188 Collision : Reflection

After retreating to a wasteland located a few dozen kilometers away from Wind Port, Atofe stopped to take stock of her surroundings, noting, "This ought to be far enough from any major population zones..."

Having used the same wasteland several times in the past, Atofe couldn't help smiling as she looked around at several familiar markings, the legacy of battles both ancient and modern. Then, as a countermeasure against Alek's Gravity Magic, she began stripping off the pieces of her armor until she was left with nothing but a leotard-like undertunic.

Assuming she had a bit of time to kill before Alek's arrival, Atofe started performing a series of exercises known as calisthenics, a creation of her late husband. Such routines were useless for a member of the Immortal Demon Tribe, but they helped Atofe get in the proper 'groove' for a good fight. After all, with the most recent exception of Ei, the only person who could get her blood boiling was her husband. Paul was getting there, but he would need to defeat her in single combat before she admitted it...

Noticing his Grandmother performing a very familiar routine, Alek elected not to sneak attack her. Instead, he touched down just ten meters away, his expression unchanging as he observed her with an unblinking, almost statuesque smile.

Though she noticed Alek landing behind her, Atofe only acknowledged him towards the end of her workout, asking, "Why have you returned to the Demon Continent? Weren't you supposed to be in isolation until the resurrection of Laplace?"

Since he hadn't come to the Demon Continent seeking revenge for the way Atofe treated him in the past, Alek maintained his usual smile as he confidently replied, "I have it on good authority that a great disaster will occur if Paul Greyrat is allowed to continue pursuing his ambitions. If you know where I can find him, please tell me."

Crossing her arms in defiance, Atofe remarked, "I know you're an idiot, but have you gone soft in the head? Since when do Heroes hunt people down based on acts they 'might' commit? Sounds to me like you're being fooled into doing someone else's dirty work."

Furrowing his brows, Alek was going to refute his Grandmother's words but stopped himself. Seventy years of pseudo-isolation had given him a lot of time to think about the type of Hero he wanted to be, and it wasn't the type that pursued people for crimes they had yet to commit.

Surprised by Alek's clear introspection, Atofe blinked several times and remarked, "Well, would you look at that. Someone's come a long way. A few decades ago, you would have argued with everything I said..."

Regaining his smile, Alek mused, "Well, I am 75% human. My aging may have slowed to a crawl, but I'm constantly changing and adapting to my surroundings."

Adopting a smile of her own, Atofe nodded her head in approval, saying, "That's great to hear, Alek. Still, if my previous words weren't enough to convince you, consider this. Unless they were somehow made aware of the cataclysm in advance, who do you think humans would hold in higher esteem? The Hero who stopped a prophesied catastrophe from occurring or the Hero who defeated the person responsible? Humans have trouble caring about things they can't see or experience directly. Defeating Paul Greyrat right this instant might make you a Hero, but the only people who would care are those who stand to profit from his death."

Lowering his gaze slightly, Alek appeared to be considering Atofe's words before responding, "You make a good point...however..."

Pointing the forked tip of his sword at Atofe, Alek's usual smile revealed a hint of wryness as he revealed, "I promised the woman I love that I would defeat Paul Greyrat and prevent the devastation his actions would induce. Doing so may not increase my standing as a Hero, but I'm supposed to be in training until the resurrection of Laplace. I can afford to eliminate a few brigands and murderers without seeking glory."

Extending her hand towards her own sword, Atofe's aura began to swell as she developed a vicious smile and said, "I take back my earlier praise. You're still an idiot..."

Exhaling a light-hearted chuckle, Alek's aura increased to rival Atofe's as he playfully replied, "Well, I am your Grandson..."

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After transferring most of his power and authority to the twin Demon Empresses, the only notable permissions Paul had left were the right to move freely throughout the castle and the right to have Fayde teleport him to and from Fort Necross. He technically had the status of a Demon Emperor, but as he had no intention of making such information public, it was useless to him.

With Paul keeping his word, rather than taking advantage of his status to order them around, the first thing Kishirika and Kishirisu did following the transfer of power was drag him off to 'commemorate' their tripartite union. He initially suggested they return to Fort Necross to ease the concerns of those left behind, but the duo promptly vetoed his suggestion and 'forced' him into a six-hour session of lovemaking.

Though he had participated in several threesomes in the past, Paul got to experience just how demonic the two Kishirikas could be as they worked together to tease and 'antagonize' him into being a lot more forceful than usual. He had to put his foot down when Kishirisu retrieved a strap-on and attempted to peg him, but he didn't mind tying the two up and testing out their rather extensive collection of bondage equipment.

Like many long-lived Demons, Kishirika and Kishrisu had distorted views on what constituted 'excessive' play. In the ancient past, long before her original death, Kishirika was even worse than the most perverse members of the Asuran Nobility. She had avoided killing anyone, but the number of people she had 'broken' exceeded a thousand.

As fate would have it, one of the people Kishirika ended up breaking was the childhood sweetheart of Ars, a transmigrator that had appeared in the world of Mushoku Tensei alongside twenty-eight similarly aged teens and a single adult. The group's appearance had caused quite the stir, not only because they were the first of their kind but because each and every one of them possessed a unique power.

Hearing this while nestled between the two naked beauties, Paul couldn't help remarking, "Sounds like an entire class got transported at the same time..."

Feeling absentminded after blowing his load dozens of times, Paul didn't register that he had basically admitted to being an otherworlder until the two Demonesses narrowed their eyes at him, Kishirisu responding, "That's right. They claimed to be a teacher and students of Kokusai High School, a purportedly famous academy from their homeland of Tokyo, Japan..."

Regaining his mental clarity, Paul's smile visibly cramped as he found his new wives boring into him with their stares. He knew Kishirika had always suspected him of being from another world, but she had never pressured him for details since he bore this world's 'imprint.'

Realizing he had backed himself into a corner, Paul was about to reveal the truth when Kishirika abruptly said, "It doesn't matter where you came from. So long as you're able to defeat Hitogami, I couldn't care less about the specifics. Now, where were we...?"

Though she 'was' interested in Paul's origins, Kishirisu ultimately decided to play off of Kishirika's words, responding, "Our inquisitive little husband here was asking us how we came to be so 'proficient' with the use of our tools. I believe we were about to tell him how our 'coincidental' encounter with Ars' sweetheart eventually led to our downfall...?"

"Ah, I believe you are correct, my contemporaneous coequal! We really must be cut from the same cloth for you to be this astute. Kishishishi~!"

Rolling her eyes, Kishirisu decided to continue the story, revealing, "We initially only had a mild interest in Ars and his group. However, after a few months had passed, they started attacking our borders and accusing our people of stealing land and resources. We attempted to reason with them, but it wasn't long before things escalated to an all-out war. It wasn't until much later that we found out the reason..."

Sharing the same memories, Kishirika exhaled a sigh as she rested her head against Paul and muttered, "We can't say for sure if he was the one responsible, but someone told Ars and his classmates that the only way to return to their world was to defeat us. We attempted to end the conflict by offering to help them figure out a way to return, but it was already too late. Nearly half of Ars's classmates had lost their lives during the conflict, and, though we didn't know it at the time, one of the slaves we purchased to relieve stress ended up being the girl he had a crush on..."

As if they had rehearsed the same script, Kishirisu seamlessly followed Kishirika's account by stating, "Once we were finished with her, we asked Badi to deliver Ars's beloved to one of our battalions near the frontline. A soldier's life can be pretty stressful, never knowing when they might die, so slaves and captured prisoners were commonly sent to the frontlines as stress relief..."

Noticing the frown on Paul's face, Kishirika interrupted Kishirisu's account, expressing, "War is a terrifying and horrendous ordeal, Paul. Even more so when one side refuses to even consider an accord. I'm not going to argue that we did nothing wrong; we most certainly did. However, until you have experienced the horrors of war for yourself, you can't judge the actions of those forced into it. You could attempt to, but you would just be spewing platitudes from a position of ignorance, likely backed by a very privileged upbringing."

Though he couldn't agree with Kishirika's words on principle, Paul didn't attempt to argue against them. Even with two lives under his belt, he only had forty-one years of experience under his belt. Compared to Kishirika's ten thousand years, he still had a long way to go...

Amused by equally approving of Paul's clearly reluctant silence, Kishirika adopted her characteristic grin as she remarked, "That's one of the things I love about you. You have an overdeveloped sense of righteousness, but you at least try to see things from the perspectives of others. Not a lot of people can say the same, Demon or otherwise..."

Nodding her head in agreement, Kishirius appended, "Kishirika is correct. Had you the ambition and means, you would make an excellent ruler...not just of Demonkind, but all races..."

Forcing a smile, Paul replied, "We'll see. For now, I'm more concerned with increasing my strength, protecting the people I care about, and voyaging across the world. I'll only consider becoming a King or Emperor 'after' I've attained their equivalent Rank in swordsmanship..."

Since they were content with Paul just seeking Hitogami's death, neither Kishirika nor Kishirisu tried to argue with him. Instead, the duo exchanged glances before adopting near-identical smiles. Then, without the need for words, they simultaneously lowered their hands toward Paul's semi-erect penis, Kishirisu musing, "It's a little too late for that. You might not care to announce it, but you're already an Emperor."

Drawing her lips closer to Paul's ear, Kishirika added, "She's right...now that we have consummated our relationship, you'll forever be the husband of two Demon Empresses. You can run away, play envoy to some King, or even establish your own nation, but you can never escape the reality that you're the first and only Great Demon Emperor..."

Exhaling an exasperated yet slightly heated sigh, Paul briefly pondered how his decisions had led to him serving as the meat of a Demon Empress sandwich. Less than three seconds later, he had the duo's breasts in his palms, trading kisses with them as they worked together to motivate his not-so-little brother for another session of intense lovemaking...

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