The battle between the Nagas and Mermaids comes to a critical point. On one side Mira and her blackguard army make a barrier and keep her people in a defensive position, preventing the Mermaids from attacking without a strategy.
The Mermaids turn to Saria, seeking her leaders.h.i.+p. But they see her pointing her rapier at a mysterious figure that has appeared out of nowhere.
Something very important about the Mermaids is that there are no male Mermaids. They can be considered as.e.xual creatures that can reproduce very limitedly using their own nature as a kind of catalyst.
But the truth is, the Mermaids have intense feelings, including s.e.xual ones. They often become aware of such feelings when they meet attractive males from other races and have s.e.x with them, which almost never bears fruit.
And now, about twenty thousand Mermaids are discovering such feelings as they see Lucien, the most attractive male they'll ever see in their lives.
[Who is he?] That thought echoes in the minds of all those Mermaids, including their Princess.
But Saria cannot allow herself to be deceived. She fights the intense attraction she feels for Lucien's body and channels her royal water magic.
'Oh, she will try to attack you.' l.u.s.t comments in Lucien's mind as they both know what's about to happen.
Saria's arms begin to glow blue magically, and Lucien feels powerful energies surge around him. It's as if the water itself came to life and tried to confine him under her will.
Lucien doesn't know the limits of Saria's royal ability, so his mind works quickly on his next actions. He could materialize his red katana, and it would attack her with the power of his soul while he breaks that water energy with the power of the golden naginata.
But he definitely doesn't want to hurt her, mainly because he thinks she's right about doubting him. He could also try to escape the range of her ability or even teleport behind her using the spatial mana he got from Helena.
But as that could look like a weakness, Lucien has a bold idea, something he will only do after asking for l.u.s.t's advice.
'Yes, I'm sure you could get out of that magic bubble with the teleport ability and even break through it with your demonic energy.' Her words make him comfortable with his bold idea.
So Lucien doesn't move an inch and lets Saria confine him in a magic bubble.
"..." She knows how fast and powerful her royal bloodline ability is but is still surprised that Lucien doesn't even try to run away after seeing her use that same ability on the Naga captains.
His lack of reaction already confuses her, but then he looks around with a slightly impressed expression.
"This ability is fascinating..." Lucien comments as he runs his fingers over the edge of the magic bubble.
[Who are you???] Saria's instincts scream something in her mind, but she still doesn't know what that means.
"What do you want??" She asks and then points her rapier at him again as she slowly approaches the bubble.
Lucien's lips curve into a smile as he feels great that he can be frank. His eyes wander from the surface of the bubble until they meet Saria's eyes. "I want to give the Mermaids everything they deserve..."
"???" Saria's mind can't process those words.
[A lie, of course.] She forces herself to think that. But her instincts deny that, leaving her very confused.
"Really?" She asks, not hiding that she doesn't want to believe that.
His smile gets even brighter and more magical, so he just nods, and that makes him look even more honest, making Saria again questions herself. [Who the h.e.l.l are you??!?!?]
Lucien can see the confusion in Saria's eyes, so he tries to explain further. "Forget the G.o.ds, Dragons, and Demons; if the Mermaids follow me, in the not-distant future, they will be the most respected and fearsome creatures in the universe; I will make your people more powerful than you can imagine."
[The f.u.c.k?!?] Now Saria's mind is clear. "You are crazy!?"
She gets in front of him and puts the rapier's tip on the edge of the magic bubble. "I don't know who you are, but you are d.a.m.n crazy."
Surprising her, another mysterious figure appears sitting on top of the bubble, with a very relaxed posture.
"You failed again." l.u.s.t giggles while making fun of Lucien.
He shakes his head. "You're wrong. Her mind is confused, but her heart knows I spoke the truth."
l.u.s.t's wings and tail wave excitedly as she smiles at Lucien. She never gets tired of being impressed by his way of acting and also has a lot of fun with him in a way that she knows no one else could.
Although they don't seem to agree with each other, just the way Lucien and l.u.s.t look at each other makes it clear that they love each other so much. And the sensual vibe between them makes Saria and the other Mermaids even more confused.
But l.u.s.t's appearance answers an essential question for Saria. She still wasn't sure if Lucien is truly a demon just based on his peculiar look, but now with l.u.s.t, she is sure about that.
"d.a.m.n!" Saria thinks aloud. "Did the Nagas really sold their souls to demons? And now you think I would sell my people's souls too?!?!"
G.o.ds, Dragons, and Demons, the three self-declared superior races. In fact, everyone finds them pretty predictable.
The G.o.ds seek superiority by enslaving all other races. Meanwhile, the Dragon wants everyone to respect them for their strength, honor, or whatever.
But the Demons are a little different, maybe even mysterious somehow. They are constantly meddling in the activities of other races and offering deals in which they always benefit the most.
With that thought in mind, Saria refuses to put her people at risk. For her, Lucien embodies the extreme of how attractive, mysterious, and definitely dangerous someone can be.
Lucien closes his eyes as he imagines they could avoid all of that and go straight to the part where Saria and many Mermaids get stronger, happier, and s.e.xually satisfied after he rewards them for their loyalty.
But he knows that things are not so simple, especially such relations.h.i.+ps. "No one should expect loyalty and trust from other people without first proving themselves worthy of such loyalty and trust."
"Humph!" Saria can't just accept that Lucien is serious when everything about him feels so mysterious and surreal.
But then he opens his eyes again, which now glow golden-purple like an infinite fantastic universe. His aura and energies spread around him, leaving Saria and the other Mermaids even more shocked.
He looks into Saria's eyes as he makes a horizontal motion with his arm; his red katana appears in his hand, and Its blade glows golden-purple as he cuts the magic bubble easily.
Saria is so fascinated by Lucien's eyes and the sensations he makes her feel that she doesn't even care that he's ignoring her royal ability like that.
But the other Mermaids are perplexed as they've never seen anyone come out of that magic bubble that way. The strongest among them find it even crazier as they can feel Lucien's Earth Realm aura.
"So…" Lucien smiles at Saria.
"So?" She has never been so confused.
"Fight, right?" He asks in a casual tone.
"Fight?" Saria tries to keep her mind focused, but she can't stop her eyes from wandering over Lucien's devilishly attractive body.
"Yeah, let's fight now, okay?" He releases his red katana into the water and runs his finger over the blade while the weapon seems to react to his touch with an own and peculiar personality.
"Fight, yes!" Saria holds her rapier hilt tighter as she tries to put on a confident, determined expression. But she clearly doesn't want to fight him.
Lucien notes that and again praises the Mermaids' instincts mentally. "Can you start?"
"Me?" Saria has a kind of mental fight, doubting Lucien's every word and action, as well as trying to understand his intentions.
"Yep." He nods. "I don't want anyone to think I would purposely attack a beautiful and kind woman like you."
Saria rolls her eyes, mainly to avoid looking at him. "You talk a lot of s.h.i.+t..."
Then she sighs before swimming towards him at top speed. No other Mermaids there can follow her movements with the eyes, and even l.u.s.t has a hard time doing that.
But Lucien quickly grabs the hilt of his red katana and blocks Saria's rapier easily.
*BAM*
The metallic noise is m.u.f.fled by the water while a wave of force can be felt within half a mile away from them. Even though she had only half her strength, Saria is still shocked that Lucien was able to handle that attack so smoothly.
Both continue to force their weapons against each other, and their eyes inevitably meet again.
[You are so beautiful!] Lucien can't help but think.
And Saria can't stop peculiar thoughts from invading her mind again. [The same water that is pa.s.sing through his lips may be pa.s.sing through mine now...]
But she shakes her head and tries to focus again. When dialogue alone cannot bring results, strength may be the only remaining path. Strength is, after all, the most powerful law in the universe.
[But why does it feel so wrong to attack him???] She wonders as she looks away so as not to continue gazing at his lips.
"You don't look comfortable with it..." Lucien comments as he forces Saria back. "I would say you don't have enough motivation."
"And what the h.e.l.l do you know about me?!?" Saria gets upset and uses even more force. Lucien lets her force him back, giving a false impression that she has an advantage.
When he hears her curse, that sounds very abnormal. He already sees her as one of the kindest creatures in the universe and knows she's just trying not to look weak in the face of a possible enemy.
"I don't know much other than the fact that you have a kind heart." He smiles. "And I want to know more about you, much more..."
"Hahaha..." She can't help but laugh at his peculiar way of acting. "And how do you plan on doing that?"
Lucien again forces his weapon forward, causing them to stop. Then he makes a fake thoughtful expression. "How about an innocent compet.i.tion?"
[Innocent?? Why did you use that word???] Saria has a strangely good feeling, which makes her mad at herself.
But she tries to look cool and confident. "What do you have in mind?"
Lucien's expression turns teasing, and Saria feels that it's pretty normal for him. "Hmmm… let's do it like this; as long as we fight, every time one of us gets a chance to kill the other but not do it, I will kiss you."
"..." Saria can't even express how bizarre that 'innocent' compet.i.tion sounds.
"So..." She tries to make a 'fearful' or at least stern expression. "If I kill you, the compet.i.tion ends immediately, right?"
"Unless you don't want a kiss from me…" He smiles as he dangerously approaches his face to hers.
Saria feels a mixture of feelings ranging from excitement to anger, pa.s.sing through a sea of embarra.s.sment. So to avoid that, she focuses on anger and pulls her rapier back before attacking Lucien again, this time with much more force.
"Why would I want it?!?!" He blocks, and she complains in anger as she pushes him back again.
At the same time, Saria channels her royal ability and creates dozens of magic bubbles around Lucien. Those bubbles are not intended to confine him but to explode on his body.
Lucien finds himself in a dangerous situation but refuses to use the teleport ability yet. He releases his red katana, shocking Saria as the weapon continues to block her rapier with the same strength.
Them, he materializes his dark katana and spins his body, making a 360-degree horizontal attack, which releases a blade of purple energy that splits Saria's magic bubbles in half.
The bubbles explode, but the purple energy blade pushes the water energies away.
So while Saria is trying to process that, Lucien acts even faster by touching the tip of his dark katana on her stomach.
She looks down and is so shocked by his speed that she forgets about the 'innocent' compet.i.tion. "How...???"
But Lucien certainly doesn't miss that opportunity and kisses Saria's delicious lips. "Me first."