I’d declared hostility. Open hostility at that.
This was on me….
Guards swarmed all around me. I quickly took a defensive stance. I could probably use fire in this safe zone but I doubted it’d do much. If I relied on electricity, I could fry not just them, but also myself along with it. Then that left me with air and water manipulation. There wasn’t much air here, so just water manipulation. And that’s what I relied on. Whenever a mermaid got even remotely close, I just swept her away. They were awfully confused as to what was happening.
“He can warp us around?” One even said.
“Master magician!”
“God that boy’s so cute!”
Some of those things didn’t sound very aggressive but I think they were just trying to confuse me.
“Sol,” the fishman said. “Leave. I will-”
The queen sighed. “Enough,” she stood. And swam before me. I was careful not to sweep her away. But I remained cautious. If I had to, I was going to blast her and then just leave. But I knew that was pretty much impossible, or rather, downright stupid. Stupider than almost attacking her. “There is a way for you to survive. Become one of us.”
“Unfortunately, I’m a human.”
“But fortunately, humans can procreate,” she said. “Why don’t you take responsibility of Rokshana? Or if she’s not to your liking, someone else?”
“Unfortunately, I’m already betrothed,” I said. “I cannot take another’s hand without my fiancée’s approval. No, I don’t want to.” Even though she said I was fine taking mistresses, I wasn’t that shallow of a human being. Heck, I believed in monogamy for a reason. “Besides, I already promised the goblins I’d live there for a year after everything.”
“Goblins? Goblins mean more than you than the queen of Mermaids,” one of the ministers shouted.
“Given how they didn’t threaten me and asked nicely, yes. Besides, they helped me by giving these gifts and weapons,” I said.
Then again, I didn’t blast them with lightning either.
“Technically, you would have gotten them anyway,” Rokshana said. “They only got out unscathed because you knocked the Great Beast away.”
Nice transition!
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“So, the rumors of the goblins slaying the beast were true,” the queen backed off. “Change of plans. We won’t kill you. But you will be trialed and imprisoned.”
Honestly, I thought kings and queens, or high nobles in general were wise. Maybe that’s why they got their positions and weren’t assassinated yet. However, this lady struck me as an absolute buffoon. A buffoon with a good face but a buffoon regardless. Where the hell did that calculating lady from five minutes ago go?
Or are her schemes on another level that I can’t even comprehend?
“In case you didn’t hear the lady,” I said. “I could just knock you all off and fry you too. But I chose not to.” I turned to Rokshana. “You said the forbidden continent’s close by right?”
“That wave we rode,” She didn’t finish.
“Right.” I dashed for the door. “Sorry Zarkan,” I yelled.
“Don’t just let him leave, capture him!”
The guards hesitated though. I suppose my threats were kind of effective? Besides, if they came close to me, I just swept them away anyway.
“Cya Roksha, I mean Rokshana!” I was still in the frigging huge room. Shit this place was huge!
Anyway, I reached the door, blasted it open with water pressure and used a water stream to propel me up. Up, up, and away! Or I would have if there wasn’t a freaking ceiling above.
Hundreds of intricate stairways. They didn’t need them, but they still built this place so even humans could use it. Not that any human could survive out here. Hundres of mermaid official were just working. Meanwhile I was playing tag with the guards and speeding for the ceiling.
Luckily, they also had windows near the top. I had a lot of guards behind me but they mostly stayed a fair distance.
Bright light. The palace was bright, but the outside was brighter.
Mermaids generally floated close to the structures below, so I had the sky mostly to myself.
“Maybe it’s better you don’t piss her off further?” One of the guards said. “She’s really nice, you know.”
“Kinda dumb though,” I yelled.
“Well, you know, lots of inbreeding.”
“Fair,” I yelled. “But I really have to find my parents.”
“WE can help you with that. Even if she imprisons you to keep her face, she will definitely release you and-”
“Sorry, not taking chances today.”
The safe zone’s barrier was coming up fast. I was going to do exactly what I did in the Hermon City. Blast right through it!
“You’re gonna break something if you keep that speed.”
“Oh please.” I shrugged. Increasing my speed. It was going to be painful and hard to move about outside. But I sure as hell didn’t want to spend any longer here.
I was close, just a few seconds.
Three.
Two.
One.
CRASH!
I whammed into the barrier and it didn’t even budge! “ARGHHH!!”
I didn’t go through!
FUCK!
And I was falling now.
No energy-
Someone caught my falling body. The same mermaid. “Told you you’re gonna break something,” she sighed. “Alright girls, we got him.”
Some cheers.
No wonder they were so fucking relaxed. And break what?
It took me a second. It took me a second to realize my arm was really warm and my elbow was unnaturally swollen. “Crap,” I mumbled, before the pain slowly, mind you, slowly radiated and kept on increasing in intensity. Heart pumped hard and I knew I was sane so far only because of my adrenaline. But it would run out in a few minutes. Then what? “You don’t happen to know super healing magic or something, right?”
The mermaid shook her head.
And that’s when I knew.
I’d done fucked up again.
I panted and probably even sweated as the pain just….
“Ah- ahhh-AHHHH!!!!”
[A/N]
Do you think Sol could have avoided this whole situation?