The artery. The most important place, where all the blood in the body flows.
For an ordinary human, even a thin, slight graze could be fatal. But whales possessed arteries as thick and strong as their massive bodies.
Well, a creature that size would need more than ordinary blood vessels to supply blood to its entire body.
Which meant cutting through those vessels would take considerable force. Probably only people skilled at slashing attacks, strong enough to cleave something that large in one strike—Faust, Hong Lu, Ryoshu, Gregor, and Otis.
As for Ishmael, Heathcliff, and Meursault, who relied on blunt weapons, they were out. Sinclair and Yi Sang were simply too weak.
And Don Quixote and I used spears, so that was out of the question.
Ah, maybe Rodion could do it too? Her raw strength really was absurd.
"Hmph. You've handed me a boring task."
Ryoshu took her stance and steadied her breathing for a moment.
...And then, in one stroke!
Slash!
"Oooh!!"
"How dull. Next time, make it a little harder. There's no artistry in this."
<...Right.>
Blood began to spurt from the deeply severed artery at tremendous speed.
"It's gushing out with frightening force."
And as the blood drained away, the vessel that had been sealed shut like a wall began to open, the passage clearing as it emptied.
"Let's go. The path is open."
*
We pushed deeper toward the heart, batting away the occasional mermaid and Sin-afflicted body that lunged at us.
So this was almost over, then. Deal with Ahab, smash the whale's heart, and that would be it.
Ah, there's a box over there.
"Over there. There's a wooden crate. Judging by the look of it... it seems like something the whale swallowed."
Being the first to spot it, I pointed at the wreckage of the box.
The markings on it were the Double-Hook Pirate Crew's insignia and the logos of LCCB. Probably something like their supplies.
"Manager! Would it not be wise to take a few of those with us?!"
Dante stared at the boxes and considered it.
This was right in front of the heart. There was no loss in taking them, but if we wasted too much time here, some variable could crop up.
For example, mermaids attacking us.
Still, this was the sort of gamble that usually paid off. Dante would know that too.
The expected result came back.
The first thing the prisoners took interest in was the box marked with the Double-Hook Pirate Crew's emblem.
"Looks like it's locked up."
"It's rusted over... dismantling this looks difficult."
"In times like this, smashing it apart helps!"
"What are you saying, you lunatic? You'll end up smashing the contents too."
"Hey, hey, don't grab my hair!"
After neatly punishing the person whose thought process was clearly abnormal, I waited for Dante's answer.
In the end, it looked like we'd have to break the box open. But how many prisoners could do that while controlling their strength properly?
Hmm... Faust, with her precise movements. Otis. And the experienced Gregor.
Ryoshu, by temperament, would not restrain herself. Right.
"Of course! Manager, I won't disappoint you."
Otis answered in a booming voice, then ran her hands over the box to gauge its strength.
And then...
Clang!
With a clear ringing sound, she precisely smashed the top of the box.
Wow, that was really exact. I don't have the confidence to do something that precise. Maybe if my eye worked hard again, I'd be able to manage it.
Inside the box, a rusted hook emerged, filthy with a chaotic mix of white membrane and blood.
Did they use it to catch mermaids? What a disappointing end.
Let's move on quickly. Next was the box marked with LCCB's insignia.
"It appears to have a sophisticated electronic lock."
"It doesn't look like something that'll just pop open... though I feel like I might remember something..."
Ah, memory? Come to think of it, it was LCCB.
We had prisoners with LCCB identities. If I dug through those memories a little, I should be able to open the lock on this box.
Or maybe it would be better to leave it to Faust. That woman would naturally know something like this too.
"There is no reason not to comply."
Faust deftly disabled the device and opened the box.
"It seems to be a magazine."
Yeah, a magazine.
Could be useful for identities that use firearms. I'm all close-quarters combat, though.
...Come to think of it, don't a suspicious number of my identities use their fists?
Seven Association at least learned the basics of martial arts, DH's fist-fighting style is literally built around brawling, and Liu fights with hand techniques. Of course, once you get to Section 3, they do carry the sword they're issued.
As for the remaining one... it doesn't use fists, but it wields a scythe-like weapon that stretches and shrinks at will.
Something about it... no, never mind. Right. Better than fighting in some weird, special way. Yeah.
"That is correct, Manager."
Ah, so this is the next one. The place where we'd run straight toward the end in earnest.
I took out one of the few painkillers I had left and steadied my mind.
For the next hour or two, I'd be using my saved eye to the fullest. No matter how much of a wreck I was, I couldn't help being tense.
*
"So... this is the end."
The prisoners each looked around. Some were happy they might be able to get out; others remained wary of Ahab. Among all of them...
"Tch... an Abnormality?"
An Abnormality that looked like a whale, with fluorescent rods embedded all over its body, greeted us.
"...Move."
"Scatter!"
The prisoners moved in perfect coordination.
Individual combat, carried out with a certain amount of positioning and Dante's commands.
Keeping a fixed distance from Abnormalities, figuring out their gimmicks, then breaking them down—that method had always been fairly effective, I thought. But the opponent was bad.
The space the prisoners occupied was suddenly filled with water.
"Ghk...!"
"Gurgle..."
Damn it. Was this an enemy that needed to be handled from the start? What a nuisance.
Since the fight was basically taking place underwater, movement was difficult, and the problem of oxygen was now part of it too.
Was there any way to breathe?
Looking around, I was relieved to see that the water hadn't reached Queequeg and Dante's position. Thank goodness... wait, this wasn't the time to think that! Abnormalities weren't that absurd. More precisely, there was a clear way to deal with it. It wasn't some enemy that just started by suffocating you to death outright!
And there was another bad sign. Given its whale-like shape, it seemed able to move freely underwater.
A way to breathe... ah, should I just solve it the brute-force way?
I waved frantically at Dante, asking to swap my identity card.
To something ridiculous, but one that might solve the problem immediately.
<...?>
With a doubtful air, Dante still changed the identity card without complaint.
What covered me was a lab coat. But I wasn't interested in the lab coat right now. The next step!
I forced my E.G.O to activate halfway.
I was worried about the aftermath, but... it's not like we'd have missions for a while anyway. Let's just suffer through it a bit.
Putting my worries aside, I quickly brought forth the plants. One, two, three...
Can you guys absorb water?
...I thought there might be a chance, since it was a clash of mental images, but was that too much to hope for? No, was there simply too much water?
Fine. Plan B.
This is where a weapon that changes size on its own is really useful.
From here...
Krrrk...!
...I could strike the Abnormality without moving a single step forward!
Ah, but the fluorescent light behind it didn't break. I'd clearly aimed at something that looked important.
...Huh?
"@/%&@/#...!"
Don Quixote, who swam forward while screaming something incomprehensible, snapped the fluorescent light I had damaged with her hands.
And then she brought it to her mouth... and inhaled it?
"Ssshh... phew!"
Oh, her expression brightened. Was that oxygen?
I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but Don Quixote seemed to have figured something out and was diligently breaking the fluorescent lights.
At least breaking them definitely seemed to be the right answer.
Everyone felt it. Everyone searched for oxygen, dodging the torrent's attacks and gathering beside Don Quixote.
After all, they had all long since gone past the limit of how long they could hold their breath.
Had some of them already blacked out? How unfortunate. If they died, rewinding the clock would be quite painful.
"...!!!"
Slash, boom. Splash, boom!!!!
Ah, Heathcliff died. He took one of the whale's powerful attacks head-on.
Dying in one hit is strange. Was that some kind of skill with a countermeasure?
"Hoo..."
After taking one fluorescent light and supplying oxygen, I looked around and spotted a strange fluorescent drift object floating by.
Given the timing, that must be it.
Ah, the water's draining. So the whale's means of receiving oxygen was the fluorescent lights on its back.
But if that's the case... most of the special gimmicks should be exposed now, shouldn't they?
The prisoners who had nearly died from suffocation for a moment now wore eerie smiles.
"......"
It didn't take long for the whale of fluorescent lights to be beaten for a while and then reduced to an egg.