Amelia stood by the window, her blue eyes trembling faintly.
The white hand of the mermaid carefully felt for the light.
Though her voice trembled, it was firm, carrying her resolve.
"Have you been here before?"
In response to Rune's question, Amelia nodded slightly.
But Rune had his doubts about the mermaid's answer.
The water lair, cursed even before Amelia was born.
Nothing living remained there, all having fallen into a deep sleep or vanished, which was why Amelia could survive.
But the dungeon was different.
A place filled only with monsters driven mad. It was a den of crazed monsters.
There was no way a young hatchling, weakened and injured, could have endured such a place.
At that moment, a small fragment shimmered and resonated with Amelia.
Unable to finish her sentence, the blue-eyed mermaid's eyes trembled.
'It seems this fragment is showing her something.'
While Rune was thinking this, Amelia closed her eyes and drifted into the illusions shown by the fragment of memory.
A sea etched with clear, transparent wave patterns, free from darkness and curses.
Beneath the water ceiling was a white altar.
A faint voice echoed in her ear.
A familiar woman's voice.
'We decided to endure what we must do, in exchange for not participating in the war anymore.'
'Swallowing the poison and the curse is the only way to protect you, the one we love the most.'
A man's bitter voice joined in.
'I'm sorry for burdening you with such a difficult responsibility.'
Two hands tenderly caressed the surface of the egg, filled with affection and sorrow, as the two mermaids quietly absorbed the ominous mass.
The mermaid's voice trembled slightly.
"You said you loved me... and yet you... left me with the darkness... knowing it, didn't you?"
When she hatched, she was alone, abandoned in the deep sea.
She was always hungry and lonely.
Solitude was too heavy for a child who didn't even know how to cry, and the pain spreading like poison was the first sensation she ever felt.
"Because you loved me...?"
Even if she understood the inevitable circumstances in her head, there were still doubts and anxieties in her heart.
But the emotions of Amelia's parents, seen in the fragment of memory.
Sadness, pain, love. All these complex feelings made Amelia's heart ache.
"I wanted to... protect you, Mom, Dad."
Her heart and soul were in so much pain.
The fact that her existence was the cause of her parents swallowing the poison.
'Sorry... sorry. But... I won't run away.'
If she were the old her, she might have resented them for not just abandoning her, a useless existence.
Meeting Rune, Heumi, Baekya, Dura, and Ferdikion, she no longer wanted to give up on life.
She wanted to be happy with the precious things she had met in this life.
'Now... I will protect you, Mom and Dad. Because you are... so precious to me.'
Amelia, with tears in her eyes, smiled faintly.
The shimmering light that had conveyed the memories before Amelia's birth was absorbed into her fingertips.
"Sister, are you crying?"
Her affectionate and poignant gaze lingered on Heumi before it filled with warmth.
"Now... really, it's... okay."
Perhaps it was because she had learned the truth.
Amelia felt as if the tears she had always held in her heart had finally drained away, despite the aching in her chest.
Amelia's parents, of course, and the Kraken, the final boss monster, were also captured alive.
Moreover, the byproducts and monster corpses they had collected after the battle in the middle hall.
The rewards and materials obtained by Dura and Rune after nearly three hours of intense battle with the middle boss were also considerable.
Thinking about what they had gained in those three hours, he couldn't help but smile.
"Wow! Sir Rune, it looks like you got something really good!"
Baekya and Heumi's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He swallowed a false cough and composed his expression.
'If only it was a weapon... but this is even better.'
In any case, it was a satisfying result.
The Water Jewel, of course, and the Kraken, the final boss monster, were also captured alive.
Moreover, the byproducts and monster corpses they had collected after the battle in the middle hall.
The rewards and materials obtained by Dura and Rune after nearly three hours of intense battle with the middle boss were also considerable.
Thinking about what they had gained in those three hours, he couldn't help but smile.
"Wow! Sir Rune, it looks like you got something really good!"
Baekya and Heumi's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He swallowed a false cough and composed his expression.
The Water Jewel, of course, and the Kraken, the final boss monster, were also captured alive.
Moreover, the byproducts and monster corpses they had collected after the battle in the middle hall.
The rewards and materials obtained by Dura and Rune after nearly three hours of intense battle with the middle boss were also considerable.
Ferdikion frowned and asked.
"What is that thing doing?"
The three feathers on Baekya's head turned blue, and her eyes became calm.
The plump bird looked at each member of the party with a noble gaze and bowed gracefully, a face of elegance she had never shown before.
Rune instinctively sensed a presence other than Baekya.
Watching with wary eyes, Baekya's eyes briefly glowed blue before fading.
Baekya's feather color returned to normal.
The bird shook her body in confusion, tilted her head, and chirped.
After blinking a few times, the bird flew gracefully and perched on Rune's shoulder.
The bird lifted one wing lightly and then wagged her tail feathers happily with a contented look.
'Remember, Christina said Baekya is a bird that can see the essence.'
He had forgotten about this.
But the situation just now wasn't a coincidence; it matched what Christina had said.
'Sometimes, even animals can see spirits.'
Should he discuss this with the party members who witnessed it?
Or should he consult Christina directly when they return?
'Seeing as I'm worrying about this... maybe I've changed a bit.'
Regardless of age, they had all endured their difficult moments well.
Rune spoke as they left the dungeon.
"By the way, Christina said the <Wave Dungeon> is the cradle where the primordial Water Spirit King was born and perished. Perhaps the spirit just now was with Baekya."
"A dead person affecting the present? That's what superstition is. Don't pin your hopes on such nonsense."
After a moment, Rune glanced at Ferdikion's face and guessed his thoughts.
'Thinking about it, that kid probably wanted to see his mother.'
Rune remained silent, and Ferdikion subtly glanced at him.
'Rune, even if he doesn't say it, he misses his dead parents.'
Ferdikion, wanting to take care of his young half-brother, frowned in frustration but held his tongue.
Rune, looking at Ferdikion, sighed inwardly.
'That kid is probably thinking about his mother again, but he's holding back because he's the older brother.'
Both of them sighed inwardly again.
Amelia chuckled at the sight of the two.
"Brothers and sisters... are really good... Heumi, would you... be my little sister?"
"Hehe. Sure, Sister Amelia!"
Heumi smiled brightly and wagged her two tails alternately.
Seeing Heumi, who grabbed the mermaid's hand and hopped around like a spoiled child, Amelia's eyes looked much more at ease than before entering the dungeon.
A moment later, they emerged into the now clear water lair.
Fish swimming in the deep sea.
Flat crabs burrowing into the sand.
Jellyfish gliding between the seaweed and coral reefs, and colorful plankton.
A mysterious underwater landscape unfolded before them.
"Wow... this is really... the Water Lair."
Amelia muttered in amazement, and Dura also took a moment to look around the sea.
Instead of the pitch-black darkness, a cool, faint blue light gently spread through the underwater world.
The dolphin spirit Lamel, feeling like she had returned home, crossed the Water Lair with a translucent glow.
Rune, after looking around the changed surroundings, spoke to Amelia.
"Since we've completed the request, we'll be going now."
Having completed the request from the Water Clan and even completed the Dark Seal, it was time to return to Christina's lair.
"Do you want to come with us? Christina will make delicious food."
Amelia shook her head and gently declined.
"It's... okay. My parents are... not well, and I need to... guard the Water Lair. But... if you don't mind..."
After a pause, Amelia spoke carefully.
"Could you... give me more pearls... like the one you gave me last time?"
He knew exactly what she would use them for.
Certainly, to care for her parents, who were deteriorating due to the corrosion.
Rune nodded and readily agreed.
"What are you doing? Cry."
Baekya, who had been blinking, started to shed tears with a "Peep... peep."
While the others prepared to leave, Rune spent time coating the pearls with Baekya's tears.
As a reward for her good crying, Baekya was given 'butter and honey-roasted potato chips.'
Handing over a considerable amount of pearls and the remaining magical food, Amelia was at a loss for words.