The giant sea predator continued feasting upon the distant rocks.
Its enormous jaws crushed bones with horrifying ease.
The sound carried across the sea.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Each bite sent another wave of fear through the students aboard the academy vessel.
Meanwhile—
Kel stood near the railing.
His silver eyes calmly observed the waters below.
The captain stood nearby.
Several sailors waited for orders.
The missing students remained unaccounted for.
That alone was enough.
The captain sighed.
Deeply.
Painfully.
Then pointed at Kel.
"Don't die."
Kel nodded.
Reasonable request.
Then—
He removed his cloak.
Several students blinked.
Then his outer garments.
More students blinked.
Then his shirt.
The blinking stopped.
The entire deck suddenly became strangely quiet.
Very.
Very quiet.
Kel didn't notice.
Or perhaps he simply didn't care.
His focus remained on the rescue operation.
The students' focus did not.
Years of sword training.
Countless battles.
Continuous physical conditioning.
Aura cultivation.
Exploration expeditions.
Monster hunting.
The result was visible.
Lean.
Powerful.
Balanced.
Not the exaggerated muscles of bodybuilders.
Nor the thin frame of scholars.
Every line of his physique possessed purpose.
Strength.
Control.
Efficiency.
Scars from old battles crossed portions of his body.
Not many.
But enough to reveal experience.
Several female students immediately turned red.
A few covered their eyes.
Some covered their eyes while continuing to peek through their fingers.
Others turned away entirely.
Several male students suddenly felt attacked for reasons they couldn't explain.
Inside his mind—
Seiren laughed.
"The reactions are wonderful."
Kel ignored her.
"Three girls just looked twice."
"I am trying to rescue people."
"Five now."
Kel jumped.
Splash.
The ocean swallowed him instantly.
The problem disappeared.
At least temporarily.
The captain stared.
Then looked toward the students.
Then toward the ocean.
Then sighed.
Again.
Several sailors immediately followed.
Splash.
Splash.
Splash.
One after another they entered the water.
The rescue team moved quickly.
Professional.
Experienced.
The ocean surface rippled behind them.
Soon they approached the mermaid territory.
Below the surface—
An entirely different world emerged.
Coral formations.
Ancient underwater stone structures.
Schools of fish.
Strange aquatic plants.
The territory extended far beneath the sea.
Yet despite searching.
They found nothing.
No prisoners.
No trapped students.
No evidence of human captives.
The deeper they searched—
The stranger the situation became.
Inside his mind—
Seiren spoke.
"Something feels wrong."
"I know."
"The evidence doesn't match."
Kel nodded slightly underwater.
The pieces didn't fit together.
Eventually—
A group of mermaids appeared.
Guards.
Unlike the beautiful singers from earlier.
These possessed weapons.
Coral spears.
Bone blades.
Protective armor crafted from enchanted sea materials.
One attempted retreat.
Unfortunately—
Kel was faster.
Moments later.
A young guard mermaid found herself cornered against a coral formation.
The sailors watched nervously.
The guard looked terrified.
Not because of the sailors.
Because of Kel.
Several female mermaids nearby whispered urgently.
Apparently.
The rumor regarding the human who wanted to know how mermaid flesh tasted had already spread.
Fast.
Very fast.
Kel looked at the guard.
The guard looked at Kel.
Neither spoke.
Finally—
Kel broke the silence.
"Where are the students?"
The mermaid blinked.
"What students?"
"The captured students."
The guard immediately looked confused.
Genuinely confused.
Then answered.
"There are no students."
Kel narrowed his eyes.
The guard hurriedly continued.
"We returned all students."
Silence.
The sailors exchanged looks.
Kel remained expressionless.
Then asked.
"Then why attack the ship?"
The guard looked offended.
"Attack?"
"You attempted to lure students into the ocean."
The mermaid's expression became strange.
Very strange.
Then she slowly covered her face.
As though embarrassed.
"What?"
Kel asked.
The guard sighed.
A deep sigh.
The kind produced by someone tired of explaining things.
"That wasn't an attack."
Silence.
The sailors stared.
The guard continued.
"It was a courage examination."
Everyone froze.
"What?"
The mermaid repeated herself.
"A courage examination."
The rescue party collectively stopped functioning.
Even the ocean seemed confused.
The guard pointed upward.
Toward the distant academy island.
"The instructors requested it."
Silence.
Then more silence.
Then somehow even more silence.
Kel stared.
The sailors stared.
The guard stared back.
Eventually one sailor asked.
"...The instructors requested you hypnotize students into jumping off ships?"
The guard immediately shook her head.
"No."
Then paused.
"Mostly."
The sailor nearly drowned.
The mermaid quickly corrected herself.
"The melody influences emotions."
"We observe reactions."
"Fear."
"Courage."
"Decision making."
"Leadership."
The sailors looked increasingly horrified.
The guard continued.
"The academy receives reports."
Kel remained silent.
Then asked.
"Explain."
The guard nodded.
Finally.
Someone asked the correct question.
"We cooperate with Aetherial Institute."
Her voice became more formal.
"Our tribes have maintained agreements for generations."
Several sailors frowned.
The guard continued.
"We provide naval security."
"We monitor pirate activity."
"We patrol surrounding waters."
"We guide academy vessels during emergencies."
The information sounded increasingly reasonable.
Then she added something unexpected.
"Our greatest talents study at the academy."
Silence.
"What?"
The guard nodded proudly.
"Every generation."
"We send our best."
"The academy accepts merfolk students."
The rescue team froze.
Completely.
Several sailors struggled to imagine a mermaid attending classes.
The mental image felt oddly amusing.
Meanwhile—
The guard continued.
"We may consume human flesh."
The sailors immediately became alarmed.
Then she quickly added:
"But not students."
The sailors relaxed.
Slightly.
"Or neutral parties."
More relaxation.
"We only attack hostile forces."
Even better.
"Pirates."
Excellent.
"Slave traders."
Wonderful.
"Invading fleets."
Reasonable.
The guard crossed her arms.
"We are not monsters."
Several sailors looked unconvinced.
The guard looked offended.
Then pointed directly at them.
"You literally entered our territory armed."
Fair point.
Inside his mind—
Seiren sounded entertained.
"The fish has a point."
"Mermaid."
"Fish."
"Mermaid."
"Fancy fish."
Kel wisely chose not to relay that conversation.
The diplomatic consequences would be unfortunate.
Meanwhile—
The guard continued.
"The students who entered the water earlier."
Everyone listened carefully.
"We rescued them."
Silence.
Then relief.
Genuine relief.
The sailors visibly relaxed.
The guard pointed toward a distant underwater cave system.
"They are already aboard another academy vessel."
The rescue team stared.
"What?"
The mermaid shrugged.
"The instructors anticipated panic."
"The backup vessel retrieved them."
The sailors looked emotionally exhausted.
Because apparently—
Everything had been planned.
Mostly.
Then Kel finally asked:
"The giant predator."
Immediately.
The guard's expression darkened.
The surrounding mermaids looked frightened.
Several unconsciously moved closer together.
Fear.
Real fear.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The earlier embarrassment vanished.
Only tension remained.
The guard lowered her voice.
"That..."
She looked toward the distant ocean.
Toward the direction of the massive creature.
"...is not part of the examination."
Silence.
The rescue team immediately became serious.
The guard's hands tightened around her spear.
"We have lost hundreds."
The ocean suddenly felt colder.
Much colder.
And for the first time since entering the mermaid territory—
Kel realized.
The real problem had only just begun.