Chapter 80

Jio looked at the mermaid princess who had grown into a strong and beautiful form.

“…….”

Her hair, with the strange hue of the deep sea, her eyes, like the pearls of legend, and even her dress, which resembled the waves, all symbolized the sea… yet the large, white doctor's gown worn over it all was uniquely conspicuous.

Back then, we often played such pranks.

It was a simple prank.

“…….”

“…Yes, I am human too.”

Therefore, Giovanni could be certain.

“Let’s talk.”

In the end, this confrontation was one the human was bound to win.

An Ending for the Mermaid Princess (0/1)

He was certain of it.

***

Aria did not resent Giovanni.

He was the only human in Aria’s mind.

The most truthful among all those humans, and at the same time, as good and kind as someone out of a fairy tale.

The rare and precious deserve to be loved.

“I respect you, Giovanni.”

But too much time had passed.

“Weren’t there too many things to hide behind the thin word of respect?”

“From my perspective, it’s a case of my young mermaids going around causing trouble by the time I came to my senses.”

“They are no longer young, unfortunately.”

Aria loved Giovanni, but she hated humanity.

She detested and despised them.

“There was so much I learned from you. Human emotions, human life, human judgment….”

“The human biological structure was also something I taught you.”

“That was a great help. Even after you died.”

“Do you resent me?”

“It would be closer to love and obsession. That would be a little different from resentment.”

“That is the kind of creature a mermaid is.”

“Aren’t we a foolish race that lives an entire lifetime on a single memory?”

For such a mermaid, the existence of Giovanni was too cruel.

“After your death, I encountered countless humans. Some were sacrificial, some were selfish, some drove even their own children to ruin, and some gave their lives for a stranger they didn’t even know the face of.”

“That diversity is precisely what shows the potential of humanity.”

“I agree as well. That is why I could not give up on this life. Believing that it would end one day, I have analyzed, researched, and studied countless humans.”

“It must have been a very long time.”

“I wished for this day to come for quite a long time. Continuing to vent my anger without meaning, sinking the suns of all those numerous dimensions….”

“I understand.”

“And I feel that my end has come to me now.”

It was an ending named Giovanni.

“The fairy tale of the mermaid princess on Earth ends with the mermaid turning into foam and disappearing. Is the ending you draw, Giovanni, the same as this?”

“How to imagine it is the freedom of every child. Even if the mermaid in the fairy tale becomes foam and is forgotten by all, in some child’s mind, she is living a happy daily life with the prince.”

“I’m sorry, but there are no children here anymore. The only ones left here are a princess stained with bright red blood to see the limits of humanity and a faithful subordinate who follows her.”

“In that case, what is the ending that the mermaid princess desires?”

“Human suffering. Human despair. Human extermination, I suppose. I didn’t expect to meet you on this Earth while trying to sink even one more sun… but for now.”

“Have you eaten humans, princess?”

“The seas of all dimensions have already eaten countless humans. Even at this very moment, the sea is taking the lives of greedy humans, and it is likely eating innocent humans as well.”

Giovanni’s noble face was visible.

It was the face of the saint who was called the savior of humanity and the son of the one true god.

“As you said, is the sea not a cruel existence to humans?”

“But it is beautiful. Just as I, who cannot even swim, built a house by the sea and lived half my life there.”

“Do you still consider the sea and mermaids to be the same existence?”

“Do you want to hear that you are beautiful?”

“I can’t say no. I wanted to show you how I’ve grown, my teacher.”

But this is probably not the form you wished for.

“How do you feel, seeing the mermaid you raised with your own hands grow up like this?”

“…….”

Mourning filled his blue eyes.

“…It is sad.”

“Yes.”

“I am happy to see you again, and I feel pity.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you are a mermaid.”

For whom was that mourning?

“And I am human.”

“…Giovanni, you always used to speak of the differences and limits between humans and mermaids.”

With a smile that seemed like it would sing fairy tales for a lifetime, Giovanni always spoke of the wretchedness of reality.

“From here on is the main point.”

Aria looked at the white-haired Hunter sitting in his seat with a tense face, then looked again at Giovanni, who still wore a serene smile.

“I….”

It was a smile she had tried to create her whole life but failed.

A smile her younger brother had imitated, but it ended at imitation.

A smile she tried to have once more but couldn't even attempt to make….

So, in the end, it was a smile she had given up on.

“…For thousands of years, I have tirelessly studied humans and tried to discover their limits. But I must confess my own lack of capability; it could not be defined as a clear goal. It was merely that I wandered, not knowing what to do.”

Giovanni spoke.

“And it is the teacher’s role to show the path that must be taken.”

“Giovanni, I am standing at a crossroads. You must help me.”

What will you choose?

“This foolish, stubborn mermaid can spend the rest of her undying life simply hating, despising, and detesting humans, or… yes, like the fairy tale here on Earth, she can disappear into seafoam.”

The death of humans, or the death of a mermaid.

“Now, teacher.”

“…….”

“What should I do?”

Aria respected the human named Giovanni. She loves his name.

She feels a sense of mystery in the fact that he is human and worships his endless wisdom and gushing kindness.

If there was a human who could draw the sunlight into the sea, it was Giovanni.

“You wanted the land and the sea to become one.”

Aria placed the sea in the sky and devoured the sun.

“Even if our choices were the same, the result would surely have been different. Is that not so?”

Giovanni would have created a warm fairy tale that smelled of sunlight, not this cold, fishy reality.

But Giovanni was betrayed by humans and eaten by a mermaid.

Aria looked at that good face that held warmth.

“…….”

“Now, give me an end.”

That’s why you became the sun, isn't it?

***

Watching the unfolding situation, Yu Seong-un desperately held his breath.

‘…This is taking a strange turn.’

From the time Mr. Cha Isold was first kidnapped to the point where this group came to the ‘Nation of the Deep Sea’, he had thought there would be a big battle.

After all, when a Hunter enters a dungeon, it’s only natural for a battle to occur.

But this mermaid named Aria seemed to genuinely want to talk.

This meeting was created solely for a battle of words.

‘And… she’s forcing a choice between humans and mermaids on Jio.’

He could feel her sincerity.

‘What is she planning to do if Jio chooses humans…? Is she going to torment humans out of spite? Or is she really going to die?’

Depending on what ‘path’ Jio shows her from now on, Aria would either torment humans for the rest of her life or die right here.

‘It’s the way of all monsters, but….’

Aria’s hatred for humans also seemed incredibly strong.

‘It sounds like she’s planning to put an end to her past life of researching and studying humans. Well, thousands of years have passed, so it is about time for a conclusion, but does it make sense to pass that choice to Jio? This isn’t just anything, it’s deciding the fate of humans and mermaids.’

What a selfish mindset.

“…….”

Yu Seong-un looked back at Jio.

“…….”

“…….”

He was still smiling, looking at the mermaid named Aria.

‘…I’m starting to get curious about what choice he’ll make for me.’

For one, it was true that the being known as ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was extremely favorable towards humans.

But, as he had worried when they first came to the ‘Temple of the Deep Sea’, Giovanni, who had a deep connection with these merfolk, could also choose them.

‘And he’s not even in a state that can be called human right now. Even if he chooses the mermaids who have become monsters over humans here, it could be defined as monsters siding with their own kind… so I don’t know what choice Jio will make.’

Besides, that choice was also more rational.

Objectively speaking, there was far less loss.

‘If he chooses humans, his close mermaid friend Aria dies immediately, whereas even if he chooses the mermaids, it’s not like he can suddenly kill all humans in every dimension. If Jio chooses the mermaids right now, it’s objectively more advantageous for him to stay by their side and advocate for humans a little while spending time together.’

Aria had acted as if she would eat even Jio if she became displeased, saying ‘you are a human in the end, after all,’ but… with Jio’s stature, he wouldn’t be taken down so easily.

By that logic, the few humans in this dungeon might die, but the majority of humans and his dear merfolk would live, wouldn’t they? Knowing the not-always-good and shameless side of Giovanni made him even more worried.

“…….”

Still, this wasn't a situation he could step into, so Yu Seong-un kept his mouth shut.

‘…In the end, it’s Jio’s choice to make.’

It was when he was waiting, giving it time.

“Hoo….”

Jio laughed.

“To be honest, I thought it was a little funny.”

“…What was it?”

“They say family members resemble each other, I guess that was the case for us too.”

Unlike the dark-haired, blunt Jio, the brightly colored Giovanni looked natural even with a light, somewhat mischievous smile.

The mermaid named Aria was chillingly expressionless, but she seemed to have her eyes stolen by that smile.

“…….”

As if she was forced to recall a moment she had longed for….

Jio curved his lips as if embarrassed, as if perplexed, yet as if it were amusing.

“I also pondered. I managed to find a way to come to the ‘Nation of the Deep Sea’ without taking a submersible, but no matter how much I wandered around and waited here, I couldn’t find a single strand of your or Iseur’s hair.”

It seemed this portrait had been visiting the ‘Nation of the Deep Sea’ all this time to meet the merfolk.

“Were you perhaps avoiding me?”

“I can’t say no, I was so scared I’d receive divine punishment from the new sun god.”

“The sun god….”

“Surely you weren’t planning to hide it. Not while holding such scorching divinity.”

“I was saddled with it unexpectedly, but to be honest, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do either.”

“Is it not to kill me? It’s strange that there’s something even you don’t know.”

“Because I am human too.”

“…….”

“We always hit our limits.”

Jio gave his characteristic proper smile.

“So just as you all kidnapped brother Cha Isold to summon me, I too devised a method to call my dear mermaid friends together. Because I wanted to have a conversation without you running away.”

“And what method did you devise?”

“It’s a much more humble plan compared to what you prepared. Shabby, should I say. I am very embarrassed that I couldn’t show you something grand for a teacher….”

—Kra-jee-jee-jee-jee-jeek…!!!

“Here.”

With a ferocious roar that didn’t match the blindingly brilliant light, spears of light were created.

He spread both his hands.

“…….”

“Look.”

In total, there were more than 10 of them.

And the blades of the spears, holding the heat of the sun, were pointed towards Jio.

“This is how humans have a conversation.”

“…….”

The seawater in the temple had at some point dried up, leaving only a terrible heat, like a desert.

“…Human conversation, what does that mean?”

“The good cannot always be rewarded.”

“…I know that too.”

“Then you should have known better.”

Jio continued, as if teaching.

“There is no guarantee that kindness will be returned with kindness, nor can a notorious villain always be punished to soothe the aching hearts of the victims. The world is not a fairy tale, and reality’s endings are made as the moments overlap.”

“…….”

“It is because humans are always changing. They can grow and regress. It is a foolish thing to expect all the endings of this fickle creature that cannot stay still for a moment to always be constant. A clever person like you would surely know this well.”

The banquet hall was engulfed in a heat so intense it was hard to breathe.

“But that is why humans have created numerous rules. They learn how to face each other, they learn how to talk.”

“…….”

“And they have decided to hold accountable a fearsome murderer whose number of victims cannot even be fathomed.”

“…Are you saying you will hold me accountable for my sins now? To me, who is not even human, citing human rules….”

“Aria.”

The face that resembled the sunlight was warm.

“Humans are diverse. They have no limits, and you are the same. You said that which cannot stay still for a moment and changes is precisely what a human is.”

“…….”

“Were you not like that? Did you not change at all? It’s just that because you grew and regressed, you were under the illusion that you were the same as thousands of years ago….”

“…I.”

“We can talk.”

That voice was firm.

“If you receive your due punishment, that is.”

Like a teacher teaching a young student.

“…What on earth is this punishment? I can’t understand.”

“We use pretty cheap methods to get what we want. Shall I be the one to ask this time?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t understand.”

“Just as I have no reason to stop your hatred towards humans, Aria.”

The teacher who had guided his student asked.

“Is there any reason I shouldn’t take ‘Giovanni’ away from you?”

“…….”

Jio chose the humans.

And according to his words, since there was no difference between humans and mermaids, he had in effect given up nothing and chosen nothing.

At the greedy adult’s cheap declaration, the mermaid’s face crumbled.

“Whether to choose the humans, including you and me.”

“…Ah….”

“Or to choose the mermaid’s rage, is your choice.”

And what was revealed then was not the sea, but that of an unripe student.

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