Sea Cave
"Mi-Mister, Mister! Can you hear me?" Who is that? A voice kept on calling me. And, there is something weird about my mana. Did Brielle leave my side?
"You need to wake up —" Ah, that voice again. I can't clearly hear what he was saying. Maybe, I should sleep.
"—We might not see Brielle anymore —" Huh?! What happened to Brielle? I need to wake up. Or else I will lose Brielle again. Even though I had a hard time waking up, I still continue. I gathered all my mana to the center of my body, creating a surge to wake up my senses. Hah! I was successful.
I opened my eyes and started to move. Some ice cracked due to my sudden movement. Standing in front of me, trembling, was Brielle's friend. As I looked around the cave, I panicked because there was no Brielle. My daughter was nowhere to be seen. I turned into my human form and immediately interrogated Max.
"What happened to Brielle?" As I asked, I gripped his shoulders firmly.
"Brielle, sob, sob, she has been kidnapped by the men in the capital," Max replied nervously.
My world stopped when I heard what he said. Brielle was abducted? By humans? It's happening again. Brielle is always taken away from me by humans. If anything happens to my daughter, I will kill them all!
I released a large amount of mana as a result of my rage, making Max tremble in fear. He assisted Brielle in relaying the message to me so he could locate her.
To save time on my journey to the capital, I reverted to my wolf form. I lowered down my body and said, "Get up. We will rescue Brielle."
"Sniff...Okay, Mister"
***
Square Theater
"That's Brielle. Why do they have Brielle?!" I exclaimed in anger.
"Father?" Ethan, who's sitting beside me, was startled by my sudden reaction.
"Your Majesty, calm down for a moment. Waiting for the auction to end is the best action for this situation," Helden whispered. You want me to just watch Brielle suffer in front of these disgusting people? They placed her inside a glass filled with cold water, and not only that but they placed a restriction chain around her neck! And those filthy bastards enjoying their time in biding! How did it become like this? Where is her father?
"50000 gold!" The man in a black hood said as he raised his placard.
"50000 gold! Mr. 7 offers 50000 gold to our little mermaid. Is there anyone who wants to appeal?" Viscount Hoffman announced.
Silence. None of the guests were able to bid higher than 50000 gold.
"All right! So that's it. Congratulations to Mr. 7 for winning the bidding. You can take home the mermaid, and do what you want! The mermaid is officially yours."
Something snapped inside of me. My blood surges. The powerful mana stored within me stormed out like trampling waves.
As I stand up, I unsheathe my sword. "Helden, command the knights to seize the place. No one is allowed to escape."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Helden dashed out of the theater to signal the Imperial knights, who were outside, that the attack was starting.
"Finally! The boredom is over," Ethan grinned.
All the guests panicked as we began to move forward. Some tried to run; others fought back against my knights; and the remaining surrendered.
"You! How dare you cause a commotion!" the Viscount roared, hiding behind the group of knights who were undoubtedly inexperienced in the battlefield. They were holding the swords firmly, but it was obvious that they were frightened of their opponents.
"What are you standing for?! Kill them!" he added, kicking one of the knights in front of him. The knight lunged at me with his sword.
Slash!
With one movement, the head of the Viscount's knight fell like a ripe apple drop down from its tree.
"Aaaaaaaaah! You h-how mu-much do y-you want? I'll g-give y-you any amount, "Viscount Hoffman offered as he still hid behind the remaining knights of his.
"I don't need your dirty money, instead let me behead you. That's a more reasonable price for making me angry." I removed my mask and after seeing my face; terror made them stiff, and trembled in fear.
"Yo-Your Ma-Majesty?!" Viscount Hoffman stuttered. " Ple-Please spa-spare me."
"Father, you're not done yet?" Ethan asked as he walked towards me. He must have already killed the guests who attempted to run away. No wonder he is my child.
"Seeing you come here, you must be done. Then, I'll leave them to you," I said, tapping his shoulders. "There are rats that are so bold to take away Brielle."
Ethan took care of the Viscount and his men while I headed off to Brielle who was captive by suspicious men in cloak. These two were emitting powerful aura that can't be taken lightly. Why do they want Brielle to the point they are risking their life? I should let them live and take out some information. It's been long since I torture someone. How nostalgic!
As I stepped towards them, they prepared to attack me with their light magic. Two magicians wielding light magic, plus had the skill in combat. Interesting! Then, should I get serious to not let you down?
I put my mana in the sword, and counter every attack they tried to land on me. They split from each other, charging from both sides, so I had a difficult time reacting. However, it didn't affect me much. Considering how many years I spent on the battlefield, this is nothing.
Clash!
Clang!
Boom!
Blood splattered around the stage.
"How messy," I murmured. I walked towards the large aquarium and saw Brielle still unconscious. It's still a mystery why she has a tail, but I knew she was a kind child. The appearance just changed, but not Brielle.
With my fire attribute, I melted a hole at the side of the aquarium so I could take her out. Slowly and carefully as the water spilled out, I held Brielle's hand and released her from there. I removed the restriction chain around her neck then held her in my arms. Carrying her gave me an unusual feeling. She weighs like a feather and seeing her up close made my heart tingled. Weird. Who are you to make me feel this way?
"Let me hold her, Father!" I was so preoccupied with Brielle that I didn't notice Ethan standing next to me. Ethan appeared to be so engrossed in Brielle that he was eager to snatch her away from me. This brat is meddlesome! I'm having a moment with her!
"Hey! You're unfair. Why can't I hold Brielle? You've had her for so long!" Ethan protested.
"I only held her for about two minutes," I rebuked. "Also, with your child-like body, you might drop Brielle."
Helden murmured, "His Majesty and His Highness are like two peas in a pod."
"What?!" we said in chorus.
"Nothing, Your Majesty and Your Highness," Helden chuckled. When I was about to scold Helden, suddenly Brielle moved and said something unintelligible. I panicked. Nothing came out of my mind as to what I need to do. Should I call a priest? Was she uncomfortable somewhere? What does she need? All those questions pop out in my mind like the speed of light.
"Pa-pa, Pa-pa." Oh, she was calling her father. But, how come his father was not here? Don't tell me he abandoned Brielle? I gritted my teeth as the thought flashed in my head. However, from what I saw from his father last time, he seemed to treasure his child so much. It was like he values her more than his own life.
"Don't worry, Brielle. You are now safe," I said as I wrapped a warm hug around her.
Swoosh!
A strong cold wind blew in from the outside, chilling the entire Square theater and turning the ground to ice. It was not your typical winter season but rather an extinct ice attribute. As the temperature dropped, I wrapped a tighter hug around Brielle. I wasn't sure if a mermaid could become ill because of the coldness, so I decided to keep her warm just in case.
"Give me back my daughter!" A loud, angry voice of a man yelled inside the theater. White hair pure like snow, and deep purple eyes- yeah, that was a familiar face. Her father has arrived.