While the Nexus armies finished gathering and Deadly Petal arrived, a happy event occurred back in the Golden Sap Empire. Liu Shu's Avatar, which had been preventing pregnancy for a while, finally became pregnant with Seraphina's child.
When she noticed, she informed Seraphina and the others, causing a small stir. A few months later, Liu Shu's avatar was being hugged by Seraphina from behind. Seraphina was holding Liu Shu's pregnant belly and supporting it from below. That sensation of relief was truly heavenly, leaving Liu Shu languid and with zero desire to move.
Seraphina felt her heart thump, her body feeling incredibly satisfied and relaxed. Verdantia, standing nearby, glanced at Liu Shu's large belly and spoke. "Today is the day, so tell us when you feel it."
Having gone through, quite literally, over 300 births, Liu Shu nodded calmly. Of course, since the child was something Liu Shu had yet to give birth to, she was somewhat cautious. Just in case, she would give birth in her
Seraphina was quite nervous as well. Her silvery eyes looked down, her hand stroking the baby in her belly. "How about we go now, just in case?"
Liu Shu smiled gently and looked up. "Give me a kiss."
Seraphina blinked and did so. When her lips felt that familiar softness and sweetness, all her nerves deflated as if by magic. Liu Shu's amethyst eyes shone gently like gemstones when she felt Seraphina's tense body soften.
It was when she was about to speak that her stomach contracted sharply. "Ugh."
That small reaction set off all of Seraphina's hormonal reactions, causing her entire body to go into a fight-or-flight response. Before Verdantia or the others could even speak, Seraphina had dashed away with Liu Shu toward the portal.
The rest blinked and followed while laughing.
Meanwhile, Liu Shu entered her
"Seraphina."
Seraphina stopped, and looking at Liu Shu's gentle face, she asked. "What's wrong?"
"Relax." Liu Shu laughed. "No matter what our child is, or what their species is, I can take it. I have given birth to dozens of Sanguine Blazes. I don't believe there are Alraune species more harmful to the mother than those, and I am perfectly fine. So, relax. Nothing will go wrong."
Verdantia's voice reached Seraphina from behind. "That's right. After the tenth little brat pops out, you won't even feel the urge to come to their birth."
While she was speaking like that, the girls would always try to be present during the birth of their child. Only, their moods were pleasant and relaxed.
Seraphina was still anxious, but she tried not to show it. Even if her palms were sweaty and her heart was thumping loudly, she held back and nodded.
Then, Liu Shu relaxed her body and placed herself into a comfortable position. Having gone through the process, she was basically an expert.
"Ugh…"
Of course, the fact that it hurt each time didn't go away. The pain of childbirth was not something she could get accustomed to because her Avatar body didn't stretch out. A human or even a Sylvan, if they had consecutive childbirths, the second, third, and fourth would become much easier.
So, Liu Shu did scream in pain during the childbirth. However, the joy of carrying a new life and bringing it to the world vastly overshadowed any negative experience during childbirth. The pain was what reminded Liu Shu of the preciousness of the little life, and it was something Liu Shu would not prevent even if she were able to.
That pain is what made it matter. If it just popped out, the feeling of childbirth could become dangerously insensitive.
As Liu Shu gave birth, the girls were quite surprised to feel a sacred aura pour out from between her legs. There was also faint light pouring out, clearly showing the extraordinariness of the child.
All of them felt their heart strangely… almost unnaturally, feel a touch of reverence. Even as Level 200+ individuals, the feeling persisted for a while until they all felt the incongruity.
It was at that moment that a system message popped up in front of them.
[You've resisted
Everyone in the room began sweating coldly. 'W-What is happening?'
Liu Shu, with a final grunt, pushed the baby out. The creature that appeared, even as an infant, looked sacred. Gorgeous, white hair, a face sculpted to replicate angels, white and clear skin, and behind them, six petal-like white wings.
Their lower halves, like all alraune, were that of a flower. It resembled a white and golden rose, hugging her body from the middle of the thighs down.
As the baby alraune opened their eyes, a pair of gorgeous golden orbs met them.
[You resisted mental interference!]
[You resisted mental interference!]
[You resisted mental interference!]
The infant alraune, as if feeling that her skills were not working, burst into a loud yet strangely pleasant cry. A cry that caused all of their maternal feelings to surge with pity and love.
Seraphina, being the mother, was affected the most and didn't see the "[You resisted mental interference!]" message for the first time. Her eyes changed very minutely as she rushed forward to hug her crying child. "Oh, baby. My precious and sacred baby. Don't cry."
Liu Shu, her body drenched in sweat, looked at Seraphina with a touch of surprise. 'A newborn being able to affect a
A surge of her energy pulsed around the
Of course, while it looked intelligent, the alraune was acting on nothing but instinct, so it couldn't understand her words. The intelligence of the Alraune species was a touch below normal intelligent species, but in turn, their racial skills were pretty strong.
Verdantia looked at Liu Shu with a strange expression and sighed. "To think it would be this species…"
Seraphina, who had also read and memorized to perfection all Light-attributed Alraune species, naturally knew as well what species her child was. She passed the alraune to Liu Shu to breastfeed as she muttered her species. "
Curious about the Seraph Bloom's abilities, Cinderielle asked. "So… how are they compared to Sanguine Blazes in terms of danger?"
Seraphina's face was a bit complicated. "I do believe that they are objectively much more dangerous. Even among Alraunes, Seraph Blooms are incredibly intelligent but… they are very, very self-centered."
"Self-centered… a peculiar adjective to describe them."
At Tempestria's words, Seraphina explained a bit more in detail about them. "These little darlings have a… divine complex. Moreover, it is somewhat justified. The Seraph Bloom doesn't cause brainwashing in a true sense. It is all pure suggestion. It makes everyone around them look at them as if they are sacred existence, and, in a way, they truly are."
Verdantia nodded. "They have an innate aura that makes everyone around them feel calm, relaxed, and also feeds on hope."
Harmonixia frowned. "They [Feed] on hope?"
Seraphina tapped the baby suckling milk happily with her finger. "They can produce hope, devotion, happiness, and similar emotions in those around them. They can eat normally, but their preferred nourishment is the essence those emotions radiate."
Seraphina sighed. "The problem is that, when left unchecked… they can basically become local deities and make everyone sluggish. With no suffering, there is no struggle. Everyone worships them, and the alraunes use their influence to impregnate females and get pregnant themselves, increasing their numbers."
The girls became silent. Liu Shu chuckled. "It is quite lucky that it is this species and not the others."
"Huh?"
The girls, who had become quite terrified of the six-winged alraune, looked at Liu Shu with caution and confusion. "Love, are you affected?"
Liu Shu looked up, her eyes clear and gentle. "I am not. The reason I say that we are lucky is that teaching them will be quite easy."
Seraphina was confused for a moment. "How?"
Liu Shu caressed her baby's short, white hair and planted a kiss on her forehead. "They wish to become a divine existence. Something akin to a God. However… what's the instinct of those alraunes that are born after the first achieves that position?"
Verdantia's thoughtful eyes widened. "They become followers. They usually support that one alraune as divine envoys…"
Liu Shu smiled. "Don't these darlings have the perfect entity to look up to, then? Their own mother is a local deity."
While Liu Shu didn't really like pushing her children to a predetermined path, these babies were quite perfect to act as her "angels" and "sacred envoys." They were basically tailored for it, and above all, they would derive great pleasure and delight from it.
More than forcing it… it was like giving them the exact place and conditions to grow in line with their instincts. Seraphina, who understood Liu Shu's words, pondered deeply as she glanced at her first humanoid child. "Will they be happy?"
Liu Shu smiled. "They will. If they don't want to, who is going to force them? If one of them wants to become a woodcrafter, or if one of them prefers to work in a flower shop, they can do so. No one will force my children onto any path… but denying their strengths will be harmful to their development. Therefore, when teaching these darlings, it will be good to also teach them about the
Sitting by Liu Shu's side, Verdantia asked carefully. "Are you not afraid that they will become too reverent of you?"
"Reverent?" Liu Shu laughed. "If they become too reverent, I will turn them back into my precious girls by giving them kisses until they run out of breath from giggling. I want to see if my previous Seraphs can remain reverent after receiving my love and pampering~."
Cinderielle smiled faintly, her eyes soft. "I guess that's just like you. Good luck, Seraphina. I guess you have a plan on how to educate them, right?"
Seraphina nodded, her eyes soft and loving as she glanced at the child. "Yes. Also… you will be called Sariel. Do you like it, baby?"
Sariel opened her closed eyes, those luminous golden orbs shining softly. "Ay~!"
The cute sound made all the girls present hngg at her cuteness. Cinderielle muttered. "No wonder they are revered. This cuteness is against the rules…"
Looking from behind, Obsidianis looked thoughtful and a tad worried. 'I hope my children also have an easy solution. Sigh…' Her dark eyes turned gentle. 'Well, even if they don't, I will do my best so they can naturalize. No one… will discriminate against my children.'
The last words were a vow as a future mother to take care of everything and lay a smooth path ahead of them.