Evangeline’s voice carried a bone-chilling cold. The ocean currents condensed into clusters of sharp icicles. The impaled Sirens let out high-pitched screeches as more dark figures awoke from the bottom of The Abyss.

Finnian Finch’s lips parted slightly, releasing a stream of bubbles. "Young... Young Clan Leader..."

Though he was exhausted and his voice was muffled, his trembling arm pointed straight toward the bottom of The Abyss.

It was a coral reef tangled with eerie blue vines, where numerous Sirens were entrenched. Their writhing, transparent tentacles intertwined, obscuring something hidden deep within the reef from view.

Evangeline’s gaze turned frigid. Pulling Finnian Finch along, she shot toward the coral reef like an arrow.

A bitter chill spread in her wake, driving back the lunging Sirens. Some that failed to dodge in time were pinned to the coral reef, letting out piercing shrieks.

Evangeline ripped the eerie blue vines apart, sending fluorescent light scattering like shimmering dust.

A tall, slender figure lay on the flat reef.

His skin was pale and bloodless, and his naked body was still, his breath almost nonexistent. His scarred legs, however, were enveloped in a faint halo. Starting at his ankles, light blue scales were spreading unnaturally as the very flesh and blood beneath his skin were being drained away. If this continued, he would likely die long before the Mermaid Tail could fully form.

Evangeline watched in silence, her slender fingertips gently caressing Danton’s icy cheek.

She hadn’t seen him in so long. His frame had grown much thinner. His long, azure hair was splayed across the reef, the ends tinged with an ominous pallor. The surrounding fluorescent glow flickered in time with his faint breaths.

"Trespassers!" a Siren’s enraged roar echoed dully through the water.

"The ritual has been interrupted! He will mutate into a monster!"

As it spoke, the Siren’s tentacles shot out again, coiling around Danton’s glowing legs.

Finnian Finch’s pupils contracted. He watched in horror as the scales on Danton’s legs proliferated at a visible rate. The Siren was accelerating the ritual’s completion.

A cold sneer touched Evangeline’s lips. "You’re courting death."

She clenched her fist. A bone-chilling cold erupted from her, instantly freezing the transparent tentacles. The Siren let out an eardrum-splitting shriek, and the surrounding sea began to churn with greater fury.

Evangeline seized Danton’s wrist and pulled him up from the reef.

With a flick of her wrist, she conjured an ice blade that sliced a lunging Siren in half.

Finnian Finch watched, stunned, as she dealt with the Sirens effortlessly. Cold sweat beaded on his palms. ’When did the clan get such a powerful female?’

Evangeline turned to Finnian Finch, the chilling aura around her subsiding slightly. "Are you mostly recovered?"

"Carry him!" Evangeline kicked away a Siren’s corpse and ordered in a low voice, "If we delay any longer, the entire Demonsea Abyss will be filled with more of their kind. It’ll be impossible to leave then."

Finnian Finch nodded hastily. He bit down hard on his tongue, using the sharp pain to stay conscious against the weakness overwhelming his body.

He deftly hoisted Danton onto his back, shivering as their skin touched. Danton’s body was far too cold.

"Go!" Evangeline’s Cold Frost Whip cleared a path, and Finnian Finch followed close behind.

He risked a glance behind them. The churning dark figures were still whispering bewitching promises. ’How ridiculous,’ he thought. ’We actually believed them. In this man-eating Demonsea Abyss, what reward ever comes without a price?’

Evangeline protected Danton and Finnian Finch as she led their retreat from the Demonsea Abyss.

Her breathing was growing ragged, and the ice she formed was no longer as solid. There were simply too many Sirens.

"Stay close!" Evangeline could feel her Spiritual Power draining rapidly. She shoved handful after handful of Spiritual Medicine into her mouth. Finnian Finch gritted his teeth and hitched Danton higher on his back, not daring to fall behind.

Another enormous Siren shot its tentacles out, striking at Danton with a foul, viscous current.

Evangeline’s fingertips turned white. She raised her Cold Frost Whip, but it froze in mid-air.

She trembled violently, as if struck by lightning. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and even her crimson lips faded to a deathly white.

"What’s wrong?!"

Finnian Finch sensed something was wrong. When his gaze fell upon the flickering, fluorescent Beast Spirit Flower on her forehead, he froze and gasped. "You... you’re..."

Evangeline gritted her teeth, forcefully suppressing the wave of excruciating pain that surged through her.

She flicked her long whip, freezing the Siren’s tentacle. "Take Danton and go!" she ordered, her voice like ice. "Now!"

Finnian Finch stared at her rigid back, his Adam’s apple bobbing. A thousand words died in his throat, choked down into a single, heavy breath.

Without another word, he sped away with Danton on his back. Amid the foul, salty water, he could faintly hear the sound of shattering ice. He didn’t dare to stop, much less look back. ’Staying here would only make me a burden to her.’

Evangeline’s hand gently cradled her lower abdomen, her knuckles turning white.

’Although her belly hadn’t begun to show, the little one was clearly impatient to come out. A cub, due in just over a month... perhaps it already knows who its father is.’

"Settle down," Evangeline whispered, gently patting her stomach.

The Cold Frost Whip sliced through the seawater in brilliant, sharp arcs, each strike carrying a deadly chill.

The waves of pain from her abdomen grew stronger, like a knife twisting inside her. Seeing that the number of Sirens was finally dwindling, Evangeline took a deep breath. ’I can’t delay any longer.’

She immediately turned to leave, her pale fingers tracing her abdomen as cold sweat continued to bead on her skin.

The enraged Sirens churned the currents into a frenzy, their muffled roars echoing behind her.

A crimson arrow, Evangeline’s figure tore through the violent undercurrents. At last, amidst the churning, dark water, she caught sight of Finnian Finch with Danton on his back.

Finnian Finch’s pupils contracted. The moment he clearly saw it was Evangeline, the tension in his shoulders eased. "You’re alright!"

One hand pressed against her cramping abdomen, Evangeline flung her long whip with the other, wrapping it around Finnian Finch and Danton. She pulled them rapidly away from the Demonsea Abyss. After what felt like an eternity, they finally saw several figures pacing anxiously in the distance.

Montague, Stellan, Coral Cetus, and Buck were all there. Only Arion Cetus was gone.

"They’re back! They’re really back!" Coral Cetus leaped to her feet, her eyes turning red.

She waved at Evangeline, her arm tracing a jubilant arc. The joy on her face was impossible to conceal, and the heart that had been caught in her throat finally settled. ’I knew it! My only friend was sure to come back alive!’

Evangeline was brave, powerful, and relentlessly forged ahead—everything Coral Cetus admired.

’Maybe there was a reason for all those nasty rumors. At least, the Evangeline I’ve seen isn’t a cruel, vicious female. On the contrary, she’s wonderful to her Beast Husbands. Truly wonderful!’

’While all the other females were used to hiding behind their Beast Husbands, letting the males charge into battle for them, she was the only one who fiercely protected her own. Even when facing an encirclement of Beastmen, she never showed a trace of fear.’

’That near-obsessive protectiveness was both shocking and deeply admirable.’

’But alas, she wasn’t Evangeline. She wasn’t strong, and she didn’t have that kind of courage.’

’Still, she deeply admired this friend of hers who could break all the rules.’