Abyss scratched its head with its tentacles and floated towards the surface.
The sudden weight against the lifeboat caused it to tilt sideways as Na Lin screamed and scurried back. A-Min, who was sickly to begin with, fainted, while Li Shaoâs eyes bugged when they landed upon the semi-transparent, brightly-coloured slime⌠thing. It was tossed onto their boat by the sudden wave of water, and seeing as how it was gradually sliding off, half of its body was probably still submerged underwater.
The young man who possessed a water ability accidentally touched it and immediately fell to the side, convulsing violently as his mouth began to foam.
That was when An Li noticed the frightening stingers which covered the creatureâs thin tentacles.
âSea⌠sea monsters!!â
No one managed to keep a cool head, screaming at the top of their lungs. This was the last straw in their eventful, post-apocalyptic lives.
âCalm down, itâs just a jellyfish!â The captain hollered, desperately trying to calm the crowd down.
A mad glint glowed in An Liâs eyes as a ball of fire appeared out of thin air and slammed into the Lionâs Mane Jellyfishâs transparent exterior skin layer.
ăOwwwâă
An Li froze, and the fireball disappeared just as quickly as it had materialised. Where did that shrill scream come from?!
Nereus twitched hard from the pain, almost flipping its entire body around below the surface. It wasnât very heavyâ just some tens of kilogramsâ nor was it very strong since it couldnât pull anything forward, but it was, nonetheless, a sea monster. With such a status, its viciousness made tipping a boat a piece of cake.
Humph! Iâm gonna smash this, smash this to pieces!
âOh no! An-Jie!â
Na Lin lost her balance and was the first to fall overboard.
Panicked as she was, Na Lin released a jolt of her ability the moment she plummeted underwater. In a matter of seconds, Nereus slipped back into the water as its body twitched from the electricityâ much the same as poor Abyss, whoâd just floated up to the surface. A series of crackles sounded on the outer layer of its skin; the octopus couldnât tell if the prickling sensation was meant to make it feel good or ticklish. Its eight tentacles waved uncontrollably, shooting out from the waves.
âAhh!! Thereâs another one down there!â
âItâs the giant, blue octopus!!â
âHELP!!â
Almost no one, not even the ability wielders, could calm down when they encountered such horrifying monsters.
However, An Li was the odd one out. With a swift swish, she kicked Li Shao â who was so frightened that heâd dove over in an attempt to hug her legs â away. Over ten basketball-sized fireballs materialised and engulfed the octopusâ tentacles that were out of the water.
ăAhhâ that hurts!ă
Abyss didnât dare enjoy the prickling sensation of electrified water any longer and dove back into the ocean. It had to descend more than ten metres before all of the balls of fire were finally extinguished. Abyssâs round, black eyes gazed upon its reddening tentacles, shaking them back and forth because of the pain.
The waves continued to toss as the colour quickly drained from An Liâs faceâ a result of over-exhausting her ability, and her spiritual energy by extension.
Sheâd definitely heard another voice hollering and crying about.
âAn⌠An-Jie?â Na Lin asked as she clung to the side of the lifeboat for dear life, desperately trying to climb back aboard. âWho spoke j-just now?â
Li Shao dizzily pushed himself up and questioned idiotically, âHuh? Wasnât it you who just shouted?â
Below the surface, Nereusâs twitching tentacles gilded over the things that had fallen off when a corner of the boat was dunked into the sea.
Pft, bottles, thatâs Abyssâs lovey-doveys⌠Paper bags⌠and⌠this? THIS?!
Three headless, big-eyed emperor fish were cradled between the jellyfishâs many tentacles as they shakily poked at the corpses. Nereusâs infrasonic waves suddenly adopted a much lower hertz, which not only allowed it to travel further, but also resonate at the most harmful frequency. The captain immediately fell over, clutching his head in pain.
ăDamn you humans! You killed my babies!ă
The Lionâs Mane Jellyfish splashed out of the sea even though the sun had already set, and Nereus still lost about half of its size as water rushed out of its body. Moreover, it didnât have the strength to push itself any higher and could only roar with anger.
ăAbyss! Flip that boat over! My fishies⌠wuwuwuâă
ăIâm not going! My tentacles wuwuwuâă
As two bone-chilling voices bawled simultaneously, An Li had to use every ounce of her willpower to stand her ground. Besides her, Li Shao, and Na Lin, the only other person who was still upright was a pale-faced, middle-aged man with a wind-related ability. All the other ability wielders were moaning in pain, their hands clutching their heads. The physical and mental strengths of these people were tired and weak from the start; A-Min, especially, was on the brink of death because of the monstersâ overbearing âstrange capabilitiesâ.
It was at this moment that a distant, melodious song pierced through the bubbling chaos and echoing waves.
The whole world seemed to lull at its arrival.
âNo, noâŚâ
Insuperable fear struck An Li, forcing her toâ almost in a mad tranceâ pinch her fingers until crimson blood began to flow down her arm. The pain stimulated her senses and was just barely enough to let her escape that permeating sense of relaxation and comfort. She couldnât faint for she could tell that the creeping sensation of security was brought only by death.
ăOh crap, itâs Siren! Flee!ă
In her fuzzy mind, An Li heard the two voices hurriedly converse between each other. Thank the heavens for her unyielding determination allowing her to crack her eyelids open.
A beautiful patch of a light silvery colour on the ocean surface was what greeted her sight.
Is that�
Siren was also looking up at An Li with curiosity as it lifted its finned arm to brush its long, wet hair out of its eyes. Under the waning moon, the merman appeared indescribably bewitching. A light, airy song floated towards the serene moonlight; it brought an earnest invitation, welcoming people to walk into a vine-covered forest and lose themselves inside the bizarre wonderland.
A merman? Mythological creatures actually exist?
An Li swayed, about to fall over at any second. However, she was utterly shocked when she saw the man who rose up next to the merman.
Xia Yi? Itâs Xia Yi?!
Finally arriving above the surface, Xia Yi took a deep breath and viewed the four raft-like rubber lifeboats. He also heard the screams that had now turned into gradually-disappearing whimpers and saw Li Shao and An LiâŚ
These are the people who escaped from the Thalassa Goddess?
Xia Yi couldnât hear the song, but he could tell that something wasnât right. He turned towards Siren and noticed that those amethyst eyes, which looked misty underwater, were staring intently in An Liâs direction. The gaze was too sharp and focused to be pure curiosity, instead⌠Wait, didnât a cheetah, waiting to pounce on an antelope, possess that same kind of glint in its eyes?
âSiren!â
Although Xia Yi didnât release infrasonic waves, his pronunciation of the name was very accurate. No matter what kind of language he was using, no one would misunderstand.
Startled, Sirenâs song disappeared. The merman then, clearly at a loss, gazed back at Xia Yi.
A wave of bewilderment washed over Xia Yi after he called out the name.
What am I doing? Yes, saving people, thatâs right⌠because Li Shao and An Li are there, and I know them. But this is the apocalypse, and even without these sea monsters, they might die from a lack of food and fresh water. StillâŚ
As much as Xia Yi disliked living with a crowd, or having too deep of a relationship with anyone, he wasnât indifferent to the point where he could stay beside monsters that killed or ate other people!
An Li promptly regained her consciousness, followed by Li Shao and others. All of them stared at the merman and Xia Yi in disbelief.
ăYou called my name?ă
Siren inched closer to Xia Yi, unhesitantly curling its arm around his neck. The merman gently chuckled against Xia Yiâs ear.
The whole scene looked like Xia Yiâ screw himâ had suddenly won the lottery or something! Not only did he survive after jumping into the ocean, but he also encountered the supposedly non-existent mer⌠man? Most importantly, this merman was âcuddling Xia Yi tenderlyâ of its own accord. This had to be a hallucination due to their near-death experience, right?! None of this was making any scientific sense!
Li Shao rubbed his eyes again and again.
Na Linâs eyes were twitching as they flickered between Li Shao and Xia Yi. The only reason why she even knew such a nobody was because of how awful Li Shao was at his job. She couldnât understand what sort of singer or actorâ hell any artist in generalâ would want an assistant like that! And now?!
An Li shivered. Though the others hadnât noticed it, she realised that this merman was speaking in the same fashion as those sea monstersâ its voice wasnât audible by ear, instead sounding directly in her head.
Even though she was shaking with fear, she still fulfilled her duties as a friend. âXia Yi! Run! Thatâs a sea monster!!â
Siren half-tilted its head and glared at An Li. Despite not understanding her words, the womanâs anxious and terrified expression was⌠hmm⌠looking delicious. Yet somehow, its appetite had vanished and was replaced by an inexplicable anger.
ăShe knows you. She is worried about you, correct?ă
Xia Yi still wasnât used to the close contact and turned away subconsciously. This infuriated Siren even more; it pressed its entire body against Xia Yi and buried its head in the humanâs neck. Cold fingers caressed its treasureâs shoulder and back.
Water rolled off of Sirenâs pearly skin, and the hazy moonlight enhanced the mermanâs inhuman but enchanting charmâ Li Shao was almost drooling at the sight. In comparison, Xia Yi looked much worse. Technically, he had fine features, except there was no way he could fix his appearances throughout the past few days. His hair was a mess, there was stubble on his chin, and his clothing was deemed much worse than that of An Li and Li Shao because heâd been submerged underwater all this time.
ăYou know my name, but I do not know yours. That will not do. Tell me. I know you can understand me!ă
Siren was staring at the gawking people with an expression that resembled disgust.
How odd⌠for their brooding, fearful, and alarmed emotions should be appetising. Yet somehow, I do not wish to remain here any longer. Why do I desire to sink into the depths of the sea and take my human as far away from them as possible?
After a moment of silence, Xia Yi figured that nothing could come of him sharing his name and so he quietly said, âXia Yi.â
This pronunciation⌠that woman said it earlier.
Siren was unsuccessful at mimicking the strange syllables using infrasonic waves. Parting its colourless lips, the merman stared at Xia Yi and called, âShaye?â
This wasnât infrasonic waves. It was a literal voice with a harmonious tone. Normally, anyone listening to this voice would feel themselves floating above the clouds. Xia Yi, however, wasnât captivated. On the contrary, he was startled.
âSiren?â
So a merman could talk?
Xia Yiâs surprised reiteration clearly put the merman in an excellent mood. As if it had found precious gems, Siren refused to let go of its treasure and repeated the name again.
âSha Ye?â
ââŚItâs Xia Yi.â The poor human was quite confused, for he never knew that his name could be uttered in such a weird way.
âShayi?â
Itâs⌠fine. Xia Yi felt that it was too ridiculous to expect a merman to correctly pronounce a Chinese name.
Anyhow, the strange, bone-chilling energy that heâd sensed earlier had disappeared, meaning that Li Shao and An Li wouldnât inexplicably die in the stomachs of the sea monsters. That was good enough. As for going over like one would do in a typical setting and asking, âHow have you been since we parted ways? Whatâs happened to you guys? Why am I staying together with a bunch of non-humansâŚâ That was definitely not something Xia Yi would do.
The only thing he could think of doing right now was leaving as soon as possible.
That choice should be the safest one he could make for Li Shao and An Li; given his predicament, it was difficult for Xia Yi to empathise with othersâ situation, thus, the thought of whether Li Shaoâs group still had enough food or water didnât even cross his mind.
Without another word, Xia Yi turned and dove back into the sea. This time, Siren didnât have to carry him, rather, the merman swam next to him as they left the lifeboats behind them. Underwater, Sirenâs long, silver hair tickled Xia Yiâs shoulders and cheeks, and occasionally, his ankles would bush against the gently swaying tail.
Sirenâs temperature was very cool, so the human-like warmth that usually discomforted Xia Yi upon physical contact wasnât present.
ăShayi, come to Challenger Deep with me!ă
âWhere is Challenger Deep?â This was the second time that Xia Yi had heard this foreign name.
ăA really beautiful place.ăSiren only understood the repeated name in Xia Yiâs sentence, so it thought the human had agreed to its proposal. The merman happily nuzzled its treasureâs face with its cheek.
Suddenly, a tentacle covered in blue rings appeared out of nowhere and halted them in their path.
ăSiren?ăAbyss waved all eight of its tentacles angrily. ăHow could he go to Challenger Deep?! Thatâs our home!ă
ăAnd what objections do you have regarding my decision?ă
ăIâI⌠Hold up! He canât go to Challenger Deep! Heâll die on the way! The water pressure is too great there.ăAbyss looked up as it spoke. ăNone of us dare to bring our treasures there. My bottles⌠Nereusâs big-eyed emperor fishâŚă
Before the giant octopus finished its tirade, the Lionâs Mane Jellyfish threw itself over again. ăMy poor babies⌠theyâre dead⌠wuwuwu!ă
ăThose three fish of yours were killed by humans, so why are you coming to me?!ă
Siren and Xia Yi deadpanned as the jellyfish and octopus tackled each other again, rolling around in the water.
ăDidnât they become Sirenâs meal already? Who else can I find?! You! Itâs your fault! I told you to help me but you didnât! I⌠Iâm going to see what octopus tastes like today! Hmm⌠wait? Why do you smell so good?ă
ăâŚFuck!ă
Leave it up to Nereus to slap a sore spot⌠Couldnât it see that the octopusâ tentacle tip had already been seared to ârareâ? Oh wait⌠nevermind⌠Only box jellyfish had 12 pairs of eyes while all other jellyfish had none =___=
Surprise Mini Scene:
Nereus screaming at Abyss: Iâm going to knock your teeth out!
Abyss: I donât have teethâŚ
***
Abyss screaming at Nereus: Are you blind?! Humans were the ones who killed your fish!