Chapter 186: 176. Wander

Jay felt the whim to leave the Stronghold residence first before anyone else. His deific wife joined him, shrinking back to her mortal height.

Before they left, Jay inquired about Frank’s collection of books– especially the ones on military doctrine written by famous war veterans of the USA. Jay and Frank had talked about this plenty of times, but Jay hadn’t done the personal research yet.

With the Chance of war rising between Protectorates and the USA, Jay wanted to do some personal reading. He wanted to gain a better grasp of what the pantheon was dealing with that the histories of America could foretell.

After a promise to have some books from Frank’s collection delivered to the Luckruns’ residence via a servant, Jay wrapped his tail around YoAnna’s thigh. Jay gave some quick farewells, ignored Casey’s piercing stare, and started wandering out with YoAnna at his side.

“The direction you are going might sour the good mood, husband,” YoAnna said, glimpsing part of the future. “Are you sure you wish to burden yourself now when you are owed time to unwind and enjoy?”

“I do,” Jay said as they walked toward Lionguard Village. “Do you want to head home and relax? You don’t have to go down this road with me.”

“I want to be at your side, Jay.” That answered that.

Besides, the wandering didn’t have to be done sober. Without him having to ask, YoAnna conjured a big thermal mug filled with rum punch and ice. It had a fun curly straw at the top. His deific wife couldn’t cook to save a life, but she could definitely provide the good things in life.

No matter how much Jay drank, YoAnna would refill his mug with a mere glance and keep her husband comfortably drunk. Again, Jay thought about how YoAnna was too hard on herself for what she lacked or what she found weak with herself when she could provide so much. She probably wouldn’t listen to him if he told her that, so he kept it to himself.

They were nearing the golden hour as the sun lowered on the west. Jay and YoAnna left behind the forested road that led to the Champion villas. They hooked a left away from her mansion, which had been upgraded into an enormous structure that was partially a town hall and partially a church.

Along the way, the pair found YoAnna’s sculpted visage sitting on an alabaster throne while looking down at Jay and the genuine article. It was one of many artistic creations of the Protectorates. Most of the sculptures were made in YoAnna’s honor, but here and there, one could find Champion sculptures dotting the fields flanking the road to Lionguard Village.

The gymnasium from when Jay and the others had first gained their profiles was gone. It had been replaced to facilitate the towering structures that contained spacious, homey, and comfortable apartment complexes and businesses for Protectorates.

The buildings were white with gold and black figurines built into the corners or engraved as designs on the walls. The towers looked partially modern, and partially ancient, the materials coming from various Floridian lairs with certain Great Quality stones that were reminiscent of coral or limestone.

Under the sunlight, the buildings had a colorful sparkle that mundane materials couldn’t hope to match. Patches of various walls had murals painted in myriad colors and designs that gave the village a vibrant and young vibe, which was reflected in the Protectorates that lived here.

A majority of Protectorates were young, ranging from Pre-Teen to early twenties. YoAnna preferred the young, and outside of needing their Agents of Change to be competent adults, a bulk of the Soldiers of Challenge were in the teenage demographic. There were a lot of orphans that found their home here– but there were some with families, too. All of them had to be Protectorate Citizens, but the pantheon had reached a point where the families didn’t need to be agents or soldiers as long as they were claimed by one. Thus, a young and spartan-like population moved back and forth through Lionguard Village while on R&R.

At the center of Lionguard Village, there was another church dedicated to YoAnna. It was an amalgamation of Protectorates trying to figure out how to worship the [Godling] with no guidance. The First Church of Lionguard Village had Greek columns, Gothic arches, Renaissance glass windows, and a mishmash of other architectural designs. This sprouted on its own since YoAnna still hadn’t officiated her own religion.

Jay and YoAnna were both dressed in hoodies and street clothes at this point. YoAnna’s hair was braided into one big ponytail that dangled outside of her hood. Jay and YoAnna used their powers to nudge their Protectorates from noticing them, making it seem like their Pantheon Commander and [Godling] were just regular Protectorates as they perused the ground-floor shops, entertainment centers, and open markets of the village.

The sound of a hammer on steel, hawking sellers, the bustle of young voices trading, joking, or commiserating over their losses sounded all around Jay and YoAnna. Monsters slithered, hovered, galloped, and buzzed throughout the crowd at the heels of their masters and mistresses. The flow of traffic slowed around a growing crowd surrounding a guy talking from on top of a column of rock.

“Let’s not kid ourselves!” shouted a Rank 3 War [Fighter]. “War is coming! It’s us against the world now.”

YoAnna glanced at Jay while they stood amid the crowd. Jay drank faster from his mug, feeling like he might’ve imprinted his feelings and opinions on their subordinates when he should’ve been backing YoAnna’s wishes for diplomacy more overtly.

“If you aren’t prepared to face down the USA, you need to hit the training yards harder or start praying to our [Godling] for bravery!” The War [Fighter] continued. “The only way to survive is to take down every challenger. And then hopefully change the world better than the Pantheon Commander.”

Jay gulped down more of his chilled rum punch. Regardless of Jay’s power, he wasn’t the type to kick people down for having opinions even if they seemed grating. The War [Fighter] would’ve tailored his words better if he was aware of Jay and YoAnna hanging out in the crowd. But how else could Jay hear his people’s opinions if he didn’t sneak around a little and moved covertly?

Though, he did feel a pinch of sadness that even his Protectorates looked at their commander as a big reason for the world getting screwed up. Then again, nobody other than a small number understood what was really happening at the high Multiverse level.

The guy had more to say, but it didn’t veer into anything rude or in opposition of the Protectorate leadership. Most people who had tried to push their weight around or ‘overthrow’ the current leadership had gotten shown the door, their [Citizen of the Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon] Title ripped away from their profile.

Depending on how long they’d served, they might keep [YoAnna’s Soldier of Challenge] or [YoAnna’s Agent of Change] as [Soldier of Challenge]/[Agent of Change], which lost YoAnna’s support but left them some benefits. This became an unfortunate practice when Brit’s family had crossed the line and had their stay in the Pantheon Estate evicted… by Brit herself. They lived in Protectorate City now even though they weren’t fans of the Protectorates and had a complicated relationship with Brit.

“To Protectorate City, YoAnna?” Jay asked.

“Take me wherever you want, Jay.”

Jay led the way, his tail remaining wrapped around YoAnna’s thigh. They left the estate with little fanfare, sometimes flying via gravity, and sometimes walking.

While Lionguard Village was built tall to reserve space, Protectorate City remained wide and spacious. It was also jam-packed with way more people than before. Most people remaining in Florida sought refuge near the pantheon. Despite the name change and the official takeover of the pantheon, the mayor remained in charge of Protectorate City and had his work cut out for him with the influx of migrants and the complaints of old natives.

The clash between the old world and new world became obvious here as people flew above others who waited for buses that ran on magic. The air smelled cleaner and had little to no smog. The shops and restaurants swapped out their mundane offerings for the latest trends in magical food and apparel at several Qualities depending on the customer. Because of the larger population and the difficulties of regulating trade, Hailey introduced Protectorate Coins made from Basic Quality silver. It was a temporary measure until YoAnna could introduce the System Store mechanics.

The Protectorates had to interject on dull matters to help the city bounce from the global economic collapse, but people managed to figure things out on their own, too. Protectorate Coins helped the simplest of individuals, but the savvier Systemized relied on unique favors and exchanges.

The underworld flourish under these changes, even if they’ve gotten a bit more magically violent in the process. Mr Rubare and his associates kept their affairs from crossing a line that would’ve had Jay order Rick or Emily to fix. Outside of that, the pantheon leadership stayed hands off since the people of Protectorate City weren’t truly citizens of the pantheon. They were citizens of Annexed Florida under Protectorate reign, which was a whole other headache born out of necessity to improve YoAnna’s defense against invaders.

Jay and YoAnna sat on a park bench as a group of older men playing chess spoke aloud their opinions of the state of things. They didn’t sound thrilled, and like most people, they were concerned about the news circulating the area of potential war against the USA becoming more of a reality.

But unlike the Protectorates, Floridians were on the fence of either ditching this place and taking their Chances with the USA. Or staying in hopes of YoAnna protecting them while they tried to live their lives in this ever changing world.

That wasn’t as bad compared to talk about forming a march and protesting against the Protectorates. Those had died down after a few months passed since the annexation, but it sounded like the protests might start up again.

However, that still paled to some of the talk Jay caught of people wanting to grind their levels on some friendly monsters occupying former Junkside. This had been a recurring problem of people wanting an easy way to level up to get an edge for whatever reason. This was outlawed, but certain individuals were still tempted to do it, especially if they had plans to ditch Florida and join up with the USA.

Hearing these talks, Jay turned and used his wormhole whisper. He addressed the highest authority among the Agents of Change in the city and ensured they cracked down further on friendly monster poaching.

What was the crime for poaching friendly monsters?

Death.

Jay didn’t play around in that area. They’d tried being nice about it at first. People walked over them, especially regarding monsters. No more being nice.

Other than that, Jay didn’t involve himself in anything regardless of the heated debates, senseless threats against the Protectorates, derogatory comments involving YoAnna’s name, or even the crimes that happened around him. It was tempting to interject, but Jay knew once he started, he would have a hard time stopping. Unfortunately, just as YoAnna had predicted, his wanderings had soured his mood.

They went home. The books from Frank had been delivered, waiting for Jay in the living room. Francesca had sent some leftovers from the brunch as well. YoAnna laid down and grew to her divine size, becoming her husband’s living and breathing sofa. They put on an anime for him to watch as he continued drinking and winding down with his deific wife.

“You were right,” Jay said. “I lost my good mood. And I can’t shake off feeling crummy.”

“It was meant to be.” YoAnna’s voice was a soft rumble that shook him up from the inside. “I’m impressed that you didn’t intercede in all matters of your awareness.”

“It sucks.” Jay shifted into YoAnna’s hand as it wrapped around his torso. Her moonlight ring glinted as she drew him closer to her beautiful face. “I can stop crime. I can stop people from speaking trash. I can stop them from making a mockery of you for their pleasure. I can stop so much with a flex of my power. But once I do, when will I stop?”

If he couldn’t stop, his enemies might take advantage of his constant involvement to help others like they had done in Egypt. Jay didn’t want to suffer his experience in Egypt ever again. But that was a concern he could shove into his mental box and kick to the back of his mind. There were other things to consider that wouldn’t get ignored as easily.

“What would happen if I’m breathing down everyone’s necks all the time?” Jay wondered.

“You will become worse than a tyrant,” YoAnna said.

Jay trembled. His eyes drew toward the scarred side of YoAnna’s face. The shadow grew darker there. The golden light intensified. YoAnna’s more savage and darker side stared through Jay’s soul, giving him a rare feeling of fright. It was as if he should divert the conversation before it went down a road he would regret following. But Jay was a Luckrun, and so was YoAnna now. And their namesake came with consequences.

“What’s worse than a tyrant?” Jay asked shakily.

“A villain of tragedy,” YoAnna said.

Jay shuddered as YoAnna spoke aloud words of great prominence and calamity. Words that rippled through the air and touched on something inside of him while making the fourth dimension hoop and holler and screech in maddened glee. She named the thing that Jay had feared in the back of his mind every time he clung to his hero of comedy angle. She stabbed him with the thing that would destroy the trust between him and Kleo and force his familiar into a horrible ultimatum. And YoAnna knew what speaking such words would do to Jay, so she had to have a reason for doing it here and now. Or maybe she couldn’t help but dig her divine claws into her husband because of her nature. It seemed like the scarred side of YoAnna was drinking Jay’s fear up like it was good wine.

“A villain of tragedy,” Jay said hoarsely. “YoAnna… I don’t want that. I don’t want to be a villain of tragedy.”

“I know, Jay,” YoAnna said, holding him closer as she curled her body around him. The cruel interest showing from the scarred side of her face dimmed. She softened.

For this one occasion, YoAnna found equilibrium where she could hold back the curse while still being warm enough to project her concern for Jay. She couldn’t give him her all, but she was doing her best.

Jay released his mug and buried himself into YoAnna’s body, feeling frightened and horrified and unsure. He prayed to her. He prayed harder than he’d ever prayed before. He put his heart into it because becoming a villain of tragedy would be the worst-case scenario for Jay. So he prayed to his [Godling] while held in her arms, knowing that she might divert such a horror. Or push him into it because of her nature. Jay had no clue what YoAnna would do since she still had subtle powers of divinity that were beyond his reach. But he knew enough to know she had plans and secrets and more that may be good. Or not so good. But none of that would stop Jay from loving her, and wriggling deeper into her embrace.

He fell asleep. Then he woke up with YoAnna still wrapped around him. He wiggled free from her hold. She didn’t make it easy for him even though she would know he was trying to slip out. He felt odd and off balance. The revelation from yesterday echoed in the back of his mind. He could become a villain of tragedy. The narrative would cry tears of joy if that were to happen. 

Jay breathed deeply, in and out. Then he moved around his wife, dodging her grasping fingers. He juked around her reaching toes and dug into the books Frank had gifted him. Once YoAnna settled down, he took a seat against her feet and started reading.

For some strange reason, he felt the ghost of Commander John Steele. Not in the more literal sense, but in the more figurative sense, which was more rare these days. Jay wondered what would’ve been if he’d given John another opportunity for redemption.

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“Oh, wow,” Jay said. “I didn’t realize I might’ve started down the wrong path as far back as then.”

YoAnna shifted her feet slightly, nudging Jay out of his downward spiral of thoughts. She remained still for the most part, filling up their living room with her godly body.

The message was well received.

Jay couldn’t go back in the past and tell himself to spare John. He couldn’t use the old commander’s knowledge and experience for the better. Commander Steele had done too much damage. The horrific things he had made Frank suffer through still lingered.

Right now, Jay had to push through his doubts and grow. He needed to read and get a better grasp of what America’s military was built on and how that would extrapolate with all the benefits from the System, the narrative, spellcraft, and angelic aid.

Frank had included readings that involved American business based on militarism and books based on their three letter agencies and past involvements using spies and informational warfare. It was true that the world was different, but the structures keeping the USA together would base themselves off of tradition. As much as things changed, things would fight to stay the same.

“Air superiority. Overwhelming firepower. Naval control. An adherence to command. Rigid in some areas. Incredibly flexible and innovative in other areas. Broad. Having an answer to almost everything. Innovative.” Jay paused. “So many strong points. And all they need to keep it all running is a target. Something to point at that’ll unite everyone. A villain.”

He was their villain. He was their uniting force. If their people could focus on him, they could hold a nation together.

Jay thought of different tricks to break the willpower and the collective small magic of the USA. That might be an angle of attack. Maybe not their overt power, but what held the USA together as an absolute beast of a nation. He even thought of finding the Russian Warmade and dumping them on the capital to divert the USA’s military efforts. Or maybe hunting down all of their Rank 4 lairs and killing them off. But all of that sounded like half-measures to Jay.

YoAnna shifted her feet again. She pinched the back of Jay’s hoodie with her toes and dragged him across the living room floor. Once she released him, she settled on her knees and straddled him with her giant body. The room warped spatially to account for YoAnna’s size. She sat back on her heels and gave her husband a view most men would sacrifice everything to have.

She nearly distracted Jay from his worries. Nearly.

“Two challenges,” YoAnna said, her voice a soft and lovely thunder. “Diplomacy or warfare. Nothing more. Nothing less. It is either we compromise or we attempt to destroy the other.”

“That’s it, huh? Just that simple?”

“Simple doesn’t mean easy.”

Jay slipped out from under YoAnna. He clambered onto her thigh and climbed her hair. He hung by her face, looking into her golden eyes.

“I will fight for you, YoAnna. I will fight for all of us.” He drew in a sharp breath, shuddering. “And I will remain a hero of comedy. But if you can divert the war, I will do whatever you want.”

“You are doing everything I want, Jay.” YoAnna smiled. “More than you know.”

For a moment, she looked like she wanted to kiss him. But they both knew that would kill him even with his Eldritch Monkey Scion race. Or that would hurt her severely.

They stared longingly at each other, yearning painfully.

He wanted to kiss her. Badly. And he could see it in her eyes that she wanted the same. Badly.

But they held back and endured the pain of their longing. Even with that pain, there was comfort. They were together even while not completely whole yet. Their family wouldn’t get close to being whole until Kleo and Brit returned. Then they could work things out better from there.

***

Next week came around.

…

Company Booty Pirates crossed the gulf and reached the west coast of Florida. They were on their way home.

…

Brit was just finishing her voyage across the Atlantic. She would arrive at the same time Company Booty Pirates made landfall.

…

Casey made preparations to fight Brit.

…

And Ms Kowalski screamed in tearful exultation, finally finishing her work for YoAnna. The Systemless woman was locked away in a special chamber in a quasi dimensional space underneath the Pantheon Estate. She hadn’t seen the light of day since the spreading of YoAnna’s Apocalypse.

…

Jay paused his swordplay with Frank and Dennis. They were at the Stronghold residence when Jay felt the fourth dimension tremble and shake and spiral with unknown meaning. At the same time, he noticed something peeping into YoAnna’s fourth dimensional territory with a touch of overt holiness, crossing the line with the [Godling] as if they had no respect for her.

YoAnna struck like a bomb, likely killing the creature on the other side of the fourth-dimensional space. That… was far from diplomatic, but whatever YoAnna had Ms Kowalski working on was too important for YoAnna to act softly. Jay could feel his deific wife’s eagerness rouse like a slumbering monster.

Savage YoAnna with High Divinity power was let off the leash.

“What’s going on, Luckrun?” Frank asked.

Dennis arched an eyebrow.

“Ms Kowalski just finished,” Jay answered. “She’s ready. For real this time.”

Frank shifted to the side, staring in disbelief. After a few seconds, Frank’s eyes widened. “Oh, this is big, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, this is big,” Jay said. “Someone tried to peek on our future and YoAnna straight up killed them. No warning. No holding back. She melted something angelic on the other side with a fury.”

“Does that mean YoAnna’s in serious mode?” Dennis asked nervously, as if he was getting flashbacks of the training sessions with YoAnna.

“Yeah. Tell everyone to be extra attentive. Champions and Citizens.” Jay tossed his sword to a Stronghold servant standing off to the side. “No playing around. YoAnna’s in kill mode, and she’ll be in High Divinity, which means she might hurt people by accident if they step out of line or don’t hop to her orders.”

Terrible timing for Casey. She had attempted another flirty pass with Jay last night at the opening of a nightclub in Lionguard Village. She had worn a racy red dress and heels while letting the Catgirl come out.

Jay had resisted, of course, and YoAnna didn’t intervene. But Brit was aware of everything the whole time. Brit could sense anyone trying to break in between her love for Jay. Casey picked the worst time to be a trifling home wrecker.

Brit was in kill-mode just like YoAnna, and Brit could feed off of YoAnna’s divine energy better than most. Today was going to be an eventful day.

***

2 - Brit

Name: Britney Luckrun, Rank 5

Class: [Stalwart Medium, Level 105]

Race: Ultra Human

Allegiance: Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon.

Affinity: Holy (Elephant)

Statuses: [Health 3900/3900 HP], [Stamina 3400/3400 SP], [Mana 4920/4930 MP], [Chance x80/x81 CM].

Attributes: [2,028 Applied AP]; 195 Resilience, 195 Poise, 170 Strength, 170 Agility, 348 Perception, 145 Intellect, 660 Conviction, 145 Discovery; [0 Free AP].

Skills: [Shield and Smite]; [Encourage]; [Great Light of Cleansing]; [Wings of the Stormy Celestials]; [Incantation Hegemony].

Talents: [Analyze II], [Questing Starlight II], [Champion Cloaking II], [Status Overflow Authority], [In The Fire Leadership], [Dauntless Battler], [Attribute Perfectionist], [Conviction Crusader II], [Ranker 240], [Toughness of the Titanic Guardian].

Titles: [Rebel Queen of Heavenly Chaos], [Mother of Spirits], [Lover of Grace], [Tip of the Crusading Spear], [Spirit Chair of the Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon], [YoAnna’s Champion of Challenge and Change], [Prodigy of Monster Slaying], [Young Virtuoso of Violent Ballads], [Slayer of Assassins], [Hunter of Immortals], [Mightiest of Earth: #4].

Noteworthy Info: Brit was formerly the Band Lead of Central High and one of the most high-achieving students… outside of academics. Her impoverished background and terrible past led to her fleeing from Alabama to make a new home in Central Florida. As part of the Champions, her attention fell on Jay the most, falling in love which had some consequences. She’s now in a struggle– that she’s winning– with her share of the Holy Affinity, all because she refuses to kill her eldritch husband and let go of the Holy Affinity. This had led to her becoming one of the most powerful people on Earth, a true holy terror for anyone to face.