Arpious of the Planes



"W-Well, in her defense, she is a busy woman-" 

"I'm just kidding," The woman lightly chuckled, but just the way her eyes seemed to droop after speaking was more than enough to tell me she was angry and disappointed. 

"I'm sorry… I'll try to get her to visit you and all of her other wives. She visited Miss Kumo and Miss Aika last time… so I don't doubt she will visit you." 

"Hmmm… yes, I guess. Well, since you already know who I am, how about we get to know each other a bit more over some lunch? I have yet to eat, so how about we grab something to bite." 

A date? Is she really asking me out on a date? 

"A date?" 

"Oh~ I never said that," she winked at me before gesturing for me to follow. Smiling, I followed her across the grassy planes, conversing over aspect about Arpious. 

"So, how did you meet her?" Treyni asked, her smile so contagious that mine couldn't help but widen. Her voice was silky like fresh sheets and sweet like the freshest honey a hive of bees could ever make. 

"Well…" I lightly chuckled, unable to hold these small bubbling bits of excitement within me. "... Let's see… I found her wandering on the streets. Originally, she had been enslaved by a demoness who is actually my other wife now-" 

"Oh, so you're also a player, huh? Do you have a harem?" 

"I-I do," I lightly blushed. "One is an elven empress, the other one is a very seductive demon empress, and the other one is… well, a beautiful empress across many planes." 

"That's wonderful… I was thinking of starting my own harem as well. Having Arpious as a wife is amazing, but I'm sure you can tell I'm growing lonely." 

"What? So you want me to become your first concubine?" I lightly chuckled, yet somehow the woman managed to infiltrate my guard and grab both palms of my hands. "R-Really?" 

"Of course, I won't force you, but…." Her right hand slowly trailed up my neck, more specifically, her index finger, which grazed my lips. "... I would be kind of sad if you didn't fall for my seduction. I know I've been growing old, but seeing how I'm not as charming as in my youthful days…." 

"W-What? You're beautiful. You're the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my life and-" 

BOOOOOOOM 

All of a sudden, the ground from beneath us exploded upwards, dirt, grass, rock, and a marble-like material flying past us. 

Somehow that marble-like material was sharp and sturdy enough to cut my skin, forcing me to create an enveloping wave of flames that burned everything flying past us. 

From my back, I sprouted my own dragon wings, carrying Treyni in a princess carry, but just as I was about to fly back down, the woman suddenly sprouted wings made of branches and thick layers of leaves. 

"I can fly as well," She smirked, raising her hands up into the air, causing all of the surrounding nature to dimple and then explode upwards. 

But unlike the ground beneath us, which had torn apart, the grass and dirt hills were turned into towering mountains that scraped the floor of the plane above this one. 

Quickly extinguishing my flames, I was able to see that she formed a massive wall of literal earth around us, acting as giant mountains which had already begun to grow its own ecosystem of small monsters and plants. 

"Gaia… you're a descendant of Gaia, aren't you?" 

"What makes you say that?" Treyni smiled back at me before looking down at the gaping hole below. It was spewing tons of materials that looked like marble, but upon hitting the ground below, they formed into what seemed to be gargoylish monsters. 

"Gargoyles?" 

"Indeed… are you aware of the true nature of the planes?" The beautiful woman asked, causing me to shake my head from side to side. "Then shall I show you?" 

Her entire body nose-dived in tandem with the bending and altering mountains around us, causing everything to fold in like a flower reversing out of its blooming stage. 

So, in order to not get crushed under the folding mountains, I nose-dived down into the gaping hole as well, shooting straight past the beastly gargoyles that flew at me. 

"Don't get touched by them otherwise, you'll turn to stone," Treyni suddenly explained. 

"That would've been nice to know before I charged straight in," I muttered, turning upwards and allowing myself to rest easy on the smooth marble floor below. "Anyways, what is this place?" 

It was like a beautiful museum that stretched off in four cardinal directions while also simultaneously having a few darkened parts releasing even more gargoyles from the strange material. 

"Be a dear and help me out, will you?" Treyni continued to smile. 

"I was going to kill them whether you asked me or not," I smiled back, pressing both of my hands onto the floor and then injecting mana straight into my palms. "[Sun Magic: First Sun Halo]." 

Around both of Treyni and me, a halo-shaped figure made of glowing condensed fire appeared around us before swiftly expanding, cutting every single gargoyle present in half. 

And just to make sure they stayed down, the fire spread to them and burned away any sign of their existence from this strange place. 

"Foooooo… hmmm… that was easy enough." 

"Don't relax yet. We still have to patch up the root cause of this explosion before we can do anything else…." 

"Yes, ma'am~" I continued to follow the stunning and gorgeous goddess that I got the privilege of following behind. 

"Ysal, can I ask you a bit of a personal question?" She suddenly spoke up as we walked down the hall leading towards the absolute north of the plane. "I promise it won't be something too out of the ordinary." 

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead…" 

"Were you topping Arpious, or were you a bottom?" 

If I had a sip of water in my mouth, all of it would've been sprayed onto the floor as I was so taken aback by the question that I stuttered seemingly endlessly until she began to laugh.