Chapter 895: The Morning after
"It’s already morning..."
Asmodeus hated the flow of time.
Even with his domain, he couldn’t gather enough of the finite grains of sand that passed through the hourglass. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with his wives, whenever they finally got a moment together.
Yet even with his powers running all night... that only gained them an extra few days together.
’I haven’t been there enough for them as it is...’
He chastised himself mentally, knowing that the time he spent in the empire’s lands left most of his wives lonely and frustrated.
Thus, whenever he could, he wouldn’t hesitate to use his entire Divine Core to maintain his domain for as long as possible.
Suddenly, several soft, delicate fingertips pulled on his shoulder as Lumina’s slightly hoarse voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Darling... are you already awake?"
Lumina remained mostly hidden beneath the blankets, her silver hair messy and scattered across the pillows while several of her arms loosely hugged his waist and chest.
Her garnet eyes were only half-open, still hazy with sleep, and she looked considerably less dignified than the queen who normally greeted the world.
"Unfortunately."
"Unfortunately...?"
She blinked several times before slowly narrowing her eyes with a cheeky smirk on her lips.
"Are you saying waking beside your beautiful wife is unfortunate?"
"...don’t be foolish; you know what I mean!"
He couldn’t help but snap back, his hands grabbing her soft flesh, squeezing her thighs with a slightly menacing look in the depths of his eyes.
Lumina cracked one eye open and tilted her head to the side, letting her silky hair drape down her cheek.
"Hmph, then... how are you going to make it up to me?"
"Apparently, carrying exhausted spider queens into the bath and making her squeal."
She shook her head, slowly clasping her fingers around his body, then pressed herself against his back before whispering in his ear. "Good husband."
"Hahaha..."
The room remained pleasantly warm, although the light creeping through the curtains announced that the world outside had already continued without them. Clothing remained scattered across the floor, several strands of dried webbing still clung between the ceiling and furniture, while the ruined bedding beneath them probably needed to be burned rather than cleaned.
Asmodeus glanced around.
’We really destroyed this place.’
What amused him most were the countless, sticky threads of webbing clinging to various objects—a sign of his wife’s extreme pleasure from their three-day exchange.
"...Don’t."
"Don’t what?"
Lumina appeared to have followed his gaze as her pale, porcelain cheeks bloomed pink. "Don’t look at the mess...!" Her slight yelp startled him as she pulled him back into the quilt with a sudden yank.
"I can’t help it..."
"Hmph... then close your eyes and forget!"
"How can I forget? It’s your mess anyway; who cares?"
Her face appeared from beneath the blanket, a slightly blaming look in her eyes as she frowned with a pout.
"Who do you think made this happen?!"
"Heh, it’s not like I produced the webbing."
She stared at him silently before raising her hands in the air, but Asmodeus caught her wrist before she could slap him.
"Resorting to violence because you know I am right?!"
"Hmph! You rogue... You deserve everything!"
"Do I really?"
"Yes!"
She tried using another hand.
He caught that one too.
Then another.
By the fourth attempt, Asmodeus started laughing.
"Lumina."
"Release me."
"No."
"I have four more."
"Do you really think that you’re going to win this, Lumina?"
The remaining hands emerged from beneath the blanket.
Asmodeus immediately rolled towards her.
"Wait—"
It was too late. He trapped Lumina beneath him before her exhausted body could properly react, pinning several wrists against the mattress while the others pushed uselessly against his shoulders.
"Asmodeus!"
"You started this; now behave yourself, or else I will punish you! Don’t forget how you couldn’t even stand last night."
Lumina’s cheeks brightened as she quickly turned her face away while biting her lower lip.
"That was your fault!"
"It sounded like you were giving me praise at the time."
"Arrogant bastard, release me."
Despite her words, there was little struggle. No, he could clearly feel her legs slowly wrapping around his waist as if to lock him in place. This spider queen’s lust wasn’t to be trifled with...
"Be good... Lumina."
The playful irritation gradually disappeared from Lumina’s expression.
Her eyes travelled across his face, lingering upon the golden irises and black sclera that still felt unfamiliar even to him. One hand escaped his grip, though rather than striking him, her fingers gently brushed through his silvery-white hair.
"You didn’t sleep much."
Asmodeus shrugged his shoulders and slipped deeper into Lumina’s embrace while smiling.
"I slept enough, so don’t worry about it."
"..."
"Lumina...?"
"Hmph, as if I wouldn’t know." Her fingertips stroked down the side of his face, faintly scratching his bronze flesh. "You always take on the burdens without speaking to us all."
He didn’t respond, but grasped her hand gently.
"It’s alright this time. I was just thinking about what to do next."
She knew him so well that it had become both comforting and increasingly inconvenient. Lumina sighed, then shifted beneath him until she could rest more comfortably against the pillows.
"Is it about that woman, the Arbiter?"
Asmodeus looked away, his gaze scanning beyond the curtains; birds had begun calling somewhere across the palace gardens.
Lumina watched him for several seconds but chose to remain silent.
"Do you want to kill her?"
Her question was fair and honest.
If it was the past, or just after the attack, he wouldn’t hesitate. Yet, since meeting Mai and learning about her past and the method by which one became an Arbiter...
He couldn’t help but want to speak with Ein more.
After the battle with Leviathan, it seemed she’d lost most of her abilities as an Arbiter; halfway through the battle, her armour, aura and power just vanished.
It was like someone deleted them, making it seem like they never existed in the first place.
Asmodeus remained quiet, his thumb brushing slowly across Lumina’s knuckles as he searched for an answer that didn’t feel dishonest.
"I don’t know."
Lumina’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Those three words seemed to surprise her more than any declaration of revenge could have.
"You don’t know?"
"I wanted her dead." His golden eyes hardened for a moment. "When she attacked us, when she threatened everything we’d built... I wanted to tear her apart with my own hands."
"And now?"
"Now I’ve seen what an Arbiter actually is."
His gaze lowered to their joined hands.
"Or perhaps what they’re made into."
Lumina’s expression became more thoughtful, her remaining hands gradually relaxing across his body. She didn’t interrupt him, nor did she try to soften the hatred that still lingered beneath his voice.
Asmodeus appreciated that.
"Mai didn’t choose the life she was given," he continued. "If Ein were shaped by something similar, then killing her without understanding anything would be..."
"Unlike you?"
He glanced at her.
Lumina smiled faintly.
"Don’t look so offended, darling. You have always been terribly sentimental beneath all that growling."
"I am not sentimental."
The beautiful arachnid cocked her head to the side, her arms folded.
"Are you joking with me? Have you forgotten who I am, or what I did to you?! If you weren’t a sentimental and kind man, would you have spared my life... let alone married me!"
"I know, what was I thinking—ouch!"
One of Lumina’s hands immediately pinched his waist as she snorted.
"Don’t be cheeky, you bastard."
"Hah... what a tyrant wife."
"You’re the tyrant; your family are the tyrant!"
Despite her acting angry, he couldn’t help but smile at the way Lumina dealt with issues between them. He adored her more than anything else and chose to let the things he disagreed with slide.
"However, something took her power away in the middle of battle. Suppose it happened at a slightly worse moment. Both Velvet and I would never have survived the battle..."
Lumina’s garnet eyes narrowed as she raised her lips. "So whoever, or whatever, took her power clearly did it to kill you, right?"
"I think someone decided she no longer deserved those powers."
For several moments, only the morning birds disturbed the silence.
Then Lumina brushed his hair behind one pointed ear.
"So speak with her."
His eyes shifted towards her.
"If you want answers, ask them. If you still want to kill her afterwards..." Lumina shrugged one shoulder, utterly casual. "Then kill her afterwards."
Asmodeus stared at his wife.
"What?"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"N-Nothing, I just didn’t think you would let me speak to another woman. Didn’t you complain there were too many as it is?"
Lumina’s lips curved sweetly. "Well. As long as you return to my arms and sleep wrapped within them, I don’t care." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, lingering there before whispering beside his ear.
"Besides, darling, you don’t have to decide everything before breakfast."
His stomach chose that moment to growl.
"...Was that you?"
"No."
"Asmodeus."
Her eight eyes stared at him.
He maintained his dignity for perhaps three seconds.
Lumina burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! The mighty Abyssal Sovereign, conqueror of Leviathan, defeated by an empty stomach!"
"Keep laughing, and I’ll eat your breakfast too."
Her laughter stopped immediately.
"You wouldn’t dare!"
Asmodeus finally escaped her arms and sat upright.
"Now who’s frightened?"
Lumina threw the pillow at his head before diving at his body. Without resistance, she easily pinned him down, pressing her lips to his neck before whispering.
"But you are my breakfast, darling."