Once they had a direction, it was not difficult to look around for the opening down the water. Nao only needed vague directions before she scouted out the most likely area.

However, when they went to look at the situation, it turned out not to be ideal for them. The hole was only big enough for one of them to enter at a time and Maria could even spot dangerous animals on the other side.

“The fishes look like they have mutated. They will attack the first one that goes in. What should we do?” Suna asked as she bit her lower lip in worry. The fishes were an unknown variable.

“There is no other way for us to reach the golden glow but to swim down. We just need to be careful” Maria ducked her head in the hole to check and instantly recoiled at the powerful magic being emitted from it.

Magical involvement should have been their first guess at seeing the hole since it had no water coming out of it despite its other opening facing the water. The spell also looked recent, not having any residual escaping coming from it.

“Someone was recently here. The magic is too fresh to have lasted otherwise” Nao had the same observation as Maria which made it all the more suspicious for Maria’s taste.

“Look at those marks. Someone tried to dig around the hole but was unsuccessful. Did they not try to enter it? Or was there another reason they tried to make it bigger?” Suna was right in that regard as well.

The scratch marks were too faded but they were still there. And seeing as their surroundings were made up of the soft ground, not hard rocks, the retainment of those marks just highlighted their freshness.

“Do you think there is someone else out here trying to get down there as well?” Noa asked doubtfully. Her doubt was legit as well since the glow had not been there before yesterday.

Or they had assumed that it had not been before yesterday. However, there was a lack of information surrounding this forest and its mysteries.

“We should wait around and observe more. The deeper I get into the mysteries of this place, the more unsettled I feel. I would have suggested for us to leave this place if only Maria was not in such a situation” Nao sounded unsettled with the place and her face looked paler than before.

Maria decided to not inform anyone of the nagging feeling she had been having this whole time. Ever since she had forced her head into the hole, she could not help but feel a tug to go toward it.

But it was only a minor tug on Maria’s human side. Most of her were under control and allowed Maria to walk away from the hole. But it also gave her a vague idea of what the marks could be about.

“One of us should keep watch while the others try and find any of the other possible openings. Any volunteers for the first watch?” Maria asked and instantly got Suna to volunteer herself.

The poor girl had been tasked with helping Maria out of the water which was no easy task, even with magically enhanced strength. Her muscles must be protesting the heavy strain being put on them by such activity.

“Make sure to call us back as soon as you see something down there. And be in touch all the time” Nao’s advice was almost an order at this point. The other two knew better than to go against her wishes.

Maria zoomed through the water and felt it against her tail’s exposed skin. It felt good, right even to be out here but her rational mind could not find it all to be disturbing. It was used to having a functional pair of legs and made Maria feel awkward using her tail.

The speed to travel on the water was nice but it was not worth the pay-off Maria had to make for it. Even if the sensitivity of it made Maria notice the intruder near her water.

Her instincts yelled at Maria to defend her newfound territory and not let the enemy take it from her. She needed to maintain this place for longer under her command to be able to hunt for food. She could not allow her and her shoal to go hungry just because her territory had been taken away.

And as soon as those thoughts registered in Maria’s mind, she felt herself being taken aback. That allowed the shadow in front of her to be able to close the distance between them and try slashing at Maria’s throat.

“Hey, I’m not an enemy. I’ll leave if you want me to” Maria’s instincts protested against this idea. They wanted her to stay back and keep an eye on the enemy, to not give up her fishing grounds.

But Maria was more than her instincts. And she could see the other hesitating at seeing Maria’s actions. Her tail splashed in water to show her hesitation and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. Had Meally surprised her with her words to the point of speechlessness?

But then those eyes narrowed as they glared Maria down and plans flashed behind the unknown Siren’s eyes.

“Your words won’t fool me. It’s in our nature to defend a found territory to the death. I will not hand my territory over to you until that day I die” the Siren declared before she attacked Maria again.

It was sad to say but it was the shortest fight of Maria’s life. The Siren was all fought with no tact and that allowed Maria to knock her out. In the end, Maria decided to drag her back to their group.

Ther had no other lead and had seen no other people inside the forest. This Siren was their only lead in uncovering the dangers of this forest.

Nao was already back with Suna when Maria reached the duo. The other two looked at her in worry and helped her bind the new Siren for safety reasons.

“Was it wise to remove her from her territory? Won’t she be mad” Suna asked once the preparations to secure the Siren were done.

“I don’t know but we should prepare for the worst-case scenario” Nao was tactical about the issue and her words sounded like she was speaking from experience.

And then she froze up and her eyes narrowed as she took in the unconscious figure of the Siren. She gripped her knife tightly in her hand and motioned for the group to be ready.

The Siren was awake and ready to attack them.