Desharow Merman Chapter 3

Translator: Cheonsa

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   Chapter 3 Risky Investigation

I approached closer to the top of the pillar shaped tank with each step placed deliberately light to the ground. Even as I stood next to the merman, he did not respond as he leaned quietly against the pillar shaped wall like before. Seemingly asleep with his guards down.

I cautiously maintained my pace and movement, his sedated state was very convenient for me to record and observe. I put the fluorescent stick aside, turned on the night vision mode on the DV camera, stuck myself onto the outside wall of the tank, and began to take pictures of him at different angles from his tail to his head. In the dim water light, the long streamlined tail of the merman coiled around a cl.u.s.ter of aquatic plants like a python. His three wing-shaped tail fins overlapped like black smoke, similar to the black ink sprayed by a group of cuttlefish.

I couldn't help but visualize him in the deep sea looking as ghostly and terrible as a shadow from h.e.l.l. It would be quite frightening to meet him while diving.

It was impossible to accurately measure the length of his lower body, it could only be judged by visual measurement which seemed to be about 2 meters long. Adding his upper body length, he was about the same size as an adult tiger shark.[1] I wondered if they were also equally matched in aggressiveness.

[1:The tiger shark commonly attains a length of 3.25-4.25 m (10 ft 8 in-13 ft 11 in) Just imagine our handsome male lead around the same size.]

As I was thinking about this, I adjusted the camera angle and filmed from the tail onward, revealing the merman's back in the camera lens. During that time on the deck, I just glanced at him in a hurry and thought that his upper body was no different from that of human beings. However as I observed him closely at this moment, I found that there was a layer of glowing substance on the merman's outer skin, similar to the natural skin of the beluga whale[2] that I had seen before, which dimly s.h.i.+nes in the water, creating a halation that caused me to feel that he seemed unexpectedly illusory for a moment.

[2: Beluga whales are nicknamed "white whale" for their white skin that is adapted to its habitats in the Arctic.  There skin do lit dimly in the dark water.]

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Not just an illusion on merfolks existence, but it also made me doubt whether what's happening right here right now was real or not, as if I mispercepted myself that I was dreaming.

Were merfolks creatures that belonged to this world? Could there possibly be another planet under the deep sea that we didn't know about?

I shook my head and forced my mind to return to reason from my wild and perceptual reverie. d.a.m.n it, how come I was thinking about these things? If Rhine heard my thoughts at that moment, I would be laughed at and mocked by him for my ridiculous sophistry just to annoy me.

Wasn't there a merman presented in front of me for real? So why did I still foolishly think about these things!

After a moment of self-mockery, I focused my eyes on his skin again. It must have a protective mucosa[3]. That's why merfolk wouldn't be like humans who will grow ugly wrinkles and become extremely fragile after a long immersion in the water. Merfolk's skin all looked quite smooth, maybe they were even as tough and durable as a shark's skin.

[3: mucosa - membranes  that lines various sections in the body and covers the surface of internal organs. Basically protects the inside of the body from dirts and dangerous pathogens.  ]

With that thought, I couldn't help but have this sudden impulse to touch the skin of the merman with my own hands. Just at that moment, I suddenly found a strange detail in the DV camera screen.

On the merman's powerful and slender arm was a large wound. Although it wasn't bleeding, the skin was opened outward revealing a clear view of thick muscles inside that were surrounded by grim layers of teeth marks which seemed to be caused by a shark.

My nerves tensed immediately, d.a.m.n it, why didn't I notice this earlier, he may had already been weak before, and now adding in the anesthesia it's no wonder he has been so quiet.

At that moment, I could not help but be glad that I had brought the medicine box with me just in case. I put away the DV camera at the speed of lightning and climbed up to the top of the cylindrical water tank. Perhaps because of my sudden big movements, at the same time, I coincidentally caught a glimpse of the shadow beneath me moving slightly before quietly floating upward towards me.

The merman was under my feet right then. That fact made me unconsciously take a deep breath and look downward.

I was currently standing on a semi-circular metal platform that was used by keepers for feeding purposes. Through the small opening I could see the gleaming reflection of waves in the lights but could not see where the merman was.

Splash...

A sound of rus.h.i.+ng undercurrents stirred underneath, the light in the small opening suddenly sank and a dull blurry color, quite different from the normal brightness of the water, swept past. The merman swam to the other side of the platform, it was a transparent gla.s.s door outside the guardrail, which separated the only pa.s.sageway between the bottom of the water and the outside world.

I didn't want to open the door that could possibly bring out the danger, but there seemed to be no better way to deal with the wound on the merman right now. I didn't want him to die of an infection.

I touched the anesthesia gun on my lower back, a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out from the palm of my hand, but deep down, my nerves were stirring restlessly from excitement.

This is your first direct contact with a living merman, don't back out now, Desharow. Calm down, calm down.

I warned myself before going toward the guardrail edge step by step as I stared at the nightmare-like shadow under the water. I reached out, grabbed the outside handle on the gla.s.s door, slowly exerted some force and pushed open a gap that could only accommodate one person.

In doing so, even if the merman really attacked me, his movements would still be restricted by the narrow s.p.a.ce, which would also help me avoid and fight back.

I knelt down on one knee. As the shadow of the merman gradually raised up out of the deep water, my breathing became difficult as if I was drowning. Although my rationality was still alive and healthy, my brain had already become chaotic because of tension and excitement.

When the merman's head came out of the water, my consciousness became blank for a moment, when half of his body protruded out of the door with drops of water splas.h.i.+ng on my face, I finally reacted, however, my mind was still a bit sluggish as I could not seem to remember what I was doing here, as if I was cast under a spell as my gaze was grabbed hold by dark pupils covered by the merman's hair.

When confronting any ferocious animal, it was best to avoid eye contact or else they might feel provoked and attack you. This thought was very clear in my mind at the moment, so I attempted to avoid his eyes. My sight, however, refused to move away from the faintly indiscernible face looming in the water, it was a face that I could not describe.

He was not as beautiful as merfolk were rumored to be, but I had to admit that he was more breathtaking than any human being I've ever met. His outline blended perfectly together with his sharpness. If such a face were born on a human being, I would surely consider him as a Russian soldier of aristocratic descent.

But I couldn't think of any beautiful rhetorical words to praise him, what came to mind was just the word Mr. s.h.i.+nichi muttered with fear.

Demon.

Those eyes sunk deep down into the shadow of his eyebrows, soaking in the gloom of the deep sea. But the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, as if ridiculing something, that smiling expression is full of indescribable flirtation and wickedness.

For the first time, I tasted what Mr. s.h.i.+nichi described as, "The heart's deepest fear".

It was a taste that even made the soul tremble.

As I became still from fright, his upper form had already fully floated up, and with one hand on the edge of the platform, his wet body managed to stand upright. The exposed section that was out of the water formed a shadow that was taller than me, which completely shrouded my form from above. I stared in surprise, because I couldn't imagine how his tail could possibly support his center of gravity from inside the water, which was an impossible task for that type of body structure.

I stepped back vigilantly, raised the anesthesia gun at the same time, but he suddenly curled his tail upward, and abruptly approached me, leaving only half an arm length between us before leaning down to face me like a python observing his prey.

Good Gracious, this situation was just too horrifying.

I jumped in shock as I was caught off guard, my other hand went to cover my head in a customary manner, causing the fluorescent stick to fall into the water as a result. The sudden transition from light to dark made me lose my footing. Originally I was kneeling on one knee but before I could get up, I lost my center of gravity, and was not able to take even two steps before I staggered back and fell onto the ground.

At this point, I completely lost my geographical advantage and my body somehow became extremely sluggish to the point where I could only curl up like a dying snail to hide. I couldn't even see where the merman was and how close he was to me. I could only smell a strange and damp aroma coming from the darkness, which made the atmosphere feel frozen. Cold water dropped onto my lower leg one after another, and then all of a sudden my ankle felt coldness, it seemed to be firmly grasped by something that was wet and sticky.

That's the merman's hand...

When I realized this, the sweat from my palm quickly made my hold on the anesthesia gun unstable. My lower body couldn't move at all, allowing the merman to slither up my legs. With my heart beating violently, I waited for his head to approach me so I could inject anesthetic into the artery inside his neck which was the fastest and most effective way to cut off his attack.

Soon, the merman's long, thick, and wet hair fell on my skin, each strand streaked across my legs, my thighs, and then finally on my lower abdomen where he stopped.

In that split moment, the nerves in my legs twitched with tension.

I was not exactly sure what he wanted to do, but it was very likely that he wanted to cut open my stomach and eat my internal organs.

If I decided to shoot at this moment, it would most likely injure the merman's head. Between the merman's life and mine, I must make a decision immediately.

But at the moment of my hesitation, a series of low and peculiar sounds were suddenly heard.

"De—ra—cu—la..."

It was a kind of low-pitched sound that seemed to come from throat vibration, a little like a Russian tongue. My family is from Russia, and this familiar way of speaking made my consciousness escape from the chaotic thoughts of near-death encounter immediately.

Although it was impossible to judge what he wanted to say, at least it proved that the merman was not a purely instinctual creature since he was not trying to attack and eat me at the moment.

Otherwise, how strange it would be to communicate with your prey before eating them!

Maybe... this type of merfolk could understand human language. This may just be a bold conjecture because there was no record of a successful communication between humans and merfolks in history other than using various intermediary ways. I may actually be the first person in the world to have a successful and direct conversation with a merman.

I took a deep breath to force myself to calm down before looking downward to face the merman that was pressing on my lower abdomen when I look towards him.

His eyes hidden behind the veil of his hair emitted a faint blue light that looked similar to the pupils of a wolf[4] shown in night vision camera lens.

[4: Something like this but imagine it's blue]

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I cleared away a mouthful of saliva along with swallowing down my fear back into my stomach with effort before voicing clearly in a low whisper: "Hey, listen, I mean you no harm. You were bitten by a shark. I just want to disinfect your wound."

I even pointed to the injuries on his shoulder, but the merman did not make any response, he laid on top of my legs as before with his arms firmly grasping them with no sign of loosening.

I felt a little disappointed, but with the dim fluorescent light s.h.i.+ning under the water, I saw that the corners of the merman's mouth seemed to move, slightly opening, deepening the faint smile on his face, like grinning, as if he were teasing.

A sense of fear crawled up from my back again, overwhelming my dejection. I once thought that the intelligence of merfolks were somewhere between dolphins and humans, and I have published many papers on this subject under Rhine's guidance. At that moment, I had great doubts about my past judgments.

Because of the merman's expression, I had a terrible perception that I didn't know whether it was false or not.

He was a tall creature who could play me between the palm of his hands with his unique wisdom. A complete hunter.

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Disclaimer: Previously said, photos posted on this translations are not mine. I found them all on the internet, including most of my notes.

*Please Note for future references to avoid confusion: Some picture posted may not pertain to the timeline of the story. This little translator just posted them for fun

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Hi, Translator here! Sorry for the late update. Half of my family came down to visit and stayed for a couple of days so I couldn't exactly work on the translations. Expect another update soon... maybe 2?  ;)

Thank you

-Cheonsa