Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Chapter 13: Siren

Hughes' throat moved, but he couldn't find any words to refute.

It was indeed too much of a coincidence.

Just as Ash had said, everything matched up.

And why should he refute it? He wasn't actively deceiving anyone.

Perhaps the prophecy was real, and he truly was the god of this tribe.

His territory was still under threat from pirates.

With these foreign beings who revered him as a god, pirates might no longer be much of a problem.

Hughes wavered slightly.

Before he could think further, Ash's voice rang out beside him again.

"Let's continue diving, complete our transformation, fulfill our mission, and not let our fallen kin's sacrifices be in vain."

The Cursed Ones nodded and dived deeper together.

Some turned their heads to sneak glances at Hughes, their eyes filled with fanaticism and anticipation.

This made Hughes feel as if he were sitting on needles.

"M-My hand!!"

A sudden exclamation rang out.

The tribe members turned to see one of them raising a limb—one that might truly be called a hand now.

Though still swollen, faint muscle lines were beginning to emerge.

It was indeed an arm.

The tribe member stared at their arm in a daze, carefully touching it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

The others gazed obsessively at the limb, which was no longer bloated.

They looked as if they had seen a rare treasure, approaching cautiously yet not daring to touch it.

"It’s true! The prophecy is real! God is with us!"

"Let’s keep diving! This wretched curse will soon leave us behind."

Ash paused for a moment.

"No—this isn’t a curse. It’s the change in water pressure. It’s the trial given to us by our god!"

After speaking, Ash swiftly dived downward, and the other bloated creatures accelerated their descent.

Hughes had no choice but to follow.

As they plunged deeper at a frenzied pace, Hughes could no longer see the entrance to the Abyss.

Fortunately, the Symbiotic Contract allowed him to see even without light.

As their speed increased, the warm seawater rushed past their bodies, leaving behind white bubbles trailing like silk ribbons.

The Cursed Ones cheered as they charged deeper into the Abyss.

Hughes instinctively shielded his face with his hand.

When he lowered it, the water flow had begun to slow, and the Cursed Ones around him had come to a stop.

He looked at the surrounding creatures, his eyes widening.

Their swollen and hideous skin slowly receded, revealing smooth bodies akin to sculptures.

The twisted limbs, distorted by swelling, gradually returned to their original form.

Before Hughes’ astonished eyes, they soon revealed their true appearances.

Their upper bodies resembled human females, yet they had three pairs of arms.

Their lower bodies, however, were long serpentine tails.

When hunched over in their bloated forms, they had been about the same size as humans, but now, standing upright, they were taller than Hughes.

"M-Mermaids!?"

Hughes' mouth gaped open.

He had originally assumed these bloated creatures would revert to some kind of walrus-like beings, but never had he expected them to be mermaids.

No, not the mermaids from the legends of his previous life.

Hughes calmed himself.

Though they were similarly beautiful, they had no fish tails, and their number of arms did not match.

"What is a mermaid?"

A foreign face approached him.

Hughes instinctively stepped back before realizing the familiar sensation coming from the Symbiotic Contract.

Staring at the beautiful face before him, Hughes murmured in disbelief, "You’re... Ash?"

She flicked her snake tail and looked at Hughes with some confusion.

For the first time, Hughes seriously examined this "Bloated Monster" with whom he had signed a contract.

Her tail was long and adorned with delicate, light-gray scales that shimmered with a metallic sheen.

Her six arms were slender and powerful, and her face was resolute.

Her long hair and eyebrows were silver-white, drifting gently in the water like dazzling jewels under sunlight.

There was a strange beauty to her.

If not for the fact that she was much taller than him, she could indeed be called a beauty... Well, half the beauty.

Hughes had no time to judge the appearance of his symbiote. He turned his gaze to the surroundings.

Though their facial features and scale colors varied, they all shared a similar appearance.

Hughes steadied himself and looked at Ash, who was still waiting for an answer. Slowly, he spoke:

"Mermaids are mythical beautiful beings, somewhat like you. When I first saw your true forms, I instinctively thought of them, but upon closer look, there are still differences."

Hughes glanced at their snake tails, feeling that they resembled the Nagas from his past life's legends more than mermaids.

Curious, he asked, "What is your tribe’s name? We can’t keep calling you the Cursed, can we?"

In truth, he had always called them bloated monsters in his mind.

Hughes thought to himself as his gaze swept over Ash’s slender form—there was nothing bloated about her at all.

"Sirens," she said slowly, her tone carrying a sense of mourning and remembrance.

"We are the Sirens, the Sirens of the Seven Seas."

Suddenly, she raised her voice.

The surrounding Sirens turned to look.

Ash straightened her posture and spoke boldly:

"Tribe members, the prophecy of old has been fulfilled! A new god has led us through our transformation and freed us from our curse. We are no longer pitiful Cursed but Sirens who roam freely beneath the Seven Seas!"

The Sirens slowly gathered around.

The long years of enslavement had nearly made them forget the taste of freedom. Shedding their curse was nothing short of rebirth.

Ash’s tone grew more fervent.

"Once, we lost our god, our home, everything. When we had nothing left, a new god descended upon us, guiding us to break the curse and journey toward the promised land. My kin, let us offer our loyalty to our new god!"

The Sirens' eyes shone brightly as they gazed fanatically at Hughes.

Ash swayed her snake tail and slowly swam toward him.

Hughes lifted his head to look up at Ash. For the first time, he realized how towering his contract partner truly was.

Ash lowered her gaze.

Then, crossing all three pairs of arms over her chest, she slid her tail backward. Her tall frame leaned forward, kneeling before Hughes.

"My lord, you have saved us. The Sirens offer you our loyalty. Please speak your name, and we shall spread it across the Seven Seas!"

Her thick silver-white hair danced in the water, and for a moment, Hughes felt as if he were standing in a river of shimmering silver.

He turned his head to look around.

The Sirens had all bowed down.

The fanatical and devout atmosphere was like a fervent battle hymn, making his heart pound and his throat dry.

Hughes knew that as long as he spoke his name, or even simply remained ambiguous, he would become the god of these Sirens, free to command them as he pleased.

He didn’t need to do anything.

Even if he left his intentions vague, the Sirens themselves would fill in the gaps. He had done nothing wrong.

Besides, his arrival perfectly aligned with the prophecy.

Was he truly not a god?

Perhaps the Golden Throne was his divine kingdom, and these bodies were merely vessels for his descent into the mortal world.

There were no drawbacks.

Look at these Sirens, they were eagerly awaiting the emergence of a new god.

He was helping them.

His heart pounded wildly. His will wavered. His reason flickered like a candle in the wind.

Hughes clenched his teeth.