So big!
With the ship lurching violently, everyone stared at the white monstrosity that filled their vision, stunned.
A giant squid nearly a hundred meters tall rose from the sea. Hundreds of pale, slick tentacles slammed down and coiled around anything living within sight.
Bang bang bang bang!
Heavy impacts thundered as several Viking warships were struck head-on. The Runes carved into their decks, keels, and rails flared to life, forming shimmering Magecraft barriers traced with glowing patterns.
Creak…
The tentacles wrapped around the outer layer of light tightened the moment they sensed prey. Hundreds of suction cups hanging overhead squirmed as fleshy valves opened into small mouths, revealing ring upon ring of inward-curving sawlike teeth. The sight alone made everyone go cold.
If that thing got a good suck on you, even if you didn't die, you'd lose a layer of skin.
Crack!
In the next instant, the pallid tentacles exerted force. The flickering light membrane burst like a soap bubble, and the nauseating sound of splintering wood followed. Two ships with weaker defenses twisted like toy blocks, wrung into spirals.
Amid screaming men and the wet tearing of flesh, the blood-soaked vessels were stuffed into the giant squid's beak, becoming the monster's meal.
"Hah!"
In a blur, the first to react was the warrior king Sigurd. His brow furrowed as the dark red tree-sword Gram in his hand ignited with a stream of scarlet flame, turning into a wheel of light that shot forward and sliced clean through dozens of thick, ghastly tentacles.
Several ships that had been hoisted and entangled immediately broke free.
"Kill the bastard!"
"Protect the ships!"
"Chop it up!"
With the pressure eased for the moment, the crew who had been thrown about regained their footing. Roaring curses, they stabilized themselves and organized a counterattack.
The berserkers, taking the Battle Tooth King, Bloodaxe King, and Dragon Slayer as their secondary command core, drew bows and hurled throwing axes, javelins, and harpoons at the tentacles sweeping through the air.
"ᚦ…"
"ᛁ…"
The druids raised their hands or wooden staves and chanted solemnly in strange syllables, invoking Runes.
Among the twenty-four Runes, [ᚦ] carried supportive effects: a "protective triangle" and "stored vitality." As Ether gathered and surged, the previously wavering Magecraft barriers stabilized under overlapping inverted triangles, repeatedly enduring the wildly flailing tentacles. The crew howled back, blood boiling, battle-lust surging.
Meanwhile, [ᛁ] represented the effect of controlling water. As the light patterns flowed, water tornadoes rose from the sea and slammed into the monster, dragging its half-submerged body upward.
The moment a massive wave heaved the giant squid higher, Sigurd's gaze sharpened. He wiped the blade edge with a solemn motion and murmured,
"Demonic blade, complete. Show me your pride. This is the dawn of destruction...Heavenly Wheel of Destruction - Bölverk Gram!"
In an instant, several short blades split from the sword's branching hilt and shot out, weaving across the air to clear the tentacles along the path. Then the main body, the tree-sword Gram, converged into a crimson pillar of light dazzling as the sun itself and slammed forward with overwhelming force.
Boom!
A gigantic hole tens of meters wide was blown through the squid's body. Its magic core shattered. Wailing, it crashed back onto the sea, sending up violent waves.
The stench of blood spread thickly. The sea monster's massive body floated in miserable stillness, while the severed white tentacles scattered across the water twitched on, refusing to go limp even in death.
At the same time, aboard the flagship, Brynhildr stood in the main control room, frowning in thought.
"Hildr, did you get a good look? What kind of sea monster was that?"
The lively pink-haired girl who had run to the deck to watch the fight came hurrying back, grinning as she reported.
"Big Sister, it looks like the legendary North Sea Kraken, but it just feels…"
"What?"
"Like it's… smaller than it should be? The stories say some fishermen have seen ones with a body length of 155 meters and weighing 330 tons. They show up with storms and huge waves, and fleets that meet them basically never make it back!"
In the next moment, a strange gleam flashed in Hildr's eyes as she lifted her head, suddenly serious.
"Could it be—"
"Hm?"
"Maybe there's not enough food here. It starved and shrank?"
"Thud!"
The solemn atmosphere in the room froze instantly. Brynhildr's expression darkened, but before she could move, Thrúd—having reached her limit—punched the pink-haired girl square on the head, silencing her the physical way.
"Sister, any creature that can survive and roam through the Chaos Sea… I don't think it's that simple."
The calm, long-haired blonde girl frowned and voiced her concern.
Brynhildr nodded, her expression easing slightly.
Of the three prototypes brought from the Golden Palace, at least one was dependable. If she had to handle everything personally, there would inevitably be blind spots.
"His Highness entrusted his safety to us. We absolutely cannot let him down! Inform the sisters outside—raise alert levels!"
Brynhildr voiced the same unease that had been gnawing at her.
"And even though the battle's over… I still feel unsettled."
"Group-living…"
"Hm? Ortlinde, what did you say?"
Brynhildr and Thrúd, who had been discussing countermeasures seriously, turned toward the black-haired girl leaning in the corner, absorbed in a tattered novel.
"Kraken. I think that species lives in groups."
Ortlinde closed her book, blinked, thought for a moment, and answered casually.
The faces of the two commanders changed instantly.
Boom!
At that exact moment, the ship shook violently again, nearly throwing the four Valkyries off balance.
A low, furious chorus of screeches rose from every direction. Pale, writhing tentacles burst from the sea in overwhelming numbers, sweeping through the air. Vast shadows spread across the surface like ink poured into water.
"Valkyrie Corps! Defend the flagship! All units, engage!"
Brynhildr's expression turned cold and resolute. She summoned her winged steed, seized her spear, and leapt into the air, shouting her command mid-flight.
Hundreds of Valkyries gathered at once. Swan-like wings of light unfurled behind them as they gripped their rune-engraved spears and soared upward, weaving swiftly through the forest of thrashing tentacles above the sea.
"Lances! Runes! Grant us strength!"
With sharp cries, the Valkyries raised their radiant rune spears and hurled them one after another at the massive squids' limbs and bodies.
Explosions roared without pause. The Chaos Tide churned and boiled. The giant squids shrieked in rage, spraying foul ink that fell like corrosive acid, hissing as white smoke rose where it landed.
But the severed tentacles regenerated at astonishing speed. They writhed back to life and surged forward endlessly, forcing the Viking fleet into a desperate struggle.
Splash!
With a heavy surge of water, a colossal squid nearly two hundred meters tall emerged from the sea. A hundred thick tentacles shot forward like a volley of spears, drilling straight toward the flagship at the center of the fleet.
Damn it—god-level!
Brynhildr's expression changed sharply. She flashed forward toward the flagship, positioning herself directly in the monster's path. The Mana barrier she hastily raised looked pitifully fragile beneath the rain-like barrage of tentacles.
Boom!
At the critical instant, a jet-black cross-shaped blaze tore through the sky with a piercing shriek, incinerating every tentacle along its path. It struck the giant squid squarely in the head and detonated, scattering flesh like a storm of gore.
In the blast's shockwave, Brynhildr was hurled backward—only to crash into a broad, solid chest behind her.