Free End Online: Volume 5 by D. Wolfin Page B

tentacles pushing in on it as it attacks.
    Sir Laurence summons his sacred art to shield us while Fen
follows my commands and erects a multi-layer ice barrier to cover and reinforce
the prince’s shield. The ice shields block off all light from the outside
lanterns, but Sir Laurence’s sacred art emanates a soft light that prevents our
surroundings from becoming pitch black. We all take out our healing items and
restore as much health as we can in the short time frame we have.
    I bring out a few ‘Orange Medicinal Herbs’, consuming half
immediately to begin my health regeneration. According to some off-the-cuff
calculations, my class skill will enhance the effects of the herbs enough that
I should recover up to about eighty percent health. I try to disentangle from
Fen to feed her the rest, but her hand grabs my wrist to stop me.
    ‘I haven’t had to do this in a long time. Ugh, it is so
embarrassing! Who made the game require the person with the skill to feed the
other in order for the effects to work?’
    I pull Fen closer against me and tighten my hold with the arm
she has entrapped. She yelps in surprise at my actions, which I use as an
opportunity to shove herbs into her open mouth and close her jaw with my now
free hand on her chin.
    She grins slyly at my forcefulness and happily swallows the
herbs. It isn’t that I’m surprised by her behavior, but I’m still irritated by
it in the heat of the moment.
    The others in the shield formation look everywhere but at us.
The only exception is Mason, who is staring inquisitively with a single raised
eyebrow.
    ‘Stop staring! This is embarrassing enough that it happened. I
don’t need you judging me too!’My shame magnifies while I imagine Mason slyly
whispering about this to the other team members.
    “Oh, will you look at that. My class skill just levelled up to
26,” I say in an obvious attempt to change the subject but Mason’s expression
doesn’t even twitch.
    A violent tremor assaults us and I hear several layers of our
ice shield shatter. Bare moments pass before another quake strikes and the
remaining ice shields are crushed to dust. The tentacle hits the floating sigil
barrier with it’s remaining force, but not hard enough to do any damage.
    The ship vibrates beneath my feet and the sound of cannon fire
booms again. Most of the tentacles are already at low health and immediately
die from the assault, while the remaining few reel back from the attack.
    “Sir Laurence, drop the shield now!” I shout, and as soon as the
protective sacred art dissipates into fading stars of light, I launch two ‘Dire
Flame’ fireballs, one at each tentacle.
    Just like with the cannon balls or any other attacks, the
tentacles do not make any attempt to dodge the attacks since they are blind.
The whistling wind brushes past my ears as the fireballs find their targets and
explode with frightening ferocity. Crimson flames attach to the tentacles like
glue and slowly drain their already depleted health. Based on the current rate
of damage, both tentacles should die in a few minutes.
    The tentacles wriggle and squirm under the blaze and even fall
back under the water to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately for them,
suffocating the flames in water will make no difference. The tentacles soon
emerge from the water with the flames still blazing as strongly as before.
    The enemy attacks with its dying breath; one final, desperate
attempt to crush us along with the boat. Mason shoots the tentacles with a wide
area blast of wind, drastically slowing them down and allowing Sir Laurence to
successfully block them. This is truly their final attack, as my dire flames
finally drain the remainder of their health and they sink back into the ocean.
    I turn around and see Mikhail the Stalwart, Moonkite, and
JohnSmite finish off the final enemy, the guild leader dealing the final strike
which actually severs then tentacle in two. A seven meter section of tentacle
falls down and flops onto