Chapter 242 242: Departure
This time, Alexander didn't host a fancy party or hold a large speech. He gathered the women most trusted to him and gave them a simple order.
"Gather your troops together in five hours at the north gate—any humans that wish to stay, give them the keys for this place and the defensive fixtures."
"???"
"Are we leaving?"
"I will go at once."
He smiled at the differences between each woman from Stella leaving with her succubi at once with a smile on her face, probably excited to go home and meet her mother after so long apart.
Then there was Sarah, who questioned him before wondering if her mother was alright. None of the girls had seen Francesca or Carmine yet—thus, they still believed them to be in the medical bay, which was where she headed first after bowing to Alex.
"Mildred, can you make sure that we take most of the expensive and high-level materials and help McAlister and his little workers travel safely?"
"Of course, leave it to me, honey."
Like this, he was able to arrange everything while he asked Maria, Althea and Kaliara to stay with him as the rest of the base was rushing to leave in the time given to them.
It was a bit chaotic as everyone carried their most important things in bags on their back—but he had prepared enough wagons and carts to carry all the expensive items or heavy machinery they would need to protect in the long run.
"Hehe, master, you look much better now," Maria said in a bright voice; no longer did she speak with trouble or stutter as she rushed to his side and hugged his arm, her brilliant red eyes and white hair swaying with energy as she leaned against his chest.
Alexander petted the top of her head lovingly before smiling down at her—it was true; even though he was tired and the worry of protecting everyone felt like it was threatening to tear him apart at any moment, he could still stand without too much trouble.
His body had adapted and strengthened thanks to the constant training and mana manipulation lessons with Kaliara.
Maria had also grown stronger—her skin wasn't sickly pale anymore, and she didn't feel cold to the touch or shiver when touched.
"Sorry for neglecting you and Althea... Were you lonely for so long?" His voice was deep and calm as his other arm opened for the other girl with her curly twin tails and beautiful red eyes.
Althea hugged his arm tightly and buried her face against his clothes—she didn't say anything, but he knew that she didn't mind since she always understood him more than anyone else.
Kaliara watched the scene silently before sighing and shaking her head—even though she tried to act cold and uncaring, Alexander knew that she wanted to join the hug.
So he flicked his chin to her and waited until she walked over with small steps before Eien seemed to take control and hugged his chest; the three women who gave him so much, and he was always so busy, never giving them the time or affection they deserved.
Maria was never close to him before, but since becoming a ghoul, she fought for him, scavenged for food daily for the other Vesta, protected them and never complained even when he didn't speak to her or forgot her existence...
Althea was a symbol of his greatest failure, losing Samantha and not being able to comfort Mildred properly before she was ready to accept the past... She was always quiet, waiting for him and helping others around the base every day while he worked tirelessly.
Kaliara... Even though she was arrogant and prideful, she still put aside her people's pride to save him and train him, accepting the loss of her powers and no longer being a demon and probably a traitor to her race; she and Eien worked harder than anyone bar Alex and Valulaela to keep the base protected.
Yet he neglected them... Not only them but Stella, Sarah, Patricia, Megan and even Himari and Ayami and the hundreds of lives that relied on him for safety and protection.
Even though he knew how difficult it was and that he couldn't spend time with them whenever he wanted...
Alexander admitted that he was the one at fault and needed to fix it.
"...Thank you all for staying by my side—from now on, I will do my best to balance everything out." He hugged them all tightly, causing Maria to look strange with her eyes wide, but hugging him tightly, and Althea purred softly as Kaliara huffed and looked away to hide her reddened cheeks.
He let them go shortly after and kissed Maria and Althea's foreheads gently before turning to Kaliara, who pouted and turned her face further before he chuckled and pulled her into his arms—his lips touched her neck, and she shivered before glaring at him angrily.
"You were my enemy, but now you are my woman. I cannot treat you differently, so please accept my affection. Kaliara."
The demoness' cheeks were bright red as she struggled halfheartedly before finally nodding—Alex kissed her lips shortly after before letting her go and fixing his clothes, coughing lightly as Maria and Althea giggled happily.
"Do you want me or just Eien..." The distorted voice of the demoness caused Alexander's eyes to light up brightly as he smirked.
"Both. All of you."
Kaliara trembled slightly before looking away again—he laughed at how cute she was before checking his watch and turning around with Maria and Althea clinging to his arms once again.
"Shall we go and help everyone prepare to leave before we journey to our new home?"
Maria nodded immediately with shining red eyes while Althea purred happily. Kaliara sighed loudly but followed him without complaints—Eien whispered something to her before fading away, showing that she was happy, and she decided to thank Kaliara properly later.
Thus, Alexander set off with his women to help everyone pack and prepare to move to their next destination—the northern city of the succubi.
***
Four hours later, over three thousand people were standing at the opened gates as huge piles of mutants and zombies were torn into pieces, with two sexy women sitting on the tall pillars on either side of the gates.
"Yo lover boy, you took so long to come greet mommy." The pink-haired woman with huge, melon-shaped breasts teased Alexander while the quiet woman with black hair shook her head and jumped down.
"Alexander, we found a total of fifty boxes and stored them in here."
She tossed a huge bag to him. Even though it was enchanted to be lighter, the weight was quite heavy.
"We added some of the stage six monster hearts and cores too."
When Carmine turned around, her bodysuit was so alluring to Alex he couldn't help gawking for a moment at her perfect ass,
Francesca laughed when she noticed before jumping down and kissing Alex on the cheek, "Don't stare too much, honey~ We'll play later~ okay?"
Carmine coughed and hid her embarrassment as Alexander smiled wryly and nodded, storing the bag in his inventory for now.
He looked back at the many women who were following him; some were now more mature than the girls who were mere toys for other men months ago; they were not seasoned warriors, able to easily kill monsters of huge size alone...
"I really am impressed by you all... You have grown strong and reliable—you don't need me to lead you or protect you anymore. Now, you can walk on your own and protect yourselves; I will be relying on all of you to help defend our new home, so please work hard."
Everyone cheered loudly as Alex turned to Francesca and Carmine.
"Lead the way—we are going north."
Afterwards, Alexander waved goodbye to the city, and his various women followed with the same goodbye. Mildred, McAlister and his workers, along with Stella, Sarah, Patricia, Himari, Ayami, Valulaela and many other faces, waved back at those who would stay forever, likely to die in this city.
They left behind a decent enough fortress and walled city filled with traps and defences, an underground base full of resources and weapons, and a few hundred humans who wished to remain in the old world—they weren't scared of the future and decided to live freely.
"That is enough, right..." Alex looked back, wondering how they would fare against the coming tides...
It wasn't his duty, but he became more compassionate the more he interacted with his Vesta, restoring the small bits of emotion that made him human and so appealing to the girls in the first place.
This journey wouldn't be easy, but with the women around him and his determination, he felt a moment of hope appearing in his chest, a sign that things might just improve in the future, but he was aware of the monsters that lurked in this thick snowy wasteland...
Now likely to be even stronger, hungrier, and he felt excited at that thought.
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