The mist slowly faded. The sound of the massive explosion echoed throughout the area, followed by the roar of raging waves. The ground trembled violently.

As the mist cleared, Crowne was seen falling. His body was covered in blood, completely unconscious. Several of his beasts immediately moved.

"Mas... Master!" Sylvara shouted.

She dashed forward to reach Crowne's body, but in the next second, the air around them grew heavier. The pressure became insane.

Sylvara's body was pulled down.

"Ugh... what is this," she muttered weakly.

Crackkkk!

She fell hard to the ground. When she tried to stand, the aura there pressed down on her so much that she could not even move.

King Kraken's eyes glowed brightly. Suddenly, its body shrank, transforming into a naked human form.

It floated toward the spot where Crowne had fallen. Some of the beasts tried to stop King Kraken, but none of them could even stand. Their bodies felt unbearably heavy.

"What are you going to do?" Sylvara shouted.

Her scream was ignored. King Kraken stopped near Crowne's severely injured body. His hand was shattered, and the wounds across his body continued to bleed. He had run out of mana after the last attack.

King Kraken stared at Crowne for a long moment, tilting its head.

"What are you doing, human? Why did you fight me?" King Kraken asked.

No answer. Crowne was unconscious. How could he respond?

King Kraken crouched and touched Crowne's head. Several of his beasts tried to stand and attack, but none of them could move.

"Bastard, stay away from my master!" Sylvara screamed.

She forced herself with all her might, even to the point that several of her bones cracked, but she still could not stand.

King Kraken glanced at her. "A creature from another world..." It clearly disliked Sylvara. "This is my world, and the sea is my domain. So stay there."

BAAAM!

A condensed water sphere struck Sylvara's spine, making her bones crack. She screamed, but she could not fight back.

King Kraken turned back to Crowne. "Oh, so that's your purpose."

It read Crowne's thoughts through its power. At that moment, King Kraken smiled. It stood up and turned away.

"You wish to save your mother and the people of Doomsty, huh? You don't know, or are you just naive? Humans are disgusting. They will praise you when you're useful, but once you make the slightest mistake, they'll treat you as if you never did any good. All the kindness you've shown will be forgotten by them.

"It disgusts me. If we guardian gods were allowed to annihilate humanity, we would have done it long ago," King Kraken said.

It looked at Crowne again, raising its finger, ready to fire a laser and end his life. But suddenly, it lowered its hand.

King Kraken saw something standing in front of Crowne. Something no one else could see. At that moment, it stopped.

"You wish to protect him?" it asked.

It listened for a while and nodded several times. Eventually, it scratched its head and made a decision.

"A prophecy, huh? I don't like that sort of thing, but since it's you, I'll believe it."

Then King Kraken's form changed back into a massive octopus. At the same time, it prepared to leave and forget what had happened.

However, before departing, King Kraken turned once more. "What will that young man ask for? I will grant him one wish. Consider it my contribution for helping him fight that outer creature."

King Kraken glanced at Sylvara, who looked confused, because from her perspective, it seemed like King Kraken was talking to himself like a madman.

It nodded and snapped its fingers. A second later, light appeared, and a girl materialized before it. King Kraken touched her body, infusing a little of its energy into her.

"I'll be going now. Take them wherever you wish, but do not bother me again." King Kraken moved toward the wall created by Sylvara, and when one of its tentacles touched it, the wall instantly shattered.

"Oh, right. I'll halt my terror against humans for three months. But if they continue destroying the sea, I'll resume it."

Only then did King Kraken truly leave. The air suddenly became lighter, but a strange drowsiness filled the bodies of Crowne's beasts.

Sylvara tried to resist the sleepiness, but slowly she succumbed and fell into a deep slumber.

**

The next morning, Crowne awoke. As soon as he opened his eyes, he quickly stood up, drawing his sword.

However, he was already at the edge of the shore, standing atop a large rock. Crowne looked around, realizing he was no longer in the previous place.

"Calm down, Master!" Sylvara said. She stood up and walked toward him, holding out a grilled fish. "It's all over. I can't say we won, but... it's finished."

Crowne frowned, puzzled. He took the grilled fish and sat cross-legged on the rock.

"Tell me everything. I want to hear it all," Crowne said.

**

"...And that's how it happened," Sylvara said, finishing her explanation.

Crowne nodded slowly. He understood part of what happened, though some details still felt strange to him. But it was still acceptable.

"So that's how it was," he murmured softly.

His body still felt heavy. Each time he moved his shoulder, pain from the bandaged wounds stabbed through him. He glanced at the bandages wrapped neatly around his chest and right arm.

"You did this?" he asked.

Sylvara smiled faintly, though she looked tired. "Of course. Who else would? You really are reckless, Master. I thought you were... well, you know what I mean."

Crowne smiled weakly. "I thought the same. King Kraken was truly extraordinary. I think it's the strongest creature I've ever fought."

Sylvara agreed. "It even managed to make me completely helpless."

One thing she realized after waking up was that King Kraken had never been serious in that battle. If it had been, they wouldn't have had any chance at all.

Thinking about that made Sylvara clench her fists. She hated it, but it was over.

"Ah, if that's the case, my mission won't be completed. Looks like I have no choice but to use the normal route," Crowne muttered.

Sylvara turned to him. "Ah, about that matter, you can relax, Master. You have proof," she said, pointing at King Kraken's tentacle lying near the shore, beside the other beasts. "Just take that!"

"Where did you get it?"

Sylvara shrugged. "It was already there when I woke up."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.