Why do I keep attracting Villainesses?

Chapter 23

Chapter 23.

It looked like a giant, colorful jungle.

The both of us stayed low, moving through the tall sea grass.

My mistress signaled for me to stop, and we began secretly watching a sea-cow some distance away.

Unlike its name, it wasn’t exactly a cow with legs, but a type of chubby aquatic life that was slowly munching on some greenery. It looked peaceful and completely unaware that we were there.

"To first become one with your senses, you need to accept yourself as a whole," my mistress whispered.

"That includes your predator side. You can’t keep fighting the shark if you want to control it."

I looked at the sea-cow, then at my own translucent webbed hands.

I could feel a strange thumping in my ears, the sound of my own heart, or maybe the vibrations of the water.

’ Am I really going to become a killer to control this curse of mine?’ I thought to myself.

"Which means," she added, her eyes locking onto mine with a serious look, "you’ll also need to learn how to hunt."

"Alright... I’ll do my best, Mistress," I said. I tried to make my voice sound strong and confident, but inside, I was shaking. I wasn’t sure at all if I could actually do this.

My mind started racing back to my life on land. ’I’ve never killed anything in my entire life,’ I realized with a sinking feeling.

Sure, I knew how to fish, but that felt different.

I knew it sounded strange but fishing and actually killing something with your bare hands were two different things.

Maybe, I had torn through that school of tuna yesterday, but that wasn’t really me.

That was a freak accident where I let my anger and that weird shark power take over.

Doing it on purpose, while I was fully awake and thinking, didn’t feel the same at all.

*****

’ Let’s just try to make it quick.’ I said to myself as a form of encouragement.

Under her watchful gaze, I started to move.

I dropped down low, sticking close to the sandy floor.

I used the tall underwater plants and the big chunks of coral to hide my body.

Every time the sea cow moved its head or looked around, I froze in place, holding my breath.

Little by little, inch by inch, I closed the gap.

My heart was thumping against my ribs so hard I thought the vibrations might give me away.

Eventually, I was close.

Within proper striking range.

’Now!’ I yelled in my head.

I pushed off with my tail, putting every bit of strength I had into one sudden burst.

I accelerated through the water at my fastest speed. Because I was so much stronger now, the water around me couldn’t move out of the way fast enough.

It pushed back in all directions, creating a loud thump and a cloud of bubbles that looked like a small explosion under the sea.

The sea cow, which had been peacefully grazing on sea grass, perked its head up.

It looked in my direction with big, slow eyes.

Seeing me flying toward it like a torpedo, it panicked.

The creature hurriedly tried to flip its tail and swim away, desperate to escape.

’Huh?’ I thought as I closed in.

Even though it was trying to flee with all its might, the gap between us didn’t grow.

It actually got smaller way faster than I expected.

I realized right then that the problem wasn’t me being some super-fast hunter; it was the sea cow itself.

The darn thing was just way too slow compared to a shark. It was like a track star chasing a toddler.

In the blink of an eye, I was right on top of it.

I reached out and grabbed onto its thick, blubbery neck.

Using both my hands, I clamped down hard on its neck, pinning it in place so it couldn’t wiggle away.

The creature struggled feebly, its flippers splashing uselessly against my chest.

"Not bad. You did good, dogfish," my mistress said.

She had followed behind me and reached my side in just a few short seconds without much effort.

"Uhh... yeah," I said. I felt really awkward.

I had expected a grand chase or a life-and-death struggle, but that barely took any effort at all.

It felt less like a hunt and more like I was picking up a very large, heavy sack of potatoes.

"Now, kill it," she said. Her voice was flat and cold.

I nodded, trying to look tough. I prepared to do exactly what she said.

I tightened my grip, ready to end it, but something unexpected happened.

When I glanced at the pitiful creature in my hands.

My hands suddenly felt heavy. They froze up, refusing to squeeze any harder.

Unlike what I’d had in mind, It was just a chubby, harmless animal... The poor thing was just to pitiful to look at.

"...." I stayed silent, staring at the sea cow.

"What’s the matter?" she asked, her voice getting that sharp edge again.

"I... I don’t think I can kill it," I admitted.

My voice was small. My heart just couldn’t bear to strangle the life out of this poor, weak creature.

If it had been a big shark fighting back, or something trying to eat me, maybe I could have done it.

But this chubby guy was just too pitiful. It felt like murder to end it’s life, not hunting.

"What do you mean you can’t?" My mistress stepped closer, her forehead wrinkling into a deep frown.

She looked genuinely annoyed. "Why do you think we came all the way out here? This isn’t some leisure activity!"

"I just..."

"Kill it and let’s move on!" she snapped.

"You still have other prey to kill besides this one. You need to do this over and over before you can finally gain control over yourself. This is how you learn!"

Hearing her words, I nodded, taking a deep breath to calm myself.