17 Just Wanted To Impress Our Daughter.

Vincent and Celeste floated upon the roaring waves while gazing at the stars hanging in the vault of the heavens.

"Celeste, do you want to fight that thing?" Vincent pointed at the Merfolk King far out in the distance.

"Yes! I want to learn to fight like Papa!" Celeste said as she splashed water on his face.

"Now, where has your mother gone to?" Vincent asked. "And Hertha?"

Splash! Two heads bobbled up from the surface of the water and latched into his body.

"Why are you so relaxed!" Hertha said.

"He is always relaxed," Selena replied on his behalf.

They both jumped atop his body like a human raft until the three of them tumbled over.

Splash! Vincent unfurled his skeletal wings and climbed the skies, holding Selena and Hertha by their waist.

"Can't even relax with the two of you around," Vincent said.

"This is no time to relax!" Hertha said.

Swoosh! Celeste flew up with her two small skeletal wings and circled around them in a cheer.

"Papa, why does mommy not have wings like us?" Celeste asked while tilting her head.

"Hmm? Selena! why don't you have wings like us?" Vincent teased.

"I..um..," Selena stumbled on her words.

"Haha," Vincent laughed and flicked her forehead.

"Humph!" Selena snorted, but a faint smile still curled upon her face.

"Selena! Hertha! Guide Celeste to kill that thing," Vincent commanded.

"Yes!" Selena said. "Been a long time since I have stretched my legs."

"It looks dangerous," Hertha said in a nervous tone. "What if she gets hurt?"

"She won't," he declared.

"Fia!" Celeste shouted and faced the surface of the sea.

A wyvern swimming nearby turned its head up and looked towards her.

Crunch! It chewed on to the severed head of a merfolk and went on its merry way.

"FIA!" Celeste gave a bellowing roar.

The wyvern grumbled and shook its head in displeasure. Then unfurling its wings, it flew up and hovered beside them.

Celeste jumped into its crown and grabbed its two horns, "Stupid Fia!"

"Celeste! don't make her angry, or she might throw us off!" Hertha sat atop the wyvern's back.

"Heh, she won't, unless she wants me to tear her head off, haha," Selena sat near her neck and pinched her scales.

Fia turned her head back and blew out steam through her nose, right into Selena's face.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

"You!" Selena said with a glare.

"Wait," Vincent passed Celeste her giant club. "Fight with this."

"Yes! I will listen to Papa!" Celeste then pointed at the Merfolk King, tussling against the two giant snakes at a distance. "Fia! Go!"

Fia flapped her wings and ascended the skies.

Swoosh! She hovered above the head of the Merfolk King and plunged down. The Merfolk King raised its head up and extended an arm to grasp her within its palms; Fia tilted her body to one side and slipped right through its fingers.

Selena jumped off and landed on its arm. "Celeste! Watch my lead!"

She pierced her sword into its arm until it reached the hilt.

Stretch! Stretch! Tear!

She dashed forward, still holding the hilt of her sword; a large laceration stretched across the path she took.

Then finally, the cut reached the fluttering gills around its neck.

"Celeste!" she shouted and leapt back, leaving the sword stuck deep inside its gills with the hilt exposed on the outside.

Celeste jumped down from Fia, raised her giant club overhead and hammered the hilt of the sword.

BOOM!

The sword pierced deep inside its neck, causing its gills to be destroyed beyond recognition.

The Merfolk King roared in pain and slapped its own neck.

Sway!

Wind spheres besieged its body, pushing its arm away from striking its neck.

"Are you alright?" Hertha shouted while firing another barrage of wind spheres onto its other arm.

Selena's eyes turned golden. Golden lightning pierced out of her skin and enclosed her hands in the shape of gloves made of pure gold. She plunged her hands inside the gaping wound on its neck.

Thudder! Thudder! Thudder!

Black smoke churned out as its whole body was electrocuted from the inside; it flailed and roared in pain. Then, bending its body, it jumped into the air and aimed straight down into the depths of the ocean.

Selena took Celeste in her arms and jumped off its neck.

Swoosh! The wyvern rose up and caught the two of them in midair.

ROAR! The Merfolk King shook its neck in pain, but before it could dive underwater, one of the giant snakes rammed into it and wrapped itself around its neck. The snake opened its gaping maw and chomped down.

Tear! A chunk of flesh was scraped off, showering its entire body in a basin of blood.

"Just as useless as I thought," Rauk peeked his eyes out of the water and crushed the lustrous crystal rod in his palms.

The Merfolk King stopped flailing and let out a low hum from its throat. The surrounding merfolks screamed in pain and crawled up along its colossal body. Then the Merfolk King flexed its two arms and shoved its hands right inside the mouth of the giant snake, prying the jaws open.

Lines after lines of merfolks crawled upon its arms and jumped inside the mouth of the snake, number reaching over hundreds. The Merfolk king then released its jaws but soon clasped its shut with one hand while the other hand choked on its serpentine neck.

Munch! Munch! Munch!

Blood flowed down like rivers while the merfolks huddling inside started feeding on its flesh.

Finally, the giant snake's head was severed as hundreds of merfolks made holes and burrowed out from its neck.

This marked the end of one of the bloodline warriors.

BAM!!!

A black object crashed into the eye of the Merfolk King and shattered its pupil.

It was the giant club of Celeste.

She lifted up the club and landed a solid strike right at the centre of its forehead.

Boom! The Merfolk King lost its bearings and fell on its back on the surface of the sea.

Boom! A giant misty vortex fell off from the skies and landed on the spot between its eyes, blowing open its forehead and revealing a cracked frontal skull.

Boom! A golden figure plummeted down and shattered its frontal skull, exposing its brain out in the open.

"Mama!" Celeste jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"Do it," The golden lightning imbued figure of Selena made a gesture of slicing her neck.

Celeste nodded with enthusiasm; she walked up next to its exposed brain, raised her giant club overhead and smashed it down with all her strength.

Boom! Its brain was smashed to a pulp.

The Merfolk King drew its last breath while the surrounding merfolks scurried away in fear.

"Was there really a point in losing your sword?" Vincent landed beside Selena.

"Hehe," Selena scratched her cheek. "Just wanted to impress our daughter."

Vincent passed her his transparent blade. "More useful to you than me anyway."

"But it's yours," she said in guilt.

"Take it," Vincent commanded.

"Yes," Selena nodded and took his blade.

"Looks like the party is over, haha," A mocking voice rang in their ears.

They all turned around and saw Rauk standing atop the upturned body of a giant snake floating among the debris. A bloodied lockbox was clasped in his hand.

He looked towards the remaining giant snake squirming at a distance and pointed at his feet, "This is what remains of Gontas."

The giant snake shuddered and swam towards Vincent in a flurry.

Crack! Crack! Crack! It shed its skin and shrunk its body until it turned into the figure of a woman.

She knelt down and said, "Please save me from him!"

"Faviana, right?" Vincent looked at the naked woman. "Don't see how that is my problem."

"Please, I beg of you," she said in tears.

"Hertha! Give her something to wear," he said. "Selena, kill her if she tries anything suspicious."

"Before anything else, I would like to introduce myself," Rauk said. "The Fourth Prince of the Vilmarnya Empire."

He then pointed at Selena, "I felt a trace of divinity from you, and that golden lightning….. looks familiar."

"Humph! Princess Selena of the Divine Lightning Empire," Selena said with pride.

"Oh, Now I remember! So you are the princess who disappeared three years ago," Rauk said.

"Shut up!" Selena glared at him.

"Who destroyed your city?" Rauk asked.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Selena shouted.

"It's as if the Emperor himself covered it all up," He said with a smile. "It's quite a topic among the nobility, you know."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up," Selena shouted.

"Well, now that I have met you, I am very interested to know the actual story coming out of your own mouth, heh heh," Rauk laughed.

"Well, the reason is simple really," Vincent interjected. "It's for me."

BOOM! The air split apart as Vincent rammed into Rauk like a cannonball.

Bam! Vincent lifted him up by the neck and narrowed his eyes, "I would much appreciate it if you stop antagonising my woman."