After chatting with Crusch for a bit, Hayashi Maki spent the remaining time studying that massive tree.
He didn't see anything special inside it, and he couldn't figure out why it had grown so huge. When he couldn't make sense of it, he stopped overthinking. One hand held Beatrice's small hand, the other wrapped around Aqua's slim waist, enjoying the goddess's soft warmth.
Aqua could strike any pose, no problem—just like you'd expect from a goddess who'd maxed out an "entertainment performance" skill like Kachō Fūgetsu.
Being held like that, Aqua was furious but didn't dare say much. That shameless pervert of an archbishop was taking advantage again. If he weren't paying her so well, she'd never let him get away with it so easily.
Hayashi Maki ignored Aqua's dramatic faces. She'd lowered her head and was glaring at him like she thought he couldn't tell. He absolutely could.
He was already thinking about what "high-difficulty moves" he'd make the goddess practice later.
Suddenly a strange presence suddenly swept in.
"It's here. Everyone, get ready!"
Hayashi Maki used magic to deliver his voice straight into everyone's ears.
Crusch froze, instinctively tightening her grip on her sword.
Wilhelm also braced himself—his blade was already drawn.
"SKREE—!"
A heavy fog rolled in. The moonlight dimmed under a spreading shadow, and a long, fish-shaped silhouette slid across the sky. That eerie cry proved Hayashi Maki's warning was right.
The White Whale had appeared.
And it was moving toward Hayashi Maki.
Hayashi Maki carried the Witch of Envy's scent. The White Whale was created by the Witch of Gluttony, but the Witch of Envy had devoured the others' power—so her aura shared certain "notes" with Gluttony's. The White Whale being drawn in made perfect sense.
Crusch stared blankly at the enormous pitch-black shape approaching. Even though she'd been told it was fifty meters long, seeing it in person was on another level.
It was huge.
Everyone else was stunned too—the monster they'd dreamed of hunting for so long was finally in front of them. And those crimson eyes sparked an instinctive fear deep in the gut.
In that tense silence, Hayashi Maki attacked first, slashing out a blade of sword-light.
SCHLK.
"GRAAAH—!"
The White Whale shrieked as a chunk of flesh was carved away.
Crusch finally snapped back to herself and shouted, "All units, full assault! Attack! Mages—deploy the Night-Dispellers!"
At the same time, she spurred her horse forward and swung her sword through the air.
A wind-forged slash streaked out like cold light and struck the White Whale's face, ripping open a deep, bleeding gash.
This was Crusch's signature technique—One Blow, One Hundred Felled.
Back in the day, she'd used it to wipe out hundreds of Great Rabbits attacking the royal capital and saved her people.
In this world, anyone who could project sword energy for long-range cuts was a rare genius—and Crusch was exactly that kind of sword prodigy.
And it wasn't just talent. It was effort.
While other nobles spent their days socializing, hosting tea parties, and chasing "good matches," Crusch was out there grinding sword training.
While others obsessed over coming-of-age ceremonies—dressing up, looking perfect, hunting an ideal fiancé—Crusch was still training.
Even Julius, who still hadn't fully mastered spirit swordsmanship, had lost to her before.
But even so, her strike didn't do that much. The White Whale bled heavily, but its sheer size meant it was basically a deep scratch.
With Crusch leading the charge, her troops pulled out several mana flare cannons. They fired into the sky—bright white bursts detonated overhead.
Night peeled back like a curtain, and the battlefield lit up like day.
Now the White Whale's colossal body was fully visible to everyone—its grotesque shape, its monstrous presence.
Under all those eyes, the White Whale merely narrowed its gaze. It didn't flee. Those strange red eyes, speckled with yellow, seemed to look down on them with contempt.
"HRAAAH! Beast—old man's waited for you!"
Wilhelm roared and launched himself into the air. He used a thrown sword as a stepping point, kicked off again, and sprang even higher.
He moved nothing like an old man—his body was sharp and agile. He landed on the White Whale's back, drove his blade in, and tore open a huge wound.
Then, with another roar, he ran along the White Whale's body—blade still biting—carving a long, brutal gash across its flesh.
In the White Whale's screams, he even hacked off a large section of its "wing" fin.
The mages followed up with fireballs and rock shots, concentrating their attacks around the wounds Hayashi Maki and Wilhelm had opened.
Everyone surged forward together, determined to make the hated mabeast pay.
At first, morale was sky-high. Under Wilhelm and Crusch's assault, the White Whale screamed again and again. Hayashi Maki occasionally added another sweeping sword wave.
And he didn't forget to make Aqua buff everyone—speed boosts, luck boosts, mana enhancement, the whole package.
That was Aqua for you: a terrifying support unit.
Her combat power was basically "effective against undead," sure—but outside of that, her support kit was absurdly strong.
With its back ripped open and one fin severed, the White Whale finally snapped.
It let out a piercing shriek—an area-wide psychic shockwave that made everyone's skulls throb.
Luckily, Aqua's blessings had been applied beforehand, so people recovered quickly.
Then the White Whale unleashed its real ability.
The pores all over its body flared open and blasted out scalding fog.
Wilhelm was blown off the Whale, but his ground dragon—perfectly in sync—caught him cleanly.
He looked up, grim.
The fog swallowed the sky. Under the moonlight, the Night-Dispellers' effect was wiped away.
Two more White Whales materialized at the edges of their formation—another one circled high above.
At the same time, the fog devoured a few unlucky soldiers.
They vanished without even leaving a trace—erased from the world.
Even with preparation, the White Whale's massive body wasn't just for show. People still got hit.
The soldiers began to panic. Three White Whales in the sky—terror spread fast.
"Don't panic!" Crusch bellowed. "Remember Hayashi Maki's intel! Only one is real—the other two are fakes!"
"Hold formation! Report casualties—now!"
"I lost two on my side!"
"I'm down three!"
"My leg—broken!"
Even with preparation, casualties happened. The hit to morale was immediate.
Worst of all… they couldn't even remember who had been swallowed.