Following the agreement from the girl,
The two adopted a strategy of attack and retreat, temporarily halting the fight, time and again.
The monster chased after them, but their ship was faster than the overweight creature. Multiple hours passed like this. The three beings were exhausted beyond belief; no one was left unhurt. Even many parts of the ship had been damaged on more than one occasion.
Even while resting on the ship to catch their breath in small intervals, they had many close calls. If not for Jaco's skillful maneuvering of the ship during critical emergencies, they very well might have died.
Finally, after numerous tries...
While Shen held off the squid as usual, Launch readied the finishing touch to end it once and for all. Although not completely immune, the squid had significantly adapted to the electricity. However, this time, maybe the situation was about to be slightly different... Frankly, a lot different...
[Now is the time, back off Shen, its body has weakened enough. I think I can use my technique on it...]
The man complied with the request.
Seeing him do as he was told, Launch also did her own part. [The Great Thunder Shock]
A stream of blue electricity zapped toward the squid. The creature got a non-lethal shock, but that wasn't the real purpose of the attack...
It became trapped—trapped in a magnetic field created by the electricity that was still continually being controlled by the girl's magic. Not able to move, its body had gone into a paralytic state.
However, the same was also true the other way around. Launch's movements had become severely limited due to this. At the moment, she couldn't freely use her arms as they were occupied, focusing on keeping the squid in place.
Understanding the situation, Shen, wasting no time, postured his hands to form the iconic triangular shape... It took time for him to charge up his power, during which Launch kept the squid at bay.
[Kikoo-hooooo!!!!]
Frozen in place, the creature received the full brunt of the Crane School's iconic technique. A massive shockwave rocked its entire being.
Shen had expended a large part of his ki for this, so the condition of the space monster could be imagined.
It was rather harrowing. With a large gash on its body, smoke radiated from its ghastly wound. The creature squirmed in agony,
Yet, contrastingly, the charred skin had already started healing, owing to its exceptional vitality that had allowed it to survive even planetary destructions before.
However, it wasn't without cost. The squid paid the price by depleting its own stamina and energy.
"Still not enough," Shen remarked. Not letting it recover more than it already had, the man, with his psychic power, hurled a number of nearby asteroids at great speed toward the squid...
The squid, too, wasn't going down without a fight. It counterattacked—a laser beam shot out from its head. Not able to fully dodge in time, the laser grazed Shen's shoulder.
Now, when the creature was more exhausted than ever, the perfect chance arrived for Launch to do her thing, and you can better believe she was capitalizing on the opportunity.
[This oversized seafood needs some freedom—freedom from the universe, that is,] she announced.
She again used the... [Great Thunder Shock], paralyzing the squid.
[The time has come to finish off this fight,] Shen said, adding, [The current scenario is perfect to test the technique I learned during my training at the Otherworld.]
[Kai-O-Ken!!, x2]
[Again! Kai-O-Ken!!, x4]
Shen's long hair stood like a fiery blaze. Blood-red aura leaked from his similarly reddish muscles as bulging veins became pronounced due to the increased blood pressure.
It was his first instance of utilizing the technique in a real battle situation. He had avoided using it, worried he might overexert himself, but now, if not at this moment, then when?
[Combined with a fourfold Kaioken, take this!... Kikoo-hooo!!!]
Same as last time, the squid took the full brunt of the amplified Tri-beam(kikoho). A large chunk of mass in the middle section of its body was incinerated.
[kichzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!]
Via telepathy, the squid's frustrated outburst of raw emotions directly transmitted to their heads, translating to a begrudging anger. It was afraid.
Before it could heal, Shen used Tri-beam twice more. At last, the squid was completely motionless.
The dead carcass of the monstrous creature, known as the Titanic Cattura, was not a pretty sight to look at. Shen and Launch felt rather mixed about it. Personally, it had never done them any harm. Perhaps it was even a waste to let such a creature disappear forever.
That being said, it was already pointless to have such thoughts. The hours-long arduous ordeal had come to a decisive end.
On their way back to the Galactic Patrol HQ, inside the control room of the ship...
"I thought it was all over. Hell, you two humans better be thankful! If not for the great Jaco-sama's super flying skills, just your barbaric powers would have been of no use." Jaco said in a hushed tone, his tongue having become more slippery because of the adrenaline he felt while continuously operating the ship in tense situations.
Even after a considerable time had passed since then, he hadn't returned to his normal, bearable level of yapping... If life went, then let it go—but antics shouldn't go—this saying fit him perfectly.
"Yeah, you did great. Thank you, Jaco," Shen strongly patted him on the back.
Smiling gleefully, Jaco was glad to be appreciated for his efforts. "Though, wish you would show appreciation a little more gently," Jaco said weakly, rubbing his back.
Yet it seemed his request had reached deaf ears, as Launch also joined in the fun. "Yeah, yeah, you are very great, Jaco." A repetitious barrage of pats landed on him. Individually, they weren't all that painful, but the culmination of all of them was a little too much to handle.
"Umm!! I would like it if you would stop patting my back! It hurts, seriously, it hurts a lot!"
Hearing this, the girl gave one final palm of appreciation, and only then ceased her actions. "~Phhpewww~" she started whistling, humming a tune.
"You did that intentionally, didn't you?" Jaco glared at her with eyes filled with suspicion.
"Whatever do you mean?" Replying innocently, she turned her attention elsewhere.
"Ahm!" She cleared her throat.
"Ahm! Ahm!" Again, she made the noise, this time twice, yet nobody reacted—not like what she intended.
Only after she cleared her throat three times did she succeed in bringing attention to herself.
"Are you cold? Not feeling well?" Shen asked, confused, even worried for her health. "The cold from outer space must have caught you."
"That's not it," she muttered.
"Not it? Then what?" Shen failed to understand what she sought.
"Hmph!!" Launch humphed, showcasing dissatisfaction. 'Where is my praise?, Didn't i also contribute?' the girl wondered to herself, jealousy emanating in the ship.
She looked at Shen with expecting eyes, but he was too focused on other intricacies to notice her inner expectations and displeasure.
However, before Launch could angrily storm out of the door...
"Thank you, Launch. We wouldn't have won this without your help," a soothing voice reached the girl from behind, stopping her in her tracks.
"Yeah, what he said," Jaco also halfheartedly added, not wanting to admit her contribution fully after what the girl had done to his poor back.
Rosy-cheeked, Launch softly called Shen an "Idiot!" and rushed to her private room. Her vision, was flowery for some reason.