Mika finally pulled away, smiling as he wiped the drool of his lips.
Yelena, on the other hand, rose slowly from all fours, her whole body trembling, not from fear, but sheer embarrassnt.
Her face was flushed red to her ears, her ears twitching in frustration as she glared daggers at Mika.
If a look could kill, the boy would’ve been reduced to ash right there.
But she didn’t move. She couldn’t. Not yet.
She still had to challenge him, and attacking him now would only ruin her chance.
Her chest rose and fell as she turned stiffly toward her daughter, who was hovering nearby with a mortified blush and wide eyes.
"Charlotte." Yelena began in a trembling, too-sweet voice. "Could you be a dear and...forget everything you just saw? Completely erase it from your mory?"
Charlotte, fidgeting with her fingers, looked away shyly. "Well...if you told to forget just the part where you were acting like a puppy, then maybe I could try. Maybe."
Yelena’s eyes narrowed. "Maybe?"
"But." Charlotte went on, gulping as she t her mother’s eyes. "After that part, after the stuff about tails and Mika sliding his hand inside and the whole finger stuff that was going on—there’s no way I can forget it. Mama, I’m sorry, but sothing like that is burned into my mory forever."
Yelena stiffened. The humiliation hit her all over again. Her daughter had seen everything.
Her face went redder than ever. She clenched her fists and took a step toward Mika, looking ready to pounce on him like a lioness.
But Mika quickly raised both his hands defensively, laughing nervously.
"Hold up, hold up!" He said. "Don’t you want to duel or sothing? If you attack now, I might lose interest completely, and then—well, you’ll lose your only chance. I might just reject your little challenge altogether."
Yelena froze mid-step, her eye twitching.
"Mama, calm down."
Charlotte said quickly, grabbing her mother’s arm before she did sothing reckless.
"Save your anger for the challenge! That’s when you can show him who’s boss."
Yelena took a deep breath and forced herself to relax, even though her glare was still sharp enough to cut through steel.
Mika chuckled at the sight of the two of them trying to compose themselves, but honestly he was a little nervous as well.
Normally, he wouldn’t have taken one of Yelena’s challenges seriously, she had a habit of overestimating herself.
But sothing about the way she stood now, the confidence in her eyes...it made him pause.
She really believed she could win.
He floated closer, his tone turning slightly serious.
"Alright, jokes aside...tell , Yelena. What’s this challenge you’re so confident about? Normally I wouldn’t take any of your ’challenges’ seriously, but you look a little too sure of yourself this ti."
"Maybe you actually found sothing you can win at."
He tilted his head.
"So co on, tell . What’s the great plan?"
Charlotte’s eyes glead.
"Yes! It’s ti, Mama. Tell him! Tell him what it is!" She said eagerly. "I don’t even know the full details yet, but I’m sure it’s sothing incredible—sothing that’ll completely destroy him!"
Yelena straightened, pride flooding back into her voice.
"That’s right." She said with grand confidence. "I’ll tell you what it is."
Charlotte smiled and added, "Go on, Mama! Make it dramatic! This is your big mont!"
Yelena puffed her chest out, nodding to her daughter’s encouragent.
"The challenge..." She announced proudly. "...is none other than an actual duel! Between you and !"
She placed her hands on her hips, looking victorious.
"We’ll go all out. Swords, magic, whatever we need. The one who defeats the other is the winner!" She smirked. "How about that? Doesn’t that sound perfect, Mika? The ideal way to settle things?"
For a mont, there was silence.
Charlotte blinked.
Mika just stared.
And then—
Mika burst into laughter, loud, unrestrained laughter that echoed through the air. He nearly doubled over, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Oh, gods above—oh my god—this is priceless! For a second, I thought you actually had sothing serious. Sothing dangerous, maybe even sothing that could threaten ! But a duel?"
He laughed even harder, clutching his stomach.
"You think you can fight ? You think you can win? Oh, this is too good!"
Charlotte, anwhile, had gone completely pale. Her wings drooped as she whispered,
"Oh no...we’re dood. We’re completely dood."
She covered her face with both hands.
"We’re cooked. There’s no chance. We just lost the only opportunity we had. Mama, how could you do this?!"
Yelena looked at her in confusion. "What do you an? Co on, Charlotte! Have a little faith in your mother! You know how strong I am!"
Charlotte stared up at her with hollow eyes.
"Mama." She said slowly. "If this were anyone else in the world, literally anyone else, even Aunt Fauna or Aunt Nadia, I’d say you had a chance...But him?"
She pointed dramatically at Mika, who was still wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"You picked the worst person possible! He’s overpowered to the point of absurdity!"
She groaned.
"I thought maybe you were going to challenge him to a cooking contest or sothing. That, you might’ve actually won! But this? A fight? We’re finished!"
Yelena’s confidence faltered. "Charlotte! You’re exaggerating! I can still—"
Charlotte placed a hand gently on her mother’s shoulder, her expression a perfect mix of sympathy and sarcasm.
"Sure, Mama. If it makes you feel better, I’ll ’believe’ in you." She gave her a pat. "But let’s be honest—you’ve already lost. We should just go ho before you get yourself flattened in midair."
Mika finally stopped laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes as he drifted closer to the two of them.
"Honestly." He said, chuckling. "The scene here is so pitiful I almost feel bad. Not for you, Yelena—oh no, not at all—but for your poor daughter."
He turned to Charlotte with mock sympathy. "She put all her faith in you, and this is what she gets in return. Imagine the disappointnt."
Charlotte nodded imdiately, sighing with exaggerated grief. "He’s not wrong, Mama. I really did."
"C-Charlotte!" Yelena sputtered, completely scandalized. "How can you—!?"
Mika chuckled again.
"And so...." He said grandly. "...out of pity, pure noble pity—I’ll be generous. I’ll give you a handicap. Sothing massive. Sothing that might, just might, let you entertain the idea of victory."
Yelena straightened, instantly defensive. "I don’t need any handicap, Mika! I’m more than strong enough to—"
Before she could finish, Charlotte interrupted eagerly.
"No, no! Wait, tell us what it is, Mika! Give us every handicap you can think of! We definitely need it!"
"CHARLOTTE!" Yelena cried, staring at her daughter like she’d betrayed the family.
But Mika simply grinned and rubbed his chin.
"Well..." He said, pretending to think deeply. " I do rember soone complaining about not having her nails done lately..."
Yelena blinked, confused. "What?"
"So." Mika continued with exaggerated solemnity. "I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone?"
"While you, my dear Yelena, are free to attack , slice up, or do whatever you want—I’ll be painting your daughter’s nails. Perfectly. Calmly. Until I’m finished."
Charlotte’s eyes widened in delight. "Wait, seriously? That’s the handicap!?"
"Exactly." Mika said proudly. "You can go all out, use your full power, summon every sword in your arsenal...and I’ll just take my ti, nice and slow, giving Charlotte a manicure. When I’m done, the match is over."
Yelena stared at him, utterly outraged.
"That’s ridiculous! You won’t even be able to defend yourself! If you’re focused on painting her nails, how can you fight back? What if my attacks hit you? Or—heavens forbid—Charlotte!?"
Mika scoffed softly.
"You really think I’d let that happen? With around, Yelena, not even the hilt of your blade could brush a single strand of Charlotte’s hair."
He gave her a smug look.
"And besides, it’s called a handicap for a reason. I don’t need to fight back. If I did, you wouldn’t last a second."
Charlotte, instead of being offended, bead. She grabbed his hand eagerly.
"This is a great idea, Mika! I was actually really sad that Mama ruined our big chance, but now at least I get a spa treatnt out of it!"
"Charlotte!" Yelena yelled, her voice cracking with disbelief.
But Charlotte was already pulling Mika away.
"Co on, Mika, let’s go! I can’t wait! Let’s set up sowhere nice."
Mika smirked back at Yelena. "We’ll be just over there. Try not to miss too much when you start swinging, alright?"
Yelena’s sword flared furiously as the two of them floated away, stopping about a few miles out in the open sky—still visible to her, but far enough to drive her mad.
There, Mika flicked his wrist and summoned an array of shimring bottles of nail polish and tools that glowed faintly with magic.
"Alright, Charlotte." He said. "What color do you want? Blue, silver, maybe a pink gradient?"
Charlotte smiled shyly. "Hmm...you choose. Pick the cutest one you think will suit ."
"Gladly." He said, his voice suddenly soft, almost teasing.
He waved his hand again, and a cushioned massage chair appeared in the air. Charlotte giggled and sat down, leaning back comfortably.
Mika then conjured two thin slices of cucumber, placing them gently over her eyes before brushing a cooling green face mask over her cheeks.
"There." He said, nodding approvingly. "Perfect spa atmosphere."
Charlotte giggled softly. "This feels amazing already."
Mika smiled as he sat at her feet, gently holding one of her small hands before beginning to rub her palm and fingertips, massaging the tension away.
"We’ll make sure you’re perfectly pampered before your mother inevitably loses."
It was serene, like a full-on spa treatnt unfolding in the middle of the clouds.
But to Yelena, watching from afar, it was infuriating.
She clenched her fists, trembling with frustration.
"Those two..." She growled under her breath. "Those two are mocking ."
Her eyes glowed as she whispered through gritted teeth.
"If they want to underestimate ...then let them. I’ll make them understand why the world trembles when they hear my na."
And just then, a sharp hum filled the air as dozens—then hundreds of golden portals materialized behind her, circling the sky like halos.
From each one erged a holy sword, gleaming with different colors and energies—radiant white blades, blackened holy relics, crystal swords, and others shaped from pure light.
In seconds, there were tens of thousands of them, all floating in perfect formation behind her, all pointed straight toward where Mika and Charlotte were enjoying their luxurious floating spa.
Charlotte, blissfully unaware, giggled from afar.
"Mika, the cucumber’s slipping. Can you fix it?"
"Sure." Mika replied cheerfully, adjusting it back in place.
And far behind them, Yelena smiled—dangerous, divine, and utterly done with their nonsense—as she whispered,
"Let’s see how calm you stay now."
Then she unleashed her blades.
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