A strange plaza ca into view.
Then, flas erupted, devouring everything in sight.
Like waves crashing upon a shore, the fire swept through the city, taking lives with it.
Thick black smoke hung in the sky, blocking the sunlight like storm clouds. Beneath the darkened sky, flas blazed, and with them, screams filled the air.
Turning my head, I saw a statue. It stood atop a pedestal engraved with sothing complicated in Imperial script.
Only the lower half remained, shattered and unsightly—soone must have broken it long ago.
Strangely, a woman was sitting beside it.
Was she the one who destroyed the statue?
As if drawn by so unseen force, I walked toward her. It just… felt like I should.
The closer I got, the clearer her face beca.
‘That’s… ?’
Long black hair cascading down to her waist.
Eyes glowing crimson with a dangerous glint.
Reptilian pupils. Pale, slender skin.
She looked a bit more mature, but that was undeniably Adele.
Then why… why was she sitting next to that statue like that?
‘This is…’
I stepped closer.
Around her were corpses—chests or heads pierced through.
Familiar faces. The Tower Master. The Crown Prince. Even the Emperor.
It was a hellscape. A grotesque scene of carnage.
And there I—no, Adele—was smiling brightly in the middle of it all.
She casually flicked off the thick blood staining her arm, then wiped the blood on her face with the sleeve of her crimson dress.
A shiver ran down my spine at the sight. I instinctively rubbed my arms.
Under the smoky black sky, Adele slowly rose to her feet and began walking toward .
Frozen with fear, I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare.
The closer she ca, the louder my heart pounded.
She stood right in front of , her terrifying figure casting a long shadow. Then, she smirked.
“Don’t be so scared.”
The voice.
It was the exact sa voice I had heard before.
Could it be?
Was the one who helped back then… the real Adele, the original owner of this body?
Before I could finish the thought, she reached out and grabbed my chin, staring deep into my eyes.
Muttering sothing in an unknown tongue, she gave a soft smile.
That unreadable smile sent a wave of terror through . Then, Adele spoke.
“It’s not ti for you to be here yet.”
“What…?”
The mont she finished speaking, she shoved backward.
There was no ti to react.
My body fell back, and everything went muffled like I was sinking into water.
My ears rang, and my vision darkened.
The sensation was like slowly drowning.
I gasped desperately for air.
Tried to move.
But my body wouldn’t respond.
I struggled in panic. Then, as if soone flipped a switch, the darkness turned white—and a burst of light exploded around .
“Khuhk…! Haaah… Haaah…”
I exhaled the breath I didn’t know I was holding and opened my eyes with a gasp.
My chest heaved as I tried to steady my breath and wiped away the tears gathering at the corners of my eyes.
[Contractor, are you okay?!]
“…No. I’m not.”
I couldn’t even pretend to be okay.
Had there ever been a ti like this since my regressions began?
Not once had I seen the real Adele before now.
Why… why now? Why was I seeing her for the first ti?
She didn’t seem angry about her body being taken over, either.
With a deep breath, I reflexively asked:
“What about Katra?”
The mont the words left my mouth, I flinched.
Right.
Ti had regressed.
There’s no way Sylphi would know about that.
But he didn’t question it. His voice was calm.
[He collapsed.]
“…Huh?”
I looked where Sylphi pointed.
There was Katra—kneeling on the ground, unconscious.
My mind blanked.
What… what happened?
I looked to Sylphi for answers, and he only shrugged.
[I’m not really sure. Explaining it now would take too long.]
He gestured toward Yuruf with his hand.
[We should rescue Yuruf first.]
“Oh. Right.”
I tried to get up in a rush, but my whole body ached.
Maybe it had sothing to do with whatever happened while I was unconscious.
“Now’s… not the ti to be lying around.”
Clenching my teeth, I barely managed to push myself to my feet.
My legs and arms were trembling so badly, I could hardly move.
Seeing this, Sylphi reached out his hand.
[Blessing of Wind.]
Blue wind wrapped around my arms and legs. My body imdiately felt lighter.
I turned to thank him—and saw him standing with his arms crossed.
[Sa as always. Five minutes.]
“Thanks, Sylphi.”
He averted his eyes awkwardly, muttering:
[Yeah, yeah. You should get going.]
“Right.”
I carefully lifted Yuruf in my arms and glanced toward the entrance I ca through.
It was so far away now that I couldn’t even see it.
With a deep breath, I kicked off the ground.
Ignoring the slippery sensation of flesh beneath my feet, I sprinted forward.
[That way.]
At Sylphi’s words, a burst of wind shot out ahead of , leading the way.
I pushed myself to run even faster to keep up.
If I had to find the path on my own, it would’ve taken too long.
Thankfully, Sylphi showed the way.
Not that it ant I had ti to spare.
‘I don’t even know how long I was out.’
Right now, all I could do was run. Run and escape.
Bwooooom…
As if the structure itself noticed my movent, holes began to open up all around —and fog gushed out.
The thick mist spread fast.
I held my breath and ran through it.
Sylphi clicked his tongue and shouted:
[Avoid it as much as you can! I can’t block it for you this ti!]
‘Got it!’
I nodded, dodging the vents where the mist sprayed from.
Even if I had to breathe it in, getting out fast was the better option.
Holding Yuruf tightly, I began to push through the interior.
My breath grew ragged—but I couldn’t stop running.
There was no ti left to waste.
They had said that inhaling only trace amounts wouldn’t cause much harm—so there was no need to hold back any longer.
After running for quite a while, I finally saw it: the mouth of the whale I had entered through.
I ca to a stop atop its pink tongue and noticed the sporadic arrangent of fang-like teeth near the entrance.
‘So that’s the mouth.’
To escape this place, I first needed to pry open the jaws of the Whale of Oblivion.
I gently laid Yuruf down at my side and drew my rapier.
[Will you be alright?]
“Getting out cos first.”
I replied to Sylphi’s worried voice and summoned wind into my blade.
With a resonant hum, blue winds swirled tightly around the rapier.
It wasn’t as powerful as when I had fought Katra, but it was still potent. This much should be enough to force the mouth open.
With that thought, I unleashed a wind blade.
Thwack!
The blade struck the roof of the whale’s mouth—and a burst of red blood splattered in every direction.
Screeeeech!
A pained scream reverberated up from deep within its throat, making my ears ring.
Holding Yuruf close, I narrowly avoided the tongue as it thrashed violently.
Even with Sylphi’s blessing, my strength was waning—dodging like this was becoming harder by the second.
At last, the whale’s mouth began to open.
Craaack.
Unable to bear the pain from the wounded roof, the beast threw its jaws wide.
With the sound of blood bubbling behind , I launched myself through the gap.
At the sa ti, I felt the spirit’s power fade away—my entire body went limp.
The muscle aches were so intense I could barely move.
What stretched out before beyond the whale’s mouth was a wide-open field.
A strong wind blew, sending my white hair flying wildly into my eyes.
‘Damn it…’
I hadn’t realized the Whale of Oblivion was floating in the sky.
Throwing myself out without checking… what a reckless move.
So that’s why Sylphi had sounded so concerned earlier.
Had I known this, maybe I would’ve tried a different approach.
‘Please… let the save point be close.’
As the vast green field rushed up toward , I closed my eyes tightly and clutched Yuruf close to my chest.
I bit my lip, bracing for the pain of impact and the inevitability of a fall that might kill .
But then, the fierce wind disappeared—and all I felt was soone’s arms catching .
I opened my tightly shut eyes—just a little—and saw Abel, smiling gently down at .
“Still as clumsy with your endings as ever.”
“Ahaha…”
I let out an awkward laugh and tried to avoid his exasperated gaze.
He was right, though.
I had rescued Yuruf from inside… only to completely forget to plan for the fall afterward.
No matter how I looked at it, that was a stupid mistake on my part.
“Ah—what about Yuruf?”
At my question, Abel sighed and slowly descended to the ground.
“Maybe think about yourself first before worrying about soone else?”
He pointed, and I followed his gesture to see Yuruf lying safely atop a white magic circle, gently settled on the grass.
A wave of relief washed over .
“This was the first ti I’ve saved soone else.”
Back then… I was too weak to protect anyone.
No—so weak, I needed people like Evan and Abel to protect .
At my words, Abel let out a short, amused breath.
“Yeah. I guess it ans you’ve gotten stronger too.”
---The End Of The Chapter---
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