Chaos spread across the academy vessel.
The beautiful melodies continued flowing across the sea.
Sweet.
Enchanting.
Dangerous.
The voices of the mermaids drifted over the waves like an invisible net.
Every note carried temptation.
Every word carried desire.
The songs wrapped around minds.
Pulled at emotions.
Whispered promises that didn't exist.
The sea itself seemed to dance to their voices.
Mermaids circled the ship.
Dozens of them.
Their shimmering tails cut through the water gracefully.
Their long hair floated across the ocean surface.
Their beauty felt almost unreal.
The kind of beauty that existed specifically to deceive.
To lure.
To hunt.
And unfortunately—
It worked.
Several students remained hypnotized.
Sailors continuously struggled to restrain them.
Others desperately covered their ears.
The captain barked orders.
Crew members rushed throughout the vessel.
The situation remained unstable.
Then—
Kel sighed.
A small sigh.
Yet somehow filled with profound exhaustion.
Inside his mind—
Seiren immediately noticed.
"You're tired."
"Yes."
"Of the mermaids?"
"Of everyone."
The Guardian laughed.
A very dangerous sign.
Because whenever Kel reached this level of patience depletion—
Interesting things tended to happen.
Far away within Scarder Lake.
Seiren settled comfortably.
Watching through their soul connection.
The Guardian had absolutely no intention of missing what came next.
Meanwhile—
The captain noticed movement.
His eyes widened.
Because Kel had begun walking.
Not away from the railing.
Toward it.
Directly toward it.
The captain immediately stepped forward.
"Aedon."
Kel continued walking.
"Aedon."
Still walking.
"AEDON."
Finally Kel stopped.
The captain pointed toward the ocean.
Toward the dozens of hypnotic predators swimming below.
"What are you doing?"
Kel glanced at the sea.
Then answered honestly.
"I'm tired."
The captain blinked.
"What?"
"I'm tired."
"..."
The answer somehow made everything worse.
The captain suddenly had a terrible feeling.
A very terrible feeling.
The kind sailors developed before storms.
Before disasters.
Before exceptionally bad decisions.
Then Kel continued walking.
The captain opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then sighed.
Deeply.
Very deeply.
Finally—
He stepped aside.
At this point he genuinely wanted to see what happened.
Because Aedon Flinth had repeatedly demonstrated behavior beyond normal understanding.
The captain had given up predicting him.
Several sailors noticed as well.
The students nearby watched curiously.
Then—
Kel reached the railing.
The ocean stretched below.
The mermaids immediately noticed him.
Their attention shifted.
Several pairs of eyes focused upon the young man.
One of them approached.
Slowly.
Gracefully.
The water barely rippled around her.
Her beauty exceeded most humans.
Long silver-blue hair.
Crystal-clear skin.
Deep sapphire eyes.
Her smile felt gentle.
Inviting.
Perfect.
Dangerous.
She stopped near the ship.
Then looked upward.
Directly at Kel.
The melody around her softened.
Became more personal.
More intimate.
The mermaid smiled warmly.
"Oh dear."
Her voice flowed like water itself.
Soft.
Hypnotic.
Beautiful.
"You are quite handsome."
Several students immediately looked jealous.
Even under these circumstances.
The mermaid continued.
"If you don't mind..."
Her smile deepened.
"Could we become friends?"
Silence.
The wind blew softly across the deck.
Everyone waited.
Then Kel asked:
"Why should I become friends with you?"
The atmosphere froze.
The mermaid blinked.
Apparently that wasn't the expected response.
Normally.
The conversation progressed differently.
Much differently.
She recovered quickly.
Her smile remained beautiful.
"Don't be like that."
Her voice carried gentle disappointment.
"A gentleman shouldn't speak that way to a lady."
Several nearby students unconsciously nodded.
Reasonable.
Very reasonable.
Then Kel replied.
"You aren't a lady."
Silence.
The mermaid blinked.
Several sailors blinked.
The captain blinked.
Kel continued.
"You're not even a fish."
The silence deepened.
"You are neither fully human nor fully fish."
The mermaid stared.
"You are simply an uncategorized species that somehow lives underwater."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the ocean seemed quieter.
The mermaid's expression cracked.
Slightly.
Very slightly.
Then she looked genuinely hurt.
The emotional damage was visible.
Pain.
Disbelief.
Offense.
All appeared simultaneously.
Several sailors immediately looked away.
Because somehow—
They felt embarrassed on her behalf.
The mermaid finally spoke.
Her voice slightly sharper now.
"I merely wanted to spend time with you."
Kel tilted his head.
"Why?"
The question sounded sincere.
Which somehow made it worse.
The mermaid forced a smile.
A vulnerable smile.
One carefully practiced over countless years.
"So I can know you."
Her voice became softer.
"And perhaps..."
The hypnotic undertones deepened.
"We could live together."
Several students nearly collapsed.
The captain covered his face.
The mermaid smiled sweetly.
"As man and woman."
The ocean breeze passed.
Then Kel replied.
"First."
He raised one finger.
"You are not a woman."
The mermaid froze.
"Second."
A second finger.
"I am not yet a man."
The students blinked.
"Third."
A third finger.
The mermaid suddenly felt danger.
"You aren't interested in knowing me."
Silence.
The smile slowly disappeared from her face.
Kel's silver eyes remained calm.
Unmoved.
Unaffected.
Expressionless.
Then he continued.
"You are interested in my flesh."
The silence became uncomfortable.
"And my bones."
The captain slowly looked away.
Because technically—
That was true.
The mermaid's expression finally broke completely.
The illusion shattered.
Her beautiful smile vanished.
Her eyes narrowed.
The hypnotic sweetness disappeared.
For the first time—
The predator became visible.
Then—
Kel calmly drew his sword.
Sching.
The blade reflected sunlight.
The entire deck froze.
The mermaid froze.
The captain froze.
The sailors froze.
Then Kel pointed the sword toward her.
Not aggressively.
Not threateningly.
Simply curiously.
Like a scholar examining a specimen.
"I have a question."
The mermaid suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.
"What question?"
Kel thought carefully.
Then answered honestly.
"You seem interested in eating humans."
The sword remained pointed toward her.
The sea breeze moved his cloak.
His expression remained completely calm.
Then he asked:
"If human flesh tastes good."
The mermaid's instincts began screaming.
"I wonder."
Kel tilted his head slightly.
"How mermaid flesh tastes."
Silence.
Complete.
Absolute.
Silence.
The ocean stopped.
The wind stopped.
Reality stopped.
The mermaid stared.
Then stared harder.
Then immediately swam backward.
Several meters.
Instantly.
Without hesitation.
The movement shocked everyone.
The predator had retreated.
Then Kel took a step forward.
The sword remained raised.
The mermaid retreated farther.
Another step.
Another retreat.
The situation rapidly became absurd.
The mermaid reappeared several meters away.
Attempting to approach another section of the ship.
Immediately—
Kel walked there.
The sword still raised.
Not attacking.
Not swinging.
Just following.
The mermaid froze.
Then swam away again.
Several sailors watched.
Completely speechless.
The captain watched.
Completely speechless.
The students watched.
Completely speechless.
The mermaid appeared on another side.
Kel followed.
Another side.
Kel followed.
Another side.
Kel followed.
The entire ship gradually witnessed the spectacle of a predatory mermaid desperately trying to avoid one teenager.
Inside his mind—
Seiren could no longer breathe.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The Guardian laughed so hard their soul connection trembled violently.
"YOU'RE HUNTING HER!"
"I asked a question."
"YOU ARE THE PROBLEM!"
"No."
"YES!"
Far away.
Scarder Lake experienced an unexpected storm.
Meanwhile—
The mermaid finally gave up.
She glared at Kel.
Then dove beneath the water.
Disappearing entirely.
Several other mermaids observed this.
Then looked toward Kel.
Then looked toward his sword.
Then slowly decided they suddenly had important business elsewhere.
One by one.
They retreated.
The melodies weakened.
The hypnotic influence faded.
The ocean gradually returned to normal.
Students recovered.
Sailors relaxed.
The danger passed.
And standing upon the deck.
Holding a sword.
Kel watched the sea calmly.
The captain slowly approached.
Several moments passed.
Then he asked:
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"What exactly was that?"
Kel thought about it.
Then answered honestly.
"I was curious."
The captain stared.
Then decided.
For the second time today.
That he absolutely did not want additional explanations.
The ocean was peaceful once more.
The mermaids were gone.
The students were safe.
And somehow—
The greatest threat the mermaids encountered today wasn't the academy vessel.
It was Aedon Flinth.