Inside the cave, the atmosphere was dark and suffocating.
On one side stood Elli—trembling, fear and tension clearly visible on her face.
On the other side stood Nakso.
His body flowed like liquid darkness, surrounded by a faint fog-like aura. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking… or what expression he had.
In the heavy silence—
Nakso finally spoke, his tone filled with cold arrogance.
"Heh… what can you even offer me?"
Elli paused, thinking for a moment, then replied firmly,
"Right now, I don't have anything… but in the future, I can help you—"
Before she could finish—
Nakso vanished.
Only his fog remained for a split second—
And then—
He appeared right in front of her face.
Extremely close.
With a horrifying presence, he spoke—
"Did you really think… I need your help…?!"
Elli flinched, her body trembling in shock.
But suddenly—
Something snapped inside her.
She shouted loudly, her voice filled with arrogance and forced confidence,
"You bastard! Do you even know who I am?! I am the daughter of Ocean King Antonio! If you don't give me that Nicul Knife, I swear my father will destroy you—and your entire domain!"
Her voice echoed through the cave.
But Nakso…
Remained silent.
After a moment, he spoke calmly,
"Ego… can raise a person high…"
"…and the same ego can throw them back to the ground."
A pause.
"I don't care if you're Antonio's daughter."
Elli trembled slightly.
Nakso continued,
"But… I don't want to create unnecessary enemies for my lord."
His tone turned colder.
"Yes… neither I nor my lord fear anyone…"
"…but we're not foolish like you—to make enemies of everyone."
Elli whispered under her breath,
"Did he just… mock me?"
Nakso spoke again,
"You can take this Nicul Knife with you."
Elli's eyes widened.
"I have no use for it."
Suddenly—
The Nicul Knife rose into the air.
It shot forward at high speed—
Stopping just a few millimeters away from Elli's face.
"Take it… and go back."
Elli steadied herself and asked,
"…And what about my army?"
Suddenly—
Everything exploded.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Elli's body was torn apart—
Her skin fell to the ground.
The scene was horrifying.
Silent.
Shocking.
Then—
Her eyes appeared.
Wide.
Filled with trauma.
It was an illusion.
A nightmare.
Something Nakso had shown her.
Nakso, who had already started walking away, stopped.
Slowly—
He turned his head toward her.
His gaze carried a terrifying killing intent.
"This… is the price for being an uninvited guest."
Elli swallowed hard.
She couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Nakso turned forward again and said coldly,
"Go… alone."
Then—
His body began to glitch.
Flickering in and out of existence.
The screen went dark for a moment—
And when everything returned—
He was gone.
Only Elli remained in the cave.
Standing there.
Shaking.
Terrified.
The Nicul Knife was in her hand.
And the place where Nakso had stood—
The ground had turned pitch black, forming a sharp shadow-like mark.
Elli whispered,
"…I… am safe…?"
Her voice carried disbelief.
Relief.
Fear.
The scene shifted—
Elli was exiting the same cave she had used to enter Kalvish Island.
As soon as she moved a little away into the water—
A loud rumbling sound echoed.
She turned back—
The cave entrance was completely sealed by falling rocks.
"…What?!"
Panic filled her eyes.
She immediately swam away at full speed.
As soon as she entered deeper water—
Her mermaid tail returned.
Narration (Nicul Knife):
After that incident…
Elli became so terrified that she locked herself inside her own room for a long time—like a prisoner.
To retrieve me—the fourth Nicul Knife—
Dentai Kuma sent one of his loyal servants.
He would arrive in four days.
Same day…
When Yuki had already entered the other world…
And about one and a half hours after Dentai gave Elli her mission—
At Doramai School, inside the Shin Kingdom—
Precious and Pretty were sitting peacefully on a bench.
A floating screen hovered in front of them—
Showing Yuki sleeping inside a house in a village at night.
Suddenly—
"P–Precious…!"
Lior came running toward them in panic.
He stumbled and fell—
But immediately got back up and rushed forward.
"Precious…! Something… something is wrong!"
Precious turned toward him.
Pretty stood up instantly, sensing the urgency.
"What's wrong? Why are you so panicked?"
Lior replied, his voice shaking,
"T–Tety and Bety… something's happening to them!"
Precious stood up immediately, his expression turning serious.
"What do you mean something's happening to them?!"
Lior explained quickly,
"I went to their class to meet them… and everyone was gathered around them. When I got closer, I saw—Tety was sitting on one chair… and Bety on another…"
"…Both of them were in extreme pain."
"Their faces… it was clearly visible."
Without wasting another second—
Precious started running toward them.
Lior and Pretty followed right behind him.
While running, Pretty asked,
"Lior, why didn't you use your skill to heal them?"
"I tried!" Lior replied.
"But it didn't work!"
"My skill only works on a specific damaged part of the body…"
"…But with Tety and Bety, I can't tell which part is injured…"
"…It's like their entire body is in pain!"
Pretty frowned, confused.
"So basically… your skill can only heal if the damaged part is identifiable. If you don't know where the injury is, it won't work?"
"…Yeah, you could say that," Lior replied.
"But in their case… something is different."
Pretty asked quickly,
"Different? How?"
Lior shook his head,
"You'll understand when we get there!"
All three of them continued running—
Filled with tension and urgency.