JGMH | Chapter 3

The sea goddess Diantha fell into a deep sleep one day, the reasons veiled in mystery.

Though her touch and gaze once caressed the ocean, now only the soft echoes of her slumber reverberated through the waters.

Years passed since Diantha’s slumber began, yet the merfolk remained untroubled.

Diantha had ensured that her bloodline, strong and enduring, would be passed down to her children. To those born with her divine lineage, she bestowed her powers, ensuring they could protect and thrive in their cherished sanctuary until her return.

With their mother’s blessings, the merfolk raised new generations, patiently awaiting the day she would awaken. The eldest merfolk, as time took its toll, passed their roles to others before dissolving into seafoam.

The sacred island of Larmé, nurtured by Diantha’s tears, welcomed the birth of a new princess—a momentous occasion for the merfolk. After all, they believed Levis, the last of Diantha’s blue-blooded children, was to be their final guardian of the island known as “The Beginning and End of Water.”

Levis used her gifts to heal her kin, though her own wounds remained beyond her power. Despite this, her body healed quickly, rarely leaving her in a dire state.

Apart from dealing with creatures that disrupted their harmony, life among the merfolk was serene.

Thus, when Levis recounted her encounter together with Helianthe, a sea serpent, her siblings were skeptical. How could the serpents, guardians of the seas, turn against their protector?

No one paid heed to Levis’ warnings. She was the youngest, and her claims of external threats invading their ocean sanctuary were dismissed.

The dangers of humanity were whispered like fables, but Levis’ curiosity burned brightly. She yearned to uncover the truth of the unknown world.

On midsummer nights, Levis swam out from the caves of Larmé, which connected her sea to the realm of humans.

 

***

 

Before long, they would catch the scent of the sea and arrive.

Levis clenched the rope in her mouth desperately. She silently thanked the ignorance and arrogance of the humans, who hadn’t considered binding her with a gag.

Using her freed hand, she clawed at the taut rope with her sharp teeth. Soon, it snapped, and she slipped below the surface, her body vanishing into the water.

The shadowy canopy of the trees mirrored on the water’s surface would hide her presence.

Once, Diantha had warned the merfolk: harm inflicted upon others would return to them in kind.

The merfolk, striving for harmony, had honored that commandment, living peacefully without quarrel.

But Levis had no space in her heart to heed the words of a mother who no longer answered her prayers. Survival took precedence.

She refused to be powerless, as she had been when Helianthe was lost. If death was inevitable, she resolved to take her enemies with her.

The feel of water weaving through her hair sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine, coaxing a small, wicked smile to her lips.

A strange exhilaration drowned out her fear and dread, a faint thrill lighting her face as she floated in the murky depths.

The ropes that had bound her wrists would serve as trophies of her small triumph.

With her hands pressing against the lakebed, Levis flipped her body upright. Now, she needed only to wait for the right moment to strike at her prey above.

“Are we really just going back and forth along the same path?”

‘I don’t think so.”

“We just passed that tree earlier, didn’t we? Where are your eyes even looking?”

“If you hate it so much, go on your own. Why are you even following me?”

“Some loyalty you have, you bastard.”

The two men tromping through the forest weren’t hunters but opportunists. By sheer luck, they had hitched a ride on a royal supply wagon bound for the queen’s court. They had overheard tales of a captured mermaid—beautiful beyond belief.

Ben, ever curious, had immediately informed his brother Gutt about the sighting of the queen and her maids heading into the woods.

Initially, Gutt dismissed Ben’s story with a haughty air, feigning familiarity. But temptation gnawed at him, and before long, he bribed a maidservant for more details.

The forests of Ribe, a hunting ground reserved for young royals, were deemed safe—home to small animals, free of greater threats.

Given the lack of guards, Gutt deduced that the mermaid had been abandoned here. Without legs, how could she possibly flee the forest? It was a feast served on a silver platter.

“We’ve got supplies, and we brought knives. If it comes to it, we’ll just threaten her into submission.”

“Bet she’d look even prettier crying her eyes out…”

Their crude laughter echoed as they walked, each lost in sordid fantasies.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could talk to her?”

“Ha! Since when have you ever sweet-talked a woman into liking you?”

As Gutt rolled his eyes at Ben’s naive musings, he spat in disgust. His brother, ever the romantic fool, clung to the delusion of finding a simple, kind woman who would dote on him.

The idea that a clueless mermaid might reciprocate his “kindness” made Gutt want to leave Ben behind in the woods.

Even if she did, what use would a mermaid’s affection be? At best, she’d be a pretty servant.

“We’re close, aren’t we?”

“Why?”

“Can’t you smell it? The stench of saltwater is everywhere.”

For all his faults, Ben’s nose was sharp. Gutt followed his jubilant, swaying figure reluctantly.

Ben swung his knife like a knight preparing for battle, marching boldly ahead. His exaggerated swagger reminded Gutt of a fool playing heroics.

Before long, the haze of mist parted, revealing a small pond. Ben, eager to beat his brother, sprinted forward.

But as Gutt caught up, he froze.

Ben’s eager expression crumbled into disappointment as he found nothing but silence and still water.

“Don’t tell me… Is it gone?”

“Look at that rope.” 

Gutt pointed at the remnants of a rope tied to a sapling. Its shredded ends bore the marks of sharp teeth.

“The mermaid was here.”

“And?”

As Ben stared blankly, Gutt cursed under his breath, exasperated by his brother’s stupidity.

“Dammit. She’s either hiding underwater or moved elsewhere.”

“Then we just dive in and check, don’t we?”

“You idiot…”

Gutt was about to scold Ben once again, but he swallowed the words back down. If Ben confirmed it first, it wasn’t a bad thing for him at all.

Even if it ended in vain, it was enough for Ben to get his clothes wet. And even if Ben managed to catch the mermaid, there was no way he’d come back unscathed.

With the strength to cut through a rope like that, he would surely be dangerous.

“Fine. You go f–.”

Before Gutt could finish his sentence, Ben immediately jumped into the water. Seeing his brother, who seemed intent on leading no matter what, wearing his wet clothes without a second thought, Gutt couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh.

The tip of his foot vanished, and it was about time for Ben’s upper body to rise again. Despite being quite tall, Ben didn’t raise his head above the surface of the water.

Is the water really that deep? Puzzled, Gutt bent down and looked at the surface. Dark, smoky tendrils seemed to rise from his own reflection in the water.

As he squinted and focused on what it was, the black smoke gradually turned red, and beneath it, Ben’s face emerged.

“Uh…?”

Ben’s lifeless face, wide-eyed, surfaced, and around it, a crimson stain slowly crept up.

Before Gutt could even comprehend the situation, two pale arms reached out toward him. Unexpectedly, an immense strength dragged him below the surface.

Colliding with his brother’s cold, lifeless body in the water, what he saw was more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen. Involuntarily, Gutt opened his mouth, only to spit out bubbles of water.

Trying to capture those glowing blue eyes and hair in his vision for just a moment longer, Gutt struggled in the water. But as he parted the bubbles, a pale set of lips and sharp fangs approached, sinking into his neck.

 

***

 

Levis lifted them out of the pit, which had become so cramped with two corpses that it seemed barely able to hold them. She didn’t know how much longer she could survive in a pit contaminated with blood, but she had no regrets. She would rather rot and die in it.

Humans were truly filthy and vile. Just thinking about the bastard who had groped her breasts even until the moment of his death made her teeth want to grind themselves to dust.

“Living up to your name.”

Levis, while lifting the second man’s leg, shot a fierce glare. It was him. Rosander Wayne.