Shin and Bael felt the dread deep in their hearts. It crept slowly into their souls and hung over them like a predator stalking its prey.
The mermaid queen was filled with unfathomable rage, fear, and joy all at once. This blend of emotions made her lash out uncontrollably.
Shin was sweating bullets as he saw her getting closer and closer, moving like a relentless stalker.
Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit… I made her mad—really mad.
Shin nervously kept his head forward, trying to clear his mind of the fear devouring him.
He turned to face Bael, whose expression looked eerily calm. He wondered what was going through his head to remain composed in the presence of a seemingly unbeatable foe.
He tried to calm his frantically beating heart, hoping his observations were indeed correct.
They continued running for what seemed like hours since the encounter with the mermaid queen. Shin had managed to recover enough mana.
Should I use Void Strike again? It seems to be very effective, but what if…
He cut himself off mid-sentence. Shin glanced up and saw the edge of the forest.
"Bael! Grab on, I'm going to launch us to the edge of the forest," Shin said, glancing back at the mermaid queen.
He readied himself as Bael jumped onto Finn and held on tight. The mermaid queen roared in fury, causing the earth to shake.
A ball of wind formed in Shin's hand. The ball shrank and shot out into a beam of air.
They launched forward as Shin added flame magic, creating a torrent of fire that burned everything behind them.
The mermaid queen continued charging but slowed. She felt her scales beginning to crack and fall off as she bled.
She stopped. Bael and Shin managed to reach the edge of the forest onto a flat grassy plain, with trees in the distance.
Finn stopped as the pair glanced at the queen. Though she was far away, they could feel the rage and malice in her mana, hitting them like a wave.
She stared at them for a while before finally turning back. She sprinted to the lake, plunging herself into the depths of her sunken kingdom.
Shin breathed a sigh of relief, but Bael marched forward.
"Bael, don't—let's just leave it," Shin said, panting heavily.
Bael glanced back at Shin, his expression unreadable and cold. He stared at Shin before turning back.
"Fine, but I won't leave it open for people to stumble to their deaths," Bael said, putting his palms together.
He began reciting a mantra:
Domine tenebrarum
Audi preces meas
Da cognationi tuae potentiam divinam
Claude hanc terram desertam a mundo ne cognationi tuae noceat
Da tranquillitatem animi et tutelam filiis umbrarum
Laus sit Deus daemon
He ended by clapping three times. The world went silent, and a dome of shadows swallowed the forest.
Bael then turned back to Shin, who was in awe.
"She should be sealed for a while, but if she is not killed within a few years, she might eventually become a titan," Bael said as he walked over to Finn.
Shin collapsed onto Finn's back. Bael took another glance at the dome, his face blank and cold.
Let's hope this is the right decision, future king.