Human Tentacles

A vision of the attacking creatures reaches Schierke by thought transference, and she resolves to rejoin the others at once. Isma volunteers to guide her along a faster route back to the village. Down below, Guts fells a cluster of the monsters with one stroke, Serpico shreds them using his sylphs, Farnese ensnares them with her thorn snakes, and even Roderick joins the fray. The dense swarm signals that larger specimens are near, and two soon burst from the houses.

Serpico discovers his sylphs can barely wound the enormous forms because of their bulk. When one charges his way, he sidesteps, leaving Guts directly in its path. Guts drops to a knee and plants the Dragon Slayer edge outward, letting the beast's own momentum drive it onto the blade and cleave itself apart. He stands untouched, but still more of the giants pour from the buildings. As the party braces for another surge, the Beast of Darkness whispers, urging Guts to unleash its power.

Climbing toward the settlement with Isidro and Isma, Schierke catches a fresh mental picture of the odds Guts faces and warns her companions to move faster. Isma spots something scaling the island's cliff: the Captain Sharkrider. Guts fights on, pairing his sword with his arm cannon, yet the endless waves block any retreat to the Seahorse and the covering fire of its guns. Magnifico proposes Guts tap the armor's full strength, but Farnese rebukes him, noting the armor wounds Guts and that Schierke is not present to pull him back from the rage. Then every eye turns to a ship somehow dragging itself over dry land in their direction.

Schierke receives a telepathic warning of the assault and starts back toward the village by Isma's shortcut. Guts braces the Dragon Slayer so a charging giant monster splits itself in two. The Beast of Darkness begins tempting Guts as fresh waves cut off the party's escape to the Seahorse. Isma sights the Captain Sharkrider climbing the cliff, and the battle closes with the pirate vessel crawling impossibly across the land.

This installment belongs to the Fantasia Arc and runs twenty-three pages. It first appeared in Young Animal issue 14, published on July 9, 2010. The chapter opens the extended clash against the Sea God's tentacle forces around Isma's home.