’I can’t look behind either. I don’t want to see whatever form this calamity assumes.’
The colossal tentacles and their human-sized suction cups he had glimpsed were already enough for a lifetime of trauma. The entire thing?
’Most crew members will die of shock, and I’ll freeze in a stupor for a few seconds. It’s more than enough for it to shred me into pieces.’
As he swam into the unknown, a worried frown creased his brows.
’I must locate the city first, but how? It’ll see me if I illuminate the darkness. Even worse. It’ll hear me if I use my echolocation mana technique. I’m not even sure it’s not already chasing me either...’
He bit his lip in anxiety as three options presented themselves, none of which he wanted to choose.
’I can exclude passiveness. It’s not who I am and why I dislike Gaston’s fighting style. Light will reduce the risks but won’t help much if the city is far away.’
He exhaled a mouthful of bubbles as his eyes narrowed.
’Echo location it is. It’s a risky gamble, though.’
A shudder rocked his soul as his lips parted.
Hesitant but determined to act, he halted all movements.
The alerted crew gazed at his open mouth in despair, imagining the worst. And they were right.
Chains of concentric mana spread into the water as a silent scream escaped his throat.
Instantly, a map spanning several kilometers formed in his mind... but also the Kraken’s silhouette turning in his direction.
’Shit! I miscalculated!’
He cursed under his breath, speeding like a torpedo into the dark depths without a second thought.
’We’re so small compared to it that it ignored us after destroying the barque and went for the sinking ship!’
Truthfully, he didn’t know if he had committed a mistake or not, considering the situation. But he knew one thing: he would have never found the city without using echolocation... because it rested on the sea’s floor!
Reassured by the discovery, his arms cut through the underwater current with desperate abandon. Each swing brought him closer to salvation while each second wasted closer to a terrible death.
His teeth cracked and his soul shuddered as the Kraken’s abyssal yell echoed behind them. The sailor’s eardrums shattered, and a stream of blood flew out of their deaf ears.
A shock wave followed, rushing to his exposed back like Prometheus’ horrible nuclear blasts.
’That’s just a random scream?!’
The question rumbled in his mind as his face distorted in horror.
’Shit! If only the puppet’s circuits weren’t damaged!’
Reluctance distorting his face, he materialised his mana cape. In a split second, he flooded his own circuits until they burned his soul.
Then, he added an element, one he was reluctant to use without proper training and understanding as he closed his eyes.
Prometheus’ rickety image and soul-chilling mask formed in his mind, followed by his movements, respiration, and control. Finally, he replayed the spell that had obliterated millions of swarming insects.
Fueled by the memory and a steely glint flashing in his eyes, he outstretched his palms towards the shockwave and roared in his head.
A chain of sparks illuminated the abyss. Like fireworks, they split the water before...
Water evaporated, and a purgatory of lethal flames illuminated the place in blinding lights. The icy depths’ temperature increased to reach several thousand degrees as the blast collided with the shockwave in a raging confrontation of disproportionate scale.
But he knew he couldn’t win.
After all, Prometheus had been a magus when he was only an apprentice mimicking his technique.
The result was as different as a kid swinging a butter knife compared to a veteran warrior dancing with an enchanted sword.
Despite the assured loss, his lips curled into a feeble smirk as his circuits burned his soul like molten iron.
In the blink of an eye, he turned towards the seabed and resumed swimming before the clash’s shockwave colliding with his back.
’That’s what I’ve been aiming for!’
Water whistled in his ears as his speed picked up.
Simultaneously, the Kraken’s shockwave swallowed the atomic cannon and resumed its relentless charge.
Yet, he was now faster.
Like a submerged meteor, he blurred towards the city.
He could already see the thick mana barrier surrounding it like a protective cocoon that kept the water and invaders away.
’Come on! One last effort!’
He encouraged himself, fighting against his circuits’ agony as he drew closer.
As rays of hope shone in everyone’s hearts, a tentacle appeared on their path. Then, another one and another one.
Like fleshy spears, they formed a wall as the Kraken’s figure descended on the barrier and encased it like an egg.
Seeing the monstrous tier-eight magical sea beast, he froze.
’N-No! We were so close!’
The crew members and Flintwaters’ faces crumbled, and they stopped breathing at the sight of the creature’s eyes.
Taller than a fortress, they landed on their ant-like figures and the creature’s beak opened.
As his mind raced for a solution and the others gave up, finding it surreal that the legendary Kraken truly existed, a sudden voice, gentle yet unexpected, reverberated through the abyss.
"Kraky, give me the pleasure of shutting up if you’re this close to my city!"
The Kraken’s eyes narrowed into slits at the disrespectful order.
His eyes narrowed, too.
’Is it the Tide caller?’
Fortunately, the answer came right after he pondered, and from the most unexpected individual, no less.
"You shut up, thieving brat! You’re no one. Just a lucky nameless archmage who entered the city when I was busy elsewhere."
The Kraken’s tentacles trembled in anger as it gazed at the human silhouette he hated the most.
Meanwhile, the silhouette smirked in answer and added threats to their confrontation.
"Will my name become famous if I blow the city up?"
The silhouette’s voice turned icy next as it continued.
"What would your masters think when they return and only see rumbles replace their glorious city? Is that what you want?"