Ri, Clara and Madeleine lightly smiled. This was the side of their husband that they liked to see. Being strong and ruthless may have been looked upon favourably by the martial world, but in order to lead, there was something else that was needed. This was what separated a warrior from a king… a general from an emperor…
Dyon side stepped the two he was standing on before kneeling down and pulling their heads up.
Second and fourth son looked particularly pitiful. Second son was already quite a round man to begin with, but now his face had a flat and linear nature to it his weight shouldn’t have allowed. As for fourth son, his and once straight nose was now very clearly broken. And both of them looked as though they had just climbed out of a coal mine.
The anger in their eyes hadn’t faded. Unlike first son, they didn’t understand just how scary a character Dyon was. But, before they could speak, Dyon’s next words sent shivered down their spines.
“Did you two know that arrays are quite versatile?” Dyon mused. “If I wanted, I could torture you two until the gates closed before killing you off. And the worst part is that no one here who witnessed it would be able to say a damn word about it.
“Imagine thinking two pathetic existences like yourselves would be worth a single hair on their heads. You think too highly of yourselves.”
Dyon let their hair go, letting their faces slam into the ground once again. But, this time, they couldn’t find the courage to resist.
“Alidor, I’ll leave the rest to you and Clara. Use Kaeda and Arios for support.”
**
This was a process that would take hours. So, after ensuring that the perimeter was secured by his demon generals, Dyon went back to the demon sage tower to rest and eat his usual ridiculous amount. However, he did have another purpose.
Because of the blood lust fiasco with his wives, Dyon hadn’t had a chance during their travels to speak to Zabia. This may seem trivial, but the Jafari family was a mystery he could wrap his head around. Since the Saru family had inexplicably disappeared, the Jafari were the last stone Dyon had left unturned, and who better to explain things than their young king?
When Zabia walked in to find Dyon leisurely sipping spiritual wine, he didn’t seem too surprised at the fact he was called. Despite his straight forward nature, to be accepted as a king by his people, he had to have a semblance of intelligence.
Zabia’s hulking figure sank into the cushioned seat across from Dyon, helping himself to some wine as well.
“I was wondering what took you so long.” Zabia said jokingly.
“Ai, I had to make up some time with my wives.” Dyon laughed, lifting his cup toward Zabia, “Speaking of which, you didn’t have to come this time, you know. You could have spent some time with your kid first.”
It was simply Dyon’s personality to worry about a child missing their parent. Zabia had already missed a year, he shouldn’t have to miss more.
Zabia shook his head. “You’re too hard on parents, you know that?”
Dyon couldn’t help but freeze a bit at Zabia’s words, but in the end, he nodded. “Ulu is quite intelligent.”
“Of course,” Zabia said proudly, “Only a woman of such caliber could be my queen.”
Dyon smiled lightly, but didn’t comment. He understood Zabia’s meaning without having to listen to it. Parents should be by the sides of their children, but parents also had to think of what was best for their kids as well. So, what could you do when these two philosophies clashed?
“Since you came here,” Dyon started, “You likely already know what I’d like to ask, right?”
Zabia nodded, “My family knew from the beginning that replacing the Planet Nix clans would cause a stir, especially after we learned of your World Tournament and how it was held once every hundred years. Because of that, we ended up wiping out those clans entirely.
“The original plan was just to feign ignorance until we accomplished our goal, but never did I think I’d meet someone I didn’t want to lie to.” Zabia laughed.
“So you really aren’t from this universe.”
“Aren’t from this quadrant at all,” Zabia corrected. “We come from the adjacent quadrant, but I have to say, we weren’t exactly the most alien clan that participated in your tournament.”
“You mean the Shruti clan?”
“Ai. They’re also from an adjacent quadrant. Truthfully speaking, we weren’t even aware of your quadrant until eighteen years ago.”
Dyon raised an eyebrow.
“It’s because your Epistemic Tower has been dormant. Strictly speaking, those old monsters who’ve lived damn near a million years would never forget something like that, but to the general public, your quadrant is a dead one.”
Dyon pondered for a bit, before speaking, “According to intel I’ve gathered, members of a quadrant who called themselves dukes and duchesses attacked about 100 years ago. Wouldn’t it make the most sense for them to be from one of your two quadrants?”
Zabia’s visage darkened, and although he eventually recovered, it hadn’t escaped Dyon’s notice.
“If what you say is true, then we’ve been out of touch. There are two possibilities, one of which is a much worse proposition for your quadrant.
“The first, and most benign, is that those pricks simply stumbled upon a spatial fluctuation that led here. It’s part of the entertainment culture of that quadrant to his spatial pods for a joy ride. Often time this leads to legacies, or, at the very worst, they lead to adventures wherein geniuses can temper themselves to grow stronger. This is the more innocent possibility, because that means they likely have no real idea what this place is.
“However, the second possibility is much worse. It’s possible that they were sent here purposefully by their elders in search of your Epistemic Tower. In this case, they would likely want to own a second Epistemic Tower key, meaning the one you hold right now.
“If this latter case is the truth. There’s a 0% chance they’ve given up. They will be back.”