Lucien is really shocked that Nea knows about his hidden plans, or rather, that she hasn't done anything yet. He thought he understood all the reasons she was hostile towards him, but actually, he had no idea how patient and diplomatic she had been acting.
"Why?" He asks. "Why didn't you attack me when my guard was down? You had the strength and opportunity to kill my sisters and me..."
Nea sighs. "Do you think I could kill Claire? She is connected to Saria as Maya is connected to Naomi; our families share a bond that is very special to people like us."
Lucien makes a sorry expression as he stays alert and ready to summon his red katana and fight if needed. "You know I won't stop, right? I need the magic core that makes the Phoenix immortal to save the lives of my loved ones."
"I figured..." She also comments in a sorry tone. She can feel Lucien's determination, and although he's willing to fight her for the sake of his family, it only makes her feel more like him.
However, her expression gets upset. "But her name is Maya, and she's my friend, my sister... I won't let you destroy her life to clean up the demons' mess!"
Lucien admires Nea more and more, but when he thinks that his sisters could die at any moment due to the unstable effects of the Bloody Rose, his heart hurts, and his determination gets stronger.
His eyes turn purple and gold, and his draconic aura begins to overcome all of his emotions except arrogance and determination. Nea can't help but feel an instinctive fear growing in her heart and soul, and even the Sins get concerned.
"Lucien..." Nea speaks his name in a pleading tone, as she has no bad intentions toward him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})But he can't hear what she wants to say anymore.
He already has strong feelings for Saria and doesn't want to make her suffer, but if Nea tries to stop him from saving his sisters, he'll kill her right now, and that's why his draconic aura is helping him not to feel bad about that.
'I'm with you...' Lust's voice sounds in his mind.
'Me too!' Envy also makes clear her intention to fight Nea alongside him.
'And I...' Sloth's voice is slow and casual, but her resolve is as firm as those of the other Sins. 'This will definitely not be an easy fight, but if you use her feelings against her, you can catch her off guard.'
[Her feelings...] Lucien comes to his senses and controls his draconic aura when he remembers that Nea hasn't attacked him yet, which means she has no bad intentions.
He looks at his hands and clenches them into fists, so the golden naginata doesn't come at him alone. Then he looks at Nea. "I don't want to fight you..."
She doesn't notice, but her lips curve slightly into a smile. "I don't want that either."
"So, what are we going to do?" He asks. "It strikes me as an impasse."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Hmm..." She makes a thoughtful expression. "I told you one of the reasons I didn't do anything before, but there are other reasons..."
"I'm listening." He quickly comments.
She nods and starts to explain. "No matter how I could explain it to Maya, she would suffer the same way. She wouldn't be able to fight Naomi and her siblings; she wouldn't be able to fight you because you helped her granddaughter... she would feel helpless with a deep disappointment."
Lucien is sorry just for imagining Maya that way, and the worst part is that it doesn't lessen his determination to save his sisters. Nea understands that because she would also do anything for her daughters.
Nea continues. "I could kill you to save her, but we know the Sins are immortal... They would soon return with new hosts and a great demon army not only to hunt Maya but also to get revenge."
'The universe would witness the greatest revenge ever...' Envy can't help but comment in Lucien's mind, even though she doesn't even want to imagine living without him.
"That would be really bad for everyone I love..." Nea explains. "My people would be annihilated before the Vampires could gather the Alliance of the Seven Stars, and my world would fall... Maya would lose everything and have to live on the run again, an endless life of suffering."
"It's exactly that fate I want to avoid for my wives, so I can't die now or let my loved ones die either." He speaks in a firm tone.
Nea makes a thoughtful expression. "Are you talking about your sisters? Do you have any idea what Maya's magic core does? Also, even if you kill her, you won't be able to have her magic core as she will be reborn and go away."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Not if she willingly gives it to me..." He comments.
"Why would she do it???" Nea quickly asks. "Oh, are you going to seduce her? You don't seem to think it's possible... in fact, you are not even trying."
"But what choice do I have?!?" He loses patience and speaks in an upset tone; his draconic aura pressures Nea again without him noticing it. "Damn!! My sisters are going crazy due to this damn Bloody Rose! I sometimes don't even know if what I'm feeling is real or...."
Nea finally understands Lucien and his sisters' problem; in fact, now it all makes sense to her, and she can't help but feel sorry for them. "So that's the strange energy I feel inside you... it's a shame; not even the Vampires know how to control their own creation."
"But there's a way I can control it..." He comments.
"Maya's magic core..." Nea doesn't know how Lucien is going to use that to control the Bloody Rose's energy, but it's evident that only one very incredible power can match another, so that makes sense.
Lucien is sorry, but his eyes glow golden while his determination doesn't fail. "I'd like to say there's no option, but the truth is, I'm not going to choose her life over my sisters. And if she really likes Naomi, she should sacrifice herself... I'd do it without a second thought if the magic core were inside of me."
"It's not that simple." Nea quickly speaks. "Because Maya is the last of her kind, her magic core makes her have a powerful desire to live; she loves Naomi as a daughter, but not even the purest love would make her give up her life after the sacrifice of her whole race."
"I still have to try." He says.
Nea bites her lip in frustration. "You are not a bad person! I know you don't want to do things like that... you may be a demon, but you're also half dragon, which makes you arrogant, honorable, and fair; Seducing a good woman to kill her would corrupt you and leave a bitter taste in your mouth forever."
"So give me another option!!" Lucien dashes towards Nea and grips her shoulders tightly.
She doesn't make any moves to avoid his touch; in fact, she places her hands gently above his arms as she looks into his eyes with a sorry expression. "I can't do it."
He contains the urge to scream and tries to control his emotions. Due to his emotional state, he can't even enjoy the smoothness of Nea's skin or even notice that she is slightly flushed.
"FUCK!!!" He exclaims in anger as he releases some of his emotions by squeezing Nea's shoulders, but she still does nothing to stop him. "You can't ask me to stand by and watch the damn Bloody Rose destroy my sisters!"
"I would never ask you for something like that." She quickly speaks and then strokes his arms. "But you won't know if there's any other way if you don't seek it out before trying to destroy Maya's life."
"Another way..." Lucien really wants that to be possible, but he also knows that there isn't much time before the Bloody Rose's effects reach an extreme point, and his sisters that don't have much of Lust's energy could get lost.
"Yeah," Nea's eyes shine with a gentle glow. "If you accept my terms, I promise that I will help you find a way to help your sister after the threats to my people are gone."
He looks into her eyes. "What terms?"
She makes a thoughtful expression as she feels the contact with Lucien causing many good reactions in her body. "You can't make any moves over Maya or let others know about it."
Lucien can't help but wonder about that. Then he hears Envy's voice in his mind. 'You must not make any deals with this woman! Kill her now, and the Phoenix and the Mermaid throne can be yours next!'
'It's not up to you to decide it.' Sloth talks to Envy but lets Lucien hear that too. 'Also, this plan is ridiculous; how would he have the loyalty of the Mermaids after killing their loved Queen?!?'
Lust ignores her sisters and talks to Lucien in her usual loving tone. 'I will support you whatever you decide to do.'
He thanks Lust and isn't interested in Envy's crazy plans, but he's unsure what to do, so he talks to Nea. "You were talking about sacrificing your life to kill Tyrion a few days ago, and now you're making me promises? Also, do you think your knowledge is better than the Sins'?"
Nea bites her lip due to some kind of new frustration she is feeling. "If your power is as incredible as you say, you could help me defeat Tyrion, and although my knowledge is far inferior to that of the Sins', I would do everything in my power and use all my resources to help you save your sister; after all, Claire is also precious to me."
Lucien is able to control his emotions again and only now realizes that he is still holding Nea's shoulders and she is caressing his arms. He also notices the slight blush on her gorgeous face and how sexy she looks when biting her delicious pink lips.
He lets go of her shoulders and moves away from her a little, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief again. "Time is short, you know."
Nea is grateful that he stooped touching her, or she would be the one going crazy due to intense feelings, but she also feels a strange sensation of loss. "I'm not asking you to give up your plan; just give me a chance to find another way."
Lucien doesn't have Nea's ability to feel her intentions, but he can understand that she's out of options. If she attacks him, she will be bringing the fury of the Sins over her people, and if she does nothing, he will be destroying Maya's life.
He doesn't like those two endings either, so finding another way seems like the best alternative. But to think she could find another way so easily would be too optimistic or even foolish, so he doesn't know what to do.
Before he can give Nea an answer, he hears Saria's scream. "Mom!!!"
"Saria?!?" Nea notices that her daughter is very nervous and quickly removes the sound barrier around them as Saria appears less than a mile ahead.
Lucien is also concerned about Saria, but Lust quickly tells him that the cute Mermaid Princess is fine. But that leaves him confused about what left her that way.
"Mom..." Saria quickly reaches in front of Nea and notices the blush on her face. She looks at Lucien and also notices that his emotions are high, which makes her very curious about what they were talking about.
"What happened???" Nea quickly asks, trying to prevent Saria from asking about what happened between her and Lucien.
"It's just..." Saria makes a sad expression as she points to the west . "The fortress's guardians... they're all dead."
"What?!" Nea gets sorry and even more concerned.
"Come on; I'll show you," Saria speaks before quickly swimming westward again.
"Let's go!" Nea immediately follows Saria, but she stops and turns around, looking Lucien in the eye with a pleading expression.
He sighs before following Saria. As he passes near Nea, he looks at her fondly. "Let's see if anyone survived... and make the culprits pay with their lives."
"Mm." Nea nods and follows Saria alongside Lucien; she can't help but wonder what his answer to her proposal will be. He could obviously use that opportunity to demand that she submit to him, but somehow, she's sure he wouldn't do something like that, which gives her hope.
