"Aurianna, look at that!" Leila exclaid excitedly, pointing to the sky. Aurianna followed her gaze and saw a large, beautiful whale-like monster swimming above the kingdom.
"What’s that? It’s huge!" Aurianna exclaid, staring at it in awe.
[ That is a whale. ] the system prompted.
"Waahhh!!"
________
"So, they are finally here," Aquarius stated, sitting on his throne in a large blue marble room, his tail swaying in the water.
"Yes, Ruler, so what should we do?" asked an octopus rman who had a group of guards behind him.
"Bring them to my palace. We must warmly welco my two new students," Aquarius said nonchalantly, casually playing with a small swirling water in his hand.
"Students?" The guard blurted out, confused, causing murmurs among them since they were first told that those two girls were intruders.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Aquarius asked coldly, raising an eyebrow.
"No, Ruler, we shall get them imdiately!" The first guard stated before bowing, followed by the others, respectfully leaving the throne room and swimming out of the palace.
"Leila, should we dash around the city to explore faster?" Aurianna asked as she held onto Queen’s back.
"How are you supposed to enjoy yourself if you’re just going to speed run everything?" Leila asked with a frown.
"Umm, well, it’s getting boring!" Aurianna complained.
"It hasn’t even been more than three hours, Aurianna!" Leila yelled.
"Feels like a whole day to ," Aurianna pouted.
"Hah, Aurianna," Leila sighed and shook her head.
"Leila..." Aurianna called out with a cold expression.
"Yes?" Leila replied with a smile.
"We’re surrounded," she replied as she looked around.
"I noticed," Leila said as she and Aurianna locked eyes with the thirty fish-n guards around them, all much taller than them, their weapons pointed.
All those watching stared at the guards confused because they couldn’t see anybody in the circle.
"You there!" The octopus guard called out.
"Are they talking to the air?" Wondered one of the locals.
"We can clearly see you, so reveal yourself!" He demanded, his tone rough but polite.
"They are high leveled, if they noticed us, it ans that they are extrely strong people," Leila stated.
"We promise we don’t want to attack; Aquarius asked us to bring you to him," the octopus guard clarified, surprising Aurianna and Leila.
"Oh, well, it’s obvious that he’ll sense it when soone enters his territory," Leila shrugged, "He is a Ruler after all."
"I agree, I would have been suspicious if he didn’t notice us," Aurianna said before she and Leila nodded and canceled out their magic, revealing two teenage girls being carried on the backs of so beings.
"What are they? They don’t look like fish-n," whispered a guard to another as they stared at them warily, they resembled rmaid but it was clear from the way they looked like they were not one.
"Please kindly follow us," the octopus guard stated.
"Alright, but first, I need so food," Aurianna stated, pointing to a fish woman’s stall where soone was preparing so strange dish she was eager to try.
"Buy her so, and let’s be on our way!" the octopus guard commanded one of the guards, who quickly purchased the food and handed it to Aurianna, who ate it eagerly.
"Ti to go," the octopus guard stated as he swam up, followed by Queen and Ipha carrying Aurianna and Leila. They all moved swiftly, with Aurianna and Leila easily keeping up.
"Stop with the wary looks, we won’t run away!" Aurianna spat, noticing the guards constantly giving her and Leila strange stares.
After a while of swimming, Aurianna and Leila finally reached the center of the kingdom, where a marble castle stood tall, its unique structure srizing Aurianna.
Once they reached the front gates of the castle, they were greeted by a group of giant crab fishn guards. Seeing the octopus guard, they made way for him, allowing Aurianna and Leila to pass through along with the other guards swimming behind them.
"Wow, this palace is huge, much larger than the one in my country!" Aurianna exclaid, and the octopus man grinned proudly.
Finally, they were allowed into the marble throne room. No signs of small fish could be seen anywhere compared to the other halls.
Luminous orbs were used to light up the place, creating a srizing sight.
Aurianna and Leila’s gaze then landed on a pretty boy arrogantly sitting on the throne.
"Who’s this child?" Aurianna asked with an annoyed look.
"How dare you speak towards the Ruler?!" the octopus guard yelled, banging his staff on the ground.
"Ruler? How can he be the Ruler? I sense no aura from him," Leila wondered, warily watching the young boy.
"Welco, ladies, to my humble palace!" Aquarius said casually, though his tone indicated he wasn’t pleased they were there.
Suddenly, a massive pressure befell the room, causing everyone, including Aurianna and Leila, to collapse on their knees with dread on their faces.
The aura this man was releasing was terrifying, completely suppressing them.
They looked up warily to et his entirely black eyes.
’This pressure,’ Aurianna thought as she stared at Aquarius.
Aquarius imdiately appeared before them, stating coldly, "You two ca to train under , so show so respect like the lowly beings you are," with a smirk, sparking a nerve in Aurianna and Leila.
’I don’t like him!’ Aurianna snorted.
’ neither,’ Leila agreed.
"Now, ti for introductions!" he stated excitedly, a sudden shift in his expression as he released his pressure on them.
"I’m Aquarius, and I already know who you both are: Aurianna and Leila. I don’t care much about you guys. Eva made a deal with , so I’ll just train you two, and then you can go your way. I don’t want to waste too much ti being with annoying children like you," he quickly explained.
’Seems like he has so personal problems with Eva,’ Leila said.
’It’s definitely clear that he doesn’t like us,’ Aurianna nodded in agreent, her arms crossed.
"Well, let’s start right away. There’s no need to dally around. Ti shouldn’t be wasted, so follow ," Aquarius stated as he imdiately swirled his hand, and a big whirlpool engulfed Aurianna and Leila, and they all disappeared from the throne room, reappearing sowhere else in a dark sea.
When they looked around, it was clear that they were extrely far away.
"Aren’t things moving a bit too fast?" Aurianna mumbled as she followed behind Aquarius, along with Leila, Queen, and Ipha.
"Just be quiet and follow . Didn’t you co here to train?" Aquarius asked with an annoyed look.
"Yes, we did," Aurianna and Leila replied.
"That’s good. From what I can see, you both are already good at swimming, right?" He asked as he stopped to examine them.
"Yes," they both nervously replied.
"So then, why do you want to train more underwater?" He asked.
"Well, we aren’t the best swimrs yet, since it’s still hard to fight underwater," Leila replied.
"I see."
’This is getting awkward,’ Aurianna thought.
"So what did we co here for?" Aurianna asked curiously.
"You see those people there," Aquarius said, pointing to a group of beings feeding on the flesh of a sea monster. They looked similar to rmaids, but their bodies looked grueso, almost like a cursed monstrosities.
"They look like fishn," Leila blurted out.
"Yes, but they are what I call failed, contaminated fishn. You see, sotis my power gets chaotic and affects the people in my kingdom. And those infected can’t be saved. So then they are brought here to be used as training for my children," Aquarius said calmly.
"Children?" Aurianna and Leila stared at him suspiciously.
"Stop giving those stares. I’m much older compared to you two!" Aquarius declared.
"Hey, hey, why are you giving such eyes? I can change the shape of my body, alright!" Aquarius defended himself when he noticed their judgntal stares.
"Phew," Aurianna and Leila sighed in relief.
’Hah, these dumb children,’ Aquarius thought as he stared at them.
"So yes, back to what I was saying, I would like for you both to kill them. Thousands roam this part of the sea and procreate," Aquarius stated.
"They are extrely strong, though. They could be even stronger than you," he said.
"Do be warned because stronger sea kings and Leviathans live in this part of the sea, especially a new Ruler of the sea, Hadina," he added. "You two can train here for the next fifty years. Yes, I know about your ti limit."
"You’re not going to teach us any skills? Help us or sothing?" Leila asked, since it seed like he was just ditching them here.
"Heh," Aquarius scoffed. "The only reason I agree to train you two is because of Eva. So, I’m not in the slightest interested in you both. You can die for all I care. I just want to at least manage to kill Eva. Yet here I am stuck in this prison of a space."
"Sounds like a child throwing a tantrum," Leila whispered to Aurianna, who nodded in agreent.
"I am no child!" Aquarius yelled. "I just prefer to look young."
"I bet he doesn’t want to train us because he doesn’t have the skills either," Aurianna whispered to Leila as they gave him judgntal stares.
"That tactic won’t work on ," Aquarius snickered.
"Ti for a new plan," Aurianna whispered to Leila.
"Got one?" Leila asked, staring at Aurianna.
"Not really," Aurianna shook her head.
"Aquarius, I asked you to train them, not leave them on their own," Eva’s voice appeared in Aquarius’ mind, which caused his expression to shift and his shark-like teeth to be revealed.
"Tch," he snorted as he cald himself down.
"I’ll teach you both so swimming lessons. Yes, your swimming isn’t bad, but you could do a lot to beco better as well as kill sea monsters efficiently. After that, we’re done," Aquarius stated coldly.
’I really hate this,’ he thought as he gritted his teeth.
"Aquarius, how many tis have I told you not to enter my territory?" a dull mature voice asked as a being appeared beside them.
A humanoid squid woman floated beside them.
Her tentacles on her back were pointed at all of them, shaped like sothing similar to Aurianna’s hover gun.
Her tentacle hair glowed with green and purple colours, and her bright purple squid eyes stared at them. Her gray skin was almost see-through as one could see her bones and internal system.
"Oh, Hadina, you’re here," Aquarius blurted out.
"Are you trying to provoke , Aquarius?" Hadina asked as she stared at Aquarius with an emotionless expression.
"Sothing like that," Aquarius said with a confident grin. "These two girls are going to try and kill you, alright?"
"Kill her? From her aura, she’s stronger than Kisho and Dokgil!" Aurianna exclaid.
"She reminds of the Hex Weaver Queen," Leila blurted out as they both warily stared at Hadina.
However, Aurianna’s eyes kept tracing Hadina’s floating squid hair, and she couldn’t help but get closer and touch it.
"So soft!" Aurianna declared with a happy expression, surprising Hadina.
"Hey you, what are you doing?!" Hadina frantically asked with a flushed face.
"You’re cute! You remind of Zagan. So, would you like to be my familiar? Make a contract with !" Aurianna excitedly asked, shocking everyone.
"A Contract?!" Hadina exclaid, her surprise evident in her voice.
"Yes," Aurianna confird, a smile playing on her lips.
"Do you understand what you’re suggesting?" Hadina asked, her face flustered.
Aurianna pondered, puzzled by Hadina’s reaction. ’Isn’t a contract essentially making her my semi-servant?’ she wondered.
’My mother told a contract is a bond between two people,’ Hadina thought, holding her face in her hands.
"Is this finally my ti?" she whispered, gazing up at the sea.
"Did they just forget about ?" Aquarius mused, his face blank as he watched them.
"It’s okay, it happens," Queen said, offering him a comforting pat on the shoulder.
"Why do you want to make a contract with her, Aurianna?" Leila questioned.
"She’s soft, like a plushie," Aurianna replied with a grin.
Leila stared blankly, evidently not understanding Aurianna, their sense of cuteness differing.
"Well, you do you," Leila sighed.
"So, Hadina, would you make a contract with ?" Aurianna asked, a mischievous smile spreading across her face as she leaned closer to Hadina.
"You must first prove to that you’re worthy enough for to make a contract with you..." Hadina said in a dull tone, but her face still flushed.
"Hmm..." Aurianna stared at her, taken aback.
"I want you to fight . If you manage to injure , I’ll beco your familiar!" Hadina declared, locking eyes with Aurianna.
’Well then, I have 50 years. I’ll be getting a new octopus pet!’ Aurianna thought to herself, imagining herself sleeping on Hadina’s soft tentacles, enjoying their warmth.
"Let’s do this!" Aurianna yelled, as she was fired up.
"Just so you know, I’m not going to take it easy on you. I’ll just make sure you don’t die," Hadina declared, a creepy laugh escaping her lips.
________
After fifty years of training with Aquarius and successfully making Hadina her second contracted beast, Aurianna found herself back inside the sea monster’s belly, gazing upwards.
"Ti to try again!" She told herself as she propelled herself upwards, striving to swim out once more. But she soon encountered a dense covering of water that slowed down her movents greatly, making it extrely difficult to swim up any further. As though to prevent any prey from swimming out of the monster.
"Almost there!" Aurianna urged herself, using all her strength to push through. However, the force of the water pushed her back to where she ca from, causing her to toss and turn, till she finally managed to balance herself. She then stared upwards with a frustrated expression.
"Argh!" Aurianna yelled in frustration.
"Damn it! I swam farther this ti, yet I still can’t do it. Do I need to train even more? Even with King and Queen helping , they can only reach further, not out. Perhaps I can summon Hadina. But would her abilities be as limited as theirs?" Aurianna pondered as she floated in place.
"400 kiloters in size, enough to be a dium sized country. And how long this thing is....," Aurianna sighed in defeat.
"I’ll just sleep now and head to the training grounds tomorrow. Aquarius isn’t the worst teacher, but he’s insufferably arrogant. Maybe I’ll try using Hadina to escape tomorrow," Aurianna muttered to herself as she retreated to her little cave and settled down.
"I need to eat more of those corrupted fishn. My singing voice still isn’t what I want," Aurianna reminded herself, touching her throat before drifting off to sleep.
The next day Aurianna was abruptly awakened by the sound of soone singing with a beautiful voice.
"Ahhh, do go to sleep," a lodious voice lanted, prompting Aurianna to erge from her cave and encounter the orange eyes of a rmaid. Her hair was a striking shade of purple, while her skin bore a deep blue hue.
"Why is she crying so much?" Aurianna wondered, slightly repulsed by the tears and snot streaming down the rmaid’s face.
"Eeekkk!!!" The rmaid let out a startled shriek upon noticing Aurianna’s presence.
"Her tail is truly lovely, and she’s very tall," Aurianna observed as she drew nearer to the rmaid for a closer inspection.
’Aquarius ntioned that any rmaid of this size is likely a Royal rmaid,’ Aurianna recalled as she scrutinized the rmaid, who stood five tis taller than herself.
"Why is a Royal rmaid here?" Aurianna vocalized her thoughts, sizing up the rmaid.
"Um, please, who are you? Are you also trapped here?" the rmaid, appearing as a teenager, curiously asked as she felt a bit relieved that she wouldn’t be alone here.
"As you have eyes to see," Aurianna responded bluntly.
"I-I’m so scared... Mummy, I don’t want to be sacrificed! Why must I sing this monster to sleep? I don’t want to die here, mummy!!!" The rmaid suddenly erupted into tears once more, her distress palpable.
’Who’s this crybaby?’ Aurianna wondered, annoyance flickering across her face as she observed the rmaid.
’Yet, she has a very lovely voice. I wonder how I would sound with such a voice. I refrained from eating a rmaid back at the training grounds due to that annoying Aquarius’s rules. But his rules don’t apply here," Aurianna thought coldly as she eyed the rmaid, then quickly and ruthlessly pierced her throat with her hand. The rmaid stared at Aurianna in shock and horror before succumbing to death.
Aurianna’s body then transford into a liquid form, consuming the entire rmaid. "rmaid at isn’t so bad, tastes like sweetened fish," she remarked, licking her lips.
"Now, ti to test my voice," Aurianna declared to herself, taking a deep watery breath and starting to sing.
"Haaaa, haaa, laaalaaa," Aurianna sang joyously, delighted by the significant improvent in her voice.
"Perfect," Aurianna declared, her face beaming with satisfaction.
"I suppose I should revive her now. She ntioned sothing about putting this creature to sleep," Aurianna muttered as she waved her hand, arranging the rmaid’s bones before her and restoring her soul that floated above her body.
"I must know," Aurianna declared, her hand glowing as she restored the rmaid’s body to its original state.
"Wakey, wakey!!" Aurianna delivered a hard slap to the rmaid’s face, jolting her awake.
"Ahhhh, am I alive?!" exclaid the rmaid, holding her swollen cheek.
"How... how?" she wondered, her mory fuzzy from the mont she was killed by Aurianna.
"I thought I was clearly dead," she muttered fearfully, eyeing Aurianna cautiously.
"My eyes! What happened to my eyes?!" she panicked, noticing faint markings similar to Aurianna’s reflected in them.
"Well, simple. I made you my servant," Aurianna said with an evil grin, her hands clasped behind her back.
"What is happening? Why is everything going so wrong for ?" the rmaid wondered tearfully. "I was thrown here to die as a sacrifice, and now I’m eting this strange human. Maybe this is a dream!" she concluded suddenly. "Ti to sleep and wake up; all of this will be over," she reasoned to herself, attempting to drift back into sleep, causing Aurianna to grow extrely annoyed by her antics.
"Get up! This isn’t a dream!" Aurianna yelled, delivering another hard slap to snap the rmaid back to reality.
"Why did you slap again???" The rmaid cried as she eyed Aurianna.
"I refuse to believe I’ll die here!!" the rmaid cried out.
"Hey, could you stop blabbering for a few minutes so I can ask you so questions?" Aurianna demanded, glaring at the rmaid.
"Why would I want to talk to soone who just killed ? I don’t even know how I’m alive! The only people who can revive others are Saintesses..." the rmaid realized, her gaze fixated on Aurianna.
"Ah, so fishn have Saintesses?" Aurianna remarked with a smile.
"Of course we do!" the rmaid declared.
"I shall not reveal anything more to you!" the rmaid declared, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Are you human? How are you able to survive underwater? You don’t sll like , but more like a human. It shouldn’t be possible," the rmaid pondered as she swam around Aurianna.
"First, answer my question: who are you and how did you get here?" Aurianna demanded, her expression serious. ’I didn’t even sense her while she was here.’
"I’m Kiana, and well, I’ve been here for a while. I’ve been hibernating to prevent myself from dying of starvation faster," Kiana admitted with a sad expression.
"Starvation? With so many sea monsters around to eat?" Aurianna remarked, but Kiana gave her a disgusted look, as if she had just suggested her to eat shit.
"Ewww, eat sea monsters? I may be near death, but I have standards!" Kiana declared boldly, prompting Aurianna to stare at Kina as though she was staring at a professional idiot.
"Why are you staring at like that?" Kiana wondered
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