The Duke's Passion

Chapter 852 Parasites

'The hell?' Claude dove deeper into the depths of the ocean. The deeper he goes, the darker it was. Diving wasn't easy, especially if there was this gigantic monster in it. The Kraken's tentacles would sometimes get in his way. If Claude was not swift enough, he would've been knocked out. Not that the Kraken knew Claude was underwater. It was just that each tentacle had a width that was wider than his size.

'Just how much deeper should I dive in to see what that cursed uncle is saying?' Claude let out a little bit of oxygen. 'If this keeps up, I have no choice but to go back to the surface.'

Claude might be a reliable earl and a powerful vampire. However, he was not a siren. Holding his breath longer than an average person was a skill he learned during his training with his army. Klaus had an intense training method; one of the tasks the soldiers needed to complete was to dip themselves underwater in the middle of the coldest time in winter. Even though Claude was an earl, he still had to do it. If his soldiers could survive such harsh training, Claude should also survive it like a don. In that case, he wouldn't lose his soldier's confidence. Klaus would train with him as well. 'He said strings on top of the Kraken's head...' Claude recalled Alphonse's words about his task. 'Strings, strings... damn it. I can't even see its head...'

There, among the algae stuck on the Kraken's head, were some dark red strings. It was camouflaged in the algae. If one wouldn't look properly, it wouldn't be spotted.

'So that's what he was saying,' thought Claude, observing the dark strings. 'They were like parasites, huh?'

The side of his mouth curled up into a smirk while his eyes shone a sense of pride. Claude didn't idle, flexing his right hand. His fingernails instantly turned sharp and a little long. Before jumping into the water, Claude removed anything that could add more weight to him. Alphonse said he simply needed to cut something. That was easy. 'What a dumb uncle,' he mocked internally, sneering. 'Why cut it when, obviously, you need to remove the root? Though I don't blame him.'

Claude carefully approached it, glancing at the small tentacle nearby. From a different perspective, these odd strings looked like it was connected to something. However, since Claude was on the other side of the Kraken. Thus, he could see the problem clearly. The Kraken was being devoured by these parasites. What were these? He didn't know. However, his gut feeling told him to help Stefan, Claude had to remove these parasites. So carefully, Claude reached for the first string. It was small, like a person's vein. He pinched it and froze, gazing down to see the Kraken's open eyes. The Kraken's eyes were shaking, searching for something. Claude swallowed the nervousness that jumped to his throat, clenching his teeth while he mustered his courage. His brows then rose when he felt an underwater wave approaching, and going along with its force, Claude pulled out the string without a second hesitation. ROARR!!!