As Lucian's inquisitive gaze locked onto Helektra's fish tail, the massive, fan-shaped tail fin suddenly twitched unconsciously against the warm sand, the motion smooth yet heavy with latent strength, causing a few grains of fine sand to cling to its surface, while sunlight swept over it in a slow, gliding pass, making the dark-blue scales instantly reflect a dazzling, rainbow-like brilliance that shimmered with every subtle movement.
Blue, green, purple, gold—the colors on the fin intertwined and shifted continuously, bleeding into one another without clear boundaries, looking stunningly beautiful and almost hypnotic, impossible to look away from, no matter how hard one tried.
Even so, what was even more eye-catching were those strange bubbles hovering lightly around her body, drifting as if weightless yet deliberately placed, especially concentrated around her waist, hips, and critical 'private areas,' where they gathered more densely as though forming an intentional barrier.
In Lucian's eyes, they did not seem like lifeless objects, not like ordinary bubbles that would burst at the slightest touch, but rather something faintly animate, as if they pulsed with an unseen rhythm or responded subtly to her presence.
"I've lived this long, and this is the first time I've ever hated bubbles..."
All the bubbles covering Helektra's body varied in size.
Prismatic glimmers flowed across their surfaces as they gathered around her body with subtle precision, forming a hazy, dreamlike 'veil' that traced alluring curves while, in a natural and perfectly measured way, concealing the most private scenery.
Half-seen, half-hidden, as if the words were withheld at the very last moment, it never felt excessively exposed, nor did it invite irreverent thoughts, yet it was filled with a mysterious, primal allure.
Lucian remembered that these bubbles were known as 'seafoam,' something that acted as clothes and served to cover the private parts of the sea sirens.
He crouched beside Helektra, his focused gaze purely appreciative and quietly inquisitive, as though he were examining an artifact unearthed just last week, his attention lingering on every subtle detail.
He naturally recognized the sea siren before him at a glance, without the slightest hint of doubt.
"Hysilens—back when she was still a carefree sea siren princess… or well, guess she should be called Helektra now."
Helektra was the future Demigod of Ocean, the female general who would one day slaughter sixty thousand enemy soldiers alone, yet now she instead resembled an innocent and naive girl—her sleeping face was exquisitely innocent and beautiful, her expression soft and unguarded.
Lucian extended his fingers and then, with extreme gentleness, tapped the swollen red bump on Helektra's smooth forehead, his touch light and careful.
By now, the bump had puffed up like a fully ripened cherry, standing out vividly against her fair skin.
"Tch, tch..." Lucian clicked his tongue in mild amazement, a hint of amusement flickering across his face. "Her bump—she really slammed into my forehead with everything she had, huh..."
He lowered his gaze to the sea siren before him, who lay unconscious yet remained breathtakingly beautiful, her damp hair spilling around her like strands of silk. In this state, her long eyelashes trembled faintly, and her finely shaped brow stayed tightly knitted, as if resisting the lingering pain.
"Lucky you ran into me. Anyone else, and you'd be in real danger."
Lucian lightly teased the unconscious Helektra, his tone casual, then calmly invoked the power of Abundance, extending a finger to gently touch the swollen bump on her forehead.
*Zing—*
A faint green glow gathered at his fingertip and spread across her skin. Under its soothing radiance, her head recovered rapidly, and within just a few seconds, the swollen red bump faded away completely, leaving her forehead smooth, pale, and unblemished once more.
"Hey, little siren…"
Lucian lowered his voice, his tone soft as he gently patted Helektra's cheek, his touch careful and unhurried.
"Mm... it hurts..."
Before opening her eyes, Helektra instinctively raised a hand to her forehead and groaned, her brows knitting slightly as if bracing for lingering pain, but...
"Hm? It doesn't hurt anymore?"
Helektra exclaimed in surprise and quickly opened her beautiful eyes, a trace of confusion flashing across her face, and in that instant, what she saw was a face so handsome it defied description.
Ever since she was born, she had grown up in the ocean, surrounded by only fish and female sea sirens, so this was the first time in her life she was seeing a male human face from such close range—and such a striking, good-looking face at that.
Helektra ultimately froze, her pupils dilating slightly as her expression turned dazed, her gaze lingering as though she had forgotten to blink.
"You are..." Helektra murmured dazedly, her voice soft and sweet, almost absent-minded. "...You are really good-looking..."
Hearing this sudden and unguarded praise, Lucian raised his brows in faint amusement and surprise, the corners of his lips lifting before he broke into a small, easy smile.
"Oh my, you're good-looking too."
Lucian was not spouting empty flattery, since both of them genuinely thought the other looked good, their reactions simple and unfeigned.
"Wait, you can understand our language? You can understand what I'm saying?"
Helektra was visibly astonished when she heard Lucian respond to her words, her eyes widening slightly, because she had always heard from the other sea sirens that humans couldn't understand sea siren speech—only the melodies of their songs.
"Well, sea siren language isn't difficult for me."
Lucian honestly found nothing remarkable about it, his tone calm and matter-of-fact.
In the world of script, the System handled translation seamlessly, so no matter where he was or what language was spoken, there was no language barrier at all.
Hearing his casual answer, Helektra gradually came back to her senses, propped herself up with a bit of effort, then looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.
"Is this a shore? I think I ran into a human just now... that was you, wasn't it?"
From what she could vaguely remember, she had lost consciousness after crashing straight into this human's head at full speed.
"Uhh, why is your head harder than mine? Did you heal my injury? Ah, right, my name's Helektra, by the way. What's yours?"
Helektra relentlessly asked one question after another without pause, her expression and tone utterly innocent and curious, which made Lucian let out a soft chuckle.
"Umu, my name's Lucian. I healed your bump earlier. It doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Lucian replied while gently tapping Helektra's forehead with his finger. "As for why my head is harder... well, I'm not an ordinary human. Even if you smashed my head with a rock, the rock would be the one that shattered."
"Wow... you're amazing..." Helektra said, genuine astonishment written clearly across her delicate face as she leaned in slightly. "Mm... that... where are you from?"
"Very far away. Beyond the sky..." Lucian replied, pointing upward with his finger as his gaze followed into the distant sky. "You can't understand it right now, but you will someday."
"Someday? You mean we'll meet again?" Helektra asked as she brushed the long strands of hair over her chest aside. "But I'm a sea siren. I live in the deep sea. I rarely appear before humans."
Lucian paused for a moment, as if considering something, then replied with a relaxed smile.
"In that case, how about I go live in the deep sea too? Wouldn't that mean we could see each other every day?"
Hearing this, Helektra tilted her head slightly to the side, her brows knitting together as she looked at him in confusion.
"But... humans can't live in the deep sea, can they?"
At this, Lucian, without offering any further explanation, stepped forward and reached out, lifting Helektra into his arms in a princess carry with surprising ease.
"Y-You... What are you doing?"
Helektra's voice carried a distinctive tremor as she spoke, soft and melodic, almost like singing, making it very pleasant to hear.
Suddenly being carried in Lucian's arms, Helektra, not having human legs, instinctively wrapped her pale arms tightly around his neck, her fingers clutching slightly as she feared falling. Her delicate face flushed faintly, a hint of panic flickering across her expression as her heart began to race.
Lucian did not answer her question and simply walked straight toward the sea, his steps steady and unhurried.
Soon enough, the cool seawater passed over his calves, sending a faint chill upward, then rose to his knees, and gradually reached his waist as the waves lapped gently around them.
Seeing this, the kind-hearted Helektra couldn't help but feel her heart leap straight into her throat, her eyes widening in alarm.
"Wait! Humans will drow—"
Before she could finish her words, however, Helektra froze in the very next second as she watched Lucian, still carrying her securely in his arms, continue forward and sink steadily into the blue sea without the slightest hesitation!
Helektra instinctively focused on Lucian's breathing, staring intensely at his face, her gaze fixed on the faint rise and fall of his chest, until the seawater gently enveloped them completely.
Yet strangely, no water rushed into his mouth or nose, as a nearly invisible, transparent ripple, like an intangible bubble, softly surrounded his body, gently keeping the seawater at bay and holding it at a subtle distance.
At this moment, Lucian's expression was calm and composed, not even needing to hold his breath, his breathing steady and unhurried as if he were still strolling on land, with no pressure, no restraint from the ocean at all, as though the surrounding water simply did not exist for him.
"Y-You… Are you okay? You're not drowned?"
Helektra asked in a small, trembling voice that sounded both shocked and delighted, her eyes wide, causing a string of tiny, silvery bubbles to slip from her lips and drift upward through the water.
"As you can see, I'm okay," Lucian replied in a clear, unbothered voice, looking down at Helektra through the pale blue water, his gaze steady and reassuring. "I told you I'm not an ordinary human."
Just like that, he continued carrying Helektra without loosening his grip, merely adjusting his posture with careful precision so that she could lie more comfortably in his arms, one arm supporting her back while the other steadied the length of her sleek, scaled tail, keeping her close against him.
In the next moment, he moved—not with clumsy kicking, splashing water, or swimming motions at all—but by his will, or more precisely, by the power of Elation spreading outward from his body, subtly distorting the surrounding water and making his body glide freely and effortlessly through the sea.
*Whoosh!*
In an instant, Lucian shot forward a great distance, his body cutting through the ocean like a streamlined arrow, with the water parting around him smoothly and gently, leaving only faint ripples in his wake.
In Helektra's eyes, his speed was more than astonishing—more than ten times faster than when he had been walking along the shore earlier, the scenery around them blurring as they surged ahead.
"Whoa..."
Helektra couldn't help but cry out in awe, her voice faint beneath the water, as her long black hair streamed behind her in flowing strands, making her feel as though she was flying freely through the vast, open sea!
"You're so fast! Even faster than me!" Helektra exclaimed, excitedly patting Lucian's arm with both hands. "How did you do this? You move even more smoothly than us sea sirens! Among us, only Queen Phagousa can move this fast without swinging her tail. Are you the king of humans?"
Overexcited, she lifted her large, shimmering eyes to meet Lucian's, her expression pure and lively as she asked, completely forgetting that she was still wrapped in his arms, her body leaning naturally against his chest.
'Hysilens at this stage really is just a fledgling girl, truly innocent and naive.'
Lucian reflected inwardly as he gazed at the future ruthless Demigod of Ocean, who now appeared gentler, kinder, and far more approachable than the image he remembered, which was honestly understandable.
Unlike the future Hysilens in the original story, the current Hysilens had yet to kill anyone and had yet to stain her hands with the blood of her own kin, after all.
"Yup. I'm not only the king of humans but also the king of fox folks (foxians) and bird folks (halovians)."
At his answer, admiration immediately filled Helektra's eyes, her pupils widening slightly as a soft glow of awe spread across her face.
"Incredible. You can lead so many different races?!"
Helektra spoke with unhidden awe, her voice carrying a faint tremble of excitement, looking as if she were vividly imagining Lucian standing before millions of people from various races, giving an inspiring and commanding speech.
"Then... do you want to come visit my home?" Helektra asked softly after a brief pause, gazing at Lucian with an earnest and hopeful expression. "My sisters would definitely be curious about you, and... I think they'd like you too."
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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