Yes, I did all of this!

When she reappeared, she was at the whale's wound, holding a katana and forcefully stabbing at the rapidly healing wound.

Boom—

A thunderous roar erupted, and white lightning covered the whale's entire body. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the lightning was entirely focused on the whale, without any leakage, imbued with intense emotion.

"—Huh!"

Sensing the power contained in the attack, the orca struggled violently, letting out its first cry of pain.

. . . . . .

boom--

Meanwhile, on the other side, Duanmu Mo, who was being attacked by giant whales and was in a somewhat disheveled state, suddenly saw them stop moving and make a struggling expression.

"Oh? Judging from this situation..."

Duanmu Mo himself certainly didn't do anything, so considering he has multiple clones, it means someone somewhere in the present has done something to him...

The image of those magical girls flashed through his eyes, and Duanmu Mo chuckled:

"Well done."

Ignoring the whale's current situation, Duanmu Mo started his motorcycle and seized the opportunity to accelerate away in the distance.

Numerous black vortexes formed a road beneath the motorcycle, and Duanmu Mo's motorcycle, crackling with lightning, swiftly moved away from the pod of giant whales.

...And at this very moment, in the giant whale's mind, a sincere yet helpless voice softly resounded:

If the future comes, please be able to say to those people—I'm sorry.

Although it didn't understand what this meant, an instinct arose within it, telling it that in this deep sea there were not only enemies it wanted to tear apart, but also everyone who could help it.

They are not enemies, but allies.

companion......

The whale's eyes calmed down, and it stopped struggling.

Cangyi also drew his katana and stood up, allowing Huangyi to take control of his body again.

"Ugh..."

A peaceful voice rang out, and the giant whale looked at them, swimming around these magical girls.

"Is this all we can do?" Cangyi's body appeared beside him, his tone regretful yet already accustomed to it.

"What does this mean? What's going on?" Huangyi looked at her, nervously staring at the giant whale beneath his feet.

"The orca in this ocean is the incarnation of a magical girl. In the distant past, for some unknown reason, she chose to close herself off, but her power did not dissipate. Instead, the magical girl who created this sealed space brought her here, and she transformed into an orca to hunt down anything that tried to cross this place."

Cangyi raised his hand and stroked its dorsal fin, his tone tinged with pity:

"Now, if we can fully awaken it, our path forward will be completely unobstructed; if not, it will remain as it is now."

With a sigh, Cangyi's voice carried a clear sense of regret:

"It seems I was too greedy. It's impossible to wake her up so easily."

Listening to Cangyi's words, Huangyi could sense that as long as the whale could regain its sense of self, the magical girls would be invincible.

"What's going on? You mean even now we haven't managed to wake it up? And how can it help us now?"

Clutching her stomach, Xi Ri floated back with difficulty and spoke after hearing Cang Yi's words.

"Only by making it truly face its past can it be considered a real magical girl; otherwise, it will only be a killer whale wandering alone in the endless sea."

Cangyi stood up, looked at everyone, and said, "As for now, as long as we are near this sea area, it can help us, and your lives will be protected by it."

"So what exactly should we do?" Lingyin asked.

Without directly answering her question, Cangyi slowly floated to the front of the giant whale and said:

"Cangyuan, how are you feeling?"

"Ugh—"

A gentle voice came from the orca she called Cangyuan, and its gaze toward Cangyi was full of tolerance and care.

"That's good. We need you to take us away from this sea area. The seal is a little deeper ahead."

"Ugh..."

The orca's expression changed slightly, and it gently shook its head, its eyes conveying a sense of dissuasion.

“I know you’re insistent, but Cangyuan, we’re here to deal with the strange people, and we won’t venture in recklessly. You can cast a protective spell on them to prevent them from being in mortal danger.”

—Under Cangyi's words, the orca did not show any strong attitude at all. After trying to persuade him a little and finding it useless, it nodded helplessly.

Instantly, the magical girls, including Huangyi, felt a membrane appear on their bodies. Although they couldn't feel its purpose, they instinctively felt a sense of security rising from their hearts.

"Alright, with it here, you don't need to worry."

Cangyi looked at the crowd, and then the giant whale let out a long roar, attracting her attention:

"This sound... Grab its dorsal fin, and it will carry you away."

"Ah, okay!"

The group reacted quickly and grabbed the orca's dorsal fin.

The next moment, the orca swam quickly, carrying the four people straight into the distance.

In this deep ocean, even though nothing can be seen, one can sense that the whale's speed is gradually increasing, and it is still accelerating.

. . . . . .

boom--

Driven by instinct, Duanmu Mo rushed toward the space in front of him.

It was still the same sea, but the scenery had become distorted, causing him to feel slightly confused.

Even so, Duanmu Mo did not stop the motorcycle. He looked down at the electronic screen on the motorcycle, where a compass-like structure was slightly swaying.

“Your home is just ahead, right?”

Despite the dizziness in his head, Duanmu Mo let out a mocking laugh.

He was speaking to this motorcycle, or rather, to the former Aragami.

Although that guy was tricked by Duanmu Mo and died in the end, all his power went into this card, including his consciousness.

Of course, there won't be any scenes of him being resurrected by using cards. After merging with the ferocious beast Black Knight, Ara-yu's consciousness has become something like an AI.

It can be used to transform into other forms to assist in combat, or it can be used to guide the way.

Right now, Duanmu Mo is using the remnants of Huang Yu's consciousness to search for a way to leave this sea and head to the true sealed land.

Having lived here for over a thousand years, it would be difficult for Huang Yu not to remember clearly. So, in this pitch-black sea, it carried Duanmu Mo towards his familiar and warm home.

Chapter 282: Mental Space

boo——

A strange sound rang out, like the sound of bubbles bursting, and the surrounding scenery rippled. Duanmu Mo suddenly felt dizzy and his vision went black.

He regained his senses the next moment, and the eyes on Duanmu Mo's helmet glowed red as he realized he had appeared...

—In the air of a painting?

Here, it resembles an abstract city and streets printed in woodblock print, while in the distance, it's a field depicted in oil painting, next to which are the giant spheres and cylinders with shadows most commonly seen in sketches...

Different painting styles were awkwardly pieced together, creating an absurd and eerie atmosphere.

"What the hell is that?"

Gripping the handlebars tightly, Duanmu Mo maintained his balance, his body instantly prepared to withstand the impact.

boom!

With a loud bang, Duanmu Mo rode his motorcycle into the black and white print city, leaving a deep black shockwave in his wake.

Without moving forward, Duanmu Mo felt that he had indeed left the territory of the orca, but what was this abstract area all about?

"If this is what the sealed area looks like, it's far beyond my expectations. I thought it was some kind of hell where bones were scattered everywhere and no light could be seen."

After leaving the motorcycle, Duanmu Mo walked to the wall of the street and stroked the dark building that revealed no light whatsoever.

Printmaking, roughly speaking, can be considered as an artwork created by carving on a plate and then printing it onto paper.

"The art style feels different now."

Strolling through the city, motorcycles disappearing into the shadows, Duanmu Mo's tone was a mix of frustration and curiosity.

However, although the city has the style of a print, it is not simply frozen in time like a painting.

—Because in this city still live frozen people, some whose clothes are blurred, whose features are blurred...

Their, or rather their body outlines, are very distinct, as if a thick line outlines their bodies. No matter which angle you look at them from, you can see the lines of their body edges, constantly reminding Duanmu Mo that he is currently painting.

Although these people with blurred facial features made movements such as running and walking, they remained fixed in place, as if time had stood still.

Even without doing anything, their presence added a chilling atmosphere to these eerie spaces, subtly increasing people's fear—if Duanmu Mo really was an ordinary person.

After leaving printmaking, Duanmu Mo turned to sketching.

The light came from who-knows-where. After leaving the urban area, all that remained were shapes like spheres and triangles, which are often seen in sketches.

These things have distinct shadows, and even the light and shadow on Duanmu Mo himself have the color of a sketch.

However, the area was incredibly vast and empty, and the enormous shapes and common sketching style made one feel extremely small.

But for some reason, there was a distinct aura of strange people all around, yet nothing could be seen.

"What's going on here? Why isn't there a single person around?"

Duanmu Mo exhaled, jumped high into the air, and easily landed on the towering pillar.

He looked around, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

"Oh? That's..."

—In the distant city, five figures appeared just like Duanmu Mo had just appeared, but unlike him, they did not fall from the sky, but appeared directly on the ground.

"...Um, I feel a little dizzy."

"Don't worry about the aftereffects of officially entering the seal."