Remembering his true purpose, Milo clutched frantically at my sleeve, his eyes wide with desperation.

"Please buy me back! William Vance keeps a whole school of mermen at his estate, and he doesn't treat me with a fraction of the care you did. He even uses a whip to strike me."

"I cannot endure it a moment longer. I am perfectly willing to eat damaged goods with you from now on, I will never complain again. Please, just buy me back."

"I truly miss you... I miss your scent, I miss sleeping in your bed, I miss the pearls you bought for me with your own hands..."

My brows knit into a tight frown at his preposterous demand.

"No," I refused flatly.

I watched the vibrant, innocent light in his eyes instantly turn to ash. "I already have a companion."

Milo's emotions erupted into pure hysteria.

"You choose him? Do you have any idea how monstrous he truly is?"

"What?"

"I witnessed it with my own eyes. He slaughtered an entire shark on the coastline and devoured it whole in a single breath."

Milo let out a cold, mocking sneer.

"His gentleness, his obedience, his devotion—it is all an elaborate facade. Mark my words, a day will come when he devours you whole as well!"

"Lies!"

I shoved him away forcefully, refusing to entertain another syllable of his slander against Silas.

Yet, Milo had always been entirely incapable of reading a situation, and he aggressively added fuel to the fire.

"Furthermore, he isn't a merman at all! Look at the fins on his body—they are lined with jagged spines, that is—"

"Enough!"

A wave of genuine fury surged within me.

"You and I no longer have anything to do with one another. What becomes of me is entirely my own concern. Stop attempting to drive a wedge between us."

Having been blasted by my anger on Silas’s behalf, Milo's resentment was palpable. His eyes rimmed with scarlet, and he opened his mouth to protest further.

But at that exact moment, Silas appeared, carrying my heavy winter coat in his hands, his expression a portrait of gentle concern.

"Running outside without even a coat, you will catch a chill."

He wrapped his arm around my waist, guiding me back toward the house.

Yet, I caught a sudden wave of intense malice radiating from behind us. Glancing back over my shoulder, I could faintly discern the shape of Milo's lips through the gloom of the sewer opening.

His teeth were clenched in a vicious snarl.

"I will steal you back, no matter what it takes!"

My heart skipped a violent beat.

13

I kept the matter regarding Milo close to my heart, but since he had not appeared for a long time after that encounter, I gradually let my guard down.

It just so happened that the harbor town was celebrating the Ocean Treading Festival, so I discussed it with Silas, and we decided to visit the beach together to soak up the sun.

The moment he heard the idea, he agreed without hesitation, bustling about to prepare everything we needed for our vacation.

Lying prone on the desk while watching his dependable back, I felt more than ever that Milo's warnings were utterly preposterous.

However, it also reminded me that, in truth, Silas usually only prepared food for me, so what exactly did he eat?

I decided to ask him.

The hand Silas was using to hold a loaf of bread paused mid-air.

"You do not need to worry about me. Usually, I just go to the market and buy a few small fish and shrimp to fill my stomach. I eat very little."

I nodded, thinking that it made perfect sense. How could a gentle creature like Silas ever slaughter and hunt sharks?

It was absolute nonsense.

On the day of the festival, the beach was packed with crowds, the weather was spectacular, and the sea was completely calm and tranquil.

Silas secured the absolute best spot on the shore, setting up our tent in the sand.

Meanwhile, I lay back on a lounge chair, quietly basking in the warm sunlight.

The seawater gently lapped against my calves, making me narrow my eyes in pure comfort.

Before long, a coconut vendor walked past. I called out a quick word to Silas, turned around, and walked toward the vendor.

Yet at that exact split second, the weather took a violent turn for the worse, and the bright, sunny sky instantly grew dark and ominous.

The ground beneath my feet began to tremble, and before anyone could even comprehend what was happening.

A massive wall of water, towering higher than a high-rise building, came surging toward the shoreline with terrifying speed.

I had barely heard Silas shout my name before I was violently engulfed by the crashing wave the very next second.

The crowds scattered in a frantic panic, and screams erupted from every direction.

"It's a tsunami!"

14

I sank deep into the ocean, the immense water pressure crushing against me as if trying to tear my body apart, leaving me aching all over.

Suddenly, a sphere of water enveloped me, allowing me to draw breath.

Through the turbulent currents, I could discern several dark spots in the distance. As they drew closer, I realized they were not simple spots at all.

They were mermen.

A school of black-tailed mermen was actively manipulating the vicious currents, sending wave after wave crashing against the island, and their target was none other than Silas, who was currently rescuing stranded humans on the shore.

And mixed within that school of mermen was a creature I never expected to see again.

Milo.

His gaze locked onto me through the water.

He muttered a few words to the lead merman and swam directly in my direction.

Having not seen him for even a short while, he had changed so drastically I could barely recognize him.

I had heard rumors that he escaped from William Vance’s estate, but the innocence in his eyes had entirely vanished, replaced by a ruthless, savage glint.

His face and torso were covered in countless jagged battle scars.

A cold smirk pulled at his lips.

"Limping boy, once we slaughter Silas, I will take you away with me."

Realizing the truth, I interrogated him fiercely.

"This tsunami, and those mermen... you brought them here?"

Milo offered an unnervingly gentle smile.

"I merely guided Silas’s old enemies to his doorstep. As for the tsunami, it will only sweep away those miserable humans who used to mock your condition."

I trembled violently, shaken to my very core by his psychotic plot, my shoulders shaking.

"You cannot do this."

"Liam!"

From the distant depths, Silas’s voice echoed forcefully.

"Silas, I'm here!"

He had already plunged into the sea, frantically searching for any trace of me.

Those black-tailed mermen swarmed him instantly, cornering him from all sides.

Without a moment of hesitation, Milo dragged me deeper into the abyss.

Terrified for Silas’s safety, I clawed at my palms until they nearly bled.

Shortly after, a low, resonant chant belonging to Silas echoed through the water.

Within seconds, powerful responses from other creatures reverberated through the ocean, wave after wave.

Erupting from the depths, hundreds and thousands of massive tails of varying, brilliant colors emerged.

They were entirely different from Milo and his kind; their fins were lined with jagged, sharp spines, and their lower bodies were immense.

No.

They were not mermen at all. They were Sirens.

The true, undisputed rulers of this ocean territory.

Silas had summoned them to launch a unified defense against this catastrophic tsunami.

I watched as Silas wielded his long halberd, engaged in a savage slaughter as the mermen and Sirens clashed in a fierce battle.

Several times, the sharp claws of the mermen came perilously close to piercing Silas’s tail.

Wrenched with anxiety, I called out Milo's name continuously, begging him to let me go.

Milo heard my pleas but remained entirely deaf to them, dead-set on dragging me away from this sea entirely.

Steeling my resolve, I threw the entire weight of my body against the water sphere.

Seeing the sphere tilt and warp from the impact, I knew it was not entirely indestructible.

Gathering every ounce of my strength, I slammed against it repeatedly.

Milo panicked.

"You absolute lunatic! If that sphere shatters, you will drown!"

"I would rather die with Silas than live without him!"

With one final, desperate surge, I ruptured the water sphere completely.

The surrounding ocean currents rushed into my lungs with crushing force.

My lungs felt as though they were about to explode from the pressure, and my vision blurred entirely under the strain until I could no longer see.

At the very brink of death, a majestic silver-white tail enveloped me securely.

A powerful hand clamped around my jaw, and its owner forcefully pressed his lips against mine, breathing vital air directly into my mouth.

"Silas..."

Clinging to him, my heart throbbed with residual terror.