Chapter 195: It’s a fucking disaster!
Martin barely heard her because he had already crouched near Angel’s head and started studying the dragon turtle’s suspicious behavior.
Angel refused to look at him. She lowered her head until only her eyes remained visible above the edge of her shell, then slowly turned even farther away. Beneath Martin’s feet, the glowing sapphire veins began pulsing faster.
He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you look like you have a snack you don’t want to share?"
Angel went completely still.
"HELP ME! I AM THAT SNACK!" the voice screamed.
Martin stared at Angel while she continued staring out at the ocean.
"The hell?" he muttered. "Angel, I know you’re a dragon turtle, but you can’t eat people. Come on. I’ll cook you something good later."
Her cheeks puffed out, and she stubbornly shook her head.
"Angel."
She drew her head back and tried to hide inside her shell, although her enormous size made the attempt completely pointless.
"Give her back."
A low, unhappy rumble rose from her throat.
Martin placed his hands on his hips. "You can’t keep random women in your mouth just because you found them in the ocean."
Rias crossed her arms. "I don’t think she agrees with that rule."
Angel glanced toward her, clearly grateful that someone understood her side of the argument.
"Don’t encourage her," Martin said.
He reached out and rubbed the side of Angel’s face, lowering his voice as he tried to reason with her. "Come on, baby girl. Spit her out, and I promise I’ll make you something much better."
Angel watched him closely. Her sapphire eyes narrowed with obvious distrust, but the promise of better food slowly wore down her resistance. After several long seconds, she reluctantly lifted her head and opened her mouth.
A woman shot out and skidded across the wet crystal. She landed on her hands, slid several feet, and finally came to a stop.
She appeared to be in her early twenties, although little about her was entirely human. Long ocean-blue hair clung to her shoulders and flowed down her back, gradually darkening near the ends. Small fins rose from the sides of her head, and narrow gill markings decorated her neck.
Her upper body was almost completely bare, with only two pale seashells covering her nipples. They looked far too small for the job.
Her breasts were enormous, round, and heavy enough to make Martin wonder how she managed to swim without constantly being dragged forward. Drops of seawater rolled between them and continued down her smooth stomach while Angel’s sapphire light gleamed across her wet skin.
Her narrow waist led into full hips, but she had no legs. In their place, a long shark tail stretched across Angel’s shell.
The skin near her hips was smooth and dark blue, but it grew rougher farther down. Several fins ran along its length, and the tail ended in two curved blades sharp enough to split armor or remove the hand of anyone foolish enough to grab her.
She was all seductive mermaid above the waist and pure ocean predator below it.
Martin stared longer than he should have, and Rias noticed immediately.
"A shark woman?" he asked.
"I think she’s a mermaid," Rias replied, giving him a sideways glance.
The woman pushed herself upright and released a long breath of relief. Her chest bounced with the movement, straining the tiny shells covering her, and Martin’s eyes followed the motion until Rias elbowed him.
"Thank the Seas you heard me, handsome owner of this adorable but dangerous dragon turtle!" the mermaid exclaimed. "If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve ended up as turtle food! Thank the Seas they usually don’t have teeth!"
Angel lowered her head and watched the mermaid with open disappointment.
"It’s nice to meet you," the woman continued. "I’m Shuri!"
[Lv. 60 Shuri (Shark Mermaid)]
So she’s both?
Martin and Rias reached the same conclusion.
"I guess this is partly my fault," Martin said. "I never taught Angel not to eat humans... or shark mermaids. Nice to meet you, Shuri. I’m Martin, and this is my friend Rias."
"Haha! She’s young, so I can forgive her!" Shuri declared. "And when her owner is this handsome, how could I possibly stay angry? Truly, I forgive everything!"
Martin grinned, and Rias leaned closer to him.
"Someone’s ego is getting stroked."
"I’m just being polite to the woman Angel almost ate."
"Your eyes have been very polite too."
Martin cleared his throat and looked away from Shuri’s chest.
"Umu! I’m happy to be free, but that means our next problem is already on its way," Shuri continued. Her cheerful expression faded slightly when she turned toward the open ocean. "Thankfully, the Storm Guild should arrive soon too."
"The next problem?" Martin and Rias asked together.
Shuri opened her mouth to answer, but the ocean moved first.
The rain abruptly stopped, leaving thousands of droplets hanging motionless above the waves. A deep vibration passed through Angel’s shell and made the crystal beneath their feet tremble.
All around them, the water began pulling away. Waves that had been rolling toward Angel reversed and rushed toward a single point in the distance, where the ocean twisted into a vast whirlpool beneath the black clouds.
Angel’s playful expression vanished. She lowered her head and spread her thick legs beneath the surface, bracing herself against the growing current.
Martin reached for his shield while Rias drew her weapon, and the black clouds of her Shadow Nimbus Set widened into a circling barrier.
The center of the whirlpool erupted, and a colossal head burst out of the ocean. It kept rising while water poured from overlapping scales larger than shields.
The scales shifted between dark blue and stormy gray, with thin lines of pale light burning through the gaps. Long, jagged fins spread from either side of the creature’s face.
Their translucent edges bore the marks of countless battles and whipped violently in the wind. A crown of coral-covered horns curved from its skull. Several had broken long ago, leaving sharp stumps behind, while the largest swept backward and vanished into the clouds.
Cold white light filled the Sea Dragon’s eyes, and every suspended raindrop began trembling.
Its jaws slowly parted to reveal rows of narrow teeth large enough to impale a player. Seawater spilled between them, followed by a growl so deep that it rolled across the ocean and flattened the nearby waves.
More of the creature rose behind its head. Its neck climbed higher than a castle tower, while a serpentine shadow stretched beneath the surface farther than Martin could see.
Huge dorsal fins broke through the water one after another, revealing a body long enough to curl around the entire area. Angel had grown large enough to carry a full party across her shell, but next to this creature, she was little more than a sapphire speck on the ocean.
Martin and Rias stared up at the monster in stunned silence as a system window appeared.
[Lv. 70 Sea Dragon Monster]
[HP: 10,000,000 | MP: 7,000,000]
Lightning struck one of its horns, but the bolt did not harm it. Electricity spread across its scales and gathered inside its open jaws until blue-white light poured from its mouth and illuminated the depths of its throat.
"You call that a problem?!" Martin and Rias shouted at Shuri.
Shuri scratched her cheek. "Ehehe. It’s a problem, isn’t it?"
"It’s a fucking disaster!" Martin yelled back, instantly forgetting every compliment she had given him.
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