Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 842 - 783: In-house Struggle, Master Skill

Smooth as jade, the cold magic power wraps around her fingers, combing through the fine scales. Feeling the chill in her heart, Merfolk Vina lies on the Tidal Pearl, enduring her own nightmare until a familiar force awakens the grown mermaid princess.

The Treasured Jade of White Dragon Alicia, with the power of frost that annihilates clans in an instant, likens the life of the merfolk to the tides that wax and wane with the moon. Vina seems to see the sorrow and self-mockery on Princess’s face when naming it. The merfolk raises her head, her icy gaze fixing on the source that had awakened her.

A specter floats nearby, its ethereal body bearing the curse’s light green color, with facial dimples left by blisters, resembling a rotting shipboard. A spectral sailor, perhaps a member of the Resentful Spirit Pirates. Vina flips her hair, dismissing the naive thoughts, the solidified ice crystals making her hair gleam in the darkness.

The summoned sea monster guard encircles the specter, the tip of the trident harpoon concentrating the venom that kills marine life. The sea monster guard, abandoning the beauty of the merfolk, glares ruthlessly at the specter, with its tail coiled back, muscles tensed ready to charge and tear the intruder into fish feed.

The face of the resentful spirit still hangs with seaweed and barnacles, like a newcomer, yet it’s such a newcomer who has penetrated the Coral Castle where the merfolk live, reaching their most sacred temple. Even when surrounded, it looks composed, curiously observing its right arm. Its ethereal arm has been replaced by ice, rendered immobile like an ice sculpture.

"Wow, I didn’t expect your ice magic could freeze a specter." The resentful spirit tugs a smile towards Vina, further tearing its decaying face, its ethereal form seemingly facing an irreversible collapse.

[White Dragon’s Magic Power can freeze divinity; I have not frozen the ethereal body, but the divinity within it.] No need to discern, the faint divinity within the resentful spirit’s body is enough proof of his dangerous identity. Even though he did not trigger my set alarms, Vina could understand what that familiar feeling meant, like the embrace of parents.

This resentful spirit, is a Divine Remnant Fragment of the Evil God.

[Trap him!]

The waters split, the three sea monster guards begin to sing, their entrancing melodies laden with magic power imposing strong mental suggestions, not to charm or to put to sleep but to ensure efficiency. The three sea monsters play a song of confusion, disrupting the sense of direction and restricting movement. The remaining sea monsters collaborate to create a giant bubble, enclosing the resentful spirit in isolated seawater. This isolated magical space blocks power transmission, prevents various debuffs, and weakens soul attacks.

A prison specifically designed to confine souls is about to complete, Vina stretches her hand forward, the surface of the bubble solidifies into beautiful hexagonal ice flowers. Merfolk and resentful spirit stand on either side of the blooming ice flowers, observing one another, Vina furrows her brow, the resentful spirit curiously sizing her up, their emotions and situations completely reversed, as if Vina was the one imprisoned.

A growing unease intensifies, Vina accelerates her power, preparing to hide that disintegrating face behind the ice crystals. White Dragon Bordelis and Lady Princess have not appeared, presumably now facing a formidable opponent. I will not doubt the power of White Dragon and "Mother," but now a Divine Remnant Fragment has appeared within the temple area. I hope they are unharmed.

A moment of reflection causes Vina to neglect her present surroundings, but the sharp cries of the sea monsters refocus her attention on the enemy before her. They are intimidating him, the resentful spirit drawing closer to the bubble wall, closer to Vina. Those eyes, that morbid gaze getting increasingly nearer, that familiar feeling growing stronger. Not a call from the Sleeper, but something... more familiar to me.

He resembles someone, maybe... No! To resemble him means!!!

The dreadful thought becomes reality, before the ice completely covers the resentful spirit’s face, Vina sees his remaining half lips utter that name, the noun wriggled out with broken lips, though soundless, Vina knows that name.

"Lyle."

He is not just any fortunate fragment torn away, but that persistent Evil Spirit, the Desecrator who spies on divine powers. The destined to perish Serio.

The deep sea, chaos ensues.

A thousand voices sing in the ocean, the most pleasing voices, the allure of error, the concealed miracle, the merfolk’s song. The song merfolk use to express love, only to be used once in a lifetime, under Vina’s horrified gaze, her people sing emptily in the deep sea.

Merfolk are outcasts, destined fallers, even with their longing for land, they can never escape the deep sea’s control, servants of the god, sacrifices born of the god.

Serio did not evade the merfolk’s gaze; he transformed all of the merfolk. All of their voices, smiles, and expressions vanished at this moment, as they completely entered the profound embrace.

[Keep calm! You only need to control the cage!]

Facing the oncoming frenzy of fish, Vina reprimanded the sea monster guards to enforce calm. They were bound to be flustered, having sacrificed their appearance for strength, holding a firm resolve to protect their sisters who now no longer existed. The tribe they cherished and loved had transformed into dark eyes and vicious fangs and claws.

The sea’s daughter looked into the darkness in front of her, her eyes wide and bloodshot. Vina trembled as she lifted the Tidal Pearl, struggling to see every face clearly in the bright white light and remember their appearances.

[This is... my tribe... I must... fulfill... my duty...]

[The merfolk turned into foam...]

The destructive white light turned into a miniature image of a mighty dragon that spread its wings and charged towards the merfolk, arrogantly roaring, embodying death with its gaping maw, ready to purify all malice.

"Shut up!"

The dragon’s roar persisted, and from behind the enslaved merfolk, an even more glaring white light burst forth, shooting out of the merfolk like sunlight tearing through dark clouds. The enraged dragon expelled breaths of air from the Tidal Pearl, its flapping wings causing whirlpools and shaking the entirety of Mosue. The normally mild Bordelis, now furious like an provoked shark, lunged at the White Dragon’s apparition, both real and illusionary dragons’ powers clashed across life and death in the deep sea.

The entangled white dragons dragged each other into the sea trench, the continuously shaking seabed declaring the dragon’s violence.

Vina felt some despair, Bordelis! This naive White Dragon had halted the destruction of the merfolk. She looked up at her transformed kin as the completely dimmed Tidal Pearl fell from her hand, disintegrating and shattering.

"It’s not over yet!"

The previous-generation crushing White Dragon Bordelis stirred the currents once more returning, using an inexplicable filthy seawater to dye the entire waters of Mosue green.

"I’ve decided, starting today I will be the King of the Sea!"

"First step, tie them up for me!"

The white dragon’s collection, one after another shipwreck covered in seaweed surfaced, and ugly pirates dominated by a malicious curse jumped from the decks, a whole fleet of pirate ships at the beck and call of the White Dragon Bordelis.

The octopus-faced Captain Drake laughed heartily, raising his curved saber high as cannons roared, shattering the coral bases at the bottom of Coral Castle, collapsing much of the merfolk nation.

Facing Bordelis’ gaze, Drake shrugged.

"Sorry, it was accidental, slipped my hand."