Chapter 199: Chapter 187: Lex Cross’s Protection

The ocean current spun into a vortex, rotating at a furious speed. Anything caught within would be pulled along a fixed orbital path, spiraling down into its eye.

But Flora Bloom was not. A tentacle as thick as an arm had wrapped around her waist, dragging her straight toward the eye of the vortex. She was completely unaffected by the swirling currents.

Thankfully, in a moment of desperation, Flora Bloom had used her Water Ability to form a bubble around her head, which kept her from choking as she was dragged at high speed through the seawater.

The instant she was dragged into the sea, she had instinctively focused her will, trying to pull the thing wrapped around her into her space.

But the tentacle remained wrapped around her; it hadn’t been pulled into her space. The salty seawater stinging her face and body fueled Flora Bloom’s rising terror. Yes, terror!

’This... Has my space stopped working?’ An immense wave of fear instantly washed over Flora Bloom. Her space had always been her greatest asset. In her eyes, there was no problem that couldn’t be solved by just pulling it into her space!

But now, looking closely at the slimy tentacle wrapped around her waist, she saw that it looked exactly like that of an octopus. The large suckers on it had a powerful grip, making escape seem impossible.

’What do I do! Why won’t it go into my space? Is something wrong with it?’ So Flora Bloom once again focused her will, trying to pull the owner of the tentacle into her space.

But all that came of it was a wave of unfamiliar dizziness. At first, she didn’t know what was causing it. But when Flora Bloom tried again to pull the tentacled creature into her space, the dizzy spell grew even stronger.

’Is this some kind of side effect from failing to pull it into my space?’

Then, when she saw the colossal, mountain-sized form before her, she finally understood why she couldn’t pull the thing into her space!

There, at the bottom of the kaleidoscopic vortex, lay a giant octopus so immense it defied description. It was a scale of size she could hardly put into words. In its presence, she was nothing more than an insignificant ant, and it was the elephant.

By her estimation, the octopus monster was roughly the same size as her entire dimensional space. Even if her space were completely empty, she wouldn’t be able to stuff it inside!

’What am I supposed to do now?’ In this post-apocalyptic world, every evolved creature she encountered seemed bigger than the last. But this octopus monster was so large it defied her imagination. ’It’s even bigger than my space!’ 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’If it drags me over and swallows me in one gulp, I probably won’t even be big enough to get stuck in its teeth!’ An axe, reinforced by her father, materialized in her hand. She swung her arm, hacking at the tentacle coiled tightly around her.

But the moment the sharp, sturdy axe blade met the tentacle, it failed to even leave a scratch. Instead, the slimy fluid coating the appendage caused the blade to slide off, and the axe slipped from her grasp, sinking into the darker depths below.

While Flora Bloom was desperately trying to figure out how to escape, a figure shrouded in blackness suddenly shot toward her. Just as she realized it was Lex Cross, the dagger in his hand flashed across the tentacle at her waist several times, effortlessly severing the thick appendage and freeing her.

"Go!" Lex Cross’s voice somehow carried to her through the vibrations in the water.

The pressure on her waist vanished. She immediately created two huge bubbles with her water shield, enveloping them both. She then propelled the bubbles away, swimming in the opposite direction of the octopus monster.

The octopus monster, reeling in pain from its severed tentacle, let out a piercing shriek. The sound tore through the dense water like a sonic attack, rushing in the direction the two were fleeing.

The sonic wave churned the previously calm seawater, forming a massive, rolling wave that surged toward them, chasing at their backs.

"Lex Cross, we have to find a way out of here!" The words had barely left Flora Bloom’s mouth when she felt a violently churning energy attack about to hit her from behind.

Just as the energy was about to strike, Lex Cross appeared behind her like a phantom. As their two water shield bubbles overlapped, a black shadow imbued with mysterious energy enveloped them both.

"Lex Cross?"

"This Great Crow’s level is much higher than ours. We need to focus on getting away!"

"What Great Crow? You mean that octopus monster?"

"I’ll explain later. For now, we leave!"

Flora Bloom cast another water shield around them. Then, riding the shockwave from the attack, they shot a great distance away.

The octopus monster grew enraged, seeing that its attack had not only failed to harm the two humans but had actually helped them escape a great distance.

A dozen massive tentacles instantly unfurled from beneath its body, sending torrents of sand swirling up from the seabed.

Propelled by the simultaneous thrust of its dozen tentacles, its colossal body shot toward Flora Bloom and Lex Cross, closing the distance between them in an instant.

"It’s catching up!" Thanks to her affinity for water, Flora Bloom’s speed in the ocean was not much slower than an ordinary sea creature’s. Yet this colossal octopus monster had caught up to them in a heartbeat.

The blade of Lex Cross’s dagger glinted sharply. He glanced at Flora Bloom’s tense face, then suddenly took her hand. "See that Strange Rock Beach up ahead?"

Flora Bloom felt the warmth spreading from her hand, though her body remained rigid with tension. "I see it!"

"Go find a cave in those rocks and hide. You’re of the Water Element. As long as you don’t reveal yourself, other creatures won’t be able to find you in the water!"

Flora Bloom frowned at Lex Cross’s calm expression. "Okay. And you?" ’He’s telling me to hide, so what is he planning to do? Take on that octopus monster by himself?’

’It’s not that I’m looking down on him! But forget the fact that he hasn’t even reached the Middle Level with his superpower yet—even if he had, he’d be no match for this octopus monster.’

’First of all, the difference in size alone puts them on completely different playing fields. Besides, I can’t sense any superpower fluctuations from the monster. But no fluctuations doesn’t mean it’s not an evolved creature!’

’Its attack just now was clearly a superpower attack, packed with explosive energy. That can only mean its rank is so high I can’t even perceive it!’

’If Lex Cross goes, he’ll be committing suicide!’

"I’ll hold it off and lead it in the other direction. Once we’re out of your line of sight, you go up and find Five and the others." As Lex Cross spoke, the black energy emanating from his body surged dramatically. At the same time, Flora Bloom felt as though the man before her, now wreathed in that energy, had become even more unfathomable. His true strength was something she couldn’t see through at all.

Lex Cross was strong, she knew, but for him to lure the octopus monster away by himself was nothing short of a suicide mission. This realization stirred a fierce, indescribable feeling in Flora Bloom’s heart.

"Wait! Are you certain you can get away safely?" Flora Bloom suddenly grabbed Lex Cross’s arm just as his form was about to blur away, her expression deadly serious.

"Are you worried about me?"

"If you die here because of me, I’ll feel incredibly guilty!"

Flora Bloom’s words brought a triumphant curve to Lex Cross’s otherwise cool lips.

"Feeling guilty isn’t so bad."

"But if you really die, I won’t feel guilty for long. I’ll probably forget all about it after a while. So, dying for me would be a total waste."

Hearing Flora Bloom’s words, the smile on Lex Cross’s face didn’t fade. Instead, he stared at her, his eyes filled with resolve.

"Looks like I can’t die, then. I wouldn’t want you to forget me."

The words had barely faded when he was gone. The afterimage of the faint smile Lex Cross had given her a second ago still lingered in Flora Bloom’s vision, but he himself was already charging toward the octopus monster, wreathed in a shroud of black energy.