Chapter 64 – Kraken (5)

[Nyaaaaaaaa.]

There was an intruder on top of the barrier wall. Despite the fact that they they were in a desperate situation, the atmosphere amongst the hero’s party was shaken for a brief moment.

“What is that black cat, Artpe?”

“I don’t care about the cat. We have to do something about the Kraken right now, Artpe-nim!”

“Everyone be quiet for a moment.”

[Nyaa, nyaa-ah-ah-, nyaa-ooh-ee-ooh-ah!]

When the Greed Beast was born, there had been a feast prepared right in front of its newly opened eyes. It seemed a deep impression had been created on the Greed Beast. It started talking about which one was tasty, and it went into the topic of how some curses were sweeter than others. It started describing its impression of what it ate. This was useless information to Artpe, but it seemed there was a different taste to each curse and evil energy.

[Nyahh, nyaa-oooh, nyaa-nyaa-ah!]

“Yes, yes. I’m glad you were able to eat such delicious foods.”

As Mycenae had pointed out, he couldn’t leisurely play with the cat right now. However, he couldn’t hide the smile that had formed on his lips when he saw it. The Greed Beast had sought him out.

It felt as if he had just unearthed the final key that would solve this situation.

“So are you a bit full now?”

[Nyaaaaa.]

“You ate that much, yet you are still hungry. Yes, all right.”

“Huh? Artpe can understand what it is saying?”

“Yes, I’m its owner.”

Everyone else heard cute cries coming from the cat, but Artpe clearly understood the intent behind the noises it created. There was a powerful connection between Artpe and the Greed Beast. It was something that couldn’t be replicated even with a Soul Contract.

This was also something that was unique to the Magician Class. It was the power of ‘Familiar Control’.

Normally, magical energy was imbued into a living creature to form a contract. When animals become familiars, they were given superior abilities and intelligence compared to the normal animals.

Most magicians chose birds for its ability to fly, but there were eccentric magicians out there that chose cats, mice or even bugs as familiars.

However, there was a rule.

‘Monsters couldn’t be made into familiars. The only thing close to such a skill is the Demon race’s Control skill…..’

However, this wasn’t a normal monster. It was a beast that was in charge of one of the 7 Deadly Sins, and he had unwittingly created a Familiar contract with it.

Was this possible because he was a hero!

This shouldn’t be possible even if he was a hero!

However, that wasn’t important right now.

The important fact was that the cat was still hungry.

“Look at that.”

[Nyaa?]

The cat climbed up his arm, and he willing allowed the cat to perch on his shoulder. He raised a finger to point at the Kraken. Its gluttony had originated from consuming curses, so of course, the Greed Beast could recognize what he was pointing out.

“Can you feel it?”

[Nyaa!? Nyahhhhh!]

There was an appetizing curse energy infused within the Kraken’s enormous body. The Greed Beast had purples eyes that resembled Artpe’s eyes. Its eyes shone from excitement. The cat was showing signs of wanting to attack the Kraken at that very moment. He calmed the cat by speaking in a level manner.

“I want you to eat all of that. However, that bastard is a scary monster, so you have to be careful. If not, you might get hurt.”

[Nyaaaaaa!]

The Greed Beast snorted at Artpe’s words, which was tinged with worry.

If it was hit by the big brute, it would no longer call itself the Greed Beast. It would call itself the Groan Beast. When the cat gave such a reply, Artpe nodded his head in a solemn manner.

“All right. Come back after you are done. When you succeed, I’ll give you a pretty name.”

He had given the cat its first instruction.

[Nyaaaaaa!]

After it received its orders, the confluence of evil Greed energy hidden within the small cat manifested itself in the form of a black fog. It charged towards the ocean. The eyes of Maetel and Mycenae turned round when they saw this.

“I knew it had too much magical energy, but it wasn’t a cat in the first place!”

“It isn’t a living organism!? Aht! Now that I think about it, I saw the trace of its Mana within the auction house….”

“Shhh. Curiosity killed the Dark Elf merchant.”

“You are too selective in giving details!”

Mycenae wanted to ask him about what happened to all the items that had been inside the auction house. However, she knew they would all be in trouble if she voiced such thoughts out loud. This was why she firmly bottled up the urge.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but can we win now, Artpe?”

Maetel asked the question instead of Mycenae. Her eyes were brilliant as if they were emeralds, and her eyes were filled with her trust towards Artpe. Artpe grinned as he answered her.

“If we can’t win with this gambit, we have to break this off cleanly. We’ll run away. Everyone should gather your stuff, so we can run away at any moment.”

He spoke in a dependable manner, but his words had turned towards a cowardly direction!

“Artpe-niiiiiim!”

“That is why I told you all to get down from here.”

Artpe placed a hand on top of the barrier wall. It was a familiar sight. He had done the same thing several times as he Reinforced the wall. However, the Mana emanating from him was different. It was very sharp and destructive.

The Mana was refined for purely destructive purposes. It looked as if he was making a set of Mana Strings before he returned it to pure Mana.

“Hurry. You should take Sienna along with you.”

If Sienna had been conscious, she might have been helpful against the Kraken, who was polluted by the Demonic gene. However, she had been put into unconsciousness through unnatural means. This was why Artpe had to do this somehow with the help of the Greed Beast!

“Go right now.”

He once against ordered the party members to head down, and his voice had taken a turn for the worse. However, Maetel pouted as she shook her head from side to side.

“I’m staying here with Artpe. Ajumma can take care of Sienna.”

“All right. You can stay here, and ajumma can take care of the rest.”

“Eeeeek. I’m pretty sure I had a pretty active part in all of this not too long ago. Now you want me to meekly retreat with a party member in tow as if I’m some kind of an extra. I can’t stand it!”

Mycenae grumbled, but unlike her words, she obediently took Sienna down from the wall. Even if she was rotten, she was a Dark Elf. She didn’t need to rely on a ladder. Even with a person in tow, she bounced down the wall. The sight of her back looked really cool, but Artpe didn’t even glance at her. She was treated like an extra until the end.

[Koo-oohhhhng!]

[Nyaaaaaa!]

On the other side of the wall, the Kraken showed no signs of tiring as it continued its rampage. It was feeling pain from the flame and vibration, but it was using pain to fuel its anger. The curse of madness and the Demonic gene was a great combination. As time passed, the blackened flesh exfoliated from the Kraken’s large body, and its skin was getting tougher.

‘······if I let things go on any further, a new race like the Evil Reflector might be born here.’

However, the Kraken was unable to create such an anomalous event, because the Greed Beast was present. The Greed Beast was able to consume curses within Demons and humans. Of course, it would be able to extract the curse from a big dumb squid!

As a the owner of the Read All Creation, he wanted to see a new Record being made. However, he wouldn’t jeopardize his life to see it.

Artpe spread his Mana into the entirety of the barrier wall as he sincerely wished for the Greed Beast to finish its mission safely. He couldn’t drag this out any longer. He had to end this by striking a decisive blow.

“Artpe, there are more cracks forming on the wall.”

“It’s all right. It’ll becomes easier for me to attack as it breaks the barrier wall. My attack procedure is already in place. It’ll immediately engage as soon as the wall falls. The remaining problem is the timing of the attack.”

Best timing…

He had to wait until all the curse and evil energy to be taken by the Greed Beast. The Kraken had to be in a structurally unstable state. Artpe was using his Read All Creation ability to hone in on the right moment. An endless light emanated from him as he continuously monitored the status of the Hellfire Sentinel and the Kraken’s body.

[Koo-ohhhhhhhh!]

[Nyaa, nyaaahhhhh!]

The Krakken was obsessed with trying to break the Hellfire Sentinel, so it didn’t notice the Greed Beast invading its body. It was as the Greed Beast had guaranteed. The cat leisurely burrowed into various parts of the Kraken’s body, and it stuffed itself of cursed Mana. It didn’t take too long for a change that was visible to the eyes to occur.

[Koo-ha-ahhhh, kee-ooh-ahhhhhh!]

The Kraken charged once again, and an enormous collision occurred. At that moment, a part of its thickened skin, which had formed over time, to fall off!

Black blood erupted from where the crust used to be, and it lessened the power of the curse within the Kraken. It let out a cry of pain, and the Greed Beast shouted with joy.

[Koo-oh-ahhhhh!]

[Nyahhhhhh! Nyah-ooh-oh-ahhh!]

“Is that cat trying to copy the scream of the Kraken?”

[Koo-ohhhhhhhh!]

The Kraken was feeling pain, yet it looked as if it was trying to forget the current pain by producing a bigger pain. It madly rammed itself into the barrier wall. The vibration was caused naturally by the wall, but the tremors caused by the Kraken’s attack amplified the vibration. It was bad enough that a normal person would immediately fall.

“A little bit more…. Just a little bit more······!”

[Koo-oh-ahhhhh!]

As the wall kept losing its durability, Artpe carefully inspected the wall. He mumbled to himself in a dejected manner. The Greed Beast started to consume the curse at a much rapid pace as instructed. The blood mixed with the curse flowed from various parts of the Kraken’s body, but the Kraken was showing no signs of slowing down.

“I made a mistake. The Kraken is devoid of its soul. It might be the curse or the effects of the Demonification experiments, but there isn’t a single ounce of conscious thought left in its mind.”

“Artpe, the wall…..”

“I know! Shit!”

The Kraken’s power was much stronger than expected, so the wall was falling much faster than expected. Artpe was spreading his Mana to try to slow down the collapse. He was trying hard, but there was a limit to what his Mana could do.

[Koo-ahhhhhhhh!]

[Nyaaaaaaaa!]

The Kraken intertwined several dozen tentacles, and it struck a powerful blow against the wall. The sound of the wall cracking could be heard, and one could see an unrecoverable wound form on the heart of the barrier wall. It was as if a lightning had struck the wall. The wall cracked in half from top to bottom. It formed right bewtween Artpe and Maetel.

[Koo-ohhhhhhh!]

“Artpe!”

“Maetel, you should get down before it is too late!”

“But!”

“Right now!”

Artpe sensed that the moment had come. It didn’t matter if it hadn’t been weakened all the way. Even if a single attack couldn’t kill it, he had to use the attack right now. If not, the barrier wall would collapse, and that would be the end to everything.

“I ask his favor of you, Etna….!”

He was hoping Etna’s prayer would reach the gods! If it did reach them, that would be a problem too! Artpe struck the wall with his mana-infused fist. He let out a shout that carried his anger!

“Dieeeeeeeee!”

It happened when his magical energy spread to the entirety of the wall! The wall broke into countless fragments as it showered down towards the ground. Each of them were surrounded by hellfire, and they looked like comets falling from the sky.

[Koo-ohhhhhhhhhh!]

[Nyaa!? Nyaaaaaaahhhh!]

The Kraken’s body had a lot of surface area, so he was being pelted by the meteors! It let out a wretched scream. The Greed Beast was burrowed inside the Kraken’s body, so it didn’t receive any damage. However, it made a fuss by asking why Artpe was attacking the Kraken when it wasn’t finished eating. However, that was of no concern to Artpe.

“You should eat as much as you can then you should retreat!”

[Nyaa! Nyaa-ah! Nyaa-ah-ah!]

Artpe bit his lips as he slowly fell through the air. He was checking how critical of a damage each of the massive amounts of rocks were causing. He came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough.

The Kraken was refined by the life energy of the ocean, and the demonic energy. It had become extremely hard, strong and durable. The attack would destroy 70% of the Kraken’s body, but the remaining 30% could easily lay waste to Frate.

It wasn’t enough. Even if it was half dead, he couldn’t win against it. He couldn’t kill it.

They had to run away.

When he came to that conclusion, a laugh came out unbidden. He finally grasped his station in the world. It was so pathetic that he couldn’t stand it.

‘The skill of running away with exquisite timing is one of the skills needed for the weakest amongst the Four Heavenly Kings. Heroes are the only one that could fight a fair fight until the end to come out on top. I’m a fake, so this was impossible from the start. I should just run away, and they could curse me for doing so. This is obvious to me now.’

He fell slowly towards the ocean as countless fragments either grazed or hit the Kraken. In that short amount of time, he took some time for introspection.

The sense of defeat filled his body, and it couldn’t be erased. Who the hell did he think he was? Why did he step forward in a battle that couldn’t be won? Did he unconsciously become drunk on the respect given to him by other people?

It was truly funny. No, it wasn’t funny at all.

‘I don’t have any right to deride the humans. It seems I was born as a human, and I’ve been influenced by the way of humans. All right. I realize this now. We have to run away. I’ll run away with Maetel and Sienna. This time I’ll do it the rightway from the beginning. I will never stepforward again. I’ll do everything from the back. It is sufficient for Maetel to be the only one in the front line. Yes, this is it.’

“Artpe!”

“······huh?”

Someone interrupted Artpe’s thoughts, which was expanding in an uncontrollable manner. Artpe was relying on the gravitation pull to descend. When he dumbly turned to look, he identified the owner of the voice. He caught sight of Maetel. She was relying on the Blink Boots he had put on her feet to run towards him.

“Idiot, we have to run away now…..”

“I got you······ Record Divide!”

Maetel didn’t listen to Artpe’s words as she used Blink. When she grabbed his robe, she activated her Unique skill.

She was trying to share her magical energy through her skill, but what would that accomplish? He was about to snort when he felt the magical energy flow into him. His insides became numb.

“You… How······?”

It wasn’t Maetel’s magical energy.

This was obvious, but it wasn’t Artpe’s magical energy either.

“Artpe, can you do it now?”

He was taken aback by Maetel’s question, but he firmly nodded his head as an answer.

“I’ll try.”

“Yes. That’s my Artpe!”

Maetel let out a bright smile, and Artpe couldn’t help but snicker. His whole body had been dominated by the feeling of helplessness. Now it felt as if energy and hope was surging up within him.

The magical energy flowing into him was the type of magical energy that absolutely negated the demonic energy…. It was the magical energy of Sienna, who was still unconscious.

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