Chapter 74
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: The Mayor and the Boat
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Kaboom!
The world flipped upside down. Precisely, the world I was riding on. Meaning, the fishing boat capsized.
My vision spun, the boundary between sky and sea crumbled, and the concept of gravity logged out for a moment.
"Uwaaack!"
"Mayor!"
Splash!
My body plunged into the surface without even a moment to savor the instant weightlessness.
Glub. Glub.
The seawater flooding my mouth was far saltier than expected. Way, way saltier.
There was no dramatic scene of flailing desperately like in the movies. Just my nose and mouth overwhelmed by saltwater, my limbs thrashing on pure survival instinct.
Ah, is this how I die? Lee Garam, the great mayor of Neo Incheon, drowned by an octopus tentacle while fishing.
I knew it. I always said the outside world is dangerous, that the bed is the only salvation.
Is foresight always proven in such tragic ways?
This is so unfair. Dying as Extra A devoured by a sea monster. What a futile, absurd end.
Without even touching the slush fund. Without ever slamming my resignation on Seria's poker face.
That was when it happened.
Squish.
Something soft enveloped me in my blurry vision.
A bizarre texture, liquid yet solid at the same time.
In an instant, my body surged fiercely above the surface.
"Pha! Cough, cough!"
Instead of the boat's hard surface, something squishy, warm, and even vibrating faintly in a rhythmic pattern.
"Mayor! You're alive!"
The captain, soaked to the bone just like me, asked from the side.
"Probably. But Captain, what are we riding right now? Is this your emergency boat? The cushioning is surprisingly good."
"Heh, well... My boat just got chomped in one bite by that monster. The emergency boat... Ah, it's floating over there."
Where the captain pointed, the shattered boat wreckage floated alongside the overturned orange rubber dinghy bobbing on the waves.
So what was this lifeline we were clinging to?
I looked up, and familiar tri-colored fur filled my view.
Nyerooong~
At least five meters long.
Nero turned her elongated body to check on me, then lazily swam.
"This... What the hell..."
Nero wasn't in her usual round loaf form but a long, streamlined body.
What was it like? A canoe? No, a banana boat?
No, this was...
"The one and only Nero-boat!"
"Wow, better ride than my boat. No engine noise, no exhaust. This is an eco-friendly hybrid boat, right?"
"True, but the fuel efficiency is kinda... She eats a lot of Churu..."
"Hey, that's just feed costs instead of fuel!"
Listen, mister. Your lifelong companion boat just got smashed to bits, and you're cracking jokes?
Even in this insane situation, trading jokes like it's nothing.
Is human adaptability this incredible?
Or have we both just collectively lost our minds?
Grrowl...
Nero sliced through the water with her utterly elegant and efficient cat-swim.
A noble paddling, leagues above doggy-paddle.
A smooth ride with vibrations. Eco-friendly purring engine full of noise.
"Mayor! Are you okay?!"
Hancia's voice came from high in the sky, far away.
Ah, asking if I'm safe.
Hmm, a philosophical question.
Floating in the middle of the sea on a Nero-boat while an S-rank monster rampages.
Does this even qualify as 'safe'?
Next to her, Jin Yeonhwa, wreathed in flames, floated with arms crossed, looking down at us.
"Hey, Lee Garam. Your cat amphibious or something?"
"Just found out myself."
"Fine. Survive on your own."
As if she'd assessed the situation, Jin Yeonhwa turned back to the Kraken.
The real battle was beginning.
"A single ray of light piercing the darkness! Your North Star, Polaris! I will defeat this evil sea monster!"
Hancia shouted her trademark entry line and charged at one of the Kraken's tentacles.
But the opponent was an S-rank monster.
If a C-rank hero's passion and grit could take down an S-rank, why have a ranking system?
Whoosh!
A massive tentacle swatted at her like a flyswatter.
"Kyaaak!"
She barely twisted away from a direct hit, but even the graze sent her flying far off.
"Urk...!"
Regaining her posture, she clasped her hands together.
"With the light of justice illuminating the darkness! Starlight Burst!"
Stellar energy condensed at her fingertips and fired.
Boom!
The beam pierced a tentacle perfectly, and it vanished into the sea with a death screech.
"I... I did it...!"
Hancia gasped for breath, smiling in joy.
A C-rank hero damaging part of an S-rank monster. A near-miraculous feat.
But her smile didn't last.
Splash!
A new tentacle, larger and uglier, sprouted from the severed stump.
"No way... Impossible...!"
Despair crept over her face.
That was when it happened.
"Out of the way, rookie."
Jin Yeonhwa muttered lazily as she passed Hancia.
She flew toward the Kraken leisurely, like strolling in a park.
Roar!
Red flames wrapped her fist.
No skill name shouted.
She just flew.
And kicked.
Crunch!
The Kraken's tentacle crumbled like tofu.
She punched.
Bam!
Two more tentacles exploded into nothingness.
"Dragon King at this level? Pathetic."
Every swing of her fist or heel smash tore tentacles apart.
That was S-rank. No, beyond it.
The world's pinnacle. The Korean Super Hero Association President's might. An off-the-charts existence.
But the Kraken wasn't pushover either.
Groooar!
The severed tentacles regenerated in seconds.
New flesh sprouted, restoring original form instantly.
"Regeneration, huh. Annoying."
This was the sea's infinite vitality. As long as it was in the ocean, the Kraken's HP was near infinite.
And the counterattack began.
The Kraken's spiky maw opened.
Seawater sucked into it.
This was... that technique from the original story.
A super-high-pressure water cannon that pierced steel. Hydro Pump-like.
"Damn! Dodge!"
Shwoooom!
Compressed seawater blasted as a high-pressure jet.
The targets: Jin Yeonhwa and Hancia in the sky.
And our drifting Nero-boat.
"Mayor!"
In that instant, Hancia blocked our front.
She spread her arms, creating a starry shield.
"Starlight Barrier!"
Boom!
The jet hit the barrier, spraying water.
"Urk...!"
A groan escaped Hancia. Her slender body shook violently.
Crack.
Cracks spread on the energy shield.
Shatter.
Hancia's barrier broke.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
She took the water cannon full-on and skipped across the surface like a stone.
Oof.
That had to hurt. Hope her spine's okay.
The situation grew more dire.
No time for jokes on my end either.
Clutching Nero-boat's fur, I screamed.
"Uwaaack! Nero! Dodge, dodge!"
Nyao?
"Mayor! Don't worry! I'm a 40-year veteran captain! Hard to port!"
The captain shouted confidently.
Myaa!
Nero somehow understood and turned.
The water next to us exploded.
A hair's-breadth evasion.
"Nero! Please! Just survive somehow! I'll give you 10 Churus when we get back!"
Nyerong!
Nero's engine output spiked 200% at my offer.
Truly a capitalist cat.
Honest to the core before money—no, Churu.
"Port! Starboard! Hard stop! Hard accel! Cobra turn!"
The Nero-boat dodged the barrage with acrobatic maneuvers.
A desperate circus act by one cat on the cold sea.
Constant spins and sharp turns.
Of course, my stomach paid the price.
Lunch's sashimi and spicy stew returned home.
"Urp—"
Ah, Dragon King of the West Sea. Accept this humble human offering and quell your wrath.
Taste guaranteed. Fresh catch from Incheon's coast.
"Wow! Mayor! This cat's piloting is no joke! Might even surpass my 40 years of experience!"
Excuse me, Captain. That experience is sinking in the sea right now.
Wait. Think.
West Sea Dragon King Kraken.
Recall the original. Rack your brain. It's life or death.
Its weakness.
Yes. There was one. How the heroes beat it in the original.
Those tentacles are all decoys. Bait. Fakes.
The tip of the iceberg. Or octopus tip, rather.
Anyway, tentacles regenerate infinitely no matter how many you cut.
The sea's energy is its stamina and life force.
Main body. Target the massive form hidden underwater, or the onslaught never ends.
Groooar!
Ink jetted from every pore of the Kraken.
The sea turned black. Vision-blocking toxic ink.
And through the dark curtain, its true form flickered.
Eight tentacles?
No.
Dozens, hundreds of writhing tentacles large and small.
Glistening flesh studded with countless eerie eyes, each blinking independently, staring at us.
"Where'd you sell the octopus concept?! Should be eight tentacles! This is just a creepy tentacle monster! Keep your identity!"
It's a cosmic horror crawling from the deep sea abyss!
At least maintain minimal identity!
Desperate situation.
If that hit land, Neo Incheon would vanish from the map that day.
Lucky it's in the sea.
But.
Still.
I didn't despair.
Simple reason.
Jin Yeonhwa was still up there in the sky.
Korea's strongest.
No, world-class top hero.
Despair doesn't suit her.
The woman who incinerates disasters.
"President!"
I shouted till my throat hurt.
No problem in this world Jin Yeonhwa can't solve.
If there is, she just hasn't grasped its severity yet.
Or she's procrastinating out of laziness.
So my job was one thing.
Provide accurate info.
"Its real body is underwater! Cutting tentacles is pointless!"
Hearing me, Jin Yeonhwa, dodging jets midair leisurely, glanced back.
Her lip curled up.
"Hoh. Not bad, Lee Garam. How'd you know that?"
"Mayors have to know everything!"
From tax flows to public sentiment, even sea monster ecology sometimes!
"Got it."
Jin Yeonhwa soared high, overlooking the black sea.
Roar!
Flames engulfing her blazed several times fiercer.
The ink-dark sea lit up bright.
"I'll show that fake seafood what a real dragon is."
Dragon. .
Pinnacle of Eastern myth, final boss of Western fantasy.
A dragon isn't just a fat lizard.
Myth's apex. Incarnation of nature. Symbol of kingship.
A supreme being beyond human comprehension.
And Jin Yeonhwa was that dragon.
Literally.
Red scales sprouted over her pale skin amid flames.
Her pupils turned gold, slitting vertically.
Rumble!
Her body swelled.
Enough to blanket the sky. To eclipse the sun.
Finally, the human form vanished, replaced by a reigning red dragon of blazing flames.
Fire Dragon.
That was the true form of S-rank hero, Korean Super Hero Association President Jin Yeonhwa.
The guardian dragon said to appear when the world's balance crumbles, righting all wrongs.
"Whoa..."
I gaped at the sight.
A scene from the original. Seeing it in person, the scale was insane.
Like a 31.2 billion budget blockbuster.
Sizzle!
Seawater evaporated from the dragon's body heat. Steam explosions chained.
Groooar!
The Kraken sensed the transcendent being and roared threateningly. Hundreds of tentacles lashed at the Fire Dragon.
[Pathetic.]
Just like worms wriggling.
Jin Yeonhwa didn't dodge.
Just swung one forepaw.
Boom!
Hundreds of tentacles vanished without trace.
Next instant, the Fire Dragon plunged its forepaw into the sea.
The dragon's claws gripped the abyss.
Rumble!
The entire sea heaved.
The West Sea Dragon King Kraken's full body emerged.
A mountain of horrific flesh, eyes, and tentacles.
But even cosmic horror was just a big octopus before Fire Dragon Jin Yeonhwa.
The Fire Dragon opened its maw.
A sun condensed inside.
Zero-distance breath.
Kaaaaboom!!!
Scorching flames struck the Kraken dead-on.
Squeeeal!!
The deep-sea monster's death cry.
Sizzle.
A savory smell assaulted my nose.
"Squid roast? No, octopus?"
Given the size, more like king-of-the-sea roast.
Nyaa~
Nero drooled in agreement.
Anyway, the Kraken burned to black ash, scattering over the West Sea.
Battle over.
Overt victory.
Too anticlimactic for an S-rank monster's end.
"Cough, cough!"
After things settled, drowned-rat Hancia flailed up onto the Nero-boat.
"Mayor! You okay? Any injuries?"
"Me? Just a bit seasick. More worried about you."
Her hero costume was torn in places, body bruised purple. Heavy injuries, clearly.
Yet she checked on me first, ignoring herself.
What tear-jerking devotion.
"I'm fine! This is a hero's badge of honor!"
She flashed a bright V-sign smile, pure despite her mess.
Too bright. Dazzling.
That innocence is burdensome sometimes.
Then Jin Yeonhwa, back to human form, landed gracefully on Nero's head.
"I win."
"Huh?"
"The fishing. You caught a few fish at best, but I hooked the Kraken. Bigger catch means I win this fishing duel."
"Wait, President. That wasn't fishing, it was slaughter."
"Anything caught from the sea is fishing. Plus, dragons are gods of fishing. Legendary anglers all have dragon blessings."
"First time hearing that legend."
"I don't believe in legends."
"......"
What twisted logic is this?
But can't argue. Shoving my head in a dragon's maw is original Lee Garam's folly.
Whirr!
Then, helicopters and boats approached from afar.
Coast Guard and Hero Association rescue vessels.
Proof taxes well-spent.
"Oh! We're saved!"
Myong!
Nero wagged her tail like a propeller, swimming joyfully to rescue.
Survived today too. Alive.
But why did the West Sea Dragon King Kraken awaken now? Doesn't match original timeline.
Maybe... dragon interaction? Woke sensing Jin Yeonhwa in its turf?
Anyway, not my fault. I was just innocent Citizen A enjoying a fishing trip.