95 - Escape from a snake

  For a moment, Nexha remained silent, still trapped by the mermaid’s cold tail. His eyes gleamed with something different—not fear, not doubt. Something much worse for her: boredom.

  He sighed heavily. Had she really not realized that twenty minutes was way too long to keep repeating the same thing? Even if he hadn’t broken free from the mind spell magically, you’d think he would’ve come to his senses after the ninth time she said, "You don’t want to be alone, do you?"

  He had tried to wait and find a way to turn the game around, but he soon realized he wasn’t much of an actor. Besides, the mermaid probably wouldn’t even understand subtlety. So, he moved on to Plan B: making fun of her.

  — Wow, this is taking forever… — he muttered, shifting his shoulder. — Does this speech have an end? Because, honestly, if I’m so special, at least you could’ve picked a better soundtrack. This is giving ‘cartoon villain’ vibes.

  The mermaid blinked, confused.

  — What…?

  Nexha widened his eyes in fake surprise.

  — Oh, sorry! You don’t know what a cartoon is, huh? Let me explain! — He took on a patient teacher’s tone, even putting a hand near his face as if adjusting imaginary glasses to complete the act. — It’s like telling stories, but with moving pictures! Kind of like a synchronized school of fish, but with fewer fish and more coherence.

  The mermaid narrowed her eyes, irritated.

  — You’re insane… but it doesn’t matter, as long as the king—

  — The king this, the king that… — Nexha rolled his eyes dramatically. — Wow, have you ever tried having an original thought? Or does he even tell you what to wear when you jump off a cliff? Wait, actually… are deep-sea cliffs dangerous for you? Or do those teeth of yours make friends with all the creepy things down there? Bet they’d still call you ugly on a date, huh?

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  The mermaid clenched her lips, showing her sharp teeth.

  — Watch your words, boy.

  — Oh, so you do have a limit, huh? — Nexha smirked. — You know, when you trapped me, I thought this was going to be terrifying. But now? Now it just feels like a bad history lesson I want to escape from as fast as possible.

  He tilted his head, looking deep into her eyes mockingly.

  — Although… no. At least history teachers try to change topics sometimes. You, on the other hand, just keep going, ‘The king this, the king that,’ ‘They’ll leave you,’ ‘Become a female.’ Does he pay you to be his spokesperson, or is it just an obsession?

  The tail around him tightened, but Nexha didn’t lose his rhythm.

  — Oh, come on! I’m just trying to understand. I mean, your paycheck must be good, or wait… Did I steal your place as the favorite? Oh, sweetheart, if you really wanted to win his heart, maybe try using something else. With that ghostly, undead face of yours, you’ve probably been haunting him for ages.

  The mermaid’s teeth clenched so hard it looked like they might crack. Nexha chuckled softly, pretending to be sympathetic.

  — Oh no, are you really mad? Was it something I said? Was it the ‘cartoon villain’ part? Ah, my bad, my bad… — He paused, pretending to think. — Want a better title? How about ‘The King’s Pet Fish’? Or ‘The Forgotten, Moldy Corpse Bride’? I can keep going!

  The creature let out a guttural sound of frustration and finally released him, lunging forward to grab him another way—like she wanted to strangle his neck.

  But it was too late. Nexha was ready.

  With a swift movement, he pulled out an obsidian blade he had bought from the system and drove it straight into her hand. It pierced effortlessly.

  The mermaid’s scream sent chills down his spine—it didn’t sound feminine at all.

  As she pulled the stone from her hand, Nexha, without hesitation, threw sand at her face, making it even harder for her to see. Still laughing, he gave an exaggerated bow.

  — Well, it was a pleasure almost getting brainwashed by you! Next time, try using a better argument than ‘Become a woman because I said so.’

  Then, without wasting another second, Nexha dived into the water—the only escape route—and swam toward the platform as fast as he could while the mermaid was distracted.

  The mermaid growled, ready to chase him, but then a shiver ran down her spine. The message from her king rang in her mind like a scream.

  — Run. The sperm whale is coming!

  She clenched her fists tightly and fled as fast as she could.