THE LUSTING WORLD - Season 3 Episode 30

Mira opened her eyes to find a familiar figure looking down on her. “Good morning, respected master.” She hurriedly bowed to show her regard for the lady. “Master will be enough. Skip over the formalities.”

“Yes, master.” Ignoring the girl’s prompt response she moved behind her and placed her hands on her back. “Relax your nerves. Try not to resist my mana entering your body.”

Mira didn’t need these instructions. Emily had tried uncovering the secrets to her body many times so it was nothing out of the ordinary for Valarie to try her hands too. But contrary to her belief, her new master didn’t waste time studying her body structure at all.

She was smart enough to realize that if Emily can’t find anything that she was even less likely to discover anything. Her disciple was even more talented than her in theoretical knowledge. Most of her understanding was developed over time but Emily was not the same as her.

Being a curious child from an early age she had always been interested in learning about the ancient magic that belonged to the now-extinct races. It was an interest that she shared with her late husband. The couple had raided many abandoned sites that belonged to the demons and angel species, enhancing their knowledge.

With her natural talent and the amassed knowledge, Emily would have easily surpassed her in due time but the passing of her husband led to her cultivation going haywire and she ended up not making any progress at all in these past decades.

“Here. I have placed a seal on your body. It will automatically suppress small flare-ups and will also inform me in case your condition grows serious.” Mira closed her eyes and surveyed her mind. A new serenity prevailed and she can feel that her mind had grown steady.

“Thank you, master.” She wasn’t shy in displaying her heartfelt appreciation for the lady. Most of the time when she will experience breakouts, it will lead to strong pain in her head. Her seal had helped her cushion out that pain as well.

“It’s okay. You need to give master some time to refresh my knowledge. I need to go through some of my old books to check if I can find something related to your strange condition. Till then you can cultivate normally. For help, Rachel is here. If you got any questions, you can speak your mind with her.”

Hearing her name called out, Rachel had stepped ahead to stand beside the floating girl. “Are you leaving for the library master?” Watching Mira nod and fall into her cultivation state, Valerie moved away. “Yes, please don’t wait for me. I might as well pay a visit to my friends.”

Rachel saw Valarie rise through the air as she tried calling out to the girl. But she seems to have sensed what she wanted to ask and her fleeting voice reached her with the response before her body had disappeared overhead. “I got my pills.”

**One day back**

“Freeze!!” Emma and Talia watched over a lady who had her hands placed firmly on the ground as she cast her spell. Five meters all around the lady, the land was covered in a very thin sheet of ice.

Right now the three ladies were in a large enclosed hall. This was one of the practice grounds that belonged to the Dark Wings. *Clap* *Clap* “Great work, Dorothea!!” Emma happily clapped her hands, cheering the middle-aged woman, who still had her eyes tightly closed in concentration.

Dorothea opened her eyelids to find herself sitting on a thin sheet of ice. Half of her arms too had gotten cloaked by the frozen moisture. Strangely enough despite all this, she can’t feel any hardships, rather the cold atmosphere all around her made her extremely comfortable.

*Crack* *Crack* With a soft tug her hands broke free from their icy prison as Dorothea turned around with a wide grin on her face. “Hehe.. it wasn’t that difficult.” She approached her sisters as they hugged her one by one. This was the first spell that she had cast in her whole life.

This was the feeling of being a mage. She was loving it. “With such a strong dedication even complex spells won’t cause you much trouble, sister Dorothea haha..” Though Talia was the eldest out of all three ladies but she kept a small amount of respect towards the two ladies since they were her seniors when it came to serving Ryu.

“I should thank you for the help, Talia.” The Dark Wings’ branch leader had been the one who had provided her with the spells. “Enough rubbing each other’s back. Let’s have our lunch. I am completely beat.” Emma chimed in, interrupting their conversation with a hand pointing to her shrunk stomach.

Her words made the two ladies chuckle in response as they walked out of the practice room together. Emma and Dorothea had been very close since they had been living together. Talia on the other hand took some time mingling with her seniors but with time she was sure to make friends with these two charming ladies.

In one of the rooms, the three ladies sat around a large dining table waiting for the maids to bring their food. “What happened, sister? You seem to be lost in thought?” Talia found Dorothea staring at the plates on the table for a long time.

“Ah… it’s nothing. I got a bit sentimental recalling my previous life.” She stared down at the lavishly decorated table with expensive plates and cutlery spread out all over it. “How good it would have been had there been some form of equality in this world?”

She recalled her days from the village, how they had to rely on the stale meat for their daily sustenance. Even low-grade fruits were a luxury to them. The hardships she faced together with her husband were still fresh in her mind. She had promised Ryu that she would live a new life altogether, starting from the day she accepted the slavery pact. Yet, those memories of depravity will frequently haunt her.

“Ahh.. mn.. sorry about that. I didn’t mean to ruin the atmosphere.” Listening to the silence that had fallen in the room, Dorothea hurriedly apologized. All of them had been in a happy mood from her cultivation progress and she ended up wrecking the vibe.

Talia revealed a beautiful smile, holding onto Dorothea’s hands. “No need for that sister. Both of us realize how kind-hearted you are. It’s only natural for you to care about the needy. Your background too, doesn’t help at all. I am sure you must have seen many horrid situations that most of us can’t even imagine.”

Emma placed her arm around the woman and pulled her into her warm embrace. “It’s okay, Dorothea. It’s very noble of you to care about everyone but you need to come to terms with the fact that we are just not powerful enough to change the world with our own hands.”

“All this goodwill is alright but you keen to keep in mind that even someone as powerful as Mrs. Emily had never been able to overturn the situation. There might be many grand mages like her who might have failed in their endeavors.”

Realizing that her tone had taken in a negative connotation she pressed Dorothea’s shoulders in consolation. “Haha… But that’s not something to be anxious about. Don’t we have the kid with us? We just need to wait for him to grow and make sure he survives long enough. With the miraculous powers he commands, the boy can literally change the face of this world altogether.”

Talia beckoned the maid and served the lady with her own hands. “Here. Let’s not think too much about all these worldly matters for now. It’s time to celebrate hehe..” Her words successfully diverted their minds to the arousing scent of the cooked meals.

All three of them thanked the maids before digging into their lunch. Midway through their meal, Talia brought up the matter she was most concerned about. “Did you like the food, sisters?” Getting a positive response from both the women she glanced at the redhead who was busy stuffing her mouth with the food.

“Ahem.. sister Emma, actually I wanted to ask forgiveness from you with how I had treated you.” Emma had never disclosed any bitterness towards her but her heart can’t rest until she clears everything up.

Emma’s hands stopped midway as harsh memories filled her mind. Recalling the horrible torture at the hands of this organization was etched to her mind. Those days were some of the worst in all her life. Even then, before Talia can grow concerned by her despondent mood she covered it up with a smile.

“There is no need for me to forgive you. I won’t say I enjoyed my time here but it can’t be blamed on you, who was only doing your work.” Talia was giddy at her response. “Thanks a lot, sister Emma! You don’t know how scared I was to bring this topic.” She caressed her chest trying to take a deep breath to calm her heart down.

Emma contemplated Talia’s situation and tried to lighten the mood with a toothy grin. “As long as you don’t throw me in that dungeon once again, everything can be overlooked haha..” The blonde maid too didn’t bring up the topic back choosing to chat about something more casual.

***

*Huff* *Huff* Jake took in a deep breath to alleviate the agony of his lungs. It felt like his insides were burning. He was practicing a different kind of spell that would allow him to breathe out fire from his mouth. Compared to the outer body the insides were not as rugged and as a result, he was having an extremely hard time mastering this technique, despite his greater than average affinity with mana.

On such occasions, Ryu’s words would echo in his mind. ‘I need to work hard. That’s the only way I can stand up to him.’ He actually had a massive debt that needs to be paid out to his friend. Not to mention trying to return the same generosity he had shown her by coming to his rescue at the time of his need.

He can’t even imagine how bad his condition had been, had he lost his mother to those Dark Wings goons. Reuniting with her would have simply become a fleeting dream. Not only he but his father would also have been affected even worse. Fortunately, his family avoided such dire circumstances.

Nevertheless, he can’t help but recall another man. His ever-present smile was vividly clear in his mind. The only difference was his fists were clenched as he gritted his teeth before forcing himself up, finding a newfound exuberance.

“Huuuu… Haaahh!!!” Pulling himself up he filled up his lungs to the extremities. Using his left hand to funnel in front of his lips, he forced the air out with extreme pressure. *Frrrsshhh* A large flame shot from his mouth, heating the air all around him.

Heedless of how much he tried directing the flames away from himself, the skin on his face felt like it will melt away. Simultaneously, the strain on his lungs was equally harsh. In spite of that the bubbling hate in his heart towards the treacherous uncle of his kept him from giving up.

Suddenly, Jake felt someone grab him from behind. It broke his momentum and he had to stop the process. His neck muscles were screaming in torment but keeping his straight face he turned around, expecting a familiar face.