Clearly agitated by the crew's bold attack against the drifting tentacle, the dwelling enemy shifted into defensive revanche almost instantly. In an absurd sight so similar to the scene that haunted Hongjoong's dreams, more tentacles quickly breached the ocean. The soft flesh looked just the same as an octopus of smaller size would appear as. And yet, the sheer magnitude made the creature even more grotesque.

If there had been any crew member left who hadn't believed Hongjoong fantastical tale of the enemy of the depths, they lost even the last inhibitions.

Instinctively, the crew wanted to retreat from the colossal arms full of hungry suckers that stretched out in their direction. They felt over the wood of the ship, nearly affectionate in their care. Mapping the vessel out and trying to access the humans with their vicious weapons.

Another shot from Hongjoong's pistol had the creature flinch. Dark blood sprayed over the ocean.

With trembling hands, Hongjoong reloaded. The bullets nearly slipped from his fingers as he hastily stuffed them into the weapon.

While the creature might still be patient right now, Hongjoong had already witnessed its destructive might. The second the kraken viewed them as a threat, it would rip them apart like paper.

With more precision than Hongjoong and his trained eye aligned with his rifle, Mingi also fired.

So far, they had concentrated on one tentacle. However, the foully stinking one that slowly crawled over the railing of the ship unsettled Hongjoong way more.

Behind them, the rest of the crew had stubbornly stuck to their places. The smell of gunpowder mixed into the rotting sea breeze.

Hongjoong just considered pulling his sword to hack away at the advancing limb when an alert call sounded behind him. Before he had even fully turned, Hongjoong instinctively moved aside.

Not a second later, a tentacle crashed against the planks. Bloodied and twitching, it swiped over the deck as if in search of something to topple over. Yunho went after it, his sword swishing. With one eye on the prior fiend, Hongjoong leaned against the wall to fire at the creature still.

In a haphazardous dance, Yunho dodged and evaded the extensive movements of the kraken. For a beast of its size, the tentacles were quick and attacked jerkily. They had little direction since they were equipped with no eyes. But the kraken was scarily fast at figuring out where those it couldn't reach hid.

Yunho jumped over a sweep of the marred flesh that whipped past him. When it hit a cannon near Wooyoung in its need to destroy, the man tumbled back with a curse on his lips.
Hongjoong's next shot blew off the upper metre of the tentacle he had focused on.

No roar sounded as usual from hurt animals. Instead, the bloodied stump retreated sharply. It disappeared in the water to nurse its wounds and stay away from the guns hurting it.

With grit teeth, Hongjoong pointed his pistol at the other one. It had advanced even further, forcing Mingi to seek a safe spot between both tentacles that hugged the ship ominously.

A blast from Yeosang momentarily pinned the tentacle flat to the ground. Long enough for Hongjoong to aim at the sensitive underside and bury a bullet right in the breathing middle of a sucker.

Outraged, the beast recoiled. Then, it slung that hurt limb at them so violently that Hongjoong forgot where he was for a second. The kraken swept left, then right, having Mingi careen back and retreat. Then, the full heavy weight of the tentacle hit Hongjoong square in the chest. His back painfully collided with the railing of the stairs. All breath got squeezed from his chest and his ribcage compressed. The groaning wood behind him didn't let up, however.

A moment later, the tentacle was gone. Hongjoong tightened his grip around the gun that had nearly slipped from his fingers. Slowly, he straightened his posture.

No lasting pain zapped through him, so he went right back to his battle. On the other side of the ship, the raging tentacle had by now broken the railing with its immense pressure on it. Spiked with sharp splinters that stuck in the squishy grey flesh, it wriggled and trashed to try to relieve itself of the suffering.

Gradually, the enemy got more vigorous. With jabs that were goal-oriented and determined to avenge its bleeding limbs against the bitter crew, it dug its tentacles into the ship.

The vessel rocked and swayed beneath the pirates, creating a challenging balance. Hongjoong's heart was in his throat as he fretted they might topple over. Once he had wiped the sweat from his lip that tasted salty with the fluid, he went back in.

By now, the swaying limbs had given up waiting and watching from the distance. They drew near, not curling anymore as they sneaked up the ship with a purpose. Hongjoong watched how one of them wrapped around the mast in several loops, holding it as if it were a stick.

Mingi joined San at the helm as he proceeded to fire. In the distance, Wooyoung broke out in cheers as the cannon he shot ripped a large hole through the middle of a tentacle. Dwindling, it sunk into the water.

Hongjoong's sword dug into the tentacle around the mast like no more than a needle in his flesh. Like a minor inconvenience, it stuck out from there. He doubted the creature even felt the blood blood pooling around his feet.

"Yeosang, watch out!"

The call came from the helm and travelled over the splashing of water and the ringing shots in the air. Yet, Hongjoong glanced up just in time to see a tentacle knocking his surgeon from the forecastle. He flew several metres over the deck before he crashed near Hongjoong heavily. A pained yelp escaped his lips as his weapon skittered off.

Through the cloud of gunpowder that scratched in Hongjoong's lungs and triggered the need to cough, the captain ripped his sword from the kraken. He lurched at a sudden nudge of the Grief. Like a living creature, the ship groaned and shuddered underneath them. The many forces abusing it had the ship thrum like a bowstring ready to snap.

With little grace since the boat tried to buck them off like a stubborn horse, Hongjoong fell to his knees next to Yeosang. The man struggled a bit, but managed to sit up finally. He clutched the shoulder he had fallen on with a hand, and a deep frown had settled on his features.
Wooyoung threw them a concerned gaze. A flying splinter had ripped a wound into his face and covered part of his cheek in blood as he called over.

"All jolly with ye?!"

Just when Hongjoong directed the question at Yeosang, a deafening blast sounded. The Grief quivered as if hit with a seizure. The captain's hands flew out to catch Yeosang's weight sagging against him, pulling the broad navigator against his chest protectively.

The worst subsided after a moment, but the noise of splintering wood still rang in their ears. Disoriented, the pirates looked around. Despite the flailing tentacles, all of their masts still stood firmly. For a long, anxiety-stricken moment, Hongjoong didn't find the source of the impact.
The ship shuddered again. In a bold movement, San hurried to the railing and threw a glance over it.

"It impaled the ship!"

His call alerted Mingi. With hurried frenzy, he looked around for his equipment. He had stored it near the captain's quarters in a relatively secluded corner with Yeosang's medical bag. The wild movements of the ship beneath them in the agitated sea nearly had him topple over several times.

Hongjoong helped Yeosang to his feet. His eyes scanned his crew members in various states of ducking behind cannons and secluded corners.

"Check fer leaks, Mingi! Tell us if ye need someone to aid yer 'and!"

With a frenzied salute, Mingi sprinted over the deck. His long legs safely brought him inside the ship's belly before any other tentacle could whip him off his feet. Yeosang scrambled off, too, and picked up his weapon as he ducked in the corner behind the stairs. For a moment, his face was still contorted with anguish. Then he gritted his teeth through it as he reloaded the weapon in his hands.

Hongjoong picked up his sword again to return to his task. The mast creaked and groaned dangerously under the kraken's grip. He didn't doubt that it would come smashing down on them soon if they didn't get rid of that tentacle.

Wooyoung picked up on the dilemma. Wet with spray and sticking to his head, his hair got brushed back as he hurried over. With busy movements, he readied the cannon on that side of the ship while Hongjoong hacked and sliced away at the throbbing tentacle. Its grip only seemed to tighten with every rough hit he delivered. They needed to chop it off before it crushed the main mast.

Sweat burnt on Hongjoong's skin. The yells of his crew in the distance and the regular crashes and quaking under their feet as the beast tried to crack open the Grief like a seashell terrified him. Yet, the alcohol in his veins mixed with the onslaught of hysteria that came with any battle had him forget the majority of his worries. Pure survival and the need to hack the kraken to bits fuelled his actions.

"Fire in the 'ole," Wooyoung called stinging like a whip. Hongjoong skittered aside so he wouldn't get hit by the cannon ball. It punched an acute injury in the tentacle, taking bits of flesh with it that thumped on deck. Trembling, the limb uncurled from the mast.

Only to whip at Wooyoung.

A helpless yell tore over Hongjoong's lips when the man got thrown back. The sheer might of the slap had the cannon hurtling through the railing and into the water. Wooyoung got lost somewhere in the mess, and Hongjoong couldn't approach safely.

Increasingly perturbed, the tentacles attacked them. From both sides of the ship, they lashed at the crew members, plunged into the wood and took their precious weapons from them. Hongjoong fell when the ship swayed to one side dangerously far. His fingers skittered across the deck as he tried to find purchase and search for Wooyoung at the same time.

"I need 'elp down 'ere!"

Mingi's deep voice called with them with panic lacing his voice. Instantly, Yunho sprung to his feet and slipped on the stairs as he made his way down.

The injured tentacle pulled back to switch places with one that was in a better shape. A trail of destruction remained where it had just been, leaving gaping holes in the railing. The surrounding deck was a mess of thrown together crates that spilt their contents over the floor, knotted nets, and ropes attached to the cannons that dangled from the ship. As Hongjoong crawled over, a few cannon balls rolled off as if trying to save their lives.

The ship remained in a scary state of skewness. The pirates adjusted to the new angle carefully.

No trace of Wooyoung. Blood clung to the nets on the ground, blue and red.

Hongjoong had to put his sword away as he moved along the deck on his hands and feet. The ground was slick and slimy. Several dead fish remained where the kraken had whirled them into the air in its tantrum.

Hongjoong's back tensed when a tentacle came alarmingly close to him. Its deadly swish plummeted more barrels into the ocean.

When he finally reached the spot where Wooyoung had disappeared after countless times of nearly skidding into the very waters that obscured their enemy from their view, Hongjoong instantly searched around for him. His frantic fingers dug through bloodied nets, pushed barrels and cannons aside, and collected several splinters in his little care for them.

The captain nearly didn't dare getting closer to the edge. Another jostle and he would be kraken food.

The smell of fire filled his nose as he gingerly peeked over.

Wooyoung hung there, a mess of ropes that connected with the cannon wrapping around his limbs. Both he and the heavy iron weapon swayed from the side of the ship and near the open ocean.

With a muttered curse, Hongjoong laid on his stomach and aligned his body with the remaining balustrade. It kept him secure on the deck as his fingers reached to figure out the strings. They dug sharply into Wooyoung's arm and shoulder, cutting off the blood supply as they chafed his skin raw.

Like a dangling bait on a fishing rod.

The cannon chunked against the flank of the Grief when Hongjoong sharply pulled on a rope. His eyes struggled to figure out the system. He couldn't pull both the cannon and Wooyoung up for their combined weight. But they seemed intertwined to the point of him wondering if he cut the cannon's rope would be the best idea. If it ripped Wooyoung down with it, it would be a certain trip to the bottom of the ocean.

It took Hongjoong forever to help his mate. On the other side of the ship, his crew fought a ghastly battle while he finally decided which rope to cut loose. His sharp knife hacked away at the sturdy bindings. Beneath him, the water tossed and turned as the monstrous body beneath created torrents that propelled it around.

When the cannon declined for a mere bit further, Hongjoong's breath got stuck in his throat. But then, the rope that had wrapped around Wooyoung's middle loosened by itself. The cannon surged into the depths, hopefully hitting the kraken in the face.

Hongjoong hauled Wooyoung back up and freed him of the persistent ties. The man's blood was hot on his hands and clothes, but Hongjoong did not know where it came from of how severe his damage was.

Once he had dragged Wooyoung over to the sickbay and deposited him on the bed so he wouldn't roll off, Hongjoong returned to the living chaos that his ship had become. Everywhere, pirates battled against giant tentacles.

Jongho and San crouched in a corner together, busily lightening up the glimmering coal attached to a long rope. Like a drunk man, Hongjoong caught up with them.

They had weakened the beast, but no win was in sight as long as it stayed hidden. Maybe fire would provoke it from its spot.