Chapter 622 From Below The Sea (2/2)
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In the seas of Blue Star, there have always been thousands of different creatures. But while most are peaceful beings like fish, turtles, and other smaller animals, there are also monsters that lurk in the deep dark waters.
Krakens have always been at the top of the dangerousness pyramid. Still, there were also gigantic sharks that were just as dangerous due not only to high power but special camouflage abilities.
Known as Sharks of the Deeps, these beings were fierce hunters who, unlike the Krakens, sought out weaker and more defenseless prey.
For thousands of years, these sharks have taken many lives, except the Mermaids as they could feel the sharks" dark intent from afar, and even not seeing such creatures, they could run away before the worst happened.
But something changed a thousand years ago. Along with the sacrifice of Kaisa and the Second Fox Princess, their dark ritual spread dark mana on the Blue Star.
While most creatures just rejected that dark mana, monsters that already had a predisposition to dark mana accepted it, which made them even more powerful and dangerous.
The Sharks of the Deeps were one of the species most benefited by that dark mana, which further improved their unique abilities. And since that day, the Mermaids had come to fear such creatures as they could no longer feel their intent or anything else before it was too late.
For many years, Nea hunted those sharks with an elite group of Mermaids. They thought that after many battles and lost lives, the Sharks of the Deep had become extinct.
But now, two hundred years after seeing one of those monstrous creatures, Nea once again faces that lethal enemy. In a moment when she can"t do anything, such a creature attacks her beloved daughter in front of her eyes.
PAIN! A terrible pain that corrodes and corrupts Nea"s heart appears, making her body tremble and tears emerge in her eyes.
When a Shark of the Deeps makes Its move, everything becomes unpredictable, except that at least one life will be lost. Nea understands that all too well, but as much as she wants to run towards her daughter, she can"t, as the Kraken"s constant attack would knock her down immediately after she let her guard down.
"SARIAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"Nea"s scream carries all the pain of a woman who is seeing the death of a daughter, again.
So much pain clouds any rational thoughts Nea has, and her s.h.i.+eld loses strength as she can"t contain the urge to try to save Saria.
But that immense pain quickly fades, giving way to confusion as gravity pulls the great shadowy shark"s body back into the sea, leaving Saria unharmed, floating in the air several meters from the attack spot.
*ROAAAAAARRRRRRRR*
The Kraken"s roar continues, but Nea regains her resolve and strengthens her s.h.i.+eld while looking at Saria in confusion. [She"s crying...]
Tears appear in Saria"s eyes as she looks towards the shark and the answer to Nea"s question comes with another painful scream. "LUCIENNNNNNN!!!!!"
[Lucien!] Nea finally understands what just happened. At the same time as Saria was attacked by the shark, Lucien used an ability to get to her immediately, but despite being very fast, his speed was just enough for him to push Saria back, taking her place in the attack.
PAIN!! Raging pain again hits Nea"s heart, this time along with regret as excruciating as the one she felt when she failed to notice Kaisa"s plan before it was too late.
That"s not the same pain of losing a daughter, but Nea feels like crying when her short history with Lucien flashes across her mind in seconds.
When Nea met Lucien, she first thought about his look, of course. She found him the most handsome man she had ever seen, but then thought he was bringing her big problems, not just because of his appearance but also his feelings.
She could already feel his ambitions toward the Mermaids, and he still made that clear. Not just about that, but he"s usually pretty honest about everything, including his luxurious thoughts.
He made Nea doubt what the future of her people would be like, but trading the right and good for the uncertain and possibly better is too dangerous. Because of that, Nea tried to push Lucien away from her and the Mermaids by using the more arrogant and hostile side of her.
Not even the immense grat.i.tude Nea had for Lucien due to him bringing Kaisa home could stand in the way of her people"s safety. Although difficult, she had to create a barrier between herself and that mysterious devil.
Day after day, smile after smile, she had to block any good feelings for him and keep putting up a thick wall between them. But there was a hole in that wall, Saria.
And now, Lucien has destroyed that wall completely using the hole. By sacrificing himself for Saria"s sake, not only does he break all of Nea"s defenses but also makes her bitterly regret having been so arrogant and hostile to him.
[Why?!?!] She wonders why things had to be that way.
And as she tries to deal with her own pain, she realizes that someone else must be in even more pain.
"SARIA?!?!" Nea cries out her daughter"s name, but the loyal Mermaid Princess can no longer be seen over the surface of the sea.
Immediately after being saved by Lucien and screaming out his name, Saria dove into the water after the Shark of the Deeps. She doesn"t want to believe he"s dead and is willing to do anything to save him.
Nea understands Saria"s intention, and she would be doing that if she weren"t fighting such a strong Kraken. However, that situation is not optimistic because, in the short time that Nea saw that shark, she noticed that the creature is in the ninth layer of the Immortal Realm; that is, it is monstrously strong, and Saria has no chance of surviving that fight.
She has to act fast, or she will lose her daughter too, so Nea channels all the strength she has and starts pus.h.i.+ng her s.h.i.+eld forward against the Kraken"s mighty attack.
Although people share the same power realms as other creatures, the real power of a gigantic monster is proportional to its size; that is, the strength of that Kraken can be even compared to people from the early Cosmic Realm.
It would take a group of Immortal Realm people to push a s.h.i.+eld against Kraken"s most potent attacks, but Nea brings that power from within her alone to do that.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" She shouts with determination as she pushes her incredible s.h.i.+eld forward foot by foot under the Kraken"s toxic jet.
The creature has an immense amount of mana and maintains that attack as a continuous death ray. But seeing Nea fight it that way leaves the creature confused and even concerned.
The Kraken tries to put even more power into the toxic jet as it uses its tentacles to attack Nea as the whirlpool below them continues to suck up everything around it madly.
Nea usually fights strategically and tries to use her magic to defeat enemies. But now, she doesn"t have time for that, so she ignores the Kraken"s attacks while continuing to drive her s.h.i.+eld towards the creature"s mouth.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*
The Kraken moves its tentacles by the large s.h.i.+eld"s flanks and hits Nea"s body several times. The creature"s skin is rock hard, and its strength is overwhelming, while compared to the giant monster, Nea is a tiny and fragile creature.
Yet, she determinedly resists using the full potential of her physical power. The blue light in her eyes gets brighter and brighter as she channels her water magic into her greatest ability.
Purple spots appear over Nea"s skin as she takes brutal blows from the Kraken. But she resists the pain and keeps pus.h.i.+ng the s.h.i.+eld forward until she comes within ten meters of the creature"s head.
Through the watery, transparent surface of Nea"s great s.h.i.+eld, her eyes meet the Kraken"s.
[????] The creature gets even more confused as the gleam in the Mermaid Queen"s eyes gets brighter. The Kraken knows something is about to happen, but it can"t do anything to stop that and can"t even back off now.
A mysterious sparkle pa.s.ses through Nea"s eyes, and her expression changes from desperate to confident as she faces the Kraken. "Disgusting creature."
Before the Kraken understands what is happening, the air is transformed into a type of magical water with a special shade of blue; the sky turns to water, and even the seawater changes, everything in an area of several miles becomes Nea"s water domain.
Nea"s body glows with an even more special shade of Blue, and her physical strength improves several times to match her magic; within that domain, she is an absolute Queen, and all her enemies become prey.
"Take this!!!" She shouts and dashes towards the Kraken, causing it to swallow Its own toxic jet and seal Its mouth with a powerful s.h.i.+eld blow.
*RRROOAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!*
The creature lets out a growl of pain as it is knocked back. The whining stopped when Nea created her water domain, and even the water doesn"t seem to react to the Kraken"s gigantic body anymore.
The Kraken appears to be trapped by the biome it has always lived in. Nea doesn"t stop with that attack but makes quick movements that even the Kraken"s eyes can"t follow.
And swift as light, she strikes again and again, slas.h.i.+ng the Kraken"s body with her spear, which now looks far more lethal than delicate.
Under the roars of the Kraken, Its tentacles are ripped off and sink into the sea, which begins to change color, turning blood red. And in the midst of that madness, Nea doesn"t stop for a second until she makes her last move and penetrates the creature"s head with her spear pointed forward.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" She goes through the Kraken"s entire body, exiting behind Its head as the creature dies.
As the Kraken"s mangled body sinks lifeless, Nea doesn"t even look back before continuing to swim towards the bottom of the sea.
Within her water domain, Nea"s speed significantly increases just as Saria did in her domain, so in a few seconds, she reaches her daughter within the sea.
[Did she give up??] Nea wonders as she sees Saria stopping.
But then she notices something bizarre tens of meters deeper. The Shark of the Deeps is writhing in the water while Its camouflage ability is activated and deactivated repeatedly.
"Saria!!!" Nea still fears that creature and calls out her daughter.
The Mermaid Princess looks back and points at the shark. "It"s him!!"
"Him?!?" Nea is confused as she finds it hard to believe that anyone, even her, could survive a surprise attack by such a strong Shark of the Deeps.
That creature has not many impressive abilities and no great combat skills, but it can sneak up on anyone and make a fatal bite with surreal force; also, that shark has Its insides covered with an extremely corrosive liquid that can break any defense.
To survive such an attack, a person would need to be in the Immortal Realm Peak or Cosmic Realm and have an absurd resilience, so Nea can"t believe Lucien is alive inside the creature"s belly.
But Saria believes in that, and that"s why she doesn"t think twice about swimming towards the shark. "I need to help him!"
"No!!!" Nea quickly reaches Saria and holds her from behind.
"Let me go!!" Saria tries to fight to break free from her mother"s embrace and head towards the shark.
"You can"t hel-" Nea tries to stop her daughter from running towards her death, but something even stranger happens, leaving her speechless.
As it struggles inside the water, the Shark of the Deeps" eyes begin to emit a strong golden light. The creature opens its mouth and from there emerges more of that powerful golden light.
"What the..." Nea recognizes that golden light as the mysterious sparkles in Lucien"s eyes.
A smile appears on Saria"s face while her eyes also sparkle. "It"s him, I"m sure!"
As golden light comes out of the shark"s eyes and mouth, holes begin to appear in Its skin, releasing even more golden light. The creature"s body quickly begins to swell, making it clear what comes next.
Nea acts quickly by turning Saria"s body to the other side and creating a powerful barrier around them as the shark"s body explodes.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOM*
That explosion is so powerful that the golden light burns all the water within miles, destroying Nea"s water domain and anything else in the water and sky; even the clouds above disappear while the mother-daughter pair remain untouched.
Still keeping Saria protected in her embrace, Nea looks back to see Lucien"s body, naked and glowing golden, as an incredibly powerful aura emanates from him.
[You...] Their gazes meet, and Lucien"s golden-purple eyes fascinate Nea"s blue eyes.
But then she looks up.
*Splash*
A shower of guts and blood from the Shark of the Deeps falls down over Nea and Saria. With her barrier destroyed and her mind in shock, the Mermaid Queen can do nothing but accept that "punishment" and keep protecting her daughter.