Leveling Up by Seducing Milfs-Chapter 215. Tears of Redemption

Rick could see the tears running down Nerissa’s face, but she didn’t turn to look at him. And those tears are not tears of sadness or pain. These were tears of relief, finally letting go of a heavy load.

"I... did it," Nerissa said in a voice full of awe. "For fifty years... I felt guilty about genocide..."

"I punished myself by becoming an emotionless shell for fifty years... I thought I didn’t deserve to be saved for fifty years..."

She finally turned to Rick, and her eyes were full of life in a way he had never seen before. "But today I chose to protect instead of destroy..."

"I chose to save instead of kill... I chose to give everything for others instead of taking everything in my pain..."

Rick took her hand and said, "And because of that choice of redemption... we won."

"You helped us save the world, Nerissa... That’s the proof that you can be better than your worst mistakes..."

Nerissa fell against Rick’s chest, crying with happiness, relief, and exhaustion all at once. He held her, one hand stroking her hair and the other supporting her weight.

This let her let go of decades of pain that had finally been resolved.

The other partners swam closer together, making a circle around Rick and Nerissa. There was no jealousy or competition, but only acceptance and understanding.

Nerissa had earned her place among them by being brave and making sacrifices.

Carmilla said with a real smile, "Welcome to the family, Mrs. Empress."

"Officially now... there’s no more holding back or putting up emotional walls around yourself because you’re one of us now, and we all can help each other out in every situation."

Nerissa looked up at the other women, and fear flickered in her eyes. "Are you... are you sure?"

"I’m eight hundred years old... I’ve done horrible things, and I have three hundred kids with an empire that needs to be rebuilt..."

"Are you really willing to take all of that?"

"Oh come on now, girl, I’m a three-hundred-year-old dragon," Sylvia said with a laugh. "Liora here is a high priestess with ties to the gods."

"Natasha is basically a walking tactical supercomputer, and this bitch... Zara is a demon general. We’re not your average group."

"Oi, fuck you, slut! How dare you introduce me to her like that— --" When Zara was about to kick Sylvia’s ass, Carmilla came in to stand between them.

"Now, now, there’s no need to fight or argue in this situation..." Carmilla sighed.

Sylvia continued. "And there’s Carmilla here, she’s only a mere human, but she got the heart of someone who’s worthy to have Rick!"

"Besides," Zara then said while trying to hold her anger towards Sylvia, "anyone who can hold off a god-level attack alone while Rick finishes the job has earned her place!"

"You’re a certified fucking badass, Empress!"

Nerissa’s tears turned into laughter, and the sound was so happy and pure that it made everyone smile. The Ocean Empress was really happy for the first time in fifty years.

Nerissa said. "Thank you... everyone... for having me in this family!"

Sebastian floated over to the group, and his monocle shone. "Sorry to break up this touching moment, but we should probably get back to shore before Rick passes out from exhaustion."

"Plus, there are thousands of people waiting to celebrate not being dead, and they would probably like to see their hero alive."

Rick let out a groan. "Aw man... Do I have to? Can’t I just stay here and float for a whole week until I want to move?"

"Fuck no," Sebastian said with a smile. "Time to bask in the love of the people you saved."

"And make sure to not look too much like a drowned rat."

...

The group swam and flew back to Tidebreak Port in peace, with only the sound of laughter breaking the silence. The ocean around them was clear, and fish jumped and played as if to thank them for making the water healthy again.

Rick could see people gathering on the docks as they got closer to the harbor. Thousands of people were looking out at the horizon, hoping to see if their heroes had made it.

When Rick’s feet hit the beach, the crowd let out a roar that made his ears ring. Rick’s heart raced as people started running toward him.

"W-What the fuck...!?," Rick said with a shaky voice. "That’s a lot of people...!!!"

"Should I be worried?!" Rick looked at all his partners.

His partners looked at each other knowingly with sly smiles, then all pushed Rick forward into the crowd that was coming toward him.

"Have fun!" They shouted together.

"HEY...!!! WHAT THE FUCK!?" Rick yelled as he fell.

Dozens of hands grabbed him before he could say anything else. Rick could feel himself being lifted into the air, as if half of the people in Tidebreak Port were holding him up.

"HERO! HERO! HERO!" The chant started out small, but it quickly grew until it sounded like the whole city was shouting together.

"THE HERO OF MATURE HEARTS...!!! RIIIICCCKKK ROOOOOOOLAANNDDDDD!!!" Roderick screams the loudest.

Rick was thrown up into the air, caught, and thrown again. He went up and down, and each time he tossed something, the crowd cheered and celebrated so loudly that the ground shook.

He saw people pass by him, all of them crying with joy, laughing with relief, and screaming their thanks.

Rick yelled, "I—I didn’t do this by myself!" to be heard over the noise.

"Everyone fought together as one...! The Mage Council, the Guild, the ocean dwellers, the dragons, the demons, and the...! They’re the real heroes...!"

But the people in the crowd weren’t listening. They had their champion, their symbol, and the one person they could put all their hope and thanks into.

Rick Rolland, the Hero of Mature Hearts, the guy who fought a god-level entity and won.

Seeing all of this inflated Rick’s ego, and he couldn’t hide his smile. "Ah... fuck it!"

"WE FUCKING WONNN!!!" Rick screamed loud, and they screamed the same way as he did.

"FOR ZORATHIA...!!!" Rick raised his fist.

""FOR ZORATHIAAAAAAAAA!!!"

...

After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, the crowd finally set Rick down on a platform. His partners came to him, and each got their cheers and celebrations.

Fredrich stepped forward. His Mage Council robes were torn and burned, but he still looked powerful the way he is. "People of Tidebreak Port! Citizens of Valdris! Warriors of Zorathia!"

"Today... we saw the impossible!"

The crowd got quiet and listened to every word he said.

"A creature, created six hundred years ago as the ultimate weapon, has awakened to judge our world. It brought corruption that should have ended civilization!"

"It had power that should have been unstoppable!" Fredrich’s voice got stronger. "And this young man... this hero from another world where the prophecies stated... led us all to VICTORRRRYYY!!!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

There were more cheers, but Fredrich raised his hand to ask for quiet.

"But Rick Rolland would tell you, and I know this because I’ve fought with him, that we all won by working together!"

"Every mage who gave their mana!"

"Every warrior who stood their ground!"

"Every citizen who didn’t give up hope!"

"Every person who gave even the smallest amount of courage to this battle!"

With a smile, Fredrich turned to Rick. "Today...! Zorathia stood together, and that unity... SAVED US ALL TO CONTINUE LIVING!!!"

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" More cheers and screams of joy came from the entire crowd.

Rick’s eyes filled with tears as he looked out at the crowd. Countless lives were saved. He finally understood how heavy what they had done was.

Sebastian’s voice came through their private line of communication. "By the way, this is the first time you’ve beaten a big threat without using Spirit Unity..."

"Just thought you should know."

Rick’s eyes got big. "Wait... for real!? I didn’t use Spirit Unity at all?!"

"Nope," Sebastian said. "You worked with each partner to plan attacks, which built up momentum, but you never brought all six bonds together into the ultimate fusion state."

"I’m really shocked... I thought for sure you would win in the end with that strategy because you always used it every single time it was available."

Rick said, "I didn’t even think about it... things happened so quickly that I can’t think of any moves other than letting it all out!"

Sebastian said, "That makes the win even more impressive."

"You saved the world with less than your full power... Imagine what you could do if you used it all."

"Maybe I was saving it for the real threat... and of course now Nerissa has become one of my partners as well. I can’t imagine how much more powerful I could get from Spirit Unity."

"Yeah, you best believe..."