The Kraken Came To The Wrong Place

World Era 1916.

As the year finally turned over, a new beginning arrived. While countless people living in the world hoped that this year, at least, something good would happen, one piece of news struck across the world like a shockwave.

“Of the six Noma Imperial cruisers dispatched to exterminate the Kraken that appeared in their country, four have reportedly sunk, and only the remaining two—both crippled—barely managed to retreat.”

“With results opposite to the Polia Kingdom, does the Noma Empire truly possess proper imperial naval power?”

“The Noma Empire has suffered a tremendous blow to its pride, and with its strength repeatedly exposed throughout the Great War, doubts have arisen as to whether it has military power worthy of its imperial status.”

The Noma Empire had tried to hunt the Kraken and ended up disgraced. They had deployed an ambiguous amount of force—six ships—and as a result, they lost most of the cruisers sent out, with the remainder left unusable.

In truth, there were circumstances that left them no choice but to mobilize an awkward, insufficient force. But the world saw it as the Noma Empire growing weaker. From Noma’s perspective, it was deeply unfair, yet the appearance they presented made rumors spread uncontrollably.

And what made this worse was that it drew out Doicheun’s movement. Until then, the Doicheun Empire, pressured by the combined fleets of Magnia and Moria approaching from the east, had focused solely on coastal defense—but now it began quietly sending forces into the northern seas.

With this shift, a proper naval battle erupted after a long time, and the outcome revealed was Noma’s defeat. After losing many ships, the Noma fleet fled north in a panic, and amid this, the Doicheun navy’s momentum began to revive.

The Doicheun navy had always been strong, but under pressure from both the eastern and western fronts of the continent, it had been forced into a defensive posture. Now that its momentum had returned, Doicheun began to think it was possible to turn the tide.

While maintaining that defensive stance, they had rushed to produce additional warships in their shipyards. With their strength partially recovered, they resolved to fight a decisive battle at sea once more. In fact, even without the Kraken incident, they had already been drafting plans to attack.

Just as the once-quiet sea was about to turn noisy under Doicheun’s resurgent naval power, another piece of news struck the world. The Kraken had appeared—not in the deep sea, but along a coastal shoreline on land.

One western village in the Noma Empire had been devastated. The number of dead alone exceeded two hundred. Some voices argued that they could not afford to keep fighting among themselves, but with naval battles already ignited, no one could stop.

As a result, innocent civilians were left trembling in fear. Especially for those living along the coast, many found themselves constantly staring toward the sea, never knowing when the Kraken might appear.

It created crushing mental exhaustion. With nerves stretched thin, conflicts increased, and complaints frequently began turning toward the Noma imperial family. Under these circumstances, the Noma imperial household could not help but feel cornered.

They had to confront the Doicheun fleets pushing north with renewed force, while at the same time the Kraken rampaged, requiring another fleet to suppress it. Yet with naval battles underway, pulling out a major force like an entire fleet was not feasible.

This was what it meant to be blocked on all sides. And while they hesitated, another coastal village was being attacked at that very moment.

A small village somewhere along the western coast of the Noma Empire.

“Kyaaa—!”

“Run—!”

“It’s the Kraken!”

“Uaaa!”

A massive shadow formed over the village. Terror settled onto the faces of those looking up, and with screams, they scattered in all directions. Toward the village, a thick pillar-like limb came rushing in. In an instant, a single leg swung down and struck as if splitting the village apart.

Kuuwoong—!

With a heavy booming reverberation, many buildings in the village were crushed. Even those who had taken shelter inside buildings met death instantly under the Kraken’s blow. And as if that attack were not the end, another leg smashed down into another part of the village.

Kukkung—!

Buildings collapsed, and people were pinned and died in agony. Security police who had deployed opened fire, but their bullets could not harm it at all and only served to provoke it further.

Kugagagagang—!

Unlike the first two strikes, this time the Kraken swung its leg sideways, and countless people were swept away. It was fair to say that most of the village was destroyed by this single attack. Having wrought such devastation, the Kraken let out a grotesque roar, as if it were a victory cry.

Kuweeeee—!

Bang!

Grrr!?

In the very moment it howled its triumph, it flinched at an impact striking its body. Turning its gaze, it saw people positioned a fair distance from the village, aiming a towed artillery gun.

Since there was always the threat of Doicheun troops landing, the Noma Empire had stationed small detachments along the coast. About fifty soldiers were present, along with a single towed gun.

The gun’s caliber was not enormous, but it carried enough destructive power to at least scratch the Kraken’s armor-like shell. With another booming bang, the shells flew in fast and struck its body.

Bang!

Hit again, the Kraken grew furious. But perhaps it realized it could not reach them. Instead, it smashed what remained nearby. As a sea creature, it could not stay on land for long.

From at least two kilometers away, shells kept slamming into its body, and in the end, the Kraken had no choice but to vanish into the sea as if being swallowed whole. What remained was only the sight of a small village reduced to ruins.

The Noma soldiers could only stare with blank, devastated faces. Just yesterday, they had gone to that village, received food supplies, and even chatted with people there—yet in a single day, an entire village had been erased.

This was quickly reported to the Noma imperial household. The emperor raged. Two villages had already been attacked and turned to wasteland. The emperor demanded a solution, and several proposals emerged.

One was to evacuate all coastal villages. The Kraken was a sea creature, and the belief was that it would not come deep inland. However, arguments arose that the economic damage caused by such an evacuation would be far too enormous.

In fact, emptying the coastline could cause more damage than losing villages to attacks. The Noma Empire obtained a significant portion of its food from fishing villages and coastal catches, so it could even threaten their food supply.

Another proposal was to deploy more troops and equipment across the coast. As shown by the recent incident, a towed gun alone could drive it off. Since they could not place such guns everywhere, voices argued for mass deployment of newly developed anti-tank rifles as well.

These large-caliber rifles, developed to pierce tank armor, had power strong enough to punch through thick steel plates. Since they used armor-piercing rounds, it was judged they could sufficiently damage the Kraken’s scales, making them suitable for areas where artillery could not be deployed.

Other proposals included sending reconnaissance ships and increasing patrols to detect it in advance, but those were dismissed on the grounds that they would only result in losing ships. For safe reconnaissance, many escort vessels would be required.

Since they were already fighting Doicheun’s naval forces and could not mobilize many ships, the Noma Empire ultimately chose to deploy some three hundred thousand troops, along with towed guns and anti-tank rifles, across the coastline.

As the calendar neared February, another Kraken attack was repelled with limited damage. The difference between preparedness and negligence was stark. People rejoiced—but when it came to actually exterminating the Kraken, there was still no progress at all.

In a way, the Kraken too was acting to suit the situation. If proper forces had moved, it would have been hunted long ago.

Deep beneath the sea, the enormous Kraken thought. The resistance of those tiny land-dwelling lifeforms had been far too fierce. As the results of several encounters showed, many freshly healed wounds were still visible across its scales. And so the Kraken reached a different conclusion.

This region was dangerous. So it should go south.

The Kraken began moving south, and what it encountered was a metal body roaming underwater—a submarine. It was the first time it had seen such a thing, and curiosity stirred.

Let’s touch it.

Thinking that, it approached and extended a leg.

Kkigigik—!

The gripped limb began crushing the metal body—the submarine—trying to crumple it. The rigid hull designed to withstand pressure was deforming. Inside, the crew could do nothing but scream.

“What’s happening?!”

“There aren’t reefs here?!”

“Did the depth gauge fail and we didn’t realize we went too deep?!”

“T-the hull is collapsing inward!”

“I-I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!”

They had no idea what was happening outside. Panicked, they could only tremble in fear, screaming and shouting. Soon the pressure reached its limit, and the submarine—already badly crushed—was overtaken by a violent eruption.

Tuuwoong—!!

A sudden explosion. The torpedoes stored inside detonated all at once. Naturally, the Kraken was caught in that blast. As a pain-filled bellow shook the sea, the leg that had been torn off sank down toward the abyssal floor.

For the first time, having lost a body part, the Kraken felt searing pain and had no choice but to flee this place. Touching the submarine had left it with a grievous wound. As it continued moving, submarines occasionally appeared, but it passed them by without engaging.

As it kept heading south, it encountered a sea above where a fierce battle was underway. Hundreds of metal bodies—warships—filled the waters, and the Kraken was shocked. In the past, it had already been wounded badly by attacks from those things.

Shockwaves hammered the sea continuously, and depth charges fell as if searching for submarines, triggering massive explosions. For the Kraken, this place could only inspire fear.

Get out of here—now.

Reaching that decision, the Kraken moved through even deeper waters. It did not know it yet, but it had entered the maritime domain of the Doicheun Empire, and it was continuing south at increasing speed.

It intended to find a safer place, rest, and decide its next course. Submarines appeared again during its descent, but it deliberately avoided them and continued.

In the end, in warmer waters, the Kraken arrived in the maritime territory of the Polia Kingdom. It judged the area to be quiet. And it began to calm down.

But once it found that calm, rage rose up instead.

Why did it have to run like this? It was a predator. It should not fear such tiny creatures.

As that thought took hold, its mind filled with a hostile, furious anger. Its body cut through the sea, seeking targets to kill and destroy.

It found one: a small ship on the surface.

The moment it extended a limb, the vessel split into two and sank.

A fishing boat, operating as usual, was struck by the Kraken’s attack. Satisfied, the Kraken thought this was its true self, moved again, and repeated several more attacks—until it sensed dozens of metal bodies—a fleet—approaching.

In the past, it would have attacked without hesitation. But it immediately turned and fled. Even in rage, it intended to vent its anger while choosing its opponents. And so, escaping, it headed farther south.

At last, it sensed land ahead. And then it sensed something else—an enormous cluster of life. Many metal bodies—merchant ships—were headed there, and the Kraken decided it should go elsewhere.

But at that moment, an aircraft spotted the Kraken’s shadow. A reconnaissance plane, scanning the surroundings, found it. The report was relayed immediately by radio, and in Pullea, the capital of the Polia Kingdom, emergency sirens began blaring loudly.

And then, as if encircling the capital, the massive single-barreled guns positioned in concrete-covered fortresses on the surrounding small islands began rotating in unison. Their barrels were longer and their caliber far larger than the guns installed during the war against the Doicheun Empire.

The moment the reconnaissance plane confirmed the position, the batteries finished loading—and for the first time in a long while, the guns roared in a unified volley. They were 400mm cannons, and more than a dozen shells arced through the air.

After flying at least ten kilometers, the shells fell like hammerblows onto the target coordinates. In an instant, gigantic plumes of water erupted across the surrounding sea. The reconnaissance pilot watched and relayed the situation by radio.

“No hits yet! Fire again—target coordinates are…”

Before long, another volley slammed into the sea. And amid that barrage, the massive Kraken burst up from the ocean as if startled.

The pilot’s voice brightened with excitement.

“Hit!”