Banshee

Theus's throat bobbed, but he could not find a word to refute him.

It was indeed too much of a coincidence. Just as Ash had said, everything lined up.

And besides... why should he refute it? It was not as though he had deliberately deceived them. Perhaps the prophecy was real. Perhaps he truly was this race's god.

His territory was still under threat from pirates. With these otherworldly beings who worshipped him as a god, the pirates no longer seemed like such a major problem.

Theus wavered.

Before he could think further, Ash's voice sounded beside him again.

"Let us continue descending. Complete our transformation, fulfill our mission, and do not let our people's sacrifices be in vain."

The Cursed nodded and dove deeper together. From time to time, someone turned to sneak a look at Theus, their eyes filled with fervor and expectation.

It made Theus feel as though needles were pricking his back.

"My, my hand!!"

A cry suddenly rang out. The others turned and saw one of their people raising a limb—though now, perhaps it could truly be called a hand.

Though the limb was still swollen, faint lines of muscle could already be seen beneath it. It was indeed an arm.

The Banshee stared blankly at her arm and gently touched it with great care, as though it were something incomparably precious.

The others gazed obsessively at that limb, no longer swollen, as if they had found a treasure. Quiet and yearning, they carefully drew closer, yet did not dare touch it.

"Just as we thought! The prophecy is real! The god is with us!"

"Let us keep descending. This wretched curse will soon be far behind us." Ash paused. "No, this is not a curse. It is a change in water pressure. It is a trial bestowed upon us by the god!"

With that, she swiftly dove downward, and the other Swollen Monsters accelerated as well.

Theus had no choice but to follow.

After diving madly for some time, Theus could no longer see the entrance to the Abyssal Trench. Fortunately, the Symbiotic Pact allowed him to see even without light.

As they moved faster and faster, the warm seawater rushed past their bodies. Streams of white bubbles trailed behind them like ribbons as The Cursed cheered and charged deeper into the Abyssal Trench.

Theus instinctively raised a hand before his face. When he lowered it, the current had gradually slowed. The Cursed around him had stopped, and Theus looked at the creatures around him with wide eyes.

Their bloated, ugly skin slowly receded, becoming smooth bodies like carved statues. Their limbs, once twisted by the swelling, gradually revealed their original shapes.

Soon, beneath Theus's astonished gaze, they revealed their true forms.

Their upper bodies resembled human women, though they had three pairs of arms. Their lower bodies were serpentine tails. When they had been hunched and bloated, they had been roughly the same size as humans, but now that their true appearances were revealed and they straightened up, they stood a full head taller than Theus.

"Mermaids!?" Theus gaped. He had thought these swollen creatures would revert to something like seals at most. He had never expected them to be a group of mermaids.

No, they were not the kind of mermaids from the legends of his previous life. Theus calmed down somewhat. Though they were equally beautiful, they had no fish tails, and the number of arms did not match either.

"What are mermaids?"

An unfamiliar face leaned close. Theus instinctively took a step back, only then feeling the familiar sensation flowing through the Symbiotic Pact.

Looking at the lovely face before him, Theus muttered in disbelief, "You are... Ash?"

She swayed her serpent tail and looked at Theus in confusion.

For the first time, Theus carefully examined the "Swollen Monster" with whom he had formed a pact.

Her tail was long and covered in beautiful pale gray scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen. Her six arms were long and strong, and her features resolute. Her long hair and brows were both silver-white, gently rising and falling in the seawater like brilliant gems beneath the sun.

She possessed a strange sort of beauty.

If one ignored the fact that she was a full head taller than him, she could certainly be called beautiful... well, half beautiful.

Theus had little interest in judging his symbiote's appearance. He looked around. Though their features and scale colors varied, they were all generally like this.

Theus steadied himself and slowly spoke to Ash, who was still waiting for an answer.

"Mermaids are beautiful creatures from fantasy, somewhat like you. When I first saw your appearance, I instinctively thought you were mermaids, but on closer inspection, there are still differences." Theus glanced at their serpent tails. This appearance felt more like the Nagas of legends from his previous life.

Then Theus asked curiously, "What is your race called? We cannot keep calling you The Cursed forever, can we?"

I had been calling them Swollen Monsters all along, Theus thought, his gaze passing over Ash's slender figure. There is nothing swollen about her now.

"Banshee," she said slowly, her tone both mournful and nostalgic.

"We are Banshees, Banshees of the Bottom of the Seven Seas." She suddenly raised her voice. The surrounding Banshees looked over, and Ash straightened before addressing them. "My people, the prophecy of old has come true. The new god has led us through our transformation and freed us from the curse. We are no longer pathetic Cursed Ones, but Banshees who swim freely through the Bottom of the Seven Seas!"

The Banshees slowly gathered around. So long, so very long, had they been enslaved that they had nearly forgotten the taste of freedom. To be rid of the curse was no less than rebirth for them.

Ash's tone gradually rose.

"Once, we lost our god, our homeland, everything. When we had nothing left, a new god descended here, guiding us to break the curse and journey to the Promised Land. My people, let us offer our loyalty to the new god!!!"

The Banshees' eyes lit up as they looked at Theus with fervor. Ash twisted her serpent tail and slowly swam before him.

Theus raised his head to look up at Ash. For the first time, he realized that his contractor was so... tall.

Ash lowered her gaze. Then, with her three pairs of arms crossed over her chest, she slid her tail backward, tipped her towering body forward, and knelt before Theus.

"My lord, you saved us. The Banshees offer you our loyalty. Please speak your name, and the Banshees shall make it resound throughout the Bottom of the Seven Seas!"

Her thick silver-white hair danced in the seawater, and for an instant, Theus felt as though he were standing amid a silver river.

He turned to look around. The Banshees had all fallen to their knees. The fervent, devout atmosphere was like a stirring battle hymn, making his heart pound and his throat go dry.

Theus knew that if he spoke his name here—or even if he merely gave tacit consent—he would become these Banshees' god and could command this race as he pleased.

He did not need to do anything. As long as his attitude remained ambiguous, these Banshees would fill in the entire story themselves. He had done nothing wrong.

Besides, his appearance perfectly matched that prophecy. Was he truly not a god? Perhaps the Golden Throne was his divine kingdom, and these bodies were merely toys through which he descended into the mortal world.

There were no drawbacks. Look at these Banshees—they too were waiting for a new god to appear. This was helping them as well.

His heart pounded wildly, his will wavered, and his reason was like a dying candle in the wind.

Theus clenched his teeth.