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I had mostly everything done by now, so I prepared myself to finally fly off towards the Dark Steppes, quickly separating my body into two, and at the same time, I spoke with Agatheina about various issues.
"Kireina-sama, we have prepared the formations above the Empire, so rest assured," she said.
"How are the rest of the Gods?" I asked.
"Ah, everyone is here except a few ones who are preparing a few things inside of their Divine Realms…" said Agatheina.
"Very well, what about the equipment I've given to you? Does it fits?" I asked.
"Oh! The equipment? Yes, yes, it fits all of us perfectly, even those like Merveim and Hodhyl who have enormous bodies seem to use them fine… Although a few Gods aren't here, so I can't give them the equipment yet…" said Agatheina.
You may wonder what equipment did I prepare for these Gods?
For a long time that I have been wondering, could there be a way to make the Gods that don't have half-mortal bodies roam the world if they use some kind of equipment?
So, I designed something like that.
Well, not me, but Kiroid and a few hundred Slime Clones.
You know, each of my Slime Clones has a copy of my own mind, and if they connect with my soul, they can get things such as proficiency in subclass fields and knowledge upgraded (although not power), so if I gathered hundreds of them together, wouldn't I have hundreds of minds working together?
And each mind possessing the Divine Technology, Divine Science, and stuff from my proficiencies. They do not even need the actual skills, as long as the proficiency and knowledge that came from such subclass fields are within their minds, they can already begin designing something by combining all of their brainpower.
And Kiroid was there, as one that had been born in a Magic Mech body. So while I, Charlotte, Herbell, Kusuri, and the rest worked together in adding the Fusion Skills into the transformation mech bodysuits accessories, my hundred of Slime Clones and Kiroid led another investigation, to find a way to let gods use such equipment and be capable of being in the surface without spending too much energy.
And I managed to get something done more or less, although it is not perfect.
How, may you ask?
Well, it was as easy as letting these new types of equipment momentarily fuse together with the Gods Divine Bodies, through the Fusion related Skills, it was possible.
And then, each piece of equipment also was custom-made for each god, so I added a ton of things for each one and even added Split Souls so they can fuse with them momentarily as well and bring them so boost in power, skills, and other abilities.
Although they still need to spend Divine Energy, it is not as much with this equipment… Although they don't look as aesthetically pleasing due to being battle-oriented, so it's not like I can bring Agatheina down here to hug and kiss her because she will be covered in enormous armor.
Hm, now that I think about it, it's kind of like astronaut suits…
Anyways, after having designed them, I quickly distributed them to the Gods, so now most everyone has one for them, which they can use to come down here to support the Empire whenever some suspicious guy (or army) shows up.
"I see, I hope it can be of use for all of you, please stay wary of anything," I said.
"O-Of course, Kireina-sama…! M-My wife…" said Agatheina with a shy tone.
After what happened between us yesterday, she began to call me 'my wife', which I did not mind. Every time she did this, she also sounded quite embarrassed, which added to her cuteness.
"Take care, Agatheina, I love you," I said.
"A-Ah! S-Sure thing! I-I love you too, K-Kireina-sama…" said Agatheina.
Smiling over Agatheina's tender warmth, I moved to other things.
I have decided to leave most of my family protecting the Empire, and I would only be accompanied by Rimuru, Zehe, Amiphossia, and Brontes.
Many complained, not only my wives and children, but the wolves, the giants, and everyone else… They all wanted to fight at my side, however, it's not like they wouldn't.
"I will also stay in the Empire, so don't worry. And whenever I need extra backup, I can easily summon you guys through my Inner Realms portals that connect me with this clone," I said, pointing at my other body, as I spoke with both at the same time.
"O-Oh! I see. Then there is nothing to worry about, Master!" said Wagyu.
"But remember to call us if you need any help, please, don't try to do everything yourselves, even if you're the strongest of our Empire, Gods are beings with many abilities," said Kekensha.
"Indeed they are, and don't worry, we will make sure to do so, Kekensha," I said.
"It's not like I am going anywhere, as I will stay here with my baby," I said with my other body, rubbing my belly as it bulged a bit since then.
"We'll make sure to protect you!" said Gaby.
"I am counting in all of you to protect the Empire, guu! Take care, Ailine-chan," said Rimuru.
"Okay, mommy, take care!" said Ailine.
"Vudia, always obey your brothers and the rest of your aunts, they know what's best for you, alright?" said Brontes.
"Okay! Bring me some God soul to eat!" said Vudia.
"Ryo, don't be so reckless," said Zehe.
"Come on, mom, I am already an adult…" said Ryo.
"Amiphossia, take care of your siblings and aunts, alright?" said Nesiphae.
"Sure thing!" said Amiphossia confidently.
"Alright, time to go," I said, as Rimuru, Nesiphae, Zehe, and Brontes, flew near me. I created a pocket space and then dived through the spatial layers, moving at high speeds towards the coordinates of the Dark Steppes.
"So are we going to fight some Gods, guu?" asked Rimuru as we traveled.
"Indeed, it seems to be a fairly easier task as well, as this God hasn't distributed its power and has taken over hostages or anything like Geggoron did, so we should be able to defeat it and be done with this," said Zehe.
"Hm, I feel that things won't be as easy, they never are…" said Brontes.
"That's right, there must be way more than we expect. After all, Kireina-sama said that Hephaestus had been seen going around the Dark Steppes…" said Nesiphae.
"Hm, there is way more than we can expect. Hephaestus is not alone either... Ah, it seems that my plan worked…" I said with a smile.
"Plan?" asked Zehe.
"Remember that I parasitized Apollo until I ate his entire soul and replaced it with a soul clone?" I asked.
"Oh right! That was pretty funny, guu!" said Rimuru.
"And a bit surprising…" said Zehe.
"Well, we are used to such things at this point…" said Brontes.
"Hm? Did you ate another God like that, dear?" asked Nesiphae.
"That's right. I told you before that Apollo has a big family, right? Well, I have been faking to be the real Apollo since I ate his soul, and it has been working quite fine, I have even begun to distribute items I have created through my body such as meat and Ambrosia to his family and other gods who were his friends… Well, the thing is, I slowly built up some opportunities where I could be completely alone with some family members, and I managed to eat the soul of his wife, Cyrene, and his son Asclepius, my power increased a bit the other day because of that," I said.
"Oooh! So scheming and cunning, guu!" said Rimuru.
"That's… Incredibly devilish, as Acelina would say, fufu," said Zehe.
"Amazing, and the other family members didn't realize?" asked Brontes.
"No, they have not realized yet, and through my amazing acting skills given to me by my Mirage Magic, I have been fooling the two surviving children that Apollo has, and I've even fooled Hephaestus," I said.
"Even Hephaestus?!" asked Nesiphae.
"Indeed. Recently, I joined his group with my Apollo and Cyrene Clones, as he needed some backup for his plans, and I have gotten more or less what he's planning, it's an enormous scheme… and surprise-surprise! It includes the Thanatos Demon Kingdom too…" I said.
"W-What?!" asked Zehe.
"Good thing we prepared a lot…" said Brontes.
"I-Indeed… so are they joining Hephaestus or…?" asked Nesiphae.
"They're all actually charging directly into our Empire, although I could not get the exact details of how they seem to be very confident on it, they will teleport straight away in front of my Empire in some strange way, and the Gods will back them up as well… Even the Greedy Queen, who possess the Sin of Greed will be there… Good thing I left several preparations on standby, and also my own soul is there as well through the clone," I said.
"That's… Now I kind of want to go back…" said Nesiphae.
"We can go back whenever they need our help, at least you four can through my Inner Realm portals, I will rush there and only take a few seconds, and it's not like I am not there, as my clone is there. All my True Body clones are me, after all," I said.
"That's a bit reassuring, but still, I am more concerned now…" said Nesiphae.
"Hm, because of that, let's hurry up with this issue," said Brontes.
"Yeah, we'll pulverize Hephaestus and Jorgrakog, and whoever is with them, guu!" said Rimuru.
"Remember that Apollo and Cyrene are me, so they will help us out, but they might fake things out for a bit, so pretend to not know their intentions," I said.
"Right! Err, are they like True Body Clones, honey?" asked Zehe.
"No, they are different, they're more like Slime Clones. They're my split souls using the physical bodies of these gods as vessels, they're particularly weaker than the original god though, but they have a wider arrange of abilities and stuff inherited from me," I said.
"I see… It will be a good enough assistance…" said Nesiphae.
"Amazingly, you managed to fool Hephaestus…" laughed Zehe.
"Indeed, I can't wait to see that old man's face when his own brother betrays him," I said.
"By the way, what more are the Demon Gods planning?" asked Brontes.
"They seem to be confident that their army will be able to destroy my Empire, they have prepared very strong mortal vessels, and the Greedy Queen, in particular, is capable of harboring a part of the power of every Demon God that makes up that Pantheon… and aside from that, she has very crazy Skills, although I don't know her complete haul as the information is very limited… But it is said that she can steal the skills of others," I said.
"T-That's very dangerous!" said Zehe.
"It is very powerful… But there must be a limit, right? She can't possibly steal everything she wants without repercussions, right?" asked Brontes.
"Indeed, even for a Realm Menace, she is limited in what she can steal, although this is but assumptions. If she were to be so ridiculously strong, wouldn't she and the gods had already conquered the whole Realm of Vida? There might be something that limits her freedom when stealing Skills," I said.
"Even with a limitation, such power is already very dangerous… She can use the power of others against them…" said Nesiphae.
"Hm, I will make sure to pressure her as much as I can with my body there, as long as everyone else assists me, it should be possible…" I said.
"Anything else? I feel like just realizing this whole conspiracy is a bit overwhelming…" said Zehe.
"Oh, Kaggoth is a traitor," I said.
"WHAT?!" my four wives cried at the same time.
"Indeed, I discovered that Kaggoth had been secretly talking with Thanatos and telling him a lot about everything going on in here, but she had missed a lot of info, mostly due to her clumsy nature… Sigh. Well, I will punish her when the time comes. Thing is, she hasn't been doing this out of malice. Thanatos has her little sister trapped within his Divine Realm… I should be more engaged, but I can't help but pity her," I said.
"That's… A lot to take…" said Zehe.
"S-So Kaggoth-chan, the cute and nice Kaggoth-chan… She's a traitor?! What are we going to do now, guuu!" cried Rimuru.
"I am in between anger and pity. But I don't think I will end up killing her. Bu this has taught me that I need better ways to restrict God… Well, what's done is done. She will most likely bring the Gods right inside of Agatheina's Divine Realm, but thanks to the items I've prepared for the Gods, they should be able to keep them in check for a while… If not, I will divide my body in my Empire and go assist them…" I said.
"There isn't much time to whine and be angry about things… A lot of events are about to unfold, perhaps this will be the hardest battles we'll ever experience, so let's brace ourselves, I am counting on all of you," I said.
"Guu… Let's concentrate on the task of now!" said Rimuru.
"Indeed, we are already right there… Let's do this all together!" said Nesiphae.
"I am a bit overwhelmed, but I will do my best, honey," said Zehe.
"Let's make sure to end this quickly," said Brontes.
Flash!
As we finally reached the Dark Steppes, an enormous spectacle unfolded in front of my vision.
The sky and the atmosphere were completely dark, filled with thousands of monsters and horrible creatures, the entire landscape had turned into a wasteland of contamination and miasma.
In the middle of the Dark Steppes, the enormous barrier made by the Dark Steppes Gods was slowly shattering into pieces, and Jorgrakog, a mass of dark flesh covered in tentacles, bones, and eyes, roared like a monster that had waited for its freedom for a long time.
I open my Pocket Space, flying with my wives towards the center, trying to reach the barrier before it's too late.
But just as we are a few centimeters in, Jorgrakog notices us and then, a group of gods appears out of thin air, and the scenery changes.
I find myself in a world of fire and magma, and Hephaestus glares at me from above.
"Give me back my daughter… and your death will be swift…" he says, with fury clear on his eyes.
"Oh? Do you mean Blaze? But she's happy with me, old man~" I said, teasing the old man as his eyes blaze in a fiery rage.
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