Aletta cursed her luck. Of all beings to fight, fate chose the myriads.
Myriads were almost easily the strongest half human beings in the sea. They fought with unfiltered strength and agility, easily overpowering humans and mermaids.
Sirens were the exception. Being the most mysterious beings of the sea, sirens were known to be the most dangerous as well.
The myriads strength and power was matched by the sirens. And this easily caused a rift and waged an unspoken war between the two.
Nevertheless, sirens were less brutal and tended to be more aloof to strangers.
Unlike Reagan and Leonore who were effortlessly tearing and slicing through the myriads that attacked them, Aletta struggled to keep her neck attached to her head.
Reagan kept her safe. But there was only so much he could do.
The myriads didn't only fight with brute strength and speed, they fought without control, almost like they were being controlled by something else.
Their eyes were hollow and vacant and didn't even focus on their target. Their bodies drooped and moved rather sluggishly, and when they weren't moving, they seemed ready to collapse.
It was all unnatural.
"We shouldn't kill them", Aletta quickly told Reagan after seeing Leonore drive a dagger into a myriad's skull.
"And risk getting killed? Smart suggestion", Leonore replied snarkily.
"They are still alive!," Aletta explained. "They may seem anything but alive right now but believe me, they are! But something's wrong for sure! It's like they are just being controlled by something."
"Yes, I think we've established the fact that they have been poisoned by some bastard trying to use them," Leonore rolled his eyes, jumping out the way in time to dodge an attack from a myriad.
"No! Look at them!", Aletta desperately turned to Reagan for help, seeing another myriad die by Leonore's blade. "This is more than poison! They're suffering!"
Reagan frowned. "Watch out!"
He yanked Aletta out of the way just in time to save her from a myriad's claw.
He kicked the myriad away, skillfully manoeuvring around Aletta and stabbing another myriad ready to launch another attack on her.
"Where are your powers now?", Reagan growled out at her, annoyed. "Focus"
Aletta watched the stabbed myriad sink. It barely acknowledged the stab wound Reagan had inflicted on it.
"The myriads are being killed for something they aren't doing on purpose!," Aletta cried, gritting her teeth. "Listen to me!"
"So you suggest we let ourselves be killed?," Reagan glared at her.
"We could run!," Aletta desperately replied.
"Do you see how fast they are? We won't even make it," Reagan retorted.
Aletta furrowed her brows and looked around. Another myriad was making its way to her.
"Then just knock them out. You're spilling innocent blood here," she spoke, paused and then added, "These are your people!"
Dodging the myriad's attack, Aletta gave a punch to the myriad's torso. It didn't flinch.
Unfazed, she aimed for its head, launching series of kicks. It stumbled back, and taking advantage of the situation, Aletta used the hilt of the sword to strike the myriad's temple.
The myriad's body went limp and began to sink.
Reagan sighed and nodded. "Brother, shed no blood."
Leonore dramatically sighed. "Where is the fun in that?"
He glanced at Aletta and narrowed his eyes. "Spoil sport."
⚓⚓⚓ ⚓⚓⚓
Sebastian had Celestiel behind him protectively.
"We need to go."
Celestiel stared in horror as a feral myriad attacked an innocent by-standing myriad and bit into its skin. The bite looked terrifyingly deep.
It didn't take long for the other myriad to start convulsing and quickly develop the feral features of the other myriad.
"What is going on?," she asked, panting in fear, her breath coming out shallow.
It had all happened so fast.
A second ago, Sebastian had been handing her a beautiful hair clip and telling her about the mermaid cove not far from where they were.
A second ago, Celestiel had been admiring the myriads and their unique features, watching the myriad children play around with themselves.
A second ago, the myriads looked like a normal community.
Until a myriad was attacked.
It was attacked by a fellow myriad, except the attacking myriad looked anything but normal.
A commotion quickly broke out as the myriads began to attack other myriads, turning them feral.
It was almost like zombifying.
No, it was exactly that!
Sebastian grabbed Celestiel's hand and began to swim away swiftly.
"Is that supposed to happen to the myriads?," Celestiel asked.
"No. This is quite unnatural," Sebastian replied. "We need to get you on board quickly."
"What about the twins and Aletta?", Celestiel asked.
"They'll survive," Sebastian curtly replied.
"Are you sure, my lord?," Celestiel glanced back worriedly. However, the instant she did, her heart jumped to her throat in fear.
There were more than a dozen myriads chasing after them. And they were catching up fast.
"King Sebastian...," Celestiel took in a shallow breath. She could barely speak properly. "Behind us...they are catching up..."
Sebastian glanced back briefly before turning back and muttering a small curse.
"Close your eyes," came his sudden order.
She glanced at him, confused. But desperately frightful, it wasn't long before she obeyed.
When Sebastian was sure she had her eyes closed, he stopped swimming and turned to face the approaching myriads.
He waited for all of them to get closer. And when they did, he quickly flipped his eye patch up.
On the spot, the myriads froze. He narrowed his eyes, calmly assessing the myriads.
And when he was done, he turned away and began swimming away once more, still holding unto the princess.
Behind them, the myriads began to burn. They burnt until all that was left of them were their sizzling, cooked tails.
Sebastian flipped his eye patch back down. "You may open your eyes now, princess."
Celestiel obeyed but instantly winced in pain.
"Is something the matter?," Sebastian asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I...," Celestiel tried to speak, but she winced again. "My head..." She slumped against the King suddenly, her body quickly losing its strength as her eyes turned hazy.
Her brows furrowed slightly, feeling her body weaken by the second. "I...I see stars."
Stars?
Sebastian held Celestiel as he continued swimming to the surface.
"I see stars...everywhere," was the last thing Celestiel muttered before finally losing consciousness.