Laz didn’t answer the little girl for a while. Instead, he looked at a wall, his vision drifting away in the same direction that the waiting castle stood, it’s black stone walls stained with blowing snow as though a lone sentry sitting vacant in the ice cold wilderness.

Laz knew he was responsible for Nagi, but he also knew she was already a god. She didn’t have experience on the battlefield, but she was the daughter of a divine beast. Within her blood was a heritage that reigned supreme in the omniverse, something he could never imagine. She wasn’t a little girl, but that was the feeling he got from her anyway and for him to allow her to be bait...

A flash of an image came to his mind, the smiling face of an insanely beautiful woman.

"Sigh.. fine. I find no reason to refuse. Before that though, you need to train with some of these big sisters for a while, ok? You’ve never fought before, never killed. If you wish to be of use, you first need to get past this hurdle, ok?" Laz finally said, looking down at the little face that was looking up at him.

"Whatever you say daddy. I’m ready," Nagi said, grabbing Laz’s hand and laughing while shaking it, as though wanting to drag him to quickly show her how to fight.

Laz turned to look at the Empress.

"Would it be too much trouble?" Laz asked, looking at her.

Hera looked down at the little girl, her ninth level of godhood trying to prob the young lady when she felt a sudden fear in her soul, as though a great beast, larger than a star and more vast than a universe was suddenly eyeing her. She shook her head to quickly get rid of the feeling.

"Of course. I can assign some of the..."

"Nope. She’s all mine. Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle," Eris said, jumping forward to grab the young girl’s hand and take it in her own. While Eris was short, her body was well developed with eye catching curves and a deadly beauty to her face. As for Nagi, she looked like nothing more that a small child of ten, only slightly shorter than the women who was probably a bit younger than her still. All this had to do with how long it took divine beasts to age, but that wasn’t something either of them knew about. For now, Eris felt a kind of connection to Nagi and wanted to take care of her for a reason she didn’t understand. As a level five goddess herself, Eris was actually pretty close to Nagi’s level and even though she wasn’t a combat based goddess, bloodshed wasn’t something she had any problem with. Her years of living as an outcast made that a part of her normal life.

Nagi looked back at Laz but he laughed and just nodded. Eris had been in the fortress for a few days and knew where the prisoners were being held so she would have no problems getting a few who deserved death to use as ’toys.’

They quickly ran out of sight before anyone could say anything.

"What in the world is this? That child is going to be used as bait? Have we really fallen this far that a child is out only choice?" Athena quickly voiced her concern, turning to her mother.

Hera didn’t respond but instead turned her attention to the ministers who had stopped and were no longer looking at leaving.

"Go on. I’m sure my husband would be more than willing to welcome back such willing... and plump, subjects," Hera said with a slight laugh.

"Perhaps we were too hasty with our words your majesty. After all, we all wish for the safety of our Empire in the end. And all of our people have gathered here as well to support you. As such, it is better if we rally behind you as the true ruler of our Empire," said the old one who had been at odds with Laz.

"Yes your majesty. After all, our support is essential for the survival of the Empire as are our resources and our troops that we have provided," another added, as though threatening that if they were turned away, they would lose the support the ministers pledged.

"Yes. We should keep working for the good of the Empire and figure out a way to stop the shadow dragon along with the beast tide that follows it," the third said, as though uttering such words were the decision that everyone was agreeing to.

Many of Hera’s daughters were amazed at the level of shamelessness these men were uttering after having just been about to abandon the Empress. What’s more, since none of them were involved in the Empire’s politics, they had never seen actions like these. If the Emperor were still here, they never would have tried to act as such before him, knowing that doing so would only lead to an early end. But since they were dealing with the Empress, they felt as though such strategies were the best tactic, things they had practiced for years within the courts and senate.

As for the gathered generals and members of the royal army, they had seen these kinds of acts before and had gotten sick and tired of them. They were like puppies in front of the Emperor, but didn’t respect anyone else and loved to play these games which pissed people off so much yet they couldn’t say a thing against it.

Just as Two was about to say something to Laz, he saw Laz laugh as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. In fact, his laughter was so loud that it got the attention of almost everyone else gathered and yet Laz didn’t even bother trying to hide his smile.

While everyone else looked at him as though something were wrong with him, only Hera looked over at him with a smile of her own.

"Mmm... I guess it would be you who could understand me best. How amusing is that? I’ve known you for only a few months and yet you know my thoughts so well. You know... a woman doesn’t like to have her thoughts seen through so easily," Hera told Laz in a voice that sounded equal parts seductive and dangerous.

"No. She wouldn’t. But my Empress... how can seeing through something so transparent be considering revealing secrets? If anything, perhaps it’s because I’ve just met you that it’s easy for me to see the truth? My eyes haven’t had time to be deceived by the lies and the acting."

Hera set down the goblet she had been playing with in her hands and disappeared, reappearing before Laz with a well manicured and exceedingly sharp nail and finger pointed right at his throat.

"You’re saying that I’ve been putting on an act?" She said, her voice now even lower and more dangerous.

"What can I say? I’ve seen you’re true self and we are both aware of what it is," Laz responded, not flinching for a moment.

"Oh? Then please do tell me what is my true self?" Her voice, now a whisper that while soft, could still be heard by all gathered, showing the power behind the words.

"A domineering goddess, covered in the blood of her enemies." Laz’s words weren’t so much a guess or even an answer to her question. It was instead a statement of fact.

Even Two seemed to be shaking by the waves of power the Empress was putting out, showing everyone present just how far above them she was.

But even then he couldn’t have imagined what would happen next.

The Empress, who had been alive before almost any of them were ever born and had always been an unreachable figure within their eyes, leaned forward and kissed the young man with a fire and passion that was more akin to be found in a brothel than a throne room.

Even the guards dropped their weapons in surprise, much less the generals, officials and daughters who hadn’t been present for the Empress’ healing.

Two directly fell on his ass, his mind turned to mud.

"You’d better not forget that fact either!" The Empress said, breaking the kiss as a single strand of saliva briefly connected them before falling away as well.

While everyone was frozen in place, the Empress vanished again, appearing within the group of ministers. A body dropped to the floor before any of them noticed she was there while his head was still held within her hand.

"You should not have disrespected him. So now you can watch and suffer while I clean up the filth from my kingdom," The Empress said, walking and setting the head of the aged minister down on a small table after knocking the candle holder off of it. The head blinked in surprise a few times showing that not only was it still alive, but it had no idea what had happened.

As for the other twenty something ministers, some began to yell, some to run while others dropped to their knees. Even if they were shocked, they were all knowledgeable enough individuals to not freeze in place.

Not that it mattered. One after another, their heads were removed from their bodies by the laughing Empress as she released a bloodbath more akin to a blood shower as the headless bodies erupted blood spouts into the air, causing it to practically rain blood from the rafters.

By the time she was done, the only minister still alive was the old one who’s head was strangely still alive after having witnessed the slaughter.

"I remember... the stories... the myths... of the... blood-soaked maiden.... so... long... ago...." He said before even his eyes closed forever, leaving the room a silent, bloody mess.