At that moment, the Siren turned and tried to run.

But at the same time, a wave of heat surged straight from her brain through her limbs. Then came a searing pain, hot enough to burn her to nothing. The Siren dropped to her knees. She felt as if her body were on fire, and rolled around desperately, wailing—but nothing could ease her agony. The Siren who had just sung such a beautiful song could now only howl like a beast. Gradually, her skin began to melt, and her hair shriveled.

“Aah—! Please! Spare me!”

“No. You laid a hand on my Sophia. You have to die.”

“Aaaah!!!”

After one final wail of agony.

The Siren—the creature who had claimed the lives of hundreds of sailors—melted into a pool of blood and filth, which ran across the deck and into the sea. Sophia was terrified by the sight. She dropped to the ground, staring at Hilde in stunned silence, unable to find the words. Hilde noticed her shock and explained with an unconcerned air, “It’s fine. There’s more than one Siren. I think there are dozens of them, so killing one won’t wipe them out.”

“S-She was a Siren!?”

Sophia was on the verge of tears!

“But aren’t they supposed to only eat men!?”

“That’s true, but they eat men because sailors are mostly men. If there’s a woman around, they won’t hesitate to eat her too, just like what happened back there.” Hilde clapped her hands, and the black wings and beast horns on her body vanished. “Sophia, what’s wrong? Did you pee your pants?”

“No…”

“By the way, you… you’re from Carthage?”

“I-I used to be…” Sophia was a little confused. She didn’t know why Hilde was asking her that now.

“We’ve been together for so long, I always thought you were from Athens.” Hilde glanced at the soldiers lying on the deck. “Oh, right. Those guys were sent by my dad to kill us. Their plan was to murder us out here at sea, turn around, and head back to Athens, claiming they’d delivered us safely to Byzantium. And just now, they were discussing how they’d enjoy us.”

“E-Enjoy us!?”

Sophia scrambled to her feet.

“You mean these guys were going to…”

“That’s right. So come help me with something.”

Hilde found some rope on the deck and tossed it in front of the unconscious soldiers. Sophia quickly understood what she meant and started tying them up. As for Hilde, she had someone else in mind: Diodes, who had nearly been eaten by the Siren. He’d said a number of awful things about Sophia, and Hilde was furious.

In this world, her father hated her, her mother Aspasia was often away from home, and everyone else was afraid of her. Only Hilde had been by her side since childhood. Sophia was Hilde’s first blood slave, her slave, her property—and also the family member and companion she treasured most. Hilde could endure other people’s malice toward her. But if anyone dared lay a hand on Sophia, they’d be touching Hilde’s greatest taboo.

“This guy’s called Diodes, right?”

Hilde lifted Diodes with one hand.

“Yes…”

“I’ll take his armor off first. This stuff’s worth a lot.”

Athenian linen cuirasses were finely made armor, worth one or two hundred drachmas on the black market. Hilde had Diodes stripped in no time. Sophia immediately covered her face to avoid seeing anything she shouldn’t. In the end, Hilde tossed Diodes—stark naked—into the sea. He flailed a few times before sinking beneath the water and disappearing from sight. Hilde figured one Diodes would make a decent meal for the sharks nearby.

After dealing with him.

Hilde thought of one more person.

Amyntas.

“There’s no need to tie this one up.” Hilde walked over to Amyntas and crouched beside him. “He’s a good person.”

“Even if he’d tried to attack us, you could’ve dealt with him in an instant, Master.”

“No, not exactly. That Siren let her guard down. She didn’t realize I wasn’t an ordinary human. And when she grabbed you, I’d already started moving. I bit her on the neck while she was distracted, then rescued you. When I bite someone, I can decide whether they become my slave or end up as a pool of blood like she did.” Hilde smiled as she said something so terrifying, but Sophia was deeply moved.

“Then how did you know you had that ability, Master?”

“Sophia, do you remember those servants who used to bother you?”

Hilde sat on the deck and asked with a smile.

Sophia thought for a moment, then nodded.

“I remember. But they all left afterward.”

“Left? Pericles was lying to you.”

“Then they… Master, could it be that you…”

“At first, I was only planning to turn them into my slaves too, then make them kill themselves. But later I found out that after I bit them, I could turn them straight into pools of blood. So all the people who bullied you or had lewd thoughts about you ended up as pools of blood—and I used them to water the flowers.” Hilde rested her head on Sophia’s lap and gently closed her eyes. “But this ability has a side effect.”

“What is it?”

“The stronger my opponent is, the more energy it takes out of me.”

With that, Hilde’s vision went black, and she passed out.

“Master? Master!”

After who knew how long, Amyntas finally woke up.

His memories of what had happened were a muddle, and Amyntas couldn’t remember anything clearly. But images flashed through his mind: the Siren preparing to eat someone, Hilde transformed into a demon, and the way she’d finished off the Siren with a single strike. Amyntas thought he must already be dead, and that his mind was conjuring up all this nonsense. But the more alert he became, the more convinced he was that what he’d seen was real. The shock of it made his heart race.

“Hey, you’re awake?”

Then that familiar, pleasant voice sounded again.

When Amyntas opened his eyes, he saw Hilde sitting in front of him.