【The Rise of the Ugly Monster】 Under a Cloudy Sky, the Forest Falls

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The Land Whale was still far off.

It wasn't a matter of a few hundred meters.

It was much further than that.

And yet, it looked so massive!

Like a mountain!

(Hie... it really is huge...!)

The Plateau of Behemoths was teeming with monsters of abnormal size.

Even among them, the Land Whale was in a league of its own.

With his entire field of vision blocked by that imposing figure, he trembled violently in terror!

However.

However, he had not fallen into despair.

Because right now, he was being held against the chest of his owner, Emi.

This girl had slaughtered giant wolves, tigers, and snakes without a second thought.

If that was the case, then this time, surely—!

"Dokugegon."

Just as he was thinking so optimistically.

In the next moment, he was stunned.

"...We're running."

Because!

Emi!

Without even attempting a single strike!

...Had spoken of retreat!

<<<BOAH!! BOAAAAAAAH!!!>>>

But the Land Whale gave them no time to turn on their heels!

Just as it let out another earth-shaking roar... red lights began to flicker one by one across its moss-covered body.

"N'eh!?"

"......!!"

What was the true nature of those lights?

With his eyesight, he couldn't tell.

But Emi... was different!

Emi's fantasy-grade vision allowed her to clearly see exactly what was located where those red lights were glowing on the Land Whale's skin.

They were countless, giant barnacles.

Barnacles that lived on land!!

And from her past experiences, Emi understood perfectly well that the barnacles of this world were dangerous creatures that must never be underestimated.

...Therefore!

"Rah!!"

In the next moment!

The giant barnacles clinging to the Land Whale fired red beams of light—【Breaths】... no, a species-specific magical art similar to but distinct from a 【Breath】: the 【Barnacle Beam】!

Following her extraordinary combat instincts, Emi succeeded in evading them by leaping sideways!

"N'eeeeeh!?"

Bi!!

Bi!!

Bi!!

While he screamed in the arms of the girl holding him, the barnacles continued to fire their beams without pause!

"Ra, ra... raaaaaah!!"

Emi continued to evade them—running, crouching, and occasionally leaping... never stopping her movement!

She moved as if she could see the future!

Combined with her abnormal stamina, the 【Barnacle Beams】, which should have been one-hit kills, didn't even graze her!

However...!

"N, n'eh..."

"!!"

The area around Emi was being scorched by the 【Barnacle Beams】, the earth was melting, and the air was shimmering with intense heat...

In such an environment... Emi aside, he... Dokugegon, could not endure it!

(It's h-hot... I can't... breathe...)

Tormented by the high temperature, his consciousness began to haze over.

(Why... why am I the only one... always suffering like this...)

Vaguely, he lamented his own life, which had been filled with nothing but hardship.

And then, it happened.

Suddenly, the surroundings grew dark.

Because Emi had been preoccupied with his condition, she was slow to notice the anomaly.

What had happened?

Emi understood the answer by looking up.

What was above her.

Was a forest so vast it eclipsed even the cloudy sky of early winter.

A forest.

A forest flourishing upon the impossibly massive back of the Land Whale!

...Whales that live in the sea occasionally jump from the surface and slam their massive bodies back into the water.

This behavior is called 【Breaching】.

The reason they do it?

Well, I'm not really sure.

The important thing is!!

Right now, the Land Whale had used its four powerful legs to launch its own massive body into the air!

And by slamming its back down onto the ground!

It was attempting to crush Emi!

"Tch..."

Looking at the descending, colossal back of the Land Whale.

Emi remained expressionless... but she let out a small click of her tongue.

"N'EEEEEEEEH!?"

And immediately, she flung his body sideways!

(Eh!? Eh!? Eh!?)

Hazy from the surrounding heat, he was greatly surprised by this sudden action.

As he spun through the air, his gaze met Emi's for a split second.

Emi's face was as expressionless as ever.

But in her eyes.

There was, without a doubt... a look of relief.

(Eh!? ...Eh!?)

Before he could understand the meaning of that look he had glimpsed for a fleeting moment, he was flung far from Emi.

And then, in the next moment!

ZUGAAAAAAAAAAN!!

A forest fell upon Emi.

(Eh...?)

Having narrowly avoided being crushed, he rolled along the ground, pushed by the wind pressure, and then.

He was caught by the roots of a great tree clinging to the earth, which brought his movement to a halt.

As the dust settled, he opened his tightly shut eyes.

(Eh...)

Blocking his view was the unfathomably large body of the Land Whale.

A wall-like mass covered in moss and barnacles, with giant whale lice crawling sluggishly across it.

(Eh)

Emi was.

(Eh?)

Where was Emi?

(...)

...Emi was!

Underneath the Land Whale's... colossal body.

<<<BOAAAAAAAH!!!>>>

The Land Whale let out a roar of victory, and as if to drive the point home, it rubbed its back against the earth!

Megyo!!

Boki boki boki!!

Listening to the sound of the forest—which had formed its own ecosystem atop the Land Whale's back—being ground into nothingness, he stared wide-eyed, frozen in shock.

Because.

Because Emi.

His owner, who was supposed to be an absolute powerhouse.

Had been crushed... far too easily.

He waited.

He waited for Emi to use that abnormal strength of hers to lift the mountain-like body of the Land Whale and crawl out.

But unfortunately, no matter how long he waited, that moment never came.