The Dragon Carriage had been in the fog for some time, and the thick mist slithered through the forest like a living thing.
The world outside the carriage seemed to be swallowed by darkness, and even the light from the Earth dragon's lantern was compressed into a pitiful small group, barely illuminating less than five meters ahead.
This reminded her of the horror games she played before transmigrating, never knowing what terrifying thing would leap out of the darkness in the next second.
But at this moment, compared to the imagined ghosts, the image of the White Whale circling in her mind was even more chilling.
She had clearly made up her mind to save everyone, but when she truly faced this darkness that devoured everything, fear still coiled around her heart like a venomous snake.
She suddenly realized that the reason she wasn't so afraid in the last Return by Death was because... that blue figure always stood by her side; as long as she turned around, she could see a reassuring back.
"Damn it..." Subaru shook her head vigorously.
Now there was no Rem to comfort herself; bearing all the responsibility herself was truly unpleasant.
Why wasn't her ability a powerful strength like Carlisle's, but this perverse Return by Death?
The Dragon Carriage jolted violently, and besides the sound of wheels crunching over gravel, all Subaru could hear was her own rapid heartbeat.
It was too quiet; no insects chirping, no birds singing, not even the sound of wind.
This eerie silence was more terrifying than any sound.
"Something's wrong... it's too quiet."
Subaru suddenly felt a sense of suffocation.
It was as if something was staring at her.
"This is... what feeling is this..."
She tremblingly moved her face to the window, the chill of being watched creeping up her spine to the back of her neck.
Reason told her not to look, but her body uncontrollably leaned out-
Above the grey-white mist, a colossal shadow was cruising through the clouds.
Even from such a distance, its outline was terrifyingly vast.
It rolled in the sky like a giant whale in the ocean... if the ocean were the sky.
Atmospheric creature?
This absurd term suddenly popped into her mind.
But what was even more terrifying was... was that thing... moving towards them?
"Otto!!! Run! Right now!!!"
Otto was startled by Subaru's scream.
Although he didn't know what Subaru saw, he instinctively sped up the Dragon Carriage.
"What's wrong, Subaru?"
"The White Whale is here! Run!"
"The White Whale?! Where-"
Otto's voice cut off abruptly.
The moment he instinctively activated his [Divine Protection of the Soul of Language], the entire world suddenly turned into a piercing shriek.
The urgent breathing of the Earth dragon was mixed with whimpers like a young beast, the rustling of carapaces in the bushes had a hysterical frequency, and even the gravel crunched by the wheels emitted tiny, almost sobbing vibrations.
A viscous fear drilled into his eardrums along with the sound waves, flowing through his blood vessels like a cold parasite.
Otto's neck suddenly stiffened, unable to turn, his Adam's apple bobbed, and cold sweat trickled down his temples.
Something... was directly above...
He stiffly tilted his head back; above the thick fog, the mist outlined a sky-obscuring silhouette, its grey-white belly like a moving mountain.
That was not a fish at all, but a colossal entity that claimed the entire night sky for itself.
"Waaahhh!!!"
The Earth dragon suddenly let out a death-like shriek, its muscular limbs stretching to an unprecedented degree.
The Dragon Carriage tilted sharply, and Subaru's back slammed hard against the carriage wall.
Otto desperately clutched the reins.
— — — — — —
On the forest path in the night, Rem gripped the reins tightly, driving the Earth dragon Carriage at high speed.
This blue-haired maid had also secretly followed, originally just worried about the two's situation, but unexpectedly witnessed Subaru and a green-clad merchant driving away, while Carlisle actually pursued on foot.
She didn't have such superhuman stamina; Rem immediately turned and ran towards the commercial district, asking three merchant teams who hadn't rested yet before finding someone willing to lend a Dragon Carriage at night.
Now she was speeding along the fresh wheel tracks on the ground, the wheels making a dull sound as they crunched over the damp earth.
As the pursuit deepened, Rem's brow furrowed more and more.
These tracks clearly pointed towards the Mansion; why was Subaru returning to the Mansion now?
Even Carlisle needed to be kept in the dark?
Full of worry, Rem quickly drove the Dragon Carriage in the direction the two had taken.
— — — — — —
"Run! Earth dragon! Why did the White Whale suddenly appear?!"
Listening to Otto's scream, Subaru's heart was filled with both fear and confusion.
In the last Return by Death, the White Whale clearly roamed the plains and did not appear in the forest.
Why did it come directly this time?
The Dragon Carriage frantically weaved through the dense forest, Otto's reins almost cutting into his palms.
The Earth dragon's lungs gasped like a broken bellows, and with every sharp turn, the wheels lifted off the ground.
Behind them, the roar of trees collapsing echoed continuously; the White Whale's massive body crushed through the forest like the Grim Reaper wielding a scythe.
"Left! No, right!" Otto's [Divine Protection of the Soul of Language] was working frantically; he could hear all nearby creatures screaming and fleeing for their lives, but the most terrifying thing was that no matter how he changed his route, the White Whale's shadow remained like a phantom.
"Something's wrong..." Subaru's pupils peered through the carriage's cracks.
She saw that the White Whale's pursuit route was not a straight line at all, but precisely followed their every turn.
This was no coincidence; it was almost as if... something was attracting it.
"Subaru! Throw out all the cargo!" Otto suddenly roared.
Subaru instantly understood and lunged towards the stacked oil drums.
Just as she picked up the first can-
"Whoosh— — — — — —"
A deafening whale cry exploded directly inside her skull.
Subaru stiffened and turned her head; outside the carriage door crack, a giant eye, over a meter in diameter, stared fixedly at her.
In its pupil, inhuman wisdom flowed, reflecting her own ghostly pale face.
"Am I going to die...?"
The Dragon Carriage suddenly bucked violently like a crazed beast.
Subaru felt herself being thrown into the air, her head slamming hard against the carriage roof.
The sound of splintering wood, the screech of branches scraping the carriage body, Otto's hysterical shouts-all mixed into a chaotic mess.
"Hold on-we're going into the woods!"
The world spun wildly before Subaru's eyes.
Her body slammed back and forth inside the carriage like a rag doll, her knees hitting the sharp corners of wooden crates, warm blood soaking her skirt.
For a moment, she even had the illusion of returning to her previous life, riding an amusement park ride, only the price was not screams, but a threat to her life.
When the Dragon Carriage finally stopped rolling, Subaru's vision was filled with flying golden stars.
She shakily propped herself up.
Outside the window, the towering giant tree, entwined with mist, stood like a silhouette from a nightmare.
"Did we... shake it off?"
Her answer was a ground-shaking roar.
The White Whale's massive body crashed through dozens of ancient trees, bursting out of the forest, broken branches and leaves still clinging to its grey-white skin.
Its gaping maw was like the descent of an abyss, viscous saliva dripping between layers of sharp teeth.
Subaru could smell the rank stench assaulting her, and could clearly see the writhing polyps deep in its throat-
"Al Huma!"
In an instant, the temperature of the entire space plummeted.
Dozens of ice cones, comparable to battering rams, condensed out of thin air, piercing through the White Whale's flank with a whooshing sound.
The demon beast let out a deafening wail, its diving trajectory forcibly shifted, and the shattered ice crystals rained down like diamonds.
A blue figure suddenly leaped out of the mist.
Carlisle's longsword erupted with light like the sun, and the holy radiance instantly dispersed the thick fog within dozens of meters.
His aerial slash left a scorching trail in the air, and the White Whale's skin was cut open with a massive wound, like a hot knife through butter.
"Subaru! Run!"
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.