Capítulo 10: The Mermaid Pirate Crew
"Be on guard, there seems to be something residing here, spying on us, the uninvited," Grayson cautioned Seraphine and Katheren in a hushed tone.
Upon hearing this, the two women surveyed their surroundings and also caught sight of those sinister red eyes. These eyes, however, quickly retreated into the darkness when looked at directly.
"This place is odd," noted Seraphine, her gaze passing over the surrounding streets. The buildings were cloaked in algae, and aside from the gently swaying seaweed, there were no signs of life—no trace of crabs, corals, or even the smallest plankton.
"Stay here for a moment," Seraphine instructed, bringing the great white shark to a stop at a crossroad. She then gracefully slid off its back and swam toward a nearby street.
Grayson kept a vigilant watch on Seraphine's retreating figure, telling Katheren, "Ready your weapons, sweetheart. We might soon face some unexpected troubles."
Katheren nodded, taking out the pair of silver pistols Grayson had given her, preparing herself for whatever they might encounter.
Meanwhile, Seraphine approached the second-story window of a street-side building with caution. Placing her hands on the algae-covered windowsill, where the wooden frames had long decayed, leaving behind an empty square frame, she peered inside. The room was in complete disarray, with wooden furniture long deteriorated by years of submersion. Only items made of metal and ceramics had retained their shape, though they were covered in rust and mud, haphazardly scattered in the corners.
With a delicate gesture of her left hand, Seraphine subtly commanded the slightly ajar door across the room. Responding to her beckoning finger, the door was pulled from its frame by a current of water and gently collapsed backward, revealing a dark corridor.
"It looks like there's nothing here…" Seraphine briefly surveyed the empty corridor, then prepared to return.
Suddenly, a swift shadow whisked through the corridor, its passage stirring a current that shattered a standing terracotta pot, dispersing its fragments into the swirling waters.
Seraphine, with her acute senses, swiftly turned back to the corridor, her eyes fixed on the drifting pottery shards in the dark water. They silently scattered on the ground while the entity that had shattered them had already disappeared without a trace.
"What was that just now?" Seraphine whispered to herself, filled with suspicion. Initially, she thought it might have been Alyssia, but it was too fast to be her. If not Alyssia, then what could it be? Could there be some monster lurking about?
Chilled by the notion, Seraphine contemplated whether to call Grayson to investigate the room, when suddenly, a mocking voice called out from behind her, "My, my, isn't this our revered Temple Guardian, Miss Seraphine?"
Startled, Seraphine turned to see a brawny male merman brandishing a trident, floating in the middle of the street not far from her.
His hair, green as seaweed, trailed behind him, and his skin bore a murky bluish hue. A sinister smile stretched across his lips, revealing not an ounce of goodwill.
"You are…" Seraphine gasped in recognition, her finger pointing as she exclaimed, "Sael, what are you doing here?"
"Not just me. My siblings are all here too! Come on out, everyone, and say hello to our dear Seraphine sister," Sael called out with a roguish laugh as he extended his arms.
At his signal, a ragtag group of bizarre-looking merfolk appeared from the windows and rooftops along the street. They had a feral look to them, with eyes that betrayed both cunning and cruelty, resembling a band of creatures that would not hesitate to devour their prey.
"I understand now; you've been hiding out here because the elders forbade our people from coming near this forbidden zone. So instead, you've turned it into a sanctuary for yourselves!" Seraphine accused, her Guardian staff raised in defiance.
At that moment, sensing the turn of events, Grayson and Katheren also left the shark and swam to join Seraphine. Grayson, catching sight of Sael and his ominous-looking crew, softly inquired of Seraphine about their identity.
"These individuals are criminals, either exiled or escaped from our community. They've banded together, forming a pirate group," Seraphine explained. "Sael, the leader known as 'The Shark,' is notorious for leading his band in pillaging fishing and merchant vessels in nearby waters and is said to feast on their crews."
"The elders have dispatched forces to capture these villains multiple times, but their lair has remained a mystery until now!" Seraphine declared, her gaze intensifying as she faced the opposing group, whose demeanor certainly resembled the scoundrels and murderers found in the human kingdom's underworld taverns.
Sael, however, met Seraphine's accusation with a sneer, "My dear Seraphine, such an unfair portrayal, don't you think? Haven't you also defied the elders' decree by coming here? Isn't that also a crime?"
"I am here to capture Alyssia, who fled into this territory. Hand her over to me at once!" Seraphine demanded, unwavering in her belief that Alyssia's bold escape must be connected to Sael and his band, and she ordered their cooperation without hesitation.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Sael said with a sly grin, "Alyssia, darling, come on out. Have you not yet informed your dear Sister Seraphine about our relationship?"
As he spoke, Alyssia emerged from behind him, her gaze cold as she glanced at Seraphine's furious expression and nestled against Sael.
"That's right; I've been with Sael for quite some time. That's why your pursuit teams have never been able to catch them! If only I had become the Guardian, I could have provided Sael and his crew with more help. Alas, you have spoiled our plans!" Alyssia spat out bitterly.
"You've disappointed me so much, Alyssia!" Seraphine shook her head, filled with resentment.
Alyssia sneered contemptuously, "Well, now that you've come here, you've carved your path to doom. Don't expect to leave this place alive today!"
"You're quite right, my love. We can't let her and the land-dwellers she's brought along leave to spill our secrets," Sael cackled and with a forceful sweep of his hand, signaled his merfolk pirates to charge at the trio.
Seraphine reacted by waving her Guardian staff, summoning a vortex of water to call forth several lower-ranking merfolk soldiers. They clashed fiercely with the pirates, but the outnumbered and overpowered merfolk soldiers were quickly defeated.
Seeing this, Seraphine stepped forward in fury, chanting an incantation to summon a high-speed vortex. The unsuspecting pirates were instantly swept up, the powerful vortex shredding them to pieces, scattering their scales like confetti in the water.
"Take her down!" Sael bellowed in rage, and several tiger shark-mounted pirate riders leapt from behind him.
The riders skirted around the vortex blocking their path, flanking on either side. Four charged directly at Seraphine, while the remaining two targeted Grayson and Katheren in the rear.
"I'll be right back, take care of them!" Grayson told Katheren, tossing aside his cigar and swimming toward the crossroad behind them.
Katheren, briefly stunned by Grayson's abrupt departure, was quickly confronted by the two approaching riders. As the sharks opened their massive jaws to bite, she raised her pistols and fired. The barraging silver bullets ripped through the attackers, turning them into a sinking mesh of tattered flesh and torn scales.
Meanwhile, the other four shark riders lunged at Seraphine from all sides, their sharp teeth exposed, as deadly as the tridents in the pirates' hands. Seraphine acted swiftly, spreading her arms to cast a spell. A turbulent current erupted around her, deflecting the oncoming attackers. Yet, to her surprise, a massive creature burst from behind, its pointed head coming straight for her slender waist.
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