Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess had skills that could qualify her as a necromancer if we were to look at her job class.
She could control corpses and absorb the souls of the dead to strengthen herself or the corpses she commanded.
That was the basic functionality of a necromancer’s ability.
However, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was on an entirely different level as a necromancer.
The fact that the mana she possessed was so dense it could even be classified as an S-grade Monster by Shia’s drone was one reason for her strength, but the more fundamental reason was the maliciousness that flowed within her.
Originally, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess could only control one fish corpse she accidentally stumbled upon.
Yet, for a necromancer who dealt with deceit and souls, the overflowing hatred and malice within Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess created an incredibly powerful synergy.
A necromancer draws their strength from the corpses of the powerful, from high-ranking souls, and from the pain and screams of victims—Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess didn’t even need to supplement her deceit, as simply harboring malice and hatred and curses within herself automatically elevated her rank as a necromancer.
Instead of consuming her malice, she accumulated it in her body, and with time, her necromancer’s rank kept rising.
Before she knew it, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was brimming with so much malice that it overflowed from her eyes, granting her abilities strong enough to rattle Shia’s soul.
Of course, the first time Hyung-An’s Princess saw the Mangja Seongnyeo, who introduced herself as Shia, she felt an instinctual fear.
Necromancers can see souls.
The soul Shia possessed was absurdly enormous, and the overwhelming aura she gave off made Hyung-An’s Princess instinctively shrink back. But more than that, it was because she both feared and hated humans at the same time.
Not just for Hyung-An’s Princess, but in this dark and deep Deep Sea Palace, there were still horrific and vivid scars left by humans in the past. Being an outsider, she could never welcome Shia into the Deep Sea Palace, no matter the reason.
From the start, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess fully understood just how strong and nightmarish the ‘Awakened Ones’ that came here were.
As expected, Shia was indeed a formidable opponent for Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
[Miracle – Fracture of the Holy Body]
BOOM!!!
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess twisted her creaking body, utilizing her malicious energy to witness the vast miracle that obliterated all her corpses at once.
Including the corpse of the white-eyed sea spider, she blew up thousands of sea creature corpses in one go, so there was no way she thought of her opponent as easy.
With the thought that the fight wouldn’t get any easier, Hyung-An’s Princess cast the [Soul Recovery] spell to retrieve the souls and energies trying to escape from the crushed corpses.
It was a simple spell.
One of the most basic spells of a necromancer, it allowed the caster to recover the souls and energies of all corpses and dead beings nearby.
Of course, since Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess had a high rank as a necromancer, her casting range and speed were incredibly fast, but at least this wasn’t an attack spell.
“Hah, haah… Ugh…!?”
‘What is this?’
Why is the living outsider getting hurt from my [Soul Absorption]?
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess raised an eyebrow, looking at Shia, who was affected by her [Soul Absorption].
Soul absorption is meant to suck the souls of the dead.
And the number of souls of the deceased gathered in her hands was far more than she had anticipated.
As if it were extracted from that outsider.
‘Did I absorb a soul from a living person? That doesn’t make sense…’
To touch the soul of a living person, one would have to create a lethal wound by embedding their hand into their head or heart, yet Shia, from such a distance, seemed to be wobbling as if severely wounded by the widespread spell. Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess narrowed her eyes.
“Ah, Noooooo… Don’t take it… Ugh..!”
At first, it was only a strange thought.
It must be an illusion.
An outsider wouldn’t be able to adapt to this sea, so of course, they wouldn’t be in peak condition.
Or maybe there was some reason she didn’t know.
She thought nothing of it.
However, when Shia regained her composure and began fighting back against the many corpses, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess realized the anomaly.
Ever since using [Soul Absorption], that outsider could no longer use the vast miracles she had in the beginning.
While it would indeed be odd to repeatedly cast such destructive miracles, if she could use that level of miracle, she could also use smaller supporting miracles or skills to help in the fight.
Yet, Shia was solely relying on her bare hands to break through the army of the dead.
THUD!
FLAP!
CRACK!
But her movements were nimble and tremendous.
When Shia smashed the tentacle of a kraken over thirty meters long with her bare hands, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was horrified, thinking what kind of monster strength that was. It wasn’t just Shia’s punches or body slams; even the grotesque tentacles resembling the jellyfish on her head had an incredibly destructive force to them.
With a light wave, the tentacles pierced through dozens of corpses, crushing bones and even devouring the corpses to prevent them from regenerating, making Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess easily predict that if she allowed that outsider to get closer, she would be crushed to pieces.
However, so far, the battle was clearly more advantageous for Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
She hadn’t exerted herself at all. She was merely controlling numerous corpses to attack while also gathering souls for her [Soul Absorption] spell in more concentrated doses to strengthen her army of corpses.
In contrast, Shia was visibly accumulating more injuries as time went on.
Her once-large fin that resembled a cloak had been torn apart by the spines and jaws of the corpses, and her once flawless skin now bore countless bite marks as if she had been assaulted.
SLAP!
CRUSH!
“This just never ends…!”
Yet, strangely, the atmosphere felt like it was tightening around Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
Despite Shia being so noticeably shredded and bitten, the spectacle of her continuing to crush the corpses with her bare hands seemed terrifying in itself.
The monster she commanded was herself; oddly enough, the outsider felt more monstrous.
Thus, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess once again utilized the [Soul Absorption] spell.
[Soul Absorption]
“Hah!? …”
[Soul Absorption]
“Hah… Hah, Huh… Aah… Ha….”
Every time she cast the spell, Shia’s movements noticeably slowed, and that brief moment of hesitation caused her to receive attacks she could have dodged.
Dozens of sea serpent corpses simultaneously bound and gnawed at Shia’s arms and legs, injecting poison while dragging her deeper into the dark abyss of the deep sea.
No matter how perfect a mermaid she seemed, venturing any deeper into the deep sea would surpass the limits of survivability for any living being.
“Hah… Ah…… Ah….”
‘It’s over.’
Eat.
As Shia closed her eyes, succumbing to the physical injuries, pain, and exhaustion, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess commanded her corpses to deliver a final blow. As she gave the order, the countless corpses that had surrounded her suddenly lunged toward Shia with open mouths.
With the [Soul Absorption] spell empowering them, the army of corpses possessed a physicality that surpassed her usual command.
If they all struck at once, the outsider couldn’t withstand it.
Even if they were obliterated to nothing, they could reassemble and continue attacking Shia, meaning the army of corpses would practically remain intact. There was no way that the outsider, who had been weakened by the [Soul Absorption], could deal with such a massive onslaught.
HAHHHHHHHH…
Yet, the moment Shia’s eyes, which had seemed closed, reopened,
‘Black eyes…?’
Just a moment ago, the outsider’s eyes had radiated an incredible golden hue, reminiscent of sunlight not seen for ages. But now, after closing and reopening her eyes, Shia’s pupils became overwhelmingly dark.
Darker than the abyss itself.
GRRRRROOOOONNNN!!!!
In the moment her tentacles, which had been clinging parasitically to Shia’s head, expanded into hundreds of tendrils, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess couldn’t think of a single thing.
Neither could the viewers watching through Shia’s stealth-mode drone, oblivious to how terrifying what was coming next would be.
Whether Shia had lost consciousness or fell asleep, or if her fury and pain had driven her mad, something was prepared to take her place in that instant.
And what that something would be was something even Menelapie couldn’t fathom.
GRAWWWWRRR…..
From Shia’s perspective, it was merely a brief moment of sleep.
Like a study-crazed student, an office worker drowning in overwork, or a graduate student trapped in a lab, exhaustion took hold, and without even realizing it, she drifted into a fleeting slumber.
But that gap was more than enough for what would take her place.
With her mouth like a sleeping person, Shia let out soft snores.
Yet, it didn’t last long.
As if a sleeping person had slowly closed their mouth, it turned upwards from the left side to form an arc.
Before long, it had become a complete crescent moon.
[Hehe.]
“………!!!”
The moment that crescent fully formed, no more sounds of Shia’s sleepy snores could be heard.
Her doll-like pitch-black eyes stirred to life, rolling toward Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
The viewers enjoying the broadcast likely erupted into cheers at Shia’s abrupt transformation.
‘What’s happening…?’
But Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess, who was facing Shia in reality, felt overwhelming fear.
Whether it was drowned in the noise of the deep sea or Shia had stopped making any sound, she couldn’t tell.
What was certain was that the gentle atmosphere that Shia had just a moment ago had vanished entirely.
It was only then that Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess realized.
That outsider had been looking at her just a moment ago.
There was no intention to kill, no malice, nor any desire for vengeance.
It was only in that moment, seeing Shia expose her darkened eyes, that Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess realized she had touched something she shouldn’t have.
But it was already too late.
Even as those dark eyes opened, the corpses of sea spiders, anglerfish, kraken, and giant sea serpents were faithfully advancing toward Hyung-An’s command with gaping mouths.
And…
[Defilement – Beast’s Web]
CRACKKZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
“What…?”
All the corpses shattered.
Those that didn’t also broke apart, and the destruction grew more intense.
The cause was singular.
Tendrils overflowing from the jellyfish hat that the outsider wore opened countless mouths and eyes, while a multitude of tentacles spread like a virus, piercing through and obliterating everything.
“It was a blunder…”
It was but a single moment.
All the fights and time wasted were rendered meaningless as tendrils expanded thousands of meters within less than a second, obliterating or piercing everything that came into contact with them. The remaining corpses were ground to bits by hideous teeth, while Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess’s remaining undead were hunted down and consumed by the countless eyes that clung to the tentacles.
This was not a rational movement.
It could be considered pure instinct driven by insatiable gluttony.
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH!
CHOMP-CHOMP!
SMASH!
CRUNCH!
SLURP!
CHOMP!
CHOMP!
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH!
CRACK!
“……..”
A display of overwhelming violence that defied reason.
From afar, it would have appeared as if a giant flower bloomed in the deep sea.
Yet the tendrils, all possessing ghastly teeth, clattered as if still hungry, and the monster’s eyes looked around as if seeking new prey.
Soon enough, all the eyes recognized that their food was obliterated…
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH!
CRUNCH!
“……..”
All the gazes turned toward Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
As numerous eyes fixated on her, it was inevitable that Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess felt an overwhelming horror.
“A monster….”
To the princess, that outsider felt more monstrous than the sea monsters she had controlled.
That was beyond reason, beyond measure.
A totally unexpected entity.
CLICK?
CLICK!
CRUNCH!
And perhaps hearing the princess’s muttering, all the eyes momentarily rolled in the same direction.
The sight resembled that of an indistinguishable monster imitating a human, cocking its head in confusion.
GRRRRRR!!!
All the tentacles that had enveloped the deep sea then contracted in an impossible way at once.
As if something forced was being crammed into an ill-fitting box.
The tentacles that had expanded thousands of meters and wreaked destruction within less than a second collapsed back to their original size, and once the mistress of those tentacles realized there was no more obstruction, she charged straight toward Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
BOOM!!!
The immense physical force momentarily shifted the flow of the ocean, and countless bubbles erupted.
“Ugh, crass!?”
[Hehe… Hehe…]
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess couldn’t react to the speed of Shia’s attack, which her own perception couldn’t detect, as Shia’s hand gripped tightly around her throat.
Just as the corpses had done before, Shia grabbed the princess’s neck with both hands and began to pull her deeper into the dark and murky abyss.
“Cough, let go……. Cough…!”
[Heh, he… Hehehe…]
What seemed like a simple act of grabbing and dragging her merely involved exceeding force, while Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess began plunging down at an unimaginable speed—so fast that even she struggled to withstand it.
But Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was not one to submit easily.
She recalled how Shia had previously suffered a severe setback from her widespread spell.
Even now, she didn’t understand how a living being got injured from her soul absorption, but if it worked on her once, in this situation, it would potentially be an even more powerful and efficient spell than the crooked army of corpses.
CRACK!
[Hey…?]
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess desperately grabbed Shia’s head, which sank deeper into the depths of the sea.
[Soul Absorption!]
In close proximity, she cast the soul absorption spell while physically touching Shia’s head.
At this distance, she should have been able to draw out all the life energy of a living being when casting the soul absorption spell, and if Shia had already been affected by it from a distance, this time, the spell would surely be fatal.
‘Got it…!’
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess felt the overwhelming life force and some mysterious essence surge through her hand, and a smile crept across her face.
It worked.
It connected.
She could feel her physical abilities amplified beyond their normal limits due to the excessive soul influx.
With this degree of power, she could break free.
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess focused her strengthened power to shake off Shia, who was gripping her neck.
‘What is this? Why can’t I move…?’
Was her strength insufficient?
She didn’t budge at all.
In fact, she was being dragged even deeper into the abyss.
No matter how much of a mermaid she was, she wasn’t completely impervious to pressure.
Since the princess had never ventured deeper than her natural habitat, she couldn’t even guarantee what would happen to herself when pulled further down.
[Soul Absorption]
So she cast the spell once more.
More souls, more power surged within her.
Yet she couldn’t shake it off.
She clawed at Shia’s wrist with her nails, but despite her flailing, that monstrous outsider remained utterly unmoved, dragging her further into the darkness.
[Soul Absorption]
Why wasn’t it working?
[Soul Absorption]
Just this much… just this much…!
[Soul Absorption]
“Ugh… Ugh…!”
Why isn’t it… working!?
“Ugh! Ugh!”
She felt sick from the surging essence inside her.
Over-absorbing souls, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess coughed and desperately writhed, but Shia was still unfazed.
In the eternal descent, only then could the princess finally look directly at Shia.
“A……………..”
Those eyes were darker than the deep sea itself.
That once gentle atmosphere had vanished entirely…
Those were not the eyes of an ordinary human or outsider.
Not the gaze of the living or the dead.
Those were the eyes of something from beyond this world.
“‘From the ‘outside’…”
Those ominous eyes remained silent.
However, that cursed gaze seemed to say this to Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess:
‘Go ahead and suck me dry. Take everything.’
Ah…
‘You can’t handle it.’
I touched something I shouldn’t have.
[Hehe, hehe… Hehehehe…!]
Once again, just like in the past, foolishly…
I made another foolish mistake.
‘Unnie…..’
