"I...uh...don't remember much, my lady. It was such a long time ago, and in the slums, they don't give you time to remember any good memories. In the slums, you survive for today. Hung up on the past, you're dead. Hopeful enough for the future, you're dead."
Lumiere looked at him for a moment and gave him a small nod.
"Please restrain yourself, Lady Lumiere. We need you. We need you to save the day." Morvain smiled and went back to his place.
After a while, the two tentacles were also slain, and Lord Emberfall had vanquished all the other appendages of the creature. Now the monstrosity resembled an Eldritch horror, a living nightmare from the annals of legend, with thick blood oozing from the numerous wounds adorning its massive form.
Its eyes, burning with pure malice, fixed a murderous glare upon the ship. For a moment, the warriors wavered, but the words of the Storm Lord echoed in their minds. There could be no more cowering or hiding; the time for valor had arrived.
'What are you going to attack us with now? Your foul odor?'
He wanted to scream that but decided against it.
Morvain internally smirked.
Lord Emberfall was also gazing at the creature, his eyes keen and his grip on the spear unwavering.
Then the creature attempted to use its hydro pump attack, drawing in the air. However, without its tentacles, it struggled to lean backward and suck in the air effectively. As a result, the attack was slow and lacked the power to move the ship.
Following the feeble attempt, the creature let out a mournful howl.
'Is it giving up? Finally!'
Morvain thought as he relaxed a bit.
The Kraken let out a long cry, and its eyes dimmed as it fell forward. For a moment, everyone thought the creature was defeated. However, just as the dimmed eyes ignited with fury, indicating a new threat.
It was about to headbutt the ship with its massive head!
"Oh, shit!" Morvain cursed.
The same expression of shock and concern spread across everyone's faces.
'What the heck do we do now!'
"Scatter!" Morvain howled. There was nothing he could do except run. Who would willingly stand at the center of a collision with a massive Kraken?
The warriors scattered in different directions, and Morvain found himself unintentionally close to the impending collision.
'I'm so screwed!'
He cursed the Kraken internally.
Just as the Kraken was about to collide, the same red-haired soldier from earlier dove in and pushed Morvain out of the collision area. Morvain was sent flying as the full force of an Iron Fury hit him.
'Fucking hell! That hurts!'
He soared through the air and collided with Lord Emberfall, who was also in the midst of a hasty retreat. Losing his balance, Lord Emberfall was thrown to the ground, his spear bouncing off the wooden deck.
Although Morvain felt like a scrawny fly, at least he didn't have to bear the brunt of the Kraken's massive head.
'Thank you, red-haired bastard.'
The Kraken collided with the ship, and the vessel shook violently. Splinters of wood flew everywhere as the ship was breached. Screams, louder than the Kraken's roar, echoed from below as the people on the lower decks now had a horrifying view—the Kraken's head had broken through the wooden floor. The people below could see its blazing eyes, a sight resembling the worst nightmares.
By the time Morvain landed on the ground, the Kraken was rising again.
People screamed, clutching their loved ones, in a chaotic rush to escape the broken part of the ship.
Amid the turmoil, Morvain could hear Lumiere screaming her lungs out just beside him. He wasn't sure if it was for him or not. Turning around, he saw her gaze fixed on a spot right beside him, down through the broken wood, just a few inches away.
"Calm down! Please stay calm. Your screams are only agitating the Kraken more. If we stay calm, we can face it together."
Morvain got up, dusted his clothes, and slowly surveyed the frightened crowd.
Fathers were clutching their children, shielding their eyes from the looming threat. Some people were trapped under the mass, crushed by the weight of the panicked crowd.
The only thing that united them all was fear. Nothing more, nothing less. It gripped them in their bones, their hair standing on end, their hearts pounding, their stomachs churning. Fear was devouring them alive.
Morvain understood; fear was the greatest enemy. It drove people to act irrationally.
'Yet, they are already doing irrational things.'
Morvain's eyes caught sight of a striking blond hair amidst the chaotic crowd. It was Lord Emberfall, gradually rising from the midst of the chaos, parting the sea of people above him.
'How the hell did that guy end up there!'
Just as he pondered this, the crowd erupted in another round of screams, everyone looking upwards in terror.
The Kraken, once again, had its colossal head rising high.
'What the heck, again!'
The ship shook once more, and screams echoed. Something slid across the wooden deck and tapped at Morvain's feet. He glanced down, gasped, then shifted his gaze to the blonde figure on the floor.
He then turned his attention back to the impending catastrophe with an air of indifference.
"What should we do?" Lumiere asked, wiping a wad of blood from her nose.
"Nothing," he said in a low voice.
"What? You can't just give up!" Lumiere was flabbergasted. This was the man who gave hope to the warriors when they were cowering, how could he give up now? "They are still standing because of you. Only because of you. If you give up now, then—"
"Lady Lumiere," he growled. "I said that there is nothing for you to do in this situation. The only thing you can do is stand back and watch."
He stooped down and picked up the long pole from the ground. There was no blue hue, there was no aura, if anything, he felt heavy holding this weapon.
Lumiere gasped. "That's..." She covered her mouth. "What are you planning, Lord Eldric?"
He cracked his neck and slowly walked towards the projected impact area. Then he turned back and looked at her:
"I'm ending this now." He winked at her and continued his walk, only focusing on the descending head of the Kraken. There was a challenge in the Kraken's eyes, like it was going to enjoy crushing the scrawny kid.
Morvain closed his eyes and put his right hand on his pocket, clutching the small dull rock that gave him comfort and a sense of security since its discovery.
Then he opened his eyes, and it glowed like fresh blood from a babe, like the blaze from hell, crimson red.