Shia grabbed the Princess’s hand.
That hand felt like the gentle touch of a saint offering salvation, but at the same time, it felt like a tempting hand testing the younger mermaid.
“I hate… everything…”
It felt like dying from all the hatred crowding her heart.
“I hated my kin, myself, Cheon Danaa, and even humans… I hated them all…”
The Mermaid Princess couldn’t count how many times she wished she could die, feeling hate towards everything.
Ever since her younger sister lost her older sister, the curse and hatred consuming her body exploded once she faced Cheon Danaa again.
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess sharpened her inner blade.
Though she hadn’t seen sunlight for a long time, this intense temptation and light were foreign to her, as it had been such a long time.
Or was this really temptation?
Was there any reason to turn a blind eye to the enemy she should repay?
Was there even room for hesitation?
Cheon Danaa was the one who deceived her sister.
Her sister wasn’t just a loved one; she had cared for all their kin for so long.
The enemy before her, who shattered her ‘sister’ just like a true princess that protected the sea, was right in front of her.
Right, there was no need to hesitate.
The decision had already been made.
What was the reason for holding on to hatred and curses all these years?
Wasn’t it to meet the one to unleash that hatred?
Thank you.
I’m grateful.
And I’m sorry, Sacred Saint of the Dead.
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess connected her soul with Shia, holding hands.
[Soul Binding]
The Princess dominating Shia’s body was only possible because Shia allowed it, but at that moment, the saint’s noble soul fell into the clutches of the necromancer, filled with hatred and curses. The Sacred Saint lost control of her body in an instant.
Shia’s consciousness sank into a vague darkness, like falling into a deep sleep, replaced by the Princess’s raging hatred.
The soul, flowing in like water, consumed Shia’s body like a chilling presence, soon heating up with intense, fiery hatred, making her body creak as if boiling.
Ah, your darkness is so deep.
Your hatred is so cold.
Your anger is so hot.
You also lost something, didn’t you?
As they connected like one body, Shia began to understand her younger sister’s hatred, and the younger mermaid began to understand Shia, even if just a little.
“So, are we done?”
The younger mermaid quickly took control of the body with Shia’s agreement, but Cheon Danaa showed no sign of losing composure during that brief moment.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like it’s all over, so can we start now?”
Countless hands emanating from Cheon Danaa crackled with lightning, flames, ice, and telekinesis, making the air shimmer as if in a mirage.
That earlier skirmish now seemed like a game, distorting the surroundings with the bizarre and chaotic colors emerging from hands like flowers blooming, reminiscent of the Thousand-Handed Avalokiteshvara.
At the same time, the Abyssal Cave, which had the slightest air left, crumbled due to Cheon Danaa’s first attack, and high water pressure began flooding in. Yet, Cheon Danaa continuously replicated air and pressure so humans could operate even in the depths of the sea.
The eyes produced from her hands glared ominously at Shia and the younger mermaid.
Shia gazed at Cheon Danaa with unwavering eyes, making it hard to believe she had handed her body over to the Mermaid Princess.
In her eyes, there was no sign of being engaged in a battle.
Only Shia’s fin fluttered slightly, showing no intent to make the first move, while Cheon Danaa felt no need to take the initiative.
“Returnees often grow arrogant about their powers, only to be shattered.”
In reality, Cheon Danaa hadn’t neglected the mermaids due to lack of power but simply because she had many tasks to manage.
The reason Cheon Danaa sought the mermaids’ pearls was originally to apply the nearly immortal miracle they could produce to the Fragment of the Demon King.
Of course, the elders from the organization giving her orders were blinded by the idea of immortality, but they were satisfied with just the leftovers after her research.
The reason Cheon Danaa hadn’t visited the Deep Sea Palace was not out of fear of Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess.
It was simply because she had no intention of riskily pursuing the pearls.
Thus, she had waited until the Deep Sea Palace’s entrance would reopen, seeking substitutes like human sacrifices or other resources.
When she had a chance to slay all the mermaids in the past, she judged the pearls hadn’t ripened enough for harvesting yet. Not long after, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess cursed the Deep Sea Palace and blocked access to the dungeon, prompting her to hold back for a while.
Of course, Cheon Danaa was concerned that the being slumbering within her womb harbored intense hatred towards Isia, the returnee. However, she was officially the second-ranked Hunter in the world.
Armed with the database of hunters from around the globe, simulations indicated that most returnees recognized the inadequacy of their opponents, proving even Yujin—labeled an extraordinary returnee—was no match for Cheon Danaa in the virtual match.
Despite being overshadowed by Yeonseo, Cheon Danaa’s power, as the second-ranked, was formidable enough to make even regular S-grade hunters yield to her.
Of course, she wasn’t in her true body but was a spare body sealed in Korea.
However, it was sufficient to fully exert her original specs and even housed the being nestled in her womb.
There was no reason to lose.
“I think I’ll just have some fun for a while.”
Go ahead, struggle.
It’ll be entertaining.
That’s why she was relaxed.
Boom!
Until she got hit, that is.
“Uh…?”
The first thing that changed was her sight.
Then came the delayed sound.
Lastly, a dull pain and a jarring impact gripped her insides, arriving at a slightly delayed moment.
She realized she’d been attacked only after the fact, as something burst through the cloned space and oxygen Cheon Danaa had replicated, smashing into her body and obliterating part of her left chest and abdomen.
Of course, Cheon Danaa wouldn’t die from this.
However, she couldn’t comprehend it.
“What on earth is going on…?”
In an instant, the intense shock caused eight of the arms maintaining her surrounding space to vanish.
Thanks to that, Cheon Danaa, who had never once gotten wet from seawater, felt the replicated air warp and began to flood into the deep sea around her.
While she quickly reproduced the atmosphere and oxygen again to restore her space underwater, it was an unprecedented situation for her to allow an attack at all, undermining her previous confidence.
Her vision swayed.
Cheon Danaa had targeted Shia, the returnee pretending to be a mermaid, and was ready to unleash 73 replication abilities simultaneously.
Yet, the events unfolded so rapidly that even she couldn’t respond in time, leading her to calmly reassess the situation.
In that moment, she saw the massive tentacles emerging from the jellyfish hat fused with Shia’s head.
Those tentacles, with an incomprehensible mass and size, writhed grotesquely, resembling those of an external god in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
So, that was what attacked me.
Crack!
Crack!
With chilling sounds accompanying the breaking, something crunched and broke apart.
Cheon Danaa filled the hit area with flesh, bone, and muscle from her clones, and replicated the surrounding atmosphere to get back on her feet.
“I.”
[ME.]
Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess and Shia spoke simultaneously.
Regaining her sight, Cheon Danaa observed Isia, the returnee, seemingly undergoing a drastic transformation into a different kind.
The silver hair that gracefully swayed in the deep sea began to darken to a shadowy gray, while the eyes that once shone golden became even darker amidst the abyss.
“I shall mourn.”
[I shall mourn.]
The voice that flowed from Shia was that of the Mermaid Princess.
Though it represented the voice of a corpse under necromancy, at the same time, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess was also fused with Shia.
It was a state closer to one of connection and fusion than just a simple controller and body.
Therefore, at this moment, the Mermaid Princess enforced that Shia should embody her strongest form to defeat Cheon Danaa.
“I, will lead you, the young evil….”
[I, will lead you, the young evil….]
Shia and the Mermaid Princess shared the same expression, a chilling smile gracing their faces.
“I shall become the death saint that guides you to hell.”
[I shall become the death saint that guides you to hell.]
Both of their heads turned slightly, and in sync, the tentacles creaked.
Neither the saint nor the foolish younger sister were present in this moment.
The Mermaid Princess caressed Shia’s cheek.
At that, the tentacles on Shia’s head exploded, engulfing the entire deep sea.
Was this what sailors attacked by a colossal kraken felt? Even knowing the tentacles weren’t targeting her, Cheon Danaa was overwhelmed by an oppressive presence as if it was digging into her very soul.
“Yes, it’s all done.”
[Yes, it’s all done.]
Boom!
The ability to maintain her clones crumbled in an instant.
Cheon Danaa’s extraordinary focus faltered, causing her to bite her lip to control her waning powers.
Debuff, probably curses involved. As soon as the tentacle’s color turned black, my hands started to tremble.
A wide-range debuff.
Along with… curses and hatred.
Her movements didn’t just slow down; physical curses were gnawing away at her very flesh.
Cheon Danaa extended a replicated arm beyond the space she was breathing in, touching the seawater, only to witness the arm decay at an alarming rate.
Corrosion, aging, curses… how delightful.
Cheon Danaa realized she had to completely revise her comfortable assumptions.
Just having fun? Don’t make me laugh.
One curse-filled tentacle nearly took her down for good.
Additionally, the murky curses were seeping deeper into the depths of the dark sea around the sea palace, making Cheon Danaa keenly aware of the agony and despair clinching around her heart.
As if mocking Cheon Danaa’s thoughts, Hyung-An’s Mermaid Princess and Shia smiled with identical expressions.
“Isn’t life just never going according to your plans?”
[Isn’t life just never going according to your plans?]
The faces and voices of the fused duo were so eerily identical they sent shivers down the spine.
