Desharow Mermaid - Chap 44

“Oh my God, what is that thing!”

One person exclaimed in shock, and we suddenly woke up from our trance. Our guns were aimed at the unidentified creature that had surfaced from the swamp. However, I heard Raffael whisper, “Don’t move, it’s a kind of giant lizard! Lizards are especially sensitive to movement. The faster we move, the faster we die!”

One of the armed personnel whispered, “You guys crouch down and slowly retreat along the original path.” As he spoke, he gestured to several of his companions behind him, and they nodded in understanding. This seemed to be a common layout signal in mercenary combat.

We followed the experienced mercenaries’ instructions and crouched down, keeping a close eye on the monster with the red eyes, in case it suddenly launched an attack. We cautiously moved back under the cover of some trees.

But then, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun. Suddenly, a wave of muddy water surged up from the swamp!

A huge black silhouette rose up, and in an instant, a bloodthirsty mouth full of sharp teeth emerged from the mud, and a deep purple tongue covered in venom swung through the air. The sharp and curved beast claws dug deep into the ground like a digging machine. Then, it arched its back, revealing an umbrella-shaped membrane, and stared at us with its tiger-like gaze, emitting a hissing sound like a snake.

I stared at it in utter shock – I swear this is not a lizard species that can be found in any biological encyclopedia. This creature looked just like an Estesia that existed in the Cretaceous period, a giant lizard that fed on young dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs!

God knows how such an extinct creature could exist in this place!

Unexpectedly, the giant lizard didn’t attack immediately. It lurked there quietly, its huge red eyes turning in two different directions like surveillance cameras, observing our group of ant-like creatures, ready to strike. I didn’t know if its venomous tongue possessed deadly hunting skills like a chameleon, but even with guns in our hands, it would be difficult to contend with it.

Nervousness caused sweat to pour out of every pore of my body. I didn’t dare to move and held the gun tightly, aimed at the lizard’s mouth. Eva was hugging my back tightly, and I felt her trembling slightly. I couldn’t help but worry that she might suddenly scream or run away in panic. To calm Eva down, I reached down with one hand, gently and firmly holding her wrist, and her fingers holding onto my clothes tightened even more.

This subconscious dependence made a protective feeling rise in my heart, and the fear was thus somewhat covered up. However, just as my courage was rising, I suddenly noticed that one of the lizard’s eyes was staring directly at us, and then its head slowly turned over, with its eyes squinting, staring at me quietly, as if peering through me towards the distant depths of the jungle.

I suddenly felt that this ancient creature was somewhat special because its appearance was not like a hungry predator. Its gaze upon us did not seem to be looking at prey, but rather like a group of ignorant ants. It seemed to be thinking about our purpose, our origins, and whether we were worth its wrath.

However, Eva trembled even more violently. Her gun barrel stretched over my shoulder, aiming at the lizard’s eye, and I grabbed her other wrist, whispering in a low voice, “Don’t panic, Eva, stay calm…”

My voice was abruptly cut off by a loud bang from the gun, and in the smoke that billowed from the barrel, an amazing recoil pushed both Eva and me back, causing my brain to be filled with a buzzing noise. For a moment, I felt dizzy, and as I stood up, I saw the umbrella-shaped membrane on the lizard’s neck suddenly open up, and it let out a sharp roar, fully exposing its attacking stance!

“Shit!”

I cursed loudly, turned around, grabbed the gun and aimed at its head. The armed personnel around us also opened fire, and in an instant, amidst the gunfire and rain of bullets, its head lifted high, and its purple-red tongue shot out from its mouth like an arrow towards us. Rafael and I immediately pulled the triggers and fired from both sides, but my poor marksmanship couldn’t find the target. I saw the tongue whip towards Eva like a whip, and suddenly she screamed and stumbled, then got up and ran towards the depths of the forest.

I yelled in despair, rushed over and tackled her to the ground. “Don’t run, Eva! It attacks fast-moving prey first!”

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard a rustling sound coming through the trees towards us, and I knew things were not looking good. I quickly got up, instinctively protecting Eva behind me, but a lightning-fast purple-red shadow had already attacked us. I reflexively raised my gun to protect my head, but heard a noise behind me. Suddenly, I was grabbed by the collar and pulled back with tremendous force, falling several meters away from Eva behind me. The giant lizard’s tongue quickly rolled up her legs, and she was about to be swallowed by its bloody teeth!

“No!” I rushed forward, about to open fire, but Rafael leaped forward and tackled the lizard near its mouth, sweeping with his gun. Suddenly, a low voice sounded from nowhere, echoing through the dense forest, “Eka…la…Miya…”

It was Acheres’s voice!

In an instant, I saw the giant lizard miraculously come to a standstill. Its tongue slowly opened as if it were a mechanical device receiving a remote signal. Eva, who had already passed out from fear, rolled to the ground, and it closed its bloodthirsty mouth and even closed its terrifying red eyes, bowing its head and crawling on the ground. This fierce ancient creature actually showed a kind of respectful posture, as if it were a devotee welcoming a god.

I was incredulous at this sudden turn of events, my jaw dropping. My gaze searched through the trees for the black, towering figure, but suddenly I saw the armed personnel and Rafael on the other side staring at my back with a ghostly expression, and they all raised their guns towards my back.

Without looking back, I realized that there was something behind me. In fact, I saw a long, black fish tail wrap around my ankle from behind at some point.

Stiffening up, I raised my hand in a “stop” gesture and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, stuttering: “D-don’t misunderstand, this is my frie-”

A wet tongue unexpectedly licked my neck. My throat choked up, and I squeezed out a word: “…nd.”

A pale, damp webbed claw came from behind and wrapped around my waist. Raphael’s eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and I awkwardly chuckled, “Uh, really, he’s just a little…too…friendly.”

“He is my Desharow…”

Agares rested his chin on top of my head, and his deep voice made my ears tingle. I saw everyone across from us gasp, and I almost stopped breathing. I waved my hands frantically and said, “I forgot to tell you all. This big guy was caught by me, Rine, and Lai in Iceland. I raised him for a while and then released him… I don’t know why I met him here!”

I blabbered on, but inside I was screaming, “Oh my god…this guy is speaking human language in front of my classmates, and what he said was unbelievable!”

Just when I was completely at a loss, Raphaël snapped out of his shocked state and helped Eva up. He shook his head in disbelief and stared at me and Agares. Fear and amazement mixed in his eyes as he said, “Oh my god…you encountered a mermaid who can speak English…Desaro, you’re really lucky!”

Lucky my ass! I didn’t even have time to be unlucky!

I wailed in agony in my heart and tried to pry off the claw that was squeezing my waist, but Agares didn’t let go. Instead, he held me tighter. I couldn’t help but wonder what more shameless things he would do in front of my classmates if I continued to confront him. He had no shame. Raphaël and the others clearly didn’t believe Agares was friendly, especially since a mermaid had kidnapped one of our companions yesterday. From the tension on their faces, it was clear that the situation was about to erupt.
　
I had to retreat in order to advance, so I calmly said to Rafa and the others, “Why not… let him join us for now? He might be able to help us find Davinci and stop Shakaral and his men. Look, he even subdued that monster.”

“How do you know this merman will help us? It was his own kind that attacked Davinci. Merfolk are very fierce creatures, as we learned before we even set foot on this island,” Rafa frowned, staring at Ageres.

Several armed personnel did not let their guard down and their guns were still aimed at us. One of them was particularly agitated, clutching his gun and his facial muscles twitching. I had no doubt he could start shooting at any moment.

I could imagine they had clashed with the merfolk before landing on this island, perhaps losing a few comrades. Their experiences must have been just as perilous as ours with Rine and me.

“Trust me, I can talk to him, I can convince him to help us, okay? This big guy looks a bit fierce, but actually… he’s very gentle…” I struggled to squeeze out this adjective from between my teeth, and reached out to touch Ageres’ cheek.

His facial features were sharp and angular, and his skin felt rough to the touch. I forced a smile at them, half-believing myself: “Hey, look at him, isn’t he like a big dolphin?”

In response, Ageres playfully rubbed one of his webbed claws against my buttocks from behind, luckily no one saw it. I blushed and gritted my teeth, then discreetly stepped on his tail fin.

…

Due to my good coordination, Raphael and his team finally gave up their confrontation with Agares, and the giant lizard for some reason truly submitted to Agares and obediently swam back into the swamp under his coercion. The dense forest returned to the calmness we encountered when we first entered. Since Eva was still in a coma, we had to slow down and find a place to rest among the ruins.

Agares seemed quite familiar with the structure of these ruins. He moved freely through the stone pillars in the swamp, disappearing for a moment, and then popping up half a body away in a circular stone staircase not far from us. I noticed that it looked like an ancient Roman bath, but it was unlikely to be used for bathing since this floating island would sink underwater regularly. All the lakes and riverbeds on this island were interconnected with the mermaid nests beneath them and led straight to the ocean.

Thinking this way, I couldn’t help but imagine the structure of this island. It must be hollow with countless exits, allowing it to drain quickly into the water and be lighter than any other island in the world. Perhaps this is the secret of how this mermaid island can float to the surface periodically and sink to the bottom of the sea.

Is it a man-made structure or a natural geographic formation? It’s too magical. It’s both like a beehive and a submarine.

The mermaid race and their world are just too mysterious…

In my heart, I couldn’t help but sigh. My gaze involuntarily met with Ageres’. Amidst the mottled and changing light and shadow under the trees, his face was partially hidden behind the stone steps, revealing only a pair of deep and bright eyes. Squinting, his gaze seemed to be tempting my curiosity, hinting at what I should ask him.

Just then, a hand suddenly patted my shoulder. Raphael handed me a grilled fish skewered with a fork and looked in Ageres’ direction. “Sorry, Desaro. Your friend doesn’t seem to have any hostility towards us. We have to thank him for driving away that monster and saving Eva. Here, take this and express our gratitude.”

I was stunned for a moment. “He’s a beast. Why give him this? He can hunt for himself!”

“You used to be his caretaker, didn’t you? You can take care of him again for the sake of Davenchi!”

Raphael’s words left me speechless, and I couldn’t help but feel frustrated, like hitting myself with a rock. I glared at him and said, “Hey, man, do you know you’re pushing me into the fire?”

“What do you mean? Don’t you want to get close to that mermaid? But just now…”

Raphael raised an eyebrow in confusion, apparently unable to understand why my attitude had suddenly changed. But I felt a twinge of guilt, got up, grabbed the grilled fish in my hand, and walked towards Ageres with a stiff upper lip.