Anastasia Hoshin blinked several times, the bright beam of the spotlight dazzling her slightly.
Alone in the center of this improvised stage, the candidate felt a shiver of discomfort run down her neck.
Anastasia: « Uh... what exactly am I doing here? »
She asked, perplexed, trying to maintain her professional smile despite the absurd situation.
Kurisu walked theatrically to her side, the golden microphone still in his hand, and leaned toward her with a charming smile.
Kurisu: « Tell me, dear Anastasia... have you ever wanted to be whole? To be perfectly healthy, like everyone else? »
Anastasia: « What? ... »
The merchant's smile faltered for a fraction of a second. She was completely unsettled.
Kurisu: « Well, yes. If you agree to participate in this battle—and if it succeeds, of course—I will repair your gate entirely. Yes, you heard me right! Your gate will be repaired! »
He shouted to the entire room, his voice echoing through invisible speakers.
Subaru: « Seriously... »
The boy muttered, holding his face with one hand, exasperated by the performance, though he understood the stakes.
In the stands, the audience was struck with stupor. Repair her gate? Anastasia Hoshin, the great candidate from Kararagi, had a broken mana gate?
Anastasia turned pale before their eyes. The blood drained from her face.
Anastasia: « Ho—how do you know—?! »
She exclaimed in a high-pitched voice before hastily clapping her hands over her mouth. But it was too late.
She had shouted her reaction directly into the microphone that Kurisu had sneakily held out to her without her realizing it.
The entire room was stunned by this involuntary admission.
Julius, remaining in the lower rows, tensed violently.
Julius: « Lady Anastasia… »
« So it was true. This terrible burden she carried in silence... »
His blood ran cold instantly—he knew the implications of such a diagnosis perfectly, and the thought that his lady might die in the coming years turned his stomach.
His hand tightened on the pommel of his sword, not as a threat this time, but because he literally did not know where to put his distress.
Kurisu: « So, what do you say, Lady Anastasia? Are you going to refuse my offer? And in that case, continue to draw from your reserves until you die miserably in less than five years? Or will you accept, and have a real chance to live long enough to count all your gold coins? »
At these words of clinical cruelty, the whole room went pale again, almost comically. Even though the revelation had just been forced, the logic was implacable:
A broken gate meant a premature and inevitable death. Everyone knew it in this world governed by mana.
And this man... was offering to repair it with a snap of his fingers. He was literally offering her life.
Felix, curled up in his seat, wanted to speak. As the best healer in the kingdom, he wanted to scream that it was physically and magically impossible to reconstruct a damaged Od.
But... having seen the terrifying prowess of this man, he was no longer so sure.
« And above all... since Subaru-kyun arrived with this man... his gate, which was supposed to be in pieces... is perfectly fine. In fact, I feel a flow of mana that seems even vaster, stronger, and more resistant than before. It has to be the work of this monster. »
The cat-knight did not say a word, gritting his teeth.
Anastasia stood there for a few seconds, her cheeks flushed with shame to see her greatest secret, her greatest weakness, thrown to her rivals.
But Kurisu was not going to let her escape.
Kurisu: « So, Merchant Queen armed with her pet fox—what is your final choice?! »
He shouted, pointing the microphone an inch from her face.
What could she say?
She was going to die, she knew it in the depths of her soul. This might be the only chance of her entire life.
No matter the risks, the manipulations, or the humiliation. She had to do it.
Anastasia took a deep breath, swallowing her pride.
Anastasia: « I—I accept! »
She shouted this into the microphone, her face scarlet, her voice trembling but determined.
Kurisu: « Very well, very well! Let's have a big round of applause, ladies and gentlemen! »
Suddenly, frenetic, pre-recorded applause erupted from all sides in the empty theater, without any visible source, amplifying the surrounding unease.
Anastasia covered her face in her fur scarf, red as a peony.
Clap!
Kurisu snapped his fingers, and she instantly reappeared, sitting in the stands alongside a silent but relieved Julius.
Another light turned on.
Almost immediately, another person was materialized under the glare of the spotlights.
Crusch: « Me? ... »
Felix: « Crusch-sama! »
He shouted, completely caught off guard, almost jumping out of his seat.
Al, for his part, only sighed heavily under his helmet—but he had to admit he was somewhat amused by the turn of events.
He hadn't seen this kind of absurd television spectacle in a long time. He even pretended to clap lightly with his only good hand.
Kurisu continued, microphone in hand.
Kurisu: « Yes, yes, my dearest Crusch Karsten! Tell us everything! Have you never wanted to know the true story behind the disappearance of your dear childhood love? »
Recorded "Oooooohhhhh" sounds from a fictional audience resonated throughout the theater, sitcom-style.
Crusch: « What—what—What are you talking about... I never— »
The Duchess stammered, her military composure shattering.
She turned into a giant tomato in the middle of the stage, unable to formulate a coherent sentence.
On the other side, the icy atmosphere suddenly gave way to monumental awkwardness.
Priscilla: « Hmm. Interesting. »
The princess let out from her seat, observing the scene with sharpened, almost amused attention.
Subaru: « You're cruel, man… »
The boy murmured, seeing Crusch's distress in the face of this public humiliation.
Felix, meanwhile, in his corner, had sweaty palms, his skin pale under his clothes. He absolutely did not want everyone to know about his lady's tragic feelings.
But what could he do about it? Nothing. He was totally powerless.
Kurisu: « Yes, yes! Don't you want to know how your friend—and perhaps first love—Prince Fourier Lugunica, as well as the entire royal family, REALLY died? »
He asked this with a diabolically mischievous air.
Crusch: « What?! But— »
She cried out before her voice died in her throat.
The whole room held its breath. The atmosphere became instantly heavy.
This was major state information, not a simple secret of the heart.
Kurisu: « By a sudden, crushing epidemic? Please, that's totally false! They were assassinated! And your dear divine dragon Volcanica has absolutely nothing to do with any of that, yet you blame him! The poor lizard is already senile enough as it is! »
He shouted, revealing massive state secrets by the shovel-load like someone throwing away information, spinning around with his microphone like a crazy presenter in the middle of a delirious crisis.
Felix gulped violently, the blood freezing in his veins.
Felix: « Wh—what? ... Is it true? ... »
« Assassinated? Prince Fourier was assassinated?! Is it even true?! »
A cold rage began to mount within him—not toward Crusch, but toward this man who was having fun exposing such an intimate wound before an entire room.
He wanted to scream, to protest, but something in this man's displayed power held him back, crushing him where he stood.
Anastasia, who had finally regained some composure from the stands, displayed a thin, calculating smile.
Anastasia: « Well… that is some juicy information of absolutely inestimable value. »
Crusch swallowed her saliva, her amber eyes wide with shock.
Her voice trembled.
Crusch: « So... you... you know who... who is responsible for— »
But Kurisu stopped her right away, placing his white-gloved index finger on the Duchess's lips with insolent familiarity.
Kurisu: « Easy, beauty. No free spoilers. »
He said with an amused smirk.
In the stands, Felix almost broke his phalanges from how hard he was clenching his fists.
He was twisting his fingers in rage.
Felix: « Ho—how does he dare touch Crusch-sama's magnificent lips?! Cursed demon! Even I can't do that! »
The cat-knight gulped, on the verge of tears.
Julius, beside him, gave him a look with a mix of compassion and contained amusement, perfectly understanding his friend's psychological torture.
Kurisu: « If you want to know more—you'll have to accept the offer. But you were going to do it anyway, weren't you? »
Crusch did not hesitate for a single fraction of a second.
The fire of truth burned everything else.
Crusch: « Yes, I accept! Tell me more, please! »
But Kurisu simply snapped his fingers, and she disappeared from the stage instantly, frustrated by his answer.
Kurisu: « We'll see about the details later. »
Crusch reappeared heavily in her seat alongside the others.
There was only one candidate left.
Al, observing the scene, murmured to himself:
Al: « Well... it was bound to happen eventually. » Al muttered, fearing the worst for his mistress's ego.
Priscilla: « Yes, of course! My divine being is saved for the end! What could be more logical to close this sideshow! »
Priscilla exclaimed, rising gracefully from her seat and proudly unfurling her red fan before being teleported to the stage by Kurisu.
Priscilla: « So, strange being… What do you offer my divine self so that I might deign to follow your little plan with no scope? »
Kurisu stood there. Silent.
One second passed. Then two. Then five.
The silence became unbearable in the theater.
Priscilla quickly grew impatient, tapping the floor with her heel.
Priscilla: « Come on! What are you going to give me? Speak, wretch! »
Kurisu: « Ohh, hush! I'm thinking, you're distracting me! »
Kurisu cut her off brutally.
He continued to walk in circles around the stage for a few more seconds, scratching his chin, before stopping dead and shouting:
Kurisu: « Ah, yes, there it is, I found it! »
He teleported instantly to within inches of Priscilla's face.
Kurisu: « So, dear Prisca—ohh, pardon, Priscilla—have you ever dreamed that the world could revolve around you? »
He paused theatrically, staring at the princess.
Kurisu: « Oh, that's right, excuse me, am I being stupid... you are already convinced of it! »
Greasy, mocking, pre-recorded laughter exploded throughout the theater.
In the stands, the audience struggled to restrain themselves; some actually began to laugh a little.
Subaru burst into a small, nervous laugh.
Crusch giggled softly, letting out a small, discreet laugh.
Even Rem, usually so impassive and silent since the beginning, let out a slight, amused breath through her nose.
Priscilla turned scarlet. A divine rage mounted within her.
Priscilla: « What are you talking about, buffoon?! The world ALREADY revolves around me! What could be more natural and normal for the perfect being that I am?! »
She exclaimed this with pride.
At this explosion of rage, the fake mockery stopped dead.
Kurisu lost his smile, suddenly resuming that icy, serious, and unfathomable tone that terrified Subaru so much.
Kurisu: « Ohh, really? In that case, let me ask you something, little girl, and show you a few things. »
He approached slowly, his shadow seeming to grow disproportionately.
Kurisu: « First of all—if the world really revolved around you… Wouldn't you be, at this very moment, the legitimate and undisputed Queen of the Vollachian Empire? Yet… From what I know of your current situation, Prisca Benedict, you are much more of a fugitive in exile than anything else. Pff… »
The room was gripped by a wave of total and immediate incomprehension.
Priscilla... Queen of Vollachia?
Was she... an imperial princess of this ultra-violent warrior nation?
Anastasia: « Ohh, ohh… Now that is particularly interesting. »
Anastasia whispered softly, her business mind feverishly recording this geopolitical bombshell.
Crusch: « Well… that is more than surprising. »
Al, for his part, gulped heavily under his helmet, sinking into his seat.
Al: « Well… something like this had to come out one day… »
He murmured this to himself, almost resigned, having evidently kept this secret for a long time.
Priscilla remained silent, lips pursed, unable to retort anything at all. The man in white was right.
Whether she liked it or not, in her immeasurable arrogance, he had struck where it hurt.
But Kurisu did not intend to stop at a simple political truth. He was going to break her mind.
Kurisu: « This is what a person looks like when the world actually revolves around them. This is what a person looks like who controls the very concepts of reality. »
He lifted his arm very slowly in front of him, and simply joined the index and middle fingers of his hand above his head.
Kurisu: « Ryouiki Tenkai!» (Domain Expansion)
He exclaimed in a voice that resonated with the power of thunder.
Suddenly, reality fractured. The walls of the theater, the stands, the ceiling... everything evaporated to give way to an infinite void.
The back of the room changed, transforming into a cosmic canvas where images of frightening clarity scrolled by.
First, the place where he and Subaru had been earlier—space, overlooking their flat world.
The group found themselves floating (though seated in their chairs) in the astral void, observing their world from very high up.
Crusch: « Wha... What?! »
Crusch exclaimed, clutching the armrests, dizzy.
Rem: « Where... Where are we? »
Rem gulped, purely caught off guard by the immensity of the thing.
Kurisu: « This... » began Kurisu, his voice resonating from everywhere at once,
Kurisu: « is space. The absolute void above your stars. And what is at the very bottom— »
He pointed to the gigantic flat earth floating in the void, held together by magical laws.
Kurisu: « —is your world. The one of Od Laguna. »
Felix: « What?! Really?! The whole world looks like this?! »
Anastasia: « All this information—Julius, take notes immediately! »
The candidate shouted, eyes bulging with the fever of knowledge.
Julius: « Understood, Anastasia-sama! »
The knight replied, scribbling frantically on a parchment that appeared from nowhere, though his hands trembled at this divine vision, the shock still present on his face.
Kurisu: « And that is not all. »
TAP!
The scenery changed violently.
The flat earth disappeared to give way to a spherical world, infinitely more complex.
Mountains of skyscrapers made of glass and steel pierced the clouds.
Millions of cars, planes, and electric lights swarmed like mechanical ants.
Subaru: « What—how did you do that?! »
Subaru shouted, eyes wide, immediately recognizing the architecture of Japan, his home.
Al, with a heavy heart, also recognizing Earth, felt something tighten harder inside him—a visceral shock he could not completely conceal.
Al: « Damn… he really can do anything, huh… »
He murmured this to himself, his voice slightly trembling.
He who had been stuck in this world for years, seeing Earth laid out like that, as a simple decoration among others, struck him harder than he would have thought possible.
Kurisu: « And here, we are in a completely different world. A universe totally different from yours, located far beyond your Great Waterfall... and totally devoid of the slightest particle of magic. »
At these words, the natives of Lugunica gulped.
A world without magic? Was that even conceivable?
How did these immense structures stay standing without the help of mana?
Priscilla remained silent, her red eyes reflecting the neon lights of the terrestrial city. She, who believed herself the center of creation, realized that creation was vaster than her imagination.
Kurisu: « But I'm not stopping there! »
The images began to scroll by at a frantic speed. The group was projected from one universe to another.
From dystopian, futuristic worlds with grimy cyberpunkcolors.
From worlds where magic took radically different forms:
Here, mages summoning their spells via clover grimoires.
There, alchemists drawing complex transmutation circles.
They saw a world of ninjas manipulating Chakra, chaining hand signs at lightning speed to spit fire.
Another world of martial arts, where golden-haired warriors made the entire planet tremble through the sheer force of their Ki.
They caught a glimpse of an absurd world where the power of friendship could defeat anything.
A strange world filled with Nen powers of all kinds, filled with nightmarish creatures.
Worlds populated by extraordinary beings, the cardinal world,the spirit realm—infinite dimensions and all unique in their own way...
While these dantesque visions scrolled before the amazed and terrified eyes of the assembly, Subaru and Al remained glued to the spot, recognizing some of these fictions that had become reality under the influence of the Ryouiki Tenkai.
Kurisu shifted his heavy, crushing gaze toward Priscilla, who was standing alone on the stage, arms dangling.
Kurisu: « There... is what a being is capable of whose world actually revolves around them. A being who surpasses your simple conception of an arrogant mortal. A being who acts with the help of the universe, who observes, manipulates, and crushes the infinity of worlds as they please. »
Finally, the projection stopped. The luxurious theater room closed back around them.
Kurisu: « So, tell me, Prisca Benedict. Do you still think the world—that THESE worlds you just saw—revolve around you? »
Kurisu took a step toward her, pointing his microphone once again at the princess's face.
Priscilla remained silent. She had not uttered a single syllable since Kurisu began his demonstration.
She... could say nothing.
Faced with infinity, her pride had just hit an impassable wall.
She finally saw it. Her smallness. Her cosmic insignificance.
Slowly, her legs trembled, and she... fell to her knees on the wooden floorboards.
Al: « Princess! »
Al shouted from his seat, completely on alert, terrified to see his mistress's spirit broken live.
Priscilla kept her head bowed, staring at the floor, before finally murmuring.
Priscilla: « I... I acknowledge my defeat. »
She pronounced these words with an almost painful slowness.
Priscilla: « The world does not revolve around me… And never has. I know it, finally. »
Priscilla Barielle—herself—the princess of the Sun.
The incarnation of arrogance and pride... had just acknowledged, before all her rivals, that the world did not revolve around her.
She admitted herself purely and simply defeated in the face of the absolute.
The entire room, regardless of their past relationships with her, was incapable of emitting a single sound.
Everyone knew that for this woman, this represented absolutely everything she had built as an identity. This admission represented a total destruction of her ego, the death of her life philosophy.
Al literally turned pale in his seat.
His lady, his unshakeable, arrogant, and proud lady, had just bent the knee before this man.
But... while the atmosphere was suffocating with despair, Kurisu gently offered her his hand.
Kurisu: « Yes, you are right. And so... here is my proposal. »
Priscilla barely raised her ruby eyes toward him.
Kurisu: « I propose to make it so that your world... TRULY revolves around you. Or at least, a little more. If you follow me, I will reinforce your already absurd luck in a permanent and absolute manner. What do you say? »
His white, immaculate hand remained held out toward her, offered like a Faustian pact.
Kurisu: « So—will you accept, Priscilla Barielle? To play your part in my grand show, hmmm? »
Priscilla looked at this outstretched hand. She saw the smirk of this overpowered man, offering not to crush her, but promising her that, for once, she would become something real.
For the first time in her existence, she felt something stirring in her heart, a burning and destructive emotion, something she had never felt before—something extremely difficult for her to name.
But instead of crying, her lips stretched. She smiled in a ferocious manner.
She grabbed Kurisu's hand.
Priscilla: « Very well… I accept! »
She jumped back to her feet, her divine confidence returning at a gallop, her voice carrying powerfully into the microphone.
Kurisu: « Ohh, fantastic, very well al— »
Kurisu was about to make confetti rain down, but he was cut off short when Priscilla brought her face close to his, exclaiming in a triumphant tone:
Priscilla: « I accept being your wife! »
Kurisu: « Eh?! »
Kurisu's brain bugged out instantly.
Subaru: « Eh?! »
Subaru froze on the spot.
Anastasia and Crusch, at the same time: « Eh eh?! »
The entire room, in unison: « EHHHHHHHH?! »
The cry of incomprehension was collective.
Kurisu: « Uh… what?! »
He asked, truly shocked for the first time, having clearly not calculated this variable.
Priscilla: « You heard perfectly well, commoner! My divine being has gauged you. No... I, Priscilla Barielle, will henceforth be your dear and loving wife, since you are the only male in all of existence worthy of my presence. Consider yourself extremely lucky and honored by this! »
She exclaimed this with a radiant smile, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, unfurling her fan to hide the triumphant gleam in her eyes.
Al: « HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WHAT IS THIS DELIRIUM?! »
Al shouted, holding his head with his only valid hand.
His voice resonated throughout the theater.
Kurisu: « Hey man, I don't know any more than you do! This was absolutely not planned! »
Kurisu exclaimed toward the one-armed knight, before turning his attention back to the flamboyant princess.
He tried to step back, regaining his composure.
Kurisu: « Sorry, beauty... but my heart is far too dark and empty to accept futile concepts like love. A real shame, eh? »
He said, waving his hands, trying to stay polite to clear the situation, despite his obvious shock.
But Priscilla was still smiling with all her teeth, perfectly confident.
Priscilla: « Ohh ohh... Have no worries, my future husband... I love it when things promise to be difficult. »
Before Kurisu could react or do anything, she moved close to him with speed so supernatural that even he did not see it coming.
She leaned near his ear and whispered in a sensual and possessive voice:
Priscilla: « I will fill it. With a lot of love… »
Then, in the blink of an eye, she turned around, draped in her regained dignity, and disappeared instantly, reappearing in her seat, the fan fanning the air with grace, perfectly dignified, as if nothing had happened.
All eyes in the room were fixed on her.
The candidates, the knights, Rem, Subaru. All were purely and simply stuck on a single concept, just—
WHAT?
There was no better description.
In his corner, poor Al was crying manly tears under his helmet.
Defeated. He was defeated.
His mistress's charisma had just submitted to a fucking anomaly.
Al: « Defeated… defeated by a cosmic being… an isekai OP MC… fuck… »
« Fucking romance tropes... I hate this world... » he muttered to himself while collapsing in his seat.
All the others simply remained paralyzed in total stupor.
For his part... Kurisu had remained frozen in the center of the stage, his hand trembling. Horror appeared on his face. His stomach turned violently.
Then:
Kurisu: « Boguoh... Blueerahhhh! »
He bent in two and vomited a magnificent torrent of rainbow vomit that splashed the theater boards.
Kurisu: « Fuck... I hate forced romance tropes... Bleueeueueueue… »
He continued to vomit, shaken by spasms.
Kurisu: « Cut! Cut the cameras, for fuck's sake! »
And thus, time resumed its normal course, ignoring the freshly inflicted psychological traumas.
...…
And thus, the consolidated group—composed of Subaru, Rem, Crusch, and Priscilla (sporting a most disturbing satisfied smile)—, as well as an incalculable number of heavily armed knights and the mercenaries of Anastasia's Iron Fangs managed by Ricardo under the assistance of the triplets Mimi, Tivey, and Hetaro... stood there, now reunited.
On this freezing night, under the majestic and titanic shadow of the gigantic Flügel tree. They were ready for the battle of their lives. The hunt for the White Whale was about to begin.
Further away, Felix, Al, and Julius secured the rear guard, preparing the logistics and reserves for the second battle, the one that would aim directly at the Witch Cult.
Everyone was at their post. Everyone was waiting for Subaru's signal.
The ambient tension was so dense it seemed it could be sliced with a knife. Sweat beaded under the heavy helmets of the veteran knights.
Wilhelm van Astrea was obviously present, standing on the front line, his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword.
The old Sword Demon was there to avenge his late wife, and nothing could have stopped him from being there this night.
He stood straight, his gaze fixed on the nocturnal and starry horizon with that icy concentration peculiar to veterans who have already lost everything once.
He would not miss this bloody appointment for anything in the world.
Everyone was waiting, simply.
Voice: « Why did we skip directly to the epic combat scene, you might ask me? »
A familiar voice resonated, perched at the very top of the giant tree.
Kurisu, sitting cross-legged on the highest branch, observed the small army below, addressing not the soldiers, but those who were reading this text at this very moment.
Kurisu: « Ohh, well dear readers... You'll have to ask Author-san about that! Kekeke... »
He chuckled softly while swinging his feet in the void, observing the scene from his height.
And honestly, what else was there to say?
Author-san was still in the middle of a scriptwriting laziness crisis, and before anyone could protest—he had literally just produced an entire epic and absurd scene with the candidates right before...
A scene that, in its classic structure, should have been summarized by a simple narrative of a few paragraphs before moving directly to what follows! Dammit!
So be indulgent, that he didn't add the whole boring scene of extra logistical preparation!
Anyway, back to our program.
The tension was at its peak when, suddenly, the heavy silence of the night was broken.
BZZZZ! BZZZZ! BZZZZ!
Subaru's flip phone began to vibrate and ring at full volume. It rang loudly. Very loudly. In the absolute silence of this night.
A strident and anachronistic melody that tore through the night air.
Everyone prepared instantly. The clanking of armor resonated.
Crusch drew her great sword, her blade reflecting the moonlight.
Wilhelm lowered his center of gravity, ready to pounce, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky, motionless.
Priscilla, not far away, closed her fan with a sharp gesture, eyes narrowed.
Subaru, perched on the back of his loyal ground dragon, the best girl in the world—Patrasche—accompanied by Rem, felt his throat tighten dangerously.
The fog began to thicken before their eyes.
She was arriving. The flying nightmare was approaching.
She was appearing.
Finally—
No.
With a single blow, the mystical fog that had just risen was pulverized, swept away by an invisible force even before it could cover the plain, as if erased.
The air became crystalline again.
Subaru: « Huh? What? »
The boy let out, purely shocked and destabilized by this sudden malfunction of the plan.
Above them, at the very top of the tree, Kurisu was watching him with a Machiavellian smile, eyes shining with dangerous excitement.
Kurisu: « What? Do you really think I was going to let her in with a simple cloud of smoke? You need a proper entrance for what I have planned... Kekeke. »
He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers sharply.
CLAP!
Suddenly... the sky tore.
Literally. The air trembled with unheard-of violence.
A spatial tear, similar to an immense gaping wound, opened in the very heart of the night sky.
The dimensional rift was so gigantic that dozens of entire buildings could have fit inside without touching each other.
And from this stratospheric hole, something began to emerge.
A noise. Then a dull rumble. A vibration of infernal power that made the internal organs of every soldier present tremble.
First, a fin crossed the veil. A fin so vast it could have masked the moon all by itself. Then a head.
White. An immense mass of absolute white flesh, gigantic and rough, split the night air.
Giant. Of a dimension barely conceivable to the human mind.
The White Whale pulled itself out of the dimensional rift—proud, overpowered, immaculate.
It hovered heavily over the coalition army, casting a deadly shadow over the plains.
But... something was terribly different.
Rather—EXTREMELY different from Subaru's traumatic memories.
Wilhelm, the first, felt his blood freeze upon seeing it emerge fully. His eyes, accustomed for decades to studying this creature in the slightest accounts and testimonies, immediately understood.
« This is not her… This is not the beast I have been hunting for all these years… What is this monster? » the old man thought heavily.
Subaru: « Dammit… »
The boy stammered while looking up at the monster, his heart skipping several beats.
Subaru: « What have you done… Kurisu… »
He murmured this, his breath caught.
For yes—the creature that hovered majestically before them... was not the Whale that Subaru had faced and fled from in his previous loops.
No.
It was immensely more massive. Infinitely more imposing. Incredibly more giant. Even more gigantic.
If one were to draw a comparison—the Whale of past nightmares that Subaru had known looked like a child.
No—like an underdeveloped newborn.
And this one… This Whale… hovering above them in all its monstrous splendor, was an adult in full maturity, overflowing with raw power almost unbearable to behold.
A Leviathan at its peak, pumped up, breathing absolute destruction.
Subaru: « Shit... we're all fucked... »
He murmured, terror gripping his lungs, already beginning to dread the consequences of his own negotiation.
Kurisu, still perched on the tree, observed the apocalyptic scene with a radiant and childish smile.
Kurisu: « Ohh, my dear Subaru... Did you really believe for one second that... after having offered you Priscilla's army and bonus reinforcements of all kinds on a silver platter… I was going to make things easy for you with a basic level boss? Kekeke... Don't dream too much, my old friend. Game balance above all! »
The adult Whale opened its monstrous mouth and roared.
A terrifying cry, a sound shockwave of unheard-of violence that pierced the army's eardrums, made the ground dragons neigh in terror, and bent the grass of the plain.
All the soldiers gulped, primal fear insinuating itself into their hearts.
This Whale was not a simple beast... it was far worse than anything history books had ever described, far worse than anything they could have read in ancient accounts, far worse than anything the chronicles of Lugunica had ever recorded.
It stood there, suspended in the night air, tilting its massive nose, preparing to dive straight at the army like a meteor of flesh and magic.
Kurisu: « Come on… »
The man in white began, spreading his arms at the top of the world.
Kurisu: « Let the show begin!! Kekeke! »
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
And the Whale dove.
A new battle was about to be written at this very moment.
An epic, intense, extreme battle against an enemy whose proportions defied understanding was about to unfold in this precise location.
A war of blood and iron, a battle that would leave, whatever the outcome, indelible traces… forever.