Strands of blood mingled with the mist, swaying in the seawater, while a gigantic figure, devouring flesh and blood, appeared and disappeared amidst the murky waters.
Directly in front of him, a thin, white figure, less than a third the size of him, lay quietly, like a sleeping beauty.
As the stench of blood entered her nostrils, her beautiful, white eyes trembled slightly.
The next second, she slowly opened her eyes, revealing peach-pink pupils.
"You're awake."
Sea Dragon was gnawing on the tuna in his hand when Hela, who was sitting up, was sitting up next to him.
But Hela didn't take it, letting the fish fall right in front of her.
Seeing this, Sea Dragon didn't say anything, and continued to eat the tuna in his hand with his head down.
" Spirit Shark and the others are fine, don't worry."
"Hmm." Hela nodded slightly, her gaze fixed blankly on the tuna in front of her.
She gently raised her hand, grabbed the tuna, and with a slight pull, snapped the robust fish in two.
The smell of blood, which should normally be nauseating, smelled incredibly sweet and delicious to Hela.
His pupils trembled slightly, and tears slowly streamed from the corners of his eyes, scattering into the seawater.
The girl covered her face with her hands, arched her back, and began to sob softly.
Sea Dragon sat opposite her, stopped chewing, and sat there quietly.
It's unclear how much time passed before the girl gradually stopped sobbing.
"What do I do..."
"I have no idea."
"Am I human or a monster now...?" Hela's voice trembled as she stared at her hands, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.
"..." Sea Dragon was silent for a moment, then gently shook his head. "I don't know either."
Hela tilted her head back, staring at the cave ceiling as if all her strength had left her, her youthful face now appearing somewhat weathered.
"What should I do? I'm now a cannibalistic monster, and I've lost all my loved ones. There's no place for me in this world anymore."
"No," Sea Dragon suddenly said.
"You are not a cannibalistic monster; you are merely a pitiful person who possesses monstrous powers."
Sea Dragon didn't know the specifics of Hela's situation, but based on the snippets of her words when she went mad and her conversation with the tentacles, Sea Dragon could guess the general idea.
Hela trembled slightly upon hearing this, and her sobs, which had stopped earlier, resumed. This time, she could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
Two streams of tears flowed continuously, forming two glistening silk threads in the murky seawater.
Only the girl's sobs could be heard in the spacious cave.
The helpless cries only gradually subsided when the blood from the broken tuna had almost completely seeped out.
She rubbed her eyes, a resolute look appearing in her reddened gaze.
"Um... could you take me home?"
"Okay." Sea Dragon nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation.
"So now we..."
"Why don't you eat something first?"
Sea Dragon's gaze fell on the tuna that had been broken in two next to Hela.
Hela tilted her head, pursed her lips, and shook her head. "No need. This doesn't look like something a human would eat."
She is a human Hela, not a monster Hela, and she would not eat monster food.
"I see."
Sea Dragon didn't say anything more. He stood up and walked to the end of the cave, where a huge stone was embedded.
He gently placed one hand on it, and as he began to exert force, the rock, which fit perfectly into the cave, slowly swayed.
The next moment, with a dull thud, the stone was pushed away.
A somewhat dim world came into Hela's view.
"Let's go." Sea Dragon glanced back at Hela, then strode out of the cave.
Hela stood up and immediately followed.
"You can just grab my wrist, or you can carry me on your back."
"Huh?" Hela, who had been looking melancholy, was a little stunned. "Aren't you going to transform into Sea Shark Dragon and take me with you?" she asked weakly.
"My Sea Shark Dragon is so big, you might get sucked up into my nose without me even knowing."
"..."
I'll hold your wrist instead.
Hela felt that being carried on someone's back was a bit too intimate, so she chose to hold onto their wrists instead.
"Okay, let's go then."
Just as Sea Dragon raised his hand, Hela seemed to remember something.
"Wait a moment, can you give me some time?"
"What are you going to do?" Sea Dragon, somewhat puzzled.
"I want to say goodbye to Spirit Shark and the others, after all, they've been taking care of me all this time."
Sea Dragon stared at Hela for a moment, then sighed softly.
"Go ahead, even if you want to escape, I can't stop you."
"Thank you!" Hela said gratefully.
"I'll wait for you in Ten Thousand Sharks Valley. Come back when you're done."
Hearing the second half of his sentence, I was stunned again.
Don't you want to go?
"It's not that I don't want to go, it's that I can't go." A hint of helplessness appeared in his eyes.
"Logically speaking, I'm already a dead fish."
Hela was immediately startled.
Although puzzled, he said nothing and quietly waited for him to continue.
"I died in the previous war, and now I am only surviving because of the sharks in the Ten Thousand Sharks Valley ' desire for my life."
"So once I leave the Ten Thousand Sharks Valley, I will die very soon."
Then Sea Dragon gave a wry smile, "Alright, what's done is done, let's not discuss it anymore."
His words effectively shut down Hela's questions, but Hela didn't seem to care, as she wasn't in the mood for asking any more questions anyway.
Just then, Sea Dragon glanced to the side and said in a deep voice, "Come out, I see you."
Hearing this, Hela also turned her head to look over.
Only the sand there stirred slightly, and then a fish head poked its head out of the sand.
After realizing that Sea Dragon was indeed looking at him, he laughed awkwardly twice, crawled out of the sand, and shook himself.
"Hey, hello there, Sea Shark Dragon King..."
The seawater swirled slightly around him, then transformed into human form, scratching his head with an awkward smile.
"Didn't you leave? Why are you back here again?" Sea Dragon asked casually.
"Hmm... I haven't left. I've been hiding in the sand following you..."
"... Then why did you come to see me?"
Sea Herring's eyes lit up with excitement. "Can I become a guardian?!"
Sea Dragon sighed softly, "Okay."
After saying that, he casually waved his hand.
The next second, several strands of silk-like blue light meandered out from the ground and slowly flowed into the body of the Sea Herring.
With an excited look in the Sea Herring's eyes, the slightly blue-tinged seawater enveloped and swirled around it.
In the swirling seawater, Hela could vaguely see the Sea Herring changing.
Originally only a little over one meter tall, its size began to grow rapidly at a visible rate, reaching nearly two meters in the blink of an eye.
The originally short shark fin behind it began to grow wildly, then forked into two, folding into a pair of huge shark fins.
Two black lines extend vertically from the forehead, through the eyes, and down to the torso.