I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

Maristella had seen this future long ago. In her vision, the last prince of the Aquillian Kingdom would not only awaken a special power, but also gain the ability to command the entire ocean as if it were part of himself.

That vision was the reason she had kept her distance from her own children. She knew most of them were destined to die, while the one fated to become the ruler of the ocean would have to endure more pain than anyone else.

She had accepted that truth from the very beginning, but seeing it unfold with her own eyes was far more terrifying than she had ever imagined.

The ocean currents spun wildly, forming massive whirlpools. Towering waves rose high into the sky, as though they wanted to swallow the heavens themselves. Even the dark clouds seemed furious as lightning crashed down over the raging sea.

”Come to me,” Azul whispered.

He wasn’t speaking to the people around him, not even to Sybill. He had just commanded the demon sea beasts scattered across the ocean.

A deafening roar echoed through the water as the Kraken had returned to the Aquillian Kingdom. Its enormous body was covered in wounds. Spears, blades, and countless other weapons had left deep scars across its flesh, yet it kept moving forward without hesitation, attacking anything it saw as an enemy.

”Why did he come back here?” Roxanna asked, unable to hide her confusion. ”Mr. Kraken should be resting and recovering first!”

”I don’t think he needs much time to recover,” Calen murmured. ”Look. His wounds are starting to close!”

Roxanna narrowed her eyes in confusion. Just moments ago, Mr. Kraken had been covered in deep injuries, but now, one after another, those wounds were slowly disappearing.

”How is that possible?” Roxanna asked.

If Mr. Kraken really had such amazing healing abilities, shouldn’t he have healed himself from the beginning?

Why was it only happening now?

”Maybe...” Zeir said softly. ”...because of Azul.”

Roxanna immediately turned toward Azul, only then did she notice a thin stream of blue light flowing from Azul’s hand to the Kraken.

”Is... this what it means to completely inherit his parents’ gifts?” Roxanna murmured. ”Her Majesty can heal people, can’t she?”

Zeir gave a small nod. ”And it looks like Azul can use that healing power on sea creatures.”

Roxanna was about to ask how Zeir could be so sure, but then she noticed something strange. Even though Azul was also sending the same blue light toward Calen and Zeir, the wounds still left on their bodies didn’t heal at all.

Before she could think about it any longer, a deafening roar echoed across the battlefield.

This time, it wasn’t just one. Countless roars erupted at once, so loud that Roxanna instinctively covered her ears.

The ground beneath her feet trembled. The ocean churned even more violently as enormous shadows began to rise from the water.

One after another, gigantic demon sea beasts emerged from the depths.

Some resembled massive sea serpents with bodies that stretched for hundreds of meters. Others had countless tentacles, razor-sharp fins, or jaws large enough to swallow an entire ship in a single bite.

Their glowing eyes all turned toward the same person: Azul.

”They’re...” Roxanna whispered in disbelief.

”They’re answering his call,” Zeir finished quietly.

Orion and the others, who had just broken free from Sybill’s mind control, stared at the demon sea beasts with pale faces.

”G-Go!” Orion finally found the strength to shout. ”Go! Get out of here!”

Before the demon sea beasts could get any closer, Roxanna quickly swam toward the invisible capsule where she had hidden Azura.

Strangely enough, the capsule hadn’t drifted far from her. It was probably because of Azul’s control over the ocean.

The moment she pulled the capsule into her arms, she turned to Zeir and Calen. ”We have to leave too!”

Even though she knew the demon sea beasts wouldn’t harm her, she still believed it would be much safer if they stayed away from the battlefield.

Just as she had expected, the moment she and the others swam away, countless demon sea beasts surged toward the Devourers.

They tore through the enemy ranks without mercy.

Some swallowed the Devourers whole. Others ripped them apart with their massive jaws and razor-sharp claws, treating them as if they were nothing more than prey.

Inside the palace, Sybill clenched her teeth as she watched the chaos unfold before her.

Her fingers pulled desperately at the harp strings over and over again. The sharp strings cut into her skin until blood began running down her hands, but no matter how hard she played, the demon sea beasts refused to obey her.

”Sybill... you’re wrong,” Azul said, his voice calm but cold. ”The reason our kingdom fell... was because of you. You were the one who planned the entire infiltration, and you were the one who deceived me.”

”If it weren’t for you, our kingdom would never have ended up like this.”

Sybill glared at him with bloodshot eyes. ”You bastard!” she screamed. ”If you knew you were destined to die, and your parents only cared about your other sibling, you would’ve chosen the same path I did!”

Her chest rose and fell with anger as years of resentment poured out. ”Just because Mother saw a vision that you were destined to become the ruler of the ocean, she neglected us. She treated us like we weren’t even worth a single dime compared to you!”

Maristella slowly closed her eyes. ”No...” Her trembling whisper was barely loud enough for anyone to hear. ”All of this is my fault...”

Unfortunately, Sybill couldn’t hear her because the battlefield was filled with crashing waves, roaring sea beasts, and the screams of terrified Devourers.

Azul looked at his older sister in silence. ”You only saw what you wanted to see,” he finally said. ”I never asked Mother to protect me.”

”I never asked to become the ruler of the ocean.”

His voice remained calm, but there was a quiet sadness behind every word. ”If I could have traded that fate for all of my brothers and sisters to still be alive...” He lowered his gaze for a brief moment. ”I would have done it without hesitation.”

”Liar!” Sybill shouted.

She yanked the harp strings so hard that one of them snapped with a sharp twang.

”I watched everything!”

”I watched Mother ignore us!”

”I watched Father spend all his time preparing you for the future!”

”No one cared whether we lived or died!”

She gritted her teeth and pointed at Mera. ”They don’t even care whether he lives or dies! The only thing Father ever told Mera was to make sure you stayed alive!”

She laughed bitterly and pointed at Mera again. ”Look at him, Azul! Just look at him!” she cried. ”Do you really think Mera still looks like he’s alive?”

A bitter laugh escaped her lips, but it sounded more painful than amused.

”If only he had told me where he took you from the very beginning...” she said, her voice growing quieter. ”Maybe... maybe I could have changed our destiny.”

She slowly lowered her hand, her eyes never leaving Azul. ”Without you... maybe... all of our siblings would still be alive.”

Azul listened to every word in silence, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand her.

She kept claiming that everything she had done was to save their siblings, yet she was the one who had opened the gates for the enemy and led them into their home.

The very people she claimed she wanted to protect had suffered because of her choices.

If that wasn’t hypocrisy, then Azul didn’t know what was.

”Stop pretending, Sybill,” he said, his voice colder than ever. ”You don’t care about our kingdom. You don’t care about our family.”

His glowing blue eyes met hers without the slightest hesitation. ”The only reason you want me dead... is because you hope my destiny will become yours.”

Sybill’s pupils shrank. For a split second, her expression cracked.

Then she laughed. A low, bitter laugh that slowly grew louder. ”And if I did?” she asked, her smile trembling. ”What would be wrong with that?”

She took a step forward, her blood-stained fingers still wrapped around the broken harp. ”I was born into the same family as you.”

”I carry the same blood.”

”So why should everything have been yours?”

Her voice rose with every word. ”Why were you chosen?!”

Suddenly, Sybill slammed her harp against the stone pillar beside her. The instrument shattered on impact and a loud crack echoed through the palace as pieces of wood and broken strings scattered across the water.

Moments later, dark smoke began to pour from the shattered harp.

It seeped through the cracks like thick black mist before gathering into a single mass. The water around it turned unnaturally cold, and an overwhelming pressure spread across the battlefield.

Roxanna instinctively tightened her grip around Azura’s capsule. ”What... is that?” she whispered.

Sadly, no one answered her question.

Even the demon sea beasts that had been tearing through the Devourers suddenly slowed down. Some let out uneasy growls, while others cautiously backed away from the growing darkness.

Zeir drew his brows together, whispering, ”Black magic.”