A giant tentacle rapidly lashed out toward their vessel. Realizing they had been discovered, the crew felt a wave of despair and helplessness wash over them.
The lifeboats were already being prepared. If the ship were seized by the tentacles, they would have no choice but to abandon it and attempt to escape on the smaller crafts.
Even if the chances of survival were abysmal, saving even one person was better than none.
Despite sailing at full speed and desperately maneuvering, they couldn't shake the sea monster's assault. Li Yue waited quietly; once everyone was at their wit's end, it would be time for her to intervene.
The deep red tentacle slammed down violently toward their position. A flash of white light streaked through the air, followed by a white slash that appeared in the sky. Pale blue blood from the sea monster sprayed everywhere. Relying on gravity magic, Mende leaped high into the air and unleashed dozens of slashes in an instant.
It was impressive, but not enough. He could handle one, but what about the dozens remaining? Li Yue watched the group’s final struggle in silence. They were focused entirely on the crisis before them, seemingly without the strength to consider what lay behind.
Escapism—I get it. But if you don't deal with it, you'll only watch as despair draws closer. So, leave what you can't handle to me. After all, it's my fault for dragging you all into this mess.
Li Yue smiled faintly. She extended a hand, and the red glow in the sky intensified. Blood-red moonlight sliced downward, instantly severing dozens of the sea monster's tentacles.
Li Yue stood with her back to the group. No one seemed to notice the changes occurring on her front. If anything was discernible, it was only the length of her hair, but in this moment, no one was paying attention to such things.
Thinking this, Li Yue made a lifting motion with both hands. A blood-red tide hoisted the sea monster’s body out of the water. Its gold vertical pupils fixed on Li Yue, filled with confusion, bewilderment, and even fear.
The scarlet tide carved into its body, draining its life. The stumps of its severed tentacles began to necrose. Although the rot hadn't yet reached its main body, the creature looked far more wretched than before.
The crew stared at this eerie, supernatural phenomenon, stunned into silence. Li Yue tilted her head, listening to the deafening heartbeat—Thump, thump!
“I hear you...” Li Yue’s hand tightened slightly. A blood-red giant sword manifested over the sea. With a single thought, she could pierce the sea monster's heart.
Out of caution, she continued to pinpoint the location of the primary heart. Amidst that thunderous heartbeat, she strangely heard a series of faint echoes—were those also heartbeats?
Two primary hearts? No, no... this was... another life beneath its body. It was... its child? Was that why it had avoided its rival’s territory during its most vulnerable period and come to this relatively resource-poor area? If so, everything made sense.
I see... It was to protect its own life and the life of someone it cherished. It sensed a threat, so it struck out. Although this attempt to wipe us out deserves punishment... fine, I’ll let it live. As a monster, shouldn't I show a little mercy to my own kind?
She loosened the restraints of the Death Abyss. Using the mental transmission capability of the Death Abyss, she expressed her intent with concise clarity.
Get lost... I don’t want to kill you or your child.
The creature seemed to understand remarkably fast. Its massive frame began to move as the Death Abyss slowly retracted. Li Yue watched it from a distance. In its eyes, she could still see confusion and bewilderment, along with the despair that had surfaced just moments ago.
What is it confused about? Confused as to why I’d let it go? Didn't I just say I didn't want to kill it? What's there to be confused about?
In reality, what it was likely confused by was why the God of Death would spare its life...
Li Yue slowly reclaimed that massive amount of life force. She felt her body twitching, wondering why she always needed such a vast amount of vitality. She had undergone a transformation after absorbing the life force of humans from several islands last time—was it still not enough?
As she pondered this, she noticed the crew beginning to gather around her. Her actions had likely been too conspicuous, causing them to notice something.
She hissed softly, seemingly considering a countermeasure. After a few seconds of thought, she sensed Sharon’s presence behind her and the girl's hesitant, fearful mood.
She feigned a sudden weakness, letting her body slump backward. The changes on her person began to fade. Just as Li Yue expected, Sharon hesitated for a fraction of a second before catching her.
“These spells... they overdraw too much life force. Luckily it had a child... and feared... getting it caught in the crossfire, so it fled... otherwise...” Li Yue put on a pale, exhausted face, appearing to be at the end of her rope.
“This... what should we do... maybe we should head back!” Sharon was quick to believe her, as the life aura on Li Yue was indeed extremely weak. As for how she achieved this, she simply stored her vitality within the Death Abyss; as long as the Death Abyss existed, this body wouldn't die.
“I just need to rest for a while. No permanent damage,” Li Yue added quickly. She acted dazed, as if on the verge of losing consciousness. After a short while, her breathing stabilized, and she appeared to have fainted.
In truth, she had just fallen asleep. It was already her usual bedtime, and without restraint, the drowsiness was hard to fight. Plus, after the brief exertion and now being held, she decided to just sleep—otherwise, it would be too awkward.
“I’ll go get her settled. Reduce the ship’s speed and proceed slowly,” Sharon ordered in a low voice. Although she didn't know much about forbidden magic, she understood that such things came at a great cost.
Naïve, straightforward, and kind-hearted academy students really are some of the easiest creatures in the world to deceive...
...
Beneath the turbulent surface of the sea, a figure sat beside a massive corpse. The body was riddled with various tumors, and its originally dark red flesh had turned purple. Its massive bulk was being absorbed by the figure.
“A Sea King class sea monster... even with a child, why is there only this much life force left? Who absorbed it?” The old man smiled, his dark green eyes devoid of any sympathy. “If I’d known, I would have let it grow a bit longer. Its child ran off quite fast, though. Creatures of this species grow quickly. Living with hatred, I’m sure it will become a Sea King class monster in the near future.”
“I won’t finish it off. I’ll wait until it has its own children before I use it for experiments.”
He chuckled, seemingly having found the answer to his question. Tentacle-like structures sprouted from his body as he sped off into the depths of the ocean.
Rate on N.U.
