Chapter 14: Playing with fire without knowing!
Selene, who was keeping little Aria in control using her power, glanced at the distance from the corner of her eyes. She saw her rigid daughter and Kael hugging each other. She didn't know how they got there, but she was glad it happened. Aurora was keeping herself from her brother too much, and it was hurting both of them.
'My children are so cute.'
She found them cute and wanted to go there and hug them both, but she had to control the little devil who was out of control right now. She was dissipating her spatial attacks with her overwhelming illusions that could even bend reality.
However, she was stuck here. She had no way to calm her down in this situation. The only one who could help her right now was herself, and if by the end of her core creation, she had been out of control, it would result in her talent being a downgraded version of its original self.
'I can make up for the loss of mana and revert back everything with my precise control of mana, but it would only be possible if she calms down. If not, her talent which would have been SS rank would become S rank, or worst case scenario, A rank.'
Just from the scale of the phenomenon, she could determine what rank talent she would awaken. There are differences in each rank, and any person who had a good sense of mana could tell it.
From the moment Kael had entered the room, she also noticed little Aria trying to move toward him, but she wouldn't let her. She had confined her here with her power and wasn't going to let her roam free in her watch. In case she hurt him with one of her attacks enough to injure him, and if they hit vitals, there would be no saving it.
But it would never come to that with her being here, and she was sure of it.
While Kael was hugging her he didn't know when he would even get the chance afterward—one year? Two years?—he had to make up for it. Surprisingly enough, he felt her cold hand clutching the back of his suit. He could feel her small fingers on his back, and that wasn't all. Her heart also seemed to be beating quite fast.
He could feel it through his body. He didn't know what was happening to her right now, but she seemed to be quite emotional. Her face was buried in his chest.
Aurora had thought that staying away from him was the right answer, but she didn't think so anymore. His words still rang in her ear: 'I love the previous version of you when you are much closer to me.'
'If Kael loves me so much, then there's no helping it.'
It would be sad and cruel for her to distance herself now when she knew how he felt. She knew when he said love, it was not the one she wanted to hear, but it didn't matter now. She would be like before, much closer to him. Whatever happened in the process, she wouldn't think about it. If it was meant to be, it would be, and if not...
'My Kael loves me, so I have to love him back as his big sister.'
While these thoughts filled her mind, she was inhaling his scent like her life depended on it. There was a strange swirling in her frosty eyes. It was only a little, but it was there.
[Aurora Obsession: 15%] (I just put this for fun) [Aurora Protectiveness: Immeasurable]
She felt Kael's big hand stroking her head. For a moment, her mind went blank, but then, coming to her senses, she couldn't help but shudder in response to his strokes. One hand held tightly around his back and the other stroked her head. At the same time, her face was on his broad chest, feeling his scent.
She felt the happiest right now, as the swirling in her eyes increased even more. It was almost twice the intensity as before.
[Aurora Obsession: 33%]
Kael had just stroked her head, feeling that her emotions seemed a bit unstable. But when he felt her body shudder in response to his stroking her head, he couldn't help but feel a bit strange. He didn't stop for a moment, as he found this quite cute and addicting. His big sis Aurora, who used to be so emotionless and tough, felt so cute and fragile. He had hugged her and stroked her head for almost five minutes.
Only then did he realize it was too much, without knowing what damage he had done.
After letting go of the hug, she faced the other way without saying a word. He did notice the slight blush on her face. She looked too gorgeous with a blush on her cold face—a contradictory charm which he couldn't resist.
If she wasn't his big sis, he would have fallen for her a thousand times over in this instant.
[Aurora Obsession: 51%] (Note: Damage is irreversible; once it goes higher, there is no turning back)
Kael knew big sis was feeling shy for the first time. It would be embarrassing for her, so he gave her time to continue on the things she was going to tell him and focused on the Aunt and little Aria who were still fighting.
He wished little Aria would become stable.
Another thing that surprised him was how Aunt was just standing still in her position and nothing Aria did ever worked on her. Her attacks would dissipate before reaching her, and it also seemed to him that little Aria was not able to leave the space.
Selene, who was playing with Aria hoping she would get tired, saw her stop attacking. She was standing in her place, but Selene didn't let her guard down as she could feel a large amount of mana being used from the atmosphere, meant for her awakening.
But she was not the least bit worried. No matter how much Aria tried, she was too weak to do anything to her even with the borrowed power of her SS talent Awakening.
A black sphere of spatial elements formed around her, making Selene's eyes become sharper. She couldn't detect what was going on inside the sphere. It was like a separate space.