Sprout of Life, Seeds of War
"Why are you bothering my little baby?" came a voice, filled with reproach, firm and annoyed.
Lua lifted her gaze toward the source of the sound, letting out a relaxed sigh as she felt her body beginning to heal. A warm green aura gathered around her, closing her wounds little by little.
There, standing, was a short woman of extraordinary beauty. Her pink hair glimmered under the light, her eyes charged with emotion as she looked at Lua and, at the same time, with anger directed toward the demon. The most striking detail, however, was her clothing: identical to what Lua herself was wearing. Or rather, it was Lua's outfit that was a perfect copy of hers.
Behind the woman floated a circle, different from those used by the demigods. This one seemed to be woven from small flowers of every color, and at its center, glowing in radiant green, the image of a tiny sprout was forming.
The goddess of life. Lila.
The demon, still panting, rose with the clear intention of escaping. He didn't stop to think, simply turned around and ran. He knew that toward the forest he had no chance: he could sense how the semidivine beasts multiplied around him. It wasn't only those who had already arrived during his fight with Lua—now, with the presence of Lila, they were nearly triple. At least twenty, and not even he was confident enough to defeat so many without drawing out even more.
He had no other choice. He jumped into the sea without hesitation, as if that were his only chance at survival.
Lua raised an eyebrow at his retreat, while Lila ignored the demon completely and looked at her daughter with a proud smile.
For an instant, she seemed distracted by his flight into the sea, showing just a brief flicker of confusion, but soon her gaze returned fully to her daughter.
Lua was about to speak, but froze when she felt something strange: Lila was hugging her. A strong, warm embrace that at the same time healed every wound in her body through nothing more than touch.
"Ahh, so pretty! My daughter is so pretty… you look like Silvia," exclaimed Lila with joy, her voice full of emotion as she shook her from side to side.
A blast echoed from the sea, columns of water rising high, but though Lua wanted to turn and see, Lila didn't seem to hear anything. She simply kept pressing her against her chest.
It had to be said that Lila was shorter than Lua, but floated lightly to appear taller. She held her as if trying, by force, to prove her maternity.
"The demon," Lua managed to say, attempting to pull away. She pushed gently, but Lila's arms were like tentacles, unwilling to let her go.
"It doesn't matter, the aquatic ones will kill him," Lila replied carelessly, burying Lua's head even deeper against her breasts. After so many years, she hadn't been there when her daughter was born. She had only been able to watch from very far away.
Meanwhile, the players saw the skeletons suddenly collapse, motionless, losing the energy that had kept them alive.
Some complained that the experience event had ended too soon. Others, on the other hand, cheered for having survived.
Lua, trapped in that maternal embrace, didn't know what to do. Her mother squeezed her cheeks to look closely at her face, caressed her horns with tenderness, and all she could do was sigh in resignation.
"Boss, your mother seems kind of… weird," SIA commented mentally.
"No, she's not weird. She's very kind," Lila said suddenly, interrupting as if she had heard the AI.
The comment made SIA fall silent immediately, surprised. Lua, for her part, opened her eyes wide with a hint of surprise: Lila had noticed her.
As if reading her thoughts, Lila spoke calmly: "I am the goddess of life. I can see life in all its forms."
SIA hesitated. "… That has never happened to me before. But when the human gods were nearby, they didn't notice me."
"That's because you are in the territory of my divinity. I am the goddess of life of this world. As long as I remain here, every life is under my sight," she explained with a gentle smile. "From the very first day."
The revelation fell with the weight of the inevitable: she had always known of SIA's existence.
"Ahh, but my daughter is so beautiful and so strong! Without any help she managed to become a demigoddess, almost catching up to Mommy," Lila suddenly exclaimed, shifting from a solemn tone to a silly, doting smile.
Lua once again put on an annoyed expression, still unable to free herself from her mother's arms.
"You're bothering her," a familiar voice cut in suddenly.
Silvia was standing there, arms crossed, looking at Lila with a serious expression.
Lila, still hugging Lua, turned her head toward her with a smile that mixed love and memories. For an instant, Silvia returned the same expression… until Lila's next words shattered the moment.
Letting go of Lua, she stepped toward Silvia with shining eyes full of affection. "What if we make another child?"
Silvia's face froze instantly. Without hesitation, she struck Lila on the head, followed by several more blows.
"Ouch, ouch! Wait, Silvia, my wife…! If you keep this up, you'll kill the goddess of life! Ouch! Forgive me, it was just the first thing I thought when I saw you after so long… Ouch, I'm sorry!"
Silvia looked at her with a mix of anger and pain. Each blow seemed strong, but in truth they were soft, almost caresses disguised as violence. Blows from someone who desperately needed to vent.
"She's doing it to release everything she feels, isn't she?" asked SIA, observing the scene.
Lua narrowed her eyes slightly, silent, while her mother continued.
"You took too long to come back!" Silvia cried, tears streaming down her face. Her hands trembled as they stopped, unable to keep hitting her.
Lila stopped fooling around. Her smile now was serene, filled with tenderness. "I never left, my love. You just couldn't see me. But I was always here: crying when you cried, suffering when you suffered, feeling pain when you felt pain."
She carefully took Silvia's hands. "And now I can touch you."
Tears rolled down Silvia's cheeks as she clung to Lila's neck, hugging her desperately, afraid that she would vanish again.
The players, meanwhile, watched everything from a distance. Some even pulled out popcorn to enjoy the show as if it were improvised theater.
Sig, Loli, and Bert were watching from atop the wall.
"Well, looks like you've got another mother-in-law… and mothers-in-law are supposed to be scary. And now you've got two," Sig joked, giving Loli a nudge with his elbow.
"Eh?! Ah! They're not my mothers-in-law," she answered immediately, blushing furiously. Lowering her voice, she added in a whisper: "And Silvia is very kind…"
At that moment, Joe, completely exhausted after the seemingly endless battle, shouted at the top of his lungs:
"It's party time! Bring the booze!"
The players around erupted in cheers of excitement.
…
The entire village celebrated joyfully after surviving the leveling event.
Many had gained enough experience to evolve or improve their abilities. Others, though left just a single level away from doing so, couldn't complain: they had died countless times during the battle.
At the very least, most had unlocked intermediate levels in their skills, and some had even reached higher levels, acquiring truly destructive powers.
Everyone celebrated together, sharing the victory after the first large-scale battle to defend the village.
It wasn't the same as when they defeated the Lord of Flames. Back then, they had lured him in and defeated him under controlled conditions. This time, however, they had resisted a real invasion. And they had seen with their own eyes the power of the demigods.
It was clear that their level was still far from reaching that. Even Joe, who had evolved to level 5, realized that the two missing race levels represented an enormous leap. Each step multiplied not only their power but also the experience required.
The most discouraging realization was that when Draven was killed, they received no experience at all. Not a single spark. That disappointed them deeply, until a new message appeared in their systems: they had obtained something called an "Evolutionary Achievement."
It was locked, requiring race level 7 to be unlocked. Until then, they wouldn't know what it truly meant. But they all understood one thing: they needed to keep gathering more of those achievements for when the time finally came.
…..
We're entering the last arc, which will be the next one—the ultimate final mega battle at last. Hahaha.
....