In the Center of The Primordial Sea.
Clorinde and Wriothesley stood frozen, gazing up in shock at the enormous one-horned whale above them — a creature that looked like the incarnation of the starry heavens itself. Their expressions grew solemn as they whispered:
"What… is that?"
"There's no doubt — it's a monstrous being that only resembles a whale," Nolan said. "The only living creature in the Primordial Sea. Normally, the sea's ascent should be an extremely slow process.
"But with this thing freely devouring and growing stronger within it, that process might accelerate."
As he spoke, Nolan's golden Eye of Judgment glimmered, also activating Yae Miko's affection skill while he shared his observation with the two beside him.
> [Level: 120]
> [Juvenile All-Devouring Narwhal] — An extremely rare cosmic beast that roams between worlds, sailing the void as if it were an ocean. It grows endlessly by consuming planetary energy and is drawn to energy-rich worlds. This specimen has already fused with the planet's Primordial Sea; until that bond is severed, even the planet's destruction cannot destroy it.
The information made Nolan pause in disbelief. This creature's background was terrifying — and a level of 120 meant its power rivaled that of a peak Archon.
Yet it was still a juvenile.
A being that powerful in its youth — it was absurd beyond words.
"Then… if we can defeat it, would that delay the prophecy's crisis?" Clorinde asked, brows furrowed.
"What's there to think about? I'll beat the monster senseless right now!" Wriothesley said, clenching his fist as icy energy erupted around it.
"It's not that simple," Nolan replied. "This creature isn't from our world…"
He quickly told them everything the Eye of Judgment and Prophet's Gift of the Fox Shrine Guuji had revealed, then added,
"To defeat it, we'll first have to sever its connection with the Primordial Sea."
That revelation left both Clorinde and Wriothesley speechless — powerless even. Something so far beyond comprehension couldn't be overcome with brute strength.
"No problem," Nolan said with a calm smile. "Leave it to me."
He held dominion over the Sovereign Authority, which granted absolute control over the planet's primordial seas — it should be enough to cut the link between the whale and its energy source.
And if not, his own domain — the Void Starsea — might serve just as well.
Even in the worst case, he could simply drag the creature into the Void Starsea to prevent any battle from disturbing the real sea and causing the ocean to surge upward.
Indeed, the moment he saw its level, Nolan had already decided to defeat it while he still could.
Its current strength was manageable, but if left to grow by feeding on planetary energy, it would soon become unstoppable.
"You're sure about this? I've heard of legendary adventurers — they're strong, but this thing seems way beyond their league," Wriothesley said with concern.
Clorinde said nothing, but her eyes clearly carried the same doubt.
"The ones who travel across the continent are legendary adventurers," Nolan said with a faint smile. "But the ones who journey across worlds… are also called legendary adventurers. The difference between the two is vast. I happen to be the latter."
As he finished speaking, he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The Void Starsea that surrounded them suddenly expanded — without warning, it enveloped the immense All-Devouring Narwhal above, trapping it completely.
Sensitive to spatial fluctuations, the whale let out a low, resonant hum — "Wuuuuu——" — releasing invisible infrasonic waves that rippled through the dimension.
(T/N: I suddenly remembers Iso's Ultimate, if you know, you know~)
It was how these creatures sensed space: by feeling out weak points in reality, which they could then tear open to traverse dimensions.
But this time — that ability failed.
The whale realized the space it was in, though seemingly normal, was impossibly stable and perfectly uniform — not a single weak spot could be found.
To tear through such a space would require more than ten times its usual energy.
If it were still within the Primordial Sea, that wouldn't matter — it could simply drink in more energy from the surrounding waters.
But now… it could feel that its link to the Primordial Sea had been forcibly severed.
Without that near-infinite energy source, breaking through this dimension would not only drain vastly more power — it would also take far longer.
And in that time, the being who had dragged it here could easily attack and interrupt the process.
Driven by primal instinct, the whale decided: it would kill the intruder first.
Its massive eyes rotated downward, spotting three tiny black specks far below.
Without hesitation, it opened its colossal maw. A surge of spatial energy collapsed and condensed inside — forming a miniature black hole.
The air itself was pulled inward with a deafening roar, light bending under the immense gravity.
It wasn't a true black hole — if it were, space-time itself would distort, and the first thing consumed would be the whale's own body.
Still, even this imitation was horrifying to behold.
"Clorinde, Wriothesley — get back!" Nolan warned, and before the creature could finish charging its attack, he raised his hand.
Drawing upon Yoimiya's affection skill, which allowed him partial control over gravitational force, Nolan clenched his palm in the whale's direction — as though grabbing hold of a meteor — and pressed downward.
In that instant, the whale's massive body shuddered in midair. Then, like a slingshot loosed, it was hurled straight toward the ground!
BOOM!!!
The colossal body slammed into the surface, the impact shaking the very fabric of space itself.
Nolan could launch meteors several kilometers wide with gravitational force as if plucking a bowstring—so tossing a whale barely a hundred meters long was hardly a challenge at all.
"Alright, just be careful!"
Seeing Nolan so effortlessly slam the massive creature down, both Wriothesley and Clorinde felt a wave of relief.
It seemed Nolan truly had the strength to handle this whale, and their tense nerves finally eased a little. They took the chance to retreat to a safer distance.
The All-Devouring Narwhal, however, was a being on par with a peak Archon—its sheer physical power was overwhelming. Though it had just been smashed into the ground, the whale only shuddered briefly before rising again.
Even when Nolan tried to press it back down with gravity, the creature merely faltered for an instant—it was already prepared this time.
"Wuuuuu—!"
With a low, resonant cry, the whale learned from its earlier mistake. Instead of using another slow-charging pseudo–black hole attack, a sharp light flickered at the tip of its horn. A conical beam shot toward Nolan at blinding speed.
There was no sound when the beam struck Nolan's Wholehearted Guardian Shield—no explosion, no impact—only the silent split of energy as the light cone was diverted to both sides.
Nolan could feel his internal energy draining rapidly. Clearly, this attack wasn't as simple as it appeared.
"If an ordinary person took that hit, they'd have been vaporized in an instant," he said lightly. "But unfortunately for you, your luck's a bit off today."
Smiling, Nolan gathered his golden sword aura behind him. In a flash, it solidified into a towering hundred-meter-tall manifestation—the Sword God of Lumine.
But he wasn't done yet. Two violet silhouettes emerged beside him—phantoms of Ei and the Raiden Shogun, summoned through his Twin Shadows of Ei skill.
Though they couldn't use his affection-based powers or talents, they perfectly inherited Ei and the Shogun's combat techniques—and their attacks carried several times the original destructive power.
Now it was a four-on-one fight, and even the environment was against the whale. At this point, Nolan couldn't imagine how the creature could possibly turn the tables.
Controlling the Sword God and the twin shadows, all three began charging Musou no Hitotachi together—while Nolan himself summoned several enormous translucent tentacles.
Because the surrounding space was so stable, the whale had no time to tear it open for escape. It was massive but slow, its movements ponderous.
And when those Frostfang Abyssal Tendrils suddenly appeared around it, the All-Devouring Narwhal had no chance to react—instantly ensnared!
One tentacle coiled around its tail, another bound its horn, and a third wrapped tightly around its body—completely restraining its movements.
At that moment, Nolan summoned his own Sword, preparing his own Musou no Hitotachi.
He struck first—four space-rending sword strikes cleaving down in unison!
Even if the whale had been free, its enormous bulk made evasion impossible.
The first blade slashed across its head, spraying glittering, star-like blood into the sea.
But true to its name, the All-Devouring Narwhal endured even a mortal wound—it let out a pained, thunderous roar, though it didn't last long.
Before the sound had faded, the Sword God of Lumine and the twin phantoms of Ei and the Raiden Shogun followed through, their blades cutting down in concert.
BOOM!
Four Musou no Hitotachi strikes landed in succession. Were it not for its immense vitality and armor-like skull, its head would have been cleaved clean off.
Even so, after taking four consecutive hits, the whale finally lost consciousness and went limp.
[Defeated A Powerful Enemy! Obtained 1,021,452 Adventure EXP.]
A notification flashed across Nolan's panel—confirming that the whale had fallen into unconsciousness, and rewarding him with over a million EXP.
It was the highest amount he had ever earned from a single opponent.
The creature's massive body sagged in his grasp, heavy and lifeless. Were it not held aloft by his psychic tendrils, it would have plummeted to the ground.
He didn't dare let it fall—he didn't want to risk waking it.
As for the All-Devouring Narwhal, Nolan's plan was simple: control it with a Command Seal instead of killing it. A living specimen was far more valuable than a corpse.
He also had another idea—perhaps he could use the creature as an exchange. The issue of Fontaine's fragile human constitution might eventually need a solution outside of the Complete Sovereign Authority.
After all, using that method would result in Focalors' death—an option he could never accept.
From what he knew, the only person who might have an alternative was Ruan Mei, the life sciences expert from the Genius Society.
He'd have to ask Herta to introduce them later.
And of course, if he wanted her help, he needed a proper offering in return.
This rare All-Devouring Narwhal might be just the thing to win her interest—its research value for a life scientist would be immeasurable.
After all, it was a being whose juvenile form already possessed power rivaling the mightiest Archons.
To prevent the whale from waking and forcing another battle, Nolan swiftly inscribed the Command Seal's restrictions—absolute obedience, above all else.
Once the ritual was complete, he affixed it to the whale's body.
By then, Clorinde and Wriothesley had returned. They looked at the subdued leviathan, then back at Nolan.
"So… it's over already?" Clorinde asked.
"Yes," Nolan nodded. "I've bound it under my control and sealed it here. It won't return to the Primordial Sea to keep absorbing energy."
"Heh, then the coming of the prophecy's crisis should at least be delayed," Wriothesley said, his tone finally relaxing.
After witnessing the battle firsthand, he now understood how terrifying that whale truly was.
Had it ever reached Fontaine, not even the Hydro Archon might have been able to stop it.
"From what I observed," Nolan continued, "if that whale had been left to grow freely, it would have broken through the floodgate's seal in two or three months.
"Now that it's gone, we've probably bought ourselves a year or two at least."
He had calculated that by measuring the sea-level rise through psychic observation—it was a reliable estimate.
"A year or two, huh… not much, but enough," Wriothesley mused. "If we pour everything into building the airships, maybe we can finish several—enough to save plenty of lives."
Clorinde turned toward Nolan and gave a slight nod.
"Regardless, it's thanks to you that this beast was driven away. I'll report to Lady Furina—she won't hesitate to reward you properly."
[Clorinde Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 380 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (420/500)]
Her feelings toward him deepened further.
Nolan smiled. The psychic tendrils holding the whale trembled—the creature had awakened. But with a thought, he activated the Command Seal and ordered it to stay still.
Then, turning back to Clorinde and Wriothesley, he said,
"In any case, the matter here is settled. As long as the whale stays sealed, there'll be no problem. I'll continue working on ways to avert the prophecy's crisis. For now, let's return."
"Agreed," the two nodded lightly.
Nolan used teleportation to bring them back to the floodgate chamber and dispelled their protective shields.
With the Primordial Sea fully investigated, the next step was to report everything to his client—Arlecchino.
But before that, he needed to meet with Focalors once more.
(End of Chapter)
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