Extra's Ascent

It all transpired in the blink of an eye, during the instant Aldrich was slammed violently by one of the Kraken's tentacles.

Without focus, he had released the arrow, hoping it might find its mark.

Fiona landed, barely touching the ground before she launched into a second attack.

She knew the Kraken's next five tentacles would soon descend upon her, but the sight of Aldrich being hurled into the water threw her off course.

"Aldrich!" she cried, panic gripping her voice.

"No! Keep focused. You must finish this. I'll get him!" Trevor shouted, his voice edging through the chaos.

Fiona hesitated, almost abandoning her position to rush after Aldrich.

But Trevor caught her arm, his grip firm yet calm, preventing her from making a rash decision.

His voice, grounded in reason, halted her impulsive instinct.

"I'll handle the rescue. You deal with the Kraken. Your sword can do what mine can't. It's common sense you lead here while I handle this," Trevor insisted.

Reluctantly, Fiona nodded, trusting his judgment.

As he retracted the mana circulating through his foot, preparing to dive into the water in pursuit of Aldrich, she couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency.

A scream of agony tore through the air—the Kraken shrieked louder than ever before.

It shifted Fiona's focus back to the battle at hand.

Looking up, she saw the arrow Aldrich had fired at the last second had struck true, impaling the Kraken's eye.

Now, two of its eyes were blinded.

Fiona's resolve hardened.

This was the chance they needed.

As Trevor had said, she could only focus on what she could do.

Saving Aldrich? That was Trevor's responsibility now.

With a firm grip on her sword, Fiona shifted her position, propelling herself into the sky with a swift change in direction.

She soared, landing directly atop the Kraken's head, her sword raised high.

With one powerful strike, the tip of her blade pierced its tough hide, delivering a devastating blow to the creature's brain.

Without hesitation, she leapt from the Kraken's head, falling back toward the ground below.

From that point on, the battle became a relentless barrage of strikes.

Fiona expertly sliced through the Kraken's vital body parts, dodging and cutting off any tentacles that sought to stop her.

The creature, its attention divided by its newfound blindness, could do little to defend itself.

With its vision gone, the Kraken was nothing more than a wounded giant, stumbling blindly in the water.

Fiona exploited this weakness, cutting her way through its defenses without resistance.

It was almost too easy.

By the time the Kraken was finally silenced, Fiona stood victorious, her breath steady as she surveyed the battlefield.

The creature's body was now lifeless, its limbs twitching only out of residual reflex.

---

Aldrich was jolted awake, his chest feeling tight as though something was constricting his very breath.

He coughed violently, expelling water from his lungs, before finally coming to his senses.

"Did we win?" he croaked, his vision blurry, but soon focusing on Fiona and Trevor standing nearby.

"Do you really think we'd end up on dry land if we hadn't?" Trevor retorted, a grin of relief plastered on his face.

Aldrich chuckled weakly, realizing that if they were now safe on land, it meant one thing: the Kraken had been defeated.

"But Aldrich,"/Trevor continued, his curiosity piqued, "you were incredible out there. How did you manage to shoot like that? You were on par with a master bow user."

Aldrich, still disoriented, tried to sit up, but his body protested, his limbs still heavy from the water.

He nearly toppled over, but Fiona was quick to rush to his side, supporting him with a steady arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her gaze filled with concern, though her voice seemed strained, distant even.

"Yeah... I'll live. If this is enough to put me down, I'd never have made Eldora Institute my first choice," Aldrich responded with a casual smile, only to notice the odd stiffness in Fiona's expression.

It wasn't the relief he had expected.

Fiona remained silent, her face hard to read.

Aldrich couldn't quite place it, though he knew for sure that something was off.

Maybe she was still shaken, worried that something tragic might have happened to him.

"See? All better now," he said, flexing his right arm, determined to show that he had recovered.

His left arm, though, twinged with a dull pain.

Aldrich dismissed it quickly, trying to appear stronger than he felt.

He didn't want to worry Fiona more than necessary.

However, Fiona's response was still colder than expected, her concern not mirroring his own.

"Dude, that was insane," Trevor chimed in, sensing the awkward tension. "Honestly thought we lost you there."

Aldrich grinned weakly, grateful for Trevor's timely interruption.

"Right, it was crazy. Honestly, I thought I was done for too when I started to lose consciousness. But hey, one of the perks of having you around is getting saved in the nick of time."

"I know, right?" Trevor laughed. "What would you do without me?"

Aldrich smiled faintly, appreciating the banter.

"To be fair, Fiona was already rushing to save you before I even realized you were drowning. I had to stop her because her sword was the only thing strong enough to damage the Kraken from up close".

Aldrich hadn't known that.

He looked to Fiona, wanting to thank her.

Her distant demeanor made it clear that she wasn't in the mood for gratitude.

"You did the right thing," Aldrich said, his voice steady. "It would've been pointless to save me and lose the opportunity to finish this. We couldn't let the Kraken go on any longer."

He met Fiona's eyes briefly, a silent understanding passing between them.

After all, that was why he had put himself in harm's way in the first place—so that they could eliminate the Kraken once and for all.

"Did we come in first?" Aldrich asked, his curiosity creeping in despite his exhaustion.

"Not exactly," Trevor answered, shaking his head with a knowing look.

He gestured for Aldrich to turn around.

Aldrich did as told, wondering what Trevor was implying.