited thing to say just now.”
Even as she said it, Adele leaned into me a bit more.
Her silver hair, still not fully familiar to my shoulder, brushed against me. She blinked slowly, clearly worn out.
To think she’d entered the belly of the Whale of Oblivion alone and rescued people. She’d grown a great deal in such a short time.
Choosing to teach her spirit magic had definitely been the right call.
I ruffled Adele’s hair, and she shook her head, trying to protest.
The way she did it—it was strangely adorable.
Maybe I was getting too attached to her.
Ahem. “Mind if I join you for a moment?”
“Ah, Your Holiness.”
“Bah, what’s with the ‘Your Holiness’ nonsense? Just talk to me like usual.”
The Pope brushed his arm, pretending to shudder in disgust. I let out a sigh and gave a small nod.
Even when I tried to be polite, he’d brush it off like that—so I stopped bothering with formalities altogether.
But still, what brought him over to us first?
Adele, who had been leaning against me a moment ago, flinched in surprise at the Pope’s appearance and straightened up quickly.
Seeing that, he waved his hand and said to her,
“Stay however is comfortable.”
The Pope let out a soft laugh and gave a kind smile.
“I’m not the kind of cruel old man who forces etiquette on someone who’s already worn out.”
“Ah…”
Relieved by those words, Adele leaned back into me again.
Then, she reached for the leather pouch attached to her shoulder.
As she untied the rope sealing it shut, wooden crosses filled the opening—packed inside.
The Pope looked surprised, staring at her as she quietly spoke.
“These are the belongings of those who’ve passed.”
She said it with a bitter expression on her face.
“If we had more time… I would’ve liked to bring their remains too.”
“…No, no. This alone is more than enough. We’re deeply grateful.”
The Pope took the leather bag filled with crosses in his hands, gazing at it with a deeply contemplative look.
As he took each cross out one by one, his fingers ran across them—until he came upon a red cross. At that, he suddenly froze.
“This cross…”
He studied it from multiple angles in silence, then quietly returned it to the bag.
“Thank you. On behalf of everyone in the Holy Kingdom, I offer my deepest gratitude.”
With those words, he bowed his head.
It was such a rare sight that even Adele was taken aback—honestly, so was I.
That fox of a man, so adept at navigating politics, bowing his head like this… It was the last thing I expected.
And he had even said it while claiming to represent the Holy Kingdom.
“Uh… th-thank you?”
Still half out of it from exhaustion, Adele managed a dazed response.
The Pope gave her a warm, grandfatherly smile before turning back toward the Holy Paladin Order.
Watching his retreating figure quietly, Adele turned to me and asked,
“I… I did good, right?”
“You did more than enough. You did great.”
“Hehe.”
Blinking slowly, she smiled in quiet satisfaction—then drifted off to sleep.
I gently brushed her messy hair back into place and carefully lifted her into my arms.
When I turned my head, I saw Arin standing nearby with a big, mischievous smile.
I didn’t even need to ask to know what that smile meant. I let out a sigh. She stepped up to me and whispered in a low voice,
“She really is… Mother, isn’t she?”
“Think whatever you want.”
There was no point in denying it now. She wouldn’t believe me anyway.
Especially since she knew from the start that Adele and I were in a contract marriage, and she’d taken over as her bodyguard after Evan stepped down.
“Any casualties?”
At my question, Arin’s expression instantly turned serious as she looked around.
She must’ve been borrowing Pii’s vision through her palm, because her answer came quickly.
“None.”
“That’s good.”
“However… there seem to be many affected by the Forgetting Mist.”
“Memory loss won’t last long. Send those affected back to the Ducal House and finish the rest of the subjugation with the remaining forces.”
“Understood.”
Nodding, Arin replied and took her leave.
At times like this, she really was someone you could rely on. But the moment Adele was involved, her behavior always changed.
“…Oh, and should I bring Mother along too?”
I was about to respond, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. I just nodded.
“Yeah, do that. She’s probably exhausted—she needs to rest.”
“Haha. Got it.”
Smiling, Arin took Adele from my arms.
She didn’t so much as twitch in her sleep—completely out cold.
I chuckled softly.
Well, she did do quite a lot during this subjugation. It’s no wonder she’s worn out.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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