During the small break between attacks, Ieros was walking along the beach, studying the corpses of the monster pirates before him. He selected the most undamaged for a more extensive study back to the tower but those that were too damaged for any valuable data were just given a brief scan before moving on. As there were many monster races that were united under the pirate flag, he had collected many unique specimens. Some were half-spider, half humanoid and others lacked any sort of anthropoid features. These were completely alien and were the main object of his attention. During its century of study, it had only been able to do a brief skim so it knew that these existed, what they ate, and their hierarchy but not what lay beneath their skin.

This battle had yielded a wealth of information, although to get more meaningful information, it would have to infiltrate their ranks as one of them as it did with the humans. But that would come later, it had a minimum of an eon before Darkness awoke so procrastinating a century was nothing. But while he was making his observations of the monster race, the pirate ships whose cannons could still bombard the beaches were silent. They had already fired upon him but all the cannonballs were caught in midair by an invisible force and were then viciously returned from where they came, causing great damage and even succeeding in sinking a couple.

Therefore the order was given not to fire, as it would not only be detrimental but also a waste of ammunition. So Ieros was free to walk the beaches in peace, an insult to the pirate lords. How dare he stroll on the beach without a care in the world when the greatest pirates of all nine seas were at his doorstep? The First and Second Pirate Lords were incensed, their only desire now was revenge. But the Third Pirate Lord was not angry, he had withheld the majority of his troops, unsure if it was worth it. But having seen the failures of the previous attacks, he decided that the losses far outweighed the advantages, he had to cut his losses. So he withdrew his forces, returning to the high seas.

Doing so earned the animosity of the First and Second Lords but the Third did not care. He knew that if they continued this pointless battle, their power would be dealt a grievous blow, so much so that he had a feasible chance of defeating them. If that happened, he would become the sole Pirate Lord, the Ruler of the Seas. As he sailed away, he laughed heartily, surprising his crew who had never heard him laugh so. But the laughter was infectious and not even knowing the reason why, they joined in.

This had not left Ieros’s observant eyes but he did not rejoice, he knew that there was an even greater enemy approaching. The pirates were a mere appetizer before the main course, the Austerian Imperial Fleet. But as they were not here yet, he decided to fill his free time analyzing the specimens he had collected. So he returned to his tower, conducting extensive examinations. But he wasn’t totally focused on his examinations, a part of his mind kept an eye on the battlefield, just in case he needed to personally take command. But of course, his commanders were already blessed with all of Azemar’s strategic genius, he probably didn’t need to do anything. But, as long as there was a chance of it happening, he would not ignore it, no matter how remote.

—F.P. LIBIDINE—

At the Atheran Royal Palace…

I sauntered down the halls of the palace to the Throne Room, enjoying the stares that men gave me. Of course, in my younger years, I had hated it but now I enjoyed it. The feeling of having complete control over a man just using his desires, it was a delectable and addicting pleasure. Finally, I reached the palace, chuckling with amusement as the announcer gulped and hurriedly looked away. My gaze drifted down to the bulge in his pants, I could tell that he was aroused. Just to tease him, I bit my lip seductively and sauntered closer, pushing my breasts on his chest and whispering in his ear,

“Shouldn’t you announce me?”

I drew back and he hurriedly announced, his voice cracking in the middle, “Archmage L–*voice crack* Libidine enters the Throne Room!”

I winked at him, causing him to gulp once more before I entered the Throne Room, the royal guards stiffening their posture, although I knew that wasn’t the only thing stiffening. But they were better than most men, for their eyes dared not to look upon my figure, instead fixed on some point above my head. But I couldn’t play with them now, I had to speak with the King. He was one of the few men that my appearance had no influence over, although that was because of his Ruling Magic, which was able to cancel out my illusion magic. But it was not like I was only beautiful because of my illusion magic, my illusions only accentuated my body’s natural beauty, adding a rosy sheen here and there as well as a perfume which aroused any man’s hormones.

Once before the seat of his throne, I bowed, making sure that my cleavage could be seen from his position. If the King noticed he made no mention of it. I sneaked a glance at his crotch but was disappointed to see no reaction, although, it was rather hard to tell under his thick robes.

The King nodded his head graciously once I stood, asking, “What brings you here, Archmage Libidine?”

I raised my head and said, “Your majesty, I request that you give me permission to go to the East.”

The King lifted an eyebrow, “What for?”

I smiled and said, “Why, I want to meet the new court mage, I haven’t had the chance to meet him and from all the rumors going around, I can’t wait to make his acquaintance.”

The King sighed, “Can’t you wait until he comes back? He is rather busy suppressing the pirates and I wouldn’t want to disturb him by sending another mage.”

I argued, “But that is exactly why I should go, an inexperienced youngling like him needs a teacher to guide him.”

The King said, “He may be inexperienced but his intelligence is far greater than you can imagine. In fact, during the invasion, he was able to spot a crucial weakness that could have spelled doom for Athera. According to Azemar, who had spoken with Ieros, it seems that he had fended off an army sent by Vimaris, although he has kept quiet about it.”

I was surprised, but I said, “Then there would be no harm to my going. I have free time and if he is as proficient as the rumors say, all I would be doing is providing additional and perhaps unneeded protection. And if the rumors are false, then I would ensure the safety of the East.”

The King finally sighed, warning, “Very well, you may go. But I know of your reputation, Archmage Libidine. If you are to do anything to him, I will not hesitate to seal your magic.”

I nodded but from his following sigh, I knew that he guessed that I wouldn’t heed his warning. I wasn’t going to either, if this Ieros fell for my charms then he wasn’t worthy of being a court mage. But if he did, that wouldn’t be so bad either, having a genius work for me would be rather nice. I smiled as I allowed my imagination to run away for a brief moment before reeling it in, I could indulge in my fantasies at home. But the image of his naked body… I chuckled to myself, my imagination really can get out of control sometimes. But…

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At the East, Ieros felt an unpleasant aura from the northwest once more, the same one that he felt a while ago. He once more stretched his influence in the general direction but once more, could not sense the source although he narrowed down the area to the Royal Palace. He wondered what manner of person was capable of releasing such unpleasant energy as well as be allowed to enter the Royal Palace. But as the unpleasant energy disappeared, Ieros returned to his experimentation, although he sensed it once more, although this time it was on the move, heading towards him.

In the privacy of my personal carriage, I indulged in my fantasies, letting my imagination run wild with perverted thoughts. Of course, I had taken the precaution to seal off the carriage from the outside so that no sound could escape. That way I didn’t have to be careful about screaming too loud. So I let loose all my carnal desires…

Ieros shuddered as the unpleasant sensation spiked strongly. He was very worried now, just what the hell was this thing? It would have to be very careful, killing it would be the safest option but it appeared to have a relationship of some sort with the royal family. If this was true and he did kill it, then there would only be unnecessary trouble. Stuck at an impasse, Ieros decided to deal with it when it came, although he hoped that it would not come.

———

A Day Passes…

Ieros was still holed up in his tower, for the number of corpses he had taken for study were many and he took his work very seriously, taking care to get the exact measurements as well as to not make any mistakes. This was a slow and painstaking process but it did not matter to Ieros who had a nearly infinite patience. He could work on for ten millennium straight and still be ready to work ten more. Meanwhile, the first proper battle raged outside his tower, the two Pirate Lords having joined the fight. Their power was great, the strange abilities they unleashed able to destroy the soldiers of stone and were even able to push back the nine commanders Ieros had created, taking the beaches and pushing a little inland.

But this would not last, the commanders had by now analyzed their attack pattern and created the perfect counter. With Azemar’s genius and the absolute loyalty of the stone soldiers, they were able to push back the pirates back to the sea, once more bathing the ocean red with blood. But the pirates were unable to run, as while they were eagerly pushing back the stone soldiers, the giants had destroyed their landing craft, preventing escape. Trapped against the sea and a merciless army of stone, the pirates were slaughtered as the giants began to take part in the battle, stomping on their enemies and bowling over countless with boulders.

Their army shattered and its morale broken, the Pirate Lords had no choice but to accept defeat. They surrendered, dropping their weapons but Ieros had no mercy to give. If he were to let them go, they would only return for revenge, an unnecessary problem that could be taken care of with their deaths. So the massacre continued, not stopping with just those on the beaches but the ships out at sea. The giants resumed their barrage while Ieros personally took part in the battle, creating gates that opened up on the pirate ships from which his stone soldiers flowed, slaughtering all before them.

It was hardly noon when the once great coalition fleet lay at the bottom of the sea, sunk by either the giants’ barrage or the stone soldiers breaking it apart by hand. The ocean was once again empty and the bloodsoaked beaches began to wash clean from the sea’s ceaseless tides. As for the bodies of the pirates, Ieros devoured them all, first converting them into dark matter before he absorbed it. As he did so, he saw Death who cursed at him for adding thirty thousand souls to her already busy day. But he paid her no mind, instead preparing for to fight the austerians and to meet the unpleasant… thing.

Three days passed and Ieros still warned the locals that they should not return, for the invasion was not yet over. In that time, he was able to finish examining all of his specimens and since he could recreate them perfectly from memory, he devoured them. Once he had finished, he left the tower, taking a walk along the beaches which had been restored to their former beauty, partly due to the efforts of Ieros who just filled in the largest craters made by the cannons but the sea took care of the rest, the endless tide smoothing the sand into a flat surface. Finally, he stopped, standing on a particularly large rock that jutted out into the ocean.

He stared off towards the horizon, noticing the that unpleasant presence drawing close some moments later. Sighing, he turned to face the source, surprised to see an extremely beautiful woman, her beauty bordering on that of the divine. For some reason, he had been unable to see her via magic so he imagined it to be some strange creature, possibly one that could be of danger to him. But this was far worse than some monster, it was clear that she was a person he should avoid tangling with. But as it was inevitable, he just bowed his head in greeting,

“Forgive me, I do not recognize you but I assume you a mage of great importance. What business does one such as yourself have at the Eastern Coasts?”

Libidine replied, “I am Archmage Libidine, Master of Illusions, I have come here to meet you, the genius who became a court mage at the tender age of fifteen. I also arrived to help you take care of the pirate raids that have been going on.”

Ieros then said, “The pirates have already been taken care of.”

Seeming pleasantly surprised, Libidine asked, “May I see proof?”

Ieros bowed his head, “Of course, Archmage.”

She smiled, “Please, you may call me by my name.”

Ieros nodded, “Very well then, Libidine, if you would follow me.”

Ieros created one bubble for Libidine and one for himself, walking into the ocean while Libidine followed behind.

Realizing that he had not given her a chance to get close to him, Libidine asked coyly, “Why don’t we share one bubble?”

Ieros, without glancing at her, explained, “Please understand that this is for my safety. I know that because of my youth, there are those that would seek to harm me. You may be one of them.”

Libidine chuckled, almost mockingly “How cautious.”

Ieros replied briefly, "Too many have let down their guard against those they perceive to be beautiful, I do not intend to be one of them."

Libidine noted his usage of, "they perceive" and was curious, but before she could ask, they reached the crest of a small hill and then she saw them. She beheld the wrecks of the countless ships that were once part of the pirate coalition fleet, their broken hulls lying on the ocean floor in all directions. It was eerie, to see all those still ships, their sails still moving with the current, yet to be encroached on by coral and sea life.

Finally, she conceded, “Well, it seems that you truly did defeat the pirates. But I won’t be leaving yet, I would very much like to know you a little better, perhaps in a private room…”

Ieros said, “We can have a chat over tea at my mage tower. But be warned, all magic except my own shall be disabled within the perimeter of my tower. So if you wish to retain your magic, we can have this chat outside.”

Libidine replied, “Let us talk at the tower, I’d like some shelter from the elements.”

Ieros nodded and opened a gate before them, the water repelled from its black surface.

He stood by its side and gestured, “After you.”