Chương 81: Kraken

Ch 81 - Kraken Once more, demonic energy coursed through Evan's body, reshaping his form. Despite the grotesque transformation, a newfound confidence steadied him. He swung at the Leshy, a wave of dark force slamming into its guard. As it reeled from the blow, Evan dashed for the portal and slipped through.

"W-what?! Another monster!" Song-hee shouted, taking a step back. Beside her, Reika's lightning crackled in warning.

"Hold on! It's me! I'm just using my skill," Evan said, raising a hand.

"Whitfield?" Reika's brow furrowed.

"Why do you look like that? Is this some kind of ability?"

"No time to talk. It's coming!" Evan said, his gaze locking on the portal as it spasmed.

"How can it get out?! The System should have caused the dungeon to collapse once the boss died!" Song-hee asked.

"Don't ask me. This is no longer a normal Rift, remember?" These were the same group of people who had triggered the current Rift Outbreak and unleashed that Kraken upon the sea. Whatever they had done to this S-rank Rift had clearly warped it into something far removed from a normal dungeon. With the boss dead, the creatures inside were determined to escape. The Leshy clawed its way through the portal, ripping the opening wider as it forced its way out.

It roared and thrust a mass of roots toward them, but Evan answered with a burst of dark flames, incinerating them on impact.

"Reika, get Song-hee and the others as far away as possible! I'll handle the Leshy!"

"Fine! I'll look for backup, too!" Reika took off once more. Evan sincerely wished she wouldn't. He didn't want more people seeing him in this state, but he couldn't yell at her about it with the Leshy already upon him.

A Rift Outbreak occurring inside the barrier was something nobody had ever dared to imagine, yet it had happened. Reid had been aboard a helicopter with Masaru, flying toward the private island in the Eastern Sea, when they received an emergency warning from the RCB. [Warning: A Rift Outbreak has been detected in the eastern sea. Potential S-rank Rift monsters are suspected to have emerged. All available Awakeners in the vicinity are to prepare for deployment.] An Outbreak? How was that even possible?

Reid and Masaru checked the Awakener Information Network app, where reports and recordings from the Awakeners present on the island were already flooding in. Masaru pressed the transmit button on his headset.

"Push the speed. We need to get there as fast as possible."

"Understood. Going to maximum speed," the pilot replied. The helicopter plunged through the dark clouds, engines straining as it raced toward the island. Reid's pulse quickened as images of the past replayed in his mind. The sea raged below, waves crashing and churning beneath the stormy sky. Then, in the distance, the silhouette of the monstrous creature came into view, rampaging on the island.

It had already dragged itself out of the water and was now halfway onto the shore, smashing through the luxurious villas in its path. All around it, smaller figures moved amid the chaos, Awakeners and security personnel fighting desperately for their lives, their abilities and gunfire slashing through the darkness.

"A Kraken," Masaru said. He removed his headset, threw open the helicopter door, and leaped straight out. Lightning coursed through his legs, propelling him through the air as he shot toward the rampaging monster. Reid leaned toward the open doorway, gripping the side tightly as Masaru soared away. Should he let Masaru handle this? The man was an S-rank Awakener, one of the strongest in the world, and should have been capable of defeating the monster even without Reid's help.

Yet as he took in the destruction unfolding beneath him, his mind kept drifting back to that sight from ten years ago, when his home had burned to ashes and his parents had lain dead amid the wreckage. Bloodied hands clutching a small child. Evan. He had to find his brother. Throwing caution to the wind, Reid leaped from the helicopter as well. Unlike Masaru, who rocketed forward on bolts of lightning, Reid channeled Sacred Light and conjured an invisible foothold beneath his foot.

He pushed off, sailing forward, then summoned another beneath his foot in midair and pushed off once more. With each step, he covered another stretch of open space, catching up to Masaru in moments. Masaru glanced back, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

"I didn't expect you to be capable of such a skill, Mr. Whitfield."

"It's just a simple ability, Mr. Konoe," Reid replied.

"But please, let's focus on the enemy. I want to take care of this monster before it can harm anyone else." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

"And we will," Masaru said, lifting one hand toward the sky. The dark clouds above swirled and rumbled as energy gathered within them. He swung his hand downward, and a pillar of lightning tore through the clouds and hammered into the Kraken's head. KRAKABOOOM! The impact slammed into the Kraken with tremendous force, driving its head downward as an explosive shockwave ripped across the surrounding area. A deep gash split its thick hide, but the monster quickly recovered.

Its tentacles writhed furiously before several of them lashed toward the two Awakeners, stretching far beyond their original length. Reid summoned golden chains that coiled around the Kraken's tentacles, holding them in place.

"Now!" Masaru blitzed forward, closing the distance to the Kraken in an instant before driving a charged punch into its skull. The impact sent the beast reeling. The Kraken roared, and the sound alone carried a shockwave that forced Masaru to retreat. Meanwhile, the Kraken severed the tentacles caught in Reid's chains, leaving the detached limbs dangling from the restraints. Within seconds, however, the wounds on its body had already begun to regenerate.

The monster hauled at the ocean itself, dragging the surrounding water into a tsunami that raced toward the island. Reid charged forward and drew his gun, firing Sacred Light-empowered bullets into the monster's exposed limbs. Each round shredded flesh, severing tentacles and driving the Kraken to a halt. Masaru raised his hand, and a bolt lanced into the approaching wave. It split the leading edge, shattering its form and dispersing its force before it could reach the island.

The Kraken bellowed, summoning even more monsters from the depths. They crawled from the ocean in droves, pouring toward the island like a living tide. Masaru directed lightning into the water, electrocuting many as they tried to swim ashore, while Reid stayed on the beach, cutting down any that made it through. Amid the advancing horde, the beast retreated deeper into the island, but Reid refused to let it escape.

He hurled a chain that wrapped around its body, then yanked it taut as the monster strained against the restraint. Reid braced himself against the ground, boots digging into the earth as he fought to hold it in place. Masaru, finished with the smaller creatures, returned his attention to the Kraken. He stretched out both hands, and his electromagnetic field reached toward the scattered weapons and metal debris littering the battlefield.

Blades and chunks of wreckage wrenched themselves from the ground and gathered around him, forming a deadly swarm of metal that he hurled straight at the Kraken. The volley struck the Kraken's face, blades piercing its eye and hide. Its remaining tentacles thrashed as Masaru called down another bolt from the storm clouds above. Thunder hit the embedded metal, arcing between the blades and punching into the creature's body. Electricity traveled beneath its skin, ravaging it from within.

The Kraken convulsed, and Reid aimed for the wounds Masaru had opened, firing a concentrated stream of Sacred Light bullets into them. The combined assault overwhelmed the beast. Its movements faltered, then it collapsed, slamming into the shallow water with enough force to send another wave rolling toward the shore. With the Kraken dead, Reid dashed deeper into the island, trusting Masaru to handle whatever still roamed the beach.

He raced past security personnel and young Awakeners battling creatures, taking down any monster that overwhelmed them without breaking stride as he searched for any sign of his brother. His gaze locked onto a strange sight: Reika flying in the air with a bundle of unconscious, tied-up teens in her arms and a girl clinging to her back.

"Reika?" Reid called. She spotted him and descended in a rough landing, dumping the bound teens onto the ground as the girl slid from her back with an "oof."

"Mr. Whitfield, what are you doing here? No, that's not important. We need backup! Whit—Evan is fighting a Leshy!"

"Where?"

"He's in that direction. I—wait, where are you going?! You're just a Healer!" Reika shouted as Reid sprinted past her, following the direction she had pointed. Increasing his speed, Reid's heart pounded with fear as Reika's words echoed in his head. His brother was fighting a Leshy alone. Even the weakest ones were at least A-rank, while an Elder Leshy could reach S-rank.

Once more, images from a decade ago flooded his mind: Evan's pale face as he lay motionless, his breathing so faint that the small child in Reid's arms could have easily been mistaken for a corpse. Yet when Reid reached the area, he didn't find Evan beaten down or broken on the forest floor. Instead, a demon cloaked in intense demonic energy stood squaring off against a Leshy that radiated an equally thick, miasmic aura. The demon lunged at the Leshy, weaving between the thick roots erupting from the soil.

Dark flames blazed from its claws, searing into the Leshy's face and driving it back a step. In retaliation, the Leshy summoned a horde of demonic dogs and crows that descended from every direction. Jaws snapped and talons raked at the demon from all sides, but it whirled through the swarm, ripping through the attackers with savage slashes and flames. Bodies littered the grass in its wake.

The Leshy dissolved into dark smoke and reappeared behind the demon, but it caught the movement in time and blocked the sneak attack. Thorn-covered vines burst from the ground, snapping around the demon from every side and attempting to ensnare it. Flames roared from the demon, scorching the vines, then it barreled forward with a flurry of punches and kicks. The Leshy struggled to keep up with the relentless barrage, and one blow finally slipped past its guard.

The demon's claw pierced its chest, stopping it in place. Then its wooden body shattered and crumbled into pieces. The demon looked down at the Leshy's remains, then lifted its head and locked eyes with Reid.

"... Brother?" came the familiar voice of his little brother, though it was distorted and raspy, as if spoken through a broken recording. Reid stared, his mind refusing to accept it.

"I can explain..." the demon said, raising both hands.

"Remember what I said about my skill? Yeah, I'm using it now. I know you said I shouldn't, and honestly, I didn't want to use it, but someone has to keep the Leshy occupied or it'll go on a rampage. We're already dealing with that big Kraken, and—oh, it's no longer making a ruckus. Did you take care of it?" Krrrrrrrk! A rustle came from the roots behind him. The supposedly dead Leshy emerged from the tangle, a jagged wooden spear forming in its hand. It brandished the weapon and lunged for the demon's back.

Reid drew his gun. Bang! The shot struck the Leshy square in the head, blowing it apart into a shower of splinters. The demon lowered its arms and glanced over its shoulder at the wreckage.

"Oh... thanks?" Reid approached in silence. He stopped a few feet away, his gaze fixed on the demon.