https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-639-The-Location-of-the-Heart-of-Steel/13685836/
Chapter 638: The Girl and the Sunken Ship
—Ghost? Wade’s mind instantly flashed with the thought.
But this was no familiar specter that haunted the castle halls.
As he drew closer, the figure floating in the water seemed to rotate slowly, swayed by the current, until its face finally turned fully toward him.
A girl—no older than ten—gazed back at him. Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, almost rivaling Fleur’s. Her slender, delicate frame exuded a haunting, eerie allure.
Wade’s heart pounded so violently it felt like it would burst from his chest. He instinctively pulled back, keeping a wary eye on the figure as he kicked upward through the water.
When their heights aligned, the girl suddenly opened her eyes.
Azure-blue irises gleamed like stars. Her pale face bore a strange, serene smile.
A cold jolt shot through Wade’s gut.
Ghosts were pure pearl-white—skin, hair, even their blood. They did not possess blue eyes.
Without hesitation, Wade forced his tail to thrash violently upward. His wand was already raised, aimed at the figure—then, in an instant, his mind went blank. All that remained in his vision was the radiant, glowing form of the girl.
She extended a pale, graceful arm. Her hand moved gently through the water, silent but unmistakably beckoning.
As more Merpeople—transformed wizards—drifted toward her, her smile widened, radiant as a full moon rising from the depths of the dark lake.
But beneath her robe, her lower half suddenly swelled and stretched. Thick, emerald-green water weeds surged forth like tentacles, wrapping around the wizard’s wrist and tail, dragging him deeper into the abyss.
Her arms wrapped around him, cool and slender, embracing him with the intimacy of a lover. Together, they swayed toward a vast, looming shadow in the darkness.
In the pitch-black lake, silver-white and black hair tangled together. The green weeds flowed like long ribbons, dancing in the current, revealing two pale, identical faces.
Then—suddenly—a flicker of golden light sparked in the girl’s hollow gray eyes. Her pupils shifted slightly. With agonizing effort, her long fingers reached through the water, brushing against the wand now almost entirely entangled in the weeds.
Her lips parted. A whisper escaped.
“Akayas-Tomio!”
A stream of bubbles passed by Wade’s ear. The girl turned her head curiously—just for a moment—locking eyes with him.
Then, without warning, she flinched, her expression twisted by sudden terror. Her hands shot forward, shoving him away with all her might.
Too late.
A blinding explosion erupted from the cracks in the water weeds—thousands of searing white beams of light erupting like a miniature sun detonating in the depths. The lakebed shattered into countless shimmering golden cages, the light consuming the girl entirely.
Wade squeezed his eyes shut, arms crossing over his face. The heat burned through his skin. Though Merpeople could move freely in the water, they weren’t immune to the full fury of a Sunlight Charm.
He heard a scream—high-pitched, shattering, like glass scraping against eardrums. Then, the pressure vanished. The grip that had held him dissolved completely.
After a long moment, the searing pain faded. Wade lowered his arms, quickly casting a Shield Charm, blinking hard until his vision cleared.
He waved his wand once more. A glowing orb flared into existence beneath him, illuminating the darkness.
Tangled strands of waterweed drifted apart, scattered across the lakebed. A faint red tinge spread through the water.
The massive shadow the girl had tried to pull him toward? It was a sunken palace, half-buried in the depths. Giant pillars, wrapped in black seaweed, stood like silent sentinels. Shadows flickered behind its dark, broken windows.
Then—suddenly—a pair of cold, malevolent eyes appeared in one of the windows.
A twisted creature, its body horribly burned—skin torn and mottled red and black, riddled with gashes and bleeding wounds—stared out. A few broken strands of seaweed still clung to its form. Its face bore the shape of a horse, its silver-white mane ragged and wild. One eye wept blood. The other—blue, furious—fixed on the wizard.
Wade, who had once feared such a sight, now did not flinch. He hovered in the water, staring back at the creature with icy calm.
After a long silence, he raised his wand once more.
The creature recoiled in shock, vanishing instantly from the window—disappearing into the depths without a trace.
Wade lowered his wand. He waited a moment longer, then began to ascend slowly.
The water pressure eased, but the chill remained, biting through his bones. The steep stone wall gradually flattened. Occasionally, he passed underwater caves or large, jutting rocks.
Then he saw it—a tattered wooden ship, capsized on the lakebed. Its hull was thick with gray-green algae. A few slender golden fish darted around it, curious and playful.
A single oar lay half-buried in the mud nearby, its wooden handle jutting out like a crooked gravestone.
As Wade swam closer, he saw letters carved into the handle:
[God.]
—God? Wade thought. Was this ship once owned by a follower of some lost cult?
The light from his Lumos Charm illuminated the ship’s underside. Though the hull looked ruined, the keel remained surprisingly intact—solid, almost whole.
It reminded him of the great ships from Durmstrang—old, ghostly, yet somehow still functional.
Of course, he couldn’t bring a wrecked ship back from the lake. But when he realized the vessel stirred a strange, inexplicable pull within him, he kicked his tail hard and surged upward toward the surface.
At last, a faint glow pierced the water above. He was close—very close.
He even saw a small blue fish—perhaps a Mother Mirror used for filming—spot him and dart toward him with surprising urgency.
Wade exhaled slowly, not yet rising to the surface. Instead, he turned and swam sideways.
Merpeople were exquisitely sensitive to water currents. He could sense it—something was stirring ahead.
The water churned violently, as if caught in a battle.
After pushing through a dense forest of seaweed, Wade froze.
There—floating in the water—was Jabari from Wagadoo, his head transformed into that of a catfish, struggling desperately. His hands strained to pull the Grendilo from around his neck.
But dozens of the green creatures clung to him—over a dozen, all writhing, each with multiple tentacles and long, slender fingers. They wrapped around his arms, legs, and neck, dragging him deeper into the abyss.
Even transformed, Jabari was weakening—his limbs twitching from lack of oxygen. His wand had slipped from his grasp, sinking slowly into the mud below.
Then—something glinted in the dim light.
A short blade, tied to Jabari’s belt, swayed with his movements, catching the light like a dagger in the dark.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
