Chapter 628: Mensah

By the time the Dark Kin Cycle tore back across the ashen plains, Grey had started enjoying the return trip far more than he probably should have. Brad sat behind him with both arms wrapped around his waist again, Amara stood calmly on the handlebars in her new red dress, and eight restrained Elementals were being dragged through the air behind them by Grey’s chains, occasionally bouncing through stone whenever one of the Infernal Princes tried to resist.

Every few seconds one of the prisoners would flare with enough Fire Energy to make the surrounding air distort, only for the chains to tighten around its Frame and drag it violently back into formation. Grey glanced behind him once, watched an Earth Elemental smash shoulder-first through a volcanic ridge, then faced forward again with a pleased grin.

"I’m starting to think this might be my best mech yet."

Brad looked over his shoulder at the line of prisoners being treated like luggage. "I don’t think they agree."

"Don’t mind them. They’re biased."

The trip back went quickly now that Grey knew the route and had no reason to entertain any more of the Elementals’ traps. Once they reached the first temporary teleportation platform, he drove the Cycle directly onto it, adjusted the coordinates, and carried the entire ridiculous procession through one spatial channel after another until the volcanic landscape finally disappeared behind them.

...

Melix’s capital came into view not long afterward, and the territorial formation recognized Grey quickly enough to let the group through without slowing them down. Their arrival drew attention almost immediately, which wasn’t particularly surprising. Grey’s ability to start diplomatic crises was definitely something to behold.

By the time Grey reached the Palace grounds, most of the people he expected were already waiting near the courtyard. Amunet stood close to Elowen with her arms crossed, Mauve and Xerchen lingered farther back with several others Grey recognized from the consolidated Territories, and then Grey’s gaze paused when he noticed someone he absolutely hadn’t expected to see.

Brad noticed him at almost the same moment. "No fucking way."

Mensah stood near the edge of the gathering.

Grey vaguely remembered Amunet saying she had abandoned the guy after he decided grabbing her ass was his best chance at making a stellar first impression. So, the fact that he had actually found his way to Melix somewhat impressive. It wasn’t easy travelling across all those regions, especially not after the second arc began, and definitely not so quickly.

Grey was about to ask how he had managed it when Mensah’s attention shifted toward Amara, and the expression on his face changed so completely that Brad quietly muttered, "Oh, no."

Mensah exploded into motion.

He crossed the courtyard at enough speed that Grey briefly wondered whether he intended to attack, only for the man to suddenly drop onto one knee and slide the last several meters across polished stone.

He came to a dramatic stop directly in front of Amara with one hand pressed against his chest and the other stretched toward her, looking like someone had thrown him into the final scene of a romance novel without bothering to explain how normal people behaved.

"Beautiful flower of my homeland," Mensah said loudly enough that nearby guards started looking over. "The moment my eyes fell upon you, my heart bloomed beneath the beaming sun, and my blood began to beat with a rhythm meant for yours alone. Let us spend the remainder of eternity proving that destiny did not bring us together by accident."

Grey blinked and slowly turned toward Brad, finding the big man already looking back at him with the same expression.

Brad’s mouth curled upward. "Looks like you’ve got some competition."

Grey made a strange face. "As if my game is that bad."

"Your description of ’game’ is just not filtering whatever words are coming from your dick, then passing out after a peck on the lips."

Grey stared at him for several seconds before his expression flattened. "You know, those big muscles aren’t going to save you if I stick a rod up your ass."

Brad immediately started laughing, and Grey ignored him as he turned back toward the scene unfolding in front of them.

Mensah had apparently decided Amara’s complete lack of response was encouragement, since he was already digging through his equipment and eventually produced something that might generously have been called a ring if someone ignored the fact that it looked like an oily bolt ripped from an old engine.

"A token cannot compare to your beauty," Mensah said as he held it up proudly, "but allow this humble man to begin somewhere."

He reached for Amara’s hand with every intention of sliding the greasy piece of metal onto one of her fingers, only for his hand to pass straight through hers. Mensah froze there with his fingers halfway inside her palm while Amara looked down at him with the same calm expression she had maintained while two Infernal Princes were trying to kill her.

"Please don’t touch me."

Her tone was gentle enough that it almost sounded polite, but there was enough firmness underneath it that even Mensah understood he had reached the end of whatever fantasy he had constructed in his head.

His shoulders dropped dramatically as he pulled his hand back, staring at the oily ring for a moment before releasing a long sigh.

"Another flower fears the gardener."

Amunet’s expression immediately darkened.

Grey almost laughed.

Mensah finally stood and turned away from Amara with the exaggerated sorrow of someone mourning a marriage that had lasted all of thirty seconds, only for his expression to recover almost instantly when his gaze landed on Grey.

The heartbreak disappeared, his posture straightened, and a broad grin spread across his face as though the previous rejection had already been filed away somewhere unimportant.

"Hey there," Mensah said as he stepped forward and extended a hand. "I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I’m Mensah."

Grey looked at the offered hand for a moment before glancing toward Amunet.

She slowly shook her head.

Grey’s grin began to spread.

This was probably going to be fun.

"And why’s that?" Grey asked, looking at the hand again.

"Because I want to fight you, of course." Mensah looked around. "This harem you’ve got going here is pretty nice. I think I want it."