Great. The party starts without a hitch.

“This camera is incredible. I still can’t believe he built this from scraps.” Tristiana said, studying the poster Verdi had made to publicize their party. It was a black and white photo of no less than 3 dozen scantily clad women situated atop a fountain of ****. The quality of it was on par with a master painter, yet they could see such posters plastered all throughout the city by the hundreds. Nearby they could see dark elves that they had hired handing out handheld photos of the ads to anyone who passed.

Dusk had set over the city as countless mages began powering light artifacts, staving off the darkness as the city came to life. The sound of food sizzling on hot cast iron atop food carts intermingled with seedy men advertising their brothels, handing out flyers holding coordinates in countless languages. It was incomparable to the scantily clad dark elves waving and handing out photos advertising Belsach’s bar, each one holding a different woman posing for the camera. Fenri smirked, reaching over and grabbing one card from a dark elf and enjoying the picture printed upon it.

“Gotta hand it to Verdi, lighting really highlights my pussy in this one.” Fenri said cheerily, looking at the naked picture of herself they had used for advertising, the image of herself spread eagle with one hand spreading her lower lips. Sarah and Eris leaned over, the pair of hellhounds comparing the photo to what they had seen in the flesh and nodding in approval at the black and white photo.

“I think you should be fingering yourself.” Sarah said, giving her personal opinion on the photo as Eris shook her head.

“No! Doggy licky!” Eris said, the hellhound answering while chewing on a skewer of meat, stating that someone should have been eating Fenri out during the photo. Next to them, Bey was groaning while rubbing her eyes in exasperation.

“Don’t you fucking dare. We are not joining in this mess.” She hissed, serving as the voice of sanity among their merry little band as Citrinas eyed the former hero of Obedience and the former Hellhound Lord, the pair unrecognizable after being merged together. She still had trouble wrapping her head around just how their body worked.

According to Bey, their hybridization was similar to Verdi's in that they were one person with many bodies. The only difference was that while Verdi acted as a hive mind with control over all his bodies, their minds had been fractured. Eris was the “main” personality and retained all their knowledge of the Ancient Dungeon Core, Verdi’s plans for the future, and the truth of this whole situation. Sarah and Bey were fractured parts of her psyche that had believed themselves to be the Hellhound Lord and Hero of Obedience. They shared sensations like Verdi, could buff each other using their Commander class, and retained their old Blessings, but couldn’t think as one like Verdi.

“Where is he anyway?” Citrinas asked as Fenri leaned over, biting on the skewer Eris was eating, not even bothering to sniff the air for him. Verdi had told them to wander the city, and that they would know when his party started. They had no idea what he meant by that, and at this point, Citrinas was terrified of what he had planned.

“Better question is where the fuck isn’t he.” Fenri said while chewing, literally incapable of detecting the alchemist. “I can smell him everywhere. Fucker’s been busy.” She said, Verdi’s multitude of bodies lurking everywhere in the city and doing all manner of odd activities in the shadows. For a moment Citrinas could have sworn she saw one of his bodies brush past them, his entire body and face covered with a cloak and bandanna.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Citrinas mumbled as she heard music playing in the distance. Music was a common thing in the city, countless songs intermingling into a blind cacophony of sound. Hearing chaos was common for her. Yet, the music at this moment was a series of synchronized drum beats, each blow reverberating to her very core.

Dun dun dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun.

The entire city began to shake as everyone went silent, following their ears to see the very ground near the Coliseum split apart as countless platforms emerged, each one holding dozens of male orcs clad in only loincloths striking massive drums in perfect harmony. At that moment Citrinas could see that each drum had a picture of Verdi on it, each one of him clad in a different outfit and posing in increasingly ridiculous poses. She wasn’t quite sure how it was possible but Verdi somehow looked more erotic than if he was completely naked in each outfit. Before she could make a comment, she could hear countless trumpets join in, blaring over the world as they emerged from the ground. Squinting her eyes, she could see the glimmer of ice reflecting the city’s lights, each one microns thick and nearly invisible to the human eye.

“Oh, found him.” Fenri said, looking down the street to see several demons clad in fine silk walking forward, the crowd parting as the demons tossed flower petals to and fro, pausing to wave to the crowd. Somehow, their outfits hid and showed everything about them, the silks clinging to their skin yet concealing their most intimate parts. Behind them was a quartet of ogres holding a palanquin of fine wood and gold, twinkling gems reflecting the light around the area as the music intensified. Behind the palanquin was a procession of scantily clad women, each one blowing kisses or waving as though they were in a parade. Some wore nothing more than lingerie, while others were wearing nothing but body paint and glitter.

“Is… Is that… Is that a procession of whores?” Bey asked in disbelief, watching the naked women march past them, flower petals scattered in the wind as the palanquin passed by them. The scent of flowers intensified as they walked past, the smell undoubtedly the natural scent of Verdi’s body.

“How the fuck did he convince Pelrin to borrow the Roses for this show?” Sarah asked, recognizing some of the erotic dancers as members of the Company of Roses. Before anyone could make another statement, several explosions rang out as the skies were set alight, countless fireworks exploding in perfect unison. Citrinas groaned as she watched several shapes form, the explosives modified to craft symbols of flowers, swords, and then Verdi’s name in several languages. Following the source of the fireworks, she spotted a goblin holding a receiver to his ear, listening intently for a beep to tell him when to fire the next round of fireworks. Upon seeing this, Citrinas sighed while rubbing her eyes, a headache forming.

“You okay?” Tristiana asked, watching her sister in visible pain at the sight of the procession.

“If Verdi put a tenth of the effort he put into these stupid antics into literally anything productive, I’m pretty sure we’d be at the level of the Ancients within the decade.” Citrinas said, both criticizing and praising him in the same breath. From an alchemical standpoint and a technical standpoint, this was incredible. The magic he used to part the ground, the firework designs and coloring, and even the transmitter was something any alchemist or mage would envy. He had knowledge of a lost era’s technology that would make him the single greatest source of technological knowledge since the discovery of fire accompanied by a near immortal body that could oversee the world’s technological advancements over the decades.

And he was using these advantages to stage an orgy.

As the procession reached the heart of the city, the women following the palanquin began to run forward. Quickly, they began stacking upon each other, contorting their bodies in a lurid display while grabbing ahold of one another, a giant set of stairs forming as a solid gold platform emerged from the ground, coiling upwards like a snake. Squinting her eyes, she could see that the platform was just gold plated ice, Verdi’s instinctive magic as smooth as ever.

BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

The drums, trumpets, and fireworks triggered all at once, the crescendo hitting as the silk covering the palanquin was opened to display Verdi in the finest robes money could buy. His left eye was still closed, yet he seemed to pay it no mind, treating it as though it was normal. The robes he was clad in was a royal purple and hung loose on his body, exposing some of his skin as Verdi calmly strolled forward, ascending the stairs he had crafted from the prostitutes. As he ascended the stairs and reached the solid gold platform, the women began to fall back, the stairs dissolving to nothing as Verdi stood tall, a spotlight shining down on him as Citrinas groaned.

“Of course he had to make it solid gold.” She said as the music died down, the entire city’s eyes on him as he cleared his throat.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between, my name is Verdi! I am here to mourn a **** with all of you.” Verdi announced as everyone in the crowd stared at him, expecting him to speak of Eren’s attack. Evangeline had seen to it that everyone harmed by Eren’s attack had survived, but the incident was still fresh in everyone’s minds. Especially those Evangeline had “saved”. They were reverted, but the trauma was still fresh for many of them. Before anyone could speak up, Verdi continued speaking.

“The **** of morality and restraint!” He exclaimed happily as everyone continued to stare at him, not understanding what he meant. “For the next week, all the booze in the southern quarter is free! All the food is free! All the potions are free! All the whores are FREE! FREE! FREE!” He exclaimed, his words reaching only a third of the city at most, the rest unable to understand the current language he was speaking. After a few seconds, word began to spread, the locals translating his words with their compatriots as the chatter grew.

“What?”

“He’s bullshitting. No way someone’s giving out free booze.”

“Is that Ice Princess from the Coliseum?”

“Bullshit you say? Too good to be true? What’s the catch?” Verdi asked, already predicting the crowd’s response.

“Well, here’s the catch! I want to make the history books! I want to become the most infamous person in history! I want the world to remember our debauchery and hedonism! I want us to commit such perversions that I end up banned from several countries! I want my name to be synonymous with decadence!” He exclaimed, somehow assuaging whatever apprehension the locals had with him. “Three cheers for me! Hip hip!” He shouted as the crowd went wild.

“Hurray!

“Hip hip!” Verdi repeated as the cheering grew louder.

“HURRAY!”

“LET’S PARTY!” Verdi shouted as the ground shook from the deafening applause and cheering, as though the world itself feared what he had planned for the week.

“I love you, Ice Princess!”

“Beauty! You're the best!”

“Who the fuck said that!? My name is Verdi! Verdi!”

“Beauty! Beauty! Beauty!”

“Ice Princess! Ice Princess! Ice princess!”

“IT'S VERDI!”

“Take your top off! Let’s see them titties!”

“GO FUCK YOURSELF!”

“YOU GOT A PURDY MOUTH! BET IT’D BE PURDIER WRAPPED AROUND MY COCK!”

“YOU GOT A NICE ASS! BET IT’D LOOK BETTER WITH MY FOOT IN IT!”

“STEP ON ME DOMMY MOMMY!!”

“SOMEONE KILL THAT GUY! HE’S A FOOT FETISHIST!”

“FEET ARE THE TRUTH! EMBRACE THE GOSPEL HEATHEN!”

“FUCK OFF, IT’S ALL ABOUT TITS!”

“THE ASS IS WHERE IT’S AT!”

“HANDS!”

“LIPS!”

“BALLS!”

“TAIL!”

“He just had to make sure everyone knew his name, didn't he?” Fenri asked, watching the crowd devolve into fist fights over the best fetishes. Meanwhile, Verdi was shouting at the crowd, his outright refusal to accept his moniker of Ice Princess or Beauty only serving to make them taunt him more.

“You know he loves attention.” Citrinas said with a sigh, looking at what appeared to be the single largest show of narcissism in her life. He made the decadent parties royals threw seem like humble affairs. She was almost glad he was not anywhere near the propaganda branch of the government, the prospect of whatever plans he had to alter her reputation sending chills down her spine.

“Let’s just head back to the bar.” Tristiana said, watching Verdi continue arguing with the locals. Upon hearing Tristiana’s request, Fenri made a devilish grin.

“Aw, you that excited to get another round with us, Fox-Bitch?” Fenri joked while elbowing her. A pair of fluffy kitsune ears popped out from Tristiana as she accidentally lost control of her transformation, instantly causing her to curse and cover her head and pull the hood of her cloak over her head.

“You get the hell away from me! I have never been that violated in my life!” She snapped, trying to get her emotions under control and hide her monster traits, a fluffy tail poking out of her cloak. “When we find Verdi, we’re having him turn my body back to normal!” She said angrily as Bey frowned.

“I thought he said hybridizing was a one way trip.” She said as Fenri chuckled.

“She’s not talking about that. She’s talking about the upgrades Verdi gave.” She said, reaching over and groping Tristiana’s chest, earning her a moan as her shirt grew damp with milk. Instantly, Sarah, Bey, and Eris smelled something sweet in the air, the trio instantly understanding what happened.

“So, he got you too huh?” Bey asked.

“Is there anyone here he hasn’t fucked?” Tristiana asked wearily.

“Mommy milk!” Eris exclaimed as Sarah patted Tristiana on the back.

“So, got any names for the baby?” She asked.

“He didn’t impregnate me!” Tristiana exclaimed angrily.

“No need to be ashamed. It’s a smart plan. Top quality seed, top quality womb, you’ll have powerful children. If anything our next plan of action should be breeding.” Bey said, completely understanding Tristiana. “Plus, it incentivizes him to protect us if his kids live in this world.”

“His Blessing made him sterile, so he can’t have kids.” Citrinas said, also annoyed at his past self's idiotic decision to castrate himself. True, it was an organ he could fight without, but it was losing a long term investment for short term gains. There were always abnormal people like Mathias who had no major royal blood in him that attained power, but children usually inherited a part of their parent’s abilities. Their children would either have Citrinas’ magical offensive power or Verdi’s incredible magic capacity accompanied by his hybrid blood. If they were lucky, they might even inherit both of their specialties.

“Doesn’t Maran have a Blessing that gives you a 100% conception rate?” Bey asked as Citrinas sighed.

“I’ve tried. It hasn’t had any effect. I guess his Blessing is stronger than Maran’s.” Citrinas answered with an annoyed voice. Up until now she had assumed Verdi’s Warmth ability was significantly stronger than her own Blessing considering she had not been impregnated by him and the fact that he had a faint holy aura around him. At that moment, she frowned as she realized something odd.

“Something wrong?” Fenri asked, noticing Citrinas’ expression shift.

“Verdi doesn’t have Warmth. The only ability we know he has for sure is Status Effect, God’s eye, and an ice elemental infusion.” She said, thinking of his abnormal skillset. Status Effect made sense, since it was one of the foundational abilities of high class monsters. God’s Eye was an appraisal ability that he had used, and his results were identical to Citrinas’. As for the ice infusion, he acquired that one. She believed he had Warmth since he had not gotten anyone pregnant, but if he lost his virility to his goddess then he didn’t have Warmth.

“Yeah. So?” Sarah asked, not understanding what Citrinas was noticing.

“If he’s sterile because his Blessing took it away, why does he have a faint holy aura around him? Neither you or Tris have that.” She asked, suddenly noticing something odd about Verdi. It was incredibly faint to the point that nobody would notice it unless you pointed it out, but Verdi had a faint holy aura that caused people to be at ease near him. It was partly the reason why nobody actually feared him despite his skills and competence. His appearance and the faint holy aura made nearly everyone underestimate him.

“Maybe it’s for infiltration. Being underestimated is valuable.” Sarah theorized.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in any universe that would underestimate Verdi at his prime.” Tristiana answered flatly, meeting him in person at his full power. “Maybe it’s just to keep people from being driven insane when they look at him like the machine does.” She said, giving her own theory as Citrinas frowned. No, that was wrong. She knew they were going down the wrong path, but she couldn’t precisely say what was wrong. There was something that didn’t fit right, and it aggravated her to no end that she didn’t know why. Before they could continue the discussion any further, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder.

“Hey guys, what’d you think of the show? I was thinking the platform could have been higher, but I didn’t have enough women to make the stairs. Also, I know, don’t say it. firework display number 8 was off by half a second! That fucking goblin, I told him to fucking shoot 2 seconds after hearing the signal, not 1.5.” Verdi said abruptly as everyone but Fenri, Sarah, Bey and Eris yelped, the quartet smelling him long before he made his presence known. Citrinas did a double take, looking at Verdi who was wearing a cloak and a bandana on his face to hide his identity while his second body was still on stage fighting the crowd. Despite having separate bodies, both of them retained the odd habit of keeping their left eyes closed, as if it were some kind of tic.

“What the-how did-how many bodies do you have working right now?” Citrinas asked as Verdi paused for a second, as if to count.

“Let’s see… Left 20 bodies to make potions, 48 to work in the kitchens, 18 are recording the events, and 12 are helping to-”

“How many?” Fenri asked, not interested in the logistics of his party.

“487. Course it's in the background where nobody can see me working, so nobody will know.” Verdi answered casually, the number of cores he had grown increasing exponentially from his time trapped in the Gates. Throughout the week, he had never truly stated how many cores he had in all, but it was fair to say that at this point, he was essentially a one man army.

“You can cook?” Fenri asked, more fascinated that he was helping in the kitchen than the fact that he was doing 487 things at the same time.

“I'm in charge of ice cream, custard, most chilled desserts that are simple, and prep work for the chefs like slicing veggies. Fancy roasts and the heavy duty stuff is for the hired help.” He answered casually as they saw a 50 foot tall ice sculpture dancing in the distance. As soon as they saw it, Citrinas and Tristiana gasped, the magical control of the sculpture on a whole other level while the rest of the group was enjoying the show.

It was a sculpture of an elf pleasuring herself and playing with her breasts, her buxom chest leaking what appeared to be milk mixed with booze. Despite being made of rigid ice, every inch of her looked soft and pliable as flesh while her movements were smooth and fluid like a true human. Rather than magic, it looked to be something a god would do to show their power, the sheer complexity of this show beyond human or monster ability.

Instinctive magic was fast, cheap, and weak. Moving ice to stab someone was simple, but trying to recreate a muscle moving required incredible focus and several mages to act in coordination. It was doubtful even Tristiana could hope to mimic him, his multiple monster cores enhancing his analytical ability. Citrinas glanced over to see other mages had similar responses to his sculpture, fixated more on the twitch of each muscle and joint than on the actual sexual aspect. Her head started hurting again when she saw him using his talents to make the statue begin urinating ice cold beer into a salamander’s open mouth as the crowd cheered him on.

“Hah… You guys have fun. I'm going to wait in my Domain. Come on Tri-eek!” Citrinas said as Verdi grabbed her arm, refusing to let her leave as Fenri and Sarah grabbed Tristiana’s arms, holding the two sisters.

“Ah, ah, ah. You're not getting away.” Verdi said almost threateningly.

“L-Let go!” Citrinas said quickly, slightly afraid of what he had planned. She didn’t focus too much on what he was building, but by the few blueprints she saw and the people he hired, she knew this party would end with him likely banned from Olskraya for life.

“Haven’t you done enough to us? My chest is still leaking!” Tristiana asked angrily as Sarah elbowed her.

“Did Verdi add a cat monster core to you? Cause you’re acting like a sourpuss right now.” She said as Fenri elbowed Verdi.

“Alright, you’re the guide. Which one is first?” Fenri asked as Verdi paused, thinking before snapping his fingers.

“Well, the closest event is the Snake Pit right around the corner.” He answered, pointing to a nearby building with a line building out of it. It was a local brothel focused around lamias, with the portrait of a lamia blowing a kiss. The doors were open with a sign written in dozens of languages in Verdi’s neat handwriting. Leading outside of the building was a vast line of sweaty looking men and women, each of them visibly excited and aroused by what lay ahead.

“Ugh. A line?” Sarah asked as Verdi scoffed at her.

“Fuck the line. We are going to the front.” He said, dragging Citrinas along as Fenri and Sarah dragged Tristiana with them. Though they heard some grumblings from the people who waited in line, one look at Verdi was enough to silence their complaints, each of them knowing full well who was funding the entire party. As they entered the building, the room grew noticeably warmer as they walked to the front where a lamia receptionist was waiting.

“Boss! So good to see you.” The lamia said, her tongue flicking out of her mouth to taste the air, the forked tongue almost as long as Fenri’s as she eyed Verdi like a snake would a rabbit. “Coming to enjoy the games?” She asked with a sultry voice as he nodded.

“Yep. Me, and everyone here.” He answered cheerily as the lamia looked to the rest of his group, glazing over each of them before nodding.

“The girls will be eating well tonight.” She said approvingly before looking to the group and clearing her throat and speaking. “Welcome to the Snake Pit. Simple rules. You’ll all be placed on a platform. Last one on the platform wins! Also, no ****, anything that draws blood or breaks bones is an automatic disqualification. You can, however, push, shove, and throw people as long as you don't use spirit or magic.” She said, stating the rules as Sarah raised a paw.

“What do we win?” She asked.

“A cash prize, a free beer, and a voucher for any girl at this establishment redeemable within this year.” The receptionist answered as Tristiana spoke up.

“What’s underneath the platform?” She asked cautiously as Verdi and the receptionist shared a devious smile.

“Beneath the platform is a den of venomous snakes waiting to sink their fangs into you.” She said, showing her teeth as though it had the same intimidation factor a hellhound’s fangs would have.

“But… Lamias aren't venomous.” Bey said as Verdi chuckled.

“They are when you've given them a potion that makes their saliva into an aphrodisiac.” He answered casually as they realized every single one of his events had women with heavily modified bodies.

“Let go! I’m not going into whatever it is you’re doing!” Citrinas shouted, struggling to break free as Verdi dragged her along.

“Don’t be like that. It’ll be fun!” Verdi reassured her.

“YOU SAY THAT ABOUT EVERYTHING!” She exclaimed as the rest of the party followed them.

“Come on Eris! Let’s get some pocket money!” Sarah said happily, her paw still tightly clutching Tristiana.

“W-wait! Not at the same time! Only one-LET GO OF ME ERIS!” Bey said as Eris wrapped her arms around the small human and lifted her up in a bear hug.

“More fun together!” Eris said happily.

“ERIS! LET ME GO!

“Hope you fucks are ready to take a fall.” Fenri said, elbowing Eris as the hellhound stuck her tongue out at her.

“Nuh uh! You get nibble from the scalie worm!” She answered as Tristiana tried to break free of Fenri’s grip.

“You’re crazy! You’re all crazy!” Tristiana shouted as they made their way through the building, the sounds of cheering heard as Citrinas realized that Verdi was far more narcissistic than she had expected. The event was going to be public. It was only when she saw a goblin holding a camera with a crank that she realized just how deep his narcissism went.

“Oh gods. He’s recording this.” She said quietly as Bey and Tristiana looked at each other, realizing that defeat was not an option for them. The last thing they wanted was to have their naked bodies immortalized in history as the first moving picture. The same was true for Citrinas as she steeled her resolve for the upcoming event.