When Lala and Sephie finally got around to going to the villa to meet up with Alex, they were only half surprised to find him eating breakfast while Yue was straddling his lap with her fangs sunk into his neck. Eating along with him were those who'd be attending the meeting that hadn't left yet, Anne, Rossweise, Sona, Yasaka, Gabriel, Serafall, Mikado, and Tear, while Yami would also be accompanying Alex in order to meet the rest of the representatives in Asora. Meanwhile Rias, Grayfia, and Akeno had all already left in order to alert the representatives that weren't in the space-time orb about the meeting, giving them enough time to get ready before Alex arrived.
"Good morning everyone." Sephie said as she took her seat at the table, with Lala on her right side and Nana and Momo on her left. She was dressed in a long flowing purple dress similar to the one she used to wear when attending her royal duties as the queen of Deviluke, coupled with a matching veil in her pocket and an ornate staff.
Lala meanwhile was wearing her signature outfit from when she acting as the princess of Deviluke, a very light gray jumpsuit adorned with lots of frills in the back and sides to mimic a dress, coupled with a large bulbous hat with wings that had Peke's swirly eyes on the front of it. Nana and Momo however were wearing more subdued versions of their mother's dress, in red and green respectively.
As they sat and started nibbling on the food in front of them, Sephie couldn't help but ask, "I'm sorry to say that I'm not sure what it is each of you do outside the space-time orb, may I ask what it is?" Curious as to the politics of Asora, Sephie earnestly looked at each of those who had helped take care of her and her daughters for three months, realizing just how shallow her understanding of them was. The first one to speak was Gabriel, who explained,
"As an archangel, I speak for the Angels that call Asora their home, as well as head the various divisions led by us and the church." Sephie's eyes widened when she heard that, but she couldn't help but ask,
"You're an angel as well?" When she heard that Gabriel's face stiffened, before she directed a firm gaze at Alex as he suddenly became more interested in the food before him. She then said in a scarily calm voice,
"Yes, I am JUST an angel." Making a mental note not to antagonize the seemingly harmless beautiful woman, Sephie then looked at Serafall as she stared saying,
"I'm a former Maou of the underworld, and speak for the Devils of Asora in official matters, all while heading the entertainment department and acting as my alter ego, 'Magical Girl Levia-tan'!" As she spoke Serafall jumped up and waved around a handmade wand with hearts, which immediately began to shine while enveloping her in a light blue light. When the light faded Serafall was still there, except the suit she had been wearing before was changed into a magical girl's uniform, making Lala's eyes sparkle as she admired the transformation.
While everyone was taking in the sight of Serafall boldly posing while standing on the table and flashing her panties, Yasaka awkwardly added, "And I'm in charge of the Youkai that call Asora home who also produces our food supply, this also includes the dagon people even though they aren't actually Youkai." As Yasaka trailed off Alex hurriedly picked up,
"There's also Akeno's father Barakiel, who speaks for the fallen angels, Hajime who heads his own research lab while also speaking for the majority of the humans, and then the Snow Priestess who leads and speaks for the Yuuki-onna women. Now it's getting to be about time so let's go!" As he spoke Alex stood while Yue elegantly dropped to the floor and trailed after him, along with the majority of the other women with wry smiles. As they followed after the hurrying Alex, Yami couldn't help but ask Rossweisse,
"Why are we hurrying?" The silver haired Valkyrie smiled wryly at her question, before answering,
"It's almost time for his children to get up." Her words made Yami, Mikado, Tear, Sephie, and the three sisters pause, before they all demanded at the same time,
"""""""HIS CHILDREN?!"""""""
***
After exiting the space-time orb, Alex went directly to the kitchen to find not only Remia making their breakfast, but even the four Shuzen sisters and surprisingly Akasha as well as an annoyed Gyokuro, who was serving them their food.
"Morning!" Alex said as he gave Remia, Moka, Akua, Kokoa, and even the blushing Kahlua a good morning kiss, before turning to Akasha and asking, "What brings you here Akasha?" The pink haired woman showed a slightly bitter smile, before explaining,
"Mikogami, Touhou, and Issa are all busy trying to help the human world recover from finding out that monsters exist. Though I should be out there with them, it was unanimously decided that I should be relaxing and spending my time with Moka and the girls instead." Though it was the trio's way of looking out for Akasha, and having her spend time with her daughters before they left the world, she couldn't help but feel left out since the coexistence of monsters and humans was a goal she'd personally been working towards for centuries. However, since no one had sacrificed nearly as much as she had in the pursuit of that goal, it had been decided that she needed a well deserved rest before jumping back into the fray.
As Alex and Akasha were talking, he couldn't help but notice Yue slipping away silently after giving Akasha a brief glance. Since the vampire princess rarely ever left the space-time orb anymore, along with the Misty Manor, Alex couldn't help but ask curiously, "Where are you going Yue?" The vampiress paused at his question, before she turned and simply said,
"...I have some business to take care of..." She then left without another word, leaving everyone as curious about her activities as Alex, but he didn't harp on it. Alex trusted Yue, and figured that whatever she was doing must have been important if she was being so secretive about it. Then, after nonchalantly cutting his hand open and draining some of his blood into four glasses for the Shuzen sisters, he left to go father his children along with Anne, Koneko, Gabriel, Serafall, Ravel, and surprisingly Sephie.
As the group made their way to the children's rooms they also encountered Mizore and Tsurara, who politely greeted Sephie after Alex gave them both a good morning kiss as well, before the amazingly large group turned a corner and found an adorable girl standing in front of them as she released a cute yawn. She had long emerald green hair and her ears were tipped like fins, and as if that wasn't enough to identify her as a member of a sea race, then her sea blue pajamas with seashell patterns helped as well. As Myuu finished yawning and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she suddenly saw Alex standing there and, after a very brief pause, shouted happily while charging him,
"PAPA!"
Alex laughed lightly as he caught the flying Myuu and held her close while saying,
"Good morning Myuu, were you a good girl while I was gone?" Myuu nodded energetically before saying,
"Yes I was! I helped mama with the cooking, cleaning, and even taking care of Edith and the others!" Alex smiled warmly as he listened to Myuu recount some of the things she did since he saw her last, back before he'd gone to fight Alucard. Though it was only a little over three days since then in real time, it felt as if it had been much longer due to how much had occurred in that time(even without taking the space-time orb into consideration).
Even as she was talking at a million miles an hour, Myuu suddenly stopped before squirming out of Alex's arms and saying as she ran off excitedly, "I'm going to help mama make papa's breakfast!" Though he was shaking his head wryly at her antics so early in the morning, Alex had a warm smile on his face as he watched Myuu disappear around the corner, even though she was still in her pajamas.
As Alex stood and the rest of the girls hurried to their own children, Sephie couldn't help but comment, "What a lovely and energetic little girl, she reminds me a little of Lala when she was that age." As she spoke Sephie glanced at Alex's monkey tail as it swayed behind him, and hesitantly asked, "Does she take more after her mother?" Alex smiled wryly at her question, before answering,
"I wouldn't know since Myuu's real father died before she was born, and I adopted her when she was already about four." When she heard that Sephie's eyes sparkled a little, before she then said,
"That sounds like an interesting story." Though it could have been as simple as Alex taking a liking to Remia and Myuu came as a package deal, she figured that with someone as interesting as Alex there was more to it.
Her assumption was almost correct though, as it was Myuu who adopted Alex as her father while Remia originally simply joined his harem for the sake of her daughter's happiness. What she hadn't expected though, was that this was all after Alex saved Myuu from being sold at an underground slave auction, after she had been kidnapped and carted halfway across the continent while Remia had been rendered crippled by a vicious blast of fire to her legs.
As Alex quickly gave her the details Sephie could only stand there stunned, unable to believe that so much tragedy had befallen the mother/daughter duo before Alex found them. Smirking slightly at her reaction, Alex turned and made his way to the nursery where the children stayed when their mothers entered the space-time orb.
When he opened the door the mothers were already in the process of getting their children dressed for the day, but the moment they saw Alex Edith and Mai immediately escaped their mother's clutches and happily waddled over while crying 'dada' and 'dadnya' respectively. As they reached his legs Alex happily picked them up so that his daughters could snuggle up to him in his arms for the first time in over three days, the longest period of time they'd gone without seeing him. As the door opened behind him once more, Alex turned and said,
"Sephie, this is Edith and Mai, my two oldest. Then in order there's Alec, Anna, Regal, Elizabeth, I guess we'll start calling her Lizzy now, Yuki, and Aurora. These are all the children I have so far." Sephie paused when she saw all of Alex's children, as unlike Myuu they were very obviously his due to the monkey-like tails that extended from their backsides, though Mai's looked slightly different due to her catlike features.
Trying to appear friendly to the two toddlers, Sephie smiled warmly and said, "Hello there Edith, Mai!" When the two girls saw the new face however, Mai shyly buried her face into Alex's chest as if thinking that if she couldn't see Sephie, then Sephie couldn't see her. Edith meanwhile noticeably clung to Alex tighter while Sephie could have sworn the toddler gave her a dirty look, as if she was saying, 'my dada!'
After getting all of the children changed and dressed, the troop marched back downstairs where Remia and Myuu were busily preparing breakfast for those who hadn't eaten yet. As the children were seated around the table, while Mizore and Tsurara held Yuki and Aurora to breastfeed them, Gyokuro was made to bring them their baby food while Akasha and Kahlua watched her awkwardly, neither yet used to her new position.
"Ba ga!" Edith suddenly cried out as she pointed a spoon at Gyokuro, who scowled and demanded,
"What did you say you brat?" Seemingly ignorant of the anger in Gyokuro's tone though, Edith once again point her spoon at her and declared with a large smile,
"Ba ga!" At this point Akua stifled a laugh, and muttered,
"Maybe she's trying to say 'bad guy'?" When she said this Edith laughed in what appeared to be agreement, making several of the other girls giggle in response while Gyokuro's expression darkened.
"You brat, who's a 'bad guy'?" Gyokuro sneered while pinching Edith's nose, making the toddler snort at her indignantly before she suddenly stood up while batting Gyokuro's hand away from her nose.
Edith then did something that stunned everyone present as she cocked her open hand back, and slapped Gyokuro across the face hard enough that she was sent to the floor. Naturally Edith didn't yet have the strength to overwhelm Gyokuro and send her flying, however the slave maid hadn't expected nearly the amount of strength she did possess in her little body, and hadn't even bothered to brace herself against the sudden attack. While everyone was staring at her in shock though, Edith was giggling happily and ran over to Alex while going,
"Ba ga! Ba ga! Ba ga!" Alex was the first to recover from the sudden spectacle, as he lifted Edith to sit in his lap while going,
"Good job Edith! Did you beat up the bad guy?" The pint sized Saiyan laughed loudly at her father's praise, while everyone looked at her wryly and Gabriel was heard muttering off to the side with empty eyes,
"My beautiful and delicate daughter..." She ended up getting several looks of pity, as it was fairly obvious that Edith took more after Alex than she did her mother. Gyokuro however directed a murderous glare at the toddler, and spat at her,
"Come back and try that again you little ape bitch! ...!" The moment the last words left her mouth, Gyokuro suddenly found herself under a veritable tsunami of pressure and killing intent as both parents glared at her before Alex practically growled,
"Watch yourself Gyokuro. I may overlook a lot of things, but I WILL NOT tolerate any of my children being mistreated. Do. You. Understand?" With the pressure she was under it took all of Gyokuro's strength to just barely nod her head, after which the pressure faded entirely as she was quickly forgotten.
It was then that Gyokuro was reminded that Alex had never even bother to take them seriously when he fought all of the division leaders on Mars, and that if she made a single misstep she would suffer a fate worse than death. As she thought about this Gyokuro suddenly felt a mild spasm of pain through her butt, reminding her of when Alex mercilessly humiliated and spanked her after she had been stripped naked.
The tense atmosphere only lasted a few seconds after Alex and Gabriel released the pressure on Gyokuro, when a plated stacked with at least ten chocolate chip pancakes was placed in front of him.
"Here you go papa!" Myuu happily said, even as she sprinkled yet more chocolate chips on top of the pancakes before topping it all off with chocolate syrup and even whip cream. She then stepped back with an eager smile on her face, as Alex unhesitantly picked up his fork and dug in despite the fact that he had already eaten earlier. Under the watchful gaze of his adopted daughter, Alex made sure he finished every single bite of the extremely sugary breakfast while he could've have sworn he saw Remia snicker in the kitchen.
***
After those who hadn't eaten yet ate, Alex led Yami, Sephie and her daughters around Asora for a short time until the meeting began, while Gabriel and the others went to prepare. Though they were still wary around other men, the five women were quickly mesmerized as they took in the sights around them.
Though they didn't have long to look around, Alex still made sure the girls were able to visit a few different stores, such as Crystabel's clothes shop where Ringo seemed to be enjoying her first day of work under her new boss. He also made sure they knew where important places such as the hospital was located, as well as the entrance to the subway in case they ever wanted to go to the Academy, New Raisen, or the Yuuki-onna village.
As they walked around and Alex pointed out various places or people, Sephie, Momo, and even Nana couldn't help but look at him in admiration, while Lala was too busy exploring everything to pay him any attention, and even Yami was more distracted by the sweet pastry shops around them. Not only did Alex know every little place around Asora, but he even pointed out specific citizens and referred to them by name as they passed, something that next to no 'rulers' were able to do. With several people around them doing the same and greeting Alex with a sincere smile as if it was normal, Sephie could tell that Alex regularly interacted with those he 'ruled' over whereas other rulers would more or less ignore their citizens until they either had to make an address, or resolve some kind of issue or conflict.
Eventually of course though it was time to make their way to the grand building overlooking the entire city, where all of the most important discussions and decisions occurred. The Devilukians and Yami looked around in awe at the blend of designs that had been incorporated, to include those from Heaven, the Underworld, the Grigori, and even traditional Japanese for the Youkai. That wasn't all though, as there were also plans to remodel to include coral-like designs for the dagon race, ice that never melted for the Yukki-onna, and even walls that looked to be perpetually on fire for the phoenixes. As the building that they essentially ran Asora from, it was long since decided that every major faction and race living in Asora would be represented there, lest any feelings of 'superiority' or 'inferiority' begin to sprout amongst residents.
After a short tour around the grand building, they finally arrived at the board room, where everyone else was waiting for them even though there was still several minutes until it was time to start. The moment Alex entered several of those gathered nodded at him respectfully, while a few such as the Snow Priestess, and even Adul stood and bowed their heads at him. Slightly inclining his own head back in return, Alex gestured for them to sit but the Snow Priestess remained standing until he finally took his own seat at the head of the large table, while Anne was sitting to his immediate right as his first wife. To begin things he then said,
"Thanks everyone for coming on short notice. Before we begin I'd like to introduce Sephie, the former queen of the galactic kingdom of Deviluke, her three daughters Lala, Nana, and Momo, and then my newest 'Pawn', Yami." After Alex introduced them the women did a slight bow while greeting everyone themselves, though Alex was sure that he noticed a tinge of redness on Yami's cheeks when she noticed the looks she was receiving after he referred to her as his 'Pawn'. The looks she received were mild though compared to Sephie, who had donned her veil before they even left the Misty Manor.
After the group Alex brought, the next ones to be introduced to everyone was Tear, Mikado and Oshizu, who Anne had brought to tour the hospital before coming to the meeting, while Tear had been taken to the Academy to see her new lab and classroom. And finally the last one to be introduced to everyone was Elizabeth, who had been brought by Grayfia because, even if Sephie was speaking for them as a whole, it didn't mean she knew that much about the Pandora themselves.
With introductions out of the way, the meeting was finally able to get started as Alex asked for an update on anything he might have missed since he secluded himself three days prior.
Cam of course was the first one to speak up, as he happily reported that the Haulia were taking their new 'training' in stride, and that the screams they were helping produce could be heard across every corner of their compound. Of course pretty much everyone present hadn't known what Alex decided to do with those who supported 'that' man, or of the training he assigned the killer rabbits, and based off of Cam's sadistic and slightly insane smile, they decided not to ask.
Then was Barakiel and Hajime's combined report regarding what they had learned from the Devilukian battleships, and how they were dismantling the great ships. Naturally the Devilukian girls showed a bit of hesitation when they heard about their former flagship being destroyed, as it had essentially been their home away from home whenever they traveled through space. However, with it having most recently functioned as their prison when under 'that' man's control, none of them could find the will to speak up to prevent its destruction.
Then it was the Snow Priestess of the Yuuki-onna settlement's turn to speak up, as she reported that her people were busily building the places needed to attract men, and women too she supposed. The primary thing the Yuuki-onna were building was a winterized resort, which might not mean much right now when all of Asora was in the middle of winter, but would be much enjoyed when they transitioned to the year-long summer.
The resort was planned to included several slopes for winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, sledding, trails for hiking and snowshoeing, and most excitingly, a genuine hot springs after Alex used Gravity magic manipulate some lava veins for them. Though the race of women couldn't stand the intense heat, it was a feature that everyone was looking forward to, Alex because there were few better ways to relax than in a hot springs during winter, and the Yuuki-onna due to the 'all inclusive service' they intended to give some of the male visitors.
Though this made the hot springs seem like little more than a brothel, the Snow Priestess assured Alex and the others that none of the snow women who would be working the hot springs minded this, as their first priority was increasing the number of their people. It was seemingly only as an afterthought that the Snow Priestess even remembered to mention that they had officially named their new village as well, to the interesting sounding name of Yukiguni.
After her was just a few other miscellaneous reports from the other representatives, before Alex finally decided to speak up himself. Firstly he gave a bit of background regarding their newest residents, and an explanation regarding their previous situation and current status. Of course the girls paled as he briefly recounted what happened to them, but they held themselves together well even as they received a fair amounts of looks of pity.
When Alex started talking about what they'd be doing from here forward though, Barakiel couldn't help but ask while glancing at Rosswiess,
"Wouldn't most of, if not all, of these Pandora simply join the Valkyries? I would think a group of all female warriors would be perfect for their ranks." Instead of Alex however it was Rosswiess who answered,
"True, but there are certain complications regarding that. For the time being we're monitoring them and how they are reacting to their new situation, and, depending on their attitude, they'll receive an invitation to join our ranks." Though there was some mild confusion at her words, everyone simply assumed that by 'complications' Rossweisse was simply referring to what happened. As such, Elizabeth couldn't help but speak up,
"I think most of them might be ready for it despite what happened. After all, there are already a bunch of us who joined miss Grayfia's combat maids." This time it was Alex who replied, as he answered,
"True, but that's not the reason they haven't been invited to join the Valkyries yet. It's because of the raw arrogance, self entitlement, and viciousness towards each other that several of the Pandora have shown they possess." Elizabeth's eyes visibly widened when she heard that, while everyone else's narrowed as frowns appeared on their faces. Alex then continued,
"Despite the fact that they were supposed to be humanity's only hope against the Nova, the majority of the Pandora were women that came from wealthy or influential families, and had the ego and attitude of such. This, combined with being granted physical power beyond what a normal person should have been capable of, led to many of them needlessly harassing each other in ways that far surpassed simple bullying, and was instead in the realm of just being cruel and sadistic."
As he paused Alex held up his hand and used Regeneration magic to replay a scene that he had witnessed a few days back through his 'Domain', showing a group of five Pandora when they were supposed to be doing their chores. Instead only one Pandora was actually working, while another was being used as a chair as two more were fawning over the girl sitting on her own comrade, showering her with praise as she complained about the work they had been given.
"To think, they expect the great Felice Mojave to toil and slave like a mere 'servant'! Who do they think they are?!" The girl sneered before digging the heel of her shoe into the butt of the girl that doing their work for them, sending her falling to the ground as the cleaner she had been using spilled all over her.
"Useless!" She snorted as she watched the cleaner spill to make an even bigger mess that she helped make, but Felice never even made an attempt to stand up and help clean it as the girl she kicked hurriedly tried to mop it up instead. After that Felice continued to slander and bad mouth Alex and those who had saved them for another minute or so, before he cut off the projection and stated,
"Though we've already separated her from her friends and set someone to watch over her to make sure she does actually do her work, the fact that some Pandora are already starting to act this way says a lot about their character as a whole. And I refuse to give anyone who would act like this another chance to abuse their abilities and authority." Rossweise nodded and added,
"I've already put down the two girls that were being bullied on the list of those I'd invite to join the Valkyries, while the other two are considered to be on a 'probation'. As for the ringleader, Felice, has been red lighted from ever being able to join us, and Alex has also mentioned possibly stripping her of the Stigma that grants the Pandora their power." This time it was Vali who spoke up, and asked,
"Isn't that a little harsh for someone for a bit of attitude? I don't know these girls, but that seems a little mild after what they've gone through." Alex nodded and replied,
"Typically you'd be right, however after looking into her past a bit, Felice had also been the main instigator in several conflicts with her fellow Pandora even before falling into 'that' man's hands. One specific incident was when she took another Pandora's beloved pet turtle, killed it accidentally through improper handling, and then used its rotting corpse to psychologically attack the Pandora in question while forty other Pandora ganged up on her, despite the girl in questions supposedly being the weakest one in their class." This time it was Vali's turn to frown, as, despite being obsessed with getting stronger and a battle junkie, even he would never use his strength treat others like that.
After going over a few other points involving the Pandora, Alex then moved onto the next thing he wanted to discuss, "I'm considering bringing the Mars of this world into Asora's space, and maybe doing the same with the barren planets from other worlds we'll visit." There was a stunned silence at this as everyone took in what he said, before Barakiel said,
"I'm sorry?" Alex smiled wryly at his confusion, and explained,
"After the time and effort we've put into making it survivable, and with Hajime's prototype energy suppliers still running on it, I think we should take it to continue working on terraforming it. Not to mention that it'll serve as the best place to train or spar while going all out without having to worry about the potential environmental backlash." Sairaorg looked confused when Alex said this, and asked,
"Isn't that what the space-time orbs are for? Why go through the trouble of trying to bring an entire planet here?"
"Because, for one we don't know how much power we can actually use inside the space-time orbs without them exploding, and two it'd be useful to have a place where we didn't have to worry about the negative effects our actions will have on the environment around us."
To this everyone else couldn't help but agree due to the fact that they needed to be aware of the impact any of their experiments or actions would have on the habitat of Asora, while no one knew if the space-time orbs had a breaking point, something no one really wanted to find out the hard way. With everyone agreeing, Alex then continued,
"As I said I'll also try to collect barren planets from other worlds that we visit, and with these we can experiment with terraforming them to produce creatures and environments none of us have ever seen after placing a few time manipulation formations similar to the space-time orbs on them." When he said this several people looked eager to see the result of basically starting life on a planet, and then seeing it leap ahead by centuries or millennia every time they visited. As the chatter regarding this topic died down though, Alex then moved on and said what he considered the most important topic that he'd cover,
"I've also decided what the next world we're going to is once my cool down ends." This time there was dead silence as a lot of people stopped talking and were paying a lot more attention to him, and Alex continued,
"Anne wants to get stronger, and what happened with 'that' man was an eye opener regarding the other reincarnators and what they might be doing. And so, I decided that the next world we'll go to is the one where her Dragon Slayer magic originated, and where a few reincarnators may be, Earthland(Fairy Tail).
***
While the meeting was going on in Asora, another very different meeting was taking place on earth. It was in one of the many Shuzen family manors that dotted the land of Japan, where Issa had taken the remaining members of his family after the battle, as they prepared to help Mikogami and Touhou pave the way for coexistence after the existence of monsters was revealed to the world.
Instead though, the manor was largely destroyed as a result of the battle that had just taken place within it, and Issa was on his knees along with the rest of his remaining subordinates after they had all just been defeated by the figure sitting before them. Panting after the intense battle they had just been through, Issa then directed a fierce gaze at the figure that had defeated them singlehandedly, and demanded,
"There must have been a reason for all of this, so what is it?" As he spoke the rest of his subordinates glanced up at the petite figure as well, each waiting for an explanation for her actions since they had all thought that they were allies. However, the only response they immediately got was the small smirk that could be seen at the edges of Yue's lips.