"Be ye sure this be the best idea?"

Hongjoong glimpsed around the deck. His fingers held up the sturdy rope with burning coal. Sparks rained from it like stars in the night sky. Making sure that none would set the ship aflame, Hongjoong balanced them in the air. Jongho did the same next to him, while San ignited the last coal balls.

The arm of the kraken whipped over the deck, intending to kill. Its movements sharply whisked around, shambling up the already disrupted deck. Yeosang let go of a guttural yell when it came too close to him, scrambling onto the helm to cover. He was the only one currently firing at the beast, though he mostly made it his mission to dodge the fleshy tentacles of death. The booming of cannons and the smoke in the air had subsided since Wooyoung was out of commission. Yet the kraken whipped at them with fiery determination.

"Only idea we 'ave as o' now," San replied between his grit teeth. A fire was never a good idea around wooden ships. But Hongjoong saw the appeal of why it might get the creature moving.

Hongjoong dropped on the deck when the Grief suddenly lurched sidewards. His fingers clutched onto the rope as his body skittered off, pulling the thing tight. With a hand on the railing, Jongho held on tight, his clutch on the rope stopping Hongjoong from skittering off.

In the ocean beyond the ship, an enormous body thinly veiled by the water shifted. The waves it generated threw the ship around like a doll. Powerless against the wrath of nature.

Hongjoong saw a bloody stump of a mostly chopped off tentacle escape into the water. Most likely the one in the guts of the ship that Mingi and Yunho had finally eliminated. Tense, he watched blue blood tint the waters nearly black as the slithering limb disappeared.

How many? How many had they shot down? Half?

The Grief drifted off and regained her balance. The wild pounding of hammers on wood sounded from downstairs.

Once the last piece of coal ignited in San's hands, he abruptly sprung to his feet. He got a leather bag with oil they used to fuel their lamps from nearby. With it clutched to his chest, he investigated the horizon.

Hongjoong's chest hurt as he scrambled to his feet. While he could breathe fine, he suspected that the earlier pressure against his ribcage might have been worse than he had assumed initially. No time to get the rum to numb the pain. He hastened to follow San as he approached the vicious tentacle that currently reached for their ship again.

Never before Hongjoong had fought a battle this uncertain. Without an enemy he could reach and without an end in sight. The kraken was the one in power here. It could easily sink their ship if it so wanted. The fact that it didn't, but also didn't seem to weaken despite their desperate attacks was the disturbing anxiety gnawing at the back of Hongjoong's mind.

With a grimace and his elbows pressed to his body as if to alleviate his pain, he stood at the ready.

"Come 'ere if ye dare!" San snapped at the tentacle up ahead. Another one felt up the ship behind them, on the side no one presently protected. By the lack of agony it was met with, it had sneaked far up, ready to wrap around the mast again and push them around like toy soldiers.

Swaying hypnotically, the limb delayed for another moment. Yeosang ceased the fire, and they all watched it curl and uncurl for a nervous second. Maybe the kraken assumed it had killed them all already.

Enraptured by the sight of those huge suckers that could probably rip his head off his shoulders as they dilated and tightened again, Hongjoong nearly missed it coming closer. Only when San gave a harsh pull on the rope, he remembered their mission.

As soon as the tentacle reached out to explore the ship once more, San sprung into action. He left the fire rope to Jongho and Hongjoong to jump up on the railing. Seconds later, he doused the tentacle with the inflammable oil from their lamps.

Hongjoong clutched the rope tightly. The tentacle didn't flinch, not too perturbed by some more liquid on it.

"Throw it, Jongho!"

San's voice cut over the rushing waves like a crack of thunder. Just in time, Hongjoong's hands dropped from the string. With a laboured grunt, Jongho launched the rope. His powerful arms guided it like a whip.

Flames burst into the open sky when the sparks met the oil-doused tentacle.

The pirates took their distance when the agitated tentacle flinched back. Like a massive torch, it danced in the air as it whipped around and shuddered, trying to throw off the hungry flames. The creature was not smart enough to submerge itself and instead tried to shake it off.

Hongjoong grabbed a spear when it came dangerously close to lashing at the ship. All three of the assembled pirates held the blazing tentacle in a distance. Soon, it began to smell of burnt flesh, the grey skin colouring black and bleeding from countless little wounds.

When something dark moved beneath the water again, Hongjoong's eyes flinched down to the offending creature.

The body stirring beneath them was massive. Several hundred meters or more. The sheer size he could guess through the surface based on the water flow was a lot more than their own ship.

For a moment, Hoongjoong felt lost. They were too small. Too measly to defeat this creature. It would likely brush the injuries on its tentacles off, as if they were nothing. Some creatures even regrew missing limbs. Hongjoong didn't see a future in their desperate attempts to win.

Sweat made his neck clammy in the heat of the scorching sun. The erratic flailing of the tentacle whirled up more dead fish. Their wet bodies slapped on the deck, lifeless and with empty eyes.

After another few moments of enduring the pain, helpless to maintain itself, the kraken retreated. The burning limb melted in the water and the flame suffocated instantly. It dragged the rope down with it.

A moment later, the body of the creature crashed into the ship. Not a tentacle, not a wave. The mass of a gigantic beast.

Hongjoong was sent rolling over the deck. His fingers slipped on the wet planks as he searched for purchase. He drifted across the Grief as if he weighed nothing.

A harsh wave struck them with the shift of volume beneath. Hongjoong found the railing of the helm to hold on to, desperately snatching it in his hands. Yeosang was near, choking and coughing around the frigid water that hit their faces.

Disoriented, Hongjoong drew himself close, too busy holding himself up to check on the whole crew.

In the split of a moment, when the wave ebbed away, he saw the tentacle. Poised and ready to strike.

Hongjoong's heart stopped, and his fingers tightened. Then, the Grief groaned as the limb penetrated the wood. Like paper, it ripped through the splintering timber. Punching a deep hole into the ship and likely resurfacing on the other side. Speared side-wise, the Grief trembled to the point of Hongjoong fearing she might just break apart.

If she did, then their lives would be lost the very second they met the water surface. Those raging tentacles would slap them into the afterlife.

"Captain! Need yer 'elp!" Jongho yelled from the other end of the ship. Hurriedly, Hongjoong threw his wet hair out of his eyes to scout for him.

San had got stuck under a cannon. His pained cries filled the air as they struggled to get the thing off together.

Hongjoong tumbled to his feet. He barely had any strength in his weakening muscles left to cross the entire deck once more. Every jostle of the ship beneath him was a trap he nearly fell into. Physically weakened, he limped over, leaving Yeosang to his devices.

"Captain! Yunho, please- Captain! Anyone!"

Hongjoong's steps slowed in the middle of their raging battle at Mingi's urgent call. Fear and panic laced his voice.

Icy dread seized Hongjoong's heart as he glanced at the open hatch leading down into the ship's guts. Faltering, he stood unprotected in the middle of the deck for a long moment. He didn't bother counting the tentacles they had left to fight. Or the body of the beast that was so near. If his crew were in any better shape, this would be the perfect timing to rip the monster apart with their cannons.

Acting more on reflex than his own conviction, Hongjoong rushed over to the hatch. He fell to his knees there, wide eyes searching for Mingi and Yunho.

He found the entrance blocked. Barrels, destroyed crates, nets, and other equipment from the storage area had all accumulated to a thick barricade. There was no time to wrench it free. None of the planks he grabbed and yanked at budged even a centimetre.

"Mingi!" Hongjoong's voice cracked in anxiety for the man. They had leaks, multiple of them. If they didn't get it fixed or had room to get rid of the water, Mingi and Yunho would get trapped in there to drown.

"Capt'n! Smartly, Yunho needs Yeosang, 'e-" Mingi delivered a few desperate punches against the other side of the blockade between them. No budging.

Jongho screamed Hongjoong's name. Water dropped on his back as more tentacles reached to wrap around the ship.

The amount of noise, the helplessness of what he had to do, overwhelmed Hongjoong. Around him, his crew fought a losing battle, and he couldn't support them. Just like back then, he could only watch as fate punished them for messing with the kraken.

"'E be bleedin'! A lot so, Capt'n, please..."

Bile rose in Hongjoong's throat. The desperation in Mingi's voice was raw and unfiltered. He didn't know how to comfort himself, only begging his captain to work a miracle.

But Hongjoong could work no miracle. He could only sit petrified in fear.

His crew. He would sacrifice the lives of his crew members in this battle.

"Stay where ye be an' 'elp 'im! I will get Jongho an' San to 'elp!" With those words, Hongjoong rose to his wobbly legs. They felt weak and numb beneath him, ready to collapse.

Before Mingi could reply, Hongjoong dashed over the deck. Destruction greeted him everywhere, parts of the ship missing. The remaining crew up here had huddled into the protected corners, scared and unable to shield themselves.

Hongjoong skittered to a halt next to Jongho. Once more, his heart dropped in unforeseen depths.

The cannon had absolutely crushed San's leg. Not much of it was left, and the heavy iron was too close to the ground that any bone in there didn't get pulverised.

San's face was pale, his fingers clutching onto the blood-stained thigh. Every jostle of the cannon had him throw his head back with a hiss.

How would they treat this? Yeosang had so much to do, three people were hurt. Mingi wasn't accessible, and Jongho was the only one remaining with enough fire in his eyes to carry on.

They were losing.

And Hongjoong doubted they could retreat. A few simple swishes of the Kraken had got them here. And it was too angered to let them sail off harmoniously.

"San, keep yer deadlights open or I will feed ye to that damned kraken," Hongjoong threatened lowly. When San glanced at his leg, a sob escaped his lips. The horrific sight was the worst.

Hongjoong and Jongho each grabbed an end of the cannon. Even for two men, the weight was a feat. San couldn't cooperate, he was close to fainting any minute. His blood pooled beneath his body, seeping his clothes to stain his skin red.

"Captain!" Mingi yelled again.

With grit teeth, Hongjoong wrenched the cannon back. Jongho's muscular arms sprung right to his help. Together, they wrenched the thing down from San.

"Into the sickbay?" Jongho asked breathlessly as he knelt next to the man. Fluttering, San's lids struggled to stay open.

"Aye. Bring 'im there. Once we got Mingi an' Yunho out o' there, we'll 'ave Yeosang treat 'im."

With a beckon of his hand, Hongjoong waved Yeosang over. Carefully and with his eyes on the tentacles, the surgeon moved. He sneaked in their direction without slipping again.

"What about the battle?"

Hongjoong's face darkened. Too many people out of commission. Too many injuries.

"Try yer best to survive. Those who ain't busy can join me. We'll give our everythin' in a last attack," Hongjoong summarised sharply. Then he turned to dash back to Mingi. His aching muscles protested, nearly not supporting his efforts anymore. Blind fear ate away at him, making him foolish in his disregard for his surroundings.

The tentacles of the kraken were huge, thicker than the mast even in their thinnest area. And yet, Hongjoong didn't see the one coming close. He ran fully unprotected to aid his mates. Even when the monster rammed its body against the ship again, he steadied his weight and stayed on his feet.

That tentacle, however, met him full force. And it didn't slap him against the wall or into the railing.

This time, it sent his body flying off the ship. And straight into the ocean.