Chapter 824: The Fun Is Over, Emperor
In the middle of enjoying another round with the two women, a knock sounded from behind Asmodeus and the girls. Before he could turn to see their face, he heard the familiar tap of Lumina’s exoskeleton hitting the floor.
Then her calm, steady voice echoed.
"Emperor, the fun’s over. It’s time to get dressed, and come with me."
’What?’
He quickly turned to the voice, finding her against the wall with two pairs of arms folded underneath her breasts, squeezing them tightly and emphasising them as the others dangled at her sides.
However, he didn’t comment on them out of respect.
Lumina only wore her exoskeletal armour when there was a battle or something important to deal with. If she came in a flowing dress or normal clothes, he might be able to have a bit of fun, but not like this.
She stared at him with her beautiful ruby eyes.
"Sorry, I didn’t want to do this, but there isn’t any time."
He quickly slipped from Vinea’s body and turned to face Lumina, grabbing a nearby robe from the corner of the bed.
"Lumina, what’s happened?"
Her emotionless face stirred at his question as she leaned her head to the side.
"The filthy humans have launched an attack on the Beast Empire."
"W-What!? How?"
Asmodeus gritted his teeth, thinking about his children studying in the beast empire along with his beloved wives.
Lumina could contain such emotional rage, her fingers tapping the wall as she continued to inform him. "They sent a few elite ships avoiding the maelstroms and Vespian straight early this morning, before burning half the forest."
"What’s the damage and casualties? Do we need to head there?!"
Beads of sweat dripped down his cheeks, his brain rapidly turning on possible methods of deployment and how to strike back.
That’s when four pale white palms pressed into his vision.
"My Emperor, calm down!"
Lumina’s voice snapped him out of the sudden frenzy.
"There is no need to worry, the Empress and I have posted two thousand Valkyrie in the main cities of each nation just in case something happened."
’Huh?! When did they do this?’
"You look confused, My beloved Emperor." Lumina’s tone shifted, no longer the cold and matter-of-fact voice from a moment before, but a hint of warmth and sweetness leaked into it as she tapped his cheeks with her multitude of fingers.
"We did so from the moment you came back to us. The capital doesn’t need them all; we have the Demon Knights and Warriors. Even if they remained, at this stage their power isn’t enough to fight any of our enemies but the Empire, right?"
Asmodeus took a deep breath.
He wasn’t the great leader everyone hyped him up to be, if not for these elite women propping up his weaknesses.
How quickly would my Empire crumble...?
"Phew, with you and Serena beside me. I now realise how I could endure and enjoy life for so long without any serious pressure. But this cannot continue. Please include me in future talks. Lumina. I want to help you... to take your burdens too."
Lumina’s ruby eyes sparkled.
She wasn’t one to hide her emotions when dealing with Asmodeus or their children, so the moment his soft words reached her ears, she melted.
Asmodeus hugged her tight, his fingers interlocking with hers.
"Without you, what would I do... Lumi?"
"Ah, husband..." The softest woman in his harem was the one with the toughest outer shell. He didn’t understand why, but Lumina would do anything for him. "Please, we can’t do this... You stink of other women..."
That’s why he always treated her well.
"Oh, forgive me. I was rude."
He pulled back before snapping his fingers.
A beautiful array of ocean blue and emerald runes flashed around his body, quickly blasting him with a surge of wind and hot water that quickly flushed away the excess scents and filth from his body.
After the initial burst, a gust of hot wind swirled around his body, drying and absorbing the excess dirt and water into the floating rune before fading.
"Better?"
"Mhm, much better!" Her eight sets of hands all clapped.
"Though I would prefer to enjoy some time with you, I assume Yumiko and Yuina have already arrived with the kids?"
Lumina linked his arm as they naturally began to leave Alice’s bedchamber, the two women in no state to talk after a prolonged mating session.
They might’ve taken the lead in the first six hours, but once he activated his Domain and made the pair suffer for two days, everything ended in the overlord’s victory.
Though he still made sure to leave some iced water and a kiss on their foreheads before taking Lumina’s arm.
"Mhm, Yumiko arrived first, while Lady Yuina has left for the children’s palace."
None of the usual knights appeared on their way to the main hall, instead of meeting in the war room today it would be the throneroom where he would meet his various in-laws and decide on the future of their continent.
He was grateful to have Lumina and Serena, who kept things running.
However, he wanted to step up.
"Lumina, I have an order for you as the Emperor of Lumeria."
"!!?"
The arachne’s body shook as she glanced up at him, after staring into his eyes for a few moments. She pulled away and knelt on one knee. "My Esteemed Emperor, please give me your command; this lowly general will become your resolute fist."
"Lumina..."
He adored this woman, once his sworn enemy, now a reformed and devoted arachne wife who shared several daughters with him. If he ever needed her, she would sacrifice even the chitin protecting her heart.
"The order is simple: I want to form a new force, different from the Valkyrie. This force will integrate with the Golden Hare Mercenary group and protect our oceans and coasts, from the eastern Grigor all the way to the southwestern Beast Empire coastal line."
"My Emperor, but the Valkyrie..."
"I know, but those are the precious troops that you, my dear wives, created. I cannot put them in such dangerous situations all the time. This force will be composed primarily of men, and the pay will be high. Use my private account for this, and grant them the concentrated vials of my blood potion."
After hearing him compliment the soldiers she’d created, Lumina’s lashes fluttered like a butterfly’s wings as she nodded.
"Your wish shall be my command."
’Hmph, I know you will do it well.’
He offered his outstretched hand, slowly dragging the arachne to her feet as he spoke into her delicate ear. "Remember, this force is to prevent things like this from happening; the training must be tough, but the reward must be equal to that difficulty."
"Y-Yeash...!?" Lumina bit her tongue as she shook.
"You really don’t change, hahaha. Such lovely and sensitive ears...." He wrapped his arm around her waist, continuing on their way to the throneroom.
The poor Arachne’s cheeks flushed bright red as she lowered her gaze to his hand resting upon her pelvis.
"A-Asmodeus... it’s...."
"Shhh!" He squished her lips with his finger, stopping her words.
"I am entering the room with my wife. Is there a problem?"
"...." Her eyes slipped away from his passionate gaze as the two knights guarding the throne room slammed their polearms and shouted the announcement.
"Now announcing, the light and flame of the Lumerian Empire! His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Asmodeus and her Esteemed Royal Highness Queen Lumina Vincenzo."
The doors cracked open, revealing a room packed with diplomats and the familiar faces of all nations in the land.
’Oh? Alan...’
Asmodeus spotted his best friend, who had become a little recluse, remaining in Grigor and only sometimes visiting Lumeria after the incident with Mephisto and the wedding.
He walked unsteadily, holding a pure white cane in his right hand.
’The corruption....’
Even though Asmodeus managed to save his soul from the former gods’ clutches, the damage of a human body accepting the pure energy of an Abyssal caused a mass buildup of necrosis in his organs and flesh.
’I will save him at any cost...’
However, even using Asmodeus’s blood only granted Alan a few years, holding the corruption at bay rather than curing it.
Beside him, his wife, Akari, now a mature mother of three, gave a polite bow, holding their most recent child, a little girl who barely opened her eyes. Then King Avandar sat with his greying hair, stroking Nyxielle’s head as she pointed and shouted.
"That’s my dad!"
Asmodeus chuckled.
"It’s more like a family gathering room than an Emperor’s throne room."
Lumina’s lips parted, but when she glanced at Asmodeus’s bright smile, she sighed and held his hand tighter. "Isn’t that the kind of nation you wanted? A place where anyone could feel at home and at peace? ...even a monster like me..." she muttered the last line, with a trembling smile.
He heard her and couldn’t let it stand.
’This silly woman, still caught up in the past.’
He ignored the decorum, or procedures and gripped her waist with both hands, quickly lifting and spinning her on the spot as she screamed.
He just chuckled, spinning faster.
"A-Asmodeus!?"
He slowly lowered Lumina and gently pressed their foreheads together, speaking in a gruff, low voice while squeezing her waist.
"Hey, you’re the most beautiful monster I’ve ever met. How about you become my wife?"
"H-Husband...?" Her eight eyes widened as she seemed to forget where they were, leaning on her tiptoes to respond to his offer of a kiss.
Only for a group of children’s voices to come from behind them, as Seris Rae pointed up at them.
"Ahhhh! Dad is tricking Lumina Mama with a kiss again!"
’WHAT!?’
His heart instantly palpitated at the little red-haired devil’s intuition.
Luckily for him, Lumina ignored the words of a little, cute fly and kissed him as she whispered to herself.
"To hell with decorum, to hell with what should be normal.
When was Asmodeus ever normal?"
