Chapter 13

The thrown-out Narg was crouched on the ground.

Although there didn’t seem to be any injuries, he appeared unable to move due to the shaking of the earth.

“Isto-san! Narg!”

The brave Firoe descended beside us.

While shielding Narg, I looked up at the sky above the Elpida Orphanage.

There, the ‘Spirals’ were still flying around.

However, perhaps they were just as bewildered by the sudden turn of events, as they were only gathering together and showed no signs of attacking us.

We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.

The earthquake seemed to be intensifying.

I picked up Narg and stood up.

『Ma-Ma-Masterrrr!』

Redelia’s trembling voice rang out.

『It’s comingggg!』

She screamed.

Immediately after—suddenly, as if it were a lie, the earthquake completely stopped.

It was clearly unnatural.

My heart tightened.

The muscles along my back and neck stiffened in tension.

The moment felt long—or maybe it only felt that way to me. In reality, only a few seconds had passed.

BOOOOM!!!

The Elpida Orphanage was blown to smithereens by ‘something’ that erupted from the ground.

The rising dust cloud obscured our vision.

I instinctively shielded Narg and took the brunt of the sand shower.

Somehow, I managed to lift my head.

The ‘something’ that burst from the ground and destroyed the orphanage from below—

It was a gigantic, ocher-colored ‘whale.’

The whale leapt into the air and began swallowing the Spirals one after another with its enormous mouth.

“Could it be…?”

I was speechless.

This isn’t a monster… it’s a ‘spirit.’

“The Great Spirit ‘Earth Whale.'”

A legendary being said to reside in this region.

I had only ever read about it in texts.

The Great Spirit usually loves peace and lives quietly. It is even worshiped by some as an object of reverence.

But once it goes into a rage, it is said to devour everything in its path with its enormous mouth.

The defining feature of the ‘Earth Whale’ is, as its name suggests, its ability to travel at high speed underground.

This causes earthquakes and leaves unique trails in its wake.

An earthquake—?

Could it be that the tremors we felt in the Limani Forest were caused by the ‘Earth Whale’?

“Isto-san!”

Firoe’s shout brought me back to my senses.

Even in the face of the massive ‘Earth Whale,’ Firoe showed no fear and readied the spear of Enestia.

He intends to counterattack with his Gifted Skill, [Flash Pierce].

The ‘Earth Whale’ was still high up in the air.

A large, stationary target.

With his [Flash Pierce], capable of penetrating anything, he might be able to land a blow on the ‘Earth Whale.’

Just as I thought that—

I felt as though I made eye contact with the ‘Earth Whale.’

It wasn’t the bloodshot madness of a monster. It was a deep, intelligent, and enlightened gaze.

“I’m going! Gifted Skill—”

“Wait, Firoe!”

I shouted, my voice surprisingly loud even to myself.

Lowering his spear, Firoe looked puzzled.

“I-Isto-san!? What do you mean!?”

“That’s the ‘Earth Whale.’ It’s not a monster, but a mighty spirit. And those eyes… it’s not just recklessly rampaging. You mustn’t attack it!”

“A-amazing. To be able to tell so much with just one glance! As expected of Ist-sa—”

Before Firoe could finish his praise, Narg let out a scream.

“Uwaaahh!? I-it’s falling towards us!?”

Sunlight was blocked by the enormous body of the ‘Earth Whale.’

It only looked slow because it was so massive; in reality, it was descending at an incredible speed.

There was no way to evade.

Everyone except me screamed at the top of their lungs.

The only thing I could do now was—

“Activate ‘Sample.'”

The thumping of my heartbeat was deafening.

Rapidly circulating blood fueled the image of ‘it’ forming in my mind.

I raised both hands toward the sky.

My vision was filled with the ocher-colored surface of the creature.

With a parched throat, I shouted.

“Gifted Skill [Barrier]!”

My voice summoned light.

Between the ‘Earth Whale’ and us, a translucent, rainbow-colored ‘shield’ appeared.

It was a massive, radiant shield, big enough to face the Great Spirit head-on.

The ‘Earth Whale’s’ descent halted.

The impact transmitted through my arms. The weight. How could I ever put this feeling into words?

“U—”

I took a step forward.

“Uwoooooooaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!”

I pushed. I pushed and pushed, and then pushed back!

“Hraaaaahhhhhhhh!!”

The rainbow-colored shield repelled the ‘Earth Whale’ backwards.

With a massive tremor, the Great Spirit fell to the ground.

I coughed repeatedly, having screamed all the air out of my lungs.

Our eyes met again as the ‘Earth Whale’ lay on the ground.

It didn’t seem angry or confused. It felt as though it was trying to gauge something about me.

I wonder how long we stared at each other.

Abruptly, the ‘Earth Whale’ averted its gaze and, as if by some mechanism, silently burrowed into the ground.

The presence of the being vanished from the area.

Silence returned.

We successfully drove away the ‘Earth Whale.’

《Sample Lv1 [Barrier] has been activated.

Due to reaching the required number of activations, ‘Sample Lv1’ has leveled up to ‘Lv2.’

The usage limit has been increased by +1.》

Unconsciously, I murmured.

“Thank goodness… everyone’s safe.”

Immediately after, the children erupted into cheers.