The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

While the way Mia and Tia were attacked was concerning, Verka and Zephyr were sure they could modify the warding stones to detect anyone and anything infected with a similar parasite. Irene employed Amber, Luna, Hestia, Lavender, Cahrona, Verka, Hera, and Stella to help her examine Mia and Tia to be absolutely sure that the twins were safe. The Ruinous Powers felt safe inside their realm. However, they could still interfere with our world. So far, the scope of their attacks had been quite impressive. They managed to create a whole army of cultists led by their Voidborn champion, and their Voidtouched henchmen attacked me openly. They deceived an entire race and corrupted most of Devilkins beyond redemption. While their attack wasn't directed at me specifically, ultimately, it was I who had to stop it. The Leylines of the world were slowly recovering, but at this rate, it would take millions of years for them to heal fully. Still, that venue of attack was currently impossible to execute since my incorruptible soldiers would continue to keep the Dragon's Gate open. Because of this, the Ruinous Powers sent their Hero, but he couldn't win against me despite his power. Just now, Chaos and Void tried to use two women to somehow defeat me. How exactly? I had to find the answer. I might have a weakness I am unaware of.

However, the fact that the Ruinous Powers felt safe within their realm was grinding my gears. To sweeten my mood, I thought about constructing a gift for them. Because I was a child of a technologically advanced civilisation, I already had a modest idea of what I wanted to prepare. Ian and I had already re-invented missiles. We started with the good old Tomahawk, SM-6, and JSM. I considered developing hypersonic missiles for a few moments, but the regular ones were already overkill. Building a rocket body was as easy as finding a properly efficient fuel and ignition system. Various warheads were also relatively easy to develop, thanks to conventional explosives and runic stones that could carry a whole array of spells. The actual problem was the targeting system. Radar-homing technology was still out of our reach because we couldn't build a radar that small yet. Ian came up with the horrifying idea of using Pixies as kamikaze pilots, which I quickly refused. Then, we tested remote radio control, which was faulty and potentially prone to jamming. Well, if someone else figures out how to intercept the radio waves, of course.

Eventually, it was Amber who saved the project. She created a spell that allowed us to precisely select a target using our radar systems and then have a missile to follow it until impact. However, she said it was inadequate and locked herself for three evenings in her study with everything I had about missiles. After that time, she emerged with mind-blowing guidance and targeting systems. Her newly developed spells were far better than any solutions I ever knew of. Armed with new but complicated-to-transcribe runes spells, it took us a few weeks of intense work to create the first missiles of Nilmerthis: UMS-1 and UCMS-1. Universal Missile System 1 was a flexible weapon system capable of locking itself on target and carrying one of over thirty various types of payloads. While UMS-1 was a classic Standard Extended Range Active Missile, UCMS-1 was the first and relatively simple medium-range cruise missile. After Ragnar and Verni weighed in, I was sure Ian would significantly expand on missile variety and capabilities.

So I started thinking. If we have already gotten this far, why not build something a bit more spicy just for the Ruinous Powers? They are sitting in their dimension, all sad and lonely. That was why I decided to give them a little something that would make them realise how much of a spiteful person I was. My little gift would be based on the Minuteman V and Trident IV, hopefully containing a cluster of the Armageddon spell transcribed on its runestone warheads. Yeah... I would send them a magic equivalent of an ICBM with a big, fat fuck you painted on the body. As much as I wished to have that weapon already, developing it would take a lot of time. Especially since I wasn't familiar with the construction details of those weapons–I was just a guy who shouted fire when necessary. But once I got hold of it, those elusive fuckers are going to shit themselves every single time a Void Portal opens.

Faintly smiling at my thoughts of nuking the shit out of the gods of Void and Chaos, my mood improved significantly. Already feeling better, I could focus on my other, and honestly, less complicated issue. It was not even a real issue or problem but a decision–what course of action should I take with the Nekomi twins? Truth be told, I liked them, and they liked me. Their feelings were genuine and honest. They were intelligent, competent, and as compassionate as people could be in this cruel world. They were also brave and had the resolve to defy fate even if everything seemed to be against them. Ultimately, I would be a liar if I try denied their charms. They were beautiful, and I simply couldn't comprehend why no one had courted them. Or at least Mia, because the existence of Tia was a national grade secret. However, my point still stood: Mia was a gorgeous woman with a strong character. So there were only two possibilities. My beauty standards were completely different from the standards of nobility and royalty of Aderon, or Eriar was behind it all from the beginning. Whatever it was, the question remained: what should I do? Well, the answer was more and more obvious... Who was going to stop me? In the end, I would do whatever I felt was right and what I wanted to do. And I really wanted them to stay with me. I sighed loudly.

"Power corrupts like hell..."

"Well... You haven't discovered anything new, Theon," Freya's voice answered my rhetorical complaint. "How are you feeling?"

"Hmmm... Depends..." I replied slowly, seeing her cheerful face.

"I thought so, " she said, sitting in a nearby chair. "Let's start whenever you want."

"Sure... Why not?" I took a deep breath. "So I'm pretty comfortable with being called a king... Well, an emperor now-"

"Unlimited power, or do you still remember you should have some humanity left?" she chimed in with a smirk.

"Humu..." I nodded. "Maybe I should do just that? Wake up one day and just choose violence..."

"I was joking!"

"I know. I'm teasing you." I chuckled, and she pouted cutely. "Anyway... I think I have managed to create a fair country with transparent laws and regulations."

"So far so good." She nodded approvingly. "You are not some evil tyrant obsessed with ruling the world."

"Thank you."

"Don't be sarcastic." She smiled and lightly punched my shoulder. "But you are disillusioned with the people, which is unsurprising, after all... I fully support your decision to force that peace conference. But you should invite more observers."

"I couldn't." I shrugged. "The distances are too great to cover. This world is unbelievably vast... Even within Aderon, the distances are so great that only the most determined people dare to cross the entire continent. The delegations of other countries wouldn't make it in time."

"Then why not give them more time?"

"If I give too much time, the Union would believe that I am bluffing and, in reality, I don't have forces capable of fighting them. If they would try to dominate the conference and make outrageous demands, the only thing that could prove them wrong would be us declaring war on them."

"Oh..." Freya slowly nodded. "You gave the Union enough time to make a decision and reach the place without hurry... That way, they could preserve their image within their country."

"Yes," I confirmed, and she sighed heavily. "You don't like the politics."

"At all..." she admitted with a sour expression, falling silent.

"How did you like commanding the Joint Dungeons Forces?" I asked instead, feeling that the previous subjects were over for now.

"It was fine, I guess..." she replied slowly. "It was more like a computer game than a real fight to me. You know, one of those strategy gems we could play back on Earth. Even if someone died, I knew it wasn't permanent; it wasn't real..."

"I felt the same at first, to be honest... There are Dungeons in Everlight that had to be subjugated, Freya. Can I leave them to you?" I asked slowly, seeing her hesitation.

"All right..." She nodded with a bit more confident smile. "I guess we need to control them all before we can feel safe in Arcadia. Besides, I'm not done tinkering with my Berserkers, and I'm getting close to creating my version of Praetorians."

"Theon?" The doors to the other room opened, and Amber looked outside. "Oh, hi, Freya. I didn't know you were still around."

"Hi, Amber." Freya smiled; her bad mood disappeared without a trace. "I haven't decided yet. But maybe I'll stay longer."

"That's great!" Amber smiled back at her and looked at me. "Irene finished, and we haven't found anything else. You can come in now."

We followed her into a big room where Irene discussed something with Verka. The only people beside them were the twins, who lounged in comfortable recliner chairs. They looked tired, but their stamina slowly regenerated as they sipped the fruit juice. I smiled at them, and they smiled back, waving happily towards me, but they stayed in the chairs. While Amber and Freya went towards the twins, I approached Irene and Verka.

"It's good that you are here, Theon. We might have found how the sisters were infected with the Void Parasites," Irene said in a hushed voice.

"I don't like that you used the word 'infected,' Irene. This might cause a lot of trouble," I replied, and she nodded sadly with a very sour expression.

"While we don't know much about that curse or whatever it really is, we at least think we have found a reliable way of detecting it." Irene took out detailed pictures of the two similar parasites and handed them to me. "I can already tell that there are two types of those things. One of them I took out from Hestia and it was obviously more like a spell than a living being. However, the ones we extracted from Fjorla, Lydia, Cédric, Mia, and Tia differed. They felt like living beings, barely sentient, but thought was there."

"This got us thinking that those creatures might be spread like insects. By checking the testimonies of Fjorla, Lydia, and Cédric again, we determined how they all were infected. Or you can even say, poisoned. Water." Verka shook her head. "The egg, or something like that, is swallowed by the unaware host. The incubation process and growth are rapid, but the spell around those creatures is constructed not to cause any harm to the attacked person. Then..."

Verka hesitated, but Irene shrugged and picked up the explanation confidently. "Then it's a guessing game. The nightmares may start first. Tia and Lydia admitted they had nightmares. However, we can safely assume that the parasite quickly influences the host. The host can resist their influence depending on their willpower and, of course, the power and kind of influence the parasite is meant to inflict. Of course, some of, if not all, parasites will eventually take over their hosts like they did with Korkas's henchman."

"The eggs... Spread in the water..." I repeated numbly, rubbing my closed eyes. "Just great. Just fucking great..."

"It's not that simple because if it was, this world would have ceased to exist thousands of years ago," Verka said, trying to comfort me. "Listen, we must get those people alive. We need answers."

"Agree." I nodded solemnly. "We also need a way of purificating all water sources in Arcadia. I would like to make it globally, but Arcadia is good as a starting point."

"That would be hard... Not because we don't know how to do it but because we don't have enough test samples; in fact, we don't have any. We aren't even sure if the egg is even a thing. That's why we need the culprits alive."

"Done... I informed Cédric and his special forces. They will question everyone who might have had brief contact with the twins for the past five years," I said without emotion.

Irene paled a bit. "Theon... You are going to scare many people..."

"I don't care. You know well that my soldiers never harmed an innocent person. But those who conspire with the Enemies and serve them, like bandits and villains, won't find any respite within the lands of Arcadia. I want them to know that we will find them all. If they want to save their worthless lives, they better run."

While Irene wasn't happy hearing that, Verka brightened with every word.

"Ohhhh..." She smiled with glee. "That was tasty."

I ignored her and shook my head with a sigh as I turned toward Amber. Mia and Tia were already standing and talking with Freya. I overheard them talking about the Tower of Infinity Dungeon and the rebuilding that was already underway.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Much better. I don't remember when the last time I slept so well was. I can't thank you all enough." Tia smiled, and her cat-like ears twitched gently and playfully.

"I also feel better. Something I had not even realised was there is gone, and I feel like I can freely breathe again." She smiled, and after gently putting her arms on her chest, she inhaled and exhaled deeply with a wide smile. "Our debt towards you grew once more, Theon."

"I'm glad that you are fine." I smiled, but I couldn't look away from her performance. The twins giggled and looked at me with their big, cat-like eyes. "Amber, will you accompany us during some afternoon shopping?"

"Hmmm... Tempting," she giggled. "But before we go anywhere, Mia and Tia should eat lunch. You can accompany them while I check Luna's plans because she took Hestia and Lavender. Zephyr is waiting for Stella in her laboratory because he thinks he knows how to modify the warding stones, so she and Hera flew there imminently after the examination."

"We will go there as well," Irene said with a sigh while Verka shortly but firmly nodded. It was evident that my Elven beauty would also like to spend the afternoon shopping.

"All right... Freya?"

"Shopping?" The Dwarfess Queen's eyes flashed. "Oh, you don't have to ask me twice..."