She's content with herself, despite her sins. Leave her to them.

Ares considered the self-multiplied woman quietly, trying to come up with what he wanted to do. He had plenty of time for it, especially since the Sydney he was talking to was busy playing with herself. With Grace still kneeling at his feet, he gave himself plenty of time to consider how he was going to deal with this.

The girl was conceited and narcissistic in the worst way, that much was obvious. She had no regard for anyone who wasn't herself and was very clearly willing to use them for her own pleasure. He couldn't really fault her for that; he had certainly done the same during his time influenced by the virus. But he liked to think he at least mostly cared about those he infected on a basic level. Sure he had shredded a few minds, ruined a couple people beyond recognition, both mentally and physically. Plus the fact that he had basically enslaved roughly half a dozen women just because he felt like it. One could argue that they loved him because they had to, but that was about as good as love got for most people in this new, viral world. He knew he cared for them and they cared for him, and that was good enough for him. In any case, he could largely justify his actions, but he couldn't say the same for Sydney.

"Sydney, what's your plan? Your endgame? You've got a lot of power and it's a big world." He wasn't overly concerned about leading her on, he honestly didn't think she was really capable of recognizing the tactic. So far, she had been very straightforward and hadn't employed any sneaky tactics that he could detect. She straight up told him that anyone she fucked turned into her and had their minds erased, followed by her backstory. No, he was pretty sure she wasn't capable of trickery anymore. Splitting one's attention between that many bodies couldn't be without downsides, even with the help of the virus.

"Plan? I don't have a plan, except fucking myself some more. I'd really like to make all my bodies cum at the same time, but it's really hard with so many of me. Once I do that, I dunno. Maybe I'll find more people to make more sexy."

"You mean to make like you," Ares said, paying very close attention to the blonde's next words.

"That's what I said," she replied immediately, a confused look on her averagely pretty face. Ares stared neutrally at her before asking his final question.

"The people that...become you. What happens to them? Their minds I mean."

"Ew, who cares? I'm sure they're much happier as me."

"But you must still be able to feel them. There's always an echo of who they were," Ares pressed, at this point morbidly curious to see just how wrapped up in herself this slut was.

"An echo? Oh, you must mean like that whispering that I could hear. Yeah, that got really annoying, so I got rid of it. 'Cause, like, why wouldn't you want to be me? Those silly voices didn't know what they were begging for. 'Let me go', hah. Not even Mom and Dad understood. But now they're all better; now they're all me."

The god of the virus could barely believe what he was hearing. He didn't want to believe it, he liked to think that the virus brought out the most pure parts of a person. Though maybe that was still true and this girl was just so far beyond help that she couldn't wrap her pitiful mind around the concept of others. He couldn't even free her victims from her, she had unknowingly destroyed them in her futile attempt to satisfy herself. He couldn't stand to leave her as she was: not only was she a threat to him if she ever decided to expand her selves more, but she was straight up erasing people, and doing so with abandon. He didn't think he could completely eradicate her, there was no knowing how many of her existed, but he did think he could stop her from spreading even more.

"You're a monster," Ares said, straight-faced and serious. "You are so completely obsessed with yourself that you can't even comprehend the idea that other people exist. Not even your own parents. You would take over everything just to make yourself think you're beautiful. I cannot tolerate that." In a flash, he jumped towards the rather stupid blonde and imbedded his fingers in her skull. He didn't know what sort of influence he could have over an Alpha disconnected from his own strain, but he wouldn't let himself fail. He was a god and he would carry out his judgement.

Pushing power into Sydney, he searched her psyche for her mental connection to the virus, and from there to the heart of her strain. It wriggled and squirmed, trying to evade his influence and the end of its existence as it knew it, but Ares would not be deterred. With fearsome determination, he grasped it and changed it, removing its ability to spread to others. It was a strenuous task, especially since there was nothing the virus wanted to do more, but eventually through sheer effort and a little trickery, he managed it and withdrew from her. He instinctively knew that the change made to this one body would spread to the rest instantly, another downside to having such a hivemind. After one last check to make sure he had accomplished his task, Ares ripped his fingers from Sydney's head and let her and every one of her bodies fall to the ground with a collective cry.

'''WHAT DID YOU DO?!''' a hundred of the same voice screamed from all around him. For a moment he was worried of retaliation, but the many blondes were all reeling from pain and Ares was confident that he could make a swift escape if needed.

"You're a menace, a blight that would spread without check, a cancer that doesn't know when to stop. Or, you were. Now, you won't destroy everyone you come into contact with. Probably a new experience for you, but I think you'll adjust. Be thankful I left you alive at all; for what you've done, I should eradicate you." Let her think he was being merciful, she didn't need to to know the truth.

"You're a monster." "A thief!" "You stole us from ourselves!" "We can't make any more of us." "Bastard!" "Hater." '''I HATE YOU!!!''' The many bodies of the narcissistic girl cried out, their voices overlapping until they unified for one last impotent cry of rage and grief. A part of Ares felt bad for her, but the thought of what she did and what she would have continued to do erased those feelings more easily than she had removed her many bodies' original hosts.

"We feel the same then," he said, turning around and throwing his massive wings out in preparation to fly. Grace hurriedly did the same from beside him, when the horde of blondes around them surged forward.

"You took from me, I'll take from you. I'll kill you!" the closest screeched, jumping and clawing at Ares' face with long, sharp nails. The god easily grabbed her and threw the body with all his strength, throwing her directly into the wall of the apartment building. Her form quite literally exploded, the sudden destruction of one of her 'perfect' bodies causing the rest of Sydney to stumble and clutch their heads.

"You prove yourself a fool to the last. Pray I never see you again." Ares took off, not looking back and shutting out the final wails of the self-absorbed woman out of his mind. She really didn't understand others and her final attack had proved that. If she had, she would have aimed her attack at Grace instead of him. But she couldn't imagine anything worse than the loss of self, so she sought to destroy him directly instead of what truly mattered to him.

"Master, I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, please don't be mad with me, I couldn't bear it, please," he heard Grace whispering from beside him, easily audible to him even over the wind of their flight. Her pleas tugged at his heart and the part of him that loved her, pulled to the surface by Sydney's self-serving delusion.

"I'm not angry with you, Grace. I appreciate you trying to defend me. I'm sorry I lost my temper. Let us land and I'll make it up to you," he said directly into her mind, letting some of his emotion bleed over into her so she could feel the truth of his words.

"Master, you don't have to, I was out of line. Just please let me serve you, never throw me away. Please don't abandon me." Ares sighed as even that attempt seemed to fall on deaf ears. It seemed he'd need to try another approach.

"Let's land anyways then, and you can serve me properly." Some measure of happiness returned to Grace's face and the two flew lower. Ares quickly spotted an abandoned house and they landed, walking inside and upstairs until they found a suitably large bed. "Sit," Ares ordered, and Grace immediately obeyed, looking up at him with huge, pleading eyes, tears beading in their corners. He mentally sighed and considered how to comfort her.