Coooh…
A loud wailing sound echoed in all directions. I lifted my head, glancing at the source of the unpleasant siren-like noise.
A massive, shadowy whale was gracefully soaring through the sky. Its red eyes were fixed on me, and I gritted my teeth at the sight of its incessant crying.
‘That bastard.’
It was just like before.
Just a moment ago, I had been uncertain, but once I saw Yurph push me aside and get swallowed in my place, I was convinced.
Like a disaster-grade monster from the Hunt Festival, it was precisely targeting me. I glared at the whale, biting my lips.
The paralysis had worn off long ago. However, with it flying so high, I couldn’t figure out how to save Yurph.
Kal, standing beside me in a daze, was panicking and only muttering “uh, uh” repeatedly.
Silphy quietly glared at the whale, arms crossed, before speaking up.
“I’ve heard of it. It’s called the Forgetting Whale.”
The Forgetting Whale.
It was a colossal monster residing in the northern part of the Kingdom of Numen, in the Forest of Oblivion. It was capable of swallowing entire fortresses whole.
Anyone who inhaled its smoke would lose their memories. The Forgetting Incense, a product mainly used by ambush groups, was made from that very smoke.
“And it’s one of the biggest reasons why Spirits were driven out of this world.”
Originally, the Forest of Oblivion was filled with Spirits. The Elves, who lived nearby, often communicated with them, but they ultimately chose to flee due to the emergence of the Forgetting Whale.
Many Spirits that escaped to the Spirit Realm bore grudges against that whale.
It seemed Silphy didn’t have fond memories of it either, as she was gritting her teeth.
“W-What’s it doing here?”
“Didn’t they say only monsters from other worlds would show up? What’s going on?”
“Ugh. Damn it. I felt uneasy from the start.”
“Yurph-nee? You can’t be serious, right?”
A worried conversation began to circulate among the Holy Knight Order.
Some were panting in fear, while others clenched their teeth in anger.
Buuuu…
The whale let out a strange cry and opened its mouth wide.
Its red eyes shone, and gray mist began to spew from its massive maw.
The mist, which seemed to scatter around for a moment, was suddenly upon us in the blink of an eye.
The chaos sent ripples through both the Holy Knight Order and our knights.
“It’s the Forgetting Incense! Watch your breathing!”
“What the hell are we supposed to do about that?!”
The morale that had soared with the monster’s emergence plummeted instantly.
Having just lost Yurph to that attack, my head was spinning too.
There was nothing I could do but grit my teeth to maintain my sanity.
The battlefield was filled with confusion. Everyone was skilled enough not to fall into collective panic, but they were still flustered.
In the meantime, Abel approached me calmly. He looked at me before shifting his gaze toward the Forgetting Whale.
“What do you want to do?”
“Huh?”
Abel didn’t respond to my question. He was just quietly staring at the whale, which was emitting the mist.
There was no trace of anger or confusion in his eyes.
Did he expect an answer from me? He kept his silence.
What do I want to do…
In my heart, I wished to rescue Yurph immediately. But I had no idea how to go about it.
How could I save her from a living natural disaster like that?
No matter how much wind I sent, it would only tickle that colossal beast.
And I couldn’t even guarantee I could deal damage in close combat.
‘Is there no way?’
Suddenly, Yurph’s last smile before she pushed me aside flashed in my mind, followed immediately by the image of the Forgetting Whale’s wide-open mouth.
Just as I was about to grit my teeth, a thought crossed my mind.
‘No, there must be a way.’
The most common method when facing a giant monster: if you can’t deal damage from the outside, you go in to deal damage.
It was risky, but that seemed to be the only viable option.
“Abel. Please open the creature’s mouth.”
“Ha. You’ve gotten rather rough with your words.”
Abel chuckled and opened a spatial portal. He reached in and rummaged around, pulling out a staff.
It looked like it was made of oak. A glimmering white jewel was embedded at the tip.
It was clearly an extraordinary staff.
With a smile, Abel began to channel mana through the staff he held.
“Now I see why you like it.”
With that, he raised the staff and started to swing it like a conductor.
A massive magic circle began to form in the sky above the whale.
Coooh…
The whale, which had been howling strangely, was startled and twisted in the air when the magic circle appeared right above it.
It tried to fly higher to escape the magic circle, but the circle had formed a wall, blocking its way.
With a thunderous sound, the whale’s painful groans filled the air.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
With his other hand outstretched, Abel took a deep breath before clenching his fist tightly.
The massive magic circle resting over the whale suddenly began to crash down.
Coooor!
Boom!
Shrieking, the whale crashed to the ground near where I stood. It was screaming loudly.
Watching that scene, Abel snapped his fingers. With a click, the whale’s mouth began to widen.
It felt as if someone was forcibly prying its jaw open, and an incomparably larger scream echoed out.
Graaaar!
The gray mist obscured my vision, but Abel paid it no mind and kept snapping his fingers.
The white magic circle filled the space around it, attacking.
Abel’s breath grew slightly ragged, yet he seemed to retain his composure.
“Is that enough?”
I nodded at Abel’s question.
“Yes. That’ll do.”
As Yurph’s last smile came to mind, I gripped my rapier tightly. Then I stepped into the gaping mouth of the whale.
To attack from within the Forgetting Whale, to retrieve Yurph.
Silphy, standing beside me, asked with a worried tone.
[Are you sure you’ll be okay without his help?]
“Yes. This time, I want to do it by myself.”
It might be impossible.
From what I heard, the Forgetting Whale was a disaster-level monster. It was hard to believe no one had thought of the same idea I did.
If that were the case, the monster wouldn’t have survived for hundreds of years.
However, even in the worst-case scenario, I was confident I could at least rescue Yurph and escape.
I didn’t want to rely on Abel or flee if I couldn’t defeat it. Silphy must have read my thoughts, smiling as she nodded.
[Got it. If that’s what the Contractor wants.]
“Let’s go.”
[Okay.]
With that, Silphy and I stepped into the belly of the Forgetting Whale.
§
The Forgetting Whale.
It was the monster that marked the first defeat for Abel in the original story. The sheer power of this monster was the main reason for his unexpected downfall.
Even now, I was struggling to bind it.
If I, who had reached a higher realm than the original, was feeling this much pressure, I could only imagine how the Holy Knights felt.
Coooh…
The Forgetting Whale emitted another cloud of mist.
‘…Hah, so that’s how it’s going to be?’
During the Monster Extermination War, I was suspicious of the Emperor’s intentions, but had he been aiming for Adele this whole time?
A large red emblem was glaring at me from the whale’s back.
Not many people around would be able to see that. So, the Emperor must have seen that monster as a tool to invade the Holy Kingdom.
The unusually high number of victims from the Holy Kingdom must have been because that whale was the Emperor’s pawn.
I had doubted it when I read the original.
In [The Villainess Reverses Time Again Today], there was a part that particularly puzzled me.
An unusual mention of the Forgetting Whale targeting Adele and Abel head-on.
Readers had inferred that the whale was also a subordinate of the Emperor, but for it to actually be true was something I didn’t want to believe.
The worst possible scenario had revealed itself.
‘Can monsters also be branded?’
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue and slammed the whale’s wide-open mouth shut. A scream erupted from within as it went wild.
“Do you need help?”
I turned to find the Pope, his eyes icy. His usual gentle smile was gone, replaced with a fiery intensity.
Come to think of it, he was one of the people who cared for Yurph. He seemed unusually angry; was that the reason?
Still having that warm demeanor, I couldn’t help but chuckle and spoke to the Pope.
“Surely you weren’t planning to just stand by with your arms crossed at a time like this?”
“Hah, what insolent words. Of course not.”
He pulled out his staff and slammed it into the ground. With a low rumble, the earth began to vibrate.
Simultaneously, a massive divine power enveloped the Pope.
“Hah. You haven’t lost your touch.”
A giant form appeared, made of divine power. It was impressive how strong he was without the relics that were sources of divine power.
No wonder the Emperor hesitated to face the Pope.
“Enough chit-chat—let’s go.”
With the Pope’s words, the giant began to step forward.
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