The school of Bermuda - Volume 2 - The Sea Monster

-13-

The golden thread shone in the darkness of the sea monster body, guiding the little girl and the adult through the labyrinth of flesh. From time to time, a fish, still alive in the remaining water, brushed against their legs. However, something slightly different pricked Lili's leg, causing her to cry out in pain.

"What is it?" exclaimed the little girl, holding her leg.

Alonzo plunged his hand into the water and fearlessly grabbed a medium-sized jellyfish, barely fitting in that amount of water. He threw it further away before looking at the girl's leg.

Once her boot and sock were removed, he saw a mark resembling a burn, with reddened and swollen skin just below the right knee. However, he only had to slide his hand over this awful trace for it, along with the accompanying pain, to completely disappear.

"That was quick," Lili said, surprised.

"It's part of my powers. I can command cells, which allows me to close a wound, reduce a bruise, and even heal cancers, tumors, or regenerate an organ. But my current magical power only allows me to heal small wounds like your jellyfish sting; I can't cure a deadly disease at the moment."

"You're really strong, Alonzo."

"I know."

Lili looked at him for a moment. Indeed, he seemed like the type to boast even about things he didn't have.

She put on her sock and boot again, then continued to follow the thread, accompanied by the albino. It was only after a few detours that they arrived at their destination. There was much less water, only reaching up to the ankles of the half-fairy, and on the ground, the tail, certainly scraped on a monster's tooth, was a small male mermaid, barely twelve years old, like Lili, and his hair was a shade of Maya blue, like the scales of his tail. She rushed to his side, looking at the wound.

"Alonzo, quickly! You can heal this, right?"

"Who are you..." the young boy murmured, looking at the albino approaching.

"My name is Lili, and this is Alonzo."

The adult contented himself with a wave of his hand, smiling, before healing the deep wound as he had done with the jellyfish sting a few moments ago.

"My name is Areiti," the triton muttered, watching Alonzo work. "The monster hides in the depths of the sea; I didn't see it and passed right by it..."

Lili remembered that indeed, from what she had seen of the monster, it looked like a huge barracuda covered in coral and algae. Lying at the bottom of the sea, it must have gone completely unnoticed.

"You're a student at the school," Areiti remarked.

"Yes, but I'm stuck here. I was on a broomstick when the monster caught me. Unfortunately, my broomstick is in pieces."

"And you?"

"Me?" Alonzo replied. "You have my name; that's all you need to know."

The mermaid glanced at Lili, who shrugged.

"I don't even know who he is," the witch admitted, "but he helps me, so I won't ask any more questions."

"We're looking for a way out of here," Alonzo continued. "We'll get you out at the same time."

"But it's impossible to get out," Areiti murmured. "My parents were swallowed by the monster ten years ago; they must be dead here by now... I didn't think I'd end up like them..."

"We won't die because Lili can conjure food. The others outside must certainly also be looking for a way to get her out."

"Do you think it's possible?"

"We hope so," Lili and Alonzo replied in unison.

The young witch began to lift Areiti to carry him, but Alonzo stopped her.

"You'll exhaust yourself for nothing," he said.

After a moment of thought, he placed both hands on either side of the triton's hips, slowly sliding them down to the tips of his fins.

As his hands moved along the fish's tail, it began to glow, slowly splitting in two to become a pair of human legs. The albino, however, seemed to have expended a lot of energy for this, judging by his exhausted expression. A final effort allowed him to conjure shorts to dress the young boy. He appeared on the verge of fainting.

"Excuse me," he murmured. "I'll leave you alone for a moment... take care of yourselves."

With these words, he suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Once the surprise had passed, Lili began to teach Areiti how to walk, helping him to stand up, holding onto him so he wouldn't fall. The sea boy, however, fell several times before managing to maintain his balance. It took him a while longer to walk properly.

"Why is it still glowing?" He asked.

Lili looked in the direction indicated by Areiti, noticing the golden thread fluttering further away, seemingly waiting for them. When the young witch approached, the magical object slowly moved in another direction. Why hadn't it stopped moving? Was there someone else in need of help?

"Come on, Areiti," Lili called. "We have to follow it."

She took her new friend's hand, walking with him, following their guide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Prince, wake up! My office is not meant for sleeping."

Izãdo startled when, seeing that her words had no effect, Professor Noctis simply conjured ice cubes on his back. Torn between sleep, he had fallen asleep on the tenth book he had opened.

"What is this mess?" Tera grimaced, pointing to the stacked books and a few scribbled sheets on her desk. "I leave for a few hours, and this is the result!"

"Sorry," the prince mumbled, organizing his notes more properly. "Some things seemed interesting to me, but I'm not sure if they were really useful. I wanted to ask for your opinion."

The demonology professor remained motionless for a moment, finally sitting down to look at the various notes.

Obviously, the young prince knew nothing, and none of these pages would have been useful against the monster.

"You know what," Tera suggested. "There's a book I didn't intend to show you, but I think it's the only one that will really help us."