Past Memory

John burst into hearty laughter upon hearing Clara's seemingly threatening words. "If you're the leader of the sirens, why are you this weak?"

"I'm not weak; I'm merely restraining myself from getting emotional, because, in reality, I used to be a human just like you," Clara replied.

"Suit yourself; I don't believe your bulshit," said John as he immediately walked away from there.

...

"Where's Clara?" mumbled Rick, who had been searching everywhere. He was currently near the surface.

As the day grew late, Rick became increasingly worried about his friend's well-being. He feared that the humans looking for Clara might harm her. However, Rick had exhausted all the places he could think of to search for her.

With a heavy heart, he returned to Atlantis empty-handed. Similarly, George had been unable to locate Clara. The twin sisters, Kinar, Karin, and Karen, had also returned with the same news—Clara was nowhere to be found.

"I'm suspicious of that woman; she might be Thalassa, the one who killed Kadita," Karen suggested.

"No, I'm more suspicious of the humans who wanted to meet her," Rick replied.

"Not all humans despise sirens, Rick. Especially when a human seeks out Clara by name, it's unlikely they intend harm," George added.

"I'm more inclined to suspect Nereids; she might have trapped Clara. You know Nereids can break through defensionis spells, right? Those spells are usually challenging to breach," Karin chimed in.

"Wait! Someone is coming!" Kinar suddenly exclaimed.

True to her words, shortly after Kinar spoke, Atlantis came under attack. The assailants were none other than the Dark Siren. They killed several sirens in Atlantis who couldn't escape, clawing and biting them.

Fortunately, some remaining siren warriors fought back against the Dark Siren and were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sirens who couldn't fight. Karin wanted to join the fight, but Kinar stopped her.

"What are you doing? Trying to be a hero?" Kinar asked.

"I can help them!" Karin insisted.

"Kinar, just let her help them. I can heal her if she gets hurt," Karen said confidently.

Hearing her younger sister's assured response, Kinar released Karin. Sure enough, Karin joined the fight alongside other sirens.

George, who had no special abilities, could only assist in evacuating the residents. Rick, who temporarily led Atlantis, tried to figure out how to prevent Dark Siren from harming the residents.

Contrary to expectations, the Dark Siren stopped their attack after wreaking havoc in Atlantis. However, they didn't flee; instead, they remained in front of the Atlantean forces defending themselves.

"Where is she?" Ramuda, a terrifying-looking female siren who was the leader of the Dark Siren, asked. She was referring to Clara.

"I'm not looking for that child. I know she's already been captured by humans on the coast. I'm looking for one of ours you took—Kadita," Ramuda stated.

Rick was stunned by Ramuda's words. What shocked him wasn't about Kadita but the fact that Clara had been captured by humans.

"What do you mean Clara was captured by humans?" Rick asked.

"I'll ask again, where is she?" Ramuda ignored Rick's question and posed her own.

Rick, fueled by anger, launched several attacks at Ramuda. However, Ramuda easily evaded his attacks.

Rick attacked again, this time increasing the speed of his assault. Indeed, his attack was so swift that, in the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Ramuda. But once again, Ramuda effortlessly dodged it and suddenly appeared behind Rick.

"Where is she?" she whispered.

Ignoring Ramuda, Rick quickly turned around and struck backward with all his might using his left hand. However, he missed again.

"What kind of speed is this?" Rick thought.

Ramuda, who had now reappeared behind Rick, used her telekinetic power to grab Rick's neck from a distance and slammed him forcefully into the seabed, causing vibrations that could be felt by all the sirens present.

"Tell me now," Ramuda demanded, still choking Rick. "If you won't tell me her whereabouts, I won't hesitate to kill her!"

None of them answered Ramuda's question. Then, Ramuda slowly released her grip on Rick.

"Kinar, what have you done?" Rick asked as he approached the brave girl.

"I just showed them memories of when they were still humans," Kinar replied.

"What? So, all of them were originally humans like me?" George asked.

"Yes, you're right. Some of them were humans cursed by the Dark Siren, and they will receive memories of their past through my magic. However, some of them are pure sirens who will experience nightmares when my magic works like this," Kinar explained.