176 Ch. 176 'Difficult Choice'

As soon as they managed to get out of the mermaid lake's waters, Ceryle hastily grabbed Niken's hand and swam to the surface.

Niken opened her mouth wide to inhale as much oxygen as possible. Only then could she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?"

"I guess so. Thanks for saving my life."

"Don't mind that. I should be the one thank you. Without your shield, there's no way we could escape from them. Now, what are we going to do?"

Niken didn't know either. This was all beyond their expectations as they did not expect that some evil mermaids would remain at the bottom of the lake and had no intention of swimming to the surface.

"I guess we better go to the mainland first and meet Kazuto and the others."

Ceryle agreed, and together they swam to the shore where Xehan was waiting for them.

However, they couldn't find Xehan or Kazuto's wolf shadow once they reached the shore. Where is the kid?

"Xehan, Xehan!" Ceryle couldn't help but worry when she couldn't find her only son.

Niken also looked for Xehan while contacting Kazuto through her mind-linking to ask the kid's whereabouts.

'Sorry, Niken. I just realized I lost contact with my shadow. Also… we got into trouble here.'

Niken frowned, hearing that. What problems did her lover group face?

Niken plans to catch up with Kazuto with Ceryle but is stopped by Kazuto.

'No, don't come here. You are safer there.'

Niken felt even more restless at Kazuto's words. Honestly, what kind of problem was Kazuto and the others facing? Even though she was worried about Kazuto's situation, she still complies and didn't catch up with the man.

After all, they are currently looking for Xehan, so Niken can't bear to leave Ceryle, who is even more restless because she doesn't see her child.

"Xehan, where are you, son? Answer my call, dear."

"Too bad. But right now, he can't answer your calls."

Niken and Ceryle gasped at a strange voice behind them. The owner of the voice was a man in his thirties and had shoulder-length silver hair. Not only that, but the color of his eyes is green!

Silver hair and green color? Isn't that the trait of a mix-blood wizard?

Well, this man was not Zehell, then who is this person? Why are there so many mix-blood wizards in the country?

"What do you mean he can't answer my calls?" came Ceryle's cold voice.

The man smiled lopsidedly, then waved his hand, creating a water bubble in midair. Inside the bubble, a small human figure is sleeping, causing Niken and Ceryle's eyes widened.

The child in the water bubble is Xehan!!

"You!" hissed Ceryle in anger. "What have you done to my son?"

"Me? I did nothing. But I think he will die if he doesn't come out of my bubble."

Born as the son of a mermaid and tortoise shapeshifter, Xehan could breathe calmly both underwater and on land. But the man's water bubble is water that can slowly freeze his son's lungs so that her son would not be able to breathe if he didn't get out of the bubble.

Ceryle clenched her hands and gritted her teeth hard. This mix-blood wizard guy was planning to kill her kid!

If this person weren't mix-blood wizards, Ceryle would have struck back and saved her son. Born as a mermaid in the spirit realm, she didn't need to be afraid of facing Elementalists or Elementalist Knights. But she couldn't be careless if the opponents she faced were wizards, let alone mix-blood or pureblood wizards.

"What do you want?"

Niken didn't know the bubble at all and thought Xehan would be okay because she knew that the kid could breathe underwater.

But when she saw a pale face and a panicked expression on Ceryle's face, Niken became convinced that these water bubbles were not ordinary, mostly when she felt a tremendous amount of anger emanating from the mermaid's entire aura.

A smile full of victory crossed the man's face then glanced at Niken meaningfully.

Niken swallowed hard, feeling that something was wrong with the man in front of her. Somehow she felt that this man wanted something that she found difficult to grant.

As it turned out, her guess was correct when the man casually answered Ceryle's question,

"I want what that girl brought from the incubator cave. If she gives it, I will return this child. "

"..."

"..."

Niken glanced at Ceryle anxiously. She didn't know whether Ceryle preferred his son's life or the hundreds of mermaids who lived in this mermaid lake.

Even Niken herself, she wasn't sure she would be able to choose between a child or hundreds of spirit souls.

Niken has promised and is determined to help Merylin return this lake to how it was before. But, if she was positioned to choose between one life and her promise… which one should she choose?

Niken decided to hear Ceryle's choice first because it involved her son's life.

"Ceryle,"

Ceryle didn't respond to her call for a moment and lowered her head as if she was weighing what choice she should make.

Not long after, Ceryle raised her head to face Niken, and that's when Niken could see the mermaid's helplessness.

Her blue eyes were teary and discouraged. It seemed that she, too, could not choose and give the decision to Niken.

Niken bit her lip, considering how big her victory would be if she decided to fight this mix-blood wizard. If she succeeded in defeating him, she would not need to give Merylin's astral soul and, at the same time, save Xehan from that man's grasp.

'Don't fight him,' came the firm sound from Kazuto's voice. 'You did know, we will never be able to fight mix-blood wizards. Just give whatever he wants.'

'Why? Why should I give it?' Niken simply could not accept that they could not restore the glorious conditions of the Mermaladia kingdom in the end.

Boom!

Niken and Ceryle simultaneously looked at the source of the explosion's sound. They could see a blast of smoke rising high up.

Wasn't the position of the smoke located at Kazuto and the others? What happened to them?

"Ah, just for your information, currently, your friends are surrounded by metal Elementalists. I'm sure Lord Traze is also there to catch your friends."

Niken remembered Kazuto's words, who said they were in trouble. Could it be that the problem in question was an ambush from the Elementalists?

Didn't Aqua put a sleep spell on everyone living in this country? Shouldn't the Elementalists and the lord be fast asleep?

Why did everyone suddenly wake up and now attack them?

Unknown to her, Eryl already activated his anti-magic array around the metal Elementalist so that they wouldn't fall asleep.

NFrom the start, this purification plan seemed strange.

Should all the evil mermaids, without exception, would positively swim upwards as soon as the full moon appeared. Then how come there are some evil mermaids who don't swim upwards and stay underwater? It felt as if the evil mermaids knew that they would appear and waiting for them.

"If you are willing to give up what I want, I will persuade the lord to free your friends. How is it?"

The offer given by the mix-blood wizards is very tempting, but can Niken trust him? What if the man deceives her?

Niken takes turns, shifting her gaze between the mix-blood wizard and Xehan. In the end, she decided to hand over Merylin's soul to the man. She would think of a way to reclaim the celestial soul later. Right now, the lives of Xehan and her friends who were fighting on the other side were far more mattering.

Niken raised her palm, then a second later, an orb ball that was emitting a white light appeared above her hand.

Niken stepped forward toward the man warily. After the distance between them was close enough but not too close, Niken stopped and pointed the white orb towards the wizard.

Just when the man's hand was about to touch the orb, Niken pulled her hand back, making one eyebrow of the man raised.

"Let go of that kid first."

With a lazy move, the wizard once again waved his hand. In an instant, the water bubbles that were confining Xehan burst out. Xehan's body promptly fell into the pile of sand.

With quick movements, Ceryle approached her son and hugged him very tightly while kissing the top of his head.

Niken watched the scene with a relieved look without realizing that the orb in her hand had disappeared because the wizards seized it.

"What are you going to do with it?" came the query from Niken, who is thinking of reclaiming it.

"That's a very easy question."

Niken's brain was still thinking hard about choosing her actions wisely so that she could take Merylin's soul and protect Ceryle and Xehan from this man's clutches.

However, what that man was doing was beyond her expectations.

The wizard channeled a massive amount of electrical energy into the orb and then 'crack!' the globe shattered to pieces causing Niken frozen in place.