Isma, barefoot, followed the muttering villagers of Sea God Island onto one of the four ships anchored in the bay. The villagers whispered curses about the rudeness and hatefulness of this group of "raiders."
She found it a little strange. If the group of people who had landed on the island yesterday were truly raiders, why would they have allowed them to board the ship safely and unharmed, even taking their necessary belongings?
Moreover, she had been in contact with Nidhogg in the group. Her never-failing intuition told her that Nidhogg was not a bad person. Therefore, his companions should not be bad people either.
Yet, before her eyes was a strange scene. Not a single person in the entire Sea God Island village was threatened by this group of raiders who had landed with longswords, bows, and crossbows. They were divided into several groups and boarded their ships.
Some villagers said they would be sold into slavery. Some said they would be thrown into the sea to feed the fish. Some said they would have to become part of the raiders and cause trouble everywhere.
However, Isma always felt things wouldn't be that simple. The more she watched, the stranger it seemed to her.
"Child." Suddenly, a quiet call came from beside Isma. She turned her head and saw a thin, bearded old man. "Why aren't you wearing shoes? Aren't you afraid of cutting the soles of your feet?"
Isma looked at the soles of her feet and shook her head. "I've always run barefoot along the coast. I've never cut my feet so easily."
The old man was not a resident of Sea God Island, and Isma didn't know him. So he must have been one of the original crew members of the ship.
"No, that won't do." The old man frowned, returned to a cabin, and after a while, brought out a pair of shoes.
Isma also heard the sailors calling him "Morgan" at this time.
Morgan pressed the shoes into Isma's hands. "Try them on. I don't know if the size is right."
"My father said you shouldn't just accept gifts from others."
"Child, what's your name?"
"My name is Isma. You're called Morgan, I heard them call you that."
"Yes, I am Morgan, a resident of a village called Irog. I am now going to sea with them. Isma, you can accept these shoes."
Morgan paused before continuing:
"These shoes belonged to my granddaughter. But she died many years ago. I originally wanted to keep them as a memento and bring them along. Since meeting you, it's fate. You can wear them."
After Morgan offered them several times, Isma couldn't refuse. So she accepted and put them on. They fit perfectly.
"You truly have a connection with these shoes." Morgan smiled.
"Thank you, Uncle Morgan." Isma took a few steps on the deck. There was nothing special about it, besides the initial discomfort of wearing shoes. She expressed her gratitude to Morgan.
At that moment, Isma also noticed that the Sea God Island villagers boarding the ship with her were not being treated harshly. As long as they didn't cause trouble or try to leave the ship, they retained a small degree of freedom.
She became more and more convinced that something strange was going on. So she asked Morgan beside her. But Morgan smiled helplessly and didn't answer directly.
"Isma, you just need to know that we won't harm you. Nidhogg and the others must have done this for your safety."
"Nidhogg..." Isma quietly read the name of the man she had spoken with yesterday. She wanted to ask more when she heard a commotion on the ship.
Isma and Morgan looked and saw a group of sailors and Sea God Island villagers gathered at the ship's rail, staring down at the sea as if they had seen something terrifying.
They were also a little curious, so they approached. Isma wasn't tall enough and needed to carefully look down. So Morgan lifted Isma up so she could see the sea below more easily.
They saw dolphin-like shadows in the sea, swimming rapidly away from the ship's hull towards Sea God Island.
If this were truly just a dense group of dolphins or a school of fish, no one would find it strange. After spending a long time at sea, you could see such a sight several times.
However, if everyone looked closely, they would see that it wasn't dolphins or a school of fish... It looked more like a female silhouette, but the lower body was a fishtail.
"Mermaids..." Morgan exclaimed. "I've actually encountered mermaids again."
Nearby, the pot-bellied bard, who was always playing his lute, was a little delighted:
"It seems we might witness another epic battle between heroes and monsters today! I must record this in my poetry!"
Isma, held by Morgan, watched the beautiful creatures in the sea with wide, astonished eyes. Suddenly, she remembered her father's last words.
Yesterday, she hadn't told Nidhogg her father's final words completely. It was a small precaution for her. The content she hadn't shared was very simple—her father had revealed the true identity of her mother.
A mermaid. Her mother was a mermaid.
Among these mermaids who had suddenly appeared, could her mother be among them?
Isma desperately wanted to know the truth.
---
On the shore of Sea God Island, Flora put away her wand, which had touched the water. She stood gracefully to one side, looking at the many beautiful mermaids gathered on the coast.
"I told them what you were going to do. They decided to help," Flora said to Nidhogg and the others behind her.
Nidhogg nodded, waiting for the mermaids to approach.
The mermaids, plump or slender, their hair bare, swished their fish tails underwater, suspending their upper bodies above the sea. One of the mermaids was the one who had shown everyone the way that day.
"My name is Evelyn." The mermaid leader came a little closer and said, "It was surprising enough to see you fight the sea monster yesterday. But I didn't expect that today you plan to directly confront the Sea God."
Flora shook her head, stepped aside, revealing the two standing behind her. "I can only help from a distance. These two are the ones who truly intend to fight the Sea God face to face."
Standing behind Flora, Nidhogg and Guts were ready to go, clad in the Carian Knight Set and the Berserker Armor. They looked impressive.
Evelyn looked Nidhogg and Guts up and down and immediately understood that these two were the warriors who had killed the sea monster yesterday. She felt more confident and determined.
"We, the mermaid clan, as the family responsible for guarding the 'seal of the Sea God,' have grown increasingly powerless in recent years. As elves, our power weakens, but the evil power of the Sea God grows day by day."
"Its ability to deceive people is also quite frightening. A long time ago, the inhabitants of Sea God Island fought side by side with us to stop Poseidon's destruction. But now, the inhabitants of Sea God Island have completely changed."
"Not only do they no longer want to help us, but they also resent us for interfering. They believe that our very existence angered the Sea God. So they allowed the Sea God to attack nearby fishermen and their boats."
"As a result, we became targets of exclusion and were forced to leave this sea area and hide in the nearby deep sea."
"Only when the Sea God's tentacles try to extend further into the sea do we appear and fight it."
"We haven't formed an alliance with humanity in a long time... Since you have decided to do this today, we mermaids will naturally accompany you to the end and leave everything under the sea to us."
Flora smiled. "Good. We mages will set up a magic circle on the ship to support them and you from the rear."
"No problem." Evelyn nodded to Nidhogg and the others, then turned, flicked her tail, swam back to her companions, and discussed the next battle plan with them.
Flora, Casca, Schierke, Nordic, and others were to board the ship first. The ship also left the bay and headed for relatively safe deep waters.
However, Nordic, the "Navigation Prince," still needed to be ready to command the ships and bombard necessary targets at any time.
As a result, only two people remained on the barren Sea God Island.
"Are you ready?" Nidhogg asked.
Guts carried the Dragonslayer on his shoulder. "Do I still need to prepare? My sword can't wait to kill the monster hiding here."
"Alright, then let's go."
They walked along the coastal cliffs and soon arrived in front of a huge cave beneath the cliff. Foaming waves rushed into the cave, roaring.
"Look, blood." Guts pointed to blood scraped onto a rock by the path. "This must have been left by those three people who were abducted last night... There's a high probability that it's worse than good."
"Then let's kill the Sea God and avenge them."
Saying this, Nidhogg began to prepare for battle.
He took out his Spirit Calling Bell and summoned, one by one, Ingvall the Lost Knight, Oleg the Lost Knight, Lhutel the Headless Knight, the Lone Wolves, the Twin Sage Sorcerers, and the Spirit Jellyfish.
This was the first time Nidhogg had summoned so many spirits to fight together. It demonstrated his caution in this battle.
Subsequently, after drinking Cerulean Tears to restore focus, he took out his Golden Halberd, gave Guts and the spirits "Golden Vow," and then took out his Grafted Blade Greatsword and gave himself "Oath of Vengeance."
Completing this entire set, Nidhogg refocused. Then he took the wyvern in his left hand and Bloodhound's Fang in his right, leading everyone into the deep, dark cave.
They stepped over the huge, fallen stone god statues scattered here. As they descended deep into the darkness, they saw a wave of black water surge from a pool deep in the cave. Huge, writhing shadows appeared in this cold water.
Nidhogg and Guts watched warily.
The Twin Sage Sorcerers, having received their orders, took the initiative. They fired glintstone light arrows at these shadows, illuminating the depths of the cave.
They saw sticky slugs, the size of hippos, crowded together. They raised a pair of antennae, as if cautiously reaching out towards Nidhogg and the others.
This dense scene of monsters was truly terrifying.