The Seongun Guild was an exploration-type guild primarily active around coastal and underwater dungeons.
Rather than engaging in direct combat, they undertook requests from the government or the Hunter Association to explore uncharted dungeons—mostly underwater—gathering information, researching dungeon ecosystems, or uncovering useful resources.
However, that was merely the surface reality.
In truth, their activities were known only to the leadership of the Seongun Guild.
Or rather, there was no need for anyone else to know.
The Seongun Guild merely performed tasks in exchange for requests and provided equipment.
“Guild Master!”
“What is it?”
Ma Seongun, the master of the Seongun Guild, lightly nodded at the report from a guild member who was checking the radar.
His face clearly showed annoyance, suggesting he didn’t even want to hear the report, but his eyes soon lit up with the guild member’s next words.
“I just confirmed that the barrier of the Deep Sea Palace has weakened!”
“What?”
The Deep Sea Palace was the name of a gigantic underwater dungeon located in the Southern Sea, which was entirely unknown to other hunters and civilians.
There was a reason why this information had been kept under wraps.
The South Korean government had actively suppressed information about this dungeon.
When the government takes charge of information control regarding a dungeon, it’s usually for one of two reasons: either the dungeon is absurdly dangerous to humanity, or it harbors treasures that should not be disclosed.
And the Seongun Guild was the exclusive guild responsible for the Deep Sea Palace, which should not be known to the public, under direct requests from the South Korean government.
“Did it weaken? What’s the Anti-Mana Reading?”
“AMP is at 120.”
“What was it usually?”
“The minimum is about 300.”
Ma Seongun grimaced at those words.
Even though it had dropped, the figure was still ridiculous.
It made sense; the Anti-Mana reading denied access to living beings.
For a human to attempt to pass through a gate normally, the Anti-Mana level had to be below 10, and any place with an Anti-Mana level above 30 was deemed impossible to pass through, leading to exploration bans.
In such places, the principle was to initiate exploration using robots or machinery, not sending in hunters or humans.
Of course, it was an opportunity that the barrier, which usually had an average reading of 300, had dropped to 130.
‘But it shouldn’t be the time for the Deep Sea Palace’s barrier to weaken… What caused it to weaken like that?’
Even if the Anti-Mana reading had dropped, it still meant no civilian exploration could be conducted, let alone hunters.
In the past, multiple explorations and invasions had been attempted when the barrier’s readings weakened, but due to the presence of unidentified S-grade monsters dwelling within, each attempt had failed repeatedly, and unfavorable rumors spread, making it a place no one dared to go.
As long as they didn’t go inside, there would be no danger leaking out, so over time, the hunters had forgotten about the existence of the Deep Sea Palace, which became an abandoned dungeon.
Yet, humanity’s greed knew no bounds.
If humans couldn’t be sent in, then machines were used. If machines couldn’t, poison was applied. If that too was impossible, enslaved monsters were pushed in.
As a result, the government discovered that the Deep Sea Palace housed highly efficient strategic resources from the hunter era, like the Simhaeui Kkot and numerous treasures, leading to ruthless resource extraction.
Consequently, it had now turned into a deadly sea, filled with extreme poison from monsters’ corpses and toxic gases, making human entry deemed impossible, leading to the conclusion that access to the Deep Sea Palace would be difficult.
However, humans always found ways.
“Deploy ‘anchors’ immediately.”
“How many should we deploy?”
“The government sent a huge quantity this time. Activate optical camouflage to avoid drawing attention and deploy them all.”
“Yes! Understood!”
The guild member’s face brightened at Ma Seongun’s words.
The day anchors were used would likely yield significant results.
Of course, the sweet fruits pulled up by the anchors would primarily be for Guild Master Ma Seongun and his trading partners, but if all the anchors were used, it meant there would be plenty of crumbs falling to himself as well.
“Oh, and let San Guild know we’ve started operations.”
The more traders, the better.
○○○○○
– Oh, what is this, a fight??
– Don’t kill the Mermaid Noona…
– Hey, you crazy guys, there’s a monster out now, and you say don’t kill it because it looks pretty??
– What if the Streamer gets hurt or killed, lol.
– Yeah, go watch the Gallery Master S-grade monster 5-second cut video.
– LOL, Centipede Dragon, LOL
Shia glanced over to the Hunter Assistant Drone, busily analyzing circuits beyond the chat window.
– Wow! Mermaid Noonaaaaaaa
– Pull yourself together
– Heeung
– Look at those mesmerized idiots already
– Don’t be fooled! That thing is a monster! LOL
– But isn’t it pretty dangerous if just her voice on the broadcast can cause enchantment?
While the viewers heatedly discussed the newly appeared Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess in the chat, Shia maintained the broadcast connection and closed the chat window hologram.
Though she would keep the broadcast going, it was time to focus on her role as the Saint who had been asked for help.
“You, how did you even get here?”
Immediately upon spotting Shia, the Mermaid Princess sensed that she was not a mermaid.
From the perspective of the Mermaid Princess, Shia, an intruder in the deep sea, was a disturbing presence.
Regardless of whether she was human or not, no being could naturally enter this deep sea.
This place was an isolated world that no human could intrude upon.
It was the Mermaid Princess who made it so, and since then, the only ways something from outside could enter this deep sea were either through a lifeless body or inanimate objects swept along by currents that flow through gates or by forcibly drilling a dimensional hole to invade.
Of course, though Shia had come here in response to someone’s desire and invitation, it shouldn’t have been too difficult for the Exiled Saint of the Dead to enter the Deep Sea Palace.
However, from the Mermaid Princess’s perspective, Shia looked just like a living being, making it seem as though she had intentionally broken through the gate that the Mermaid Princess had closed off.
While Shia seemed perfectly disguised as a mermaid, the Mermaid Princess instinctively knew she was not one.
Though Shia might have used special abilities to perfectly mimic a mermaid, the Mermaid Princess’s long years trapped within this deep sea taught her well.
Moreover, the mermaids here lived on crystal corals and red seaweed, which made it even odder that something resembling Shia smelled of land meat.
It would be similar to a non-smoker detecting the faint scent of smoke on a smoker’s body.
Or rather, just being an external being was enough for the Mermaid Princess to know what needed to be done.
“Leave.”
To chase away the intruder.
“This sea does not welcome you.”
“Why?”
“Is that something you should be asking?”
If Shia had quietly adhered to the guest-repelling spell, this would have been a simple issue, but as expected, humans shouldn’t be speaking.
“Uu…!”
“Pwoo~!”
“Unnie, hee…heehee!”
“After…Unnie…”
“Unnie, Unnie…”
Yet as the Mermaid Princess did not hide her hostility toward Shia, the mermaids who had received salmon from her clung to Shia as if trying to protect her.
Shia had shared salmon with them and made close contact, so a perception developed that she was a kind kindred spirit, having harmed them none.
Of course, the jellyfish hat she wore was peculiar, but aside from that, she looked enough like their kind to match their “Unnie,” the Mermaid Princess, and charmingly spoke like her, which surely made it feel to the mermaid children like a new “Unnie” had come into being.
She is a good person.
She is okay.
She is a mermaid like us, Unnie.
Don’t hurt her.
However, despite the pleas from the mermaid children, the Mermaid Princess did not ease her wariness towards Shia; on the contrary, she escalated her hostility.
“All of you, go back. Get away from that being.”
“I don’t wanna…”
“Wuuuu…”
“Unnie…Unnie…”
“Hee…”
“Do you not hear my words?!”
“Kyaa…!”
“Yikes!?”
Eventually, unable to hold back any longer, the Princess’s shout startled the mermaid children into stopping.
“Wu….Wuuuu….”
“……”
Soon one child with a sobbing expression caused a fleeting look of regret to wash over the Mermaid Princess’s face.
“Let me say this again. All of you go back.”
Yet even so, she lightly shrugged off the hands of the mermaid children holding onto her arms, shoulders, and waist.
“Huuaaa…!”
“Owaaa!”
“Wuuu..!”
“Oooh….Wuuu…”
In the end, some children began to cry, retreating deeper into the sea or hiding among the rocky outcrops.
Despite the background of many children’s sobs, the Mermaid Princess continued to glare at Shia, who met her gaze silently, shrugging her shoulders.
From the Mermaid Princess’s perspective, having once let out somewhat forced statements and imposing words, maintaining that attitude was essential.
Shia had come to this deep sea as a Saint, but from the Mermaid Princess’s viewpoint, she was merely an unfamiliar external being.
They didn’t know what intentions she might have, and she was an untrustworthy entity, driven by endless greed that eats away at them and sullies the sea, eternally cursing them.
That was how the Mermaid Princess viewed humans.
Shia didn’t seem to believe they could easily communicate and merely shrugged her shoulders.
“What a heavily protective guardian.”
“Shut up.”
Though Shia said that, she could understand the Jeokgeumbal Ineo.
The feelings emanating from her were no simple protective instinct or thinly veiled wariness towards humans.
It was a much deeper emotion, reminiscent of a deadly storm brewing.
To harbor such feelings, one wouldn’t just need ordinary resentment. Shia herself had experienced and witnessed such intensity many times.
After all, the experiences in her previous world were hardly few…
And sensing that the Mermaid Princess felt Shia wasn’t leaving quietly, she clenched her hands.
“Countless intruders like you have come before.”
As the surrounding mermaids created a safe distance, the Mermaid Princess made a delicate gesture, and the once-still currents slowly began to move again.
But this wasn’t a natural current.
It was as if someone was controlling it, becoming irregular and splintering like glass.
Although it might sound strange to say the sea was splintering, the previously whole sea seemed to be cracking like a shattered window.
“You all say this: I’m harmless. I want to be friends. I wish to build a cooperative relationship. We are not bad… Yes, everyone said that at first.”
Yes, at one time, some really did believe it.
“But to believe something, trust is just too shallow.”
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess knew well.
Many humans had visited this sea, and once, humans had established deep relations with the merfolk.
However, the result was exactly what it is now.
Forever trapped in this deep sea, never to see the sun again.
Now no one could come to this deep sea, and those who thoughtlessly stepped here would become nutrients for the deep sea.
Shia watched the Jeokgeumbal Ineo, who was manipulating the currents like she was controlling her own body, and smiled softly.
‘Pretty strong.’
Shia didn’t possess the exact ability to gauge her opponent’s potential like Menelapie’s Golden Eye, but instinctively felt that the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess in front of her was formidable due to her many past battles against evil entities and monsters.
To what extent, she didn’t know.
‘Maybe I’ll find out if I hit her directly…’
She would be fine even if swept away by the current, but getting shoved deep into the depths and losing her way would be troublesome, so best to avoid unnecessary fights.
The power to manipulate currents might seem simple.
If this were land, it would merely be a power to control water.
However, here, in this deep, dark sea where even the surface was unseen, the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess held almost omnipotent and threatening power within this underwater dungeon.
No, she couldn’t carelessly conclude what her abilities were, whether it was the manipulation of the sea or currents or something entirely different.
Meanwhile, Shia saw that the Hunter Drone had finished analyzing the environment.
Earlier, when searching through the Hunter Wiki, she found that precise information about mermaids was either unavailable or an access denial due to permission issues, leaving her with nothing.
Still, the drone could analyze the mana density and proximity of the monster before her to give it an interim rank by seeing it directly.
Naturally, Shia had set the drone to Hunter Assistant mode from before the Mermaid Princess had arrived to ascertain dungeon information.
If she were to help, wouldn’t she need to know at least where this place was and what it was like?
‘Honestly, the salmon I ate… I did that to draw the mermaids’ interest.’
Shia’s sudden consumption of salmon wasn’t just out of hunger or to fill the broadcast; it was also intended to keep the mermaids around her while the drone analyzed the information.
According to the information the drone revealed, while the individual ranks of the mermaids varied from F to B, they were not seriously threatening.
‘The mermaids’ ranks ranged from F-grade to B-grade could vary greatly…’
However, that Jeokgeumbal Ineo.
The presumed ranking of the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was…
[Monster Name: ????????]
[Estimated Rank: S (minimum)]
An S-grade monster…
Indeed, the information about mermaids she had heard from Yeonhwa was drastically different.
She was told that the mermaid they encountered was communicable and merely an F-grade docile monster, yet here she was—a presumed S-grade based on minimum evaluations.
Shia still questioned whether she should be treating mermaids as monsters, but a sentient humanoid S-grade monster is considered an immediate danger that could summon a raid the moment it appears.
Moreover, the only other information that concerned Shia wasn’t that.
[Mana Density: Human life incompatible (minimum A-grade hunter)]
[Toxin: Multiple detections, currently being analyzed – Basilisk’s poison (manufactured by Cheongju Industrial Complex), Clisster Space Destruction Crystals (Korea Gate Cooperation Research Institute), confirmed 187 other virulent substances]
This sea, where mermaids lived, was filled with poison.
And the drone concluded that the source of that poison was the South Korean government and China.
“As a final warning, I’ll say this again: leave.”
Confirming the power gathered in the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess’s hand, Shia knew she wasn’t joking.
Yet no matter what the Hyung-An’s Princess said, Shia’s response was already decided.
With a slight smile and an upturned mouth, Shia answered.
“No.”
The Saint, who had come in response to a plea for help, couldn’t simply return empty-handed, right?
However, the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess seemed to take Shia’s words differently, and a dark liquid began seeping from the horrifying eyes hidden beneath her blindfold.
Sure, very well.
“I have warned you sufficiently.”
The voice of the Hyung-An’s Princess weighed heavily like a leaden shroud over the deep sea.
That voice held a command close to utter exclusion.
Suddenly, the Mermaid Princess’s hand tightened as if she were holding mirages.
Crack!
Crack-crunch!
As the sound of finger bones crunching echoed, Shia realized she was seizing the massive currents of the deep sea.
If she was grasping the currents of this gigantic deep-sea ocean, then undoubtedly, the power and physical force would be accumulating and concentrating in Hyung-An’s Princess’s grasp.
‘So it comes to this.’
The feelings of wariness, hatred, and fury emanating from the Mermaid Princess were leagues ahead of the childish spite she had sensed in the Elf Great Forest.
Even in that state, saying “I came to help as a Saint!” wouldn’t work, would it?
Ideally, solving this with words would be best, but if an outsider didn’t trust or believe, the answer would ultimately boil down to physical conflict.
Not wanting to be a pushover, Shia began to wiggle the jellyfish hat on her head, letting her tentacles dangle.
Alright.
Having committed sacrilege by turning into a mermaid, it was time to test how well the Exiled Saint of the Dead performed in battle.
And it was also quite a picture to imagine her ravishing the Mermaid Princess with her tentacles.
“I’ll ask you just one thing.”
“What is it?”
“What’s that rotting smell?”
“….!”
The face of the Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess quickly stiffened at Shia’s words.
On her dry, expressionless face, reading anything was difficult, but Shia didn’t mind.
“I’m good at smelling, you see; I can’t just chalk it up to an illusion or nightmare when my mind feels incredibly clear right now.”
“I got to eat tasty salmon, the tummy’s feeling good!”
“I’ll ask once more.”
Crackle-crackle!!
The jellyfish hat connected to Shia’s brain began writhing violently.
Her pure white tentacles absorbed the dark of the deep sea, taking on an ink-black hue, and they began to multiply.
Like a monster consuming the shadows of the dark sea, the tentacles grew more and more menacing while expanding around Shia as if grotesquely inflating.
“Are you the Demon King?”
“………..”
Despite Shia’s inquiry, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess offered no response.
