[Eye of Medusa activated!]

King Kraken suddenly stopped. Crowne, who had been preparing for this moment, released the ether flowing beneath his feet. He shot forward at tremendous speed, appearing right in front of King Kraken, and swung the Dwarfwood Chainblade.

The magical aura made the seawater tremble, but at the same time, King Kraken had already moved. Its massive tentacle lashed toward Crowne.

"Storm Cleaver!"

A crescent-shaped slash of wind and water was unleashed. The strike tore through the air and struck King Kraken's face.

BOOOOOM!!!

A deafening explosion shook the sea. Water splashed violently in all directions, creating a small storm around them. Several of King Kraken's tentacles were cut off, but within moments they regenerated. King Kraken had either healed instantly or was never injured in the first place.

Crowne hovered in the air. "This is harder than I thought." He clicked his tongue in frustration. King Kraken didn't even show signs of fatigue. "This feels like an impossible victory."

Velrisa's voice echoed in his mind. "This creature draws energy from the ocean, Master. As long as it's in the water, its power is limitless! I believe we must drain the water…"

"You're insane. We're in the middle of the sea," Crowne interrupted.

Draining the ocean was completely absurd. Crowne didn't believe it could be done, but unlike him, Sylvara thought otherwise.

"I am a Water Dragon, Master. I can do it for you," Sylvara said confidently.

Crowne nodded. He believed in her. There was no way Sylvara would lie to him in a situation like this, but her words didn't end there.

"But it seems we must separate. Your level is not high enough to use that skill," Sylvara continued.

The Devour Bond skill allowed the user to merge with their beast and use all of its powers. However, the user's level remained the same, limiting their overall strength. It was a magnificent skill, but it had its flaws.

"Alright then. I'll leave it to you!" said Crowne.

[Devour Bond deactivated!]

A flash of light appeared for a split second, and in that instant, Crowne returned to his human form. Sylvara emerged in her true form—a massive blue dragon with a fierce gaze.

BOOM!

An explosion erupted. King Kraken's tentacle was struck by Sylvara's water laser. The next second, her aura burst out violently. The pressure distorted both air and sea. King Kraken, who hadn't reacted to anything before, suddenly turned its small eyes toward Sylvara.

"Being from another world, why are you here?" whispered King Kraken.

Sylvara only glanced briefly, focusing on the spell she was about to cast.

Hundreds of ancient symbols rotated rapidly in the air, forming an enormous magical formation. Blue light began to rise from the ocean depths. Within a second, the seawater lifted into the air—levitating.

"Ocean Seal, Abyss Barrier!"

Sylvara's voice echoed with two overlapping tones. Instantly, magical energy exploded outward. The lifted water dispersed in all directions, and in the middle of it all, everything went dry.

But only within a radius of one kilometer. It looked like a massive coliseum, its edges made of towering walls of water, while the center had no water at all.

Crowne looked around with wide eyes. "She actually did it…"

He knew Sylvara was powerful as an Ancient Water Dragon, but he had never imagined she was this strong. Witnessing her power made him shiver. It also made him realize just how weak he still was.

"Looks like I have to train harder," Crowne muttered.

**

With the water gone, King Kraken's full form was revealed. Its enormous body loomed over them, tentacles writhing constantly. Its small eyes shifted between Crowne and Sylvara, seemingly surprised by what Sylvara had done.

"Assist me, Master. Our opponent isn't an ordinary creature. It's similar to me," Sylvara said.

Crowne frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The explanation is long, but in short, every world has a guardian deity, and… our opponent is one of this world's guardian gods. I'm not sure I can defeat it alone," Sylvara explained briefly.

Crowne's eyes widened. It was the first time he had heard of such a thing. He even swallowed hard as he looked at King Kraken again, realizing that his enemy was actually a guardian deity.

"Why would a guardian god kill humans?" Crowne asked.

Sylvara was just about to answer when a beam of water shot toward her. It was similar to the attack she had used earlier. Sylvara twisted her body.

Slash!

Her left wing was struck. Blood dripped, but she was fine. Sylvara retaliated with the same attack. The two beams collided, creating an enormous explosion.

The two giant beings exchanged powerful blows. Crowne, on Sylvara's back, felt he needed to help. He leapt down onto the dry ground created by her spell.

"Doran, assist me!" shouted Crowne.

"Yes, Master!"

Crowne's body transformed again, taking the form of a half-dragon, this time his scales were dark because he had merged with Doran, the Dark Dragon. He was about to aid Sylvara when dozens of monsters suddenly appeared.

They rushed toward Crowne and launched their attacks. At the same time, Crowne summoned his other beasts. He could do that now because he was on solid ground—or at least, technically he was, thanks to Sylvara's magic.

Most of Crowne's beasts were land creatures, which was why he couldn't summon them earlier.

"Help me!" Crowne ordered.

His beasts charged forward, clashing with the swarm of monsters. They were outnumbered, but most of Crowne's beasts were reliable fighters. This time, he even released Creeping Head, a creature notoriously difficult to control.

It was safe to unleash it now since there were no humans nearby. Creeping Head would attack anything it desired.

Crowne nodded. "Let's go!" he shouted to Doran.

"I'm ready, Master!" Doran replied.

Crowne dashed forward, heading straight toward King Kraken to assist Sylvara in their battle against the colossal creature. He didn't know if they could win, but he was determined to give everything he had.

**

Elsewhere, Daisy, Evans, and the two other adventurers were nearing the shore. From afar, they saw a commotion. Daisy and Evans exchanged confused glances, both shrugging their shoulders, not understanding what was happening.

"What is that?" Daisy whispered.

As they reached the beach and stepped onto land, the Sirens accompanying them vanished, returning to where Crowne was. Daisy, Evans, and the other adventurers walked toward the gathered crowd. Evans narrowed his eyes, feeling an ominous premonition.

"Stay alert," Evans warned his companions.

Sure enough, as they approached, they were immediately surrounded by the city guards of Doomsty. The soldiers pointed their weapons toward them, leaving Daisy, Evans, and the others shocked.

They had no idea why they were being surrounded. They were certain they hadn't committed any crime. Evans especially knew he hadn't crossed any noble of Doomsty.

"What is the meaning of this?" Evans demanded.

A soldier in armor stepped forward, raising his sword toward them. Behind him stood an old man in ragged clothes, trembling yet speaking loudly.

"It's them! I saw it with my own eyes!" the old man shouted, pointing at Evans and Daisy. His face was pale with fear, yet his voice carried accusation. "They attacked our fishing boat this afternoon! They stole all our treasures and destroyed the ship. I was lucky to escape alive!"

Evans was stunned. "What… nonsense is this?! We never—"

"Silence!" barked the captain of Doomsty's guards. "You think we're fools? There's a witness, and we already have evidence. The wreck of the fishing vessel was found in the western waters. We verified everything, and the old man's testimony is true."

Evans clenched his fists. He knew this was a lie. They hadn't even seen a fishing ship earlier that day. They had been fighting the monster that was slaughtering fishermen—and now they were being framed.

"This is a setup!" Daisy shouted. "We never even met any fishing crew today! Don't you dare accuse us!"

But the old man quickly countered with a sly tone. "I swear upon the Sea Goddess herself!" he cried. "You are the murderers who killed my friends!"

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. The old man turned pale, falling to his knees in fear, but the guard captain stepped forward, raising his hand. He pointed toward Evans and his companions and gave the order.

"Arrest them!"

Evans, Daisy, and the other adventurers drew their weapons. They were exhausted, but they were ready to fight. Evans was the angriest of them all. His expression darkened as he clenched his fist tightly.

"This must be Delon's doing," he said grimly. He was certain of it. "He's still bitter that I walked out of that meeting. Childish fool."

"If you resist, there will be casualties. Is that what you want?" a voice said from behind.

A commanding officer stepped forward. At that moment, Evans raised his hand. "Lower your weapons. We'll play along with their game," he said calmly.

Daisy wanted to protest, but Evans's sharp gaze silenced her. In the end, the four of them were captured by Doomsty's soldiers. They were taken to the city ruler's mansion and thrown into the underground prison as criminals.

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