Leader: Mira Tidecaller — Organization: The Tempest's Wrath

The Tempest's Wrath was an organization of sea sorcerers who harnessed dangerous weather magic to attack settlements and control trade routes. They believed that only the most powerful wielders of magic should rule, and they considered Ethel unworthy without the mystical prowess they revered.

Mira, a stunning eel-woman with a slim, flowing figure, was known for her bright green skin and intricate tattoos of swirling waves across her arms and neck. Her eyes, a shifting mix of green and purple, seemed to flicker with untamed energy. Raised in a family of mystics, Mira developed an obsession with storm magic, using it to create havoc across the seas and manipulate her way into power.

.

Leader: Krixis Riptide — Organization: The Reclaimed Depths

The Reclaimed Depths operated by raiding sunken cities and repurposing old relics to disrupt modern governance. They viewed Ethel's rule as a corruption of traditional values, aiming to return the ocean to its ancient ways.

Krixis was a manta ray-man with a broad, flat body, skin a deep slate with striking white spots, and an elaborate necklace made of ancient sea relics. He came from a long line of scavengers and believed that the old ways of life held more wisdom than anything new. His clan's reverence for history led him to form The Reclaimed Depths, where he preached the virtues of ancient practices over Ethel's rule.

.

Leader: Selia Brineclaw — Organization: The Abyssal Kin

The Abyssal Kin were extremists who used forbidden bioengineering techniques to create monstrous sea creatures for combat, unleashing them on Ethel's forces and territories. They believed in transforming the ocean into a realm where only the genetically enhanced could thrive.

Selia was a tall, wiry woman with translucent skin that revealed faint glowing veins, her modified body a testament to her zealotry. Her eyes were a strange yellow hue, capable of seeing in total darkness. Once a scientist, Selia's obsession with genetic enhancement led her to form The Abyssal Kin, believing that only those who embraced evolution could survive.

.

Leader: Xaris Hookfin — Organization: The Revenants

The Revenants were known for necromancy, raising the bodies of fallen creatures to act as their soldiers and spies. They instilled fear through their ability to control those who had long since passed, using the undead as a reminder of their pervasive reach.

Xaris, a small, hunched figure with thin, almost skeletal features, had piercing red eyes and skin that appeared stretched and sunken over his frame. Once a revered priest, Xaris turned to necromancy to gain power, becoming a feared leader who reveled in the manipulation of death itself.

.

Leader: Rhysa Driftfang — Organization: The Red Current

The Red Current was a group of pirates who attacked ships and coastal cities, seeking to disrupt Ethel's control over commerce and supply lines. They aimed to destabilize the ocean's economy, turning the currents red with the blood of those who opposed them.

Rhysa was a formidable, stocky woman with thick black hair flowing in waves around her fierce, bronze-skinned face. A former merchant who was wronged by officials, Rhysa formed the Red Current to exact revenge on any establishment resembling authority. Her scars spoke of countless battles, and her presence was as intimidating as her exploits.

Ethel's gaze flickered over each one of these leaders, all now bound and helpless before her wrath. She knew each of their histories, the pain, the ambition, and the darkness that fueled their hatred toward her kingdom. Her hand rested on the coral armrest as she assessed each of them, her expression unmoved. Each leader, however dangerous and cunning in their own right, now found themselves utterly at her mercy.

Ethel sat on her coral throne, her eyes cold and impassive as they swept over the line of defeated leaders. She let the silence hang, heavy and foreboding, before she finally spoke, her voice a quiet, deadly ripple through the room.

"ONCE, I NEEDED YOUR POWER TO KEEP ORDER, TO CONTROL THESE WATERS FROM THE SHADOWS AND MANIPULATE THE UNDERSEA KINGDOMS TO MY WILL. YOU WERE USEFUL TO ME THEN. BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED. THE WORLD ABOVE IS SHIFTING, AND YOUR PLACE IN MY KINGDOM HAS GROWN... IRRELEVANT."

Her gaze fell on Seraphon Gale, the most dangerous leader of them all, leader of the Abyssal Dominion. Her voice dripped with quiet malice as she addressed him directly. "WELL, SERAPHON, SINCE I NO LONGER REQUIRE YOUR SERVICES, WILL YOU SUBMIT? OR MUST YOU BE REMOVED?"

Seraphon's lips stretched into a twisted, vicious grin, his eyes gleaming with defiance. "I was never yours to control, Ethel. I'll never submit to—"

Before he could finish, his voice cut off with a wet gurgle as his eyes went wide, shock overtaking his face. Suddenly, with a gruesome, sickening sound, his entire body convulsed from the inside, and his muscles seemed to seize up. In an instant, blood erupted from his mouth, eyes, and nose as the water inside his body turned against him, rupturing his veins, and crushing his organs. His flesh tore as thick dark red blood and seawater sprayed in every direction, painting the floor in dark, shimmering red.

As his lifeless body slumped forward, a horrified silence swept through the chamber, and the other leaders froze in terror. Ethel sat calmly, unflinching as her power coursed through the water, staining it with the vivid remnants of Seraphon's rebellion. She allowed a small, cruel smile to tug at her lips.

One by one, her gaze drifted over the other leaders, a silent declaration that the choice was theirs to make. The display sent a resounding message through the hall—she needed none of them. She had eliminated the most powerful among them without even lifting a finger, her mastery over the very water in their veins reminding each of them that there was no realm in the ocean where they could hide from her wrath.

After the display of Seraphon Gale's bloody end, the remaining leaders were left trembling, a silent terror settling over them. Ethel's cold, calculating gaze shifted to the next in line, Kaela Frostscale of The Silent Depths. Her sharp, white eyes met Ethel's for only a fleeting moment before dropping, her gray skin slick with a nervous sheen.

"KAELA," Ethel's voice cut through the silence, "WILL YOU SUBMIT OR FALL LIKE SERAPHON?"

Kaela's defiant days were over; her mouth opened, but words failed. "Yes," she managed, her voice a weak whisper. Immediately, a magical contract materialized before her, and with a resigned nod, Kaela signed, the sigils binding her loyalty to Ethel permanently.

Next came Volrik Ironjaw, leader of The Leviathan Legion. He was visibly shaken, his powerful arms trembling under the weight of the decision. "VOLRIK, SUBMIT OR BE GONE," Ethel intoned, her eyes narrowing on the massive turtle-man's scarred face.

Volrik scowled but, after a pause, muttered, "Aye… I'll serve." He signed the magical contract with a reluctant hand, his remaining eye darkening as his defiance ebbed away, replaced by submission.

Then Ethel's gaze fell on Mira Tidecaller, the seductive leader of The Tempest's Wrath. Her colorful, swirling tattoos seemed to dim under Ethel's glower. "MIRA, WILL YOU BEND THE TEMPEST TO MY WILL?"

Mira's eyes, flickering green and purple, locked on Ethel with a look of distaste. But faced with the same gruesome end as Seraphon, she forced her hand to sign, bowing her head as the magical seal tightened around her.

Krixis Riptide, a proud warrior with the ways of the ancients in his veins, was next. He flared his gills in agitation, his white-spotted manta ray skin shifting in color as he stared at the queen with hatred.

"Krixis… bow to the future or be lost in the past." Ethel's voice held no warmth, and his defiance faltered. His expression crumpled, and he reluctantly signed the contract, the old ways lost to Ethel's unwavering authority.

Selia Brineclaw of The Abyssal Kin stepped forward next, her translucent skin glowing faintly in the throne room's light. Her yellow eyes flickered with something between resignation and curiosity. "SELIA, WILL YOU SERVE OR FALL?"

"Yes, Empress," she said in a quiet, resigned voice, her body tensing as she signed. The bioengineer's brilliant mind was now fully in Ethel's control, her visions of a genetically enhanced ocean bound by Ethel's command.

Xaris Hookfin, the necromancer leader of The Revenants, trembled as Ethel's gaze reached him. The hunched figure let out a shallow, rattling breath. "XARIS, SUBMIT TO MY POWER OVER LIFE AND DEATH."

"Yes, Empress," he muttered, his fingers shaking as he signed. The necromancer's red eyes dimmed, his control over the dead now held under Ethel's iron rule.

Finally, Rhysa Driftfang, leader of The Red Current, looked on, the last vestige of defiance crumbling within her fierce bronze-skinned face. Her jaw tightened, and with a faintly bitter expression, she signed, consigning her pirate empire to Ethel's will.

The once-powerful leaders, now sworn into submission, were led out of the throne room, each bound by the magical contracts they had signed, their defiance vanquished.

As the last one exited, Ethel noticed a flicker in the shadows of her dim throne room. She sighed, already recognizing the subtle magic at play. With a casual lift of her hand, she summoned an air bubble around the shadowed patch, watching as Charna, one of Tolf's other leaders, slipped into visibility. She climbed out of the shadow, feeling the air bubble tighten around her, allowing her to breathe comfortably in the water-filled chamber.

"Hello, Charna," Ethel's voice softened slightly, the earlier malice fading into a guarded calm.

"Is everything proceeding smoothly down here?" Charna asked, a black aura rising from her shoulders as if using this aura to sense more of her surroundings.

"Yes. Although, I doubt that is the only reason you came here."

"I came here to inform you that we have squashed every single potential organization or government that could resist us. We have already assimilated those who decided to submit to us though, of course after a bit of cleaning up," Charna subtly grinned.

"That's perfect. Any update on our universal plans? Has Lucy perfected the portal technology?"

"Not yet. She has been on a break for a bit with Mia and her daughter… and, Ethel, I recommend you take a break as well. Leave everything to me to control from the shadows. I promise nothing will fall out of line. Just give me a list of what I need to do and go take your vacation."

"Why? What do you gain from this? I doubt you are doing this out of the kindness of your own heart."

"I have been interested in the ocean for a while now. My shadows hang all around the overworld, but down here, I only have a single connection and that is you. I want to expand my shadows down here, of course, with your permission, Empress," Charna jokingly took a bow.

"Whatever," Ethel smirked before rising from her throne. "I have been needing a break anyway. Any more management and I'm gonna go gray in a few months."

"I appreciate it. I promise nothing will get out of hand."

"It better not," Ethel's voice echoed through the water, the water around her bending and twisting as she stared deep into Charna's pitch-black eyes. "Even if you are my sister and comrade, I will not hold back."

"Sure~ sure~" Charna smiled.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.