Chapter 152: One Hell of a Squid

I counted over ten Krakens based on visual estimation alone.

The monsters were already massive to begin with, and now they were surrounding our ship. Some had crimson hides, while others were pale and squid-like. Facing them, my first instinct was to cast a spell on Lumia so she could breathe underwater and let her start hunting them, but—

Before I could even give the order, the ship lurched.

"Damn, this thing is seriously huge!" I muttered.

A single Kraken had hauled itself onto the deck. It was significantly larger than the others, clinging tightly to the hull and lashing out with its tentacles, clearly intent on killing us.

"Heavy... but still better than Merli," Ayane said.

She conjured an ice shield to block the strike. When the blow glanced off, Kaiser and Laura moved in perfect sync to capitalize on the opening, severing the monster's limbs. The Kraken flinched and retreated, having lost four of its tentacles in an instant, but...

As I thought. It’s regenerating.

I'd encountered Krakens in Mythologia that possessed regenerative abilities. If those were the benchmark, I’d expected this one to heal too, but knowing it and seeing it were two different things. If they all worked like that, this was going to be a nightmare.

As a Summoner, my primary use of mana was maintaining the manifestation of my Summoned Beasts. In my case, the denser the Scripture they possessed, the more mana I burned just to call them and keep them in this world. At my current rate, I could only maintain the three of them—Baal, Lumia, and Belphe—for about two hours at most.

There was a chance we could win if I left this to them and forced a short-term decisive battle, but I had to consider what came after.

"To hell with it. Ayane and the others are here. Lumia—go wild!"

"—! You mean it, Master? In that case, I shall destroy everything!"

My maid’s mood did a complete 180 at my command. Leveling her spear, she took to the sky and closed the distance with the Kraken in front of her. She thrust her spear home, and in the next heartbeat, the world in front of me turned into a wall of fire.

A single explosion acted as a primer, triggering dozens of chain reactions. The Kraken, which had been the predator mere seconds ago, was charred black instantly.

"Hmm, only fifteen? For something so big, it didn't have as much mana as I expected."

Lumia licked the blood that had splattered onto her face and sneered.

Lumia Asmodeus. One of the Demon Lords bearing the title of Lust. Her true nature was a mix of destruction and virtue, and her unique trait allowed her to grant an explosive property to mana. The magic she’d just used was particularly heinous; once detonated, it used the opponent’s own mana as a catalyst, continuing to explode until the target was completely drained.

"Now then, dear guests... shall I entertain you? Who wants to be next?"

The one she'd killed must have been the leader. With the largest one dead, the Krakens hiding beneath the surface revealed themselves all at once. They lunged for Lumia, tentacles whipping through the air as they chased her across the sky, but she dodged every strike. With every thrust of her spear, another explosion rang out, and another monster died.

"Ahahaha! What’s the matter, you sea-swamp? You'll never catch me like that. Come at me with the intent to kill!"

"You're getting too excited, Lust. You're in the Master's presence," Baal chided.

"Why don't you join the fun, Gluttony! Hey—that one’s my prey!"

Baal ignored her, speaking in a soothing tone while releasing a spiral of wind from the tip of his spear. The gust pierced the Krakens between the eyes with unerring precision. The swarm of fifteen had been whittled down to six before I even realized it. I started to think we might actually get through this without any casualties—and then the ship bucked.

It was a violent, massive heave that threw us all off balance. I looked down to see what was happening, only to find the Krakens in the water were rocking the ship with everything they had.

"—Everyone!"

Kaiser, mounted on a Valkyria, and Laura, using her Vampire authority to fly, were safe. But Ayane, Tsubaki, and Shiki were in trouble. With Krakens still in the water and no guarantee that other monsters weren't lurking below, falling in would be a death sentence.

"[Aegis!]"

I deployed defensive shields beneath everyone to catch them. But the ship kept tilting, shaking violently until it finally capsized. I was pitched into the freezing sea.

Beneath the waves, I found myself staring into the maw of a jellyfish so massive it looked like it could swallow the world. Charybdis—the monster of the deep. It waited for me with its mouth wide open, and then I was gone.

"Master!"

"Dammit, Reima! Ayane, we're going in!"

Our Master’s friends tried to dive in after him, but the remaining Krakens blocked their path. I tried to move to support them, but the monsters grew even more aggressive, as if they had been ordered to keep us away.

"Lust!"

"He went down with that samurai girl... but this looks bad."

A translucent bell surfaced on the water. It was a jellyfish-like creature several times larger than a Kraken, and it was beginning to whip the ocean into a massive whirlpool. Judging by the mana reaction, the Master was caught right in the center of it.

"I can't use magic underwater," Lumia muttered. "And my body is made of flame; I can't go in."

My own magic was too destructive; I risked catching the Master in the crossfire. I can't do that. The mere thought of hurting him made my hands falter.

What do I do? Think. How do I kill everything and save him safely? Ayane and the others were pinned down. I didn't know if the two who went in could even reach him.

Think, Baal Wild Hunt. Think. Saving the Master was the only priority, and I was the only one currently free to act.

...No, there was one way. One way to settle this immediately. It was far too dangerous—but that didn't matter. If the scale was tipped between my safety and the Master's life, there was no choice at all.

"Belphe-dono, I'm leaving the rest to you."

"—What are you planning?"

"Nothing special. I'm just going to save my Master."

I exhaled a long, heavy breath. My heart was pounding against my ribs. I loathed the form I was about to take. I was terrified of returning to the self I hated most of all—but I was more afraid of losing him.

"[Origin]"

Make up your mind. Surely those two and his friends can stop me if I go too far.

This was a contract. Gluttony. I would protect my Master to the end. That was the only thing that would get through to a creature like that.

"I'm counting on you, Belphe-dono. Lust."

"[Fallen]——[Beelzebub, the Sin-bearing Demon Lord of Gluttony]"

The shell cracked. I molted. My consciousness began to fray, and my sense of self dissolved into a singular, overwhelming hunger.

But in that final moment of clarity, I had one thought.

Please... let us win. For the Master's sake, win.