I remained silent for a few seconds after the king spoke those words.
Fish-Men.
The name echoed in my mind as something distant, almost unreal. I had heard vague stories about them in taverns and ports during my travels, tales from sailors who swore they had seen figures appearing and disappearing in the sea within seconds, human-like shadows mixed with scales, glowing eyes beneath the water before vanishing into the depths. I had always considered them drunken exaggerations or legends born from the fear of the ocean.
But the king's tone left no room for doubt.
They were real.
"So they really do exist..."
The king nodded calmly.
"Yes."
The room felt heavier now, as if the very air had changed. I rested one hand on the table while trying to organize my thoughts.
"I always thought they were just stories made up to frighten travelers."
"That is a common reaction."
The king slowly walked toward one of the hall's windows, looking out over the city in the distance.
"Many believe that because there are almost no direct records about them."
He turned back to me.
"And when there are, they are incomplete or distorted."
I crossed my arms.
"So what do we actually know?"
He took a deep breath before answering.
"That they live in the ocean."
"I already understood that."
"But they don't just live there."
The king returned to the table, resting his hands on it.
"They possess a structured kingdom, with entire cities built on the ocean floor."
I frowned.
"An underwater kingdom..."
"Yes."
The image was difficult to imagine. Entire cities beneath countless tons of water, structures resisting the immense pressure of the depths, life thriving in an environment where any ordinary human would not survive for even a few seconds.
"And no one has ever confirmed that directly?"
"Very few."
The king paused.
"And those who did confirm it did not return with many details."
That made the subject even more unsettling.
"Is contact with the surface really that rare?"
"Extremely."
He took a few steps across the hall.
"There are ancient records of occasional appearances. Some say they emerge as brief delegations, while others claim they simply observe from afar before disappearing."
"So they avoid contact."
"Yes."
I adjusted myself in my chair, processing everything.
If all of this was true, then it was an entire civilization that had chosen to remain isolated from the surface world.
"Why do they choose to remain isolated?"
The king answered after a brief silence.
"The ocean."
"What do you mean?"
"Their world is not ours."
He gestured lightly downward, as if that explained everything.
"They live in an environment where the pressure, the temperature, and even existence itself are different from what we know."
I looked at the floor for a moment.
It made sense.
A society built in such a different environment would naturally follow its own path.
"Have they never become involved in the surface's wars?"
"Occasionally, yes."
The king looked at me again.
"But always indirectly."
"Helping?"
"Or completely ignoring them."
That was curious.
A people capable of simply staying out of everything, even while conflicts raged above them.
"So why are they asking for help now?"
The king's expression grew more serious.
"Because something has changed."
I immediately sensed the tension in his answer.
"Demons?"
"Yes."
He walked back to the table.
"According to the request we received, the attacks began in the ocean."
I frowned.
"In the ocean?"
"Exactly."
He gestured with one hand.
"At first, small maritime regions were attacked."
"Then it spread."
"It spread?"
"Yes."
The king looked directly at me.
"They began losing control of entire areas."
I ran a hand across my face, trying to imagine it.
Demons attacking beneath the sea.
It was not something ordinary.
"Can they even fight in that environment?"
"That is the most worrying part."
The king rested both hands on the table.
"They managed to adapt part of their forces to underwater environments."
"Adapt how?"
"Magic and special techniques."
That made me narrow my eyes.
The enemy was evolving.
Again.
"And the Fish-Men can't handle them on their own?"
The king took a moment before answering.
"They resisted for quite a long time."
"But they are beginning to lose."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Now everything made sense.
The recent calm among the demons on the surface.
The attacks decreasing.
The strange movements.
Perhaps they were not retreating.
Perhaps they were simply changing the battlefield.
"Did they ask for help directly?"
"Yes."
"And why now?"
"Because they no longer have a choice."
At that moment, the door to the hall opened.
The two guards standing outside quickly stepped aside.
The king turned his gaze toward the entrance.
"He has arrived."
A man entered.
He was not an ordinary person.
His presence was different, heavier, as if he carried something that did not completely belong to the surface.
He had human features, yet there was something unusual about his appearance. Small markings on his neck, details that were not natural for an ordinary human.
His eyes quickly scanned the room until they stopped on me.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Your Majesty."
The king nodded.
"Come in."
The man took a few steps forward and gave a slight bow.
That was when I finally saw it clearly.
He was not just an ordinary envoy.
He was a Fish-Man.
And at that moment, everything the king had explained began to take shape before my eyes.