Ares dumped the letter on Mako and ditched him. The guy was about to go foolishly challenge his clone and Ares didn''t need to sit around and wait to find out the result. Rather there was one more thing to do today that he nearly forgot about. Give the sister wives their fine grind blue! The 9 month would go to Enyo and the 11 month would go to Bellona. That might have seemed strange but Bellona was physically stronger and so a better fine grind would do even more for her than it would Enyo. Yes Enyo was the ''favourite'' wife but that didn''t mean there would be favouritism. The wife that was most suited for whatever goodies Ares found would be the one to receive them. Plus even if he tried to hand them out the other way around Enyo wouldn''t let him because she viewed things the same way. In short, today was Bellona''s lucky day as a legendary cultivation resource was about to fall into her lap! That''s not to say Enyo''s wasn''t spectacular as well, it''s just that she didn''t really need it. Her barriers and her shield were more than enough for as is, the fine grind was pretty much just overkill at this point.
Ares returned home and entered the bedroom where he found Bellona strangling Enyo for whatever reason. Ares didn''t intervene, instead opting to take a seat nearby and let them sort out their issues. Something something Enyo was a whore, Ares had heard it all before. What they were arguing about could, quite frankly, be anything so he pulled out the fine grind blue containers and gave them a once over. The fine grind stored inside them had already been through a full day at the time of storing them so there was no way for them to explode the second he took them out. Now if he took them out and left them for a day they would almost definitely go poof so that was a no go. Thankfully all that meant was that he just had to make the sisters digest it here and now and get it all over and done with... And there was the problem. Ares sighed to himself as he realised he actually was going to have to get involved with their little spat and sperate them otherwise it would probably just go on forever at this rate. No doubt Bellona was the one who''d been wronged somehow so he walked up behind her and gave her a hug... At which point she froze on the spot and sheepishly sunk into his arms for some reason while Enyo was laughing her head off. Ares still didn''t understand what was going on so he made the decision to comfort Bellona by kissing her on the neck but that action somehow only served to make things worse as her face became beet red and her breathing quickened. Little did Ares know, Bellona still had Enyo''s memories of when he took her from behind in the shower and this series of events was exceedingly close to those. Bellona was getting excited at the way Ares was holding her and that just made her embarrassed in turn. Enyo knew all of this and her sides were starting to hurt from cackling at her sister.
Ares, still not entirely understanding the problem, realised it would be for the best if he stopped holding onto Bellona so let go and changed the topic. "Alright you two, I come bearing gifts. For fine ladies I have fine grind blue. Fitting isn''t it?" Ares put the two containers on top of the bed and double checked they both knew what the resource was exactly. A quick nod of the head prompted him to point at them in turn, explain how many months they''d existed for, and finally tell them which one belonged to which sister.
"And you?" Enyo was the first to ask but based on Bellona''s expression she was just about to do the same had Enyo not beaten her to it. Both of them were aware Ares hadn''t mentioned himself yet during any of this so if it was a case of him sacrificing benefits for their sake neither would be happy with this outcome.
"Me? I don''t want ''em. NOT because I want you to have them, it''s just because I have high standards."
"So do I!" Bellona was miffed about that comment but Ares had baited her into his trap as he had the perfect comeback ready in his head.
"You married me, no you don''t." It was a bit of a self burn but this was Ares we''re talking about and such a thing basically meant nothing to him. As long as he could take someone down with him he wouldn''t hesitate to pull the trigger on himself. "Anyway, point being, I have my own plans. Even if you don''t want them I won''t be taking them so it''s for the best if you do. Also, I doubt I need to explain why Enyo gets the 9 month fine grind?"
Enyo shook her head and not a single word was needed so Ares started off by handing the 11 month to Bellona. He popped the lid of the container and an aroma spread through the room that made it feel like everyone had been transported to a beach. The fine grind blue smelled like sea water and was really quite pungent, most likely because of how old it was. The longer a fine grind had existed the more odorous it was. Ares was no scientist but he guessed, correctly, that it was the result of whatever the fine grind was made of aging instead of exploding as it was supposed to. The maturation process for fine grind was something that logically shouldn''t happen too often and the fine grind had long since past its most ripe state. Ripe meant nothing in terms of effectiveness however and only really mattered if you planned on eating the stuff as a hobby. Ares had no idea about this but there were plenty of chefs capable of turning old fine grind into a dish. It was pretty ridiculous that people would waste fine grinds of up to 7, and even sometimes 8 or 9, months just to make a rare dish but some people were eccentric like that. Or in some cases it was just to display their wealth and be a show-off of the highest order. Typically this behaviour was frowned upon but that just made a select group of people want to do it even more. It was the cultivation equivalent of burning stacks of money just to watch the poor people get upset. At least those who liked mana dew actually genuinely really cared about the drink as a product and the not the value it held in annoying others who couldn''t get their hands on it. Of course there were also people who ate fine grind and washed it down with mana dew but those people were just taking things too far. The taste of the two dishes clashed heavily and chefs worth their salt would tell you stupid it was to even attempt such a combination. The mana dew crowd were respectable connoisseurs, the fine grind crowd were assholes, and the mixers of both were posers who wanted a taste of the highlife without actually understanding what it truly entailed!
Bellona took the container and poured the fine grind down her throat. It had a texture that was similar to Ares'' popping candy but was rougher and tasted infinitely worse. It made her want to go and clean her mouth with some of Ares'' candy but now wasn''t the time for that as she was undergoing an important process that changed her foundation for the better. The fine grind travelled through her body like shifting sandpaper and the pain Bellona felt wasn''t small. Once again, the fine grind being older meant it was more effective and, thus, it hurt more too. Still, the pain was manageable and all Bellona had to do was grit her teeth for a while and she''d be fine. Her nerves, her flesh, her skeleton, her meridians, her organs, her literal everything was washed over by a small tide of blue sand and she could feel her overall power improving rapidly. She felt like her flesh had been replaced with steel and that she could go have a fist fight with a hundred bears and come out on top! The process wasn''t even finished but she ignored the lingering pain and started shadow boxing in glee as throwing her newfound weight round was fun. The wind bent around her fist and her swings were much faster than before. If she threw in some magic things would really get interesting! It was safe to say her strength had more than doubled in the span of five minutes which went to show just how important fine grind truly was. And it''s not like this improvement would stagnate relative to her cultivation as it boosted the increase in strength from all sources forever more. It synergised with her magic flawlessly which, again, was why the 11 month went straight down her gullet instead of Enyo''s. It was more effective on Bellona by a factor of at least five or six just due to the way she operated as a cultivator. Although it wasn''t enough for Bellona to reach Enyo''s level, especially not after she took her own fine grind, but the gap between them had slimmed considerably as a result of today and that made Bellona pleased.
Ares watched Bellona''s sporadic improvements up until the very end, at which point he nodded his head and looked to the bed. He was going to pick up the other fine grind and give it to Enyo but both the container and Enyo had mysteriously vanished. he was going to turn around and look for her but that was unnecessary as she came creeping up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. "Ares... I need a little favour from you." Her hands were going wild on his body and he knew exactly what she wanted but he wasn''t going to bite! No! He''d already promised Bellona he would spend time with her! No! Bad Enyo! Sit!
"Enyo, nine times out of ten I trust you implicitly. And yet, right now, I do not trust you at all. I highly doubt you need anything from me right now so keep it in your damn pants!"
"Oh? Well maybe you should trust me ten times out of ten because I really do need you... Or at least the ting in your pants, anyway. See past, Goddess, me just let me in on something very interesting."
"... The effect of the fine grind will be enhanced if you have sex and dual cultivate while it''s working its magic and enhancing your body?" Ares drew the most logical conclusion from all of this and took a shot in the dark.
Enyo''s hands started roaming progressively lower. "Aren''t you a smart and handsome man?"
Ares and Bellona both narrowed their eyes at Enyo as they spoke sideways to one another. "Bellona, do you think this woman is being serious or are we being taken for a ride right now?"
"Ares, I have no God damn clue. She looks incredibly suspicious but, then again, when she''s like this, that statement is always true... I don''t know if she''s being genuine or if she''s just being a whore again..."
Enyo licked Ares'' neck and asked him the question that sealed the deal. "Can''t I be a genuine whore?" Yes, yes she could. She wasn''t lying to get sex, she was telling the truth to get it... Also Ares still had his lie detector anyway so he already knew she was being completely honest with him. Under normal circumstances he wouldn''t mind but he promised Bellona damn it!
Bellona could see the hesitancy in Ares and knew why so she just rolled her head and her eyes and shrugged. "Oh just fuck her already. Use your annihilation enhancement again, put her out of commission quickly, and then come find me in the back garden. I''ll wait."
"Don''t wanna wait here?" Enyo inquired playfully but was outright ignored as Bellona left the room without another word. Bellona did throw up her middle finger as a sign of protest though. Enyo ignored it and turned her attention back to Ares and begged him in a soft voice to use his enhancement again and, now that he no longer had a reason to refuse, he picked her up while she giggled away and gave her what she was after. Dealing with this woman was impossible if Ares didn''t have a reason to refuse her as she''d learnt how to manipulate pleasure magic and make Ares'' erect and horny. Saying no when he really wanted it took a lot of will power, will power he didn''t always have enough of. It''s not like he didn''t enjoy these bedroom romps anyway so he sort of just folded in situations like this and satisfied both Enyo and himself... Well Enyo could never really be fully satisfied for more than a minute or two before she came back for more but that was just standard Enyo things.
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Ares dealt with Enyo quickly, tuckered her out with his enhancement, and then ran for the hills. If he hung around long enough she''d get back up on her feet like some kind of undying stamina monster and try and eat him again. Ares beelined straight to the back garden, waving hello and goodbye to everyone else in the house he hadn''t seen in a while, and eventually made it safely outside. Appa and Leo were flying around and playing aerial tag with one another which was incredibly adorable. Ares took a snapshot of this moment and filed it into his brain eternally before walking over to Bellona who was idling away in a corner, throwing more punches. He tapped her on the shoulder and nearly had a heart attack when she was startled and threw a punch in his direction. One of Ares'' infinite lives flashed before his eyes as Bellona''s fist came grinding to a halt right smack bang in front of his nose. A bit of blood trickled out from his nostril but being a revenant meant whatever injury he''d sustained would heal itself back up in due time. Ares thanked his lucky stars because, although realistically he wouldn''t have died, he would have been knocked out at the very least. Without his enhancement Ares was still the same glass cannon he always was. No amount of regeneration would help him if he died in one hit. Bellona apologised and seemed to feel really bad about it but Ares told her not to worry as he would have been fine regardless. If push came to shove he maybe could have even deflected the punch with his pressure so it really wasn''t a problem.
Ares sat down, looked up at Bellona, winked, and pat his lap in a bid to get her to sit on it. She was still going over Enyo''s memories and was a bit reluctant to wave her rear near that thing but she also wasn''t going to pass up an opportunity to be close with Ares. Once Bellona was seated, Ares leant his chin on her shoulder, so he could see in front where he was casting his magic, and thus the practice was a go! First up, Ares lobbed a Shock Bead in the air and made it go boom. Ares had missed this. For the entire duration of the pagoda challenge he wasn''t able to use his almighty pillar and it felt like a part of him was missing. But it was missing no longer as he kept merrily chucking explosions at the sky while Bellona doubled the size of them. The two were, ironically, having a blast as Shock Beads and Grand Annihilations a plenty were sent spiralling off into the sky. This little play date of theirs also made it abundantly clear to the rest of the sect that Ares had returned because they could see his golden experiments from miles away. In particular, the elders he''d spoken to before running off to the pagoda were happy to have him back as they''d been working on the things he left them with earlier. Of course he was obviously not going to show up today as he was too busy giving Rud PTSD over the destroyed house he had to direct funds towards rebuilding but he would likely come pay them a visit after tomorrow''s match.
Back in the garden, Bellona had gotten really comfortable doubling Ares'' magic. It had become second nature to reflexively enhance any golden magic she saw and she was starting to cosy up to the idea that supporting her husband was actually rather fun. Ares'' magic was a height she could never reach but having a hand in raising it even further was a special kind of feeling. Knowing that she had the power to make a difference in his life that was meaningful, even though he would have told her that her existence already did that, gave rise to a sort of pride that she cherished. She still wanted to become a legendary figure in her own right, and that wouldn''t change, but maybe dedicating more effort to Ares was more important than she had originally thought. Part of her original requirements for falling in love was someone she could support and maybe the old her really knew what she was talking about. Maybe new Bellona just didn''t want to seem insignificant in comparison to Enyo and she was searching for the wrong thing... Anyway, right now she was in a terrific mood and being able to just peacefully spend time with Ares was important to her and vice versa.
Time passed and, unfortunately, Ares was starting to run out of mana. He technically had more than Bellona, thanks to his mana dew drink back in the pagoda, but he''d been doing the heavy lifting here. Sure Bellona''s magic costed a lot but not so much it outweighed Ares'' constant onslaught. Ares had been smart though, and calculated how much he had left in the tank perfectly. He''d be a bit tired after this, and cooking dinner was about to become a real slog, but he was going to chuck a Perish Wheel! This one would sail off into the sky and create a lovely sight for all of Red Sun to behold once more. The visitors for the tournament would also get to see it but Ares wasn''t really doing it for them. Actually, Mako would also get to see it, and probably shit himself when he did, but once more he wasn''t the target audience. Bellona was. The start of everything between, the proper start, had really been the moment he first unveiled this art so he felt like this whole situation was fitting for what he planned on doing next. Although it was relatively spur of the moment, ''this'' was something he''d been wanting to do for a while but never really found a good enough opportunity to do so. Was it rushed and unproper? Maybe? But then again, Bellona wasn''t the type to demand some kind of fancy-shmancy treatment so maybe this really was the perfect time for what he was about to do...
Ares drained the last of his mana and held tightly onto Bellona as the Perish Wheel went soaring and buzzing into the sky. Bellona''s beautiful amber eyes once more followed the Perish Wheel, ready to double it and experience that wonderful view again. It had been implanted firmly in her memory and stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest. As far as she was concerned there was something so surreal about its beauty that it trumped any other form of art out there. She''d never really ''gotten'' art but this? This she understood. The Perish Wheel soared into the sky and tore through the clouds before detonating in glorious fashion. This Perish Wheel had been set off horizontally and formed a golden tube in mid air that created a sort of second horizon in the middle of the pre-existing one. Bellona knew which she preferred and wanted to see more of so she lifted her hand and used a considerable amount of mana to double the size of the golden explosion. Seconds later the horizon was now fully cloaked in a golden ray. The sun had been outshone and the clear sky replaced by a destruction light show. Bellona was content to lean back against Ares'' chest and watch it until it sadly faded away but Ares had other plans for this moment. Of course he didn''t stop her from leaning back but he did distract her attention from his Perish Wheel by holding out a ring in front of her, a wedding ring, and asking an important question.
"Bellona, will you marry me?"
With a snort, Bellona snatched the ring and put it on her finger. "Took you long enough to ask... Yes. Obviously yes." Bellona tilted her head and shared a kiss with Ares, after which she turned back around and kept watching the ''sunset''.
"Sorry if it''s not that romantic or anything but I hadn''t really been planning on this. Also, I know you well enough by now to know you aren''t one for anything pointlessly complicated. You''d probably rather just have the ring now instead of constantly eyeing up Enyo''s out of jealousy, right?"
"... Yeah. You really are too attentive, you know that? Couldn''t you have just pretended not to see it?! It''s embarrassing..."
Ares chuckled and kissed Bellona''s neck. "Don''t be embarrassed, I think it''s cute. You should have just said it though. I''m surprised you didn''t."
"I was gonna but I wasn''t sure if you had anything planned. I didn''t want to rush you before you were ready to propose. If I knew you didn''t have anything in mind I would already have mentioned it... Better late than never I guess... It''s beautiful..." Bellona was staring at the Perish Wheel still so Ares mistakenly thought that was what she was on about.
"Mhm, I knew you liked the Perish Wheel so I thought now was as good a time as any to propose. It''s incredibly causal, I know, but I think that sums up us and our relationship as a whole."
"I''m not disagreeing with you... But that isn''t what I meant. I was talking about the ring... I love it. Thank you." Bellona was fiddling with the ring on her finger and Ares sighed in relief. Giving the sisters the rings had been less stressful than waiting to see if they liked them or not. Bellona''s ring did look different to Enyo''s but it was just a colour change and nothing more. Ares wanted to signify, through the rings, that every woman who wore this specific ring was his wife but he also wanted to make them stand out a bit from one another. This ring was amber coloured exactly like Bellona''s eyes. It was close to treading on gold, like Enyo''s, but that also made sense in a way as they were sisters after all. The overlap was thematically appropriate but there was still enough of a difference that it made each of them unique.
"Just as you like the colour of the golden explosions I create, I really love the colour of your eyes. It''s a bit selfish but I picked the colour because it reminds me of you and I like seeing it. I''m not sure if Enyo''s told you this yet but I''m incredibly possessive..." Ares hugged Bellona tight. "... The ring is a reflection of that. It means you''re mine but the reverse is also true." Ares temporarily let go of Bellona to raise his two hands in front of her. "Obviously the ring finger on the dominant hand is already taken by Enyo but you can choose whichever other finger you want."
"... Then I''ll choose the pinkie finger next to it."
"Are you sure? You don''t want the ring finger on the other hand? I won''t be changing this in the future..."
"I appreciate the offer but no. I want to be next to Enyo. I''ll take the little finger next to her because I''m her little sister now and always. It''s a shame I won''t get to be next to Candy but I''m ok with that as it''s not that big a deal really. Besides, someone needs to keep Enyo in check every now and then. She overshadows me in the harem, sure, but Im still her sister at the end of the day. No matter how much our relationship changes that won''t so, if she''s ever going to listen to anyone, it''ll be me. I''ll let her take the spotlight in the harem but that doesn''t mean I won''t be keeping an eye on her."
"Bellona, no one overshadows anyone..."
"Bah, that''s not what I meant. I just meant she''s basically the pseudo head and that she''s your ''favourite''. I''m not complaining, I like where things are at right now. Meeting Candy helped me realise that you''re great and all but this is family, not a one man show. It''s ok for all of us to love each other and not be stuck on you like flies on shit... You can be a bit of a shithead sometimes... But you get my point. I want your attention but, even if I can''t always get it for whatever reason, there are still plenty of other people I care about and would be equally as happy to spend time with. So I get it. Enyo is special to you but so are the rest of us. To me, you''re special but so are Enyo and Candy. You don''t need to clarify your position to me anymore because I understand now that I''ve experience it myself... I also understand where Enyo''s coming from too... I think I''ve been infected by her pleasure affinity... I kinda want a piece of Candy, if you catch my drift? If she was just a friend I might have ignored those feelings but being indirectly romantically involved through you has given me an excuse to go further with that fox. Damn, I really am starting to think like Enyo now, huh?" Bellona sighed as the Perish Wheel started to disappear.
"I don''t know about that, you haven''t tried reaching down my pants yet so I think you''re in the clear."
"Speaking of which! You delayed your marriage proposal to me so you could bang my sister! The fuck is wrong with you!?"
"You gave me permission?! Besides, you know I had to do it! This was her foundation we''re talking about here! A once in a lifetime opportunity! I had no choice!"
"Yeah yeah yeah, no choice my ass! Some real convenient excuses you got there, bucko!" Bellona twisted on Ares'' lap and tackled him to the floor, rolling around on the grass. She already held a massive advantage physically but, now that the fine grind blue had been ingested, she was overwhelmingly more powerful and could pin Ares in any way she liked. She quite happily twisted him like a pretzel, picking various holds that kept his body close to hers, and ended up giving him a kiss every time she swapped positions. This was the kind of relationship she wanted to have with her husband. Sit around, throw some magic at the sky, chat like friends, and roll around a bit. Bellona was a simple woman with simple wants... Unlike Enyo who''s wants demanded a bit more of Ares'' time... The skank was peeking her head around the corner and plotting ways to get involved in their grassy wrestling before the happy couple went Deuteronomy 22:21 on her ass and stoned the whore! Bellona in particular was pretty aggressive with the rocks as Ares was hers right now! She''d already lent him to Enyo for a bit before this so she could sod off! Enyo laughed and ran away from the hail of stones, leaving Bellona and Ares to keep playing around in the garden. Ares could have used his enhancement and turned the tide but he let Bellona have her fun, her way. Just seeing her smile was enough for him. Her pretty amber eyes, the ring, and a cute smile. The marriage proposal wasn''t anything special, but Bellona was.