— — — — — —
A moment later...
"Phew… scared the hell out of me."
Veyron let out a slow breath after combing through the sisters' memories.
Just one evil god holding authority over Lust was already enough to trigger a serious sense of déjà vu.
But then that portal opened—and from the way these people were talking, the other side belonged to some so-called Empire...
For a moment, he almost thought it was Slaanesh and the Aeldari Empire. Absurd, maybe—but with the void involved, anything was possible
Thankfully, the sisters' memories showed that the god they worshipped, while every bit as depraved as that ass-jiggling deity—obsessed with every form of Ecstasy, imaginable or not, and drowning in endless corruption wrapped in ecstasy—
…their homeworld itself was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill medieval fantasy setting.
Well—at least, it had been. That was before the evil gods came knocking.
Yeah gods. Not just one, but a whole crowd of them. But their king was the Lord of Ecstasy.
Veyron still wasn't sure why that world attracted so much eldritch trash, but before the sisters were even born, they were branded by the so-called Lord of Ecstasy—over a dozen evil gods had already stamped their will onto it within the span of thirty years.
And their invasion had changed the world in ways the locals could never have imagined.
For instance: the Empire. Both state and church serving the Lord of Ecstasy hand in hand.
Before invading this Kuroinu World, the Lord of Ecstasy had already conquered nine hundred and ninety-five other worlds of similar scale, thanks to his minions. They turned these worlds into blood banks—feeding faith during peacetime, and manpower and resources during war.
"Impressive stuff… but nothing too crazy," Veyron muttered, snapping his fingers and releasing the sisters.
"Impressive" referred to the fact that their god's power was actually decent, and that the world's background—with more than ten gods confirmed by the Empire alone, was messy enough. Just how many gods were in the other 995 worlds?
"Nothing too crazy" meant that, at his current level, those gods didn't really count as heavyweight opponents anymore.
From the scraps he saw of their infighting, even Dormammu—the ruler of the Dark Dimension he'd once faced back in the Marvel world—would've wiped the floor with them.
Of course, that was Dormammu bringing the Dark Dimension along for the ride.
Veyron chuckled inwardly. "Funny thing is, I could pin Dormammu down in his own dimension nowadays."
What bothered him most wasn't their strength, but rather the detail he picked up: the Lord of Ecstasy seemed to care deeply about that world (the one had the Empire), yet for some reason—likely restrained by another same-level deity—its true body had never descended. Just using his minions, the gods, to do the mission there.
Which meant… if that bastard was ruthless enough with itself, it could simply cut ties with the world and vanish into some dark corner of the Void. And given the Void's nature—where "nothing" means nothing—tracking it down again would be a nightmare.
No. Veyron couldn't let that danger go free.
"…Hmm."
His gaze shifted to the sisters, who, even though freed from his restraint, sat quietly without a single rebellious twitch—obedience written all over their faces.
"Keep doing what you were supposed to. Pretend I'm not here."
Veyron's voice was calm.
"…" ×2
The sisters nodded silently.
Pretending the man who was tagging along at just the right distance didn't exist? Yeah, not happening.
Still, they did as he wanted.
The two sisters hurried along the road, pushing their pace as fast as possible, until they reached what was considered the "edge of the world." Then they quickly turned back, regrouping with the four companions from the royal family and the church.
"So, what—did you two coordinate this time?"
The Third Prince, leading a line of handsome men on leashes, sneered when he saw the sisters returning empty-handed, just like the church's pair.
"…We just didn't find any toys worth my time."
The mature sister, Clara, replied lazily, her tone almost teasing. "As for Maria, well—you already know what she likes."
"Fair enough."
The prince nodded, accepting her explanation. Then he unclipped the leash holding his string of young men.
Since neither the nobles' side nor the church's side had brought anyone back, he couldn't risk standing out. Even if it was just for appearances, he had to stay consistent.
The six of them stepped through the portal. On the other side was a colossal circular structure, vast and grand like a gladiator arena.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had encircled the gate in perfect formation.
When they saw their own people emerge, the man at the front—a strikingly handsome figure wielding an ornate greatsword—raised his free hand. At his signal, some of the archers eased their draw, though the ones with blades, spears, and halberds stayed tense, eyes sharp and focused.
"It's me."
In a chant-like cadence, the prince invoked an imperial verse that confirmed his identity. Then he tugged open his collar to reveal the restraint around his neck.
The collar was a storage artifact the Empire had plundered from another world, capable of holding mountains of lifeless goods. Thanks to the Lord of Ecstasy's blessing, the inner spikes pierced into the flesh amplified the wearer's Ecstasys.
After him, the sisters—representing the nobility—and the two from the church showed their own proofs: jeweled wristbands and a holy emblem of the Lord of Ecstasy.
Only then did the swordsman lower his hand, sliding the greatsword back into its sheath. The signal rippled outward, and the soldiers stood down.
"Well then, let's return. We need to report our harvest from this world to Mother."
Clara gave the swordsman a brief nod of greeting before leaving the arena. In the streets beyond, filled with unending moans of indulgence, she led the way toward a lavish manor dripping in decadence.
The church's pair departed as well, though their path led instead to a towering cathedral crowned with the god's holy sigil.
"Big sisters, you're back!"
The moment they stepped through the manor gates, a delicate little girl ran out to meet them, throwing herself into Maria's arms.
"Mm. We're back."
Maria smiled warmly, stroking the child's head. "Did you listen to Mom while we were gone?"
"Yes, yes!" The child nodded furiously. "Mom even said Lilith was very well-behaved!"
"Good girl."
Clara also reached out, ruffling the child's hair with rare affection.
Then, as the two women exchanged glances, both caught Veyron out of the corner of their eyes.
He was walking behind them openly, yet none of the other faithful—nor even the Lord of Ecstasy's all-encompassing will that draped over the entire Empire—reacted to him at all.
It seemed only the two of them could see him.
After a moment of silence, Veyron shed the last remnants of restraint on his form, returning to his most primal state as he followed them into the manor where the little girl had just come running out.
.
.
.
(A/N: OG setting—don't rack your brain over what world it's. There are three chapters left until the end, then… side chapters will be added to fill in the missing pieces of the story.)