A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

A few moments earlier, Eira crashed through the roof of the ship's cabin, where a bewildered Nora looked up at her. Currently, it was Nora's turn to steer the boat. She'd obviously noticed the sounds of wood breaking, and the boat being flung around. "Eira?! What's going on? Is Master okay?!"

"He's fine, but we need to get you to the portal!" she exclaimed, while flying behind Nora's back, and beginning to push. But Nora quickly changed to wolf form and rushed for the door.

Her fur was grey, and the servant outfit Elora created stretched to its limit, but still managed to hold as it was designed to do. "I'm not going anywhere!" she growled while crashing through the door. "If we're being attacked, then I need to fight!"

Eira pouted and narrowed her eyes, before going after Nora. Unfortunately, she didn't have the authority to order Nora around through the Bond of Service, and she didn't want to distract Erik by asking him to do it telepathically. He'd given her a task, and she wasn't going to fail him.

But Eira didn't have to chase Nora for long, because one of the kraken's tentacles crashed through the boat's undercarriage right in front of them. Once again, the boat shook wildly. Fortunately, although the ship had become visible again, the kraken couldn't actually see through the wood and attack them directly.

Nora stumbled and stared in shock at the section of a purple, suction-cup-filled tentacle, bisecting the boat in front of her. But she immediately realized this was their enemy and reacted quickly.

Raising her transformed arms, she howled, as light blue runes appeared on her fur. Water formed on her claws before she swiped forward in a cross section. Water slicers launched themselves forward and cut into the tentacle. Unfortunately, cutting was all they did.

Blue blood seeped out of cuts that were no more than a few inches deep, proving the creature's defensive capabilities. But that was no surprise. Mutated beasts generally had more in common with Runebound than Arcanists, even outside of Earth.

Despite the shallow wounds, however, the creature's reaction was quite exaggerated. A screech filled the air, coinciding with Erik hitting the water, and the tentacle quickly retreated.

It wasn't done, however, as four tentacles now wrapped themselves around the boat's remains and started squeezing. Although the boat was strategically reinforced, it clearly couldn't stand up to this kind of pressure.

The ship began to creak and shake as the walls started caving in.

"Fuck!" Nora cursed as she realized what they were up against, and doubt began to appear in her eyes. That was when Eira caught up with her. The sigil construct had her weapons drawn and glared at Nora angrily. She pointed her weapon at the werewolf.

"I said we need to get you to a portal, you dumbo!" she exclaimed, likely sounded cuter than she intended. "If you want to help him, then make it so I can return to him as quickly as possible!"

Helplessness and frustration appeared in Nora's eyes for a moment.

One second. Two seconds.

But then she nodded resolutely. She'd seen what little she could do against this creature. "F— Fine! Let's go then!"

"Finally," Eira pouted and rolled her eyes.

They started working together to get to the boat's living room, where the portal to Erik's dimension was anchored. They didn't care about the boat anymore, so they crashed through walls and demolished floors, rather than run through the narrow corridors.

Fortunately, using this tactic, they managed to reach their destination in mere seconds. Water was already filling this room to Nora's knees, and the boat's creaking was getting louder. Nora threw a quick glance at Eira, hoping she conveyed both her thanks, and the hope Eira could help Erik.

Then, she jumped through the portal, mere moments before the ship gave in, and everything imploded in on itself.

* * *

Hearing Nora was safe, Erik quickly thanked Eira and closed the portal, making himself the only access point once again. With renewed focus, he turned to face the massive squid looming before him. He needed to hurry, because with the boat's destruction, the squid had freed up more tentacles to harass him with.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The oppressive weight of the ocean pressed down on him, and the cold, murky water distorted every movement, turning the simple act of dodging into a gruelling test of endurance.

Erik surged through the water in Seraphina's direction, his every motion slowed by the surrounding currents, yet fuelled by an unyielding determination.

The aquatic environment was unforgiving, but he wasn't too deep yet, so the sun still shared its light, and his armour helped protect against the pressure. The armour's weight was an issue, of course, but not significant enough to make him give up the benefits.

The tentacles lashed at him from every angle, and with the chaos around him, he could barely see Seraphina in the distance, her figure a faint blur struggling against the Kraken's grip.

With Eira's return, Erik now wielded the full power of the runeguard, amplifying his abilities even in this hostile environment.

Seraphina, whose panic was rising exponentially with her oxygen leaking away, noticed his approach. Her wide eyes, full of conflicting emotions, locked onto him, but there was no time for contemplation. She continued her desperate struggle, her body growing weaker by the second, each movement feeling like it was dragging her deeper into the abyss.

The Kraken, for all its might, was still just a beast—driven by primal instinct rather than strategy. It made no effort to separate them, focusing only on its vicious attacks

Thus, he was steadily making his way closer, determination and fury glinting in his eyes. 'That's my woman you're holding, you overgrown squid,' he growled possessively in his mind. 'She may not have agreed yet, but I'm not about to give up on her so easily.'

But with each push forward, the pressure grew heavier, and the darkness swallowed more light, slowly turning the fight into a struggle against both monster and environment.

Inevitably, the odds turned against him. Nine powerful tentacles whipped towards him, and in the chaotic underwater dance, Erik found himself overwhelmed. He dodged two, blocked three, and repelled another three, but the ninth tentacle, with its relentless momentum, found its mark.

A furious howl escaped him, muffled by his helmet as the tentacle slammed into him, the impact reverberating through the water. Suction cups latched onto his armour, anchoring him in place with an iron grip. The Kraken, sensing its advantage, let out a victorious roar that vibrated through the ocean, the sound waves distorting in the dense water. Explore more stories with empire

The creature began to drag him closer to its beak, a maw of terror ready to crush and swallow him. But Erik was not so easily defeated.

With the suction cups adhering to his armour, the tentacle wrapped around him, and the unfavourable environment he fought in, Erik found himself unable to get out of its grip with pure strength, despite the fact he was technically stronger.

Fortunately, unlike the kraken, he had access to affinities.