Yesterday had been a real showy day for Ares. With both the Perish Wheel and the brief usage of annihilation enhancement he''d seriously drawn a lot of attention. the Perish Wheel had caused a right ruckus in Red Sun as scores of people were reporting the sighting to various officials... The poor officials could obviously see the damn thing themselves! They weren''t blind! They had to patiently, very patiently, explain to a horde of people that the cause was a certain explosive cultivator. After clarifying, they would sit back in their seats, sigh in relief, and then have to do it again not even five minutes later when another group came demanding answers. Every time Ares used Perish Wheel there was always at least one or two people new in town asking about it but now that the international was underway the officials were being swarmed! Thankfully the hubbub died down towards the end of the day as rumours spread quite quickly. Anyone who still had any doubts about Ares being a proper fundamental champion like Mako were obliterated on the spot. Between the pagoda clone and the Perish Wheel he''d cemented himself as an up and coming prodigy without a shadow of a doubt. A lot of people were very excited to see his match today for sure.
As for the stir he caused with his annihilation enhancement, a number of disciples had shat themselves yesterday. Just as the Red Sun officials had to explain away the Wheel, the Heaven''s Path elders had a similar task but theirs was far less enviable... They were familiar enough with the now-infamous golden colour to know who was responsible but they had no idea what exactly it was he did so the explanations they gave were lacking in many ways. The disciples weren''t satisfied and got quite loud about it, worrying for their own safety until Rud had to come out and personally shoo everyone away. He didn''t clarify anything he just threatened to lower everyone''s weekly stardust income and that was seemingly more than enough to make the crowd run away in fear. As per usual Rud had his methods, despicable though they were. Still, if the disciples were more afraid of losing income than the golden outburst then it just went to show they weren''t really that fussed. They were just more so interested in what Ares was up to now. Last time they took their eyes off him he came back and started flying through the air. Now that he''d returned after a five day absence he was doing God knows what and the disciples were interested!
As for the man in question, he was currently in his own heaven, surrounded by his two loving wives on either side of him. They were still asleep but Ares was happy to just lie between them and bask in the moment. He''d long since discarded his reservations about the harem and he was now just leaning into it and enjoying it for what it was worth. Having two wonderful women by his side was a refreshing way to start the morning, that was for sure. It was hard earned too as he had to wrestle with Enyo yesterday night to even get this spot. In the end Ares promised her she would get to be in the centre next time to which she begrudgingly accepted. Now Ares was reaping the reward of his insistence and relaxing with his arms around both Bellona and Enyo. Having them both lean on him as they slept was a fantastic feeling and he wished it would last forever. They were so peaceful... No headbutting, no sex pest-ing, just two lovely women resting with their husband.
Ares felt movement to his left so he looked over and gave Bellona and good morning kiss. He couldn''t get over how funny her struggling to open her eyes were. It gave him a chuckle every time he saw it. As she was blinded by her own laziness Ares could keep pecking away at her while she groaned and feebly waved her hands around to try and push him away. A minute or so later she eventually managed to lift up one of her eyelids and, with her new found eyesight, went on the offensive. She planted both her hands on Ares face and dragged herself towards him, giving him a passionate kiss to shut him up for a while. Satisfied, Ares stopped hassling her and watched her rub her eyes until she was finally ''awake''. She stretched, yawned, and leant further up on Ares, near his shoulder. With a soft stroke on Ares'' face she quietly whispered "Good morning, husband". Bellona despite her earlier flailing, liked waking up to Ares being generous with his affection. To that end she was trying to be quiet and not wake the sleeping beast on his other arm otherwise she too would demand attention. Unfortunately, Enyo''s head came peeking over Ares'' chest with a smug grin and Bellona knew her fun time was over.
Enyo mimicked Bellona''s position on Ares'' other shoulder and stared a hole into the back of his head as he continued staring at Bellona. Ares knew the second he gave her any attention Bellona was going to struggle to get any... "OW!" Ares rubbed the back of his neck after he felt a pair of teeth sink into it. Enyo bit him! Reflexively, Ares made the mistake of turning his head to face the demoness and his lips were stolen from him in an instant. Bellona wasn''t the only one who liked smooches in the morning. In fact, this was why Enyo had wanted to be in the middle. She viewed Bellona''s morning struggles in the same light as Ares and had wanted to take advantage just as he had! She''d been robbed so now she was robbing Ares from Bellona. Bellona wasn''t having it, though. She wanted her husband back so she pushed herself upwards before planting her palm on Enyo''s face and forcibly removing the leech from Ares'' mouth. She then pulled him in and went for another kiss. Bellona expected Enyo to fight back but little did she realise Ares wasn''t the target anymore. Ares was pushed out of the way like a ragdoll and Bellona was assaulted by Enyo who was leaping over Ares'' obstructing body and rugby tackling her. Bellona was only still barely ''awake'' and didn''t have the strength to remove the menace so she was at her sister''s mercy. Ares was rubbing his head, as it had banged against a wall when Enyo shoved him, and couldn''t believe his eyes. This was the first time he''d seen Enyo and Bellona go at it and there was some serious feistiness in their relationship. Enyo was gripping Bellona''s head to prevent her from escaping as she invaded Bellona with her tongue. Ares was a hotblooded man and so a certain friend of his downstairs had also just woken up. It wasn''t his fault! He couldn''t control it! But watching Enyo and Bellona make out was pretty hot, honestly. Enyo wasn''t even using her magic on him this time it was just all natural male instinct hammering away at Ares psyche and screaming at him to get involved.
Ares was a patient man and, although his willpower could occasionally be lacking, it was pretty respectable in its own right. He was able to lean back, close his eyes, and take a few deep breaths which calmed him down... And then he felt someone gunning for his junk under his boxers and now it was all for naught. Enyo''s sixth sense must have kicked in, informing her Ares was on the same wavelength as her, and now she was pouncing on him instead. Him trying to run away from his sexual urges by becoming some kind of meditating monk was not permitted in Enyo''s bedroom, no sir! Debauchery was what the purpose of this room was! And here Ares thought it was for sleeping and cuddling... What a naive fool! The price for his incorrect assumption was having Enyo orally pleasure him but, in some ways, he wasn''t the one enjoying this the most... Well Enyo was definitely getting a massive kick out of it too, because she always did, but it wasn''t her either that was really getting into it. All the kissing earlier had flipped the switch on Bellona''s libido too and she had her hands down her pyjamas as she watched Enyo''s head and tongue work hard. This was something she was very interested in, after all. Enyo must have specifically picked this particular act for her sake more than anyone else''s in this room as Bellona wanted to do this to Ares too. The morning was turning into a watch and learn session but Bellona was struggling with the latter half of the equation as she was distracted by her own pleasure.
Really the biggest winner here was Ares and he was well aware of that. He did kinda miss the peaceful start to the morning but he would be an idiot if he complained about this situation. To finish up, Enyo quickened her pace to push Ares over the edge. Ares decided to make full use of the fact that this was a harem, and not just some voyeurism enabling symposium, by reaching over and kissing Bellona while she was playing with herself. Ares'' habit of climaxing while tonguing his wives was well understood by Bellona, as she''d heard about it in extensive detail from Enyo, so she opened her mouth and gave him free reign to do as he pleased. The sound of his deep grunt as the throes of orgasm took him also helped Bellona reach her own happy ending too. Unusually, in all of this, Enyo was the only one who didn''t get to partake in the euphoria. She''d been quite selfless so, while Bellona sheepishly left the room to go get changed, Ares went down on Enyo in return. This devolved into penetration but Enyo had sneakily used her magic on Ares to get things to this point so it wasn''t his fault! No matter how much he denied it though, he was, in fact, the reason this was happening. He started the kissing frenzy earlier and doing that around Enyo was practically begging for trouble. Anyway, Ares was glad today happened, and not just because it felt good, obviously, but also because it marked a step up in the relationship between all three of them. Sexual acts in the company of one another was a first and it meant things were progressing smoothly. If, at this stage, Bellona still tried to hide from these situations then Ares was worried he was going to have another long conversation with her about what being a wife in a harem meant exactly but it seemed that wasn''t the case. What happened with Trixie, as Enyo had informed him about her cunningness, and Candy had been massively beneficial for Bellona''s mentality on this matter. So much so that, on the way out of the room, Bellona didn''t even hesitate to kiss Ares one final time while he was deep inside Enyo. Then again, Bellona was a woman who handled shame and embarrassing situations well so her ability to do as such wasn''t too surprising. It wouldn''t take her long to stop feeling shame at such acts but, until then, she would keep soldiering on regardless. It was a talent of hers that Ares respected a great deal, actually.
Ares Shifted out of the room after the fun was over because if he stayed around too long the fun would never end. There was a match today and, although it was a completely insignificant one, Ares still had to be there. He had confidence in Aejaz to win on his own if he needed to but there was something only Ares could himself could do related to the cheater runes so he was making sure to attend personally. With his Omniscience he could out them for their behaviour and make them pay a price. Ares himself didn''t care too much, as it didn''t affect him in the slightest, but the reputations of the teams that lost to them were still declining even to this day. People only felt sorry for them for so long and, after a while, the dissatisfaction would set in. Clearing the record and setting it straight would take him all of a few seconds so he figured he might as well. Plus it would be a reputation booster and Mako wasn''t the only one taking such things into consideration. Ares had simply prioritised the wider world first but, now that that was taken care of, his immediate surroundings were next. His Perish Wheel in broad daylight was a good start but it wasn''t even remotely enough and, so, he would use today to push things along even further.
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The crème de la crème of his showcase would come on the final day of the tournament when he went up against Mako, as he would use everything in his arsenal, but that didn''t make anything that happened until then pointless. The only day in which nothing important would happen, predictively, was his next fight. Today was the unveiling of annihilation enhancement, as there was no way his clone needed to use it in the pagoda against the weaklings in and around Red Sun, and the match after the next one was Aejaz Vs his family. The next match, after the iciclops group, was looking like it was going to be against a bunch of aevysqualls from Akarala; an isolated, mostly tribal, region to the south. Ares was interested in the place for various reasons but, if he decided to go there, he wouldn''t do it for a while so he didn''t dwell on it. Right now his main concern were the opponents from the region and, honestly, they were nothing too special. Decent but not one of the main contenders of the tournament. Ares assumed it would be a boring match with nothing of interest happening. Technically he was right as the match itself would be boring but, little did he know, there was a plot in the works that would spice things up a bit. Anyway, the point was that today''s match was important, the next one wasn''t, and the one after was for Aejaz not Ares. Then it would be the finale with Mako where Ares would put almost all his cards on the table. The only ace hidden up his sleeve were the Canis Stimulants but that wasn''t permitted during the tournament so up his sleeve it would stay.
Ares went about making breakfast in the usual way. Appa did float in and ask Ares if he''d been ''bad'' as of late. Neither Bellona nor Enyo had asked Appa to freeze him in a while and it was wondering what was up in that regard. Ares chuckled and told Appa he''d been good for once but it didn''t believe him and froze him on the spot anyway... Appa truly believed Ares was so evil he''d somehow duped the sisters and was being bad behind their backs. Appa''s self-righteous punishment was based on gut instinct at this point! Ares was going to have to reprimand his child! Randomly freezing people was unacceptable behaviour!... Unless Appa was doing it to Mako, Trew, Leo, or Rud, in which case he''d allow it!
Ares was eventually freed by Allie who used her alchemy flames to thaw him out. Ares thanked her and they chatted for a bit about how she was feeling in regards to the Trixie situation. She said she felt better about it the more days went by and Ares gave her head pats for being a good sport. He knew the position Aejaz was in was a good one and that he was probably enjoying himself to the utmost so Ares thanked Allie on his behalf. Although his brother was a carefree shmuck it''s not like he''d lived an easy life thus far so seeing him in a good mood as of late was reassuring for Ares that things for the both them were great currently. Allie not making things hard and going with the flow was incredibly mature because, unlike Enyo, she hadn''t been up for this from the start. Things weren''t perfect, as Allie did make the occasional mean spirited comment to Trixie on instinct, but the amount of times that happened was lowering. Ares was actually shocked Allie had it in her to be impolite! He thought she was a munchkin but it seemed she had some gremlin DNA in her yet! It also meant she was protective of Aejaz and Ares was glad to see it. It was a good relationship and looked to be a long lasting one. Ares'' wives would go through the strictest vetting process known to man, AKA Enyo, so there was basically no chance any of his relationships would ever fall flat because of how genuine they were but the same couldn''t be said for anyone else. There was no guarantee Allie and Aejaz would have remained together long term in spite of their intentions but that didn''t appear to be a concern. Their relationship was still smooth sailing even now and their love for each other hadn''t dimmed a day since they became a couple. Aejaz was still stealing rare ingredients for her and they were still occasionally going out on dates here and there. It was a quiet but pleasant life for them. Trixie spiced things up by throwing a wrench in their future plans but Allie and Aejaz'' relationship remained mostly the same even with the new addition.
Ares served breakfast and made sure to interrogate Sadie about the location of his damn plates! There were still enough for day to day use but if he needed to host another impromptu get together he would be screwed! Screwed! Ares lecture was lengthy but Sadie meekly took it like a champ. The beating yesterday really made it hit home just how crazy the fundamental champions were and that, no matter how much she trained, there would always be an Ares'' shaped wall in front of her that she wouldn''t overcome. In the end, Sadie managed to negotiate with Ares. She offered to bring back all the plates she currently had in her possession, washed, and not take too many at once from now on provided Ares taught her how to use pressure. She missed out on the pagoda but clearly it was an important step for cultivators to be taking. Dominus, in Ares'' head, agreed this was the logical next step for her so Ares went along with it and told her he would devote some time during their training to helping her learn. He was just going to end up making her do the same trials he''d done but there was a reason for that... They were good trials! They covered everything a cultivator needed to know about pressure in five easy steps! Ares didn''t have the specialised metal the pagoda used but he could figure out a replacement of some kind. His crash course would be like a budget pagoda but what really mattered were the teachings and the teacher. Ares was basically the number one pressure master in the world currently so he didn''t want to hear a lick outta Sadie! Even if Dominus himself took over she wouldn''t learn as much as she would from Ares!... Unless he taught her other stuff like weapon mastery or other small tricks he knew but that wasn''t the goal here! Long story short, Sadie was in capable hands... Although it did feel weird calling an idiot like Ares ''capable''. Capable of annoying people, yeah, sure, maybe... Then again, he hadn''t been too much of a nuisance as of late, at least not to anyone in the household. Mr Peacock and Veteran had gotten the worst of his snark recently.
After breakfast, everyone made their way to the Scorched Grounds coliseum. Ares noticed that every single one of his matches so far had been early in the morning and he kinda wished some of the others would be later in the day now that he was sleeping with both sisters. Playing around in the morning was a fun and fresh experience and he wanted to savour it. Now, was the C.O going to entertain Ares'' preferences just so he could get his leg over? Obviously not. But still, a man could dream. The group parted ways and, for the first time in a while, Ares met up with Li Li and Esme who were quick to question the golden wave yesterday. Ares simply chuckled and told them they could wait and see it in full today if they were really that curious. The conversation topic shifted and Ares learnt that Esme and Onno were officially a thing now a days. That and Li Li and Dirk would be getting married soon. It would be good optics for the clans to wed the two, and both of the involved individuals also wanted it, so everyone was in agreement about the event. The sooner the better was the general consensus of all involved parties and so it would be happening relatively soon, shortly after the international finished. Ares congratulated them and was even invited provided he didn''t blow the venue up. It seemed like an open event and anyone who was in Red Sun, that had some fame to their name, was allowed to attend. The wedding was personal, yes, but the symbolism of the clan''s union was more important on a wider scale so that took precedence. Of course Li Li and Dirk, being the kin of the patriarchs, were asked if they were ok with it first and foremost but they gave their permission quite readily as they didn''t mind. If it had been any Tom, Dick, or Harry from the clans then they wouldn''t have even had a say in the matter.
After a short wait it was time for the Red Sun team to make their way out into the arena so they grouped up and did precisely that. The cheers for their arrival this time was an interesting mix. Some people were elated at Ares'' presence here, namely those who supported Red Sun. Some people were disappointed, namely those who supported the Iciclops group as they were terrified of Ares. Some were curious to see Ares in action as the rumours about him were all over the place. Some wanted to see the Perish Wheel from a front row seat. Some were still booing because the various holes in Ares'' personality didn''t just magically disappear for them. Ares had been absent in the last match and some people weren''t quick to forgive even if they''d won soundly without him. Lots of people had lots of opinions but, overall, it seemed to lean more towards positive than negative on the vibe check. Things would skew more heavily in his favour the more he showed off so he was content with where things were at now.
Up on the top floor of the coliseum, Sadie and co had just finished making their way to their seats next to the matriarchs and the Legion / Umbra Wolf children. Recently, they''d all been making an effort to not brawl with each other on sight. Ares, Enyo, and Bellona''s whole shtick had changed the nature of their relations so they were attempting to be cordial even though they had a match coming up against each other soon. Amongst the hubbub, Rhea noticed Sadie was feeling a little down. It wasn''t obvious, it''s just that Rhea was very familiar with her drinking buddy and could tell she wasn''t quite right as rain. Rhea poked her in the arm. "What''s with the long face? Ran out of alcohol? Missing Aym again? Ran out of plates? All of the above?"
Sadie sighed. "No... Well I have run out of plates now that Ares is on my case again but that''s not the problem here... The bastard''s gotten a lot stronger and I can''t compete against him anymore without raising my cultivation at least two whole realms above his... Maybe then I would stand a chance?"
"It''s gotten that bad?! I know he was training in the pagoda, and that something supposedly huge happened with it, but I haven''t been there myself yet... Is he really that strong now?"
"... I didn''t land a single hit yesterday and we fought for a good few hours..."
"Not one in multiple hours?!" Rhea, and the other matriarchs who were listening in, all reeled in shock. Whatever the hell that pagoda was had clearly turned Ares into a real menace. They all redirected their attention back towards the arena because they wanted to see what Ares was up to. Maybe they should go and visit that pagoda? If Ares was whooping that much ass then they might be able to learn a thing or two as well...