11

The whole army was standing stern and steadfast, the vast majority being sat on the back of a ground dragon or the wolf-like rigers. Behind the main platoon of the army was a lineup of several large machines and standing in front of the whole lineup were two ground dragons, one black and the other blue, yet both stood tall and proud.

Upon the black dragon rode Rem and Subaru whilst on the blue were Grassis, Cecily, and Leo, the three of them managing to fit on the one dragon.

The only sound that filled the air was the gentle breeze of the wind that brushed against the faces of the battle-ready warriors, the calm scene being in stark contrast to the high tension that ran throughout everyone who felt their heart rates increasing as adrenaline began to fill them.

"Any moment now…" Subaru whispered under his breath, allowing only Rem to hear his words as she slightly shifted in response to them.

"So… are we doing it then?" Leo eventually asked as he looked over at Subaru.

"Yeah, everyone's ready." Subaru agreed before taking a deep breath as he looked across the field with renewed determination before opening his mouth wide as if to shout something out, however, no one could hear anything.

To anyone who was looking at him, it only appeared that he was about to say something before he quickly changed his mind. At the same time, shadows began to envelop Leo's hand as he made sure to activate his authority strictly to his hand to prevent himself from affecting anyone.

"Well, how do we smell Rem?" Subaru asked as he burst into heavy gasps whilst Rem grimaced yet at the same time managed to look concerned.

"You both reek of it, I'm certain that it is enough to reach the whale." She curtly replied as everyone soon turned their attention to the sky and space around them, desperately searching for any sign of the whale.

"Did you have to put it that way?" Subaru exclaimed in response but before anyone could chime in a loud bellow suddenly filled their ears as it managed to make even the air begin to tremble. Every last person in the army immediately looked up towards the night sky, beholding the sight of the massive, flying white whale that was rushing down for them.

For a few brief moments, everyone was frozen stiff with shock as the sight of the whale alone managed to instill fear into their hearts, robbing them of their previously burning fighting spirits.

Even Leo felt taken aback at the sight of the gigantic beast. 'That's the white whale?' He thought to himself with a surreal fear within him. 'If you said that I would ever meet a flying whale in this world I'd initially think it would be amazing but… something there's just something wrong about this one…"

"It is the creation of the witch, there is a plethora of reasons for there to be something 'wrong' about it." Kou's voice sounded in his mind as he emerged, floating alongside him. "But." Kou started to say until he was cut off by the shouting voice of Subaru.

"Let it have it!" Subaru shouted out with a wild grin, already ridden out towards the whale with his fist pumped into the air.

"Al Huma!" Rem shouted out as she held her hand out towards the whale, blasting off spikes of ice that quickly bedded themselves into its flesh, managing to quickly draw forth a spew of blood.

"We must join them before we potentially cause the whale to be drawn in even closer," Grassis said as quickly tightened her grip on the reins to give chase after Subaru and Rem.

It was the sight of the two lone ground dragons and their riders that snapped the army of their fears, briefly looking on in amazement as Crusch completely regained herself. "Troops! Follow those fools!" she shouted out as the army roared in response, tremors filling the ground as countless ground dragons and rigers began to charge forth.

At the same time, several cannons shined with charged magic power before firing at the whale, filling the sky with several streaks of white light that soon collided with the whale, exploding.

"The nightbanisher!" Crusch then yelled out, getting the soldiers to cover their eyes as another unique cannon charged with magic power that it unleashed high into the sky, soon settling in place as it unleashed a bright light that created an artificial sun, bringing forth the day.

"Way to bring about daytime," Leo commented as his eyes adjusted to the light, soon bringing himself to be able to look back at the whale that was now brought into the light. Unlike everyone else, the complete revelation of the whale posed no significance to Leo compared to everyone behind him, as a person of whom had only recently heard things about it, compared to those who lived through all the havoc and pain it had already caused. "Are you two feelings alright?"

"I am just fine, Sir Leo."

"I'm excited!" Cecily cheered with a determined expression whilst both Grassis and Leo looked at her in shock at her daredevil-like reaction. "When we take this down then Master will be even more amazing!"

"If you manage to bring this down," Kou mentally interjected, "Then it will most certainly be an achievement to add to your name that all should consider."

"Does that mean?" Leo began to ask until there was another roar of the whale as it began diving in towards the group, either for Subaru or for Leo, it was unclear as the two ground dragons the parties rode quickly got into action.

The next moment, there was a burst of blood as a great gash suddenly appeared on the whale to its suffering almost as if some largely invisible force had slashed it.

"I believe that was Lady Crush," Grassis said as they ran away from the whale, the three taking the chance to look back at their commander that was now sending the rest of the soldiers back into battle.

"Not bad…" Leo said with a whistle as his attention remained on the battlefield, watching the sky be filled with countless dazzling lasers whilst a combination of ground dragons and rigers charged towards the whale on the ground.

Leading the charge was none other than Wilhelm who soon jumped off his ground dragon before leaping towards the whale that had given it's attention to its attackers. The moment that the old man touched the whale, masses of blood before to gush forth as he got to work with fury and vengeful desire driving his blade.

Despite the distance from the airborne creature, his shouts could still be heard as he continued to hack, slash and drag his blade through the whale's flesh. At the same time, the raining fire of magical blasts began to stop as the rigers managed to find their way to jump onto one of the wing-like appendages of the whale for their riders to all slash at the whale before falling back down to the ground.

The whale was quick to continue shaking around in the air until the small figure of Wilhelm eventually fell from it, managing to get caught by his ground dragon before being made a snack off by the whale that hunted him.

"All magic casters, fire!" Crusch shouted out in response, just loud enough for Cecily to hear as she joined in.

"Master!" She briefly called out whilst she had already raised her hand towards the whale with enormous amounts of light gathering in her hand. "Use an Al spell!"

"Got it," Leo replied as he began to do the same to the best of his ability whilst Cecily grasped hold of his hand with her spare.

At the same time, the multitude of massive fireballs flew through the sky before smashing and exploding into the side of the white whale, demonstrating enough firepower that left it momentarily consumed in the flames whilst it cried out in pain.

"Al Jiwald!" The pair shouted out in unison, unleashing golden twin beams of destruction at the injured monster, running their attacks along it to severely burn its exterior and drove the beast away momentarily.

"We can do something like that?!" Leo exclaimed in shock at their own achievements, taking the chance to look at his hand in disbelief alongside a new sense of confidence filling him.

"Yup! You're using the spiritual arts with me, of course, we're amazing like that!" Cecily cheered in response with an enthusiastic nod, "But maybe one day you'll be able to do that all by yourself!"

"That was amazing! It couldn't stand up to that could it?" Subaru asked as he and Rem drew near whilst Ricardo and a few other soldiers were scattered around.

"Na, we hoped that would ground the thing, but it's still flying just fine," Ricardo mentioned as they all looked up at the circling whale.

"It's likely because of the hairs that cover the white whale. They are capable of scattering the mana of spells that touch them, reducing the damage the would cause as a result." Rem explained with a scrutinizing expression.

"I will admit, however, I was more worried when this began. Even if the whale is proving its resilience, it's yet to prove itself as dangerous as I thought." Grassis chimed in.

"I agree little missy, even if we didn't take it down, we can still keep this up!" Ricardo heartily laughed in response.

"But don't you think it's strange? I heard that this was some living calamity over 400 years and yet… is this it?" Leo asked as they peered up at the whale that was beginning to float down towards the group but they all remained calm in the face of it.

"Yes… so far as being like this could never have taken down my wife, a master swordsman." Another voice said as Wilhelm rode up to the group, scrutinizing their foe. "It couldn't have been taking us seriously yet… how arrogant of it!" he said whilst beginning to stand up on his ground dragon before jumping over to Ricardo who already seemed to be sharing the same idea as he prepared his greatsword for the old man to land on before launching him towards the whale.

"Al Jiwald!" "Al Huma!" Cecily, Leo, and Rem shouted out as the three unleashed their strongest spells at the whale. Whilst the massive ice shard that Rem has unleashed quickly embedded itself into the whale's blubber, the twin lasers quickly pushed it even deeper into the whale before exploding much to the whales suffering.

Even as the whale veered away in pain, Wilhelm still managed to land on the whale as he drew another one of the many blades he kept at his waist. Yet again more blood surged forth as fresh new cuts were made all over the whales seemingly sorry state before he made his way over to one of the whale's eyes.

With no hesitation, he plunged his blade into the rim of the eye before caving it out and stabbing his sword into the middle to pull it out. As the old butler dropped to the ground and held the sword-stabbed eye above his head in triumph, the white whale instead shrieked out in pain.

It made an incredibly short-lived celebration of the achievement as everyone quickly looked towards the whale, trying to comprehend whatever action it was about to take in retaliation until their eyes went wide in shock at what they were witnessing.

Several spots of its skin suddenly split apart, revealing an ugly interior that soon began to rapidly vibrate until fumes began to spew forth which soon flooded the whole of the plains in no time at all.

"That's how it produces its fog?!" Someone had shouted out in shock but Leo could no longer tell who as everyone was obscured from his sight.

"It's not safe here, we're leaving!" Grassis said as she cracked the reins of the ground dragon to spur it back into movement meanwhile another deafening roar of the whale could be heard before quickly being followed put by the screams of other troops.

"Fall back! Regroup!" Crusch's voice managed to ring out across the plains, momentarily grabbing Leo's attention before he made up his mind.

"Crusch!" He yelled out, hoping that the duchess could hear his voice. "We'll lure it away for now! We have the best means of detecting and repelling it whilst we do so!"

"Stay sharp!" They heard her shout back before Grassis guided their ground dragon to turn around before running off in the opposite direction.

Rising his hand to the sky, miasma quickly began to pour out from Leo as they continued to run along, only able to hope that the white whale was choosing to give more interest in him than Subaru. "El Akra!" Cecily chanted, quickly making her shine with golden light that stood out in the thick fog whilst her senses sharped in response.

"Master, we can only cast one spell at a time and it might take time for me to switch between El Akra to Jiwald!"

"So I'm the attacker, got it!" Leo replied as he remained vigilant to the space around them.

"Please tell me where the whale is coming from, Lady Cecily!" Grassis called out.

"I hear it getting closer!" Cecily announced as she started frantically looking about to better detect the whale. "From the right!" she suddenly shouted out getting Grassis to begin to steer in the opposite direction whilst Leo readily aimed as a looming shadow.

"Al Akra!" Leo chanted the moment that it came into sight, forcing it to close its mouth and turn away from them, disappearing back into the fog.

"The left!" Cecily shouted, only moments later to the surprise of the others but they didn't let it delay their actions as they moved back to the right whilst Leo continued to blast the whale again.

"Is the whale that fast?" Leo asked as they remained cautious of it.

"In front!" Cecily suddenly shouted out, interrupting their train of thought as they looked on in alarm.

"Al Jiwald!" Leo hastily shouted as he unleashed another blast of light over the heads of the girls, however contrary to expectation the attack went straight through the thick fog that was racing at them at concerning speed. "Fura!" Leo shouted out in the nick of time, instead unleashing a blade of wind that split the fog cloud in two, protecting the group as it passed around them.

"The whale can attack with the fog as well?" Grassis said with concern as she took note of the damage to the ground from the fog blast, having carved it out as it had managed to bore straight through it all.

"I think we need to split the work with Subaru and Rem…" Leo murmured as a bead of cold sweat rolled down his face as he looked back at the fate they had narrowly avoided. He no longer had a clue if he would have been able to fight if it wasn't for the adrenaline that filled his body giving him his fight or flight instincts.

"I agree, but finding them in this fog will be challenging, and making sure that we don't attack danger back to the rest of the army…" Grassis said before she suddenly another screech filled the air, only now that it made the three feel that their heads were beginning to split as they heard it.

"What… is this?!" Leo groaned as he clutched his throbbing head meanwhile Grassis completely lost her grip on the reins as she desperately grasped her head with both hands, seemingly completely torn over the experience. "Grassis, Cecily… are you… ok?!" He barely managed to ask as he pushed back the pain that he was experiencing to check on the girls.

"I'm fine, but the whale's done something to the two of you!" She worriedly exclaimed before clinging onto Grassis who had been beginning to slide off of the ground dragon in her agony.

"I believe that I can be of assistance." Kou's voice suddenly entered their minds as they noticed the blue orb that made sure to keep close to Leo. "For this moment, I shall try to cure you of the condition inflicted upon you by the whale."

Moments later, the blue hue of Kou began to brighten as the head-splitting pain that Leo felt began to slowly recede, enough so that he began to feel comfortable to reach out all the way towards Grassis. At the same time that the last of Leo's condition began to clear up, shadows faintly trickled over Grassis as Leo touched her.

In mere moments the girl's screams quickly died down as she regained herself from the pain, snapping back into reality as she hastily grabbed the reins to continue guiding the ground dragon onwards.

"Ul Jiwald!" Cecily hastily shouted as several shimmering slighting appeared in the space around them before they each started firing a bombardment of lasers into the space behind them.

Soon a looming shadow of the whale gave up the chase as it turned the whole patch of land they were running through into darkness as what little light they had quickly begun to be blotted out.

"Above us!" Leo shouted out as Cecily quickly began to readjust her fire towards the gaping jawline that was coming down on them, yet before they could take a shot at it, it began to quickly swerve away of its own accord.

"Where is it going?" Cecily asked in confusion as she eased up on her magic.

"Subaru, he must have increased his scent." Leo quickly answered. "We should follow it; we need to find out how everyone is handling whatever the whale just did to us."

"Yes, Sir Leo, and thank you very much for your healing!" Grassis replied as they changed course to follow the fleeing whale.

"Don't mention it!" Leo replied as he remained fixed on the behind of the whale until they finally saw it begin to swoop downwards again, homing in on something that they themselves couldn't see in the fog until a massive ice pillar suddenly rose out of the ground, forcing it away.

"Fura!" Leo said with a wave of his hand, unleashing a wind blade that sliced through the fog to unveil the sight of Subaru and Rem, whilst following a fresh spill of blood was Wilhelm, Ricardo and more members of the iron fang jumping down from the whale.

"Hey, everyone!" Cecily called out to the group whilst waving her hands in the air, grabbing their collective attention.

"You're still alive!" Subaru called out with a grin.

"What a charming greeting," Leo replied with a smirk.

"But it was very narrowly the case," Grassis added on.

"Stay sharp, it's good to see you doing well still, but we don't know where it might strike next," Wilhelm interjected as he honed his senses to take in their surroundings whilst everyone else acted in agreement, looking around for any sight of the whale.

"El Akra." Cecily chanted again as she pushed her senses as much as she could until she looked directly upwards. "Above us!" She shouted before it was even possible to see the silhouette of the whale but no one doubted her words for a moment as all the ground dragons and rigers instantly got into action. Yet despite their early movement, it still wasn't enough to completely escape the attack as the whale crashed into the ground, throwing everyone to the ground as the skilled tried to rapidly regain their footing.

Whilst Grassis and the ground dragon slid along the ground in one direction, Leo and Cecily were sent rolling along the ground together until they finally came to a stop, trying to collect their dizzy self's until they heard a panicked shout.

"Wilhelm!" Subaru had shouted out before the sound of crumbling earth could be heard, with Leo only able to assume that the whale had at least attempted to eat the elderly man.

"Subaru!" Rem's voice soon shouted out in panic at the same moment that Leo knew he had to do something.

"Fura!" Leo shouted out as he cast another wind spell, doing his best to disperse some of the fog whilst he separated from Cecily, activating his authority at full force until he saw the sight of the whale abruptly appear in his face.

"Akra!" Cecily hastily chanted in the next moment as Leo finally stopped his authority to grasp hold of the spirit and dive out of the way in the nick of time, sparing them from being devoured by the whale.

"Sir Leo, please grab hold!" Grassis called out as they noticed her riding towards them at full speed with her hand out to grab them. Choosing not to doubt Grassis's choice in grabbing hold of them did Leo quickly reach out to her for Grassis to manage to pull with stunning strength against Leo's expectations.

"Are you alright, Sir Leo? Lady Cecily?" She hastily asked as they continued riding along the two got settled on the ground dragon again, but their hearts pounding against their chests and Leo found himself no longer able to do anything but desperately pant whilst clenching his heart.

"Barely! Nearly whale food!" Leo shouted back with his adrenaline surging to new all-time highs, only just beginning to calm down in the slightest.

"Woulda sure been bad if ya hadn't done that tho! I owe ya one!" Ricardo chimed in as he rode alongside them, seemingly indifferent compared to the almost horrified or traumatized state that Leo was nearing.

"Were you with Subaru?" Cecily asked, only sparing him a glance as she tried to help calm Leo down again.

"More like I got him out the way, I was fully prepared to be done in that moment still it decided it couldn't turn away from you." Ricardo cheered until he calmed down with a slight seriousness in his eyes. "But just what was that? I swear I saw ya enveloped in some kinda shadows."

Hearing this Leo, Cecily, and Grassis went stiff as they didn't know how to reply to the demihuman, but in a twisted sense of luck, there was no need to think of an excuse. Instead, the sound of multiple things flying overhead was enough.

"It's something that I might need to do a lot more of…" Leo hesitantly said to Recardo between breaths as the whole group looked up into the sky to behold the sight of three white whales, circling the sky above them.

"I liked it when it was beginning to get exciting but this might be a bit much now," Ricardo said as he tightened his grip on his sword whilst he broke into a scowl

"Those behind us will be making this much harder on us." Kou then said as he popped out once more, getting Leo and Cecily to turn around, likewise gripping the attention of Ricardo and Grassis to behold the sight of the majority of the army, looking on in dread and shaking on the spot, unable to do anything in fear.

"To be honest…" Leo replied with a hardened expression, "If it wasn't for nearly getting eaten to kick my adrenaline into high gear, I might just be the same as them…"

"I know why you might feel like that Master but please, we're together and we'll find a way! If any more people start giving into fear like this…" Cecily mentally replied whilst Leo nodded in response, knowing exactly what she was hinting at.

"To begin with, the army needs time to recover but running around alone would be far too dangerous. Instead of bait, people are needed to keep them preoccupied as well." Kou chimed in.

"The situation is dire enough that holding back anything is going to get us killed, and any wrong moves too." Leo thought pondered with the spirits until he took a deep breath to calm himself from the only idea that came to his mind.

"Ricardo, wanna take on something crazy yet potentially important?" Leo eventually asked, earning the dog-mans attention as he glanced over at him. "We're going to work with Subaru, he'll be bait, meanwhile I take on one whale, and you take on another."

"Crazy? That much sounds insane!" Ricardo exclaimed before he relaxed his features. "But it's not like I don't see your point. I'll see what members of the iron fang I can get together, but it won't be a lot between the fear and how divided we've become."

"What are the two of you up to?" Crusch asked as she rode up from behind.

"A three-way effort between me, Ricardo, and Subaru. If Subaru can keep the whales distracted as bait, then between me, iron fang members, and Rem we can fight the whales independently until the rest of the army can fight again." Leo quickly explained whilst Crusch has a hard expression yet nodded in response nonetheless.

"I would call your sanity into question, however considering the situation I commend such judgment."

"Please don't, it's my spirit that gave me the advice." Leo quickly replied as he gestured towards the small floating orb that briefly stunned Crusch.

"You're not the only ones with such fight left in you, you'll find that Subaru and Rem have already begun attempting such goals," Crusch replied as she pointed upwards towards the whales that were back on the move whilst a lone small horned silhouette kept moving about one of their figures, swinging about a ball and chain as it did so.

"So we just join them…" Leo said with a heavy breath.

"I shall do my best to make sure that you are not fighting alone for long, but we must come up with something, or else we will be doomed. Be sure to take note of anything peculiar or something to take advantage of!"

"Got it, we'll just buy time then," Leo replied as Grassis and Ricardo got ready to ride off again.

"Wait, you might not be aware but one of the whales managed to eat Wilhelm, but Subaru believes that since we can still remember him there is still a chance of saving him." Crusch quickly add on before they could leave.

"Save the butler if we can, got it." Leo quickly replied before they were gone, rushing back into the battle with the whale…

"Subaru!" Leo shouted out as they managed to catch up to his ground dragon that continued to run through the fog, only now there was a clear absence of Rem as Subaru now rode alone.

"Leo! Watch out! Behind us!" Subaru quickly shouted out as another silhouette of a whale was behind them quickly growing darker as it approached.

"Ul Akra!" Cecily quickly shouted out, pummeling the shadowy figure with several light blasts that soon drove it away.

"Whoa, thanks for that!" Subaru shouted back with a brief flash of amazement as they finally started riding side by side.

"Is Miss Rem fighting one of the whales?" Grassis asked with a concerned expression but Subaru nodded at them with pure, unshaken determination that didn't show nearly as much worry as they would have initially thought.

"Yeah, the Fog of Elimination that the white whale produces can erase all memories of a person, but since people can still remember Wilhelm, it means he's still alive!" Subaru shouted back.

"Crusch did mention that you were still trying to save him," Leo replied as he looked upwards to what limited view of the whales he had. "Need any help with that?"

"Yeah, Rem's only got one of the whales, but he could be in any of the three…"

"Then I'll try cutting one open." Leo replied, "I've got one of the ten greatest swords in the world, I might as well try and give it some use."

"Master!" "Sir Leo!" The girls quickly exclaimed the moment they heard what he was thinking.

"I'm coming with you!" Cecily hastily replied but Leo quickly placed a hand on her head, calming her down as she looked up at him with worried confusion.

"Sorry but, I think it's better if I try doing this alone…" Leo said to the shock of not just the girls but Subaru himself as if he clearly had never thought such developments were possible.

"But if I'm not with you then you can't use the spirit arts! There will be too much distance between us!" Cecily cried out in response.

"But I need you to stay with Subaru in case the whales keep getting too close, you're the only one who can drive them off currently," Leo replied with a strained voice. "Honestly, I really don't want to let you out of my sight, I don't want to think of what might happen if I'm not there to help but…"

"It's… ok." Cecily interrupted, placing one of her small hands onto Leo's shaking ones. "I trust in master, he's the greatest in the world! And I'll live up to his belief in me as well!" she said with hopeful eyes that soon began to soften. "Please don't be afraid… you can do it."

"Yes, Sir Leo is Sir Reinhard's apprentice, I have confidence that you shall do a fine job," Grassis said despite not looking back, her eyes remaining focused on the space in front of them.

"Wait, Leo." Subaru quickly cut in with a troubled glance that Leo returned a questioning one in turn to. "If you're fighting a whale alone… does that mean… you'll use your authority?"

"His authority? But if anyone sees him using that!" Grassis began to exclaim in response.

"But the fog will cover it! So long as no one joins him on the whale, he could use it without anyone being able to see it!" Subaru hurriedly explained. "Magic has limited effectiveness against it but I'm sure your authority would at least weaken it big time!"

"But… the big doggy guy already saw a glimpse of it…" Cecily gloomily pointed out.

"And that's something we're going to have to deal with anyway… but naturally I don't want to give any more material for people to reference…" Leo said as his hands balled into fists that shook with emotion whilst Leo attempted to swallow them down. "But, when things are getting this bad, holding back is the last thing we want to do…"

"You mean?" Subaru asked whilst Leo hesitantly nodded in response.

"Just… whilst it's plenty foggy…" Leo said as everyone remained stunned, none of them began to argue and Subaru slowly nodded in response. They were quickly snapped back to the situation at hand as the sound of rushing wind once again filled their ears as yet another whale was already drawing close to them. 'I so hope this is the right thing to do…' Leo thought before managing to awkwardly stand up on the ground dragon to then leap towards the whale.

"Akra," Leo said, covering himself with a golden hue whilst power began to surge through his body, enabling him to successfully make the leap onto the whale.

The moment that he touched upon the white whale; it had immediately begun to open its jaw wide in the hope that he would fall in but instead found the shining blade of Zeam embedding itself into its flesh as Leo held on instead.

A gigantic fireball flew into its mouth before exploding, quickly causing the whale to change its direction while Leo continued to hold on, the faint sight of the two ground dragons and their three riders quickly fading from sight as a result…

"Right then… time to get to work…" Leo said to himself as he managed to heave himself onto the back of the whale where he could stand.

"Be careful that you don't fall, our position is simultaneously viewed as a safe, yet highly dangerous location." Kou chimed in his mind whilst Leo merely nodded in response.

"It hasn't shown any method of dealing with people that are riding it, aside from shaking them off or crashing into the ground," Leo replied, able to feel the spirit's agreement to his words.

"Don't let down your guard, and may you save that man as well should he lay within this one of the three beasts."

Once more bracing himself for the inevitable resistance of the whale, Leo brandished the blooded blade of Zeam with a tight grip on the handle before he brought it down with all his might. Doing his best to not let his emotions get the better of him, he managed to keep any shaking from interfering with his swing that managed to bite into the whale with ease.

There was another brief fountain of blood as Leo completed the cut and the whale shuddered in pain but it Leo didn't allow himself to hesitate as he continued to slash away at the flesh he stood upon.

In little time he managed to litter the whale with a multitude of deep cuts, taking every opportunity to slash away at the splits in the whale's skins where the fog continued to gush out of, doing his best to shut them off, one by one.

"How much is this doing aside from blood loss?" Leo couldn't help but wonder as he continued making his way all over the whale, blocking out the sound of its pained screeches. With a sudden shudder through the body, Leo quickly made sure to drive his sword straight into the whale before it began to perform a barrel role in the air whilst he made sure to cling tightly to the creature, not allowing himself to be shaken off.

"You… can… stop it!" Leo shouted out with growing frustration towards the whale that wouldn't stop attempting to shake him off. "Jiwald!" He shouted, firing a quick blast of light into the whale's eye, much to its suffering as it closed immediately.

However, it didn't do anything to stop it from attempting to shake him off, instead redoubling its efforts as Leo quickly clung onto his sword with all his strength, hoping that the blade would come free from the whale's flesh. "Akra!" he eventually shouted out, hastily resuming his enhancement spell to ease the burden of holding on.

'I need to do something!' He thought to himself frantically as he did his best to consider his options. 'If I use anything other than Akra, then I won't be able to hold on… and I can't stay like this because who knows when I'll run out of mana! Do I try and get down instead? Or…' he thought as he looked down at the world beneath him.

Since the whale was no longer focusing on Subaru due to his assault, the whale was no longer anywhere near the ground, but instead was high in the air where it was certain that an ordinary man had no chance of survival if they fell. The fog made it impossible to see the rest of the army but despite the fact, Leo was sure that if he somehow could, they would likely appear smaller than his thumb from the sheer height.

"There's no way I can do that!" Leo shouted out as he clung to his sword even more, his feelings beginning to burst out of him. "I don't know how much magic changes things but my every instinct is still telling me that's suicide! As if I'm not already in the middle of that anyway!"

"If you desire to get down to the ground yet remain uncertain of your ability to survive, the use of wind magic can easily be used to soften your fall," Kou said but his emotionless words and lack of physical body did nothing to help calm Leo down.

"No way!" Leo shouted in response, not even taking the time to reply via normal spiritual communication due to his fears. "I am not taking that plunge!"

'At first, I was somehow getting comfortable but the more this goes on the more I'm aware I'm completely out of my element!' he continued to internally exclaim as his mind went frantic.

"Then you must manage to do something to the whale. Either wounding it so that it will drop to the ground or you must find some other method of guiding it back down." Kou said as a pulse of blue light ran over Leo's body, momentarily making him question the warm sensation he was feeling until he saw the sight of Kou hovering before him. "I cannot do much more, but please remain calm."

"Easy for someone to say…" Leo replied in a whisper before ripping his sword out of the whale and jumping towards the horn of the beast before plunging it back into it again, renewing his grip on the frantic monster.

Between holding onto Zeam and the horn of the White Whale, Leo found it much easier to keep hold but it wasn't the only thing that it did. Feeling the faintly fuzzy, furry yet hard sensation of the giant horn in his blood-covered hand was a strange experience, but it was enough to draw his attention.

"I'll just have to play the last card and hope for the best," Leo said before resolving himself. Soon, shadows enveloped him and a brief moment of silence followed.

For a few moments, the white whale seemed to stop moving. It stopped thrashing and the wind began to calm as it slowed down making an eerie atmosphere that had Leo unknowingly holding his breath in response as he waited for whatever action the whale would take in response to his authority.

The shadows continued to grow until they completely covered Leo making another vail over Leo that only allowed the occasional sparkle from his use of Akra to seep through. Only when Leo was using his authority to its greatest capability did the situation finally change...

The white whale unleashed another almost deafening roar as the wildness of its movements increased, taking the opportunity to rise high into the air, even clearing the top of the fog as it did so.

"That one's all beaten up…" Leo thought to himself as he spied the only other thing in the sky, another one of the three white whales. The whale that he rode in comparison was far healthier looking but it wasn't the main thing that had caught Leo's attention. "I don't see anyone attacking it but it still looks like it's in pain?"

It was only a brief observation but the second whale continued to thrash about on its own despite nothing visibly happening to it until Leo found himself unable to look at it any longer as the whale he rode took a sudden dive.

The sudden force of the wind hitting him and the change in momentum nearly being enough to shake him off of the whale as Zeam nearly lost its grip on the flesh it was stabbed into, allowing spurts of blood to leak out as a result.

"It's going to crash into the ground to get rid of you, it won't stand being exposed to your authority to the point of hurting itself," Kou said with alarm as the whale only picked up in speed. "You need to disengage at the right time."

"Tell me something!" Leo immediately replied as he looked towards the sky, his fight-or-flight instincts beginning to skyrocket again. "How on earth do I disengage with that on our tail?!"

"That… adds great complication to the situation." Kou hesitantly replied.

The reason for the hesitance of the spirit was none other than the sight of the second white whale, having now chosen to swoop down following after the former with its mouth wide open, ready to bite.

"If I stay on this one, I'm gonna get flattened!"

"If you merely jump, you will likely be eaten."

"And I don't have the strength to drive the second one away! Not without Cecily!" Leo quickly replied as he tried to think of any possible options yet his mind was unable to grasp anything as panic clouded his thoughts.

But just as the ground was coming into view, a sharp whistle filled the air moments before a large cut was suddenly made in the side of the following whale, much to Leo's shock as he watched blood suddenly pour out.

"Jump now!" Kou exclaimed in his mind and Leo did his best to act in turn as they watched the whale veer away in pain.

In the last remaining moments, Leo in desperation managed to bring himself to finally pull out his sword as he jumped off of the whale. A mighty crash filled the air which caused the ground to ripple like water from the force as a shockwave blew through the air, knocking Leo off his balance as he tumbled to the ground.

It was with a thud of his own did he hit the ground before tumbling along until he finally came to a stop, laying on his back as he looked up at the sky taking heavy breaths all the while.

"Are you managing to hold on?" Kou asked as the spirit circled around him.

"Somehow…" Leo replied as he sat upright to look around, only to flinch and instinctively clutch his arm. "Go figure… broke something. More amazing that I'm not dead already though…"

"Hold still for a few moments, so long as it's small enough it should be something I can handle without issue," Kou replied as it began to hover just over the arm that Leo clutched it emitted a soft blue light that companied the warmth he felt, proving the spirit was working its magic.

"You sure are helping a lot for choosing to remain a close-seated spectator huh?"

"Do you not wish to be healed?"

"Don't mind me…"

"Leo!" Someone called out as the sound of a running creature could be heard swiftly approaching at the same time one of the white whales was beginning to lift itself off of the ground. "You sure managed to do some work on that thing huh?"

"Subaru? You know the last thing I need right now is the whales coming for me again…" Leo groaned but Subaru paid no attention to it as he and Rem pulled up alongside him.

"Sorry, sorry, but we kinda need you to do that again, you've given me an idea!"

"You're kidding me, right? Or have you gone off the deep end in all of this?"

"It's not like that at all! Besides, we were all at least a little insane the moment we picked a fight with that thing!" Subaru snapped back before quickly relaxing once again. "Didn't you realize something when you were fighting the whale?"

"Depends…" Leo slowly answered.

"When you were attacking one of the whales, the other two felt it as well! They're linked!" Subaru exclaimed. "It means we only have to beat one, or at least keep it pinned so that you can deal with it easily!"

"You're planning on abusing my authority, aren't you?" Leo bluntly asked only for Subaru to frantically begin shaking his head in denial.

"No, no, no, no! Not at all! Well, it might be a backup plan but everything might end if we do this right!" Subaru hastily replied. "We're doing to use the tree to crush what we think is the main one! Everyone else is already getting ready, we've just got to get it into position!"

"You take over, I need a break before I collapse mid-fight…" Leo sighed in response. "And where's Cecily and Grassis? Nothing happened to them, right?!"

"They are fine, Sir Leo. They are currently aiding in the attempts to prepare the toppling of Flugel Tree." Rem calmly responded.

"Don't worry, I can take over with luring the whale out, we have a plan for that already but because of your fight you're brought the whales close together…" Subaru pointed out.

"So I'm dragging away the two unwanted whales whilst you are putting the main body into position?" Leo said. "Am I really getting the easier task here?"

"Well, I'm completely useless aside from being bait right now! If I took your spot I'd be completely in trouble if they got too close to me, and Rem's needed to safely retrieve whoever is bringing down the whale."

"Subaru…" Rem quietly muttered in response to Subaru's comment yet didn't say anymore as they waited for Leo's response who merely sighed from his position on the ground before standing up.

"Will I get a break after this? I ain't joking, on the whole, nearing collapsing thing here…" He said, testing his newly healed arm before looking back at the pair. "How long?"

"Just a few minutes, the moment that you lead them away I'll go up to the main one and bring it straight down! Then we've just got to kill it which should be a breeze!" Subaru cheerily replied, prompting Leo to turn towards Rem instead.

"We estimate that we will require the remaining two whales to be kept occupied for a duration of at least 20 minutes, do you think that it pushing your limits Sir Leo?" Rem explained with a worried expression as Leo continued to ponder the scenario.

"I… I'll manage something… maybe I'll ride one again, that'll at least keep me safe from the other." He replied.

"Do you not think that foolish? Or do you not remember what happened only minutes ago?" Kou interjected as he appeared before Leo.

"The difference is, I know what it might try this time. If I can do it once, why can't I do it again? Except for heart problems… might start having a few of those at this rate…" Leo replied to the spirit, hiding his weary look from Subaru and Rem as he clutched his chest.

"You're overworking yourself," Kou noted.

"Won't I die if I don't?"

"Got it, we'll be counting on you! And the remainder of the army will be helping you out as well!" Subaru said.

"Yes, we thank you for your efforts in this. We will make sure to not waste your efforts with his, Sir Leo! But do you require a ground dragon?" Rem added on with a worried smile as she realized Leo's practically stranded location.

"I'll be fine, I'll just get one of the whales to approach me and get on it somehow, make sure that you separate the one you want first."

"That's easy, the one we want should still be near here! If any others start following us then you can stop them and lead them the other way!" Subaru said with a thumbs up that Leo returned, yet remained unable to return the smile that Subaru gave as well before the ground dragon turned around.

"I can return!" Subaru began to shout out before he flinched on the spot, clenching his chest for a moment but the sound of the white whale's roar ruined any chance to talk to him about it.

"Alright! The one with the damaged eye is ours! We'll see you when this is over!" Subaru cheered as they began to start running off back into the fog, once again leaving Leo on his own to watch shadowy silhouettes begin to move about above him.

"I wish I could be taking it as easy as him… I wonder how he does it?" Leo said as he picked up Zeam off the ground to sheath it again.

"Can you tell apart the whale they want?" Kou asked as they looked up in the sky, seeing the shapes of the three whales moving towards where Subaru and Rem had headed.

"Nope, but I can tell which one is bleeding the most… hopefully that's the one they want," Leo replied.

"Fura!" he shouted out with two waves of his hand, unleashing a wind blade that tore through the fog, straight for its target before landing a direct hit that brought forth a new spout of blood before the same effect shortly followed from the other whale.

"Jiwald!" He continued to shout out with a pointed finger, firing off laser after laser toward the two whales, hoping to provoke them into coming after him instead. Yet despite his effort and the pain that they showed, they still continued to chase down Subaru to Leo's frustration.

"Fine, he's not the only one like that…" Leo grumbled to himself as he became cloaked in shadows, having once more activated his authority. "Fura!" He shouted out even louder than before as he continued throwing wind blades toward the whale until he finally got a response out of them.

After unleashing a couple of spells one of the whales suddenly unleashed a cry of pain as a considerably larger splatter of blood fell to the ground, alongside the shift of its attention.

"That did it…" Leo said, sharing his thoughts through Kou, as he began to brace himself in response while the spirit retreated back to his person.

In a few moments, two of the whales were already clearly in sight as they charged straight for him, seemingly picking up speed as they caught onto the miasma that surrounded him renewing his sense of urgency.

"Akra!" he hurriedly cast before managing to bring himself to begin walking towards the oncoming whales. At first, his legs felt like heavy iron despite the enhancement he gave himself as he gradually began running forwards at the same time the first of the whales opened its mouth to begin devouring the ground.

In the last remaining moments and gathering all his strength to his legs, Leo jumped into the air for the whale's horn. Had he not been hoping that his magic would at least match the feats of the other combatants then he would be amazed at his own ability when he shot into the air.

Drawing his sword mid-air did he use his falling momentum to completely drive Zeam into the whale's flesh once more as he held on, allowing the whale to sharply raise off the ground in response.

"I've just got to make sure that the other whale doesn't leave… and it'll all be over soon…" He said to no one in particular, managing to look to the whale behind, spotting just what had managed to incur their wrath. Much like how Wilhelm had previously gauged out the eye of the original whale, through sheer luck he had managed to slice into the eye of the fake.

"That's just… horrible…" Leo gagged at the sight of the blood and icky contents that continued to dribble out of the sliced eye as he felt his strength begin to leave him. At first, Leo merely thought that it was simple emotion at the sick sight that he tried to ignore but when his own weight and tired arm only became more noticeable did, he finally realize the issue.

"You're running out of mana!" Kou exclaimed, having arrived at the same conclusion as Leo.

"Shit!" Leo exclaimed as he hastily gripped Zeam with both hands, his heart rate beginning to skyrocket in the face of imminent death. "Now of all times?! Have I been using a lot?!"

"No, your mana capacity wasn't low, but it was less than average. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to see you through the whole of this battle despite only using low level spells." Kou replied. "But in this position, without mana or someone to save you, your chances are looking grim…"

"I didn't need the death confirmation, dam it!" Leo shouted out instead of telepathically communicating in his panic. "This is even worse than before!"

Despite Leo's magic fading, the efforts of the whales didn't. As the young man continued to struggle to hold on helplessly the whale continued to thrash whilst the other began to pull away, spying on Leo with its undamaged eye before roaring.

"You must move!" Kou exclaimed as the second way started closing in on them despite the fact they rode upon the other whale.

"Dam it!" Leo exclaimed again with a surge of adrenaline, managing to scramble towards and cling onto the horn of the whale before stabbing in his sword again moments before the two whales collided.

The impact was enough to nearly wrench Leo's grip from his sword and send him tumbling to the ground below as the whales knocked each other off course, releasing monstrous groans as a result.

"It's trying to flatten me, it's trying to flatten me despite riding on its clone!" Leo exclaimed as he looked over at the giant bruised spot that the whales had done to one another. "I can't keep this up if it continues, and I'm dead if this one tries dive-bombing again…" he gasped in realization, knowing that he needed a miracle if he was going to survive.

"Leo, there is one way out of this predicament," Kou spoke up to the instant interest of the young man.

"I'm listening!"

"Have you not heard at any point that one's od can be used as a substitute for mana in dire situations?"

"I have, not that I know how to do it!"

"It matters not, there is little complexity to it yet the consequences are dire, or at least they normally would be."

"Because I can drain od from living things? I know about that, but I don't know how much od it takes to cast magic!"

"For only a single spell or two, not terribly much, however, there is a different danger for you." Kou explained, "You have yet to gain acute control over than mana you use in your spells… if you continue to display poor control here you can easily accidentally use vast amounts of od instead, cutting down on your remaining life drastically. In a worst-case scenario, you could pour all your essence into the spell killing yourself upon casting it."

"If it's the only possible option left, can you please leave the terrifying consequences until later?!" Leo snapped back but it didn't faze the spirit. "But how do you do it?"

"Attempt to cast a spell as normal, however, when you begin to struggle to draw upon more mana that will come to you easily, you will find there is a reserve of power that you will have to forcefully extract instead."

"And that's my od? I just have to really squeeze mana out of my gate?"

"Oversimplified, but it is essentially the case."

"Alright then…" Leo said as he took another sharp, deep breath. "If I use my authority like before, the whale will likely act the same right? I'll just repeat those events and make it back to Crusch, or someplace safe…"

"Here we go…" Leo uttered, firmly gripping the whale as he made use of his authority one more time. The effect was instant as the whale began to struggle against him whilst the other's attention began to hone in on him as it rushed in again.

Yet before any of the three could do anything, a mighty thud filled the air, and a rush of wind blasted through the atmosphere blowing away the fog and exposing the sky whilst Leo was thrown off the white whale.

"WHAT ON EARTH?!" Leo exclaimed as he flailed in the air before taking note of the second whale closing in on him with its jaw open wide, ready to finally eat him whilst he remained in the air.

In a frantic last-ditch effort, Leo hurriedly pointed out the palm of his hand without even thinking straight for the great mabeast as he shouted out with zero hesitance, "AL JIWALD!"

His voice seemed to carry out across the now exposed plains but he didn't care, he didn't even comprehend what he had attempted to perform but Leo knew that it was already too late to take back his actions now.

Kou was in a state of alarm the moment the spirit heard the casting of the high-level spell, but it too was rendered useless other than to watch the outcome of such magic.

Masses of blinding light began to shine out from Leo's outstretched palm whilst Leo felt his strength yet suddenly sapped from him, already feeling the spell consume his od and his inability to limit it as it continued to take. 'I'm going… to die at this… rate…' Leo thought to himself yet remained helpless to change his fate as all as he was rendered as useless as any spectator that happened to be looking up at the occurrence, beholding the vast amount of magic gathering in his hand.

Just as the white whale's jaws were beginning to close around him, Leo unleashed the spell with all the power it had accumulated. Instantly there was a blinding light that lit up the sky, becoming an obvious sight from anywhere on the battlefield. The light filled the whale's jaw and blasted it open, the explosion completely forcing back the whale whilst unleashing a shockwave of its own across the battlefield that attempted to chase down the sound of the deafening boom.

Whilst the white whale was easily repelled, Leo was blasted toward the ground at every greater velocity as a result of the blast. "Well… at least it wasn't a bad way to go out…" Leo thought to himself as his vision began to black out as he fell helplessly, watching the ground getting closer at an alarming rate.

As he closed his eyes, ready for his end and devoid of energy, he quickly felt his consciousness leave him, the last sensation he felt being of landing upon some vaguely furry sensation…