"Impressive!" Angela thinks aloud as she gazes at Mira, channeling her mana into her soul weapon.
Whether it's her appearance, her aura, her voice, and even her way of moving, everything about Mira leaves Angela impressed. She sees the Naga Queen as a much more beautiful, majestic, and powerful woman than she is, as a superior version of herself.
Angela already felt something like that when she started to fall in love with Lucien, but she didn't think he would ever look at her when having Cassidy by his side.
After spending so much time with them, she realized that Cassidy is very similar to her in terms of her way of thinking, acting, and even their fears. But Mira is quite different from them, maybe because of the huge difference in age and strength, or something else.
Anyway, that doesn't make Angela feel inferior or worried, but rather encourages her to try to be better, not just for Lucien, but for herself as well. And seeing Mira in all her grace makes that desire grow even stronger in her heart.
"She's really amazing..." Marie comments while also finding Mira very powerful. But then she shakes her head as she looks at Kamala, who fails to hit Lucien even when he uses only half his speed. "On the other hand, her daughter..."
"What? What's the issue with Kamala??" Lena makes a confused expression as she thinks Kamala is amazing too. "She seems to be doing great; I mean, hubby is really fast; it can't be helped."
Marie rolls her eyes. "He's holding back so much. Still, she can't do anything but attack stupidly... if they were facing a real enemy, he would walk over her and not let her mother finish preparing that powerful spell."
"But Mira is only able to channel that spell because Kamala is holding Lucien with the best she has." Lena tries to defend her new friend, or rather, sister.
Angela sighs. "Mira seems to be trying a massive attack to have a chance of damaging Lucien's barrier, but if this was real combat, she could cast faster spells if she needed to."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"In other words, Kamala is the weak link in their duo." Marie comments with her usual arrogant tone.
Lena really doesn't like the way her sister acts. "Have you forgotten that her mother is almost two thousand years older than her???"
"And did you forget that she had all her power stolen by her ex-husband??" Marie responds with another question quickly. "All Mira can do now is due to Lucien's demonic energy, so Kamala, who was fine when she started receiving his energy, should be much stronger than her mother now."
"It's not that simple." Angela comments. She understands Marie's way of thinking but also knows that not everything is as it seems. "Do you remember the difference in power between us when we first met Lucien?"
Before Marie can respond, Angela continues. "Back then, our power seemed quite different, but the truth is that our knowledge was very limited. Thanks to Lucien and Lust, we found out about the Power Realms, and the power he gives us goes far beyond that."
"What do you mean, mom?" Lena is confused, while Marie maintains a stubborn expression.
Angela gently smiles at her daughters. "Well, you both started getting his energy before me and that little power difference should mean even less when we reached the Mortal Realm; it shouldn't exist nowadays, but still I'm almost two layers in front of you, without mention the huge difference between our real strength."
"..." Marie can't deny that; Angela and Cassidy seem to benefit more from Lucien's energy than she and Mia.
"I still don't understand..." Lena remains confused.
Angela strokes Lena's hair. "Apparently, Lucien's demonic energy affects us differently, but I can't say how it works. I believe it has something to do with our will..."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Or the fact that he prefers curvy mature women rather than skinny little girls..." Marie comments with an annoyed expression.
"..." Lena and Angela don't know what to say. The first, despite having one of the sexiest bodies among Lucien's young wives, usually doesn't think much about that, while her mother knows of such unspoken preferences.
Angela almost feels bad for Marie, but then she notices her stubborn daughter pouting and can't help but laugh. "Hahahaha... I can't believe it... are you jealous of your own mother??"
"..." Marie even bites her lip in frustration. No matter how much she wants it, her body doesn't mature as much as those of girls like Lena and Madelyn.
"..." Even Lucien is taken aback by this situation. He usually limits his senses not to hear the girls' conversation and is now almost entirely focused on Kamala, but he still can't help but hear the words 'curvy mature women.'
He feels a mixture of feelings that vary from wanting to laugh to a deep regret for letting his secret preferences hurt his girls.
That kind of regret hits his heart so hard that he loses focus on the fight. Kamala doesn't realize what's happening because all she sees is an opportunity to prove her strength to him, so she hits him with all her strength.
*BAM*
She hits his shoulder with both her jade swords, knocking him to the ground. His barrier absorbs all the damage, but his body hits the ground hard, creating a large crater and raising a cloud of mud inside the giant water bubble.
"Hubby!!!" Kamala quickly regrets hitting him so hard and swims toward him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But Mira doesn't stop channeling her big spell because she knows Lucien is totally fine. Kamala also notices that because when the cloud of mud dissipates, she notices him smiling at her.
"I'm fine," He says as he points to his intact barrier. "You did well, Kamala, more ten hits like that, and you'll break through my barrier."
"Ten??" Kamala is happy for his praise, but she doesn't think she can hit him with ten more blows like that, which discourages her.
"It's alright, sweet," Mira talks to Kamala. "You're doing a great job; just hold him a little longer."
The sparkles come back to Kamala's eyes as she remembers that she has a team and she should only hold Lucien, so having hit him is already a win for her.
Lucien makes no move as he looks at Mira expectantly. "You only have thirty seconds left, my dear."
Mira looks into Lucien's eyes with a confident expression, and even though she is preparing that spell to attack him, her heart is full of gratitude and love because she is only being able to do that thanks to him.
"I'm almost there..." Black and yellow shadows begin to leave her catalyst and swirl around her body. Those shadows swirl around her, making everyone near her feel chaotic sensations growing inside their hearts, making everything seems so crazy.
'This is something big!' Lust comments in Lucien's mind, but that's unnecessary as everyone there can feel how powerful Mira's magic is.
Well, they have an idea of that power due to the aura around Mira, but they can't really know how powerful her magic is.
Everyone is focused on the shadows around Mira, but Lucien notices her touching a green stone on her necklace; a similar stone shines on Kamala's necklace, and she understands that it is the signal.
[Now!] Mira and Kamala think simultaneously, so the mother activates her spell, and the daughter quickly swims away from Lucien.
Lucien watches Mira raise her hands, and the catalyst between them glows yellow as it releases even more shadows, which come toward him like living creatures.
The shadows, or rather bolts of chaotic energy, move at incredible speed, and they get even faster as they get closer to Lucien, surprising him.
Since standing still isn't part of the training, he tries to avoid the shadows but quickly realizes that his speed won't be enough.
*BAM*
The first bolt of chaotic energy hits his back, throwing his body forward with incredible force. He quickly regains his balance and tries to dodge the other shadows, this time at full speed.
He manages to dodge the second shadow, but it quickly makes a turn after passing his body, coming back to attack him. He is forced to dodge another shadow coming from behind, but when he does it, he is faced with three more shadows coming from different directions.
[Nice!] He can't help but praise Mira in his mind as he realizes he can't escape the chaotic bolts, at least without using his teleport ability.
But since Saria and Nea don't have spatial mana, Lucien doesn't see any point in using his teleport ability to avoid Mira's attack. He still tries to avoid as many shadows as possible with his agility, but those attacks are persistent and keep coming back until they all hit him.
*BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* *BAM*
Many shadows hit Lucien, throwing him back into that crater in the ground. The chaotic bolts keep attacking him until his body goes through the whole big rock.
Lucien falls into purple space after the last shadow vanishes midair. He can't stop smiling, proud that Mira's magic is so amazing.
He quickly returns to the surface of the big rock, where he finds the girls with shocked expressions on their faces, including Kamala.
"Really outstanding!!!" Angela and her daughters are equally surprised by Mira's power.
But Mira looks exhausted. She tries to smile in response to Lucien's proud smile, but she can't even move right now. She is still not as strong as in her peak days, and that attack consumed all her energy.
She and Kamala gaze at Lucien's body, looking for any cracks in the barrier, but they are saddened when they find none.
"So we failed... even with that spell." Kamala bows her head.
"That doesn't change the fact that you did awesome teamwork." Lucien smiles at them. "You exceeded my expectations and almost broke my barrier… well, it's not over yet; you can have one more chance if you don't get caught by me in the next thirty seconds."
"Oh." Kamala's lips curl into a smile when she hears that.
But Mira lets out a tired sigh. "I can barely move, so it's over for me... but you still have a chance, sweetie, so don't give up on it; I'm sure you just need a little bit to crack his barrier."
"Yeah," He nods. "One more hit like that could make a crack on it right now."
Kamala is moved by the 'sacrifice' of her mother. Well, that's just a sparring session, but she still feels like her mom is always doing the best for her.
"I'll do it for us, Mom!" She speaks in a determined tone.
But then she takes a while before running, and when she turns, she finds Lucien's face an inch from hers. She barely has time to think before he kisses her lips.
"Got you!" He smiles at her, making her feel a mixture of happiness and frustration.
Kamala feels foolish for not running away when she had the chance and sad for not getting the reward for her and her mother.
But Lucien doesn't blame her for getting emotional; he just tries to advise her. "In a fight, you must always stay focused. When I lost focus, you hit me, and I caught you in the same way."
"Mm." She nods while promising herself to always stay focused during battles, something that is much harder than it looks.
Lucien kisses Kamala's forehead before looking at Mira. She can't even swim away, so he slowly makes his way to her.
"I've never seen such an amazing spell..." He praises her again. "I'm sure it will be very effective against the Mermaids."
"Not if I can't move after casting it once..." She looks disappointed in herself.
He approaches her, caresses her face, and kisses her lips. "When the competition day comes, you'll be able to cast it ten times without losing your breath."
"How much will we need to train to make it happen?" She makes a seductive expression.
He brings his lips close to her ear and whispers in an even more seductive tone. "So much..."
