World of Women - World of Women – V4 – Chapter 31

“I hope you understand the consequences of doing this,” Allie said as she handed me a piece of paper with information on it. “This will cost me my career.”

“I understand what you’re doing for me.” I looked her straight in the eyes as I took the paper from her. “I will make it up to you.”

She broke the look first, turning to Ash who was still standing there holding our son.

“You… don’t owe me anything. I have everything I need here.”

I nodded and pocketed the meeting information. We’d be meeting in just under an hour. This meeting would decide how things would progress from here. I would lay everything out to the prime minister of this country. If they could see reason, then they could end this madness before things went too far. I had never met them before, but I had to give it a shot, for the sake of Hannah and everyone else currently on that floating island.

After I parted from Allie, she went over and took Ashton in her arms. She was happy to take that grandson of hers and hold him for the first time. While she was smiling down at the baby affectionately, I pulled Ashton to the side.

“Why did you help?” I asked.

“Did I need a reason to help?” She asked.

“Ash…”

“It’s… Ashley now,” she declared.

“Ashley died.”

“Ashley is me…” She sighed. “I still have all of her memories. I may have the memories of a demon too, but the demon part of me was destroyed. Clyburn, when you absorbed the Demon Lord’s inheritance, did you cease to be you?”

“Of course not.” I glared at her.

“It’s not much different for me. I may have been possessed by a demon for some time, but that part of me is gone. I am Ashley. I may be changed, but who hasn’t changed? Can you say any of the girls are the same as you met them?”

As she was asking this, I was looking over at Mia, who was nitpicking over Lilith, making sure that she was properly dressed. She’d make a good mother, but she had given that up all so she could travel with Lilith and see the world. Her child was being taken care of by Rose, Madison, and a heap of maids like Veris. She was nothing like the wide-eyed girl in high school who wanted a baby more than anything.

“I suppose not,” I finally said.

“Then, is it so hard to believe that I am Ashley, just a version of her you’ve never seen before?”

“Why didn’t you say so before?”

“Would you have believed me?” She shrugged helplessly.

She wasn’t wrong. Had just come up to me claiming that she was normal, then I would have rejected her outright. Even now, I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t believe she meant me any harm, and I didn’t necessarily believe she was a demon anymore. I had seen the effects of my blood on demons. The memories she had gained from being possessed were far more complete and vivid than the ones I had gotten from my inheritance. Ultimately, it wasn’t the same thing. However, she wasn’t a demon anymore, and she had the memories of Ashley, so what did that make her?

“I will… believe you,” I said.

A look of relief appeared on her face, just like she had been waiting on that answer from me. I realized then just how much this had stressed her out. For a moment, she did remind me of the old Ashley with whom I was roommates.

“Clyburn, I must ask you… did you ever care about Becky?”

“Rebecca? Our relationship was complicated,” I answered uncertainly.

“You… owe it to save her.”

“Save… you mean…”

“It’s the only way.”

I snorted. “That’s easier said than done. She could rip my head off with ease.”

“Yes…” She responded quietly. “But I know you’ll do the right thing.”

“What do you plan to do?” I asked.

“I’ll stay with mom. I’ll keep her out of danger. I have quite a few tricks up my sleeve,” she declared, standing defiantly.

“Then, please stay safe. I’ll go take care of things,” I responded.

“Mm!”

I returned to my car where the girls were waiting for me. “Let’s go.”

“You sure about this, Clyburn?” Brooke asked.

“Sure? No…” I shook my head and sighed. “But I have to do something.”

Brooke nodded. “Fine…”

“However,” I turned to Lilith, “I am going to need a few… preparations before we go. I’ve been caught unprepared too many times to risk it again.”

About thirty minutes later, we finally arrived outside a large estate. Allie wasn’t willing to go into the meeting with me. She was convinced she’d get arrested simply for being seen with me. Thus, I had to make it to the Prime Minister on my own. What was important was that I knew where she was. Allie had also pulled some strings so that there wasn’t security. That was the part that might have cost her her job. However, I needed to meet with the Prime Minister at all costs, and we needed to be alone.

I stepped out of the car, wearing clothing fitting for the proper dress of a man in this world. I turned back to the girls in the car.

“You need to go.”

“You’re going in alone?” Brooke asked.

“I’m not going to pull you all into this. I’m the one they want, right? It’ll just be better if I go alone,” I explained. “As for the rest of you, Lilith, can you get them up on that island? Not just them, can you fetch my family from the mansion as well?”

“I can get them there, but why do you want us there?”

“Just… a feeling I can’t shake,” I explained, looking uncertain. “If the WRA wanted to go after me, they’d go after my friends and family first. Those protecting the male district are the only ones I can trust to keep you all safe.”

“Do you think someone will move against you like that?” Mia asked.

“Once I go to the Prime Minister, I suspect that there will be resistance. I don’t even know if she’ll be on my side or not, but I can guarantee that those who are against us will act now.”

“You’re going to be in a lot of danger,” Brooke said.

“Brooke…”

“I should be there.”

“You’ll need to be there, protecting my family.”

“I’ll go,” Cornelia spoke up just as Brooke was opening her mouth to argue. “I’ll stay with him.”

“Cornelia… if you do this… your job, your life…”

“Everything I thought I had was a lie.” She shook her head. “Clyburn, I need to see this to the end. Besides, you’re my charge. I said I’d be by your side through it all.”

I wanted to object, but taking a look at the set expression on her face, I knew that I couldn’t. I slowly nodded, and she got out of the car and joined me. I gave the rest of the girls one last look. Brooke still looked apprehensive, while Mia looked like she was about to cry. The only one that seemed to be fond of the whole thing was Lilith, but even she had a worried expression on her face. They finally began to pull away, and I turned to the mansion.

“I’ve been here once or twice. This building contains the main office of the extended MPA.” Cornelia followed where I was looking. “I know the way.”

The pair of us entered the building. With the city in a crisis and all focus on the floating island that suddenly scooped its way out of the center of the city, there were few guards at this security point. The guard that was checking people only had us step through a magic circle, and finding no weapons, waved us on all while not looking up from her book. I recognized the book. It was a popular romance series, involving a man who had fallen in love with a woman and then tried to defy his place as a breeder because of his love for her. It truly was a fantasy for a world like this.

I kept my hood up, and when no one was expecting a boy, let alone a boy currently wanted, to walk directly into the center of the place that was looking for him, no one noticed. I thought about using some kind of deception spell, but I worried they’d be able to detect it. There were spells, such as those that were situated around the demon castle, and ultimately led to our capture there. The more innocent we appeared, the less likely we were to be harassed.

In that way, we made it up to the office of the Prime Minister. There was no secretary at the moment. The Prime Minister was only here, rather than someplace safe until the unrest died down because Allie had demanded a meeting with her. It had likely occurred at some cost to her, as the Prime Minister would be annoyed and frustrated that she was disturbed in this way. It didn’t matter, as she had been called out for a completely different reason.

I didn’t even bother to knock as I pushed into the double doors leading into her office. As soon as I burst in, I could see a woman in a suit. She was younger than I expected, with brown hair, dark eyes, and raven-like features. She wasn’t that much a pretty woman more so a handsome woman. A lot of women who went into office often had some masculine features. Although she was unmistakably a woman, if someone told me that she was just a really pretty guy, they might be able to convince me.

“Allie, this had better be good. I have bigger problems to be worrying about. If you don’t-” Her words stopped as she looked up to see two people who were not who she was expecting.

She had moved her hand over to a button. This was likely an alarm that would bring a dozen armed people to her office in moments. I pulled back my hood immediately, revealing my face. Her expression immediately changed to one of realization. She pulled her hand back while eyeing me cautiously. I had my hand in my pocket, and a small coin dance in my fingers as I took a breath.

“Prime Minister.”

“Oh.” That is the only response she gave.

“We need to talk.”

“Clyburn Bonholdt. I’ve heard a lot about you, but I don’t believe we’ve ever formally met.”

“I’ve always wondered why politicians don’t grease their elbows more by getting close with the male demographic,” I said something meaningless to try to ease the tension.

“It’s not so surprising. As influential as men can be, they ultimately don’t hold power or votes,” she responded in kind. “They could have, back in the day. All it would have taken is a popular man to endorse a woman, or claim he won’t impregnate any woman who doesn’t endorse a candidate, and he could be worth hundreds of votes. Thankfully, men were always too self-absorbed and vane to realize the power they held, and with the MPA, such holes in our system were patched.”

“Careful. You’re making it sound like you are deliberately stripping men of power.”

“Clyburn…” Cornelia looked at me in shock, but I was staring at the Prime Minister, trying to get a read on her.

She didn’t show me much, only sighing. “I assume Allie is the one who set up this meeting? When we were younger and our political ideals matched, I made her the godmother of my child. It’s the only reason I agreed to meet her absurd demand for a meeting. Here, I was thinking the world was in jeopardy. Please, inform me of why a man has graced my presence this morning.”

“You need to call off the attack on the flying island.”

She let out a single bark of a laugh. “Call it off? Are you insane? Militant prisoners have taken over a district of Amaryllis and captured the majority of the male population. The people are scared and expecting a quick resolution. Why should I call it off?”

“There is more happening than you realize,” Cornelia spoke up. “The men on that island aren’t safe!”

“Of course they’re not safe, that’s why we need to act,” she responded dismissively.

“Do you remember what happened on the Day of Wrath?” I asked.

She frowned and remained silent for a moment. “What of it?”

“I mean, what really happened, what the WRA are doing.”

“The WRA are destroyed.”

“The WRA are more numerable and more spread out than you can ever imagine,” I declared. “They’ve infiltrated the government, your government.”

She waved her hand and made a face. “Conspiracy drivel.”

“No! We’ve seen it,” Cornelia declared passionately. “I was there at ground zero on the Day of Wrath. I saw that evil woman sacrificing people to do some satanic ritual. They are doing the same thing again. I know this is hard to believe, but the WRA are trying to resurrect demons. You don’t need to believe whether they really can or not, but the truth is many lives are going to die if you attack the island, just like back then.”

I could see Cornelia was being reserved with her explanation. If we told them the truth of all of this, then she would likely immediately shut us down. We could only say so much. In that respect, she had managed to convey exactly what needed to be conveyed. If I had spoken, I likely would have said too much. I had to admit that much, at least.

“How…” She swallowed. “How do you know all of this?”

“We met the leader of the WRA not too long ago. You might have heard of some kind of dig up north that uncovered something. That site is completely overrun with WRA.” Once again, I made sure to keep the story barebones.

“You… have proof of this?”

I nodded. “I do.”

That was a lie, but first I needed her to act, then I’d work on the proof. The proof was all there. I did not doubt that anyone who looked would be able to discover it. I just needed to get this woman on my side before things escalated. Once the momentum of their plan had been destroyed, it didn’t matter what happened if it turned out my proof was only hearsay.

She slowly began to nod. “If what the pair of you are saying is true, then this is indeed a grave situation. I will need to get together those I can trust in the government. We’ll need to act immediately.”

She stood up and then walked up to us. The pair of us started to breathe easier. I had known this was a shot in the dark, even crazy, but the WRA wasn’t the entire government. It was just a few key people in power. A prime minister was elected to their position and would need a squeaky-clean past. At least, that’s what I had been hoping.

“What do we do now?” Cornelia asked.

“The pair of you will need to be relocated somewhere safe. You don’t need to worry though. We’ll handle everything.” She smiled, holding out her hand to me.

I took her hand, and the second our hands met, I felt something was off. It was a movement deep inside, a familiarity. That familiarity was like a scent or a magical resonance. As for where this resonance existed, it existed within demonic magic. It was the slightest feeling as our hands touched, but as I dwelled on it, I became certain. This woman had practiced demonic magic.

Our handshake only lasted a moment, before she shook Cornelia’s hands and then began to push us toward the door. “Come, there is much to do.”

I felt like my heart was in my throat though. I had been wrong after all. The WRA… it was all of them. Even the Prime Minister was affected. If she wasn’t a WRA operative herself, someone had used demonic magic on her, and at that point, I had to assume that she was corrupt.

“You’re WRA,” I breathed out.

The gentle pressure pushing us toward the door stopped. Cornelia turned to me with a surprised look on her face.

“Wh-what are you saying?”

I didn’t respond, instead, turning back to the woman who had a grin on her face that didn’t meet her eyes, and had already taken a few steps distance from us.

“Even the Prime Minister is a part of them,” I responded helplessly.

She let out a soft chuckle, sitting back on the top of her desk, crossing her legs as she grew casual. “Did you think any woman ever truly had a man’s back? A few zealots used to quote religious reasons from stories ages past for why men needed to be coddled like babies, but what woman honestly would give a damn about what your kind say.”

My hand tightened on the coin in my pocket.

“I-I care…” Cornelia said.

“That just makes you one more of a gullible, foolish public.” The prime minister chuckled. “Men are nothing but animals. They exist to serve women. That is all.”

“All of Amaryllis is corrupt.”

“Corrupt? Corruption is bending over backward serving disgusting, filthy men,” she snapped before taking a breath. “You know… Diba Monic was a good friend of mine.”

“You…” I felt Cornelia grab my hand, calming me down. “What now?”

“You’ll be taken away and placed in a milk farm.”

“M-milk farm?” Cornelia gasped. “Those are a myth!”

“More like… a proof of concept. Once we let demons back into the world, the public will only be so happy to chain up and lock down every living man. We’ve already sent out the most problematic and revolutionary men out to the farm. It’s an ingenious setup. You get a room, and every time you stick your dick into the wall and make a deposit into the machine, you’re rewarded with food. If you don’t do it, you don’t eat.”

“That’s… awful…”

“It’s practical… and it shows men’s true nature,” she responded flippantly. “Can you guess what those men do?”

“Refuse to do it and starve?” I asked.

She burst out laughing. “You certainly think highly of your kind. No… not at all. They stick their dick in it ten times a day. They don’t even need the food. They’re just bored. We had to limit the deposits on the machines because the men would just bang a hole in the wall all fucking day if we let them.”

“…”

“You see, that’s your true nature. Men are animals… and women, we’re your masters.”

As she spoke, she pressed a button on her desk. This was the button her hand had hovered over before. This was what called the guards to come running.

“What about Cornelia?” I demanded.

“Her body will be found among the wreckage of the male district. Don’t worry, you’re too popular with the MPA peons to villainize. We’ll say something like the men went feral and raped you to death. Well, I can have that arranged. Is that how you’d like to die? I know some perverted male lovers who’d like to go out that way.”

I could hear the footsteps as armed women were storming on us. Ultimately, despite my best efforts, we had walked right into a trap.