by Yoo Seong
The captain thought to himself with a resolute expression.
‘Scary! Damn, so scary!’
In fact, the captain also couldn’t sleep because he visualized the ghost stories from the crew. But now his sleepless nights were over. The transportation area wasn’t part of the ship’s regular route so they would inject it into the cargo passage closest to the coordinates. And the Pelican finally arrived safely (?) at their destination. Nothing happened despite the noise but the Pelican’s crew considered it the adventure of a lifetime.
“Captain-nim, we did it!”
“It is still too early to tell. Our mission will only end after the cargo is ejected! Confirm the coordinates!”
“Coordinates are confirmed! Electromagnetic charging is complete! Captain-nim, the cargo is ready for ejection!”
The Pelican’s doors opened and a giant barrel soared out. Mounted on the barrel was the D-1201 cargo that caused an urban legend!
‘Goodbye now! That damn cargo!’
“Launch!”
Wiiiiing! Kwaaaah!
The container accelerated due to the electromagnetic power and crossed outer space. And it instantly turned when it reached a certain point.
—————————-
“Missing?”
Irina made a puzzled expression.
While the 2nd investigation team was looking at more than 20 planets, Irina had been researching the Kero with the 1st team. The hooded man, Katz and Kero were the ones who caused the red rays on Amara that created the magic circle in the Harmadon constellation. The hooded had died when Ark took the airship to escape!
‘The only remaining clues are the Katz and the Kero. But the Katz clan had been confined on Stael before joining them. They have something to do with the hooded man but there is no evidence they are part of Organization X. But the Kero clan are clearly Organization X’s operatives. The Kero live on a frontier colony. Anyway, the Rama and Aschulat are monitoring my team so it is better to concentrate on the Kero.’
Those were Irina’s thoughts. And she went around the frontier to investigate. They got some clues about the Rama and Aschulat’s monitoring network and were able to escape it to come to Turan. However shocking news was waiting for her.
9 spaceships had been destroyed after only two days! One of them was the Silver Star. It was none other than Ark’s ship. The more puzzling thing was that two days had passed and Ark was still missing. The team units that had been killed by the Rama and the mysterious enemies had already revived in Turan. But so far there was no news about Ark.
“And his teammates are also missing?”
“A couple of team members revived in Turan.”
“What did they say?”
“They don’t know any details so they were killed in the middle of a battle.”
The person speaking was Hawk.
“So there is a possibility they are still alive……”
Hawk seemed to have expected Irina’s question and replied coldly.
“That might be true. But nothing will change even if they have survived.”
“What do you mean?”
“I said it clearly when everyone was assembled on Turan. I will only accept the teams that have proven their ability. But the fact that 9 ships were destroyed by unidentified enemies disappointed me. Surprise attacks are common on the space frontier. If they don’t have that type of crisis management skills then they’ve already failed.”
“You mean to discard them?”
“Discard? That is a fairly emotional term you’re using. I heard that Ensign Irina-nim is so cold that you could make an android cry.”
Hawk looked at her with interested eyes.
“I’m not saying that I want to abandon them. They have already lost their ships. Even with the insurance, it will take a considerable amount of time to buy back a ship. We have no time to wait until then.”
“Ark-nim’s death hasn’t been confirmed yet.”
“But he didn’t return on time. I gave all teams two days and those that went to planets even further away than Ark have returned. Even if he is still alive, Ark is already disqualified.”
“He is a pioneer that Marquis Martin considered exceptional.”
“All team members are the same.”
Hawk replied shortly.
“There are no exceptions. It doesn’t matter if Ark has received Marquis Martin’s favour!”
And he turned his body so the wide cloak with the blue skull was shown. The embroidery gave off a vaguely menacing atmosphere.
“We don’t have a lot of time. If we don’t discard people then we can’t move forward. And the destination has already been set. We have to throw away our colleagues.”
Hawk strode to the doors that split apart. 11 people were in front of him. They were the teams who came back from the mission and surprise attacks alive. Hawk’s mouth rose as he saw them.
“Be prepared. Depart for the following destination.”
‘Why on earth hasn’t Ark-nim made any contact?’
A sigh flowed from Irina’s mouth.
—————————-
At that moment, Ark……
“Waaaaah! D-damage!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
……He wasn’t in a position to contact anyone.
–Hyung-nim, danger! Everyone take cover!
–Damn squid! Eat this!
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu!
Gunshots subsequently burst out through the darkness! A blue light also flashed between a huge shadow. It was a giant squid with a body size of 30~40 metres. It was the monster called Kraken that was the ancestor of the Squids. This guy didn’t just have a large body.
Titing! Titing! Titing!
The body was covered in an armour like epidermis so the bullets bounced off it! It was literally a squid wearing armour.
“Don’t shoot blindly! Focus and attack one point!”
–Even if you tell us to focus……
Buwaaaaang!
At that moment a huge, thick object fell towards the party. The huge objects falling was the Kraken’s legs! The body might be long but it had massive legs several metres in diameter.
–Dammit! These squid legs! Iron Wall!
Slayer raised his shield and shouted. But in the next moment, Slayer flew back dozens of metres into a wall. It was the same with the other team members. The Kraken swung its 10 legs crazily so it was hard for the party to defend, let alone attack.
Members who used firearms like Kurakan and Leon could only fire as they ran away. Therefore they couldn’t concentrate on hitting one point and the bullets just bounced off the Kraken’s armour. On the other hand, the Kraken’s tentacles went peng! Peng! Peng! Those who were hit would become rice cakes like Slayer who bravely confronted it.
-Kuuck…..damn…..
Slayer groaned and shook from the wall he flew into. Fortunately the actual damage wasn’t that large. The Kraken’s attack wasn’t weak. One leg contained the weight of the huge body that was several tons. The weight itself was a destructive power. It was impossible to be safe after being hit by that leg. However, this was space so it was weightless.
Ark’s party was deprived of their weight and floated dozens of metres in the air. It also meant that the impact would be as light as a feather so there wasn’t large damage. It was the principle behind why it was so hard to destroy an object floating in air.
‘But this weightlessness isn’t an advantage!’
It was the reason why this team members were wandering. Ark had obtained Spacewalk from cleaning the Silver Star so he had relatively free movements. However, this was the other team members first experience!
They could use the jet device to move but they weren’t skilled in moving freely in a combat situation. Being unable to move freely in battle was a deadly penalty!
‘Continuing to fight like this will be suicide!’
He confirmed that after 10 minutes of fighting. In the meantime, the Kra
ken’s health had only decreased by 15% at the most. On the other hand, the team’s health had been cut down by 40~50%. They couldn’t maintain their centre of balance and struggled to avoid the Kraken’s legs so the result was obvious.
‘There are two ways to deal with a high defense monster like the Kraken. The first way is to find a weakness or to pour out attacks that would overcome its defense.’
But even if he managed to find a weak point, they weren’t in a situation to attack a small gap. The remaining way was to pour out attacks to overcome the defense. The first method was better but it wasn’t easy with teammates unfamiliar with weightlessness.
‘The only way possible is to establish a terrain advantage. A place like the pipe where I lured the Squids to wipe them out with concentrated firepower. And there is an appropriate place here!’
Ark’s eyes looked towards the top of the Kraken! They were currently inside a hole in the surface of the asteroid.
‘If I trap it in this hole…..’
–Ark! Wake up! On the right!
The Nymphe vibrated and Rapid’s voice was heard. He flinched and turned to see a huge Kraken leg flying towards the ground. Ark lowered his upper body and glided along the ground. It was the method of applying Swamp Walking to the weightlessness!
Buwaaaaang!
The Kraken’s leg passed over his head!
“Attack him to give me some time!”
Ark operated the jet device and crossed the space. He reached the area where the Squids’ corpses were floating and a blue light flashed from his hand as he started carving complex characters in the air.
“Come out, Shire! Rune Carving, Ikram! Ikram! Ikram! Ikram!”
It was the Ikram rune he learnt from the pyramid! A blurry shape that looked like the ghost of Anubis rose in the air as soon as the character was carved. Then it was then sucked into the body of a Squid that had been turned into rags. A red shape then burst out from the Squid! It was a Hellhound with the head of a squid and the body of a dog.
‘Impossible…..’
A squid-headed dog. However there was no time to appreciate the new creature.
Kung! Kung! Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Pepeng! Kung! Kung!
There was no time to rest as gunfire kept on going off. It was the sound of his teammates struggling one-sidedly against the Kraken.
“Bite!”
Ark quickly pulled out grenades and handed them to the Hellhounds. Once again, the Hellhounds were creatures born anew from flesh that Ark killed. The Hellhound inherited a portion of the sacrifice’s stats and characteristics. For example, the fish head that could swim freely in water or the dog’s keen sense of smell. And the head right now was a space squid!
“Go!”
Ark pulled the safety pins and shouted towards the Kraken. At that moment, 5 Hellhounds flew towards the Kraken like missiles. The head of the squid meant the Hellhounds had the Squid’s ability to quickly walk across space. And the moment a Hellhound collided with the Kraken!
Pepeng!
The grenade the Hellhound was biting self-destructed! The explosion caused the Kraken to stumbled and step back. But that was just the start. The other Hellhounds heading towards the Kraken hit the same area.
Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng!
There were explosions one after another! There was a hollow in the Kraken’s armour from where 5 grenades had burst and its health had noticeably declined. It still had a lot of health but this was the first attack that dealt a lot of damage so it turned its body towards Ark in fury.
“Now! Everybody climb up the hole!”
–Y-you?
“Follow me right now! Armour armament!”
The space distorted and his battle suit appeared at Ark’s cry. The moment the battle suit wrapped around Ark’s body.
“Armed Stealth!”
A intense light burst out in the darkness! At the same time, the Kraken screamed and struggled. It was natural. The Kraken probably hadn’t experienced light for a few hundred years so the light caused it intense pain! It was like sticking a needle in the eye. While the Kraken frantically swung its legs, Ark’s tem flew up the hole.
Kukung! Kuwaaaaaaaah!
When they had reached the middle part, there was a roar as the Kraken caught up. This part of the hole had a diameter of 10 metres so the Kraken’s appearance was like fear itself! It was like they were sandwiched between the Kraken and the rock wall as its tentacles got closer. No, the Kraken’s tentacles were heading towards Ark.
“Hyper Booster!”
He waited for the right moment and used Hyper Booster! Ark’s body shot like a bullet out of the hole. His 10 teammates also gathered around the hole as they exited. And the Kraken was about to come out of the hole. Ark shouted as he flew towards his team.
“Now! Pour all your firepower towards that hole!”
This was Ark’s mission. It was an operation similar to luring the Squids into the pipe and killing them in droves! The Kraken was stuck in a narrow hole so it couldn’t freely move its legs. In addition, his team members didn’t need to worry about any leg damage and could focus on attacking.
–That’s right! This is like when we trapped the Squids in the pipe!
–Shoot! Smash it before it comes up!
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Pepeng!
Various skills and bullets were poured out!
A roaring sound and flames relentlessly soared from the hole. The Kraken moved its body and tried to swing 2~3 tentacles but it couldn’t exit the hole under the concentrated attacks. It was the same for the body.
“Fire Eagle P-40!”
His shotgun Fire Eagle that he used after a long time!
Ark helped maintain the pressure on the Kraken with his shotgun as they pushed it down. In addition, there was the buff from Kaya’s battle suit!
-The gene activated Esper battle suit Optisian has been triggered.
Attack and defense increased by 15%!
-70%…..63%…..54%…..
The Kraken’s health quickly started going down under the team’s violent onslaught. On the other hand, the Kraken was trapped in the hole and couldn’t properly hit them.
‘That’s it! If it continues like this then it will be an easy win!’
When Ark was convinced of their victory.
Hwaaaaack!
A huge stream of liquid suddenly emerged from the hole. The identity of the yellow liquid was the acid poison the Squids’ squirted! But it was on a completely different scale when the Kraken used it. Several tons worth of yellow liquid shot out from the hole.
Chi chi chi chi!
When the liquid hit the team, smoke and a common message appeared.
-You have been attacked by a corrosive poison!
–Wah! Poison!
–Avoid it! If it hits then it will melt your equipment!
The team members screamed and scattered all over the place.
“You fools! Don’t withdraw!”
Ark yelled in a desperate voice but it was already too late.
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwang! Syu syu syu syu syu!
There was the sound of rocks being crushed and a huge shadow flew out of the hole. Ark looked up at the shadow with an upset expression. The Kraken was floating dozens of metres above with ten legs. The Kraken was less bulky than when they were fighting underground. Tons of liquid had been pumped out of the body so its speed increased as it shot out of the hole.
“D-dammit! This winning fight……”
Ark frowned as he looked up at the Kraken. Now it had less than 20% health left. However the odds couldn’t be guaranteed anymore once it left the hole. No, it was now unfavourable to Ark’s team.
They couldn’t fight the Kraken properly in the underground space but he was relaxed due to the Kraken’s space constraints. But now those space constraints had als
o disappeared.
The Kraken was now floating in space. The Kraken could now fly through the universe freely! Of course, the jet device meant the team could move around but it was like a person on a hang glider fighting against an eagle.
‘But I have no choice but to try it!’
Ark imagined the attacks and grabbed his lightsaber tightly. However the Kraken didn’t move. It just floated in the air and looking in a different direction.
–What? That guy?
–Where is it looking?
The nervous team muttered with confusion. Then Ark felt a sinister feeling as he followed the Kraken’s gaze.
‘The direction it is looking in…..Silver Star! Oh my god, the Silver Star is in that direction!’
He recalled the information window for the mini-sized Kraken, the Squids.
The Squids were monsters that devoured the ether fuel of a ship. If the Kraken had the same appetite as a Squid then the reason it stopped attacking and looked in the direction of the Silver Star was because it sensed ether.
It had found more coveted prey than Ark’s team.
‘If it moves to the Silver Star than this situation will become more complicated! The Silver Star has already suffered damage from the battle and the crash landing. In this state, if it is damaged even more than it might not recover. In the worst case…..no! Now, I have to end this here!’
“Attack! Don’t let its mind go someplace else!”
Ark shouted in an urgent voice.
The Kraken was the one who reacted to his voice first. It turned away from the Silver Star and its huge body fell towards the team like a thunderbolt. The team members raising their guns and swords screamed in unison.
–Wah! I-it is falling!
-A-avoid it!
Kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
It was followed by an explosion!
The Kraken that was dozens of metres large hit the ground. And Ark and his team members……
-I-I lived!
Slayer gulped and stuttered. Slayer wasn’t the only one. Ark and his team members were all gathered around Slayer. They were able to survive the Kraken’s giant body thanks to Slayer and Sadain’s joint operation.
When the Kraken had fallen, Slayer had reflexively lifted his shield. However, the Kraken was a monster that weighted dozens of tons. Regardless of whether he was carrying a sword, his body would just be flattened like a mouse rolled over by a carriage. Slayer could withstand the tremendous weight due to the vertical spear under it. Just before the Kraken landed on the party, Sadain had placed his spear under the shield to create a type of pole.
