This day will forever be in the memory of all the Mermaids present and will be a mythical story told to all the following generations because today, not only thousands of Mermaids were saved by the legendary Phoenix, but also Pride herself, and especially Eve.
And although figures like Maya and Pride are already legends among every people in the universe, the biggest highlight is certainly Eve. The Mermaids see her as a young girl who risked her life and faced a hell of torture to contain a Kraken alone in order to save people who never did anything to deserve her sacrifice.
Loyalty is the word that's on their minds, and while it's generally expected of soldiers, it's what all those Mermaids got from Eve, and it's also what they all want to give her in return.
Of course, they all understand that someway she did it because of Lucien; yet, they don't care about the motives but about the lives saved.
Now, as burned parts of the Kraken fall into the water, all the surrounding Mermaids look towards the Sea Devil, concerned about Eve's health.
"Sister? Sister???" Claire exclaims as she holds Eve in her arms, but her state, which looked so alarming a second ago, doesn't look that bad anymore as her body is regenerating so quickly.
"Naomi…" When the pain subsides, allowing Eve to think straight, the first thing that comes to her mind is her family's safety.
"I am fine." Naomi descends from the sky beside Gluttony; she has a wide, proud smile on her face. "Nothing gets through my shield!"
Gluttony rolls her eyes. "As long as I'm by your side, of course."
Naomi ignores Gluttony's complaint and looks up at the sky still covered in dark clouds and lightning. "I'm glad it's over… isn't it? Someone tell me this shit is over."
"IT'S NOT OVER YET!!!" The answer comes in the desperate cry of the Naga General Ritika, who climbs aboard the Sea Devil and quickly goes to Eve.
Before anyone can say anything, the desperate Naga points to the sky, precisely to other cyclones forming all around. "I've seen them before; they are portals made by the King's dark sorceress!!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})She is clearly talking about Tanu, the Siren loyal to Tyrion. As Ritika achieved a high rank in the Naga army a long time ago, she has seen Tanu in action many times.
"There are so many..." Valencia comments in a concerned tone while looking at the dozens of cyclones appearing in the sky.
"What are we going to do???" Claire can't help but panic; she fears for the Mermaids as much as for her sisters.
"Fight, of course!" Ramla, the Mermaid general, speaks in a determined tone as he looks at the thousands of Mermaids who look somewhat confused and scared. "But..."
Then she returns her attention to Eve. "All these soldiers came here to fight, but we need a leader... not just a general but also a Queen."
Eve nearly died just ago, but Ramla is asking her to lead so many Mermaids into battle, so she can't help but think about refusing.
'You must accept!' Before she can respond, Pride exclaims in her mind. 'These Mermaids already see you as a leader, and it's generating more power for us than ever before...'
'But...' Eve feels that incredible power flowing into her body, but she still hesitates. 'Lucien should lead them... he wants it so bad.'
'They can have a King and a Queen, you fool!' Pride quickly comments.
'They already have Nea...' Eve return.
'So let them have two Queens or three or four...' Pride insists. 'They need you now, and when Lucien returns, we can think about the future.'
Eve feels like she needs to protect the Mermaids for Lucien, and someway, she can't help but enjoy that feeling of respect that comes from all those Mermaids; she can feel with all her heart that she was born to lead as much as Lucien, or rather, always by his side.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"Prepare the troops!" She talks to Ramla as she gets up. "Split them into groups to deal with multiple enemies simultaneously."
Ramla is overjoyed that Eve is willing to lead them. She, like all the other Mermaids, hasn't stopped thinking of Nea as their Queen, but the inspiring aura that comes from Eve and Pride makes them feel more powerful than ever, and at such a dangerous time, they need it so badly.
"Yes, my Qu-" Ramla almost misses the words again and fears disrespecting Nea or putting too much pressure on Eve, so she quickly corrects her words. "My lady!"
As soon as Eve nods, Ramla flies towards the center of Mermaid camp. Despite having seen death up close, those thousands of frightened Mermaids quickly enter battle formation and get ready to face any enemy that comes out of the dark portals.
They were caught off guard at first, but Ramla will make sure it doesn't happen again; meanwhile, Eve talks to Ritika. "Is your people ready to fight?"
The Naga general looks back towards the hundreds of Naga in the water; her confident expression reflects her soldiers' determination, and as with the Mermaids, Eve's relationship with Lucien makes them fully trust her to lead them.
"Yes, ma'am!" Ritika speaks respectfully and immediately feels Eve's aura strengthening her.
"I know the Nagas haven't had a good relationship with the Mermaids for a long time, but now we need to fight together to survive," Eve speaks, and everyone agrees with her.
So just like Ramla, Ritika goes to her troops to prepare them. Many tentacles can be seen slowly emerging from the portals in the sky, but the Mermaids and Nagas are determined to fight together and under Eve's leadership.
As everyone prepares, Eve talks to the girls at the Sea Devil, especially Valencia. "You seem to be proud of this ship, so this is the time to show its combat potential."
Valencia doesn't even think about ignoring Eve's orders as she is Lucien's big sister. "The Sea Devil is equipped with weapons of mass destruction, and killing Krakens with it won't be a challenge."
Eve is happy with that answer and points to the Mermaids and Nagas that are already part of Lucien's group. "Help her with it."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})The girls quickly obey and follow Valencia's orders to prepare the ship's magic weapons, leaving only the siblings and the Sins on the deck.
But then Maya also lands on the deck before reverting to human form. She looks really worried as she points to the portals in the sky. "This is madness! Look how many of them there are... even if all these people fight as best they can, if a Kraken comes from every portal like that, no one will come out of this battle alive!"
"Calm down!" Eve speaks in a firm tone. "We just need to hold on a little..."
"Do you have a plan??" Maya quickly asks. "What is it?"
A proud, loving gleam passes through Eve's eyes. "We just need to survive until Luci returns… then our revenge will be the last thing our enemies will see!"
"Are they near??" Maya thinks Lucien contacted Eve somehow.
"I don't know." Eve's honest answer leaves Maya confused, but then she explains. "But I know he will come for us... after all, we always take care of each other."
Claire and Naomi smile as they think the same thing, and even Maya can't help but be affected by the hopeful mood.
She looks at Pride with a slightly hostile expression before speaking to Eve. "Then I'll be under your command until they come back… I don't like killing, but I'll do whatever it takes to protect these people!"
Eve never imagined that the last Phoenix, a creature so rare even among the most incredible legends, would one day be under her command. However, now is not the time to be proud but to protect the people precious to Lucien.
"Then let's do it..." Eve summons her claymore. "Let's show these bastards that we're not the prey!"
"Yeah!" Claire exclaims as she summons several gold blades in the air.
"Together!" Naomi comments as she summons her shield, which is not just a defensive tool.
The group looks pretty determined and ready to fight, but before advancing toward the Krakens that are falling from the sky, Eve looks to the eastern horizon once more.
[I'll keep them safe for you...] She thinks. [We are waiting for you... Luci.]
—-----------------------------------
[Huh?] Thousands of miles away from Mermaid camp, both horizontally and vertically, and within another dimension, Lucien feels something in his heart.
He doesn't know what that feeling precisely means, but somehow, it reminds him that time is working against him.
"We should go back..." He comments as Wrath continues to kiss his mouth and face wildly. "We shouldn't abuse Nea's patience so much..."
"Mm-mm..." Wrath makes a cute reluctant sound. "Just a little longer... I need more of this..."
Lucien is enjoying how his and Wrath's relationship is evolving, yet, he can't help but think he should be somewhere else by now.
When she refuses to stop kissing, he pushes her against the bed and holds her arms, which ends up making her even more aroused. "Oh, hehe..."
"You naughty girl..." He smiles as he can't resist kissing her sweet lips again. "I'm sorry, but we really have to go back..."
She pouts while giving him adorable tap kisses. "I thought you let all your wives be selfish and spoiled..."
"Are you one of my wives?" He quickly asks in a teasing tone.
"..." She blushes and doesn't respond but continues kissing his lips and cheeks.
"See..." He looks into her red eyes before speaking in a loving tone. "I promise to make it up for you later… we'll have plenty of time to enjoy each other."
Wrath can't help but regret not getting what she wanted earlier. And now, she understands that they are in a difficult situation, so she tries to contain her selfish desires.
"Alright..." She looks over his shoulder at her sister. "But you have to promise that you'll give me all the attention I need, or I'll beat you..."
"Hahaha..." He laughs at how cute she looks when she's angry. "Anything you want, my dear."
Lucien has to give Wrath about ten more kisses before she finally lets go of him. Then he quickly materializes clothes and opens the portal, but before entering it, he leaves an emerald flower on Ghalenna's bed as an apology, not for what he did on her bed, but for not bringing her to join them.
Then, after a fantastic relaxing session, he returns to the mysterious shell, now feeling in control of the situation again. But that feeling quickly starts to fade when he finds Nea and her angry face.
"Why did you take so long?!?!" Nea asks in an upset tone. "No need to answer… I can see right through your feelings; I know what you were doing!!"
"..." Lucien can only sigh. He doesn't understand how Nea can be so different from all the other Mermaids.
'She's already acting like your wife...' Lust comments in his mind. 'But she's not like your obedient and affectionate wives... she's the authoritarian and grumpy type!'
As much as Nea seems like a very complicated and even controversial person most of the time, Lucien understands what reasons make her that way. On the other hand, he doesn't understand how the mysterious woman in the glass coffin can generate in him such strong feelings, and it drives him crazy.
