Chapter 81

Chapter 81 – Is This Really Happening Again? (5)

[Koo-wahhhhhh!  Kee-hahhhhhhhh!]

Did the scream of a damned soul from the depth of hell sound like this?  The sound that made everyone, who heard the sound, shudder in fright rang throughout the ocean.  The ocean floor shook as it crumbled.  All the deep-sea organisms had already fled far away.  It was the same for the monsters.

[The humans are here!]

[W…what the hell is in there!?]

[You guys haven’t left yet?]

As all of this unfolded, an awful lot of merfolk had gathered at this location. Maybe, merfolks weren’t really monsters. They might be another humanoid species.  It seemed they were really poor at following directions.  In that aspect, they were really like humans!  Or maybe they were dumb.  They might have forgotten his words in just two months!

Artpe would rather perish than become responsible for the merfolk.  He had these thoughts as he let go of Maetel and Sienna. Since she knew this wasn’t over yet, Maetel didn’t complain too much.  She quickly stepped away from him.

“Artpe, somehow we got this far, but…..  It isn’t dead yet, right?”

“There is no way it would die just from that.”

At the end, Sienna’s strike had been a critical blow, and the Kraken had been buried deep beneath the ocean floor.  Even though the Kraken was buried alive, the Kraken was continuing its rampage.  He couldn’t guarantee that the temple fragments and the rocks of the underwater tunnel would be able to withstand the Kraken’s assault.

[Kwah-ohhhhhhhhh!]

“Wow.  Look at that.  The ground is shifting.”

They had somehow safely escaped the clutches of the monster.  He let out a deep breath.  First, he had smoothly reached this point.  In the process of getting here, he had used much more Mana than he had expected, so he was having a hard time keeping his wits about him.

Maetel had indiscriminately used her Acceleration, and Sienna had attacked the Kraken by hitting the temple fragments. Artpe had used Blink.  Most of their actions consumed Mana.  This was probably easy to forget, but Artpe was maintaining the Underwater Breathing magic.  It took constant consumption of Mana to maintain the spell.

The quantity of Mana possessed by Artpe was transcendent, and if he hadn’t possessed it, he would have died.  He would have died a dozen times over.

“Shit······ I have to use that magic.”

Artpe was drinking the highest grade Mana Potion he had purchased from Mycenae.  However, the potion’s effect didn’t kick in immediately.  It would be a long time before his Mana filled up to the point he desired.

The Kraken will probably escape before his Mana filled back up.  Artpe’s party and the long history of the Anaid Kingdom would come to an end!  Artpe drank all his Mana Potions, and he desperately gathered the ambient Mana around him.  At the same time, he put his brain to work.

‘Mana.  The Mana is a must……’

Demite’s Gemstone….   He could use it if needed, but it wasn’t enough.  He could drink multiple Mana Potions, but the efficacy of the potion would be close to nil now.

Yes, there was the Kraken’s Magic Stone!

If he consumed that item, he might be able to pull this off!

However, it wouldn’t be enough.  Artpe’s eyes could clearly see the status of the buried Kraken.  As if to confirm that he couldn’t kill it, the damn Kraken moved in a very lively manner!

The only reason why it couldn’t escape its prison was the residual holy power left within the temple fragments.  Once the Kraken’s demonic energy pushed away the holy power, its violent rampage would overturn the entire region.

At that moment, Artpe suddenly had a thought.

“Maetel, what is the range of application for the Record Divide?”

“My comrades and……  Those that are far weaker than me.”

“What about the merfolk over there?”

Maetel watched the merfolk, who were starting to congregate around the party.  After thinking over it for a brief moment, she nodded her head without hesitation.

“I believe I can do it.  It will be hard if I don’t have consent to take their Mana.”

“All right.  Wait a moment.”

Basically, it wasn’t impossible.  It was just hard to do .  This fact terrified him.   A hero normally took and commandeered resources from innocent people.  So he didn’t feel much guilt in doing this. Artpe immediately turned towards the merfolk, and he shouted at them.

[All of you guys come over here!  I want to use your Mana!]

[M…mana!?  Human, how can you use our Mana…..]

[Does this human share the same purpose as that man?  He might be trying to experiment on us!  You are a diabolical human!]

It seemed he wouldn’t be able to accomplish this through an amiable conversation. Artpe was resigned as he was about to use a more coercive measure.  However, a voice containing an iron will rang out from beyond the crowd of merfolk.

[That man is my owner.  Soon, he will be the owner of this kingdom!  All the merfolk shall follow his orders!]

It was Sherryl’s voice.  She held a position of leadership amongst the merfolk, yet she had remained in this place.  Artpe was taken aback by her appearance, and his mouth fell open when he saw the thousands of merfolk following behind her.

They had willingly cut off their own escape route.  How foolish can they be!  However, the merfolk thought differently from Artpe.  There wasn’t a hint of hesitancy within Sherryl’s voice.

[Master will soon become the kingdom.  If the master dies, the kingdom will not exist!  You should think of it that way!  Anyone with a drop of Mana left shall follow his order!]

[Princess.  No, her majesty the queen……]

[The queen has spoken!]

There were those that were disgruntled by the situation.  There were those that were uneasy about all of this.  However, the merfolk didn’t show any outward signs of their emotions.  They obediently followed their queen’s orders.  They put their lives in Artpe’s hands.  Maetel’s green eyes twinkled when she saw this.

“It is possible!”

“It is a skill that hasn’t been Reinforced yet, but it is capable of……  All right.  Let’s do this right now!  I want you all to send as much of your Mana towards me!”

Artpe activated the Mana Link with Maetel.   Maetel used the Record Divide to gather the Mana from the nearby merfolk.  Artpe pulled the Mana towards him, and he activated his magic!

“Sienna, do you need Mana?  Shall I share some with you?”

“Yes, oppa.  If we kill that, I know I’ll level up.  I’ll fight until I’m close to death!”

“Our Sienna had grown up to be really strong······.”

It hurt him to see it, but that didn’t mean he would refuse her the access to the Mana.  Artpe gritted his teeth, and he took out the Demite’s Gemstone.

He had used this item at every important junctures, but the item still remained in its rough gemstone form.  When he successfully ended this battle, Artpe thought he would be able to refine it…….

“Please last through this battle.  I’ll soon bring out your true form……!”

The Mana from the merfolk went through Maetel.  Then the Mana was passed onto him.  He poured it all into the Demite’s Stone.  At the same time, he started chanting the great magic spell.

“The mystery that fell from the sky.  The cradle of creation.  We are nestled in your bosom, and I will lead you by my hand. Accede to my demand.  Wash away those that sully your purity. Maintain your mysteries.”

Each words brought forth a blinding purple light, and it amplified the Mana.

If he could see it with his eyes, it was within the range of the great magic.  He created a magic circle with the amplified Mana.  He expanded the circle, then he set the range.  Just this act created a pressure that made the ground shake.

“I will become your proxy.  Entrust your power to me. Germinate the power of life.  Turn yourself around.  Become the mace of death that destroys my enemy.”

“Oh my.  He is too cool······!”

This was the first time Maetel had seen Artpe use a great magic spell.  Her eyes twinkled.  Artpe could only let out a bitter laugh when he heard her words.  He already knew the result of this magic spell.

[Koo-goo-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

As Artpe was getting closer to finishing his spell, the Kraken felt a sense of danger.  Its rampage became fiercer.  This finally caused a part of the ground to give way, and the Kraken shot a stream of water towards Artpe!

“No, you don’t!”

Artpe was chanting his magic, and Maetel was using her Record Divide.  Sienna stepped forward in their stead. She took center stage.  She focused the hammer’s power of vibration, and she brought down a fierce swing towards the stream of water.  The attack was neutralized accompanying a loud boom.

Somehow, she was able to block its attack, but it hadn’t been a simple attack.  Afterwards, several strands of water streams erupted as they completely dismantled the surface of the ground.  An enormous tentacle erupted from the newly created space!

[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhh!]

[The bastard’s tentacle came out!]

[H…human!  You took our Mana, so you should do something!  Please show us something!]

The merfolk started speaking in a respectful tone when their lives became threatened.

Artpe snorted.  He smiled as he spoke the final part of the spell.  At the end, he mixed Sienna’s special Mana, which was antagonistic against demonic energy.  He poured it into the Demite’s Gemstone.  Then he once again pushed the magical energy towards the core of the magic circle!

“Oh ocean.  Show us your anger!  Wash away the filth, and prove your purity!”

The activation of the spell was impending, so he took out the level 267 Kraken’s magic stone.  He had no choice.  He had to let this magic stone go, and the waste almost brought tears to his eyes.  However, this was a necessary sacrifice to kill the damn monster once and for all.

Artpe knew what choices and sacrifices he had to make for his survival.  He knew this better than anyone else, since he had been the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings in his past life!

“Shit······ Flow downwards!  God Flush!”

Artpe broke the magical stone, which had come out from a Kraken, with all his might.  He used the magical energy to activate the magic circle to its peak, and he uttered the final words to the spell.

God Flush was a great magic spell that was left behind by the Kraken.  It had been the owner of this magic stone.  Moreover, the target of this attack was another Kraken.  It was a truly funny and ironic situation.  However, the result wasn’t funny at all.

[Koo-oooh!?  Koo-ooh-ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

The tentacle had been freed into the ocean water, and it had been trying to find a target.  However, the tentacle suddenly stopped moving.  An unnatural silence descended on the battlefield.  Everyone became puzzled by the silence.  He had consumed such an overwhelming amount of Mana to use this spell, yet the result was silence.

“Artpe, what did you just······.”

“Maetel, I want you to hold me.”

Maetel squashed her own question, and she spoke in a reliable manner towards Artpe.

“Yes!”

“Me too!”

[Nyaa nyaa-ahhhhhhht!]

In regards to anything that had to do with skinship, she would never turn it down.  She didn’t even ask him any questions.  When she heard his word, she hugged him.  As if she didn’t want to lose, Sienna also hugged Artpe.  Roa was stuck between them, and she yowled as if she was about to be crushed to death.  Afterwards, the ocean water sloshed.

“It is about to start.”

Artpe mumbled quietly to himself, and he shut his eyes tight.

One didn’t need to ask what was about to start.  The silence from a moment ago felt like a lie.   The torrent of water struck the region!

“Kyahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk!”

“Artpehhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

[Nyaaaaaaaaaaaht!]

It was an enormous whirlpool.  A whirlpool had erupted in the middle of the ocean.  It was created by sucking in everything that made up the ocean.  The whirlpool dragged everything downwards towards the ocean bed.  Artpe’s party had to struggle to get out of the helical flow of the water.

[Koo-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]

Of course, the terminal end of the whirlpool landed on the Kraken.

[Kah-hah!  Koo-hahhhhhhk!  Kee-ehhhhhhh!]

The enormous vortex dragged down the ocean water.  It was powerful enough to pulverize the enormous temple fragments.  It freed the Kraken for an instant, but in the next moment, it was swept alongside the pulverized remnants of the temple fragments.  The frightening centrifugal current caused enormous wounds to form on the Kraken’s body!

[M…my god.  The god of the ocean is angry!]

[H…he isn’t human.  He is the god of the ocean!  He has descended to save us!]

It was as if the enormous whirlpool was punishing the Kraken.  When the merfolk saw him control the ocean, they mistook Artpe for the god of the ocean.  In truth, it wasn’t an overreaction to call him a god based on what he did!

[Ggooh-ahhhhhhhhhh!]

“As expected, a level one spell comes out like this when using a magic stone····· Shit!”

“Kyahhhhhhhhh!”

“You sneaked a kiss on my cheek.  Ooh-gyahhhhhhk!”

It wasn’t just a kiss on the cheek.  Maetel acted as if she couldn’t win against the current of the whirlpool, and she kept pushing her mouth towards his face.  It seemed Sienna was quick to pick up on Maetel’s bad behavior.  She also joined in!

Artpe was currently hanging onto his party members.  If not, he would be swept away by the great magic God Flush.  Is this what you reap what you sow meant?  He could only moan in a low voice as the hero and the Warrior Priestess displayed their physical affection all over his body.

[Kee-heeeeeek!  Kee-hahhhhhhh!]

The scream of the Kraken was getting louder and louder.

The Kraken’s body was being assaulted.  It was being sucked below to the ocean floor by the pressure.  Moreover, Sienna’s holy power was layered on top of the attack. The pieces of the pulverized temple fragments dug into its body like needles.

The blue ocean churned with its black blood.  Soon, it was as if the entire ocean was dyed black.  Artpe thought about ordering Roa to absorb everything.

How long did it last? The whirlpool had started below the surface of the water, and it had dragged the Kraken towards the absolute floor of the ocean. As the whirlpool continued to travel downwards, everyone became free from the influence of the current created by the whirlpool.  They could no longer hear the screams of the Kraken, and they could no longer see its tentacles.  It had been completely swallowed by the ocean.

As if Maetel was finally satisfied, she let go of Artpe, and she asked him a question.

“Artpe, what happens if that monster doesn’t die from this?”

“That is a very good question.”

Artpe smirked as he answered her.

“We have to kill it no matter what.”