On Official Duty with My Tower Master Ex-Boyfriend - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 72
“Vivian?”
I’d been staring down at something when Cade called out, puzzled by my silence.
I shook my head as if it were nothing and stepped closer to the Crystal Whale.
The creature was so enormous that simply standing before it felt overwhelming.
Cautiously, I used my Attunement Ability to assess the creature’s condition.
It was exhausted from repeated agony, but fortunately, proper rest would ensure its survival.
“The Crystal Whale will be all right. Once it returns to the sea, the other Crystal Whales will help it heal.”
I was about to withdraw my hand, which I’d extended toward it, when—
Splash!
Something like a sea anemone erupted from the seawater where the Crystal Whale was half-submerged, wrapping around my wrist.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Vivian!”
Cade swung his hand toward the sea in alarm.
The tentacle that had been pulling my wrist underwater was severed and fell away, and the monster beast that had been lurking in the depths shot up into the air.
“…?”
Cade, who seemed about to annihilate the creature, froze.
I also stepped back, rubbing my throbbing wrist, startled by the grotesque thing before me—the first of its kind I’d ever seen.
One half was a hideously twisted monster beast; the other half was a perfectly ordinary sea turtle.
“What… what happened? I’ve never seen a monster beast like that.”
“Neither have I.”
Eyes narrowed, Cade scanned the water’s surface and made something else float up.
It was a Black Crystal that the maids had discarded into the sea.
From the jagged crack in that dark crystal, tainted magical power leaked out and was absorbed by the grotesquely-formed creature.
At that, even the half that had been a normal sea turtle began to bubble and roil as if boiling, twisting violently until it, too, became a complete monster beast.
The distinctive, slimy sensation that emanated from it—and the magical power itself—were identical to what I’d sensed before.
“This… this can’t be real.”
The monster beast shrieked with a grotesque cry and lashed out with anemone-like tentacles, but Cade’s magic severed every one.
“This crystal is corrupted by Dark Magic.”
Cade examined the crystal he’d salvaged from the sea, then laughed bitterly, shaking his head.
“I can’t believe it. They were creating monster beasts? And yet all that talk about monster subjugation units…”
“So monsters… are made like this? Ordinary sea creatures just… transforming into beasts?”
I’d heard that Dark Magic required living sacrifice, but what use were crystals for such a thing?
How could the pristine crystal of a Crystal Whale become so terribly tainted with magical power that it could transform innocent sea creatures into monsters?
I felt dizzy with shock upon shock.
Now that I understood what the monsters were, I could hardly bear to look at the sea turtle creature floating before me.
“Cade. There’s no way to turn the turtle back to normal? It looks so tormented.”
“I’m afraid not. If you can’t bear to watch, close your eyes.”
…
But I could no longer turn away from the suffering of these magical beasts and animals.
I watched as Cade ended the sea turtle creature’s life.
The thought that all the sea monsters I’d witnessed had been created by humans in this very way was horrifying.
Without thinking, I rubbed my wrist where the monster had attacked me, and Cade grabbed my hand to stop me.
“Don’t touch it. If that dark mark spreads, it’ll take even longer to heal. I’ll give you a cure once we’re back at the Magic Tower.”
With that, he fished the dark crystals floating on the surface out of the water, placed them haphazardly in a box, and approached the Crystal Whale.
At my request, he spent a long while working to dissolve the barrier holding it.
He turned to me, his expression frustrated.
“I’ve nearly finished breaking the barrier, but this creature’s magical power is thrashing about so wildly that I can’t complete it. It’s rejecting all my magic.”
“Let me try.”
I shook off my aching wrist and stepped toward the Crystal Whale.
I could no longer avert my eyes from this vast being as though it made me uncomfortable.
The Crystal Whale seemed more agitated because of the corrupted crystal and the monster beast, but it wasn’t simply thrashing about in frenzy.
It appeared to be trying to control its own magical power, but the anesthetic the Head Maid had administered, combined with lingering pain, made restraint impossible.
I hesitated, then pressed my palm against the Crystal Whale.
Its skin was covered in rough scars where new wounds had formed before old ones could heal, the cycle repeating endlessly.
“Calm down. I’m going to free you now.”
I extended my Attunement Ability with more delicacy than ever, mindful not to startle a creature that had already endured so much pain and trauma.
The Crystal Whale accepted my empathic resonance with remarkable fluidity.
There was no resistance at all—instead, it sang out a long, deep cry as though it had been waiting for me.
“It was this Crystal Whale that trapped me in Melgote.”
Cade stepped closer at my words, surprise crossing his face.
“From the day I first visited the 2nd Princess’s estate, it had been waiting for me. Sending out distress signals, begging me to save it.”
…
Cade remained silently at my side, whether or not he sensed the weight of guilt bearing down on me.
As I shared this empathic resonance, the Crystal Whale gradually calmed.
Its clear magical power rolled over me like a gentle wave, and it flowed across my wound.
At first, I startled and tried to pull away, but I felt that it meant me no harm and remained still.
The sharp pain in the wound began to fade, and the dark marks were becoming lighter.
“…Are you healing me?”
I asked in bewilderment, and it responded by sending its pleasant magical power forward once more.
It must have felt how uncomfortable I’d been with its presence.
And yet, despite that, it was only comforting and soothing me—embracing even me.
[――――.]
At that moment, the Crystal Whale sang a long cry that felt different from anything before.
“…!”
A flood of images I’d never seen before poured into my mind.
Parchments inscribed with ancient script, scattered throughout; geometric figures of indecipherable meaning.
A cascade of enigmatic visions seemed to sear themselves into the depths of my memory.
“Vivian. There are many secrets hidden within the sea.”
My father’s voice echoed like a phantom sound.
“Vivian…”
“Vivian. Wake up. Vivian!”
“Gasp…!”
I opened my eyes—eyes I hadn’t even known I’d closed—and found myself lying on the ground, with Cade looking down at me.
“You swayed suddenly and collapsed. Are you all right?”
“I… I’m fine.”
The moment I pushed myself up, he quietly stepped back, putting distance between us.
“Why are you doing that?”
“I’m not sure. Strange images suddenly flooded in…”
I shook off the confusion and met the gaze of the Crystal Whale watching me.
‘What did you show me? What was all of that?’
Too many images had poured in at once, and I’d blacked out as though overloaded. Now there was no dizziness; I felt perfectly fine.
Just as I had attuned to the Crystal Whale, it had attuned to me.
I pressed my hand to my chest in surprise.
I felt the collision of the barrier that had been binding me fade away, as if its purpose had been fulfilled.
“…Cade. Release the Crystal Whale now. It will stay calm while you dissolve the barrier completely.”
“You’re… really sure you’re all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
Cade eyed me dubiously for a moment, then approached the Crystal Whale.
He said the finishing work would be quick, and indeed, freeing the creature from its bonds took no time at all.
[―――――.]
The Crystal Whale let out a deep, resonant cry that made the tunnel hum, and then it slipped silently into the depths of the sea.
‘Live well. Be healthy. Please.’
I wished with all my heart that the Crystal Whale would be free to roam the sea unharmed and never suffer at human hands again.
Cade and I stood together in silence, watching the water’s surface where the creature had vanished.
By the time the ripples had stilled,
[Beep! Squeak. Squeak-squeak…]
Tris, who had been quiet the whole time, began scratching at the wall and whimpering.
“Oh! The Dark Wizard is coming out through the door over there!”
I pointed to the wall Tris was clawing at.
Though it appeared to be just an ordinary wall at that moment, when Cade touched it with his magical power, a door shimmered into view.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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