Devil's Bay (14)

Nan Yue didn't hesitate to discard the harpoon gun after firing the first spear.

The force of the harpoon gun was immense and the iron spear was heavy. It could pierce through a shark in a single hit.

But that thing was wrong. It wasn't an ordinary creature of the sea.

Nan Yue had a premonition that even if both spears hit it, they would only cause superficial wounds.

It was only a matter of time before it climbed up, and... it would be very angry.

Joseph didn't seem to expect Nan Yue to be so ruthless or for her aim to be so accurate. He glanced at her and, with Tan Xiaonan's help, loaded a new spear.

Tan Xiaonan was also paying attention. She hadn't seen the red eye, only a massive silhouette climbing onto the hull, but Nan Yue had shot it down at the same time.

She almost wanted to cheer for Nan Yue.

"Tan Xiaonan!"

Hearing Nan Yue call her, Tan Xiaonan stumbled over and cut the ropes of the harpoon gun beside Nan Yue.

The two of them unfastened the ropes tangled around the harpoon gun. Nan Yue turned the barrel, aiming at the center along with Joseph.

A black tentacle reached out, firmly gripping the deck.

Neither of them moved. They were waiting.

They were waiting for the creature's vital point to appear.

Tan Xiaonan hid behind Nan Yue and the harpoon gun. She stared wide-eyed, covering her mouth as she watched the thing climb onto the ship.

It was a giant octopus.

No, it wasn't an octopus.

...It looked more like a mass of pitch-black, mangled flesh with countless tentacles.

The most terrifying part was that the creature's entire body was covered in blood-red eyeballs.

Those eyes rolled around erratically. Just a single glance made Tan Xiaonan feel a splitting headache and a surge of nausea.

"Don't look at its eyes."

Nan Yue's psychological value was high, yet even she felt disgusted, let alone a common scavenger.

What was this thing?

It seemed to have no other organs, and there were no suckers on its tentacles.

It was like a pile of sludge studded with eyeballs.

Nan Yue seemed to hear some whispers amidst the storm. They were dense and incomprehensible, but they made her head throb.

Tan Xiaonan was in even worse shape. Blood was trickling from her ears, and her expression was vacant. It was clear her psychological value was being affected.

But looking at Joseph, he had no such reaction. He didn't even look surprised.

Nan Yue suspected that what he saw was different from what they saw.

Furthermore... Joseph couldn't hear it.

The spears from Nan Yue and Joseph tore through the air simultaneously, slamming into the eyeball monster.

"Screech! Screech! Screech!"

A strange, piercing shriek rang out. Nan Yue's head spun. She touched her nose and found her hand covered in blood.

She had a nosebleed.

By now, Tan Xiaonan had curled into a ball, motionless.

Nan Yue had no time to check on her. She bent down to pick up the dagger and crouched in the shadow of the harpoon gun, watching the mass of eyes twitch and quiver.

This thing could be killed.

Nan Yue was certain of it.

But she had to kill it before it killed her.

Nan Yue lunged forward like an arrow. As she ran toward the harpoon gun on the opposite deck, she heard the sound of something tearing through the air. She used the harpoon gun to flip herself over. Without hesitation or looking back, she ran toward another one.

A massive crash echoed behind her. The creature had likely smashed the previous harpoon gun to pieces.

Rainwater blurred Nan Yue's vision. She didn't have time to wipe it away. She cut the rope with one hand and controlled the harpoon gun with the other, turning it around and pointing the spearhead toward the deck.

The eyeball monster had already crawled up behind her. It seemed to have locked onto Nan Yue, ignoring Tan Xiaonan on the ground and Joseph, who had just fired another sharp spear into its back.

Nan Yue aimed the harpoon gun at it but didn't fire yet.

She was waiting.

The thing approached. It was as tall as two decks, but because it had no fixed form, it spread across the deck like a puddle of shadows.

At that moment, all the eyeballs on the creature's skin began to slide and squirm, making a squelching sound.

Those eyes gathered together, hundreds and thousands of them clustering in front of Nan Yue.

They squirmed erratically, converging into one mass.

The faint whispers from before were amplified countless times, roaring in Nan Yue's ears like thunder. Her head felt like it was splitting, and everything around her began to twist and distort.

She saw the previously unconscious Tan Xiaonan stand up with a hollow, vacant expression. She turned and jumped off the ship.

Nan Yue remained motionless, staring fixedly at the dense cluster of eyeballs before her.

Blood flowed from her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

She didn't move.

Finally, the monster's blood-red eyes formed two rows and suddenly snapped open, revealing what was inside its body.

There were countless white teeth, strikingly visible within its black body.

Nan Yue also saw a pulsing heart composed of countless red eyes.

She was almost entirely enveloped by the monster. The teeth were inches away, and she was practically inside the thing's body.

Then, she pulled the trigger.

The iron spear slammed violently into that hideous heart.

"Pfft!"

It sounded like a balloon bursting. The sludge-like mangled flesh that had surrounded her vanished.

The space before her returned to normal. The suicidal whispers disappeared.

Nan Yue took deep breaths of the cold air in the storm. The faint briny scent of the sea replaced the rot in her nostrils.

Joseph stood on the other side, gesturing with his hands and making "ah-ah" sounds.

Nan Yue looked down. On the deck lay an octopus the size of a small boat. It had red patterns, and its long tentacles were spread out, motionless.

"Hiss..."

Nan Yue was in pain everywhere, but her waist hurt the most.

Tan Xiaonan had nearly strangled her.

When she pulled the rope and, with Joseph's help, hauled Tan Xiaonan up, the girl's face was filled with the relief of a survivor.

She hugged Nan Yue and wailed, "Thank you for saving me! I knew I'd be safe if I followed you."

Nan Yue's face was covered in blood. She was exhausted and sleepy, feeling as limp as the octopus on the deck.

If she hadn't managed to kill that octopus just now, she would have had to use her ability.

Using an ability so early in the mission would have been a massive drain.

Joseph gestured to them, explaining that he would handle the rest. Their adventure was complete, and they could go back to sleep.

Nan Yue and Tan Xiaonan returned to their room. If they didn't wash up after being drenched like this, they would get sick.

They washed their bodies as quickly as possible and changed into dry clothes.

Nan Yue fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. When she woke up the next day, it was already noon.

Tan Xiaonan had been awake for a while. Seeing Nan Yue wake up, she thanked her earnestly again.

She felt quite guilty. She had promised to help yesterday, but she had lost consciousness once the monster boarded the ship and hadn't been of any help.

Nan Yue waved her hand. She hadn't expected much help anyway. As long as the girl was alive, it was fine.

"You're quite lucky."

If Nan Yue hadn't tied them together at the time, Tan Xiaonan's body wouldn't even be found by now.