NOVEL NEXT Chapter 132: My Femme Fatale!
"Entrances, entrances. Mana, I won't pretend that your sudden entrances don't entertain me, but I still gotta ask…why are you so good at showing up at the worst possible time? For real, this needs to be studied professionally," forced out of the Golden Revelation by Akamana's appearance, Mithras rolled his eyes, sighing as he lay on the cold rooftop.
Akamana lay beside him, feet dangling at the edges.
"And here I thought you could use some company. Akamana be damned for being such a busybody," the Grand Priestess said with a sideways look, pouting at her cutie pie.
"Glad that you know. Damn you, Akamana! With that said, to what do I owe the pleasure of this sudden visit?"
"Tsundere. Two things, starts with 'thanks' and ends with 'Azi.' You know who the Azi representative is right?" Akamana asked in a suspicious tone, causing Mithras to flash a playful smile.
"But of course."
"And the Twins?"
"I can guess."
"And you're still taking their money? Your greed inspires me."
"I've said it before, you never fumble the bag. Especially not…for hussies. If they're so kind as to donate billions worth of cash to my bank account, I can for sure entertain their petty plots. After all…" Here, Mithras leaned in, whispering straight at Akamana's ear "I will always come out on top."
"Glad to see your confidence is as strong as ever." Impressed by her cutie pie's boldness, the Grand Priestess gave a strong nod of approval.
"When you've kicked a Wrathful God's ass, I promise you will stop caring about bloodsuckers. Or any type of sucker…really." Mithras on the other end didn't find the words that bold. He was God-tier now. It was time to act the part!
"Fair…wait, you've what?"
"…"
"…never mind I don't really wanna know." Akamana didn't probe deeper, for some reason convinced she wouldn't like the result. But at the same time, the Grand Priestess leaned into Mithras' face, nuzzling on her own accord.
"Something's been on my mind for a minute. If the previous Dragon King, my mom's grandad, was killed by my dad…how the fuck did she end up marrying him? Was the love really that deep?" Mithras asked.
"Mhm…the first mistake here is assuming she knew, she didn't…till she returned to Balmaria 12 years ago."
"Elaborate."
"The Dragon King is the Spiritual World's strongest—the symbol and protector of the Holy Balmaria's invincibility. The Dragon King can't be defeated, and with Agravain being the only surviving witness of his father's death, what do you think he did?"
"Conceal the news."
"Indeed. Agravain claimed his father had died trying to reach the Imperfect Brahman rank, which is fairly common for Dragon Kings, so no one pried too deep…and the few who did died. Hadubrangr was also smart enough to know he wasn't ready for an all-out war with Balmaria and helped keep the secret.
Even Galahad, the Holy Emperor, didn't know the truth about his grandfather's death till about 12 years ago—much less Menaka.
Menaka was never the type to ask for permission before doing something. She does it first and tells the facts later. So Agravain was celebrating his breakthrough to the 12th level of Imperfect Brahman when his beloved princess walked in and said 'Hi dad, I married the Great Blood Emperor. Know you won't approve but…it is what it is.
Bye!'
Needless to say, things got very awkward afterward," Akamana narrated the past, her revelations making Mithras' brows arch up.
"I can imagine. Didn't know the Dragon King was that strong though. Wouldn't that make him a…Great King? And one of the strongest at that. How did a mortal world produce that caliber of monster?" It was indeed incomprehensible. Minor Gods peaked at Embryonic Wisdom, Great Gods at Imperfect Brahman, and High Gods at Nirvana Rebirth.
For the number one powerhouse of a mortal world to be a quasi High God didn't make sense, even for the legendary House of Balmaria.
"Absolutely. Agravain is the strongest of the Great Kings and a royal piece of shit who sees humans as degenerative primates not worth a pile of dirt—doesn't even put them on standard primates' level.
If the genocide of mortal species wasn't a Transgression, Agravain would have wiped out humanity tens of thousands of years ago. His opinion of Blood Nobles is about a thousand times worse. And even Hadubrangr knows better than trying to mess with him.
The Mausoleum of Evil is the only thing protecting Hadubrangr from Agravain. The day the Dragon King finds a way to break the Weaver's Seal…your dad is dead. And your mom too…then you, Ishtar, me, and anyone connected to the aforementioned.
We're all dying by association to cleanse the shame of the Holy Balmaria," Akamana said with a disturbing composure.
"Terrifying."
"I know. Keeps me awake at night. Now I need me a prince in shining armor to save me from the big bad dragon king! Where…can I possibly find that prince?"
"Mhm…I can give it a shot. For a fair price, that is."
"Easy there, tiger. If you can defeat Agravain, you are not just the Mortal Plane's strongest—but a BOSS even in the Higher Planes. The Corrupt Worlds or Divine Paradises, it doesn't matter. Wherever you go, you will be respected as a member of the true elite, a world-class powerhouse.
Let's start with Odobrangr and Aurilili first."
"Fair…but truth be told, I didn't expect my granddads to be such pricks. He'd really…murk his blood?"
"The blood of Vritra doesn't tolerate dishonor and can give everything up for revenge. From the moment she'd married Hadubrangr, ignorant or not, Menaka had reached the top of her father's Blacklist.
But he doesn't just want to kill her. He could have done that anytime. Even 12 years ago when she returned to beg him to help break Ishtar's Soul Pact with Ahriman.
Death is the easy way out.
What Agravain wants…is pain. Slow, stabbing…and memorable pain," Akamana's voice trailed off, and silence settled in, with Mithras pulling Mana into his arms. She didn't resist. Better, she pushed forth, nestling on her cutie's chest.
"So what was his answer?"
"For Ishtar? Oh Lord…you want the exact words or the sugarcoated version?"
"The exact words."
"'Filth used by filth tossed into filth is the natural order. I see nothing wrong here. Nothing worth saving. My son and I will not waste the powers we've trained for millennia, ruin the House of Balmaria and offend a Wrathful God for the sake of a primate's progeny.
Leave and never return. The House of Wyrms has a new master, and the Holy Balmaria…no need for your sword.'" Akamana retold Agravain's cruel declaration, so caught in her performance that she missed the strange glint that flashed in Mithras' eyes.
"I see. Noted."
"But to be fair, I'd be more worried for Ishtar than Mena. Menaka is Vritra's Chosen. Dead or not, Vritra is still Vritra. You are the Sun. Odobrangr and Aurilili have the Weaver. So, it's only Ishtar who doesn't have a big shield standing between her and the monsters of this world.
Ah, my poor girl…"
"She has me." Mithras didn't agree, correcting Akamana.
"And do I?"
"Since when does our empress need a man to protect her?"
"Empress. Mithras darling…do you know why the noblewomen of the Purple Dawn so often call me Empress?"
"Because you rule a continental empire and are basically their idol?"
"Maybe…but it's more about something that happened 983 years ago. Experience magic on m-vl-e-mpyr
The newly crowned Holy Emperor, your uncle Galahad, was on a visit in Mainyu when he saw me complete my Austerities to Bhaira and got the hots for my teen self. So much so that Galahad claimed if I agreed to marry him, he'd give up on the prophesized Queen of Monsters, and make me his empress.
I said I didn't need a muscular lizard to give me an empire. That I'd build the foundation for my own soon enough, and when I found a partner worthy to share the world with, I'd establish…the Empire!
Not the Empire of Angra or Akamana, but the Empire, the one and only! Infinite and all-encompassing, stretching all the way…to the Holy Continent and beyond!
Then I got bitch-slapped by my old man and the Holy Emperor found himself a Kitchen Goddess to have kids with. And that was it," Akamana said in a theatrical tone, her revelations making Mithras' jaw drop a little.
"And rightfully so. That was some dumb thing to say. Praise the Lord Galahad didn't crush your skull. What were you thinking?"
"16-year-old me was super cute and adorable. You'd need to be a monster to harm 16-year-old me."
"Right…and how is the search for your partner going?" More curious about that part, Mithras asked—raising Akamana's chin and stealing a kiss.
"Very well, actually. I've narrowed the list down to one…though there was only one candidate to begin with. A little gold digger. She can be so rough and roguish on the edges, but I can't resist her anyway. For she's so charming and endearing that whenever her lips curl up, any anger and frustration she might have caused me fades out of the way. And I fall for her all over—doomed to love her proper.
My femme fatale. I'm leaving her now…and I miss her already," Akamana said with a little sob and slipped out of Mithras' grasp, standing up the moment next.
But how could Mithras let her leave after such declarations? With a jerking motion, our youth grabbed Akamana's wrist, bringing her down to his lap.
"Did you just call me a chick?"
"If I can be your chick for a lifetime, surely you can be my femme fatale for a day."
"Fair…wait, wait…you just?" Struggling to believe the implications in Akamana's words, Mithras stammered, his lips trembling as he spoke.
Akamana looked the other way, and her cheeks flushed red, burning like melting iron as she prepared for a touchdown.
"Scoundrel. Need to hear me say it again? Very well, Mithras…I chase your shadow in my dreams, your scent as I wake up, and your shoulders as I wander through the motions of the day. I can't keep you out of my mind, I need you with me 24/7. And I will go mad before I let you slip through my fingers again!
So yes, cutie pie…so long as you can promise you will never change, that you will stay my cheerful and greedy man-whore forever, I am yours, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and every fucking day af…" Akamana didn't get a chance to finish her words, silenced by Mithras' lips and an impromptu smooch.
A passionate make-out session followed, the pair melting in one another's arms as their clothes fell, and their Sensory Secret overlapped.