Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 203. Ocean’s Hope

Seris and Typhon floated down to stand in front of the broken group, their corrupted bodies glowing with power through the Leviathan.

"It’s over," Seris said, and her voice echoed across the ruined plaza. "Face the fact that your weak hero is dead."

"And that bitch... Nerissa is no longer alive."

"The Ocean Empire’s leadership has fallen, and with it, any hope of uniting the Seven Major Powers."

Typhon nodded, and his face showed that he might have felt regret about the corruption. "The Archon’s plan is going perfectly."

"As we speak, Cthulhu’s seal is getting weaker."

"The Forbidden Guardian will wake up in less than an hour, and seventy percent of Zorathia’s surface will be a place of madness and corruption..."

"Well, I might have to give you all credit that you all fought well," Seris said, almost with respect. "But determination alone can’t win some battles such as this."

"The monsters win sometimes. The world ends sometimes. And today is that day."

She held the Tidecaller Trident up high. "Leviathan, end them all and leave no one alive to see the fall of Meridia!"

The corrupted Guardian’s many heads all turned toward the group that had fallen, and their mouths opened wide to deliver killing blows.

Carmilla shut her eyes because she was too tired to fight. And she thought...

What was the point of living if Rick was really gone?

The Unbreakable Bond was still there, but it didn’t connect to anything. He was dead, and she would be dead soon too.

At least they would be together no matter what happened next.

The Leviathan’s heads came down, and the purple light made its teeth shine.

And then everything was different.

The Leviathan’s huge body suddenly shook, and all twenty heads pulled back and screamed in a way that sounded like pain and confusion. Its jaws, the same ones that had just eaten Rick and Nerissa, started to glow with a golden light.

Not the purple of evil and not the blue and white of Nerissa’s ocean magic, but it was gold that was pure and bright and burned away the darkness around it.

The light got stronger and stronger until it was impossible to look at directly. Then the Leviathan’s mouth opened up with a blast of holy energy and oceanic power.

Two figures came out of the light and swam through the corrupted water with purpose and grace.

And those figures are Rick and Nerissa. Their vitality and strength caused the ocean to tremble.

Rick’s left hand was around Nerissa’s waist, which kept her close as they moved through the water. In his right hand, he held a huge trident that looked like the Tidecaller but was made of pure golden energy instead of metal that had been corrupted.

He held the weapon high, and everyone in the plaza felt its power.

Carmilla gasped when the Unbreakable Bond suddenly came back to life. Not just life, but a lot of energy. Rick’s health was no longer at one percent.

It was full, one hundred percent, and somehow felt even stronger than before.

Rick’s trident sent out golden light that touched each of his partners in turn. Carmilla could feel her broken ribs knitting back together, her wounds healing, and her tired body getting energy it shouldn’t have.

She was completely healed in a matter of seconds.

Natasha’s wounds healed, and her ice magic became stronger than ever. Liora felt a sudden surge of her divine energy, causing her to gasp.

It was stronger than it had been before the battle. Zara’s demon form became stable, and the evil in her wounds burned away as if it had never been there.

And with an extra, all of his partners can breathe under the world longer without worrying about the crystal running out of time.

Myrissa looked at her mother, who was now swimming next to the surface dweller who had never given up on her.

Nerissa didn’t look the same. She had changed not just in appearance, but also in her presence.

The empty feeling that had defined her for fifty years was gone. In its place was something that looked like the wise, strong Empress she had been centuries ago.

"M-Mother...?" Myrissa’s voice was full of hope and disbelief.

Nerissa looked her daughter in the eye, and tears were streaming down her face. Not tears of anger or pain, but tears of real emotion that had been hidden for too long.

"I’m... sorry, my dear daughter... Myrissa."

"I’m sorry I left you and your siblings alone for fifty years... I was broken, and I let that brokenness hurt everyone I cared about."

Nerissa went on, "But... I’m here now," her voice strong even though she was crying.

"I’m back alive to my usual self, and I’m done running away from who I am."

"I’m done shutting down, and I don’t want to be the empty shell that ruled without any feelings anymore."

She turned to look at Typhon and Seris, and her face hardened into a mix of wisdom, power, and righteous anger. "Typhon..."

"You were my husband, my partner, and the father of my kids. And you ruined everything we worked for over the course of two hundred years of lies and betrayal."

Typhon’s corrupted body flickered with something that could have been shame. "Nerissa, I..."

"No," Nerissa said, cutting him off.

Her voice had the power of eight hundred years of rule. "You can’t talk about it anymore..."

"You made your decisions and picked Seris instead of me. You picked lying over being honest."

"You made the choice to have a secret family while I had three hundred children, thinking we were both working toward the same goal... And when I found out the truth, I turned into a monster."

"I killed people who weren’t guilty... and not just one, but many people..."

"I became everything I promised myself I would never be... And I have to deal with that for the rest of my life."

She raised her hand, and a huge amount of oceanic power surrounded her, making her earlier attacks look like practice. "But Typhon, you need to know this!"

"I’m done letting your betrayal control me! I won’t let the guilt stop me anymore!"

"I’m done being the broken victim of your choices...!"

Nerissa pointed to Rick, who was still holding her waist to protect her. "This twenty-four-year-old human who lived on the surface and died alone in his last life taught me something you never could..."

"That being broken doesn’t mean you have to stay broken... I... can choose to be better even after making big mistakes."

"You just have to feel the pain to heal from it. And most importantly," Nerissa’s voice rose to a declaration that echoed through the entire citadel.

"He taught me that I deserve to be saved, even when I’ve done things that can’t be forgiven!"

Rick raised the golden trident higher, its power intertwining with Nerissa’s ocean magic to create a harmony that had never been heard before. "Typhon...!"

"With this... I declare you no longer the Emperor Consort."

"The moment you betrayed the woman who trusted you, you forfeited that title."

"Your throne is mine to conquer now," Rick proclaimed, his voice brimming with confidence. "I am the new Ocean Emperor, chosen by the Empress Ocean Nerissa Abyssryn through Spirit Bond!"

"She gave me the power to rule with her and protect the kingdom you left behind." Rick smirks, and of course the smile comes from his gooner instinct that he has another main character moment.

Sebastian appeared next to Rick, and the chibi butler’s monocle shone with happiness. "And yep~! The system says so!"

"Rick Rolland and Nerissa Abyssryn formed a Spirit Bond, which granted Rick a new title, the Ocean Emperor, and unlocked a new skill called Ocean’s Hope through their bond."

Rick felt the new skill settle into his mind, and a lot of information came to him.

[OCEAN’S HOPE]

[Description: As Ocean Emperor through Spirit Bond with Nerissa, gain fundamental connection to all oceanic waters]

[Effects:

+50% to all attributes when in ocean environments

Innate ability to breathe underwater (permanent, doesn’t require crystals)

Underwater movement speed increased by 200%

Can communicate with ocean dwellers telepathically

Grants authority to command oceanic creatures

Weapon manifestation: Trident of New Tides (golden energy weapon, indestructible) ]

[SPECIAL ABILITY: SUMMON NEW LEVIATHAN]

[Description: Through Spirit Bond with Ocean Empress, can summon purified Guardian created from combined essence ]

[Effects:

Summons uncorrupted Leviathan loyal to Rick and Nerissa

Guardian retains full power without corruption influence

Shares consciousness with summoner, perfect coordination

Can maintain summoning indefinitely while in ocean]

[Cooldown: None (permanent guardian bond) ]

Rick smirks and then raised his trident even higher. "Let’s fucking..."

"...go!"