Every spell Athanasia cast into an attacking flame, seemed to do little to nothing to the Duke. He simply soared in the air, smiling away at Her Highness as she threw fireball after fireball only to land at the veneer of the red shield.
The Empress panted rapidly as exhaustion started to take a toll on her.
The Duke noticed this and grinned. "Is it my turn, now, Your Highness?" He questioned mockingly, as the crimson energy crackled within his palm.
He unleashed the blow, letting out a ripple of red spark toward Athanasia who was channeling an incomplete spell. Her golden shield unraveled from the ineffective concentration of mana.
Even so, she pushed her limit with both of her palms put forward, barricading the onslaught attack until she outlasted the blast.
"This is amusing, Your Highness. I am sure no one had ever withstood or even ever come close to anything related to the World Tree mana and survived before. Let alone, stopping a full power like this."
Her Highness spurned the compliment from the Duke. She wasn't sure if he was just sprouting his sarcasm at this point. All she knew was that she had to hold out until reinforcement arrived.
The shield shattered in the end as her mana completely depleted and Athanasia fell over on both knees. She inhaled and exhaled laboriously as she looked at her trembling hands. Her eyesight became blurry and black driblets started to come into the picture.
No longer could she hold out the fatigue and Her Highness' body fell backward, her eyes closed. She thought she should have been sleeping on the broken clutter, crumbs of building under her feet. Instead, she was in a familiar embrace, holding her in ever so protectively.
Athanasia slowly opened her eyes again when a warm and sturdy hand gently placed on both of hers. The overflowing mana swept through her entire body, giving a provisional recovery from the premature exhaustion and she started to see things clearer once more.
She stirred, trying to force herself to move but her whole body suddenly felt like it was squished further, for the sake of keeping her still.
"Don't ever abuse your mana like that again," came a voice behind her ear. The person sounded rather irritated and annoyed, "As mages, mana is our lifespans."
When the Empress turned her face to see the person who was holding her from behind, he tilted her chin with his fingertips and kissed her lips gently.
"Take it easy, Your Highness. Your Mana is unstable again," he mumbled to her mouth.
"That's... Not... How you-"
The hand that was once on hers came to her nape, pushing her toward him further. From head to toe, her body shimmered like gold and the aching discomfort came to disappear. Everything about it was so cordial that she felt like she needed this more than she thought. But she wasn't sure if it was the mana that he shared with her or the kiss.
Whatever it was, she drew a sigh, closing her eyes, almost as if giving more access further for more of a passionate kiss.
Undercurrents of unspoken desire hummed in the air around them. Her senses were invaded by the warm and brisk scent that she had associated with him alone, interspersing with the piquant overtones of mana infusion. Strange, it tasted sweet when it shouldn't have had a flavor.
Then all of a sudden, she remembered something important. Athanasia shoved Lucas away, and dissipated the delicious mist of tension, leaving him grunting and complaining.
Pushing back the secondary thought, Athanasia looked left and right for a certain man in great panic. Her fingers started to formulate another spell, but once again, Lucas placed his hand on hers to stop the hex.
