(AN: Here is yesterday’s chapter. Another will be coming sometime today… hopefully.)

---Thirty Minutes Later, Victor POV---

As we made our way back to the safe zone, the Daedric Princes repeatedly voiced their discontent with Meridia. During their warm-up, Meridia inadvertently used too much of her power and cleansed nearly all the district. Nearly roasting Nocturnal alive in her shadows, she had also incinerated all the insects Namira had gathered. Forcing her to stand down for the rest of the mission, her peers were annoyed she had ruined their entertainment.

“Damn it! Just how many more times do you want me to apologize before you will drop it?”, Meridia grumbled, reaching the end of her rope. “I have apologized a bazillion times already. What more do you want from me?!”

“For starters, how about actually being sincere with your words?”, Mephala recommended, elbowing Meridia. “Up to this point, your apologies have been halfhearted at best.”

“We could have had a pleasant afternoon with our husband, but now we have to dive right into mortal politics.”, Vaermina complained, walking beside me. “It is frankly the most bothersome part of the mortal realm.”

“I am only mad because you almost incinerated my little sister. If not for Victor’s timely intervention, Nocturnal would have been a charred corpse.”, Azura asserted, sitting atop my shoulder next to Loki.

“Those… Those are all valid points.”, Meridia acknowledged, looking at her peers. “I apologize for ruining everyone’s afternoon. Nocturnal, I am sincerely sorry my mistake nearly killed you.”

Sensing the sincerity in her tone, most of the Daedric Princes forgave her. Namira, enraged by her deliberate neglect, struck Meridia in the arm. Loudly yelping, Meridia demanded to know what she was doing.

“Uh, hello!? Where is my heartfelt apology!”, Namira shouted, stomping her feet. “You know damn well that I share a psychic link with my servants when I summon them. Your fuck-up gave me one hell of a headache!”

“Fine… I apologize for giving you a nasty headache.”, Meridia groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “That said, I will not apologize for burning your creepy crawlies. Aside from Vaermina, the rest of us despise those cretins.”

Nodding their heads in agreement, the other Daedric Princes admitted it was true. Aware of this fact as well, Namira pretended to be distraught and ran to me for comfort. Wrapping herself around my forearm, she looked up at me with her big emerald eyes.

“Beloved, you do not mind my subordinates, right?”, Namira questioned, engulfing a portion of my forearm with her bountiful chest.

“I am not a big fan of bugs, but I will tolerate them for your sake. Just try to keep them away from Mylene and Olivia. They are liable to start lobbing fireballs everywhere to get rid of kill them.”, I chuckled, giving her a warm smile.

“Hehe, I can do that.”, Namira said, beaming with happiness.

“Ahem!”, Loki coughed, garnering everyone’s attention. “Look alive; it looks like the others have been busy. By my rough count, I see at least twelve thousand people up ahead.”

Turning our gazes forward, we saw the giant crowd of people Lala’s group found. Currently receiving food and medical attention, they profusely thanked my men for everything. Doing what they could to assist, Lala and her sisters were the first to notice our approach. Waving me over, Nana informed me several hundred critically wounded people needed my help.

As they glanced over their shoulders, curious to see who she was talking to, their eyes bulged in shock upon seeing me. Before I knew what was happening, the survivors erupted into a burst of enthusiastic excitement. Mistaking me for my ancestor, people cried their eyes out with genuine belief.

“I know you are rather handsome, but this is quite a reaction.”, Azura snickered, running her fingers through my hair. “Are you going to burst their bubble or play along?”

“Let them believe what they want. I will not rob them of solace my presence brings them.”, I remarked, giving the survivors a warm wave. “What are the critically wounded?”

Quickly handing out the rest of the blankets they had, the trio motioned for us to follow them. Leading to medical tents set up along the palace’s outer wall, we stepped inside to find quite a gruesome scene. Mangled beyond recognition, these poor souls had been through hell and back, yet still clung to life.

“Victor, you are back!”, Olivia said, rushing over in her saintess attire. “I cured as many people as I could, but these people’s injuries are beyond my strength. Do you think your magic will work better?”

Casting High Heal and Regrowth on the injured, their bodies glowed brightly as they slowly returned to their original forms. Relieved to see them resting peacefully now, Olivia looked at me with confusion.

“I used those exact same spells and nearly killed one of them on accident. What makes your magic so special?”, Olivia questioned, cutely puffing her cheeks out in frustration.

“Healing magic is more than just chanting a spell and having the affinity for it.”, I remarked. “It requires a thorough understanding of the body and how things are attached. The more knowledgeable you are on the matter, the more effective your spells will be. This principle applies to all forms of magic, but it is especially critical in the healing arts.”

“Hmm…”, Olivia replied, her brow furrowed. “Could I possibly ask you to help me learn more about it? I want to be just as competent in understanding the humanoid body as you are.”

“Anything for my beloved wife.”, I agreed, kneeling to kiss her. “I leave these people in your very capable hands. Let me know if you need anything.”

Promising to do so, Olivia walked away to speak with the medical team. Stepping back out of the tent, we could hear shouting coming from the edge of camp. Walking over to see what was happening, several vibrantly dressed people were arguing with several Helldivers.

“What is so difficult about our request!?”, a well-dressed elderly man spat. “We wish to speak with Praetorate Heliros Avirax! Everyone is dying to know why the Caspiel Empire has waited this long to intervene in this conflict!”

“Like we keep saying, there is no Praetorate Heliros Avirax here…”, one of the Helldivers retorted. “We answer to Commander Lawson and Supreme Commander Stark only.”

Trying not to laugh, I found it amusing how worked up various galactic leaders were getting. Interjecting myself before a fight broke out, a different galactic leader was about to yell at me but stopped midsentence when they caught sight of me.

“As… As I live and breathe…”, the older man wheezed, staggering backward. “It… It is First Emperor Klordius Aremus in the flesh. No wonder they do not know Avirax.”

“Please forgive our rudeness. We assumed the empire had finally decided to act after years of silence. It never once occurred to us you had returned after all this time.”, the Lumeris representative remarked, giving me a respectful bow. “My name is Jenestra Omalfi’Meos of the Lumeris. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.”

“Haha, do not worry about it. After all you have been through, no one can fault you for being angry.”, I said with a grin. “My name is Victor von Stark, descendant of Emperor Aremus and Isabella Fou Bartfort.”

A bit surprised to hear this, as I was his spitting image, they were nevertheless apologetic about causing a scene. Getting them up to speed on the current situation, Omalfi’Meos circled back to the fleeing ships we first encountered.

“How many intact vessels were you able to save?”, Omalfi’Meos questioned, nervously rubbing her hands together.

“Thirty vessels. The rest of the ships were in pieces.”, I answered honestly.

“Only thirty…”, Emperor Zelevas of the United Empire wheezed, falling to his knees. “How… How could this have happened!? The five hundred vessels we dispatched were on a highly classified course. Only the ship navigators and the highest levels of leadership knew the route. For them to have been lying in wait for the fleet, there can only be one explanation… we have a traitor in our midst.”

Coming to the same bitter conclusion, the leaders slowly looked back at the palace. Those present were confident none of them were compromised, so it had to be one or more of the others who hung back. Uncertain how to determine who was involved, I offered to assist them with their problem.

“One of my plethora of talents is being able to sense others’ intent and truthfulness. If you ask a few probing questions to your peers, I can pinpoint who the traitors are.”, I said.

“We will graciously accept your assistance.”, Emperor Syriaca of the Galactic Human Empire agreed. “It is unlikely this was the perpetrator’s first time. I may be reading too much into it, but many of our recent setbacks could be the result of their interference. The sooner we get rid of the problem, the safer everyone will be.”

Following them toward the palace gate, I was eager to meet the other galactic leaders.