Lee had initially been relieved when the Lord had arrived. Surely, if he was here, then he would put an end to this horrific display. I mean sure, the girl deserved it for attacking the Storm Queen but... Wasn't that still a bit much?

He had always heard people say that the Queen of Lightning was terrifying, and when he had first met her he had actually agreed with that sentiment. Her deep set scowl and cold eyes that seemed to stare daggers through everything in sight, as if she was planning the perfect way to rip them limb from limb at a moments notice.

But even though he agreed, he had thought that surely it couldn't be that bad all the time. He was right. Unfortunately, that was because she somehow got worse than usual. When he was watching her slap around that poor girl, who he assumed to be the scrawny guy's girlfriend, he actually felt bad for the girl.

Not just for how she was being brutalised, but how callous and chillingly calm the Queen of Lightning was about the entire ordeal. Not a shred of emotion on her face when she was beating the piss out of the girl, literally.

Then the electricity started... God, he would be having nightmares about the face she was making. That smile... the joy she took making the girl writhe and scream, the gleam in her eyes with every crackling bolt of lightning.

He had spent the entire time being as still as possible, desperately hoping that he wouldn't do anything at all to incite her wrath. He had even held his breath, hoping to just fade into the background.

So how in the world was he now walking through the city beside her! What cruel god did he anger to deserve this?

He didn't even know what had caused the initial argument to begin with, who the scrawny guy Seth's girlfriend had freaked out like that. Was it a lovers quarrel? No... No it couldn't be. He knew Seth, he spent basically all of his time locked in that little cave of his.

It was a miracle that he even got one girl. So there was no way in hell he got two, never mind one being the Queen of Lightning. Why would she ever want to be with a scrawny little guy like that? She had plenty of stronger guys constantly pining after her already. Seth? He was so far out of her league he may as well be in a different country.

Nah nah, definitely not a lovers quarrel. So it had to be that his girlfriend blamed the Queen of Lightning for taking her feeble little boyfriend through the portals and into danger. But since that was already resolved... Oh god, She was blaming him now, wasn't she?

It made sense! He had portal powers, she got trapped in a portal. She was going to beat him just like she did with the girlfriend. No... If she was going to do that, she could have done it in front of the Lord or asked him for punishment, which means she was definitely going to do something he wouldn't approve of.

She was going to kill him! That had to be it. Oh god Oh god Ohgodohgodohgod.

"We're here. Get to work."

Her voice, as cold as the darkest tundra, cut through his mind and only served to increase his panic. They had stopped in an area littered with countless corpses of creatures that had been freshly slain.

Get to work? That could only mean one thing. She wanted him to dig his own grave before she killed him, what else could it possibly be?

Lee's chest rapidly rose and fell as he heaved breathes in and out, his heart palpitating in his chest as he rapidly calculated if he could create a portal and get through it before she could blast him, and where he could possibly go, when Astra spoke again.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Close the portal. You can, can't you?"

Lee's breath caught in his throat and he couldn't help but blink a few times in utter confusion. For the first time since they started walking, he turned his head and looked at her. His face still stuck in a twisted expression of utter horror and panic as he gazed at her, causing her to simply tilt her head as she looked back at him.

He quickly looked around again, taking in the scene with a clearer and less panicked mind, before finally noticing the open breach in space that all the deceased monsters would have poured out of.

"I uh... Yes. Yes I can."

Clearing his throat, Lee straightened himself out and put on a completely dead eyed, neutral expression as he got to work closing the portal with his face beet red in embarrassment. The entire time, simply chastising himself in his mind and mentally apologising to Astra.

***

Seth was completely unaware of the current plight that Lee was undergoing, although he would only laugh at it instead of feeling sympathy if he did know so that's probably for the best.

Reunited with his alternate persona, and with the invasion starting to come to an end thanks to the Unkindly Guards power boost, as well as the humiliated teleporter closing the portals while doing his best to avoid eye contact with Astra.

It would still take some time before they could properly finish up with the entire ordeal, but at the very least it was a weight off of Seth's shoulders. With a quick instruction to some capable people, as well as a few puppets to join them, he instructed them on how to store the viable corpses until it was time for processing.

Citizens safe, Monsters being dealt with, more food than they knew what to do with. Even his spectre was caught and under constant supervision by a pair of puppets, as well as Bob, in a makeshift prison. Everything was working out perfectly, and since there would be some time before they could start safely processing all of their kills and dealing with the aftermath, it meant that Seth had plenty of time to do one very important thing.

Sleep.

He had got a little of it in the meadow, but that nap was nothing compared to the one he was about to experience. Having retreated to the living space of his Spider Lair workshop, Seth filled up a tub with fresh water, which immediately started to heat up and curl with steam - all thanks to a special runic charm he had carved at the bottom of his bathtub.

But while that would definitely help relax his strained and over excreted muscles, there was one special ingredient he could use that would help with the litany of cuts, bruises and other assorted wounds he had.

From a particular cabinet he had in this bathroom, Seth withdrew a single vial of what seemed like liquid gold. Fresh dew water, curtsy of his wondrous healing grass, was poured into the water of the bathtub like he was adding in bubble bath. There was no more than 100ml of the golden liquid, and it rapidly diluted into the steaming bathwater, yet it still turned the bath water into a resplendent soft, golden tint.

It might not seem like much, but watering it down was exactly what was needed. It was potent stuff, as he had discovered, and could easily be addictive if too much was taken in a strong enough dose. But like this, it was perfectly safe and effective enough for a long soaking session. Which was exactly what he planned.

"Aahhhhhh. That's the good stuff."

Seth couldn't help but let out groans of pleasure as he sunk his battered body into the unfortunately coloured bathwater1. But the colour didn't matter, because he could immediately feel it working its magic.

His garish cuts, which would have been fatal for anyone else, immediately started to tingle as they slowly started to stitch themselves back together under the influence of the not so golden water.

He had to be thankful for his special blood, the strange and unintentional gift that he had received from the dragon lady. He would have to thank her the next time he met her, and this 'Progenitor' too, if that ever happened. It was his blood that mutated him like this, after all.

Not only did it make for wonderful armour to protect his body, but it stopped him from bleeding out. The black blood that ran through his veins seemed to have a life of its own, and refused to leave their new home unless it was to cover his body like a second skin.

Unfortunately, that second skin only seemed to be effective at blunt force trauma. It was wonderful at cushioning the blows of tyrannical punches, but it was just as resilient as his normal skin when it came to blades, slashing or piercing.

So in the future, he would have to pair it with a proper set of armour if he wanted the best possible protection.

The issue of armour, however, could wait until he had finished with his bath. Not just because it was easier to work when he was fully healed, but he also had to wait for a particular piece of the puzzle that would help him in his work.

A particular piece that was currently being located by one of his puppets, after he had armed it with the same prototype device Bob had used on one of his hunts.

Once he had that piece, however, it would finally be time to add another member to their little family. Bob deserved a new brother.

At least it wasn't a shower... Golden shower... God, I swear I didn't realise that aspect until it was too late.