Chapter 877
The entire surrounding sea surged as if boiling.
Ging Freecss raised his hand.
In the next moment, a gust of wind swept toward the giant octopus, scattering the heavy mist that had enveloped it. The creature's massive body was once again visible to everyone.
Ron's gaze focused on the octopus. Several of its tentacles had sustained significant damage—one was nearly severed completely. Blood poured from the wound and splashed onto the ocean surface, releasing bursts of black smoke. A large indentation had formed on its body as well, the flesh mangled and torn several meters deep.
Botobai's attack had inflicted severe damage. He was, after all, an S-class Nen user, and that strike had been prepared for over ten minutes.
Ron seemed to realize something and issued a command to Cell.
Cell immediately rushed toward the creature's wound and forced his way into the opening. With his body wedged inside, the octopus was left with no effective means to deal with him—unless it tore its own wound wider. But doing so would be too painful and would only worsen the injury.
Meanwhile, Ron and the others continued their pressure. The giant octopus had fallen into a completely passive position. If it didn't eliminate Cell, he would continue burrowing deeper into its body. And like with most organisms, the interior was far more vulnerable than the surface.
To get rid of Cell, the creature would have to injure itself even more severely.
A tentacle suddenly lashed toward its own wound, striking with brute force.
It seemed the octopus was trying to kill Cell through indirect impact—attacking itself to transfer the force inward, hoping to crush him.
But unfortunately for it, Cell wasn't that fragile.
The attack failed to affect him. Without even flinching, Cell tore off a chunk of surrounding flesh, shoved it into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed. It was digested instantly.
As he tore, he ate, and as he ate, he pressed deeper.
Ron had commanded him to follow the wound inward, all the way to the octopus's core.
"Well done, Ron," Ging remarked, seeing what Cell had accomplished.
Ron simply smiled, saying nothing.
Driven mad, the giant octopus could do nothing about Cell, so it redirected its fury toward Ron and the others.
Massive tentacles slammed down, flinging water like bullets or artillery shells, but none of the attacks had any real effect.
Cell kept going.
At last, his form reached the creature's core.
A massive heart beat steadily within.
Blood pumped in and surged out.
Without hesitation, Cell's tail morphed into a blade.
In the next instant—
Shrrrk!
A gash appeared across the heart's surface.
Blood erupted like a high-pressure jet, blasting outward.
The internal pressure was enormous—this was a creature of colossal size, after all.
The searing pain drove the octopus into a frenzy, howling in agony.
But Cell ignored it.
He continued attacking the heart.
One slash.
Then another.
And another.
Before long, the heart began to visibly deflate.
Cell opened his mouth and greedily drank the blood gushing out.
As the octopus's life force drained away, Cell's own aura steadily grew stronger.
Ron's eyes narrowed.
The loss of vitality was driving the octopus into desperation.
"What's your Nen beast doing?" Nasubi turned and asked.
"Probably destroying its heart," Ron replied with a shrug.
"Will it die?"
"No idea."
"Alright, everyone, spread out. Keep your distance."
The final outburst of a dying creature this large would be terrifying. The best option was to retreat and avoid giving the octopus any chance to strike back.
As for the threat it posed to the Black Whale?
That no longer mattered.
Even if it survived, the giant octopus was too wounded to care about the ship. It would go into hiding. And with such severe injuries, many predators would soon take an interest in it.
"Move!" someone shouted.
Boom!
The sea surged violently.
A nearby cruise ship was swallowed in an instant. When it resurfaced, it was already in pieces.
The octopus had gone berserk, launching indiscriminate attacks in every direction.
All nearby lifeforms were caught in the chaos—except Cell, who remained untouched.
That was the price the octopus paid for making the wrong decision.
If it had acted decisively when Cell first tried to burrow inside—struck with enough force, even at the cost of worsening its own wound—it might not have ended like this.
Even with the damage it took from Ging and the others, it could have still escaped by diving to the ocean floor.
Instead, it would die here.
In a way, its death was inevitable.
Its fighting style was too simple—too straightforward.
And its opponent wasn't just any human. These were elite Nen users from the Human World.
Worse yet, the octopus didn't seem to have much of a brain. It seemed like it only had the external appearance of an octopus but not its intelligence.
Suddenly, Cell's attention was drawn to something.
A strange black stone had emerged, carried along with the blood from the creature's heart.
Its shape was unusual.
Cell could feel it—an unexplainable pull, like the stone was resonating with him.
He quickly sent that information to Ron.
"An Ascension Relic?" Ron muttered. "And it just happens to suit Cell?"
His eyes lit up.
This was a windfall.
Ascension Relics were rare—and only one that matched a specific user's aura could allow an S-class Nen user to advance into Sequence 1.
And now, one had appeared before them—perfectly compatible with Cell.
If Cell absorbed it, he would become a Sequence-level user.
That would give Ron two Sequence users under his command.
With that, his advantage heading into the Dark Continent wouldn't just be a few steps ahead—it would be monumental. Two Sequence users meant more pressure on enemies, more viable targets they could challenge.
But at that moment—
A new shadow surged up from the ocean nearby.