"Have you met with a Kraken before?" Zaffre asked as Ryuk paused, looking at the sea beneath him.
"I have, once," he said.
When he had gone to Nihility, he had been face to face with that Kraken in the sea, fighting it alongside Orrelith.
"Quite unreasonable, wasn’t it?" she said, and Ryuk shrugged.
"I don’t think I ever got a chance to have a talk with it at all. But they don’t seem like something that would sit down to reason with someone," he admitted, and she grinned.
"There are a lot of them down there, and trust me, all Krakens are annoying. Just bear with it," she said before she moved down, disappearing into the sea.
With an inhale, Ryuk also followed in, only to find a Kraken about 200 meters in span right around him.
The tentacles were eight, massive, and long, in a purple color, and the spurs beneath oozed with orange light—the color of Oregon energy.
He turned behind him and found the four massive eyes looking right at him.
"Magnificent," he called, watching the eyes roll at him.
A tentacle moved, grabbing at Ryuk’s legs before pulling him roughly. In the next moment, he found himself sitting atop the Kraken’s head, and the water around them waved heavily as Zaffre swam forward.
She was fast. Incredibly fast. And if one could see from above, they would notice a massive wave that rapidly reached into the distance, clearly even amidst the already crashing sea waves.
Swimming for about fifteen minutes, the duo finally came across the tentacles, and Ryuk was left speechless.
Whatever this Kraken was, it was so humongous that the tentacles were like unending pillars that stretched into the distance, and he couldn’t immediately see the full body.
Continuing deeper, he saw even more tentacles, and after another five minutes, they finally came before it.
It wasn’t two or four but six massive eyes that stared at Ryuk and Zaffre.
Even the huge Zaffre was like a little child to this one Kraken, and she eyed both of them.
"A Zaffre Kraken!?" the Kraken called out in shock, looking at Zaffre before its eyes settled upon Ryuk.
"You’re not allowed here!" it roared out, only to be silenced when powerful orange energy burst out from Zaffre’s tentacles, making her resemble the sun.
"OPEN THE GATE, VALARD!"
The roar was loud. The Kraken reeled back in shock.
It wasn’t from the power of the attack, but the tone of it. It wasn’t just a request—it was an absolute command that made every blood cell within the Kraken quiver.
He hummed deeply, recovering from it before two of his tentacles moved together, and soon enough, they formed a circle.
"You’re responsible for any danger he causes in the realm!" Valard said before the water around his tentacles twisted in, space folding in as it gave way to a humongous vortex.
Without wasting any more words, Zaffre moved, though Valard’s eyes still collided hard with Ryuk’s even as they disappeared in.
Darkness was all there was for a moment, but in the next seconds, light came—and they arrived.
"Welcome to the Krakenoid Kingdom..."
The sight of the kingdom beneath him made Ryuk’s heart skip a beat.
It was truly a kingdom—a kingdom where every structure was beyond humongous and shaped like tentacles.
It was brightly illuminated, with tentacles to be seen in every corner, and most of all, it was filled with Krakens.
Dark Krakens, white Krakens, blue Krakens, purple Krakens—there were every single color of Kraken in here, each one swimming around. And even though there was no particular order or line, surprisingly, there was order.
"To think there would be such a place beneath such a tumultuous sea?" he muttered beneath his breath as Zaffre swam forward.
Naturally, the presence of the duo arrested attention, and the reason was simple.
For one, Zaffre Krakens were recognized immediately, for their purple colors were rare. Incredibly so. The sight of one was something to pause and take a second look at.
But what was truly shocking was the humanoid-looking figure that stood atop her.
The Krakenoid Kingdom wasn’t a welcoming kingdom, nor one that appreciated other races—especially land-looking races. That was immediately clear judging by Ryuk’s humanoid form.
To have such a person riding upon a Zaffre Kraken—now that was truly abnormal.
But they didn’t give much reaction or try to approach them. Just an eye glance, and they continued on their way.
There was no noise save for the sound of water whooshing by from tentacular movement, making it quite a calm place.
"I can grow used to this."
"Don’t be ridiculous," Zaffre said telepathically.
She seemed to have a place in mind as they continued deeper and deeper into the underwater sea. Quickly enough, Ryuk discovered where they were going.
The center of the Krakenoid Kingdom—where a towering structure covered in purple lights dwarfed other structures around it by more than twice.
It was a truly humongous building, and so well-designed it was eye-catching even from so far away.
Ryuk didn’t say much, but he was proven right when Zaffre floated up to the massive gate of the building, where two Krakens, white in color, were in wait.
Both Krakens’ eyes displayed shock upon seeing her, though Zaffre’s eyes were as dull as ever.
They didn’t say a word or try to stop her. Instead, they coiled the tentacles they held together, and the massive gate soon opened up.
Zaffre continued into the mansion, and they entered the compound where Ryuk found more than a dozen Zaffre Krakens around, all looking at Zaffre in shock.
"Wait, isn’t that Zaffre!?"
"Zaffre? The Lost Princess!?"
"She’s back?"
"Do you see the one above her?"
"Preposterous."
To all of these whispers, it was like Zaffre was deaf, and soon she arrived before the central structure.
This time, it was two Zaffre Krakens standing at the gate, and both had their tentacles crossed over it.
"I wish to have an audience with the King," Zaffre said, but neither Kraken moved.
"You’ll need an appointment to meet the King, which you clearly do not have."
"Besides, a land animal is unworthy of appearing before the King’s gaze!"
"Hahahaha"
The abuse was so good that Ryuk chuckled in amusement instead.