Chapter 135: Kraken Subjugation Battle (1)

“Eunbyul! Turn the direction quickly!! Fasttttttt…!!!”

“…….”

“If we go on like this, Sungchul-ssi will die!! We have to go back and support him……!!!”

Trying hard to ignore her master’s words, who was shouting as if wailing from the back seat, Eunbyul did not turn the helicopter’s controls in the opposite direction from the one heading towards New Guinea Island.

She too was fully prepared for the criticism she would receive from her master, Do Sihee, the moment she made this choice.

Because even though she had only spent a single day with Kim Sungchul, she had already fully grasped the affection her master had shown him.

If he really was, as she had suspected, a man like a rattlesnake who targeted her master under the guise of love, she had intended to deal with him secretly from behind somehow.

But upon actually facing him, he didn’t seem, at least in front of her eyes, to be merely ‘pretending’ to love her master.

Seeing how he seemed to genuinely enjoy not only the affection he showed towards her master but also her unique personality, she could at least confirm that their hearts were truly in love with each other.

Moreover, he perfectly satisfied the condition of her master’s ideal type – ‘a man stronger than herself’ – which she habitually mentioned.

Although it was a contest close to cheating, the jumping ability he showed in the swimming match was something that could never be achieved unless one was an Awakener.

Furthermore, this morning he had shown the sight of gathering hundreds of monsters and cutting them down all at once, and even displayed the sight of charging without hesitation at an S-Class monster while free-falling through the air.

Only now did she finally begin to understand the meaning behind the words ‘irreplaceable person’ that her master kept mentioning.

There probably isn’t, such a person.

Even if you searched through all the men in the world, a person as fitting for her master’s ideal type as him probably wouldn’t appear.

Therefore, Eunbyul too had no choice but to move away from the island with a heavy heart.

Because what that man had protected by sacrificing himself was precisely the life of her own master, Do Sihee.

“Eunbyul, please…. Please, we have to go back….”

“…Do you intend to make his sacrifice in vain?”

“You can’t call it a sacrifice…. Sungchul-ssi must not die….”

“…….”

Actually, Eunbyul was also vaguely thinking the same thing.

Because securing her master’s safety like this and then finding Hunter personnel to return to the island would require at least two hours for a round trip.

Even if one generously appraised Kim Sungchul’s skill level as A-Class, that amount of time would be more than enough to settle the score with an S-Class monster.

Even if three people, including herself, entered the battle, it would ultimately be no different than three A-Class Hunters facing one S-Class monster.

Moreover, her primary attack method was akin to piercing a monster’s vital spot with sharp stingers, so there was no way she could land any effective blows against a colossal monster like the Kraken.

“…Even if we go back to support, realistically, there’s no possibility we can win.”

“It doesn’t matter….”

“It doesn’t matter if we can’t win…. If I die, I’ll die with Sungchul-ssi…. So please….”

Watching her master slump onto the helicopter floor without even properly fastening her seatbelt, repeatedly uttering nonsensical words, Eunbyul felt a heavy mix of emotions.

Even if she succeeded in escaping by ignoring her master’s wishes like this.

If a man like Kim Sungchul wasn’t by her master’s side, could she truly stand up again?

Was it truly the right choice to save only her master’s life, leaving behind him who had already occupied such a large part of her master’s heart?

Since starting to work under Do Sihee, Eunbyul found herself caught up in the most perplexing dilemma.

“Eunbyul…. Just once….”

“…….”

“You said you’d be on my side, Eunbyul…. In Dokyung Group, you promised that at least you were on my side….”

“…….”

“It’s fine if it’s not that, it’s fine if it’s the last time, just please….”

After glancing back once at her master, who was now muttering blankly towards the empty air as if she had already shed all her tears.

Eunbyul reached the point of making what she considered the most foolish decision up to that point.

“If we go back and Kim Sungchul-nim is already in a state where nothing can be done, or if he falls due to a monster during the battle….”

“…Eunbyul?”

“At that time, promise me that you will prioritize preserving your own life above all else.”

Do Sihee blankly nodded her head to Eunbyul, who had looked back at her while keeping the helicopter hovering in the air.

“…I will return as quickly as possible. Now, please fasten your seatbelt properly.”

Although she realized she was making a foolish choice herself, Eunbyul was ultimately Do Sihee’s servant.

Besides that, there was a promise she had made to her master on the day she decided to serve her.

Even while thinking it was a foolish act, Eunbyul had no choice but to turn the helicopter back towards the villa.

Reminding herself once again that she had to become a fool herself to serve a foolish master.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Haa, haa….”

Had about ten minutes or so passed since the full-scale confrontation with the Kraken began?

As expected, facing an S-Class monster head-on was still a reckless act.

In the early part of the battle, when his inner strength was still remaining, it was possible to boldly attack its legs, but now, even that strength was already running out.

The Kraken still had seven legs remaining, including one tentacle arm.

“Should I have aimed for its eyes from the beginning….”

If I had added the impact force from the fall and stabbed the Kraken’s eyes from the beginning, there might have been at least some possibility.

It was an attack that relied too much on luck, so naturally, I didn’t attempt it, but looking back, perhaps I should have bet on that much luck in the first place to defeat this thing.

“Keuht!”

With a hwik sound, I took a stance and blocked the tentacle flying towards me once.

Since being recklessly hit by it once while trying to cut it and being flung away, I realized that defending was the best policy for now.

Besides, the Kraken wasn’t the only thing I needed to worry about right now.

‘Kwajik! Kwajik! Kwajik!!!’

I dealt with the countless Kraels crawling from the floor by crushing them with my shoes, time and time again.

The number of times I had crushed these guys to death with my feet was already uncountable.

My greatsword had to be used for defense against the Kraken’s attacks, and my long-range control tool, fire magic, had to be utilized to keep the B-Class monster, Dust Kelp, from approaching.

Of course, even that seemed to be reaching its limit now, becoming unusable.

“Kwaak…!”

My body, unable to completely defend against the Kraken’s attack and falling over, rolled across the floor.

“Kkuuaaak…!!!”

Simultaneously, the sharp pain of the Krael corpses’ shells, lying scattered on the floor, piercing my body continued.

As much as I wanted to use recovery magic, it was naturally impossible in this situation.

Because all the strength I used for swordsmanship, magic, and recovery seemed to share the same inner power source.

Simply put, my inner strength was the combination of physical strength (Ki), magic power (Mana), and holy power.

Therefore, not being able to use physical strength meant I couldn’t use magic, and not being able to use magic meant I couldn’t use holy power either.

At least I could sporadically hold out with sword skills or basic magic that didn’t require inner strength, but most of them were only Level 1-2 techniques.

With these kinds of petty skills, I could probably only buy time when dealing with the Kraken, that’s all.

“…In the end, is this it?”

I thought I had been fully prepared since jumping from the helicopter, but it seems I still had a lot of lingering attachment to life.

Or perhaps I was just pretending to be prepared from the beginning.

It doesn’t matter anyway. I did try quite a lot, considering.

A man who somehow awakened in a world where awakening was impossible, and who, although for a brief period, got to imitate being a Hunter.

Met many people, and in the end, ended life while saving someone’s life.

Honestly speaking, this alone was a life one could wish for.

It was a future I couldn’t even dream of before obtaining awakening abilities, so it must have been an undeserved honor for me.

“…However.”

“Even if I die here, I will definitely take you with me as a companion to the afterlife.”

Glaring at its eyes hidden among its legs, I readjusted my grip on the Mithril greatsword.

Immediately, one of its legs flew down from above to strike me.

If I stayed still, I would be crushed to death, but this time, I did not dodge.

Because running away wouldn’t solve anything anyway.

Holding the greatsword in a proper stance, I glared at the tentacle flying towards me until the last moment.

From the tentacle approaching from above to crush me, I could detect a slight, unnatural mark.

A mark, though faint, as if slightly cut by something.

I could instantly grasp that it was a trace from my failed attempt to cut it earlier.

I swung my sword precisely at that spot where the wound hadn’t healed yet, and this time, I definitely felt the sensation of something being cut by the blade.

As proof of that, my body wasn’t yet stuck between the leg and the floor, being crushed.

Before the thought that the sword strike had properly landed even occurred in my mind.

“…Kwaak!”

By a second tentacle flying from behind my back, my body fell forward.

Fuck. Two at once is a foul….

Once again, my body rolled onto the sandy beach filled with Krael shells.

“You’re really damn persistent….”

Now, six legs remained.

If I could somehow cut off just one or two more, I could try charging at it with my life on the line towards its eyes.

Despite having four legs sliced off, its resistance was still strong, making the situation equally difficult.

Moreover, the fact that one tentacle arm remained among the legs I hadn’t cut yet was also a big problem.

I cannot approach unless I cut off that longest and most agile leg.

But the problem is that I’m so exhausted I can’t even cut off one ordinary leg, let alone the tentacle arm.

“Haa, euuaaak!!!”

Ignoring the screams of my whole body’s muscles and bones, I barely managed to get my lying body up.

And that was all.

Because what I could do, unable even to hold my sword properly, let alone cut off a tentacle, was merely barely getting up from my spot using the Mithril greatsword as a staff.

Even that would likely result in me rolling on the floor again from its next attack.

Did Do Sihee and Eunbyul-ssi escape properly?

‘Tududududu….’

The sound of the helicopter carrying the two people still seemed to reach my ears.

“…Cheol-ssi! ……I’ll…”

Do Sihee’s voice, which I already missed, though faint, seemed to linger in my ears.

While a foolish thought like ‘Is this the light of my life flashing before my eyes?’ crossed my mind, I felt the helicopter’s engine sound and her voice gradually grow louder.

“Sungchul-ssi! I’ll support you!! Snap out of it, Sungchul-ssi!!!”

Along with Do Sihee’s voice, which had suddenly become clear, an arrow flew in a straight line next to me in the air.

“……Huh?”

Before I could even grasp the nature of that blue flash, the incoming magic arrow plunged into the tentacle approaching me, and simultaneously, the Kraken’s tentacle writhed as if in pain before instantly curling up inside its own body.

…It wasn’t the light of my life flashing before my eyes after all.