"Should I cripple myself?" Maeve questioned with a weak smile.
Of course, no matter who she was or how much she loved him, it would be a lie to say she won't even feel a thing if her hard-earned cultivation is crippled. Even speaking this sentence was very tough for her.
She is someone who stood up for herself and even though her husband, Ace was a Divinity, seemingly the strongest person in the world, she never even thought of depending on him. Instead of being protected by him, she always tried to protect him, stand beside him, arm in arm, shoulder in shoulder.
She was the last person who would think about crippling herself and become powerless. She would rather die than become a cripple, but, there is one thing that is stronger than her will to remain strong and that is, her will to protect Ace. She would make sure that no one hurts Ace and by no one, she means no one, not even she herself.
If there is a possibility that she might become a threat to Ace in the near future, she will rather cripple herself than hurt him and in her eyes, it is the best option.
Sure, she will get incredibly weak but there is Ace who will protect her all the time and won't look down on her, ever.
Sure, she will turn into one of those weak side characters in the stories they both used to tell Gracie but it was definitely better than living away or hurt Ace.
Though Maeve was thinking everything and chose to do something that seems to be the most practical solution, it was still hard for her. Her body was trembling uncontrollably while she was biting her lips in unwillingness.
Ace smiled when he saw Maeve acting like that before sealing her lips again.
It was just a soft kiss full of love.
He kissed her again, then again, again and again. Maeve kept accepting the kiss since this was what she needed the most at the moment.
After kissing Maeve for the 10th time, Ace finally stopped before answering, "You don't have to do anything like that"
Maeve's eyes opened wide when she heard that answer. She was so shocked that she couldn't believe what she heard. She knows Ace better than anyone else, she knows that he isn't a person who takes any risks and her power is a potential threat no matter how they saw it. Plus, it wasn't like he was killing her; he was just crippling her to avoid future troubles which even she thought was the best course of action.
"I know what you are thinking but you have to know, I love you.
I love everything about you and your strength is included in that. You won't be the same Maeve if you cripple yourself. Plus, I don't think I will be able to live comfortably if you lose all your powers, i will lose that sense of security that emits from you" Ace then grabbed Maeve's hand with both of his hands and continued.
"Don't worry, just like today, if something like this happens again, we will deal with it again. Together"
Maeve's movements froze for a moment before she hugged Ace tightly, well, to be more precise, she was trying to hide her face, which had tears from him. Ace understood her intention and decided to pat her head gently while he kissed her hair.
'You are making me fall for you all over again… you dummy…' Maeve thought inwardly as a dazzlingly beautiful smile appeared on her still wet face.
For Maeve, Ace couldn't be more perfect, not only did he refuse to cripple her, he even noticed the pain in her eyes when she said those things, no matter how strong-willed and determined, Maeve still wasn't ready to cripple herself. He even acted like he was doing it for him so that she doesn't feel any burden later. Maeve couldn't help but feel lucky that she chose to run away from her house and found Ace.
…
While the two stayed in that position for a long time, Ace finally remembered about Gracie. The Soul Pressure Maeve released was very strong, even he had a problem resisting it, how was that little princess supposed to do it?
Ace and Maeve quickly walked towards her crib and Maeve checked her thoroughly before sighing in relief.
"Don't worry, she is just unconscious. Her soul is safe and she is completely healthy, she will wake up soon" Maeve explained.
Ace sighed in relief before sitting beside Gracie's crib and pulling Maeve into his embrace. Then a big smile appeared on his face and he questioned as he placed his chin on Maeve's shoulder while his hand locked Maeve's waist from behind.
"So… my new little Divinity, how about we go on a trip to celebrate your breakthrough?"
Maeve wiped her tears before answering, "Where do you want to go?"
"Well, it is for your breakthrough so you decide"
"Umm… How about a beach? I think Gracie will enjoy that…" Maeve proposed.
"This will be her first time visiting one right?" Ace questioned.
"Mhm"
"Alright, Beach it is then!" Ace nodded in agreement.
"When shall we go?" Maeve questioned.
"Well, we still don't know much about all this, so after I find out about the best beach here, we will leave for it" Ace replied to which Maeve nodded.
Suddenly, Ace noticed something weird and spoke out loud.
"Hey… don't you think something is weird?"
"What is it?" Maeve questioned in confusion.
"Don't you think it is too silent? I mean, by now, we should be hearing those girls or other disciples training or some other voices, right?" Ace pointed out.
Maeve then closed her eyes and focused on her hearing, her hearing wasn't as sharp as Ace so she needed to focus to notice it, she then opened her eyes and nodded, "It is weird… it is oddly silent today…"
"Should we check it out?" Ace questioned.
"But what about Gracie?" Though their house was probably the safest place in this world, Maeve was still worried about her daughter.
"Well, then let m- no wait, I'll stay here, you go and check what is happening. This way, you can also fly around freely for the first time" Ace proposed and Maeve nodded readily.
Who doesn't want to be able to fly?
Though Maeve had been carried by Ace and flew around a lot, flying with someone's help is a different thing, and flying alone and independently a different one.
"Alright! Stay here and protect Gracie, I'll go and check what's happening" Maeve spoke excitedly before white-colored wings appeared on her back but unlike before, this time Ace could easily resist the Soul pressure emitting from them since Maeve's control over them and her emotions improved.
Maeve then jumped from the window and flew up towards the sky.
She then straightened her body and took a deep breath, enjoying viewing the world from a new height and breathing the fresh air. Her eyes were shining brightly and she was looking around curiously like a child.
At this moment, she looked like a pure angel, untainted by this wretched world. All naïve and hearty. No one could tell that she walked over millions of corpses and is able to kill people without batting an eyelid.
Maeve looked around excitedly for a while before she remembered her real aim and flew around the city.
Soon, she found out that everyone, no matter human, any other race, or animals, everyone was unconscious. Some lying unconscious in the bathroom, some in training grounds, some were lying naked with their partners.
Maeve furrowed her brows before flying forward, trying to find the exact radius till where the people were unconscious, and what she found shocked her to a great degree.
Not only Espade city, not the cities surrounding it, not the country, not only the Empire but the whole world, all five empires were affected by the Soul pressure she released.
This goes without saying that she couldn't have done something like this before, let alone before, she wasn't even sure if she could do something like this right now.
Maeve then returned back to her house and told Ace everything she discovered, she expected him to be shocked by the news but on the contrary to her expectations, he looked dejected.
"We can't go to the beach like this…" Ace mumbled in a sad tone.
"You… You are worried about that?" Maeve questioned in surprise.
"Hmm? What are talking about? Of course, I am worried about it, this was technically my Nightingale's first trip" Ace replied.
"But… but, something like this was done by me…"
"Isn't that a good thing? It means you are strong right? Why are you so worried?" Ace questioned.
"Huh? I mean… what if I lose control over my power? What if something like that happens again and I am not able to control myself and attack you?"
"We discussed it earlier right? We will prevent that from happening, plus, what good will it do if we worry about that now? I mean, it's not like we can do something about that right now.
I have my priorities set and our trip is much more important than this!" Ace declared and Maeve's mouth remained open for a long time. She has never seen Ace so tension free but now that she thinks about it, he was right!
What could they do about it right now? It is better to plan a good trip so that their nightingale remains happy.
Yup, that sounds like the best option!