Evangeline quietly listened to the end of the story about the Demonsea Abyss and the Sirens, her lashes fluttering as she slowly closed her eyes.

’So, her Beast Husband from the Mer Clan actually pulled that whole Little Mermaid routine just to return to the Deep Sea?’

A moment later, Evangeline opened her eyes, her beautiful, narrowed gaze fixed icily on Montague. "When did he go?"

Montague’s throat worked, and he shot Rhea a look, seeming to hesitate.

By now, Rhea had recovered some of her strength. She pushed herself up, leaning on Coral Cetus’s arm.

Her pale knuckles whitened from the strain, but her back was ramrod straight. She met Evangeline’s gaze, her voice hoarse but firm. "Since you already abandoned my brother, why come back now?"

"Evangeline, what has happened can’t be undone."

"You helped the Mer Clan today. Let’s... just leave it at that."

Rhea slowly shook her head, a weary look on her face. "Go, Evangeline. And don’t come back."

Evangeline’s expression turned frigid. "Take me to the Demonsea Abyss. Now!"

"My brother doesn’t want anything more to do with you! Why must you insist—" Before Rhea could finish her furious outburst, the sharp sound of a slap shattered the silence in the Reef House.

Rhea’s head snapped to the side, a red mark rapidly blooming on her cheek—a testament to the force of the blow.

The expressions on Montague, Stellan, and the others changed drastically. They were about to step forward when they heard Evangeline’s cold sneer. "If you don’t want Danton to die, you’ll take me to the Demonsea Abyss right now!"

Hearing Evangeline’s words, Rhea snapped her head up, a shattered light trembling in her eyes.

Seemingly oblivious to the pain, she seized Evangeline’s wrist, her nails digging into the flesh. Her voice was laced with shattered hope. "What did you say?"

Rhea choked out a sob. "You can still save my brother? But he’s already at the Demonsea Abyss. He..."

A vicious glint appeared in Evangeline’s eyes, her patience clearly exhausted.

Coral Cetus glanced at the others, nervously twisting her fingers.

Her voice was hesitant. "It can’t get any worse than this, so why not trust Evangeline? You all saw how powerful she is! Maybe she really can save the Young Clan Leader! I believe..."

Before Coral Cetus could finish, Stellan tugged her back, cutting her off.

A flicker of emotion crossed Montague’s eyes, but he dared not agree so easily.

’Evangeline is, after all, the female who brought harm to our Young Clan Leader. Can she be trusted?’

Rhea looked up at Evangeline’s furrowed brow and finally nodded.

Seeing this, Montague immediately stepped forward, his voice steady. "Clan Leader! I’ll take her!"

"Me too! Stellan and I will go and see if we can help!" Coral Cetus’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly popped her head out, completely oblivious to Stellan, who had frozen beside her.

Stellan’s face went deathly pale. He seized her wrist and yanked her back.

He used so much force that she stumbled. His voice was laced with a rare anxiety. "Are you insane? That’s the Demonsea Abyss! No! I’m having Buck take you back to the Mysticeti Tribe!"

But Coral Cetus stubbornly shook her head, even wrenching her hand free from Stellan’s grasp and hiding behind Evangeline.

’I know I wasn’t much help to the Mer Clan this time,’ she thought. ’And now that we know the Young Clan Leader is at the Demonsea Abyss, someone with Stellan’s personality will definitely follow him, no matter the cost. How can I let him face that danger alone?’

’Besides, the Demonsea Abyss is just a forbidden legend passed down among the Tideborn Beastmen. What lies hidden in its depths is a mystery, perhaps even to the oldest elders of the clans.’

’I’m so curious. I might as well go with them.’

Stellan stared at her stubborn profile. His throat worked a few times, but in the end, he said nothing more.

He gazed intently at Coral Cetus, silently clenching his fists.

Once all the arrangements were made, the group swiftly departed, heading for the Demonsea Abyss.

The current parted around them. Buck’s enormous body glided effortlessly through the water with Coral Cetus on his back. The force of the rushing water was so strong she couldn’t speak, her long pink hair streaming behind her.

Arion Cetus stayed close to Evangeline, glancing at her repeatedly. After they had left the Mer Clan’s territory, he finally couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer. "What exactly happened back there in the Reef House?"

His voice was tinged with confusion. "The Megalodon Tribe is always so arrogant. Why did they scurry away with their tails between their legs this time?"

Although Arion Cetus had come along, he was a member of the Mysticeti Tribe. He wasn’t as close to the Mer Clan as Coral Cetus was, so he hadn’t dared approach their central territory. All he had seen was the commotion at the Reef House and the hasty retreat of the Megalodon Tribe. He was largely in the dark about everything else.

Montague, on Evangeline’s other side, shot Arion Cetus a warning look upon hearing his question.

"This is a matter for the Mer Clan. Perhaps you shouldn’t ask too many questions."

Arion Cetus’s expression stiffened. He glanced at Evangeline from the corner of his eye, but her long, seaweed-like hair drifted in the dim currents, partially obscuring her face. She stared straight ahead, her lips pressed into a tight line, her mood clearly somber.

The current suddenly grew more turbulent, a rush of water carrying flecks of light cutting between them.

Arion Cetus shrugged, took the hint, and fell back a few paces. He shifted into his beast form and continued to follow.

The water gradually grew thicker, more viscous. The group soon passed through a sea channel, leaving the Mer Clan’s territory far behind. After some time, the light around them began to fade rapidly, as if devoured by some unseen force.

It was as if night had fallen, but there was no real distinction between day and night in the depths of the Deep Sea.

Coral Cetus swallowed hard and huddled closer to Buck, the scales on her legs emitting a faint glow.

Buck’s pace slowed, and even his breathing grew labored.

"That’s the Demonsea Abyss up ahead."

Montague stared at the churning dark currents in the distance. The black whirlpools resembled the gullets of giant Sea Beasts, waiting to devour any beastman who dared approach the cursed place.

Stellan, at Montague’s side, felt his tail fin tense involuntarily.

He glanced over at Coral Cetus and saw her craning her neck from Buck’s back. Her eyes, bright with curiosity, were peering into the Demonsea Abyss. If it weren’t for the paleness of her face, he would have thought she wasn’t afraid.

Evangeline flicked her crimson fintan and drifted to the edge of the Demonsea Abyss.

The murky abyss opened before them, a dark chasm stretching across the seafloor. Like Thorncliff, it held a strange, heart-pounding allure, as if a single leap would transport one to another world. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Her long hair fanned out in the current. Suddenly, a faint, ethereal song reached her ears.

Montague’s expression was grave, his tail flicking nervously. "Those Deep Sea Sandwurms... they crawl out from the abyssal trenches adjacent to the Demonsea Abyss. We must be extremely careful!"

Arion Cetus frowned at the roiling black vortexes of the Demonsea Abyss, his grip tightening on his steel fork.

He turned to Evangeline, his throat working. "Are we... really going in?"

They were Tideborn Beastmen who had grown up on legends of this place. This was no mere abyss; it was a cursed chasm. He was willing to help the Mer Clan, but he had no desire to risk his life in the Demonsea Abyss.