Chapter 69: Wrong Prey
The Reef Kraken’s arms coiled around the Obsidian Crab like living chains, each sucker clamping onto the armored shell with sickening precision. The Crab’s crusher claw snapped wildly, crushing one arm only for two more to take its place. The water churned with sand and fury.
Then the Kraken released its ink.
A thick, black cloud exploded from its siphon, engulfing both creatures in a roiling shroud of darkness. The bioluminescent glow of the Crab’s crimson eyes vanished behind the ink, swallowed whole. Inside the cloud, Gray could feel the vibrations of panic—the Crab’s legs scrabbling against the sand, its claws snapping at nothing, its movements growing more erratic as the blindness took hold.
Cindy’s voice cut through his focus.
"That monster used ink! We can’t see anything now!"
Gray’s crystalline barbs clicked as he drifted at the edge of the ink cloud. His electroreception was still reading the battle inside—the Kraken’s limbs flexing, the Crab’s shell cracking under pressure. The ink disrupted vision, but it couldn’t hide the electrical signatures of two massive creatures locked in combat.
’This octopus is dumber than the one I fought before,’ he said.
Cindy’s voice sharpened. "Why do you say that?"
’Because it’s ignoring me,’ Gray replied, already drifting forward into the outer edge of the ink. ’It assumed the Crab is the only threat. That’s a fatal mistake.’
Cindy made a small sound of understanding. "Arrogance."
’Exactly.’
He moved forward with a slow, calm pulse, allowing his body to ride the current rather than push against it.
The Reef Kraken had fully committed to the grapple. Four arms were locked around the Crab’s legs, pulling them apart with patient strength. Two more were prying at the edges of the carapace, searching for gaps. The Crab’s crusher claw snapped blindly, cracking one of the Kraken’s arms, but the creature only tightened its grip.
’Perfect.’
Gray glided through the ink like a ghost. The Kraken’s golden eyes were wide, dilated in the darkness, but they couldn’t see him. The Crab’s crimson gaze was dimmed beneath the black cloud. Neither creature noticed as he positioned himself directly above the Kraken’s soft, exposed mantle.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — ACTIVATED]
The venom cloud merged with the ink, indistinguishable from the darkness. The Kraken’s first warning was the subtle burn of neurotoxin seeping through its gills, into the soft tissue beneath its arms. Its grip on the Crab loosened for a split second.
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 18 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 19 DAMAGE]
[NEUROTOXIC DRIFT — 20 DAMAGE]
[REEF KRAKEN — HP: 423 / 480]
[PARALYZE — RESISTED]
The Kraken’s golden eyes snapped upward, searching. Its arms twitched, still wrapped around the Crab, but its attention was divided now. It knew something was wrong. It just couldn’t find the source.
’You shouldn’t have ignored me.’
Cindy’s voice came, low and sharp. "It’s noticed something."
’It’s too late.’
He activated Cavitation Pulse at point-blank range, aiming directly at the soft flesh of the Kraken’s head. The superheated jet of water and crystal shrapnel tore through the ink cloud and slammed into the creature’s cranium, punching a ragged hole through the soft tissue.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 54 DAMAGE]
[REEF KRAKEN — HP: 369 / 480]
[CRITICAL HIT — HEAD WOUND]
The Kraken’s body seized. Its golden eyes went wide, and its arms slackened around the Obsidian Crab as the wound in its head sent waves of pain crashing through its nervous system.
The wound should have been fatal. Instead, the Kraken shook off the blow like it was nothing more than a scratch.
Through the darkness, Gray felt the Kraken’s attention snap toward him. The direction of the attack had given him away. A massive arm lashed through the ink, suckers reaching for his bell. Gray pulsed sideways, 135 SPD carrying him just beyond the arm’s reach. The limb swept past, close enough that he felt the rush of displaced water.
’Almost got me...’
He faded back into the ink cloud, his Hollow Cloak swallowing his electrical signature. The Kraken’s arm swept through the space where he’d been, finding nothing.
Cindy’s voice trembled. "How is that thing still alive after taking a hit to the head?!"
’It might have a skill that lets it survive critical damage,’ Gray replied, already circling. ’Some creatures have them.. or maybe its brain is somewhere else.’
Cindy made a frustrated sound. "That’s insane."
’Welcome to the abyss.’
Predator’s Instinct surged through his nerves like ice water. The water pressure shifted just slightly. Gray knew immediately that a tentacle was coiling toward him through the ink.
Gray pulsed upward, slipping over the arm as it reached for him. The suckers scraped against his crystalline armor, trying to latch on, but he was already gone.
’So this octopus isn’t as dumb as I thought,’ he muttered.
Then he sensed the Obsidian Crab’s electrical signature stuttering. Its shell had cracked, its legs twitched faintly, and the crusher claw hung useless at its side. The Kraken had nearly finished it.
’Sorry, but I’m not letting you steal my prey.’
He shot through the ink, his translucent body weaving through the ink with lethal grace. Cavitation Pulse charged, the water around his bell superheating in an instant. He aimed for the Crab’s head, where the armor was already cracked from the Kraken’s assault.
[CAVITATION PULSE — 56 DAMAGE]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB — HP: 0 / 920]
[OBSIDIAN CRAB DEFEATED — 450 EXP]
[TRAIT FRAGMENT ACQUIRED: "Obsidian Carapace" (3/5)]
The Crab’s crimson eyes flickered once, then went dark. Its massive body slumped into the sand, finally still.
The Kraken snapped into a rage. Its golden eyes blazed through the ink, locking onto Gray with murderous intent. The black cloud churned as the creature surged toward him, its remaining arms spreading wide, cutting off every escape route.
’Shit—’
A tentacle wrapped around his bell.
Gray’s body seized, the suckers clamping onto his crystalline armor, tightening. The Kraken yanked him forward, pulling him through the ink toward that terrible beak.
Gray remained calm, his tentacles already crackling with sparks that begged to be released.
’Seems you caught the wrong prey.’
[OVERCHARGE — ACTIVATED]
The bioelectric organ in his core detonated. Blue-white lightning erupted through his body and into the tentacle holding him, arcing directly into the Kraken’s flesh. The water around them flashed brilliant white.
[OVERCHARGE — 88 DAMAGE]
[REEF KRAKEN — HP: 281 / 480]
[STUN — 5 SECONDS]
The Kraken’s entire body locked rigid. Its tentacle went slack around Gray’s bell, the suckers popping free one by one. The creature hung in the water, twitching, its golden eyes glazed over.
Gray tore himself free and drifted back.
’Now who’s the prey?’