"Again!"
The woman shouted, determined.
"Who are you trying to impress?" The question arose.
"Don't mess with me! Take me seriously, mother!" Aaralyn said, completely enraged as her shadows began to consume the entire training arena.
"You're thinking about that boy, aren't you?" She questioned, noticing that Aaralyn was far too angry to be 'just training.'
Aaralyn charged forward with her daggers, disappearing and reappearing from beneath Kaalindra's shadow, who barely moved.
With a wave of her hand, a barrier of fire appeared, preventing Aaralyn from crossing it.
"Control," she commented.
"You're getting weaker every day with this pathetic obsession," Kaalindra said, as she manipulated the flames around her, transforming them into several energy blades.
"Your mind is your only enemy here, Aaralyn," she said as she pointed her hand at Aaralyn. Her fire blades turned towards the furious woman, who began extinguishing the flames once more.
She started cutting through the blades with her daggers, which were already beginning to wear out.
When a blade came, Aaralyn would bathe her daggers in shadows and cut through them as she danced through the air.
"You've grown much stronger," Kaalindra commented. She was well aware of Aaralyn's strength, always had been, but... She had never reached a point where Kaalindra had to engage fully in the fight to handle her.
"It's not enough!" Aaralyn shouted, charging at Kaalindra, who, with a single movement...
Stopped her.
Aaralyn's dagger was halted by a single finger from Kaalindra.
"You're still predictable. Use your creativity," Kaalindra said. "Again!" She ordered.
"Tsk, easy for you to say," Aaralyn muttered...
While they continued their training, many things were happening in the Royal Palace of Aldria.
"So that's it... Send some knights to the eastern zone," the Empress ordered as she saw how the invasion had affected her kingdom.
Although the tree was located within the Capital, it wasn't the only place attacked. Several provinces had demons that were wiped out, and houses that were destroyed. Many people lost everything... And this wasn't even the real war...
"Ah... I hope this doesn't happen again..." She murmured, frustrated. She just wanted to leave the throne and relax, but... It wasn't possible.
"Try to relax a bit, my aunt." The melodious voice of her niece came to her ear, and she looked to the side to see the golden-haired girl staring at her with a concerned look.
"I can't, Velryna," she said, massaging her temple, "I have to fix all this mess..." Aldria said as she looked ahead.
"You haven't rested in days, please, let me take your place for now. Take a bath and rest, or I'll have to call the Dear One." Velryna said. Despite being somewhat distant during these recent days of invasion, she still knew she could count on Dante, even from afar.
"You wouldn't~" Aldria couldn't even finish her sentence before she saw Velryna holding a kind of medallion... It was a medallion that Morgana had created, which allowed direct communication with Dante.
Contrary to what most people thought, Velryna wasn't a very patient woman when it came to family... She was relentless, and Aldria knew that...
Even if it meant stopping the meeting with the Vampire King to have Dante come here personally to reprimand her, Velryna would do it without hesitation.
"Alright," Aldria relented. She didn't want to bother Dante at this moment, and she also needed rest, although... She was more concerned with her kingdom than with herself.
"Thank you," Velryna said, smiling at her.
A lot really needed to be done, but working herself to death wasn't the solution. Velryna already knew that her aunt was a courageous woman who would put her life before her kingdom, but that wasn't the solution.
"Very well, now go. I'll stay here to handle whatever comes up. Take a break and come back revitalized," Velryna said, smiling gently.
"You're starting to resemble Sara more," Aldria said. Since the two women had become friends, they had started to resemble each other more and more...
"I'll take that as a compliment," Velryna said, smiling.
...
"Atchinn!" The blue-haired girl sneezed loudly enough to startle her mother, who was trying to walk normally.
"Are you okay?" Lyrianna asked the girl, who seemed to be having an allergic reaction...
"I-I'm... Atchinn!" She sneezed again, nearly stumbling backward. This one was stronger than the previous ones.
"I thought you wouldn't get sick because of the Celestial Blessing," Lyrianna commented, trying to take slow steps.
Since she had become a succubus, she had been trying to get used to her new strength.
Was Lyrianna a strong woman? Yes, absolutely! However, changing races affected many things—many things indeed. Even her perception of the world had changed. Her existence had been enhanced, but her understanding was affected. She couldn't even control her body without causing explosions and breaking things.
Just one step from Lyrianna would sink the ground, and even one breath would create a charm mist in the air that she couldn't control...
"Calm down, take a deep breath, and try to hold your strength in your heart," Sara helped, trying to guide her mother.
Sara was wondering something she wanted her mother to answer but didn't know how to ask...
'I can't ask something like that...'
On the other hand, Lyrianna... "You look like a sad puppy."
She asked, looking at her daughter, who was clearly deep in thought about something...
Sara gathered the courage she had, knowing her mother wouldn't accept simplistic excuses, especially since, well... She was her mother, and there was no one who knew her better.
"Is it about Dante?" She asked, and Sara seemed surprised.
"It's always about him, isn't it?" Lyrianna said as she sat down...
They were in an open field, a property that Dante had bought along with a mansion...
Lyrianna sat next to her daughter, looking at the horizon as the day was ending...
"What's bothering you?" She asked, understanding, just waiting for her daughter to say something.
"My husband... Are you interested in him?" Lyrianna heard this question and felt a slight internal tremor.
"So that's it..."
Sara saw how the question made Lyrianna change completely.
Lyrianna had been going through something for a while and wanted to share it but was afraid of Sara's reaction.
"It's part of my nature as a Succubus. This instinctive connection... it's something that's always been there, and I believe it always will be," she said. "I naturally have many desires because of... this... but for some reason, I think about him all the time, every minute, even though I've only seen him once," Lyrianna admitted.
"So... Yes, Sara... it's true that I'm attracted to Dante," she commented.
"Although, of course, I know that I will never do anything with him," she said confidently, but... "If you're serious?" Sara asked, completely breaking Lyrianna's expression when she saw her face...
Sara seemed... Sad?
"Sara, don't tell me that~" "I don't care."
Lyrianna... couldn't describe what she was hearing... "Sara... are you okay?" Lyrianna asked again, seeing that her gaze didn't waver.
"To be honest? I'm just wondering how you didn't pounce on him immediately when you saw him after becoming a succubus." Sara said, breaking the entire mood.
"It's okay that I haven't had my moment yet, but my god, you're a succubus, how do you control yourself like that?" Sara... had she gone crazy?
Lyrianna was momentarily at a loss for words, shocked by Sara's frankness.
She opened her mouth to respond but only an incredulous laugh escaped.
"Sara... did you really just say that?"
Sara, who initially seemed sad, now had a somewhat challenging, somewhat amused look.
"I'm serious, mom! How did you manage to hold back? He is... well, you know how he is."
Lyrianna couldn't help but laugh, still surprised by the sudden change in the tone of the conversation. "Did he... destroy your mind?"
"Hm? Of course not, I just learned to be more honest. Besides, I like to think I want the best for you, even if it's my husband." Sara said, shrugging...
"Hey... you..." Lyrianna murmured, seeing that something was wrong with her daughter... Her daughter wasn't like this, was she?
"Are you recruiting me?" She asked...
"Hm? Isn't that obvious? If you saw how the competition is...," Sara murmured, "The team that is ahead is Team Valentina, because, well... Valentina spent more time with Dante than she should have, if you know what I mean." Sara said, with a smile as if explaining a score table...
"See, Valentina is currently Rank 1, and we are all below her, so small groups have formed." Sara said, smiling, "Now, Team Vampire might get another member because I find it hard to believe Dante won't want Elizabeth for himself after she... Well, she has evolved quite a bit."
She explained as if... her husband were collecting women...
"Sara... are you hearing yourself?" Lyrianna asked. She really couldn't find her daughter amid the crazy woman.
"Hm? I'm just adapting to the rules. Team Valentina is very strong, and Voralith has a huge advantage since she met Dante thousands of years ago. I'm just trying to catch up, okay?" Sara questioned her, and Lyrianna...
"Sara... are you suggesting we make Oyakodon?" She commented, a term often used in the Eastern Empire for relationships involving mother and daughter.
"Eh? I don't want to see you having sex with my husband. I just want an ally in this war," Sara said, shrugging.
"Or do you think you'll escape his grasp? I know my husband... He's already looked at every inch of your body." She said, and Lyrianna became completely embarrassed.