Translator: JadeEditor: Evan, Cheonsa (;ā½; Bless these two)
Chapter 28
I was frightened by the deterring expression on Agaresās face, however, a loud roar came from outside the door, which immediately caught my attention: āHey, the idiot whoās inside this room, by the time I count to 10, if you donāt come out, Iāll stuff explosives into the cracks of the door, or perhaps, I could just shoot someoneās head off here.ā
The person who spoke laughed sardonically[1] as the sound of a warning shot rang out. Instantly, I heard Henry miserably crying out, āNo, no! Mr. Desharow, please help!!ā
Henryās voice resembled a sharp razor scraping the insides of my eardrums, making me sober enough to realise that my decision would affect the lives of those outside. I had to think of a plan that would ensure the safety of the others and myself, and as of right now, asking for help from Agares was the best choice. My sense of responsibility as a man led me to grab ahold of Agaresās arm, and I turned my body to face him.
This was my first time seeing Agaresās face so close, as my forehead was basically touching his sharp chin. I suppressed the suffocating feeling of stress and shame, and then I said one word at a time in a low whisper, āListen, Agarā¦ No.ā When realizing what word was about to be said, I quickly corrected myself out of embarrassment, and with my thick Russian accent mixed with my lousy English, I said, āI need your helpā¦ I need to go out, but I hope that you can find a place to hide and wait for a chance to go out and deal with those who are holding guns. Can you do that? You know what I mean, right?ā
Only heavens would know how nonsensical my English was!
After I finished speaking, I worriedly glanced at Agares in fear that he didnāt understand, but his eyebrows were indeed slightly wrinkled, as if he were pondering over something profound. His thin lips then narrowed slightly, and he said: āCallā¦ me Agaresā¦ā
How horrible, this beast would actually threaten me in this kind of situation!
āEightāā Sevenāā!ā
The sound of the countdown from outside made my nerves tense, and I turned my head to the side, avoiding his gaze. I made a swift decision and spat out those humiliating syllables.
āAā¦ Agaā¦ Agareā¦ā
Before I could even finish saying his name, my chin was lifted up by his finger. As soon as that happened, my vision became dark as his lips crashed onto mine, roughly kissing me hard and heavily. However, a short period of time passed before he quickly removed his lips from mine. As his hold on me loosened, I used my body to push him away from me. But by doing so, I staggered a bit and fell against the door. Then right in front of me, Agaresās tall figure flashed past me, and he was like a rattlesnake who just launched an attack, scurrying out of the cabinās window. Followed by the loud shattering of glass, the window seal was now one big arc of pitch black darkness, and all of the dense mist that was once outside the window had disappeared without a trace.
They were like a type of amphibious[2] creatures; in the sea they were like sharks, and on land they resembled serpents.
However, there was no time to marvel at this fact right now, and I took a deep breath. The moment I opened the door, there was only one thought in my head: Agares will return to help me.
Despite being afraid and loathing him for what he had done to me just to satisfy his natural instincts, I still believed he would help me.
āHey~ the tender-faced, little guy, put your hands up.ā
Behind the door appeared a fierce and bulky- looking black person with a headscarf. And as he grinned, decaying yellow teeth could be seen. In his hand was an AK47[3], aimed straight at my head was the gunās muzzle, which bore resemblance to the hollow, dark eyes of a dead person.
Ā
The hair on my arms stood on its end. There was no one who wouldnāt feel a sense of dread when they were being threatened with a gun. Obediently, I raised both my arms in the air, showing that I had no intention of fighting back, as well as showing that I had there are no weapons on my body. With great caution, I slowly walked out of the cabin, saying: āCalm down, brother[4].ā
The sailorsā hands were tied to their backs, and they were forced onto their knees. However, among them, there were no signs of Rhine and those several armed men. They had to be hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to retaliate. My heart immediately felt lighter. I swiftly cruised my eyes around the ship, guessing that Rhine and them were hiding somewhere on the second floor of the ship in a cabin, so they could easily target anyone on the bottom from the top. At this moment, the front of my coat was suddenly tightened. It turned out that the black man was pulling me by my collar, nearly choking me.Ā
āMr. Desharow!ā the people around me shouted out in fear. In the next second, my stomach was ruthlessly hit without warning, making me fall onto the deck. From behind me, I heard haughty laughter, followed by a set of heavy boots that stomped on my back.
āHey, hey, brothers up there, did you really think that I didnāt see you? If you guys are smart enough, youāll put down your weapons, or else Iāll just make this little guy suffer.āĀ Ā
Rhine and them were discovered! No! This meant that we were at a total disadvantage!Ā
The clacking sound of the safety locks being racked on guns resonated from the second floor of the ship. I felt my breath hastening. Although it seemed like they were in a standstill with these pirates, I hoped that they hadnāt given up. Because at the very least, the number of pirates were far less than the number of men Rhine had!Ā
I didnāt know how long I could withstand under the pirateās forced submission and torment. The foot on my back continued to crush my spine, and it hurt so bad that it made me sweat excessively, causing it to drip down my forehead. I exerted my strength and lifted my head, wishing to see Rhine and the others, however, I was subconsciously looking for the silhouette of Agares. For the first time, I had an intense wish for him to immediately appear, but since the fog was blurring out the surface of the water, it was hard to see any sign of<b> him.Ā </b>
Alarmed, my heart immediately started to feel an immense sense of dread and panic. Perhaps Agares had returned back to the sea, back to his old life, looking for freedom and things to prey on, not wanting to mingle with the conflicts of humankind!Ā
After all, he was still an animalā¦ā¦ As soon as he achieved his goal, he would leave as if there was nothing unreasonable about it. How hateful!
I clenched my fist and dug my fingers into the crack of the shipās floor. However, the moment my heart dropped to the deepest part of the abyss I suddenly heard the thunderous roar of the waves smashing into the hull[5] of the ship.The deck immediately became flooded from the seawater that gushed up as the ship shook violently, rocking from side to side.
The black man who was crushing my back lost his footing. I took advantage of this moment and got up. The minute I raised my head, I saw Agares who was like a black Komodo[6] dragon hovering over the mast, seizing the territory. A hiss aimed at the black man came out of Agaresās lips. Lunging with lightning speed, Agares easily threw the dark-skinned man onto the floor. Using his long tail as an advantage, he swiftly took care of those who had intentions of using their guns. In the next second, his razor-sharp claws which resembled a sharp knife blade, under the eyes of thousands[7], pierced through the black manās chest, cutting him open from the top to the bottom!Ā
āāāDark blood spurted out from the body and covered Agaresās figure. I was scared speechless from what I saw. I sat dumbfoundedly on the deck. Unable to keep the bile down and I retched continuously while every cell in my body trembled violently.Ā
In contrast to Lilithās[8] death, as this was the first time I was witnessing such a gruesome murder of a human. It was also the first time I realized that the strength of merfolk were, in fact, really frightening.Ā
My mind was in complete disorder, yet my eyes were unable to move from Agaresās direction. I simply saw him stood up from the dead body, fully soaked from top to bottom with blood, and with the support of his tail, he stood two meters high while looking down on everybody
Behind the red doused hair was a pair of penetrating pupils that sent out an evil aura that could devour the light of anyoneās soul.Ā
From his claws that were spread open, blood dripped down in an unending thread, resembling Asura[9] from the eastern legends who climbed up from the ground to demand someoneās life. It was enough to scareĀ those unbridled fugitives out of their wits.
āDoā¦notā¦touch my Desharowā¦āĀ
Agaresās vision swept over my face before fixing them back on the crowds of pirates. From the corner of his mouth, he revealed a terrorizing smile as an array of low rumbles lulled in his throat. Even those pirates who had committed all manners of crimes hadnāt encountered such a monster like this, so every single one of them were convulsing with fear. They backed away in horror, and even the guns they were holding in their hands were shaking.
Good heavens! Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. In this situation, I would absolutely not go and stop Agares, because these kind of these pirates were just in it for the sake of money, which was why they boarded our ship. They were the type of criminals who would kill any old and weak person, even mothers and their children. But to look straight at such a scene like this was too much for oneās sanity, and I had a feeling even if I had the guts, I would have gone crazy like Mr. Shinichi.
āDesharow, stay far away from the merman and the pirates. Go back into the cabin!Ā
Exactly at this moment in time, I heard Rhineās voice. I immediately followed the sound of his voice and saw him together with a few of his armed men taking aim towards the pirates. This time, the pirates were the ones to suffer, as dozens of them were cornered from both ends, and now with them standing back-to-back with each other, half of them pointed their guns at Rhine and the soldiers, while the other half aimed at Agares. No one dared to act recklessly.Ā Ā Ā
Once a crossfire broke out, the sailors tied up on the deck would be the first to suffer. I canāt just go hide myself first! This thought flashed in my mind. I immediately took advantage of this critical moment to crouch down and went to rescue the nearest person. I tried to untie their ropes, but there was already no time left, and there was no other option, so I simply just grabbed his leg and dragged him out of the shooting range. But my action was followed by someone who let out a mournful cry: āMr. Desharow, please save me, Iām gonna dieā¦ Iām having a heart attack!āĀ
That was Henryās voice. I hurriedly whipped my head around and saw that he was grasping his chest, and indeed, he looked like he was in utter agony.
āEndure!ā I quickly brought him to the nearest pile of planks that could be used as a shelter, and after that I quickly leaned over to give him first aid. However, just when I was putting my weight to press onto his chest, I didnāt know when it happened, but his hand had reached for my chest, and he was holding an ice-cold gun that he rested on my chin. His face, which once was covered in pain and suffering, had changed into an abnormal, vicious expression.Ā
My head was buzzing, and my nerves exploded. Henryā¦ was a spy for the pirates!
No, no, how did this happen?! Henry was originally a sailor who was with me and Rhine, so how could he be a spy? Did these pirates followed us all the way to Iceland since we first departed to sea?Ā
āHenry!ā Rhine shouted with fury evident in his voice. He changed the direction of the gun and aimed at Henry and I, which made me feel even more frantic.
Henry used the gunās barrel to push my head upward, compelling me to stand up rigidly. He used one of hands to clamp tightly around my neck, while the other hand pressed the gun directly against my forehead. I felt his hand tremble slightly. It was obvious he was emotionally unstable due to Agaresās sudden show of brutality.
āYou guys have to put down your guns, or else Iāll kill Desharow. Rhine, heās important to you guys, right? And alsoā¦ that monster. You listen to me, your caretakerās life is in my hands! You understand me right? If you donāt wish to have him killed, just stay there and donāt move a muscle!āĀ
Henry shouted in a loud voice, and Agaresās attention immediately shifted from watching the pirates over to where I was. The moment he saw me, his expression changed instantly. A few seconds ago, he was wearing a devilish smirk, but now, that expression was wiped from his face and was replaced with an extremely ruthless, murderous face filled with killing intent.Ā
Agares glowered at Henry, who was standing behind me, as he uttered out a low warning word by word.Ā
Henryās hand started to tremble even more violently as his body released an uncontrollable shudder. By now, my nerves were stretched thin and nearing its limits. I was planning to use some psychological tactics on him to give him a deadly blow, but before I could, I heard a gunshot resonating. I donāt know which idiotic asshole fired that bullet on the ship and happen to hit right where Agares was standing. This provoked him to raise his tail up high, as if he were a python preparing to launch an attack. Henryās body jolted, and the gun he was holding unexpectedly slipped out from his grip!Ā
God bless! I secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and I took this advantage to punch him in the stomach, and was ready to run for it. However, Henry didnāt bother to go pick up the gun, and instead, he forcefully grabbed me by my waist and flipped me over onto the ground. In the midst of my struggle, a silver glint on Henryās hand flashed across my eyes, and before I knew it, he had already raised his hand and impaled something into my left ribs.
The pain was agonising, as it was spreading through my body at lightning speed, while at the same time, a heavy shower of bullets rang out like a storm on the deck!
I enclosed my hand around my left ribs, unable to utter a single sound as my entire body trembled uncontrollably. Like a pile of mud, I laid paralyzed on the ground, but with great difficulty, I raised my head to look over to the other side of the deck. Through my eyes that were seeing black dots due to pain, I managed to catch the sight of Agaresās figure swiftly dodging bullets as though he was a ghost. But it seemed quite obvious that he was slowed down by the rain of bullets. Either that or he had no intention to attack, as he only had his eyes trained on me, while merely avoiding the bullets.
He was worried about the wound I had received.Ā
Damn it, how can he avoid those bullets like this? Heāll most definitely die!
My heart seemed to have been tightened by the grasp of sharp claws. Even though I utterly loathed Agaresās monster-like actions, at this moment, I didnāt want his life to be in danger. To be even more precise, I couldnāt help but feel anxious for him, so much that even now my body didnāt seem to hurt that much.Ā
āIām fine, go attack them, Agares!ā I gritted out and shouted out loud subconsciously, while holding my ribs painfully. In the next second, the dagger that was in my ribs was yanked out by Henry. At that moment I saw that the knife was the specialised kind made for military usage. Along the groove of the dagger, fresh blood poured onto the ground.Ā
I soon became exhausted from the large amount of blood I had lost, and my entire being became like a shrimp curled up on the floor, while in the distance, I heard a group of pirates shouting out:
āQuickly pull up the chains that were used for the boatās mass to tie up this monster. Heās finally given up on attacking!ā