The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

#204 - Kraken

This giant squid looked no different from the smaller squids outside, but the one before them was enormous, at least 15 meters tall. Its outstretched tentacles blotted out the sky, practically taking up the entire room.

Moreover, its two arms were embracing a statue of a goddess. Upon closer inspection, it was a statue of Aqua.

Everyone's expressions changed drastically.

Kazuma Sato, dumbfounded, shouted, "Wh-What is that, a giant squid!? I mean, it's way too big!"

"N-No, that's a Kraken! It must be the master of this lake!"

"Why would the master of the lake be in the temple?"

"I think it's turned this sunken temple into its nest. In other words, we're intruders who've broken into its home. Besides, the reason there were so many squids along the way is likely because their king—the Kraken—lives here."

Yunyun's words made his expression twist slightly.

Aqua, however, was slightly surprised and said, "So, you're saying the temple is full of squids, and it's all this guy's fault?"

"...I guess so."

"I'm talking to you, squid! What do you think you're doing?! Being a squid and running wild in a temple, I won't forgive you!"

She pointed at the Kraken and shouted.

But she quickly took a step back in disgust, hiding behind Kazuma Sato and whispering, "Speaking of which, why is it hugging my statue? It feels like I'm being clung to, super uncomfortable!"

"Screeeeeech—!"

Feeling provoked, the Kraken bared its fangs and roared at them.

Although she didn't know the Kraken's habits, Yunyun, who understood the habits of creatures, knew it was intimidating and pressuring the intruders who had invaded its territory. Next, it would actively attack to drive them away or eliminate them.

"Is this something you can reason with, you idiot!" Kazuma Sato angrily berated the idiot goddess who provoked the Kraken.

Darkness said, "Aqua, while I'm still covering you, hurry and escape… Waaah!"

She was suddenly snatched away by a tentacle.

Not only Darkness, but Yunyun, who was standing next to her, was also taken away.

"Waaah—! W-Wait, why me… S-Save me, Yunyun…!"

This guy sure knows how to pick!

"Ugh! ...Such intense binding... Ah! Even I am rendered immobile by such an attack... Ah!"

"Darkness, can you not make such delighted noises at a time like this!?"

"N-No! I'm not delighted, I'm definitely not delighted...! Ha... Ha...!"

No, she definitely was delighted.

This perverted female knight was actually enjoying herself at a time like this, even the innocent Megumin was frightened.

"Yunyun! I don't know what kind of panting Darkness is doing! Is it excitement or pain? Which one is it?!"

"I don't know either! But no matter what, let's rescue Yunyun first..."

"Where's Darkness?"

"...Let's leave her tied up."

Yunyun chose to leave her to her fate.

Perhaps it was a very excessive thing to do in the eyes of others, but it was something Darkness had been longing for. Of course, Yunyun couldn't possibly do that for real.

But what should they do?

Cutting off the Kraken's tentacles with lightning magic was undoubtedly a good method, but it would easily hurt Darkness and Yunyun.

...Hmm?

Wait, now that she thought about it, that monster had wrapped itself around Aqua's statue, right? And it lived inside this temple. Could it be that it liked Aqua?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

She said to the idiot goddess who was slacking off to the side, "Hey, Aqua! Whatever you do, quickly attract the Kraken's attention!"

"W-Why do I have to do it? Can't you do it yourself, Yunyun?"

"Because you're essential to rescuing them! Alright, let me see your best street performance!"

Yunyun shouted at her.

Aqua, however, lectured her unhappily, "That, my performance isn't something I do just because someone asks me to. It's when my soul commands me to perform that I naturally perform. I've said it many times, I won't sell myself cheap... Huh?"

She suddenly stopped speaking.

The Kraken stared intently at Aqua, seeming very interested in her.

Although she didn't know what conditions Aqua's performance needed, it was good enough that she could attract the Kraken.

The idiot goddess took several steps back.

"D-Don't do that!"

"...Ptooey."

The Kraken suddenly spat to the side. Although it seemed interested in Aqua, it didn't seem to like her very much.

"W-Wait! What do you mean by that? It feels like I lost to the statue?!"

"No, great job, Aqua! Maybe it was just feeling down just now. Yunyun's bindings have loosened! While it's not paying attention—"

Yunyun leaped up.

"Light of Saber!"

The dazzling lightning magic instantly activated, severing two of the Kraken's tentacles, and the two of them fell to the ground.

Kazuma Sato quickly ran over.

"...Alright, got both of them back. Hey, Yunyun, Darkness, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes... Th-Thank you for your concern."

Yunyun still had a dazed expression.

Darkness, on the other hand...

"Ha... Ha... Aah, why was I released...? To be bound so tightly..."

She seemed to be reminiscing about the bondage play from just now.

"I saved you, and you're still regretting it," Kazuma Sato scolded her and said to everyone, "Alright, let's get out of here while we can!"

"I-I know, alright, Aqua, hurry up too!"

"So why is the stone statue better? You lousy squid!"

Aqua was dragged away with a disgruntled look on her face.

The group avoided the rampaging Kraken, fleeing the temple and only stopping after they had put a considerable distance between themselves and it.

"W-We finally got out. What should we do next?"

"Let's just leave. There's no need to fight it head-on anyway. That's the Kraken's lair, there's probably nothing worth exploring there."

Kazuma Sato was already thinking about retreating.

He was usually the first to run when there was danger. To make him fight a strong enemy for no reason was simply wishful thinking.

However, Aqua started up again.

"I don't want to! This is my temple, why should it be occupied by some lousy squid! Do I even have the dignity of a goddess anymore?!"

"Hey, at this point, do you even have the dignity of a goddess?"

"Waaah—!"

The idiot goddess, mocked by Kazuma Sato, screamed and wrestled with him, while Megumin also seemed unwilling to leave.

"I also don't agree with retreating like this. It would make it seem like I had no choice but to run away, and that guy—the Kraken—just bullied Yunyun, we have to get revenge."

"Megumin...!"

Yunyun looked at her, touched.

Darkness was also a little worried, "Do you want to defeat that Kraken? Ha... Ha...! The Kraken is very strong, with our current strength, I really don't know if we can win..."

"Darkness is right."

Yunyun nodded and said, "It's very unrealistic for us to defeat the Kraken right now, especially underwater, which is its specialty. After all, my magic can't be used underwater."

The reason why lightning-type is the bane of water-type is because water is conductive, but if she was also being conducted, she wouldn't be able to use magic.

This was common sense.

"We have to find a way to weaken the Kraken... Water... Water... What if we just got rid of the water?"

Kazuma Sato began to think.

"Hey, Aqua, can you summon the water in the room away?"

"I can, but the Kraken in the room will also be summoned out. Since there's more water outside, it's obviously better to defeat it there."

What she said made so much sense that he was speechless.

"...Then let's change the method."

"Yunyun, do you have a good idea?"

"Think about it. If the rubble is what's causing the room to flood, as long as we find a way to clean up the rubble, the water will drain away all at once. That way, the Kraken, which is currently jumping around, will become more docile, right?"

"Getting rid of the water with water... That does make sense."

Yunyun's idea seemed to be approved by everyone in the party.

Darkness nodded and said, "For that, it's necessary to clear the rubble in the flooded room."

"Alright! Operation Get Rid of the Room's Water begins!"

Kazuma Sato shouted.

Saying they were clearing the rubble didn't actually mean they had to carry it out of the room piece by piece. As long as they moved the rubble at the entrance, the water in the room could be released.

"That's it. Darkness, Yunyun, I'll leave it to you."

"No problem."

"Leave it to me."

The two came to either side of the huge rubble.

Yunyun quickly warned, "Everyone, stay a little further away, the water will flow out all at once."

Following her advice, Aqua and the others moved to a farther distance, while Yunyun and Darkness also exerted force at the same time, slowly lifting the huge rubble blocking the entrance and placing it aside.

At the same time, the high-level water flow found an exit and surged downwards.

Alright, that's it.

In order to prevent the Kraken from escaping through the gap, they stood on either side, ready at any moment, with their weapons in hand.

It wasn't until the water level dropped to the bottom and all the water in the room had flowed out that the Kraken suddenly realized.

But it was too late.

Yunyun and the others charged back in.

"Screeeeeech—!"

The Kraken in the room was roaring fiercely at them, its severed tentacles had not grown back. That's right, it was just a normal monster, unlike the giant slime, it didn't have the ability to regenerate.

"Heh heh heh—"

A dangerous light flashed in Yunyun's eyes.

"I might have been afraid of you by three points underwater, but now land is our main battlefield, you have no chance of winning!"

The screech that had just scared everyone now seemed to be nothing more than bravado.

"Alright, everyone!"

Yunyun's hand crackled with more than a meter of lightning, Kazuma Sato and Darkness also took out their weapons, staring at it with dangerous eyes.

"—Let's charge together!"

"Yeah!" xN

Everyone shouted and charged forward.