Chapter 475 – Burn Them Down

Eterna wants to show off, it seems, flying straight up to the building before engulfing it in fire. The rest are a bit hesitant to do anything. I would be a bit worried if anyone was excited to run into a fire.

But Geta starts leading the way, and the rest follow. Two pregnant wives leading the charge isn't the best plan, but they're strong. At least Victoria and Elora are next in line, though Victoria did have to force her way to the front of the group. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Azula. I didn't see her before, so I wonder if Space figured it out or if Azula asked Nanoka to hide her until she was already here.

Yumanea brought along about twenty guards who are standing mostly in front of me now. A few are behind me, just in case enemies sneak behind us, I guess. It's a lot better than the none of them I used to have. Plus, Sarania and Fyserreia are by my side, and Syro is also hanging back.

"Fyserreia, where do you think you're going?" Sarania says. "Stay right by our Mistress."

"Fine," Fyserreia says.

"Do we have enough people?" I ask.

"Unless a Goddess comes down here, we're fine," Sarania says. "You have Geta and Eterna here. Everyone else who joined us is just here for the show of force. This won't take long."

"Is that why you're hanging back, Syro?" I ask.

"Yes," Syro says. "I'm not needed up front, and at least one of your wives should be back here to help defend you, just in case. It would be better if Elora or Vanya were doing this. Or maybe Victoria, but I'm sure she would be cussing up a storm if you held her back. She's lazy until she has something she needs to do. She was never one to take guard missions from the guild."

"She probably feels that she can't control how fast the job gets done like that," I say. "It does feel nice, having guards."

The sound of metal clashing starts to roll in as women leave the temple. I wonder if the Priestesses are still here or if they knew this would be happening and have already left. It would be rather mean to leave their guards behind. I hope the elder Goddesses don't get too mad about this. They just needed to free Fyserreia once the punishment stopped, and their Priestesses wouldn't be getting killed today. I think they should have a bit of punishment for failing to do the right thing.

The fight does seem rather one-sided. Victoria, Geta, and Elora are doing a wonderful job keeping the guards contained for Eterna and Yumanea to burn the guards to death.

"It feels kind of weird to be watching this happen," I say. "I order them to do something, and then I just watch them do all the work."

"If any of them get hurt, you'll have work to do," Syro says. "You're the Empress and a healer, so you shouldn't have to fight. Just remember, Inanos and Vanya would love to be out here as well."

"We'll have a nice dinner tonight," I say. "The family is basically complete if you don't count the kids we'll be having. I can give a little speech to most of them, and I'll have my third body repeat it to Zarzi and Elo. Azula and her wives make it a bit strange, as does Yuki, but for the most part, I think everyone is on a path to just being my wives. So, we can mark the occasion."

"That sounds great," Syro says. "I think it would help Inanos and Vanya a lot to hear that, since they're under quite a lot of stress right now. We'll work hard to continue making us feel like a real family."

"It really is going fast," I say. I start to see the white robes of the Priestesses mixed in with the armored guards. I guess Death kept this little raid a secret, or the Priestesses really weren't doing a good job at listening to their Goddesses. Probably both. "I think the move will be good for us, and I am running out of things I have to do. I think visiting Shimmer's Mother and Eterna's family are the last things I need to do before I can just ignore the world and focus on my kids and wives for a while. I'm going to be a lazy Empress."

"You've earned that, My Mistress," Sarania says.

"Kou?" I ask.

"Yes, My Empress," Kou says. "I'm not about to nag you about the different Queendoms. I would like to give you weekly, or at least monthly, updates on them so you understand what is going on. It's wrong for you to cut yourself off from them completely. You should be able to come in and give good direction to the Queens when needed or asked."

"I guess," I say.

"Thank you, My Empress," Kou says. "It looks like they're just cleaning up, if we want to head over."

"We can," I say. The temple is busy burning to the ground, and Eterna is just staring at it. I wonder if she's making sure the grass doesn't catch on fire. No, she's probably just making sure our wives don't catch on fire, as I doubt she cares about the grass that much. But maybe there's a village nearby; we wouldn't want the fire to spread to it. That would be quite the issue.

Geta's walking towards us, dragging a familiar woman by the hair. I'm glad they didn't kick out Nature's Priestess. It makes this part easy. I would hate to have to run around and find the bitch.

"Geta has your woman, Fyserreia," I say.

"Good, Nature's Priestess is a real bitch," Fyserreia says. "She's the one who visited the most to laugh at me."

Most of the fighters are starting to join Geta in walking back to us, with just Eterna and Yumanea still watching the flames. I'm starting to hear the Priestess bitching about her treatment. She must be hoping that talking a bunch is going to convince us to take her head quickly. Maybe I should've brought Yuki along; Victoria already got her up, after all. I should ask Victoria why she didn't have Stacy help her put on her armor, but she probably just wanted to piss off Yuki.

We'll see if Fyserreia feels like killing the Priestess quickly.

"Here's Nature's Priestess," Geta says. "Is she always this talkative? I thought I was dragging Victoria for a second."

"Shit, don't fucking compare me to this bitch," Victoria says. "I fucking got out of bed for this shit, and now you're insulting my ass."

"Victoria is normally a bit more positive with her curses," I say. "And her butt is beautiful."

"Fuck you! You damn bitches!" Nature's Priestess says.

"Victoria uses it for color; she, however, just wants to insult people because her stupid Goddess died, and now it's her turn," I say. "Fyserreia, she's all yours."

"Thank you, My Mistress," Fyserreia says.

"Hahaha, you've become a pathetic little fucking servant! Went from a captured whore to a bitch of one!"

"I'm a succubus, a being of lust. I felt your little cunt getting wet every time you looked at me," Fyserreia says. "I'm Alzi's servant because she gives me what I want. To spit in the face of the Goddesses, get my revenge, have kids, spend time with my sister, and heal from the bullshit you all put me through. I'm happy. Honestly, I'm happy. I didn't think I would be happy after leaving. Not this quickly. But I get to... We have several Princesses here and an Empress, and Queens. One of you has to have a collar on you."

"I do," Yumanea says. "Alzi will have to give the decree. I don't have the power to do that anymore. Or does anyone? Justice used to offer the power."

"Give it here, and we'll see what happens," I say. "Thank you. Life as a slave for my family for the unnecessary harm you've caused to others. You also show no remorse for the wrongful containment and torture of Fyserreia. And for that, you'll have to live as a slave to better understand what you've done." I lock the collar around the bitch's neck and step back. "Call yourself a bitch."

"I'm a bitch," the Priestess says.

"Cut off your hand," I say. 'Space, do you know who oversees slaves now? Is it Contract?'

'Contract has them all, now that Justice is dead. The elder Goddesses are having a discussion right now. Death is there and so is Hearth, so you'll be fine, but they may ask you to give them something, just to save face.'

'Bitches.'

'Yes, we are. Have a nice day. I'm happy you're finishing up your revenge.'

"FUCK!" the Priestess screams, her left hand now on the ground.

"Whoops, I didn't see how you did that," I say. "Geta, could you take the other hand? Space is saying that my daughter, Contract, is the one who controls slaves now, so she should be our slave. I doubt that little stinker is going to let this bitch trick us. But we'll have to keep an eye on her until I can talk to Contract to make sure." It's also a good excuse to see my kids again, not that I need an excuse, since I just have to ask. 'Space, can you bring me up when we head back? I want to see Sky again.'

'I would love to.'

"Fucking whores! You should've just rolled over for Nature! It's your natural place in the world! Bent the fuck over and getting raped."

"That's enough out of you," I say. "Fyserreia, do you want to kill her or keep her as a slave?"

"Slave for a bit," Fyserreia says. "We should find out if she can be turned into a useful bitch or not. Worst case, I'll just take her head later."

"That works for me," I say. "Does anyone have a different opinion?"

"Shit, this family is fucking weird," Victoria says. "We don't fucking care if you take a bitch as a slave. She clearly fucking hates you all. But why the fuck is Eterna still watching the fire?"

"Were we not supposed to burn the building down?" Eterna asks.

"Do you want to burn it down?" I ask.

"It's been a while since I've gotten to burn a building down," Eterna says.

"Then we can relax for a while," I say. "Is anyone hurt? Come forward, even if it's just a scratch. We've got time. I guess I should stop the slave's bleeding. Fyserreia, do you think she needs hands?"

"Later, My Mistress," Fyserreia says.

That makes it easy. I heal over her stubs and wait for someone to step forward for healing. "Not even a sore back?"

"Fuck, if you're asking about small shit, I'll take whatever the fuck you're giving out," Victoria says, plopping down in front of me.

"I didn't know armor could let you sit down like that," I say. "I'll see what I can do for you."

"I need to be able to ride a fucking horse in it," Victoria says. "I should've dragged Yuki's ass out here so she could take it off me. Stacy's too pregnant to handle the job."

Stacy's not here either, but that does explain why Yuki got to handle it. Shouldn't there be some maids who could help? Whatever, Yuki can help others out for a bit. She's not overburdened yet.

"Fuck, your mana is calming," Victoria says. "Like a massage at a massive fucking bonfire. Did anyone bring food?"

"I do have some snacks," Kou says. "That is a wonderful idea, Lady Victoria. I've got some blankets and chairs for the pregnant women."

Kou works fast. I'll have to give her that.