Chapter 27
At my words, Shaila’s eyes changed in an instant. Until a moment ago, she had looked at me with playful curiosity, as if watching a toy—
but now, her gaze was overflowing with affection.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
…That expression—I’ve seen it somewhere before. When I was Seo Hee-won, a friend used to look at me that way sometimes.
Feeling awkward under her intense stare, I tried to get out of the water—
when something grabbed my ankle.
“You must have had a reason for making that choice. I trust you, Rehel.”
“…What are you talking about? Let go of me fir—”
Before I could finish my sentence, the entire cave started shaking. Stumbling slightly, I turned to look at Shaila, who spoke in a cryptic tone.
“That power is yours now.”
“…What?”
As soon as she said that, the pale blue pearl she was holding transformed into something else.
A jewel shaped like a water droplet—clearer and more brilliant than before.
The thing I had desperately wanted: a mermaid’s tear.
The joy of finally obtaining it lasted only a moment.
The shaking grew stronger until a violent wave suddenly surged toward us.
“Rehel!”
Lian, who’d been watching nearby, sprinted toward me and leaped into the water without hesitation, pulling me into his arms.
Just before the wave swallowed us whole, Shaila gave me a bittersweet smile.
“Be careful, Rehel.”
And then, my vision went black.
❖ ❖ ❖
Even as I was swept away by the raging current, I felt no fear at all.
Maybe it was because Lian was holding me tightly—so tightly it almost hurt.
Ever since receiving the Mermaid’s Tear, I could breathe underwater.
But I held on to his clothes anyway. I didn’t want to be separated from him.
…What exactly am I to Shaila?
I couldn’t forget the warm gaze she’d given me.
Perhaps Shaila had intended to give me her power from the very beginning.
Maybe… she just wanted to give me a chance to reconsider.
Whatever the reason—
I got the power. That’s what matters.
As I tried to sort through the thoughts in my head, we neared land.
“…!”
The hairs on my body stood on end.
A murderous intent—directed at me.
Instinctively, I opened my eyes and met Lian’s gaze underwater.
He must have sensed it too; his eyes turned cold.
We can’t fight here.
He seemed to read my mind and gave a slight nod.
He tried to break away from the sea dragon towing us and swim upward.
But whatever was radiating that killing intent noticed our movement—and revealed itself.
“……”
I almost opened my mouth to curse, but stopped myself.
Appearing before us was another sea dragon—
but this one looked… unhinged.
Its scales glowed an ominous red, and its eyes were locked on me as if it meant to rip me apart.
Someone sent this thing.
One of the Demon Lords, probably.
How did it know I was here?
The answer came to mind easily, and I let out a bitter laugh.
So you made a deal, Shaila.
If not her, there’s no way it would have known.
“Ssshaaah!”
Like a serpent, the red sea dragon hissed and opened its jaws wide—
and tore apart Shaila’s sea dragon without hesitation.
This is bad.
Fighting underwater was a huge disadvantage.
And Lian was running out of breath—his expression twisted in pain.
If only I could freeze everything around us…
“…!”
Something shot past me at incredible speed.
It was a creature native to the sea.
One… two… ten… dozens of them appeared and swarmed the red sea dragon.
Is this thanks to the Mermaid’s Tear?
Whatever the reason, this was our chance.
Using their help, Lian and I swam upward.
When we finally reached the surface, Lian gasped for air—
but didn’t waste a single second and began pulling us toward land.
Just as the water reached only our chests—
the sea dragon lunged at us from behind, teeth bared.
“…Move!”
Before I realized it, I pushed Lian out of the way, taking the attack myself.
I could have frozen the sea dragon,
but doing so would endanger the sea creatures helping us.
If this were on land, I wouldn’t have been hit so easily.
The sea dragon vanished immediately, as if only intent on hurting me.
“What the hell were you thinking?!”
Lian checked my condition, his expression turning grim.
He carried me out onto land and examined my back.
“…It hurts more than I expected.”
“Are you insane?!”
“I’m not, so stop yelling.”
My legs buckled, and Lian caught me, lowering me gently to the ground.
His voice kept echoing in my ears.
And my back—burned like fire.
“That sea dragon had poison. If it hit you, you would’ve died instantly.”
I already knew.
Ever since receiving Shaila’s power, I could sense the conditions of underwater beings.
“…Let’s go back and treat you. This is dangerous.”
“Not now.”
I couldn’t return to the castle like this.
If the humans saw me injured, they’d riot, claiming their hero failed to protect me.
I needed to be healed first.
“Let’s stay here until I recover. This is Shaila’s territory—it should be safe.”
Although the fact that Shaila sold me out bothered me a little.
“Do we have any method to neutralize the poison?”
“…Not sure.”
Maybe there was something in Rehel’s basement laboratory—
but we couldn’t return to the castle.
Human antidotes don’t work on me.
All I could do was wait for the poison to break down naturally.
“Let’s go. I don’t want humans to see—”
I stood up like nothing was wrong, but soon stumbled.
Lian caught me and supported me.
“Stop being stubborn. We’re going back to the castle.”
“I said no.”
“Then what, you’ll just endure it like this?”
His voice turned colder.
He was angry—again.
I had promised to avoid upsetting him, but here we were.
“I’m fine. I just need a little rest.”
Rehel experimented on this body countless times.
Every kind of poison had been injected into it before.
It wouldn’t kill me—just hurt a lot.
“You call this fine…?”
He touched my back gently, and I flinched at the sting, leaning against him.
My back must look like a complete mess.
“Sorry… just let me rest.”
My head spun, and my strength faded as the poison spread.
I lost consciousness in his arms.
❖ ❖ ❖
After transferring her power to Rehel, Shaila was no longer the Demon Lord of Sloth—
just a monster who happened to have lived a long time.
But rather than hating it, she felt relieved.
She had always hated the troublesome title.
Even without the Demon Lord title, the monsters still followed her.
Once they chose a master, they stayed until death.
“Lady Shaila…”
They gathered near her, worried about their future.
“I want to be alone.”
They quietly withdrew.
Alone in her resting place, Shaila closed her eyes.
—Send Rehel to Cordelia Island. Then I’ll give you what you want.
—What exactly are you planning to give me?
—Don’t you want to see the sun?
—……
—I’ll make it happen. I’ll let you see the sun.
She had made a deal with Salovan, the Demon Lord of Lust.
Send Rehel to Cordelia Island, and in exchange, she would get to see the sun.
Shaila had never once seen sunlight.
Its touch would burn her skin and melt her.
Rehel had once tried to make a medicine to show her the sun,
but it had failed.
She wanted to see the sunlight with her own eyes.
She wanted to watch humans smiling beneath the warm sky.
“I’m sorry, Rehel.”
She knew Salovan was scheming something.
But the offer was too tempting to refuse.
Moments ago, she sensed that Rehel was injured.
Because he was hurt within her territory, she could feel it immediately.
It wasn’t a fatal injury, thankfully,
but guilt weighed on her.
“He has my power now. He’ll heal quickly.”
As she silently apologized to him again, she opened her eyes.
Just then, she noticed a letter lying on the ground.
“Did Rehel drop this?”
On the back, it read: [To the One Without a Name]
The paper wasn’t wet—even underwater.
Shaila unfolded it.
Her expression twisted into disgust.
‘What kind of ridiculous letter is this?’
She didn’t know yet—
that the letter had finally found the person it was meant for.
