Why do I keep attracting Villainesses?

Chapter 33: Meeting an old friend.

Jacob swam along with Garin and the others, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of trouble.

The weight of the story Garin had just told sat heavy in his stomach, making every shadow in the reef look like a threat.

Mostly because he was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Artria and Persephone were sisters.

As they rounded a large, jagged pillar of coral, the group suddenly slowed down.

They spotted something in the distance, hovering near a patch of soft, glowing sea grass. It was something Jacob never thought he’d see again.

A sea cow.

’ Another one? Were there that many the last time I was here?’

Jacob stopped mid-swim, his mouth hanging open slightly.

’ No, it’s not another one, it’s actually–’

He couldn’t believe his eyes. it was the same sea cow he was familiar with, the very one that had caused the bridge between his mistress and him.

The last time he had seen this chubby, slow-moving creature, he had been getting beaten to a pulp by Persephone because he refused to kill it.

It was the reason he had been left for dead, and the reason he was now a part of this village.

’How come it’s still alive even out here? Isn’t this place supposed to be dangerous right now?’ Jacob was curious, finding the sight quite odd.

This reef was crawling with predators, and a manatee was basically a giant, floating snack. It had no teeth, no claws, and it moved about as fast as a turtle with a heavy backpack. By all accounts, it should have been eaten days ago.

The sea cow was busy grazing on the grass, its round body bobbing gently in the current.

It seemed completely unaware of the dangers surrounding it.

However, it suddenly seemed to sense that it was being watched.

Its head turned slowly, and its eyes coincidentally aligned with Jacob’s.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the sea cow’s eyes seemed to glimmer with a strange light.

To Jacob’s absolute surprise, it didn’t flee. Instead, it let out a few bubbles and swam towards him as fast as its flippers could carry it.

The others and Jacob were stunned when it reached him.

The mermen had strange looks on their faces, thinking the creature might be acting weird, but they quickly lowered them when the sea cow began nuzzling its large, flat snout against Jacob’s chest.

It made soft, whistling sounds, acting more like a lost puppy than a wild marine animal.

"Uhh, it’s nice to see you again too," Jacob said.

He felt quite awkward right now.

He could feel the eyes of Garin and the other three mermen pinned on him and the sea cow.

It wasn’t every day you saw a shark-man being cuddled by a manatee.

’I didn’t think sea cows were supposed to be this intelligent,’ he said to himself, this chubby guy seemed to be holding more secrets than it was letting on.

Jacob reached out a hand and patted the creature’s thick, leathery skin.

The chubby thing seemed quite lax.

It was just floating there, rubbing against him, even though there were supposed to be lots of bloodthirsty sharks on the loose. It didn’t seem scared at all.

"He a companion of yours?" Garin asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity, looking at the manatee with a tilted head.

"I guess you could say that," Jacob offered a weak smile. He didn’t really know how to explain that this animal was the reason he was currently free from Persephone.

’I guess it’s not like we’re total strangers. It saved me in its own way, I suppose.’

The sea cow continued to nudge him, ignoring the other four armed mermen entirely.

It was as if it only had eyes for Jacob.

"Umm... Guys, I think we’ll have to stop the friendly get-together for now," one of the mermen said.

His tone had turned grim, and he was no longer looking at the sea cow. He was staring off into the murky blue water further ahead.

’Blood...’

Jacob’s keen sense of smell instantly picked up on it. It wasn’t a strong scent, just a faint, metallic tang in the water, but to his shark nose, it was like a siren going off.

His head turned to the side in a sharp, jerky motion to glance in the direction the merman was staring at.

There, emerging from behind a wall of kelp, he saw a lone bull shark.

It was a massive thing, its skin a dull, scarred gray.

It had light bloody scars along its side, looking like it had recently been in a fight with another predator.

It wasn’t swimming with the usual grace of a shark; it looked twitchy, its eyes darting around with a mindless, hungry fire.

The creature began swimming slowly but steadily towards them.

’It’s a bit more difficult than I thought.’

Jacob gnashed his teeth. The moment he smelled that blood, something inside him snapped.

He felt bits of his bloodlust rising up once more.

It was like a dark, heavy liquid pouring into his veins.

He could feel his heart beginning to thrum with a violent rhythm. Throbbing veins slowly began emerging all over his arms and neck, pulsing with a faint blue light.

His vision started to tint with a red haze around the edges.

’ I can’t let it win this time around.’

Jacob squeezed his eyes shut, trying to suppress it.

He didn’t want to become the monster Artria was afraid of.

He didn’t want to lose himself right in front of the people who had started to trust him.

"Are you okay?" Garin asked, noticing Jacob’s condition.

He moved closer, his hand reaching out as if to steady him, but he stayed back just enough to be safe.

"Yeah, just give me a moment," Jacob managed to grate out through clenched teeth.

He flashed Garin a quick, reassuring smile that probably looked more like a pained grimace.

’Come on now, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. If I fail now, there’s no way they’ll let me come with them again. I might even ruin the little relationship I’ve made up till this point.’

Jacob focused all his willpower on his breathing.

He imagined the bloodlust as a physical thing, a red smoke, and he pictured himself pushing it down into a deep, locked box in his mind.

He thought about Artria’s angry face and how much he wanted to prove her wrong. He thought about the village and the quiet safety of the nest.

Miraculously, the pressure in his head began to fade.

The throbbing veins on his body began to recede somewhat, the skin smoothing over.

While his enlarging pupils had started to turn his eyes pitch black, they slowly returned to their normal size.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the tension leave his jaw.

’Hahaha, I did it!’ Jacob felt a rush of pure excitement. He had actually succeeded in fighting back the urge to go berserk.

It was a small victory, but to him, it felt like he had just won a war.

However, he didn’t let this bit of excitement get to himself.

He wasn’t stupid.

He knew that the bloodlust was still there, lurking just beneath the surface.

Although it had been pushed down for now, who knew when the smell of fresh, warm blood would make it rise up once more.

He had to stay focused.

The bull shark continued its approach.

It didn’t seem to care that it was outnumbered five to one.

Its mindless gaze glanced at the five merfolk before it, dismissive of their hostile gazes.

Then, its eyes locked onto the manatee swimming close to Jacob.

To the shark, that big, soft body was the perfect target.

In a flash, the water around the shark surged.

It didn’t waste any time.

It shot towards them like a gray torpedo, its tail whipping back and forth with incredible power.

As it drew closer, its jaws opened wide, unhinging to reveal rows upon rows of horrifying, triangular teeth.

It was heading straight for the sea cow, and it didn’t look like it planned on stopping for anything in its way.