"Do you want to recover?"
"What?"
Timira's pupils contracted as she stared blankly at the man who was perfect to the point of being inhuman.
"Blood Silver, release her."
"Moo!"
The Blood Chains disappeared. Feeling the magic whale power surging through her body again, Timira's eyes were wary, as if saying:
"What trick are you playing?"
With a thought from Carlos, an afternoon tea set appeared in the clearing.
"Sit down and talk."
Where did these things come from?
Saint Marr Island had never seen spatial abilities before. This was Timira's first time witnessing it, so naturally she found it mind-blowing.
She stared at Carlos's face for a long while but still couldn't detect the slightest malice.
...
Taking a seat, Timira couldn't help but ask:
"Who exactly are you? I can't sense even a trace of monster aura."
Fallen Ones were essentially monsters completely corrupted by magic whale power—no different from monsters.
Timira kept glancing at the strange knight pouring tea nearby. It was tall and somewhat similar to that monster by the oak tree, making her feel uneasy.
Carlos took a sip of black tea and said casually:
"I'll repeat it again—I'm neither a Fallen One nor a monster. Like you, I'm human."
His tone suggested he didn't particularly give a damn about Timira's opinion.
Timira fell silent.
Past experience told her that besides Whale Scale Hunters, only Fallen Ones or monsters would have various weird abilities.
But her gut told her the person in front of her was telling the truth.
"Human..."
Did she count as human?
Timira's mind flashed to the residents' expressions when looking at her—like looking at monsters, silent but disgusted and fearful.
In their eyes, these Whale Scale Hunters weren't human but monsters just like the actual monsters.
Dead was dead—it was just monsters killing each other. No one would shed a tear for a Whale Scale Hunter.
"What you said just now... can you really do it?"
At this point, Timira was inclined to believe Carlos and couldn't help but want to try.
After all, she was at his mercy—might as well go along with his wishes, maybe there'd be a chance to bail.
"Yes."
Carlos knew what Timira was asking about.
Because they endured corruption from magic whale power, these Whale Scale Hunters had become messed up in various body parts, except for their delicate faces.
Timira's situation was relatively good—her strong adaptability meant only her skin was different from normal people. Some Whale Scale Hunters no longer had human-shaped limbs.
This was one of the reasons they were feared and despised by residents.
"What do I need to pay?"
Timira's eyes were bright.
Every Whale Scale Hunter traveled everywhere hunting monsters, never knowing when they'd bite it.
But those ordinary people could work by day and rest by night, love other people, bear their own children, and live happy lives.
This undoubtedly made Whale Scale Hunters seriously envious.
Recovering to normal and living an ordinary life was almost the deepest desire in every Whale Scale Hunter's heart.
However, no Whale Scale Hunter had ever fulfilled this wish.
Carlos pushed a cup of black tea toward Timira and said softly:
"You don't need to pay anything. This is just a little help I'm offering you."
Timira was stunned.
An unprecedented emotion welled up in her heart.
As a Whale Scale Hunter, she'd never received such obvious kindness from anyone else.
Help... helping a Whale Scale Hunter who looked like a monster...
Timira's expression was complicated as she said in a deep voice:
"If you're not bullshitting me, I will definitely do my best to repay this kindness."
Carlos smiled. He didn't particularly care. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novｅlfire.net
Whale Fort.
A group of blue-robed people gathered around a round table for their monthly meeting.
"Sequence 0 Timira has gone missing."
"Missing? That monster actually went missing?"
"I think she's hiding, trying to duck her duties as a Whale Scale Hunter."
The blue-robed people discussed heatedly until one of them suddenly spoke:
"Among Sequence 2 and Sequence 3, which Whale Scale Hunter isn't currently on a mission?"
Another blue-robed person checked the mission records and said:
"Melinda."
"Give her an investigation mission to find out what's going on with Timira."
This blue-robed person continued:
"If Timira really is hiding on purpose, then declare that she's approaching corruption and organize a hunting squad to take her out."
"Good."
This person's proposal got agreement from the others.
After all these years, they'd run into situations like Timira's unexplained disappearance before.
Without exception, either they unfortunately encountered powerful monsters and died horribly, or they got sick of fighting monsters and wanted to break away from Whale Fort.
For the latter, Whale Fort leadership always followed the principle of rather killing ten than letting one escape.
...
Not long after, a strange woman appeared outside the deserted Carlo City.
She wore a special shell on her head, was draped in blue robes, and dragged a blue tail that looked like a miniature whale tail.
"Timira disappeared suddenly after accepting the mission to eliminate monsters here."
Melinda, one of the three Sequence 3 members at Whale Fort, was now walking through the city looking at the monster corpses with a furrowed brow.
All instant kills—looked like Timira's work. Really was a monster.
Melinda drew this conclusion from the wounds on the dead monsters.
"Mon... monster hunter!"
An old man cried out in alarm, his expression fearful.
Most residents had hauled ass.
Only he, knowing his days were numbered and unwilling to leave his home, had stayed behind.
"Have you seen a monster hunter like me?"
Melinda keenly sensed that the old man's reaction wasn't like someone seeing this kind of 'monster' for the first time.
The old man nodded tremblingly:
"That... that's right. Not long ago, someone similar to you suddenly appeared and eliminated the monsters that were about to attack us..."
Melinda's eyes lit up.
If she wasn't mistaken, that must have been Timira.
"What happened next?"
The old man's eyes showed hesitation as he said hoarsely:
"Then... two monsters flew down from the sky. One of them pulled out chains from who knows where and tied up that Whale Scale Hunter and took her away."
Hearing this, Melinda's heart sank.
"Did Timira do it on purpose, showing weakness to the enemy? Or was that monster really so powerful that even Sequence 0 was helpless?"
Melinda suddenly thought of something, her heart sinking further:
"Could it be a Fallen Commander?"
Fallen Commanders were extremely terrifying existences among the Fallen Ones. There were only three in all of Saint Marr Island, and when low-sequence Whale Scale Hunters encountered them, no matter how many there were, they only had one path—death!
"Which direction did those two monsters fly?"
Melinda's inner hatred for monsters drove her on. Whether they were monsters or Fallen Ones, she had to investigate.
She would die eventually anyway.
To eliminate as many monsters as possible, Melinda didn't spare her own life.
"West, they flew west!"
After getting directions from the old man, Melinda immediately took action, heading west...