Chapter 572
What is happening?
‘It’ slowly blinked, puzzled by the question that surfaced in its mind.
Having lived all its life bound by instinct, suddenly acquiring advanced intelligence left everything feeling chaotic.
But soon, ‘it’ understood what had happened to itself.
– Human. That is the human.
Those small, strangely-shaped beings who occasionally invaded and disturbed the black sea it called home—cursed creatures.
For countless years, it fought humans, driven by its innate instincts and rage, and today was no different.
But…
– That human. What was he?
Dozens of humans invaded the black sea.
Under their weapons and magic, even the mermen with magnificent fins and the sirens who seduced humans with their beautiful voices fell, spraying blood.
And at the moment when ‘it,’ sensing defeat, was desperately resisting the humans, one human stepped forward.
‘Let’s stop here.’
He seemed ordinary. Smaller than a merman, not as beautiful as a siren.
But ‘it’ instinctively understood. That human, standing here alone, was the only one capable of killing it.
However, the other humans were different.
‘Dongseok, sorry, but what did you just say?’
‘What, during a raid? This lunatic, move out of the way already.’
‘I can’t do that. I have something I must do.’
‘Something you must do? Dongseok, what are you talking about?’
‘I told you. I’m definitely going to do it.’
‘Wait, Dongseok. I’m asking because I really can’t understand this situation… Sreung.’
‘D-Dongseok?’
‘K-Kim Team Leader! That guy…!’
Shhk, slash!
Confusion turned to uproar. Uproar to conflict. Conflict to battle, and battle led to death.
Crunch!
‘Kurk, kruuk…!’
One against many. But the difference in strength was overwhelming.
The human who killed all who blocked his way in an instant now stood before ‘it,’ wounded.
And then, he offered an object brimming with a captivating and powerful energy. Along with incomprehensible words—
‘Absorb it. This is a gift from him to you.’
There was no choice. After the exhausting battle, ‘it’ had neither the strength nor energy left to kill the human before its eyes.
Only the existence of something exuding an irresistible fragrance filled its mind.
Magic power.
It was, literally, magic power.
The most primal force it possessed since birth—a meal so appetizing it was impossible to resist.
Shwaa—
When the brief meal was over, ‘it’ realized how much it had changed.
A body far larger than before, overflowing with immense power within.
The vast black sea it had lived in all this time looked strangely unfamiliar today.
It was as if…
‘It must feel small. Isn’t that right?’
At the voice from far below, ‘it’ unconsciously nodded.
That’s right. It was small. The black sea that once felt so vast was now too tiny and shabby to contain it.
So what now?
‘Go out. There’s a wider sea.’
It was a clear answer. Reborn as a new existence, ‘it’ looked down at the human who had neatly solved its dilemma.
– Thank. You.
And that was the end.
Crunch! Crack!
The human who had seemed so powerful, could no longer stand against its completely reborn form.
Wrapping its insignificant body in a single motion, ‘it’ crushed him instantly and stirred the energy dormant within.
Rumble!
At the same time, the space where ‘it’ had always lived—the black sea—began to shake.
Waves filled with magic power swallowed human corpses and awakened countless mermen and sirens sleeping in the depths.
Amidst the ominous roars and beautiful songs, magic power exceeding all limits surged. Dozens of whirlwinds erupted around ‘it.’
Crash!
A storm raged through the once-calm black sea, tearing space apart.
Beyond the rift, dazzling light and a new world it had never seen appeared.
With power that could no longer be contained, nothing could bind its overflowing magic.
Realizing its time had come, ‘it’ became a single, massive wave and surged toward the new sea.
Leading countless mermen and sirens clinging to its body.
Crunch! Crash!
The sunlight it experienced for the first time was painfully hot, the endlessly stretching blue sea unbelievably vast, and the frozen humans onshore were enough to awaken the savagery it had briefly forgotten.
Kill.
[Monster Wave]. The start of another disaster.
Ah, ahhh!
At the sound of the sirens’ seductive voices, fleeing humans turned back as if bewitched and became targets for the mermen.
Stab! Stab, stab!
In an instant, screams and death covered the beach. Even humans with special abilities rushed over, but none could stand against ‘it.’
Whoosh, smash! A single strike.
With a mighty swing of its leg, a dozen humans were pulverized like powder. Humans were truly insignificant and frail creatures.
To a wider place.
Having claimed the vast blue sea, ‘it’ had nothing to fear. After sending thousands of its subordinates ashore one after another, it swam away into the deep waters.
Splash.
It was easy. Everything was astonishingly simple.
Humans were weak, and it was strong. That fact had to be imprinted upon those pitiful things.
‘It’ roused the magic power lurking within its body. At the same time, with arms that had multiplied from eight to dozens, it churned the surface.
Crash!
Waves dozens of meters high rose and surged forward.
There was nothing that could stop the waves infused with immense power. Everything built by human hands was shattered and submerged.
And that included the long, massive structure built above the sea.
Rumble!
The wave struck the suspension bridge called Gwangan Bridge.
The wide-area defensive magic installed for emergencies was shattered by the overwhelming magic power in the wave, snapping the bridge at its waist.
“Kyaaaah!”
“H-help…!”
Honk! Hoooonk!
‘It’ looked at the scene it had created.
The collapsing bridge, the terrified screams of humans, and the blaring noise from unknown machines—everything was satisfying.
At least, it was—until that happened.
Shiiing! Boom!
It happened in an instant.
With a barrage of flashes pouring down from the sky, two hundred mermen were turned into a spray of blood.
And then, it noticed a human floating high above.
– Sky?
Could humans fly?
The moment that question flashed across ‘its’ mind, the human landed gently on the ground.
Squelch.
Standing in a puddle of green blood, the human stared straight at it. Sunlight splintered on the slanted spearhead.
That.
The painfully dazzling light made ‘it’ groan. Then it decided.
– Kill.
The red glow of murderous intent flared in the two eyes on either side of its head. At that moment, dozens of legs struck the surface with immense magic power.
Rumble! Crash!
Once again, a giant wave surged. Blocking out the sun with the disaster it had unleashed, ‘it’ shot forward with a tremendous roar.
– Gwoooooaaah!
And the terror of the sea—the Kraken—charged toward that one human.
It was only natural that the wave engulfing Gwangan Bridge wasn’t some natural phenomenon.
After the Great Cataclysm, most structures had been reborn by combining the strengths of magic and science, and Gwangan Bridge—one of Busan’s landmarks—was no exception.
‘But for the powerful defensive magic on Gwangan Bridge to be shattered by a wave…’
The answer was clear. That wave carried more than just salt and seaweed.
It was because of a being that had torn through the boundary of the world and appeared in reality.
I exhaled briefly and gripped the spear shaft tightly.
“Come on, you overgrown octopus.”
And the Kraken didn’t refuse my invitation.
Dozens of legs shot at me with incredible force. The suction cups, evenly spaced, were so huge they looked like black holes.
‘Damn it.’ Who was the idiot that said octopuses have eight legs?
Clicking my tongue at the unexpected number of limbs, I sent energy flowing through my legs.
Crack. The hard ground splintered like a spiderweb, then exploded.
Using the rebound, I shot between the Kraken’s massive legs.
Tracing the path of White Flame like a flash—
Slash!
Three or four log-thick legs were cleanly sliced off.
Even if they were just the thinner ends, pain was pain.
The Kraken’s leg, which just moments before had been about to smash what was left of Gwangan Bridge, flinched and slapped the water.
Splash!
I’d dodged the attack, but it wasn’t over.
‘This is a bad spot.’
Gwangan Bridge was already split in two and collapsing, but there were still plenty of survivors nearby. The screams behind me proved it.
Fighting the Kraken here would only lead to more unexpected casualties.
‘At this rate…’ Considering the battlefield, surroundings, and objectives, there was only one answer left.
Slide. Whoosh.
My toes gently stepped onto thin air.
[Water Striding Technique]. Though it consumed a tremendous amount of energy and couldn’t be used for long, I never intended to drag this fight out.
There’s nothing easier to attack than a target floating in midair.
As the Kraken’s legs danced like a performance, I swept my spear down at an angle.
Whoosh, shshshshhk!
Dozens of streaks of blue flame split the air and shot forward.
No matter how powerful the Kraken was, blocking [Qi] was impossible.
Slash! Splash!
The legs swinging at me from all sides were instantly severed.
Sizzle. [Scorching Yang Energy] burned the cut ends as it passed, and the Kraken howled in agony.
– Gwooooor!
Of all pains, burns are the most intense.
And I didn’t miss the moment it faltered.
Bang!
Compressed air burst from my toes. The spearhead, aimed straight, tore through the wind as it plunged down.
At the end of it—was the face of the giant octopus.
Screeeeech!
