While Lucien marshals his strength with the Sins and his sisters, Nea and his wives are embroiled in a fierce battle with the Naga Elders.
Nea cannot claim this to be the most challenging conflict she has faced, for she has previously crossed blades with the Water Goddess a millennium ago.
However, during that encounter, she wielded the dark sword, an instrument of unmitigated destruction forged from the souls of Kaisa and the Fox Princess.
Presently, Nea stands against an adversary with substantial combat expertise and a power level equivalent to hers at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm.
The only distinguishing factor between her and the Naga Elder would be her regal lineage and the diverse fruits from the sacred tree that she consumed over her existence.
This Naga, however, has been tainted by Tyrion's malevolent magic, which, while it shattered his psyche, it granted his body immense strength.
*Whossh* *Burbleee*
Nea skilfully avoids the Elder Naga's formidable strikes; his dark sword radiates such intense cold that the surrounding water freezes on contact.
She employs her water domain to enhance her speed, merging with the water to teleport around her adversary effortlessly.
Despite landing potent counterstrikes on the Elder Naga, Nea finds her attacks futile as he is sheathed in dark armour fortified by a thick layer of sinister energy.
Saria weaves around the combatants, launching torrents of water magic whenever Nea compels the Naga Elder to lower his guard. However, the princess's assaults seem to have little effect.
"Mother, our attacks aren't having an impact! What should we do?" Saria's voice resonates with worry.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Undeterred by the mounting pressure, Nea observes the subtle transformations in her opponent's armor with each successful strike. "Persist in your attacks, Saria; his dark energy armor cannot withstand our water magic indefinitely. It will crumble eventually."
Saria also discerns that with each offensive move, minuscule fragments of the dark energy dissipate from the Naga Elder's armor, making it evident that his defense, while formidable, is not impervious.
While the mermaid royals manage their opponent with relative ease, the neighboring Naga royals are caught up in a more demanding conflict against a similar adversary.
For Mira and Kamala, the battle is particularly complex, as their foe isn't merely a formidable opponent, but an old ally who betrayed them, thus elevating the stakes of their clash.
Mira attempts to invoke any lingering feelings within her opponent by addressing him personally. "Why did you betray us?? Why did you turn against your own kind???"
"HAAAARR!!!" The Naga Elder continues his relentless onslaught, paying no heed to Mira's plea.
"Why are you doing this??" Mira expertly evades the blows, all the while trying to elicit a response from her foe. "My father was always kind to your family... you were among the crown's most faithful allies!"
Yet, no matter how fervently Mira appeals, her words fail to penetrate the Elder Naga's hardened heart; his body and soul have been entirely poisoned by Tyrion's malevolent influence.
"AHHH!!! KILL! KILL!! KILLLL!!!" The maniac bellows, his voice echoing eerily in the water as he relentlessly pursues Mira.
Unlike his counterpart facing Nea, this Elder Naga wields dual dark axes. As he attempts to strike Mira with one of his weapons, Kamala interposes herself between her mother and the weapon, effectively blocking the blow.
*BAM* *CLAMG*
The clash between the dark ax and Kamala's blade generates forceful waves within Nea's water domain.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"HAAA!!!" The Elder Naga roars and promptly swings his other ax at Kamala.
"Kamala!!!" Mira's voice is fraught with concern for her daughter's safety.
"I'm fine, Mom!" But Kamala keeps smiling as she feels so empowered with the energies Lucien gave her running inside her body.
"I'll hold him, so prepare your great spell already." She speaks while focusing on blocking the Naga Elder's attacks.
"Mm!" Mira wastes no time before starting to channel her chaos mana into her catalyst to attack her opponent with the full power of her magic.
But things are not so simple; the Naga Elder notices that and tricks Kamala with a black shadow before dashing toward Mira while her guard is open.
"Mom!!!" Kamala feels extremely guilty for falling for a trick like that as she watches her opponent try to attack her mother.
But before the Naga Elder reaches Mira, the water around him becomes a solid block of ice.
"What??" The Naga Elder, Kamala, and Mira are confused.
The girls look up and see Angela appear with her majestic and gentle smile. "Do you need help, my sisters?"
"Angela!" Mira smiles when she sees the powerful Ice Queen; their relationship is already so good that no words of gratitude are needed, and just one nod is enough.
Although Angela's magic is currently very powerful, the Naga Elder quickly begins to break the ice from inside, and Kamala doesn't miss that opportunity, attacking the block of ice with all her might, severely damaging her opponent, and knocking him several meters away.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Mira doesn't stop channeling her great spell, but she notices the other Naga Elder reaching Angela quickly and tries to warn her. "Sister!!"
"Oh?" Angela also notices her opponent approaching with a heavy attack, so she launches dozens of ice spikes at him.
The ice spikes break in contact with that Elder Naga's dark armor, pushing him back, but his defenses remain intact.
Angela's ice magic bears a striking similarity to dark mana, rendering her attacks less effective against such an element. While she manages to contain her adversary with her ice spells, she struggles to penetrate his formidable armor.
Valencia, observing from the Sea Devil, watches Angela's futile attempts at dismantling her opponent's dark armor. She recognizes the ineffectiveness of the ice element against the dark and feels a desire to lend her assistance.
Not out of inherent goodness, but motivated by her hope for Lucien's eventual forgiveness. But she's also aware of the resentment his wives harbor towards her, which might cause Angela to reject her aid.
She glances around at the girls remaining in the Sea Devil. Rupa and Ritika, the recent Mermaid and Naga additions to Lucien's group, are tending to little Ko along with the Mermaid Sisters, healed by Sophia.
Three other girls, however, are clearly yearning to join the fray, albeit hesitant due to their current power. Valencia decides to recruit one of them to assist her.
"You!" She approaches Lorelai, a young girl who had infiltrated Lucien's group as a spy while they were still in Argerim.
Much like Lucien's other wives, Lorelai harbors a deep-seated disdain for Valencia and would prefer her to maintain her distance from the group. However, Valencia piques her curiosity when she pulls out a large, shiny net from her storage treasure.
"Hand this to the Ice Mage. It'll restrain her opponent and weaken his dark armor!" Valencia swiftly explains, placing the magic net into Lorelai's hands.
Lorelai contemplates interrogating Valencia about her true motives. However, considering her understanding of Lucien, the astute girl discerns that Valencia's primary motive is to seek his forgiveness.
Without uttering a word of thanks, Lorelai promptly seizes the net and makes her way towards Angela. Though she only recently ascended to the Sky Realm and is still unfamiliar with flying, her desire to aid her sisters instills in her the courage to join the battle.
