Elric remained calm despite being held as a prisoner in the world of the water elementals. Despite the trouble he has been thru, being a prisoner was a hundred times much better than losing control over your physical body.
He was not able to see the view outside because of the inclosed clamshell, not to mention, it was too tight, dark and smelly inside this shell prison. Knowing that he can't do anything, for now, he decided to use this time to meditate instead.
After a couple of breaths, Elric was able to fall into deep meditation and he was back at the black door again. This black door is the mental representation of the sealed power of the corrupted Ancestral Dragon's Essence.
Elric has finally figured out how to resist the power of corruption by invoking the power of Authority of Fire and engulfing his spiritual essence with it. However, the longer he stayed inside this black door, the more powerful the pressure from the corruption and he was forced to leave away.
If he wants to use the power of the Ancestral Dragon's essence, he needs to enter that Black Door through his mind. But the risk is obvious, the longer he stayed in that room, the more danger he might get stuck in there with a great possibility of losing his sanity that could eventually spill up into the same catastrophe that he did back on the Physical Realm.
"The Authority of Fire is my light in that room, but the essence of corruption was like a floor of ink that crawls to my spirit and gets absorbed. Once I get hold of the Authority of Water, I should be able to use it as a purifying essence that could help me battle the mental corruption." Elric opened his eyes after such a realization. His eyes reflected a peaceful and mindful state.
All of a sudden, he felt that the shell has stopped moving. Elric knew from the vibration and momentum that the giant Prison Clam was being carried by those two mermen.
THUD!
The huge prison clam was put down to the ground with incredible weight. Quickly it opened its shell and Elric finally was allowed to step out. Slowly, he stepped out of the slimy mouth of the clam and he found himself standing in the middle of a vast royal courtyard.
Casting his look all over him, he realized he was surrounded by noble-looking merfolks that stood with elegance and coldness. Some have curious looks while others are laughing back at him.
Every single one of these merfolks, may it be male or female has outstanding beauty that matches those of the Miss Universe candidate's appearance. Aside from the obvious sharp fangs in their mouths, their looks were something one can behold of.
Hehehe...
So that is human.
Wow, it did resemble us! except for the lower side which was a pair of feet instead.
I can smell delicious meat from that creature.
I think that is not an ordinary human. I have seen one before but this one did not have the same
meat os the other ordinary human.
what do you mean?
I don't know. I just think that this human is much more special. He should taste incredibly delicious! I am getting curious!
Now you are talking! I hope the Lord could let us bite even for just one finger.
Elric could see the sinister gazes of the merfolks around him and hear their hostile intention towards him.
Judging from their actions, Elric realized that these merfolks are the same with humans who act as the apex predator on top of the food chain.
It doesn't matter if what kind of animal it is, may it be endangered species of turtle, tiger, sharks or whales, as long as they have meat, humans would always find ways to have a taste of it. Even if it means, risking the total number of such species.
Elric looked back at these taste-curious merfolks. Despite their resemblance, they don't see Elric as a just a human prisoner but a rare commodity as well.
The two bulky merfolks whos stood guard behind him finally left together with the giant clam. Elric was left behind in the middle of the huge royal courtyard full of golds and colorful gems.
Aghus was sitting idly in his golden throne made of beautiful pearls. His eyes were locked at Elric when he clapped to get everyone's attention.
Clap! clap!
Immediately, everyone's focused at Aghus as he stood from his golden throne. His blue skin reflected the light with beautiful refraction that decorated his whole body.
"My children, this human has trespassed into our territory without respect to us. He killed two of our Guardian Eels and even destroyed the precious reflecting rock that keeps us safe from outside intruders." Aghus proclaimed with boldness and authority.
"I was-"
WHAAM!
Elric wanted to reason but Aghus did not give him the opportunity as he simply waved his hand slightly and sent a water wave that slammed Elric to the ground with brutal force. With such an impact, Elric felt like a thousand-pound anchor had fallen from his head and it left terrible wounds at his upper body.
Thank's to his Dragon blood, his injuries quickly recovered on the spot, leaving the merfolks in utter surprise. Slowly, Elric stood back up and faced Aghus with serious looks.
"Wow, how did he recovered that fast?"
"Is that a natural human healing ability?!"
"I don't think so..."
"I want that human so I can torture him as much as I want!"
Seeing the reaction of his people, Aghus nodded in satisfaction and continued.
"As you can see, this human is special." Aghus specifically emphasized the word 'special' to further gather the merfolks curiosity.
Special? How so?
Now, everyone was really curious.
"As you can see, these men are not just an ordinary human otherwise he would never make it past the gate guardians; but this one, flowing in his pathetic veins is the blood of a Royal Dragon Race!"
"A Human with a Dragon Blood!?"
"I want him!"
"Finally a worthy creature!"
"Fantastic. Now I am looking forward to this!"
"If it is a human with the dragon blood, that means it is a rare commodity that can make us even more powerful!"
"It's about time that we step up our body quality!"
Everyone lost their mind after realizing Elric has a Royal Dragon's blood in his veins. However, only Aghus knew of the Corrupted Ancestral Dragon Essence inside him.
"Now let us start the bidding. First up, right eye! The minimum bid is 10 golden pearls!"