Chapter 2

Faithful servants of her new masters were about to arrive in the capital to sow the first seeds of the rule of Nazarick. And she was ready.

Renner sat in the study of her private quarters with a quill in her delicate hand, overlooking an empty letter. She was about to write for her close associate and the leader of the smuggling branch of Eight Fingers, Zoran Romanof.

He had been a close associate for almost seven years and up till now, her ticket out of being married to whoever her oldest brother wanted to befriend. She had fed the crafty old man both information and ideas on how to further their common goals. In return, for a massive sum of gold of course, he would smuggle her and Climb out of the country when the civil war started.

No matter how carefully anyone had tried to watch her, none knew where all her money was hidden. Through countless agents, many unwitting, she had hidden her own wealth in more than thirty places across the city. Fifteen of those would go to Zoran if worse came to worst, and the rest would have been the fund for a comfortable life with her beloved Climb.

But this plan had now all but been dismissed thanks to her servitude to Nazarick and the Gods ruling over it. That didn't mean she could just abandon her old efforts though, too many watchful eyes were on her and any sudden change in her behavior, as Zanac had proven, was a good way to attract attention she couldn't afford at the moment.

Renner wrote a message, the text encoded in a cipher only Zoran knew. The most ingenious thing about the encryption method she herself had created was that on the surface it looked like a letter addressed to one of the orphanage matrons with nothing more than inquiries about idle curiosities of how the orphans were doing.

Besides this, this one real letter and ten more fakes would be given out as misdirection while she toured the city and gave food and other necessities to the poor.

She took a sip of tea, glancing up from the letter with a tired expression.

'I need a short break.' With how smart and hard-working her direct superior Demiurge was, Renner needed to push herself to the limits as well and make sure there were no mistakes in both the planning and the execution of the Re-Estize takeover. The demon surely wasn't a forgiving one.

She rang a bell sitting beside the letter and Climb rushed in.

"You called, your Royal Highness?" He bowed, his mithril plate rattling.

"Could you please notify maids that I would like a light meal? I trust the head chef has something wonderful up his sleeve. And Climb, I told you to not be so formal when there is no one else around," She spoke softly, as she turned around and flashed a smile.

"Sorry, princess. I will try," Climb responded, his cheeks reddening. Just as quickly as he arrived, he was off to carry out her request.

'Now where was I?' She returned to the task at hand. Zoran needed to be informed about Lord Sebas' arrival. The likely mishandling of the old butler posing as a merchant would be used as a catalyst to clear Eight Fingers out of all possible opposition, leaving only those leaders who wouldn't resist Nazarick's rule alive.

Zoran was the current prime candidate for the leader's position, but there were far too many unknowns to know for sure. For one, only five of eight branches were mapped out to a somewhat decent degree, meaning her information was limited.

The shadow demons were reporting his moves back to Renner, and thus she knew just the right words to play the man like a fiddle and have him approach Sebas with extended arms.

As she finished the letter, maids arrived with her food which could be used as an excuse to take a rest. She folded the letter, put it in an envelope, and dropped it on top of the rest.

While she ate, Climb organized a carriage for her. She would play the golden princess for the unwashed masses while issuing orders to her many confidants through written correspondence. Soon, they would be fully replaced by shadow demons as they were nothing more than disposable pawns with little worth, but for now, they could think their future was with her. Perhaps they would find use with her demonic superior if they were lucky.

X

They finally arrived in the capital of Re-Estize. As pleasant as the trip was, Lukrut had begun to yearn for a more stable place to stay. As much as he hated to admit it, Nazarick had spoiled him.

With how much attention they managed to attract on their way there, Lord Sebas received an invitation to look at a mansion the moment they crossed the city gates. In fact, it was one of the guards who presented a sealed letter to his current superior.

Though it was his first time visiting the kingdom's capital, Lukrut was far from impressed. E-Rantel, at first glance, had better living conditions. Why it was so he couldn't tell, but if he had to guess it likely had to do with E-Rantel being a fortress city critical to the kingdom's defense.

The outskirts of the heart of the kingdom were in a simply abysmal state, even by his standards of the outside world. The road wasn't paved, and due to intense use, it was bumpy and hard to traverse even with the luxurious transportation they were in.

"Anything would be an upgrade to this," Lukrut commented.

"Not everyone is blessed with wise and kind rulers. These people will have to wait till the righteous rule of the Supreme Beings can be implemented," Sebas stated, agreeing with his statement.

"The nobles have always been bastards. Unlike our masters, they don't care about their people one bit," Ninya joined in scowling at the sight of poverty outside the carriage.

The compassion towards humans had lessened in her heart. but she still remembered how hard life was as a farmer.

"My, someone is eager to exact revenge. I'm sure Lord Ulbert will let us play with humans," Solution flashed her a toothy smile, forcing the girl to look away.

Lukrut did his best to keep a stony expression. The less he got involved with the monstrous maid the better. Sure, the temptation was there, but his sense of self-preservation was stronger. It seemed Solution was well aware of his inner conflict and subtly teased him with her impressive body any chance she got during the trip, much to his irritance.

By the time they reached the mansion, Lukrut was ready to run off and find a way to blow off some steam. Unfortunately, he was on a mission and all he could do was to suffer in silence.

With Sebas in lead, all four exited the carriage and were greeted by a sickly pale woman with blonde hair, dressed in a low-cut dress and holding a pipe from which a stream of purple smoke was escaping. Her beautiful face was covered with purple mascara, and the dress was of such thin silk that her appearance practically screamed high-class prostitute.

Lukrut couldn't tell how old she was, but his best guess was that the owner of the mansion they were about to rent was in her late twenties.

"Welcome, my name is Hilma Cygneus and I hope this property will be to your liking. Let's start the tour, shall we?" She approached them with a greeting. Showing not a slither of shame or hesitation she got between Sebas' and Solution, wrapping her arm around the older butler's biceps.

Lukrut noticed how surprised she looked when shamelessly touching the older man, but it was likely due to her not expecting a supposed merchant to be so muscular.

"You must have been an adventurer sir," Hilma commented, subtly biting her lip.

"Those days are over I'm afraid. These days I prefer a safer trade," Sebas' replied in his usual stoic manner.

'Huh, going in for the kill right away. I guess they're all alike no matter the price.' Lukrut mused, carefully observing the woman. Considering how valuable the artifacts they were selling, it wasn't surprising that honey traps would be used. Worst of all, he knew himself well enough to fear that he would fall for such a trap and potentially jeopardize the whole operation.

At least he didn't need to worry about Ninya since her sole focus was to find her sister and then get revenge on the noble who destroyed her family. A goal that didn't seem that impossible anymore, thanks to their new masters. Once Re-Estize belonged to the five Gods, a cleansing of all undesirable elements would commence. A greedy corrupt noble would likely be on the top of the list of the said undesirables, and she would likely have her revenge there.

Snapping out of his daydreaming, he followed the group, periodically glancing at Hilma's backside, barely hidden behind the thin fabric. A few looks surely didn't hurt.

The mansion was about what they expected. Spacious with a decadent interior and a garden filled with various decorative plants.

Once the tour was over and Sebas had signed the lease, giving the initial payment to the landlord, they were left on their own. Hilma did leave a note from a merchant named Zoran Romenof who had invited Sebas for a business dinner. She also suggested a maid service, pointing out that Lukrut and Ninya wouldn't be enough to keep a mansion of such size orderly on their own.

Just as Hilma left the house, a gate opened in the main hall and Demiurge stepped through with shadow demons following and dispersing in all directions. Finally came a group of doppelgangers, appearing like typical maids.

To his relief, the demon only wanted their input and not to unleash something horrible upon them. After his superiors and Ninya had told their observations, Lukrut did the same with the only thing he could add was what he thought of Hilma.

"Hmm, that is an interesting detail you noticed Mr. Lukrut. If one of the branch leaders is so easily bought, there is a merit to explore this option." Demiurge commented, adding, "For now keep up the appearances and look for potential candidates to serve Nazarick willingly."

As much as Lukrut wanted to believe that his masters wouldn't put him in harm's way, getting himself involved with the Eight Fingers sounded like a terrible idea. The notorious crime cartel was known to exact brutal revenge on anyone crossing them, no matter who they were. Sure, they wouldn't understand what they are standing against as he did, but no war passes without innocent people getting caught in the crossfire, and he had no intention of being one of them.

X

The captain of the Black Scripture stopped the group as they were about to pass through the gates leading out of Slane Theocracy and enter the corrupt kingdom of Re-Estize. Due to lawlessness and widespread criminal activity, a wall was constructed to protect the righteous people from the lowlives and the roaming monsters that hadn't been dealt with by the government of Re-Estize.

With him was most of the scripture, save for the extra seat, Zesshi, and Clementine, who had deserted her position and committed an entire list of crimes on her way out. If not for the current uncertainty of the situation, he would've hunted and punished her personally.

But his personal feelings were inconsequential in the face of turmoil the world would face soon. It was confirmed that new players had arrived, and it was unclear what their motives were. From one side, one of them had performed a divine miracle and saved a city from hordes of undead. But from others, this player hadn't even revealed his name and declared himself a new God whose worship had spread among the saved people.

For the first time in his career, he was not only leading nearly the entirety of the black scripture on a mission, but also the wielder of the divine artifact Lady Kaire, was accompanying them. By all means, she was long past her prime and should have entrusted the artifact to a new keeper, but thus far none suitable was found.

Kaire was already in her eighties and, despite having remarkable amounts of energy for her advanced age, was clearly struggling to keep up, and on top of it stubbornly refused to take breaks to save pride.

The artifact she wore was a white dress with a golden dragon painted on it paired with high-heeled boots. Her wrinkled legs weren't covered at all, giving her an overall weird look, horribly standing out among the group of, overall, young people.

The captain himself was only twenty and only recently took his position. With his trusty spear in his hands, he was ready to protect their charge from all threats. Their mission was to either convince mysterious players to join Slane Theocracy and take their places among the already established pantheon of Six Great Gods, or to use the artifact and take control over one of them and use it as leverage.

He held no illusions that it would take the entirety of the scripture to stand up to even one of them. Players were monstrous threats to the world order after all.

Besides him, there were eleven other scripture members present.

The second seat, Time Turbulence, was a short and young-looking man. He has medium brown hair with green eyes. He wielded a rapier with a spiral pattern, a cape with clock patterns on the inner side, and a miniature top hat. This rather eccentric look was due to him wearing armaments left behind by the Gods.

In truth, all of them wore rather unusual-looking gear. The Gods, after all, didn't need to follow the fashion sense of mere humans. The mortals such as them could only make do afterward.

The third seat was a middle-aged man dressed in an extravagant set of robes similar to those worn by magic casters. On his left palm was a glowing mark or tattoo of a mystical nature. Well within the realm of heroes, he rivaled, if not surpassed, the Baharuth court wizard, Fluder, who was the only publicly known sixth-tier magic caster in the world.

The fourth seat, nicknamed Divine Chant, was a beautiful blonde woman with pure white skin. She wore a pink dress with a green hooded cloak. The hood was adorned with white feathers resembling small angel wings. Although it was contested, she likely surpassed both the Roble Holy Queen and the leader of the Blue Roses, Lakyus, as a priestess.

The fifth seat was a young man with blond hair and pink eyes. He appeared nearly identical to his younger and now disgraced sister Clementine. Looks were the only thing they shared since he was near the polar opposite of his sister, mostly appearing calm and pleasant to interact with. Of course, that was partly a facade, and if angered, he could be quite vengeful and even malicious.

Known as the One Man Army, he was a summoner, keeping numerous beasts locked in the many rings he wore. He wore a pair of simple red pants and a gambeson accented in light yellow and brown.

The sixth seat had short blond hair that was slicked back and narrow gray eyes. He was equipped with a decorative set of armor and an ornate lance, around the length of his body. He also wore a choker and an earring on his left ear. The group's only paladin, he was rumored to surpass the Roble paladin order's Grandmaster Remedios Custodio, who was known for her unrivaled might and zeal.

The seventh seat of the Black Scripture was the Thousand Leagues Astrologer, now dressed in her combat outfit that, according to holy scriptures, was a schoolgirl uniform with a purse and glasses that enchanted her already impressive surveillance abilities. Though her primary duty was to provide field intelligence, she was an excellent close combat fighter in her own right.

The Eight Seat, Cedran or Myriad Barriers, was a tall man with a robust, muscular build and a tan complexion. He has long crimson hair, tied to a slim ponytail and matching sideburns. He was dressed in black pants and a sleeveless shirt decorated with white accents. His only weapons were a massive black shield and a pair of black plate gauntlets.

As one specialized in defensive combat, he was tasked to be Kaire's direct protector if need be.

The ninth seat, Divine Chain, was a man with a powerful build, he possessed black spiked swept hair. A tattoo on his left temple and nose bridge piercings, he was clad in a yellow and black outfit with a two-meter-long chain as a weapon.

As one to replace Clementine, he was the newest member of the scripture and, as opposed to the casual confidence of the rest of the group, was rather nervous and twitchy. Like many before him, he had joined the team with unshaken confidence that bordered on arrogance, but this attitude was quickly snuffed out by what other members called the initiation rite.

This 'rite' was a sparring match with the extra seat Zesshi, who had beaten him so brutally he still saw the young half-elven woman in his nightmares.

The tenth seat, the Strongest Human, was an old man with gray hair with a muscular body. He was a barbarian with a huge ax, exuding the wisdom of a thousand battles. The man backed up his claim as the strongest human as the Captain and Extra Seat both trace their lineage to the Gods.

The eleventh seat, Infinite Magic, was a woman with long blue hair tied with a braid and riding on a crystal. Her clothes were open, enough to see her underwear. Her clothes were also described to appear as loose and sagging. She wore an abnormally large hat that hid most of her face. The top of the hat ended in an enormous hand she could manipulate to lift the brim of the hat.

The last, the Twelfth Seat, Heaven and Earth, was a middle-aged man who wore a red, skin-tight bodysuit reinforced with metal plating all over his body, and his forearms and shins were bandaged. He was the most secretive member of the group and was trailing behind them in stealth as their secret weapon.

The entire team had been teleported there by the third seat. The first plan was to drop them near E-Rantel where the player performed the miracle, but there was a chance they would be discovered and lose the element of surprise.

"Remember not to disclose our origins no matter what. Nr. Seven, is there anyone near the border?" Captain asked.

"No. Nearest humans are a bandit group about six kilometers to the north hiding by the road," Astrologer replied.

"Good, then we will move as fast as we can," Captain announced as the team huddled around him to finally get any information about the mission.

Considering the recent betrayal by Clementine, the information was now only relied on the need-to-know basis, thus only Captain and Kaire knew the mission goal beforehand.

"Our mission is to find one of the new players and either engage in diplomacy or assist Lady Kaire in controlling and using one of them as leverage. I don't need to explain to you what sort of danger even a single player possesses. On top of it, we have next to no information about the goals and abilities of said players."

"Holy magic shouldn't be any threat to us or my beasts," One Man Army commented.

"Thinking that someone claiming to be a God has just one trick up his sleeve is a foolish thing to do, boy," Strongest Human retorted. One did not live to his age by being careless.

None of them had met a live player, and the only Godkin among them, the Captain of the Black Scripture, had impure blood mixed with humans. Only a direct child of two players would match their unreasonable might after all. But at the same time, inheriting even a slither of that power pushed the individual far past the limits of mere humans. The Captain could defeat the rest of the team on his own and, in turn, he was nothing before the extra seat.

"If this player is saving humans and welding holy magic, would he oppose us? If anything, the Slane Theocracy would be seen as a proper legacy left behind by his peers. All of us are devout believers in the Great Six and the values they upheld," Divine Chant broke into a short but passionate speech. Out of all the group she could be considered the most fanatical one and often preached the tenets of their religion without any provocation from her team.

"A devil can hide behind a golden mask," Kaire replied flatly, turning to Captain. "Let's move. This prattling is unnecessary."

"You heard Lady Kaire, move people and exercise utmost caution," Captain barked an order.

His team didn't protest and soon enough were on Re-Estize soil. With the seventh seat monitoring the area, there wasn't much need for stealth at the moment, which led to the group speculating what sort of player they would meet.

Captain stayed out of the conversation, walking close to Lady Kaire and putting all his attention to his surroundings. The forested area was a perfect spot for an ambush, and as unlikely as someone sneaking past the Astrologer's constant monitoring was, the possibility of exactly that happening existed.

Cedran was the closest to the captain and asked a question which was likely one of the minds, "Captain, did cardinals give a reason why the Extra Seat is not with us? We are dealing with players here. As confident as I am in my skills, I doubt I will stand up to one even for ten seconds and that goes for most of us."

"You know how she is," Captain replied, trying to stop the conversation.

"What do you mean? I know she has a short fuse but she ain't stupid. That girl is better than us and we know it." Cedran didn't let go.

'Should I even tell them? Neither she nor the cardinals told me to keep it secret from the rest of the team.' Captain hesitated for a moment. "Do not tell this to anyone outside the team, but Zesshi is not present because the player is male. She has expressed numerous times a desire to find a partner stronger than her and would instantly submit to any man who defeats her. Her switching sides at the most inopportune moment would be disastrous."

"Ohh… I didn't know that. Must be hard for her to not have anyone equal to have a family with," Cedran whistled.

"I doubt she knows what she really wants. Is she even old enough? You know how it is with those fil… elves," Divine Chant giggled.

"You know damn well it's not her fault that she is a half-elf. We should not look down on her. Her mother's side is a noble bloodline," Captain raised his voice a bit.

Despite his humiliating defeat by her hands, he pitied the girl. While he wasn't the most social person in his free time, he did have a friendly relationship with most of the team. Zesshi, on the other hand, was by herself most of the time, and the only times she did leave her post she would go spend her massive salary on clothing, jewelry, and anything else that caught her attention.

Although her actions usually were covered up, there were enough rumors about Zesshi killing people who made derogatory comments about her when they noticed her pointed ears. They were much shorter than elven ones and she hid them, but sometimes people noticed and the most common assumption in such cases was always that she was a spoiled plaything for one of the nation's nobles.

To his limited knowledge, she had never had a friend nor been intimate with anyone.

"Like you would know any better, Chant. As a priest, you shouldn't even think of such weird things like sex," Infinite Magic took a jab at the holier-than-thou priest while lazily floating beside her.

"Shut up! I am allowed to marry!" Divine Chant screeched in response to her teammates' crude comment.

"Yeah, sure, you do that," Infinite Magic chuckled, quickly losing any interest in teasing Divine Chant as her laziness once again overpowered her.

Since things weren't getting out of hand, Captain wisely decided to stay out of it. His own marriage interviews seemed neverending as the cardinals were adamant he should produce as much offspring as possible in hopes of getting more Godkin to harness for the theocracy's goals.

He quickly pushed away those thoughts as they were just distracting during the mission. For now, all he needed to do was look forward to possibly the most significant events of his lifetime.

Proofreading by Saphire_Drake, Aurodium, Lightflan, and aidan_lo.

Edited by aidan_lo.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).