Chapter 69: A Runaway and a Fighter (1)

An explosive spray burst up beneath the water. A gigantic silhouette rushed out in between. It was the sea monster, who was 295 feet tall and weighed about 2,500 tons.

The Gigatitan roared as it straightened its curled body. Breaking the splashing waves in one stroke, the Gigatitan hurtled forth like a giant meteor, striking the waist of the mermaid statue with its leviathan head.

Its head was dense with dentin and chitin, and its body weighed 2,500 tons kilograms. As such, the statue couldn’t hold out against the weighty blow. The statue was huge, sure, but its height was a mere ninety-five feet. It was nothing but a toy compared to the gigantic size of the sea monster. So, the blow snapped the statue in the waist like a twig.

Half of its upper torso was sent flying away like a rock shooting out from a catapult.

It cut across the sky of the Cremo pier and flew almost a mile. It crashed right in the middle of the plaza of Cremo city that basked in the tranquility of the night.

The abrupt descent of the statue sent several tons of rocks falling from the sky. The pavement and fountain were instantly destroyed, and the statue bounced and rolled toward the edge of the plaza.

As a result, five peaceful buildings, including the bakery, flower shop, and fruit store, were crumbled to dust. However, it continued to roll on and cut across a major road to finally get stuck in a bell tower. Screams followed right after.

“Arghhhhh!!”

“Eeeek!”

“What?! What is that?!!”

“Over here! Right over here! Someone passed out!”

“Somebody help us!”

The statue dropped like a dead fly and smashed nearby buildings. People became stuck under the debris, and their screams for help were mixed with the shouts of their rescuers.

Some terrified people ran for their lives amid the thick clouds of dust and debris. It was chaos. The terrors of the night could not come any more unexpected. Such horrors were clearly visible from the offshore sailboat.

“What…What is this…?! Christine! Hold my hand, and don’t let go!”

The middle-aged man, Count Cremo, was tightly holding his daughter’s hand as the great disaster swept over the city. His eyes widened in horror. A shocking noise spilled out of his gaping mouth. He couldn’t believe what was unfolding at the moment. The disaster before his very eyes felt unreal. It was beyond his imagination and shattered his grip on reality.

Why? Why did that monster come all the way here and attack?

He couldn’t understand it, and it was for a good reason. The Gigatitan appeared only at the front of the sea for the last ten years. When it did, it just attacked the ships navigating around the area. It had never come so close to attacking the city before.

Could it be…because of the mermaid statue?

The count’s frowning eyes traveled to the statue. The statue that stood with overflowing dignity was now gone. The only remaining portion of the structure was below its waist, and even that was still smashed to pieces. The count’s brow furrowed all the more.

I had wished that the Gigatitan would move its habitat after being intimidated by the statue.

The situation appeared to have taken a different turn. Instead of moving somewhere else, it seemed to have decided to attack the mermaid statue that was judged to be a threat.

This realization grieved the count’s heart.

It is my fault.

His gaze fell heavily. Things started to piece together in his head.

This is because of the mermaid statue. That’s why the Gigatitan acted differently and the coastal posts failed to discover its emergence earlier.

The monster wasn’t acting as it usually did. Each time it had revealed itself in the past, it roared from the distant sea. Thus, its imposing roar allowed the guards to detect the monster’s emergence easily. For the past ten years, the monster emerged in this pattern: it warned and roared whenever the ships crossed its turf.

The guards only had to raise the alarm after detecting its presence above the sea.

However, today was different.

The monster approached underwater. It was shockingly discreet yet determined.

This time, it didn’t act to simply reaffirm its territory and show off its power. It didn’t parade. It attacked. It wasn’t a threat. It retaliated against the intruder. That was a new behavioral pattern the monster manifested today.

And the only ones that saw it coming were them.

The count’s gaze moved to the other side of the deck. Two young men were standing there, Lloyd and Javier.

The personal knight of the confident fellow over there. Did he sense the approaching Gigatitan under the water?

His own knight, Sir Genovan, had missed it, but that silver-haired knight felt it. What it meant was evident.

“It’s dangerous, my lord! Do not let go of my hand!”

A strong grip was stretched out toward the count, who was deep in thought. The grip then grabbed his wrist hard and gave a tug as if it were trying to save a drowning man. The grip forcefully pulled him in. Thanks to it, however, the count and his daughter were able to stand strong on the tumultuous deck without tumbling to the ground.

“Please forgive me, my lord.”

The voice trembled as it yelled. It was Sir Genovan, the personal knight of the count.

He was gazing at the count with dolorous eyes. A regretful smile faintly formed on the count’s face.

“Do not beat on yourself,” comforted the count.

“But my lord, I…”

“You have tried your best. It is simply that your best was not able to be as good as the silver-haired knight over there. No one in the city felt the Gigatitan approaching. I, too, missed it. So the fault does not lie upon a single man,” said the count.

“Lord…”

“You have done nothing wrong in this situation. If there is someone who’s at fault, it is me.” The count’s voice grew more distressed.

Just then, a sharp, pointy scream pierced his ears.

“Your Excellency! I am sure it’s nice building trust with your faithful knight, but could you please hear me out for a second?”

It was Lloyd. Grabbing onto the ledge on the other side of the deck, Lloyd spoke aloud.

“People have fallen into the water! Please call the captain at once!”

Lloyd was pointing at the sea, and there, the count saw the mess in the area. Five sailboats that failed to move away from the statue were smashed to pieces. The majority of those on board were now in the water. Making things worse, the waves crashed up and down violently. It was all because of the Gigatitan. Currently, the 295-foot body of the monster was violently tumbling in the water, and the area near the violent ripples was pure chaos. It had created a swirl of flailing people and boat debris in the sea. Lloyd continued to shout.

“We must save them first! Quick! Please commandeer this boat and save as many people as you can! I shall head to the city!”

“City? What are you talking about?!” yelled the count.

“It looks like the port is going to meet a large unwelcome guest!”

Once again, Lloyd pointed somewhere. He was pointing at the Gigatitan whose head was now shot up. It was staring intently at a fixed point as its body stood amid the rippling waves. At the end of its gaze was no other than the mermaid statue. A few hundred feet away, the upper torso of the mermaid statue was laterally stuck in the spire.

“It looks like that monster thinks the mermaid is still alive!”

“Wait a minute, do you think it will rush into the city to break the rest of it?” screamed the count.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it does!”

Some moments after Lloyd’s answer rang aloud, the Gigatitan began to move as if to prove that he was right. After lowering its body, the monster moved forward, dividing the waves and swimming toward the city.

“Once it gets to the city, the damage will be unimaginable!”

“Then, what do you suggest we do?!” shouted the count.

“I will go!”

“What?”

The count doubted what he had just heard.

Go there? What does he mean? Is he going to swim over to the place?

Lloyd didn’t explain anything more. As though he couldn’t waste his time elaborating, Lloyd exchanged a glance with Javier and rushed toward the stern. He threw something in the air. Three huge summon creatures appeared in the air.

“Ppodong!”

“Bangul!”

“Hamang!”

Jumbo Ppodong, Bangul, and Hamang dove into the sea. They were followed by Lloyd and Javier, who leaped on the back of Bangul.

“All right, everyone! Before we leave, rescue as many people as possible in the water!”

“Ppo!” “Bang!” “Ha!”

Bangul, who was carrying Lloyd and Javier, as well as Ppodong, and Hamang hurried. They saved the people in the area flailing their arms in the water. Once they rescued the elderly, Lloyd got Ppodong and Hamang small again and put them back into his embrace. He started moving toward the city.

“Hey, Bangul.”

“Bangul?”

“Let’s go!”

Lloyd patted Bangul’s side several times. Bangul, who drank seawater, shook her tail. Some seconds after the clear ringing of the bell, a massive explosion took place from her behind.

The volcanic eruption skill was activated. The gas belched out, hitting the waves hard. The repulsive force thrust Bangul’s body forward against the water. Her body was sent almost flying on the water like a missile in the air or a banana boat cutting the waves.

In a flash, Lloyd and Javier distanced themselves. That was when the count was jostled out of his reverie.

“Everyone! Bring me the ropes! Captain! Move your crew! Quickly!”

Now wasn’t the time to space out. They needed to use this time to rescue people. The count threw off his cumbersome coat. He commandeered the captain and crew members, shouting at the top of his lungs. Thus, the long, tiring, and disastrous night began.

The orange sky of the dusk was slowly fading, giving way to darkness. As if to drive out the darkness, however, a blaring noise was sounded in the air. A cannon belched fire.

About 5.5 inches in diameter, the twenty-pound metal marble flew in the air at the speed of 408 m/s. It flew across the dark sky over the sea and hit the target. There was motion energy of about 600kJ in the hit.

However, the target simply flinched when it received a blow. It felt a small itch. The Gigatitan shook its head when its forehead was hit with a culverin cannonball. The injured area was itchy, and it continued to be so for a long time.

The coastline was occupied with several posts, and each of the large culverins built for coastal defense belched out fire. The dark cannon balls flew to knock down the monster’s body. Of course, no damage came from it. The cannon balls were not nearly strong enough to penetrate the monster’s shell composed of dentin and chitin. They failed to even lay a scratch on it.

The monster roared aloud. It wasn’t long before it made its way inland. The waves split. The monster walked on the coast, creating an onrush of waves. Six pairs of centipede-like legs walked on the coastal rocks. They crushed one of the posts.

“Everybody, run!”

The soldiers protecting post twenty-three of the Cremo coast yelled as they struggled to not get crushed under the falling post.

The post commander shouted, “Everyone, out! Run!”

The middle-aged post commander shoved the soldiers out to the open lot. Unlike his outcry, the commander didn’t evacuate. He simply remained alone in the post after sending his men out. He looked through the destroyed post roof and stared at the monster.

My mission is to protect this place. Did you think I’d let you go so easily?

The commander quickly grabbed a flaming torch. The floor beside him was littered with powder kegs. The commander hurled the torch toward the kegs, and after making sure that no one was left behind in the post, he rushed out. He sprinted as far as he could with all his remaining strength.

Meanwhile, in the post, the fire touched the kegs. Post twenty-three exploded with a loud roar. The cannons, cannon balls, and brick walls crumbled to countless shards and flew out in the air. The impact tapped the lower body of the Gigatitan.

“Hahaha! How do you like that?!” The commander, who just barely managed to avoid being engulfed by the explosion, shouted.

He glared at the Gigatitan as he wielded his fists.

This must have given it enough damage!

The commander thought it was obvious. After all, every bit of the gunpowder stored in the post blew up. The explosion happened right under its body. So it would have been a hard blow to any living organism.

It’s an explosive bomb! It’s entirely different from cannonballs!

The hard shell had to have been burned by the fire and shattered into a myriad of pieces. Therefore, the monster wouldn’t dare step another foot into the city…

The Gigatitan looked down below. Then, it shook off its ninth leg. The fire on the end of its toe was instantly put out. It was over. The Gigatitan resumed moving again as if nothing had happened and it didn’t have a single wound.

The eyes of the commander of post twenty-three trembled. He could not believe it. Even while he was lost in his daze, the mammoth body of the Gigatitan continued to stride ahead. The commander felt like he was having an unimaginable nightmare.

What was happening in front of his eyes was real. Those giant eyes of the Gigatitan that stared at the busiest area of Cremo city were real. Its movement toward the mermaid statue stuck at the plaza spire was real as well, and so were the unprotected citizens and his family despite the impending danger.

This is nuts!

The commander of post twenty-three gritted his teeth. His family was in the city district. His wife, who finally succeeded in bearing a child after ten hard years of trying, was there as well. Now, the monster was closing in on the very place where his wife was.

I must stop it, come hell or high water.

The commander’s eyes gleamed with determination. He lowered his body. He picked up a rock. He ran forth. He threw it high.

“You bastard! Stop there!” he shouted.

He hurled a rock again. He didn’t care whether it reached the monster. He didn’t care whether it failed to do any damage. Even if it meant he would be killed here, his goal was to stop the monster or stall it by at least a few seconds. He believed that those few seconds could save his wife.

“Stop! Stop right there!”

He yelled on and on. He hurled a stone, one after another. Maybe it was the working of his determination, but just then, the Gigatitan stopped dead in its tracks like a miracle. Then its giant head creaked as it turned toward his side.

“Grrr?”

“Ha, haha…”

Their eyes locked. The commander let out a pathetic laugh. Then he saw one of the monster’s ginormous feet lift up high right over him. He grimaced.

I’m going to die.

He clenched the stone hard in his hand. He stared at the incoming foot.

Just then, “Hamang!”

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a giant 196-foot water balloon, no, a hippopotamus hurled his body to whack the Gigatitan in its side.