In the crowd, the Beastmen crouched low, sharp claws and fangs half-hidden, all glinting with a cold light.

The lead Beastman took half a step forward, staring warily at Evangeline. He bared his teeth and said, "We don’t mean to hurt you. Come back with us. We’ll lure that Fallen Beastman into a trap and trade his life for yours!"

A mocking smile touched the corners of Evangeline’s lips as her fingertips idly caressed her long whip. "Why go to all that trouble? If you kill me, won’t the Fallen Beastman you’re so obsessed with die along with me?"

"You!" The lead Beastman’s face darkened. His claws clenched and unclenched fiercely at his sides, and anxious growls rumbled in his throat, yet he hesitated to order the attack.

The Beastmen from the tribes behind him grew restless as well. ’The person before them is a female, and a witch favored by The Beast God at that. If we attack her recklessly, we might incur The Beast God’s wrath!’

’But the Fallen Beastman’s existence is a constant, looming threat to us, the Beastmen of the Norfell Tribe!’

A cold light flashed in his flickering eyes. He raised his hand. Instantly, the surrounding Beastmen unsheathed their claws, brandished their Bone Blades, and closed in on Evangeline, forming an encirclement. The very air seemed to freeze with murderous intent.

With a flick of Evangeline’s wrist, her long whip shot through the air like a striking viper. The vicious lash, accompanied by a piercing whistle, forced the encircling Beastmen back several steps!

Tapping her toes lightly on the ground, her graceful figure danced away. As her red veil fluttered, she put some distance between herself and the others.

The wind swept past, sending her dark hair flying, half-covering her eyes. A cold, composed gaze shone through, as if this ambush were nothing more than a trivial game that didn’t warrant her full attention.

With a single crack of her long whip, a gale howled. A vast, surging power erupted from Evangeline, unleashing a frosty shockwave that crashed into the charging group of Beastmen!

In that instant, the horde of Beastmen were sent flying backward like kites with their strings cut, crashing heavily to the ground.

The air in the entire area seemed to have been whipped into a vacuum, leaving only a suffocating pressure.

Evangeline stood at the center of the tempest, her red veil whipping in the wind, her eyes shimmering with a cold light.

’The vicious energy in my chest is begging for an outlet,’ she thought, flicking a finger to make the wind from her whip coil around her. ’These people served themselves up on a platter. Even if I don’t kill them all, I’ll teach them a lesson they’ll never forget!’

In a flash, a furious gale erupted with a BOOM!

The ground cracked and shattered, and pieces of stone floated into the air.

A vacuum formed around her slender figure. The Beastmen at the forefront had their bones crushed by the invisible gale! For a time, no one could get within three meters of her.

"With this pathetic amount of skill, you thought you could capture me to set a trap?" Evangeline scoffed. The rest of the Beastmen were sent flying, kicking up clouds of dust. The stench of blood was overwhelming.

Wracked with excruciating pain, the Beastmen stumbled back, low growls of terror escaping their throats. Some who had shifted into their beast forms clawed at the ground, not daring to take another step closer.

Evangeline raised a hand to wipe a splash of blood from her cheek, the crimson leaving an eerie streak on her pale skin. She languidly raised her gaze and smiled slowly. "How boring. I don’t have time to play with you anymore."

She recalled her long whip and turned her back on the carnage. Her cold voice drifted back.

"I’ll say this one last time. My Beast Husband may be a Fallen Beastman, but he has never harmed any of you. If you continue to pester me, then I’ll truly begin a slaughter."

As her words faded, a ring of energy exploded from her feet. The massive trees nearby were silently sliced in half, their cross-sections as smooth as mirrors. What if that had been aimed at the Beastmen instead...?

The Beastmen stared at the massive trees crashing down, their bodies trembling as some of their severed manes drifted away.

Under their terrified gazes, Evangeline tapped a foot to the ground and shot forward. She became a crimson streak of light arcing across the sky, her figure leaping swiftly between the layered mountain peaks, disappearing from sight in a matter of breaths.

The Beastmen from the tribes stood frozen in place, not one of them daring to give chase.

’They had missed their chance, in the end.’

’At the tribal trade gathering, Evangeline had been stabbed through the heart by her own Beast Husband. She had been on the brink of death—the perfect opportunity to capture her. But she was a Witch, her methods bizarre and unpredictable. Despite being gravely injured and near death, she had escaped from right under their noses, vanishing without a sound, without a single trace.’

’Now, seeing her again, her injuries were fully healed. They were no longer a match for her.’

*

Coral Cetus stood at the edge of the sea as the waves rushed in, washing over her ankles again and again.

She bit her lower lip, her gaze fixed on the distance. At her ankles, fine scales shimmered into view with a cold light, as if urging her to return home, but she seemed oblivious, her eyes never leaving the horizon.

But there was nothing there, only the rustle of leaves in the wind.

Stellan took Coral Cetus by the wrist. When he felt the cool scales that still lingered on her skin, ’a dull ache spread through his heart.’ His voice was soft and low, nearly drowned out by the waves. "Let’s go back."

The sea breeze lifted Coral Cetus’s long pink hair, brushing it against her tense profile.

The sound of the tide was a mournful whimper, much like the anxious thumping in her chest.

"We need to report the appearance of the Fallen Beastman in Norfell to the leader as soon as possible." Stellan’s grip tightened slightly as he lowered his voice. "The conflicts on land are not our concern."

Coral Cetus watched as her people transformed one by one into streamlined shadows and slipped silently into The Deep Sea. She lowered her head listlessly and finally gave a silent nod.

’I will never forget this tribal trade gathering,’ she thought. ’Even though it was simple and rushed, I met someone named Evangeline—a female who was completely different from the rumors.’

’She was also the one I consider my one and only friend.’

At this thought, Coral Cetus tightened her grip on the pink Conch in her hand.

’Evangeline had said she could hear it too.’

Stellan said nothing. He simply reached out and stroked her long, dawn-pink hair, then took her hand and led her into the shimmering water.

The evening tide rushed in, the seawater churning as it surged and rose.

The once-exposed reefs were completely submerged. The last sliver of the setting sun sank below the horizon, and darkness descended. The rolling waves let out a low roar, and the entire sea felt immensely oppressive in the twilight.

In the vast Beastman World, the population of Oceanic Beastmen far outnumbered that of the Terrestrial Beastmen.

In the distant Deep Sea lay the famous Triangle Sea. Like the claws of a colossal beast, it had torn the continent into several pieces. It was The Holy Land where the Oceanic Beastmen had thrived for generations.

However, they had only ever heard of it; none of them had ever truly set foot in the Triangle Sea.

Even for the Oceanic Beastmen of The Norfell Sea, reaching the Triangle Sea meant passing through the infamous great whirlpool by the undersea cliffs.

The undercurrents there were violent and the waters were riddled with vortexes. The slightest misstep would send one spiraling into The Abyss, never to be seen again, not even as bones.

Following a faint, thread-like magical connection, Evangeline reached the coast just as twilight deepened into night.

The damp, salty sea breeze rushed to meet her, and in the distance, ocean waves churned.

Evangeline lifted her gaze and saw two familiar figures on the beach. Coral Cetus’s pink hair billowed in the sea breeze, and the dark cyan scales on Stellan’s legs were faintly visible. They were walking hand-in-hand into The Deep Sea.