Chapter 600: The Impossible Skin of the Kraken
The sea seemed endless. Wall-high waves swallowed the horizon, and the wind roared as if it wanted to rip Strax’s wings off. He stood on a sharp rock, his imposing figure in hybrid form—black dragon wings spread, scales spread across his chest, arms, and part of his face, slightly elongated teeth, glowing red eyes.
In his hand, firmly, he held Zani, its blade reflecting the murky light of the cloudy sky.
Beneath the waters, a colossal shadow stirred. At first, it appeared only as a dark smudge, but soon tentacles began to emerge. Thick as towers, each covered in shield-sized suckers, each movement displaced tons of water. The roar of the ocean was replaced by a guttural sound, an abyssal call that reverberated in the bones.
The Kraken had awakened.
Strax gritted his teeth and raised his sword, his wings spread to balance himself against the fierce wind. “Finally… Let’s see what you’re made of.”
The first tentacle struck. He dodged it with a powerful leap, using his wings to glide and spin through the air. Zani flashed in a sharp arc, and steel met flesh. The sound was like a blade scraping against stone.
Nothing. Just a superficial scratch that barely drew blood.
Strax growled. “Hmpf.”
Another tentacle came, and he struck again. Another dull impact, another insignificant mark on the monster’s skin. The beast didn’t even seem to feel it.
Zani appeared beside him in spirit form, floating with a serious expression. “The blade isn’t penetrating. The Kraken’s skin is… too thick.”
“I noticed,” Strax replied through gritted teeth, dodging two more blows that shattered the rock into pieces. “But that’s not all…”
He struck again, three consecutive slashes that sent shockwaves through the air. All missed. Scratches, nothing more.
The Kraken roared, lifting half its body out of the sea. Its enormous eyes, glowing like underwater lanterns, stared indifferently at Strax.
The human-dragon gritted his teeth. His muscles burned, his breathing was heavy, and for the first time in a long time, he felt… weak.
A tentacle slammed down on him. Strax lifted Zani and blocked it. The impact reverberated like thunder, smashing into the rock he was standing on. He was thrown backward, his wings unfolding at the last moment to prevent himself from being swallowed by the sea.
He glided a few meters, landing on another piece of rock. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and his scales trembled, cracking slightly from the exertion.
“It’s not just a lack of penetration.” He spat on the ground, glaring angrily at the colossus. “I feel so damn weak.”
Zani crossed his arms, his spirit body hovering beside him. “It’s not just you. There’s something wrong with the energy here. The ocean itself seems to be draining some of your strength.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Strax raised his sword again, and his demonic aura exploded. Scarlet and dense as liquid fire, it spread through the air, enveloping his hybrid form. His wings grew even larger, and his muscles twitched with energy.
With a ferocious roar, he charged.
The blade descended like a blast of thunder, coated in demonic energy. The blow split the air, tore through the water, and struck the Kraken’s back.
The entire sea trembled. The energy exploded, creating gigantic waves that swept across the surface.
When the foam subsided… nothing.
The monster’s skin was scorched, but intact.
Strax’s eyes widened. “What…?!”
Zani narrowed hers, watching. “Not even your demonic energy is getting through.”
“It can’t be…” Strax lunged forward again, fury pulsing through every muscle. His next slashes were a devastating rain, dozens of energy blades streaking through the air like meteors. The sky lit up with each strike, and the waters split in explosions.
The Kraken roared, raising tentacles that blocked and absorbed the blows as if they were mere touches. Scratches, sparks, superficial burns. But nothing lethal.
Strax flew, dodged, slashed, each beat of his wings sending up whirlwinds. His breathing was heavy, his eyes burning red, and yet… each attack seemed futile.
A tentacle grazed him, and the impact was enough to send him crashing into a rock formation, shattering it like paper. Blood ran down the side of his mouth.
He spat, wiping it with the back of his hand, and rose again, limping slightly.
“Damn… worm…”
Zani appeared beside him again, serious, her voice firm. “It’s not a matter of brute force. Your energy isn’t reaching the creature’s interior. It lacks true penetration. You’re hitting the surface, but not breaking through.”
Strax stared at her, his chest heaving. “I feel… as if some of my strength has been stolen.”
Zani moved closer to him, almost touching his shoulder. “It’s not your imagination. This ocean, or perhaps the Kraken itself, is draining you. It was made to face beings like us, perhaps even dragons. It was born to resist.”
A new roar shook the air, and the tentacles rose like walls ready to crush the sky. The Kraken wasn’t just defending itself, it was preparing to finish him off.
Strax lifted Zani again, his eyes burning with frustration. “Then I’ll have to find another way to cut you down.”
He advanced once more, diving head-on into the colossal attack. Tentacles came from all sides, and he slashed furiously, each blow accompanied by bursts of red energy. But even when he managed to push one or two aside, the skin remained untouched.
The surrounding waters rose in walls, the creature’s roar mingling with the thunder and the sound of destruction.
And in the midst of it all, Strax felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time: helplessness.
He paused for a moment in midair, gasping for breath, as the tentacles rose again to crush him once more.
Zani looked him in the eye, serious, almost cold. “If you keep this up, you’ll kill yourself without even scratching this thing.”
Strax closed his eyes for a second, trying to control his anger. His body trembled, not only from the effort, but from the frustration that consumed him.
When he opened his eyes, he took a deep breath and replied in a deep voice:
“I don’t accept this.”