Lucien and the duo of beautiful Mermaids continue heading towards the central region as the sky becomes increasingly covered by black clouds and the sea angrier.
As Nea continues to swim underwater with a concerned expression and a mind full of thoughts about her race's future, Saria and Lucien enjoy the journey on the surface.
He flies very close to the water as he competes with Saria in speed games in which he is most benefited by seeing her beautiful body as she gracefully leaps over the waves.
But she also loves that because spending time with him is very relaxing, even better than the time she spent with Claire. Saria doesn't like comparing Lucien with her best friend, and she would really like to spend time like that way with both of them together.
While that option isn't possible, she enjoys the most time with Lucien. Playing, talking, and even just being around him makes her happier, so neither that annoying storm nor the raging sea can make her smile less bright.
And so Saria and Lucien don't notice the time passing; Hours go by easily, and the sun gives way to a beautiful moon hidden under the black clouds, leaving that night even darker, gloomy, and cold.
Even so, Saria only stops smiling when she notices Nea coming out of the water, which causes the group to stop. "Mom?!"
"..." Nea notices how happy Saria looks beside Lucien and is not only that daughter of hers but even the Ghost Lady in his hands seems to glow with happiness, satisfied by his demonic energies.
"Mom..." Saria makes a sorry and concerned expression. "I was just waiting for Lucien to feed Kaisa, and... I guess I didn't notice the time passing..."
"Didn't notice, eh?" Nea quickly glances at the sky, dark like an abyss.
Lucien flies to Saria's side and speaks to her in a loving tone. "You don't need to lie, my dear; you're a grown woman who can very well choose who you want to spend time with."
Saria feels much more confident with Lucien by her side, but she doesn't say anything out of respect for Nea. Her mother, on the other hand, surprises her by smiling at them. "He's right, you're a grown woman, and I'm not going to try to control your life."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Mom..." Nea's words make Saria feel even worse; she has no desire to rebel or go against her mother, which makes the whole situation weirder.
"I didn't come to spoil your fun." Nea quickly speaks, but then her expression turns concerned as she looks further to the southwest. "We're approaching the fort, but we're not the only ones heading there..."
"What fortress?" Lucien asks.
"A strategic location where there is a continuous tunnel," Nea explains. "The group of scouts I sent earlier used this tunnel to get closer to the central region faster, and we will do the same."
Before Lucien can ask what a continuous tunnel is, Lust explains it in his mind. 'A continuous tunnel is a portal that is kept open the whole time. Although it consumes a lot of resources and has limited reach only within this world, it is a very useful tool for moving small groups from one area to another.'
'So Nea keeps this portal open to monitor the central region all the time...' Lucien comments to Lust. 'She does this to take care of the whole Blue Star?'
Lust feels like rolling her eyes as she comments in a mocking tone. 'And you increasingly admire a woman who wants to keep you as far away from her as possible... how about you try to stop drooling over her?'
'...' Lucien doesn't respond to that provocation because he knows Lust is jealous. In fact, all his wives get more jealous when Envy is around.
He quickly turns his attention again to Nea. "How far are they?"
"A few hundred miles." Nea quickly responds, shocking Lucien.
He is surprised that even though it has become much stronger recently, Lust's magical sense barely reaches a hundred miles away from them, but Nea, even still in the Immortal Realm, can notice things that are hundreds of miles away.
'It's her connection to the sea.' Lust comments in his mind. 'Not only does her bloodline have such abilities, but it must also have been greatly boosted by those magical fruits over the years.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})'I see.' Lucien responds in an unpretentious tone, trying not to look more impressed with Nea. But he fails, and Lust becomes even more jealous, which makes her try her best to expand her magical senses.
"What kind of creatures are they?" Saria asks her mother.
Nea makes a strange expression, making Saria concerned. "They are two Krakens; one is on the seventh layer of the Immortal Realm, and the other is on the eighth layer."
"Two Krakens??" Saria makes the same expression as her mother. "But such creatures don't hunt in groups... that's so..."
"Weird." Near nods. "I wonder why they're both heading towards our fortress..."
As Nea and Saria look at the horizon with concerned expressions, Lust mentally talks to Lucien. 'Although much less dangerous than a Leviathan, we cannot underestimate the strength of Krakens; even if they were in the early Immortal Realm layers, they would still be a problem, let alone those ones.'
Lucien understands that Lust is advising him to try to avoid that battle, but he can see in Nea and Saria's eyes that they won't let such dangerous creatures continue to roam around in their territory.
'We will fight.' Lucien talks to Lust as he warns his wives to get ready. Not all his girls are prepared for such a battle, but most of them are already strong enough.
The mother-daughter Mermaid pair notice Lucien's determination due to their incredibly special senses. They both look at him, one with a gentle smile and the other with a mocking expression.
"I didn't expect less from you." Saria smiles at Lucien, already seeing his determination to protect the Mermaid people.
"Hmph." But Nea isn't sure if he's really that determined to help the Mermaids or is such a good actor. "You've never fought a Kraken, have you?"
He shakes his head, and Nea quickly laughs in a mocking tone. "Even in low realms, Krankes already have incredible strength and resilience; I bet any one of these can rip off all your limbs before you understand what's going on."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Let's see." Lucien smiles at Nea, making her roll her eyes.
"Stupid boy..." She thinks aloud.
Saria is really sad that Lucien and her mother don't get along. She can see that they are both somewhat similar and think alike about many things, but they seem to ignore that and just keep provoking each other.
"Mom..." She looks at Nea. "Lucien is strong; I know that because I fought him myself."
Nea tilts one brow, looking at Saria with an annoyed expression. Lucien smiles, but his expression fades as Saria looks at him reproachfully. "And you should respect my mother's knowledge! Arrogance can be captivating sometimes or lead you into the cold embrace of death."
Lucien respects Saria's words, but he has worked very hard to get stronger and wants to reap the rewards of such 'hard work.'
His egos, boosted by different demonic energies and even the energy of the golden naginata, make him look at Nea with determination. "How about a little competition?"
"..." Saria sighs as she shakes her head, but somehow she'd already expected a reaction like that. [This devil...]
Nea huffs in irritation. "I'm not interested in your games, so just stay out of my way!"
Before he can say anything, Nea looks at Saria. "Keep an eye on him while I deal with the Krankens." She doesn't waste a second before swinging southwest.
Lucien doesn't follow Nea but instead looks at Saria with a fake sad expression. "Why does she hate me so much?"
"She doesn't really hate you..." Saria replies. "But she doesn't like your attitude."
"I just wanted to get the mood between us..." Lucien pauses for a second to think better of his words. "Less tense."
Saria smiles and shakes her head, leaving him confused. "You're totally failing..."
"..." He doesn't know how to react; being scolded by such a cute and kind girl is weird.
She sighs. "I don't know Tyrion personally, but all the Mermaids have heard rumors about him; such an arrogant, authoritarian, and greedy man... I think my mother can't help but see similarities between you and him."
"..." Lucien again is speechless. He's really arrogant, a bit authoritarian, and even greedy when it comes to beautiful women. But he definitely doesn't want to be like Tyrion.
Saria makes a sorry expression. "Don't get me wrong, I don't want to offend you, but you arrived here a short time ago, and you already act like an absolute, invincible, and indispensable emperor... you'll have to change your attitude if you want to get my mom's heart."
"Why do you think I'm interested in your mother romantically?" He asks.
She starts giggling. "Hehehe... I'm not such naive, you know. I've seen how you have wives who are mothers and daughters. What do humans call that... fetish?"
"..." Lucien is surprised at Saria's ability to leave him speechless.
"It's alright." She kindly smiles. "I find the idea of sharing the same man with my mother... somehow fascinating. But you'll have to work hard to make her see you as anything other than a silly, arrogant boy."
Lucien is already working hard, really 'hard,' not to get Nea's affection but not to eat Saria right now. [She's so cute!!!]
He breathes and controls his emotions. "You also look young and naive, Saria… but you're actually a very wise woman."
"Smart." She giggles. "I prefer to think of myself as smart rather than wise... wise makes me look old, hehe..."
Lucien has to look away not to be more fascinated by Saria's beauty and brilliant personality. He looks in Nea's direction and notices she's already several miles ahead.
"Shouldn't we follow her?" He asks.
Saria seems pretty calm, but she's just like Lucien, fighting her feelings not to jump into his arms right now. She doesn't care how arrogant, authoritarian and greedy he is because she knows his heart is good, that he's kind and loving. Also, she can't deny that she's already really liking his heart.
"I think so..." She replies. "But you have to understand a few things about my mother; she is one of the greatest Mermaid Queens ever, not only because of her intelligence and senses but also because she is the Mermaid who fought the hardest for our people."
He listens closely to Saria's words, and she continues. "All those years of fighting couldn't help but affect my mother... you could say she's also very arrogant, you know. But she has every right to be that way after everything she's overcome, so please respect her history.."
Lucien can't put into words how much he already admires both Nea and Saria, so he nods. "Alright, I'll behave myself."
"Like a good devil?" Saria asks in a dubious tone with a naughty smile.
"Yeah!" Lucien laugh. "Like a good devil..."
"Nah!" Saria exclaims in denial as she shakes her head and laughs. "You can't act like a good devil; it's already in your blood and bones to be a bad devil."
Lucien sighs. "You already know me so well..."
"Hehehe..." She adorably giggles again. "You're very honest and straightforward, qualities I like a lot."
He smiles at her. "So, I... I can promise to behave in the best way a bad devil can; how about that?"
"Mm, mm!" She nods with a satisfied expression. "I guess it's the best we have for now."
