Free Web Novel"Merfolk?"
The moment he thought of using songs to beguile others, Loren immediately thought of merfolk.
Not everyone with this ability was merfolk, but merfolk definitely had this ability.
Those followers of the so-called "God of Happiness" had used a similar ability before, but in essence, they were just exploiting the beguilement authority of the God of Confusion.
Especially since this was happening at sea, it naturally made Loren think of merfolk.
"I've got nothing better to do anyway. Might as well go check it out."
Without disturbing anyone else, Loren activated the Hermit card and phased through the wall.
Although Loren didn't consider himself a good person, if he encountered a real crisis, he was still willing to lend a hand when it didn't affect him.
If the people he helped didn't show gratitude, Loren wouldn't mind pushing them back into trouble either.
Loren followed the group of children. When they reached the seaside, they simply walked straight down, seemingly unaware that the ocean lay ahead.
Even after falling in, they didn't struggle. They just silently sank beneath the surface.
Just then, the singing abruptly stopped.
"What a pain..."
Loren looked toward where the singing had come from, then glanced at the children who had fallen into the water. He resolutely chose to fly far away.
Just a few seconds after Loren flew off, Orianna appeared at the seaside. She dove into the sea, tossing the fallen children back onto the shore one by one, then threw the ones near the edge back as well.
"Someone is trying to kill these children here!"
Orianna shouted directly toward the sky, then vanished from the spot.
Loren had done more than enough. He couldn't be bothered to do anything else.
After Orianna disappeared, two Wind Messengers landed at the seaside and saw the soaking wet children.
They exchanged glances, then one began searching for the culprit nearby while the other stayed to watch over the children.
...
"Sure enough, merfolk..."
Loren flew to where the singing had come from and spotted a merfolk diving into the water from afar.
Without any hesitation, Loren let his wings disappear, and his legs transformed into a fish tail.
Loren had witnessed the death of merfolk before, so he could naturally use their abilities now.
With the enhancement of Loren's mana, the merfolk he became was stronger than the original.
As Loren gave chase, the figure diving into the sea gradually grew larger and clearer.
She also noticed Loren chasing behind her, but instead of fighting back, she stopped directly.
"So it's a merfolk. You scared me—I thought a human was chasing me..."
When she stopped, Loren quickly reached her side. Seeing Loren's fish tail, the merfolk instantly felt relieved.
"Was it you who used your song to control those children into jumping into the sea?"
Loren got straight to the point, already beginning to gather his magic.
If the merfolk's answer didn't satisfy him, Loren would have no choice but to send her to meet the Dawn Princess.
Merfolk were only female. It was strange for Loren, a male merfolk, to appear here, but it wasn't entirely inexplicable—after all, Loren had a fish tail, which proved his identity more than appearance ever could.
She seemed genuinely unaware of anything wrong and began talking with him:
"My child was eaten by human pirates, so I'm going to eat their children too."
"Do you want to eat too? Let's go to the shore later and eat those children who fell into the water. Human children really don't taste bad."
As she said this, a sick smile spread across her face. She genuinely craved the taste of those human children.
She enthusiastically tried to grab Loren's hand, but just before her fingers touched him, Blood Moon Condensed Light severed it.
Blood spilled from the stump, spreading through the seawater.
Her hand slowly opened, and a poisoned needle dropped from her palm, sinking into the deep sea.
"Failed to ambush you, huh?"
She looked at her severed hand without feeling any pain. Her eyes only showed regret at failing to ambush Loren.
"I don't know how you grew a fish tail, but it doesn't change how terrible your disguise is. Merfolk don't have males."
"Other merfolk might not be able to tell the difference between genders, but I've killed too many people not to notice."
"I can't be bothered to argue with you. You're not worthy of listening."
She had already gone mad. Loren didn't waste a single word—he directly activated Blood Moon Condensed Light, cleaving her in half from the middle.
Maybe her child being eaten was pitiful, but the moment she laid hands on innocent victims, she turned from a victim into a perpetrator.
Arguing with someone like that was just a waste of time, so Loren didn't say a single unnecessary word—he just acted.
"Time to head back."
Loren was no longer what he used to be. He resolved this matter quickly.
In the old days, Loren would have had to ask the Wind Messengers about the recent situation, deduce the culprit, set up a plan, and find an opportunity to eliminate the perpetrator entirely.
That entire process could easily take several days. But now, Loren didn't need to be so complicated. He just had to chase them down and kill them.
Through Orianna, Loren also saw what was happening on the shore.
The Wind Messengers had discovered the children and sent them back home. At the same time, Loren found out one more thing: the children hadn't disappeared for the first time today. It was only today that the reason was discovered. They hadn't heard any singing.
The singing only targeted children.
After returning home, Loren took a bath, changed clothes, and lay back down on the bed. By then, Lilith had already woken up. She looked around anxiously for Loren, and only when she saw him come back did she finally calm down.
Loren lay back down and started thinking about what had just happened. He had always believed revenge wasn't wrong, so he supported that merfolk taking revenge. He even supported her killing other pirates—after all, few pirates were good people.
Whether she had actually gone after pirates or not, Loren didn't know. All he saw was her trying to kill those innocent children.
Looking at Lilith's sleeping face, Loren was certain of one thing: if the person who died was someone close to Loren, he would definitely retaliate without discrimination.
If the murderer was a merfolk, Loren would wipe out the entire merfolk race.
If the murderer was the Church, Loren would slaughter every last believer.
He knew retaliating against innocents was wrong, but he needed an outlet.
Loren was fully aware of his double standards, and he wouldn't deny them.
The next day, Loren casually told the others about what had happened last night, then went to buy a ship.
No one had any objections. Only Anna said killing her was a waste, that she'd rather keep her for eating. So Loren punched her again.
The little incident from yesterday didn't affect today's plans. The people of the Kingdom of Anselm were also thanking whoever had saved the children. The only problem was that the person who did the good deed hadn't left their name—usually, Loren wanted the whole world to know about every good thing he did.
"Set sail!"
Loren stood at the bow of the ship, feeling a strange sense that he should weave himself a straw hat too.
