Bonus Chapter [2] - 320 Power Stones
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After ten minutes, Rigel was already sweating, maintaining the spell, such a bright light, for so long was proving quite exhausting.
Even so, there was no sign of the mermaids, which left Rigel confused.
Anamaria, standing behind him, seemed to be struggling to say something, her expression changed several times before she sighed. "Captain, we should sing." she finally said.
"Singing?" Rigel winked.
"Yes, they say that singing in the sea attracts mermaids." Anamaria concluded. She didn't really want to attract those creatures, but in the end, her loyalty overcame her fear, she could only speak with frustration.
Rigel blinked thoughtfully. "I see... I think I remember something like that."
Rigel glanced at the women before turning to Elizabeth. "Miss Swann, that's your cue."
Elizabeth looked surprised, asking in confusion. "Me?"
"You're a lady, singing should be among your subjects of study, right? Come on, don't be shy."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, wanting to argue. She pursed her lips, but finally sighed, moving closer to Rigel. Her eyes had already adjusted to the bright light, yet she still had to squint slightly. Sighing, she took a deep breath before beginning to sing.
"The king and his men stole the queen from her bed..." she began, making the three of them a little surprised by the song she chose, but Rigel just shrugged, a woman fascinated by pirates, of course she would sing that.
"...and bound her in her bones, The seas be ours and by the powers, Where we will, we'll roam..." Elizabeth continued, Rigel waved to Anamaria and Anna, asking them to help.
They both knew the song, so following Elizabeth, they sang along. "Yo-ho, all together, Hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, Never shall we die..."
Rigel looked directly at the water as the three women's voices echoed across the sea.
Suddenly, he saw some figures swimming through the water, some heads slowly rising from the surface, causing the trio to stop singing.
Rigel dimmed the light quickly, looking at the Sirens who were staring intently at them, probably not thinking of pleasantries.
Rigel was quick, swallowing hard, he spoke. "My name is Rigel Black, I was sent by... Calypso." He didn't want to say her name, but unfortunately he didn't think these mermaids would be easy to talk to without her name.
As soon as he said the name, the Sirens stirred, and not only that, the sea itself trembled, a woman's soft laughter seemed to fill the water, followed by a whisper full of temptation and affection. "Rigel..."
The group of mermaids seemed shocked, quickly becoming agitated, but the mermaid in front of them calmed them down. The group looked back at Rigel, this time with less indifference, but there was still a clear distance between them.
The mermaid in front waved her hand towards them, inviting them to descend. Rigel sighed, turned off the lumos completely, and began to descend, closely followed by an excited Elizabeth.
The other two arrived quickly in the tow truck.
When they returned to shore, the mermaids were already there, in the water, waiting for them.
"Are you the goddess's beloved?" the blonde mermaid in front asked, her eyes filled with strange, yet curious expressions.
Rigel rolled his eyes and said. "I don't know about being loved or not, she told me you could help me get what I need."
The mermaids grumbled, not at all pleased, but the leader mermaid raised her hand, stopping them.
"And what would be your objective in obtaining Poseidon's sapphire and our tears, human?" the mermaid asked with a cold smile.
"The sapphire will be used to find Atlantis." Rigel explained, causing the mermaids to become elphoric again.
Even the mermaid leader's eyes widened slightly.
"Impossible, not without..." She didn't finish speaking, Rigel raised his sword, letting its power flow, and also raised his other hand, which held an orange sapphire.
The mermaid swallowed hard, gazing at Rigel with intense desire, if it weren't for Calypso's order, she would have already attacked.
Even after Rigel put away the orange sapphire and returned the sword to its sheath, the Mermaid continued to gaze at him thoughtfully.
"I thought we'd never return home in this life, well, Rigel, as long as you take us with you, we can give you the last Sapphire. You can take any treasure you want, but Atlantis must be ours." The mermaid finally spoke.
Rigel blinked, curious about the story, but not enough to ask about it now. He thought for a moment, the mermaids wanted to go home, he could receive the sapphire that way, it was worth it. "Done."
The mermaid nodded, smiling, although she didn't trust humans, especially men, even childish ones, she still believed that the goddess wouldn't harm them.
"Very well, and what about the tears?" She asked curiously.
"The fountain of youth." Rigel explained simply. Not that he was obligated to explain anything, but he was asking for their help, and explaining could facilitate the agreement.
The Mermaid's eyes blinked, her smile slowly fading, many others had been captured and forced to cry because of that same fountain. If she hadn't reached an agreement with Rigel moments before, she would have been furious.
"I think you already know that tears should be of positive emotions." The mermaid finally spoke, letting out a cold laugh. She had already thought about how to ignore Rigel's request without disobeying Calypso. "Unfortunately, none of us are happy. If you want our tears, I can't guarantee the effect."
Rigel looked at the mermaids staring at him with mocking expressions, he regretted being kind to them, he really wanted to unleash Diabolus to swallow those bitches whole.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "Don't you hold onto those tears? Good tears?"
"No, we rarely cry, and when we do, it's the sea that comforts us, we don't hold back tears." The mermaid in front spoke, looking at Rigel with a smile at the corner of her mouth, her excitement evident.
Rigel blinked, he knew these sirens were playing hard to get, but the only solution he could think of was to call Calypso, though he wasn't sure if he'd like the outcome of asking the woman for help.
Everything Rigel has done so far has been based on a promise she made when she was still in human form, if he asks for help solving other problems, Calypso might feel entitled to demand "compensation", and he didn't want to give her a reason to.
Rigel frowned, unsure what to do for a moment. Finally, the mermaid leader seemed to like his expression. She asked. "Why don't you try singing a song? When a mermaid cries, it's usually because of a beautiful song."
Of course, she only said that to mock Rigel even more, the smile at the corner of her mouth making it clear how much she enjoyed it.
Rigel, on the other hand, blinked slightly, thoughtfully. He sighed, he didn't want to use that reward so soon, but perhaps it was precisely because he would need it that he had earned it.
Looking at the Adventure Book, he said. "Give me the Mermaid's Charm ability."