"Mom is here, so we can take it easy now."
The degree to which Fay's relaxed in a single instant was uncanny. Through our bond, I could tell there wasn't a single shred of hesitation or doubt in her mind.
Now that Madam had arrived, Fay considered the entire altercation to be over.
Sadly, as much as I wanted, I couldn't share the same mindset.
'Loraz isn't that weak,' I thought, gritting my teeth in frustration at having to choose between trusting in Fay's instincts... and doing what I believed to be my due diligence to keep her safe. 'And compared to Madam, he actually might be...'
I didn't really get to finish my thought. And as soon as Madam made a single step towards her ex, I figured out...
No, I saw the reason why Fay acted so carefree now that her mother returned.
There was no further fight. And without a doubt, it wasn't because my strike managed to pummel all the aggressive ideas out of Loraz's head.
No.
When Madam stepped forth, the entire world appeared to move with her. It was only when her feet touched the ground that I realized it was only an illusion... Or rather, a phantom experience.
It wasn't the world that moved along with Madam's step. It was all the world's mana around, save for the narrow bubble of safety that Fay prompted up with the thick array of the sparks of her divine aura.
And when Madam made her step, despite moving only about half a meter... She suddenly appeared right by her ex's side.
When she moved, she didn't bother to thread the way an ordinary mortal would. Instead, she bent the very space around her, moving not by pushing herself off the ground but by doing exactly the same that I managed to achieve with my evolved, Aura Tribute.
The difference though, was the scale.
Partially due to a lucky fluke, I managed to bend a narrow stretch of space to use it as a speed boost for the fist that I used to deliver my last strike to Loraz's face. I only managed to keep the bend of space for a short moment. Still, even doing as little was enough to sap nearly three-quarters of my mana, leaving my reserves dangerously low.
Madam, on the other hand, bent the space as freely as she would bend a piece of paper. The nonchalant look on her elegant face made it seem it was merely a convenience trick rather than an actual movement technique for her.
And witnessing all of that, I couldn't help but ponder.
'What the hell are her limits?' I thought at first while watching Madam casually grab Loraz up, whisper something right into the divine's face only to then turn, and using the momentum of said turn, throw Loraz right back to where we stood.
"Careful," I shouted lightly while shooting my right hand to the side and backing off, using my elbow to push Fay out of harm's way while moving into the potential line of fire myself.
While Fay sneaking her hand into my pants made it pretty damn hard to focus on the developing situation.
"Dear, can it wait just a little?" I asked, perfectly and painfully aware of the extent of Fay's battle-born lust.
As great as it felt to connect to the woman I loved at such a deep, intimate level... It also made it extremely hard to stop our feelings from amping up just by reflecting on each other. When Fay felt lust, I would become aware of the fact through our bond, leading to my instinctive response. And once my own affection and lust would reflect back into Fay's soul, the process would repeat.
Or, in short words, even a single hint of affection, excitement, laziness, boredom, or literally any other emotion or state was enough, after just some time, to give birth to a powerful craving.
If one of us would be hungry, the other would realize how long it's been since we ate. That would spark hunger in the other, only further amplifying the hunger that started it all and throwing the two of us into yet another example of a positive feedback loop.
"You know I can't..." Fay's whisper tingled in my ears, sending a wave of pleasure down my spine while also muddling my thoughts a little. And with her fingers carefully, gently grasping at my shaft while she obviously used our bond to guide her hand through the insides of my pants...
"The only reason why I left that day is that I didn't want Fay to know how much of a loser her father is," Madam spoke harshly, her cold tone serving as a cold shower to wake both me and Fay up from our lust-driven momentary state of mind.
'Huh?'
A shiver ran down my spine.
There was something...
I gulped my saliva down.
There was something extremely unsettling in Madam's voice.
"The only reason why I didn't outright kill you was because I thought there was no one better to leave managing the clans to," Madam continued while slowly walking to where Loraz prostrated himself and remained bowed down ever since his desperate plea.
This time, Madam didn't shift through space like before, taking her time to approach her ex instead. And once she finally stood above him...
"And the only reason I didn't kill you ever since then, is because I still harbored some naive hopes you would grow and man up," Madam spat out on the ground... Only to bring her foot to Loraz's shoulders and kick forward, sending him tumbling onto his back.
"But I'm not as naive now," Madam spoke, the intensity in her voice raising which perfectly reflected in the erratic flow of the aura all over the place. "I can't be that naive when you raised your hand against Fay's mate I approved," Madam spoke while giving me a short, weird glance before turning her eyes back to her estranged husband.
"And definitely not after you dared to wish harm upon Fay," Madam concluded her calm tirade, right as her voice reached the temperature of an absolute zero.
And so, without any further hesitation, she took another step forward...
Only for her foot to land down on Loraz's crotch with a thunderous boom as his most precious parts dissolved under the heel of Madam's shoe.
"So you will have to forgive me if I can no longer hold back from taking appropriate measures."