Harem Country Ch. 04

There was a loud crack. The fires that lit the coliseum flared to life. The walls of the arena, covered in symbols, began to glow. With a noise similar to a snake hissing, a barrier of light whipped around the walls and then domed over the top. The entire pit was completely covered. Zophiel whirled her head around, confused. She then turned around, glaring at Seth. The mortal was staring at her blankly.

"What...what is this?" the goddess demanded. "What did you do?"

"Nothing." Seth said. "I just...wow...I can't believe that worked. This is...really going to happen."

"A mortal can't seal away a god!" Zophiel cried in anger.

"Oh? You're making a lot of assumptions."

Zophiel straightened her spine and froze. Ever so slowly, she turned her body around. A tall male was standing behind her, above the arena.

"What...who...?" she began. Then she saw his dark hair, amber eyes, and the scar over his right eye. "No...No! It can't be! I sealed you away! I trapped you forever!"

Dotan smugly crossed his arms.

"Did you now? You might want to check on that." the god answered flatly. Seth had walked around the arena to stand beside his god.

"It's impossible!" Zophiel shouted. "A God Seal made by a god can't be broken!"

"If you say so." Dotan replied flatly. They stared each other down for several moments. Then Zophiel screamed.

In an outburst of power, a shockwave went around the arena. The sand exploded outwards, as if something had impacted it. Zophiel's wings burst out of her back. They were pure white, and stretched straight outwards, almost like a dove's. The goddess's halo appeared above her head. It was bright gold and looked as if had golden flames coming off of it. This was her true god form, one that gods use when they are about to use their power. Seth cringed in fear, but Dotan didn't budge. Zophiel held out her hands to either side of her, her palms open. Balls of light began glowing in them, increasing in intensity every second.

"You think you can contain me, boy?" Zophiel asked incredulously.

"I wonder." Dotan replied noncommittally. His nonchalant attitude was apparently infuriating the goddess. Zophiel let out a snarl. With a powerful shout she jammed her hands forward. A blast of pure power shot at Dotan and Seth. Seth shrieked and jumped backwards. Dotan still didn't move. The golden blast struck the barrier. The shield of light didn't budge. Zophiel didn't stop, and let out a constant stream of energy erupting from her hands. After a few moments, the shield began to bubble where her blast of power hit. Encouraged, Zophiel screamed and pushed even more of her power into it. The bubble continued to grow and grow, slowly looking like a tumor growing on the shield.

The barrier then glowed. Some of the symbols around the arena lit up. Zophiel only had a split second before she realized that there was more than one magic spell in the pit. With tremendous force, the shield bounced back into place. Her magic blast was belched back at her. The goddess dove to one side, but wasn't quick enough. Her own energy struck the ground right beside her and exploded. She shrieked and was thrown like a ragdoll towards the edge of the arena. When she hit the barrier a few more of the symbols lit up on the walls. The goddess screamed bloody murder as electricity shot through her body. Dust and debris flew in all directions and filled the arena completely with a cloud, as the shield didn't stop tiny particles or air. Seth covered his mouth and face with his shirt and began coughing. Dotan still didn't budge.

After a few moments, Dotan lifted his hand. It was glowing faintly.

"Wind." he said, as if bored. Abruptly, a vortex of wind swept through the arena. All of the dust was pulled into it. In a matter of seconds, the air was clear again. The vortex then went into one of the passageways, blowing all the dirt into it and out of the way. Dotan then lowered his hand, crossing his arms again.

Zophiel slowly stood up. She was holding her arm, which had absorbed the majority of the damage from the barrier. It had temporarily been paralyzed. Her dress was now torn on her arm and the whole thing was covered in dirt. All the pure white on it was now brown. She walked towards the middle of the arena and gave Dotan an evil glare again.

"Want to try again?" Dotan asked flatly. Zophiel spit in his direction. "How unlady-like."

"This barrier won't hold me forever and you know it!" she shrieked.

"Do I? This is an actual God Seal." Dotan explained. "What you put me in was not. A God Seal is not just one spell, but actually three, a barrier spell, a reflection spell, and an attack spell. You only put a powerful barrier up around me." Dotan then casually unfolded his arms and shrugged. "Given enough practice, anyone could break it."

"Is that so?" Zophiel asked. She took her hand off her hurt arm and stood up straight. Her injury had already recovered. "And you think with your amount of power even those spells can keep me in?" The goddess's sapphire eyes turned towards Seth. "Perhaps you should know who you're dealing with mortal. You chose him over me. This man will not protect you when my sister and my followers come for you. This man...is a demigod."

"What?" Seth exclaimed. He jerked his head towards Dotan. "Demigod!?" A demigod was powerful to be sure...but even at their very best they were only a quarter the strength of a god. Seth was horrified. When the other goddesses descended upon them there was no way they could win. Dotan still hadn't moved. His face was completely blank.

"A demigod you say?" Dotan asked. "And why would you think that?"

"Don't make me say it, boy!" Zophiel replied.

"Say it." Dotan snapped.

"Dotan!"

"I want to hear you say it!" the god shouted. Zophiel briefly snarled at him again. Anger was burning in her eyes.

"Because your father was a human!"

The moment those words left her lips, Dotan shouted at the ceiling. The entire arena rumbled loudly. The rocks around Dotan's feet cracked and Seth was knocked backwards onto his ass again. Then with a loud boom, two large and black things shot out of Dotan's back. They came around his body and briefly covered him. They were wings, big and dark. While Zophiel's wings resembled a dove's, his resembled a hawk or an eagle, a bird of prey. The top layer was jet black, but the lower feathers were a deep brown. With a second shout, the wings spread open, revealing Dotan's true form. The wings were wide, more than twice the height of his body. Over his head was a halo, but unlike Zophiel's it was deep red. The crimson-looking flames coming off it were much larger than hers and were the color of blood.

Upon seeing this Seth was certain of two things. First, Dotan was a god and a very powerful one judging from the size of his wings and halo. Both of those things were a manifestation of their magical power, and were a good measurement of how much they had. Second, and he was pretty sure of it before but this proved it, Dotan was a god of darkness. Seth briefly clutched his chest and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank heavens..." he muttered. "He is a god. I might just live."

Zophiel stared with wide eyes. She looked as if she were completely baffled.

"What?" she asked. "But that...that isn't impossible."

"Is it?" Dotan asked. He sounded angry now. "Perhaps you were mistaken."

"That's no way!" Zophiel shouted accusingly. "Your father was human! There's no way he wasn't!"

"And how would you know that for certain?" Dotan asked. His amber eyes were shining brightly and eagerly. Zophiel stared at him in confusion...until she saw something moving beside Dotan. Seth had popped back up, and was looking between them confused. The words caught in the goddess's throat.

"How CAN you be certain?" Dotan asked. "My mother could have sneaked off with a god! She could have slept around behind your back! Yet, there is no doubt in your mind? There's only one way you can know with absolute certainty. That would be if you were there from the very start, to the very finish." Dotan once again, and smugly, crossed his arms. Now it was his turn to turn his nose up at Zophiel.

"Isn't that right? Mother?"

Seth could feel his jaw drop and his brain short-circuit.

"What...the...fuck?" the mortal said. He quickly glanced between the two of them, Dotan's smug face and Zophiel's horrified one. One couldn't see it on first glance, maybe not even on the second or even if they were standing side-by-side. Her hair was blonde, his was black. Her eyes were blue, his were amber. Even their expressions and body structures were wildly different...but now that Seth knew...there was something about their noses and chins. They were very similar, and their hairlines were both rounded the same way. And the way she called him "boy"...

"He's telling the truth isn't he?" Seth asked, jerking his head towards the goddess. Zophiel seemed to still be stuck in horror.

"Of course I am." Dotan replied for her. "The great, pure Zophiel fucked a lowly human and produced a child who turned out to have a dark aspect, and once she realized what she had done...she sealed him away, trying to make him disappear. Isn't that right, mother?"

Zophiel's mouth moved in vain for a few moments before words actually came out.

"That's impossible!" she finally said. "Your father was a human! A mortal! They can't produce gods! Not even with other gods!"

"Really? The ancient legends say otherwise." Dotan said. "I seem to recall one legend of a male god mating with a mortal female and producing one of our godly ancestors. Sounds like the same thing but in reverse."

"That's just a myth!" Zophiel shrieked.

"And yet...here I am." Dotan replied, holding his arms wide again. "And there...you are." The god grinned widely. It was that unsettling grin, the kind that would make mortals shiver deep in their gut no matter how tough they were. "In a true God Seal." There was an uncomfortable silence. Zophiel's expression had fallen and she seemed to have a stunned expression on her face.

"Dotan...wait..." Zophiel began. Without warning Dotan began to laugh. It caught Seth's attention because it was different from all of his other laughs. All the other ones had some sort of malice in them. They had been dark, ego-centric, and only came when he was dominating those weaker than him. This was different. It was real. Dotan legitimately found something funny.

"Are you kidding me?" the god laughed. "Are you going trying to convince me to let you go? After all you've done, you expect me to listen to you?"

Zophiel flinched and her eyes widened. She didn't seem to have a response to that. Dotan finally stopped laughing and let out a groan.

"Oooohohoho...you are dumber than I thought." the god said with pride. "I can't believe you fell for everything I did. I've been out for days! I have people placed all over the castle working for me! I even got your pet dark elf to work for me!"

"Roshina? Impossible." Zophiel said.

"You think so? Well so far in terms of women I'm 3 and 0." Dotan said. "I've caught three of them and broken two. I'm feeling good about this prospect as well."

Zophiel abruptly looked disgusted.

"You'll never break me!" she shouted.

"Everyone always thinks that." Dotan replied. "Yet so far, they have all bowed before me. I wonder how much time you have left?"

"What are you talking about?" the goddess demanded.

"A God Seal is a bit of a misnomer." Dotan explained. "Technically a spell like that doesn't exist. It's not one spell, but three. It's not even really a seal, it's a barrier, a reflector, and an attack all rolled into one."

"How...how could you know all that?" Zophiel asked. Seth actually wanted an answer to that as well. If Zophiel didn't know how to do it properly, how the hell did Dotan, her son she sealed away for centuries, know how? Instead, the god merely grinned.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" he asked. "The answer is closer than you think."

Zophiel instantly looked puzzled and spent several seconds thinking. Dotan was eager to move on however.

"I actually have two other spells mixed in there as well." he elaborated. "It's quite a lethal cocktail, I'm surprised my mortal worshipers were able to do it right."

"Worshipers! How?" Zophiel asked.

"I'm just that much better than you I guess. Of course, I'm only going to get better."

"What are you talking about?"

"One of those two other spells is slowly draining you of your power."

"What?" Zophiel appeared alarmed. She jerked her head around and took a closer look at the symbols. One of them was constantly glowing faintly. It was still behind the barrier, so Zophiel couldn't get to it. "So what? It's only a tiny amount! I have a ton of power! You would have to leave me in here for ages!"

"Then I suppose I'll do just that." Dotan said, shrugging. "It'll be easy with the final spell."

"Final one?"

"Oh yes, you see..." Dotan held out his hand. A bolt of electricity shot out of his hand. It struck right next to Zophiel, throwing up dirt. The goddess briefly shrieked and jumped, looking back up in shock. "The barrier lets things in, not out. So if I were to let in all manner of wild creatures for you to fight once you're weakened, well...you'll just have to fight them off with whatever magic you have left."

Zophiel looked as if someone had punched her in the stomach. She suddenly realized the gravity of her situation. Dotan had thought this out, step-by-step. He manipulated those around her to get her just where he wanted...and then he sprung a perfect trap. It was like he was a master manipulator and a magic expert...but how? He had spent centuries under the ground! Who could have taught him all this? "The answer is closer than you think?"" What did that even mean? Zophiel steeled her will and clenched her fists.

"Once my sister hears of this..." she began.

"Oh?" Dotan asked. He reached into his shirt and removed some papers. It was the itinerary. "You mean the goddess who is arriving later today around four o'clock? I wonder what she'll find waiting for her? Perhaps...another trap?"

"How did you...?" Zophiel began. Then she remembered...Roshina running out of her room. "There's no way the army would let you..."

Dotan leaned forward, his hand cupped over his ear.

"Hm?" he began, as if he couldn't hear her. "Oh? You mean the people whose pay you slashed and used as janitors? I'm sure they will be very loyal to you."

Zophiel was beginning to look pale.

"The people...they won't let..."

"Oh come now," Dotan waved his hand through the air. "I think the word you're looking for is "women." The women won't let me do it? You honestly think that the women of this country will be able to stop me? They aren't as strong as men, the people you've disrespected and marginalized. The males will probably be happy for the change I bring. Also, despite you favoring women over men, I'm willing to bet there aren't any women in the army. If I'm the only man with an army in the entire country, who do you think is going to win?"

"The...the other goddesses..."

"You mean those people that are completely separate and independent from one another? They are scattered all over the country. I can take them out one by one...unless you think they'll band together?" The terrified expression on the goddess's face told him that they wouldn't. "This is one hell of a world you've built here. I take you and Lyfillia out, and it'll topple over easily." Dotan smiled and shrugged once again. He turned and began walking out of the arena. "Let's just see how easy it will be."

"Dotan...please..." Zophiel began. Her son stopped in his tracks. He was in the doorway of one of the corridors. His back was to her, making his expression unreadable.

"You don't get to say"please" to me." he said flatly. "I said that word a lot, over and over again. What mercy did you show me? Why should I show you any?"

"This...this is all one big mistake..." Zophiel tried to say.

"Don't call me that..." Dotan muttered.

"I didn't mean for this to happen." the goddess continued. "You weren't supposed to be this way!"

Dotan punched the wall beside his head. Seth, who had been watching the entire time flabbergasted, immediately turned and ran. Practically the entire section of seats next to Dotan collapsed in a mess of stones. He had punched it so hard that the entire coliseum rumbled and rocks fell from the ceiling. The wall around the arena was reinforced however...it didn't budge. Dotan whirled around, seemingly unbothered by the pile of rubble he created. There was anger in his eyes, real anger. His fists were in tight balls and his eyes looked as if they could melt steel on contact.

"You shut your fucking mouth!" the god bellowed. He marched over to the wall of the arena and gazed down at her. He pointed an accusing finger at his mother. "You know nothing! I'm not a fake! I'm not a mistake! This is the way I was born! This is the way I am! It's in my very blood! I'm a dark, male god, and nothing you do can change that!" Dotan's wings spread out and his halo briefly flared even brighter. "YOU are the one with the problem! YOU are the one who sealed me away! YOU are the one who gave me this scar! YOU are the one who can't accept ME!" Dotan leaned forward, his eyes seemingly glowing even brighter.

"So you know what I'm going to do since you've fucked this world over?" Dotan asked. "I'm going to fix it. Women have made this society so weak that I'm going to topple it in short order. Then I will restore it to what it should be. The weak shall submit to the strong. Women shall assume their rightful place as submissive slaves for men."

"What? What the hell are you saying?" Zophiel asked. She looked absolutely stunned and appalled at the same time.

"I will restore the rightful, dominate order." Dotan replied. "I will make women the slaves of men. I will enslave all the goddesses of this realm and make the entire country bow at my feet, and when I do you will be watching from behind me, a collar around your neck and my symbol branded on your hip!"

"You're insane!" Zophiel declared. "A misogynistic madman!"

"Well, thank you for raising one, mother." Dotan replied coldly. "I think I'm going to leave you here to soften you up a bit. Why don't you think about what I'm doing to your beloved vagina utopia while you're at it? Soon, you'll be as weak as a mortal and at my mercy. Then you will either submit to me...or die."

"None of that will happen!" Zophiel cried.

"We'll see." Dotan replied. His usual demeanor had returned. "In the meantime, enjoy spending some time alone without your order of virgins to worship the ground you walk on." The god turned around and began walking through the partially-ruined corridor. He threw a deadly glare towards Seth. "Come."

"Oh, uh, yes, I'd be delighted to." Seth stated.

"Mortal! Wait! Don't go!" Zophiel cried.

"Ignore her." Dotan stated. "For all intents and purposes, she doesn't exist anymore."

"Yes sir." Seth replied, reaching his god's side.

"Let's go." Dotan ordered. They began strolling out of the arena.

"Dotan! DOTAN! DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME! DOOOOTTTTAAAAAAANNNNN!!!" Several loud concussive blasts could be heard as Zophiel pounded against the barrier. It didn't give, and Dotan didn't turn back around. Zophiel's screams faded as they disappeared into the corridors. Only one thing went through Seth's mind:

The queen is dead. Long live the king.

*

Dotan and Seth did not speak as they made the round-about trip to the entrance. They exited on the opposite side as the exit so they had to go around the entire coliseum. Once they were finally at the entrance Dotan stopped in his tracks. He held out his arm, stopping the mortal as well.

"You will not breathe a word of this to anyone." Dotan said. "Not even under the worst of tortures. If anyone ever hears of what you learned here today or what happened, I will personally find you and rip out your spine from your living body." The god's eyes told Seth that he was dead serious. The mortal gulped and nodded.