Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Episode 34.
The mermaids came in all shapes and forms.
A human with fins for ears recited lyrics. A crustacean with its entire face covered in reddish-brown shell kept the beat. A hybrid whose hair consisted of octopus tentacles added harmony.
They all sang in unison. The enchanting melody meant to lure sailors spread faintly across the night sea.
When hunting mermaids, sailors would belt out work songs to counter the siren's call.
The paladins had no such need. Constantly facing horrific demons left no room for weak minds.
Yuriel was no exception. Saints devoted their entire lives to mental discipline. One could say they were completely immune to charm effects.
Yuriel simply found the harmony pleasing and kept listening.
"You handle this."
Yona immediately responded to Aiden's command and dove into the water. Her form mutated instantly.
Half-human, half-fish. Her lower body transformed into a fish's tail as her skin became covered in hard scales.
They were the diamond-shaped armored scales of a sturgeon.
The mermaids stirred at Yona's appearance. Like prey before a predator, they began retreating from her.
"Disappear if you value your lives!"
The voice drilled into their skulls. The mermaids clicked their tongues in disappointment before finally vanishing.
"It's done."
Having said this, Yona began peeling off one of her own scales.
She handed each of them a palm-sized, hard outer scale.
"Eat this."
Aiden chewed and swallowed immediately. Though scales were typically discarded, the savory taste explained why people sought out mermaids.
Yuriel seemed extremely reluctant at first but eventually took a bite with her eyes tightly shut.
Judging by her reaction, it didn't taste bad after all.
Yona made a sorrowful expression.
Soon after, Aiden's body became covered in dark green scales. A saltwater crocodile. His human form remained otherwise unchanged.
This was Yona's power—the ability to temporarily transform others into merfolk.
Yuriel now resembled Yona as a half-human, half-fish hybrid. Golden scales matching her platinum blonde hair covered her lower body, while gills formed around her neck.
This was one reason Yona was necessary. Human lungs couldn't withstand the pressure of the deep sea—they'd simply burst.
Aiden and Yuriel plunged into the water.
Despite their transformed bodies, they felt no particular discomfort.
"Let's depart immediately."
Yona disappeared beneath the surface, and the others followed.
Their ears plugged as faint darkness enveloped them.
They naturally adopted the fish's breathing method—drawing water through their mouths and expelling it through their gills to extract oxygen.
For Yuriel, all of this was a strange and wondrous experience. She was physically living out the heroic tales she'd only read about in books.
She felt both fear and excitement. She knew well that harboring such emotions in a place she'd come to due to her distrust in the gods was unforgivable.
Yet she couldn't deny the thrill. The adventures she'd dreamed of as a mischievous girl had become reality.
Deeper and deeper they dove. Before long, they reached depths where not even a sliver of moonlight could penetrate.
In the pitch-black darkness swallowing everything, nothing was visible.
As her sense of space vanished, unease crept in. No one seemed beside her. She suddenly felt abandoned.
She called out to Aiden, but her voice couldn't push through the water—it merely echoed faintly before dissipating.
Panic began to rise.
Using divine power to illuminate her surroundings was out of the question. Sea beasts might be drawn to the light.
Gritting her teeth, she suppressed her terror as much as possible. She couldn't become dead weight.
She repeated Yona's instructions in her mind: Don't think—just descend vertically.
Yuriel frantically flapped her fins. The water pressure crushing her body intensified. It felt like quicksand pulling her down.
Then, suddenly, she collided with something.
A red dot flashed before her eyes. Burning alone in the darkness.
Upon closer inspection, it resembled an eye. The light swayed left and right as if searching before abruptly stopping.
It had spotted Yuriel.
The light vanished instantly. Her vision wavered momentarily before goosebumps erupted across her sides.
She turned her head to the right.
Two crimson eyes were rapidly approaching. Fear of the unknown froze her solid—until a pained roar shattered the moment.
The approaching light flickered weakly before dying out.
Something swiftly grabbed Yuriel's hand as the fierce currents tossed her about. It was large and warm. For some reason, she felt reassured.
It was a hand. Their fingers interlaced, though something slimy clung to them.
She let herself be pulled downward. Her terror had already evaporated, replaced by another emotion.
To her, this ticklish sensation was unfamiliar.
Near 200 meters deep, a narrow crustal plane appeared. Far ahead, bubbles gurgled up from a cliff where the ground sharply dropped off.
Though the original text classified this point as the entrance to Atlantis, the underwater civilization lay much deeper.
This was more like a platform leading to Atlantis.
Aiden planned to ride the descending currents here to reach Atlantis directly.
He headed straight for the cliff. The moment Yona signaled, they all boarded the rising bubbles.
An irresistible pressure crushed them.
The scenery shifted every moment, and the water pressure intensified—but it was over in an instant.
In the distance, where her vision barely reached, a halo of light shimmered.
The distance closed rapidly. The moment they escaped the suffocating cliff crevice, the descent stopped.
An open abyssal plain. Thousands of bioluminescent fish swam through the deep sea, while a massive dome-shaped barrier illuminated the hidden city within.
In the blue sea where green seaweed swayed, unknown lifeforms thrived.
Atlantis. The underwater civilization.
As Yuriel stood mesmerized by the spectacle, Aiden gently nudged her. When he pointed at their still-interlaced hands, she startled and quickly pulled away.
Flushing, she stammered something incomprehensible, but Aiden couldn't hear.
Yona swam ahead toward the city. The translucent barrier didn't obscure the interior—everything was clearly visible.
Beneath an artificial sky where glowing stones floated in place of the sun, civilization thrived.
Ordinary humans lived their own lives.
They didn't seem particularly happy, nor particularly unhappy. It was no different from life on land.
Following Yona to the lower section, they found a small passage.
An outlet used by Atlantis' inhabitants to banish criminals.
They swam upward against the current. After what felt like ages, they reached the surface.
Pfooo— The expelled water hit the cave walls and dispersed like mist.
Stalactites densely covering the ceiling dripped limewater.
The moment Aiden stepped onto solid ground, he reverted to human form.
"Come up."
He offered his hand, but the Saint shook her head rapidly.
"I-I can do it myself."
She quickly climbed onto land.
"Just follow me."
After trailing Yona through the maze-like cave for some time, a massive iron gate blocked their path.
She retrieved a key from her chest and inserted it into a fish-shaped slot.
Clank, creak— Immediately, panicked voices came from beyond the gate.
"W-what the—?!"
The moment Yona stepped inside, screams followed. Soon, silence returned, and she peeked her face through the gap.
"It's been handled. You may enter."
The interior resembled a stone-walled prison. Guards lay unconscious across the floor.
Yona had dealt with them before Aiden could—though Aiden had no intention of harming innocent humans.
But Yona's mind had already categorized Aiden as a ruthless, emotionless human.
Aiden noticed her attitude and could only feel wronged.
"I don't kill people indiscriminately."
"Y-yes...? Understood."
"Enough. Let's go."
Aiden moved on with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Yona had memorized every hidden passage leading from the prison outdoors. After that, they exited without further casualties.
Glowing stones floating in the air dyed Atlantis in shades of violet.
A city both mystical and somewhat dreary.
As they walked the path leading to the temple, Aiden glanced at Yona.
"As you know, if the barrier surrounding Atlantis collapses, the inhabitants will lose their sentience."
The moment they touched seawater, they'd become mermaids. Yet now, that curse was their lifeline.
Without their mutation ability, the entire population here would drown. Of course, if Aiden fully liberated Atlantis, even that corrupted power would vanish.
Yona's task was to guide the inhabitants to the surface before they reverted to humans.
Deril and Yuron would be waiting with commandeered ships.
"Don't worry. I'll minimize casualties."
Not everyone would survive.
But leaving this place as-is wasn't an option either.
They'd live forever in ignorance, offering their own kind as ingredients to surface humans.
More lives might be lost immediately. A dilemma. Aiden didn't know if sacrificing them for the future was truly right.
Every time he made such choices, his chest tightened unbearably.
Aiden had no one to seek advice from, no one to lean on. That made it even harder.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off by Yona's voice.
"Sir Paladin."
They'd arrived before the temple.
"I'll take my leave here. I hope to see you again on the surface."
As Aiden nodded, Yona departed to fulfill her duties.
"That must be Shailan."
Yuriel gazed up at the towering goddess statue standing at the temple entrance.
"Correct. The sea goddess worshipped by the Seirun tribe."
The goddess whom Vacheksar had torn apart and sealed away. Yuriel knew Shailan's tragic tale well from Aiden.
A bitter expression flickered across her face.
"Let's go."
Aiden and Yuriel ascended the grand staircase and entered the temple.
The spacious interior was filled with countless people kneeling on the floor. They bowed toward the massive altar at the front, offering prayers.
"O holy goddess of the sea who governs freedom and life, cross the great ocean and return to our embrace."
Aiden walked past the worshippers toward the altar.
They were too stunned by his actions to speak. Guards drew their blades and charged at him.
Calmly, Aiden retrieved a single orb from his pocket.
The Divine Proxy Pearl—proof of a god's representative and an artifact Aiden needed to collect for the future.
The moment he channeled divine power into it, the interior shone brilliantly. As he approached the altar, he spoke.
"Shailan, Vacheksar has forgiven your sins."
Crack— A fracture spread across the membrane enveloping Atlantis.
Aiden turned to Yuriel. Before the city flooded, there was something she needed to know.
"I'll need your two eyes, Saint."
Yuriel stared at him with deep confusion.
"Give them to me. I'll give you something in return."
This was one reason he'd brought her here.
Aiden needed Yuriel's mystic eyes.