Siren's Lament

A thin mist shrouded the sea.

Two diving sirens landed on the deck, translucent saliva trickling from the corners of their mouths as they prepared to feast.

Lothar and Prajna had already closed in on them from the front and rear.

Faced with the two charging at them menacingly, the sirens were startled. Their bodies were fragile. Their scale-covered, slime-slick lower halves were fairly resilient, since blades would easily slide off them.

But their upper bodies were frail and human. They survived in the deep sea through magic, not tough skin. How could they dare fight Lothar head-on while he held a sword?

Selena was only a little too slow in taking off when the blood flowing beneath her feet transformed into tough bindings under Fringilla's Blood Magic.

The bindings looped around her slick fish tail and cinched her tightly to the deck.

How could Lothar miss such a perfect opportunity? Gripping his bastard sword, he strode forward. The gently swaying ship beneath the waves could not shake his stance in the slightest.

The muscles in his arms bulged as he raised his greatsword high.

The siren Selena frantically beat her wings, her sharp nails clawing at the bindings as she desperately tried to break free. But how could she possibly manage that?

"Please."

"Please spare me. I'll bring you pearls and gemstones from the seabed. They'll make you the richest man in the world. Please!"

She spoke at a frantic pace, in fluent Greek with a faint Asia Minor accent.

Her voice was as crisp as a lark's.

Her beauty was breathtaking.

But the man before her had a heart of iron. No pity or kindness could be seen in his icy gaze as his sharp blade came crashing down.

Thud—

A beautiful woman's head rolled away across the deck.

Blood sprayed from the neck cavity of the headless corpse, landing right behind Lothar.

Selena's behavior proved that they were not as mindless as Fringilla had claimed. They simply could not restrain their craving for human flesh.

That made it clear that Lothar had no possibility of cooperating with them.

"Kina!"

The two sirens in the sky screamed in terror.

Selena had not actually been Selena's name among the sirens. It was a name the Jewish merchant had given her based on the transliteration of "Siren."

Crystal tears streamed down their faces as they opened their mouths wide, revealing rows of sharp, serrated fangs between their delicate lips.

The corners of their mouths slowly split apart, leaving only a little flesh connecting them as saliva spilled out.

In the blink of an eye, those alluring red lips had become gaping, bloody maws that stretched nearly to their ears.

The next moment.

Both sirens let out piercing cries.

Their voices were filled with fury and grief.

Even the mist blanketing the sea began to churn.

The terrifying sound waves made Lothar feel as though he were facing raging tides.

Slash marks like those left by blades and axes appeared out of nowhere across the deck.

Without hesitation, Prajna stepped forward and placed herself in front of Lothar.

The Ghost Face Shield was braced before her.

Clang—

A series of metallic crashes rang out.

Lothar pressed against Prajna's waist and felt an astonishing force crashing in from ahead. The two of them were driven back several steps.

"These sirens are actually this powerful?"

Lothar was taken aback.

Although their close-combat strength was far inferior to that of werewolves, their long-range sonic attacks were practically comparable to powerful bows and crossbows.

"Indeed."

Prajna nodded. "And they can fly. It will be difficult for our attacks to hit them."

"Big guy, draw their attention!"

Fringilla shouted in Chinese. Her linen robe billowed as her magic power surged out of control.

Her white hair rose into the air.

"We have to deal with them in the air. If they dive into the water and bore through the bottom of the ship from below, every one of us will die here!"

Prajna spoke unusually quickly, delivering a long string of words.

Then, the ghost-face relief on the black shield in her hand immediately came to life.

The terrifying aura of Hell made her seem, in an instant, like the center of the world.

The sirens' upper and lower teeth chattered uncontrollably, and even their shrieking ceased.

"That is Cerberus's aura. It is Hell's Doorway!"

"But that was clearly beneath the sea... How could it appear here?"

On the deck, two illusory figures slowly rose from the corpses, then flew toward the gaping mouth of the ghost-face relief like swallows returning to their nests.

"No!"

"We can't let Kina's soul be devoured!"

The sirens shrieked in alarm, trying to swoop down and stop it.

At that moment, Fringilla's nimble body stepped onto the rail and leapt into the air.

In midair, she reached toward the blood pooling freely across the deck. It immediately gathered together, forming a spear that gave off a thick, sweet, bloody stench.

"Get down here!"

The Blood Spear shot toward the two sirens with a piercing shriek. Empowered by Blood Magic, it flew at an incredible speed.

But though the sirens were frantic, they had long been on guard. At that critical instant, they stopped in place at the same time.

The Blood Spear flew past their faces by a hair.

Yet the next moment, a sharp black shield hurtled forth like a rapidly spinning saw blade.

Close behind the thrown black shield came another Blood Spear—one Fringilla had formed immediately afterward. It had appeared in the hands of Lothar, who was hiding behind Prajna.

Splat—

The black shield cut one siren in half at the waist.

The other was struck squarely in the wing on her back by Lothar's thrown spear. Her body tilted, and she fell like a kite with its string cut.

"Die!"

Fringilla clenched her fist.

While the siren struck in the wing was still in the air, the Blood Spear exploded with a bang. The blood turned into countless sharp needles, instantly riddling her body full of holes.

"Excellent!"

Lothar said excitedly.

The coordination between the three of them in that exchange had been flawless.

In truth, when Lothar had thrown the spear, he had not been sure he could hit her.

After all, when he practiced throwing spears from horseback, he usually only struck the target three times out of ten.

The deck was not as bumpy as horseback, but it was not much better.

Prajna let out a long breath and held out her hand. The shield that had flown away returned to her hand like a boomerang.

Then Fringilla staggered and fell to the ground.

"Fringilla!"

Lothar hurried over.

"Don't panic. She merely overextended her mental strength. It's nothing serious."

Prajna's tone was calm.

Though Fringilla was also an epic retainer, she was only level one. Lothar had worried that she would act without restraint, and since he was short on funds, he had never upgraded her level.

Casting this series of high-powered spells had already exceeded her limits.

Lothar held Fringilla in his arms. The girl felt so light, as though she were made of paper and might drift away at any moment.

"Let's return to the cabin."

Lothar said urgently.

"Mm."

The battered ship docked at Crete early the next morning.

After losing its original owner, the ship was naturally requisitioned by Lothar.

As a result, the cost of repairing it also fell upon him. Fortunately, only the deck and mast had suffered minor damage, so it would not delay them for long.

On Crete, they restocked supplies and replaced their fresh water.

The island's population was mainly Greek, and its various powers were intricately intertwined. The Eastern Empire, Venice, Genoa, and even the Ayyubids all maintained influence there.

They rested at an inn on the island for the morning, then set sail again that afternoon, heading straight for Jaffa in the Holy Land.