Getting Serious

''No, I Cannot die here... like this...'' As barely audible as her voice had become, and with an expression becoming increasingly dark and gloomy, Nerissa desperately clung to the last thread of her life.

Then, suddenly, a malevolent aura, cold and sinister, seeped from her weakened body. She then suddenly floated in the midair as bubbles of water started to appear around her body. As if warning everyone that whoever dared to come closer would meet their immediate doom.

King's surprise was fleeting. He knew what was happening – the little girl was about to unleash her her trump card.

Her Royal Skill!

Although surprising, that was still within his expectations. Of course, it was still a development he eagerly sought to prevent.

That was something he feared. But not to the point that he would crawl down away.

In any case, by the looks of it now, he wouldn't be able to prevent it from happening anymore. Frustration, anger, and with a little bit of worry, King had his darkened face etched with a mix of emotions.

He shifted his gaze back, but no matter how he looked at Jax and tried to control his itching hands, the constant urges of wanting to hit this brat hard could only grow stronger.

This little piece of shit needed to be taught a lesson!

But that wasn't the time for it now. King restrained himself, slapping his cheeks to focus. He then stared at the mermaid with both eyes narrowed slightly, and braced himself for the upcoming danger head on. This wouldn't be easy, but he must prevent that little mermaid from activating his Royal Skill.

With a deep breath, King rushed forward, his eyes growing serious with each step he made. And when he covered enough distance, his hand had as if become a sharp dagger, aiming to pierce at the chest of the other party.

When Royal mermaids turned as berserk as this one, the only way to stop them was to still their heart. The mermaid wouldn't die, of course. They were famous for having the greatest vitality among all the ten elementals. In that berserk state, they could still live even with their heart destroyed.

Of course, that would cost them a huge price. With a heart destroyed, their ability to use the Royal Skill would automatically activate to create a new heart for them. It went without saying, they wouldn't be able to use that Royal Skill ever again once that happened.

Swoosh!

King had just thrown his attack but then, one of the water bubbles surrounding Nerissa moved on its own. It intercepted King's attack, as the bubble exploded and pushed him away with a force violent and terrifying.

But that was only the beginning.

As if the bubbles of water surrounding Nerissa detected danger, they shoot out like bullets, displaying a terrifying speed that directly aimed at King.

''Tch, as expected, this won't be easy,'' King gritted his teeth and grumbled. He could see the bullets of water going fiercely at him as he prepared to either avoid or parry them. Dealing with a mermaid was definitely no easy feat.

Swoosh!

King evaded all the incoming bullets. But King couldn't get a chance to counterattack at all. The bubbles of water continuously reproduced around the mermaid and would attack him with a relentless pursuit, trying to keep him at bay.

Not only that, each time the bubbles of water passed him, they would collide against the ground and cause a small water explosion. That same thing happened over and over again until finally, the ground around the area was soon filled with water rising below his knees.

At that moment, King realized one thing. He found out that with the water level rising all over the place, moving around wouldn't be as freely as before. It hindered his movements, slowing him down significantly. As if the water was trying to bind him, or even worse, swallow him whole.

''This is troublesome...'' King muttered, his expression growing uneasy. He knew full well that time was running out — the mermaid would finish transforming and activate her Royal Skill.

If that happened, then he would get to deal with a greater trouble than what it already was.

''Strange, this is the first time I saw you with that troubled expression. Is dealing with a mermaid really that hard for you?''

Suddenly, amidst his thoughts, King heard an annoying voice, piercing eerily through the air. Veins suddenly popped out on his head as his eyebrows twitched violently.

That brat...

He was still not running away? And he even had the leisure to annoy him? This was making him crazy.

If it wasn't for that brat, things wouldn't have escalated up to this point. He even tried to put more effort to spare him mercy and give him the time to escape.

Yet right now, he was still there. He looked at where his voice came from, but damn, he spotted that annoying brat sitting leisurely on a tree branch, as if he was there to watch a theater.

''You...'' King's eyebrows twitched, his anger simmered. He was just about to...

Swoosh!

Boom!

Unfortunately, that momentarily distraction proved costly and more than enough to catch him off guard. One of the water bubbles shot him right in the face. Then that water bubble exploded, throwing him and plunging him to the water. The terrifying force pushed him rolling far upon the water.

"..." Jax, seeing King in that pathetic brutal defeat, couldn't help but have his eyes widened. No words came out of his mouth, as he wished that he was just hallucinating.

But reality stared back at him. King was really sent rolling as he layed motionless on the water. And Jax couldn't just deny that truth. Was King still alive? He should be, right? Jax refused to believe otherwise. King was a tough nut. He couldn't be dying with just a single attack.

''Now, you've done it.''

As if answering Jax's doubts, a sudden voice sounded and brought chills around the area. Jax stilled his gaze and, out there in the open, he saw a figure standing upon the water. When he got a clearer sight of that person, he saw his expression twisted in anger. Jax sensed a fierce determination emanating from King, and he knew the mermaid was doomed.

Now that he looked at it, Jax could feel that King was now about to take it seriously and make a furious move.

Jax smiled.

He raised his light crossbow, Whimpering Repeater, as he ready to attack the mermaid and provide King a helping hand once he made a move. He couldn't care less if this would kill that mermaid.

Jax put his eyes on and aimed at the mermaid, but to his shock, the mermaid, no matter how he looked at her, was now completely different from before. He couldn't see her as a person anymore, unlike earlier when he saw her as a gorgeous lady.

The mermaid, right now, had definitely transformed. And she was now in a conscious state. Not only that, but her body was now full of silver scales, resembling impenetrable armor.

Looking more closely, Jax could now see three slits on each side of her neck going aesthetically down to her shoulders. He believed that it was her gills looking at how it moved slightly and produced a soft noise.

Then her fishtail was nowhere to be seen anymore. Instead, it was replaced by two slender humanoid legs and feet that looked like fins, adorned with the same scales as her body. On top of that, the water bubbles surrounding her before had also transformed into swirling water, veiling her nakedness from the eyes of the filthy.

Just like before, that mermaid could still float in the midair, but this time, with more elegance and grace.

Jax swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He couldn't help it. The sight was just too mesmerizing. Although she seemed more like a monster now, her beastly beauty didn't allow her to look hideous and unsightly.

Slowly and gracefully, she descended upon the water. Each moment passing by, made Jax feel like holding his breath. He shifted his gaze into her eyes, but to his shock, the mermaid gazed back.

And there he finally saw true danger.