40 Volume 2 Chapter 20. High Society

„I won't allow it!"

The Goddess of Blood bashed the table with her fist. The man in the red suit sighed.

They were in a dark room sitting at a round table with several other people.

"Look, this has been going on for too long. Just get a new toy and forget about it. Or you are free to sulk in a corner."

The goddess said nothing, but her gaze was filled which could almost kill someone.

Lukas, cough before continuing.

"So, if there aren't anymore, complaints I will invite our dear deer Dealmaker, for tonight's feast."

*****

[You got a message!]

"What?"

It's been days since the accident with the humans. Since then I got off all of them and worked on my new world without stopping.

Turns out, building a world from nothing was quite a hard task. I had to set up gravity, the size of the planet the flora, and whatnots.

"At least this will give me a reason to take a break. Open message."

The screen widened, showing the full text.

[

Honorable Mister or Miss,

With the utmost honor, we would wish to invite Sir Melino, God of Madness, Antlered King, tonight's banket held in Hell at the 5th level of Greed.

The banket will start at 20:00:00 by living world time and will approximately last for 9 hours.

The banket will consist of 7 courses, containing material and in-material nourishment, like meat, vegetables, fruits, souls, thoughts, and emotions. If none of these is comestible for you, please bring your own meal with you.

The main event will be held at midnight.

You may bring with you two guards and a plus one.

With all respects.

King of Hell, Lucifer.

]

Lucifer….LUCIFER?! The devil!? King of hell and ruler of all demons?! What the hell did I do to be noticed by a big shot like him?! (Don't consider the Queen of gods as a big shot)

This is bad.

I was a demon once, which means he was technically my boss once. I evolved from that, but I am afraid that he might have some control over me.

Soon the screen shrunk displaying a new image.

[Will You accept the invitation? YES/NO]

"…I accept."

I have enough enemies already, there is no point in making even more. Plus, I might be able to make some useful allies.

The screen changed again, now displaying a timer.

[07:59:58]

*****

When the timer hit zero several people appeared in a magnifically decorated grate hall.

Each person wore a beautifully made dress, that dazzled in the light of the torches. Some even wore clothes that weren't even made from fabric, but from light, shadows, or even rocks.

Soon the heavy stone doors opened, allowing the people gathered here to go to the main area of the building.

This part was more beautiful.

The entire place was made from gold, floors, walls, and even tables. Several different dishes could be seen on them, one looking as delicious as others looked horrifyingly grotesque.

On an elevated platform at the back of the room, a man was waiting. He wore a crimson red suit, that was in total contrast with his blond hair.

"My friends it's so good to see you all here after long centuries! Tonight let's celebrate our reunion and may the abyss cover the whole universe in darkness! Cheers!"

*****

Dealmaker POV:

What a shitty place.

The gold that made up the integrity of the place hurt my eye and being in a crowd with my real body gave me an aching feeling. The music, reminding me of an opera, was okay, if not of the banshee voice of the diva.

And the food.

"Fuck, how can these guys even eat?"

Some of them looked normal, like roasted, pork, fish, or even chips while others… seemed alive.

Literally, I could see something that I could only call a third, jump of a plate, and crawled away.

"Yeah, I am not touching an-Sniff!"

This smell. It was madness.

I could smell it for everyone here, but this was denser.

Pure.

Following my nose, I passed by some of the chatting gods, till I found the source.

On one of the golden tables, was a masterfully crafted glass jug, containing a rainbow-colored fluid, surrounded by several glasses. The smell emanating from the liquid was the mixture of BBQ, Fried chicken, and several different deserts. They didn't belong together, yet it gave it some sort of beauty.

I poured a small amount into one of the glasses and took a sip.

I still wore my mask, but I learned how to eat and drink with it so there was no discomfort.

The taste was divine.

I never tasted madness so pure and so strong.

"Is it good?"

Behind the man In the red suit was holding a plate, containing something that reminded me of a hamburger with eyes. He was smiling at me, but his eyes stayed cold.

"….Yes, very. It's the first time I have ever drunk something like this, mister…?"

"Lukas, please. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am a HUGE fan of your work!"

"My work? Do we know each other?"

"Oh, my dear friend I know you well!" the strange man threw the plate into the air making it turn into dust." I have kept an eye on the man who literally schemed himself into godhood, right before almost killing the Queen of Gods. The monsters you have created, the idea of turning mundane things into killing machines! Bravo! True masterpieces!"

"Well…Thank you."

Even when he was praising me his eyes were cold. So cold.

"I must say, the soul bomb thing was a genius idea. Turning something so mundane into a weapon. I wonder what sort of fabulous things you are making at your domain. We should tread secrets!"

I see, he wants to know my secrets. Well not today, buddy.

"I am flattered. Truth be told, most of my creations are the result of my tinkering. I am sure someone who is able to host a party so great has no problem doing the same as me."

Lukas stayed silent for a while before laughing.

"My oh my, Sir Melino, you can make quite nice jokes! No, compared to someone who became a true god in a decade, my own researches can't possibly compare to yours."

From his pocket, he handed me over an envelope.

"Here. After the party, there will be a private rendezvous with the most powerful gods of this party. You might be able to make some useful allies there."

"…Thank you. I will be sure to be there."

"Also, allow me to present you with someone."

He grabbed my arm and dragged me to one of the corners of the room.

There, sitting behind a golden pillar was a child, definitely not older than 15. To be polite she was a mess.

Her dress was made from different patches of fabrics, held together by a red thread. Her hair was a bird's nest of different hair colors as if it was made from parts belonging to different peoples. Her skin was snow-white like porcelain.

Leaning closer I noticed that her eyes were a different color, one green and the other blue.

"God of Madness Melino allow me to present you Goddess of Puppets, Apanchomene.

It was strange. When he said her name, I heard him say something at the same time.

She Who Hangs Herself.

True, on a closer look, I noticed a hanged man's knot around her neck made from a red silk scarf.

Is it one of her honorable names?

While thinking I bowed respectfully.

"Nice to meet you."

The girl stayed silent, saying nothing, not even looking at me.

"…Is she even alive."

"I wonder about that myself. She became a god only recently, a couple of hundred years ago. I am sure that someone like you can tell what's wrong with her."

True. I could smell something emanating from her.

"She is insane."

"Well, calling her that is a little bit harsh. She's just distant. But believe me, when she is all there, she is useful." While talking, he threw a similar letter that I had into the girl's lap. " Extremely Useful."

Still smiling he went away, greeting the other guests, leaving me alone with Mrs. Hanged.

"…Oh, why the hell not!"

I checked to see if anyone was looking at us, then I extended one of my extra arms to her forehead.

"Madness Magic: Madness Absorption."

This magic is something that I have only used once, on one of the test subjects. It allows me to carve out the madness from one's mind and eat it, curing the target of any mental damage.

The problem was that this thing had major side effects. First, the memory that caused the madness will be completely gone, eaten by yours truly. Then there is the risk of causing a more severe madness. Also, taking too much was also a problem…

Still, she was already in this state so, things can't become worse right? Plus, this is literally a divine feast for me!

Slowly, carefully I extracted the insanity from her head, eating the delicious dementia, till there were just some morsels left.

"This much should do. I hope you will really be as useful as that guy predicted."

Deciding I need some fresh air with some drink, I went back to the tables, took the jug filled with the delicious nectar, hid it in my pocket with two glasses, and looked for an exit.

Somehow, while wandering I found myself in a garden that was outside of the castle.

The garden was simple just grass with some benches, a perfect place for me to drink.

" Good thing I brought this with me."

I took out the jug and pour into an empty container I had on me. I also filled one of the vials that I had on me, deciding to analyze it when I get home.

"Now then, it's time to relax a little."

I took a sip from the fluid, letting the taste spread in my mouth.

I may have looked like I was relaxing, but I kept my senses sharp since this was technically enemy territory to me.

"Bou?"

What?

I looked down noticing a doll. It was made from rages, with red threads as hair and two black buttons as eyes.

The little thing looked at me before running away on his stubby legs.

"Well…this was strange even with my standards."

While drinking, I listened to the party inside.

"So, you are the one?"

…Not this again.

Next to me, two gods approached me, a man and a woman. They wore a matching yellow dress, decorated with silver chains hanging on their necks and wrists. They must be relatives since they had the same brown hair and cat-like eyes.

Sooooo cliché, they even dress like one-time villains. Sigh, fighting them here would be troublesome, let's just act dumb.

"I am somebody, but I don't know that I'm the one who you are looking for."

My answer seems to displease the man, he grabbed me by the collar of my suit and lifted me up.

"Don't play dumb with me. You are the deep shit who almost destroyed a city in my world."

"…Are you perhaps referring to Copper City?"

He brought his face closer to my mask. I could see veins bulging out under his eyebrows.

"So you know what you have done. So, how sill you compensate me?"

"Compensate?"

Bamm!

He hit me. He broke the front of my mask. This trash HIT ME.

"That city was important for the development of my world. It being emptied out by your shits and its occupants kidnapped, I had to rearrange my plans! Do you even realize how much work I need to do now?!"

Bamm!

He hit me again, this time in the stomach.

"Give me everything that you have, and I will overlook this afront."

What I could see, the girl that he brought kept on smiling, enjoying the scene.

This is… familiar.

"Say something!"

Bamm!

This feeling! This hatred. I remember.

I have been so occupied, so many things happened that I completely forgot.

I hate bullies.

"…Guards, come out."

From the darkness of my clothes, an arm came out hitting the god so hard that it made him fall on his knees in the abdomen.

"What in-"

Slowly, from the darkness of my coat, whose size increased, two fully armored knights walked out.

One's armor was made from silver while the other had a gold one. They both carried a halberd in their hands and a sword on their side. Their face couldn't be seen through the helmets they wore depicting the skull of ravens, with green tainted glasses in their eyes.

"Allow me to present them. They are my royal guards, Argent and Aurum."

They were still prototypes, but I was confident enough that they could at least put up a good fight against an apostle with the weapons I gave them.

"Now then," I snapped my fingers making my cane appear in my hand." what was it about compensation?"

"You wrench! I will kill you!"

In his and his sister's hand, a simple sword appeared.

"Sigh, very well. If we are doing this, we should find an appropriate place for it."

I hope this will not cause any future problems.

I hit my cane in the ground supplying some of my power.

"Manifest, my Divine Domain: Chapel of the Fallen."