The Challenge of the Masters

⊱⊰ 59: The Siren's Call ⊱⊰

Atlas looked at the Queen, anger still present across his face. "But mother, you've seen what she has done to me. She deserves punishment. An eye for an eye."

"You're forgetting that you still need her to pass Pisces' powers to you," said the Queen. "Don't be a fool. Besides, you should have listened to her. There must be a reason why she doesn't want those beings to be killed."

The prince exhaled and looked away, still holding his arm.

"Now then," said the Queen setting her green eyes on the team, "may we know who these strangers are?"

"They're my friends, Your Majesty," said Caris before anyone could reply. "I met them during my journey in the Forbidden Lands."

The Queen's brows rose. "Forbidden Lands? So they're Guardians?"

Caris replied with a quick nod. Gasps filled the silence as the prince looked at the team surprised. He then looked away. Judging by his reaction, Arisa thought that maybe he was a little bit embarrassed to have treated them so coldly.

"Guardians she says," said the King, rubbing his bearded jaw. "Could it be the ones that creature warned us about?"

The Queen tilted her head and slowly swam towards them, examining each member.

"Are you Guardians perhaps from Celestia, Lunara, and Earth?" she asked, her tone calm.

For a few seconds, only the chatter of the crowd broke the silence as the team exchanged looks.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Garoh.

"I want to confirm something." The Queen smiled.

Garoh frowned. "What?"

One of the guards pointed his spear on Garoh, glaring at him.

"Stop playing around and answer the question," demanded the guard.

Garoh stared at him. "What if I don't want to?"

The tip of the spear touched Garoh's throat as the guard glared at him and threatened to sink the sharp blade deep in his skin. The Queen chuckled.

"There's no need to go that far," said the Queen, lowering the guard's spear. "Even if they won't confirm it to me, I know it's them based on its description."

"What description?" asked Kazuya.

The Queen raised her head as she looked at him. "The strange creature made of algae."

Arisa blinked her eyes two times, trying to picture what a creature made of algae looked like.

"When we found out Pisces had chosen a half breed to represent her, we were shocked," said the Queen, touching her chest as if she was hurt. "It was a great embarrassment for our world to have something born from sin to be worthy of those astral powers instead of us purebloods. We thought that there was certainly a mistake and that creature confirmed it to us."

As everyone's attention focused on the Queen, Arisa couldn't understand why the people sharing the same world couldn't be happy that someone from their homeland was chosen as a Guardian.

"One day, that creature showed up in the castle, claiming it had good news about Pisces' power," continued the Queen. "It was the one that told us there was still a way to receive the astral powers. It also prophesied that you would be here to stop us and help the Children of the Sea receive the zone where the waters don't meet."

Arisa's forehead wrinkled. "Zone where the waters don't meet?"

"Yes," said the Queen. "That place is very sacred to us. After all, we believe that the Water Goddess lives there and watches us from there. The Children of the Sea have no right of that zone. It's ridiculous that the People of the Surface believe that our goddess made that place exclusively for the half breeds."