[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 30

Hera’s divine jurisdiction was limited to marriage, and she had no authority to interfere with Qili’s revenge plan.

She had already undone the marriage vow Eerlia  had presented. The remaining matters were not hers to handle.

Li Jia pleaded with her to take Qili back to her sister. Hera could never refuse her and had to agree, extending her arms. Li Jia understood her gesture.

Li Jia asked Hera to shrink Qili and place her in her pocket, which Hera did. Li Jia  then wrapped her arms around the goddess’s shoulder, once again becoming her human accessory.

Li Jia clung to her tightly. If she turned her head slightly, she could see Hera’s fair neck and the fresh, pulsing veins beneath.

Hera smelled so good, making one want to kiss her.

In fact, Hera did exactly that. The hot, tingling kiss made Li Jia’s heart feel empty and full at the same time.

What is she thinking?

Li Jia was unsure how to interpret this, but she wasn’t willing to be lightly taken advantage of for no reason. What was this if not an act of a hooligan?

Beyond her lazy side, Li Jia had another side: she would absolutely not allow anyone to bully her without cause. This was the bottom line she had set for herself after years of surviving on her own. If someone wronged her without a clear reason, she would definitely find a chance to pay them back fiercely.

A gentleman’s revenge is never too late.

When she worked her summer job, there were always old hands who used the excuse of “learn more” to undermine her, the “little flower” fresh out of school, making her do their work.

Li Jia was no naive newcomer. She was usually patient and adept at slipping away, managing not to let them take advantage of her even a little bit. When the job was over, she didn’t forget to put a handful of laxatives in each of their water cups—not fatal, but enough to make them soil their pants.

Li Jia gritted her teeth and pressed her lips against the woman’s. Her kiss was extremely clumsy. As she pulled away, she viciously bit Hera’s lip. Like a triumphant rascal, she muttered, “Your Majesty, only this way are we even.”

“You…” Hera had intended to scold her for being so aggressive, but the words died on her lips.

She was the one who initiated it. What right did she have to lecture Li Jia? If anyone was to be blamed, she was the one who was rude first.

Fortunately, Qili, hidden in her pocket, hadn’t noticed their strange interaction, otherwise, it would have been truly hard to explain.

Hera returned Qili to the small fishing village, where Eerlia lived. Hera used her divine power to heal Qili’s wounds. Except for her inability to speak, she was otherwise completely normal.

After placing Qili down, Hera took Li Jia back to the “No. 32” fishing boat.

The little one was tired and had fallen asleep clinging to her. After placing her on the bed, Hera didn’t join her but stood by the window.

It was a full moon tonight.

The one who ties the bell must untie it. Let nature take its course.

Qili stood outside the wooden hut for a long time, unsure how to face her sister. Compared to being scolded or punished, she was more afraid of her sister ignoring her.

Finally.

Footsteps sounded from inside the small wooden house. Qili looked up and saw Eerlia open the door and walk toward her. Eriya’s black robe was soaked with seawater, clinging to her body. Her ash-grey hair flowed in the moonlight like moving stars, and her eyes held a rare violet pattern.

“Do you regret it?” Eerlia crouched down, her fingertip tracing Qili’s scarred throat. “You gave everything for him, but he only saw you as a stepping stone to power.”

Qili flinched. The faint magical aura around Eerlia made her anxious.

Eerlia’s eyes held no disgust, only pity and love.

“Sister… I…”

Qili only parted her lips, and tears streamed down her cheeks, dripping onto Eerlia’s fingertips.

“Let me help you,” Eerlia whispered.

A pale purple glow surged from her palm, enveloping Qili. “I won’t let you turn into seafoam.”

“Those who hurt you must pay.”

Qili was astonished to find the wound on her throat healing. A new vocal cord was being implanted. Tears that had stopped now flowed again.

Her sister had chosen to become a witch for her sake. She had gone to the deep-sea kingdom to help her reconstruct her vocal cords. The pale purple light slowly fused with her, and she could speak again.

Qili’s first question was, “Why?”

“Because I’m your sister.”

Just six short words. Qili’s tears fell without warning, one, two, creating ripples in Eerlia’s palm.

Memories flooded back like a tide. Their parents died young. Before her mother passed away, she summoned her to the shore and told her that this child, only a few years older than herself, was her sister, Eriya.

Qili happily greeted her. She said, “Hello, Sister. I’m Qili.”

The girl was a little shy, finally stuttering out, ” Eerlia.”

Every morning, Eerlia would bring her fresh dew, knowing Qili’s sweet tooth. She would get up early to collect it, always adding a few drops of honey—Qili’s favorite flavor.

Every rainy season, Eerlia would come to the sea with an umbrella, calling Qili’s name to play with her. Qili would always answer. She was a mermaid with a sister, and everyone in the deep-sea kingdom knew Qili had a sister.

Even when she fell in love with Dorian and received no support or understanding, crying until she was suffocating on a reef, Eerlia never scolded her. She simply sat by the reef, cupping Qili’s hand in her palm, gently stroking it.

The warmth of her palm soothed her anxious heart. Until the night faded, the next day, Eerlia handed her a witch’s potion that would give her legs. “If it’s the wrong path, I’ll walk it with you again.”

The words contained countless sleepless nights.

“Qili, you cannot marry a stranger.”

Eerlia looked into her eyes, forcing a relaxed smile onto her weary face.

The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting ripples over their embracing figures. The tears at this moment were from finally understanding the shock of this silent guardianship, a torrent of both heartache and gratitude.

Qili regained her voice and the power of a mermaid. She was going to take back what was hers.

Debt forged in blood, vengeance carved with a blade.

Now, more than the loss of her voice, the hatred she felt after realizing that Eerlia Eriya had been forced to become a witch because of her was something that could only be repaid through tearing apart flesh and gnawing at bones.

“Take me with you.”

Eerlia understood Qili’s thoughts. They had the closest relationship in the world besides their parents. I am in you, and you are in me.

“Of course.”

Qili smiled. She would no longer push away the person in the world who loved her the most, the one who loved her to the core.

She felt the same way.

The morning light pierced the mist. They stood side by side on the shore, facing the entire Kingdom of Calte .

Qili plunged into the deep sea. The ocean was her home, and her legs transformed back into a beautiful orange fish tail.

Dorin began to have nightmares. He dreamed of a fish tail squeezing him tightly, gripping his neck and spine, wrapping around his whole body, leaving him breathless and suffocating.

He woke up with a start, trembling and soaked in sweat. His undershirt was drenched.

Dorin got out of bed barefoot, pulling open the tapestry curtains in the palace. The sight before him made his heart pound.

He quickly checked his chest. The golden marriage mark was gone!

His marriage to Qili had been annulled by the Goddess of Marriage!

He was no longer related to her in any way!

It’s over, everything is over!

The mermaid commanded a giant wave, fully thirty meters high. The entire Calte was surrounded by the sea, and the tide was enough to destroy the whole dynasty. Perched on a corner of the wave was a long-haired witch in a black robe.

The whole kingdom was thrown into panic by the giant wave. Dorian put on his armor and stood on the wall, screaming orders for the archers to shoot the mermaid.

Qili’s singing summoned a monstrous tide, turning the arrows into dust. She no longer sang a sorrowful lament but a song full of the power of freedom, the one she often sang to her sister.

Eerlia waved her magic wand, projecting the prince’s lies onto the sea, forming a gigantic screen. It showed how he had deceived and exploited Qili to inherit the throne, and how he had taken the mermaid’s sacrifice for granted.

Mermaids were the guardians of the Calte Kingdom. The people’s anger spread like wildfire. They never imagined that the prince would steal the voice that the mermaid considered her life.

The city was filled with the people’s scolding, cursing, and complaining. They blamed all the misfortune on the Calte Royal Family.

If Dorian hadn’t deceived the mermaid Qili, how would the tsunami have been triggered, and why would the merfolk have punished Calte?

Qili looked at Eerlia. The witch’s ash-grey hair flew in the wind, and her eyes burned with a fierce light.

Her sister was washing away her humiliation and lies.

In that moment, Qili realized she no longer had to regret the past. She had a new path to follow.

Qili’s singing resonated with Eerlia’s spell. The scales of her fish tail glistened with vibrant colors in the sunlight.

“So what if I deceived you! It’s because you’re stupid! So what if you destroy Calte? You’ll turn into seafoam after the sun sets!”

The veins on Dorian’s neck bulged, and his throat emitted a choked scream.

“Hahahaha! I didn’t lose! I didn’t lose! I am the only king of Calte! I’ll be the King of Calte in life, and the King of Calte in death!”

Dorian’s sharp laugh sounded like the cry of an owl. He ran wildly on the city wall, knocking over the guarding soldiers, oblivious to the fact that the hilts of spears and blades were piercing his palms.

Qili said coldly, “My things should be returned to their rightful owner.”

A woman’s scream came from the Calte sleeping quarters. A pure white orb of light flew out of the fortress and landed securely in Qili’s palm.

Only a woman with a hollow neck lay on the bed, her blood quickly covering the entire surface of the bed.

“Those who break their vows deserve to die, but you are not even worthy of death. The people of Calte should not have to perish for a beast like you.”

“So, go to hell.”

Qili sang the song from their first meeting. Unlike the adoration of that time, the tune was filled with peace and release.

“I forgot to tell you, without a kiss of true love, Qili would turn into seafoam. Similarly, so will you.”

Eerlia said coldly, delivering the final ultimatum.

Dorian’s face was twisted and ferocious. He even screamed at his own shadow: “You’re the one who should die! Not me! No! No!”

His body gradually became transparent, dissipating into countless bubbles in the sea breeze.

Eerlia then kissed Qili in the wave, turning Qili’s seafoam back into a solid form, allowing her to stay in the ocean forever.

In the sunset, Qili swam toward Eriya. The witch opened her arms, and the two embraced amidst the sound of the waves.

Qili’s fingertip touched Eerlia’s cheek. She smiled faintly. “When you gave me the potion, did you already foresee this day?”

“Yes.”

Eerlia did not hide it.

Qili had been too well-protected. Her obsession with Dorian must have been fueled by a moment of perceived happiness. A true heart given in vain is a subtle pain, and she had to experience and feel it herself. Even if it left her scarred, only pain would teach her a lesson.

No need to persuade her. All Eerlia needed to do was catch her when she fell, making sure she wasn’t lost or afraid.

That’s why when she made the potion, she included two different agents. If Dorian had truly loved her, neither of them would have died. If he hadn’t, this was the punishment for deceiving Qili.

And the antidote?

No one in the entire world loved Qili more than she did.

The kiss of true love was never the exclusive domain of opposite sexes. It transcended gender and traditional boundaries.

The essence of love is the resonance of souls.

She was her sister.

No one would love Qili more than she did.

Eerlia was born into a witch family and studied witch magic, but she never awakened her witch power because she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to become a witch in the true sense. In this era, witches represented evil, misunderstanding, and stigma. Religious courts even held trials for the “crime of witchcraft,” accusing women of colluding with the devil and sentencing them to be burned at the stake. This was the suppression of women who challenged traditional authority.

To become a witch meant to bear a bad name, whereas male wizards did not.

Eerlia initially only wanted to be an ordinary, regular girl, slowly growing into an ordinary woman.

Qili’s disappearance caused her immense pain. She suddenly understood what was causing her so much agony: she was too weak. She had nothing, which was why she couldn’t find her sister.

Eerlia consulted the previous generation of witches for the method of awakening. She dove into the deep-sea kingdom and explained her purpose to Qili’s people. The merfolk all knew that Qili had an all-powerful sister.

The Clan Elder then bestowed a new vocal cord upon Qili. It was at that moment that Eerlia first felt the power of witch magic.

So this was the thrill of being superior to others. So this was the taste of power. Escaping couldn’t solve any problems.

Then why couldn’t she seize power? Why couldn’t she overturn the narrative and rewrite the destiny of witches?

“Sister, you saved me, and I want to save your loneliness. From now on, no matter what, I will stand by your side.”

They knew each other so well that one glance or gesture was enough to know all her thoughts.

Since Qili could remember, Eerlia had told her that she did not want to awaken her witch magic. She didn’t want to become the outcast in the eyes of the world.

But now, she had to become the outcast in the eyes of the world.

In that case, all Qili could do was try her best to be her shield and her spear, smoothing out everything with the tide.

“Good.”

“You can only stand by my side.”

Their figures gradually merged into the twilight, like the eternal convergence of sea and land.

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