Venus and I had our marriage ceremony and everything went by smoothly. Venus immediately grabbed my hand then dragged me out of the altar and to the castle. Charlotte noticed and groaned softly and crossed her arms. She stood up and walked out of the altar. Raven watched then stood up as well. She followed Charlotte.
"Should we stop Lady Charlotte?" Yukari asked.
"Nah, Raven's got that under control." Felix said then stood up.
Venus pinned me on the bed as she mounted on top of me and smirked. She moved her hips forward and looked into my eyes. "After a perfect wedding, we deserve the perfect night..~ How else shall we spend it than a night of hot and steamy sex..?~"
"Yeah..?~" I smirked.
"Yeah..." She said then kissed my lips.
I kissed back then we heard a knock on the door. Venus pulled away and sighed.
"What is it?! I'm with my husband and we are about to have sex so if you could please-"
Charlotte kicked the door open and glared at Venus. We looked at Charlotte and she was more than ready to fight for possession over me. "I only remained silent at the wedding because it was beneficial to Luceros. By Exalos being Luceros territory now, we got what we needed. Marriage is all you're getting out of this..! You aren't having sex with Ares!"
"Uh-huh..~" Venus smirked and grabbed my wrist and made me grip her ass. "I'm sure he wants me as much as I want him..~ You're free to join and have a little threesome with us..~"
"Fuck that! I want my intimate sex time with Ares ALONE and I won't share it with some succubus who plans to take him away from me." Charlotte said.
Venus sat up and looked at Charlotte. "How about a little competition then. A perfect wife must know how to cook, clean, and defend her husband when needed. If you win, I won't take him away from you. If I win...I get him whenever I want...and keep him for how ever long I want~"
"Tch! You're on.." Charlotte said and glared.
"Oh nooo Charlotte please don't do anything-" Raven started and noticed the door that was kicked open. "Dang...too late...oh well. We get a cat fight."
"We will need Judges. Ares will be one and..." Venus looked around for another potential judge then noticed Raven. "You there! Judge our competition!"
"Me? Alright." Raven shrugged.
"First Match! Cooking Battle!" Venus said then warped us all in the kitchen.
Raven and I sat at a table and watched the two women prepared their first dish. Venus and Charlotte moved at a fast place and prepared their dishes efficiently. Neither woman was showing any signs of struggle.
"So I wonder what Charlotte is going to make. She hasn't cooked a single dish since her kingdom was destroyed." Raven said.
"Seriously?" I asked.
"Yeah, but she has a very concentrated mind. She cooked everyday to the point things become second nature to her. Charlotte is more than a rich woman who is a narcissist and a total possessive freak. When Charlotte has something to prove she proves it no matter the task." Raven said.
"Done!" Both women said then placed their plates in front of us.
"Venus." Both me and Raven said.
"What?!" Charlotte said in shock.
"I'm sorry, hamburgers are just better." Raven shrugged.
I looked at the burgers Venus made and it was just cooked to perfection. I picked one of them up and took a bite out of it then closed my eyes. Raven looked at me and noticed me blushing. I lowered my head.
"Is it good, my love?~" Venus asked.
"It's perfect..." I said. "How..? How can someone cook this perfectly..?"
"H-Hey! Try mine, My King!" Charlotte whined.
I looked at Charlotte's food and took a piece out of whatever it was. "What is it?"
"Rosemary and Seasoned Boar..~" Charlotte smiled.
I ate the piece I had in my hand then my heart thumped hard. "Whoa..." I said then took another piece. It was some of the juiciest meats I've ever had, pause.
"Wow he's...really going at it." Raven said.
"I change my mind, Charlotte wins this one." I said.
"Hehe!" Charlotte smiled.
"It's still one to one so it's anyone's game." Raven said.
"Round 2!" Venus said then hurried back to the stove.
I watched and noticed how hard Charlotte was working. She wanted to win so she could have me to herself or at the very least keep me away from Venus. Raven watched and yawned. It was getting pretty late, but Raven wanted to stay up for Charlotte and pushed herself.
"You can head to sleep if you'd like, I'm more than capable of handling this myself." I said.
"Mm-mmm...I'm alright. It's actually pretty refreshing to see Charlotte work this hard. A human going against a devil...You don't see this everyday." Raven said.
I looked at Raven then looked at Charlotte. I smiled and understood what Raven meant. Charlotte worked hard on the battlefield, worked hard to win the competition at Luceros, but nothing compares to her pure concentration here against Venus. It was almost like she was in a flow state.
"Done!" Venus and Charlotte said.
They made dessert this time.
"My Aevum Specialty!~ Caramel and Cocoa Cheesecake~" Charlotte smiled.
"Ha! Nothing beats my Banana Cinnamon Sundae." Venus smirked.
I tried Charlotte's desert first because I loved cheesecake. My heart melted and I made a sound of pure happiness. Charlotte smiled at me and blushed slightly. I tried Venus's sundae and it was absolutely delicious, once again it was made to perfection, but Charlotte's dessert had more soul put into it.
"Charlotte." I said.
"Yeah I'd have to go with Charlotte." Raven shrugged.
"Three to One. Charlotte wins this one." I smiled.
"That's just one Match. Tomorrow we have a long day so get ready to get your butt kicked!" Venus said then snapped her fingers then the kitchen was cleaned spotless.
I noticed a crow at the window then stood up and grunted softly. "I've got an errand to run really quickly. I'll probably crash where I'm at so I'll be here tomorrow to see the little battle."
"Okay My King~ Safe travels~" Charlotte smiled and blew me a kiss.
Venus smiled and walked to me. She stopped me then I looked at her. She kissed my lips deeply and passionately, biting my lip softly and taking me by surprise. She pulled away and looked into my eyes. "Be safe..~"
"Yeah...I will." I nodded then she let me go and I walked off.
Charlotte had her jaw hanging low and watched Venus walk back to her. Raven was also a bit surprised.
"Personally.." Raven said. "I would never let someone do that to my man out of pure spite. That was very petty."
"Petty..?~ No it was a calculated move...he knows after that kiss, he knows that I can do things he could never imagine..~" Venus smiled.
I made my way to the Outing Portal that was being guarded by two demons. They let me go through and I walked to the portal. I wondered if I could manipulate the transportation magic of this portal so I could go to the location I wanted to go to. I held my hand out then manipulated the portal and noticed a clear image of the Rosehome Woods. I walked into the portal and landed in Rosehome Woods. I looked at my hand then nodded and made my way to the Blackthorn Kingdom.
Once I made it a crow lead me to the main home of Merla. The door opened and I looked inside, seeing Merla sipping on her tea. I looked around and walked in then the door closed.
"Merla." I said.
Merla opened her eyes and looked at me. "God-Emperor...You return."
I walked to her and noticed a new scar on her thigh. "What happened..? That scar wasn't there before..!"
"I...got into a fight and lost. Luckily some of my larger followers were there to drive them off.." Merla said then watched me turn her to me. "Truly, you do not have to heal me. I am already broken beyond repair."
I placed my hand on her thigh then took it off. I looked at my hand and as I suspected...It was a fresh wound. I began to heal her scar and looked at her leg. "You need to be careful. You are now an easier prey since you can't fly without the help of your wing of darkness."
"I am fine, God-Emperor. I-"
"You're not fine." I said then looked up at her. I began to notice more things wrong with her. Her claw was chipped and broken, her left eye was scarred, and her good wing began to lose its feathers slowly. "Merla...You aren't fine. At all.."
Merla stared at me. "A damaged woman like me isn't deserving of your sympathy. It was foolish of me to think I can exact my revenge as I am. I can no longer fly. I don't even leave the forest let alone the kingdom unless I have to. The vibrant colors...beautiful lights...such beauty I will no longer be able to experience. I've already accepted the fact that I no longer have use. That is why I am damaged beyond repair. I can't be fixed, I don't even deserve this time with you after trying to kill you before.."
I looked at Merla then stood up. She looked up at me then felt me stroke her hair. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of affection she hadn't felt in a long time. She held my hand then placed it on the middle of her chest so I could feel her heartbeat.
"My heart no longer beats. It no longer makes a sound. I can only focus on my revenge for all of the deaths of my children...just be the one getting hurt more. I was married once and he was killed. My children. Dead. My family dead. I am the only one of my bloodline, my new children are mere birds who follow me. I can't have anymore children because the one mate I had.." Merla started then I placed a finger in her lips. She looked at me and blushed slightly.
"I can't bare to listen to you speak like this anymore. You're rambling...People ramble when they are sad. Why won't you just cry? I'm here. Cry on me. I can tell when someone is hurting and bottling up their pain." I said.
"I want to cry, but I can't...I just can't. Besides...the pain has washed away a long time ago..." Merla said.
I could hear her voice breaking. I could tell that it's been a long time since someone has truly cared for her. Since someone has talked to her. I rubbed her shoulders and made her look at me. "Merla...let it out. I don't want to watch you suffer anymore..."
Merla looked at me and looked down. I felt her body shaking. She began to break and I hugged her. She sobbed on me. She held onto me and cried. I looked at her and rubbed her hair. She gripped my shirt and let it all out. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. She felt so weak for the first time in forever. A burden on her shoulders was finally released. Her eyes were opened to reality. The pain never went away, but she never dealt with it and only pushed it away to make herself not sad.
I gently rose her head and she looked at me with her tear filled eyes. I caressed her cheek and she sniffled and closed her eyes. "It's okay to cry...It's okay to be weak. You have it hard enough, but now I'm here...I'm here for you to lean on...for you to..depend on. For you to cry on."
"Why..? Why..? You'll just end up dead like him...I'm a stroke of bad luck.." Merla said.
"The Fourth God-Emperor was an evil tyrant...but I am not and I promise to you that I will not die no matter what." I said.
"What if I become broken again..?" Merla asked.
"I'll just fix you like I just did.." I said.
"What if I get hurt and you're not around..?" Merla asked.
"Your crows will warn me and bring me back to you so I can heal you.." I said.
"Why do you want to help me..? I'm beyond help..!" Merla said.
"Because even I know how it feels to be in your position." I said.
Merla looked at me.
"I know how it feels to be depressed. How it feels to fall so far into the darkness, to fall into the never ending abyss with no one to help you. That's why I'm reaching my hand out to you so you won't fall too far...We may not see eye to eye right now, but soon...I can just tell you'll be smiling by the end of this week.." I smiled.
Merla stared at me then reached up to touch my cheeks slowly. She looked into my eyes. "It's...been so long since someone has ever cared for me...so long since I've-"
Merla's crows squawked loudly and we looked out the window.
"Kill every last one of them! We must find that bitch of a queen! She killed one of our cubs!" A male voice roared.
"The Tiger Clan.." Merla said in a panicked tone.
A man kicked down the door and looked at us. "I found her! Let's kill-" The man dropped dead from an energy spike I sent through his body.
"God-Emperor!" Merla said.
I held Merla's hand then we ran out if the house. I noticed what the Tiger Clan looked like. They were a gang of Anthropomorphic Tigers who were armored up and ready to kill Merla.
"Kill her!" A tiger soldier bellowed.
I kept Merla close to me as we began to become surrounded. I glared at them as they began to surround us.
"And the God-Emperor is here. Send our Divine Beast!" A tiger soldier called out then a loud roar was heard.
"God-Emperor..!" Merla called out to me and pointed up.
I looked at her and looked up then picked up Merla, bridal style and dodged an attack from above. I landed on my feet and looked at the Divine Beast. He was another anthropomorphic tiger, but he had angel wings and divine symbols on his body. He carried a godslaying weapon and pointed it at me.
"God-Emperor! It's time we get back at your bloodline for what the Fourth did to us! We will also kill that bitch bird for killing one of our princes!" The Divine Beast roared.
"Hmph...if you want us...you're gonna have to catch us!" I said then ran off with Merla in my arms. I cawed at the crows and ravens for them to follow us. They did as I commanded and Merla looked surprised.
"You can speak my language..?" She asked.
"Yeah, and I told them to block the enemy's view so I can do this!" I said then transformed into my God Form then vanished at light speeds.
"Get out of the way!" The tiger soldiers bellowed and slashed at the crows and ravens then they flew off in the sky in random directions. "They're gone!"
"Dammit...we lost them. Men hunt them down! We shall not let them escape!" The Divine Beast bellowed. His army bellowed and ran off.
I stopped at another part of the forest and looked at the sign. "Slimesville..?"
"Eek!" Merla squawked as a blob of slime fell on her.
I looked at Merla then looked up. "Oh my fucking god."
There was a slime dragon flying above us and let our a gargling roar.
"This night can't get any worse.." I said.