Chapter 379: I Want to Go Home Soon

If it were just a fish, it would merely flop around. A lively fish flopping on the ground can sometimes jump over a few dozen centimeters. In other words, it shows a leap greater than its own body length.

Naturally, given the monster whale’s enormous size, one would think it couldn’t reach a height greater than its body length. However, because it was still so large, it was enough to make one mistakenly think the whale had flown into the sky.

The ground was covered by a black shadow. Arte and I were astonished by the monster whale rising into the sky and stopped in our tracks.

“L-Lord Van……!”

Hearing Arte’s voice, my body finally started to move.

“W-We just have to run!”

I grabbed Arte’s hand and kicked off the ground. However, my feet immediately stopped again. Arte wasn’t following me.

“M-My legs……”

Arte muttered with teary eyes. I couldn’t escape just by pulling her hand.

“S-Sorry!”

In a panic, I scooped up Arte’s body, forcefully carrying her in a princess carry.

“Eek……”

Hearing Arte’s voice near my ear, I had no leeway to think. In my head, I had an image of sprinting at full speed, but running while carrying Arte meant I couldn’t pick up speed. We won’t make it in time. The shadow on the ground was getting bigger and bigger. I felt like crying from desperation, but there was nothing I could do.

“I-It’s no good……! It might be impossible now……!?”

Weak words involuntarily tumbled from my mouth.

At that moment, something rushed in at terrifying speed.

“Keep your mouth shut!”

The moment I thought I heard those words, an arm was wrapped around my waist. Then, with the momentum of being blasted away by something, we were thrown forward, tumbling across the ground together with Arte.

The sky and the ground alternated in my vision, and impacts ran through my whole body. I should have kept my mouth shut as told, but for some reason, grass and dirt got inside, and I reflexively spat it out.

Immediately after, the ground shook violently, and my body bounced. Even though I was still holding Arte, my body floated enough to feel a sense of weightlessness.

“Ouch.”

“It hurts……”

I groaned in pain at the same time as Arte. My body hurt, but the impact just now was the sound of the monster whale crashing into the ground. Enduring the pain, I raised my head and looked back.

“Wasn’t that Lady Panamera just now……”

Arte muttered anxiously, raising her head as well. While nodding at her, I looked up, and there was the abdomen of the monster whale. It seemed the monster whale had twisted its body when it launched into the air. Thanks to that, its head was facing to the right. There was a large cut on the lower part of its abdomen, toward the tail fin; perhaps it got that when it crashed into the coast?

“M-Ms. Panamera is…… there!”

Was she blown away, or did she jump herself? Panamera was on the ground, pressing her hands against the earth, trying to push her upper body up.

Meanwhile, the monster whale twisted its body to start moving again, lifting its tail fin high into the sky. Depending on the direction, we would be crushed to death by that tail fin.

“Gh, there’s no time for magic either……!”

Panamera tried to do something, but gave up halfway and stood up. Then, she came running toward us.

“Ms. Panamera, hurry!”

Screaming, I placed my hand on a piece of driftwood nearby. A fraction of time. In truly just an instant, I built a wall. Panamera dove in, crashing into the spot right next to me.

The next moment, the monster whale slammed the earth with its tail fin again and leapt into the air. The power and impact required to lift that massive body. No matter if it was made of Wood Blocks, I felt anxious about whether a single wall could defend against it.

The shockwave traveled through the air and shook my body. The roar and impact deafened me. Amidst a high-pitched ringing, my vision brightened.

The monster whale had leapt into the sky. In other words, the wall had somehow managed to hold up.

“O-One more……!”

Saying that, I looked up at the wall and saw that it was severely bent; I understood at a glance that it had been a close call.

“……! Fall back! We’re running!”

Desperately shouting only that, I pulled Arte and Panamera’s hands to make them stand.

“Gh!”

“That was too close……!”

The two of them managed to start running as well.

“Lord Van! Over here!”

Till, who should have been cooking in the log house, came out into the yard and shouted. Noticing her voice, we continued running toward her with all our might.

Behind us, earth-shaking impacts and roaring sounds echoed continuously. I didn’t even have the leeway to look back anymore. The impacts were getting closer, but there was no time to worry about it.

“H-Hurry!!”

I screamed while running frantically. Thanks to continuing to sprint at full speed despite nearly tripping over the ground, we reached Till in a flash.

“T-This way! Hurry, over here!”

Till pulled Arte and me by the hand, guiding us into the log house. Panamera followed, looking back over her shoulder, and we somehow managed to tumble inside.

The moment everyone entered the house, a violent impact shook the log house.

Bouncing across the coast and the sandy beach multiple times, the monster whale had chased us all the way to the log house. Realizing that sent another chill down my spine.

“……I do not know if even this house will hold.”

At the overly strong impact, Panamera muttered that with a voice tinged with exhaustion.

“……I want to go back to Seatoh Village already.”

I involuntarily blurted that out and laid down flat on the floor.