Abyssal (ManxMan)

Public Humiliation

Warning: The original version of this chapter contains explicit non-consent content. The full, uncensored version has been uploaded to my Patreon.

Kai gaped. The shock resonated within him with the power of a 7.0 earthquake. He was so shaken on the inside that he actually began to shake on the outside, trembling pathetically like a leaf in high wind. He was reeling.

Was the tentacle monster spinning him around or was his mind spinning?

The stranger was the aptly-dubbed King Marius the Conqueror.

For a moment, he hadn't recognized him and had thought he was someone else; the merman before him now had hair that draped down his back all the way to his hips. But it was those predatory blue eyes that he could never mistake, mind spinning or not.

While he'd lain unconscious in the cage, the King had changed into something worthy of his kingly stature. Kai had never seen such impressive garb before, or so much gold on a single person. A beautiful circlet crown circled his head, and looked worth more than what some small countries made in a year. It had two gold bands twirling around each other and then intersecting to form a rhombus shape on his forehead.

Around his shoulders, he wore a spectacular gold and black chest piece. Kai had never been able to tell handcrafted works from the work of a machine before, but he was sure that this particular piece was indeed handcrafted. The heavy-looking, decorative chest piece had very intricate gold inlaid designs that would have cost the maker their eyes, and it sported a magnificent, large red gem -probably a ruby- in its center. The red gem glowed so brightly that Kai suspected it was magic.

Kia's eyes travelled down the merman's body, and what a body it was. His merman form was just as powerfully-built as his human form. Bare-chested, Kai could see every rippling muscle in his body. He quickly moved on before he became too distracted.

On either arm, he wore wrist braces just like the other pompous, purple-haired merman, but his were of an even finer quality. The same intricate designs of the chest piece were replicated on the arm braces, save for the gem. At the hips, he wore yet another piece that also matched the rest of his 'clothes'.

Yet what Kai's eyes were most drawn to weren't the multiple displays of wealth and status, but the King's long black tail. The shimmering scales reminded him of the King's full-body suit that he'd worn in human form. Unlike the merfolk surrounding him, the king's tail gradually changed hues from black to a very faint red at the bottom. At the base of his tail right before the fins, a gold bangle akin to the one he'd seen on the mer siblings shimmered, a king's ransom.

There was no mistaking who the stranger was.

A part of him had always suspected it, but he was still quite surprised to learn that his suspicions were true. He hadn't wanted them to be. But what difference would it have made if the stranger was someone else? He would have met with the infamous ruler eventually.

As the tentacles tightened around him, he couldn't break King Marius' gaze for the life of him. He wanted to look away, tried to, but just couldn't! No doubt Kai's eyes were a mirror into his soul at this very moment, revealing every thought and fear that flitted through his chaotic mind. On the other hand, he couldn't tell what the King was thinking at all. His eyes were the very definition of unreadable.

The King of Nostraza appeared to be a deeply-private, formidable individual whose thoughts were not privy to just anyone, if anyone at all. He was a force to be reckoned with and Kai's greatest adversary.

Kai shivered.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything. "You're-"

His head gave a sharp pang, immediately silencing him. The memories of the events in the underground tunnel returned to him all at once, bombarding him with one image after another. He flinched and would have taken a step back if he could have.