"What is the matter, mortals? Scared?" the mermaid queen asked as she chuckled.
Shin looked confused by the revelation that a monster could talk. Bael looked slightly annoyed.
Bael scanned his surroundings. He counted roughly thousands, if not tens of thousands, of mermaids. Luckily, all were dormant.
He looked back at the evolved mermaid.
Gear Three should suffice, but… I'm underwater right now, so I should use Gear Four. Worst case, I'll go Gear Five… unless Shin can think of something… maybe.
Shin turned to look at Bael. Bael met his gaze and noticed a hint of calculation mixed in with Shin's confused expression.
"What? Do you have an idea?" Bael finally asked, snapping him back into reality.
Shin nodded.
"Let's just do what it wants for now. I have a way for us to move well underwater," Shin said, turning back toward the mermaid queen.
"Oh! You're finally done chatting," the mermaid queen said as she rose from the throne.
She looked down at Shin and Bael and gestured toward one of the arena's gates.
A group of mermaids entered the arena carrying a large wooden weapon rack filled with tons of weapons: spears, swords, bows and arrows, whips, and shields.
Shin and Bael immediately understood the implications.
"We are bored of fighting amongst ourselves for entertainment, so you two shall entertain us by fighting one of the serpents," the mermaid queen declared as the mermaids erupted in cheers.
"If that's so, that means you want us to pick weapons to fight with?" Shin asked, drifting toward the weapon rack.
"You are a smart one, land dweller. The beast you will face is a very formidable opponent. It has devoured nineteen of my best warriors. It took six just to subdue it," the mermaid queen said.
She tapped her trident twice on the floor, and the other mermaids immediately fell silent. A low growl came from the cage behind Shin and Bael.
They turned to see a pair of glowing deep-blue eyes in the cage. Shin suddenly had a thought.
"Wait. You said it devoured nineteen of your best warriors?" Shin asked.
"Yes," the mermaid queen replied, annoyed.
If it ate nineteen… if it's a dormant creature, that means it's near evolution. That is going to be a problem.
Bael swam toward the weapon rack. Both of them picked a shield and a sword. Shin grabbed a traditional longsword, while Bael took an odachi.
"Isn't that too big?" Shin asked as he inspected his sword.
"Not big enough," Bael answered, swinging it around.
The mermaid queen smiled. She raised her trident into the air. The mermaids began chanting, more synchronized than they should be.
The gates of the cage opened. The low growl advanced. Out came a twelve-meter-long giant sea serpent, its body covered in scars.
Its deep blue scales shone brightly in the darkness under the invisible veil of the mermaid queen's mana.
The sea serpent roared, preparing for battle.