The pirates scattered like a disorganized mob. Livia glanced at Mumu, who was breathing fire at them, and quickly made her way toward the children.

‘Mumu has grown so much.’

She marveled at how terrifying growth spurts could be and hurried her steps. As expected, amidst the chaos, none of the pirates paid any attention to the children.

“Kids, come out quickly.”

“Wh-who are you?”

Livia looked at the lock on the iron cage with annoyance and quickly scanned the area. She spotted a few harpoons carelessly tossed on the ground. Selecting the heaviest and sturdiest-looking one, she smashed it against the lock.

Bang!

The lock broke off easily. Livia opened the cage door, but the frightened children hesitated to come out.

“What are you doing? I said come out! You were kidnapped from your island, right?”

“Who are you?”

“I am…”

Her tongue froze, unsure of what to say. At that moment, one of the pirates who had been running around noticed Livia and charged at her.

“You, you… you b*tch…!”

Judging by how well he had dodged earlier, he seemed like a man who knew how to handle himself. With bloodshot eyes, he grabbed Livia by the collar, brandishing a crescent-shaped blade.

“So, you are from the island! Hurry, stop that dog!”

She felt herself being lifted off the ground by the man’s strength. Strangely, she didn’t feel afraid. Was it because she fought sharks and non-humans every day? Or was it because she wasn’t an ordinary human anymore?

“…No, I won’t.”

“You b*tch!”

The man threatened her neck with his dirty blade. But soon, his eyes widened in shock as no matter how much he stabbed, not a single mark was left on her neck.

“What, what is this?”

“Why? Want to try stabbing more? Or how about cutting my neck?”

Livia whispered softly in the man’s ear with a crooked smile.

“It won’t cut, though.”

“Ah, ahh! What, what is this? Who are you?”

The man, his face turning pale, fell back with a scream. Mumu, realizing Livia’s situation, rushed over and bit the man’s neck.

“Ah, ugh…!”

As the trembling body went limp, Mumu spat the man out. Gray smoke seeped out with each heavy breath. Livia gently patted Mumu, who had grown to her height.

“Thank you, Mumu.”

Woof!

All three heads responded in unison and then vanished. Smiling softly at the empty space where Mumu had disappeared, Livia turned to the children still standing frozen in the cage.

“Are you going to stay there? We can’t return on this ship. We need to escape before it gets any further away.”

Despite Livia’s words, fear still lingered on the children’s faces. The smallest boy suddenly stood up, pulling along his sister who was hugging him.

“Let’s go, sis! Come on.”

“Rudy.”

“You said God would save us, remember? That lady is a messenger sent by God, right?”

Livia was taken aback by the boy’s words but nodded soon after. Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong. The god of the sea had pushed her here, telling her to overcome the trials… It seemed best to let the children believe what they wanted.

“See! Let’s go!”

Urged by the boy called Rudy, the girl briefly looked at Livia. Livia simply met her gaze calmly. Whatever the girl saw in Livia’s eyes, she suddenly stood up, holding her brother’s hand.

“Let’s go, Rudy. You’re right.”

“See? Come on, sis. Everyone, follow us.”

Encouraged by Rudy, the other children hesitantly followed. The last to step out of the cage was a boy who had been frowning in disbelief. Once outside, the children looked at the dark sea with fear and asked cautiously.

“But if we can’t go back on this ship, how will we get back?”

In response, Livia looked down over the ship’s railing. After quietly observing the darkness, she smiled at the child.

“Smart kid, can you trust me?”

The boy nodded vigorously. Was it because he was young? His innocent eyes were filled with trust. Somehow, he reminded her of Lete’s childhood. Without realizing it, Livia patted the boy gently.

The child nodded vigorously. Perhaps it was because he was young; his innocent eyes were filled with trust, reminding Livia of Lete’s childhood. Without realizing it, Livia gently patted the boy’s hair and nodded.

“Follow me, okay?”

Rudy nodded and glanced back at his sister. His sister, Nadis, nodded as well and looked at Livia.

Leaving the children behind, Livia climbed onto the railing. Without hesitation, she jumped into the sea, causing the children to rush to the railing in surprise.

“Gosh! Did she really fall?”

“What do we do? She fell in!”

“It’s so dark, we can’t see anything.”

Roak, who had followed the children out, muttered as if he had expected this.

“I knew it. A messenger of the gods, my foot….”

“Shh. Be quiet.”

Nadis covered Roak’s mouth with her hand. Just as Roak’s face was about to twist into an even more unpleasant expression,

Splash!

A sound came from below the sea. The children’s faces, pressed against the railing, were filled with astonishment.

Watching the scene, Nadia whispered in a trembling voice.

“…She is, she really is a messenger of the sea god.”

A woman riding on the back of a black shark turned to look at the children. Around her, white, beautiful sharks circled gracefully.

It was a strange, very strange sight.

***

Livia, who had been looking below the railing, spotted sharks circling the ship. Whether they were there to watch or simply observe, it was fortunate to have found them.

Since the ship had traveled far from the island, it would have been difficult to return using an ordinary boat. The vast, dark sea was perfect for getting lost.

The sharks knew the sea well and were large enough to carry the children. The only question was whether the sharks would listen to her….

However, as soon as she entered the water and encountered the sharks, the black shark approached first.

She wondered if she would have to deal with this one again, but the shark seemed to be waiting for her and allowed her to climb onto its back. Soon after, the white shark joined the black shark, calmly waiting for the children above the water.

It was as if they already knew Livia’s intentions.

It was a peculiar thing.

Livia helped the children onto each shark’s back. Since sharks were creatures to be feared, some children were scared, but when Nadis and Rudy took the lead, the rest followed.

Riding on the black shark’s back, Livia glanced down. After having its teeth removed, the black shark no longer showed hostility toward her.

Though it circled around her constantly, it felt different from before.

Thinking back, during the time with Dionysus, it had suddenly appeared and thrown a leopard. Back then, she hadn’t thought it was helping her, but….

‘Maybe it was helping after all.’

After some hesitation, Livia cautiously patted the shark’s forehead. She could feel the shark’s skin flinch noticeably as it swam powerfully against the waves.

She thought that the skin of sharks and whales was thick and wouldn’t feel such a gesture, but perhaps it was more sensitive than she thought? Or was this shark special? Whatever it was, she hoped her warmth reached the shark. She also felt sorry for having chased it away with stones last time….

“It’s the island!”

One of the children riding the white shark shouted joyfully. The children all lifted their heads, gazing at the small island with steep cliffs.

Just as the child said, the island was close.

***

When they reached the vicinity of the island, the children jumped off the sharks’ backs and swam to the beach on their own.

Nadis carried her brother, who wasn’t good at swimming, on her back. Rudy clung tightly to her, whispering anxiously.

“Is Roak really not coming?”

Roak.

He had tried to lure the children and sell them to the pirates, so he wouldn’t escape punishment even if he returned to the island. He probably wouldn’t be able to live on the island anymore.

Roak seemed to think the same. He must have judged that it was better to leave the island on his own if he was going to be expelled anyway. So, the boy refused to jump off the pirate ship with the other children, saying he’d rather become a pirate than return to the island and face hardship.

No one stopped Roak. They left him behind, as if telling him to do as he pleased, and climbed onto the sharks’ backs. Only the young Rudy looked back at Roak several times.

“He won’t come, probably. Never again….”