They kept shooting down the tentacles, but more and more appeared. And the groan of the beast kept drawing closer.
“We’ll soon be out of ammo!” a man declared. “Young master, you should escape. We’ll keep that thing busy!”
“First of all, call me Sark. Second—damn, no! And where would I even escape to? We’ll kill that thing! Take out the grenades! We’re throwing everything we have at that monster!”
The man obeyed and threw the grenades. They exploded and did a decent job. The tentacles were blown away. And the groan had stopped. However, no one cheered. Their instincts screamed that danger was still coming. And it did.
The groan returned—louder than ever. Cracks tore through the ground and widened. They had to. Something even bigger was emerging from below. First came the immense arm, then the second, and finally the head.
“Now I’ve seen everything,” Sark muttered.
It was a kraken in humanoid form—taller than a skyscraper, towering into the sky. And when it let out its powerful cry, the resulting air pressure blew everyone away. Some slammed into buildings, others into stone. Sark was one of the few strong enough to remain on his feet—but even that had taken everything he had. The pressure had hit them like a wall and left them paralyzed.
The man to Sark’s side collapsed, coughing blood. The woman on his other side was in better shape, though her face had turned pale. Before she fell unconscious, she murmured, “Young lord… please escape…” And then she too was gone.
“Fuck! What is that thing?”
It was hard to say. The beast was too massive. Was it a kraken that had been bitten by a ghoul or something even worse? The tentacles returned and shot toward Sark.
“So, that’s how I die? Damn…”
Sark’s shadow moved and widened. Leyla emerged from it.
“Mother? What are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass! A ‘thank you’ would be nice. Well—now for you!”
With her power, she shaped the shadows into a scythe. In the next moment, she slashed the tentacles into pieces. The monster groaned again and dared to lower its head. Its eyes were black and violet. It opened its jaw and shot a burst of demonic energy at them. Leyla grabbed Sark’s arm and dove with him into the shadow.
“Damn, Mom… where are we?”
“In your shadow. But we can’t stay long.”
“Why not?”
“I need to go back out and defeat that monster. And the longer someone stays in here, the harder it becomes to leave. When you go back outside, you’ll find yourself on another street. My people are waiting there.”
“And what about you?”
“I’ll take on that monster.”
“Can you even defeat it?”
“To be honest? I doubt it. My last resort would be to drag that thing into my shadow and seal it away. But as I said, that’s the last option. It’s time for you to return, my son.”
Before Sark could reply, everything turned white. When the light faded, he was surrounded by his clan members.
Somewhere else
The soldiers were pushing the enemy back, yet Bellrion didn’t seem fazed at all. He hovered in the air, arms crossed. Below, Seraphina had chosen to rest and observe.
“We should start,” Bellrion said. Though calm, it sounded like a command.
“Are you that eager to die?”
“Hahaha! I like you.”
Bellrion beat his wings and shot forward—blazingly fast. One moment he vanished, and the next, he appeared above Nicole. One punch sent her crashing into a building. He followed immediately. Just as Nicole freed herself, Bellrion was already above her, breathing flames.
Nicole, unbothered and unharmed, raised one arm. Blood gathered into her palm and shaped into a shield, blocking the fire. Emerging from the smoke, she closed the distance to Bellrion, who waited for her. But once again, he was too fast. He appeared behind her and drove his fist through her chest.
“Disappointing.”
“I could say the same.”
Nicole was behind him. But then—who was in front of him? Bellrion’s arm was embedded in Nicole’s body… but that Nicole turned crimson. A clone.
Its head twisted unnaturally to face him, and blood blades shot from its body. Then it hugged Bellrion tightly. Meanwhile, the real Nicole had created distance. Her clone swelled until it engulfed Bellrion completely. Nicole stretched one hand forward, fingers splayed. As she slowly closed her hand, the clone compressed into a ball.
The ball burst—releasing black flames.
“I take back what I said, young lady,” Bellrion’s voice echoed. “This might be fun after all.”
“Let’s see how long you’ll think that,” Nicole snapped. “Seraphina! Go! We’ll hold them back!”
Seraphina had recovered part of her strength. She transformed into her dragon form and responded,18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAHB94E2Ku
“Don’t try to beat him. Just survive. He hasn’t taken you seriously yet.”
She flew off.
Yet instead of worrying, Nicole smiled. She focused again on Bellrion, who shrugged.
“Then I’ll make you take me seriously!”
She raised her arm, and a sea of blood formed in the sky. With each passing second, it expanded—until the sky was completely swallowed by the crimson ocean.
“What’s the most effective weapon against a dragon?” Nicole asked Bellrion, not waiting for an answer. “Of course—another dragon.”
Snake-like dragons surged from the ocean.
“Let’s test that theory.”18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQMedGP3Qh
