Why So Serious?

Mileena is making a mistake, and right now I am content to sit back and watch her do so.

In her madness, she is destroying her forces, undermining her kingdom, far better than I could. Her forces are growing uneasy, she's executing anyone who even looks like they could be a traitor... and I'm too blame.

With Shang Tsung gone to parts unknown, having a spirit possess Mileena was easy, and now it whispers into the depths of her mind, making her see assassins in every shadow, treason where there is only loyalty.

Why waste my forces attacking when I can sit back and watch her destroy herself?

So that means I have time to deal with my own Realm and it's... occasional issues.

"Okay, sorry, start again. What?" I ask making Rose stare at me.

"A pair of... slightly more wealthy peasants from Spree are getting married, I would say nobles, but they really aren't noble. This marks the first marriage since we came to this world." Rose explains calmly, even as I reach down and stroke Velvet's hair, sitting in my smaller throne upstairs with the dark-haired sister between my legs next to Serena.

I've added a second, more private throne room for dealing with my inner council instead of using my office. My main throne room is surprisingly busy nowadays, as someone always seems to want my attention. The downsides of ruling an entire realm I suppose, even a small one. It seems like one of my Overlord forms is eternally holding court.

"Right, I got that part... my question is why I should I care?" I ask, making her roll her eyes.

"The soon to be wife is the daughter of the new mayor of Spree, and one of the five council members of the newly formed Spree Council." she continues.

"Right, the Mayor, the Master of Trade and Commerce, the Master of Agriculture, the Guard Captain and the Head Priestess." I agree. "...I didn't even know they knew a word as long as Agriculture. Also, do they even have a faith to follow?"

All five of them are female, but that's thanks to the Matriarchy perk I took. I've been paying a bit of attention to the changing of Spree.

"They didn't, I've been teaching them so we don't have literal buffoons as our subjects." Rose deadpans. "And the growing Cult of the Overlord is the primary faith in Spree, literally building a world for them went a long way to convert the fools, and it is slowly spreading through the town, it's started to gain traction in the Halfling land as well, but far slower. The newly formed desert town of Ruboria is in a similar state."

"Which brings me back to my question... why do I need to care that a peasant is getting married?" I ask with a deadpan stare.

"During the forming of this world, I took the liberty to start working on the laws that will govern it, as you were... otherwise occupied. Lady Sindel assisted after she joined us, and one of her additions was the Right of the First Night." Rose explained, making me pause as I stared her down.

"...of course she did." I say after a moment. That seems like a very Sindel thing to do.

"As such, you have the right to the bride's virginity and it is expected that she offers herself up to you." Rose continues ignoring my deadpan tone.

"If her mother is the Mayor, isn't defiling her precious daughter a bad idea?" I point out, making her shake her head.

"No, both the bride and her mother are followers of the Cult, I made sure that one of your worshippers ended up in the Mayorship position. As such, she has been subtly asking whether you intend to exercise your right, and she appears hopeful that you will." Rose counters. "It is an honour to serve their God in such a way."

"...fine, when is the wedding?" I ask with a sigh. It's not like banging some virginal bride is a great difficulty for me.

"Soon, but the bride will present herself here after the wedding is complete, you merely need to have one of your forms around when it happens." Rose says.

"Easy enough, I have one of my forms experimenting with Alchemy in the new alchemy lab in the tower anyway." I agree after a moment. An Overlord's work is never done. "Now, if there is nothing else... lose the dress."

- Kano -

Mileena was a crazy bitch.

He always knew this, but after watching her kill off anyone who even looked at her funny, he realised that the money she was paying him wasn't worth the risk of her deciding he was a 'traitor' and ordering his death.

He was a good fighter, a very good fighter, and he had his Black Dragon's with him... but fighting their way out of Outworld wouldn't go well for them.

"Nice helmet." Kano said with a cocky smirk as he reached the meeting place the message indicated. "Pretty bold of you to just wander into Outworld, 'Overlord'." he continued as the Sauron wannabe stared him down, red eyes glowing beneath his helm, his face shrouded in darkness.

"Equally bold of you to come here." The deep rumbling voice replied as Overlord Kuro stared unblinkingly at him. "And to meet with her enemy while Mileena falls deeper into paranoia." he continued.

"I can handle Mileena, can handle you if I need to as well." Kano countered with a smirk, his eye glowing warningly. "So, what's to stop me from taking you down, taking your head to Mileena... she'd pay a pretty penny is I bring her that spiky helmet with the head still in it."

"The fact that I would kill you long before you could claim my head?" Kuro countered drolly, making Kano laugh as he gave the signal, his men surrounding the armoured man.

"You sure about that?" Kano asked with a grin.

"Yes." Kuro replied causally. "Now, are we done grandstanding, or would you like to have a dick-measuring contest next?" "Nah, I'm done... I'd win though." Kano replied immediately, relaxing slightly. "Now, make your offer. Mileena's a psychotic bitch, but she's a psychotic bitch that pays well."

"I would not be so sure of that, mortals like you are stuck with what you are born with, I can change my body at will." Kuro replied with a hint of amusement. "As for my offer, what I want from you and your men is simple. Mileena has a captive of great interest to me, the former bodyguard of Princess Kitana, Jade. If you are able to retrieve her and deliver her through the portal, I will pay you all your weight in solid gold, with one hundred times Jade's weight as a bonus." the Overlord offered, making his guys burst into whispers.

"You expect me to believe you have that much gold?" Kano asked making the Overlord's presence become... smug despite the shadowed face.

Clicking his fingers, a flash of light filled the area as piles of gold bars appeared in the clearing.

"I built my own to suit my whims, and I can add massive gold veins wherever I want. I have more wealth than even a greedy mercenary like you could possibly imagine." Kuro deadpanned, even as Kano checked the gold.

"Then maybe I should be asking for more..." Kano started, making the red eyes flash.

"I don't negotiate. My... Plan B is to slaughter you all and send you at Mileena as undead thralls while I go and get Jade myself." Kuro warned, a black mist rolling off him as the grass around him turned black and rotted away.

Dropping the gold, his men drew their weapons and prepared themselves, he'd trained the fuckers well.

"So, what happens afterwards?" Kano asked. "I drop off the girl, then what?"

"I don't trust you, and you don't trust me. I don't care where you go as long as it isn't my world or Outworld. There are dozens of Realms, take your gold and go live the high-life somewhere away from me." Kuro said, his voice deadpan making him laugh at the pure bluntness. Credit where it was due, the Overlord knew how to make a point.

"Works for me, I'll get you the girl, just have my gold ready."

"It will be ready. Do not betray me, Kano, or an eternal servitude in my army will be your only reward."

With his parting words said, he vanished in a flash of light as Kano smirked to himself, looking at the gold the Overlord left behind.

If this was the wealth he could throw around... what did he have sitting around in his vaults?

The kind of wealth he was offering would let him buy a private island and live like a king for the rest of his life... but the kind of wealth the Overlord had just laying around? That could buy him a realm and be a King. King Kano, it had a nice ring to it, didn't it?

All he had to do was work out how to get his hands on it.

- Kuro -

...He's definitely going to betray me.

But he won't do it until after he's been paid, so I can rely on him to retrieve Jade from Mileena's torture chamber, which will only make Mileena lose her mind even more, and weaken her forces as she loses the service of the Black Dragons and Kano.

Unfortunately for him, I intend to betray him first because the Black Dragons are the least trustworthy people in the entirety of Mortal Kombat... hell, I'd trust Shang Tsung over them, and Shang Tsung betrays everyone.

So once I have Jade, I'm just going to have the Black Dragons killed and capture Kano to hand over to Sonya. He certainly hasn't studied all my moves, and it'll take more than a laser eye to kill me.

Heading back to my room, I go back to my usual habit of watching over my Realm as I wait for the bride to arrive. When Rose said soon, she meant it.

Time is moving slightly faster here than it is in Marvel, I need my world to start moving properly, and that simply takes time, so I speed things up so that one day here is twelve hours in Marvel.

It also gives me more time to study and practice with my powers.

I use the realm building mode to act as an... eye in the sky, so to speak. Floating around my Realm unseen, I can watch what is happening around the world without leaving my bedroom, and as much as I love my ghosts, I've noticed that the dead have different mindsets to the living and they often fail to report on things I would want to know because they see them as irrelevant.

Ghosts are amazingly useful, but not infallible.

Checking out the great forest again to see what the bandits and the kobolds are up to, I pause as I spot something unusual in the bandit camp.

The leader of the bandits, a somewhat attractive scarred woman, has taken two of her men into her bed, and is currently getting spit-roasted by her followers... and that's just normal for them. What isn't normal is the almost completely hairless monkey watching them unseen from the corner of the room.

...What even is that thing? Where did it come from? I didn't add monkeys to my Realm yet?

As I'm watching, a portal opens, and it falls through immediately, screeching in anger.

Sorry, Master! Nothing you need to worry about!

Could have sworn I got rid of that shitty monkey already...

...Isis.

Really! It's nothing you need to worry about, just an annoyance.

I'm pretty sure it's Lord Shiro's fault.

That makes far too much sense, and really everything usually is his fault. Well, if you say you can handle it, then I'll leave it to you.

It seemed... mostly harmless anyway.

I think?

...I'll keep an eye out for it in the future, just in case.

Or maybe I'll just fill the forest with tigers or something.

Focusing again, I check in with the bandits. They are a problem... for the people who aren't me. They serve a good purpose reminding people why they need my protection, and really... there's barely twenty-five bandits gathered in a little make-shift fort that I could burn to the ground with a single spell. If they become a problem for me, I'll just erase them from existence.

Their strongest fighter is their leader, who has some decent earth magic from when I added magic to this world, and she also is very good with her war axe... but she's a normal human and killing her wouldn't even be a challenge.

Because why would I add anything that could actually threaten me to my world? Nothing gets added to my Realm until I'm sure I can handle it.

Oddly enough, the leader of the bandits has a tiny shrine to me in her room, which she leaves a fraction of her loot at. She doesn't worship me, but I suppose when you can see the Gods tower from your forest, you show them the respect they deserve.

It's not worship, but fearful respect out of the worry that I'll just wipe her and her people out if she does anything to disrespect me, leaving a tribute to try and stave off my wrath.

...It's working, and I am drawing a little divine power from her actions. I'm still missing something before I can become a true god, but having a faith base already waiting will only make my ascension all the easier.

Moving over to the Kobolds, I pause at the sight of the Kobold Shamans prostrating before a statue that somewhat resembles me in my armour. The feet of the statue is littered with trophies from the hunts like elk antlers and wolf fangs, as well as jewels and... herbs?

On a whim, I focus my power to control the weather and make the clouds above their camp move away, shining the setting sun down on them. It's mildly entertaining to watch them all freak out at the unnatural movement of the clouds.

The Orcs are doing Orc things, and the goblins are still serving the orcs. Jewel's bandits are harassing anyone who wanders into the desert, Li Mei's village is growing and settling into their new homes.

Skimming around my world, I find nothing out of the ordinary, something that makes me smile slightly in approval. All is well in my Realm.

As someone knocks on my door, I stop scrying and return to my body just as the door opens, Rose leading in a teenaged girl with shoulder-length light brown hair in a fairly nice wedding dress. At a guess, I'd say sixteen at the oldest.

In my Overlord form, I could pass for a man in his early to mid-thirties since I figured a teenager wouldn't be respected as much as an older lord. I'm also properly dressed in the more... noble clothes that Serena prepared for me, my armour on its stand in the corner of my room.

"Here she is, I'll leave you to it, My Lord." Rose says with a bow, walking out again as I stare down at the nervous girl.

Sure, just leave me to deal with the teenager.

...oh right, I'm a teenager as well. I do keep forgetting that, most teenagers are so much more emotional than me. It's annoying, to be honest. It's why I'm more comfortable with people like Emma, then I am people my own age.

I like the girls from Xavier's... but they can get emotional, and I just don't like dealing with that stuff. Just look at Cyclops, every time I see him, I feel like I need to prepare to nullify a laser with how he glares. It's impressive that he can look so pissed off with his eyes covered. Honestly, if he doesn't stop I might just have him killed, so I don't have to deal with him, Jean is mine, and that's not going to change, and no amount of playing nice will make him fuck off and stop being such a... Cyclops.

Adults are more stable and less prone to emotional instability.

"I-It's an honour to meet you, Milord..." she says with a deep curtsy as I stare her down. "I am-"

"Alice Harper-Tanner, daughter of Mayor Mary Harper. I am aware." I cut her off, making her eyes widen. "I make it a point to know the people under my rule." I blatantly lie, I asked Rose and read her mind to get the rest. "Tell me, Alice... what do you think of this situation? And don't lie, you couldn't deceive me on your best day."

"It's an honour to be summoned to your bedchambers, milord, to repay you for creating our world, letting us live on your lands, even in this small way. My maidenhood is nothing in comparison." Alice says, confusion on her face and honesty in her tone.

"Hmm, and your new husband? What does he think of his wife leaving on their wedding night to be bedded by your lord?" I ask, making her pause.

"I... don't think he minds? He seemed fine when I left? This is an honour, it would be a shame on our family to try and refuse your right to me. He has no reason to take issue with it?" Alice says, still confused.

...I keep expecting to end up with a Braveheart situation on my hands. Fuck it, with a thought a spirit heads out to find and possess her husband just in case. Rose is very smart, and if she thinks bedding Alice will make my rule smoother, so be it.

"Just some idle curiosity, Alice... nothing more." I say rising from my seat and stalking towards her, banishing my clothes with another thought.

"S-should I strip?" Alice asks, fiddling with her wedding dress.

"Oh, I don't think so... if I'm fucking a bride, I am fucking a Bride. The dress stays on."

- Harley Quinn -

Sneaking into the little village called Spree, she giggled to herself at how easily tricked the village guards were. Sneaking through all the fire and lava was fun, but the skeletons and ghosts weren't nearly as clever as Batsy so hiding from them wasn't hard.

She just grabbed the clothes of one of the farmers and walked through the village gates, she didn't even kill the girl just left her tied up in the barn.

She'd be done here before the girl was found anyway... she was the one carrying out Miss J's plan because... well, Miss J kinda stood out a bit?

I mean, Sure... the pink and blue tips of her hair made her stand out, but she just stole a hat for that, stuffed her hair inside it. It was as easy to be Harley the innocent village girl as it was to be Harleen Quinzel when she needed to be, and the guards didn't even give a second glance at the normal village girl wandering into the busy town.

They probably would if they knew what she had in her pocket.

Now she just needed to find a nice, important person and give em a lil jab of the needle she had.

Spotting a white-haired elf girl, she took in the way the villagers moved out of her way, some bowing to her as she passed and smiled to herself.

That would do.

- Kuro -

I made a critical error, I got cocky, and I stopped paying attention to Outworld because of how easily I was handling it... but there's more than just Mileena's forces in Outworld.

I had forgotten just who was a part of Mortal Kombat's DLC, and of course Shiro would include them, because this is exactly what the asshole would find entertaining.

"Move back." I order, using my chains to bind Serena to the bed as she cackles unnaturally, her face twisted in a psychotic grin.

The fucking Joker is loose in my Realm. The Joker. Do I need to watch out for other DC characters? Clearly, since I have Harley Quinn in my dungeons after she was caught trying to make her way back to the exit portal back to Outworld. How did she get passed the giant fucking wall in the first place?

Fuck, do I need to watch out for Freddy? Jason? Fucking Kratos?! Who is in Outworld?!

Focusing, I shape my vampiric powers and put her to sleep, the room going mercifully quiet, then I use white magic to make sure she doesn't wake up during the procedure.

"Leave me." I order, hearing the shuffling feet.

"My lord..." Rose starts before I glare at her, making the words die in her throat.

"I want the guard tripled, I have my other form making more undead and Minions as we speak and I'll look into some living guards to make up for the mental defects of the undead and minion forces. Maybe it's time to bring the Shokan to this Realm? Talk to Erebus and Inferna, see what they need to make sure this never happens again." I order, getting a bow from her, realising that I am in no mood for anything else. "None of the Mistresses or people of importance is to leave the tower without a large guard, I don't care how safe Spree should be."

"Shall I have Velvet start the interrogation on your prisoner? She's been working on some captured Tartakans but I can-" Rose starts.

"No. I will handle this personally." I say coldly, getting another bow as she leaves my room where I have had Serena brought.

As I speak, hundreds of skeletons are being raised, hundreds of minions of every type, a horde of Bayroks large enough to blot out the sun with their arrows, a battalion of Death Knights...

Someone is going to pay for this, quite possibly a lot of people. The kid gloves are coming off, Mr Nice Overlord is gone now... I was letting Mileena defeat herself, now I'm just going to storm Outworld and rip the throne from her, if I have to wipe out every last follower she has.

If they had come for me, I'd be amused at worst... but they went for Serena, who despite her position as my first mistress... is a normal elf with some household magic. My girls aren't as strong as me, they aren't as untouchable. If I die... I have four other bodies, what do I care? I can sacrifice myself four times and be back to full strength minutes later.

Clearing the Joker Toxin from her body is... difficult, it's far more complicated than any normal poison I have dealt with, and even when it is all removed from her body, the after-effects are... bad to say the least.

Her lungs are fucked, to put it bluntly. Whatever this version of the Joker Toxin does, it not only stops the victim from breathing properly, but it also wreaks havoc through the lungs and other organs, part of her left lung is outright melted, and only my constantly working magic is keeping her alive, fortunately the guards got her through the portal to the tower quickly.

But I'm not worried about that, even with several organs non-functioning and frankly utterly ruined.

Banishing her clothes, I carefully cut her open with a summoned light dagger, forcing down my rage so I can focus on my work.

Her organs are fucked, frankly. Her heart got off lightly, so I can save that... but the rest?

Cutting them out, one at a time, I push most of my MP into her to regrow them, I'm probably overdoing it on the amount of Mana I'm throwing around, but I've worked out MP potions again, so it's fine.

I'll have my other Overlord body replace the ones I use later, when it's done building my invasion force.

Her veins are the next problem after I've regrown basically every internal organ, as the Venom flooded through them and left a considerable amount of damage on its way to her organs. Fortunately, I don't have to replace them because frankly, I don't have a fucking clue how I would go about doing that... I'd probably have to remove each limb and regrow it, but that won't be necessary.

Her teeth are yellowed, and her eyes bloodshot... so they have to be replaced to make sure there is no trace left over, but after that is done... the real problem begins.

Her brain is damaged, and I don't know how to fix that.

I healed it, fixed what damage the toxin had done... but a single look into her mind shows that while that helped... it didn't fix everything. Her mind is a mess, and this is why I hate DC and Marvel Drugs, Toxins and Serums.

They are bullshit. Marvel and DC are bullshit, frankly.

I know how to read minds, I know how to manipulate minds, to bend them to my will... but this? How the fuck do, I fix the fact that her mind seems to be shattered in places, memories mixing together or just misplaced entirely. Even the way her brain sends signals seems to be changed, and I don't know enough about the brain to...

Desperate times, desperate measures. Crime Lord Kuro is looking for a brain expert to drain already. I'll drain every neurosurgeon in Marvel if I have to, because this shit? I can't just kill her and resurrect her in a new body to fix this.

That was my first plan before I realised wouldn't be any fucking help, her mind would come back the same.

I don't remember the Joker Toxin doing this... but then I don't remember Harley Quinn in Outworld either, so I can't just rely on meta-knowledge any more.

Moving her memories back into place takes... time, time enough for a neurosurgeon living in New York to disappear mysteriously, no-one important just a poor fucker who happened to be closest.

I considered going for Steven Strange, but I don't want to piss off the Ancient One by killing her replacement, since we have this... peace agreement of ours. I really don't want her coming for me, and she'd definitely know.

[Medical Proficiency (Master)] (Passive)

You are a master of medicine, both modern and otherwise. The human bodies secrets are known to you, and there is little you do not know how to fix.

Even with my newly acquired knowledge, fixing her mind is... taxing. And frankly, I'm not sure I did it all right, but it seems... right? I just removed the memories of her being injected and everything past that.

Now... to wake her up.

First, I move her to her own room... and ward it so she can't leave. It pains me to do so, but I can't have her moving around, not until I'm sure she is fine.

Mother's books on Warding helped me start my own training in it, but I'm still an amateur. It's a very basic ward, tied to her room and to her. All it does is create a barrier to stop her from leaving through the door... or window. I don't think she'll jump to her demise, but I'm not taking that chance.

[Warding Proficiency (Novice)]

You are a beginner in crafting magical wards, able to create and dismantle the more basic wards.

I'll post guards to watch her room, have some maid make sure she wants for nothing, but I can't let her wander freely.

Removing the spells keeping her asleep, I sit on the bed next to her and simply wait as she slowly rouses.

"M-My Lord?" Serena asks, staring up at me as she sits up. "I... how did I get back here?" she asks as I wrap her in a tight hug.

"You... were attacked, the guards brought you back, but you were in a... bad state, I healed you, but there might be some... long term consequences. Your mind was all but shattered, and while I fixed it... I don't know if I got everything." I admit. "I removed your memories of the attack."

"I see... I am not worried, I have faith in your abilities. If you healed me, I will be fine." Serena says, returning the hug gently.

"Unfortunately, I don't share your confidence. I... can't let you leave this room, not until I'm sure that you are fine." I admit, reluctance in my tone as I stare into her eyes as she smiles.

"I live to serve, my lord... if you wish me to spend the rest of my life in this room, I will do so happily." Serena says immediately, which frankly just makes me feel worse even as she attempts to soothe my guilt.

Guilt sucks.

"I need to deal with this... I'll have a maid permanently stationed outside your room, if you need anything just call for them, or have them fetch me. If I can be here, I will be." I promise as I stroke her hair.

"Don't be absurd, you are the Overlord. You have duties and responsibilities beyond babysitting a sick mistress. Go, My love... show my attackers the grave mistake they have made." Serena says, making me smile at her.

"You really are the best... what would I do without you?" I ask, stroking her hair out of her face. I need to find a way to make Serena all-powerful, maybe a full Vampiric transformation? Or perhaps I need to delve deep into the Art of Alchemy once more?

"I suspect you would be fine, my love... but I appreciate your words." Serena says, tilting her head as I lean in and kiss her.

"I really think I wouldn't be, actually... but we aren't going to agree on this, so I will leave it at that." I say as I move away. "I will be back, but I have a prisoner I need to... talk to." I say, my guilt overshadowed by my returning rage as I leave giving her one last smile, which immediately fades as I walk out of the room, a furious glower forming on my face.

Fuck this passive defensive shit, I'm the mother fucking Overlord... quite literally on the mother fucking part. The Joker thinks he can send his fucking sidekick after my girls? Didn't even have the balls to come here and challenge me himself, the fucking coward.

We will see if he is still laughing when I get my hands on him.

If I ever meet Batman, I'm killing him for not dealing with this fucking clown properly. Now I have to clean up his mess, the Joker is a stain on my Realm, and I'm gonna purge him from fucking existence.

"Leave." I order the Death Knights outside Harley's cell as I force the door open, prowling in as I look eyes with the grinning woman, naked and sitting on the small stone bench in the cell.

"Oooh... someone's not happy." Harley says in a singsong voice as she grins at me. "You know, you and Batsy should compare scowls. His is more broody, but you really pull off that 'I'm gonna kill you and wear your intestines as a scarf' look."

"The Joker's location. Answer me, now." I order, making her burst into laughter. I used Kilgrave's power... but I immediately realise the problem.

She doesn't know, so she can't answer. I can't make her tell me something she doesn't know herself. Plus, in my Crime Lord form I've found Kilgrave's power unreliable for interrogation, you can twist the answers too easily.

"Now, Batsy definitely has a better growl tha-ACK." she cuts off as I grab her by the throat, slamming her against the stone wall of the cell. Despite the vampiric grip around her throat, her eyes show nothing but amusement.

Diving into her mind, I almost immediately pull back as she burst out into choked laugher, loosening my grip.

"S-Sorry, but my mind ain't a very nice place. Good luck finding anything in there." Harley outright laughs.

She's right, her mind is a fucking shitshow, I could barely find her memories, finding anything in that mess could take weeks.

"Then I simply need to find another way to make you talk." I growl, making her grin.

"Heh, do your worse... I promise you, Miss J has done worse to me in bed." Harley giggles, as my rage is lessened by confusion for just a moment.

'Miss J'?

...Fucking Shiro.

And she's had worse in bed? We will fucking see... I'm an Overlord, and it's time I acted like it.

- The Consequences of Idle Amusement -

"You saw the signs! The light shines upon the statue of the great one!" one of the shamans shouted. "The clouds parted and the light of God shined upon us during our worship, He could not send a more clear sign. The Great Overlord has noticed us." she half hissed as her eyes narrowed at her opponent.

"So we should all fall to our knees and worship him? Not all of us are so quick to throw away our pride!" a hunter hissed back, slamming a scaly clawed hand down on the wooden table, her mind on the brother the Overlord killed. "It was bad enough that you build that ridiculous statue, but to waste our game and trophies for his favour?" she scoffed.

"Yes, you heathen! This is his world, it is shaped to his will, and we live on his land because of his mercy alone. You would risk our race, our very existence by disrespecting the god of this bountiful land, where we never go hungry, and the game is never sparse?" the shaman snarled back.

They both knew there would be no agreement, and civil war brewed between the two factions.

- Bonus Scene - Roma -

"My King, thank you for accepting my invitation." Lucretia says as she gives me a deep curtsey, her dress exposing a generous amount of cleavage. Her skin is slightly more pale than before, but not unhealthily so as it has a beautiful sheen to it, and her gaze is a bit more... intense.

Vampiric Thralls aren't Vampires, they don't have my abilities or power... but they aren't quite human any more either. Humans enhanced by the blood of a Vampire, but not fully turned, they gain a certain unnatural beauty about them without their appearance actually changing unnoticeably, as well as peak human physiology.

This lazy noble is as strong as Captain America, not that she could hope to actually beat him, but she has similar levels of strength and endurance, at the cost of losing her ability to defy any command I give her.

The only real telltale sign of her inhuman nature is her paler skin, and her eyes... they look the same, but they have a certain hunger to them now.

The only reason I haven't turned more people is the addiction to my blood it gives them, and I don't want an army of addicts after my blood even if they can go months with only a couple of drops if they need to. I keep a barrel of my blood in Nova Roma under Selene's wards, with Sura, one of my slaves, ordered to retrieve a single glass once a month for them. They can't even enter the room themselves, and they know better than to order my slave to do so. Does Sura wonder why I have a barrel of blood in a locked room? Of course, but she already mistrusts me, and she knows that any kind of plotting would end her likely not-so-swift death.

She just wants to protect Sibyl from the worst of slavery, which means handling the worse jobs herself.

"It is my pleasure." I say calmly, looking her over blatantly. If a man has a Xena lookalike, and he doesn't take every advantage of them, is he really a man?

Lucretia isn't Xena, they have far too different upbringings to act alike, but she looks similar enough for me.

"Oh, I certainly hope so My King..." Lucretia trails off, looking me over with just as much lust as my own.

- Shortly Later -

Lucretia has pulled out all the stops to spoil me, and I know why. She's self-serving, and having the King stay at her estate will do wonders for her reputation and prestige. I don't mind my girls being self-serving, I'm self-serving after all. It doesn't hurt me to let her use me as a springboard to the top of the Nova Roma social circle.

It's in my best interests to have her as highly placed and respected as possible after all, and oddly enough in this society getting fucked by the King is basically the highest honour, at least when your not a slave, in that case, it's a duty? Cultist filled Rome is weird.

My life is weird.

Laying back in the large bath, I look over at Lucretia as she does the same, two slaves attending to each of us, just as naked as we are. I recognise the wife of the Gladiator I had executed, Melitta I believe it was, but the other three are new to me.

The other one seeing to her is a beautiful young woman with rather lovely green eyes and long black hair, she was wearing the incredibly revealing rag-like robe that Lucretia seems to like her slaves wearing earlier, but she only has a metal collar on now, a quick observe gives her name as Diona.

Why am I noticing her eye colour when she's naked? Who knows, my tastes baffle me sometimes.

Attending to me is a rather beautiful pale slave with dark eyes and darker hair called Mira, and a darker-skinned slave called Naevia. Mira seems nice and obedient as she rubs my body down gently, her small breasts pressing against my arm as she smiles, but Naevia is afraid as she does the same to my other side. She's just a bundle of nerves, and the fear is rolling off her.

"Don't mind her, she broke one of the rules recently, and she's afraid I'll have her executed for it if she doesn't do a good enough job." Lucretia says nonchalantly as she enjoys her treatment, Diona playing with her soapy breasts as she leans back.

"Oh? What did she do?" I ask, looking back at Naevia in curiosity, even as Mira's hand brushes against my shaft teasingly, her slender fingers slowly wrapping around it after a moment, gently stroking me.

"As my slave, she is my property... which means I decide what happens to her body, not her. Unfortunately, she seems to have forgotten that as she became one of the gladiators secret lovers, believing I wouldn't find out. Her maidenhood was mine to do with as I pleased, and she gave it to... what was his name again?" Lucretia asks, looking at Naevia.

"C-Crixus, my lady." Naevia says quickly, mourning in her tone.

"Ah yes, Crixus. I've just been calling him corpse in my head. I had him castrated and executed for damaging my property, and considered having Naevia executed as well... or maybe sent to entertain the soldiers since she seems so eager to spread her legs." Lucretia trailed off as Naevia shuddered slightly. "But I decided to give her a second chance."

"...can you not talk about castration while I'm getting a handjob?" I ask after a moment, making her pause.

"Ah, of course. He was punished because he was a slave who thought himself above the rules, you are no slave, and you are more than welcome to the pleasures of any of my slaves... Mira and Diona are both virginal if you want an inexperienced girl, but Naevia and Melitta have their own advantages." Lucretia offers easily, making Mira smile at me enticingly, Diona tries the same, but she just looks nervous instead, Melitta's smile is less seductive, but just as welcoming as Mira's and Naevia barely manages to smile.

"Of course, if you'd prefer a more... cultured woman, I'd be more than happy to serve you myself." she says, spreading her legs as the clear water gives me a perfect view of her slit.

"Tempting, but I'm saving you for later." I say with a smirk. "It makes sense to keep the best for last after all, right?" I say making her own smile grow pleased, sticking her chest out slightly. Lucretia isn't as complicated as she might think, a bit of flattery has her eating out of the palm of my hand.

"Indeed, dessert is the best course of the meal... so would perhaps you would like an appetiser first?" Lucretia agrees with an increasingly lewd smile. "Mira, your king is feeling lustful, get to work."

"Yes, Mistress." Mira agrees easily, no hesitation as she lets go of my shaft and moves into my lap, her virginal slit pressing down on my shaft before she impales herself on it, a slight wince of pain crossing her face before she starts to move, slowly at first as she tries to set a good pace, her inexperience obvious in her clumsy movements.

I can see a bit of blood dirtying the waters from where we are joined as proof of her stolen maidenhood, if the tightness wasn't clear enough. On the outside, she is confident, seductive and obedient, perfectly willing to satisfy my lusts... and on the inside, she is a bundle of nerves.

Lucretia made it clear that their comfy lives, at least in comparison to other slaves, relied on me being happy with their treatment, and Mira doesn't want to do anything to risk her life of servitude under Lucretia. She's accepted her life in slavery, and unlike Naevia she doesn't want to take any risks to endanger it. Life under Lucretia isn't bad, they are well-fed, treated kindly and don't have any particularly strenuous or degrading especially with Lucretia's husband dead.

Taking pity on her, I give her a brief burst of healing magic to stop the pain, making her gasp in surprise at the flash of golden light, a slight moan of pleasure leaving her lips as the pain fades, leaving only pleasure.

Gripping her ass with one hand, I gently stroke her hair out of her face, giving her a light kiss. It's a simple way of showing my approval, and it goes a long way to soothe her worries as her movements become more natural.

Moving my hand, I shift it to Naevia's ass and pull her against my side, she doesn't resist, of course, her life is on the line after all. I'm not going to judge Lucretia over how treats her slaves, this isn't modern society after all... it's Nova Roma, and the rules are different here. Naevia disobeyed her mistress and spread her legs for a fellow slave, knowing it would get her punished if she got caught, and that is no-ones fault but her own.

I have no reason to change the society of Nova Roma, it is fine as it is and frankly I don't care enough to put the effort into making it a place of equality or some such nonsense.

Mira places her hands on my chest to brace herself as she speeds up, staring into my eyes with growing pleasure, whimpering slightly as my hand comes from her ass to her small breast, cupping the handful of flesh as I gently circle her nipple with my thumb.

"That's it, there's no reason you shouldn't enjoy this." I say encouragingly, smiling at her as her pale cheeks grow flushed, and as she goes to reply I simply kiss her again, my tongue dominating her own as it explores her mouth. She's a natural sub, and it shows.

Naevia strikes me as someone who would be more of a dom if she had grown up in modern society, or even if she had been born a noble, servitude doesn't suit her, and it makes her act out.

Looking past Mira's naked body, I smirk at the sight of Lucretia sat on the edge of the bath, Melitta's head between her legs as she watches Mira and me, Diona's lips latched onto her nipple as she caresses the other breast.

Looking into their minds, I get my answer about why a slave girl owned by a man like Lucretia's former husband would be virginal. Melitta was his slave, but Mira, Naevia and Diona are Lucretia's personal slaves, and she didn't let him bed them, despite him wanting to.

Moving my hips in time with Mira's, I thrust up into her making her moan in pleasure, at this point I don't even need Eromancy for the normal mortal girls, certainly not for an inexperienced virgin like Mira, and angling myself just right, I make sure to hit her g-spot with every thrust, enjoying her whimpers and moans as her climax rapidly approaches.

As she cums, her formerly virgin slit clenching down on my shaft, I decide not to drag this out and let myself cum as well, my seed shooting up into her previously untouched womb.

As she pants, her eyes wide, I help her off my shaft, letting her rest with a quick kiss to the forehead and a gentle stroke of her hair to show her my approval, getting a smile back from her.

Turning to Naevia, her eyes shoot down to my still hard shaft in surprise.

Smirking, I simply pull her towards me, turning her around and bending her unresisting body over the edge of the bath. She's less eager to please than Mira, less cooperative as well, so I cast my usual barrage of Eromancy spells on her as I line myself up with her darker quim, gripping her hips as the tip of my shaft starts to part her lower lips.

With a single thrust, I slam forwards, my hips colliding with her ass as she moans loudly.

"O-oh, Juno..."

- Hera -

A fucking goat.

Why was he a goat?

At this point, Zeus's constant affairs with mortals couldn't even rouse her anger any more, not after thousands of years with him bedding hundreds of mortals each year.

But why did he insist on turning into animals for it?

They could change their appearance at will, he could make himself the most attractive male the mortals had ever seen... instead he turned into a goat and snuck into a farm-girls bed. Did their mother drop him on his head when she was hiding him from their father?

Hearing a mortal call her Roman name again, she paused as she located it. Nova Roma again. Last time she went to investigate, she ended up experiencing one of her followers, the now Queen Amara, being bedded by her well-hung (and more importantly not an animal) husband.

But Queen Amara was in some place called Massachusetts...

...sending her consciousness forwards, she held in her moan as the slave-girl calling her name was taken from behind, glancing back at the smirking face of King Kuro.

She was the Goddess of Marriage, but was this really cheating? Her body was back in Olympus, untouched... and Amara knew of her husband's habits, approving of his use of the slaves and fellow noblewomen.

...If her husband could run off three times a week to bed a mortal woman, leaving her untouched for years, she saw no reason she could not enjoy a good fucking by proxy.