Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband novel Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Guardian of the Old Dynasty.

"You cannot be serious," Caspian hissed, his hand tightening around the hilt of his black crystal sword. "Primrose, that is a Kraken. It eats whales. It sinks dreadnoughts. It does not want a check-up."

Primrose ignored him, swimming steadily toward the colossal wall of tentacles. "Look at the way it’s listing to the left, Neighbor. And the ink discharge is sporadic, not defensive. It’s stressed."

"It is a monster!"

"It’s a patient," she corrected. She reached into her dimensional storage bag—the one usually reserved for emergency snacks—and pulled out a massive slab of dried Shadow-Tuna jerky.

She waved the meat in the water. The scent drifted toward the beast.

The Kraken froze. Its giant yellow eye, the size of a carriage, swiveled down to look at the tiny, floating fox-girl. The vertical pupil dilated.

"Hi there," Primrose spoke softly, her voice projected by the water magic. "Does it hurt? Is it a big ’ouch’?"

The Kraken let out a low, pathetic gurgle that vibrated through Primrose’s ribcage. A massive tentacle, thick as a tree trunk and covered in suction cups the size of dinner plates, slowly uncoiled and drifted toward her.

Caspian surged forward, ready to intercept, but Primrose held up a hand. "Stay back. You’re radiating ’Aggressive King’ energy. You’re scaring him."

"I am supposed to be scary!" Caspian argued, though he stopped moving. "I am the Terror of the Seven Seas!"

"Well, right now, I need you to be the Nurse," Primrose said. She turned back to the monster. "Okay, big guy. I’m going to come closer. No eating the dentist, alright? That’s bad for your insurance."

She tossed the Shadow-Tuna. A smaller tentacle snatched it from the water with lightning speed and shoved it into the beak. The Kraken chewed gingerly on one side of its mouth, wincing.

"See?" Primrose whispered, swimming closer until she was hovering right in front of the deadly beak. "He can only chew on the left. It’s a right-side molar issue."

She peered into the abyss of the creature’s maw. It smelled like ancient brine and rotting fish.

"Oh, wow," Primrose grimaced. "That is... yeah, that’s nasty."

"Report," Caspian demanded, hovering ten feet back, sword still drawn but lowered slightly.

"It’s not a toothache," Primrose called back. "It’s a foreign object. There’s a rusted harpoon tip lodged in the gum line, right between the beak plates. It’s infected. The poor thing has been swimming around with a spear in its mouth for who knows how long."

The Kraken groaned, a sound of pure misery.

Primrose patted the massive beak. "I know, I know. It sucks. But Dr. Primrose is here." She turned to Caspian. "I can’t pull it out alone. It’s wedged in deep, and the infection has swollen the tissue around it. I need leverage."

Caspian stared at her. He looked at the monstrous beak that could snap him in half. He looked at the determined, tail-less fox floating in front of it.

He sighed, sheathing his sword. "You are the most reckless creature I have ever met."

"Flattery later. Surgery now," Primrose ordered. "I need you to use your magic. Construct a brace to keep his mouth open so he doesn’t accidentally chomp us when I yank it. Then, I need your strength to help me pull."

Caspian floated down beside her. He looked the Kraken in the eye. "If you bite her," Caspian warned the monster in a low, deadly voice, "I will turn you into calamari rings for the entire kingdom."

The Kraken blinked slowly, seemingly understanding the threat. It opened its beak wide.

"Okay, holding structure... deploy," Caspian muttered.

He raised his hand. Teal mana swirled from his fingertips, but this wasn’t fluid water magic. It crystallized into glowing, geometric pillars of hard light. Complex runes spun within the pillars, reinforcing the structure like magical rebar.

"Mouth is secured," Caspian said, his brow furrowed with concentration. "Do it quickly. The smell is atrocious."

Primrose swam inside the mouth. It was slippery, dark, and terrified her on a primal level, but she pushed the fear down. She found the harpoon. It was an ancient piece of jagged iron, corroded and nasty, buried deep in the soft grey flesh.

"Okay," Primrose planted her feet against the beak ridge. She grabbed the end of the harpoon with both hands. "On three, Caspian! You grab the shaft, I’ll guide the angle so it doesn’t tear more skin."

Caspian moved in beside her. His large hands clamped over hers on the metal.

"One," Primrose counted.

The Kraken whimpered, its tentacles thrashing the water outside, kicking up clouds of sand.

"Two."

Caspian braced his shoulder against the beak, his muscles coiling under his armor.

"THREE! PULL!"

They pulled. The suction was immense. The flesh held onto the metal with a sickening squelch.

"It’s stuck!" Primrose grunted, slipping on the slime.

"No," Caspian snarled, his eyes glowing. "It is moving."

He didn’t just pull with his arms; he pulled with the water. He manipulated the current around them, creating a vacuum force to assist.

SCHLUCK.

With a sound like a giant boot being pulled out of mud, the harpoon tip flew free. A geyser of black, foul-smelling ichor erupted from the wound.

"Gross! Gross! Gross!" Primrose screamed, paddling backward frantically to avoid the splash zone.

Caspian, who was holding the harpoon, wasn’t so lucky. He got sprayed right in the chest armor.

"Ugh," He gagged, dropping the rusted metal. "I am going to burn this armor."

Outside, the Kraken let out a shriek—not of pain, but of sheer, unadulterated relief. It thrashed its tentacles joyfully, creating a current that tumbled Primrose and Caspian over and over like socks in a washing machine.

When the water settled, the Kraken was looking at them with a completely different expression. The yellow eyes were soft. It reached out with a smaller, more delicate tentacle.

"Careful," Caspian warned, wiping slime off his face.

The tentacle gently tapped Primrose on the head. Then, it tapped Caspian.

"I think he’s saying thank you," Primrose laughed, wiping the water from her eyes. She reached into her bag and pulled out a large jar of healing salve she used for the Cubs’ scraped knees. "Here. Rub this on the gums. It’ll taste like mint."

She tossed the jar into the creature’s mouth. The Kraken swallowed it happily.

Slowly, heavily, the Guardian of the Ruins shifted. It moved its massive bulk to the side, revealing a dark, towering archway that had been hidden behind its body.

The path to the Old Palace was open.

"After you, Doctor," Caspian gestured, though he kept close to her side.

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