Chapter 137: Home (V)

Murmen.

Sirens.

Turtle dragons.

Even monstrous creatures of unknown origin.

Small, medium, and large-sized monsters swarmed together on the surface of the water.

Just how many are there exactly?

Hundreds? Thousands?

No, the number of marine monsters darkening the horizon must have been in the tens of thousands at least.

But what made Louis even more nervous than their overwhelming numbers was a particular monster proudly asserting its presence at the back of the army.

…What is that thing?

There was no such creature in Louis’s knowledge base.

As he stared forward…

“What should we do, Louis?” one of his twins asked as they crowded close by his side.

Louis shook his head. “No, let’s wait a bit longer.”

To make use of his preparations, Louis had to wait until the monsters entered range.

Just a little more…

An array of marine creatures, too numerous and varied to count, charged towards the dragon-infested island without hesitation—as if they feared not even dragons.

More!

Gradually, the distance between the island and the monster horde shrank:

1,000 meters.

900 meters.

800 meters.

The gap closed steadily. When only 300 meters remained between them…

Now!

Louis activated the Sacred Scripture.

Vwoom.

Out of thirteen Motion Crystals carved into the wooden fortress wall, eight simultaneously lit up.

And then…

Kuguguguu…

Eight black whirlpools materialized off the white sandy shore. Initially small at one meter across, they swiftly grew to fifty meters high, forming an impenetrable barrier against the advancing monster army.

Despite emitting an aura of foreboding doom, the black whirlwinds failed to instill fear in the monstrous horde. The mindless army pressed forward relentlessly, their reckless charge sealing their tragic fate.

Grrrshhhk!

As the creatures approached within two meters of the swirling vortexes, they were inexorably drawn into the maelstrom. Simultaneously, their bodies were torn asunder with gruesome efficiency.

The insatiable black whirlwinds continued to devour monsters without end. Louis christened his creation “Hungry Space,” a name that aptly described how these voids voraciously consumed their prey, as if starved for millennia.

“Wow…”

“Incredible!”

The twins’ eyes sparkled at the grandeur of Louis’s sacred scripture in action. Yet, Louis himself remained grim-faced, unconvinced by this display.

Why… aren’t their numbers dwindling?

Only a few minutes had passed, but Louis’s sacred scripture must have swallowed at least several thousand monsters by now. Yet the monster army remained so dense that it was impossible to tell where any gaps might be.

A thought flashed through Louis’s mind:

No way…!

As if in answer to his horrified exclamation, more monsters emerged from behind the black whirlpool. In other words, they were suddenly appearing near the beach as well.

Louis gritted his teeth.

Crap! They said half land and half sea, but this is more like half monster and half water!

The creatures rising above the surface were doing so because there was no space left underwater.

They’re coming up here just to breathe!

The monsters emerging above water were merely the tip of the iceberg. The true might of the monster army lay hidden in the ocean’s depths.

While Louis focused on shallow-water creatures, those in deeper waters had evaded the black whirlpool and reached the white sandy shore.

Grrraaahhh.

A monstrous beast resembling a sea dragon stuck its head out of the door, roaring menacingly.

And then…

Shhhk-shhhk-shhhk…

An enormous tentacle, over six feet wide, slithered onto the beach.

“A kraken!”

Both the sea serpent, known as the demon of the deep, and the kraken, dubbed the scourge of the sea, had survived the black whirlpool along with other large and medium-sized monsters. They now stood triumphantly on the white sandy shore.

Witnessing this, Louis activated another set of Motion Crystals engraved on the castle wall. Three out of the remaining five crystals lit up.

Fwssshhh…

A black whirlwind swiftly emerged, enveloped in white sand. The forceful gale instantly tore apart the approaching monsters.

Just then…

Kuuuuh!

An enormous roar struck Louis’s ears. Simultaneously, the kraken’s colossal head breached the surface, and one of its immense tentacles rose from the water, cleaving through the waves.

Impossible!

The kraken’s leg stretched endlessly toward the sky—its length surely exceeding 100 meters. As it reached its zenith, the massive appendage descended vertically onto the black whirlwind with terrifying force.

Kraaackkkk!

The clash between immense physical force and sacred scripture began to cleave the kraken’s legs apart.

Screeeeech!

The kraken let out a piercing wail as blue fluid sprayed in all directions. Despite losing its limbs, it refused to cease its attack. As one leg was completely severed:

Thud.

One of Louis’s black whirlwinds dissipated.

Louis was astonished.

To overwhelm sacred scripture with mere physical power?!

Monsters started pouring through the path created by the kraken. This only increased Louis’s sense of urgency.

“Twins, stop them!” At his cry, the twins drew their swords and charged forward. Not wanting to be left behind, Louis ran after them.

The first to confront the monsters were the twins who had moved ahead.

“Yap!”

“Hap!”

The adorable twins shouted their battle cries. Their swords emitted waves of lightning attribute holy energy, which quickly scattered forward.

Zzzzt.

The intense electric current spread out in all directions, enveloping the monsters that had just set foot on the white sandy beach.

Graaaaah!

Crunk!

The medium-sized monsters exposed to the electricity instantly turned black and collapsed like rotten trees. However, the larger monsters showed surprising resilience by simply fainting for a moment before standing up again.

Crap! Louis gritted his teeth.

I don’t care about the others; I need to deal with the kraken!

After all, the smaller monsters couldn’t cross the castle walls anyway.

The sea serpents, each about ten meters long, were a problem, but the twins could handle them. The real headache was the kraken, which stretched for hundreds of meters. Though it had lost one tentacle, it still had nine left.

Louis had only two sacred scriptures remaining from those he’d carved into the castle walls. Including the Black Whirlwind already in effect, that made four total. Even if the kraken gave up its remaining tentacles without a fight, it would still have five left. And if it ever rose above the water to swing those…

Our defense line will crumble instantly!

Gritting his teeth, Louis transformed on the spot and soared into the sky.

The mermen hurled their spears at him, but none found their mark on Louis. He soared above the monsters’ heads when…

Gwooooh!

The kraken let out a bizarre cry, reminiscent of a whale’s mournful song. Simultaneously, its colossal legs began to stir.

“Oof!”

Louis nimbly evaded the giant leg hurtling towards him. Dashing between the nine pursuing limbs, he cut a precarious figure, like a stunt pilot performing death-defying maneuvers.

Of course, Louis wasn’t merely dodging the kraken’s attacks.

“Hap!”

Shwaaah…

Morphing back into human form, Louis glided down the slippery surface of the kraken’s leg. In that instant, the Gyokryeokgongjeon appeared in his hand—a weapon forged from the essence of extreme heat.

The sword he held was smaller than the Extreme Fire Sword that had broken through the barrier earlier, but it still measured an impressive five meters in length. Louis plunged this blade into one of the kraken’s legs and began his assault.

Fwiiiish… Zzzzt!

As intense heat caused smoke to rise, the kraken’s leg split apart.

Kreeee! The creature let out a pained screech.

Having bisected one of its limbs vertically, Louis transformed back into dragon form and soared into the sky. From there, he began his dance with the beast, seamlessly shifting between human and dragon as he faced off against the kraken. This creature was on par with the drake from before—but no, a sea kraken was far more terrifying than any land-based drake. Yet Louis toyed with it effortlessly.

After about ten minutes…

Grrraaahhh!

The remaining intact tentacles of the kraken split vertically as it retreated.

“Not so fast!” Louis charged at the fleeing creature like a hound on the scent.

Behind him, his Gyokryeokgongjeon—measuring over thirty feet long—rose high before plunging into the water, embedding itself in the kraken’s head just as it tried to hide beneath the surface.

And then…

KABOOM!

An enormous explosion erupted, sending steam and blue fluids flying in all directions. Soon, the massive carcass of the kraken floated to the top of the sea.

Having dispatched the kraken more easily than expected, Louis turned away from the battle site.

Pfft-pfft…

Flashes burst incessantly near the castle walls. Seeing that his twin was handling the other monsters quite well, Louis gazed out toward the ocean.

I need to take care of that thing.

Normally, these creatures wouldn’t even consider attacking him or his twin. The proper response upon sensing a dragon’s murderous aura should have been to flee in utter panic.

Despite Louis and his twins exuding energy, the monsters were still charging at them with bloodshot eyes. It was all because of that ‘bastard’ controlling them. Instead of engaging in this futile battle, it would be better to take out the puppeteer and end the situation once and for all.

Just as Louis made up his mind to fly towards the sky…

Zzzzt!

An unpleasant wave registered on Louis’s senses.

What is this?

His question was soon answered as something strange began happening among the monsters.

Grrr.

Skreeee!

Monster cries rang out from various directions. The creatures trying to reach the shore turned their heads. Not only that, but the army of sea monsters blocked by the Black Whirlwind also split into two groups.

Louis’s expression hardened.

Oh no! He realized what the monsters’ movements meant. They’re giving up on this place and looking for another way around!

As Louis and his twin desperately tried to defend the white sandy beach, it was clear that the monsters were aiming to surround the entire island before making their way onto land. It was impossible for him to handle everything alone. Even if he managed to block off the beach, they would just breach somewhere else.

In desperation, Louis activated two more Motion Crystals on the castle walls. Black whirlwinds appeared where the monster army split, a crude attempt by Louis to impede their progress.

And then, at that moment…

Zzzt!

The unpleasant wave sounded again. The monster army began to make wide detours around the black whirlwinds.

Seeing this, Louis gritted his teeth.

…So it really was controlling them.

The unnatural movements of the monster army proved that some unknown creature was manipulating them from afar.

Now Louis had a choice to make: continue towards the sea as planned or try to hunt down the mysterious entity behind all this.

Or should he retreat and protect his mother while fighting?

At that moment, Louis sensed an energy circling around the left side of the island.

Turning his head, Louis could see it:

A strange monster clinging to the cliff on the left side.

It’s him!

Its appearance was bizarre, like a mix between a crab and a kraken.

The creature, with four pairs of eyes glaring at them, started climbing up the cliff.

Where he was heading was as obvious as seeing smoke from a fire.

Thanks to this, Louis could make a decision.

He had to go to his mother’s side right away.

“Twin!”

Hearing Louis call out, the twins quickly ran over.

Louis grabbed their wrists, and soon their figures disappeared.

Genelocer searched every mountain range as if possessed by a madman, desperate to find his son. His only child had vanished without a trace, and maintaining his sanity was proving more challenging with each passing moment.

He meticulously combed through every conceivable place Louis might have gone, but there was no sign of his beloved boy. Clinging to his last shred of hope, he sought out Carlos’s lair, wondering if perhaps Louis had taken refuge with his childhood twin friends.

Yet again, his search proved fruitless—Louis wasn’t there. Worse still, neither were the twins. All that remained in Carlos’s abode were fragments of what appeared to be an ancient infant care golem, long since shattered beyond recognition.

This revelation sent Genelocer into a tailspin.

The twins have disappeared too?

Not just Louis, but now also the twins…

Not one, but three hatchlings had gone missing. This was no ordinary matter.

…Should I report this to Silver Flower Castle?

This incident could have implications beyond his own conflict with Carlos; it might be a significant issue for the entire dragon race. However, before he could make the call, Genelocer once again took out the communication stone. He prayed Louis would answer as he channeled elemental energy into it.

Buzz… buzz…

The stone continued sending signals, yet there was still no response. Undeterred, Genelocer maintained his grip on the device. Time passed like an eternity.

Why won’t you pick up, Louis…?

Disappointed, Genelocer was about to cut off the power when…

“H-hello?”

A voice finally emerged from the communication stone.