Chapter 25

While Hughes was still engrossed in conversation with Even and paid no attention to the commotion on this side, Lin Yu swiftly set about maneuvering the unconscious man—dragged onto the boat—onto his back. Without hesitation, Lin Yu deftly loosened the man’s heavy, intricately patterned garments, baring a large expanse of pale chest.

Once he had cleared the mud and seawater that had been forced into the man’s nose and mouth, Lin Yu mentally raced through every emergency protocol he could recall, methodically pulling out the man’s tongue to prevent it from falling back and blocking the airway.

—Head tilted back.

He gauged his strength and pressed down on the man’s chest.

The breath was still faint.

He performed several rounds of chest compressions in rapid succession, but the results remained negligible.

With no alternatives left, Lin Yu brushed aside the man’s wet black hair, pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, steeled himself, and leaned down to deliver a breath of air into the man’s mouth—

But the sensation that met his lips was alien, dry, and rough. Realizing something was off, Lin Yu’s eyes snapped open.

“Mmmph!!” A broad palm was pressed firmly between Lin Yu’s lips and those of the unconscious man. The hand shoved with such force and without warning that Lin Yu was thrown backward, crashing into the chest of the man behind him with a loud thud.

“Mmmph!” Still smothered by the unexpected hand, Lin Yu flailed, glaring sideways in protest at the man holding him.

“Were you about to kiss him?” the man asked coldly.

“Mmm mph!” Lin Yu was nearly in tears. He was performing a rescue, for heaven’s sake! Why did this inexplicable interruption have to intervene at such a critical moment? Lives were at stake—who had the luxury for romance now?

The man’s grip was relentless, his gaze dangerous as it swept over the unconscious stranger on the deck. Unable to pry the hand away, Lin Yu could only grimace and gesture desperately, pleading for release—he was suffocating! And, more importantly, someone needed saving!

Finally able to breathe, Lin Yu instinctively checked the unconscious man’s breath.

Thank goodness—still alive...

“Hm?” The man’s face darkened as he turned. “I was saving a life! Didn’t you just see your subordinate haul this half-dead man aboard? If I don’t give mouth-to-mouth now, he’ll die!” Lin Yu retorted indignantly.

The man hesitated, confusion flickering in his green eyes. “Who taught you that this was a way to save someone?”

Lin Yu was speechless.

Are you truly a master healer?

If you don’t use resuscitation and chest compressions, what else is there?! Are we supposed to just watch him die?!

Turning back, Lin Yu once more pinched the nose of the man sprawled on the deck...

“Wait—”

At that moment, Lin Yu’s movement paused. Simultaneously, a dark green pellet shot unerringly into the mouth the unconscious man.

“He’ll live,” the man behind him said coolly.

“You—” Lin Yu shot a suspicious glance at the man’s nonchalant demeanor, but before he could speak, a rush of wind roared past his ears—

The man, moments ago unconscious and delirious, shot bolt upright on the deck the instant the pill dissolved on his tongue.

“Whoa!!” Lin Yu was so startled by the sudden, corpse-like resurrection that he instinctively flung himself backward—landing straight into Hughes’s arms.

Hughes: “...”

“Urgh...” came the retching sounds of induced vomiting.

Clinging to the man for dear life, Lin Yu turned his head, and in that moment, he understood why the man had seemed so clueless about emergency medicine.

The man who had just sat up did not regain consciousness. His wet black hair clung to his face, and his mouth gaped wide. Suddenly, a slimy, dark green worm burst forth, dripping with a stench so foul it was unbearable. After whirling in the air, it gleefully flew out to sea.

As the worm escaped from his throat, the unconscious man involuntarily vomited out all the salty, rancid seawater he had swallowed, stomach acid splattering everywhere. His ruined clothes only intensified the stench, and Lin Yu, still clinging to Hughes, could bear it no longer.

He burrowed into Hughes’s embrace, inhaling the cool, medicinal scent clinging to him, and muttered, “You’re no quack... You’re a veritable beast of a healer!”

What kind of brutal game setting was this, with no basic concept of mouth-to-mouth, but instead such a horrifying, vomit-inducing parasite!

I feel like I’m about to lose my mind!!!

A rare, gentle smile curved on the man’s lips. “Then why are you so reluctant to let go?”

Lin Yu hesitated, then awkwardly pinched his nose and extricated himself, frowning as he glanced at the man who had collapsed again after vomiting. He strode to the cabin to fetch a clean white towel.

Hughes watched in silence as Lin Yu tiptoed over, carefully draping the towel over the man’s revolting face.

...

The two waited in tense silence on the boat for a long while, but only Even the elf returned from the sea.

“Master, I didn’t find Archie, but I did find this...” Even, still dripping, produced several hard, dark blue scales, shimmering faintly.

“These are merfolk scales?” Lin Yu asked in surprise, examining the oval, palm-sized plates.

“Possibly. And... there’s something unsettling about this stretch of sea,” Even said, frowning.

Hughes’s gaze deepened as he stared at the silvery, glittering sea. Suddenly, he spoke: “Which way did Archie swim?”

Even replied at once, “East, toward the area with the most gold gleaming in the waves. I went the other way, and that’s where I found the man on the plank.”

“We must leave at once!” the man said sharply, his face grave.

“Oh, but it’s too late now...” A cold, eerie voice rang out.

With a series of bubbling sounds, a massive, glimmering black-scaled tail emerged from the phosphorescent sea, then slipped back beneath the surface, moonlight glinting off water droplets quivering on its scales.

After the strange, rasping voice faded, the water calmed once more.

“Was that... a fish tail?!” Lin Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Hughes’s expression turned icy. His gaze shifted to the other man on the deck, whose face was still covered by the towel—he was human.

“Master! Look!!” Even cried out.

Where a moment before the merman had vanished beneath the waves, now a shadow flickered on a shattered plank not far from the boat. Slouching lazily, he eyed them, and his lower half—constantly undulating and slapping the surface—was unmistakably fish-like. Yes, very much like a merman.

But his face was nothing like the alluring creatures of legend.

By the cold, silvery moonlight, all three could see clearly: his gaping mouth stretched nearly to his ears, rows of razor-sharp teeth exposed. His wet, tangled black hair clung to his bare torso like seaweed from the abyss. His enormous tail thrashed the water, and his eyes were filled with a malevolent, chilling light, as if he were a vengeful spirit risen from the deep.

Antlers, like those of a stag, sprouted from his head.

“It’s a sea demon!” the man said, his face grim.

“Different from merfolk?” Even asked.

“Yes.” He paused, then added, “Very different. Compared to sea demons, merfolk are almost gentle.”

“That’s a questionable statement...” Remembering the tales of savage merfolk from earlier, Lin Yu looked dubious.

“Sea demons are not only bloodthirsty, but their possessiveness over what they desire is unparalleled among all species. And their song... can drive one to madness and death.”

“Mobile murder weapon!” Lin Yu exclaimed.

And as he finished, the sea demon bared his shark-like maw and crooned, in a voice both monstrous and sickly sweet, “Ah... where is my captive? Where is my captive? I’ve come for my little captive... Have you seen him? If you dare hide him, you’ll all go to hell...”

His gaze was one of dominion, treating them like lambs for slaughter, his tone disturbingly affectionate.

Lin Yu shivered at the sea demon’s words, inching closer to the man and whispering, “That... monster... he must mean the guy we just rescued, right?”

“Most likely,” the man replied.

“So what do we do...?”

“So foul!” Silver Scarlet’s voice boomed behind them—apparently he’d just awakened from his nap.

Oblivious to the tension, Silver Scarlet stumbled out, only to trip over the man on deck, nearly tumbling before he finally realized something was wrong.

“What on earth is going on?!” Silver Scarlet stepped back, face stunned.

“Ugh...” the man on the ground groaned.

“As you can see!” Lin Yu replied hollowly, face drained.

“Damn! You’re all alive and still have the leisure to provoke a sea demon for a laugh?!” Only now did Silver Scarlet seem to notice the dangerous presence offshore. In a flash, his face stiffened, and after tripping over the man again, he darted into the cabin to rummage for something.

“Have you seen him? My dearest captive...” the sea demon’s chilling, crazed voice echoed again.

—Is this the ultimate obsessive lover from hell?!

The man, barely conscious and just kicked awake by Silver Scarlet, heard that nightmarish, all-too-familiar voice. He reacted like a Pavlovian dog—terror-stricken, he leapt to his feet.

White as a sheet, his eyes locked onto the grinning sea demon, and he began to scream hysterically.

“No, no, no! Don’t come any closer! You devil! Madman!” Wracked with pain, he clawed at his head, tearing out clumps of his own sticky black hair, then collapsed in agony. In his fall, he struck his tailbone on the deck, the pain halting even his desperate self-harm. The man, reeking and trembling, curled into a ball, his lips blue and quivering, cursing and sobbing incoherently.

Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth, his ruined clothes hung in tatters, and his exposed skin was covered in bite marks and jagged wounds, veins livid beneath the pallor—a grotesque, heart-wrenching sight.

This man was the very picture of domestic abuse.

Lin Yu and the others were stunned by his savage self-mutilation and the crisscrossing scars exposed.

“Don’t be coy, sweetheart... You know I most adore seeing you in this state...” The sea demon’s face twisted in blissful satisfaction.

Lin Yu: “...”

Hughes: “...”

This sea demon was a textbook case of dangerous insanity.

Meanwhile, the bright moon was swallowed by the thick, rolling clouds gathering on the horizon. In an instant, it was as if the world’s light had been snuffed out, darkness descending with terrifying speed.

Only the torches on the boat still cast a feeble glow.

“What’s happening? The weather didn’t have to turn so fast!” Lin Yu exclaimed.

“No, I suspect that sea demon possesses a blood conch...” the man said.

“What does that mean?”

The salty sea wind began to whip across the surface, as if pushed by an invisible hand. Lin Yu instinctively took refuge behind the man, sheltering from the gusts.

The boat rocked violently as the wind and waves intensified, tilting so precariously it seemed it might capsize at any moment.

“The blood conch is an evil thing... It feeds on all things corrupt and fearful. Only certain high-level sea demons possess it. It can summon storms over the sea—but at the cost of the demon’s own life span,” the man explained, brow furrowed.

“Master, what do we do? And what about that human?” Even, clutching his bow, crouched miserably to escape the wind.

“No, no, no! Don’t throw me overboard! If you do, you’ll all die! The last ship’s crew threw me to that monster, and they were all destroyed! Don’t give me back to that madman!” the man screamed, voice cracking with terror.

“Who knows if you’re telling the truth...” Silver Scarlet emerged from the cabin, tossing three pairs of worn wooden earplugs to Lin Yu, signaling them to put them in.

“Hmph—so long as we don’t hear that sea demon’s song, we won’t go mad and kill each other. But what if we do throw you overboard?” Silver Scarlet crouched with a sneer. “If we keep you, I guarantee that psycho lover of yours will tear us all to pieces... Judging by how terrified you look, I’m right. The last ship was doomed because of you...”

“So what?! You think I wanted any of this?! It’s all that madman’s doing! If... if that hadn’t happened, I’d never have become his prisoner!” the man shouted, lips trembling, his eyes wild with desperate hunger. Crawling painfully across the deck, he begged, “I must escape him! I barely escaped that cursed underwater cell! If he catches me again, he’ll torture me to death! Please, set sail! Now! If we don’t go, it’ll be too late! That madman keeps many sea monsters!”

No sooner had he finished than the boat shuddered violently, as if struck by something massive, nearly toppling everyone.

“He’s here! Go! Go now! That madman will kill anyone who helps me!” the man wailed.

“Set sail,” Hughes commanded coldly.

Even, ears plugged, scrambled to obey, bracing himself against the rising gale.

“Little captive... you do understand me. But now... let’s celebrate!” The sea demon’s voice drifted closer, icy and deranged. Though the earplugs blocked his words, they all knew nothing good was being said.

Yet the boat had barely moved a span when it shuddered again. The waves rose higher, threatening to overturn them, and thunder rolled across the sky before cold, heavy rain poured down in torrents.

The torches were instantly extinguished, wind howled, rain lashed, and the crew could only cling to the pitch-dark deck, powerless to resist.

Soaked to the bone, Lin Yu clung tightly to the man beside him, the mingled scents of salt and medicine swirling in the sodden air. He dared not move.

The man pulled Lin Yu toward the cabin, guiding him inside. Once Lin Yu was safe from the storm, the man patted his shoulder reassuringly and stepped back out into the chaotic night.

After a while, a strange, haunting melody floated in from outside. Even muffled by the earplugs, its beauty was unmistakable—ethereal as a celestial choir, it sent shivers through Lin Yu’s blood, stirring a feverish excitement and an irresistible urge.

Tormented by the song’s intermittent allure, Lin Yu groped in the dark for a small luminous pearl, whose faint glow illuminated a tiny circle around him.

BANG!

BANG!

The boat’s hull reverberated with heavy impacts. Lin Yu shook his head, fighting the seductive melody, and staggered onto the swaying deck, determined to help however he could.

But as he pulled aside the heavy curtain, icy rain lashed his face. Blinking through the downpour, Lin Yu was stunned to see thousands upon thousands of eerie, blue-violet glowing creatures floating on the churning, black sea.

Blue-violet arcs of electricity flickered atop the water—casting everything in a deeper, more terrifying hue.

Damn! It was an army of jellyfish, each charged with ten thousand volts!

By their ghostly glow, Lin Yu saw the others busy at work. Even was desperately steering, while Hughes and Silver Scarlet, using the jellyfish’s faint light, were firing arrows at the monstrous sea creatures assailing the boat. The rescued man, meanwhile, was in utter despair, clutching his head and writhing in agony—clearly driven to the brink of madness by the demon’s song.

Lin Yu grabbed a crossbow from the deck and, bracing himself on the rocking boat, began shooting the smaller, glowing green monsters clambering aboard. When it was clear they couldn’t escape, Even joined the fight on deck.

Thunder rumbled, lightning split the sky, and the jellyfish below responded by discharging even more fiercely, tinting the waves an electric blue.

“Ahhhh!” someone screamed in agony.

The sea demon’s song ceased; it seemed at last to realize it was having little effect on those aboard.

But the most unhinged was the battered human. Lin Yu never expected that, in his madness, the man would try to take him down as well.

While Lin Yu was focused on aiming at another wriggling creature, the man barreled into him, tackling him hard out of the boat.

As Lin Yu crashed into the water, only one thought flashed through his mind—

It’s over! Seawater conducts electricity!

And I can’t swim, damn it!

The world’s cruelties are nothing compared to the malice of the human heart!

Dragged under, Lin Yu’s body was wracked with pain as the electric current surged through him, nearly frying him alive.

The agony was so intense that movement became impossible. The dense swarm of jellyfish tentacles stung and shocked him relentlessly, his mind a chaotic blur of pain and confusion...

As his body drifted away from the mass of jellyfish, Lin Yu found himself sinking deeper into the abyss.

In his fading consciousness, a vision appeared—he thought he saw Hughes, unmasked.

Bathed in the jellyfish’s blue glow, the man’s long, golden hair floated around him, framing a face twisted with emotion. On the side usually hidden by his silver mask, Lin Yu thought he glimpsed a vivid red sigil...

What kind of mark was it?

But perhaps... it was beautiful.

So Lin Yu thought, before losing consciousness entirely.