Furina listened to Koji's explanation about the Star-Devouring Whale, her brows tightening.
So the cause behind the rising waters of the Primordial Womb Sea… was actually a whale.
"That bastard—who is he supposed to be? How could someone be that vile?"
To let one's pet endanger Fontaine like this… that person clearly didn't treat life as life at all. Utterly cold-blooded.
A person like that deserved the death penalty. Even if Fontaine did not have capital punishment, she would still put him on trial.
"In order to pursue greater power, he doesn't value feelings at all. They don't make him stronger, so in his eyes, everyone else is just a burden," Koji said calmly.
"My master has always been deemed extremely wicked. Many people hate him, and he indeed did many unjust things. Though he was born a knight, he abandoned the knightly spirit long ago," Skirk added.
Her master was a dangerous person. If anyone—or anything—stood in his way, he would destroy it without hesitation.
"Klee, let's go blow up some fish. A really big fish," Koji suddenly said.
"Okay~!"
Klee didn't understand what "Star-Devouring Whale" meant, but she did understand the words "blow up fish." She still had plenty of Jumping Dumpty bombs… and also the recently-developed Jumping Nuke.
Nobody knew that this was currently her strongest weapon.
Primordial Womb Sea
The massive Star-Devouring Whale swam through the waters, continuously devouring the Primordial Womb Sea itself.
"It's grown this big already…?" Skirk was surprised.
She hadn't seen it for a while, but clearly it had devoured a tremendous amount of the sea in her absence.
Its aura was overwhelmingly powerful—no less than that of a god—its presence indescribably heavy.
"So big…"
Klee's mouth fell open. She never imagined a fish could be this gigantic—far beyond anything she had pictured.
"Klee, go ahead and bombard it with your bombs."
Koji manipulated the Primordial Womb Sea, preventing the water from erupting due to the battle's disturbance.
"Mhm! Jumping Nuke!"
What?
Koji wondered if he had misheard.
A nuke?
Wasn't it supposed to be Jumping Dumpty?
Klee loaded a special bomb into a launcher. She had learned fireworks-launching techniques from Yoimiya and applied them to her bomb launcher.
BOOM!
The Jumping Nuke shot across the air, and the moment it touched the Star-Devouring Whale, the tiny bomb erupted with terrifying power. Large portions of the Primordial Womb Sea evaporated instantly.
Hooo——
A mushroom cloud rose as the whale let out a mournful howl.
The scorching heat was like the sun itself; it felt its skin burning.
"So it really is a nuke…"
Koji was stunned.
No radiation, sure—but with a mushroom cloud, what else could it be called?
Klee was truly impressive to be able to craft something like this from her materials.
"No wonder she's Alice's daughter."
Skirk had met Alice before. Since Skirk was not a native of Teyvat, Alice—who maintained the world barrier—had permitted her entry under the condition that she not interfere with the world.
Skirk was deeply grateful. Alice once told her to listen to her heart and learn to live a good life—true, sincere advice.
The first time Skirk laid eyes on Klee, she instantly recognized Alice's daughter—their auras were similar.
ROAR!
Although the Jumping Nuke was terrifyingly powerful, the whale's defense was even stronger. Not only did it survive without severe injury, it instead went into a frenzied rage.
"Aiya, aiya."
Koji made a helpless sound. To him, this whale was just a little fish—utterly unaware of the difference in power.
Clang!
The Divine Sword: Dawn left its sheath.
Dazzling sword-light bloomed, sharp enough to pierce the heavens. Endless Hydro gathered toward the blade. The platinum sword turned aqua-blue as mysterious laws surpassing Teyvat flowed across it.
Skirk stared deeply at Koji.
Teyvat could not produce someone this powerful.
A Descender?
The word surfaced in her mind.
Her master once said:
A Descender is an existence of extraordinary rarity, requiring a will strong enough to rival a world.
But Koji's sword was not rivaling the world—it was overriding it.
If he wished… he could probably split Teyvat into two or three with just three swings.
"Sea-Cutter!"
With a light shout, Koji brought the sword down.
A blue sword aura streaked forth, and as its name promised, it split the Primordial Womb Sea in two, revealing a bottomless abyss beneath.
"So strong…" Furina's mouth hung open.
This had already surpassed the level of gods.
SPLASH!
The Star-Devouring Whale was cleaved in half, and instead of blood, waves of Primordial Womb Sea water gushed out of its body.
Furina's eye twitched.
How much had this creature drunk…? Even its blood was replaced with sea water.
"Skirk, can the Star-Devouring Whale be eaten?" Koji asked curiously.
"?"
Skirk stared at him with question marks all over her face.
She truly admired the way his mind worked.
"I'm not sure. It's a very rare creature, so in theory it should be edible."
It was her master's pet, so of course she had never eaten it before.
"Fufu, do you want to eat it?" Koji asked.
"Of course. It's the culprit behind all this!" Furina said through gritted teeth.
She couldn't put the whale on trial, but eating it was still satisfying.
Beyond Teyvat
The Wicked Knight suddenly sensed his pet's death. His aura—deep as the abyss—fluctuated violently.
Impossible. Even if someone could defeat the Star-Devouring Whale, killing it should not have been so easy.
"Wasn't Skirk supposed to be watching over it?"
He couldn't understand. Skirk was supposed to guard the whale. How could anyone kill it under her watch?
Whatever. He would go to Teyvat and see for himself.
It had been many years—he wondered if the strong one who killed his pet could entertain him.
Skirk (inwardly): Master, I'll… burn paper for you later.
"I've never eaten Star-Devouring Whale before either."
Alice had come to mooch a meal.
Star-Devouring Whale meat was extremely rare—she had no idea where that Wicked Knight even found one.
"Ronova, shouldn't a creature like the Star-Devouring Whale affect Teyvat? Doesn't Celestia worry?" Koji asked.
"Star-Devouring Whale isn't much. And Istaroth already said that someone will deal with it in the future."
Ronova tasted the meat.
The flavor was good, though a bit greasy.
Koji nodded.
Istaroth could move within the river of time and observe future events.
But since he was a transmigrator, Istaroth could not see his future—only a future without him, which meant the game's original storyline.
(End of Chapter)
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