"Is there any point in doing this?"
Joey wasn't trying to be pessimistic. He simply felt that, with the strength Annie and the others possessed, opposing the Church would amount to throwing their lives away without even making a dent.
"Those things don't matter to me!" An unreadable look flickered in Annie's eyes.
Joey paused and was about to ask more when Annie rose and said quietly, "I know you have a lot of questions right now. There are some things I don't know much about either."
Joey understood her meaning perfectly: he needed to offer something in good faith in exchange for information.
He thought for a moment, his gaze gradually hardening. "I'll be your man on the inside."
Annie smiled and nodded. "Here's to our partnership." She held out her pale hand.
Their hands touched briefly before parting.
Under Joey's eager gaze, Annie revealed a bombshell:
"The true Sea God isn't dead. He's sleeping in R'lyeh, the city beneath the deep sea. The Sea God Believers have been trying to awaken Him. The Mermaid Forest was founded to bring about His revival."
As Annie slowly explained, the cloud of uncertainty that had plagued him finally lifted.
Had events followed their natural course, an organization like the Mermaid Forest would never have appeared. Everything had gone wrong when a group of Sea God Believers deciphered the Feldmanra Formula.
When weak people suddenly obtained power far beyond their own, arrogance was inevitable.
As a result, they not only founded the Mermaid Forest but also swallowed up the Sea God Church.
Their mission changed from awakening the Sea God to dividing His authority among themselves.
Greed made them abandon their faith.
The eight founders of the Mermaid Forest were so powerful that the orthodox sect remained suppressed.
Until the curse erupted.