In a rental house, a bottle of wine lay shattered alongside cigarette butts scattered on the floor. A black-haired woman, bruised and disheveled, sat on the ground with vacant, lifeless eyes.

In the chaos of the room, a man, consumed by rage, smashed objects and hurled insults at her.

"You're just like that whore's morals," he spat. "I gave you every chance to rise above. You called the police on me! You dare!"

With a vicious sneer, he pulled out his belt, his anger unabated. "If I had known, I would have thrown you away long ago!"

Bang!

The belt struck the girl's body with a sharp crack, but she remained silent, her expression unchanging. Her silence only fueled the man's fury, and he swung the belt harder.

"Why so quiet? Cat got your tongue?"

"You had plenty to say to the police. Speak up!"

Bang!

"I said, talk!"

As the man prepared for another strike, a large bird suddenly burst through the window with a deafening crash.

"WTF... Where did this thing come from!"

The man roared, swinging his belt at the large bird that had crashed through the window. To his shock, the bird spoke in a human voice: "You are such a failure, Thuan."

"Living like a dog, quiet on the outside, only daring to rage in the confines of your home."

The man froze. The bird's voice was unmistakably that of his ex-wife. Not just the voice, but the tone and content mirrored her exact mannerisms.

"Bitch, it's... you again!"

"Even in death, you can't keep quiet!"

Fury etched across his face, the man glared at the bird. In a dramatic shift, the bird's form morphed into that of a woman—his ex-wife. But her eyes were unnervingly black, devoid of any whites.

"You always claimed that my death would make your life better. So now I'm fulfilling your wish. Why are you still unhappy?"

"Is this what you wanted?"

"You're just angry at your own incompetence. You use me as an excuse for your failures, taking out your frustrations on me, blaming me for everything you can't face."

"Ah, how pitiful."

"You..."

The man stumbled backward, his face draining of color as he stared at the strange woman before him. His heart pounded violently. "You!... Who are you? A... a ghost?!"

The woman's smile grew more chilling, her eyes locked on the man with a malevolent glint.

She turned her gaze toward the black-haired girl, who looked up in confusion. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

The girl hesitated, her voice trembling. "Are you come to pick me up, mother?"

The woman's expression softened as she gently caressed the girl's head. "That's right. That man is so hateful. Why don't we kill him?"

"K-Kill him?" the girl murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Yes, kill him." The woman's form suddenly dissolved, transforming into a sharp dagger that clattered to the ground.

The girl, dazed and uncertain, picked up the knife. Her eyes, dark and vacant, were locked on the man.

He fell to the floor, panic evident in his voice. "Wait, wait... Oanh, I'm your father!"

"You can't, you can't... Please, you can't!"

The girl's hands shook as she gripped the hilt of the knife. Her expression was a mixture of confusion and determination as she approached her father. With trembling hands, she plunged the blade into him again and again.

The man's screams pierced the air, his cries of agony mingling with the girl's quiet sobs.

"AAAAAAGH——!!"

...

The girl wandered down the rain-slicked street, her steps aimless, like a marionette cut loose from its strings. Blood stained her hands and clothes, mixing with the rain that dripped from her disheveled hair. Her eyes, hollow and unseeing, stared straight ahead.

A raven followed her, its dark feathers gleaming under the streetlights. It observed the girl's vacant gaze and noticed the absence of any emotion in her eyes.

"Where do you want to go?" the raven cawed.

The girl turned her head slowly, her confusion evident. "You are... Mother."

Raven's heart ached with a pang of guilt. She knew she was not the girl's mother, but her appearance and voice were shaped by the man's memories, revealing the deepest fears and desires hidden within his soul. This was Raven's new power: the ability to extract secrets and mimic memories perfectly.

The raven could also hear faint whispers from the darkness, and the girl's deepest fear was the man she had just killed. Her greatest love was the figure Raven had embodied—the mother she had lost or never truly known.

The girl sank to the ground, her voice a tremulous whisper. "Can I ask you... to eat me up?"

Raven's dark eyes softened with an unreadable emotion. She could sense the girl's suffering, a torment that seemed to consume her. "Is survival painful for you?"

The girl nodded, her gaze fixed on the ground, her body trembling.

"Okay, then give me your body."

Without hesitation, Raven bent down and, with a swift motion, bit into the girl's shadow.

Raven's transformation was instantaneous. Oanh's body dissipated into the night, leaving Raven with a new form and a wealth of memories. The raven's feathers shifted into the delicate skin of a young girl. This transformation was permanent; she could now maintain this form indefinitely.

As Raven looked around, she spoke softly, "Human... is truly a complicated life."

In her new form, she understood Oanh's tragic past—a high school student whose mother died when she was just eleven. After her mother's death, Oanh's father turned abusive. His alcohol and gambling addiction led to a horrifying situation where Oanh was forced into prostitution to pay off his debts. Her attempt to seek justice was thwarted by corruption and power.

The strongest emotion Raven felt from Oanh's memories was a deep, consuming hatred.

"Want revenge?" Raven murmured. "Okay, I'll help you."

Her arms transformed, gaining blue and black scales, her fingers morphing into sharp claws. With a grace that belied her new form, she gripped the wall, tearing through it with ease, as if it were mere paper.

Raven navigated to a deserted alley, following the directions from Oanh's memories. There, several rough men waited, their eyes lighting up with predatory anticipation when they saw her.

"Ugh, this time you're still too proactive."

"Everything has a process and sooner or later it becomes a habit."

"Come in, the guest is already inside waiting."

Raven moved silently past the men, her claws shimmering with a deadly red light. In a blink, blood threads emerged from the men's necks, slicing through flesh with effortless precision. Their heads fell to the ground, their bodies slumping as they were severed from their lives.

The alley echoed with the dull thud of heads hitting the ground.

...

At the same night.

The Fish-Man stood casually in front of Enko, water streaming off his scaly body as he methodically dried himself with a towel. As the last droplets disappeared, his form began to shift. Scales retreated, fins smoothed into skin, and within moments, the creature that had been half-man, half-fish was now fully human again.

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Enko observed in silence, carefully noting each detail. So, the transformation hinged on water. The Fish-Men could only assume their monstrous forms upon contact with it. If their skin remained dry, they reverted back to their human guise. This was how they moved undetected, blending seamlessly into society. But the implications of this were far more disturbing than their ability to hide.

What chilled Enko to the bone was the Fish-Man's next revelation: they had once been human—by choice. They had willingly embraced this grotesque transformation.

"Below the Sea King," the Fish-Man explained, "there are sixteen others with the power to transform people. Each one is the boss of a different district."

"Our boss, the one in charge of Yang District, is a bit lazy," he continued, almost offhandedly. "Unless something urgent comes up, he rarely bothers to give us orders directly."

Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "And the base I mentioned earlier... it's this bar."

Enko looked up, his gaze settling on the inconspicuous building before him. The bar was tucked away in a narrow alley, its presence barely noticeable.

As Enko and the Fish-Man companion stepped into the bar, a sharp, overwhelming scent of fish assaulted Enko's senses, so potent it rivaled that of a bustling seafood market. The air inside was thick with it, almost stifling.

Enko quickly scanned the dimly lit interior. Around seventy people lounged in the bar, each one giving off an unsettling aura. If the Fish-Man's information was correct, every single person in this room was just like him—a Fish-Man in disguise.

Enko hadn't come here to engage in a bloody slaughter, though. No, his goal was far more strategic. The Fish-Men assumed he was one of their own, and that was his advantage. Blending in, earning their trust, and gathering intelligence from within the belly of the beast—that was the smartest play.

The Fish-Man who accompanied Enko seemed to be well-acquainted with the others. He approached the bar, casually striking up conversations with the group.

"That guy's a newcomer," he said, nodding in Enko's direction. "I'm bringing him around, so don't give him a hard time."

"A newcomer?" one of them asked, eyeing Enko with mild curiosity.

"From our area?" another chimed in, suspicion creeping into their voice.

"Who knows," the Fish-Man replied with a shrug, keeping the tone light.

A bald man with a solid frame approached Enko, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny. "You, kid, look pretty young. A student, huh?"

Enko met his gaze with calm composure. "Yeah, I'm a high school student."

The man chuckled, a strange mix of friendliness and menace in his tone. "Well, you better be careful then. Schools are full of water—showers, sinks, rain. If you slip up and expose yourself, it could get real messy."

For a moment, Enko almost thought these Fish-Men weren't so different from regular people, until the man added, "If you're discovered, well, you'd have to kill everyone at the school. Just thinking about all that trouble… what a headache."

So much for that thought. Enko mentally backpedaled, realizing that these beings couldn't be judged by ordinary human standards.

Still, a question gnawed at him. They were once human—why would they willingly abandon their humanity to become monsters?

"Uncle, what did you do before all this?" Enko asked, trying to keep the conversation casual.

The bald man laughed, his hands resting on his hips. "Me? I was a bricklayer, and I still am, technically. But since becoming a Fish-Man, I can do the work of three men on my own."

He gestured toward the other patrons in the bar. "What about them? How did they end up like this?"

The man scratched his head, pondering the question. "Well... if I had to explain, it all started as a rumor."

"A rumor?" Enko pressed.

"Yeah. Word spread about a guy who could grant people immense power. People were desperate, you know? They sought him out and got what they wanted—power beyond human limits."

"As the rumor grew, more people got wind of it. Those who gained power began to band together, forming groups, bases like this one. Here, we help each other, and if you're lucky, you might find the Sea King."

"But as for why anyone would choose to become a Fish-Man... who knows? Everyone's got their reasons, I suppose. Some burdens are just too heavy to carry as a human."

"You too, right?" The bald man's gaze lingered on Enko, his voice heavy with unspoken history.

"...Yeah, not much different," Enko replied, keeping his tone casual, masking the weight of his thoughts.

The man scratched his stubbled chin, seemingly lost in his own memories. "I've been a Fish-Man for a while now. Seen others, too. The number's grown... over four hundred, just from what I've witnessed."

He paused, then added, "And that's just here. Other areas probably have even more. It's become a trend, hasn't it?"

A trend? Enko's mind reeled at the word, but he quickly brushed it aside. The number of Fish-Men—that was what mattered.

He remembered the battle in Nanyan, where they had encountered about two hundred Fish-Men. Yet that was only a fraction of what was out there, just the tip of the iceberg.

Avee had been right all along. These monsters weren't just hiding in the shadows—they had rooted themselves deep within human society, infiltrating every corner, every profession. And the most disturbing part? Humans weren't just victims; they were willingly joining the monsters' ranks.

Throughout the night, Enko mingled with the patrons of the Black Fang Bar, keeping up appearances. He listened, observed, and absorbed everything he could. By the end of it, he had gathered a wealth of information—enough to make sense of the growing threat, though not enough to dispel the unease that had taken root in his gut.

For now, the Fish-Men had no reason to suspect him. But Enko knew this charade couldn't last forever.

...

The next day, Enko found himself back at the Black Fang bar. As soon as he walked in, the familiar bald man greeted him with a wide grin.

"Ah, you're here again. Want a drink this time?"

Enko hesitated, slightly taken aback by the offer. "This... no problem?"

The bald man chuckled and slapped his shiny head. "Relax, kid. Everyone here's one of us. No outsiders, no worries. Even if you're new to being a Fish-Man, no one's going to bother you."

Enko offered a polite smile, declining the offer. "Thanks, but I'm not really into drinking."

"A shame," the bald man said, shrugging before downing his own drink. As he drank, his body convulsed slightly, and scales began to ripple across his skin. His figure expanded, muscles bulging as his clothes stretched to accommodate his growing frame. His bald head morphed into a fish's head, complete with gills and sharp teeth.

"Ah... nothing like it!" The man let out a contented sigh, his voice now a guttural rumble. "Out there, we have to be careful. But here, we can relax, be ourselves."

Enko's eyes flicked toward the man's transformation, but he kept his expression neutral. "Uncle, do you know anything about Nanyan?"

The bald Fish-Man paused, his scaled face turning toward Enko. "Nanyan... Ah, that's the bees' territory. Listen, kid, if you're smart, you'll stay away from there."

"Why's that?" Enko asked, feigning curiosity.

"The Queen Bee runs that place," the Fish-Man explained, his tone darkening. "She's vicious, ruthless. No one crosses her and lives to tell about it. People say she's crueler than any monster. Trust me, you don't want to tangle with her."

"Queen Bee?"

The bald Fish-Man took another swig of his drink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah, heard a while back that the Sea King teamed up with Queen Bee to take down a group of police. Nasty business, that. But back then, I was just a regular human, so all I know is from what the old-timers told me. Can't say for sure how it all went down."

Enko absorbed this information quietly. If he had known more about the strength of these monsters earlier, he might not have acted so rashly. But hindsight was a luxury he couldn't afford. He was just a human, not a god. And humans, unlike gods, had to rely on gathering intelligence, no matter how incomplete. You couldn't predict everything; accidents didn't announce themselves.

If everything was foreseeable, accidents wouldn't exist.

"Enko, how are you holding up here?"

The sudden, familiar voice cut through the bar's low hum, freezing Enko in place. He turned slowly, his mind struggling to process what he saw.

Shen Yu stood in the doorway, wearing her school uniform, looking almost out of place amidst the dingy surroundings. But it wasn't her presence that shocked Enko—it was the fact that she was here, now, in this bar filled with Fish-Men.

The atmosphere shifted in an instant. The Fish-Men around them bristled, their eyes narrowing as they locked onto Shen Yu.

Shen Yu?

Oh no!

Panic surged through Enko as he saw her standing at the bar's entrance, completely unaware of the danger she had just walked into. He instinctively started to rise from his seat, but the bald Fish-Man's cold gaze stopped him in his tracks. The man's voice dripped with suspicion.

"Kid, she seems to be your classmate."

Enko swallowed hard, his mind racing. The Fish-Man's words hung ominously in the air, and the tension in the room grew thicker with each passing second.

"Though it's bad to say it, she's seen too much just by coming here. Do you understand?" The Fish-Man's tone left no room for misinterpretation. "So, who's gonna do it? You? Or us?"

Enko's thoughts spun in frantic circles. What should he say? How could he buy time? How could he keep her safe?

And then, in a flash of desperate inspiration, he had it.

"Ah, no need to be surprised," Enko said, forcing a confident smirk onto his face. "She's originally a man. If I say it like that, can you understand?"

The bald Fish-Man blinked, clearly taken aback by the unexpected response. His mind seemed to be working through Enko's words, trying to make sense of them. And then, recognition dawned.

"In that case," the Fish-Man muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "she must be one of Queen Bee's worker bees."

"So that's it," the bald Fish-Man grumbled, his voice dripping with relief. "You startled me there."

He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "But you should know, we all despise that group of bees."

Enko stood up with a deliberate slowness, hoping to defuse the situation. "I understand. I'll make sure she leaves."

With the eyes of the entire Fish-Man group boring into him, Enko approached Shen Yu, who stood frozen at the entrance, her confusion evident.

"What are you doing here?" Enko demanded, trying to sound as dismissive as possible.

Shen Yu blinked, taken aback by his tone. "I saw you out and about these past couple of nights. I wanted to know what you were up to…"

Enko forced a strained smile, his voice cold and commanding. "Oh, just making new friends. These people aren't exactly thrilled to see you."

The Fish-Man's hearing was acute, and Enko couldn't afford to let their conversation be overheard. His best bet was to get Shen Yu out of the bar as quickly as possible.

He gave Shen Yu a pointed look, a silent signal that she needed to leave. Shen Yu seemed about to protest when Enko abruptly raised his voice.

"Haven't I made myself clear? My new friends don't like you."

He turned to face the Fish-Man group, his tone growing harsher. "And frankly, neither do I. So, before my patience runs out, it's best you get as far away as you can!"

Shen Yu looked hurt but nodded, her expression a mix of confusion and resignation. "Okay… I'll go."

Without another word, she turned and fled from the bar. Enko watched her go, his breath coming out in a relieved sigh. But the moment of respite was short-lived. A drunken Fish-Man shuffled over to him, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Hm, Queen Bee's worker bee group is quite something, isn't it? You find her attractive too, don't you?" The Fish-Man leered.

Enko shrugged, trying to play it cool. "It's just a coincidence. I don't have any interest in men."

The Fish-Man chuckled, his grin widening. "Oh, really? But she's only mentally a man, physically a woman. Doesn't that count for something?"

He leaned closer, his tone almost conspiratorial. "If you don't want her, why don't you just hand her over to me?"

Enko raised an eyebrow, his suspicion piqued. "Are you looking to cause trouble with Queen Bee?"

The Fish-Man's interest waned instantly, and he let out a dismissive snort. "Pfft, just joking. We Fish-Man aren't so divided. We look out for each other, despite appearances."

He eyed Enko with a critical gaze. "So, what's the deal? Were you bought off by Queen Bee?"

Enko shook his head, turning back toward the bar. "I'm as opposed to Queen Bee as you are. I just don't want to draw her ire."

The Fish-Man nodded, a hint of respect in his eyes. "Fair enough. Just remember, we all share the same enemies."