Chapter 28: Desperate Straits

"I gained the ability to survive on land through your contract, so I only needed to activate my flesh-magic for a short stretch in the middle of the sea. Since we ascended very rapidly, you didn't feel the life force being drawn by the contract."

So, that meant that as long as one descended into the Abyssal Trench once, they could use flesh-magic to forcibly maintain a normal state? Hughes understood now. No wonder the Banshees of the past believed their kind was cursed. There must have been normal Banshees back then, but the moment they ceased their flesh-magic, they would immediately transform into bloated monsters, or even burst apart and die.

As for the Banshees born later, they never had the chance to dive into the Abyssal Trench; they were born as bloated monsters.

The Banshees gradually vanished, and the cursed ones merely eked out a miserable existence in this world.

Until Hughes led them back to the Abyssal Trench.

"So, how are your people? Is your new home doing well?"

"Not very well," Ash frowned. "In the past, we only heard that the Abyssal Trench was a forbidden zone for life. Under your guidance, we learned about water pressure, and we assumed that it was the pressure that kept other creatures from approaching, but then..."

At this point, Ash stumbled over her words. She tried to use her six arms to gesture, but it wasn't very effective.

"Are there enemies inside?" Hughes asked tentatively.

"It’s not just enemies; it’s an indescribable presence. Whenever it passes near us, my people feel oppressed, nauseated, out of control, and insane..."

"Can you drive it away?"

"No, we cannot see it."

Ash thought for a moment and continued, "My Lord, we once heard that the Abyssal Trench was polluted. It was during that time that we lost our home. Moreover, the place where we are is not even the deepest part of the Trench. No one knows how deep it truly is, and that pollution seems to be coming from below."

Pollution?

"What do you mean by 'pollution'?"

Ash shook her head. "I have only heard this term; I do not understand it either."

Hughes pressed his lips together. He did not fully grasp what this pollution was. Literally speaking, it meant that some harmful substances had entered the environment, distorting normal conditions to the point where survival was impossible.

But what could be considered harmful?

There were indeed many things that could induce hallucinations or cause symptoms like nausea, but those things were more akin to "substances."

Yet, in Ash’s description, the "pollution" her people encountered felt more like a "living thing."

Was it some sort of creature that had become a source of pollution, or had the pollution itself... "come to life"?

If the pollution had come to life, would it seek food, or would it seek to... pollute more creatures?

Hughes shivered involuntarily. The air temperature was by no means cold, yet he felt as if he were being watched by something cold and malicious from the deep sea.

He had a vague premonition that if he let the Banshees remain in that "pollution," something terrible would happen.

No, this could not continue.

"Ash, can the Banshees leave the Abyssal Trench?"

Ash showed a troubled expression. "I have thought about this, but only the Abyssal Trench has such deep water and such immense pressure. Once we come up, we must maintain our flesh-magic at all times, and that..."

That meant they would return to their original, bloated state. Hughes saw a flash of determination in Ash's eyes; she would likely rather die in the Abyssal Trench than become a cursed, bloated monster again.

Yet, beneath the Trench, the condition of the Banshees was clearly deteriorating. One day, they would cross a certain threshold and be completely assimilated by the "pollution."

Hughes paced in place, ideas surfacing in his mind only to be discarded. The environmental requirements for the Banshees were too high. Where could he find such extreme water pressure?

Water pressure, water pressure, water pressure...

Hughes’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. He looked at Ash floating on the sea and suddenly slapped his forehead.

How could he have forgotten the path of the Symbiotic Contract?

"Can you survive on land through a contract?"

Ash’s expression dimmed. "We can sign Symbiotic Contracts with humans on land to draw their life force and maintain our flesh-magic, but... the contract provided by each Siren is the same, yet the ability granted to the other party varies."

Hughes was startled. Only after questioning her closely did he understand what she meant.

When a Symbiotic Contract is signed, the two parties are placed on opposite ends of a scale.

The ability offered by the Banshees is fixed; signing a contract with any Banshee yields the same result.

However, the symbiotic ability provided by the person on the other end of the scale is random—a random acquisition of one of the other party's traits.

According to Ash, she had never seen two identical Symbiotic Contracts, even if the partners were of the same race.

The Symbiotic Contract Ash signed with Hughes provided her with the ability to survive on land, but if another Banshee signed a contract with a different human, they would receive a different ability.

The probability of similarly gaining the ability to survive on land was near zero.

"So, back then..." Hughes realized something and asked, astonished.

"Yes, My Lord. My plan at the time was to return to my people immediately after signing the contract, tell them about the water pressure, and then dissolve the contract."

"What would happen if you dissolved the contract?"

"Death," Ash replied bluntly. "After that, all my life force would be transferred to you through the contract."

Hughes’s eyes widened, and he remained silent for a long time.

He had not expected Ash to be so resolute. At the time, he thought the contract sounded like a scam, and he had only taken the risk because of his ability to descend into shells.

He hadn't expected the other party to decide to sacrifice herself without a moment's hesitation. If not for the luck of randomly gaining the ability to survive on land, Ash’s departure back then would have been a final farewell.

And beneath the Abyssal Trench, there might have been a new race worshipping him as a god, while he remained completely ignorant, continuing to manage his Castor Island.

Was this fate? Hughes was a staunch materialist, but amidst such fatalistic coincidences, he couldn't help but feel a moment of bewilderment.

Steadying himself, Hughes asked again, "Could other Banshees sign a contract with me?"

Ash shook her head, a trace of sorrow in her eyes. "Your... physical body is too frail. You fainted just from signing one contract. If I and another Banshee were to draw life force at the same time, you would surely die."

The Banshees had never tried having multiple members sign with a single contractor. Previously, they could only contract with Murlocs, who were also quite frail; one Banshee could potentially drain all their life force, let alone several.

And humans... Ash did not want to disparage the human race. Her lord, Hughes, was the most learned and benevolent being she had ever met, perhaps even comparable to a god, but in terms of physical strength and the abundance of life force...

Humans were even weaker than Murlocs.