—Grrrrrr.
The Kraken, now missing four of its legs, let out a cry as it swam through the abyss.
It had failed. He had ordered it to capture the strongest human. But it had been in too much pain and ended up fleeing.
—Grrrrrr.
Crying out in sorrow, the Kraken descended deeper and deeper into the sea. When it reached the very bottom, it saw a massive being lying there. The Kraken approached the one who had ordered it to bring back the human with the most “cores.”
—Grrrrrrr, grrrr.
The Kraken wailed as it explained its failure. It said that four of its legs had been severed. As it showed its pitiful, mutilated limbs and cried, the one who had been silently listening slowly opened its eyes.
Rising gradually, the being extended a hand toward the surface. Watching the enormous hand ascend, the Kraken wriggled its remaining four legs.
He had begun to move.
To fulfill His will.
***
At the sight of the hand rising from the sea, Sihyeon’s eyes widened.
The massive black hand was about the size of a small fishing boat.
It suddenly slammed down onto the ship—
Bang!
The vessel lurched violently, sinking downward before rising again.
“Kyaa!”
People were thrown off their feet and crashed onto the floor. Sihyeon’s eyelashes trembled.
A gigantic black hand. It was identical to the one from his dream.
As if everything before had merely been a prelude, the current situation matched his dream exactly. Which meant—what came next could unfold just the same.
His blue eyes, filled with shock, stared at the hand looming above him.
The hand alone was larger than a person. As big as a house. And that was just the hand.
Could he defeat something like that?
There was no need to even think about it.
Damn it.
Biting his lip, Sihyeon found himself hoping—though unlikely—that the hand would simply withdraw peacefully. When fear reached its peak, even screams failed to come out. The ship, struck by the hand, fell into near-total silence.
No—there were faint, choking sobs from students here and there.
—Ssssss
After striking once, the enormous hand slowly swept across the deck before pulling back. Sihyeon swallowed as he realized, thankfully, that no one had been directly beneath it.
As if even breathing might draw its attention, he held his breath and kept his eyes fixed on the hand.
Crunch!
At the sound of something breaking, Sihyeon turned his head. Another massive hand had appeared, gripping and crushing part of the railing.
Only then did he understand what had caused the ship to tilt. That colossal being had seized the ship and was manipulating it with those hands.
This is insane.
Just as the sheer size—dwarfing even a Yeti—began to sink in, one of the previously frozen teachers staggered back and spoke.
“…Ti—Titan.”
“…Hhk!”
At the word, the Association’s Awakened gulped. The students, unfamiliar with the term, turned to the teacher—the one who taught the history of Irregulars and Awakened.
Under their gazes, the teacher trembled. Even with five A-class Awakened present, none of them could move.
Without needing to be asked, the terrified teacher muttered,
“A giant-type Irregular… The Titan that appeared three years ago and vanished… why is it here…?”
His voice shook uncontrollably.
From that reaction alone, Sihyeon was certain. This Irregular was at least quasi-Catastrophe level.
Which meant…
“Bang!”
“Hiiik!”
Catastrophe level.
The hand that had withdrawn slowly rose again—then slammed down onto the ship.
“Ghk!”
Someone groaned. It sounded like they had been crushed beneath it.
Crash—!
As the Titan’s hand swept through the cabins, the luxurious rooms of the Royal Prince were obliterated in an instant.
Startled, Sihyeon turned urgently toward that direction.
Haru—and the others—were still inside.
His fingers trembled against the railing. Just as dread crept in, Haru and the Class A students crawled out from beneath the wreckage.
Relief barely had time to settle. The Titan’s hand began to move mercilessly.
Whoosh—whoosh—
The hand swung wildly, and the students screamed as they ran. Some were already struck and sent flying.
Watching it, Sihyeon realized. The hand was searching for something.
His lips parted slightly. He knew what it was looking for.
In his dream, that hand had seized him and disappeared.
—Whoosh!
“Ghk!”
“Teacher!”
Students screamed as they were struck by the Titan. Some were flung away, others crushed, coughing up blood.
Only then did the teachers snap out of it, their trembling hands moving as they began evacuating students below deck.
One by one, starting with those closest, they guided them to safety.
One student near the railing managed to stand and run—but the ship shook again, and with a cry, they fell and slid back toward the railing.
As if noticing the sound, the Titan’s hand moved toward the child.
Whoosh!
The massive hand rose higher than ever before. If it came down, death was almost certain.
Sihyeon bit his lip. He was too far to deploy a Barrier—and even if he could, it likely wouldn’t hold.
Then—
Tap!
At last, the Awakened and teachers pushed off the ground and rushed toward the child. The Titan’s immense size made its movements slower, making this possible.
But even so, with a mere flick of its hand, they were sent flying again.
For the first time, A-class Awakened looked powerless. Having cleared the obstacles, the Titan reached for the child. There was no one left to help.
“M-Mom….”
The terrified child crawled backward, sobbing. Watching that, Sihyeon shut his eyes tightly.
I really hate this kind of thing…But there’s no choice.
Clenching his teeth, Sihyeon pushed himself up. He staggered—whether from fear or exhaustion, even he didn’t know—but he didn’t fall. Then he ran.
Just before the Titan’s hand struck, Sihyeon shoved the child out of the way and faced the hand head-on.
“Sihyeon!”
Someone shouted.
At the same time—
Grab!
The enormous hand seized Sihyeon. His body was less than a handful compared to it.
“Kh—!”
The crushing pressure squeezed him, and he bit his lip until blood spilled from his mouth. He wanted to struggle, but the hand held his limbs completely immobilized.
Squeeze—!
The grip tightened further.
Cough—
Sihyeon spat blood again.
Uncaring, as if it had finally found its target, the hand slowly withdrew with him in its grasp. The hand that had dominated the ship descended into the sea.
“Sihyeon!”
Haru’s voice rang out again—
Splash—!
But the massive hand disappeared beneath the water without mercy.
“Sihyeon!”
Restrained by Hamin and Haeun, Haru struggled, shouting as he flailed his arms. He tried to break free, but couldn’t.
Grinding his teeth, Haru turned and glared at Hamin. Hamin let out a dry laugh.
“What are you going to do, glaring like that?”
“……”
“What, should we have let you follow Kang Sihyeon? You think you could take on something even the teachers can’t handle?”
At those words, Haru fell silent, clenching his fists.
As the tension rose, Haeun stepped between them, stopping the fight.
“What would fighting among ourselves change?”
Haru said nothing.
His hands trembled. His head burned, and it felt as though something large was lodged in his throat. His chest ached.
The fear he felt now was even greater than what he had experienced in the lab. But… the others didn’t seem unaffected either. Haru’s red eyes shifted as he looked at the Class A students.
That was when Dawoon spoke.
“…The one who got taken just now… was that Kang Sihyeon?”
“……”
“You’re saying that Titan thing… took Kang Sihyeon?”
As if unable to believe what he had just seen, Dawoon spoke in disbelief.
No one answered. No one could confirm it. And no one could deny it.
“That crazy, nosy bastard!”
Dawoon suddenly exploded, rushing to the railing and shouting in fury. Jihye tried to stop her, but she even began swearing—something no one had ever seen before.
Leaning dangerously over the railing, Dawoon shouted Sihyeon’s name toward the sea.
No one was surprised by her sharp words.
Haru stared at her for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze back to the others.
Seowoo, who was always smiling, now wore a terrifyingly cold expression.
Haeun, usually playful, had gone pale.
Geonwoo looked as though he might faint at any moment.
And in Hamin’s palm, there was a faint trace of red.
None of them were okay.
Realizing that, Haru pressed his lips together and stared out at the dark sea. His eyes stung. His heart pounded relentlessly, and his body kept tensing.
He had never felt emotions like this before.
As his lips trembled slightly, the teachers—who had been slammed into walls and coughing up blood—staggered to their feet.
What they saw before them was a disaster. Everything was destroyed. Many students lay collapsed. Some coughed up blood. Others had lost consciousness.
And in the end, they had lost one student. There was no saving him. Everyone there knew it.
The teachers clenched their teeth and slammed their fists against the railing. If they recklessly went after him, it would be no different from abandoning the students still here.
Helpless, they could do nothing.
As they stared out at the dark sea—
Step. Step.
A man slowly walked out from the crowd and approached the railing.
He stopped beside Dawoon, who stood there in despair, and looked out at the ocean with a frown.
“What a pain.”
A low, heavy voice sounded.
The black-haired man ran a hand through his hair—
Thud.
A clump of black hair fell to the ground.
“…A wig?”
At the student’s words, everyone turned toward him.
A blond man came into view. Not someone listed among the staff.
Just as the teachers were about to question his identity—
Tap!
The man stepped onto the railing, and leapt into the sea that had swallowed the disaster.
