[On Hold] I'm a what?! (That Time I got reincarnated as a slime x Male Reader)

Chapter 44: The rule of beasts

A burning sensation rippled through my body like water droplets hitting an ocean, my heart pounded and started to feel as if it were trying to devour me from the inside. The orbs had been processed into my body fully and granted me skills that I couldn't afford to look at in the moment but decided to set my consciousness skill into autopilot for activating any spell or skill I may need during my fight.

I rushed to Rimuru's side, scooping his fragile and wounded body up in my arms before sliding off backwards away from the shore where the kraken had the advantage- his breathing was getting weaker and it seems his healing was slow, I attempted to try heal him myself but no sort of regeneration abilities worked to close the wounds. Rimuru gently lifted a hand to my face, his soft and smooth palms coated in blood as his eyes drifted close; his fingers gently brushed my skin before his hand feel and his body became limp from exhaustion, there was no way to tell if he was alive or dead but he maintained his human form which gave me hope- I turned back to the Kraken, gently placing Rimuru down away from the battlefield and using the spirits around us to hold in his soul in case he slips away when I'm not paying attention, there was a chance he could die and now I was disadvantaged in the fight since my own mind had to keep spirits in check and give constant commands to stay around him.

The kraken seemed patient as if it had more intelligence than I assumed, my anger seemed to boil over like an unattended pot left simmering on a stove- the girls would arrive soon to try help but if Rimuru can't win then neither can they, I needed to be the one to step up and face the Kraken, my consciousness informed me that the Kraken was a dragon species; my eyes shone with the glare of confidence as I slowly raised my hand, my fingers lay outstretched towards the Kraken as I attempted to take control of the giant beast and manipulate it myself. My head was filled with a mix of buzzing and screaming, as if the connection between me and the Kraken was being interfered with and it was causing the Kraken pain- I hoped to use it to attack the kraken mentally instead of physically but it seemed as if the pain was making the Kraken lash out, it's tentacle barely missed me and crashed into the side of a building, splatters of ink colliding around the crash sight and slowly corroding the area around- the black and darkened ink was the same colour as Rimuru's scars meaning it was most likely the cause of the wounds being unable to close.

As my mind raced with ways to defeat the Kraken, Rimuru started to shake and stir before his throat grew coarse and ink spluttered from it- my attention was caught and I spun to check on him, watching his body writhe in pain as his agonised groans grew more and more desperate for release be it death or healing. It was torture for him, I felt as though I was perpetuating it by stalling for so long so I needed action- The Kraken was huge, a 60 or so foot hulking beast that beat my tallest form by a huge margin but it needed to be done since it was my only hope of winning. My body felt heavy, running forward as it began to shift and shake; each step changing an aspect of my humanoid form until a large land dragon stood forth in front of the might Kraken as a challenge between the sea and earth for dominance; technically both were the pinnacles of those we live beside so the intensity of the battle was sure to be large.

The Kraken swung first, it's mighty tentacle lifting high yet slowly into the sky before it attempted to bring it down; I had prepared to move and dodge but gravity affected it's size and the speed at which the tentacle approached was much faster than I could have accounted for, one of my legs were sacrifice as a huge scar formed down my back to the ankle of my foot, it bled profusely and burnt like hell, the pure agony I felt from it almost made me blind with my own tears from it but I forced myself to bite down and face forwards as the Kraken attempted to recall the tentacle back into the sea. I readied my counter attack, sand and stones kicked up around us and shook the surface of the land before suddenly a barrage of earth flew towards the kraken and entombed it's tentacle under a shackle, the sea creature thrashed and threw it's arm around attempting to free itself but became panicked when it couldn't- my mind raced as I thought of the possibility of it escaping, if my rocks weren't strong enough to hold it then there was no hope to win; it's thrashing eventually began to work as loose stones dislodged themselves and fell by the wayside. I became panicked much like the Kraken and resorted to admittedly barbaric tactics and sunk my large canines into the skin flesh of the Kraken's tentacle- it was surprisingly soft and lacked bone making my descent through the flesh easier before my jaw clutched tight either side and tore the Kraken from the tentacle lodged under the earth. I heard it give a cry of pain, it shook and squirmed as the arm it had attached to the land came loose with it's tentacle as sacrifice for it's freedom. It looked down at me, clearly angered and pissed off at me dismembering it but all is fair in war.

The Kraken dove underwater, I hoped it was fleeing but a thought at the back of my mind told me it wasn't that simple. Ripples formed in the water again, slowly becoming shockwaves that rocked and shook the water's surface making cascading waves fall onto the nearby shores and beaches cover the sands and shores in deep water much higher than recorded. People were heard panicking and headed more in land, the Kraken emerged again having stopped the bleeding from it's arm and recovered it; it wasn't fazed by the injury anymore- it was like all my hard work to just take one was crumbling around me which was when my consciousness told me something that made me smirk. I slowly began to step back, the sand and stones shackling the old tentacle to the ground flew back onto my body and formed and outer layer like armour on my head and torso leaving the tentacle exposed on the ground, with a loud gulp- I bit into the tentacle again- I tore pieces off it until it was smaller and swallowed the last bit, my mind burnt with an odd sensation before I was asked a serious of questions that resulted in my body feeling lighter and lighter.

Watching from an outside view, you would see my dragon form slowly becoming armoured from sand and stones before only a few seconds after watching it evolve to it's environment; my form became lighter, the front legs became more flexible with a rotary joint that allowed it to bend in both directions, an extra set of horns appeared lower down my snout and the hind legs that stood firm slowly evolved and split into tentacles with one main shark like tail coming from the back. The Kraken for the first time felt fear as it realised it's home turf was about to be invaded my a new predator species, I raced to the water and felt my heavy body fall in as tentacles crashed around and attempted to pull me back. The water was deep and I saw how far the Kraken truly stretched underwater as I seemed merely like a car beside a skyscraper, the tentacles of the Kraken thrashed out as it sand underwater and faced me; I rushed it, moving much faster than it could and managed to sink my fangs into it's head, I could feel it writhe in pain from the injury and thrash around causing me to fling off. The Kraken seemed to become cocky, attempting to heal underwater but slowly realising the scar I had left didn't heal- it faced me with more fear than it had ever felt, the only creature able to heal underwater and deal damage that couldn't be healed, the solitary creature of it's species now threatened with it's own survival mechanism felt more helpless than a small insect hiding in grass. 

The Kraken shivered in shock and began to move, I could feel it's intention to flee but now with it's own abilities being used against it- I also knew how to save Rimuru which was more important to me than it was, I flew at it under the water almost like a torpedo; racing forwards to one of it's tentacles, I sunk my teeth in again as it attempted to fling me off but soon it was detached and left floating in the ocean to feed the fish- the hunt lasted about an hour, chasing the Kraken, removing it's tentacle, letting it float off and chasing after it again until finally the Kraken gave in and the titan of a squid began to collapse and fall to the ocean floor, there it lay; cold, alone and full of regret, I could see the wish for life in it's eye but unfortunately his life needed to be forfeit to save the life of someone much more dear to me so as the rule of beasts put it; eat or be eaten...