Chapter 77 – Fading reluctance

Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 77! I hope you'll like it!

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Molvograd, Molkovia, Earth.

Demian's P.O.V.

"Let's leave her some space." He suggested while noticing that those Energy fluctuations grew stronger as time passed. The three thus moved to the opposite side of the ring while Adeliya asked curiously after they stopped moving. "It's strange. I feel like there's some kind of invisible pressure on my body. What's going on? Is it because of what's happening to Bryn?" When he heard the question, Demian remembered that Body Strengthening Cultivators could neither 'see' nor sense Spiritual Energy. The only exception would be for one at the Peak of the Rank, and even then it was not a majority. It was not for nothing that the perception of ambient Spiritual Energy was one of the essential criteria for reaching the next Rank. In Adeliya's case, she could only feel the pressure that the muscular redhead was subconsciously emitting, nothing more.

Before he could respond, Seraphine started explaining. "Yes. She's having some kind of Epiphany. The result of that is her body evolving, and apparently, she can't control her Aura entirely during that process. That's why you're feeling that pressure. Same than with Demian previously." Her comment brought a feeling of guilt when he thought about the possibility of hurting any of the girls. Looking at the two, he asked worriedly. "Did I hurt any of you earlier? I'm really sorry I got..." His words were suddenly cut off when he noted the grin filled with a mix of amusement and warmth that appeared on the two girls' faces.

Shaking her head, Adeliya replied softly while staring into his eyes. "No need to be all flustered. Sera used her own Aura to protect me after a while so I didn't get injured." Knowing that he did not hurt any of them made him feel relieved. However, he did something she said, prompting him to question curiously. "You said after a while?" After all, in his opinion, there was no way she would let her Mother 'suffer' for no reason. And indeed, Seraphine's following answer confirmed his understanding of her. "I let her experience your Aura until she was about to get injured because I wanted her to get a feel for the changes you experienced." Noticing his confusion, she added. "Look over Big Sis. Because she's experiencing something similar to you, you can feel her Aura changing. And while those changes are happening, you can perceive some traces of her understanding if you pay close enough attention. At least, that's how I see it."

Now that she mentioned it, he did feel something similar to what she just mentioned. 'She's probably condensing her own 'special' Energy, just like I did.' He guessed while trying to use those few shreds of understanding he could sense to further his own grasp on the Water Element. Unfortunately, because her own Elements were different than his and she was reaching a level of comprehension similar to his current one, he was not able to gain much. At most, his understandings were a tad more consolidated. In any case, he already gained so much in such a short time that he could not find it in himself to complain.

As time passed by, Bryn's Aura grew more and more powerful, even faintly overtaking his own despite her lower Cultivation Base as a massive Energy Whirlpool condensed around her, its size vastly superior to the one he previously created. Looking at the situation in front of him, he only felt a mix of satisfaction and anticipation, but no jealousy. The first was because he genuinely felt happy for her growing power and the second was that her Nine Main Spiritual Channels were the most likely reasons behind her mind-boggling absorption rate. Since it was just a matter of time before he unlocked his own, so, how could he not be excited?

At that moment, he recalled something and moved his gaze toward Adeliya before letting out a relieved sigh. Indeed, he noticed that, besides her clothes being drenched with sweat and herself gasping for air, she was completely uninjured by Bryn's Aura. Feeling something, he looked toward the dark-skinned woman who met his gaze while sporting a knowing smile. Her reaction made him realize that the young woman had been protecting Adeliya with her own Aura all along without him noticing anything.

While staring at her captivating smile, he felt a surge of affection surfacing in his heart. 'I love you' He silently mouthed, prompting her to respond in the same manner 'Love you too'. The two then shared a smile before they quickly broke eye contact and simultaneously turned toward the middle-aged woman as they caught a change in the latter. As if the pressure emitted from her daughter triggered something in her, Adeliya's body suddenly started to automatically absorb a bit of the Spiritual Energy around her. That amount of Energy, although considered a mere drop in the sea for Mid Chi Gathering Cultivators like Demian, would normally be lethal for even Peak Body Strengthening Cultivators if it was absorbed all at once.

Surprisingly, however, nothing bad happened to her. Instead, her Cultivation Base began to increase at breakneck speed. From her Peak Fourth Level, she instantly reached the Fifth Level, then went on to reach the Sixth Level. Only until she reached the Peak Seventh Level of Body Strengthening did she stop growing more powerful. At that point, Adeliya's consciousness faded and her body lost its strength. Before she could touch the floor, however, Demian instantly caught her and lifted her body in a princess carry. After a brief scan of his Spiritual Will, he learned that she was just exhausted, making him relieved. While gazing at her face, he noticed that her skin seemed to have become smoother with the few wrinkles becoming almost unnoticeable. 'When she'll check her younger looks, she's definitely gonna be ecstatic.' He thought playfully before commenting. "I think her continuous breakthrough was too much for her body and mind."

To which Seraphine replied. "Probably... But I think it's also all the stress she's under that got to her." Nodding his head, he responded softly while spotting a few drops of sweat running down Adeliya's sleeping face. "I'm not really surprised. I wish she could relax a bit more, though." From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Seraphine's head shaking slightly before she responded wryly. "Aren't we all the same? The four of us can't help but stress out because we're worried that the others will be hurt and we would be too weak to prevent it."

Letting out a sigh, he looked in Sera's direction and said. "I know you're right, but we've got some power to defend ourselves now. And we'll keep growing stronger." While sporting a small smile, she retorted. "You're right, but you also forgot something..." Cocking his brow in confusion, he was about to ask her what she meant but was interrupted by her next words. "You've got those special Perks and I'm bonded to you, so I benefit from them. Sis... Well, her cultivation talent is just out of this world. But what about Mom? From her cultivation speed, I'm sure that she should be talented. But compared to the three of us..." She paused for a second before adding. "You didn't notice, but I know that she's been pushing herself since we received those cultivation techniques from Sergei. It's to the point that she barely sleeps at night. She keeps practicing until her body can't take it anymore." She paused for a second then added. "The thing is if by doing that she could catch up to our cultivation speed, it'd be acceptable. But that's clearly not the case. Even if I were to be conservative, I'd still say that a few hours of cultivation for us is the equivalent of a few days for her. I'm pretty sure you can guess how that makes her feel."

While recalling the conversation he had a few days ago with Adeliya, he started to understand how much pressure she was under with the three of them by her side. 'It's not as if I can't relate. I did spend 18 years here feeling that way after all...' He thought while sighing for the umpteenth time that day. Out loud he said. "I get it. I still wish she could relax a bit though. With us here, she doesn't need to carry everything on her shoulders anymore..." Tilting her head slightly, the purple-haired beauty exclaimed half-teasingly, half-seriously. "We both know that there's an easy way that can help her both relax and make her stronger..."

Despite not finishing her sentence, he understood instantly what she meant. Unlike his previous adverse reactions when she mentioned the idea, this time, he just nodded while calmly replying. "You're right. But she'd need to agree first." "Uh?" She let out a surprised sound before asking. "You're not against it anymore?" After moving his gaze from Brynhild's immobile figure to Sera's face, he answered with a warm smile on his face. "I just had some revelations after my recent breakthrough. Why go against my heart, especially when my favorite person in the world is pushing me towards following it?"

His statement brought a genuinely happy smile to her face before she remarked. "That's right. As long as it's Mom and Big Sis, I don't mind sharing you. If it's someone else though..." As those last words left her lips, her smile turned dangerous. The implied threat did not bother him, though, as he had never been someone promiscuous. After all, if it was not for Seraphine suggesting the idea of seducing her mother and sister, Demian would have never gone beyond fantasizing about it. To him, if there was no trust and loyalty in a romantic relationship, then the latter was doomed to fail. That was the main reason why he had some difficulty accepting having a romantic relationship with the three women at the same time. Would the three be really okay with it? And if they're okay at the beginning, will they always be okay with it? Would it then be considered as cheating?

With a smile full of love, he replied softly. "I'm plenty satisfied with just you, Love. But since you want me to, I'll do it. Although I can't deny that I've also got some feelings for Bryn and Liya." Without even noticing, he started changing the way he called his Aunt. On the side, Sera's facial expression mirrored his as she said. "I know you do." She paused for a second before she added. "I just don't want the four of us to grow apart, so I thought that I might as well tie them up to you. That way, we'll always be together..."

He could feel her conflicted emotions as she explained her reasoning to him, but she did not avoid his eyes. 'It's funny how she can be so mature and childish at the same time.' He thought before remarking out loud. "You know that's very manipulative of you?" Nodding her head, she replied. "I know and I'm sorry about it. But I don't regret it one bit." Chuckling at her reply, he responded. "It's fine. If I was really against it, I'd have told you. It's just that your reason is a bit..." He did not finish his sentence, but she did it for him. "Childish, right?" He nodded his head before shaking it once and explaining. "Yes and no. It's a bit simplistic, but at the same time it's as good a reason as any." Pausing for a second, he added as a slight frown appeared on his face. "To be honest, just the idea of any of you being with another man annoys me greatly."

Giggling at his words, she exclaimed. "See?! We're thinking the same thing!" Chuckling at her reaction, he then said wryly. "I'd have never thought that one day my girlfriend would be pushing me toward her mother and sister... You're really something else, you know that?" With a knowing grin, she claimed. "I'll take that as a compliment!" For a while, the two quietly lost themselves in each other's eyes, not paying attention to what was around them. That was until their senses picked up on the decreasing fluctuations coming from Bryn's body.

'It seems like she's almost done.' He thought as both his and Sera's gazes were attracted toward the sitting woman's direction. A few minutes later, Brynhild's wild Aura settled down completely, bringing a feeling of anticipation to the young couple. 'I wonder what she gained exactly...' He thought after noticing the sharp increase in her Cultivation Level. However, with his growing understanding of her cultivation talent, he could easily guess that her gains were not limited to an increase in Level.

What happened next confirmed his previous thought. Indeed, as Bryn's eyes opened, he observed the atmosphere around her changing drastically. An air of heaviness mixed with some lethal sharpness appeared around her body almost akin to a domain where no one could confront her. 'Just by using that Aura, I doubt any normal cultivator of the same Rank can face her. At least, when it comes to Mid Chi Gathering... High Chi Gathering Cultivators should also be somewhat affected, but I'm not sure to what degree.' He deduced while noticing that his own state of mind was unaffected. 'If her Aura is like that, I really wonder how much physically stronger she's become...' He wondered while feeling the excitement surging in his heart.

His train of thought, however, was suddenly interrupted when he sighted Brynhild looking in their direction. A slight frown swiftly appeared on her face before she dashed toward them at superhuman speed. She was so fast that he was probably one of the only ones, if not the only one, in this Estate able to match her speed at the moment. 'Although I can tell that her strength is beyond me, I may not be slower... I'll need to spar with her to be sure.' He analyzed before noticing the woman's Divine Sense checking Adeliya's body. "What happened to Mom?" She asked worriedly.

With a reassuring smile, Demian explained. "She just passed out, don't worry! I checked earlier and she's not injured." Her tense facial expression relaxed quickly after listening to his words. Nonetheless, she still seemed curious. "Did she pass out because of my Aura?" Her guess was quite logical. After all, her Aura was so strong that she could probably kill even a Peak Body Strengthening with it if she was not careful, let alone someone much weaker like Adeliya.

Nodding his head, Demian then shook it once before clarifying. "You Aura was the trigger, but the main reason was because her cultivation base increased too quickly and her mind and body couldn't take it. So, she fell unconscious." His words brought a joyful smile to his oldest cousin who muttered. "It's good that she got stronger." Before she changed the subject and declared. "About the discussion we had earlier. I know what it is." Cocking his brow in confusion, it took him a few seconds to understand what she meant, after which he exclaimed excitedly. "Wait! You're talking about that special blue Energy? You know what it is?"

Nodding her head, she replied calmly. "I do. But it's already late and Mom is out cold. So, I suggest we go back to our suite and discuss the topic there. What do the two of you say?"