Chapter 439: So Close
Unknown time ago.
In a huge castle, the young Alexa, with just fifteen years old, looks at a painting of Helena on the hallway wall. It is strange that a woman who looks smaller and younger than she is actually her grandmother.
But Alexa doesn"t doubt that. She still remembers how warm and comfortable it was to be in Helena"s arms. She remembers that it was her grandmother who taught her to use a sword... it was Helena who was beside her while her mother fought for the freedom of their people.
Alexa does not blame her parents or grandparents for what happened. She blames the G.o.ds, of course. But she also knows that she cannot rebel against them yet, or what remains of her family will be burnt to ashes.
After hearing footsteps, she looks to the side and sees her best friend and protector. "Hi, Ligea... your expression is not positive..."
The old angel Ligea bows respectfully. "I"m sorry, young lady... Our last explorations haven"t found anything about her."
"Have you reported to him yet?" Alexa asks.
Ligea nods. "Yes, I explained everything to Lord Corvus personally, and he had already prepared another exploration party."
Alexa smiles as she looks at Helena"s painting. "Atticus loves her very much, don"t he? I wonder why he won"t personally look for her."
"I"m sure he would have gone with her when he has the opportunity, but..." Ligea doesn"t finish her sentence.
"But she asked him to take care of me, right? Of course that she would do something like that, and he would never deny her such a request from her." Alexa concludes.
Ligea smiles. "Young lady is already so smart at such an age, hehe... Your parents and grandparents would be proud."
Alexa makes an upset expression when thinking about Maxim. "I don"t think my grandfather thinks anything good about me. He left this family, so don"t mention his name again."
"I"m sorry, my lady." Ligea bows her head.
After a minute in silence, Alexa continues to look at Helena"s painting. "What would it be like if Atticus were my grandfather?"
"I don"t think it would change much..." Ligea comments. "I mean, he already treats you like his granddaughter. He, and your grandparents, were like brothers and loved each other very much. Lord Corvus also loved your mother and would have died to save her if he could."
Alexa smiles when thinking about Atticus. "Yeah, I"m lucky Grandma left him with me, but... I can"t do this without her. Keep looking, Ligea; we won"t stop until we find her!"
Ligea nods. "Of course, young lady. However, their time for fighting has pa.s.sed. Only you can fulfill your great-grandfather"s dreams, or... you must act like your grandfather and stop fighting."
"No... I can"t stop trying..." Alexa has a determined expression on her face as she looks at Helena"s painting. "My parents were reckless, but I know what we have to do..."
"We cannot be stronger than the G.o.ds, but we can be smarter. Their arrogance makes them blind, and that is why we are going to get the freedom that our people need so badly."
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Now.
"Grandma..." Alexa can"t believe she finally found Helena. "I looked for you..."
But then she sees Lucien"s gentle and friendly smile as Helena grabs the bottom hem of his s.h.i.+rt, so she shakes her head. "No... this cannot be true..."
She takes out her silver longsword and points it at Lucien. "Demon!! You will not deceive me with such tricks!!"
"What tricks??" Lucien asks sarcastically.
Helena wants to approach Alexa to hug her, but she is afraid, hesitant, concerned... And her body feels much more comfortable and protected next to Lucien.
"There are no tricks here, my granddaughter. We finally meet again..." Helena comments.
Alexa doesn"t see any imperfections in Helena"s body. She exactly as she remembers; she is just like in those painting of the castle, and she is also exactly how people described her.
Still, Alexa cannot believe that her grandmother would ally herself with the people who hate angels most. So that has to be a lie, a trick to deceive her.
"The G.o.ds always say that demons use such tricks to seduce and deceive everyone..." She comments. "I thought that was just another one of the many lies they tell to enslave our people, but it seems that at least it was true."
"Alexa!" Helena speaks in a firm tone as she flies towards her. "You"re wrong; it"s me, for real!"
The once brave and feared Young General Cra.s.sus flies backward while feeling more confused than ever. Her heart really wants to believe that woman is really her beloved grandmother, but her mind cannot believe it in that, especially in such circ.u.mstances.
Alexa was never a hesitant person. She had to mature very quickly due to the tragedies that happened to her family. But now, for the first time in her life, she doesn"t know what to do... she"s afraid.
Suffering for what she is sure is a trick of that strange demon, she realizes that she is retreating. But she cannot do that; she cannot be weak.
"d.a.m.n demon..." Alexa"s eyes s.h.i.+ne with anger as she stops flying backward and swings her sword forward, using all her anger and frustration.
"Don"t play with the ones I love!!!!!" She cries and attacks Helena, whom she is sure to be an illusion or a demon.
With the strength to cut dozens of mountains in half with a single blow, Alexa"s attack cuts through the air with extreme speed, creating an incredibly devastating force wave.
Helena feels an instinctive fear as her whole body begs her to dodge that blow. But her heart, or rather, the fragments that were left of what was once her heart, are crumbling while immense sadness attacks her.
A black tear runs down the corner of her eye as she just keeps flying towards her granddaughter. Alexa realizes that and gets even more confused.
At that moment, when a second seems like a minute, she notices Helena"s sad and honest expression. There is no way for it to be false; there is no way for someone to copy the sadness that Alexa has always seen in her grandmother"s eyes.
The part of Alexa that wants to believe starts to gain from her suspicious part. But after starting such a brutal attack, neither can she just stop that easily.
Alexa tries to pull the sword back and stop the attack, but the force used to start that attack and the fact that Helena keeps going forward make that collision inevitable.
[Grandma...] She panics and despairs as she realizes that maybe she is really attacking the person she loves most.
And when the blade of her sword is almost touching Helena"s small and delicate body, a red and gold shadow appears out of nowhere.
*Whoooooosh*
*BAM!!* *CLANG*
Alexa"s attack is blocked and aimed upward by what appears to be a golden spear. At that moment, she feels a devastating force opposing her strength, and for less than a second, she sees the smile of that strange demon again.
Lucien manages to hug Helena"s waist with one hand, preventing her from moving further while blocking Alexa"s attack with the golden naginata and still redirecting that devastating wave of force into the sky.
But he underestimated Alexa"s brutal strength and totally lost control of his body while being pushed up by her sword.
*WHOOOOSH*
He is thrown upward for hundreds of meters while still hugging Helena and protecting her while Envy and Wrath create a demonic energy barrier to block some of Alexa"s energy that went everywhere.
Alexa looks up and sees them getting out of her field of view in a few seconds. She is confused again, now not about Helena but about Lucien. [What the... is he really in the Earth Realm???]
It takes Lucien several seconds to regain control of his body, mainly because he is holding Helena. Then he realizes that everything is dark around them as they are almost leaving Argerim"s atmosphere and arriving in the empty inter-worlds s.p.a.ce.
"Helena???" He asks as he tries to see her face. "Are you okay?!"
She continues to hide her face on Lucien"s chest, but after a few seconds, she looks at him with an embarra.s.sed expression while her face is fully flushed.
"You... you are... touching my a.s.s!!" She punches his chest, without using any strength, of course.
Lucien squeezes the soft thing in his hand as he smiles. "Oh yeah... your a.s.s is really hot..."
Helena pushes Lucien and flies out of his arms. She knows she can"t be upset with him after saving her life, but she also doesn"t know how to deal with those unfamiliar feelings.
"You..." When she thinks about complaining, she notices that Lucien"s right hand is completely destroyed. She can see the bones of his hand while its skin and flesh have been destroyed by Alexa"s explosive strength.
First, Helena feels very sorry for being upset with Lucien after he suffered such injuries to save her life. So she is impressed by his strength. She realized how strong Alexa is and can not believe that he really blocked her attack, despite the current state of his hand.
And then, she is also perplexed by the color of Lucien"s bones. [Why is it golden?!?!?!]
Lucien is also very confused that his hand bones look like pure gold. He looks at his hand while his life mana and demonic energies quickly restore his flesh and skin.
"Don"t ask me..." l.u.s.t quickly speaks in his mind while she also doesn"t understand that. The last time she checked his body, his bones were not golden.
Lucien notices Helena"s shocked look, so he smiles at her. "We don"t have time for it now."
She looks at him with a grateful and loving expression. "Are you... fine?"
He shakes his hand while it quickly returns to normal. That speed of regeneration seems impossible, but she has already seen how powerful his life mana is.
"That was close..." Lucien comments as he looks down. "She is monstrously strong."
Helena rolls her eyes. "You are the only monster here!! She is in the Immortal Realm, so it is normal for her to be that strong."
Lucien expected Alexa to be very strong, but even using all his demonic energies and the golden naginata, he almost lost his arm when blocking a single strike of her sword.
It should make him afraid, intimidated, and even hurt his ego. But what happens is the opposite. He is excited, happy, and very willing to fight Alexa, with no intention of killing her, of course.
"Let"s go back." Lucien extends his arm to Helena, clearly inviting her to enter his embrace willingly.
She shakes her head. "I can fly alone!"
"But I don"t like to fly alone..." He smiles.
*Whoosh*
In a quick moment, Lucien hugs her with his left arm and flies down towards Alexa. Helena thinks about trying to escape from his arms, but her body feels very good, and she is in need of good feelings to contain her nervousness.
"J-just don"t... s-squeeze my a.s.s again... okay?" Helena asks in a shy tone.
As he continues to fly down, Lucien begins to move his hand on her thin and delicate waist. "What about here?"
She pouts while getting even more embarra.s.sed. "NEITHER!!"
Lucien starts laughing at Helena"s cute reactions. He really wants to see her have more reactions like that instead of the sad looks she does when thinking about her sad past.
They come out of the clouds and realize that Alexa is staring at them. She gets even more confused when she notices their expressions. The demon is laughing while her grandma is... [Pouting??!?!]
[What the h.e.l.l is going on?!?!] Alexa feels that nothing there makes sense.