134340 |JJK FF|

Chapter 21

WARNING: brief mentions of an octopus's sex life. (I'm sorry)

Yumi let out a heroic little scream.

The eight-armed creature that was almost three times their height was crawling slowly across the deck in their direction. Yumi took an automatic step back.

She barely heard the others react to the monster's appearance. It inched closer and she took another step back, succeeding in colliding with the frozen Jeongguk.

"O-Oh my..." words couldn't find their way out of her throat. The eight arms seemed to go on and on, but they did start somewhere, joining together at the base of...Yumi felt like her heart would burst if she continued to look at its head.

The creature's head was a mix of human and...something Yumi couldn't recognise. Wrinkly and floppy, slimy and covered in what seemed to be mud, the creature's sunken eyes roamed through the ship and sky like it had seen nothing akin to what it was seeing right now.

With two arms helping it move across the deck, the creature reached out a third one to stroke the walls of the control cabin. Then at the doors that led to bed chambers. It went still, then pushed its long arm through the door--with a force so powerful it broke--and grabbed a figure that resided inside.

Jimin.

He struggled violently against its thick fingers. His broken leg, hastily bounded with a thick blanket for securement, kicked at it wildly. His hands punched against the wrist squeezing him around the middle.

Something glinted in the creature's age-old eyes.

Yumi's frozen state was brought back to life as there was movement behind her, and suddenly Jeongguk was a rabbit, climbing up the creature's body and landing on its head. He bit, and the creature attempted to swat him away, looking unfazed. He turned into a human, hanging onto its skull, and tried to kick into its bulbous eyes.

The creature squeezed Jimin further, Jeongguk seeming nothing but a mild annoyance to it. It brought up another arm to swat him away like he was a fly. He turned back into a rabbit as the thing wound around his body, successfully slipping through it and landing back on the ground.

He jumped and ran as the arm followed him, and Taehyung rushed to help, springing onto the arm that held Jimin and sinking his teeth into it. Yumi snapped back into consciousness with the rest and sprinted up to the creature too.

Almost stupidly, Yumi endeavoured to climb onto its leg. Her shoe slipped on the slippery surface and her nose met its slimy skin. The thing jolted, and Yumi held on tightly.

The creature switched onto its other arm and held the one Yumi clung to up high. She felt dizzy as she got a full top view of the scene on the deck.

The ship had sunk lower as it struggled to hold the increased weight. The water portion that she could see bubbled like there were more Aquas down there. The beast's arrival had slowed down the ship's speed, stopping it eventually. The deck was a mess. Her teammates were scrambling around the beast like insects. She had a split-second to watch Jeongguk land on its shoulder before the beast swung its arm around.

She flopped around comically, her fingers burning as they struggled to grip the slippery surface. She was screaming, her throat stinging as her voice grated through them. Bringing up her leftover courage (Which wasn't much), she brought up her club and held it aloft.

The Beast shook its arm again, having finally noticed her presence. Yumi's sight blurred as its face was hastily brought closer. She threw the club blindly, not holding long enough to watch the impact. Her already strained fingers slid off and she was soon falling, the salty wind blowing into her face.