I pulled out my sword, and blood sprayed across my face. The inside of the creature was dark as hell, and slimy green acid coated everything, even tiny drops falling to the ground. It was massive.

"System!" I called out, yet nothing answered. Did that fvcking system really abandon me to die? Just when I was losing hope, Cat’s voice echoed in my ear.

"Raven, are you okay?" she asked, and a sneer escaped my lips.

"Took you long enough," I replied.

"I can’t really help right now, but try to awaken your sword like last night," she echoed in my head, and I raised a brow. Awaken? How?

"As a system, there is little I can do," she said, and I bit down on my lip. I didn’t want to pressure her or drag her into something she couldn’t handle.

"Thank you," I said. Right now, I needed to find a way out. Just as I was thinking, I sighted the mermaid from earlier. Her arms were outstretched, as if asking for help. I moved quickly, crouching gently, about to grasp her hands, but froze when I saw her body halfway dissolved in acid. She was inside the creature’s stomach. Her mouth was filled with blood, and her eyes looked sad and fearful.

"Please... help me," she cried out, trembling. "I don’t want to die..."

I could only stare, because I knew she was already gone... but still, I reached out and grabbed her hand. It didn’t take long, her upper body stretched away from what remained of her lower half. The acid made it easy for her to slide apart.

Only half of her body lay in my arms. I stared in horror as blood gushed onto my face. It was gruesome—watching her die right in front of me. She choked on her tears, yet her thumb circled weakly around my index finger.

"I’m... dying?" she asked, and I pressed my lips together, unable to answer.

"You aren’t. You’re going to heaven," I said softly, and her eyes sparkled. She looked barely twenty... I was lying to her.

"Tha-nk you... for sav-ing me..." she whispered, and her hand dropped lifelessly.

My stomach churned violently. I felt like throwing up. This creature was killing everyone. Whoever sent it... whatever it was... I couldn’t pinpoint anything.

I gently closed her eyes and shut mine.

"Awaken the sword..." I needed to focus on that.

I poured all my energy, all the little magic I had, into it. I blocked out the sounds, the screams, the chaos. I felt my sword begin to glow, heat building rapidly, scorching flames starting to coil around it...but then—

Ding.

[Thyrian is dying]

The hologram flashed across my vision. My eyes snapped open in panic, glowing faint red as I gripped my sword tightly.

"I have to save Thyrian."

That was my only thought.

In that instant, I lunged upward, my sword slicing through the creature’s flesh. A deafening, pained shriek tore through the ocean. The creature thrashed violently, trying to shake me off balance, but I held on.

Then I saw it.

Its glowing, pulsing heart.

A smirk curled on my lips. I drove my sword through the protective cage surrounding it and...

SLIT.

I pierced the heart, flames bursting violently as they scorched through it. The creature’s movements slowed, its massive body beginning to slump. I didn’t hesitate, I swam out as it weakened.

I could feel everyone’s gaze from the hall shift toward me.

They were still struggling with the second creature.

Before anyone could react, I moved again.

I shot forward, disappearing like a blur through the water. My sword drove straight into the second creature’s heart. It let out a horrifying shriek, and the entire ocean vibrated violently. Its body convulsed before sinking lifelessly.

I just stared.

I could feel the weight of everyone’s gaze...gratitude from the citizens... but from the royal family?

There was fear and something darker.

My eyes landed on the king, and disgust flashed across my face.

I disappeared instantly.

I swam straight toward Thyrian. He was slumped against a rock, his breathing shallow and unstable. My heart clenched painfully as I rushed to him, holding his body gently.

I bit down on my finger, letting blood spill out, and pressed it against his lips. His tongue moved weakly, instinctively, as he began to suck softly.

"It’s okay... you’re okay..." I whispered, gently stroking his hair.

But when my gaze fell on his back....My breath stopped.

Anger surged through me, his father left him again.

They were not fit to be parents.

I stared down at him just as a groan escaped his lips. I gently parted his jaw, and his lips moved again.

Slowly, the wounds on his back began to cool, the damage easing. Not completely healed, but enough.

Scars remained.

"We should go home..." I whispered, gently pulling my hand away. Thyrian’s eyes fluttered open, and he wrapped his arms weakly around my waist.

"Raven... are you okay?" he asked.

"Don’t say a word," I urged.

And just like that, I teleported us back into the hall.

Everyone turned to stare at us. Thyrian saw them and shut his eyes.

I expected gratitude, Instead, the queen pointed at me. "You cursed human! You caused all this!" she screamed.

My brows furrowed in disbelief. "I caused this?" I asked.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before! The moment you came, disaster followed. You are a bad omen!" she yelled, and murmurs erupted through the hall.

The same people who looked at me with gratitude now stared with bitterness.

"You killed my daughter!" a mermaid screamed.

"My husband is dead!" another shouted.

"My wife is scarred for life!" someone else cried.

The accusations piled up, one after another.

My eyes darkened. This... this was why I didn’t save people.

"If I had cursed you, would I have killed both creatures?" I snapped, and the hall fell silent.

But the queen laughed. "You brought them here and killed them so we would feel grateful," she replied calmly.

Then she turned to Thyrian. "I should have killed you back then. A weak son is a dead son."

That was it, the last straw of my patience...No one insults Thyrian.

I appeared right in front of her in an instant, my sword raised, its edge inches from her throat. The king’s eyes darkened immediately.

"Treason," Seth muttered, stepping forward.

"Take one more step, and I’ll behead your mother right here," I said coldly.

He froze, even the hall went silent.

"Insult me all you want. Blame me all you want. But the moment you drag Thyrian into it... you’re asking for death," I said, my voice deadly calm.

I turned to the crowd.

"From this moment onward, Thyrian has nothing to do with the royal family. From now on....we are strangers."

"That can’t happen!" the king roared, his trident glowing.

I didn’t flinch.

"Since you don’t want a weak son... then you will never have one again," I said, my gaze darkening.

Fear flickered in their eyes.

I turned back to the queen and smiled faintly.

"I, Raven, daughter of the Duke and sole heir to the Duke clan... promise you this—"

My grip tightened on my sword. "Next time... I won’t save you."