“Maybe the souls of the seven beautiful servants still reside within the Divas, and they’re unable to hurt their beloved king. Ah, that’d be so romantic! Right, Al?!”
“We usually fight using our weapons and magic... the artifacts and power of the Valkyrie. The Demon King might be reacting to the remnants of the Valkyrie that sealed him.”
Completely ignoring Cecilia, Feena confidently offered her own proposal.
“So that’s why my sword couldn’t hit you!”
Sharon seemed convinced by this explanation as well.
“Now I know why my charm spell didn’t work.”
Feena murmured to herself.
“Ah, and that’s why when you touch me, I... um...”
Sharon blushed a little and glanced at Al.
“Oh, could that have been a Heavenly Surge?”
“What’s a Heavenly Surge?”
Sharon looked dumbfounded at Cecilia, who was calmly sipping her tea. It was Feena who responded to her question.
“‘Born is the power to control the world when the Demon and the Saint come together.’ Is Freiya so far in the boonies that you don’t even have the scriptures?”
“Ah! I’ve heard about that! I haven’t read it myself, but it’s written in a book from about a thousand years ago.”
Al followed up Feena’s provocation before Sharon could respond.
Wait, why does she look mad?!
“...Don’t worry, Al. I’ll tell you all about it later, when we’re alone,” Feena responded, in a polite tone.
“Hey, aren’t you a bit biased towards Al?”
Sharon glared at the fidgeting Feena.
Al absentmindedly shrugged.
Things are getting awkward again...
“So, what exactly is this ‘Heavenly Surge’ anyway?”
He desperately tried to get the discussion back on track before they could wreck the room again.
“Basically, it’s when holy and evil energies mix, which then gives birth to power capable of going toe-to-toe with the gods themselves. I bet that your power flowed into Sharon, which resulted in her extreme reaction.”
Cecilia recited the details from memory, with her finger on her lips.
Al had resistance towards Sharon’s attacks. Since Sharon received the Valkyrie’s divine protection, her attacks were unable to reach the Demon King, restrained by the same Valkyrie’s seal. But the same could not be said in reverse. The Divas had no resistance to the Demon King’s powers.
“Wait. Are you telling me I can’t hurt him?!”
It was exactly as she thought. For her, attempting to attack Al was like trying to defeat a chess grandmaster with only a king on the board.
Cecilia glanced at Sharon as if she just realized something.
“I also heard that when your powers mix inside a Diva, the Valkyrie’s power protects them from harm. But a byproduct of this is that they experience something akin to sexual arousal.”
“What?! How did you... Ah, I mean...!”
Sharon was obviously flustered.
“Oh, did you get turned on by his Heavenly Surge?”
“Naughty Sharon... The Diva of Obscenity.”
Sharon shot up from the sofa at Feena’s provocation.
“Wh-What did you just say?! One more word, and I’ll cut your tongue out and feed it to the horses!”
Sharon was shaking with a bright-red face. It was hard to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.
“Horses are herbivores. You don’t even know that? What an idiot.”
“That’s it, you’re done for!”
Did I just hear something snap?
Sharon, who’d had enough of Feena’s insults, brought her hand to her chest.
Wait, she’s hiding something else there?! What manner of sorcery is this?!
Beside the awe-stricken Al, Feena was getting ready for battle as well.
“Time to put you down.”
An eerie silence settled in the room as the two of them stared each other down. It felt like the calm before the storm. A storm that had been building in strength over the last hour thanks to a countless number of spats. The time of its landfall was imminent.
“Oh, I know! Let’s give them a live demonstration!”
With that, the storm was downgraded from hurricane strength to a mere passing thunderstorm.
I’ll just have to weather the storm for now. Though I’d prefer if we could all get along in the future.
Just as the situation was about to explode, Cecilia gracefully hopped between them and grabbed Al’s hands.
“Al, if you’d please.”
“Cecilia, what are you...”
“Hehe...”
She gently placed his hands against her chest.
“Wait, Cecilia!”
Cecilia wouldn’t let this opportunity slide, even if her life depended on it. She ignored her brother’s protest and squeezed his hands even tighter to her chest.
“Hyahh! Ahhh!”
Her immodest cries echoed through the room.
“Wh-What are you doing?!”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m just demonstrating a Heavenly Surge.”
Cecilia managed to calm her heavy breathing enough to squeeze out a reply.
“Does it only work if I’m grabbing your boobs?!”
Cecilia’s grasp on Al’s hands held firm, no matter how much he struggled against her.
Cecilia’s breasts were soft to the touch and elastic.
What are you doing in front of my future brides?!
Cecilia’s smile turned devious upon her seeing the desperate look in Al’s eyes.
“Enough! Let go of my hands already!”
“I’m not done yet. I need to confirm if it works!”
“Let me go!”
“No! I’m not letting you get away from me!”
“Cecilia!”
“Hehe!”
“Miss Cecilia is scary...”
Feena had murmured under her breath, but Cecilia still heard it.
“Scary...?”
Cecilia winced at Feena’s statement and let go of Al’s hands. She was shaking like a leaf.
What in the world happened?
Her flushed cheeks immediately lost all their color.
“Huh?! What’s going on?!”
Al fell into a panic upon seeing his sister’s reaction. Unbeknownst to him, all the times he had told her she looked scary shook her to the core. It was a childhood trauma that never left her.
“I’m scary...?”
“Cecilia?”
“Al, I’m not scary, am I?”
“Cecilia, what’s wrong?!”
“Don’t play dumb!”
Al noticed a sharp gaze on his back. Sharon, who had been boisterous just moments earlier, was staring at him in dead silence.
Al didn’t have to see her to know what kind of face she was making. Scared for his life, he decided to turn around and explain himself, but Sharon cut him off at the pass.