Princess Serena looked up, seeing a familiar golden-haired boy floating in the air.

“Michael!” she screamed out. She waved her handcuffed hands in the air, trying to get his attention.

“He can’t see or hear you, princess. He must be talking to someone else,” the mermen next to her said.

It was weird that the human seemed to be looking directly at them, but that wasn’t possible. It must have been a coincidence.

The mermen began escorting Serena out further into the sea, with the water level increasing with every step. It won’t be long before their entire bodies were submerged in water, changing their physiology and allowing them to gain absolute speed and maneuverability in the ocean.

No human would be able to catch up to them then.

“Hello~~? I’m talking to you…”

Michael quickly dove down, his direction as clear as day. He was coming after them.

The old Mermaid and the rest of the mermen surrounding Serena were utterly surprised. The human boy was coming directly at them!

The old mermaid’s powers should have shielded them from sight, invisible to the human naked eye. Yet this boy was looking at them as if he could see through the water!

Michael reached the boundary of the water dome surrounding the mermen and was forced to stop in his tracks.

The old mermaid heaved a sigh of relief. Her water powers were as tough as the corals and metals in the deepest depths of the ocean. The human boy would be hard pressed to break through it fast enough before they could escape.

She waved her hand, changing the properties of the water dome. It had retained its tough outer shell, but now light and sound can both pass through it.

“Who are you, and what do you need from a princess of Atlantis?” the old mermaid asked, suspicious. “Don’t you know that you could cause a global crisis by doing this?”

Michael looked at Serena and saw the desperate look in her eyes. “Doesn’t seem like she wants to go with you. And if she’s a princess, doesn’t that mean that you should be following what she wants? What if this is a kidnapping?”

The old mermaid didn’t answer his question and just eyed him curiously. “How were you able to see through my powers?”

He shrugged. “I just can.”

Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her that with his Drone Vision, he could see the water dome from a mile away. It was practically like a glowing sun in the middle of the water.

In order to not create any more misunderstandings, Serena intervened.

“This is Michael Vanderbilt! He’s currently hailed as the most talented of the young generation in Metropolis! You know Alaric and Potbol right? He was able to triumph against them in a game!”

The old mermaid showed a hint of amazement and surprise.

As part of her job, she was familiar with all of the strongest humans in the Royal Continent—the Heavenly Knights and their prodigies as well as the Mystic Masters and their geniuses.

So, she knew just how strong Alaric and Potbol were in terms of human strength.

But she had never heard anything about this boy.

“That seems highly improbable. They’re at the peak of their cultivation realm, while he seems to be barely at the middle.”

“It’s true, mistress. We have witnessed it ourselves,” said Serena’s attendants.

“And Alaric wasn’t at the peak of his cultivation. He had transcended it. He reached the Nascent Spirit realm,” Serena clarified.

And this time, even the other mermen couldn’t keep their composure.

“Nascent Spirit!!!”

“A human as young as Alaric reached that realm?!”

“The humans have gained another strong fighter…”

Their reaction to this was very telling of how the mermen perceived Maugnetic cultivation. After all, they were all taught to never engage with a human who had reached the Nascent Spirit realm at all costs, no matter what.

One could say that Mermen were stronger than humans. But that would change once they were in the Nascent Spirit realm.

“You’re all reacting to this wrong. This human boy was able to beat Alaric in a game while he’s in the Nascent Spirit realm!”

However, the old mermaid was still doubtful. It sounded too fantastical to be true.

“Princess Serena! I want to speak with you face to face,” Michael shouted from the skies.

And without warning, he reached down and took out his Unity Saber switch from his pockets, manifesting one of the most powerful weapons in his hands.

He swung his Saber, with its Unity particles incinerating the water particles into a pure mist. A laceration appeared on its surface, causing the entire water dome to pop like a balloon.

“WHAT?!” the other mermen gasped.

The old mermaid watching this down below was stunned into silence as she saw her own power get turned into vapor that rained down on them.

“….”

“Yeah! Go Michael!” Serena celebrated.

Michael floated down into the water, with the [Absolute Unity Defense] kicking in and creating a protective layer from the water and preventing him from getting wet.

The old mermaid gazed at Michael as she was starting to understand that there may be a hint of truth about what Serena was saying.

Her water dome shouldn’t have been destroyed like that so easily.

Perhaps the most surprising part was that this powerful kid wasn’t a part of the strongest human organizations. It was only through his pure talent.

“Michael! The Duchess said that you know where the Pixie Queen resides, right?” Serena asked, eager to prove herself.

He nodded. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Can you prove this?” the old mermaid asked. “I can suspend disbelief about your strength, but I cannot take your words about the Pixie Queen at face value.This is important to the entirety of the Mermen race, as well as the Beastfolk in general.”

He nodded. “Sure. Give me a sec.”

He looked down at his shadow and whispered something to lure Vivi out of their headquarters. It was easy, of course. All he had to say was that he was promising a bunch of surprised emotions ready to be eaten.

It wasn’t long before the shadow underneath his feet morphed into a dome and dispersed just a second after, revealing the glowing figure of Vivi in front of the mermen.

The so-called Pixie Queen stretched out her hands and buzzed around in the air, with pixie dust falling behind her wake.

“You better keep your promise, Mr. Reborn!” Vivi said to him.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Just then, Vivi quickly turned her head around and looked at the mermen in front of her.

“Oooh! Such a bountiful surprise! I could just eat their emotions up!”

The mermen, upon seeing Vivi right in front of them, couldn’t help but gawk at her with their jaws wide open. Some of them even subconsciously opened the gills on their necks to exhibit their surprise.

Even Serena was surprised, not expecting Michael to simply teleport a Fairy right in front of him within a few moments.

“Look, I know it’s hard to believe, but she is not an ordinary Fairy,” he said, pleading his case. “She’s actually the—”

“THE PIXIE QUEEN!” the old mermaid shouted, diving down deep in the water and performing an underwater bow of respect.