The ocean twisted violently beneath them, waves heaving as something massive stirred below.
A split second later, a red kraken exploded from the depths, its tentacles whipping through the air, water raining down like a storm.
Its massive, unblinking eye locked onto them.
Then, it struck.
A thick limb, slick and towering, lashed forward—fast, crushing, unavoidable.
Except it wasn't.
The barrier didn't so much as ripple. The kraken's head met it head-on, and the result was instant.
One moment, the beast was attacking. The next, its skull split apart like a fruit against stone.
Its body hung there for half a breath, like it hadn't yet realized it was dead.
Then, with a wet, sickening splash, the lifeless corpse collapsed back into the sea.
Lucy stared, barely processing what she'd just witnessed. That kraken wasn't just some sea monster—it was near Demon King level in the ocean, a creature that could terrorize entire fleets.
And yet, Asher had killed it like it was nothing.
