Aerial Combat

Using the Apostle's power had set her whole body screaming. A sharp pain and strain radiated through her right hand, but the impact had been solid.

By timing it with Evalin-san's magic, she'd managed to sever one of the Sky Whale's massive fins.

No matter how potent its regeneration was, losing an entire body part shouldn't heal so easily.

The proof was right in front of her. Around the area she'd damaged, flesh was swelling and the wound was closing, but the fin itself was recovering far more slowly.

The surface was sealing over, but it couldn't regenerate the fin itself.

Its durability had seemed practically immortal, but there were limits after all.

If she kept dealing damage at this pace without giving it time, the whale's body would be whittled down, making it a smaller target and eventually overwhelming its regeneration.

The only question was whether her own body could hold out that long, but that was a minor concern.

As long as her right hand could grip a sword, she would see this through.

And if her right hand gave out, she'd clamp the hilt between her teeth and keep swinging.

As long as she had magical power, this sword would produce results.

She began storing more power in the blade for another devastating blow.

She could draw on the Apostle's power maybe two more times.

She wanted to make both count.

She glanced down at herself.

The impact from earlier had frayed her dress in several places.

It had been tailored just for her, and now…

The thought stung, but this wasn't the time for that, so she pushed it aside.

Her skin was exposed, but since nobody was watching, she ignored it.

Evalin-san had begun firing magic again from below.

She hopped around lightly, dodging the incoming spells.

All she had to do was wait for the right moment to sync up again, same as before.

Or so she'd thought…

Without warning, the whale's back bulged ominously.

It wasn't near any wound. The creature seemed to have shifted part of its mass.

The shape looked like a tumor.

It was deeply unnatural.

She kept her eyes on it, watching warily for whatever it might do.

The growth swelled further, then rapidly extended a dense spray of fine needles from its surface.

There was no gap to dodge through. She retreated backward.

After a few steps, the needles stopped just short of her, apparently at their limit.

Perhaps this was the whale's response to having someone on its back.

As an apostle of the Sun God, maybe it wasn't about to let itself be killed without a fight.

But this much was manageable.

As if mocking that thought, more tumors sprouted across its back one after another.

And they grew in a pattern that surrounded her, cutting off her escape.

"Eh…"

The sound slipped out involuntarily.

Its movements were as if it could actually see her.

She dodged the oncoming needles relentlessly while scanning her surroundings.

That was when she spotted it: near the tail, a particularly large tumor with an eyeball embedded in it.

She ran toward the eyeball, deflecting the needles she couldn't dodge with her sword.

The tumors kept multiplying all the while.

If she didn't do something about that eye, the sheer numbers would overwhelm her.

"Argh, they're in the way and it's too far!"

Running across this colossal body took far too long.

And these high heels were making it even harder.

She snapped the heels off and kept going.

She couldn't help wishing she could sprint like the wind the way Finn did.

The whale must have noticed her change of target.

Her path was being blocked off.

Realizing she wouldn't make it in time, she used her running momentum to leap upward.

The next instant, a forest of needles erupted right where she'd been standing.

But jumping only bought her time.

The whale's back was now so covered in growths that there wasn't a single safe place to land.

If she fell as things stood, she'd be skewered for certain.

She aimed the sword's tip at the eyeball and set herself like a javelin thrower.

No room for failure.

She channeled the Apostle's power into her right arm and hurled the blade.

She killed the brutal recoil by spinning her body and watched the sword's flight.

The blade punched through the air, plowing through every needle and tumor in its path as it hurtled toward the target.

Just as it was about to hit, she extended her right index finger toward the eyeball.

She knew, with absolute certainty, that it would land.

The sword skewered the eyeball and kept going, burying itself deep into the base of the tail.

The stored magical power was still intact.

Activating the effect required physical contact with the hilt.

The whale shrieked at having its eyeball pierced.

That eye had apparently been something vital to the creature.

The tumors retracted with it.

She landed and immediately sprinted toward where the sword was lodged.

She had to hurry. If the eyeball regenerated, she might be the one getting skewered next time.

She had to move before that happened.

The whale's barrage on the ground below must have stopped after the eye attack, because Evalin-san's magic was intensifying.

At this rate, there should be enough firepower to concentrate a combined strike.

She'd finish this before the whale could try anything else.

She grabbed the Sealed Sword Grungaus, buried up to its hilt.

Rather than pulling it out, activating the effect while it was still embedded would deal more damage.

"Take thiiiis!"

With a shout, the Sealed Sword Grungaus's effect expanded the blade inside the whale's body.

It carved a path from the tail through to the belly.

A torrent of burning red blood rained down on the ground below.

The damage was massive, but she hadn't quite managed to sever the tail.

Flesh surged along the wound, fusing together, trying to close it.

Evalin-san's magic concentrated on the spot.

Every time the flesh tried to heal, she scorched it, sliced it, crushed it.

At last, the tail tore free and fell.

She'd done it.

That thought lasted only an instant.

Fire erupted from holes across the whale's back.

Flames engulfed the sky in the blink of an eye.

From the way it was acting, the whale had clearly thrown all caution to the wind.

She was definitely cornering it.

But the whale's next move was to flee.

It began moving through the air.

At the same time, the scattered flames came hurtling toward her.

A wall of fire in every direction.

The only way to dodge was to jump off the whale.

She hesitated for a split second.

She thought about taking it down with her, even at the cost of her own life.

But her life wasn't hers to spend.

It belonged to Master.

If this thing was running, then she could call the mission accomplished for now.

She stepped off into open sky.

Then, turning to face the shrinking whale, she stuck out her tongue and pulled down one eyelid.

Evalin caught her partway down.

Though she really wished she'd stop grabbing her by the scruff of the neck like a cat.