Finding Contentus

Chapter 44: Time Loss

"Your sea?"

Oh. Oh this was too much. Way way way too much for Waboragreeti, who blossomed into an expansive laugh as though Neosa had told the funniest joke in the whole world.

Rippling ripples ripped through the water, allowing the strong sense of danger to course its way through Neosa's body water in a way she could not perceive. At the same time, she didn't need to perceive. She didn't need to understand. All she needed, was herself. The only source of strength in her life was herself. The only one she believed in, was herself. The only one she could count on was herself.

No one else. Only one. The only one.

Why was Waboragreeti still laughing and smiling with no ounce of fear and only more comical relief? Surely he knew he was weaker than her. Surely...

"Ah, you heard me. My sea," Neosa replied, reinstating her superiority over him in her world. "Can't you see my power? I'm stronger than you. I'm—"

"Do you all hear this? This little land dweller spends some time in our world where she does not belong, and all of a sudden believes it to be hers? OOOOOOOOOO!" His laugh this time around sounded offended, scathing even, beyond mere mockery.

His tainted rainbow eyes of red seeped into her like alkali to neutralise her burning acids of intrusion to turn his back on her and lick his own drizzle of blood from her headbutts.

The act made Neosa feel highly insulted. Her cocky smile died to be reborn as a frown of impatience at his antics. Was he even taking her seriously? How dare he! Hey, hey, hey, hey, you have no right to turn your back on me!

She was about to move right in front of him again when she felt the Queen's webbed hand holding her, with a simple shake of the head. Her elegant beauty was astounding.

"One child, I do not mean to offend you, but, he is right. At least in that regard," she said carefully, almost ashamed at having to say it.

Neosa's brows wrinkled in confusion, her eyes narrowing down on Arrilalili.

"Heh?" Her eyes flickered to Swalili who gave her sister a look of wavering optimism.

Arrilalili paused to consider how to phrase her words in the common way for Neosa to understand and in a way to not destroy Swalili's tiny spark of buoyancy.

"I do not doubt you being the one," she glanced at the fallen megaladon for a second before going back to her. "But you do not know our ways, or our world. You have only adapted to our ways and our world in order to survive. Not live. Survive. Temporarily. There is a difference. Please believe me, it will take more than your survival instincts and abilities to defeat this tyrant. Allow me to—"

"—explain that I am a merm that has devoured primals for their prime strength to know how to kill those monsters. And trust me, I will kill them if it is the last thing I do. Because in my world, that is the right thing to do. Which makes YOU the evil ONE for trying to stop ME from doing good." Waboragreeti interrupted the Queen.

Even though his back was still turned, Neosa could hear the sharp smile behind his words that dried her blood to crack with the fierce daggers her eyes threw at him.

The right thing to do? Me? Evil? No ways! I'm the good one in my world! His world is evil! Neosa thought furiously.

"No, you're not right. I'm right! The way you're going about things is completely wrong. Why are you killing and violating your own kind to force them to kill the primals? The right thing to do is fight together with your kind. In our tongue that is called 'Sumunye' for 'we are one.' You should be fighting as one to kill them. But even that is wrong because the primal gene is incurable, no matter how many you kill. You kill one, and two more pop up."