Prince Islur Tawal Ebrus and his entourage returned to their ships despite being offered a mansion situated in the diplomatic district. Once he and Minister Tyklas were alone, Islur slumped to a chair and cringed.

"I would have never expected Cridia could fall."

"Cridia and Berna to be precise." Tyklas crossed his arms as he sat in his chair. "While the fall of Cridia wasn't exactly unexpected, I thought it would be conquered by Berna and parts of it taken by Metaka. The Cridian fools lost their ability to build airships. However... Considering how powerful that destroyer is, I doubt that even an entire fleet of Berna could stop just two or three of them."

"I don't understand how that man managed to create such a huge Empire in such a short time, teacher."

"Isn't that obvious? By the Gods, we are in a Dungeon! If he knows how to make them do his bidding then he must be a Hero or a monster. A friendly one but we shouldn't provoke his anger." The older Bearkin stood up and took out a bottle of wine. "If he can use the might of a Dungeon and guide it, he is the most dangerous person in the world. However, if that Dungeon was just dormant and he managed to strike a deal with its guarding Scion, then he received enough resources to build his kingdom."

"There were many cases like that in the past." Islur slowly nodded. "But, sooner or later, the prosperity turned into disaster when the Dungeon inevitably awakened. That's why you decided to return to our ships?"

"Yes." The old diplomat took a small sip of the watered-down wine. "We know nothing about them and we neglected our intelligence gathering for far too long."

"What do you mean?" Islur froze his motion towards the bottle and fixed his gaze on his teacher.

"Berna, we knew it was no more. The last time we heard of the Holy Kingdom, it was a prosperous and peaceful land blessed by the Gods where everyone was treated equally..." Tyklas took a large sip of wine and was visibly distressed. "I managed to gather some rumours about the state of Berna before its fall. We should be glad that Arcadia conquered it. If we met Bernans, we would have been enslaved or killed."

"What are you saying?!"

"Berna changed..." The old diplomat angrily wiped his tears. "They turned into a supremacist country ruled by religious fanatics who hated everyone who wasn't Human. We were blinded by our own negligence, my Prince..."

"We have to learn much more before we resume our talks."

"It's far too late for that." Tyklas sadly shook his head. "We must trust our Gods and instincts."

The two were silent until their supper arrived and ate it quietly. The meal was bleak but it was filling. Their Kingdom situation wasn't particularly bad since they were able to fish on the ocean, basically uncontested. However, their crops were more miserable with each year.

"Have you noticed that most of the people of Avalon are well-fed and dressed?" Islur said, looking out of the small window.

"I'm actually surprised that you noticed..." Tyklas chuckled but swiftly turned serious. "Or maybe not... You noticed someone?"

"I... don't know." Islur blushed. "But I wasn't particularly looking either. I don't believe that prophecy."

"It's not a prophecy." Tyklas shook his head with a smile but took a deep breath through his nose and chuckled. "Or maybe it is if you actually find her."

"Please, teacher... The Oracle can't be serious with that one."

"So you found her." The old diplomat got serious. "Who is she? With a bit of luck, we could arrange a marriage-"

"First of all, I don't believe that old hag! A marriage with an unknown woman just because she got high with her suspicious weeds and had vision?! No."

"Islur, your Mother ordered you to listen to the Oracle! Who is she?"

"I don't know!" The young man abruptly stood from his chair and started waving his hands as he started explaining. "She said that I would instantly know when I see her! But, you know what?! She had no idea how beautiful most of those women are! How the hell will I know which one is the right one when each of them is more beautiful than the next?! A single glance at some of them almost melted me! Also... Gods, it was hard to not stare at the women surrounding Theon Avalon! They are absurdly beautiful. No, no, no... I don't even want to hear about it. Let's stick with making allies."

"Well, a political marriage..."

"With whom, teacher?! The Emperor of Arcadia looks young so I doubt he has a daughter old enough for such things. But even so..." The prince lowered his voice. "Do you think that he would consider me worthy of his daughter? Be realistic for one second. You always order me to be, so it's your turn. The number of our ships didn't even impress Theresa Iceleon. Emperor Guad considered them and simply shrugged. Emperor Theon, on the other hand, tried not to laugh. I must say that he, tactfully, made a point about not throwing away the lives of my soldiers..."

"Well, that's true." Tyklas exhaled and his smug expression was soon clouded by doubts. "He tried his best not to call us insignificant but I was under the impression that even his closest allies were kept away from the war. But why?"

"Because he is probably winning it." The Prince shook his head in disbelief of his own begrudged proposal. "Would you invite other powers to the war you are winning only to have to share the spoils with them?"

"I don't think that's the case." The old diplomat hummed intensely. "He doesn't strike me as a greedy person. But, given the power of his ships, his ground army might be even more advanced. The armies of the other countries would slow him down or even create weak points at the front."

"I, genuinely, don't know how to prepare for our next meeting. We know nothing about this Empire of Arcadia." Islur slumped on his chair and twiddled his thumbs.

"Well... We are going to do something I personally scoffed at so many times during your lectures, my dear student." Tyklas sighed. "We must improvise..."

•••

"They are... weird." Theresa sighed after the Ebrusian delegation departed, leaving the royalty of the three countries alone. "Also, I want to know how they managed to build such a large navy and no one knew about it... Or..." She stared at Guad. "Did you know about it?"

"What? No..." The Metakan Emperor chuckled. "but it's exactly as Theon implied. No matter how large their Navy is, it's already outdated. However, I'm not particularly surprised they are capable of building their own airships. After all, Ebrusians were always tied to the ocean and fishing was one of the pillars of their economy. Why do you think they are weird? Maybe they are just overwhelmed by Avalon?"

"Look... Ebrus is smaller than Iceleon by... by a third. When I arrived at Avalon, I was lost and scared and, somehow, it was a miracle that happened to save my life. My country was ravaged by snow and most of my people would have died if not for your help. Despite that, I wasn't that weird. Was I?"

"You weren't weird, Theresa." Cahrona smiled at her. "You were desperate, but that hardly counts as weird."

"Thank you." Theresa beamed another smile and started waving her hands as she tried to explain her reasons why she believed the Ebrusian delegation was weird. "They seem... I don't know... Detached? Careless? They seemed to have no idea what they were doing."

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"Hmmm... It's true." Guad furrowed his brows and rubbed his chin.

"The Prince was very tense and embarrassed." Cahrona pointed out.

"Considering how woefully uninformed they were and how many diplomatic blunders they made, I'm not surprised that he was embarrassed." Irene chuckled.

"Hmmm..." Hestia drummed with her fingernails on the table. "I don't think that was it. I sensed the presence of Arletta. Long ago, she was a lesser Goddess but she must have ascended. She was looking for someone and, for some reason, she tried to mark Theresa, but I stopped her. Then, she tried to mark Luna but she was zapped by Eriar. After that, her presence vanished."

The amused stares quickly changed into confusion. Especially Luna and Theresa paled and stared at Hestia.

"Such a mark is used for many things but, usually, it's nothing to worry about." Hestia hesitated. "However, sometimes it might be used to tangle the destiny of two people..."

"So you are saying that their Goddess wanted to... Charm me?" Luna hissed angrily.

"Thank you, my Goddess, for protecting me..." Theresa snuggled to Victor and lowered her head.

Everyone looked at Theon, whose flat expression betrayed that he was angry but he had his eyes closed and breathed slowly.

"I've got you..."

Theon simply announced as the distant shriek of a scared and surprised woman was pulled into the room when she, suddenly, appeared a few centimetres above the ground and dropped heavily on it. The pink haired woman looked around, startled, but quickly regained her composure. She had, not so much as, stood up as rose into the air and haughtily looked down at Theon from above.

"I assume you are Arletta, the Eternal who claims to be a goddess of Ebrus," Theon said as he looked at the place where her eyes would be if she stood on the floor.

"How dare a simple mortal-" Arletta began but, suddenly, was crushed to the floor like a bug.

Even Theon was surprised, at first, seeing it but he just nodded as most of the people in the conference room recognised the power. Without a shred of doubt, it belonged to Eriar and, for him to intervene like that, was something new. Arletta started screaming and begging for mercy but Eriar held her in his grip. Irene and Hestia exchanged very meaningful gazes, which clearly said 'We have to talk later'. After a few moments of painful screams, Eriar's power slowly disappeared, leaving the sobbing goddess on the floor. Everyone watched the goddess who rose to her knees and dropped back to the floor with only her trembling hands preventing her from collapsing.

"Let's start again." Theon offered with a barely noticeable smile. "You are Arletta, the goddess of Ebrus?"

"Yes..." She bitterly replied but suddenly perked up and started bowing. "I mean, yes, my Lord! I'm Arletta, the Goddess of Ebrus... I... I don't have a fixed domain."

"What did you try to do to Theresa and Luna?" He asked patiently.

"With whom?" She stared at Theon in abject terror.

"With my wife, Luna." He pointed at the Kitsune with an open palm of his hand that slowly turned towards Theresa with an angry voice. "And my friend, Queen Theresa Iceleon?!"

"I... I... Didn't know that Miss Luna was married! Or Miss Theresa!"

"Never again lie to me, woman." Theon's voice was cold as his blue eyes shone with blue mana light.

"I need my people to survive! I needed a wise queen for my chosen country!" Arletta admitted as if that explained everything. "Miss Theresa is a strong and collected person who could help me fix Ebrus. But, when I tried to make her fall in love with Islur Ebrus, she was protected by Goddess Hestia! I didn't want to enrage such a powerful Goddess and found Miss Luna nearby. Miss Luna is a Sage! She would be a perfect queen for Ebrus and you have so many other women so-"

"Are you fucking stupid?" Theon asked as he tilted his head with a stare that suggested he was moments from drawing his sword.

"Excuse me?! You are talking to a Goddess, Mortal..."

"Crawl on the floor and beg for your life." Hestia released her Divine Presence and focused her wrath on the Ebrusian goddess.

Arletta started screaming once again, pushed to the floor as Hestia dropped her disguise. The Fourth Empress of Arcadia floated into the air. Her features shone brightly with gold, red, and emerald light. A magic circle behind her was shining so brightly that it was nearly impossible to look at it. Hestia wasn't just angry. She was furious and all her wrath was focused on the shocked woman who was, once again, pressed to the floor so violently that she broke her nose.

"It was bold of you, insignificant deity of an insignificant country." Hestia's voice was a bit deeper than usual and had a metallic echo to it. "To dare to interfere with my Sister is a huge mistake, you worm!"

Arletta was begging for mercy, too terrified to try to maintain any facade that she was a powerful deity. Only when the Ebrusian goddess prostrated herself in humiliation on the floor before Hestia, did the much more powerful Eternal release her power. In a flash of Blink, Theon appeared over Arletta and, without a word, poured a healing potion right on her head. She was soaking wet, trembling, and terrified, but, at least, she had stopped bleeding.

"Listen to me very carefully," Theon said with a voice as sharp as his swords. "I am Emperor Theon Avalon, The Righteous Dungeon, The Champion of Eriar, The Chosen of the Archangel, The Bringer of Equilibrium, The Husband of Hestia, The Unforgiving Storm of Zephyr, The Starchaser of Hera, The Brother to Zeus, The Prophet of Tisiphone, The Wrath of Vali, The Herald of Verka, The Protector of the Weak, The Bane of Void's Servants, The God Slayer, The Vengeful One, and The Conqueror."

Arletta just openly stared at him with her mouth agape.

"I believe that the last three titles should all ring alarm bells but it appears your head is too hollow to possess survival instincts normal for other living beings. If you had managed to charm my beloved Luna and force her to leave me for that kid, I guarantee you that they would have never reached the border of the city. After all, I promised my wives to protect them." Theon continued with a voice full of the promise of violence. "If somehow, you blinded my wife enough to use her magic to escape Avalon, I would make Illiad look like fucking amateurs picnic."

"Illiad?" Arletta asked with a trembling voice.

"A tale about the siege of Troy. A cautionary tale of why Gods should avoid doing what you tried to do." Hestia hissed angrily.

"I would have shredded Ebrus to pieces and set those pieces on fire. I would have killed everyone standing in my way and taken my Luna home. Ebrus would have ceased to exist and everyone supporting your insane scheme would have died." Theon said as he summoned a broad sword and plunged it into the marble floor right in front of her. "Somehow, I'm sure that wasn't quite the salvation you wanted for your country..."

"Even if I manifested and said it was the will of the Heavens?" Arletta asked, struggling to comprehend what was happening as she carefully eyed Hestia.

"Your optimism is astounding..." Theresa shook her head. She was as furious as Luna.

"I have killed a god before." Theon's voice was devoid of any compassion or mercy. He clenched his fist on the sword that was embedded in the stone floor and transformed it into Excalibur. "Your life means nothing to me."

The golden bolts of lightning arced and danced across the blade. Arletta stared at it with abject horror and the sudden fear of a person who realised that Theon wasn't bluffing. He wasn't threatening her but making a promise.

"Try it," Luna growled as she slowly stood up. The Third Empress was angrily staring at Arletta. "Use your treacherous power on me."

"Luna..."

"No, Theon. Let her do it." Luna was angry, but she smiled reassuringly at her husband.

"I won't-"

"Silence, you entitled, arrogant bitch!" Luna yelled at the kneeling goddess and she slowly started walking towards her. "You don't have any right to refuse my order. As you can see, I'm not in a hurry. But on my way to you, I will take Excalibur and, once I get to you, I will cut off your fucking head. You have no choice. You will do that. You will use your powers on me or you will die."

Arletta cringed but, upon seeing the worried stares of everyone looking at Luna, she raised her hands. It wasn't clear if she believed she could succeed or, simply, taken Luna's threat seriously but, for a brief moment, a smile of victory crept on her face. The pink strands of magic wrapped around the Third Empress of Arcadia who, still menacingly, walked toward the Ebrusian goddess. Only then, Luna dropped her disguise, causing Arletta to cry in disbelief as the goddess recognised her as a Kitsune. Luna stopped with her eyes closed for a brief moment. Once she opened them, they shone with silver and blue glow.

"I didn't know! Please!" The kneeling woman grew weaker and weaker while Luna was shining with silver light. "Forgive me..."

The air was trembling around Luna as if the Kitsune was aflame. The pink strands of Arletta's magic were absorbed by the Arcadian Empress who continued her walk. Recently, Luna had managed to advance her power and obtained a fifth tail, however, in front of everyone, she grew a sixth. Arletta, in turn, became weaker and weaker as Luna finally stopped near Theon and snuggled herself to his side.

"I was created to support the Hero of my Patron, you fool. However, I'm no longer bound by my duty alone." Luna smiled at Theon who embraced her with a warm smile. "My heart beats only for him, my love is true and won't ever falter. My body, my mind, and my soul belong only to him as he belongs to me! Now..." Luna looked at the trembling goddess who was barely conscious. "Now, it's time to pass judgement on you."

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