Floor 37: Kidnapping
Before all trials conclude on the 39th floor, halt the war between the elves and humans. Time remaining: none.
The farther west we flew, the more frequently ruins of devastated cities came into view.
No—ruins wasn't even the right word for them.
Vast, perfectly circular scars of dead earth. The landscape around them was untouched and pristine, which only made the sight all the more irrational. What possible mechanism could have carved out something like that?
Well, if it's something involving a divine seat, there's no real need for me to understand it.
Beyond the barren wastes, I could see elves on the move. Judging by their heading, they seemed to be bound for Loren Plain, and I was crossing paths with them more and more often—which was only natural, seeing as three days had already slipped by since we'd left Deleil.
We hadn't wasted a minute of that time aboard the airship, either. I went over the plans for what came next, drilled Dobby out on the deck, sparred with the curious climbers who gathered to watch and pointed out the flaws in their technique. It didn't do anything for my own skills, but I figured my reputation had to have gone up at least a little.
It was then that the captain came over to me.
"Um... if we go another thirty minutes or so, the Reveron Mountain Range will come into view."
"Understood. Let's set down somewhere around here."
"Yes, sir. I'll find a safe spot."
Just as the captain said, we were heading not for Loren Plain, but for the Reveron Mountain Range. The reason was simple: I needed Sky Whales.
The Reveron Mountain Range, south of Loren Plain, was the original home of the Elf Coalition—which meant it was also the primary habitat of the Sky Whales. Using the Sky Whale's orb wouldn't summon whales out of nowhere; they had to actually be nearby, so the choice made itself.
Thirty minutes by airship. Even sprinting, it'd take a while to get there.
The war had pulled the elves out to Loren Plain, but stragglers would surely still be lingering back home. So even with the concealment veil, I couldn't risk bringing the airship anywhere near the range. And according to the revised plan, I'd be moving solo from here on out anyway.
Before long, the captain brought the airship down.
"Alright, everyone off."
The climbers, briefed in advance, disembarked without the slightest hesitation.
The captain and his crew, on the other hand, just stood there on the deck staring at us blankly. They were doing their best to hide it, but relief was written all over their faces—from the look of things, they assumed we'd let them go free once we'd disembarked.
Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting off?"
"...I beg your pardon?"
"I said everyone off. All of you."
"You mean... us?"
I nodded firmly. When I swept my gaze over the captain and his crew, they all just gaped at me in dumbfounded silence, then began stealing glances at one another.
"Why would we possibly—"
The sight of them dithering was so aggravating that Cecilia, standing behind me, shouted them down herself.
"What are you waiting for?! Off the ship, now! We don't have time!"
At her bellow, the captain and crew scrambled hesitantly out of the airship, clearly operating on the logic that they might as well comply first and figure out the why later.
Once I'd watched the last sailor climb down, I gave my mimic a light tap.
"Moongchi, you can eat this too, right?"
Instead of an answer, a black shape burst from the mimic and swallowed the airship whole. A vessel bigger than a house got sucked straight into the pouch at my side. It had done the same with the dragon's corpse, but it was an astonishing sight no matter how many times I saw it.
"Wh-what the—?!"
"Monsters! They're monsters!"
The captain and his crew were in an uproar. Well, Cecilia would give them a proper explanation soon enough. I planned on returning the airship eventually—assuming I couldn't get my hands on an actual combat airship later, that is.
Leaving the terrified sailors behind, I opened a portal leading back toward the vicinity of Deleil. As it unfurled, the climbers came up to offer their farewells. I'd explained this mission's dangers and its purpose in detail, so not a single one of them held a grudge about being left behind.
"You're handling everything yourself, Kwon Suhyeok, and it's honestly embarrassing. Thank you, truly. It would've been easier for you to work alone from the start, and yet..."
He wasn't wrong, but given the image I was cultivating, I couldn't exactly come out and agree. Besides, having the climbers join me had benefited me in its own ways. I slowly shook my head.
"Don't say that. I needed your help seizing the airship, and I'll need it again for what comes after."
"Haha, hearing you say that, I hardly know where to put myself. I'll be praying for your success. Until we meet again."
"Everyone, through here!"
The climbers filed in first, and Cecilia followed by shoving the captain and his crew through the portal after them.
Hmm. Truthfully, I didn't need the captain or the sailors anymore. I could have simply released them—but I had no intention of leaking word to the human faction that I could use spatial magic and that something was in the works. The kings might grow all the more wary by the time I went to meet them.
It was the same reason I hadn't used a portal when infiltrating the royal castle.
Cecilia, having ushered out the last sailor, turned back to me with a smile.
"I'll be praying you pull it off."
I'd been grateful to Cecilia these past few days. Without me lifting a finger, she managed the climbers and the crew flawlessly on her own. She was a climber I'd never met before, but she was apparently from a party leader's background, and it showed in her judgment and her command.
"Thank you. Riding that airship all this way was hard on you. Go in and get some rest."
"You'll be the one having the hard time, Suhyeok, not us. Don't you worry—I'll manage the people just fine. Well then..."
"Suyeok! Come back safe!"
"Yeah. Have fun with Cecilia."
Dobby was the last to cross through the portal. Now all that remained was to find the Sky Whales in the Reveron Mountain Range.
I ran without pause until I reached the foothills of the range. As I crossed into the mountains, I drew the Sky Whale's orb out of the mimic.
So do I just use it right here?
I had no real grasp of how the orb worked. How many Sky Whales could it control at once? Would they simply come if I called from nearby? I had no answers. All I knew was that it activated when I fed mana into it.
Better to wait until I've actually found a Sky Whale, just in case.
If I started using it now and the whales neither came nor could be found, I'd be in serious trouble. Using it after locating one was the sensible choice. Besides, this was their habitat—it shouldn't take long.
With my eyes on the sky, I began scaling the mountains in a sprint.
Thirty minutes or so had passed when—
Huh?
I spotted a Sky Whale beyond a mountain ridge. In all my time since entering the 35th floor, I hadn't seen a single one—so this was why they called the Reveron Mountain Range the Sky Whales' home.
Setting my awe aside, I immediately activated the orb.
"Uwooooooh—!"
With a majestic, otherworldly cry, the Sky Whale abruptly swung its head in my direction, as if answering the orb's call. They'd said it would let me command the creature freely. So did I just issue orders in my head?
Come this way and carry me.
The moment I thought it while channeling mana into the orb, the Sky Whale drew toward me. I'd felt it on the 32nd floor too, but seeing one up close like this was something else entirely.
Soon the Sky Whale bowed its head exactly as I willed. I stepped off empty air, leapt, and landed on its head.
Okay, this should be safe enough, right?
There was nothing up here to grab onto. Not that I could jam a weapon into the whale's body and use it as a handhold. Still, with my superhuman physical senses, I figured I could manage. I'd just have to adapt as I went.
"Take me to your friends."
I had no idea whether I could control one whale or many, after all. Frankly, the exact number didn't matter much—but the more the merrier. A dozen was better than one.
"Uwooooong—!"
Whether it understood my command or not, the Sky Whale shot steeply upward. The sudden tilt threw off my balance, and I slipped.
"Whoa!"
Half-skidding down the whale's back, I barely managed to kick off empty air and right myself.
"H-hey, careful! Don't drop me!"
"Uwoooooooh—!"
The whale let out a cry that sounded suspiciously like acknowledgment. This thing—the elves' sacred beast, really? It had the look of one, but its behavior suggested otherwise. Even a fine warhorse would steady itself to keep its rider from falling.
While I grumbled, the Sky Whale wheeled its head through the open sky.
Still, I'm adapting little by little.
There was nothing to shield me from the wind as it hammered my whole body. It was far from comfortable, but I could endure it. I only needed to bear it for a short while, anyway.
Cruising through the open heavens, I activated the Sky Whale's orb once more. Since I was already using it, I figured I'd test whether I could call the whales farther off as well.
And the Sky Whales nearby, to me—
"Uwooooong—"
"Uwoooooooooh—!"
The instant my will projected outward, majestic cries echoed from every ridge of the mountain range. Seriously? All that trouble I went through searching for them, for nothing?
Before even twenty minutes had passed, Sky Whales came flocking in around me. Eleven in total. I could probably have gathered more, but this felt like plenty, so I stopped there.
And so I set out for Loren Plain with eleven Sky Whales in tow. This time, though, I wasn't riding on one's head.
My perch was inside the mouth of the whale at the center of the formation. Whales don't brush their teeth, so it was fairly filthy in there—but thankfully, the creature was dotted with little pockets of air, like tiny oxygen tanks.
Riding inside the mouth means it can move at full speed, too.
When I told it to hurry, the whale moved faster than the airship I'd arrived on. At this pace, we'd reach Loren Plain in no time.
Before long, we were there.
Through the narrow sliver of vision between the whale's slightly parted jaws, I could see countless elves below—airships and combat vehicles among them. So even the elves kept nothing hidden when war was at stake.
And just as clearly as I could see them, the elves spotted us. Eleven Sky Whales gliding across the heavens—even I had to admit it was a magnificent sight.
And it's not as if wild Sky Whales living on their own could ever gather like this naturally.
The countless elves on the plain were all staring up at the sky. Just in case any of them had sharp eyes, I kept my presence suppressed to the absolute minimum despite the shadow veil.
I widened my hearing, and the elves' voices drifted up.
"Wow, I've never seen so many Sky Whales gathered in one place!"
"Are they coming this way?"
"This—it must be a sign! The Swimming Sky Sea itself blesses our war!"
Precisely the reactions I'd hoped for. That was exactly why I'd wanted to bring as many whales as I could.
And amid the astonished elves, near the center of the plain, I could make out a group of elves who looked important. Beside Roxanne and several others stood an elf with hair that gleamed gold. Heejung had briefed me on her appearance, so I recognized the leader of the Elf Coalition at a glance.
I no longer needed the view. I sealed the whale's slightly opened mouth shut again.
"Alright, let's go in."
I whispered to the Sky Whales. They glided gently toward the leader of the Elf Coalition, while below, joyful elven voices rang out—something about the acknowledgment of the Sky Sea.
I projected my will through the orb: open wide when we reached her.
"Oh! Before Lady Delina herself!"
"The Sky Sea blesses Lady Delina!"
The elves' ecstatic voices told me the leader was directly ahead. Slowly, the Sky Whale's mouth began to part.
I burst out in a flash of Lightning Step.
However attuned to the Spirit King these elves might be, no one could react to something happening right in front of their alliance's leader.
An instant.
I spun the leader around, tucked her into my arm, and pressed my dagger to her throat. The surrounding elves drew their weapons a beat too late—their leader was already in my grasp. I released Lightning Step.
"Drop your weapons! Unless you want to watch your leader die!"