Chapter 276
At first glance, the Black Sea Anemone’s body appeared smooth, but upon closer inspection countless seams became visible.
The texture of the skin differed at every seam.
Because it had been stitched together from the hides of different magical beasts.
The waving tentacles above its head were the same.
The tentacles, resembling a woman’s long hair, had all been extracted from different magical beasts.
Some were rough and covered in octopus-like suckers, while others were transparent like jellyfish tentacles. Mixed among them were tentacles sharp as blades.
Zeon had no idea who had created such a grotesque chimera or what they had been thinking, but one thing was obvious—
Their sense of aesthetics was utterly horrifying.
The Black Sea Anemone, Bessie, immediately attacked Arkelon at Pantsy’s command.
Shluuuurp!
A tentacle covered in octopus suckers suddenly stretched nearly a hundred meters and wrapped itself around Arkelon.
Kwoooooh!
Caught by the tentacle, Arkelon struggled violently.
But the more it struggled, the tighter the suckers constricted around its body.
Bessie’s octopus tentacles were like a venus flytrap—once caught, escape was impossible.
Shluuush!
At that moment, another wave of tentacles shot forward.
Dozens of blade-like tentacles.
Pabilsa shouted in alarm,
“Arkelon!”
He hoped Arkelon would dodge the attack, but unfortunately Arkelon’s movements were far too sluggish.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The countless tentacles wrapped tightly around Arkelon.
Pantsy shouted triumphantly,
“Become Bessie’s nourishment!”
“Says who?”
At that moment, Zeon coldly replied as he raised his right arm.
Shluuuush!
Far more sand tendrils than Bessie’s tentacles burst upward from the ground.
They were sand serpents created through Zeon’s skill—
Vipers.
The Vipers immediately bit into the tentacles coiled around Arkelon.
Shrrraak!
The blade-like tentacles were ripped apart and severed by the Vipers.
Only the octopus-sucker tentacle remained.
Even under the Vipers’ assault, the sucker-covered tentacle refused to release Arkelon.
Unlike the others, the octopus tentacle regenerated almost instantly even after being injured.
It possessed astonishing regenerative abilities.
Zeon knew very well how to deal with monsters with regenerative powers.
“Fire Rain!”
As Zeon swung his hand, countless fireballs poured down like rain upon the octopus tentacle.
The Fire Rain scorched the wounds the Vipers had torn open.
Burned wounds could no longer regenerate.
Fire was the perfect counter against monsters with regenerative abilities.
Unable to regenerate its injuries, Bessie convulsed violently in apparent agony.
Even so, it stubbornly refused to let go of Arkelon.
Instead, it attempted to absorb Arkelon’s bodily fluids.
“How persistent.”
Zeon muttered quietly as he manipulated the sand once more.
At his command, dozens of Vipers wrapped themselves around the octopus tentacle.
“Claymore!”
Boom!
The Vipers exploded simultaneously, blasting the octopus tentacle apart.
Bessie released a piercing ultrasonic shriek as it writhed violently.
Its octopus tentacle had been torn to shreds.
Retracting the tentacle, now reduced to half its original size, Bessie glared at Zeon.
The countless eyes beneath its main body all focused upon him.
Pantsy shouted in panic,
“Wait! Not him—you’re supposed to absorb the turtle!”
Normally Bessie would have obeyed Pantsy’s words.
But this time it rejected his command.
It was, above all else, still a magical beast.
Instinct overwhelmed reason.
Logically, absorbing Arkelon and stabilizing its collapsing body was the correct choice.
But its instincts screamed that it first had to kill the one who had inflicted such pain upon it—Zeon.
And like a true magical beast, Bessie chose instinct.
Shluuuush!
The countless waving tentacles shot toward Zeon all at once.
Every single tentacle was thicker than Zeon’s torso.
Zeon activated Sand Step and retreated backward.
But Bessie’s tentacles pursued him like guided missiles.
Boom! Boom!
The tentacles that missed Zeon slammed into the ground with explosive force.
As he dodged the attacks one by one, Zeon shouted,
“Take Arkelon and go to Moby Dick now!”
“But…”
Pabilsa hesitated.
He did not feel comfortable leaving Zeon alone against such a monstrous creature.
Understanding Pabilsa’s thoughts, Zeon shouted back,
“It’s harder to fight while protecting Arkelon. Go now!”
“…Understood.”
Pabilsa finally concluded that leaving quickly was the best way to help Zeon.
“Let’s go, Arkelon!”
At Pabilsa’s command, Arkelon resumed its heavy march.
After suffering another attack from Bessie, its stamina had dropped sharply.
Even so, Arkelon somehow remained standing and continued trudging forward.
Claire, riding atop Arkelon’s shell, cautiously spoke to Lee Jeongho.
“Shouldn’t we help him?”
“He won’t die.”
“But…”
“Claire.”
“Yes!”
“Remember this well. What our mission is. Why we came all the way out here.”
“I know.”
“Then focus solely on the mission. He’ll deal with that chimera himself.”
Lee Jeongho’s expression remained indifferent as he stared toward where Zeon was fighting.
His unfocused eyes revealed nothing of what he was thinking.
But one thing was certain.
Lee Jeongho had absolutely no concern for Zeon’s safety.
For him, the mission entrusted by Jin Geumho came first.
Lee Jeongho’s mission was to secure Moby Dick’s heart.
Nothing else mattered to him.
Zeon’s life included.
Even at a glance, the Black Sea Anemone was extraordinarily dangerous.
The sight of countless tentacles raining down upon Zeon like missiles was horrifying enough on its own.
Had he himself been attacked by the Black Sea Anemone, rather than dodging like Zeon, he would have cut every single tentacle apart.
Though the tentacles struck at speeds beyond normal human perception, Lee Jeongho possessed the Mind’s Eye.
The Mind’s Eye allowed him to perceive and react even to attacks beyond human awareness and speed.
Because of that, the Black Sea Anemone’s attacks did not seem threatening to him.
If he cooperated with Zeon, they could defeat the Black Sea Anemone far more easily.
Yet he chose not to because he needed Zeon to expend his strength.
‘Defeating that chimera will consume a considerable amount of power.’
Zeon was fundamentally different from him.
They had never openly clashed, but from his speech, actions, and gaze alone, Lee Jeongho could tell they walked different paths.
He could not allow someone like that to remain in perfect condition.
Boom!
One of the tentacles slammed directly into Zeon.
Fortunately, at the last moment Zeon raised a sand wall and avoided taking the full impact.
Still, it was obvious he was struggling.
“That should be enough.”
Lee Jeongho turned his gaze toward Moby Dick’s domain.
Arkelon continued taking one heavy step after another into the dark territory that resembled the depths of the sea.
A chill completely unlike anything before swept over both him and Arkelon.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zeon watched Arkelon disappear into Moby Dick’s territory.
“Where are you looking?”
At Pantsy’s shout, Zeon’s body suddenly became heavy.
‘A curse?’
Strength drained from his muscles, his breathing became ragged, and objects split into three or four overlapping images.
A blazing fever surged through him, making it feel as though his brain would melt.
While Zeon’s attention had been focused on Bessie, Pantsy had secretly cast a curse.
It had been spread over a wide area, so its power was not overwhelming, but it was enough to render Zeon momentarily helpless.
Whiiish!
In the brief instant his movements slowed, a transparent tentacle wrapped around him.
“Ghk!”
“Got you, you rat bastard!”
Pantsy shouted triumphantly.
The transparent tentacle constricted around Zeon with terrifying pressure.
Since escaping by normal means was impossible, Pantsy grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.
Zeon struggled, but the transparent tentacle did not budge in the slightest.
Bessie immediately attempted to absorb Zeon’s bodily fluids.
But Pantsy stopped it.
“Wait! Bessie, bring him here. I want to see his face.”
Perhaps capturing Zeon had calmed its anger somewhat, because this time Bessie obediently followed Pantsy’s command.
The transparent tentacle carried Zeon directly before Pantsy.
Pantsy peered into Zeon’s face.
“What are you? Where did you crawl out from to interfere with me?”
“And why are you targeting Arkelon?”
“Arkelon? Ah, that turtle. It’s nourishment. Nourishment to help our Bessie grow.”
“So it really is an incomplete chimera.”
“Shut up! Our Bessie is perfect. More beautiful and complete than any lifeform in existence.”
“You call that beautiful?”
“Yes! Just look at this perfect lifeform. There isn’t a creature on Earth more beautiful than this.”
“To me it looks like a stitched-up rag.”
“How dare you insult my Bessie!”
Rage exploded across Pantsy’s face.
He could tolerate insults directed at himself.
But insulting Bessie was absolutely unforgivable.
Pantsy screamed,
“Absorb him, Bessie!”
The tentacle wrapped around Zeon writhed violently.
For a tiny lifeform like Zeon, draining every drop of bodily fluid should have taken only a second.
Pantsy naturally assumed that would happen again.
But contrary to his expectations, no matter how hard the tentacle tried, not a single drop of fluid was extracted from Zeon’s body.
The robe crafted from Leviathan’s hide completely protected him from the tentacle’s absorption.
And on top of that—
Zeon possessed super regeneration.
No matter how extraordinary Bessie’s ability was, it was impossible to completely drain Zeon’s fluids and life force.
And Zeon had no intention of passively allowing it anyway.
Fwoooosh!
Flames suddenly erupted from Zeon’s body.
The overwhelming heat forced the tentacle to release him.
The instant he regained freedom, Zeon opened his subspace.
What he pulled out was a gigantic scythe.
The Reaper’s Scythe he had obtained after killing Grim Reaper.
Before Pantsy could even comprehend the situation, Zeon swung the Reaper’s Scythe toward him.
Just before the scythe reached Pantsy’s neck, Bessie wrapped tentacles around him protectively.
Slash!
The tentacles were severed, and a long wound opened across Pantsy’s chest.
“Kraaaagh!”
Pantsy screamed and hurriedly retreated backward.
“Tch. Too shallow.”
Zeon clicked his tongue.
Because of the tentacles, he had failed to cut through Pantsy’s throat.
Still, it did not matter much.
The curses weighing on him vanished the moment Pantsy was injured.
Zeon immediately stored the Reaper’s Scythe back inside his subspace.
The Reaper’s Scythe was not something one could hold for long.
Unless they were a curse sorcerer, its backlash was overwhelming.
Hiding behind Bessie in panic, Pantsy shouted,
“Kill him, Bessie!”
Shluuuush!
The moment his words ended, Bessie attacked Zeon.
More than a hundred tentacles launched toward him simultaneously.
Unlike before, Zeon did not dodge.
Dozens of Sand Soldiers were summoned around him.
The soldiers made of sand threw themselves directly into the incoming tentacles as living shields.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Sand Soldiers exploded apart under the impacts, but Zeon did not even blink.
He had never expected the Sand Soldiers to fully stop the tentacles.
Their purpose was only to buy time.
“Now the real attack begins.”
Zeon’s gaze shifted toward the ground beneath Bessie.
Ruuumble…
At some point, the sand surrounding Bessie had begun rotating.
But Bessie, focused entirely on attacking with its tentacles, failed to notice.
Nor did it possess enough rationality left to calmly judge the situation.
And upon Bessie, Zeon pronounced death.
“Sand Mixer!”
GRAAAAAAANNNG!
The sand began spinning at tremendous speed.