You have only one hour to search for and recover what we have taken...
The merpeople's song was as unforgettable as their appearance. Their voices were melodious and strangely calming.
Steadying herself, Eda swam forward again, this time even faster. She could not wait to find the merpeople, locate the person she had to rescue, and get back to shore as quickly as possible.
The water swirled into dark eddies in Eda's wake, and the merpeople's song grew clearer and clearer.
A huge rock emerged from the murky water. Carved into its surface were many merpeople, seemingly depicting scenes of hunting or driving away enemies.
...Do not delay any longer. Half your time has already passed, lest what you seek decay here...
The song continued, becoming ever clearer.
All around her, rough stone dwellings suddenly appeared, their surfaces covered in patches of algae. Some merpeople poked their heads out of the dark windows to look outside. Others had already gathered outside, each carrying a spear.
The moment they saw Eda, the merpeople became agitated. One after another, they raised their spears. Their powerful tails beat against the water as they charged toward her.
Their faces wore malicious smiles, and their yellow eyes gleamed with eager fighting spirit.
They seemed to have mistaken Eda for one of their own.
A fellow merperson who had traveled all the way from the Caribbean.
"A friend comes from afar, and no matter how far they have come... they shall be slain."
If Eda had transformed into an exact copy of the Black Lake merpeople, she probably could have blended in and slipped unnoticed into the village.
Instead, the way she looked now made it seem as though she had come to challenge the entire settlement.
The Black Lake merpeople had iron-gray skin and long, tangled dark green hair. Their broken yellow teeth protruded from their mouths, and rough cords strung with pebbles hung around their necks.
Their appearance was completely at odds with their beautiful singing voices.
As for Eda, her skin was smooth and flawless. Her golden hair floated with the current, and the scales covering her body shimmered faintly in the water.
The contrast between her and the local merpeople could not have been greater.
One seemed to belong in a beautiful fairy tale.
The other, deep underground.
The hostile merpeople were almost upon her, yet Eda still had not raised her wand.
She was wondering whether killing a merperson counted as murder.
After all, merpeople were officially recognized as beings by the Ministry.
The leading merman thrust his spear toward her.
Eda suddenly raised her hand.
A thick column of water slammed directly into his chest, blasting him backward.
He tumbled helplessly through the lake, spinning over and over before finally coming to a stop far away.
The remaining merpeople immediately halted.
They were stunned.
The exceptionally beautiful merperson before them did not seem to be one of their own.
She was holding a wand.
Was she... human?
Merpeople emerged from every direction. More and more gathered in front of the village, pointing at Eda, whispering behind their hands as they looked her over.
Eda was considering her options as well.
Should she negotiate with the merpeople and demand that they release the hostages?
Or should she simply carve a bloody path through them and rescue the hostages herself?
She vaguely remembered that there was some counterterrorism unit that handled situations this way.
What was it called again?
Something starting with "A"...
For the moment, she could not remember.
Just as Eda was about to call out, a merman nearly seven feet tall swam over.
He had a long green beard and wore a short necklace made of shark teeth.
This newly arrived merman appeared to be the leader of the village. The merpeople gathered at the entrance immediately parted to make way for him.
The seven-foot-tall merman did not attempt to negotiate with Eda.
He merely gestured for her to follow him before turning and swimming back into the village.
Without hesitation, Eda followed.
She did not, however, lower her wand.
The surrounding merpeople did not attack again.
Instead, they rested their spears on their shoulders and continued curiously observing the beautiful "member of their own kind" as she swam past.
The farther they went into the village, the more stone dwellings appeared.
Some even had small gardens.
Outside one doorway, a young Grindylow was tethered like a pet.
Led by the towering merman, Eda arrived at what appeared to be the village square.
Houses surrounded the open area, and a large crowd of merpeople floated in front of them.
In the center of the square, a group of merpeople sang together.
It was the very song Eda had heard while approaching the village.
Behind them stood a rough statue.
It was a giant merperson carved from a massive block of stone.
Bound tightly to the statue's tail were four people.
Ron.
Ginny.
Hermione.
And another little girl who looked no older than eight.
It was Gabrielle, Fleur's younger sister. Like her older sister, she had long silver hair.
Between Ron and Ginny, Eda didn't hesitate for even a moment. Between her idiot little brother and her little sister, there was nothing to think about. Still, she really hadn't expected Ginny to be at the bottom of the lake. She had even thought of Hector, yet somehow forgotten Ginny.
Looking at the four hostages before her, Eda suddenly found the whole thing rather amusing.
Gabrielle was Fleur's younger sister, so naturally Fleur would rescue her. Of the four hostages, Krum only knew Hermione well, so naturally he would rescue Hermione.
That left Ron and Ginny. Eda honestly wished the two of them had been switched, so she could rescue her idiot little brother while leaving Ginny for Harry.
Of the four champions, Krum was rescuing the girl he liked, Eda and Fleur were each rescuing their younger sisters, and only Harry was rescuing his best mate. Eda didn't even know where to begin complaining.
Just then, Harry also arrived at the merpeople's village, swimming into the center of the village square under the watchful eyes of the merpeople.
Eda hadn't expected to see Harry so soon. She had thought Krum would be the second person to arrive. What Eda didn't know was that Harry had made it there so quickly because Moaning Myrtle had helped him.
Moaning Myrtle had also appeared in the Black Lake and even pointed Harry toward the merpeople's village. Harry's charm really was something else. It worked on both the living and the dead.
Harry also spotted Eda, who had arrived first. The two nodded to each other in greeting. Under Eda's speechless gaze, Harry swam straight toward Ron, then glanced at Hermione beside him, completely ignoring Ginny on the other side.
Fortunately, Ginny was still unconscious. If she had seen what was happening, how heartbroken would the poor girl have been?
Feeling like a worried mother, Eda swam over to Ginny. She discovered that the ropes binding the hostages were woven from thick, slippery waterweed and were extremely sturdy.
Eda tapped the diving watch on her left wrist to remind Harry to pay attention to the time. Harry, who was busy untying the ropes, nodded to show he understood.
Unlike Harry, who was painstakingly untying the ropes, Eda simply blasted the waterweed rope apart with her wand and caught the floating Ginny in one smooth motion.
She cast one last glance at the busy Harry and the three remaining hostages, then immediately swam upward with Ginny without looking back.
As she ascended, Eda had no idea that Harry not only failed to make up time but actually became the last champion to leave the village.
She also had no idea that, in order to cut the ropes, Harry had actually tried borrowing a weapon from the merpeople. Once again, Harry had forgotten that he was a wizard.
Swimming while carrying another person was exhausting. Fortunately, Ginny was unconscious and didn't struggle, or it would have been even harder.
Compared to when she had first entered the water, Eda now swung her lower body with greater force, her tail fin striking the water powerfully as the two of them steadily rose toward the surface.
The water grew brighter and brighter as they neared the surface, but suddenly a swarm of Grindylows appeared from nowhere. Like sharks that had smelled blood, the dark creatures rushed toward them.
The Grindylows reached out with their long claws toward Ginny, baring rows of sharp teeth as though they intended to drag both Ginny and Eda back to the lakebed to sleep there forever.
"Relaxation Charm!"
Eda's silent spells continuously struck the Grindylows around her, but these Grindylows had suddenly become unusually ferocious. They showed no fear of her attacks and instead grew even more frenzied!
This couldn't continue. Dragging things out wasn't an option. There was no telling what else might appear. After driving back the Grindylows once more, Eda released the hand that had been holding Ginny.
On the stands by the lakeshore, the spectators waited anxiously. All they had seen was how the champions entered the water, along with Fleur's early withdrawal. They hadn't seen anything else. The live event had practically become a broadcast of empty air.
The audience had no idea that Eda and Ginny were in trouble beneath the lake. They simply kept staring at the calm surface, waiting for the first champion to burst out of the water.
"Look!" someone in the stands suddenly shouted.
The previously still surface of the lake suddenly rippled. Then a small figure shot out of the water and landed softly on the lakeshore not far from the stands.
At last. After waiting so long, someone had finally emerged.
...
(～￣▽￣)～Read 12 Chapters ahead:
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