Meanwhile, Sonia Angloid was sitting on the chair inside the house of the Reddy family. She was sipping quietly on a cup of tea that was handed to her by Ondine, who had brought it out after being given to by Emilia. Like her, Atem was also drinking from a cup of tea, but it contained juice instead which he seemed to lavish from the contented expression on his face. Only Sonia’s maid, Natasha, was sitting quietly next to her mistress as she eyed the wives of the Phoenix Titan sitting opposite to them.

Venezuela, Emilia. Erza, Cantia, Tetra, Silvera, Sumara and Ondine sat on chairs and were looking silently at their guests. Cantia was scratching her hair and ears regularly due to feeling very bored and restless with them doing nothing, but sitting there quietly. Lakshman’s twin sisters, Indira and Priya, were sent upstairs by Emilia and were told not to come down until their guests have left the building.

Sonia removed the tea from her mouth and placed it on the table in front of her before smiling at Emilia.

“This tea is good. Did you brew it yourself?” she asked Emilia curiously.

Emilia nodded her head once and said, “Yes, but the beans were collected by Ondine.”

Sonia blinked in surprise and turned to stare in amazement at Ondine, who smiled a little as she nodded her head in agreement.

“She does?” Sonia began in a voice filled with amazement. “Wow. You must have good hand to select the good ones among a pile of them at the shops.”

Ondine smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but Cantia spoke before her by saying, “She’s got good taste despite being a Water Spirit-nyaa.”

This time, Sonia looked very surprised and she asked, “A Water Spirit? Really?”

“That’s right,” said Ondine with a nod of her head.

“You know what people from other races like to eat despite being from a race that only drinks water?” Sonia asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

Ondine formed a small smile on her face before she said, “That may be true, however, I have lived with my husband since he was just a kid and as such, I’ve come to learn a great deal about the other races and the food they eat.”

“Lucky did force you to eat the food that Lakshmi made,” commented Tetra with a grin on her face.

Ondine eyed her with an exasperated expression on her face as she said, “He was young and careless. There’s no reason to blame a kid who wanted me to eat just because he was concerned for my health. Besides, he didn’t know much about my race, so I don’t have any reason to feel bad about it.”

As Tetra laughed, Ondine tuned back to Sonia and said, “Anyway, like I was saying, it took me a long time to understand the tastes of the other races.”

“I’m sure it did,” said Sonia with an understanding look on her face. “It just goes to show the kind of patience you had for the man you loved.”

Ondine laughed and said, “There might be some truth to that.”

“There is,” said Emilia as she entered the conversation and they turned to her. “I’m not being boastful, but I do, normally, make the food in the house and while it tastes great, her cooking is much better.”

“Really?” Sonia asked while looking surprised.

“No—!” Ondine began, but she was cut off by Emilia holding her hand to stop her.

“Don’t be modest,” said Emilia with a smile on her face before turning back to Sonia. “She does an excellent job at cooking the food, which seems to always be better than me no matter how hard I try to match hers.”

Ondine, suddenly, looked embarrassed as she said, “You’re praising me too much, Emilia. Everyone here knows your cooking is better.”

“Don’t deny it, Ondine. What you make tastes really good compared to Emilia’s,” complemented Erza with a wide smile on her face.

“Strangely, though, it only tastes better than Emilia’s when she makes it specifically for Lucky,” stated Silvera with a perplexed expression on her face. “She, probably, takes extra care in putting in the right amount of the ingredients to make his favourite dishes.”

“That explains why she sucks at using her magic for battle-nyaa,” said Cantia with a grin on her face. “No wonder she’s so good at cooking; it’s because of her swordsman skills-nyaa!”

“Now, really,” said Ondine as she chuckled at Cantia’s words. “You’re just being silly, Cantia.”

“What? Am I wrong?” Cantia asked as she winked at Ondine cheekily.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” said Ondine with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll give one anyway-nyaa,” said Cantia with a cheerful smile on her face.

“Cantia! Settle down!” Sumara said in a firm voice, but she was smiling happily.

“But,” began Cantia and she continued to speak, but Sonia stopped listening to them.

She had gone into her thoughts and was thinking of what she had witnessed in the past few minutes. All the eight women were happily speaking to one another while enjoying each other’s company. Each of them were different and only related by the man they married through love, but were so close that one would mistake them to be sisters.

“It’s quite clear just how amazing this family is from the happiness that each of them possess. Their company brings smiles on everyone’s faces and fills the surrounding with cheeriness. It’s clear what kind of family this is and it makes me feel very safe knowing that the man I love is part of this wonderful family.”

As she was happily having those thoughts; she was abruptly brought back to the present as Emilia began speaking to her.

“I hope that we aren’t discomforting you with our normal behaviour,” said Emilia with a hint of apology in her voice.

Sonia looked alarmed and she instantly shook her head before she said, “Not at all! I quite like the atmosphere it creates when people are happily speaking to one another.”

Emilia looked, momentarily, surprised by her words. A moment later, she smiled and nodded her head in understanding as she said, “I quite agree,” before looking back at the other ladies that were Lakshman’s wives.

Sonia looked at Emilia for a moment before remembering something that was said earlier that confused her. Wanting to know what they meant by it, she opened her mouth and asked Emilia about it.

“By the way, who is this person called Lakshmi that was spoke about earlier? Is she perhaps a wife of his that separated from him or something?”

Emilia looked surprised and Sonia, suddenly, realised that her question was rather rude. She had rashly asked her question without properly thinking about the outcome of it. Thinking quickly, she opened her mouth, but Emilia spoke before she could.

“Did you think she was also one of his wives since he married so many of us?”

Sonia gulped nervously and nodded her head once with an anxious expression on her face.

“I’m really sorry if I was rude in asking! I was just curious about who it was, that’s all,” Sonia said quickly in a worried voice.

Emilia stared at her for a moment with an expressionless face before breaking a smile over it.

“It’s natural to wonder who it was since there’s so many of us as his wives,” said Emilia and Sonia looked surprised. “Lakshmi is the name of his mother and she was the one who taught Ondine how to cook. Everything else, Ondine learnt on her own after observing Lakshmi’s and my method of cooking.”

“Oh… She’s his mother…” said Sonia slowly and looked relieved.

“Yes, but unfortunately, she passed away along with her husband ten-years-ago in a devastating blast that wiped the Rodfox Kingdom,” stated Emilia and she looked sad.

Sonia looked up in astonishment and thought, “Of course! They disappeared ten-years-ago and it was right before the Calamity Titan destroyed the Rodfox Kingdom!”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Sonia in a sad voice with her head faced down slightly. “How did he react?”

Emilia, suddenly, looked depressed and she hesitated a moment before saying, “His reaction was… something not worth remembering… He was deeply hurt by their loss because the bond he shared with his parents was really strong! I can relate to him since I, too, have lost my parents at a very young age.”

Sonia looked up and saw Emilia forming a sad smile on her face as she continued to speak more about her husband.

“It’s good that he’s cheerful again because I didn’t like him when he was deeply depressed. It pained our hearts to see the man we cherish get emotionally hurt so much like that. So, we’re very relieved that he is back to his cheerful self as he makes jokes and speaks exasperatedly in regular manner.”

“Yes,” agreed Sonia and the two of them smiled at each other in understanding.

As Sonia begun to sip from her cup of tea, Emilia observed her curiously as she thought, “Interesting… She’s curiously asking about my husband when she shouldn’t be interested in him at all. I think she said she was here to simply observe him, just like that angel guy that kept following Lucky around.

There’s no mistaking it; she’s the last Destiny Queen! Otherwise, why would she care about a complete stranger so much as to ask how he felt about something? It’s precisely what made me suspicious of Sumara’s behaviour towards Lucky and now, the same applies to this woman as well. I must question her to learn the truth before something major happens.”

Emilia nodded her head with a determined look on her face, but she was interrupted before she could ask her question. The interruption came in the form of a brilliant glow of light that seemed to be shining brightly from outside the house. Its mesmerising glow caused all of them to be cover their eyes instantly and Sonia to drop the cup on the floor, which smashed into pieces.

“What is that light-nyaa?!” Cantia exclaimed sharply as she desperately hid her eyes.

Sonia, Natasha and Atem turned around on their chairs and looked very surprised to see the brilliant glow of light. They instantly recognised what it was and they exchanged glances towards one another before rising to their feet.

“Were we expecting some visitors, Nana?” Sonia asked her maid curiously.

“Certainly not, princess,” replied the maid in a firm voice with a concerned look on her face.

“Then, were you expecting someone to drop by, Atem?” Sonia asked the escort angel.

“No way!” Atem said with a serious look on his face. “I’ve been sending my reports telepathically to the chief office, so there’s no reason for them to send a party for whatever reasons!”

“Then, why…?” Sonia asked in a slow voice.

They stepped out of the house as Indira and Priya came hurrying downstairs with worried expressions on their faces. The two girls were deeply concerned about what was about to happen because their brother was not there to protect them.

Stepping out of the house, Sonia walked a few meters before stopping in front of what appeared to be people shadowed by the bright glow behind them. Natash and Atem stood back and Lakshman’s wives stood further back and near the entrance where the twins stood.

A moment later, the glow vanished and revealed a large party of two-hundred golden winged angels, who stood a few meters from her. Atem, instantly, narrowed his eyes in suspicion at so many strong warriors wielding spears with their strong hands. Sonia became serious and looked seriously at them all, but she was surprised when a familiar voice was heard from the one standing in front of them.

“Sonia. I’m glad you’re safe and well.”

The man revealed himself by removing the helmet he wore around his head and Sonia was amazed to see that it was his godfather.

“Godfather? What are you doing here?” she asked while blinking in surprise.

Her godfather smiled as he said, “I’ve come to pick you up because your marriage has been fixed and it’s with one of the higher noblemen.”

Sonia looked mightily alarmed and she seriously stared at him as she said, “What?! My marriage was fixed?! Whose decision was that?!”

“It was your father’s,” said her godfather and shocked Sonia greatly. “The Angel King was concerned that you’ve been unmarried since you turned eighteen a while ago.”

“So, he went and made a decision that I’m supposed to make?!” Sonia shouted angrily at her godfather. “How can he be so cruel to me like this?! This is my life and I make my own decisions on how to lead it!”

“Sonia!” her godfather said in a sharp voice and caused her to flinch in fright. “He’s your father and he has the right to take decision on your behalf. Besides, your decision to reject every marriage partner that comes to you has caused his patience to reach its final.”

“Even so, I refuse the marriage he selected for me!” Sonia said in a frim voice with a determined expression on her face.

“She’s right!” Atem said as he stepped forward to defend the princess. “Our laws allow the boy and girl to choose their lifelong partner with and without the permission of their parents after turning eighteen!”

Sonia’s godfather turned to look very angrily at him, but suddenly changed his expression to that of surprise at seeing whom he was looking at. For a moment, he appeared to be lost for words before nodding his head silently.

“This is none of your concern,” he said firmly and Atem was surprised as the man turned back to face Sonia. “Whatever the case, he’s made his decision and you must obey.”

“I am not a sheep to be strung along, I’m not a puppet do as you bid me to and I’m not brainless to not know when I’m at risk!” Sonia said in a sharp voice with a serious expression on her face. “I will choose the partner that I will be with for life! This is final!”

Her godfather looked at her in surprise and for a moment, he appeared to look pleased. That expression changed, however, to that of deadly seriousness as he stared at her, surprising her in the process.

“Then, I have no choice; I will bring you back by force,” he said and shocked both Atem and Natasha.

Sonia looked alarmed by his words and she slowly asked, “Godfather…? Did you really say what I think you said…?”

He nodded his head once grimly and said, “I did. When my sister died, you were put under my jurisdiction because your father was a busy man. I gave you full freedom and let you live like how you wanted to. Now, you’ve become eighteen and you’re no longer under my custody. As such, I’m now just a solider with given orders to follow and I must bring you back, even if it means using force.”

Sonia was deeply hurt by his words and was alarmed by the force he was employing in his voice. She had never heard him speaking to her like this and it made her realise that she was not her ally.

Getting very angry, she shouted at him, “I can’t come back because I’m already in love with the Phoenix Titan! After assessing him and his family, I know he’s the right man for me to be with for life!”

Her words remained in the air for a few seconds and in which time, stunned everyone present. Emilia, Tetra and Silvera looked surprise while Venezuela, Erza and Sumara looked very shocked. Cantia’s mouth hung open in amazement and Lakshman’s sisters were taken aback with shock and surprise. Ondine seemed to be the only one that was not showing any reaction as she hung her head down slightly, which made her hair cover her face slightly.

“Another one?!” Priya exclaimed while looking both angry and exasperated. “Just how many more will fall in love with annayya?!”

“Annayya is quite the lover boy,” commented Indira shyly and caused Priya to look at her in annoyance.

Sonia’s godfather looked momentarily shocked, but he quickly recovered and said, “As I feared; they brain washed you. Take her from this place immediately!”

“Yes sir!” several of the golden winged warriors replied in a sharp voice.

Twenty warriors stepped out of the large group of warriors and as they moved towards her, she began to take steps backward. At that moment, Atem got in between them and stood firmly with his arms extended to either side of him in an attempt to shield her from them.

“You can’t do this!” he shouted angrily at them. “She’s our princess and it’s her choice to do whatever she wants with her life!”

Her godfather, suddenly, got angry at him and he disappeared to reappear standing in front of Atem.

“This is none of your business,” the man said and he slammed his right arm across Atem’s face, sending the escort angel flying away to crash several meters away. “Now, take her already!”

Sonia backed away and was grabbed by Natasha, who held her firmly with gentle hands. It was a reassuring effect that she was telling the princess that she would protect her to the utmost. As the twenty golden winged angels closed in on them and everyone else were standing with looks of anger in their faces, Ondine was the first to make a move.

Ondine held her hand up above her and in an instant, particles of light gathered to form into a golden two-sided trident. Gripping it firmly in the centre, she disappeared and reappeared to stand directly in front of the Angel Princess and her maid. As the golden-winged angels looked surprised by her sudden appearance, Ondine glared at them through fierce glowing eyes.

Holding her trident firmly in her hand, Ondine swung it forward and pointed it at them. The oncoming angels were shocked when their weapons and armours exploded into pieces in an instant. The next moment, Ondine moved forward while swinging her trident at them.

The angels, quickly, parted and one side of the split group got smacked hard on the side by the trident. In an instant, a powerful wave of energy was unleashed and they were blasted away at high speed with their screaming mingling with the sound of the wind. Flowing with the movement, Ondine spun around and swung the trident at the other side and sent them flying away like the first split group.

With the twenty angels knocked out of commission, Ondine spun her trident quickly in her hand before swinging it forward while aiming for the remaining angels. In an instant, a large wave of destruction was released and it surged forward as the angel group quickly formed a strong magic barrier by pouring their energies together.

The wave of destruction fought hard against their barrier and seemed to stretch it. Unfortunately, their barrier was stronger than her attack and the wave exploded, causing wild blowing wind to be sent in all directions.

As the dust slowly cleared, Ondine strengthened up and placed the golden trident vertically on the ground while holding it firmly in her hand. Her eyes were glowing fiercely like they did before when she fought against the evil transformed form of her husband; the Phoenix Destroyer.

“This is the land of the phoenix and anything happens here with the permission of the phoenix!” Ondine said in a fierce voice that shocked the remainder of angels standing before her.

Sonia’s godfather was very surprised to see that one of the wives of the Phoenix Titan possessed such powerful force. He did not expect her to be strong considering the information that the Angel Spies had obtained on the family of the Phoenix Titan. Even so, he firmly stood his ground and spoke to her in a strong voice with a determined expression on his face.

“Don’t interfere in matters that don’t concern you, wife of the Phoenix Titan!”

Ondine stared at him with a fierce expression on her face as she said, “She belongs with us and she will stay. You don’t and you must leave, otherwise, you will pay the penalty of using force on the land of the phoenix.”

In that instant, she began to surge with power while radiating golden aura that surrounded her. Her power was so strong that a powerful shock wave was sent in all directions with the release of her energy. The other wives of the Phoenix Titan were very taken aback by the power they were sensing from Ondine because they had never sensed it before.

“She is a Destiny Queen and is part of our family!” Ondine said firmly and shocked the wives of the Phoenix Titan.

In that instant, something happened in their minds that they had never felt before. Venezuela, Erza, Silvera, Sumara, Cantia and Emilia clutched their heads simultaneously as a wave of memories began to pour through their minds. These memories were from the time they lived in the ancient times; their birth, their growth, their marriage to the Phoenix Titan and their destruction at the hands of the Calamity Titan.

Once the memories were fully awakened, they staggered before kneeling on the ground while panting heavily. Sonia was also sharing their sudden exhaustion as her memories of her past life was fully awakened. Natasha was holding her to support the princess, who seemed to have lost strength in her legs to hold her up.

Tetra looked around at them all and thought, “I sense a change in each and every one of them and it must be from their memories being awakened. It’s good their memories got awakened, but why did they get released after Ondine said the term ‘Destiny Queen’? I think, saying the word by her was the key since, in the ancient times, she was the first to wed the Phoenix Titan before the rest of us.”

“In any case, I must stop these bastards from taking her away!” Tetra muttered and she walked to stand next to Ondine while staring angrily at the group of angels standing in front of them.

At that moment, Venezuela, Silvera, Sumara, Emilia, Erza and Cantia stepped forward to stand on either sides of Tetra and Ondine. Like them, they stared at their enemies with fierce looks on their faces and this surprised the angels.

“Princess! Are you alright?” Natasha asked while holding Sonia firmly with her hands.

Sonia slowly recovered and she looked bewildered for a moment before saying, “Yes… I’m fine…”

She, slowly, let go of Natasha and stood firmly on her feet while staring at the back of Lakshman’s wives. Seeing them standing side by side in a line reminded her of the happy times they spent together in the ancient times.

“My family…” she said slowly as a single tear escaped from her eyes as a happy smile formed on her face.

“She is part of our family and we will not let her go!” Lakshman’s wives said in unison in a loud carrying voice.

They all began to surge with power while radiating in their individual aura that surrounded them. The force of their power caused wild blowing wind and shock waves to be sent in all directions. Sonia’s godfather and the remaining golden winged angels were buffeted by the force, but kept their ground firmly.

“It feels strange with all of our memories fully awakened,” said Tetra with a smile on her face.

“Yes, but it’s finally high time it happened-nyaa!” Cantia said in a firm voice.

“You’re correct, but it doesn’t change the past,” said Erza with a sad expression on her face.

“Right, but it does change the present!” Venezuela said in a firm voice.

“The present and the future as well,” added Sumara with a warm expression on her face.

“Yes! We will change our fates with our own hands!” Emilia said with a confident look on her face.

“We will ensure we won’t repeat the mistakes of the past!” Silvera said with a determined expression on her face.

Ondine formed a smile on her face and said, “It’s unanimous; We will lead the present and the future together!”

“Together!” repeated everyone else and they looked at one another to smile at each other.

Sonia’s godfather was wearing a serious expression on his face as he said, “I don’t know what’s going on, but my orders still remain! While I don’t normally like fighting against women or taking hostages, I have no choice! Men! Take them all!

“Yes sir!”

As the angels stepped forward together in unison, the eight Destiny Queens stared at them with firm expressions on their faces. They all began to surge with power and caused wild blowing wings to be sent in all directions along with the released shock waves. The girls got buffeted by the sheer force from the number of the angels present, but were determined to defeat them.

“We’ll see!” the eight of them shouted and the seven of them extended their hands out.

In an instant, particles of light gathered and formed into different forms of objects. Venezuela was holding a staff that had a diamond hovering above the top end, Emilia held a shield on her left hand while holding her right hand freely, Sumara was holding a book that was glowing mysteriously, Tetra was dual wielding swords that were glowing brightly in golden light, Silvera was dual wielding swords that were radiating in darkness, Cantia was wearing gloves in the form of beastly claws on her hands and legs and Erza was holding a staff similar to Venezuela’s, but had a red stone, that was burning fiercely inside it, was hovering at the end of it.

“Be prepared to face the fully released Destiny Queens!” Ondine said as she swung her trident and aimed it threateningly at the incoming enemies.

As the two parties were about to clash, Indira and Priya watched with mixed expressions on their faces. Priya was anxiously watching to see the wives of her brother defeat a large group of the angels while Indira watched with an apprehensive expression on her face.

Becoming greatly concerned for their safety, Indira clapped her hands together tightly and closed her eyes before she prayed, “Annayya…! Please…! Come back quickly…! Annayya…! Come home…!”

Author's Note

Hello everyone and thank you for reading this chapter.

It took me some time to write this chapter because I had been away on a trip to Tirupati, which is located at southern part of India. Quite frankly, it was a really tiring trip because it involved me walking a lot of time on bare feet. Yup! I wasn't allowed to wear shoes or sandals for most of the time I was there. This included walking up from Tirupati to Tirumala, which was around 3550 steps and took us half the day to reach the top. By the end of the journey, I was worn out and quite frankly, gotten pretty sick.

Anyway, here's the chapter and I hope that you liked it as much as me and will look forward to the next chapter.