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Chapter 8
It was a tail.
A massive, dark tail shot up into the sky. Predicting what would happen next wasn’t difficult.
That tail was going to come crashing down on the ship.
But my body wouldn’t move.
“Tatiana!”
Crash!
Someone called my name and pulled me into their arms at the exact moment the tail smashed into the ship.
The impact shattered the vessel, and I was swallowed by the waves, falling straight into the sea. The commotion disappeared, my ears went numb, and a strange silence settled over me.
Before I could even open my eyes properly, a force stronger than the violent current pulled me away.
“Tatiana, wake up!”
“Cough!”
The hand shaking my shoulders made me suck in a huge breath and open my eyes wide. Seawater had entered my nose, making it sting.
“Cough, gasp… What is going on…?”
The waves had passed, but the ocean was still violently churning as if proving that what had just happened was not a dream.
“Relax your body and hold onto me. We need to get back onto the ship.”
Keith said to loosen my body, but the arm wrapped around my waist was gripping me so tightly that it was hard to breathe.
He hurriedly finished speaking, as if something was chasing after him, then kicked against the water.
“Wait!”
I stopped him, forcibly removed his arm, and dove underwater.
My body floated weightlessly as I gently moved my legs and looked around.
I searched for the creature that had attacked us, and then I saw Perian in the distance, sinking.
His face was twisted in pain as he struggled helplessly, as if he couldn’t breathe.
I followed the hand that kept pulling me upward and poked my head above the surface.
“There!”
“We need to go back quickly!”
Keith shouted angrily and pulled me toward him. His strength caused water to splash all over my face.
“Ugh! Pfft… I can swim, so go save Perian. He’s over there!”
At my words, Keith dove underwater to check.
When he resurfaced, he clenched his teeth so hard I could hear them grind.
For someone who had been in such a hurry just moments ago, he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and hesitated.
Wait… hesitating?
That couldn’t be right.
I shook my head, dismissing the thought, but Keith finally spoke.
“…Swim as fast as you can and get onto the ship.”
“Be careful.”
“…I’ll be back soon.”
When I nodded, Keith disappeared beneath the water.
I erased the fear I had seen on his face from my mind and headed toward the ship.
Berto is a good swimmer, so he’ll be fine.
The good thing was that the ship didn’t seem as damaged as I had expected despite being attacked.
Once I get back on board, there has to be a way.
Thinking that, I kicked my legs until my thighs burned, but then the water suddenly began to churn and wrapped around my body.
“Gasp—cough!”
Seawater entered my mouth.
Just as I was about to panic from my uncontrollable body—
“That is…”
A humpback whale appeared in front of me.
A humpback whale so enormous it could easily cover the entire ship.
My strength drained away.
The fear I felt was something instinctive.
When I realized I was trapped in a situation where my own strength could never free me, I could do nothing.
Its pitch-black eyes stared directly at me.
And then—
Its mouth opened wide.
Like a horrifying smile, it stretched open, and in an instant, a shadow covered me.
I slowly raised my head.
The ceiling of its mouth, covered in black bristles, came into view.
Before my mind could even comprehend what was happening, I was swallowed whole.
Keith barely managed to catch up with Perian sinking into the water.
But the moment he grabbed him firmly and turned around, he realized something was wrong.
Tatiana was gone.
Instead, he saw the back of a humpback whale rapidly moving away.
“Tatiana!”
Keith kicked desperately through the water.
But his frantic swimming, closer to flailing than anything else, could not catch up to her.
“Damn it!”
With no choice, he headed back toward the ship.
There, Berto—who had already returned—lowered the ladder and helped pull Perian up.
“Turn the ship toward ten o’clock. Tatiana has been taken.”
“Your Highness.”
Berto began calmly.
The meaning behind his words was clear, and a blazing fury tore through Keith’s insides.
“Did I not tell you to turn the ship around?!”
Even as Keith roared, Berto did not back down. His expression remained as emotionless as ever.
“The hull is damaged. If we do not check for leaks and repair it, the ship will sink soon. Then we will not be able to save ourselves… or Tatiana.”
Keith cursed.
Unable to contain himself, he swung his fist wildly at the railing.
The railing broke.
Despair born from helplessness.
Fear that he had lost the entire world.
Overcome by his emotions, Keith sank into an endless abyss.
Without realizing that the reason he felt this way was because Tatiana’s figure overlapped with the person he had once been engaged to.
“Ah!”
I jolted awake and sat up.
“Where am I…?”
It was a tiny rocky island.
In the middle of the ocean.
Still, maybe I should consider myself lucky.
I thought I was going to die after being eaten by the humpback whale.
Thanks to the ability Lucas gave me, I probably wouldn’t actually die, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t afraid.
I would still feel all the pain.
“Am I supposed to starve to death here?”
There were naturally no trees, and the space was too small to even set up a tent.
I plopped down and shouted into the empty air.
“Lucas, come save me.”
But I already knew.
He couldn’t come because he was recovering his body.
Did I accept his ability for nothing?
I miss him.
My demon king.
But at that moment, the sea quietly formed a new ripple.
“Lucas?”
At my call, something enormous burst out of the water.
A shallow wave rolled over my feet, soaking my shoes and the bottom of my pants.
With nowhere to run, all I could do was slowly step backward.
It was the humpback whale.
“…I’m screwed.”
It was a despairing whisper.
But unlike before, the humpback whale didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking me.
It simply floated there like a tiny island.
Then, from inside its cavernous mouth, I heard a mysterious sound like droplets of water forming.
「Are you awake?」
“Ahh! What the hell?! A ghost?!”
「It’s me. The humpback whale.」
The whale looked at me, slowly closing and opening its eyes.
“A whale is talking…?”
「My name is Popo. As you can see, I am not an ordinary whale.」
Was this what people called a divine beast?
「What is your name?」
“Tatiana.”
Maybe because we could communicate, but the fear I had felt before was gone.
「I’m sorry. I thought you and your friends were demons… or humans who worship demons, so I attacked you.」
“Me? A demon? Why?”
「A powerful demonic aura comes from you. I can still sense it now. Have you ever come into contact with a demon?」
“I have met one…”
We had even become quite close.
“I received something like a gift from a very powerful demon. Could that be why?”
My precious three lives.
Popo sighed as if troubled. The sea bubbled and overflowed around us.
「Why in the world did you accept something like that from a demon?」
“Ahaha… it just happened.”
「Either way, I cannot remove it for you, so be careful. There may be others who approach you like I did. But since the sea is my domain, you should be safe now.」
My domain.
That sounded pretty cool.
“What exactly are you? A divine beast?”
「Some call me that. Others call me a guardian or a spirit.」
“Are you the guardian the people of Hibery Island talked about? The one who protects sailors? The owner of that sun catcher hanging in my room?”
「Probably.」
It was surprising that the legend was real.
But it was also ridiculous and amazing that the guardian attacked me right after I hung it on my ceiling.
“But hey… can you take me back to where I was?”
They probably already thought I was dead and left.
「I went there earlier, but the ship was already gone.」
“Ah…”
Of course.
It was completely expected and logical, but somehow, I felt disappointed.
I didn’t know about Perian, but I thought I had gotten a little closer to Keith and Berto.
「Tell me where you need to go. I’ll take you there. It will be much faster than traveling by ship.」
“Primagne. Do you know it?”
「Let’s go now. If night falls, you could suffer from hypothermia.」
Popo opened its mouth wide.
The moment it did, I remembered the feeling of that thick tongue beneath my fingertips.
「Hurry and climb on.」
I swallowed my tears and slowly climbed onto its tongue.
Night had fallen.
It wasn’t until I reached a low cliff near the coast of Primagne that I finally managed to get off Popo’s tongue.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
「Ptooey.」
While I was wondering whether I should go to the guards and ask for help, Popo spat something out in front of me.
A large amount of gold coins.
I immediately bent down and picked them up.
“Thank you so much. I was wondering what I was going to do. But… where did a whale even get gold coins?”
「A sunken pirate ship.」
“Where is that? Take me there.”
My independent living funds.
「It’s dangerous. No. Go quickly before it gets any later.」
What a shame.
“Then I’ll go. Thank you for everything. I’ll be at sea for about a year, so if we get the chance, let’s meet again.”
「Alright. Be careful.」
