"A-Aha?!"
Hearing Aha's echoing voice and sensing the overwhelming energy of the Elation Path, Celenova froze in place, nearly failing to maintain the icy power of Destruction surrounding her body.
Her reaction was only natural, for Aha was the most unpredictable, most troublesome Aeon in the cosmos.
However, the question was: why had THEY appeared here all of a sudden?
Meanwhile, Aha, seeming to notice that THEY had 'bumped' into something, had THEIR vast will, filled with pure curiosity and cheer, sweep across the wrecked fleet behind THEM, and upon sensing a living aura, THEY immediately teleported toward Celenova.
"HaHaHaHa~ Sorry about that!"
Aha, riding a kiddie ride, apologized to the battered Celenova with a cheerful laugh, but THEIR voice carried no sincerity at all—if anything, THEY sounded delighted.
"My Elation Express was busy trailblazing across the cosmos and didn't notice there was something here! Hey girl, wanna play with the cosmos's one and only Elation Express?"
Just like that, Aha casually extended an enthusiastic invitation, completely ignoring what THEY had done to Celenova and her Antimatter Legion.
Celenova: "..."
'Play?! Who would want to play with this lunatic?!'
An Emanator of Destruction was supposed to carry out destruction!
Something was absolutely wrong today—someone had definitely interfered with her.
Not only had her Antimatter Legion near that unbreached planet inexplicably self-destructed, but now she had also been smashed half to death by the Aeon of Elation's toy—the cosmos's number-one psychopath?!
An indescribable sense of frustration and despair surged up in Celenova's chest, making her want to disappear immediately on the spot.
In the end, with this thought in mind, she forced out her last bit of strength, dragging her half-ruined body as she teleported away in a humiliating retreat, terrified that Aha might chase after her to 'play.'
As Aha watched Celenova flee in disgrace, the gaudy outline of THEIR kiddie ride swayed slightly within the ripples of space, as if THEY felt a bit of regret.
"Boring... Well then, the Elation Express is departing~! HaHaHaHa~!"
Accompanied by a burst of completely incoherent, deranged laughter, Aha's exaggerated kiddie ride vanished abruptly, as though it had never existed at all.
===
At the same time, in Izumo, the warning alarms were finally lifted, allowing all the citizens to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Wait, is it over? I just packed my things."
"Looks like it... I heard the enemy kinda blew themselves up..."
"Long live Lord Lucian! It must have been Lord Lucian's doing!"
Cheers gradually rose among the citizens, though there was little of the excitement that usually followed surviving a disaster, mainly because everyone thoroughly believed in Lucian's omnipotence.
'Feels like something interesting happened?'
Lucian had no idea what had occurred millions of light-years away and only knew that the Antimatter Legion had been wiped out.
'Law of Calamity, huh... Pretty good. I don't even need to act personally, and the enemy dies from accidents...'
With this thought in mind, Lucian ended the call with the guardians in Shuten Castle and wanted to lie back down, but before he could, Kiana suddenly grabbed his arm and patted her soft, thick thighs.
"Master, lie here!"
Lucian had already found the sofa insufficiently soft, but upon hearing Kiana's offer and glancing at her soft-and-thicc-looking thighs, he did not hesitate as he tilted his head and rested it on her lap before closing his eyes and sighing in satisfaction.
'Ahh, definitely softer and warmer than the sofa...'
Hearing Lucian's sigh, Kiana looked down, causing her long, silky white hair to tickle his nose.
"Master, is it good?"
"Mm, good."
Kiana nodded with a smile at Lucian's reply, then waved enthusiastically at Mei nearby.
"Mei, you too!"
Nearby, Mei looked at Lucian lying comfortably on Kiana's lap, then shifted her gaze to Kiana, whose expression, in her eyes, appeared happy, almost like a smug look.
In that instant, the little jar of jealousy in Mei's heart began to bubble again, but she pressed her lips together and did not move, instead continuing to fuss with the tea set arranged on the coffee table beside the sofa.
"No, thank you..."
Mei calmly refused Kiana's offer, deliberately pretending to keep herself busy.
However, Kiana, with her bubbly and energetic personality, refused to give up so easily and reached out to pull Mei.
"C'mon, Mei! Master lying alone is so lonely!"
"Kya!"
Suddenly pulled by Kiana, Mei stumbled forward and nearly fell into Lucian.
Aware of Mei's situation even with his eyes closed, Lucian casually wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his embrace, the corners of his mouth curving upward slightly.
"Ah!"
Mei cried out softly as she ended up pressed against Lucian's chest, her face instantly turning bright red as she felt the steady rise and fall of his chest and his clean, pleasant scent.
"Stop messing around, Kiana."
Lucian spoke lazily, not even opening his eyes, but his arm around Mei's waist did not loosen.
Kiana blinked her big eyes, looking at Lucian and then at Mei, whose face was red enough to rival a tomato.
"Master, it wasn't me."
Kiana tilted her head to the side, looking clueless.
Lucian, who could tell exactly which woman it was just by holding her, naturally knew that and would not mistake Mei for Kiana.
He had simply acted on a whim to tease Mei.
Hearing Lucian call Kiana's name instead of hers, Mei, feeling so embarrassed and jealous that she wanted to crawl into a crack in the floor, struggled to get up, but his arm unfortunately held her firmly in place.
"Don't move, Mei. Just let me hold you like this for a while, okay?"
Lucian finally called Mei's name in a voice that carried a hint of unquestionable authority, which made her stiffen for a moment, finally becoming aware that he had been teasing her all along, before finally relaxing.
As long as he knew who he was holding, that was enough.
Lying against Lucian's broad, warm chest and listening to his steady heartbeat, she found that the heat in her face refused to fade.
Kiana, on the other hand, happily continued acting as Lucian's pillow, and from time to time, she even reached out to smooth his hair while softly humming a tuneless song, ignorant of the intimate act between Lucian and Mei.
Quite some time passed peacefully like this, until the calm was finally broken.
In the center of the living room, space suddenly rippled before a group of beauties filed out one after another.
In the blink of an eye, the once spacious and quiet living room was crammed full with eleven extra lively women of completely different sizes.
Lucian's eyelids twitched, but he still did not open his eyes and merely tightened his hold on Mei's slender waist slightly, as if drawing in the last trace of peace.
Mei, faced with this sudden spectacle, felt even more embarrassed and tried to get up again, only to be pressed back down by Lucian.
"Welcome home!"
Kiana, unlike Mei, was delighted by the arrival of the eleven beauties and casually waved at them, looking innocent as always.
"Huh? Boss? Mei?"
Himiko raised an eyebrow as she looked at the two piled together on the sofa.
"Oh?"
Senti widened her eyes, then leaned in, tilting her head to look at Mei.
"So, Raiden Bosenmori Mei, this is how you monopolize the boss?"
Kyuusyou adjusted her monocle, her expression serious.
"Hmph, I'm tired. I want to lie down too."
Sirin rolled her eyes, then walked straight over to Kiana, rested her head on the still-empty spot on Kiana's thighs, and ended up head-to-head with Lucian.
Xuanyuan directly pulled out her phone, opened the photo app, and then—
*Click!*
As the flash from her phone went off, Xuanyuan looked at the photo on her phone screen and giggled.
"Heehee, gotta commemorate the boss and his two attendants being so close!"
Startled by the sudden photo flash, Mei instinctively buried her face in Lucian's chest.
"I want to cuddle with the boss, too," Sakura chimed in calmly, then knelt by the sofa and pounced onto Mei. "Mei, scoot over a bit."
Seeing this, Himiko also crowded in.
"Boss, you're playing favorites! Share a little with me!"
As always, Himiko bluntly expressed whatever was on her mind.
"Boss, I want a hug too. Is that okay?"
Ana walked up to Lucian with a soft, delicate aura and asked in a gentle voice.
Lucian opened his eyes slightly and looked at the eternally youthful Ana, then gently nodded and extended his hand.
"Of course, my princess."
Hearing this, Ana smiled softly and immediately slipped into Lucian's arms.
"Boss, I've suffered an unknown mental attack. I need treatment..."
Kyuusyou made an excuse while clutching her own chest, then dramatically threw herself onto Lucian.
Seeing the scene, Wendy, Bianka, Theresa, Senti, and Azta exchanged silent glances, then crowded over as well.
Unfortunately, Lucian was only one person, and the sofa was limited in size—nowhere near enough to embrace thirteen women at the same time.
"Line up, line up. Are you trying to crush me to death?"
Lucian finally opened his eyes fully, looking at the mass of women pressed against him without any sense of awkwardness.
It couldn't be helped.
After so many years of living together, everyone had long since grown accustomed to one another.
In this home, all the women had already made their stance clear: they would live together forever, until death tore them apart. Comradeship mixed with familial bonds made the relationships among them unbreakable, and there had never been even a single internal conflict during these years of living together.
Lucian naturally liked this kind of atmosphere, as it saved him a great deal of trouble.
===
Late at night, the noise of the day had finally settled.
Lucian, enjoying a rare moment of quiet, sat alone on the floor of the backyard terrace, silently gazing at the stars in the night sky.
*Shhhk—*
Suddenly, the sliding glass door behind Lucian opened, and Mei walked over, carrying a cup of hot milk, which she gently placed beside his hand.
"You're not asleep yet?"
Lucian kept his gaze on the stars as he casually asked Mei.
"Mm… I can't sleep…"
Mei nodded gently and sat down beside him on the floor, her long black hair drifting softly in the night breeze.
Lucian silently picked up the cup of hot milk and took a sip before handing it to Mei.
"Have some too. It'll help you relax."
Mei glanced at the cup for a moment, deliberately checking the rim before taking it and taking a sip from it herself.
Lucian turned his head slightly to look at Mei and saw that, under the moonlight, her profile appeared gentle, her violet eyes reflecting the scattered starlight.
Soon, when Mei set the cup down, Lucian suddenly reached out and held her soft hand as it rested on her knee.
"Mei, I remember when we first met, you angrily said you'd settle the score with me because I stole your first kiss. After all these years, have you settled it yet?"
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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