Cody was still on standby in the palace, occasionally returning to the farm to check on the situation. They had yet to find the three hideous babies, despite an intense search. The king had even deployed more men because he didn’t need to keep his people idle anymore.The king kept what happened a secret and made up a story about a plague that killed women and made men unconscious. However, some people found various oddities, so they didn’t believe it.However, it didn’t become a big deal. After all, the people loved the king as their leader.The problem was that many of the male mermaids had lost the women in their lives. The social structure in the kingdom’s society was destroyed, and the king believed that restoring it would take a very long time.Not to mention the fact that there were only a few women left among them. That alone could cause problems.Cody wasn’t sure he could bear that much pressure if he were in the king’s position. Maybe he would break under the enormous burden
The king and the monster continued to slide until they hit a reef. A massive explosion projected a dark liquid in multiple directions.Cody could immediately guess that the thing could poison anyone there if it were allowed to spread. So, Cody combined some of his special zombies into a propeller to suck up that thing. However, he made sure the zombies that acted as machines were covered in a thick layer so that it would not affect them.As the giant propeller spun, it threw the liquid away and flung it far from the special zombies and the royal soldiers.“Don’t come near! Hold back your desires!” Cody warned the soldiers, who already looked so eager to save their leader.After all the dark liquid was completely gone, the mermaids immediately approached the king, who was standing on a large crack in the reef. Cody was amazed because that man showed no signs of being injured. But that didn’t mean he was okay.The king’s breathing was already very slow.The king spoke to his soldiers, a
Cody never imagined that would happen. Despite many limitations, he really got married to Freya. He also went through every stage like a normal wedding, from the preparations until he and Freya said ‘I do.’Everyone Cody knew also came, and some even shed tears. Not only that, Cody could also see their genuine happy smiles. It seemed like Helena was right. Marriage makes everyone happier.That night, they had a dance party with various types of food. Indeed, everything was still limited, but still no one didn’t smile.“I still can’t forgive you completely, Cody.” Jane spoke while holding a glass of wine in front of Cody, who was sitting with Freya. “But I can’t deny it. If you hadn’t taken over my power, maybe everything wouldn’t have turned out like this.”Cody chuckled. “Well, I have no comment on that.”Stella sighed. “To be honest, I even thought about sabotaging this party.”“You really think so?” Freya grimaced.Stella’s mouth let out a small chuckle. “Of course not, my former t
Cody sat in the living room with Freya, and both were silent.“I’m sorry, on this happy day, we’re facing a problem.” Cody mumbled after a few minutes had passed.Freya patted Cody’s back. “It’s okay, Cody. We didn’t know this was happening, right? Besides, I was already feeling happy today. Gwen is your best friend. It’s only right that you look for her.”Cody covered his face and took a deep breath. Everything that happened was completely beyond his prediction.Not long after, Helena entered the house with Jane, Stella, Luna, and Emily.“Why did you stop the search by the special zombies!?” Helena snapped at Cody. “No one has found Gwen! We still need them to look for her!”Instead of answering, Cody closed his eyes. Meanwhile, Luna lowered her head, and that caught Emily’s attention.“What’s wrong with you, Luna?” Emily asked.Luna lifted her face and approached Cody. “I think we have to tell them. You can’t keep hiding this.”“What?” Helena frowned. “What really happened?”“I alre
Cody stood near the place where he had first met Gwen. However, he couldn’t see the house. There was a giant black box with blue glowing lines covering the place with such massive size. Several smaller boxes seemed to slide along the lines that formed like a series of electronic circuits.Cody touched the surface of the box, and he could feel the signal of someone inside it getting stronger. Gwen’s signal had been detected just yesterday.“Are you mad at me, Gwen?” Cody mumbled. “For what I did to you? For everything that happened? If that’s what made you like this, I’m sorry.”There was no answer. Cody only heard the soft mechanical creaking of the box that looked like an alien building.“How do you feel now, Gwen? Did Zeno force you to do this? If you don’t like it, I’ll try to save you. You don’t have to follow his orders.”Gwen still didn’t answer, and Cody’s eyes shed tears.“I didn’t want it to end like this, Gwen. I don’t care who you are. To me, you are Gwen Belluci, my best f
“I’m sorry for rarely being by your side, Freya.” Cody said to his wife on the rare occasion he returned to the farm. “I don’t have any excuses. I just want to apologize.”Freya patted her husband’s shoulder with a smile. “I don’t mind at all. As I often say, Gwen is your best friend. You’ve even known her longer than me. Besides, I’ll be sad if you’re sad too. So, I’ll always support you in this matter.”“Thanks.” Cody smiled back, and just then, someone knocked on his bedroom door from outside.When he opened the door, Cody found Helena standing in front of him with a sharp gaze.“Do you still want to meet Gwen?” Cody sighed. “I told you, you don’t have to do it. I’ll make sure she’s okay.”Helena’s eyes filled with tears. “You should know, separating someone from their family is sad. Do you still remember when you helped Gwen reunite with me? You went to great lengths to make that happen…” she sobbed. “Please, Cody. It’s been too long.”It’s been two months since Gwen got trapped i
“Greetings, candidate. I am the fifth commander. My official name is project number 74. My job is to be your last tester. You may know me as Gwen Bellucci, the singer.” A woman’s voice echoed from inside the box building. Although it sounded robotic and flat, Cody recognized it as Gwen’s voice. “Come in to proceed to the last test. Prepare yourself as best you can, because you have to go in alone with no help from anyone else. And once you’re in, you can’t get out until the test is over. You also won’t be able to get help from outside.”Cody looked at Helena, who had just come out of the tent. “Leave it to me, Helena. You just wait here.”Helena wiped away her tears. “Please, bring my little sister back.”“I’ll try.” Cody sighed, then walked through the gate of the box building. At first he saw pitch darkness, but brighter bluish lines of light appeared on the walls.Thanks to the lights, Cody could see boxes of various sizes and heights in that place, and among them was Gwen, who was
Cody jumped back again. “Okay, if that’s what you want. I guess I have no other choice.”He knew that if he took no action, he would die and accomplish nothing. So, this time, he attacked using his sword hand.A fierce battle ensued. They jumped, dodged, blocked, and attacked each other at high speed. This time, Cody didn’t hold back. The power of his attack even made giant scratches on the walls of the building and even destroyed the boxes there.However, when he felt that his attack had hit Gwen, Cody gasped and stopped. He found that the woman’s left upper arm was already gushing fresh blood.“What’s wrong, candidate?” Gwen asked in a flat tone again. “Why did you stop? You have to complete this test in order to proceed to the next stage.”Cody cried again. “I don’t want to hurt you, Gwen. Please, come back.”“As I said, my identity as Gwen Bellucci is to make you close to me.” Gwen walked to Cody. “Nothing less, nothing more. This test has actually been going on since I first met