The light that had filled my vision with that earlier resonance gradually faded.
In its place, Ahab stood before me in an unusual outfit.
...As someone who had once worn Dongrang's identity, I could tell for certain.
That was E.G.O. A manifestation brought forth by a human being herself.
Though for some reason, the other sailors were nowhere to be seen.
No, wait... had they been absorbed?
"...!"
The absorbed crew could be found closer than I expected.
A massive white harpoon covering Ahab's left arm. The shoulder of what was probably the E.G.O.
There, they existed in a bizarre form, sending up flames in a riot of colors.
Gas... maybe?
"Don't you understand? They are already Ahab. They take my hatred as their own hatred, my enemies as their own enemies, and my harpoon—nothing can defy it!"
Right after Ahab finished speaking, a voice came from one of the three rods on that shoulder.
It was Pip's voice.
"Heehee, heh. Hehahahaha!"
"Stub dying... did that turn you into this?"
When Ms. Ishmael asked that, Ahab—not Pip—mimicked Pip's voice and answered.
"Stub didn't die, Ms. Ishmael! Pip would have said that! This one crushed his own heart and clung to me to run from his guilt! Don't bully the child, Ishmael. Look at me—! For the one who ran here with a broken heart, I did my best to erase that guilt! But you did nothing! Wouldn't it have been better if you had rowed in Pip's place? This is your fault, Ishmael!"
Clack. Hiss...
...That lunatic. Was there really any reason to torment one person that much? I couldn't understand it.
Ahab casually dumped all of her own wrongdoing onto Ms. Ishmael, then added one last line.
"And even now, am I evil?"
Thump—thump— thump— thump—
Above the pale whale's heartbeat, the sound of gas burning was sharp and clear.
The earlier clack. After that sound, the rod where Pip had been had gone into the harpoon body itself, so probably... Hah. What a disgusting E.G.O.
A wave of physiological revulsion hit me for a moment, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Still, the shape of the harpoon had changed. Into something blunt that looked... vaguely like a human face.
Hmph... whatever. I'd know once it hit me.
This time, the attacking party numbered eight, excluding me.
Considering the harpoon's range and Ahab herself as a variable, I assigned four to defense.
At the end of the day, if Dante dies, it's over, so I keep thinking every battle ends up with a ridiculous number of people being pulled away.
"I think I should drain some strength in advance. If we leave it alone... I have a feeling a heavy attack is coming."
"Did everyone hear that? We'll press the offensive aggressively!"
Hmmm... If that gas is burning, there's no way it can be replenished, right?
Considering the E.G.O. variable, eliminating it ahead of time is certainly a choice with nothing to lose.
In that case, should I use Dongrang's identity? It's not all that great in direct combat, but its staying power is unmatched by the others.
I sent Dante a light hand signal.
It had been a rough, improvised system, but after a few tries Dante understood quickly and handled it.
Then... I'd need to think about how to deal with that thing.
For now, I'd try to wear it down by winning a clash. Nothing would improve if I just stood still.
I focused for a moment. Unless I was forcing out E.G.O. in an urgent situation, a brief meditation at least was worthwhile.
—Burn the past, and move forward. To reach a higher place.
The plow and outfit forged from a filthy heart were once again laid over my body.
The time when I'd already have exchanged one or two clashes if I'd entered the fight normally.
When I opened my eyes... huh?
"Pip, it's your turn. Time to become great!"
"Hey, wait. Suddenly—"
Clack. Boom!!!!
Before I could even say anything, I was struck by that face-like weapon that had burst out.
What the hell was that all of a sudden...!
Wait.
Instinctively scanning my surroundings, I saw that the only people getting hit were the prisoners wearing sturdy identities.
...He used them as shields!!!
For a moment, betrayal toward Dante reared its head in my heart. I would repay this humiliation someday...!
Not that I had time to care about that right now.
"Ahab!!"
Kik, kakakakakakak—!!!
The sound of some unknown substance being ground apart by the piledriver slammed into my ears.
The attacker was Ms. Ishmael, wearing Ms. Olga's identity. She'd rushed in the moment the heavy strike ended.
Then I had no choice but to respond.
Last time, things had been too urgent for me to explain properly, but Dongrang's identity... the blooming E.G.O., the plow, follows a certain formula.
First, cultivation. Till the land.
"Hup!"
Slash! Slash!
A straightforward downward chop.
Normally it would be an easy attack to evade, but with Ms. Ishmael stuck beside her as an obstruction, and a weapon that stretched on its own, that wasn't so simple.
"Ha, ridiculous!"
"Tch..."
Well, unfortunately, Ahab immediately swung her arm wide and shoved Ms. Ishmael away, making that a meaningless assumption.
Still, let me keep explaining.
Once the field is tilled, you plant the seeds there.
Eight prisoners were charging Ahab all at once. Nine if I counted myself.
No matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to dodge it. Just take it quietly.
Hiss...
"Ahab will not fall!!"
At the moment I had that ominous thought, a sound came from Ahab's shoulder—where the gas was presumably burning.
Ah, come to think of it, that human was E.G.O., wasn't she.
There's no perfect plan against a mass of variables. Hm... let's call it a success if I can land half of it.
Ahab's strangely transformed movements shifted the situation from the worst possible outcome to the second-worst.
To put it simply, it was the difference between getting hit by nine people and getting hit by about six.
I attacked at the final moment when Ahab's strength dropped.
With a horizontal slash and an upward cut flowing naturally from the downward strike, I successfully planted the seed in Ahab's body.
...No matter how I think about it, it takes far too long for this to reach its potential.
If I squeeze it out with my life on the line, it does produce a grotesque scene, though.
Good. Now I just need to accelerate the seed I planted, recover by feeding on the fully grown seed, and then harvest it while launching a powerful attack.
Damn it, this is disgustingly long.
But if I keep building it steadily...
Hiss, sss...
Huh? Isn't that already spent?
In that case, it would be better for that kid Pip to keep his mouth shut.
The next to burn was Starbuck.
Before that gas went into the harpoon, Ms. Ishmael spoke with a pained expression.
"Starbuck, you were still... the only one on the ship who could stand against Ahab. How could..."
"Ha ha! Foolish, foolish Ishmael! Starbuck was the first to kneel. The first mate can only ever be beneath the captain... in the end, the captain will lead us to where we need to go—! With that lazy faith! The fool who covered his own eyes! If you knew this man was trying to look at things properly, then back then—! You should have helped him not break! This is your fault, Ishmael!"
Clack, bang!
Ahab's harpoon changed again.
If it had been a blunt weapon before, now it had become something that looked like it had at least five barbed tips—an extremely painful-looking shape. No, maybe eight. It looked like it would burst out at any moment no matter how I looked at it.
As I watched it closely, I felt something was wrong. Something incredibly, incredibly important had disappeared...
Wait. Ah. Don't tell me that's a lie. Why is the seed I planted in Ahab's body gone?
Plow the field again, plant the seed... damn it, forget it!!
Even this is ridiculous, but I sent another signal. This time with the Liu Association identity.
Haa... let's just finish this with this one. After all, this was the identity I'd used to beat Starbuck too.
Let's send that man off with this funeral as well.
But wait. I have to go into close combat with that insane harpoon?
With those barbed tips darting back and forth, tearing through a person's body?
I looked at Dante.
...The Liu Association identity is a little sturdier, but they're not going to throw me in as a sacrifice, right? Like before.
I believed they wouldn't. I trusted Dante.
I set aside the strange worry, and then—how should I deal with that thing... hm?
Ahab pointed that harpoon, with its many arms, directly at me.
"You were the one who dealt with Starbuck. Come! Take me on!"
"No, what is wrong with these people, seriously!!"
Do both of you have it out for me? That's not your personality, damn it!!!
Clack, clack.
So I'm supposed to take all of the attacks from those nine spear-tipped arms that look like they'll burst out any second?
Damn it, there's a limit to this. If I dodge all of that, my brain will burn out from the calculations, and if I get hit, I'll die, right?
You want me to do it? Seriously?
I made an indescribably subtle expression, but Ahab didn't care about my circumstances.
...Honestly, I'm already in a very dangerous state.
I don't know if I can finish this before I die.
Suppressing a deep sigh inside, I looked straight ahead.
I'm going to kill that thing somehow today and cling to life no matter what. Seriously.