Chapter 255
Chapter 255
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 255
Chapter Title: Beach Slaughterer
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"I, the Heavenly Demon Kim Katt, give you one final warning!"
I spat fiercely as I pressed the blade to the neck of what I'd conveniently dubbed the seabed prince—my hostage.
The panicked mermen could only writhe in place, utterly unable to mount any attack.
"Get lost, you fish bastards!"
Language meant nothing to them.
Words fell on deaf ears.
But my will cut through straight and true, transcending differences of race, gender, and tongue alike. If you don't want to see this one die, then step aside. I made it clear through my actions.
"Do you want to see your precious idol spilling blood?!"
—Shrieeeek!!
—Shrieeek!
—Shrieeeeek!!
I nicked his forearm just a bit, and the mermen frothed at the mouth, slamming their heads against the floor.
"Hah—! Hahaha! Ahahahaha!"
Things were unfolding perfectly. Claudy and Winia stared at me with dazed expressions, their eyes half-disbelieving, like they were gazing at something out of a dream.
"B-Blackie... Th-this is okay, right?"
"Katt... I can't believe it."
"Told you."
The mermen parted, clearing a path.
"Nothing is impossible for the Heavenly Demon Kim Katt."
Terror and anxiety had them all trembling. Primitive as they were, not a single one raised a weapon. They grasped the concept of a hostage just well enough—and that shallow cleverness was precisely why they'd lost.
This one must be more precious to them than anything.
"You don't want to watch your treasured one get hurt, do you."
Once you comprehend "precious," defeat follows.
Irony was all this world had to offer.
"Never thought Blackie's nonsense could sound so reliable!"
"Y-Yeah. Honestly, me neither."
Winia wrapped her arms around my waist, while Claudy scratched at her cheek.
"Let's go."
Time to move out, anyway.
Gripping the seabed prince tight to keep the blood from his arm from dripping, I took a step forward. Limp as a sea slug plucked on a summer day, he couldn't even resist.
Perfect hostage material!
The path the mermen had cleared looked like a red carpet. I strode forth like a triumphant general after victory, with Claudy and Winia following behind. With you in my arms, we can flee anywhere, I whispered into the ear of the one clutched to my chest.
Wails rose from the mermen.
It happened just as we reached the exit.
—Shr... Shreek! Shrieeeek!
One merman blocked my path.
No weapon in hand, but his eyes burned with resolve.
Hoo?
"This bastard... lost his damn mind?"
But thrust the prince forward, and his momentum faltered. I immediately slammed a kick into the blocker’s chest. Thud! He flew back, crying out as he glared at me.
—Shreek! Shrieeek!!!
His fighting spirit remained unbroken.
Foolish creature.
"What? Wanna charge? Heh, ya fish. This guy's gearing up to rush."
—...Blub!
I smacked the cheeks of the one in my arms with sharp slaps, taunting, and the would-be attacker hesitated. —...Shreek! His face twisted in such delicious frustration that I couldn't help but revel in it.
"What the hell! Move this fucking idiot!"
—Shrieeek!
—Shreek! Shruk!
Horrified by my violent display, the mermen dragged off the fool who'd dared oppose me and unleashed a merciless lynching. —Shrieeek!! In seconds, he was beaten to a pulp, transformed into something resembling oden.
What explosive idiots.
Watching them, I couldn't stop laughing.
This was why staying passive left you sandwiched.
With a hostage in hand, what could they possibly do?
"Let's head out. Should be fine now."
We made our way outside without issue.
No resistance. No rebellion.
Mermen without even a terrorism playbook could never best a modern Earthling.
"Holy shit. Is this Atlantis or what?"
The outside had become a drained seabed kingdom.
Nothing visible in all directions but mermen and burning buildings. Their sheer numbers had overwhelmed everything.
Humanity had fallen.
But that didn't apply to the irregular Kim Katt.
I walked on.
—Shr, shreek...!
—Shrieeek!
—Shreek! Shrie!
The outside mermen charging with raised tridents froze at the sight of their idol captive in my arms, trembling in dread before kneeling in submission.
What? Had I unconsciously unleashed the Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon?
"Blackie, I feel like I'm dreaming right now!"
Winia said, watching the bewildered mermen.
"'Cause I'm too cool?"
"Yeah! Extra cool today, Blackie!"
"Hmph."
I'm a naturally lethal man.
I traversed the nightmare-shrouded city. No matter how many mermen there were, with the hostage in my arms, there was nothing to fear.
"We'll make great pals, you and me! Heh!"
—Blub! Blub!
But could this guy even breathe without water?
He was still alive, so apparently yes.
Though he couldn't move much.
"I am..."
Behind us stretched a long procession of mermen pilgrims.
They pursued us slowly, wailing and sobbing. Some tore wildly at their own gills, spilling blood.
"I am the Pied Piper man."
Lost in sentiment, I murmured it while gazing at the burning buildings. The ominous legend passed down from the declining, ruined ashen city of Hamelin—the tale of the demon piper.
"This place is Hamelin."
A horrific legend of children, enchanted by the beguiling flute, following the demon piper to a brutal massacre.
The original tells of the children vanishing forever, never to return. But I knew the truth.
What a deceived and ravaged demon would do to kidnapped children was plain as day.
I superimposed the massacred children and the mermen. These mermen, like Hamelin's kids, wouldn't meet a pretty end either.
Because I'd see to it.
The price for invading a human city was steep.
Come to think of it, "merman" and "child" even sounded alike.
Inevitable, perhaps.
"No... a reenactment of the demon legend."
—Shrieek!
—Shreek! Shreek!
—Shreek!
Mermen warriors formed a wall to halt us, blocking the path. Trembling with unease, yet their eyes fixed steadfastly on their idol.
"Clear the way."
But that sturdy wall crumbled with a single gesture from me.
"Heavenly Demon Sky-Splitting Palm."
I chomped down on the webbing of the seabed prince's ear, and the mermen warriors fainted dead away. Through the breach in the wall, we advanced.
"Hee hee hee."
Clady laughed in delight at the sight.
"Never dreamed it'd actually play out like this."
"Heh heh heh. From now on, just trust in me, Claudy. No matter what happens, I'll handle it all."
"So cool, Katt. You're really reliable."
Clady planted a kiss on my cheek.
Savoring the resurgent power, I marched toward our goal. Nearly a thousand mermen trailed us with their wails, but I didn't spare them a glance—just kept walking.
No ambushes.
No attacks.
—Blub... Blub...
Whenever the one in my arms struggled to flare his gills, the mermen screamed in agony. How I wished I could understand their tongue.
We marched for hours under the scorching sun. At last, we escaped the city.
The path inland.
We'd reached the forest's edge.
"Kyaa, kyahahaha! We're alive! Alive! Blackie rules! Blackie's so freaking cool!"
Only then did Winia fully relax, shouting in joy.
"You've finally awakened to your hubby's coolness, I see."
"Yes yes! Blackie supreme! Blackie's the coolest! Kyahahaha!"
Watching Winia rejoice filled me with vigor.
We pressed on further.
—Shrreeee...
—Shrreeeeee...
—Shrieee...
Glancing back, I saw the mermen withering and shriveling.
Once fresh sashimi, they were fresh no more—like diseased fish in a rundown sushi shop tank, hollow shells robbed of all future.
Their pace slowed relentlessly, their numbers dwindling as stragglers dropped out. Just as I'd predicted, mermen couldn't operate long out of seawater.
Above all, unused to land marching after a life in the depths, their bodies weren't built for prolonged surface activity.
Deeper into the forest, their cries grew more labored.
Only the uncollapsed persisted in pursuit.
This was the suffering Hamelin's children endured.
I'd repay it in full.
—Shrieeee...!
—Shrieee...
Sunset descended.
The relentless pursuers had narrowed to about ten, shrunken husks drained of moisture.
—Shrie...!
—Shrieeek!
They craved just one thing.
Not seawater to end their dehydration torment.
Simply the safety of their idol in my grasp—they yearned to have him back. Return him. Give him back. He's our idol...! Screaming it eternally.
Thud.
The lead one collapsed.
Exhausted.
But the next leaped over the corpse, and the one after that. What forged such loyalty in them?
"...You?"
—...Blub.
No reply came.
We simply walked on as before. To the next village... this pace should do. In the world slowly dying orange, I addressed the trailing mermen.
"I won't hand him over."
Weighty words.
"Your idol will die just like this."
And low.
"You can't save your idol. Can't reclaim him. Can't revive him or ease his suffering."
I turned.
One merman remained.
"The sin of invading the city. The sin of slaughtering people. And the sin of craving human flesh."
Shriveled to a mummy, it trailed on as if that were life's sole purpose. Claudy ignored it, but even Winia pitied it like a rain-soaked stray.
I pronounced judgment upon it.
"Receive humanity's retribution, frail merman."
Thud.
The final merman fell at last.
I looked down.
—Shrieee...!
Desperately, it reached out. Crunch. I crushed its weakened arm underfoot. Shards of shattered bone pierced its scales, and it spat a final agony-filled screech.
Yet even then, its eyes never left the seabed prince.
"—It won't reach."
The last merman closed its eyes.
"Your feeble will never reaches me!"
I kicked the fresh corpse aside. Stale sashimi wasn't worth eating—just an upset stomach waiting to happen. Only then did I hurl down my backpack and the prince.
Fucking exhausting.
Flung to the ground, he struggled to flare his gills.
—...Blub. Blub.
"All your comrades are dead."
—Blub.
"All because of you."
—...Blub.
What, like communication was possible anyway.
I plopped down on the backpack and uncapped my canteen. Gulp gulp. The water sliding down my throat felt utterly refreshing. I drank it demonstratively, savoring every drop.
"Man, when our Blackie hams it up, he seems like a total airhead usually, but today? Actually cool."
Winia settled lightly beside me.
I passed her the canteen.
"Yeah, Katt. What you said today was spot on. Yeah. Super cool."
I smiled quietly.
In the end, we'd escaped the city with the hostage.
Roughly a thousand mermen must've withered away dead. The city had probably regained some peace by now. No matter how numerous they were, that kind of loss would've been catastrophic.
Whiiiistle.
The breeze tousled my hair.
—...
The mermen's idol breathed his last.
A quiet death.
I tilted the canteen, dribbling a bit of water onto his face. Thanks, buddy. Thanks to you, we made it out alive. You did your part and then some.
—Reasons and causes don't matter.
The mermen killed humans, so I judged the mermen. Their deaths were just that—nothing more. Whether they came from the depths to rescue their idol or reclaim him.
No need to care or even think about such things.
Because I was human, not merman.
I danced.
A dance to soothe the souls.
The sun sank low.
I danced until the sky turned pitch black.
Clap clap clap!
Clap clap clap!
Clady and Winia clapped along.