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Chapter 240

Watching Yeon-woo, who was throwing himself toward the Kraken without hesitation, the old man gritted his teeth. There was something familiar about that young back.

“Why?!” An angry voice escaped the old man’s lips. “How can he go to his death so willingly?”

There was no answer to that question. That was a life different from his own. He could not see it as the same human being.

While he overflowed with negative emotions, how could such a fundamentally different creature walk toward danger with shining eyes?

“Here comes that Iralclyos again…”

He gritted his teeth, feeling as if they would break. The shadow of a distant past loomed before him.

Time and again, it had interrupted him, and now it was manifesting, as if simply doing so was not enough, he glared at the past.

The ominous mana that had bound him shattered completely. His body, which had been stiff as if captured by iron chains, regained its activity.

He pressed down his emotions with a grunt. He knew well that it was pointless anger. That little brat was not Iralclyos.

At fifteen, he was undoubtedly a genius, but he was not like Iralclyos. There was no comparison with the monster who, at eighteen, had reached the Master level, breaking the record for the youngest Master.

“I’m going to kill him.”

Not here. Once this situation is over, I will kill that brat. I can no longer tolerate such a being.

Thinking he had fundamentally changed, the old man drew the axe hung at his waist.

It seemed that the man who had been called a hero, even in name only, had entirely died, as a surge of murderous intent rose from deep within him.

First, he would kill the Kraken. Then, he would kill Choi Yeon-woo.

The old man, realizing that his roots were “evil,” burst forth from the surface of the sea. A chaotic battlefield was unfolding above.

A fight accompanied by the natural disasters of the Kraken and the Dragon, a ship attacking the legs in between, and two women fighting while freezing the sea.

As the old man wrapped wind around his axe, he smiled. The battle in the storm was nothing short of a favorable battlefield for him. The fury of the wind had grown wild and became a weapon for Edward.

The experienced mana control of an ancient hero took the storm as his own. The old man, like a bullet, thrust himself into the mythical battlefield.

The wind that exploded between the Kraken and the Dragon simultaneously angered both monsters.

“I’ll take care of both of you.”

Saying this, Edward raised the corners of his mouth. It was nothing short of arrogance and bravado.

However, in this world, an old man was a symbol and a testament. A proof of survival having weathered all sorts of crises.

The old man would survive this battle too. It presented a striking intuition resembling a prophecy.

*

Watching the Kraken’s flesh, which had started to regenerate and even split apart, Yeon-woo clicked his tongue. The immense and small octopus legs filled his sight.

That wasn’t all. The split and regenerating flesh scattered into the air and began transforming into octopuses the size of large dogs.

“What kind of mental resilience is this, you idiot?”

Yeon-woo was surprised not because the Kraken was dividing and pouring out a number of troops.

It was because, despite the curse bullets embedded in its body, it was still capable of such a feat.

Yeon-woo was well aware of what curse bullets were. At the current stage, these bullets were transitional items, making their power uncontrolled.

He had once been hit by a curse bullet during a war with the cult, and after receiving healing divine art, he had been engulfed in pain, wishing instead to be killed.

Yet, the octopus before him had decided to regenerate itself amidst such agony.

“Won’t it just shock itself to death?”

How convenient would it be if it just suddenly dropped dead? You wouldn’t feel pain, and I’d be good too. It’s a win-win, right?

Unfortunately, it seemed the Kraken had no intention of doing so. The smaller and larger octopuses in the sea began rushing toward Yeon-woo all at once.

“Haah.”

Yeon-woo took a deep breath. The gills created by courage had already disappeared, and he no longer had to breathe, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t. After all, he had only become undead while still alive.

Time slowed down. The intuition he had about the incoming octopuses struck his mind. He believed he could handle them all with this strength and speed.

He sliced time into smaller pieces according to his analysis. To dispatch the octopus horde attacking him from all directions, it was necessary to divide time strictly.

The moment he used more than 0.5 seconds in one direction, he would undoubtedly invite wounds.

Once the judgment was completed, he would cut the space without striking the enemy. In other words, it was an extreme pre-input.

Instead of directly slicing the regenerating Krakens, it was slicing the space into which the Krakens would dive. This would be the foundation of forming a sword domain.

Swoosh!!

The flesh of the octopuses burst out in all directions. As the octopuses that followed stumbled, Yeon-woo slipped out and surveyed the situation.

Three legs for the Ghost Ship, two for himself, one for Moon Mu-ho, one for Riley, and one for Baek In-hwa, and one for Edward.

Excluding the legs that were regenerating, those first eight legs were distributed accordingly.

The operation to distract the Ghost Ship and free Moon Mu-ho had somewhat succeeded.

From now on, it was necessary to pick up the pace. Putting will into his movements, he released mana to add speed.

Yeon-woo rocketed toward the Kraken’s head like a jet.

The gigantic harpoon stuck in front of him was an ancient weapon used during the Demon War. It was similar to the large spear called the Dragon Spear, meant to combat large monsters.

With mana coursing vividly into his eyes, Yeon-woo reached out to the harpoon. At that moment, a memory began to flow into his mind.

For a brief moment, Yeon-woo stood vacantly, dodging an incoming octopus.

“…Ah, so that’s how it is?”

Grinning, Yeon-woo hung the doppleganger on the tip of the harpoon. He had figured it out. He also understood how to use it.

In essence, this was a battle weapon against the great Kraken.

*

Do you remember the Clock Tower of Hoiyeon City? The artifact created by humanity for the first time, which, while not possessing special abilities, became a symbol of hope for humanity merely by its existence.

The number of artifacts created by humanity is incredibly small. But that doesn’t mean there are none at all.

For instance, the Shield Sword Aorum made by the finest elf artisans, the large furnace crafted by dwarves, and tactical cities like Washington and Bing Baek Sin Jang are proof of that.

However, such artifacts all share the commonality of being crafted by the best artisans working together.

The Clock Tower of Hoiyeon City, made by a random unorganized group throwing together trash, is different in direction.

The harpoon embedded in the Kraken’s body resembled the Clock Tower more than those artifacts. While it wasn’t an artifact in itself, it had become one through circumstances.

It had been turned into an artifact by sheer will. It could also be called a curse.

Decades ago that day, the 22nd combat fleet of the First Fleet departed from this sea, leaving behind a thirst for the Kraken.

The cursed weapon sucking the blood of the Kraken while stuck in its body was that very identity.

“Who would have thought a real artifact that must kill an octopus could exist?”

Of course, calling it an artifact that must kill octopuses might be a stretch since the Kraken wasn’t dead yet.

However, there was a reason why. Despite the harpoon clearly being reborn as something meant to kill an octopus, there was a reason it couldn’t kill the Kraken.

“It’s insufficient, the hatred…”

Ridiculously so, that was indeed the case. Just as he had experienced when acquiring the doppleganger, this harpoon showed him memories entwined around it. It was, in a sense, psychometry.

He understood what had happened and why it had been reborn as an artifact.

And in that process, he realized why this harpoon couldn’t kill the Kraken.

One person’s worth was missing. Exactly one person’s worth. Like knowing that only one person had survived from that day’s war.

For a moment, he questioned whether it was really alright to hand this over to Kim Hang-po, but Yeon-woo believed it was fine.

After all, the method he had used to kill the Kraken before regression must have been this very harpoon.

“I trust you, Great Lord of Dragons~.”

To say it was irresponsible would only be the least of it; it was necessary to kill the Kraken that had begun exponentially multiplying.

If using it earlier than before regression caused unwanted consequences, he had steeled himself for some aftercare.

Muttering thus, Yeon-woo moved toward the surface of the sea. Dodging the many splitting Krakens chasing behind him, he jumped up like a flying fish.

Landing gracefully on the deck of Moon Mu-ho’s ship, Yeon-woo hurriedly headed for the captain’s cabin.

“Captain! I’ve found the answer!!”

“…What do you mean by that?”

The weary-faced Kim Hang-po got up. Though he was excellent in navigation, his amount and quality of mana seemed lacking.

“There’s a harpoon, a harpoon embedded in the body of the Kraken. It’s the harpoon your comrades drove in, and it’s the item that can definitely kill the Kraken.”

Kim Hang-po flinched and wiped his face in surprise at Yeon-woo’s words. Given that they were not in an entirely relaxed situation, he had kept it as brief as possible, but fortunately, it seemed Kim understood well.

“We need to salvage it. No matter what, pull it out. As long as the captain can touch it, it’ll be over.”

“Salvage? That’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“I anticipated that and connected it.”

As Yeon-woo said this, he waved the black rope in his hand. Kim Hang-po did not hesitate.

“There’s a ship crane at the stern. It’s not meant for salvage, but I think it’ll work.”

“I’ll manage that part somehow, so don’t worry. Once I signal, just activate the crane.”

As Yeon-woo dashed out of the captain’s cabin, he caught sight of a throng of splitting Krakens boiling up from the depths of the sea.

In the air, Edward was doing what he could, but Riley and Baek In-hwa seemed to be struggling against their numbers.

If those two were having trouble, the Ghost Ship must be surrounded like a wreck laden with barnacles.

Yeon-woo hurriedly connected the doppleganger to the crane. Once he sent the signal, the mana stone within the crane activated, and the motor began to whirl.

He had contemplated how to supply power if it were purely mechanical, but with magic engineering, it was a piece of cake.

“I’ll say a prayer beforehand.”

Most likely once he forcibly pumped mana into it and caused an overload, the crane would break, but it would be a necessary sacrifice.

As Yeon-woo thrust his hand into the crane’s power unit, he began shoving mana into the mana stone with all his might.

(Continued in the next chapter)

 

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