Mermaids (Siren) are considered to be a special species among sirens and are distant relatives of harpies.
The latter may be somewhat credible, but the former is doubted by scholars and sorcerers - because although the sirens have a natural and beautiful upper body like human women, when hunting they will still reveal their true appearance like deep-sea beasts; on the other hand, although mermaids also have hunting behavior, they are always beautiful.
And the most important thing is that sirens are closer to wild beasts and monsters, with less reason and wisdom; whereas mermaids actually have language.
Scholars who are proficient in linguistics are convinced that the language of mermaids is a variant of ancient language, with a unique melody, and speaking is more like singing. Since there is language, it can extend a more terrifying speculation-mermaids have civilization, perhaps in the deep sea.
But ordinary people don't care about this. They are more interested in talking about the love legends about mermaids. It is said that they sometimes jump out of the water, sit on the rocks, and accept the courtship of male humans.
Geralt once witnessed such a love story, which took place in the short story collection of the original work: the duke of a certain place once fell hopelessly in love with a mermaid, and entrusted Geralt, who was fluent in ancient languages, to help convey his feelings - here I sigh at the profound knowledge of the wolf-faction witcher - the duke hoped that the mermaid would give up her life in the ocean and marry him, but was rejected.
Later, the unhappy Duke commissioned Geralt to investigate several murders, only to find that the beasts came from a mysterious underwater intelligent race. Soon this group of people, known as "ocean dwellers", clashed with the people on the ground, and war was imminent.
Fortunately, the mermaid that the Duke loved appeared in time. She used magic to turn her tail into legs, married the Duke, and stopped the conflict between land and sea.
A very nice story to read.
…
Nowadays, however, mermaids rarely accept the clumsy advances of sailors or the advances of nobles - probably because too many lonely sailors kidnap them.
"Ever since I can remember, my father has taught me: If you hear a beautiful woman singing at sea, you must turn around immediately, even if it means heading towards a storm."
"The mermaid's appearance is just a disguise. They are extremely cruel. We should have drawn our ax the first time we saw them." The old village chief said solemnly, "The ultimate goal of that mermaid must be the lives of all the people in our village. Bill has been bewitched by that obscene monster!"
Lann exchanged glances with several witchers behind him, especially Geralt.
The experienced wolf hunter shook his head. He did not rule out the possibility that the mermaid was kind-hearted, but he still needed to see it with his own eyes to be sure.
Any absolute stereotypes about monsters or other mysterious races can lead to tragedy.
Lan followed up on what the old village chief had said and asked, "You saw Bill meeting the mermaid at night, and what happened next? You killed the mermaid, and then had the village youths tie Bill up and take him to Fulhala Village, intending to feed him to the bears?"
Butler Guslav's eyes became sharp in line with Lan's words, causing the old village chief to kneel down again with a thud.
"My Lords, we don't have that ability..."
"The moment we saw the mermaid, she also spotted us and immediately dived into the sea and disappeared."
The old village chief lamented, "After Bill found us, he actually told us that the mermaid was kind and that our village's life had improved because of her. He said he was trying to get the mermaid to go ashore. If that didn't work, he would try to get himself the ability to breathe underwater. No matter which method they use, they will eventually stay and continue to help the village, making us the richest village on Great Skellig Island."
The witchers looked at each other again, and Geralt nodded slightly this time, indicating that just as mermaids can gain legs, humans can also gain the ability to live underwater through some magic similar to the transformation of tree spirits, and live together with their mermaid partners.
The old village chief was still sighing: "This child has read too many stories from the outside world. Will we Skellige people believe such ridiculous and absurd rumors? Even children don't believe it!"
Lann sighed, not knowing whether it was for the village, for the young man Bill, or for the unknown mermaid.
"Why did Bill go to Fulhala Village, and was he accompanied by young people from your village?"
"That was his Trial of Glory - I actually believed his lies!" The old village chief was full of regret. "In order to prevent the village from being destroyed by the mermaids, we planned to organize people and ask the lord for help to hunt the mermaids. But Bill stopped us and said that he was willing to go to Fulhala Village to explore the truth and gain glory in exchange for us not hunting the mermaids."
"Although the Svalblod sect was destroyed, the shepherds who tried to find the lost lambs and the travelers who tried to avoid the snowstorm swore an oath: the fresh blood on the Svalblod altar reflected the sunlight, and the roar of the giant bear still resounded in the underground cave - Bill swore that he would bring back the giant bear's head."
The old village chief beat his chest in regret and stamped his feet: "The Skelligers cannot stop the islanders from gaining glory, so we agreed and sent the four strongest guys in the village to supervise him and prevent him from escaping. But we didn't expect that only Bill escaped back!"
"That mermaid must have used some evil magic, and Bill was in cahoots with it!"
However, Lane and his companions knew that the truth of the matter was not like that. They knew that it was the giant bear transformed by the Vilk people who killed the team that hoped to gain glory, and Bill himself escaped death.
I just don't know what made Bill so confident when he went up the mountain. Was it because he really hoped that love would give him strength? Or did he think that if he died in Fulhala Village, he could exchange his life for another's and make the villagers give up hunting mermaids?
Lann shook his head and asked, "So where is Bill now?"
Hatred was revealed in the eyes of the old village chief. "That despicable man without honor actually dared to return to the village. We were originally going to execute him and make him pay the price for deceiving us. But he ran into a complex cave in the mountains near us, where a large number of sirens lived. It was also from that time that sirens began to appear in the sea near our village."
The old village chief was indignant: "This is strong evidence. I don't think Bill was killed by the mermaid at all. Instead, they colluded to destroy our village!"
Lann sighed deeply again, for the village and for Bill.
But now at least it can be proved that Bill is still alive for the time being. I hope that the love between him and the mermaid can keep him safe in the place where the sirens appear.
"Show me the location of the cave full of sirens. I need to find it."
…
Skellige has many caves similar to the one in front of you.
The entrance to the cave is wide and deep, with rock walls on both sides leaning against the cliff. From time to time, holes as high as a person appear. Some dark and disturbing sunlight shines through the cracks in the rock walls and these holes, illuminating the cave into a psychedelic look.
With a "slap", the feet wearing steel shin guards stepped into the water. The sea water covered the ankles, bringing an uncomfortable immersion feeling.
"This is it, sir... and masters." The old village chief said to the witchers and Butler Guslav.
Lann looked into the cave. Along with the low hum of rocks and the flicker of light, there was an occasional hissing sound coming from deep in the cave.
These roars made the already trembling old village chief tremble even more violently.
"You go back first. Thank you for leading the way." Lan said lightly.
The old village chief hurriedly bowed and ran away, not wanting to stay in this place for another second.
Then Lann turned his gaze to Guslav. This former adjutant of Kratz shook his head firmly: "The Earl sent me as your guide, so there is no reason for me to let you explore the dangerous place alone."
Lann patted his shoulder encouragingly: "Then prepare your weapons."
As they walked into the cave, a wet and salty smell immediately hit them.
The sound of people stepping on the sea water soon began to echo in the cave, but the faint roar stopped immediately.
Obviously, the monsters in the cave noticed the presence of Lann and his group. But they did not attack them immediately, as if they wanted to use some other means.
Lann noticed that Kolgrim seemed particularly excited, mixed with a hint of curiosity.
"I'm from the south." Kolgrim explained, "Even when I went north to look for the school's equipment blueprints, I mostly encountered harpies, but I've never seen a siren. I heard that this kind of monster is particularly good at... ** people, I've long wanted to see one."
The other four pairs of demon hunters' eyes turned to Kolgrim, but then they nodded in agreement and understanding.
Lann encouraged: "You will take the lead at that moment."
Kolgrim readily agreed, with an abnormal flush on his face; but his hands were not slow, and he quickly and steadily applied a layer of Snake School-specific [Mixed Beast Sword Oil] to his silver sword.
…
As everyone moved forward, an open space like a patio soon appeared in front of them, as well as a...beautiful figure.
She had fair skin, completely different from the women on the islands. It was covered with crystal water droplets, and looked even more delicate under the dim light of the cave. She had long, slightly curly golden hair that was slightly wet and stuck to her slender neck, making her look seductive.
The most important thing is that her outfit is very "oceanic" and extremely "natural". She didn't even use shells as a cover as the legend said. Her skin with beautiful curves was exposed to the sunlight from the sky and everyone's focused gaze.
Drops of water dripped from her hair, slowly flowed across her skin, and finally penetrated into the scales below her waist.
This is the Siren.
“Yin——”
A voice began to echo in everyone's ears.
It wasn't singing, because the person in front of them wasn't a mermaid. What reached everyone's ears was a sound like the gentle hum of a whale, quiet and leisurely, enough to make the listeners let down their guard.
Kolgrim opened his arms to stop his companions behind him, saying that it was his responsibility to lead the vanguard.
After applying a layer of [Quen Seal] on himself, he held the snake-headed silver sword upside down, hid the blade behind himself, and slowly approached the mermaid in front of him.
The snake-like demon hunter retracted his sharp teeth and began to spit out his tongue more frequently, observing every detail of the siren rigorously and greedily.
"Ah... the upper body looks like this. It's really no different from a human... No, this is the biggest difference, because everything that grows is too standard, like a sculpture."
"As for the lower body... it doesn't seem to have any organs that can help with hunting. It's not a fish tail, because it's a siren... it looks more like a snake tail with fins..."
The amber snake pupils became brighter and brighter, and the snake hunter's expression became more and more focused.
The mermaid who was being scrutinized by Kolgrim tilted her head in a very girlish manner, as if she was extremely curious about the actions and words of the person in front of her.
She suddenly changed from a semi-lying position on her back to a sitting position, and her body slowly began to lean forward towards Kolgrim.
There was no expression on that fair face, but those eyes as pure as lake water reflected a purity that was not polluted by the world; as for her body, because of the sudden larger movement, her hair, skin, and the dew on it began to ripple slightly like the surface of water blown by the wind.
Lann heard a sudden swallowing sound from the throat beside him. Looking back, he saw that the three witchers, Wolf, Bear and Griffin, all had expressionless faces.
The one who made the sound was the Guslav butler.
The islanders knew how powerful the sirens were. This former adjutant of Kratz was the one who held his weapon the tightest after entering the cave.
But at this moment, even though he had done enough psychological preparation, Butler Guslav was still shocked by the actions of the Siren.
…
"Ah... slurp, even their movements are so anthropomorphic. Have they specifically observed and learned human gestures? Or is this just an instinctive reaction?"
"But looking at her... no, 'it's' movements, why do they feel so familiar? A bit like..."
Kolgrim's academically exploratory soliloquy had not yet ended when the mermaid with a beautiful upper body suddenly turned into a black shadow.
"...It's a bit like the prelude to a snake's hunting." The witcher spoke belatedly.
It turned into a black shadow because it is difficult for ordinary people to catch the speed of the siren's ejection with their naked eyes. The forward leaning of its body that caused its entire body to begin to vibrate was actually the accumulation of strength before hunting.
In the demon hunter's amber snake pupils, every inch of the siren's changes was clearly reflected:
The corners of its mouth suddenly split open, revealing fish lips covered with sharp teeth; the skin on its face and body surged like waves, with fine blue-purple scales standing up; its tail, which was the same color as the scales on its upper body, swung vigorously in the air, suddenly ejecting a palm-long bone spur.
A huge shadow unfolded behind it, revealing a pair of ferocious bat-like fins.
“Hiss!!”
The empty chanting turned into a shrill roar, and the scene suddenly changed from "hazy and dreamy" to "heavy and bizarre".
If he really was a lonely sailor who had been drifting on the sea for a long time, after such an experience, he would have let down his guard long ago; and even if he was a calm person, after the transformation from fantasy to curiosity, he would surely forget to resist out of shock.
Fortunately, the person standing in front of this siren is Kolgrim, who is devoted to "academic research".
If it were Cohen or Lann, they would choose to use the [Alder Seal] or [Igni Seal] directly on that scary face.
But Kolgrim's seal was not that strong, and he was worried that the other party might break through his seal and attack him.
Then he turned around lightly, like a more nimble venomous snake teasing a young fish.
Then he swung the upside-down silver sword with his backhand as if it were a large dagger.
Arcs of light flashed, blood splattered, and Kolgrim didn't use much strength. He just cut open the back of the mermaid that was already covered with scales.
But the siren screamed miserably, because the cut flesh began to emit thick white smoke as if it was splashed with strong acid, and then black and purple lines began to spread around the wound.
The snake-like demon hunter slowly took two steps back and swung his silver sword that was coated with the school's special sword oil. He was confident that in about ten breaths, the siren would die on its own.
Looking at the siren floundering on the ground like a sea fish, Kolgrim sighed: "I suddenly don't have any interest in studying them anymore..."
The next second, the mermaid, knowing that her life was in danger, suddenly gripped the ground tightly, and her claws, which had turned into those of an eagle, instantly turned back into the youthful appearance of a young girl; when she raised her head, the fine scales on her face turned back into delicate skin.
Those lake-like eyes really began to overflow with tears, and even the expression that had originally been calm became pitiful.
“Yin——”
Hearing the sad and emotional crying, Kolgrim's eyes lit up again.
"She actually begged for mercy? Considering her previous disguise and trickery, it turns out that the mermaid's IQ is really high..."
…
Lann narrowed his eyes.
He raised his head and looked thoughtfully at the cracks and holes at the top of the cave. The places where sunlight originally came in were suddenly covered by a fleeting shadow.
Turning back, Lan looked at Kolgrim who was in high spirits and said, "I don't think it's begging for mercy."
…
"Ska!!"
The next second, seven or eight snake-like figures squeezed in from the hole in the rock wall. Then they suddenly spread their wings and let out shrill roars along the rock wall, as if responding to their dying companions below, or as if intimidating the murderous demon hunters.
The demon hunters raised their crossbows at the same time and began aiming at the siren in the sky.
"Kolgrim, do you still want to continue your research?"
The snake-faction demon hunter looked at the sad sirens on the ground, then looked at the strange-looking sirens in the sky, and shook his head with regret.
"Okay then." Lan En chuckled and raised his left hand towards the sky.
To deal with these enemies flying in the sky, disrupting the flow of air to make them lose balance and fall to the ground is much more efficient than hitting them with arrows.
"Save some arrows. Winding the string is troublesome." Lan En turned around and advised, and then reminded him, "Wrap yourself up. It will be cold soon."
After saying this, before Geralt and the others could react, a huge amount of magic power had already gathered in Lann's hands.
[Alder Seal·Bone-piercing·Magic Explosion]!
…
It was clearly not winter yet, and we were clearly inside a cave, but a blizzard suddenly swept in.
In just a moment, the swift black shadows in the air were "spread out" due to the wind pressure, and were pressed tightly against the rock wall, unable to move.
And then, due to the special terrain, the storm formed by the telekinetic impact began to rotate around the rock wall, and actually formed a small tornado. The sea monster, which had just been attached to the rock wall, now rolled uncontrollably again under the drive of its huge wings, hitting rocks from time to time along the way and rolling down.
The four demon hunters narrowed their eyes slightly and took two steps closer to Lann.
Guslav clutched his collar and cuffs tightly, his teeth chattering, but his face flushed:
"This is the Lion of Cintra..."
Gede seemed to remember something, and suddenly approached Coen and asked, "Lane has many magical seals: his Arden will not attack his own people, his Axe can hypnotize magical creatures, and now his Alder has a freezing effect! I wanted to discuss these seals with him before, but he said that these are the specialties of the Griffin School and declined. Can you teach me? I'll trade you the Quinn secrets of the Bear School!"
The storm in the patio was so strong that Gerd's voice was quickly carried away by the air current and could not reach Cohen's ears at all.
"What did you say? I can only see your lips moving!" The senior of the Griffin School shouted loudly with a confused look on his face.
Gede was stunned for a moment, and put his hands together like a trumpet around his mouth: "I say! Can you teach me these magical seals? I'll exchange them for the Xiong faction's Quinn secrets!"
Cohen shuddered suddenly in the snowstorm: "What did you say? I can't hear you!"
…
Lann did not continue to spray the storm. It was because this cylindrical natural terrain was too suitable for the use of the [Alder Seal], which actually turned his seal into a continuous attack.
"Plop", "Plop"
When the storm finally weakened a little, the sirens in the sky finally fell to the ground. They were even carried by the remaining wind and sliding on the ground, with their skin cut by sharp stones from time to time.
Their bodies were covered with a thin layer of ice crystals, the blood that flowed out quickly solidified, and their wings were completely frozen. They would definitely not be able to fly in a short period of time.
The demon hunters put away their crossbows, drew out the silver swords behind their backs in unison, and walked slowly forward.
The hideous-looking sirens seemed to have their skin and scales frozen, and they couldn't even transform into young girls to beg for mercy or deceive others. Only the siren that was scratched by Kolgrim at the beginning was wailing miserably.
"Yin——"
Its voice suddenly became high-pitched, as if it was experiencing a last burst of energy; the snake-like venom in its body also completely erupted at this moment, causing it excessive pain and about to take its life.
However, just as Lann and his men were about to stab the sirens with their swords, a young man's voice suddenly sounded in the cave.
"Stop, please stop, kind adults, have mercy!"
The demon hunters stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
