Like moths drawn to a flame, they swam toward the source, their eyes straining to pierce through the dark, watery depths.

The murky sea churned with an eerie red glow, faint lights trailing the slow-moving waves. Yet, the ominous shadows underneath the glow followed, as if something was there.

As they moved closer, the water grew profound in deep color. The expanse was silent, save for their breaths whining through the still air.

The temperature grew colder the further they continued. Despite the waterproof protection from the outer layer of the qi, icy waters seeped through their clothes. They were startled at the sensation as they hadn't felt any temperature changes since leaving Trucehaven village. The biting chill gnawed through their skins, tempting them to remain still. They needed information and that man seemed to be their only lead.

The group pressed on through the waters. The pressure of the depths seemed to swallow their desperate attempts at progress, pressing in on them from all sides. Each stroke felt like a battle against an invisible force, trying to crush them.

As they ventured further, the silence was replaced by the sound of something looming in the shadows deep below.

Seo-Jun noticed tiny sparks flickering around them, leaning forward in curiosity. His eyes discerned they were bioluminescent sea creatures.

While he was still looking, some dark object swiftly passed by the edge of Jun's sight. He swiveled in panic as he saw a tiny orb of light swimming away. He registered it as an anglerfish swim by, filling his mind with dread.

The distant sound of the water swishing was heard, prompting the group to turn around. They noticed the movement behind them. ‘What’s wrong?’ asked Jason as he turned around. when he felt something brush against his arm. ‘M-monster!’, yelled Seo-Jun in reply, flailing his arms as if to escape something invisible.

This made Jason move back and look around for whatever it was. He felt something keep brushing up against his skin. It felt slimy and disgusting, sending chills of disgust outward his body.

He whipped his head around, heart pounding in his chest as his eyes scanned frantically trying to find what was touching him. He felt a touch against his leg, sending chills down his spine. He waved his arms, pulling himself up to the clear waters to avoid it. It followed closely behind, the sensation of its touch remained against his feet.

‘Why’re you going there? Did you see something?’, asked Zhiren, following his movements with her eyes.

But before Jason could answer, he jolted as he caught sight of a small fish with sharp, menacing fangs, recognizing it to be a fangtooth. He had remembered that he read many deep sea creatures were poisonous, so he immediately swam back to the group.

His arms made wide and hurried strokes paddling as hard as he could with his feet until he had steered clear of the danger. Alice raised an eyebrow, ‘Why’re you suddenly acting like an idiot?’, she asked with crossed arms.

Jason looked down, ‘It was…a monster’, he replied embarrassed at his reaction.

Alice smirked, ‘I get Jun back there acting like that, but you too huh?’, she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. Zhiren put a hand on her shoulder, ‘Hey’, she said in a warning tone.

Jason ignored her remark, turned around, and continued to silently move forward. Alice shrugged her shoulders and followed after.

‘Wait, what did you mean by that?’, asked Jun with raised eyebrows, hearing the exchange as he had managed to catch up.

The group ignored him, continuing to move forward. ‘Hey!’, he tried again, ‘Hey, guys! What did she mean by that?’ He was only met with silence as the group quickly swam forward. He seemed to want to continue to ask but gave up and continued silently swimming, with a sigh when the group started moving away from his field of vision.

Snow cautiously scanned the surroundings after witnessing the actions of the two. His eyes pierced through the darkness, noticing movement before the others even seemed to sense it. Something slowly slithering from the abyss.

He narrowed his gaze until the figure revealed itself – something with long snake-like tendrils, which he recognized to be an eel, swimming toward Alice and Zhiren. Snow acted immediately, swimming quickly toward the creature, flapping his wings, and moving toward the water quickly. With a pounce, Snow’s sharp teeth pierced through the eel’s body with a crunch as struggled to death.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The eel’s electrified body startled Snow, but he kept biting down on its body; mere electricity didn’t feel like anything to him. He ripped it apart, chunks of its flesh and innards floating around in clouds of red. A familiar rusty smell hit Alice and Zhiren's noses just as they heard a crunch behind them. They looked over their shoulder, startled as they caught sight of the water near their feet turning red.

They turned around, witnessing the gory scene of Snow eating the creature. They felt slightly odd at the sight as Alice noticed the young dragon’s tail swinging, looking at them with a bloody grin. Meanwhile, Snow noticed the blood getting closer to them, remembering its potential danger to humans. Without hesitation, he lunged forward and gulped it down, disposing of it before it got close enough to inflict any serious damage to his friends.

They strained to maintain their course, their senses on high alert for signs of any dangers lurking in the darkness. Their hearts raced as every instinct screamed for them to turn back, but they couldn't. They had to keep going to fulfill the condition for their awakening so that they could finally leave this place and go home.

Though the environment threatened to devour them the group’s resolve only hardened as they continued making their way deeper into the abyss.

They kept going until they finally caught sight of the otherworldly man they'd been pursuing. The man noticed them and waved excitedly.

Unlike before, the man appeared brighter, almost resembling the Dokkaebi, sending shivers down Jun's spine. The man wore a cheeky smile, eyes arching into mischievous slits. It was vastly different from the nonchalance he expressed earlier.

Seo-Jun paused as his gaze shifted downwards, noticing something peculiar about the man's appearance. Below the man's waist, he had a long sea-green fishtail.

Each scale was distinctly visible, like a strong armor shining in the obscure light. His ears were pointy and sharp, the tips protruding through the flowing hair. He was not a human, but a merman!

Seo-Jun, as usual, decided to take the lead in approaching the creature, but he was hesitant due to the man’s drastic change in demeanor. No sooner had he shifted that the man made his first move. He swiftly dashed through the water, cutting through the currents with effortless grace. He headed straight toward the light in the distance, leaving the group stunned.

'Quick! Follow him!' urged Snow, worried they'd lose him.

Considering Jason was an athlete, he was the first to react, his arm stretching out to grab the one closest to him, his hand grabbing the smooth texture of Daiki's shirt.

With practiced motions, he urgently propelled through the blue depths, pulling Daiki with him. The water resistance pulled at his body, as each stroke of his arms sliced through the liquid, the force of his movements creating swirling whirlpools in his wake.

He swam as fast as he could, reminiscent of his days competing.

Even with their enhanced physiques, Daiki couldn't keep up. He attempted to go at his pace, floundering and thrashing about. He eventually realized it was useless and stopped struggling, accepting being pulled around like dead weight.

Feeling a tug, Jason stopped, turning around to witness the scene behind him. He realized he forgot to consider that his comrades may not have been athletes. Alice and Zhiren, who had managed to keep their eyes on the leading duo, were desperately navigating through the depths. Alice was hindered as Zhiren's long hair floated in front of her face, obstructing her view. She accidentally tugged at Zhiren’s hair, trying to get some of it out of her mouth. Zhiren couldn't resist the pull, causing her to bump into Alice, drifting off-course momentarily, further delaying them.

Seo-Jun, who had achieved the epitome of being a couch potato, wouldn't even be in their sight if it weren't for young Snow dragging him as he frantically paddled along, sending up a flurry of bubbles all around in his path.

Jason looked at Daiki, who was standing in front of him. Daiki appeared disoriented from being tossed around, staring at Jason in confusion. And being the masked asshole that he is, Jason smirked in amusement at the situation. He decided to ignore his comrades and continued to power through the water with Daiki in tow.

Even though he swam with all his might and despite his heightened awakening, Jason could barely see the merman's tail, which frustrated him. For a moment, he felt helpless.

Then, something inside him reignited. He refused to give up, he was way past that. He summoned strength into his arms, making swift and sharp strokes, slicing through the water until he surpassed his limits, gradually getting closer to his target. As for the people following behind, this made Daiki want to puke, Alice and Zhiren have an urge to punch him in the gut, and as for Jun...you can guess.

Jason was just about to reach the forked end of its tail, when the merman stopped, swerving at a bend in the current, his body forming an arc in the water, turning to face them. The merman stood with his back straight, arms crossing over his chest.

The sudden stop caused Daiki to collide headfirst into Jason's back, knocking the wind out of both of them. Daiki ended up swallowing a mouthful of seawater, his eyes stinging as his nose burned. A strong taste of salt lingered on his lips. Alice and Zhiren managed to avoid the same fate, steering clear just in time.

Whereas Jun...he was not seen until after a few seconds pretty much drifting along, struggling to keep up. Looking at Snow's expression of exasperation and resignation, it was clear he had given up on getting Jun to catch up.

By the time the four caught up, two men and one merman were in the middle of a stare-down.

The water around them grew still, the soft hum of the currents fading as the merman regarded them with a scrutinizing gaze.

The cold silence was broken only by the soft pops and splashes of the distant marine life.

After what felt like an eternity, the merman scoffed, breaking the silence. His deep voice reverberated, laced with skepticism, each word sending ripples through the water. 'Hah! I admit...your swimming is, satisfactory, I suppose. However, that does not mean you will so easily be accepted as the one prophesized by the goddess of the human villages.'

Jason looked over his shoulder at his friends to find they all shared the same expression, mouths gaping and eyes wide open in surprise.

It was the same script as the Elders back at Trucehaven village.

Alice mumbled, her voice barely a whisper, 'Just how far does Yuki's influence reach?'

The merman's ears twitched, 'Hmph, don't think I'll believe you if you subtly mention that name!' He snapped. 'How many frauds do you think we've got around here in the past millennia?! So stop while you can since I've been barely holding back from ripping you apart.

His nails extended into claws, gleaming menacingly as he made a swiping motion.

In the past, such a threat would've left the group paralyzed with fear. But instead, Jun stepped forward, puffing his chest out with exaggerated bravado, yelling, 'INVENTORY! DROP LEGENDARY SWORD!'

Instantly, a gleaming silver blade materialized in Seo-Jun’s right hand, the water refracting the light glinting off its surface. He gripped the golden handle tightly, the familiar weight of the sword reassuring in his grasp, as the lustrous black stone, set into the hilt pulsed with a dominating energy.

To be continued...

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Merman: *awestruck*

Jun: *basking in the glory*

Jason: I'm supposed to be the successor of this realm though...

Jun: Shhh! Let me have my moment.

Jason: ...

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