Meanwhile, Mithras used his Reduction Secret and Quantum Tunneling to phase through the royal palace's walls, sneaking into the most well-guarded part of the palace: the Queen Mother's chambers.
There, Vel'Asha lay on her bed, still trapped in a coma. But while this would be his first real opportunity to appraise the Queen Mother's beauty, Mithras didn't come for her, staring at the palm-sized dragon blowing red flames into her heart instead.
"Nagini, what the hell are you doing here? I was worried you know," Mithras said in a tone that started strong but softened as he went on. The voice took Nagini by surprise, causing the little dragoness to bob her head and look in all directions.
Then she saw Mithras standing over Vel'Asha, and her eyes lit up.
"Mithras!" Nagini screamed with a bubbly voice, and rushed into Mithras' arms, expanding her wings to cover him.
"Ohh...I missed you too. You can talk now? Sweet...at first I wasn't expecting an actual answer, but now you can actually speak so tell me...the fuck you're doing here? What? Think I wouldn't scold you for acting a fool because you're acting cute? Try again.
I am not that soft," Mithras said with a wicked grin, pulling Nagini's cheeks left and right.
"Missundesstunding...missun..." Poor Nagini fumbled the words. But always a reasonable bro, Mithras stopped in his tracks, letting Nagini express herself.
"I sensed the Zealots when they entered Flameheart City and know we will have to face them soon. But it's hopeless. They came with dozens of Golden Palace and several Blood Longevity warriors, and that's without counting Akamana herself. That woman is so scary! Even the Red God didn't feel that terrifying! Now, only Vel'Asha can help us face the Angra Theocracy.
If we don't wake her up, how can we fight back?
I'm just using my Red Dragon Flames to speed up her recovery," Nagini explained, bobbing her head with emphasis, and hoping Mithras didn't think she abandoned him.
"Reasonable. Continue then. Actually, let me help you." But while Nagini expected Mithras to take a moment to consider her words, his tone made a 180 shift, directly supporting his familiar's initiative.
"Huh?" Confused, Nagini staggered, staring slack-jawed as Mithras stretched out his hands, releasing the White Flame of the Wrathful God Fire. Waves of divine flames flooded the Queen Mother, starting a miraculous healing process.
"What do you want me to say? You made a reasonable case, and truth be truth be told, I don't know how to deal with this one. I have just started my journey. My powers are nice but still limited. I wish I could just leave. It's the smart thing to do.
Leave and live to fight another day. But I can't. I have to face that woman and get my sister back. But with what? With what?
So Nagini, if you think Vel'Asha is the key to breaking this puzzle, I sure as hell ain't the one stopping you," Mithras said with a wry smile, the hints of bitterness in his tone helping Nagini realize how frustrated her bro currently felt.
Thanks to his various physical gifts and Sensory Secret, Mithras was an excellent judge of battle-prowess and knew that while he could defeat the likes of Grand Priest Elijah or Headmistress Achai without much trouble, he stood no chance against Elektra—absolutely none. If she went all out, she would destroy him in an instant, of that he had no doubt.
Yet that Elektra had turned into a toy in front of Akamana, performing like a malnourished brat attempting to kickbox a giant.
The gap was too big!
And of all times, the fucking system chose this one to go on an update? For real?!
At some point, we need to have a conversation with the one in charge of destiny and ask them why they occasionally put so many cards in one person's hands. Did you really need all that? Then again, who am I to talk?" Elektra said with a bitter smile, chuckling in a mix of shame and confusion.
600 priestesses...trained over decades and nurtured by herself. Core members of her hidden forces—all wiped out in a finger snap, and she couldn't even land a blow on the culprit's face. Never in her life had Elektra felt more ashamed. More...disgraced.
But as the deflated queen's thoughts trailed off, the myriad Akamana vanished, with only the original staying behind.
"Elektra, in a standard street fight between two ordinary men, assuming there isn't a huge size advantage, who wins?" Akamana asked in a more serious tone. Elektra ignored her, keeping her head lowered.
"The one with the bigger balls," the Grand Priestess leaned over, raising Elektra's head, and staring her in the eyes.
"The one with the bigger balls will move faster, with more fluidity, think less, strike with more accuracy, and deliver with more impact. Once you remove advantages like natural power, technique and size, all fights are decided by the law of the biggest balls. Do you know why Elektra? Because fights are scary.
Fighting is terrifying. The notion you could get your skull cracked on concrete with one bad fall. That they want to hammer your face in. To stab you till you bleed out! To pin you down and gash your throat with pieces of broken glass.
They won't stop till you go down. You have to win, or it's over! The bigger the stakes, the more terrifying it becomes. The fear in turn cripples you, preventing you from releasing even one percent of your true abilities.
And so in fights as in life, be it on the streets or in the struggles and confrontations you may encounter, it is important to enter each conflict with as much balls as you can bring out. But Elektra girly, your life has been too easy. So, you have not yet learned to turn your ovaries into balls of steel and iron.
Otherwise, you would have never fallen to your knees while you still have the strength to stay on your feet.
Disappointing.
A warrior leaves their opponent the burden of bringing them down. Girl, it's fine if you can't defeat me. But why...are you defeating yourself?" Akamana asked with a sigh of disappointment, her words rocking Elektra to the core of her soul.
The Grand Priestess gave Elektra a moment to digest her words, but seeing that the queen showed no quick reaction, Akamana shook her head, stretching out her right index.
"Oh well. If that's all you have to offer, say goodbye to the person you used to be. Elektra...it's over," the Grand Priestess said, and the moment next, Elektra could feel a vortex of Sid form behind her head—threatening to suck something out of her.
But at that time, a flurry of red crystal balls flew past Elektra, detonating in Akamana's face. The Grand Priestess' lips curled up, and she bobbed her head, isolating the explosions before dispersing them entirely.
A flaming figure emerged from the resulting smokescreen, swinging her flaming sword at Akamana's neck. The Grand Priestess didn't dodge, letting the sword slam into her index and disintegrate upon impact. But in that instant, scarlet flames lit up the newcomer's figure, and she kicked at Akamana's chest, bouncing against her Inner Shield and flying back to Elektra's side.
"Interesting...very, very interesting. There truly is no such thing as an ordinary girl among the daughters of Elektra." Akamana rubbed her lips, marveling at the newcomer, at Cassandra's figure.
Elektra too stared at her sister, shocked by the demonic energies she felt in Cassandra's flames.
"Congratulations, girly, you are mutating...into a Heart Enchantress. The common folks have a more familiar name for it: succubus.
Another lass has ascended to the ranks of big girls. Zealots, beat the drums!" Akamana said with a cheerful smile, and as the 300 zealots summoned their war drums, beating as ordered, Cassandra's ears took an elven shape. Sanguine horns sprouting from her forehead as red butterfly wings emerged from her back.