Chapter 30: The Sirens' Fall
A light mist hung in the air. Two Sirens, swooping down, landed on the deck, translucent saliva trickling from the corners of their mouths, ready to feast heartily. Lothar and Banu had already closed in on them, one in front, one behind.
Faced with the menacing pair, the two Sirens were startled. Their bodies were fragile; their lower halves, covered in scales and mucus, were somewhat protected, as swords and other sharp weapons would easily glance off. But their upper bodies were vulnerable human flesh. They survived in the deep sea through the power of magic, not tough skin, so how could they dare to fight head-on against Lothar, who was armed with a sword?
"Selina" was just a fraction too slow in taking off. The blood flowing beneath her on the deck, manipulated by Fringilla's blood magic, transformed into tough tethers. The tethers wrapped around her slippery fish tail, binding her firmly to the deck at the waist.
How could Lothar let such a golden opportunity pass? Gripping his hand-and-a-half sword, he strode forward. The slight sway of the ship with the waves did nothing to shake his stance. The muscles in his arms bulged as he raised the sword high.
The Siren Selina desperately beat her wings, her sharp fingernails clawing at the tethers, struggling to escape her bonds, but it was no use.
"Please," she begged, "please let me go! I will bring you pearls and gemstones from the bottom of the sea, enough to make you the richest man in the world! Please!" She spoke extremely rapidly in fluent Greek, with a slight Asia Minor accent. Her voice was as clear and melodious as a lark's. Her beauty was exquisite, a national treasure.
But the man before her had a heart of iron and stone. Not a trace of pity or kindness could be glimpsed in his cold eyes as the sharp blade descended mercilessly.
'Thump—'
A beautiful woman's head rolled far across the deck with a gurgling sound. From the neck cavity of the headless corpse, a large amount of blood spurted out, landing coincidentally behind Lothar. Selina's performance proved they were not the low-intelligence creatures Fringilla had claimed; they simply couldn't suppress their lust for human flesh. This sealed the fact that there was no possibility of cooperation between Lothar and them.
"Kina!" In the sky, the two remaining Sirens shrieked in terror. Selina's name among the Sirens wasn't Selina at all; that was the name the Jewish merchant had given her, a transliteration of "Siren."
Crystalline teardrops streamed down their faces. They opened their mouths wide, their small lips revealing rows of sharp, serrated fangs. The corners of their lips slowly tore open, only a little flesh remaining connected, saliva drooling from within. In the blink of an eye, those alluring red lips had become gaping, bloody maws that almost reached their ears.
The next moment, the two Sirens shrieked in unison, a piercing cry filled with rage and sorrow. The thin mist covering the sea churned violently because of it. The terrifying sound waves gave Lothar the illusion of facing monstrous, crashing waves. Gashes, as if made by blades and axes, appeared out of thin air on the deck.
Banu, without the slightest hesitation, stepped forward, positioning herself in front of Lothar. She held the demon-faced shield before her.
'Clang—' A series of metallic clashes rang out. Lothar, bracing himself against Banu's waist, felt an astonishingly powerful force coming from the front. Both of them were forced back several steps.
"These Sirens are actually this powerful?" Lothar was taken aback. Although the Sirens' close-combat abilities were far inferior to a werewolf's, this ranged sonic attack was practically comparable to powerful bows and heavy crossbows.
"Indeed," Banu nodded. "And they can fly; our attacks will have difficulty hitting them."
"You big dummy, get their attention!" Fringilla shouted loudly. The linen robe she wore billowed out as her magical power surged. Her long white hair floated in the air.
"We must deal with them in the air! If they manage to dive into the water and scuttle the ship from below, we'll all die here!" Banu spoke with rare urgency, uttering a long sentence. Then, the demonic relief on the black shield she held immediately became animated. A terrifying infernal aura emanated from her, almost making her the center of the world for an instant.
The two Sirens' teeth chattered uncontrollably, their shrieks ceasing.
"That's the aura of Cerberus! It's the gate of Hell!"
"That's supposed to be at the bottom of the sea... How could it appear here?"
On the deck, two ethereal figures slowly rose from the corpses, then flew like fledgling swallows returning to the forest, towards the gaping mouth of the demonic relief on the shield.
"No!"
"We can't let Kina's soul be devoured!" The Sirens shrieked in terror, trying to swoop down and prevent it.
Just then, Fringilla's agile body stepped onto the ship's railing and leaped into the air. In mid-air, she stretched out her hand towards the blood freely flowing on the deck. The blood immediately converged, forming a javelin that radiated a thick, sweet-and-fishy odor.
"Get down here!" The blood javelin flew towards the two Sirens with a piercing shriek. Empowered by blood magic, its speed was extreme. But the two Sirens, though anxious, were already prepared. At this critical moment, they both simultaneously stopped in place. The blood javelin flew past, almost brushing their faces.
However, the next moment, a sharp black shield flew out like a rapidly spinning chainsaw. Following the thrown shield was a new blood javelin—this one quickly conjured by Fringilla and appearing in the hands of Lothar, who was hiding behind Banu.
'Squelch—' The black shield bisected one Siren at the waist. The other was struck in the wing from behind by the javelin Lothar threw, its body lurching and falling like a kite with a snapped string.
"Die!" Fringilla clenched her fist. The Siren whose wing had been hit was still in mid-air when the blood javelin exploded with a boom. The blood transformed into countless sharp, fine needles, instantly riddling it like a sieve.
"Excellent!" Lothar said with some excitement. This time, the coordination between the three of them had been perfect. In fact, when Lothar threw the javelin, he hadn't been sure he could hit the target. After all, when he had previously practiced throwing javelins from horseback, he usually only hit three times out of ten. Although the deck wasn't as unstable as a horse's back, it wasn't much better.
Banu let out a long breath and opened her hand. The shield that had flown far away returned to her grasp like a boomerang.
Just then, Fringilla stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Fringilla!" Lothar hurried forward.
"Don't worry, she just overexerted her spiritual power a bit. It's nothing serious," Banu said calmly. Although Fringilla was an Epic-grade retainer, she was still only level one. Lothar, worried she might become uncontrollable and also being short on funds, hadn't upgraded her level yet. This series of powerful spells was beyond her current capacity.
Lothar held Fringilla, feeling how light the girl in his arms was, almost as if she were made of paper and might float away at any moment.
"Let's go back to the cabin," Lothar said hastily.
"Mm."
***
The battered ship docked at Crete the next morning. After losing its original owner, the ship was understandably requisitioned by Lothar. Consequently, the cost of repairing the vessel also fell on him. Fortunately, only the deck and mast had suffered minor damage, so it wouldn't take too long.
On Crete, they resupplied and replaced their freshwater. It was an island with a predominantly Greek population, where the influences of the Eastern Empire, Venice, Genoa, and even the Ayyubids were intricately intertwined. They rested at an inn on the island for the morning and set sail again in the afternoon, their destination being Jaffa in the Holy Land.