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Chapter 176: The Mermaid (3)

‘Where did I see it?’

Was it when I was going through a raid dungeon?

‘I don’t know.’

He couldn’t quite remember.

That was unusual.

Ketal remembered every event he experienced outside.

Not being able to recall something was impossible.

The leader monkey, having filled its belly enough, withdrew.

The other monkeys rushed in.

Crunch, crunch.

In an instant, the large whale disappeared without a trace of bones.

Their appetite was enormous.

The monkeys, with their bellies full, roamed the city again.

Observing them, Aquaz muttered.

“…It doesn’t seem like they’re simply destroying the city.”

Crunch, crunch.

The monkeys were destroying the mermaids’ houses and structures.

But it wasn’t aimless destruction.

They were using the materials to construct a building.

Watching the scene for a moment, Aquaz gasped.

“That’s…”

“They’re building a house. Indeed, the mermaids’ houses are too small for those giants to enter.”

The monkeys were using the materials from the mermaids’ city to build their own homes. Ketal mumbled with an intrigued face.

“It seems they’re thinking of making this place their base.”

The monkeys weren’t just staying temporarily in the mermaids’ city; they were trying to turn it into their own village.

Kukulitan was horrified at this fact.

“Are those creatures trying to take root in our city?”

“It seems so. They’re destroying your houses and building their own.”

“W-Wait a moment. Then what happened to the survivors?”

The mermaids trapped in the city were hiding in the buildings.

But if the monkeys were destroying the buildings to make their own houses, it was uncertain whether the survivors were safe.

“Can we check on them?”

“Um…”

Aquaz had a hesitant face.

The advantage of divinity was its versatility.

In most situations, divinity could solve the problem.

But it wasn’t omnipotent.

The power of the sun god couldn’t locate the hidden mermaids.

Since it was underwater, even mystical detection didn’t work well.

Aquaz looked at Baker, but Baker shook his head as well.

“My magic is specialized for attack. I could sense presences on land, but underwater it’s difficult.”

“Oh…”

The fact that they couldn’t know about the survivors filled Kukulitan’s face with despair.

“Don’t worry. Many are alive.”

Then Ketal spoke.

The content of his light words took them a moment to grasp.

“Alive?”

“The mermaids in the city are alive. They’re hiding among seaweed and coral, avoiding the monkeys’ eyes. There seem to be at least three hundred of them.”

“W-What?”

Kukulitan looked at the mermaids’ city in bewilderment at Ketal’s words.

But no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t see any mermaids.

He asked with a puzzled face.

“How did you notice that? Did you sense their presence?”

“Of course not. Even I can’t grasp such a large city underwater.”

“Then how…”

“I heard the sounds the mermaids were making.”

“…Pardon?”

“I heard the whispers and movements among them. Counting those sounds, there are at least three hundred. If you include those who are holding their breath, there could be more.”

“…You can hear those sounds?”

“Yes.”

Ketal had a face that asked if there was a problem with that.

“…You’re stranger than those monkeys.”

Baker mumbled quietly in the silence.

* * *

Even Kukulitan, a sea creature, couldn’t hear the mermaids’ sounds.

Yet Ketal, a land-dweller, could hear them.

It was hard to believe.

Kukulitan stammered.

“Are you sure you didn’t mistake other noises for the mermaids’ sounds?”

“Is there a mermaid named Rafarila? She’s staying with another mermaid named Kaimeir, relying on each other. They’re struggling due to a lack of food.”

“…Oh.”

Kukulitan’s mouth fell open.

Seeing this, Aquaz and Baker also realized that Ketal truly heard the mermaids’ sounds.

Baker looked at Ketal with a mixed expression.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible in this world.

A person enlightened with mysticism could observe all information within a certain range.

‘But that’s possible only if one is enlightened with mysticism…’

This barbarian had perceived it purely with his physical senses.

What on earth is this barbarian?

It was hard to tell the difference between a monkey that could see dozens of kilometers away and Ketal who could hear small sounds underwater.

‘Could it be that this guy is a being from the Forbidden Land?’

Baker thought quietly.

Thanks to Ketal, they realized that many mermaids were still alive.

They needed to prepare to respond as quickly as possible.

The number of monkeys staying in the city was thirty.

Including the scouts, there were about forty in total.

They had completed their assessment of the numbers.

Now it was time to gather accurate information about the enemy.

They needed to check how strong they were and how tough their skin was.

“We need to experiment with one of the monkeys.”

“That sounds good. I’ll lure one.”

“Please do.”

“Is it really okay? The monkeys are very fast. Wouldn’t it be safer to prepare together?”

Kukulitan looked worried when Ketal volunteered.

But neither Aquaz nor Baker seemed concerned.

“Let’s watch.”

Outside the city, not only were the scouts wandering around.

Some monkeys were also roaming alone as if they were taking a stroll.

Ketal brought one such monkey.

Thud!

The monkey swam quickly, trying to catch Ketal.

But it couldn’t catch him and was dragged around here and there.

“Huh?”

Kukulitan stammered, unable to comprehend the scene.

“A monkey can’t catch a human?”

Mermaids were sea creatures and boasted incredible speed.

There were very few beings that could catch a mermaid underwater.

Those very mermaids couldn’t escape the monkeys and were easily caught.

The monkeys were not only strong but also fast.

Even Kukulitan, who prided himself on being the fastest in the city, could be caught if he wasn’t careful.

Yet the monkey couldn’t catch Ketal now.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s using any mystical power… How is this possible?”

Ketal’s abilities were very peculiar.

His hearing was good enough to catch the sounds of mermaids underwater.

But because of this, Kukulitan thought his personal combat strength wouldn’t be great.

There were many cases where someone specialized in a specific area lacked significantly in other aspects.

Kukulitan thought Ketal was one of those cases.

The fact that the amount of mystical power he possessed was at a third-rate level reinforced Kukulitan’s belief.

But the monkey couldn’t catch up with him.

“…Is he really human?”

“He should be. …Probably.”

Aquaz’s reply lacked confidence.

Even she couldn’t understand him.

[Kiieee!]

The monkey, angry at not being able to catch its small prey, lunged more aggressively.

And finally, it reached them.

“I brought it.”

Ketal landed lightly.

Aquaz quickly shouted.

“Material 4, Chapter 2. Your light envelops the guilty.”

Whirr!

A pillar of light surrounded the monkey.

The monkey’s eyes widened even more.

Realizing something was wrong, it screamed and pounded on the pillar.

[Kiieeek!]

But the scream didn’t spread beyond the pillar.

The monkey pounded on the pillar fiercely, but while it shook, it didn’t crack.

Aquaz observed this calmly.

“It can’t break this level of scripture.”

Previously, the monkeys had broken through a shield of scripture, but that was the 1st Chapter, 1st Verse.

The power of scripture strengthened with the number of chapters.

As she observed the monkey, Aquaz realized one more thing.

“I don’t sense any mystical power.”

These monkeys had such strength purely from their physical bodies.

Unconsciously, she looked at Ketal.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Aquaz quickly averted her gaze.

“Hmm.”

Ketal slowly approached the monkey, getting so close it startled those watching.

Staring at the monkey, Ketal spoke.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ketal.”

[Kiiee!]

The monkey responded with a scream and a swing of its fist instead of words.

“We can’t communicate.”

“How could you expect to communicate with a beast?”

“I had hoped.”

Previously, the Nano they met had been able to communicate.

He had hoped the monkeys might too, but it seemed impossible.

“Baker.”

Baker gathered mana to form a blade.

It rushed toward the monkey, inflicting small wounds all over its body.

[Kiieee!]

Aquaz raised her hand.

“Spear of Light.”

The spear of light pierced through the limbs of the monkey, pinning it to the ground.

The monkey struggled, but the spear held firm.

“With this level of mystic power, I can wound it.”

A sufficiently powerful superhuman could inflict wounds without any problem.

Having finished her rough assessment, Aquaz gathered divine energy and entered the pillar.

The monkey struggled, but it was bound by the spear of light and couldn’t move.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’m going to use divine energy to understand the monkey’s emotions.”

“Is that even possible?”

“It’s similar to detecting lies. If it had any mystic power, it could resist, but this monkey doesn’t.”

Aquaz placed her hand on the monkey’s head.

At that moment, the monkey thrashed violently.

It seemed to instinctively sense danger, almost going berserk.

[Screeeeeech!]

Crack!

The monkey’s muscles swelled up.

The spear of light shattered with a scream.

The monkey sprang up and lunged at Aquaz with bared teeth.

“Damn!”

Aquaz hastily gathered her hands to defend, but the monkey’s body was suddenly slammed back down.

Boom!

“Are you alright?”

Ketal had grabbed the monkey’s head and smashed it into the ground.

Aquaz, who had been staring blankly, quickly expressed her gratitude.

“Th-thank you.”

“It seems like a special move, allowing it to momentarily exert greater strength than usual. We need to check this too.”

The monkey struggled and thrashed but couldn’t get up.

As Ketal gauged its strength, he wore a puzzled expression.

He had lived in the Forbidden Lands.

He had even faced beings from the Forbidden Lands outside the white snowfield, like Nano. He thought he had a general understanding of the level of the Forbidden Land.

So he couldn’t help but be puzzled.

‘Is it only this much?’

“Then I’ll continue the examination.”

Aquaz placed divine energy on the head of the monkey that had been smashed into the ground.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Aquaz spoke.

“…I sense various emotions. Anger. Frustration. Hunger. And….”

Aqua’s eyes momentarily wavered.

“Fear?”

At those words, Baker tilted his head.

“It doesn’t look like it’s afraid.”

The monkey, pinned to the ground, continued to thrash about.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t seem to be afraid of them.

“…This isn’t a recent emotion. It seems to be quite an old one. …Why?”

Had there been a situation where this monkey felt fear before meeting them?

A being from the Forbidden Land that had crawled up, ruled the mermaid city for over a month, and reigned as the tyrant of the sea?

It felt fear of something?

It was incomprehensible.