New chapters released weekly here. Read the completed novel on my patreon by clicking the banner at the bottom of the post!
_______________________________________________________________________
Taking down the assassins wasn’t difficult. However, there were a lot of them, and there were not only masters present, but also wizards, so it took some time to deal with them.
Meanwhile, Talos Asgar had fled quite far. Chasing after him using the compass, Elaine and Ash reached the dock.
And then they saw him.
“That ship…!”
A familiar ship was sailing away from the dock.
It was the very ship they came to this island on. A silhouette wearing a black hood was seen beyond the bow of the ship.
“It’s the wizard!”
Did he say his name was Martin? The owner of that ship signed a contract with them for a huge sum of money. What had occurred for him to break his contract with them and let someone else board?
Either Talos gave him more money than they did or he threatened him.
“Either way, we have to chase after them, and fast.”
He was right. But if they’re going after Talos, they’ll need another ship. No one would set sail at this time of year.
She thought it would be difficult to find a boat, but unexpectedly it happened quickly.
“Take my ship!”
He was an acquaintance of Martin. In fact, it was reasonable to say that all the sailors, who met frequently on their journeys, were acquaintances.
Anyway, he said he saw a hooded figure threatening Martin with magic.
He said he was worried about him, but that didn’t seem to be the only reason. He must’ve heard that Martin received a huge sum of money, and he seemed to want to seize the opportunity to make a lot of money himself.
Whatever the reason, it was a good thing for them.
Soon the sails were unfurled and the boat was off to a fast start. With their backs to the wind, they began to chase the ship ahead of them.
* * *
Talos Asgar looked out over the deck.
‘When did this…?!’
A ship was chasing his. Two people wearing dark robes were standing at the bow of the ship.
They were the ones who’d been following him at the market. It was clear that he was their target, but judging from the fact that they fought with the assassins who appeared later, it seemed that they were not part of the same group.
So, who are they? Why are they chasing him?
Were they also assassins?
Thoughts raced through his head.
Whatever their identity, they were truly monsters. Those assassins earlier consisted only of trained masters and wizards.
He recalled the image of just the two of them dealing with those assassins without any problem. He’d felt it when he fought with them in person, but they were more skilled than anyone else he’d ever encountered.
Why were people like that chasing him?
He had an idea, but…
‘I can’t let them catch me like this.’
Talos, clutching the railing hard enough it almost cracked, looked back and shouted.
“Pick up the pace!”
He had to buy time until he had enough magic to teleport.
The captain fumbled at the wheel; with him as a hostage, it was easy to get the other crew members to move. At Talos’ command, the crew rushed forward.
‘Just a little bit more, a little faster…!’
Then, a big wave rose high from the sea. The ship lurched and shook, the water rising from the depths of the sea created a great whirlpool.
He felt something approaching from below.
“…!”
Talos’ complexion paled.
Simultaneously, tentacles sprang up from everywhere, splashing water all around. The rising tentacles covered the sky above the ship.
Kiaa-!
The predator that ruled the sea.
Its shriek signaled the start of its hunt, so loud it tore through the air and echoed across the sea.
* * *
‘That…!’
Elaine’s expression changed at the sight visible beyond the blue waves.
Dozens of pillars could be seen rising up around the fleeing ship ahead. They were tentacles, to be exact, the legs of a giant monster breaking through the surface of the water like a gaping mouth, surrounding the ship.
A predator at the top of the sea’s food chain. A monster born to feed on fear, spawning terror with its mere presence.
The Kraken’s size was truly overwhelming. In front of a monster the size of a Mansion, the large sailing ship was nothing more than a small boat.
Huge tentacles covered with suckers wrapped around the boat like a snake. Then the deck was torn apart and the mast broke like a twig. The boat swayed, ready to capsize at any moment.
Ash quickly looked back at her.
“They’re all in danger.”
The sailors on the ship and Talos Asgar.
Talos currently had very little magical power left. He wouldn’t be able to last long, let alone face the Kraken.
It was too far to jump over and rescue them, but it was also too far to sail the ship over as well. Glancing behind, he spotted the captain, his complexion turning pale. The captain had long since frozen at the sight of the Kraken, and if they got any closer, the ship would likely be put in danger.
But he couldn’t just sit back and watch.
Ash said to the captain.
“When we go off the boat, turn it around.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Get as far away as possible.”
The captain, who belatedly came to his senses after hearing the voice, asked back foolishly. Instead of giving him a long explanation, Ash nodded at Elaine.
She understood his meaning and nodded back. Immediately after that, the two people jumped towards the sea.
“Uh, wow…!”
A startled gasp was heard from behind.
Their bodies sliced through the air as if they were flying. Their bodies rose to great heights, traveling a large distance in an instant, but it wasn’t enough to reach the tangled ship and Kraken.
Their bodies began to fall in a parabolic curve at around half the distance.
Beneath their feet was the sea. Something floated like a buoy on the churning water.
It was fragments of the broken ship. A piece of the kraken’s leg had also been smashed off and floated in the distance.
Splintered wooden boards rose and fell among the waves. Just as one was rising upward, he stepped on it just in time. One step was enough for him to take flight again. The wooden board that was stepped on recoiled and was submerged deeply in the water and then surfaced again.
Elaine and Ash quickly reached a position overlooking the ship.
“Aaaah!”
“Save me!”
“Aaaah!”
There was a chaos on the boat. The crew screamed and ran away from the Kraken.
The tentacles flew in from all directions, entangling the sailors one by one. Some who were captured were close to being dragged overboard.
Elaine and Ash moved quickly in different directions.
She swung her sword as she fell. The white sword energy amplified to a size that could cut through a tentacle.
As sword energy was thrown continuously, people fell with the severed tentacles.
“Ugh!”
The people who were being dragged fell to the deck. Their eyes widened at the sudden appearance of Elaine.
After confirming that everyone was safe, she quickly scanned the deck.
‘Where is he?’
Talos was not among those caught by the Kraken. Before she landed, when she looked down on the ship, she thought she’d caught a glimpse of a black hood.
Elaine turned her head and soon found his silhouette. He was on the other side of the deck, where Ash was fighting.
Fortunately, Talos was unharmed. He was cowering in a corner of the deck, avoiding the uproar.
‘It’ll be fine since Ash is over there.’
There was no need to worry about Talos escaping through teleportation. If he could’ve run away, he wouldn’t still be here. There wasn’t even enough time to gather the mana needed to teleport.
She decided to focus on defeating the monster in front of her.
At that moment, a heavy tentacle came crashing down over her head. She easily dodged it and cut off the tentacle flying over from the other direction.
A kraken can only be killed by blowing its head off completely or crushing its skull. However, it was difficult for her to attack the head while it was still underwater.
‘I have to get its head out of the water.’
With that conclusion, she moved at a faster pace. Ash, who’d come to a similar conclusion, also acted.
Every time purple and white mana flashed, a huge tentacle was sliced off.
In an instant, more than half were gone, with only the stumps remaining. The Kraken let out a painful roar. As the heavy body shook, a strong storm arose.
If they cut off all of its tentacles, it would either give up the attack and run away, or it would be provoked enough to stick out its head.
When they were about to cut off the remaining tentacles, suddenly, the few that remained wrapped around the hull and tightened their grasp.
Unable to withstand the grip, the ship groaned and collapsed.
“…!”
The ship tipped precariously off balance as one side was destroyed. Everything on board began to slide down the sloping floor.
“Whoosh!”
People were no exception. The sailors who were sliding quickly reached out and grabbed hold of the railing or anything else they could cling to. Debris and objects fell off the deck and into the sea.
Elaine grabbed the railing and quickly turned her head. Naturally, Ash was unharmed. Talos also had taken care of himself.
At that time, the bag in Talos’ hand tumbled down. He must’ve accidentally let go while grabbing onto the railing.
Trouble came the next moment. The bag rolled over to the edge of the railing, dangling precariously ready to fall overboard at any moment.
“Oh, no!”
Talos threw himself at it. Rolling to the deck below, Talos grabbed the straps of the falling bag.
Relief soon washed over his face. The roiling waves stopped. For a moment, the sea seemed to calm, and he slowly rose his head.
Then a deep cave-like mouth opened wide.
Countless teeth protruded from the entrance of the mouth to the inside of the throat, light eerily reflecting off them. In front of him, the Kraken opened its black mouth and six eyes.
Talos watched, unable to move, as its mouth slowly approached. The handful of mana he had left had long since been spent defending himself at the Kraken’s arrival. Now he was as helpless as a commoner.
How had he survived this long…
‘Is this how I’m going to die?’
It was too late to dodge. The creature roared and lunged.
Kiaaa-
However, it only took a moment for the roars to turn into screams. A sword wrapped in blazing purple mana pierced through the monster’s throat.
It swung backwards, splitting open the roof of its mouth and then into its brain. A sharp scream broke out along with a gush of blood.
The creature slowly collapsed, its head split open. The man who’d defeated the monster slowly fell from above.
His hood flapped in the wind and fell off. Jet-black hair, as if made from darkness itself, fluttered in the wind.
An extremely beautiful face was revealed from underneath, along with purple eyes.
Talos looked at his face and froze, time seemed to stop. The man landed without a sound and walked towards him.
“Talos Asgar.”
He called Talos’ name again, as he had on the island. Unlike before, Talos did not scream gibberish or try to run away.
He just stared blankly at the man’s face.
“…Wh-”
Talos’ lips slowly twitched.
“Ash de Philion…?”
As soon as he spoke the name, the color disappeared from Talos’ face. He pointed to Ash with a trembling finger.
“Ah, the witch’s son…!”
Ash looked down at Talos expressionlessly.
It seemed he knew who Ash was, just by seeing his appearance. It was a painfully familiar reaction.
Unconcerned with his reaction, Ash opened his mouth to speak, but Talos knelt down and grabbed his legs.
“I have something to tell you…!”
“…! What are you doing-”
“You can kill me, but just hear me out first!”
Ash frowned, and Elaine reflexively tried to pull him away.
He cried out, as if he was about to die.
“The witch didn’t cause the incident in Seveka…!”
“What do you…”
“The witch was just being manipulated. The real culprit is someone else!”
“…What?”
He couldn’t comprehend the meaning of his words right away. Ash stiffened and asked slowly.
Talos Asgar continued.
“I participated in the Seveka incident… No, I was a participant in the ‘witch hunt’.”
He lifted his head. His face, shadowed by a hood, disfigured by burns, turned toward Ash. Their gazes locked.
“I want to tell you… the truth.”
July 18, 532 in the Philion calendar.
The day when Ash de Philion, the witch’s only decendent, first learned the terrible truth.
