The path through the cargo hold, carved open by the rampaging beast, abruptly ended as it reached the slave quarters.

Fortunately for the pursuer, this made the siren's chase much smoother once he turned around. The gap between him and the fleeing human was shrinking fast.

All because I got scared out of my wits earlier and ran so far. Now I've got to double back. Otherwise, would it really have taken me this long to catch up with that little brat?

Hissing through his tongue, the sea siren cursed himself internally while twisting his sirenine body with ferocious determination. The human was now just within striking distance.

"When I catch you, I'll skin you alive and tear out your guts, you little runt!"

Though cursing out loud felt satisfying, the siren was in fact too cautious to act rashly.

The earlier ambush had been a knee-jerk reaction, born out of a misplaced fear that the human was stronger than he actually was. At the time, survival had left him no room for second thoughts.

Now that the human was retreating, it only confirmed his weakness. Killing him outright might destroy the valuable treasure the human was carrying.

Revenge could wait—getting rich was clearly the smarter choice.

Splash!

Liquor spilled across the ground, splattering the siren's body. With a sharp twist, he propelled himself forward once more, closing the gap further. The prey was now just within reach.

"Let me cripple you first. Then I'll take my time savoring the rest!"

Scattered barrels formed an impassable corner ahead, trapping the human with nowhere left to run. With the path to escape sealed, the siren raised his trident high, preparing to strike.

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"...!"

But in that moment, the human suddenly turned to face him, an unexpected move that sent a jolt of unease through the siren.

What's going on… Wait, is this a trap? Damn it!

His battle instincts flared. The siren immediately tried to halt his forward momentum, but it was already too late.

A small, spherical object soared through the air and exploded mid-flight.

Before the siren could react, a dense cloud of smoke erupted, enveloping everything around him in an instant.

A smoke bomb?!

As his vision was obscured, the siren instinctively activated his heat-sensing organs.

A high-temperature object was racing toward him at alarming speed.

A suicidal attack!

The siren recoiled in shock. Using the smoke as cover for a close-range ambush was a classic move—one that could often catch enemies off guard and turn the tide of battle.

Half of the anger in his chest evaporated, replaced by cold calculation. With a quick twist of his sirenine body, the siren narrowly evaded the incoming attack.

"Nice try, but that won't work against me!"

Locking onto the source of the heat, he saw the human overshooting from the force of his own momentum. Without hesitation, the siren lunged forward, hot on his heels.

"It's over. Now I'll finish you!"

With a powerful swing of his trident, the siren generated a fierce gust of wind that tore through the smoke cloud. As visibility returned, the siren retracted his weapon and thrust it forward with deadly precision—

Clang!

Instead of the satisfying feel of his target being pierced, a violent rebound jolted through the trident. The siren stumbled backward, colliding hard against a sturdy surface.

A wall? No… a cage.

"What the hell just happened?"

He stared in disbelief, his earlier confidence now wavering. Wasn't the human right there? How had the strike been deflected?

And then, he noticed the small device lying on the ground not far away—the one emitting heat. It perfectly overlapped with the location of his earlier target.

"Oh no…"

A sinking realization dawned on him, chilling him to the core.

Bang!

The sound of a heavy door slamming shut behind him sealed his fate.

He didn't need to look back to know—the human had just slammed the iron cage shut, trapping him inside.