Calypso's joy was infectious. "Come," she chirped while waving her hand with a theatrical flourish. "Let me show you what this home looks like!"

Her excitement made it impossible not to follow. Luna, Aria, and Bastet trailed behind her with a mix of reluctance, curiosity, and awe.

They passed through echoing corridors lined with infernal carvings, each wall depicting scenes of ancient conquests and endless night.

Luna whistled. "Okay, this is way cooler than I expected. We're in a literal demonic castle! You could really host a final boss in here."

"Yeah, like one named the 'Infernal Matriarch'?" Calypso cooed slyly. "Now it'll house the new boss, the Paragon of Sin, his Infernal Matriarch and Valkyries… Oh, and I guess his tanned kitty will be sunbathing somewhere around here as well."

Bastet's eyes narrowed into fiery slits. This newcomer didn't know her place!

As the two monster girls got into it, Aria smirked at Luna. "You realize there's no internet here, right? Or electricity. At least until we figure out how to power anything."

The gamer girl froze. "Wait... no internet?"

Calypso looked confused. "Inter... what?"

Luna's face fell dramatically. "That's bad. Like, really bad."

Then, after a moment, she shrugged. The Storm Valkyrie realized that she had much bigger things on her plate than figuring out how to continue playing video games in this place. They were international figures now, wanted by many organizations.

Furthermore, playing video games was lacking in comparison to progressing as an awakened. Leveling up in real life was a much more satisfying thing to do. Gaming, to her, went from her most beloved hobby - perhaps besides enjoying her adult toy collection - to being one hobby among many others.

"Eh. I've got my handheld and a few power banks. But I'd survive without them, too."

Aria blinked, surprised. "That's... more responsible than I thought you'd be."

Luna grinned. "Going from a dejected gamer girl to becoming an awakened combatant does force one to rethink what's important to them in life, I suppose."

"Hmmm…" Aria mulled over the Storm Valkyrie's words.

Calypso led them through a circular hall. The high ceiling was filled with light from crystals. The red demoness kept chirping happily, showing them the balconies that overlooked the forest, the rooms available to them, and even a meditation chamber.

As they walked down the hall, Luna's eyes found Aria with a cheeky grin adorning her delicate lips. "You know, I'm surprised as well. You're tolerating Calypso chirping about Darling this, Darling that, surprisingly well."

"I'm... working on being more accepting of Kai's new girls," Aria replied while forcing a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "As the head wife, I have to be inclusive of his other women. Otherwise, he might get disappointed in me."

"Head wife?" Calypso, Bastet, and Luna all asked in unison, turning toward her.

Aria didn't seem to care or find fault with what she just said. "Yes? Did I stutter?"

Bastet's golden eyes glimmered with amusement. "I don't recall any official hierarchy being announced."

Calypso grinned with her long tail lashing excitedly behind her butt. "Indeed. Our Darling is far too fair to choose favorites… though I am his first true companion of the Abyss, that much is certain. I'm also the first wife who mated with him in his demonic form."

Then, smugly, she added, "You girls would've been killed if our places were swapped."

Aria closed her eyes for a moment, trying her utmost to remain calm and collected.

Luna exhaled through her nose. "Oh great, here we go again."

Soon, the conversation turned lighter, filled with teasing and laughter echoing through the massive halls. Yet beneath it all, Bastet's expression remained thoughtful.

"This palace is beautiful," she murmured as her amber eyes roamed the dark marble and glowing runes. "But I'm not sure it's a place for a Ra-Blessed Felinid. I was only just getting used to living in a human home… and now this."

In a surprising turn of events, Calypso formed an accepting smile on her lips. "Darling told me I should accept that I'm now in a one-of-a-kind harem that has no racial barriers, so…"

Three pairs of eyes found the red-skinned, gorgeous demoness before she decreed, "I won't complain if you girls want to decorate the place to your liking. You can change the lights, repaint the walls, change the furniture, whatever it is you want to do. I'll even help you do so. My only hope is that you will find yourself loving this place as much as I do."

Calypso blinked when the group froze mid-step. All three of the other women stood there with their mouths slightly open, brows raised, eyes wide.

Luna even tilted her head, utterly confused.

"What?" the demoness asked with an innocent lilt, though her tail flicked behind her playfully. She was not clueless as to what they were thinking. "I might be a demon, I might be a cruel and sadistic woman, and yes, I might revel in shedding blood…"

Her ruby lips curved upward, softening the words that followed. "But I accepted you girls as my family already. And for me, family is most important."

The sincerity in her tone stunned them more than the words themselves.

Aria and Luna exchanged a glance before smiling faintly. "We accept you, too, Calypso. Welcome to the family," the girls said together.

But Bastet… Bastet crossed her arms beneath her bountiful bosom and her golden eyes narrowed with a skeptical gleam. "Then how about you stop messing with me, you damned demoness?"

Calypso's smile deepened with a devilish curve that hinted at trouble. She took one step forward, and then another… before wrapping her arms around the tanned feline woman in a sudden, firm embrace.

"No demon," Calypso murmured near her ear, "would hug someone they despise."

Bastet went rigid, amber eyes widening at the unexpected gesture. The demoness's skin was warm, unnaturally so.

But she found her rhythm, especially when the felinid realized that Calypso did not say anything about stopping messing with her. This was no peace deal, just a misdirection.

Slowly, Bastet's arms came up, returning the hug, though her tail flicked once with warning. Her lips curved into a sly grin of her own. The two women's chests mashed together, kept apart only by their attire; Bastet's elegant and feminine desert-themed getup, which was more a fashion statement than proper defensive armor, and Calypso's dark, heavy armor.

"What a coincidence," Bastet whispered back. "It appears felinids like to hug arrogant bitches they want to knock down a peg."

That earned her a melodic laugh from the demoness, the sound of which was rich and genuine. "I think you'll call me your best friend before long, kitty," she teased.

Bastet scoffed before pulling back just enough to meet her eyes. "You should remain focused on shedding the blood of your enemies like the barbaric beast that you are. Predicting the future clearly isn't your forte."

Calypso's laughter grew louder, echoing through the empty corridors of the palace. She gave Bastet's back a playful pat and slightly pulled back as well.

The two women stared at one another across the short distance between them.

From the side, Aria and Luna exchanged another look. The tension was palpable, electric.

There they stood, Calypso, the Infernal Matriarch, radiating demonic confidence and teasing sensuality; and Bastet, the Ra-Blessed Felinid, all radiant might and regal pride.

Two apex predators. Two beauties whose very auras clashed like opposite suns.

Neither blinked. Neither flinched.

It was the stare of two women who would one day fight side by side, but never stop trying to outshine the other.

The stare of two proud queens, each unwilling to admit defeat.

But then Luna spoke up, surprised. "Wait, where did we leave the fatty and the arrogant dude?"

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