Because Cala had eaten recently, the next week was relatively uneventful. She passed time by snacking on some of the local wildlife of her island, just to quell her hunger a little, but eventually, she found herself craving more once again. After circling her island one morning, she began to think of venturing out for food...until she at last spotted another lone ship sailing near her rocks’ territory.

Finally , she thought, diving underwater. Here’s my chance.

~~

Meanwhile, the ship – the SS Gedda – continued its voyage, completely unaware of the danger they were now heading towards. It was another stolen ship, again full of pirates, again searching for gold, and again desperate enough to ignore the risk.

That morning, the weather was foggy and overcast. It was also very early, so most of the crew was asleep. There were only two people aboard the ship that were currently awake— the captain and one of the crewmen, the former at the wheel on the quarterdeck and the latter waking up early in order to clean the main deck.

The crewman put down his mop and wiped his brow, staring at some of the jagged rocks protruding from the water as they passed. He bit his lip nervously — the eerily silent atmosphere was beginning to make him feel uneasy. What didn’t help his anxiety was that he had been trying to send telegrams to another ship for days, hoping to talk to his friend Sidney, but… no response. Also, he had heard things regarding the danger of the seas near the Inkwell Isles before, too, so… to say all this was beginning to worry him was an understatement.

Intending to clean the quarterdeck next, he then nervously approached the squid-like captain. He could see that the captain had all tentacles (apart from two that acted as his legs) on the wheel. He was looking straight ahead, not once acknowledging the crewman’s presence as he focused on the prize that they all thought lay ahead.

The crewman, swallowing, found the courage to speak. “Uh… Captain Lahbstah, what are we doing, going this way? Isn’t this a danger zone?”

“Peetie, have ye been suckin’ the monkey again?” the captain said, laughing. “Ye know why we’re here, ye carouser. Riches .”

Peetie blushed. Not wanting to be reminded of the various drunk escapades that resulted in a few weeks’ worth of cleaning duty, he said, “Aye, but… I’m just… I’m not so sure about this.” Rubbing his arm, he cleared his throat and added, “I’ve heard things about the dangers in these waters, y’know, and... I’m pretty sure this was the same route the Jathe was on, and we haven’t heard from ‘em since we all stole from—“

“Me boy, I too have heard of the ships that sank here,” Captain Lahbstah said, looking unfazed. “ And of the treasure that lies in their hulls. We keep going.”

“Uh—” Peetie looked to the side— he had gotten momentarily distracted by seeing out of the corner of his eye what he thought was some kind of weird whale’s tail, but after looking again, didn’t see anything there. He frowned and then turned his gaze back to Lahbstah, “Um…Captain, has anyone ever said anything about why all those ships sank?”

“Nay,” the captain said, shaking his head. “If the rumors are true, then nobody has apparently ever gotten out of here alive.”

Despite the morning air being quite cold, Peetie could feel himself begin to sweat. “Ye…ye think there’s a reason for that?”

“A bunch of landlubbers they all be!” Lahbstah declared boldly. “Look at all these rocks and how ridiculously easy to navigate they all are… absolutely none of those bastards must have been well versed in the ways of the sea.” He then sighed before saying, “Look, we’re survived this far, haven’t we? Not even that bug mob could take us down, so…. relax , we’ll be fine. Oh, and by the way, while yer at it, go swab the deck some more. Don’t forget that yer still in trouble, lad.”

Peetie exhaled as well— clearly, this was a losing battle. “Aye aye, Captain.”

Resuming his cleaning, several minutes passed in silence. Peetie then began to find himself feeling a little bit tired (the captain was not allowing him to sleep until cleaning duty was over), and he couldn’t shake the feeling away. Yawning, he took a quick break by putting his mop on the floor and sitting down. He could feel his eyes begin to droop, and could have easily fallen asleep right then and there… until, that is, the water began to rumble.

Peetie’s eyes shot open. “What the devil?!” He then got up and looked over the side — a ring of bubbles was beginning to form around the ship! Heart leaping into his throat, he immediately turned around and ran for Lahbstah. “Captain!” he yelled, grabbing the captain by one of his tentacles and quickly pulling him to the side of the ship. “Captain, look!”

Captain Lahbstah reared back in surprise. “What the— unhand me !” he snapped, retracting the tentacle from Peetie’s grasp. “What the hell’s yer problem?!”

“ Look !” said Peetie urgently, pointing to the bubbles. “Something’s happening!”

“What do ye—“ Lahbstah then gasped, stumbling backwards when the ocean around them began to rumble more intensely, “Blimey, what on Earth is going on?!”

“I don’t know!” Peetie shouted, feeling his stomach clench and bile rising in his throat— he was beginning to feel like he was about to throw up. He took quick breaths to try to quell his terror, but to not avail— the rumbling was starting to get so intense that the floor beneath them was beginning to shake.

Lahbstah, on the other hand, was looking back and forth from the bubbles to Peetie, fear evident on his face. “Peetie, go to the berthing deck and wake up the crew right now—we need all hands on deck!”

“Aye, aye, sir!” Peetie exclaimed right away, and without wasting any time, ran from the quarterdeck and down to where the rest of the crew was sleeping a few decks below, stumbling along the way as the ship continued to shake.

Finally bursting into the sleeping quarters, he kicked open the door and yelled, “Men, show a leg and get to the main deck! Captain’s orders!” Without even pausing to look at his crewmates’ annoyed, sleepy faces, Peetie then turned on his heel and ran — it felt like time was ticking, and there was no time for delay. Quickening his pace as he ran up the stairs and through the decks, only one thought was on his mind — he had to make it back up to the quarterdeck!

As he made it up (with some of the crew following closely behind), he and the others all surrounded the captain. Once everyone had arrived, Peetie looked at the captain, noting that he now had his sword at his side. Noticing their arrival, the captain turned around and declared, “Men, be on guard and ready the cannons! I think a sea monster be ready to-–“

Without warning, something— a giant arm?— suddenly burst from under the boat, breaking through and destroying the hull (as well as sending both crewmen and wood flying). Screaming, some of the remaining crew hit the deck while others fell backwards due to the intensity of the blow, Peetie himself flying straight into the wall. As he crumbled to the ground, he felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him, and the world began to blur.

Blinking in an attempt to clear his vision, Peetie groaned in pain— fuck , that hurt! Looking up, he now saw what was going on: an enormous mermaid with an octopus on her head was hovering over the ship, her hair a mass of hissing snakes. Heart pounding, his gaze then fell onto the captain— the captain was withdrawing his sword and holding it out in front of him, getting into a ready stance.

He’s going to try to fight that thing?! thought Peetie, scared shitless.

The beast reared her hand back and then slammed it down onto the ship, aiming to crush Lahbstah. Rolling out of the way, Lahbstah reached out some arms and took some swords that were resting along the side of the ship. Now armed with six swords, Lahbstah charged forward and stabbed the beast’s hand with them.

Yelping and taking back the hand with the swords still protruding from them, she cupped both hands and placed them over her eyes. Before Peetie could even process what she was doing, the sea monster proceeded to send a beam of red light the captain’s way, instantly turning him into a stone statue. Slapping a hand over his mouth, Peetie watched in wide-eyed horror as she turned the statue over in her hands and eyed it.

Pouting, she gave an irritated sigh. “Vot a shame… squid is usually my favorite meal.” She then chucked the statue away, her strong throwing arm launching it miles into the distance. Peetie stayed still in shock as he watched, unable to move as the horrible realization hit him.

The captain was gone.

The rest of the crew, now in a panic at the loss of their captain, ran about the deck, many heading for the lifeboats but being prevented by the sea monster as she slammed her tail down onto the ship. With a sudden burst of bravery, Peetie swallowed his fear, got to his feet, and then started running through the chaos. Headed for the open deck, he found what he was looking for—several cannons, all of which were lined up along the side.

Huffing as he took hold of one of the cannons, he pushed it in the direction of the mermaid and grabbed a matchbox that was lying on the floor. Using it to light the fuse, he then took aim at her chest and shouted, “FIRE!”

The cannon fired, hitting her dead on and causing the now roaring beast to plunge into the sea.

The ship then further breaks apart as her tail breaks through it once again in her descent, causing it to sink faster. Peetie, now hurrying for the lifeboats, ducks to avoid the tail before continuing to run. Once he reached the lifeboats, Peetie jumped inside one and pulled the release lever, freefall launching it into the sea.

Beginning to row away with all of his might, he turns back to see her rise from the depths once more, now with a burn mark on her chest. Holding the burn with one hand, she then began to pluck his fellow sailors from both out of the ship and out of the water before shoving them into her mouth.

Peetie felt himself freeze up, bile once again rising in his throat as he was forced to watch as all of his colleagues got picked off one by one. He had seen death before, hell, he and many of his crew had killed plenty in their quest for gold, but… this was just awful . He could only stare in horror, stare as she swallowed all of his crewmates, her yellow eyes snapping back onto him once she finished.

“Better keep rowing, little pirate…” the beast taunted, exposing her now bloodstained teeth, “Or Cala Maria vill come and EAT YOU UP! ” Abruptly, she smashed her hand onto the remains of the ship, causing the ship to completely sink and Peetie to flinch, “YOU VILL RUE THE DAY YOU CROSSED ME!”

“AHH!” Peetie swiftly turned and grabbed his oar before frantically continuing to row away, all the while thinking, I’m going to die, I’m going to die—

Looking back around, he gasped as he saw her descend back into the sea. Breath catching in his throat, he gritted his teeth as he gripped his oar tightly— this was it. Shutting his eyes, he waited for the inevitable death to claim him.

….

….Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes and looked around. She was gone, gone as if the entire thing had just been in his imagination. Peetie didn’t trust it, so he waited for a few more moments, just to see if she would suddenly pop back up out of nowhere and get him, but… nothing happened. It really was as if she had just disappeared.

Peetie continued rowing, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. He didn’t know why she didn’t give chase— maybe because of the pain of the cannon blast?— but he thanked his lucky stars she didn’t.

I’m alive , he thought. I’m actually alive . It felt unreal, and it was unbelievable, but he was alive . He was alive, and not fish food.

Only briefly stopping to rig up a sail the lifeboat had, he continued to row for the rest of the day. As he rowed on and on and on, it occurred to him that given the sheer amount of shipwrecks he had seen on the island, the Jathe was likely to be amongst them. With a pang, he figured out without a doubt what the Jathe’s fate must have been.

Shakily putting down his oar, Peetie put his face into his hands. Cala Maria turned his captain to stone and ate his hearties, but… none of that hurt him more than the realization that she likely killed his friend, too.

“SAIL HO!”

Peetie jumped, quickly removing his hands from his face and squinting at the sight of a cargo ship about fifty to hundred feet away heading in his general direction. He sighed in relief upon seeing this— he was saved! Grabbing a whistle from the floor of the lifeboat, he blows it to try to catch the ship’s attention.

“HELP!” he screamed, waving his hands in the air. “PLEASE, HELP ME! MY SHIP’S BEEN SUNK!”

Within a few minutes, the ship reached him, the lifeboat on the ship’s leeward side. The ship’s crew lowered the davit falls to the lifeboat and Peetie speedily attached the strop to the lifting hook. Before he knew it, they were lifting the lifeboat up to the upper decks.

Once up, he came face to face with the three members of the crew hoisting him up: one beetle and two flies. Sucking in a breath as he noted the familiar smell of moonshine, Peetie realized right away that this ship was most likely affiliated with the mob somehow. Hoping they didn’t recognize him, he briefly wondered why they would decide to pick him up, but… it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if they were with the mob or not, he had to warn people about that dreaded beast —if for no one else, then for his crew and his captain.. and for Sidney.

Peetie hopped from the lifeboat onto the deck. “Turn back!” he warned immediately, cutting off the beetle who was opening his mouth to speak. “Turn your ship right now— you’re headed for danger!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a second!” said one of the flies, holding his hands out in front of him. “Calm down— what the hell happened?!”

“I..I…” The entirety of the day’s events hit Peetie at that moment, the dam finally bursting. Shaking violently, he forced out, “I-it.. it was a bu-bu-beast… sunk my sh-ship...”

“A beast?” the other fly asked, crossing his arms. “What kind?”

“M-mermaid. Sea beast,” stuttered Peetie. “A sea beast named C-Cala Maria.” Taking quick and rapid breaths, he added, “She… she a-attacked my ship, and.. and ate my entire crew, and… oh my God , she’s done this before! There were shipwrecks everywhere !”

The three bugs glanced at each other. “Come and sit down,” the beetle said, putting a hand on Peetie’s shoulder. “And tell us everything.”

Lip trembling, Peetie began to feel a little dizzy— his exhaustion from this morning was beginning to set in. Swaying on his feet, he asked, “C-can… can I have some of your shine first? I.. I need to be loaded to the gunwalls for this…”

The beetle rolled his eyes. “Can’t spare any, sorry.” He then grabbed Peetie and forced him to sit, “Get to talking, man— you say a mermaid sunk your ship?”

~~

It took Cala a few weeks to heal from her cannon wound. As a result, she spent the week recovering alone in her cave. She was unable to move much without wincing in pain, so days passed without her hunting much of anything. To pass time, she explored the depths of the water near her face and played some of the music boxes she had found on various shipwrecks. Soon, though, she found herself getting bored — there was nothing to do, and she was feeling weaker and weaker by the day. Trying to gain her strength back, she tried to eat some of the crabs and other small animals that inhabited the island, but quickly found once again that there were barely any left due to her eating many of their populations to near extinction.

That was a problem.

Cala was starting to think that hunger was not her only problem now, though. When she had first started her recent attack, she felt a dark energy consume her. It was really weird—Cala had sunk many ships before, but typically she did not delight in causing suffering nearly as much as she had during that particular attack. Most of the time, she was just looking for a meal when she sank ships ( pirates being her favorite target), but she didn’t usually take such sadistic joy in doing so. However, this time it felt as if her entire being was screaming at her to kill, her hunger, bloodlust, and rage all intensifying tenfold.

Was… was that the Devil’s doing? Cala thought to herself, staring into the cracked mirrors she had lined up against the wall. What else did he do to me ?

Cala shook her head. She couldn’t think about that now— she HAD to eat again, and soon. Being as large as she is, she had to eat regularly in order to sustain her massive bulk— making not eating anything for over a week start to get to her. She was starving .

She had no choice, she had to venture out. Without another thought, Cala dove into the water and left the sanctuary of her rocks once more.

After hours of swimming, she managed to find a lone ship. She resisted the urge to sink it — she was too weak for that right now, she couldn’t handle another cannon attack— and instead followed it to port. I’ll just have to find food on one of the islands , she thought, staying low underneath the waves to avoid detection. They’re populated, there's bound to be plenty of food there.

More hours then passed, and the island finally came into view. Once reaching it, Cala felt a weird pang in her heart — it looked the same. She had been gone for over a decade and a half, but apart from appearing a little smaller due to her size, the island looked entirely the same.

She pushed the sentimental thoughts away. Don’t think about your old life now. Just get some food and go.

Cala lurked along the coast, her head barely above water as she looked around. She didn’t know what she was planning on doing (eat some of the people on the beach, maybe?), but did know that she had to do it fast — her stomach was starting to hurt from how hungry she was.

Suddenly, she heard someone’s voice. “Yeah, I heard she can even turn people to stone with her gaze!”

Cala’s eyes widened upon hearing this. Are they.. talking about me ? Looking up, her gaze fell upon a crowd of people talking near the edge of the beach.

“Did you hear that she’s eaten over a thousand sailors?”

Yeah, there’s no way they aren’t talking about me , Cala thought.

“Yeah, she’s probably the one behind all those disappearances. Didn’t you read the newspaper this morning? It went into detail about what she did to that one ship….”

“I read it, it was awful! What a despicable creature that Cala is…I hope the mayor does something about it...”

They then walked out of Cala’s earshot, preventing her from hearing anything else. After she was sure they were gone, she stood still for a moment.

“Zey know who I am…” Cala muttered to herself. “But… zey hate me...”

She continued to swim in a daze, and for some reason, hoped to hear her name be mentioned by the beachgoers some more. As she swam, she came across more people, and sure enough, Cala noticed that more often than not, her name was brought up. Within the span of an hour, she heard numerous stories and rumors about what she had done, and each one grew more and more exaggerated and outrageous.

“I hear she’s the most deadly mermaid on the planet!”

“Please, Cala Maria gives the Candy Cannibal a run for her money!”

“Bigger than the tallest building? She’s bigger than even the giants!”

“Cala sounds more evil than the Devil himself…”

As she listened, Cala didn’t feel nearly as upset as she thought she would be. She had thought that the whole deal with becoming famous would make people like her, but… based on her actions, it honestly made sense that people would talk about her this way. Unexpectedly, she found that she didn’t even care — in fact, she began to like how that sounded. Even if it was negative, people were still talking about her. People knew who she was, and they knew her accomplishments. She didn’t know why, but the more she listened, the more exhilarated she felt.

In a weird way, she even felt proud.

Bigger than a giant… more evil than the Devil… thought Cala, a slight smile forming despite herself. You all flatter me.

Thinking there would be more people and more food there, she then swam to the city. As she arrived, she noticed a huge crowd near the fishing pier on the beach. It appeared as if some kind of event was going on — the entire area was packed, and the crowd was loud and boisterous. Seeing this as a possible opportunity, she swam past the docks and underneath the pier. Poking her head out of the water in order to observe the commotion, she suddenly heard her name being spoken.

“And now, Mr. Peetie Rye will tell us more tales of the dreadest sea beast — Cala Maria !”

As a gasp rang out from the crowd, Cala moved to the side a little in order to get a better view. Squinting a little, she could see a couple men approaching the podium, and quickly realized that she recognized one of them.

“It’s that pirate I had to spare...” murmured Cala.

Stepping on, the pirate announced, “Dear citizens of the Inkwell Isles! I have for ye, another batch of tales!”

Despite his confident tone of voice, Cala noticed that as he talked, this ‘Peetie’ had dark circles under his eyes and was carrying a flask in his hand. She didn’t really have to think about what that was, since it was obviously alcohol. She had obviously never had any herself, but during her childhood, a few times she had seen Calvin carry around and drink from a similar flask whenever he was stressed. Meaning, she knew pretty well what that meant.

Looks like I really traumatized this man , she thought.

Taking a quick swing, Peetie then continued, “However! This tale is best told in song! Hit it, boys!”

Cala realized that the men accompanying Peetie were a band. Several had instruments: one had a fiddle, a few had drums, one had a guitar.. and a couple other instruments Cala did not know the name of.

“Zey are already writing songs about me?” she said to herself as they began to play, a little surprised. “The Devil vorks fast….”

Cala wasn’t sure why, but she was actually curious as to what they would sing about her. She also just liked music in general, but didn’t get to hear much of it in her cave due to her music boxes from shipwrecks not having many songs. So, she listened as Peetie began to sing.

** “ Gather weary travelers

I have a tale to tell

It might just save your lives, but only if you listen well

There before the breakers

And just along the way

There's a sign

That says "Beware

The beast of Pirate's Bay !"

Some say she's a guppy

A kid threw in the sea

She ate so many sailors now she's bigger than a tree

Her teeth are sharp as scissors

Her nails they are like knives

And if you think she's ugly, wait 'till you see her insides!

Oh, don't you sail and don't you row and certainly don't you swim

'Cause if you aren't careful you'll end up inside of em

She'll eat you up and spit you out

You better stay away

Heed the sign that says "Beware

The beast of Pirate's Bay!"”

As he continued to sing, Cala felt her stomach growl. She huffed with annoyance— regardless of whatever song they were playing about her, she needed to eat soon. She dove back into the waves and swam out from under the pier and towards the shoreline.

Swimming a few hundred feet away from the crowd, she poked her head out of the water again. Peetie and the band appeared to be near the end of their song, and the more they sang, the more Cala felt the urge to make her appearance known. She wanted to know how they’d react to this ‘beast’ they are so scared of suddenly showing up.

Not to mention, she was still very hungry.

** “ Well now I’m out of stories

And there's only you and me

And, if you care, I'd like to share how this song came to be

So come a little closer

If you really want to know

This very sad and woeful tale that happened not long ago

Well, I was just an errand boy

When I went to Pirate's Bay

And there I saw a creature that put us in disarray

With a harpoon in her heart

And crossbones in her eyes

Cala ate our whole crew, and I still hear them cry

I jumped and I rowed

And barely got away

Into the deeper waters of our shallow Pirate's Bay

All I can do to stop her

Is to keep people away

So I wrote a sign

That said "Beware

The Beast of Pirate's Bay!"

What did it say?

Don't you sail and don't you row

And certainly don't you swim

'Cause if you aren't careful, you'll end up inside of em

She’ll eat you up and spit you out so you better stay away

Heed the sign that says "Beware"

Hell, I should know, I put it there!

Heed the sign that says "Beware—“”

Cala couldn’t control the urge anymore — she burst from the water to her full height. Towering over the now startled crowd, she bellowed, “ THE BEAST OF PIRATE'S BAY !”

The reaction was immediate. As soon as they looked up and saw her, the crowd screamed at the top of their lungs, some pointing at her while others cowered in fear.

“IT’S HER!!!”

“IT’S THE BEAST!!”

“SHE’S COME TO KILL US!!!”

“RUN!!!!”

The crowd dispersed as everybody began to panic and run away in different directions, running for their lives like a bunch of ants. As she watched the chaos, Cala didn’t know what to think. Usually, she either attacked pirates who attacked her first, or attacked people who had encroached upon her territory. So, attacking people who had done neither of those things felt a little… odd for her to do. However, the intense adreadline and urge to attack began to flood her body again, and she began to feel a strange sense of satisfaction at watching all them all flee.

Cala jumped and then roared loudly when a sudden harpoon grazed her side. She looked back at the docks: some ships were approaching, and some sailors on them were attacking! Swimming closer to the shore, her body was now unable to completely submerge due to the now shallow waters, but that didn’t stop her from reaching out and grabbing them with one hand. Cackling as she sent beams of light from her eyes, she proceeded to turn several of them (as well as some others on the docks and pier) into stone before shoving the rest of them into her mouth, letting her appetite take full control. Then, she grabbed some of the more fish-like people on the pier and ate them too.

Cala hummed as she finished — she really had been hungry. Her stomach finally full, she slammed her hands down into the sand of the beach and glanced back at the podium. The band had dropped their instruments and ran away with the crowd, but.. the pirate was still there, frozen in place as he stared up at her.

Taking a much closer look at him, Cala realized right away that this wasn’t just the pirate that got away — this bastard was also the one who hit her with the cannon! Her anger boiled as Cala lowered herself to his eye level, snakes hissing as she growled, “ Remember me ?”

Peetie gulped, stepping backwards. “I—“

Before he could say anything else, Cala quickly blasted a beam from her eyes and turned him into stone. She stared at him for a long moment— he was frozen in time with a panicked expression on his face, hands outstretched in front of him in a futile attempt to defend himself.

“That’s for hitting me with the cannonball,” snarled Cala. Then, just like she did with the captain, she heaved his statue and chucked it miles away, hearing a faint splash in the distance as it landed into the sea.

She looked at the beach again. Most of the beachgoers had now evacuated, but she could still see some people near the pier and the docks as they prepared to attack her some more. Somehow, this didn’t bother her… if anything, it excited her. Grinning wickedly in anticipation as they approached, she only had one thought.

Bring it.

~~

Meanwhile, near the northern edge of the island, the Devil and Henchman were on the beach. Due to asking about it prior to meeting Cala, Henchman had gotten it in his head to repeatedly ask Devil for a vacation. Devil initially kept telling him no, but today he had decided to finally relent and go on one so he could avoid another dull presentation of Stickler’s. So, they were both on a private end of the beach, Henchman lying on a towel and reading the newspaper while the Devil was lying in a lounge chair with a foil reflector.

As he finished reading the latest page, Henchman looked up and asked, “Hey, boss, have you read today’s newspaper?”

The Devil lifted the sunglasses he was wearing. “Is it about me?”

“Um…no, it’s about that mermaid we met a few weeks ago, actually.”

Devil rolled his eyes. “Then I don’t care. I promised her fame, now she’s famous. My powers work, how surprising.” He then put his sunglasses back down. “Let me know if I’m brought up.”

Henchman sighed but continued reading. For the next few minutes, the beach was quiet and relaxing— definitely a vacation they both needed. Once he finished the newspaper, he set it aside before laying back and soaking in the sun.

Of course, though, this moment was quickly short-lived. Without warning, loud screams began to fill the air, causing both demons to jump. Then, several people hurriedly ran past them both, not even noticing they had just ran past the Devil himself.

Confused, the Devil took off his sunglasses again and threw them away. Standing up and dusting himself off, he turned to Henchman. “What the— what’s going on?”

Henchman watched the horrified crowd leave. “Not sure.”

The Devil huffed angrily. “Ugh, this is a private area! I swear, I’m going to—“

Suddenly, a loud BOOM rang out in the distance. Then, another. Next, a bunch of screams came from the direction of the city, and they could both faintly hear more people running.

The two glanced at each other for a moment. Then, the Devil wordlessly motioned Henchman over. Picking up his towel, Henchman walked over as the Devil put a hand over his eyes and looked back at the city. After a moment of observing the town, he smirked before turning to Henchman, “Go back to Hell for a bit, will you, Henchman? I think I’m going to check this out.”

An elevator appeared in a burst of fire behind Henchman. Nodding, he then entered it, and as the door closed, Henchman waved and said, “Good luck, boss!”

Devil grinned. “I won’t need it.”

In a flash, Henchman was gone. Devil then picked up his pitchfork from the ground and began to hover into the air. Once he was several hundred feet into the air, Devil could see that there seemed to be some kind of ruckus near the harbor, the sounds that rang out sounding almost like a battle.

“Ooooh, I love the sound of carnage in the morning!” he cackled. “Let’s go see what all the fuss is about.”

Heading towards the port, Devil spotted more and more screaming people fleeing below— all of them looking horrified. As he approached, he recognized the huge mass in the distance as the very same mermaid that had hit today’s headlines, currently wrecking absolute havoc. Floating down to what remained of the pier, he could see that several ships were destroyed, a few buildings and other structures were leveled, and the beach was lined with terrified statues and body parts.

After taking a moment to survey all the destruction, Devil couldn’t help but laugh. “My, my… somebody’s been using their new powers quite well.” He then ran a claw along the jawline of the nearest statue, “Don’t you think?”

Suddenly, the Devil saw a bright red light out of the corner of his eye. In an instant, he swiftly used his pitchfork to deflect the blast. Clicking his tongue as he looked up at the sea beast, he said, “How rude... Cala, is this any way to treat a benefactor?”

“Huh?” Cala Maria lowered herself a little so she could see who was talking to her. Recognizing him, she frowned and said, “Vell, vell. It’s you.” Cala then crossed her arms, an annoyed expression clear as day on her face. “Devil… explain, now .”

“Explain?” Devil asked in mock surprise. “What is there to explain? I gave you fame, and you became famous, no?”

“Yes, but I think you have messed vith my emotions somehow,” she said, looking cross. “I didn’t ask for that, you know.”

“Other than the stone gaze and snakes, I didn’t mess with anything. The only other thing I did was give your abilities a boost so you would be able to do your.. work better,” he said, using air quotes around the word ‘work’.

Cala still felt uneasy about that. “Vell... I’ve been feeling different. More eager and such.”

Disinterestedly, Devil picked at his nails. “Anything you’ve been feeling, you already had within you,” he replied. “All I did was give you a power boost, that’s it. Guess that got to your head, but.. it’ll be worth it, I assure you. Just think of it as something to deal with so you could get your fame.” He then glanced at the statue for a second before looking up at her again, “Speaking of which, how’s that fame coming along?”

Surprisingly, Cala gave him a wicked grin. “It is going great .” She threw her arms out before spinning around gleefully. “Look at zem all.. zey all know who I am, just like you said!” She then turned towards the docks, lowering herself so she could stare some remaining cowering sailors in the face, “WHO AM I?!”

“A— a dreaded s-sea beast!” one of the sailors gasped, shaking as he and his crewmates huddled together. At that point, they had given up on trying to attack her, but could not flee due to Cala destroying part of the docks.

“NO!” She immediately turned the man into stone. Then, licking her lips as she stared at the remaining men, she yelled, “ SAY MY NAME !”

“C-CALA MARIA!”

A powerful thrill running through her, Cala laughed. “AHAHAHAHAHAHA! AND NEVER FORGET IT!”

She then swayed her hips back and forth, faster and faster. The water around them began to whirl, forming a cyclone that sucked everything nearby into it. Cala then thrust her hips towards the now empty shore, sending a massive tidal wave onto the beach and destroying the nearby area.

“This power !” Cala said as she panted with exhilaration, “Everyone knows my power, everyone knows my name! I am famous!”

Out of nowhere, Cala felt something on her shoulder. Her eyes widened and she pulled back when she looked down and saw that Devil was now sitting crossed legged there, “Wha—?!”

“Hm, more like infamous,” he said, resting a hand on his chin.

Choosing to not ask him how he managed to get there, Cala lifted an eyebrow. “Infamous? Vot does that mean?”

“Fame for doing bad things,” Devil explained. He then chuckled and said quietly under his breath, “ Just like me .”

“Infamous…” Cala repeated, not hearing that last part. She shook her head, “Eh, it’s like fame, it’s the same. If I can live vith being a monster, then I can live vith this.” She proceeded to turn a good portion of the docks into stone before saying, “If that’s what it takes, then I vill go down in infamy !”

Devil tilted his head in curiosity. “Hm. I... kinda figured that you’d be more upset that everyone is afraid of you. You’re really enjoying this?”

“When I vas child, all I wanted vas for people to know who I vas… and now zey do,” Cala responded, using her tail to knock over a structure on the beach. “Vas it my plan? No.” She then exhaled before adding, “But… it vill be my life.”

Cala reached a hand out to grab him, but found that the Devil was gone. Shrugging, she shot off one more beam from her eyes to the docks for good measure, and then returned once more to the depths of the sea.

The Devil, however, had not actually left— he had returned to the beach. Now sitting on a lounge chair left behind by a beachgoer, he played around with his pitchfork as he watched her leave.

Once she had gone, the Devil put his pitchfork down. “This… is turning out way better than I thought it would,” he said, a sadistic smile slowly spreading across his face. “Well then, sea beast… keep up that infamous streak, and keep those souls-a-coming.”

written by me and u/scrugssafe

Link to the AO3 version: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42722193/chapters/107325948