Chapter 70 - From the Beginning (5)

Stepping across aerial footholds that not only moved erratically but actively tried to attack me, all while a monster called a Kraken waited in the open sea below.

What a spectacular aerial battle to wage in such an environment.

At the very least, I can say this.

I never want to do this again.

SCREECH!

Right after I managed to stubbornly sink two more ships, I began a high-altitude freefall thanks to a Harpy's ambush while heading toward the remaining ones.

In exchange, I managed to grab the Harpy's nape and head, but it was a painful trade.

Even the index and middle fingers of the hand holding its head had slipped inside the Harpy's open mouth. Putting aside getting saliva on them, it looked like my fingers were going to be bitten off.

"Filthy...!"

Just because my pain sensitivity is low doesn't mean I want to get my fingers bitten.

I exerted force to pry open the mouth of the Harpy trying to bite my fingers.

RIIIIP!

Perhaps I used too much force, because with the sound of tearing flesh, my mana-clad hand completely ripped the Harpy's mouth apart.

The cleanly torn-off head, starting from the upper jaw, was briefly held in my hand before I tossed it far away in disgust.

But the trials waiting for me didn't end there. Though I had ripped apart a Harpy's head right after falling from a Wyvern's back, I was still plummeting.

I needed a stepping stone.

STAB!

I hastily drew my scimitar and plunged it into the body of a Gargoyle flying below.

The landing itself was a failure, leaving me dangling in midair, relying on the hilt of the sword embedded in the Gargoyle's body.

A chain of events unfolded where the sword, unable to bear my weight, started to slip out, and the Gargoyle began to fall as it lost its balance.

SKREEE!

But even if the sky falls, there's a hole to escape through. Right below, another Gargoyle lunged at me.

I immediately transferred over to it. The one whose body I had pierced failed to recover and crashed straight into the sea.

ROOOOAR!

Was I preparing to jump to another one before losing my balance? Right beneath me, the Kraken's arm surged up.

Freaking out, I swung my sword. My mana was running dangerously low from sinking the ships earlier and reinforcing my body, but I had no other choice.

Used for mana conversion, my HP—which had already been reduced by more than two-thirds—dropped even further. Gulp. A surge of blood filled my throat.

SLASH!

Sacrificing my HP was at least effective. The slimy leg was sliced off flawlessly, revealing its white cross-section.

At the same time, the Gargoyle I was holding onto hurriedly fled from the severed leg. The demons caught in the Kraken's other tentacles thoroughly justified its escape.

THUD!

"Why is that monster attacking the ships! This isn't what we were told!"

"Damn it, I distinctly said we couldn't control that monster in detail—!"

"Intruder!"

"An intruder on the ship!"

Thus, I somehow reached the next ship. Looking down at the deck, there was an out-of-place group of people.

They weren't wearing sailor outfits, nor adventurer outfits. They were the same group I had encountered on the two ships I sank earlier.

"You guys, do something!"

"This is supposed to be your specialty!"

"We're already overexerting ourselves just controlling that monster...!"

Where on earth were these Demon Contractors popping out from? Contemplating that, I descended.

And the moment my feet lightly touched the main deck, the scimitar moved silently. The silvery-white trajectory was soon dyed red as it severed one of their heads.

"Intruder!"

"Kill him!"

"Die!"

"Eat this!"

The pirates rushed toward me.

"We have to throw that bastard into the sea right now!"

It would be easy to crush them with mana, but now was the time to conserve it. Health conversion had its limits, and if I used it on these guys, I might fall short during the actual Kraken hunt. Besides, the amount of health recovered tended to get rapidly depleted in aerial battles anyway.

Therefore, I took them on using only Survival Instinct.

The scimitar flew like a ray of light, slashing the body of the first guy who lunged at me. SMASH! Immediately after, my empty right hand seemingly grabbed another enemy's neck, swinging that body around using pure muscle strength without mana enhancement.

Of course, being heavy, he couldn't be swung exactly as I pleased. I hadn't expected that in the first place anyway.

But it was enough if he crashed down like he was thrown, blocking the path of the other enemies.

Twisting my ankle and turning my waist shifted my field of vision backward. Then, as the scimitar swiftly cleaved the air, the CLANG of clashing blades rang out belatedly.

"This mon...!"

Successfully deflecting the strike left the enemy's upper body defenselessly open. With a single flick of the wrist, my sword thrust straight forward, leading with the tip.

The other enemies' slashes vainly pierced the empty space I left behind as I lunged forward.

STAB!

CRASH!

Going beyond merely piercing the enemy's heart, I drove him all the way to the mast like a wild boar. The sword withdrew from the pirate's body as he slammed into the mast and cleaved through the surroundings once more.

SLASH!

An enemy who failed to keep up with my movements lost his head, and my right hand snatched another sword hanging from his waist.

It was a straight sword, albeit slightly short. Not bad.

CLANG. The sword, succeeding in deflecting an attack aiming for my waist the moment it was drawn, spun rapidly in my wrist.

Rotating a half-turn into a reverse grip, the blade then accurately pierced the nape of an enemy rushing in from my rear right.

"Gwaaaah!"

"A monster is here!"

"Too late..."

By then, the tyrant of the sea had reached the ship. A tentacle slithering up into the air recreated a situation similar to earlier.

The railing broke, the mast snapped, and basically, it became a scene on the verge of being buried at sea.

My life was legendary, considering I had seen this four times now, including this one, and had to see it one more time.

"Now that it's come to this, you at least...!"

But wasn't it already legendary from the moment I got trapped in a game?

I came to a belated realization. STAB! In the next moment, the sword leaving my fingertips—from my right hand—pierced right between the eyes of one of the Demon Contractors.

Of course, I couldn't just stand back and watch threats aiming for me while lost in useless idle thoughts.

CRASH!

The ship began to shake as if being swallowed by the giant octopus. One side of the ship was occupied by the Kraken, looking as if it were being gnawed away.

Then, should I slowly make my escape now? Or should I leave just as the ship became unsalvageable to be sure?

Carefully measuring my escape angle, I threw myself out of the way of the tentacles. Of course, the movement wasn't solely for the purpose of evasion.

Naturally, the pirates gave up on targeting me the moment the Kraken attacked the ship, but the Demon Contractors were glaring at me, eager to take me down with them.

"I offer my flesh and blood..."

Even if I were to escape, dealing with them took priority. I almost saw blood trying to ignore them earlier, so their importance went without saying.

SMACK!

"Keuk!"

Given the distance, I first kicked something on the deck to send it flying. The projectile struck the Demon Contractor right in the face.

Playing soccer every recess during elementary and middle school had paid off. Even though hitting someone's head wasn't allowed back then.

"You son of a bitch!"

Next, I caught a harpoon with my bare hand from a pirate charging at my side.

SMACK. As my raised knee struck the pit of the pirate's stomach, his tongue popped out with a gasp. The strength draining from his hand holding the harpoon was a bonus.

SWISH.

I shoved him aside and properly gripped the snatched harpoon. CLANG! I didn't forget to block a sword approaching from one side either. GRRRND. A brief contest of strength ensued.

STAB!

Did you think I was holding this harpoon just for show?

I stabbed the enemy's body with the harpoon and pulled it back out. And when the obstacle vanished, I hurled the harpoon.

Two of the Demon Contractors I hadn't dealt with yet were skewered by the harpoon and met their demise. There were five Demon Contractors left.

"...!"

At that moment, a swiftly approaching tentacle snatched my arm. I hadn't noticed it because it was so thin and stealthy.

The octopus's suction cups adhered tightly over my gauntlet, squeezing my arm.

SLASH!

Still, it was a good thing it caught the hand not holding my sword.

After slicing it away with the curved blade, I quickly ducked out of the way.

BOOM, CRASH. A half-beat later, massive tentacles slammed down exactly where I had been standing. The deck was pierced and shattered; it was absolute chaos.

"The ship is capsizing!"

Beyond merely tilting, the ship's incline started approaching 90 degrees. The Kraken occupying the side of the ship looked intent on finally flipping the table.

It was truly time to bail. Demon Contractors or not, I really had to run.

My legs kicked off and sprinted up the only surviving mast.

As the ship tilted, the mast's slope actually flattened out, making it look like the only escape route. At least, it was for the moment.

"...!"

The speed at which the ship capsized was faster than I expected. By the time I reached the end of the mast, let alone the sky, I'd be plunging straight into the ocean.

"I'm telling you, the Sea Dragon was better...!"

Realizing that fact, I immediately changed direction. Then, I took a massive leap and grabbed the ship's railing.

With the ship rotated past 90 degrees now, grabbing the railing and climbing onto the side of the hull was basically the same as standing upright.

The Kraken's body, clinging tightly to the hull, was clearly visible.

"Hey octopus, did you know?"

There was still nowhere to escape into the sky. Moreover, the sea was behind me, and ahead of me was only the Kraken with its body protruding from the water.

Troublesome enemies like the Demon Contractors and pirates had all plunged into the sea, and the flying demons were just circling dozens of meters up in the air.

"That my work partner is a mukbang stream."

In that case, I might as well hunt the Kraken. There was only one enemy ship left anyway.

"They even show how to prep an octopus on there...!"

I quickly sprinted across the outer hull. The Kraken's suction-cupped arms targeted me, but it wasn't hard to run while dodging them.

SQUISH. The Kraken's skin, which I finally stepped onto, was as soft as a bouncy castle and had a rather unpleasant texture.

"They say you faint if stabbed between the eyes!!"

However, staring a GAME OVER right in the face tends to give you the strength to push forward somehow.

I somehow managed to step on the Kraken's head poking out of the water. In the next moment, I found the spot between its eyes—what would be considered the brow on a human.

STAB!

My body, having hovered in the air for a moment, drove the long blade of the Zweihänder right between the Kraken's eyes.

The black energy swirling in a spiral dug into the flesh as if to pierce completely through the Kraken's body. My body went right along with it.

The Kraken's body suddenly convulsed, flailing its tentacles wildly.

SPLASH!

The strike must have been highly effective, as the portion of the Kraken's body that was out of the water instantly began to submerge.

Along with it, I too was pulled right into the sea.

Seawater, the fluid coating the Kraken's mucous membrane, and the salty juices seeping from its torn flesh kept pouring into my nose and mouth.

Even though I had pierced the Kraken's outer membrane and dug into its flesh, it was this bad; I couldn't even imagine what it would be like if I hadn't.

BUBBLE.

In any case, thanks to the seawater rushing in through the gap I had torn open, I was suddenly completely submerged in water too.

My breath was running short, but there was no turning back now.

Thrashing against the cold, squishy flesh surrounding me, I began churning its insides with my blade. Of course, I had no intention of looking for its three hearts to pop them or anything like that.

SQUELCH.

The mana I had saved up for a moment like this—what would be the point if I didn't use it now?

Pitch-black energy began to butcher the milky-white flesh. During that process, a deep indigo light flashed across my vision; I figured either the Kraken's heart popped or something else happened.

Regardless, the more I wildly swung my sword, the more the Kraken's insides violently shook, and the tremors finally ceased just as my breath ran out completely.

WHOOSH!

My body broke free from the torn membrane. I saw the monster sinking with its torso mangled to pieces, and the undulating surface of the water where the sunlight was diffusing.

After that, well. Naturally, I frantically kicked to swim upward. I gasped for air as my vision darkened, but the sheer frustration of dying here forced my limbs to keep moving somehow.

"Pwah!"

Just as I thought this was the end, a rush of air filled my lungs.

"Haa, cough, pant."

I retched up the seawater that had flooded into my nose and mouth from the waves, gasping for breath.

My blinking vision slowly returned, and the moment the thought 'I lived' settled into my brain, relief washed over my chest.

'The Kraken is definitely dead, right? It's dead?' Even knowing it was a cliché, I couldn't help but think it.

Driven by anxiety, I even dunked my head back into the water to check if the Kraken was coming closer. Beneath the gloomy sea, only the legs of the faintly visible giant octopus were twitching.

It showed absolutely no sign of resurfacing, looking far too still to fear it was still alive.

At the very least, I had survived for now.

"Just you wait, see if I ever... come to the sea again."

Whether it was seasickness or aerial battles, the sea was the problem. Once this was all over, I wasn't going anywhere near the ocean.

With that vow, I poked my head back above the surface. 'What do I do now?' Right after that thought crossed my mind, something caught my eye.

"... They're running."

Using the Kraken for a teamkill was pretty lucrative, though. I watched the last enemy ship I hadn't managed to sink sail away.

It seemed they had given up on the attack. The Gargoyles, Wyverns, Harpies, and other demons also abandoned their assault on the harbor and wheeled around to follow the ship.

"Tsk."

If they had fled in my direction instead, I could have somehow climbed aboard and dealt with them.

It was a little annoying that their escape route just had to cut right through the empty gap between me and the harbor. Well, considering the Kraken and I had just waged a life-or-death struggle around here, fleeing in a different direction wasn't exactly strange.

More than the regret of failing to eliminate the enemy, my immediate survival was the bigger issue.

I kicked my legs to keep from sinking while looking for a way to reach the harbor. Even if I couldn't swim all the way there, I at least needed to hold out until a rescue team arrived from the harbor.

"...!"

Thank heavens, the wreckage of the capsized ship was visible nearby.

"Fuck, kill that bastard before he gets close!"

Of course, there were earlier passengers. It was the pirates who had either fallen in before me or successfully secured a spot while I was flailing underwater.

But it wasn't like they had bows or any other ranged attack methods.

The ones with harpoons tried throwing them, but the waves made their accuracy pathetic, and I knocked away the few that actually made it to me.

"Monster son of a bitch..."

"Look who's talking, the human who joined hands with demons."

Finally, my legs stepped onto the remnants of the overturned ship.

[❖ The Fangs Aiming at Zakrati

∎ Find the base of the Bipurit gang 11 / ?

∎ Eliminate the base of the Bipurit gang 11 / ?

∎ Bonus: Kill Bipurit]

It was the end of the surprise optional quest.