Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Chapter 20 - Clairheim Morr
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“It really showed up!”
[It’s not my fault!]
[B-But maybe our words jinxed it?]
In any case, this wasn’t the time for chit-chat.
The massive tentacles that had risen from both sides of the sailing ship stood straight up like pillars before crashing down toward the deck.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
The railings shattered, and the entire ship shook violently.
These tentacles were far thicker than logs, and even the length visible above the water was at least 20 meters. Their destructive power was truly immense.
Luther equipped his nanosuit and shouted.
“Integra! Weapons!”
[Fetching them now!]
The drone that had shot up into the sky came rocketing back down toward the cabin.
And at the same moment, the tentacles that had struck the deck began to rise straight up again.
They cast dark shadows as they surged, resembling a temple.
“Run!”
“Kyaa!”
The passengers on deck screamed and scattered.
Already, during the first attack, a good number had fallen into the sea.
[Master! Does a kraken appear in the original story too?]
It did appear.
But not at this point in time, not at this location!
[Incoming!]
-Kaboom!
The second attack poured down.
The deck shuddered as the ship rocked heavily, and passengers fleeing to the cabins lost their balance, tumbling into the sea or getting smashed by tentacles with agonized screams.
But it was right then.
“Fire!”
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was cannon fire.
Shells launched from both sides of the ship pummeled the upright tentacles.
[Master! It seems effective!]
It really was. The tentacles hit by the shells retreated below the surface like they were fleeing.
But Luther didn’t let his guard down.
A kraken wouldn’t be repelled so easily.
It’s coming.
Coming again.
This time—
-Kaboom!
A massive roar erupted from inside the ship.
This wasn’t cannon fire.
It was the sound of tentacles slowly climbing the hull before burrowing through the gunports and windows all at once.
“Argh!”
“Save me!”
Screams and explosions echoed nonstop from below deck.
And tentacles appeared on the deck again.
Sailors tasked with guarding the ship climbed up with harpoons and spears, but these weren’t tentacles they could fend off with such weapons.
The sailors had managed to get onto the deck, but they trembled in place, not knowing what to do.
“F-Fire, fire!”
The ship’s interior was already being ravaged by tentacles.
The apparent commander shouted at the tentacles poised to crash down any second, and the sailors began firing harpoons with desperate faces.
The targets were so large that nearly all hit, but that was it.
If anything, it seemed to enrage them further. Instead of crashing down all at once, the tentacles rained down like a bombing run.
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Argh!”
Roars and screams mixed into pandemonium.
The ship rocked violently again, and the shadow of a massive tentacle loomed over Luther’s head.
[Master! It’s here!]
Right then, the Chain Axe, merged with the drone, flew toward Luther.
[A man’s dream! Launching!]
[Access code! Chain Axe!]
-Vroom!
The Chain Axe’s blade began spinning with a hearty engine roar.
Luther snatched the Chain Axe from midair and leaped, cleaving the tentacle right in front of him.
-Thud!
The tentacle hit the deck and writhed.
The sailors’ eyes locked onto Luther, and he immediately launched himself at a second tentacle.
[Spin! Whirlwind!]
It wasn’t a technique name he wanted to acknowledge, but it was straightforward.
The Chain Axe spun 360 degrees in midair and sliced through the tentacle in one go.
“Oooo!”
The sailors cheered at Luther’s feat.
But it was too early to celebrate.
-Krrrrunch!
An ominous sound rang out, and the ship lurched again.
Luther crouched low and peered below deck.
Integra said.
[The kraken seems to have changed tactics.]
[It’s trying to snap the keel in two!]
An image flashed in Luther’s mind of tentacles thrashing inside the ship.
It was the view from the drone, which had re-entered the cabin right after handing off the Chain Axe.
What to do.
Should he head inside and cut down the tentacles?
But right then—
[Master! Another massive life signal is approaching!]
“What?!”
Luther reflexively looked up.
Something enormous was moving at high speed just below the surface.
-Kaboom!
A tremendous roar exploded from underwater, shaking the ship badly.
But this was different from before.
The ship hadn’t been hit directly. This vibration was just the aftermath.
[The kraken is retreating from the ship!]
It wasn’t a lie.
The tentacles ravaging the interior vanished.
Something had clearly attacked the kraken after approaching at high speed.
So what was it?
A sea dragon?
A dragon, maybe?
[Master! Sharing visual!]
Luther closed his eyes immediately.
The drone, now submerged, captured the being battling the kraken.
Pure white scales covered its body, with four legs ending in sharp claws.
Smaller than the kraken but far more aggressive.
“Trigon!”
Among sea-dwelling wyrms, it ranked in the top tier alongside serpents.
Its combat prowess was exceptional, and young krakens like this often couldn’t stand against it.
[Master! Is it on our side?!]
[Like those good monsters in kaiju flicks!]
Integra’s voice held a hint of excitement, but Luther couldn’t answer lightly.
Trigon was a malevolent sea wyrm, like Jogres.
But there were no absolutes in the world.
The sailors seemed to think the same; as the trigon surfaced after driving off the kraken, some even clasped their hands in prayer.
The trigon looked down at them.
Its draconic gaze carried a majestic air, much like the kraken’s tentacles had.
A few more sailors dropped to their knees in prayer.
And then the trigon opened its massive maw.
“Get away!”
“Gaaah!”
Screams followed Luther’s shout.
Sailors drenched in the thick purple acidic spray from the trigon’s mouth began melting alive.
“Kyaaak!”
“Run!”
“Fire! Drive it off!”
A cacophony of noises erupted.
The trigon hadn’t chased off the kraken to save people.
It had simply fought over prey.
“Kiaaa!”
The trigon’s roar made everyone on deck—and even inside the ship—collapse screaming.
Luther alone was fine, thanks to noise cancellation.
[No! There’s one more!]
It was Ash.
Her black hair whipping as she soared onto the deck.
And Luther realized.
This wasn’t her usual self.
Here was the Executor Ash of the Holy Knight Order.
The pure white halo shining above her head was proof.
“Barrier!”
Ash thrust out both hands with a shout, and a translucent golden barrier rose over the deck.
“Kia!”
The trigon recoiled as if the barrier’s light itself repelled it, spewing acid repeatedly, but it was futile.
Even acid that melted people alive couldn’t pierce the barrier.
[Is that the power of the stigmata?]
The unique superpowers held by the Holy Knight Order’s fourteen Executors.
Luther nodded and extended his right arm.
With Ash’s barrier up, his role wasn’t defense—it was offense.
“Integra! Buster Cannon!”
[But won’t the barrier break?]
No.
The cheat-like nature of Ash’s barrier wasn’t just its durability. Attacks could pass out from inside.
[Got it!]
[Combine sequence!]
[Access code! Buster Cannon!]
Not just the backpack—the Chain Axe and drone merged with Luther’s right arm, forming a massive barrel.
Bracing his feet like supports, Luther fired the Buster Cannon straight at the trigon.
-Kaboom!
The attack was a pillar of light if anything, startling Ash—who was maintaining the barrier—into turning toward Luther.
The light pierced the barrier and slammed into the trigon’s chest. Stunned by the unexpected power, the trigon screeched, twisted, and dove below the surface.
“Ooo! Ooooo!”
Sailors scattered across the deck cheered once more.
Ash turned to Luther with a shocked face, and he gave a wry smile as he lowered the barrel.
Unexpected events kept piling up, but things seemed settled for now.
But as if mocking Luther’s relief, the situation wasn’t over yet.
[Master! Watch out!]
“Huh?”
As Luther lowered the barrel and relaxed, a kraken tentacle that had silently infiltrated the cabin struck at him.
From the opposite side of the barrier—and through the interior—no help for Ash there.
“Lord Luther!”
Ash dismissed the barrier and drew her sword in a hurry, but it was too late.
The tentacle gripped Luther and vanished below deck like reverse regeneration.
-Krrrrumble-!
The tentacle clutching Luther burst out of the ship violently.
Luther’s head smacked debris and walls multiple times, and he blacked out for a moment.
[Master! Pull yourself together!]
Luther’s eyes saw the ship’s bottom.
He was underwater.
And far off, the trigon was charging.
“Fuck.”
The trigon and kraken collided, and Luther lost consciousness.
* * *
[Master, pull yourself together.]
[Master.]
[Master!]
The desperate calls roused Luther.
Integra.
Support AI.
Luther’s companion.
[Master! Are you awake?]
[Master!]
He saw a woman with white hair.
Golden eyes.
Naked as the day she was born, wearing a cold, rigid expression.
Integra’s face.
But not Integra.
The Integra Luther knew was more—
[Master!]
Luther opened his eyes.
He saw Integra.
The HUD-projected Integra.
Her hair, silver or gray depending on the light, brimmed with tears in those golden eyes.
[Are you awake?]
[Can you see me?]
[Vitals are normal now.]
[Master, please say you can see me. Okay?]
Desperate voice.
Face mixed with every emotion.
Luther exhaled.
He nodded and said.
“I see you. I see you, Integra.”
[Master.]
Integra bowed her head into Luther’s chest like collapsing, exhaling in relief.
Untouchable as a hologram, yet Luther instinctively reached for her cheek.
To wipe away her tears.
But he couldn’t touch her.
Integra smiled through tears at his gesture, lifted her head, and said.
[Master, I’m so glad you’re okay.]
[No symptoms of hypoxia.]
[Really, truly glad.]
[Do you know how worried I was?]
She poured out the words, then exhaled again in relief.
Luther gazed at her quietly before expanding his view to his surroundings.
“Where are we? No, what the hell happened?”
[The kraken and trigon fought over you.]
[Similar to how Jogres obsessed over you in the Primordial Beasts’ Forest.]
[The Twin Drive activated by the Buster Cannon seems to have provoked them.]
Sea wyrms and monsters obsessed with Energy Cubes.
‘That explains it?’
Why Luther was still alive.
If their goal was the Twin Drive’s power, it made sense they’d leave him be instead of eating him.
Unconscious, he wouldn’t have been emitting the same energy surge.
‘Like storing me in their nest for later energy release.’
Recalling events in the Primordial Beasts’ Forest and Asain Canyon, Luther nodded slowly, then turned to Integra.
“So, who won in the end?”
[The trigon.]
[This is its nest.]
[A natural underwater cave.]
The vast cavern held not just air, but light too.
Luther propped himself up further and looked around.
Junk piled everywhere like a bird’s nest, mostly ship debris.
“Do you know what happened to our ship?”
[I don’t know for sure, but it probably escaped.]
[They fought over you for quite a while.]
A silver lining in the misfortune.
Luther exhaled in relief and asked Integra again.
“What about the beast?”
[It left the nest 17 minutes and 29 seconds ago.]
[Probably hunting prey to heal its wounds.]
Now was the chance to escape.
There was airflow, so maybe a passage to the surface.
Thanks to being attacked while merged, he had the Chain Axe, backpack—everything.
“Integra, scan escape routes with the drone.”
[I already have one secured.]
[But Master, before escaping, there’s something to check.]
“Huh?”
Something to check.
Integra giggled at his question, then grew a bit serious.
[Master, I detected a Galactic Federation signal in the debris.]
[You know what that means, right?]
Underwater.
Countless shipwrecks.
A Galactic Federation signal broadcasting amid them.
A smile spread across Luther’s face.