Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 178. The Rejection That Could End The World

Rick used his magical powers to understand what she meant. There were faint magical chains around Typhon’s wrists that only people with the right kind of sight could see.

The chains didn’t touch the floor or the throne. They literally locked him up by connecting to his heart.

Sebastian appeared for a moment on Rick’s shoulder, but no one else could see him. "Enchantment of Guilt-Lock."

"That’s a spell for advanced self-punishment."

"He has put himself in a state of permanent meditation on his sins. And let me tell you that’s one mean piece of shit magic."

"The lock is inside his own soul, so it can’t be broken from the outside. He is the only one who can let it go, and he clearly won’t because there’s no coming back after everything he did."

Rick looked at Typhon and thought about what he had just heard. "So he’s just been sitting there for fifty years, feeling guilty without trying to change anything?"

"What a fucking piece of shit...! At least try to redeem yourself to your own beautiful wife like that!"

"So... that’s Typhon, huh?" Rick looked at Thalor.

Thalor’s soft voice confirmed it. "Yes... he doesn’t eat or sleep in any real way, but he’s just existing."

"Years ago, Mother moved her throne so she wouldn’t have to see him, but she won’t let him leave the throne room. Some kind of punishment or reminder, but we’ve never been sure which."

Myrissa stepped up and interrupted Rick’s analysis. She did a very well-rehearsed royal bow that was smooth and accurate.

"Ocean Empress, Mother of Tides, and Keeper of the Deep... I bring you your firstborn son Thalor, cleansed of corruption and restored to full health."

With the same mechanical accuracy as a security camera locking onto a target, Nerissa’s eyes moved to Thalor.

There was no emotion on her face. Just a nod that something had come into her line of sight.

"I understand." Her voice was beautiful when she spoke.

It should have sounded warm and loving, with a melodic and layered quality like waves crashing on the shore, but it was totally flat, like someone reading a technical manual with no feeling.

"The ward sensors confirmed that the corruption had been successfully cleansed. The duration of the corruption lasted for three weeks, two days, and seven hours." She stopped for exactly two seconds. "Thalor Abyssryn, you are back on active duty."

"Report to Ward Maintenance Division Seven for your assignment... the calibration work is needed in the eastern sector wards."

She looked away from him and back at nothing in front of her. "Dismissed."

Thalor flinched as if she had hit him. "Mother, I wanted to tell you what happened and how I was caught up in the corruption while I was checking the outer wards near the storm."

"There was this voice that promised to bring our family back together, and I was weak for a moment, but—"

"Dismissed." The same flat tone came out of her mouth again with no anger, no impatience, and no feelings at all.

Myrissa stepped in right away, and her voice changed to that of a formal court presentation. "Mother, he brought friends with him."

"People who live on the surface who were able to use advanced holy magic to purify both Thalor and Guardian Scylla... they want to talk about the corruption crisis in the ocean and ask for a formal audience."

For the first time, Nerissa really looked at Rick while fully locking in.

Rick felt it like a physical force when she completely turned her attention to him. A magic wave that he couldn’t see washed over him and read everything about him in a matter of seconds.

He could feel her looking through his Spirit Bond network, which had five glowing connections that connected him to Carmilla, Natasha, Liora, Sylvia, and Zara.

She looked at his power level with the same level of detail as a doctor would, noting that he had recently reached level 50.

His titles looked like pages in a book when she looked at them with her magic. Everything was laid bare: Dragon Knight, Dragonslayer, Bond Weaver, Hero of Mature Hearts, and more.

It took exactly ten seconds to scan. Nerissa spoke in the same flat tone that made every word sound like it hurt more.

"The Demon King of the Eastern Wastes."

"The Dragon Queen’s Consort"

"Spirit bonded to five mature women at the same time, which has never happened before in recorded magical history."

"The current age right now is twenty-four years old."

"Level of power: SSS-rank equivalent." She moved her head a little, which was the first real movement she’d made.

"Titles include Hero of Valdris, Bond Weaver, Consort of Dragon Queen, Demon King, Hero of Mature Hearts, and Unwavering Protector."

Another break. A résumé that is interesting for someone who died less than three months ago. "Say what you want, Demon King."

"Even though my true title is Hero of Mature Hearts, hearing someone address me as the Demon King has that slight feeling of orgasm, you know...?" Rick said in his mind.

"What the fuck was that supposed to mean!?" Sebastian responded with confusion inside his mind.

Rick stepped forward, and even though he could feel Carmilla getting tense behind him, she didn’t stop him. He took a breath of water and tried to be diplomatic first, using the logical approach that made sense.

"Here goes nothing..." Rick let out a long breath while bowing down his head.

"Your Majesty, I’m here because the oceanic wards that protect Meridia and the rest of the ocean are failing faster and faster."

"Your daughter Myrissa and Grand Sorceress Zephyra both stated that everything will fall apart in sixty-seven days."

"Seventy percent of the world’s surface turns into corrupted ocean when that happens. Billions of innocent lives will die in every coastal area and island nation, and I’m here to stop that from happening as the Hero of Mature Hearts."

Nerissa stood from her throne. The movement shocked every ocean dweller in the room visibly.

The court attendants gasped, and whispers spread through the room like waves in water. It looks like she didn’t stand up during audiences anymore.

She went down the stairs with an unnatural grace, not walking but flowing as if the water itself was carrying her. She stopped ten feet away from Rick, which was close enough for them to talk clearly but far enough away to keep things formal.

"Oh god... she smells nice... and my eye is being drawn to those two massive breasts that are covered by the large shells!" Rick said in his mind while trying his hardest not to move his eye down.

She didn’t change her expression as she talked. "Adequate assessment of the crisis situation, but incorrect assumption about your true purpose."

She tilted her head again, and that small movement was somehow scarier than if she had pulled out a weapon. "You are not here to stop oceanic corruption in general."

"You are here because you need the Ocean Empire’s help. More specifically, you need me and my magic..."

She got closer, and now she was only eight feet away. "Let me make a guess about your strategy as the Hero."

"Bring the Seven Major Powers together through Spirit Bonds or a diplomatic alliance. The pool had magical power from dragons, demons, goddesses, oceans, elves, witches, and mages."

"Create a single barrier system to take the place of the world’s failing natural defenses and stop the Archon’s network of corruption."

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Y-Yeah..." Rick’s stomach dropped. "That’s exactly what we want to do."

Nerissa’s answer was quick and final. "I refuse to do it..."

The throne room exploded with reactions. Carmilla’s hand flew to the hilt of her sword, but she didn’t draw it, just because she was clearly ready for what’s to come.

Natasha’s ice magic flickered around her fingers. It was hidden but still visible, like frost forming in the water.

Liora began to talk. "Your Majesty, please think about what will happen if—"

Zara’s voice cut through everything else. Her demonic aura spiked for a moment before she pushed it back down.

"Are you... FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!"

"You’re just going to sit your ass here and let the world end?!"