What was going on? And where was Dicken?I stood on the reef and looked around for any trace of Dicken, even as the small encirclement around me slowly shrank, and the seabirds flew off.Then, there was a loud splash behind me as a wet webbed paw breached the surface and grabbed my leg. Startled, I slipped and started to fall backwards, only for a broad, wet chest to catch me.Then, still holding on to my waist with both arms, Dicken put me back on the reef.“Linda…”Dicken’s deep voice rang beside my ear, and he lifted my chin with a claw so that I looked up at him. With that beautiful face of his before me, I stared at it repeatedly to confirm that it was him, the panic from not being able to find him in my dream fading. It turned out that I didn’t lose him—he was right beside me, and everything just now was just a dream.“Where did you go? I thought you…” I gulped even as I calmed myself. “A storm like this strengthens me. I was just trying to create a new ability,” Dicken s
As the soldiers on the harbor carried the glass tanks holding merfolk saplings up the warship, thunder abruptly cracked up in the skies, followed by torrential rains from the thick dark clouds. Even so, the warship slowly steered away from the harbor and headed towards the middle of the sea amid churning waves.Dicken and I swam along, following the warship, which had to slow down due to the downpour’s obstruction and the churning waves. Soon, Dicken led me down to the bottom of the warship’s hull, where its spiraling propellers were just above, struggling to push the ship against the storm and leaving the sea turbid in its wake. I had a hunch that Dicken was going to sabotage the propellers when Dicken suddenly released my hand, and curled his fish tail around me. Then, before I could see what he was doing, there was a blinding blue streak that shot past my vision, heading straight for the propellers.Bzzt…All at once, the propellers screeched shrilly as if they had ground agai
My grandfather had actually performed such a brutal experiment with Bob? What was going on? Why would he work with Bob? Was his affection for the younger me an imagination, and he was merely using me as bait for his plans?No, there was no way… Bob must have threatened him…However, even as I defended my grandfather in my head, there were so many unanswered questions that appeared in my mind, combining to materialize a mirror reflecting all the bizarre experiences I didn't understand as a child. All of those things cruelly pointed to an answer I was reluctant to accept, even as the eerie scenes I often dreamt of years ago slowly became clear: the interior of pure-white building, where other children and I were being delivered for some sort of checkup…There was no doubt that those scenes had occurred in my childhood, all of which were connected to my grandfather.As my mind went blank, I sweated bullets from my forehead.“Linda?” Dicken looked at me with his dark gaze then, and wr
“Survival.” Dicken narrowed his pensiveness. “The seas over the earth’s surface are the protective layer over our domain, but human’s extensive abuse has caused its environment to deteriorate over a hundred years. This threatens my race, because our usual procreation methods are utterly devastated by the yearly rising temperatures of the ocean. To avoid extinction, we’ve eventually evolved a method that would grant our kind perpetuation…”“By converting humans?”Dicken nodded. “Yes. That is why I’d sent some of our elites as envoys, hoping that they could change into humans and procreate with human women, after which they would convert their children with our kind’s Yiki. That way, those children would return to our fold as our own, becoming merfolk warriors who would aid us in this war to occupy the oceans.”I shook my head in disbelief, and wondered what it would be like if there really was a war between humans and merfolk. Still, I suddenly remembered the tragic sight of the merf
“What? What time is it?” I asked in confusion. However, Dicken simply pulled me aside and raised his webbed paw, reaching slowly for the ceiling. The scales on both sides of his tail were rattling rapidly, and soon, a bundle of blue bolts sparkled over his paw with a buzzing sound. Thin bolts hence accumulated around him, and I could feel air being charged by his bolts. Then, in the instant Dicken’s paw touched the ceiling, the entire ship quaked, and the people above erupted in an uproar and fled to every corner available to them. “What’s going on? What happened?!”“Oh no! The test subjects are getting out of control as if they’ve sensed something! Professor Bob, we need to ask for reinforcements!” As two sets of footsteps rushed past us overhead, a cabin door could be heard slamming shut while horrific hisses echoed above. Soon, something started to scrape harshly against the floor—seemingly merfolk sliding along it. The glass tanks holding them had shattered and were left str
I seemed to know Dicken better now, and finally saw what lay beyond his profound love for the ocean. Like human emperors who expanded their borders, Dicken’s nature was as callous and bloodthirsty as the merfolks leaders, and he revered defeating violence with more violence. Of course, this was the best solution to snuff out the vileness which humans wrought, and the mastermind of this great conspiracy ought to pay the price for challenging a troublesome leader like this one.I wondered where Bob and Gary were hiding at that moment… Were they shaking in their boots? And then there was my grandfather—or the elder of the merfolk, to be precise….Nonetheless, even as that thought crossed my mind, there was a melodious cry echoing nearby, and the frenzied merfolk that were tearing the soldiers into pieces suddenly stopped. Dicken’s gaze turned dark, just as his expression turned solemn.I had a bad feeling about this, too.“Come out, my king. I know you’re there… Still hiding there t
“Of course. Everything I said was true.” A familiar voice that left me revolted suddenly spoke beside me.“Linda!” Dicken roared and started to slither towards me, only for Baron to suddenly leap up and pounce at him, knocking him into the sea.A webbed paw seized me before I could react.I was stunned when I clearly saw the person before me, unable to believe what I was seeing: Gary was holding me, and he now had a long surgical scar in front of his chest. Moreover, he no longer had legs beneath his waist, with a dark-blue tail in its place. “I’m that one experiment subject who survived.” Gary stared viciously at me, his eyes flickering with maniacal obsession. “Do you like my new look, Linda?”I was stunned speechless, because everything that had happened before my eyes had completely exceeded my level of tolerance. I struggled to free myself from his grasp on my legs to hide further into the ballast, but he suddenly dragged me away, pulling me over several feet away while my
50 years later.[I’m Linda, from France. I’m officially joining the Navy today—it’s a day worth remembering for me, even if I know an exceedingly demanding trial awaits me.][I’ve seen and heard about the terrifying merpeople and their horrific fighting capabilities, but I fear nothing.][I shall be leaving tomorrow with the Navy to enforce the blockade against the merpeople. This is a good chance for me to show myself, which is why I’m really thrilled.]I couldn’t help clenching on my pen as I looked outside the window, where a gigantic warship was berthed at the harbor. Sacre bleu, it had to be the most imposing warship I had ever seen—it was painted in black for camouflage in night battles, whereas its hull was of a sleek design. With the towering bridge on its bow, it looked just like a horned beast sailing through the seas.The thought of sailing in that warship as it crashed through the waves to the merpeople’s territory excited me. “All new recruits! Assemble!” As a res