I drew my katana. Metal slid against the sheath—a sharp, clean shing.
Around me, cannons fired. Giant ballistae loosed their bolts.
THUMP! THUMP! CSSH!
Gunpowder smoke stung my eyes. The smell of sulfur mingled with the stench of the sea.
The tentacle writhed as hot iron pierced its flesh. It recoiled, but only for a moment.
The ship shook violently. The floor beneath my feet tilted. Men fell, slid, screamed.
"Fire again! Don't let it climb!"
More tentacles emerged.
Two, four, eight.
They embraced the ship like a possessive lover, squeezing the hull until thick timbers exploded into splinters.
Seawater poured in.
The fear on the crew's faces was visceral. Eyes wide, breath ragged.
But me?
My blood boiled.
Not from fear. But because finally... finally, this world felt real.
My heart hammered against my ribs with a brutal rhythm. My eyes, usually dim, were now wide open, catching every movement.
Hahahaha...
The laugh didn't leave my mouth, but it echoed inside my skull.
How do I explain this feeling? Pain, danger, death staring me in the face... this is the only time I feel alive.
[Illustration: Close-up of the Protagonist's face. Half of his face is illuminated by a flash of lightning, the other half in shadow. His eyes are wide, pupils constricted, staring sharply ahead. There is a grinning, slightly manic smile, contrasting with the chaos in the background.]
One tentacle shot toward me.
I didn't dodge. I welcomed it.
My katana swung.
WOOSH—CLKK!
The blade stopped. The monster's flesh was hard, tough as compressed rubber. My sword was wedged between giant muscles.
"So hard..." I muttered, teeth grinding against the strain.
The muscles in my arms tensed, veins bulging. With a rough yank, I tore the sword free. Purple slime splattered onto my face. Hot.
I jumped.
Not away, but closer.
In front of me, a tentacle was wrapped around a mast, trying to snap it.
I took a deep breath. Oxygen filled my lungs, mingled with the scent of death.
Focus.
Everything slowed down. The falling rain, the flash of lightning, the screams of men.
I swung the sword. This time with my entire body weight.
SLASH!!
Flesh parted.
The tentacle fell, flopping on the deck like a giant dying worm.
"HAHAHA!!"
My laughter broke out. The sound felt foreign to my own ears.
Wild.
Hungry.
The Kraken was angry.
A high-pitched, ear-splitting shriek shattered the air.
Waves rose as high as hills. The ship capsized.
I was thrown.
The world spun.
Sky
sea, ship, sky, sea...
And then, piercing cold.
I was sinking.
Underwater, the sound was muffled.
There was only dim blue gloom and bubbles.
And there, in the depths, the monster was visible in its entirety.
A mountain of meat with eyes the size of houses, staring at me.
Dozens of tentacles waved in the water, creating currents that pulled me in.
Normally, a human would swim to the surface. Seek air.
Me?
I swam down. Toward the monster.
Come on... let's finish this.
Water pressure crushed my chest. Currents slammed my body left and right.
I reached one of its tentacles.
SLASH!
The water resisted my movement, but my blade still bit into flesh.
Again.
SLASH!
One tentacle was severed.
The monster writhed, the water around us churning violently.
Another tentacle lashed out. I drove my katana into its slick flesh, using it as a handle.
The Kraken lifted that tentacle—and me clinging to it—out of the water, high into the air.
My body dangled in the air, the storm rain hammering my face once more.
I hung tens of meters above the sea, holding on only by the hilt of the sword buried in the monster's flesh.
Down below, the sea churned like a crater of hell.
"Haaaa... HAHAHAHA!!"
This adrenaline.
It was a drug. It was better than sleep, better than food, better than breathing.
I yanked my sword free, letting gravity take over.
I fell in a free dive toward the Kraken's head, which had surfaced.
The wind screamed in my ears.
WOOSH!
I landed on its soft, slimy head.
Immediately, other tentacles attacked its own head to catch me.
They came from all directions.
I danced.
Step left, slash. Step right, duck. Jump.
WOOSH! CRASH!
Every missed attack slammed into the Kraken's own head.
I was just a tiny, painful spot it couldn't swat.
My sword didn't stop moving. Cutting, slicing, stabbing.
Purple blood flooded the "island" of flesh where I stood.
Until finally... the movement stopped.
The monster slowly sank. It surrendered. It chose to flee into depths I could not reach.
I stood there, on the slowly submerging head, gasping for air.
My chest heaved.
My ship—which had somehow righted itself—floated not far away, heavily damaged but still intact.
I pushed off with my legs, jumped with all my strength, and landed back on the ruined deck.
Tap.
I turned around.
The sea was quiet again.
Only the residual waves of the battle still rolled.
The Kraken was gone.
"Hahaha..."
I wiped the slime and blood from my face.
My smile slowly faded, returning to a flat, empty line.
My heartbeat began to slow. That feeling of being "alive" slowly receded, leaving a hole gaping in my chest once more.
The cold returned.
The crew stared at me.
Their gaze was a mixture of awe and terror.
As if I were a monster more terrible than the one that had just left.
"Let's go..." I muttered softly, my voice void of emotion, staring back at the empty horizon.