Liam tried cutting the net with the Eclipse Blade, but to no avail. Whatever the net was made of, dark magic alone wasn’t enough to break it.
“Now what?! The child’s about to be born! Hey, stop hitting the egg! You can’t come out here!”
But my shouts only made the child panic more, either because she couldn’t hear my voice or because she was terrified of the sight of us strangers. Red tears welled up in her eyes as she spun round and round inside the egg.
“Stop! Calm down! You can’t be born on land, it’s dangerous! Even a grown mermaid struggled to survive out of the water!” I said, recalling the sight of the mermaid queen risking her life on the riverbank for the sake of her egg.
But no matter how hard I begged, my words didn’t reach the child.
“Lune, it’s okay,” Liam said, patting my head. “Darkness, let the child sleep.”
The purple darkness gently enveloped the egg, then swayed it back and forth. The child grew calm, perhaps feeling like she was floating in water. She took a deep breath, then cast Liam a trusting look. I thought I saw her smile, and a moment later she suddenly grew still. It was hard to tell because she had no eyelids, but she must’ve fallen asleep.
“While she sleeps, let’s go find Bal,” Liam said quietly.
I nodded.
Lord Reineke turned back into a fox and crouched before us. I picked up the egg, while Liam picked me up and climbed atop the spirit’s back. Then we sped back down the mountain.
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” I kept whispering to the egg.
We ran into the knights halfway and explained what had happened, letting them know they could go back home. We went straight back to the merfolk who were keeping Bal captive, wanting to get our friend back as quickly as possible. Before long, we arrived by the Paravento Rock on the Renard River.
“Merfolk! We brought your egg, as promised!” Liam called out.
The merfolk popped out from the river together with the orb containing Bal.
“Bal! Are you okay?!” I began moving in his direction, ignoring how wet my shoes were getting.
But the merfolk stood in my way, glaring at me with their black eyes.
“Leave the egg on the water.”
I did as they asked. The egg, still covered in Liam’s magic, floated lightly on the river. The child was still sound asleep inside.
The mermaid queen caught the egg in her arms so it wouldn’t be carried away by the current.
“She’ll be born soon. But what is this darkness?” she asked, looking at us warily.
“It’s my brother’s magic. When we found the egg, the child inside was very distressed. We put her to sleep so she wouldn’t break the egg,” I explained.
The queen held the egg even tighter in her arms.
“Release your magic immediately!” she demanded.
Lord Reineke tutted at her tyrannical attitude, while Liam sighed.
“Darkness, return,” he said, and the magic retreated back into his sword.
Without hesitation, the mermaid queen tried to tear off the net.
“Ngh!” she groaned, then glared at us. “Get rid of this net!”
“I already tried, but my magic isn’t enough to break it. It’s a very complex magical artifact. It’s possible that only the person who made it knows how to break it,” Liam said.
The queen screeched, trying to tear the net off in a frenzy. Each time she touched it, it made a crackling sound. Even when she managed to break off small pieces, the net kept regenerating.
“Damn it!!!” she shrieked, frantically continuing her efforts.
The child inside the egg woke up. Perhaps recognizing the queen as her mother, she reached out her hand toward her. She pushed against the orange membrane, almost tearing it open.
“Aah! No! You can’t come out yet! I don’t know what will happen to you if you touch that net!” the queen yelled.
“You have your egg back. Now return Bal!” Lord Reineke ordered.
“No! My child might die! Unless you break this net, I won’t return him!”
At the queen’s words, the merfolk dragged the sphere holding Bal out to the middle of the river, where the water was deep and the current was swift.
“Whoa! Hey, didn’t you say you’d let me go?” Bal asked, thrashing about in the sphere.
“Bal!”
I tried to enter the river to go after him, but Lord Reineke clamped his teeth around my hood and pulled me back.
“Keep your promise!” he roared to the merfolk.
“We won’t hesitate to attack if you refuse. Bal is our dear friend!” Liam said, getting ready to draw his sword. Purple darkness seeped out from the scabbard.
“Light...” Nott spoke in a voice only spirit contractors could hear. “That child is the light’s... I won’t forgive this. I won’t let them take the light from you.”
Liam nodded slowly.
He can’t use dark magic in an open place like this!
I tried to pull on his hand, but Liam shook his head.
“Don’t stop me, Lune.”
“But brother...”
“Bal is our priority right now,” Liam said. He had chosen Bal’s safety over his own.
I understood him so well it hurt.
Bal is important to me too!
“Okay. You’re right,” I said, letting go of his hand.
Whatever happens next, I’ll protect my brother! We can just say I’m the one using dark magic! I don’t want him to shoulder this burden alone!
I stood my ground, scowling at the merfolk.
“That’s a good mindset, Lune. Let’s show them!” Lord Reineke said, swaying his tail as though he was looking forward to this.
Liam drew his sword. Instantly, the temperature around us dropped. Large clouds loomed across the sky, concealing the sun. It was as dark as a solar eclipse.
The merfolk were obviously distressed, glancing at the queen to gauge her reaction. She was extremely agitated.
“How do I get rid of this net? The culprit... If only I could find them... A light artifact... Light magic...” the queen mumbled, her eyes landing on Bal. “No, I’m not giving you back!”
Right as it seemed the queen would attack Bal, a raft appeared from upstream and blocked her way. An old man atop the raft brandished a blackened silver sword, its blade cutting through the mermaid’s hair. Blue locks fluttered down into the water.
“I’ve got the culprits! Liam, put your sword away!” Marcel yelled.
Rather than a ship used by Renard Water Transport, he was on a long raft made from logs. There were a bunch of tied-up men on the raft too, their faces bruised from what I could guess had been a beating by Marcel.
Liam gasped, quickly sheathing his sword.
“Culprits?”
The merfolk turned to Marcel, who pushed the men toward them. They barely avoided falling into the water as Marcel kicked their behinds.
“This is the ringleader,” Marcel said.
The accused man turned his face away as the merfolk approached.
“You! Did you use that magic tool to steal the egg?!”
Surrounded, the men shuddered but remained silent.
“I found a sealed magical box in his belongings,” Marcel explained, holding out a wooden box with a mesh pattern. There were runes carved on it, and its lid was open. “Now, return Bal in exchange for this!”