Debuff Master-Chapter 1061

Chapter 1061
Siegfried and Shakiro flew toward the sperm whale.
The whale was so massive that it seemed to be at least thirty meters long and weighed more than seventy tons.
In most cases, even a large sperm whale would top around twenty meters, but this one was clearly not an ordinary one, judging purely from its size.
However, it did not matter whether this was a normal sperm whale or an extraordinary one.
‘
A whale is just a whale,’
Siegfried thought.
He did not think capturing a sperm whale would be all that difficult.
Why?
It was all because a whale was just a whale, no matter how big it was. It was not a silver dragon, sea serpent, or a kraken, so how difficult would it be to take it down?
All they had to do was get on the whale’s back and pull out Michael’s wing.
It was that simple.
“I’ll go,” Shakiro said.
He decided there was no need for Siegfried to get involved, as he could easily retrieve the wing by himself.
With that, he dove straight for the whale’s back, but...
Fwoosh!
Shakiro was struck by a water cannon that came out of nowhere, and he was blasted away.
He crashed into the ocean with a loud
splash.
“
Huh?
” Siegfried muttered, flustered by what he saw.
Anyone would brush it off as a simple mishap and think that Shakiro had let his guard down, but that was not the case at all.
The force, angle, and velocity of the water cannon launched from the whale looked like it could punch through steel.
‘
Hold on. That’s not some ordinary whale, is it?’
With that thought, Siegfried flashed his Rune of Insight to scan the whale.
[Prince of the Sea: Albion]
[A legendary sperm whale.]
[It is infamous for occasionally appearing to stir up trouble that would be considered to be the stuff of legends, only to vanish again soon after.]
[It seems to be hiding some sort of secret.]
[Type: Neutral Creature]
[Species: Whale]
[Class: Marine Prince]
[Level: 430]
[Affiliation: Unknown]
[Note 1: Albion is an extremely intelligent sperm whale.]
[Note 2: Countless hunters have been humiliated after attempting to hunt this creature.]
[Warning: Do not engage recklessly.]
“What?!”
Siegfried was dumbfounded to see that the massive whale had a whopping Level 430.
It was not even classified as a monster, and yet its level was absurdly high. At that level, even most monsters would probably bow their heads.
‘
Wait a second. Is that thing considered a sea monster too?’
Siegfried wondered as he opened his inventory and pulled out a green rope.
[Brainwashing Tortoise Rope]
[The legendary rope used by Pirate King Freydlief during his lifetime to subdue and tame sea creatures.]
[It is crafted from the Deep Sea Kelp, an extremely rare plant that only grows in small quantities around the Green Isles.]
[This rope boasts unmatched durability and binding capabilities against sea creatures.]
[Type: Rope]
[Rating: Legendary]
[Durability: 674/1,000]
[Attack Power: 0]
[Effects: +1,000% binding strength against sea creatures, 100% success rate for brainwashing when successfully capturing a sea creature]
Siegfried could tame sea monsters with ease using the Brainwashing Tortoise Rope.
The green rope was one of the things he obtained after inheriting the Pirate King’s Legacy.
[Pirate King]
[I am the Pirate King!]
[A prestigious title bestowed upon the one who ascends as the ruler of the Green Isles, following in the footsteps of Pirate King Freydlief after centuries.]
[This title carries the weight of Freydlief’s dream of establishing a powerful maritime kingdom rather than as a mere leader of pirates.]
[Type: Title]
[Rating: Legendary]
[Effects: Authority over the Green Isles, Control of the High-Speed Sea Route Passage, +25% to all stats while at sea, +200% respect from all pirates, +500% affinity with sea monsters]
Thanks to the title, Siegfried also had an extremely high affinity with sea monsters. In fact, he was already a seasoned tamer commanding countless sea monsters.
‘
Let’s try befriending it first,’
Siegfried decided not to pick a fight right away and opted to talk things out with the whale instead.
He figured there was no need to provoke it unnecessarily.
“
Erm...
Excuse me? Can we talk for a second? I have something I want to discuss with you,” Siegfried said as he carefully approached the whale.
And then, something incredible happened.
“
Fuck off, dipshit.”
The sperm whale, Albion, suddenly responded by cursing telepathically straight into Siegfried’s mind.
***
Siegfried doubted the voice he suddenly heard in his mind.
‘
Did he just tell me to fuck off...?’
Sea creatures couldn’t speak human languages. They could understand to some extent, but it was nearly impossible for them to have an actual conversation.
“Nah, there’s no way you just said that—”
“
I told you to fuck off.”
“W-Wha—?!”
“
Who the fuck do you think you are? You dare try to talk to me, dipshit?”
To Siegfried’s shock, the sperm whale named Albion spoke in his mind once again through telepathy—in clear human language. Not only that, it cussed him out so coarsely that most humans couldn’t compare.
“Wait, hold up. I’m trying to talk to you, yet you’re giving me that attitude?” Siegfried grumbled, narrowing his eyes and glaring.
“What’s wrong with my attitude, dipshit?”
“Who the hell curses from the start?! That’s just wrong!”
“Don’t worry about what’s wrong or right. That’s my business.”
“W-What...?”
“Some lunatic suddenly tries to chat with me, and you expect me to be nice and not swear?”
“Did you just call me a lunatic...?”
“
Let’s be honest. What kind of deranged moron tries to talk to a sperm whale?”
“T-That’s...”
Siegfried couldn’t come up with anything to say.
Why? Because Albion had a point.
A human trying to talk to a sperm whale was, in fact, quite bizarre.
But that only lasted a second.
“H-Hold on a second! I just want to talk! Don’t make me look like some crazy guy!” Siegfried suddenly raised his voice after realizing he was being played for a fool by the whale.
“And what if I don’t want to?”
“Come on! Just talk to me for a minute!”
“Nope. Fuck off, dipshit.”
The conversation was indeed bizarre.
Siegfried possessed the title of Pirate King, which increased his affinity with all sea creatures.
However, it seemed like the title’s effect wasn't working on Albion.
‘
Damn it... Do I really have to waste my time having a throw down with a damn whale?’
Siegfried grumbled inwardly, gripping the green rope at his waist without even realizing it.
If push came to shove, he was prepared to subdue Albion by force.
“All I need is that wing stuck in your back. That’s all,” Siegfried explained. Then, he added firmly, “If you hand it over peacefully, I will—”
“
Nope.”
“...Excuse me?”
“I actually kinda like this thing. It’s packed with powerful energy, so I’m not giving it to you.”
Albion flatly rejected Siegfried’s offer.
“Also, can you stop interrupting my sunbathing and get lost? I’ve already got barnacles and parasites clinging to my back, and they’re driving me insane.”
Thwack!
Something snapped in Siegfried’s mind.
“This damn fish is acting so high and mighty to me...?” Siegfried muttered under his breath. He tried to be polite and explained himself reasonably, but the sperm whale not only refused but also treated him with blatant disrespect.
Kwachik!
Siegfried tightly gripped the Brainwashing Tortoise Rope, veins bulging on his hand.
This damned overgrown arrogant lump of meat claiming to be the Prince of the Sea was clearly not interested in resolving things in a peaceful and diplomatic manner.
In other words, Siegfried had no other choice but to resort to violence.
***
Thus, the whale hunt began.
“
Oh? Are you picking a fight with—”
Albion sent a telepathic message, sounding amused by the hostility Siegfried was suddenly showing, but before he could finish his words—
Shwiiiik!
The Brainwashing Tortoise Rope lashed out, flying straight toward the sperm whale.
“
You dare!”
Albion roared in anger.
Powerful water cannons shot upward.
Shwaaaa!
Albion unleashed not just one, but dozens of water cannons at once. He meticulously controlled them, and the Brainwashing Tortoise Rope that Siegfried had thrown was blasted far into the distance.
As expected, the sperm whale was no pushover.
“So that’s how you wanna play it?” Siegfried said, using Flying Sword to retrieve the rope that had flown off into the distance. Then, he transformed his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp into a trident over three meters long and muttered, “I guess I’m going whale hunting today.”
And with that, the battle between Siegfried and Albion began.
Fwoosh!
Siegfried summoned aura blades in the form of spears and rained them down on Albion.
‘
I’m not letting you get away without handing that wing over to me,’
Siegfried thought as he cast Embrace of Despair.
But then—
Wooong!
The wing embedded in Albion’s back began to emit a radiant glow. The divine light started pushing back against the Embrace of Despair, resisting the debilitating slowing debuff aura that closed in on the sperm whale.
“
Are you picking a fight with me?”
The Prince of the Sea, Albion, was not about to just sit there and take a one-sided beating.
Shwaaaa!
He unleashed yet another barrage of water cannons that shot straight at Siegfried.
‘
Shit!’
Siegfried weaved through the torrent of water cannons while summoning more aura blades, attacking Albion from a distance.
“I’ll help!”
Shakiro joined the battle, summoning aura blades and raining down a storm of light blades on Albion.
In just a few seconds, Albion’s back was drenched in blood. Countless aura blades made of spears and swords were embedded into his hide, turning him into a grotesque creature that resembled a sea urchin.
Not only that, even the surrounding seawater turned crimson red from Albion’s blood.
However, Albion seemed to have received only minimal damage.
[Prince of the Sea: Albion]
[HP: ■■■■■■■■■□]
Albion’s hide was so tough and his blubber was so thick that the aura blades couldn’t inflict any serious damage to him.
‘
I’ll just have to turn his back into a damn pincushion,’
Siegfried thought.
He suddenly dove straight down while continuing to weave through the torrent of water cannons. He was going to climb onto Albion’s back and attack from point-blank range.
Albion, of course, knew what he was trying to do.
“
Oh no, you don’t!”
Rumble!
A deafening shockwave burst forth, slamming into Siegfried and Shakiro.
Wiiiiing!
Siegfried’s ears rang, and he was deafened. For a moment, it felt like he had gone completely deaf, as a sharp pain pierced his eardrums, making him feel as if stakes were pounding it.
“
This isn’t over!”
Albion’s voice rang in both Siegfried and Shakiro’s minds before the whale dove beneath the sea.
For a sperm whale like Albion, fighting on the surface was a stark disadvantage, so it was only natural that he would retreat into the deep.
“That son of a whale!” Siegfried raged as the sperm whale vanished into the depths of the waters.
“What do we do now, Siegfried?!” Shakiro turned to him and yelled.
“We have to chase him down!” Siegfried shouted right back before diving into the water.
There was no way Siegfried was going to let Albion escape like this, as the wing embedded in the sperm whale’s back was the only thing that could save Michael’s life.
There were other wings scattered throughout the continent, but they couldn’t track them down at the moment. Michael was still unconscious, after all. In other words, that one wing lodged in Albion’s back was all they had. They had no other leads or options, and neither did they have the time to search.
This meant that even though Siegfried knew that fighting a colossal sperm whale like Albion underwater would put him at a stark disadvantage, he had no other choice but to dive into the waters.
Right now, he had no other choice but to chase Albion, even if he had to chase the whale to the depths of the abyss.