The five of us made a circle with our backs against each other’s, like we had done so many times during training. Seika cast a total of three defensive and enhancing spells as we all waited for the behemoth to appear again. Bows were readied. Spells were being held.

However, the underwater monster did not make its appearance for a couple more minutes and only after it was completely dark, the sun having hidden in the sea. This was an intelligent predator.

As soon as the first splash of water was heard, Archon Gideon threw a bright yellow orb into the sky, illuminating everything as if it was day while it just hung mid-air. The deck of the ship took a yellowish hue, and around it a total of five tentacles were revealed.

Two of the thickest ones were wrapped around the ship's hull, trying to cut it in half or pull it to the bottom of the sea. The archon's calm face, however, suggested that the ship would probably outlast us all.

Those two thick kraken tentacles were the ones that attracted most of the crew's offensive spells. Sizzling sounds filled the atmosphere as bullets of fire made contact with their wet slimy surfaces. The first volleys didn't seem to faze the monster at all, but eventually the fire forced the tentacles to start retreating back into the sea, making horrible gurgling sounds.

On the other side of the ship, the archon was already at work, casting what sounded like an offensive 64-word spell, though it had been so heavily modified that I could barely recognize its nature. The moment the last word escaped his lips, a line of fire appeared in front of him, stretching up into the air.

The line started bending left and right in a pattern similar to one of the remaining tentacles and a couple of seconds later, the fire was in perfect sync with the kraken's long arm. Before I realized it, the line had rushed toward its enemy and passed right through it with a flash before vanishing.

The tentacle split vertically into two perfectly equal halves, dark blood spilling out while the two parts flailed uncontrollably. Soon they fell into the water and stopped moving completely, which meant I could now focus on the two last tentacles that our group was handling.

Our attack formation was well-practiced and pretty much foolproof against two enemies, which was exactly the case right now. I clicked my boots to hasten my movements as Seika cast a hastening spell on Man. Since I was fighting in group formation, I decided to stick to my trained and proven dual swords, and not risk the unknowns of fighting with sword and shield for now.

Krysha and Kard, as usual, were already in a position where they could take cover but easily hit their target with their ranged weapons. Krysha was launching flaming arrows, one after the other, while Kard threw his poison-drenched daggers at the fleshy underside of the tentacles.

Once Seika's spell was finished, both Man and I charged at one of the tentacles each. Krysha and Kard now switched to explosive arrows and daggers to provide us with cover as we closed in. But to our surprise, the tentacles suddenly retreated into the water and we were left running toward empty waters that were only reflecting the light of the archon's spell.

Without the slightest hint of sound, both of the tentacles reemerged from behind us and plunged toward me. Seika unleashed the spell she had readied, and a spinning purple disk of magical force was catapulted toward one of the tentacles. The attack was strong enough to slice into the tentacle, but not enough to stop it completely. Instead the now bleeding arm tried to attack Man who was forced to backtrack his steps in order to avoid it, meaning I was left alone with the second one.

The position of the tentacles was such that Kard and Krysha could not see them from their side in their crouched covered stances. The slimy appendage of the kraken lunged toward me too fast for me to side-step or even bring my sword up high. I barely saw it coming at me.

Moments before the force of its attack hit my back, I felt a flashing warmth and saw what looked like green smoke rise behind me. Without acting on it at all, I was raised into the sky with incredible speed, avoiding the kraken's devastating blow. I looked behind me and saw that the smoke was actually two translucent green wings rising from the shield on my back. It was Myriam, saving me once again.

I tried leaning forward and the wings reacted exactly the way I hoped they would. Seeing Kard and Krysha unleashing a new barrage of explosive attacks on my enemy, I plunged forward, both blades at hand, and cut my slimy enemy down into several pieces.

Once I was sure the tentacle had stopped moving, and was being dragged back into the sea, I wiped the blood and gore from my face while landing and glanced over at Man whose shining blades had made quick work of the last tentacle.

The wings on my back had now disappeared, but that didn’t stop Kard from rushing over to my side to see me up close.

"What in the heavens was that, Adel?" he asked. "Since when can you fly?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I had no idea-"

"The battle is not over yet, boys!" Man interrupted us with a shout, and we both turned around to see what he meant.

The kraken was emerging from the sea, an unbelievable amount of foam being created by its movement. To my horror, I realized that the tentacles we'd fought so hard to disable were but the tips, and at their thickest part, the monsters limbs were at least thrice as wide as the ship's hull.

Before we even had a chance to think of a battle plan against something that massive, a mountain started rising from the sea's surface. The gray bulbous head and body of the kraken was the biggest living thing I had ever seen, its black eyes large enough to engulf dozens of ships like the one we were sailing on.

Name : Endless Sea Kraken

Type : Magic Creature - Beast

Level : 61

Disposition : Passive

HP : 34023/34907

Physical Attack : 894

Magic Attack : 413

Speed : 160

Attack Range : Melee

XP : 63183

Description : Krakens are marine beasts of gigantic proportions, that prefer living in the lightless bottoms of the sea-floor, mostly hibernating between means in order to reserve energy. The very seldom surfacing of these beasts in the Endless Sea in order to feed has gained them legendary statues among the species that travel these waters.