Chapter 1421: Chapter 1421

As far as the eye could see, tentacles writhed and coiled on the seabed, a tangled mass of black sea snakes. The sheer density of the sight was enough to make one's skin crawl, trypophobia or not.

Magic Miss fought desperately against them, but she was clearly outnumbered, barely able to defend herself. Jenkins realized diving down to join her would be fruitless. Instead, he stopped, pulled a soaked bag of seeds from his pocket, and tapped it lightly with his cane before weighting it with a stone and tossing it into the depths below.

On the shore, the white cat, Chocolate, had found shelter from the downpour beneath a burning shipping container, watching the raging sea. Despite the chaos and the crowds, no one paid the feline any mind.

A sudden burst of bubbles broke the surface, only to be instantly swept away by the waves. The water in that area grew even murkier, and a moment later, Jenkins emerged, pulling Magic Miss behind him as they clung to a large, hollow block of ice for buoyancy.

The moment their heads were above water, they began swimming frantically for the shore. The cat immediately darted into the rain to meet him.

But behind Jenkins, the bubbling from the seabed intensified. The surface of the sea began to tremble, and from beneath the churning waves, countless black tentacles erupted into the air. They coiled around reefs, wrapped around the pillars supporting the pier, and latched onto anything and everything along the shoreline.

The crackle of gunfire along the coast died in an instant. Every eye was fixed on the horrifying spectacle. It was impossible to tell who started it, but someone threw down their weapon and fled toward the city. A silent, mutual ceasefire took hold as everyone turned and ran for their lives, scrambling away from the shore.

"Cough, cough... Femishue... it's Femishue."

Magic Miss, whom Jenkins had hauled onto the shore, spoke with a ragged gasp. She'd swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater, and her once intricate, elegant hairstyle was now a sodden mess. She looked utterly wretched.

"I know he's merging with it, wasn't he doing that in the basement just now? Have you seen Skylark Miss? I just ran into Mr. Hood, and he said she was heading this way—"

The largest wave yet surged toward the shore. It towered hundreds of feet in the air, looking to Jenkins and Magic Miss like the palm of a giant slapping down upon the land.

The wave slammed onto the shore with brutal force. One surge after another followed, breaching the sea wall and inundating the docks. The two of them and the cat scrambled for safety, finally managing to find an intact warehouse and climb onto its roof. When they looked back toward the coast, all they could see was a vast, churning sea. The familiar Nolan Docklands lay submerged beneath the waves.

More and more tentacles rose from the water, coiling around every object that remained above the surface. They seemed vaguely arranged to face the warehouse, spreading outward and upward as if paying homage to an unseen throne at their center.

A moment later, as lightning split the sky, a peal of maniacal laughter echoed from beneath the waves. A burly man emerged from the sea, held aloft by thick tentacles. He laughed wildly, his upper body still human, but his lower half a grotesque mass of seven or eight writhing, octopus-like limbs.

A black light, visible even in the storm, emanated from his heart and spread through his entire body. The thunderous thumping of his heartbeat was so powerful it momentarily drowned out the gale and the downpour.

"I am the king of the ocean! After all these years, I've finally succeeded!"

He rose quickly until he was level with Jenkins and Magic Miss on the rooftop. When Femishue’s eyes locked onto them, a wave of dizziness and nausea washed over Jenkins, a clear sign that this creature was no longer human.

Behind Femishue, the sky, once dark with storm clouds, began to bleed into a sickly, decaying yellow. This putrid color rapidly consumed the horizon, drawing a stark line at the water's edge. The ocean was now backdropped by a horrifying, jaundiced canvas, while the sky above the city remained a somber, oppressive black.

Jenkins had never found such a grim shade so reassuring.

"Hahahaha, thank you! It was you who gave me the resolve. Now, let me repay you. Become one with me, forever!" Thɪs chapter is updated by NoveI[F]ire.net

The swarm of tentacles lashing through the air shot toward them. With their movement, the putrid yellow sky seemed to creep forward, tainting the black clouds above the city. Jenkins didn't hesitate. He summoned his blade and slashed forward. The pristine white arc of light cleaved through the thrashing tentacles but stopped dead just short of Femishue.

The sea was his shield, the ocean his source of power. Alexia had been right; defeating him while he was one with the ocean would be nearly impossible.

"Has he gone completely insane?"

Jenkins shouted the question to Magic Miss, catching sight of several Church Enchanters rushing toward them from different directions. Their ranged spells proved just as ineffective as his own blade, but at least their combined assault matched Femishue's overwhelming presence.

"He was always a madman! His goal from the start wasn't to help his pirate comrades. He wanted them to tie up the Church while he flooded Nolan with seawater! He wants to create a sunken city and rule it as its king!"

Magic Miss's voice carried over the storm.

Jenkins swung his sword again, severing the tentacles attacking them, and Magic Miss shouted back:

"How should I know? Femishue isn't human anymore, we can't possibly defeat him! This kind of thing can only be contained by the Church! He's a Cursed Item now, a Cursed Item!"

As she spoke, she swung her pendant violently. A massive halo of light materialized above their heads. Any tentacle that drew near it was instantly vaporized, the dark seawater composing it turning to steam.

"You mentioned Skylark Miss earlier? Let's go find her first and leave this to the Church!"

She yelled her suggestion, and though Jenkins was reluctant to retreat, he knew he was outmatched. Shouting his assent, he swapped his blade for his scepter, planted his feet firmly on the rooftop, crouched to gather his strength, and then leaped forward with explosive force.

The force of his launch was so immense that a section of the roof where he'd been standing caved in.

Mid-leap, Jenkins roared and raised his scepter high. A blinding white light exploded outwards, flooding the entire ocean. Using the flash to conceal his movements, he closed the distance in an instant, arriving before Femishue to ram the tip of his scepter directly into the creature's chest.

Even without a blade's edge, the sheer force of the blow from the Extraordinary item pierced his flesh. The white light at the scepter's tip shone out from within, making Femishue flare up like a brilliant white torch amidst the writhing mass of tentacles.