NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: A Score to Settle
"Is the Kraken your real name?" Lukas asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on Katrina's shoulder, signalling her to stay back. This time, Katrina did argue because she knew it too; the Kraken was far out of her league.
Lukas should have been scared.
If he had seen anything like this in his past life, Lukas probably would have been terrified. Might have even shat his pants.
To think a living thing like this could exist, it would test the limits of any sane man. But his calm demeanour did not come just from the Crown and the mental fortitude the Legacy granted the ones who had inherited it. Lukas did not fear the Kraken because he had come face to face with a god before.
The Kraken was no god. And if this creature was mortal, that meant Lukas had nothing to fear. That meant he could be defeated.
"It's the only name you need to know, little Dragon. You have no idea how surprised I was when I heard your greeting. I would not be surprised if every single being in Linemall heard it. Quite bold, don't you think?" The Kraken rumbled and it took Lukas a second to realize that he was laughing; deep raspy heaves sending tremors through the water around them.
"And it is bold for you to think that you can rule these Seas. You are too ugly to rule anyways, Squidward."
The Kraken was no longer laughing. The Cthulu did not have a single clue what that last term meant but it did not take a genius to know that it had not been a compliment.
"You think you can be the one to take your brother's place? Do what your father did for these Seas? I'm afraid to be the one to break it to you but the Age of Dragons has passed us, young Drakos. The throne does not belong to you. I suggest you listen to the young Sterling boy. He came to his senses and I hope you will do the same. Understand this. You do not rule these Seas. And you never will."
How much influence did the Kraken already have in Linemall's economy? Lukas had no idea how deep those tentacles of his went.
"You wish for me to bend the knee like the Sterlings have? Obey your every command?" Lukas scoffed.
"Work for me? Lukas Drakos, I am going to skin you alive. I will ensure that you pay for the sins of your father." The Kraken's chains began to groan, straining as the beast moved closer to Lukas. They were inches away now. Lukas could see up close now how vicious a wound Lord Jaren had dealt to his head. It should have killed him.
Simple thoughts being exchanged between them turned into waves of emotions, crashing down on his mind. Rage, hatred and agony flooded down upon his mind and Lukas could feel the immense pressure pressing down onto his skull.
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Scenes of a battle long past flashed before his eyes, the Kraken forcing Lukas to relive it; to watch as the Lord Jaren claws dug into his own head. It was just a second before he could feel shields around his mind forming; the Crown protecting him from any further mental attacks.
The Kraken wanted to kill him.
The message was clear as day, no more words were needed for Lukas to understand that.
The Crown meant that the Kraken's magic would not work on him. But not everybody inherited the Crown. Lukas quickly whipped his head around to see Katrina on her knees, clutching her head; her hammer lay on the ground as she tried to withstand the mental torrent that the Kraken was sending out.
The last time he had tried using this Legacy, Lukas had ended up sending the thought across the entirety of Linemall. This time, he was intentional. There was only one target.
The thought was delivered with such force that the Kraken's mental onslaught faltered before stopping altogether: "Enough."
The Kraken paused, eyeing Lukas with careful consideration before he spoke again.
"I am going to kill you. But before I do that, I'm going to make sure I take everything from you, Lukas Drakos. And I mean that wholeheartedly, I will make sure you're alive to witness it all just like how your father took everything away from me. You think you can just come and take your brother's throne? You are nothing like Rodan. I hope you spend the time you have left with your loved ones because the clock is ticking. We shall meet again. And the next time, you will not have so much to say. I promise you that." The Kraken was making it clear that he was a force to be reckoned with.
"Next time? There isn't going to be a next time."
Before the Kraken could even comprehend it, Lukas' right arm grew.
The muscles in his arm expanded, his skin turning to scales and in a matter of seconds a giant draconic paw sank its claws into the Kraken's head, right where the former Dragon Lord wounded him.
It was a partial transformation, just going to show much Lukas had improved in his control over the Draconic Flow. It wasn't quite like second nature just yet but it was getting easier to implement every time he put the technique to use.
This was what Lukas' main focus had been during the last month, learning how to move in this new draconic vessel he had inherited. His grip was unbreakable as Lukas summoned all the strength he had to slam the Kraken's head into the ground; holding him there.
Blue blood seeped into the water around them, it was dark and Lukas could taste the iron in every breath of water he took in.
The Kraken let out a scream so loud that the entire prison shook, thrashing around helplessly and squirming as Lukas' claws dug deeper into his skin.
The monster was pinned down and despite his enormous size, it soon became very clear that Lukas was simply physically stronger than the Kraken.
Yet this did not make his enemy weak, this perhaps may be one of the strongest that Lukas would ever come across in this world of Hiraeth; even Katrina would not stand a chance against the Kraken in a physical contest of strength.
If not for the chains that were holding him down, Lukas would have had a much more difficult time holding the Kraken down.
"I've got a score to settle with you, Kraken. Your time's up. I'm afraid to be the one to break it to you but...you're going to die now."