A minute ago.
'IT'S HERE!!' Lust warns Lucien about the mysterious creature. 'Behind you!'
The synchronicity between them is so incredible that even before she speaks words immediately in his mind, he can already feel her intention.
Lucien instantly turns around while pushing his senses beyond the limit, which makes his perception greater than anything that most people on Immortal Realm Peak could reach.
Yet, he doesn't see that Shark of the Deeps in slow motion as the creature's speed is also among the highest possible. Lucien understands that he has less than a second before that monster reaches Saria.
He understands that the shark is mighty and fast, so he knows he couldn't easily push the creature away from Saria, especially because strength isn't his main attribute.
The only way he can think of to save the cute Mermaid Princess is to teleport to her side and push her away, taking her place and accepting the brutal attack of a very dangerous enemy.
The Lucien of a few months ago would not think twice about doing that. But unique and significant things happen in his life every day, which makes him mature in a way unlike any other.
The current Lucien is not only the hope of many people dear to him but also a husband and father. He can't deny that half of his being urges to jump into that shark's mouth and save Saria, but the other half knows that acting suicidally because a woman is not just a selfish act beyond all others but also extreme cruelty toward his family.
In that short space of less than a second, Lucien has a profound reflection on his current being. He undoubtedly loves his family and wants to do the best for them, but what about Saria?
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Not only is she the beautiful Mermaid Princess, but she is also the cutest being of a race of lovely women, an intelligent and strong lady who believes in him and the future he wants to create for his family and her people.
Saria is possibly the link that will bond him to the Mermaids, but that's not all. Lucien can't stop his possessive side from seeing her as his wife, already part of his family, even if that union isn't happening anytime soon.
[My Saria...] That is the voice of his heart, and somehow, Lucien remembers the words of the mysterious hooded woman of his dreams... [Don't ignore your heart's desires...]
Lucien has to fight his rational side to throw himself into danger for Saria; that is not easy, but incredible white energy, powerful even in small amounts, helps you at that moment.
White sparkles join golden sparkles in his eyes that glow purple as he wonders about putting himself in danger of death for a woman already very important to him.
[If I fear death, I just need not die!] With that thought, Lucien teleports to Saria's side.
The half-second he needed to wonder about that results in Lucien only reaching Saria when the space between her body and the shark's teeth is almost non-existent.
He pushes her with all his strength, throwing her away from the monster before she gets hurt. He expected the force of his move to send him backward too, and it happens, but not in time for him to escape the shark's bite.
Lucien barely has time to think, let alone use his teleport ability again before he gets bitten by the Shark of the Deeps. But his energies act at an even higher speed, covering his body with protective layers.
However, the shark's strength is too high, and it spikes his shoulder after Lucien bows his head to avoid a fatal attack. The layers of different demonic energies resist for an instant but break under the potent corrosive poison at the tip of the creature's fangs.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"AAAAAAARRRRRRHHHH!!!" Lucien can't help but scream as the pain of having the Shark of the Deeps' poisoned fang piercing his shoulder is the most physical pain he's ever felt.
Along with much pain, Lucien's body burns in rage, arousing another demonic energy inside. He's not mad at his pain but at imagining the scenario of Saria, his Saria, feeling that pain.
"YOU DARE TRY TO HURT MY WOMAN IN SUCH A VILE WAY?!?!?" Lucien shouts inside the shark's mouth as it dives back into the water while finding it difficult to break the body of Its prey.
Despite being such a powerful creature, the Shark of the Deeps does not possess very high intelligence, relying mainly on its primitive instincts. That is due to the evolutionary process of such creatures, but even so, that shark quickly understands that Lucien is not a simple person.
An instinctive fear wells up in the creature's heart when it feels different auras coming from Lucien's body, including his draconic aura. The shark uses its strength to the fullest, trying to break Lucien's body, but he also uses all his strength to keep his arms up and prevent the creature from closing Its mouth.
'Get out of here quickly!!!' Lust feels Lucien's pain echo through her body and soul as she begs him to flee from such a powerful enemy. But she fails to notice that he can't use his teleport ability now because the shark's energy is containing his spatial mana.
Yet, Lucien doesn't even think about running away; he is furious, and so many different energies make a mess with his rationality. [I cannot accept such disrespect toward my women!!!]
That powerful white energy, clearly coming from Pride and Eve, blends seamlessly with the Naginata's golden energy, and both blend with Lucien's natural energy as it is compatible with any type of energy.
Not only that, but Lucien and Lust's original energy also helps all the other energies in his body communicate with each other, gathering forces together for him.
'YOU BASTARD!!!' Lucien shouts again inside the shark as he feels a surge of power increases all of his body's capabilities, including his strength.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})As his strength grows, he starts pushing the shark's mouth up, causing Its fang to come off his shoulder. The creature panics and stops swimming to try to fight Lucien.
But it's too late for that poor shark; The foolish creature tried to devour a prey that is actually a predator, more dangerous than it could have imagined.
The powerful energies within Lucien grow so powerful along with his emotions that not even his body can hold them anymore.
'Lucien??'
'Lucien!?!?!?'
'What's going on, Lucien?!?!?'
The concerned voices of Lust, Envy, and Sloth echo in his mind, but now he can hear nothing but a deafening and torturous buzz that can only be silenced by the blood of the creature that dared to attack his adorable Saria.
As the Sins try to understand what is happening to Lucien, his whole body begins to glow with energies of different shades. But when he summons his golden naginata, the golden overcomes the other colors.
"YOUUUU!!!" Lucien thrusts his naginata into the shark's mouth, and rays of golden light come out of his body, penetrating the creature's flesh from the inside out, destroying its bones, and obliterating all the acid around.
That golden light seems endless, overwhelming, and uncontrollable, driving Lucien crazy. But when almost all his reason is over, he turns to the person he trusts most and seeks her voice.
'You can handle it...' He hears Lust's sweet, loving voice in his mind. 'No energy within your body is above your will!'
'How do I do that???' He asks while that energy so powerful doesn't seem to want to be controlled by anyone.
Lust quickly responds. 'It's your power, your energies... control it, show those energies they have a master, do it with your will and burns this damn creature at once... the girls are a safe distance away.'
Lucien does as Lust said; he focuses his will, his desire to protect his loved ones, and his fury toward their enemies ahead and forces that overwhelming energy to follow his command.
More energy grows from his body, and the golden light that comes out of his eyes blinds his vision, yet he keeps trying to control that energy, which at some point does as he wishes and burns at once.
*BOOOOOOOOOM!!!!*
The Shark of the Deeps explodes from the inside out and dies without understanding what just happened.
That blast is so powerful that it even destroys Nea's barrier, something even the Kraken couldn't. Yet, Lucien's energies are far from gone as more is being generated within his body.
Breathing heavily, Lucien keeps burning in rage, he can't help but wish to destroy all of Blue Star's Sharks of the Deeps so that no other Mermaid is targeted by such vile creatures.
He doesn't even realize he's naked as his body is glowing golden, as well as his purple eyes with white sparkles.
'Calm down...' He hears Lust's voice in his mind. 'You defeated your enemy... your girls are safe.'
Those words and Lust's voice wake Lucien from his berserker state, and he notices the mother and daughter Mermaid pair hugging each other in the place where should be seawater but now is empty. He quickly understands that Saria followed him, and her mother protected her.
Lucien's gaze meets Nea's, and at that moment, his eyes turn blue again. There's nothing like a warm mother-daughter scene to soothe his burning heart.
Nea looks up and sees the sky, clear and blue like Lucien's eyes. She also sees pieces of the shark fall and so protects her daughter from that too.
*Splash*
Chunks of shark meat and guts fall into the water below them as the sea quickly covers that gigantic crater with water again.
Lucien reaches forward with his hand and grabs an object before it is lost in the sea. It's a piece of the shark's prey, specifically the tooth that pierced his already healed shoulder.
The tooth is destroyed, except for the tip, which is still greenish due to the shark's corrosive poison. When looking at that fang, Lucien can't help but have a peculiar idea.
He remembers the ceremonies he had performed with many of his wives in Argerim, and then looks at Saria; he will use that tooth in the ceremony they will one day do too.
Saria finally opens her eyes and sees Lucien smiling at her. She smiles back at him but quickly looks away again when she realizes he's naked; she definitely doesn't dislike that view but fears she won't be to take her eyes off his body if she looks at it for another second or even that her mother gouges her eyes out first.
Nea, on the other hand, keeps her eyes fixed on Lucien's naked body. Of all the amazing things she thinks about him, his look still seems the most impactful.
He notices the calm yet shocked expression that only Nea can do, which makes him uncertain whether she is looking at him as a freak full of secrets or a man full of mysteries.
[Anyway...] Lucien thinks of something and reaches forward with his other hand, catching another prey fragment that falls from the sky.
