Kraken Subjugation Battle (1)
“Eunbyeol! Turn around right now!! Hurry up!!!”
“……”
“At this rate, Sungcheol oppa’s going to die!! We have to turn back and provide support…!!!”
Eunbyeol ignored her master’s wailing from the back seat as best she could and kept the helicopter’s controls pointed away from New Guinea Island.
She was fully prepared for the backlash from her master, Do Sihee, the moment she made this choice. Even though she’d only spent a single day with Kim Sungcheol, she had already grasped the depth of affection her master showed him.
If he truly was the snake-in-the-grass type who’d wormed his way in under the guise of love, as she’d suspected, she’d planned to deal with him quietly from behind the scenes. But the man she’d faced didn’t seem to be faking his love for her master—at least not in front of her eyes.
Not only did his affection for her master feel genuine, but he even seemed to sincerely enjoy her special kinks. That alone confirmed their mutual love ran deep in their hearts.
On top of that, he perfectly matched the ideal type her master always harped on: “a man stronger than me.”
It was a match close to cheating, but the jumping power he’d shown in that swimming contest was something no non-Awakener could ever achieve. And that morning, he’d sliced through hundreds of monsters in one go, then fearlessly charged an S-rank monster mid-freefall from the sky.
Now she finally understood what her master meant by “irreplaceable.”
There probably isn’t another like him.
Even scouring every man in the world, she doubted anyone else would fit her master’s ideal so perfectly.
That’s why Eunbyeol had no choice but to pull away from the island, her heart heavy with conflict.
What he was sacrificing to protect was none other than her master’s life—Do Sihee’s.
“Eunbyeol, please… We have to turn back…”
“…Do you intend to render that man’s sacrifice meaningless?”
“Don’t call it a sacrifice… Sungcheol oppa can’t die…”
“……”
In truth, Eunbyeol had a faint inkling herself. Securing her master’s safety and gathering Hunter reinforcements to return to the island would take at least two hours round trip.
Even giving Kim Sungcheol the best estimate of A-rank strength, that was more than enough time for an S-rank monster to finish him off. Even if all three of them—including her—joined the fight, it would still be three A-rank Hunters against one S-rank monster.
And her primary attacks relied on piercing monsters’ vital points with sharp stingers—useless against a colossal beast like the Kraken.
“…Even if we turn back to support, there’s no realistic chance of victory.”
“I don’t care…”
“……”
“I don’t care if we can’t win… I’ll die with Sungcheol oppa… So please…”
Eunbyeol felt a pang of distress watching her master slump to the helicopter floor, safety belt unbuckled, repeating her nonsense.
Even if she ignored her wishes and escaped successfully, could her master ever stand again without that man by her side? Was saving only her master’s life—leaving behind the one who’d claimed so much of her heart—the right choice?
Eunbyeol faced the most agonizing dilemma since starting service under Do Sihee.
“Eunbyeol… Just once…”
“……”
“You promised to be on my side… In the Do Kyung Group, you said you’d be the one on my side…”
“……”
“Even if not that, even if it’s the last time, please…”
Eunbyeol glanced back at her master, now murmuring blankly into the void, tears spent.
Then she made what she considered her most foolish decision yet.
“If we return and find Kim Sungcheol-nim already beyond help, or if he falls to the monster mid-battle…”
“…Eunbyeol?”
“Promise me then—above all else—you’ll prioritize preserving your own life.”
Do Sihee nodded blankly at Eunbyeol, who had hovered the helicopter and turned to face her.
“…We’ll head back as fast as possible. Please buckle your safety belt properly now.”
She knew it was a foolish choice, but Eunbyeol was ultimately Do Sihee’s servant. Beyond that, she had made a promise the day she vowed to serve her.
Reminding herself that serving a foolish master required becoming a fool herself, Eunbyeol reluctantly turned the helicopter back toward the villa.
“Haa… haa…”
About ten minutes into the full-on clash with the Kraken.
Facing an S-rank monster head-on was still reckless. In the early phase, with inner energy to spare, he’d hacked away at its legs with abandon. But now even that strength was gone.
And the Kraken still had seven legs left, tentacles included.
Should’ve targeted the eyes from the start…
Adding the falling impact, stabbing its eyes first might’ve had a shot. Too luck-dependent to try, but in hindsight, beating this thing might’ve required that gamble.
“Kugh!”
Whoosh.
He braced and blocked a tentacle whipping toward him. After getting recklessly slashed earlier and bounced off, defense was the smart play now.
And the Kraken wasn’t his only worry.
Krunch! Krunch! Krunch!!
He stomped endlessly crawling Kraels on the ground. He’d crushed countless already. His greatsword was for defending against the Kraken; his fire magic for keeping B-rank Dust Kelps at bay.
Even that was hitting its limit now.
“Kraaak…!”
He failed to fully block a Kraken strike and tumbled across the sand.
“Gaaah!!”
The pain of Krael corpses’ shells stabbing him followed. He wanted to use healing magic, but no dice.
All his swordsmanship, magic, and healing drew from the same inner energy pool. Simply put, his inner energy combined stamina, mana, and holy power.
No inner energy meant no magic, no magic meant no healing.
He scraped by with basic sword skills and low-level spells that didn’t need it, but they topped out at levels 1-2.
Against the Kraken, they’d only buy time.
…So this is it, huh.
He’d thought he’d steeled himself jumping from the helicopter, but apparently he had regrets aplenty. Or maybe he’d just been pretending.
Didn’t matter. He’d tried hard enough. Awakened in a world where men couldn’t, played Hunter for a bit. Met people, ended saving a life.
Honestly, that was more than he’d dreamed of pre-system. An undeserved honor.
…Just one thing.
“Even if I die here, I’ll drag you down with me.”
Glare locked on the eye hidden in its leg, he regripped his mithril greatsword.
One leg immediately slammed down. Staying put meant getting crushed, but he didn’t dodge.
Running solved nothing.
Staring down the incoming tentacle, he spotted a faint irregularity on it—the unnatural trace from above.
A subtle slash mark, unhealed. His failed cut from before.
He swung precisely there. The blade bit true this time.
Proof: he wasn’t crushed between leg and ground yet.
Before the satisfaction hit—
“…Kraaak!”
A second tentacle from behind hurled him forward.
Fuck. Two at once is cheating…
He rolled across the Krael-shell beach again.
“So goddamn tenacious…”
Six legs left. Cut one or two more, and he could go for the eye in a desperate charge.
But four legs down and it still fought fiercely—tricky. Plus, one unsevered tentacle remained among the legs. The longest, sleekest one. Couldn’t approach without lopping it.
Problem: he was too exhausted for even a normal leg, let alone the tentacle.
“Haa… uwaaaah!!”
Ignoring his screaming muscles and bones, he forced himself up from the sand.
And that was it.
No strength to grip the sword properly, let alone swing. Using it as a cane was all he could manage to stand.
The next attack would send him tumbling again.
Did Sihee and Eunbyeol escape properly?
Thududududu…
The helicopter sound carrying them still echoed faintly.
“…Oppa! …Do it!”
Do Sihee’s voice, already missed, seemed to whisper in his ear.
Is this the life-flashing-before-my-eyes thing?
Then the engine roar and her voice grew louder.
“Sungcheol oppa! I’ll support you!! Pull yourself together, oppa!!”
Her voice crystal clear now, an arrow streaked past him in a straight line from the sky.
“…Huh?”
Before identifying the blue glow, the enchanted arrow slammed into the approaching tentacle. The Kraken’s limb writhed in agony, then retracted into its body in an instant.
Not a life flash, then.