Chapter 36

    Defeating the Pig-Squid-Shrimp

    While Inari, Leia, and Aime fought Prince Shark, Möbius, Efrik, and Gumiho focused on the Pig-Squid-Shrimp. Möbius initiated the attack with a barrage of bullets from his machine gun, charging in as the vanguard.

    Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang!

    75×20

    105×4 (Critical hit from ability)

    "Something feels off."

    The young man frowned, puzzled by how easily his attacks landed. Typically, bosses of this level had some tricky gimmicks. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this might be a trap, so he slowed his advance. Just then, Efrik charged ahead of him.

    "You really got me good last time, you pig."

    Efrik, who had asked for fire from Gumiho to rekindle the fire on his left arm, quickly charged at the Pig-Squid-Shrimp with incredible speed. As soon as he reached striking distance, the Fire Demon, Efrik swung his golden hammer at the creature, which seemed ready to counter.

    "Efrik, stop. It's a trap."

    Möbius's shout echoed from behind, warning Efrik of the impending danger. Even though the fiery demon heard him, it was too late to halt the powerful swing he had already committed. Efrik put his full strength into the blow, but the Pig-Squid-Shrimp remained calm, having expected this moment. It had intentionally taken Möbius’s light gunfire to bait the reckless fire elemental into an attack, knowing full well that its elemental advantage would prevail.

    The massive Pig-Squid-Shrimp, as large as a fully grown elephant, began to float off the ground. Its menacing red eyes gleamed as the ends of its octopus-like tentacles, forming its mane, glowed with a blue light. Water surged from all eight of its tentacles, colliding with an invisible curved barrier before gathering beneath it. In a blink, the water had formed a thick, spherical barrier, two meters thick, encapsulating the entire creature.

    Boom!!!

    Efrik’s golden hammer collided forcefully with the water sphere, but not a single drop splashed out. The immense force of the blow was absorbed completely by the thick water barrier. By the time the hammer reached the Pig-Squid-Shrimp’s head, all of its power had been drained, leaving Efrik stunned.

    "Impossible...!!!"

    From within the water barrier, Pig-Squid-Shrimp sneered like a shrimp, mocking the Fire Demon Efrik who was less than ten meters away from it. Then, in an instant, part of the water barrier shot out multiple high-speed water bullets toward Efrik at point-blank range, resembling cannon fire. At such close range, Efrik could only drop his weapon and use both arms to shield vital parts of his body.

    Boom, boom…!!!

    7500×5 (Critical hit from element)

    The Fire Demon was hit by multiple powerful water bullets and was knocked far away. He was severely injured, with most of the flames on his body extinguished, leaving him nearly immobile. Of course, the Pig-Squid-Shrimp seized the opportunity and launched several large water balls to finish off Efrik immediately.

    Bang, bang, bang, bang!

    The sound of gunfire erupted from in front of Efrik—Möbius had rushed ahead, firing at the incoming water spheres in an attempt to destroy them. Unfortunately, his bullets simply passed through the water, having no effect, causing him to furrow his brow in frustration as the water bullets closed in.

    Möbius, determined not to let this shrimp-brained monster win, quickly shifted tactics. He launched a barrage of grenades from his right hand into the path of the water bullets, knowing he’d be caught in the explosion himself. But Möbius was willing to risk it to save Efrik. With no other option, he activated one of his special abilities.

    Cronos

    Time seemed to slow down around him temporarily. He watched as the grenades, just five meters in front of him, began to crack open, their explosive force ready to obliterate the incoming water bullets. Möbius realized he needed to shield himself from the blast in these fleeting moments.

    With Cronos ability active, Möbius saw there wasn’t enough time to summon his full Möbius Barrier. Instead, he deployed only two layers. The first was a layer of titanium to absorb the shrapnel from the grenade blast, and the second was copper, known for its flexibility, to absorb the shockwave. However, without the third layer, which was meant to stabilize the barrier, the force from the explosion sent his own metallic shield flying back at him.

    Crash...!!!

    700 (Remaining 1095/1795)

    "Ugh..."

    Möbius was thrown backward along with his metal barrier. Had it crushed him, he likely wouldn’t have survived. Fortunately, a large hand reached out to catch him just in time, preventing the metal sheet from landing on him.

    Grab.

    "My master..."

    It was Efrik, the owner of that massive hand, who had come to Möbius's rescue. The Fire Demon was deeply grateful, knowing that without Möbius’s intervention, he might have perished and lost levels as a consequence.

    Meanwhile, Möbius quickly pulled a red potion from the guitar case slung over his back and downed it in one gulp. He handed several more potions to Efrik, who eagerly chugged them down, bottle and all, causing Möbius to blink in surprise. The empty bottles could be exchanged for discounts on future purchases, so seeing Efrik swallow them whole was a bit disheartening.

    But there was no time to dwell on that. The Pig-Squid-Shrimp, seeing its prey take the time to drink potions, prepared to launch another attack. Just then, a barrage of fireballs collided with its water barrier.

    "Over here, you freak."

    Gumiho waved from the side, attempting to draw the creature’s attention. Despite her most powerful fire magic being unleashed, it had little effect on the water barrier surrounding the boss. However, she continued to launch fireballs, buying them time. Möbius, meanwhile, began to worry about how the other group was faring against Prince Shark.

    "Looks like they’re doing fine over there."

    Möbius glanced at Inari, Leia, and Aime, who were managing Prince Shark easily, and felt relieved. But he still had to figure out how to break through the water barrier protecting the Pig-Squid-Shrimp. He then noticed that the boss wasn’t shooting water bullets back at Gumiho, who was continuously attacking with fireballs.

    He signaled Efrik to quietly retreat from the Pig-Squid-Shrimp and regroup with Gumiho, keeping just a bit more distance from the boss than Gumiho was maintaining. Before long, the three of them managed to regroup. The boss glared at them menacingly but made no move to attack, confirming Möbius’s suspicion: they were now outside the range of its water bullets. Additionally, while maintaining its water barrier, the boss couldn’t move. This gave Möbius the insight he needed to develop a strategy.

    "Miho, can I get some fire magic? The really hot, flamethrower kind."

    Möbius took out a number of magic-infused bullets and handed them to Gumiho, then held her hands to channel the magic into the bullets.

    Magic to bullet.

    Since the Pig-Squid-Shrimp couldn’t move, Möbius had plenty of time to infuse the bullets with fire magic. He even had time to drink another potion. Soon, he was ready to execute his plan to break the boss’s irritating water barrier.

    "Miho, Efrik, get ready to use your ultimate attacks."

    Möbius instructed both to prepare. He then activated his gravity manipulation ability to lighten his body, allowing him to move at high speed. Loading the enchanted bullets into his dual pistols, Möbius sprinted toward the Pig-Squid-Shrimp boss at full speed, prepared to take it down.

    As soon as the enemy was in the firing range, the creature launched a barrage of water bullets at him. This time, however, the water bullets were much smaller, about 10 centimeters in size, making it seem like he was running into a rain of machine gun fire with no escape—unless he could fly.

    This made him smile. If it was a short flight, it wasn’t beyond him. Instantly, he applied a new adaptation of his abilities that he had just thought of.

    Grativara

    He activated the second stage of Grativara to make himself weightless, then kicked off the ground to jump at a 45-degree angle towards the front. Being weightless allowed him to move in a straight line towards the enemy, who was also firing water bullets.

    Cronos

    At that moment, he used another ability to help calculate his trajectory. He extended his right hand to the left, palm up, and activated one of his seemingly simple but actually complex abilities:

    ‘Möbius Hand: White Hole - Air’

    In zero gravity, releasing air from his hand was like attaching a jet to his body. With Cronos’s calculations aiding him, Möbius altered his path, dodging the water bullets with ease while curving toward the side of the boss at high speed.

    Once he had circled behind the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, he deactivated all his abilities and landed smoothly. He immediately drew his pistols, Infinity and Endless, and began shooting at the boss from close range.

    Bang. Bang. Bang!

    The bullets entered the water barrier but quickly lost their momentum, leaving them suspended in the water ball. The Pig-Squid-Shrimp struggled to turn and face its attacker, but the resistance of the water was much greater than air, causing it to turn left and right very slowly. Möbius was able to maintain his position behind it at all times while continuously firing his pistol.

    Click, click.

    "Don’t worry, there's more where that came from."

    Möbius holstered I&E after running out of ammo and pulled out Cosmo Custom, loaded with fire-imbued rounds in all six chambers. In a matter of seconds, all six bullets were fired, and he quickly switched back to his reloaded dual pistols, continuing to shower the boss with bullets.

    Now, the boss, Pig-Squid-Shrimp, began to feel dizzy from spinning around to follow Möbius for too long. So, it looked at Möbius running around and thought that this small gunslinger probably couldn’t do anything to it because the water barrier was incredibly strong.

    It had used this water barrier to defeat many enemies before, as water is the best shield, especially since the pure water surrounding it doesn’t conduct electricity. Many of its enemies had tried to use lightning spells against it, only to be stunned by their inability to harm it.

    Furthermore, this group of its enemies relied on fire magic, making it impossible for them to freeze it. Due to its complacency, it merely watched what Möbius would do next and did nothing. However, it would soon realize that the insignificant human it had underestimated was far more cunning than it had anticipated.  

    Möbius maintained his position behind the boss, waiting patiently as this plan required time. However, thanks to the sheer number of fire-imbued bullets from Gumiho and the fire crystals Möbius had shot into the water barrier, the plan began to take effect earlier than anticipated. The first sign was the bubbles forming inside the water sphere surrounding the Pig-Squid-Shrimp.

    Blub, blub, blub.

    "Never heard the saying? Overconfidence is the path to death."

    His plan was to boil the water surrounding the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, essentially cooking it alive. In a matter of moments, the previously calm water barrier began to churn as if it were alive. Large, ominous bubbles started to rise. By the time the Pig-Squid-Shrimp realized what was happening, it was already too late.

    Because of its odd shape, the creature had limited visibility and couldn’t pinpoint where Möbius's enchanted bullets were lodged. Not only was the boiling water causing it severe pain, but it was also suffocating as the oxygen in the water turned into gas bubbles.

    Blub, blub, blub, blub.

    Huge damage numbers flashed above the Pig-Squid-Shrimp as it took continuous damage from the boiling water and oxygen deprivation. In total, it suffered nearly 30,000 units of damage. Though it quickly withdrew its water barrier, its entire body was covered in burns and blisters. Even parts of its shrimp head had turned a cooked orange color. Seeing that the plan was successful, Möbius signaled to the fox-girl to unleash her stored magic.

    "Now. Roast it."

    Möbius downed a blue potion from his backpack after signaling Efrik and Gumiho, who had been preparing for this moment. He quickly moved away from the Pig-Squid-Shrimp for safety, exhausted from using so much magic and running in circles around the boss for so long.

    Gumiho, standing about 50 meters from the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, had been gathering magical energy since Möbius had instructed her to prepare. Now, her nine tails glowed with a radiant golden light.

    She brought her palms together and, as she slowly separated them, a small ball of light began to form between her hands. As her hands drew further apart, the golden ball grew, glowing brighter and larger until it was the size of a watermelon. She stopped widening the space between her hands once the ball reached full size.

    Taking a step forward with her left foot, Gumiho twisted her upper body to the right, lowering her stance slightly to stabilize herself. She held the golden energy ball close to her waist, preparing for the final strike.

    “Pow... er...”

    Gumiho focused her gaze on the target ahead. This time, she didn’t need to hold back to leave remains for eating, as she had already eaten her fill. The Pig-Squid-Shrimp was much harder to deal with than the earlier boss, Po-Tak, and Möbius’s strategy of boiling the water barrier likely wouldn’t work again. She had to make sure this strange creature was destroyed with a single powerful strike, so she poured nearly all of her magical energy into the attack.

    Flash…!!!

    “Fox... Fire...”

    The power ball in Gumiho's hands flared up suddenly, just as her tails glowed brighter with golden light. Her ultimate technique grew stronger as more magic was channeled into it. This stance allowed her to unleash the full force of her deadly attack. As her magical power surged to its peak, she pushed the glowing ball forward and shouted the final part of her ultimate move’s name.

    "Pierce the Nine Heavens!!!"

    Zoom...

    As the energy ball was pushed forward, a golden beam of light shot out from the ball between her hands. Its brightness seemed to instantly darken the surroundings of her.

    The beam shot straight towards the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, which was still flailing in an attempt to shake off the boiling water. The moment it saw the golden light approaching, the heat radiating from it made the creature realize it would be gravely injured if struck. It quickly summoned its magic to counter the attack.

    Whirr... Fizz...

    The blue magic’s aura, characteristic of water magic, emanated from the creature's half-cooked tentacles. As it pointed them forward, eight thin blue beams converged before it, forming a large blue beam to match Gumiho's golden one.

    Boom…!!!

    The two beams collided in midair—Gumiho’s scorching golden light clashing with the icy blue energy of the Pig-Squid-Shrimp. Wind blasted out from the point of impact, and the magic forces seemed evenly matched, neither side gaining ground. Seeing the stalemate, Gumiho poured more of her magic into the golden beam.

    “Yaaaak…!!!”

    Her sweet voice cried out as she tapped into her last reserves of strength, causing the beam of light from her hands to grow nearly half again in size. Her nine tails flared with continuous light, but her expression showed strain. She had already exceeded her magical limits.

    The point where the magic clashed began to shift toward the Pig-Squid-Shrimp, now just two meters from its body. What Gumiho feared most happened next—the creature had gathered enough time to concentrate its own magic, significantly increasing its power. Meanwhile, Gumiho’s strength was faltering. Her golden tails flickered as their owner neared exhaustion, having used up almost all her magic.

    Though the fox girl had incredibly strong magic, she was still a regular monster, not a boss, and her mana reserves were comparatively low. Facing off against a boss with vast magic power, she needed to end the battle quickly. But she had failed to do so in time.

    Whoosh...

    The point of impact began moving rapidly towards Gumiho, almost reaching her. Desperately, she pushed back with a final burst of power, briefly halting its advance. Möbius, seeing the situation grow dire, knew he couldn’t let this go on. It was like the final flicker of a candle before it went out. He grabbed his rocket launcher to disrupt the Pig-Squid-Shrimp’s attack, but before he could fire, a large figure came crashing toward him.

    Thud!!!

    500 damage (Remaining: 1295/1795)

    "Urgh..."

    Möbius grunted as he was knocked to the ground, crushed under Aime, who had been thrown by Prince Shark. His weapon slipped from his grasp as Prince Shark stood panting from a distance.

    "Don't even think about it!!!"

    The young merman shouted loudly after successfully preventing Möbius from attacking the Pig-Squid-Shrimp. He was confident that his pet could defeat the nine-tailed fox because the magic it was currently using was also its ultimate move.

    "Sob…Sorry, Möbius."

    Gumiho, who saw no way out, spoke with a trembling voice, even though she was far from Möbius. The young man heard her words clearly and quickly stood up, aiming his gun at the Pig-Squid-Shrimp. Despite that, the creature remained unfazed.

    "Don’t give up yet..."

    A deep voice resonated behind Gumiho. Two flame-covered arms appeared from either side of her, and the fox girl could feel a surge of fiery magic surrounding her. She instinctively drew in this power through her golden tails to bolster her strength.

    It was Efrik, who was gravely injured, kneeling behind the fox girl. His hands were stretched out in front of him, and between his muscular arms was a fox girl who was instantly small compared to his large body.

    Efrik remembered how Möbius had once instructed the fox to combine her fire magic with his for a powerful joint attack during the battle with Ramnucia. Thus, he believed he could also help boost the fox girl's power. The fire magic that Gumiho felt and absorbed was Efrik’s ultimate move, ‘Big Bang.’

    With the help of the Fire Demon Efrik, whose level was close to the Pig-Squid-Shrimp’s, Gumiho, despite having greater offensive power, was able to compensate for her lower magical power. With both quality and quantity, the fox girl’s power surged, creating a golden aura around her that was hotter than ever before, radiating from the overflowing power.

    "Thank you, Efrik."

    Gumiho thanked the Fire Demon for transferring all its power to her, which was now fading as she used her ultimate move with the fox girl. The Fire Demon knew that they were important to Möbius. To repay the young man for saving his life, he would help save hers as well.

    "Don't mention it. Now, roast that thing!!!"

    As Efrik’s voice faded, the fox girl’s power exploded all at once. The size of her beam increased nearly threefold, easily pushing back the Pig-Squid-Shrimp’s beam. It struck the large target with force and slammed it into the wall on the other side. Then, a massive explosion followed.

    Whoosh... Boom…!!!

    ‘Fox Fire Piercing the Ninth Heaven+ Big Bang’

    60000 (Critical hit from element)

    The numbers bounced off the Pig-Squid-Shrimp’s body as it lay buried under debris from the explosion. The building, fittingly a mermaid king's castle, though partly damaged, remained strong and sturdy. After unleashing her power, Gumiho collapsed to the ground, dizzy. The potion in her pink lace pouch helped her keep her senses.

    After releasing her power, Gumiho collapsed from dizziness, but a health potion from her pink lace pouch quickly brought her back to her senses, preventing her from losing consciousness.

    Something beneath the pile of rocks stirred, causing several stones to fall off, a clear sign that the monstrous creature wasn’t dead yet. This was exactly what Möbius wanted. He wished to personally end it, as the creature had almost killed Gumiho. With a cold, vengeful tone, Möbius hoisted his rocket launcher onto his shoulder and slowly walked toward the beast.

    "I think you already know your fate in the near future, that your life will end here."

    The young man whose eyes were filled with anger slowly walked towards the boss lying against the wall. Normally calm, when he got angry, it made him appear far more terrifying. Even the Pig-Squid-Shrimp sensed the drastic change in his demeanor.

    What it once thought of as its prey, it was different now. Instead, it was becoming his prey. In a desperate last attempt, it fired a barrage of small water bullets at Möbius.

    But this time, he didn't dodge at all. Instead, he extended his right hand as he continued his steady approach. The water bullets veered away on their own, as if fearing the man before them.

    "No matter how hard you struggle, you can’t escape the system's justice through me."

    Möbius stated, releasing a powerful gust of air from his palm. The water bullets were blown aside easily, weakened by the creature’s dwindling energy. The image of Möbius walking through the barrage unscathed sent waves of fear through the massive monster, which tried to bury itself deeper into the wall. When Möbius was about ten meters away, he stopped.

    "I’ll help send you to the afterlife myself."

    The young man lifted the glowing white rocket launcher onto his shoulder and pulling the trigger, launching four rockets simultaneously.

    Cool shot.

    The Pig-Squid-Shrimp, instead of panicking, grinned like a shrimp and summoned its water barrier again. The water bullets it fired earlier were a ruse to make it seem as though it had no magical power left. In reality, it still had enough magical energy to create another water barrier.

    The rockets, glowing white, flew into the water barrier as the Pig-Squid-Shrimp had anticipated. However, instead of stopping, the rockets continued at the same speed and collided with its body, which was left stunned. This was because the four rockets had their own propulsion, unlike other weapons Moebius used that relied solely on the explosive force in the gun barrel. Even submerged in water, they could continue moving.

    Boom…!!!

    20000

    Möbius watched the resulting fireball with icy detachment, delivering the final line of his attack with a hint of disdain for his foe. "Against someone with my sense, a move I've seen before won’t work."

    Boom…!!!

    10000

    The fireballs from the explosion sent out a massive cloud of smoke, and one of the creature’s shrimp claws landed right in front of Gumiho. It was the perfect match for her collection, as she had been eyeing the shrimp claw to pair with the crab claw she already had.

    ‘Congratulations, Mr. Möbius. You have successfully defeated the Pig-Squid-Shrimp.’

    "It's over."

    Möbius sighed, lowering his guard upon hearing the system's confirmation of his victory. But just as the young man relaxed, a sudden noise caught his attention. He turned to see a red light, the secret ultimate attack of Prince Shark, speeding towards him at incredible speed.

    Möbius had already exhausted all his magic power on his previous attacks, leaving him unable to dodge in time. None of his companions could reach him fast enough—except for one who wasn’t his to command.

    “Möbius, watch out!”

    Aime screamed. A moment ago, Prince Shark had thrown her at Möbius, so she was now closest to him. Aime knew very well that no one should ever be hit by a royal family member's ultimate attack from Red Ruby. And Möbius, the one she had brought here to help save her parents, could not be the one to fall. If anyone had to die, it had to be her first. Without hesitation, she used her large body to shield Möbius from the red beam.

    Crack!!!

    “Ugh...”

    Princess Aime was struck directly by Prince Shark’s red light and slowly collapsed to the ground. A large amount of white light covered her body, similar to how the mermaid soldiers she had killed were covered. But this time, it was her own life that was ending. Prince Shark, realizing that his ultimate attack had struck the last person it should have, abandoned the fight immediately and rushed toward the fallen young mermaid quickly.

    “No, no, no…”