51

Chapter 51

Queen Calca sat on her throne, waiting for a guest whose importance could not be overstated. To appear calmer, she held her hands together and looked forward with a calm, neutral expression. What her nation had endured in the last few days was hard to comprehend. The war of the Gods had broken out.

Everyone present in the throne room was well aware that, if not for Nazarick, their entire nation would have been destroyed by the sea monsters. Even the Slane Theocracy's armies were just an afterthought compared to the godlike monstrosities that, according to Nazaricks explanation, served some dark and horrible creature who wanted to retake and rule the entire world as he did in the past.

There was no doubt in her mind that it wasn't a lie. Calca glanced at Kelart who stood outwardly calm and composed. Her best friend knew as much as her, if not more, of just how dire the situation was. The Queen's gaze next fell to the group of nobles standing to the left of the throne.

There were more of them than before. Some of the southern nobles had returned, despite the risk of persecution for committing treason. The northern part of the country was hit hard, with many coastal cities wiped out and people either dead or displaced. What little information the returning nobles provided painted a grim picture. The south didn't have the protection of the New Gods and, save for killing a few of the most powerful attacking monsters, they left that part of the country on its own.

Finally, she turned her head and looked at the row of paladins standing guard. None of them wore helmets, so their faces were visible. Unlike the rest, they displayed no fear or uncertainty, just conviction. Ever since they fought side by side with the God of Justice himself, something had changed in the nation's best defenders.

'I wonder how Remedios is doing?' Calca's mind wandered to her disgraced former friend and ally. Gustav didn't talk much about her and, even if she as a friend could forgive the former paladin grandmaster and let Remedios back into her inner circles, as a Queen she could do no such thing.

Just as the clock bell signaled noon, a gate opened in the center of the throne room. The first to come through were two angels. Calca stood up and took a step forward in anticipation of the arrival of the guest of honor. As expected, after the angels came the Emperor himself.

The paladins kneeled without any hesitation. Calca however hesitated for a moment. 'What if I'm making a mistake?' This insidious thought had been at the corners of her mind for the last few days. What if the moment she gave her kingdom to the Empire of Nazarick, she was getting disposed of and someone more suited, more ruthless, was put in her place. Ultimately, she knew there was no real choice left, and she just had to believe in her God.

After the moment of hesitation, she kneeled beside Kelart, who had not hesitated even for a moment to show proper respect to the Emperor. Calca quickly glanced at the nobles. Most of them were still standing, but after her example they followed suit one by one.

"Rise." Ainz said.

"Emperor Ainz Ooal Gown. I Calca Bessarez, the Queen of the Roble Holy Kingdom, welcome you. On behalf of my people, please let me make a request." Calca said as she stood up, still keeping her head low. Firstly she needed to show clear submission, and secondly she would not be able to speak without stuttering if she had to meet the Emperor's burning gaze.

"Let's hear your plea." Ainz responded in his deep regal tone.

"We ask for the blessing of the Gods and a chance to serve. The Roble Holy Kingdom wishes to join the Empire of Nazarick."

"Is this a request from all of your people?"

"No. Most of the southern part of the nation still stands on its own. Their fate is their own."

"I will permit Roble to join the Empire and leave you as the administrator of the region. Prepare for the takeover. My servants will arrive soon."

"As you wish, your imperial highness." Calca said with a deep bow.

"Be warned. We will not tolerate any insubordination during these turbulent times." Ainz said, unleashing a bit of his divine aura, and walking into the gate that remained behind him, with two angels following him.

Calca gulped involuntarily and stood motionless for a moment after the Emperor's disappearance. Her friend's gentle touch on her shoulder snapped her out of it. "My queen, are you all right?" Kelart asked her.

"Yes." Calca closed her eyes for a second, took a long breath, and turned to the nobles. "We now serve Nazarick. Prepare to welcome the Empire's servants. You are all dismissed."

Once she was alone with Kelart, Calca sat down on the throne and asked. "Did I make the right choice?"

"Why are you uncertain now? You believed in the Gods before." Kelart asked.

"I don't know. I guess…I just fear for the future."

"We are part of the Empire now. We are in the care of the Gods."

"I know I should not doubt them. I just…"

"We know. We don't guess, we don't just believe, we know that Gods walk among us." Kelart said with conviction and walked up to her friend, touching her shoulder once again. "Carry out our Emperor's will and do what's best for the people. I will take care of everything you do not need to see."

"You are right. But what do you mean by what I don't need to see?"

"As your God rules, mine takes care of things meant to remain in the shadows. Trust me, just as the Gods trust each other." Kelart said with a light smile.

Kelart had always had her back, especially when less savory actions needed to be taken. With the dark God standing behind her, there was little doubt in the Queen's mind that her friend would be able to deal with any hidden threats made against her or the Empire.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

It was just a few hours after Roble joined Nazarick. Kelart sat at the table in her office, writing letter after letter. As the servant of Lord Ulbert, it fell onto her shoulders to take over the information network of her homeland. Orders needed to be given and the Roble spy network added to the greater whole.

Technically there was a spymaster, but the man pretty much did her bidding even before Nazarick started to take over.

She felt the shift in the air and a faint footstep was taken towards her. No one was supposed to be in her quarters. Kelart looked up and turned around.

"I see you are not as careless as I first thought." Demiurge said with a smirk.

Kelart forced a smile and asked. "To what do I owe the pleasure, my Lord?"

"There is no need for pleasantries, especially fake ones." the demon said with a smirk.

"My apologies. It's a habit." Kelart said, trying to muster a genuine smile.

"A useful one at that, but please do not worry. Lord Ulbert likes to take good care of those in his direct service." Demiurge walked closer to her and sat down on the sofa near the table. "Calca's announcement has provided an interesting opportunity."

"Oh?"

"The southern nobles are desperate to not be left out. They had gathered around your beloved queen's brother and formally requested to join Nazarick as well."

"Interesting. What is required of me?" Kelart asked and stood up. She casually filled two glasses with wine and offered one to the demon.

As much as Demiurge's presence terrified her, she needed to be in the demon's good graces. He was said to be even more ruthless and unforgiving than his father, and much more eager to inflict pain and suffering.

Demiurge accepted the glass and took a quick sip. "You know them well. I could figure out which of them are worth keeping, but it would take time, and I would prefer not to be distracted with such a menial task when we are at war with the Underwater Empire."

"Of course. I can provide the list."

"There is no need. I had a more direct approach in mind. Tomorrow, the nobles will gather in Caspond's mansion. There, you can sort them out."

"What does the prince have to do with it? He was not part of the southern rebellion."

"Ah yes, the dear brother of your beloved queen. He decided to use his position and act as mediator to save the southern provinces. Such a selfless man indeed."

The prince's duplicity was unlikely. He, after all, willingly gave up the throne to his sister and chose a more representative role.

"Calca would prefer it if her brother is not harmed."

"Lord Ulbert trusts your judgment. I will do the same… for now." Demiurge said, taking another sip of wine; he then stood up and put the glass on the table. "I will return tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon, be prepared."

"As you command, my lord." Kelart said with a slight bow as the demon disappeared through a gate.

The interactions with Demiurge weren't exactly unpleasant and, on top of his intellect, he was also extraordinarily good-looking, but there was this underlying sense of unease whenever he was near. But then again, that was the case with many of Nazarick's servants

'I must never fall out of Lord Ulbert's good graces.'

True to his reputation, Demiurge arrived precisely on time the next day. This time Kelart had mentally prepared for his coming and greeted the son of her God with a polite bow.

"Let's not waste time. After you." Demiurge said, motioning towards the dark void of the gate.

Kelart stepped through it, arriving in a large meeting hall.

"High Priestess Custodio, what a pleasant surprise." Caspond greeted her.

"Prince Caspond, it is nice to see you as well." Kelart said. Meanwhile, Demiurge arrived through the gate and stood beside her.

"I assume everyone is here?" Demiurge asked.

"Yes, all the nobles have gathered. I will act as their spokesman if you don't mind." Caspond said.

Demiurge smirked and then said, using his Command Mantra, "On your knees. Do not move."

Caspond, just like everyone else, dropped on his knees. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked, trying to stand back up.

"Do not resist and stay silent." Demiurge added and then handed a long dagger to Kelart.

She took the knife while looking at it for a moment. 'He meant I will have to kill all those who are not worth keeping? That monster! I should have known.' There was no helping it. If she was to serve the God of Trickery, she needed to get her hands dirty as well.

With little hesitation, she approached the nearest noble and with a quick motion sliced his throat. The man could only offer a silent shocked stare as he rapidly bled out, choking on his own blood.

As the first noble was dying on his knees, she moved onto the next target.

There was a clear list in her mind. Not only was this the first time she had killed someone directly, but she had to do it in a cold efficient manner. Demiurge was watching her every move, noticing every hesitation.

'This needs to be done. They stood against Gods. This is the fate they deserve.' she told herself as the dagger ended another life. One by one, she killed all those who were not worthy to serve.

In the end, two thirds of them lay dead or dying. Kelart returned to Demiurge's side and handed him the bloodied dagger.

"Keep it. Good job." he said with a genuine smile and then turned to the remaining nobles "You are free."

Most of the nobles didn't move. Some stood up, shocked, while others scampered away in panic. Caspond stood up, looked at the carnage, and then asked. "Why?"

Demiurge motioned for her to handle the situation. Kelart looked the prince in the eyes, meeting his shocked gaze with cold determination and said, "They were traitors, nothing more. Nazarick does not tolerate traitors. As for those who I spared, you have been given a second chance to prove your worth. Do not waste it!"

"What are we supposed to do now?" Caspond asked.

"Each noble can return to their holds and await Nazarick's servants. You are part of the Empire now." Demiurge said and turned around to use the gate. Kelart quickly followed him but not before taking a quick glance at those whose lives she had taken.

"Excellent work. To be honest, I didn't expect your performance to be so flawless." Demiurge said to Kelart once the gate closed and they were back in the Roble royal castle.

"Thank you, my lord. What are your next orders."

"Carry on with your usual work. You will be informed if anything changes."

Once the demon had gone, Kelart sat down at her office table and leaned back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. Why did murdering nobles come to her so easily? Was it because her master was considered one of the evilest Gods, or maybe she always was like that and found her calling naturally?

'At least Calca can rule the region with her humanity intact.' Her friend could remain as is, while she would embrace the darker aspect of rule from the shadows. The Eight Fingers were already spreading rapidly through Roble and would be under her direct command, with Hilma acting as a consultant.

A faint smile appeared on her face as she remembered the dying gurgles of the scum that dared to go against her beloved queen. The rest of the nobles no doubt would fall in line and wouldn't even dare to think about crossing the Empire and its loyal servants.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

With the Roble business out of the way, he could return home and start dealing with the aftermath of the attack. Ainz appeared in the central conference room, with his two bodyguards following shortly after, and was met with Buku, Ulbert and Tabula waiting for him.

"Where are the rest?" He asked.

"The others are not coming." Buku said with a tired voice. "Most are sleeping, exhausted after the battles, Punitto is lecturing Takemi for being a careless idiot, and Touch is drilling the paladin order that is under his direct command."

Ainz sat down in his chair and asked. "What did Takemi do?"

"That careless idiot almost died." Buku said, dragging her palm over her face "I don't even want to think about what a pain in the ass it is to resurrect one of us. Not to mention that Gazef did actually die and needed to be resurrected. I should have known that together they are a volatile combination, with the die for honor bullshit as icing on a cake."

"Knowing Punitto, I feel sorry for Takemi." Ainz dryly remarked.

"He gets what he deserves. He and his battalion of battle maniacs cause enough headaches for healers as is, not to mention that Gazef needed to be resurrected. I swear they are doing it on purpose just to piss me off."

"What are our overall losses?" Ainz asked. He already knew that about one hundred thousand of his summons had perished, but they could be replaced with relative ease.

"Hard to tell. At least two hundred thousand in the army alone." Buku said.

"From what we have gathered, at least three to four hundred thousand civilian casualties, not to mention heavy structural damage." Ulbert chipped in. "And that is from just one attack. Even if we are optimistic and expect just one such attack per month, the Empire will not hold for long like this."

"Suggestions?" Ainz asked.

"Nuke the ocean." Ulbert said with a cackle.

"I meant serious ones." Ainz said with long sight.

"I am serious. We need to retaliate. Lucifer is ready to deploy his hunter golems and we can just blast their known cities to ash. Make the bastards realize that we are not playing around."

"Buku, would you be ready to handle the defense while Ulbert and I attack their cities?"

"It depends. I assume you are only taking both of your bodyguards and Tsar with you?"

"Yes."

"I think I could handle it for the most part. But we need an evacuation plan, and a good one this time."

"Slane was using underground cities as a countermeasure against us. I think we can do something similar. The undead workforce could dig enough shelters for the displaced population." Ulbert said.

"That would work. Tabula, did you talk with Lilith about solutions to the main problem?" Ainz asked.

The brain eater looked up from the parchment and blinked surprised as if just realizing that he was in a conference room. "Ahm, yes. We have an idea…but it's a dangerous one."

"Go on."

"The spell that summoned us into this world is still active. From what we could gather, it could be reversed, and we could send the Great Old One to another world. However, there is one problem."

"What problem?" Ainz asked. For all he cared, as long as the monster didn't threaten his own he didn't care where it ended up. The old earth would not be preferable, as many of their friends still needed to be summoned, but other than that as long as it was gone he would be happy.

"We need to reach the very center of the soul vortex and reverse its polarity."

"Is it even possible?"

"It should be, but there are a lot of details that need to be worked out."

"Is there no other solution?"

"We haven't found another solution. Besides, I think that is what Regoz meant by pushing the beast into the pit. Also, we need to solve the soul vortex problem anyway. In less than a millennia, the world would be consumed by it if we did nothing."

"Ok, start working on it, but no reckless experimentation." Ainz said with a stern tone. Tabula tended to forget about the risks and consequences of his experiments from time to time.

"Too much is at stake to be careless. You have my word that I will use all the caution I have."

"We can agree on that. Then Tabula, you work with Lilith to create a spell or ritual to deal with the Great Old One, Buku you are in charge of defending the Empire, and Ulbert and I will do some damage to the enemy. Any questions?"

"If you don't mind telling us, what happened with Splendora?" Buku asked.

Ainz sat silent for a moment. The truth would only make them worried, but then again he had no reason to keep it a secret from his friends.

"Splendora was captured by one of the children of Hzanfrot, and she in self-defense erased him."

"She did what? I thought they were unkillable." Ulbert asked.

"She rewrote reality and one of those monsters does not exist anymore."

"Then why don't we just…"

"No! I will not put her at risk. Besides we were warned to not use her power. It is dangerous."

"How so?"

"Ainz, could you bring out the Al Azif for a moment?" Tabula asked.

'Sure…" AInz responded, uncertain as to why the book was needed at the moment. He took it out of his inventory anyway and handed the blasphemous book to the Brain Eater.

Tabula flipped through the pages and then put the open book on the table. "This is the Lurker at the Threshold or… Yog-Sothoth." Tabula said the name with a whisper. "He is one of the most powerful Outer Gods." He then pointed at one of the lines and translated. "Should the laws of the universe be broken, the One Who is All will come and fix them once again. Damned is the one who breaks them, as the transgressor would never taste death or be released from the suffering."

"Ok, so what does that have to do with anything?" Ulbert asked.

"What Splendora can do goes against natural laws. Her abilities must not be used. Regoz did warn us not to use her, and she was almost noticed." Tabula said.

"Point taken. No reality manipulation. Is the kid safe at least?" Ulbert said.

"Yes, for now. But Albedo and I will make sure she doesn't need to defend herself like that ever again."

There was no way he would let anything like this happen again. Even if he and others needed to perish, it was not Splendora's fight. She was just a child who didn't understand the power she had.

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

In the deepest of the depths, the rightful owner of the world raged. His child was eradicated, a feat he didn't believe possible. No matter the effort, he could neither recreate nor bring it back.

The immense, slug-like creature looked up at the three-legged creature who appeared to be made of countless tentacles standing in front of him, making even him look small. "You told me they are weak, you told me I could kill them!"

The towering figure laughed coldly. "You can, your little pets cannot. And I told you not to touch the child."

"She will pay, they all will pay…" Hzanfrot roared as his countless servants hurried away from their angered master.

"No!" The taller figure said in a haunting voice that made the surrounding water crystalize. "You broke the rules and paid the price. The child is not to be touched. You cannot harm her."

Hzanfrot slid away from the dreaded Outer God in fear. "You want me to fail? We had a deal!"

The Outer God shifted his form to a six-armed, mistlike humanoid and said "Your long rule had made you complacent and arrogant. I should have sent the Tginei to invade your world a long time ago to show you your place. I do not care who rules this world, and you are starting to outlive your usefulness!"

Hzanfrot shivered in fear of the mention of the race that could ravage the world, his world. The current invaders were nothing compared to them. "What is your bidding?" he asked in a submissive way to appease the Crawling Chaos.

"You will deal with the players as fast as you can. The time is running out. Get rid of the Emperor and all else will fall."

"But the child?"

"The Child will not get involved. If you win this war, she will be removed from this world by my opponent." Nyarlathotep picked up the crab-legged sea urchin who had come to the defense of his father and observed it for a moment. He then casually crushed the creature in his hand and dropped the remains on the seafloor. "Do not fail me. Nonexistence would be a preferred fate compared to what will await you if you fail!"

"I will go and devour them. Their bodies, their souls, their very existence. I will devour them all."

"Do not fail me. This is your last warning."

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

Buku sat at the table in her office in the imperial castle. Ainz and Ulbert were about to destroy the fourth major city of the Underwater empire, and Lucifer's golems were wreaking havoc in the smaller settlements. The counterattack was progressing as expected.

Most of the players and floor guardians had gotten the needed sleep as well and were ready to be deployed.

'What I would give for a few hours of rest.' Unfortunately, her position didn't give her room for any rest. The sustenance ring only helped against tiredness and hunger but not against constant mental strain.

'When this war is over, I'm taking a week off to sleep.' she promised herself and soldiered on with the endless list of tasks at hand.

{ Hey sis, there is a situation in the capital. Looks like they are trying to tear through the anti-teleportation barrier. }

{ Is everyone ready to respond? }

{ Most are. Shalltear and I are ready if you need a first response. }

{ Stay put. If you manage to die, I will revive you and kill you a second time myself! }

{ Got it. I'm sounding evacuation just in case. }

{ I knew I could count on you. Wait for orders before direct engagement. We have no idea how strong that creature is. }

It was better to assume that once the rift opened, the Underwater Empire would send through everything they have, rather than underestimate the opponent and lose a battle or even a war. Buku quickly went through the engagement protocols in her head and ordered the servitor to make a gate to the southern wing so she could see what was happening herself.

By the time she got to the window, the rift was already partly opened and five gigantic insectoid appendages were physically pulling the rift bigger.

{ Tabula, where are you? }

{ Watching the Great Old One tearing the rift open. }

{ Are you positive it's the big guy himself? }

{ No, but It looks like it. I think the first attackers are starting to pour through. }

{ We will deal with it. Just work on a solution as fast as possible. } Buku messaged Tabula and then contacted Ainz. { You need to return now, the big guy is trying to manifest in the capital. }

{ Order all non-combat Nazarick natives to return to the Great Tomb. We are coming. }

By the looks of it, Hzanfrot was about to break through at any moment. Not wanting to waste time, Buku opened the window and jumped down near the castle entrance.

{ Pero, take Shalltear and come to my location. } She quickly messaged her brother and started to buff up. Beside her, two gates opened with Pero and his daughter appearing to Buku's right and Ainz, Ulbert, and Tsar to her left.

"Do we have confirmation it's him?" Ainz asked.

"No, but all signs point to it being him. Just look at the size of that tear." Buku said, pointing at the void ripple. With each passing moment, more and more buglike arms appeared and tore it wider.

"Everyone, be prepared. Buku, warn everyone that only those with world items equipped should fight the beast themselves. The rest can tackle smaller attackers and help with the evacuation."

"Got it, boss. But shouldn't you retreat as well? We can be assured he will beeline to you the moment he gets through."

"I'm counting on it. Tabula, Lilith, and Saz are working on the ritual as we speak. We just need to hold it in place while they work. If he is after me then we can be assured he will not attack anything else while I'm here."

"Fine, have it your way. But if you die, I'm offing myself before Albedo finds out." Buku said with a grim laugh.

"Oh, that's scarier than the beast, for sure." Ulbert joined in with a giggle.

"Point taken. I will avoid dying for your sake." Ainz said dryly.

It didn't take long for the massive beast to get through. If Ainz had to guess, Hzanfrot rivaled the biggest world-level enemies that could be found in Yggdrasil.

The massive beast slammed down his sluglike lower body on the buildings, flattening them, and used his buglike arms, that extended according to his will, to crush the first response teams. It was only undead summons but still, Ainz gritted his teeth at how casually they were getting killed.

The moment everyone had buffed up, he took flight and moved closer to the monster. Buku, as the main tank, floated near him, ready to intercept any attack, while Shaltear protected Peros. Ulbert used his demon summons as meat shields.

Hzanfrot noticed his target and launched four of his arms towards Ainz. Buku quickly came to his defense, managing to stop three of them. Two were stopped by the magical shields but the third one hit her metal shield and left a crack in it. Ainz's own defensive shield stopped the last arm without any problems.

Ainz quickly went on the offensive and cast Blades of Unmaking. Even though the spell hit the target and sliced what Ainz could only guess was the monster's flesh, in mere moments it regenerated. The same happened when Ulbert cast a hellfire barrage and maximized nuclear beam at their enemy.

Meanwhile, Pero sniped out the countless eyes of the beast. It may not have done a lot of damage, but it clearly made the monster disoriented while new ones grew on his body.

{ Any ideas? I'm sure you would not be happy if I cast Grand Catastrophe in our own capital } Ulbert messaged.

{ Don't use wide-area spells. Our task is to delay him and hope that Tabula finishes his part of the work soon. In the worst-case scenario, we are abandoning the Empire and returning to the Great Tomb. He is too big to enter it and lesser creatures pose no threat to us. } Ainz responded by sending a message to everyone.

{ It would suck to abandon everything we have built. } Buku chipped in.

{ If we die, everyone in the world is fucked either way; might as well save our own asses if it comes to the worst. } Pero chipped in.

{ Concentrate on the fight. I will activate the needed protocols depending on how this goes. } Ainz said. { Eleleth, to my position, we need your help. }

The angel appeared next to him and shouted. "What do you wish me to do, master?"

"Try to slow it down, or immobilize it if possible."

"As you command." the angel responded. She spread out her wings and pointed at the ground near the beast. "Divine Chains!"

Nine golden chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around Hzanfrot. To no one's surprise, the chains couldn't hold him for long and started to break one by one as the beast struggled to get free. Eleleth cast the spell again and again to keep him in place, achieving little success.

Ainz sent another wave of offensive spells, trying to cut deeper into the beast.

'Even if he can regenerate, there must be some limit at which he will be forced to retreat.'

Unfortunately, the Great Old One's followers were wrecking the city while Nazarick's strike teams tried to take down the biggest targets. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Cocytus being killed.

'I hope they do not mess this up!' Ainz thought grimly as he continued to blast Hzanfrot with his offensive spells. To his relief, the assisting strike team managed to get the guardian's dead body from the attackers and quickly return it to the Great Tomb.

{ Albedo, revive everyone who is getting killed in the battle. We have enough money. }

{ I already revived Cocytus but he is still dizzy from resurrection. I will send him out in about half an hour. }

{ Good. Above all, keep our daughter safe. }

{ You don't have to remind me! } Albedo responded with fierce determination.

With the goal of keeping the beast in place, Ainz resumed the battle. They could not kill it, so the only hope he had was that Tabula and Lilith would be able to reverse the soul vortex and pull the beast into it. How to get him there was another thing entirely, but if nothing else they could try to drag him through a gate.

For now, one thing was clear. The final battle for the fate of the world had begun.

Bonus Story - Game.

The winds blew the gray sand above the surface of a dead, lifeless planet with such ferocity that they would tear the flesh and the bones of anyone foolish enough to step on the forgotten world.

This wind, however, was of no concern to two figures who casually sat at a small table with a chess board on it. The man in a pharaoh's robe moved a figure.

"Your move."

A man in a simple gray business suit moved a figure of his own saying. "What a devious move. You think I would break the rules of our game for them?"

Nyarlathotep chuckled, moving another figure. "For them, no. For her… We both know you will fulfill your beloved queen's every whim."

Regoz looked at the chess board and then responded with a light smile. "You reveal your weakness to your opponent knowing he will exploit it."

"A trap for me? How amusing."

The bright red star looming over the dead world sent out a wave of energy, scorching the planet below. This, however, had no effect on the two chess players on the surface.

"We can't keep things boring, can we?" Regoz chuckled

"All in the name of good fun. You know she won't be happy if your little figurines get devoured."

"You greatly overestimate your pet."

"Even if that's so, your trap will not ensure the safety of your New Gods. Besides, I already got out of this round more than I hoped for."

"Everything in the name of entertainment." Regoz said and snapped his fingers. Two glasses filled with a dark liquid appeared on the table. He casually picked up one while his opponent took the other one.

"To the entertainment." Nyarlathotep said, raising the glass.

"To the entertainment." Regoz responded, clinking the glasses.

Edited by Edgy.