Chapter 1518: Chapter 215 - Lucielle’s Pride (4)
"How exactly does having sex with me have anything to do with you being able to defeat me?"
Lucielle sounded genuinely confused. Actually, confused was probably putting it lightly. She looked at me like I had just skipped ten different steps in a a conversation and somehow expected her to understand the conclusion I’d arrived at. From her perspective, I probably sounded completely insane.
"I’m telling you," I said. "If I have sex with you, then I’ll be able to defeat the Seven Deadly Sins. Even Satania herself."
She stared at me for a moment.
"Do you even hear what you’re saying?" she asked. "How could someone like you possibly do something like that? More importantly, how did you even arrive at that conclusion in the first place?"
"You don’t believe I can do it?" I asked.
"I don’t believe anything that comes out of your mouth," she replied immediately.
Honestly, that was fair.
I had shown up here out of nowhere, practically barged into her life, and then confidently announced that sleeping with her would somehow allow me to defeat the strongest beings in existence. If I were in her position, I’d probably assume I was dealing with either a lunatic or the worst pickup artist in history.
Actually, scratch that entire comparison for a moment.
I probably sounded like one of those scummy playboy boyfriends who kept trying to convince their girlfriends to sleep with them by making increasingly ridiculous promises.
"Baby, if we have sex, I can save the world."
Yeah, that sounded absolutely ridiculous already.
When I put it that way, I sounded absolutely insane.
From Lucielle’s perspective, I was basically trying to take advantage of her.
The problem was that I wasn’t making any of this up.
Everything I was saying had come directly from Lilith herself. If I just told Lucielle that, then she’d probably agree. Maybe not happily, and definitely not without some hesitation, but she’d believe me.
But I wasn’t going to tell her.
I’d already made up my mind about that.
I wanted to separate myself from Lilith as much as possible. I didn’t want to become her successor. I didn’t want to become the second coming of the Great Black. Realistically speaking, maybe that was impossible. Maybe everyone would eventually start seeing me as her regardless of what I did.
Still, I wanted to try anyway.
From the perspective of other people, there would inevitably come a point where they wouldn’t be able to distinguish the difference between me and Lilith anymore.
That was exactly why I needed to establish a boundary now.
Sometimes, I even wondered if this had been Lilith’s intention all along.
Put me under the same spotlight as her.
Make me walk the same path.
Make people associate me with the Great Black until, eventually, they stopped seeing me as myself altogether.
It was honestly a terrifying thought.
"If that’s all you’re going to tell me, then I’m leaving," Lucielle said. "And you should leave as well. Satania will return tomorrow."
She immediately tried to fly away.
I jumped after her.
"I won’t leave," I said.
She stopped and turned to glare at me.
"You’re really trying to test my patience, aren’t you?"
"I don’t know if you understand this feeling," I said. "But I have people I need to protect on the Human Continent. If I go back home right now and hide somewhere, then I don’t think the people I care about will be safe."
That was the one thing I couldn’t compromise on.
I wanted to protect the people I loved.
The women I deeply loved and cherished.
And, of course, my children as well.
Sure, objectively speaking, hiding somewhere was probably the smartest decision. Find a remote location, stay out of sight, and wait for the storm to pass.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t who I was.
What I wanted was to protect them.
Regardless of whatever cost that required.
That was why I wanted to meet Satania.
That was why I wanted to defeat her.
And if I had to fight her, then I wanted to do it here, far away from the Human Continent. I’d rather risk my own life than allow a battle of that scale to happen anywhere near the people I loved.
"You’re saying something incredibly childish," Lucielle said. "You’re placing your personal attachments above something far more important. The entire world is facing a disaster that’s slowly approaching."
She looked away for a moment before continuing.
"People have to make sacrifices for the greater good. That’s what I..."
She paused.
"...No. That’s what my Mother did."
I blinked and stared at her silently.
Honestly, that was a surprisingly brutal way of looking at things.
I hadn’t expected her to tell me, essentially, that I should abandon everything important to me for the sake of the world.
Then again, maybe that was exactly the kind of decision someone like her had spent her entire life being forced to accept.
The problem was that I couldn’t save the world right now.
I simply wasn’t capable of it.
And, as things currently stood, I didn’t think Lilith could do anything either.
Right now, Lilith was relying on me to become stronger.
That was probably why she’d told me to have sex with Lucielle.
Maybe there was some kind of hidden power inside me that would awaken if I did. Maybe there was some ability that neither of us fully understood yet.
Honestly, I had no idea.
At this point, I was basically operating on the logic of, "Well, the ancient world-destroying dragon goddess probably knows what she’s talking about."
Which, admittedly, wasn’t the most reassuring thought.
"If you’re not going to have sex with me, then..." I said.
I let out a long and tired sigh.
"I guess that’s that. The world’s doomed."
I stopped chasing her entirely.
To my surprise, she stopped flying too.
She turned around and stared at me.
"You’re giving up?"
"I don’t mean that I’m giving up," I said. "I just don’t think I can accomplish something as ridiculous as saving the entire world by myself. And even Lilith can’t do anything right now because she’s still inside me. If I don’t do something, then she won’t be able to revive, right?"
Lucielle continued staring at me.
Actually, staring wasn’t the right description anymore.
She was glaring at me with obvious frustration.
"I have a proposition," I said.
She didn’t respond or say anything at all.
"I’ll become stronger."
I looked directly at her.
"I’ll become much stronger without resurrecting Lilith. I’ll do it myself. I’ll save this world from whatever destruction is coming."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I finally finished saying what I wanted.
"And in exchange, I want you to have sex with me."
Even as the words left my mouth, I couldn’t help but think that this had to be the worst negotiation strategy in human history.
Unfortunately for me, it also happened to be completely serious.
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