93.
No one objected to Yeon Siyun’s words. Afterward, everyone prepared for battle. Jian put on the artifact with the flight skill that had been distributed by the Blue Dragon Guild.
The pitch-black boots looked ordinary from the outside. The shoes, which were initially loose when worn, soon shrank to fit the user’s foot size.
“I wish everyone good luck.”
Yeon Siyun nodded to those who would face the Kraken.
Unlike other monsters clustered together, the Kraken was located some distance away, requiring them to use flight skills to reach it.
“Everyone be careful,” Jihwan said in a concerned voice to those departing.
“You too, brother.”
Although facing the Kraken was somewhat more dangerous, those staying behind definitely weren’t having an easy battle. Rather, they had to face far more monsters.
“Let’s go then.”
Yeon Siyun tapped the ground with his right foot as if demonstrating. Instantly, an incredible gust of wind burst from beneath his boots. Watching the man rise into the air in an instant, Jian swallowed hard.
Jungsu, a wind ability user, quickly adapted to the artifact. So did Sehun. He rose effortlessly into the air as if he had used artifacts several times before.
Only Jian’s complexion had turned pale. It wasn’t that he had never used a flight artifact before.
However, Jian realized that he had acrophobia whenever he flew. It wasn’t severe, but it made him dizzy.
“Hyung.”
Sehun, noticing Jian’s hesitation, tried to come down. Jian shook his head to stop him and moved his right foot.
In just the blink of an eye, the island where he had been standing was now fully visible.
“Want me to hold your hand?”
Sehun approached Jian and extended his hand.
“No, I’m fine.”
Jian declined with cold sweat beading on his face. If they were alone, it would be different, but he didn’t want to attract Yeon Siyun’s attention.
Despite Jian’s refusal, Sehun stayed by his side as they flew toward where the Kraken was located.
At first, it was difficult enough to make Jian’s stomach churn, but as time passed, he adapted to being suspended at such a height.
“Stop.”
Yeon Siyun, who had been flying at the forefront, suddenly halted. Jian, who had been staring at his broad back, shifted his gaze downward.
Everything around was quiet, but the sea beneath them was particularly dark.
When he spotted dozens of tentacles quietly writhing beneath the surface, the nausea he had momentarily forgotten returned.
“This is the Kraken’s territory. Let’s go up a bit higher.”
Yeon Siyun warned the group in a hushed voice. He ascended several dozen meters higher first.
Just as Jian was about to follow, a chilling sensation swept down his spine.
“Hyung.”
Sehun quickly approached and wrapped his arm around Jian’s waist. The two rapidly shot upward.
Jian swallowed hard as he watched a tentacle narrowly brush past his feet. If they had been slightly delayed, his legs would have been caught.
Realizing he needed to focus, he bit the inside of his lip hard.
Sehun’s heart sank just as much as Jian’s. As Sehun stared at the Kraken, his irises began turning blood-red from the edges.
“You all know my ability, right?”
Yeon Siyun, after circling once in the air, approached Jian and Sehun. Jungsu waited a bit higher up, with vortex-shaped winds formed in both hands.
“To copy a monster’s ability, I need to eat part of its body. So, I’m asking for your help, Hunter Han Sehun.”
Yeon Siyun’s ability was copying.
Not only could he copy monsters’ abilities but also transform into their exact appearance. However, there was one fatal drawback.
He had to eat the monster’s blood or body parts. Because of this, he had developed a side effect of enjoying strange foods, as he once mentioned in a live interview.
“I understand.”
Sehun stretched his arm forward. The Kraken, seemingly sensing danger, was gradually raising its body from beneath the surface.
Waves like tsunamis spread out from the center where the Kraken was.
The tentacles were at least 20 meters long. Each eye was the size of a huge boulder.
The black, slit pupils against bright yellow irises found the humans and rolled around wildly.
The elongated head looked as heavy as if a house had been placed on it.
Nevertheless, the movements of the tentacles, occasionally slashing through the air, were so fast they could be missed even while being watched.
Below the giant eye, something seemed to cave in, and hundreds of teeth, thicker than tree trunks, revealed themselves.
Grooooowl…
A monstrous sound that seemed to echo from a cave rattled their eardrums. An enormous killing intent enveloped the group, making their entire bodies tremble.
“How noisy.”
Sehun frowned, and as he curled his outstretched fingers into a fist, the full-scale battle began.
* * *
“Jian! Shield, please!”
“Yes!”
At Jungsu’s urgent voice, Jian used his skill. Jungsu hurriedly entered the barrier Jian had created.
His face, flushed bright red, breathed roughly as he supported his knees with his hands.
“Wow, that Kraken is really strong…”
The Kraken’s abilities were incredible enough to make Jungsu, who rarely complained about weakness, groan.
Jungsu, an A-rank, could recover from attacks within minutes. As a result, he had fired skills until his mana level dropped to 10 percent.
While Jungsu took out and drank a recovery potion from his inventory, Jian called out to Sehun.
“Sehun, come in here too!”
Currently, two giant Krakens were entangled in the sea. Siyun had transformed into a Kraken after swallowing the body fluid Sehun had obtained from the monster.
The battle was lasting longer than expected. Siyun had copied the Kraken’s form and abilities, so he was fighting evenly but couldn’t easily kill it.
Sehun was helping him at the front line. Each time Sehun clenched his fist, a plump tentacle would burst, splattering purple body fluid.
Despite Jian’s shout, Sehun merely glanced briefly at the air without readily withdrawing.
Jian, hardening his gaze, used an attack skill he had been saving. If they delayed any longer, someone might get hurt.
When he used the skill, the Kraken was marked green and Yeon Siyun blue. As soon as he designated the Kraken as the target, the green changed to red.
Screeeech!
The Kraken, hit directly by the tickling skill, began to writhe. As the Kraken’s tentacles struck its whole body, Siyun retreated.
Water sprayed in all directions. Not missing the opportunity, Sehun crushed both the Kraken’s eyes with telekinesis.
Yellow pus flowed like a waterfall from the punctured pupils.
The rate at which the cut tentacles regenerated slowed down. Siyun moved stealthily and wrapped the Kraken’s head with numerous tentacles.
The Kraken’s flesh bulged unevenly between the tentacles. A faint groan escaped from Jian’s lips.
He had used more life force than ever before. Just as a dull pain began to throb in his chest, the Kraken’s head finally burst like a water balloon.
The dark blue sea turned purple. The area contaminated by fluid flowing from the Kraken’s head was as large as a baseball field.
At the same time, an overwhelming stench assaulted their sense of smell.
“The smell is insane…”
Jungsu urgently covered his nose and mouth with his palm. Jian also held his breath with a pale face.
“Are you okay, hyung?”
As soon as Sehun confirmed the Kraken was dead, he approached Jian and examined him carefully from head to toe.
“What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Jian wiped off the fluid splattered on Sehun’s cheek with his thumb. Contrary to his intention, the sticky slime spread widely, making him panic and pull up his top.
Just before the white skin was revealed, Sehun caught Jian’s wrist.
“It’s okay. I can wash it off with bottled water later.”
Jungsu, who had been quietly observing the two, shook his head with a disgruntled expression.
He soon approached Siyun, who was standing alone.
After returning from Kraken to human form, Siyun was spitting out the fluid that had entered his mouth into the sea. His expression was unpleasant, like he had chewed on an astringent persimmon.
“Well done. Without the team leader, it would have been an extremely difficult battle.”
“You think so?”
“Use this to wipe yourself.”
Siyun accepted the handkerchief Jungsu handed him. Not just his face, but his crown was also covered in slime.
His specially-made tight suit was completely drenched in the Kraken’s body fluid. Due to the unbearable pungent smell, Jungsu gradually moved away from Siyun.
