Chapter 20 - Masters, Servants, and Puppets.

Jircniv awakened more refreshed than the day before. There was some sense of liberation after he had professed his wish to serve Nazarick. For one thing, maids assigned to him were not hiding their true nature anymore. They all were succubi, just as Jircniv had guessed. At least now they weren't trying to seduce him anymore.

While Jircniv was preparing for the day, Yuri came to his quarters to deliver the orders from Emperor Ainz. He instantly noticed that the head maid was not using the honorifics anymore, but her tone now had a hint of friendliness.

Orders themselves differed little from agreements he made before. There was a gradual plan to replace Elven slaves with an undead workforce and send the liberated Elves to the Empire of Nazarick. He will still pose as the Emperor of Baharuth, at least until the proper merge with Nazarick is possible without an uproar.

Yuri also tells Jircniv to go talk with Lord Ulbert after breakfast.

No doubt the God of Trickery had his own plans and wanted Jircniv to be part of them. It filled the young emperor with curiosity. Maybe, just maybe, some small bits will slip during the meeting and he would peer at least some of Nazarick's plans and machinations.

Kneeling in front of goatlike, God felt weird, as it was not natural for a born royalty to kneel before anyone, but then again, what is a mortal emperor next to a God. Jircniv knew getting used to his new position will not be easy. The goatlike God looks down at him over a large office table with an unreadable expression.

"Rise Jircniv," Ulbert says and motions for him to sit down at the chair.

The young emperor does as he is told and sits down in a chair.

"Ainz gave you orders to follow, so now it is my turn to give some useful tools to you. No doubt you are curious how we knew your every move."

Dark shadowlike creatures rise out of shadows in the office as Ulbert talks.

"These are shadow demons. You will have them at your disposal, including the ones that already are in your palace. With them, you can not only spy on any opposition, but also use them to contact my other agents. You will meet two of them soon."

'Shadow creatures that even Fluder couldn't detect. Such monsters are a powerful tool indeed.'

Each new piece of information convinced Jircniv more and more that he had made the right choice. It was a far more preferable outcome to serve than to oppose the Dark Gods. He is still wary of his long-term fate, but for now, he could do nothing but trust that his masters are just and would not toss him aside once he gives his empire to them.

A knock interrupted Jircniv's train of thought as two new figures enter. He instantly recognizes one as Princess Renner. The second one is a slim, sickly looking woman that Jircniv guessed was about forty years old. Both kneel the moment they are inside the office.

Lord Ulbert orders them both to rise and sit down in chairs as well. There is a knowing smirk on Renner's face as her eyes meet with Jircniv's. From what he had seen in reports about the Re-Estize, the young princess had a brilliant but twisted mind.

Who was the other woman? He did not know, but there was something wrong with her. From her sickly complexion, to her face, barely hiding deep fear. This was someone who seemed to be broken into submission. The answer came a moment later, with Lord Ulbert introducing every single one of them.

So the woman was Hilma Cygnaeus, the current leader of the infamous Eight Fingers. Somehow, it didn't even surprise Jircniv anymore. Of course, Lord Ulbert had control over the crime cartel that had plagued both nations for a while.

"I'll get straight to the point," Ulbert speaks once everyone had sat down,

"Barbo is on his way to the Carne village with an army of twenty thousand. Renner and Hilma will start setting up the civil war scenario. Jircniv, you will play the concerned neighboring country and support our Empire in an open declaration of war on Re-Estize as soon as Barbo's army is crushed, and he is captured and prepared for the next steps."

"Should I prepare my legions, Lord Ulbert?" Jircniv asks.

"Yes, but you will refrain from open invasion. We will coordinate your yearly war with the culling of unnecessary nobles of Re-Estize. That is all for now. You can coordinate smaller details with one another via the shadow demons. Jircniv, Renner, you both can go now. I will speak with Hilma in private."

Jircniv stands up to leave and notices that the already sickly looking woman is much paler than she was before. Not wanting to know what they have done to the woman that is the supposed feared crime lord, Jircniv walks outside Ulbert's office with Renner beside him.

"I see that the rumors of your ability to make the right decisions are true," Renner says.

"I could say the same about you, Princess Renner."

"I'll give you advice as a fellow servant. Our masters can bestow things you may not believe possible, and Lord Ulbert can see our genuine desires clear as a day. Never lie to him."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Meanwhile, Hilma is doing her best to not have a full mental breakdown in the presence of the God of Trickery. She was trying to be calm, but her increasingly ragged breath betrayed her mental state.

Ulbert studies her expression, her tired face. The woman looked much older than she really was. A shell of a former self.

"You seem ill Hilma. Do you need healing?"

"I-I'm fine my Lord. T-thank y-you f-for your concern."

"I prefer not to be lied to!"

Hilma's face twists into panic as she drops on the ground prostrating before Ulbert,

"I-I'm-sorry. I-I didn't wish t-to concern yourself w-with m-me."

"I'll get this straight right away. You serve me and I prefer my servants to not be a step away from expiring. It can impede plans. What you saw on Demiurge's farm is a fate for those who betray or are useless to Nazarick. You think I made a mistake by choosing you for the purpose you are serving?"

"N-No, Lord Ulbert. I-I will do everything to not disappoint you."

"Good! Then get up and answer my question, are you ill?"

Hilma slowly gets up, meeting the gaze of Ulbert.

"I don't think it's anything a healer could fix, my Lord. I am sorry to look like this."

Ulbert comes closer to her, gently dragging a finger over her exposed neck.

"Tell me Hilma, what do you desire the most? What reward would you want to receive for your loyal service?"

Ulbert's gentle touch on her neck is as sensual as it is terrifying. In brief exchanges she had with Renner, the princess had told that the Dark God could look into your very soul. He already knows the answer. Hilma just had to say it.

"I wish for my youth. I wish for my lost beauty."

"A simple vanity. Such an easy price for servitude. It will hurt."

Before Hilma can answer, Ulbert grabs her forehead, and her entire body twists in pain. Hilma lets out a scream, and the pain is suddenly gone. She blinks, trying to understand what just happened. A small mirror appears in Ulbert's hand. He lifts it for Hilma to see her reflection.

Her beauty is back. She looks twenty again. Her skin is smoother than ever. Her eyes are not sunken in anymore but show youthful sparkle. She instinctively touches her breasts that had shrunk recently because she could not properly eat normally anymore. They are back to their former impressive size.

A smile replaces her shocked expression as she looks at herself in the small mirror.

"Thank you, my Lord. Thank you. I…"

"Serve me well and you will never grow old. This will be your reward."

"Thank you, I will. I am your servant, my lord. Body, mind, and soul."

"Good. Go now and serve me well."

Once Hilma leaves his office, Ulbert sits back in his chair and chuckles.

'Putting up the act is getting easier each day. One simple spell and that slut is loyal to the core.'

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The scorching desert sun burns Rigrit's aged face. The dying screams of the snake-men war party didn't bring any joy to her. One of her summoned death knights massacred the unreasonable beasts. She had done her best to avoid the local tribes during her travels, but some had seen her tracks, even with Rigrit using invisibility, and tracked her down.

The carrion birds already circled above her. No doubt waiting for the plentiful meal.

'Such a pointless waste.' Rigrit muses and walks on. The lost city should be somewhere near. Even the oldest maps didn't show the precise location, but with the desert's topography, there were a few ideal places for large cities. She already had found few smaller ruins, but nothing of value or knowledge remained there.

With the sun almost above her, Rigrit finds a shade to rest during the hottest hours. To ease the heat with magic and continue travel was a waste of mana, and she wasn't in a hurry.

Only when the midday sun started its descent Rigrit was on move again. The next location should be only an hour away. Using teleportation wasn't an option, since she didn't know the area. Slowly, sand covered ruins came into view. But what she saw defiled logic.

Stone structures, beyond ancient, curved and bent at impossible angles. The best way to describe the architecture was a word - alien. No culture used anything similar. No culture in the new world could build something like this. It had to be just some neat trick confusing her vision?

After a brief wondering, Rigrit moves on, walking towards the largest structure with impossibly large, chipped away statues. It was impossible to tell what they once depicted. The harsh desert sands during the millennia had ground away all features, leaving only erected shapeless stone.

The sand-filled ground floor didn't provide the answers she sought. Luckily, an enormous staircase leading down behind a large altar looks like a way forward.

Rigrit casts continue floating light orb and start her descent. The eery silence and the endless descent crept into Rigrit's mind. A deep primal fear slowly filed her. A feeling that she was entering a realm where no mortal should enter. What pits of hell she was descending into?

For how long she had descended, Rigrit couldn't tell, but stairs finally ended in a large corridor. A strange hieroglyphic language covers the forgotten walls. Many large stone sarcophagi are put into notches of the large hall. She takes out the translation glasses to understand the strange writings.

An ancient snakelike race built the forgotten city. They worshiped an old and terrible god. The great old one, who claimed the world when it was young. Gruesome depictions of many wars between tribes litter the history of this forgotten civilization. The countless battles between the followers of God and those who sought to rid the world of him.

The large hall walls hold many millennia of history. A forgotten past of a forgotten race. What was this great old one? She slowly read on, her eyes growing tired. Realizing that there was so much more to go through, Rigrit takes out the tent from her inventory and sets up a small endless fire to keep her warm on the cold stone floor.

Falling asleep wasn't easy, despite how tired she was. And then the nightmares started. The dark history replayed itself in her dreams. The endless bloodshed, the grotesque creatures. She stood in bloodied battlefields between countless corpses of races both know and forgotten. Then she saw it. Figure beyond reason. The great old one. An almost indescribable monstrosity. Dwarfing even the tallest towers, a slug-like lower half could crush the mountains over its weight. Many thin bug-like arms covered its upper body. A huge oval mouth with thousands of spike-like teeth covered its upper half. And the eyes, countless eyes all over the immense body, twitched and moved.

They suddenly turn their gaze upon Rigrit. An invasive presence takes over her mind.

'You will serve little one!'

Rigrit awakened with a jolt, covered in cold sweat.

'What the hell was that? This place is getting to me.'

After a quick breakfast, Rigrit decides to read up as much as she can and leave before she needs to sleep again. She fears another night in this cursed place would be too much for her.

The writings went on and on, but finally, she found something. It showed a depiction of the same monster she saw in the nightmare and then something she wasn't prepared to see. The great old one had his favorite pets, the most loyal servants. The fiercest guardians of the old one's reign were the dragons.

Then the stars shifted and the capital of the old empire disappeared beneath the waves, putting the great one into an endless sleep. Ever since, the Dragons had worked endlessly to find a way on how to awake their God.

'They are not guardians of the world. They want their old ruler back!'

Writings soon ended. After the fall of the empire, the race who build this most likely went extinct as the following text showed only endless wars.

Rigrit sat down on the cold stone floor. All she knew about the world, all of it, crumbled down. All she knew about ancient history came from her 'friend' Tsar. But what if he made it all up? What if everything was fabricated to hide the truth from the short-lived mortal races?

Who to trust, where to find trustworthy allies? Countless questions filled her mind.

'Why did I have to come here? I could have just spent the last of my days in peace.'

With nothing else left, Rigrit packs up and teleports away, back home. With her worldview crushed, she had a lot of thinking to do. Could she still trust Tsar? Or maybe Lords of Ooal gown were not as evil as she assumed? A feeling that another great conflict is coming and she will have to pick a side eventually is a thought she desperately wishes to push aside.

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Once again, Queen Draudillon was reminded of her kingdom's poor financial state when the carriage with Lord Peros showed up to accompany her. Her own carriage was not a plain by any means, made of fine wood and decorated with silver and gold, was suited for a noble at least. But standing next to the intricate, overly extravagant carriage pulled by two unknown horselike beasts, she felt like a peasant.

At least the promised instant travel home intrigues her. Draudillon already guessed that the dark void leading to the true heart of Nazarick was some kind of transportation magic. Living up to the expectations same dark void appears in front of her carriage. And mere moments later, she sees the all too familiar Dragon Kingdom's royal castle.

The adventurer team Crystal Tear, with Cerebrate in lead, already awaits her. Draudillon changes back in her child form preparation for the unashamed drooling from the man on whose team she had relied to protect her home. Knowing that Lord Peros also fancied flatter figures, she resigned her fate to look like a child again. Walking around in her natural form for just a day and even receiving compliments was refreshing, but she knew it would come to the end once she returned home.

Draudillon puts on a smile and steps out of the carriage, greeting her subjects. Of course, Cerebrate's unashamed gaze is on her right away. Some of the nobles and other prominent people are present as well. It wasn't an understatement that when their very nation was at stake, everyone wanted to see the promised help

Suddenly, all attention is taken away from her as she hears someone stepping out of Nazarick's carriage.

'This will be a hard sell to convince my people that an avian, of all creatures, is here to help.'

She turns around and then freezes up. Instead of an avian, a ridiculously good-looking elf stands and waves at the crowd. If not for the golden armor, she would have no idea that it is the same Lord Peros. He flashes a smile at Draudillon and then turns his attention back to the crowd, stealing all the attention.

'Why he had to choose a form so attractive, dammit!'

Then the opposite door of Nazarick's carriage opens and a red-eyed woman steps out and opens a parasol. Dressed in a rather simple but clearly expensive dress, she probably was some minor noble of Nazarick. After her, a silver-haired petite beauty steps out with grace and stands under the parasol. She does a small wave at the public with a clearly faked shy smile. Same red hypnotic eyes and same pale skin.

Few would instantly guess that both were vampires, as the typical picture of a vampire was a ghoulish, ugly creature.

With her appearance happens something Draudillon could not have imagined. Cerebrate's attention is fully on the girl now. Just like that, she wasn't the center of man's interest anymore. To her own surprise, a twinge of jealousy spikes in her.

Peros could barely resist from openly smirking. He had clearly seen with what kind of disdain the Queen reacted to his interest, so he had decided to play a different game. To deprave Draudillon of attention and feign ignorance. Knowing almost everything he needed to know about Dragon Kingdom's people, he chose Shalltear as his assistant. Not only to use her gate casting ability and mass summon but also to take the Cerebrate's attention away from Draudillon.

And if the man was foolish enough to try something against Shalltear, he could use it as an excuse to get rid of him. When it came to important matters, Ulbert wasn't the only schemer among the Lords.

"Queen Draudillon, shall we start the planning?" Peros asks.

She snaps out of her daze from the spectacle and says,

"Yes, better not waste any time."

While following the Queen, Peros examines the surrounding people. There is the adventurer team. Their leader, Cerebrate looks like a warrior of some sort. The rest of the team comprises a defensive warrior, a caster, and a holy caster or healer. Next, his gaze falls on a man closest to Draudillon. He has a stony expression and is already whispering something to the Queen.

Peros could easily pick up what he was saying and mostly it was just reports of happenings while the Queen was away visiting the Empire of Nazarick. The rest looked like typical nobles, giving off the aura of self-importance.

Peros also noted that there was a rather noticeable lack of guards and servants in the castle. Besides, few that were stationed outside the castle seemed almost empty. A light layer of dust covered the few and far between statues and paintings.

The large oval war room stood in stark contrast to the rest of the castle. The room bustled with action as scouts came in and out from various doors bringing news to few men standing around the large table with the kingdom's map. Peros already knew the situation from Ulbert's reports, but noted that information was depicted accurately on the map.

"General Tartuss, report!"

"Yes, my Queen. A large beastmen army is on the move to the city of Alza. Our forces were not enough to stop them. I ordered an evacuation of the city but it may be too late."

"Dammit, I hoped we would have more time to plan," Draudillon says.

"Don't worry, Queen Draudillon, my daughter and I will take care of it. Relz, get us the location and show it to Shalltear." Peros says in a casual tone.

Draudillon just nods convinced it wasn't just a bluff. Tartuss, however, looks at the elf weirdly and asks,

"What do you mean, take care of it?"

Peros doesn't respond and moments later disappears through the portal with Shalltear leaving the servant woman behind. Not knowing what just had hoped, people in the room look at each other in confusion. Only then do some notice how pale the woman looks and her enticing red eyes also can mean only one thing, she is a vampire, and a high ranked one at that to remain human looking.

"Lord Peros and Lady Shalltear just engaged the beastmen army. Their advance is stopped six kilometers east of Alza." Woman says to the silent and confused crowd.

"Just two of them?" Celebrate asks. Even for an adamantite level adventurer like him the feat to engage the entire army with just two fighters seemed ludicrous.

"Yes, at this moment, two-thirds of the army is already executed. Remaining beasts are attempting to flee."

A shocked silence settles in the room. Surely that wasn't possible. No matter how powerful they might be, just two of them killing an army estimated to be around fifty thousand strong was not possible.

"My Queen, is this true? Do our new allies are capable of such feat?" Tartuss asks.

"I believe so. Lord Peros is the God of Murder after all." Draudillon replies. Her oddly calm face showing belief in her statement.

Before they can ask additional questions, the black void appears once again and Peros with Shalltear return with wide grins.

"It's done. Nazarick is doing cleanup at the moment. There will be no remains beside the bloodstains, so don't worry about the corpses littering the plains."

"Done? That can't be…"

"General Tartuss, was it? You can send your scouts to confirm my statement. But I would suggest you plan the logistics of retaking your cities after we wipe out your enemies." Peros says, changing tone to more authoritative.

"Tartuss, do as Lord Peros says. He is here to help us liberate our nation as part of the deal with Nazarick."

"Yes, my Queen."

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It was a warm summer day at the Carne village, yet most people were hiding inside houses. The Village chief Enri frantically counted all people, double-checking if everyone was present. The reason for that was rather simple. She had received an order to do so before Lady Bukuma arrives.

Enri was doing her best to calm down people. A rumor spread about an army heading their way to invade their home. Enri was showing a brave face, but internally she relived that terrible day when her village was attacked before. The day her parents died. Nfirea did his best to help his wife. He too was on the edge, but same as Enri, believed that their new lords would not abandon them. After all, one of them was coming soon. Nfirea had an additional to believe in their safety as he was an apprentice of Lord Tabula and a valued apprentice at that.

Enri checked her list one last time and gave Jugem an order to set goblins on the wall as scouts to report any changes. Some villagers, with Brita in lead, volunteer to help as well. The wounds of feeling helpless against the attackers were still fresh in many of them.

Soon already familiar black void appears with Bukuma coming through first, followed by Lupusregina and Clementine. Finally, behind them, the Swords of Darkness arrive.

Enri bows and says,

"Laby Bukuma, welcome to our village. I gather everyone as ordered."

"Good job, chief Enri. I will take it from here."

Bukuma then motions at the Swords of Darkness and says.

"They volunteered to protect citizens. Point them where help is needed. I will prepare to stop the incoming army."

"Thank you, Lady Bukuma."

Bukuma smiles and goes towards the gates with Lupus and Clementine, leaving rest behind. For a moment there is an awkward silence as Enri does not know what to say to the mostly inhuman-looking party.

"Guys, you are alive? What happened to you all?" A sudden voice shouts.

The Swords of Darkness turns to see Brita running up to them.

"We died and our masters resurrected and remade us," Peter says to his former companion.

"What do you think of my new form, Like it?" Lakrut chips in.

"Stil not happening, Lakrut! I'm so relieved to see you all alive and well. When I heard what happened, I…"

"Don't worry about it, Brit. It all worked out in the end. I assume you run village's militia?" Peter says.

"Kinda, Jugem is one in charge but I babysit the human part of our little force."

"Then we will coordinate with you if any enemy gets to the village, although I doubt it."

"Are you sure? I didn't see any army arriving on our side." Brita says.

"Lady Bukuma alone can probably kill them all. But from what I heard, the forces will be teleported in at strategic locations."

"What do you mean, she alone can kill them all?"

"She is a goddess in the truest sense of the word. Each of Lords is powerful beyond our understanding."

"I'll take your word for it."

Peter smiles in response, remembering a duel between his master and master's sister that almost leveled the entire arena on the Nazarick's sixth floor.

Meanwhile, Bukuma reaches the gate and jumps on the tall fence with her two companions. Enemy's army is visible already, meaning they would reach the village within a twenty-minute window.

"Now girls. This is the part where your fun begins. Remember to execute as many officers as possible and capture the king alive. Also, if that army will reach the village and I need to get involved, both of you will run laps around the village till the sun explodes."

Clementine and Lupusregina share a smirk and both transform to their true forms.

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Newly crowned king Barbo finally reached his destination. The human village came into view. On their way, his forces shattered the meager undead resistance, assuring him that victory will come easily. The army of twenty thousand soldiers will roll over anything Nazarick can throw at him with ease.

Unlike the usual peasants, this force was a bit more trained in the insistence of Marquis Boullope to make legions similar to the ones the Empire of Baharuth employed.

'Those monsters will not know what hit them. I will restore my honor today.'

With a self-satisfied smirk, Barbo gives the order to surround the village. His plan is to capture everyone in the village and use them as leverage to lure out the five Lords and make them surrender. He didn't just want to defeat them, no it wasn't enough. They would be degraded, humiliated, shown their place.

Two rapidly approaching blurs take him out of daydreaming. Before he could shout orders, both collide with the unit closest to them. For a few seconds, Barbo doesn't even understand what is happening. When the shock subsides, he hears hysterical screams as the army rapidly falls into disarray, desperately trying to get away from attackers.

The unprepared soldiers trample each other as two monsters leave a trail of bloodshed in their wake. In the few brief moments, when the two monsters are stationary and targeting nobles that were stationed out as field commanders, Barbo could see two furred monsters that plowed through the soldiers like wheat.

"Retreat! PROTECT ME!" Barbo shouts and turns his horse around to retreat with his bodyguards and whoever else heard his command.

The rapidly approaching armies from all sides made him realize it was a trap all along. He gives a command to his bodyguards to just protect him and chooses a route that would let him escape between the enemy armies and save his own skin.

'Dammit, my advisors were right, this was a mistake.'

Barbo pushes his horse to its limits, hoping to get away unscathed. No one else matters as long as he gets away. There is a loud scream near him. The enemy is closing in. To hell with bodyguards.

'Useless morons.'

He then feels his horse suddenly stopping and is sent flying. Barbo hits the grassy field and blacks out for a moment.

The first thing he sees when opening his eyes is a red-furred werewolf covered in blood. Blood is also dripping from its toothy mouth. Beast twists its face in what looks like a grin and says with a female voice.

"Going somewhere?"

"W-wait. I am a king. I will give you everything you want."

"Oh, don't worry you will," Beast says, closing in.

Barbo tries to get away from the monster, half crawling and attempting to stand up. He feels sharp claws on his neck and is pulled backward and lifted.

"P-please, I am important. My country will pay a ransom."

"Shh little piggie, your new life will begin soon."

Barbo still hoped he could talk his way out. He was a king; he was important. The sharp-clawed paw that held him by the neck was gentle enough to let him breathe.

Soon enough, it drops him in front of an elven woman in dark plate armor. He tries to get up again but is pushed to his knees and hold in position.

"I am King Barbo. I wish to discuss my release for a ransom."

"Release? No, no, first you will have to be educated. Good job Lupus, take him to Demiurge."

"Yes, Lady Bukuma."

Barbo wanted to protest, but the paw closed around his neck much tighter, preventing him from speaking. Red furred beast drags him towards a dark void.

How he, a born ruler, ended up like this. Was there no justice left in the world?

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Barbo didn't know how long he had spent in the dark, windowless cell. He had slept a few times already, so it was at least days. They had tossed him thereafter the first few days in this hell.

At first, he tried to declare that he was king and, even in the capture, should have been treated like one. But each time he did so, they just beat him up. Especially the red-headed beauty that beat him brutally with a wide smile on her face. The same monster that captured him on the battlefield.

After they got bored with beating him up, they left him in this damp, dark cell without outside communication. Clearly, they wanted to break him. Barbo, however, was a king, one of noble blood. He would not break, no matter what these monsters would do to him. At least that he thought at first. Now an idea to beg even for a plain meal and water started to sound like a reasonable action.

After another long session of contemplation of what to do, sleep overtake him.

He was once again in the royal castle, but something was off. Barbo tried to remember how he got back home, but nothing come to mind. The hall he stands in is all too familiar, at the end of it is the throne room. His rightful place.

Barbo walks towards it with guards looking weirdly at him. He pushes doors open and to his surprise, his younger brother Zanac sits on the throne with Renner standing behind the throne looking much taller than he remembers.

"So you are back brother, know your place and kneel."

"What you dare…" Barbo tries to shout back, but guards push him to his knees.

"This is your place on your knees before the true rulers. This is what you get for your stupidity."

"You…" He tries to say but is silenced. Renner, his younger sister, looks down at him as her shadow swallows the room, drowning it into darkness.

Barbo blinks. He is still in the dark, damp cell. A weird dream. Was his paranoia acting up? His brother would surely try to take the throne. He had to get back; he has to kill his useless younger brother.

'Throne is mine!'

For a moment, Barbo was confused why he hated Zanac so suddenly. But it was reasonable enough. The little bastard was likely to take the throne in his absence.

While he was sitting on the floor thinking, a flash of light blinded him for a moment. Someone opens the door to his cell. An all too familiar female voice says,

"Time to get to your next training place."

"What, wait a minute…"

The sadistic maid ignores his attempt to talk and grabs him by the neck, dragging him out of the cell. Barbo tried to resist. There was still a fighting spirit in him, but the maid just dragged him on, ignoring his pathetic attempts at resistance. Moments later, he is tossed over a fence in a muddy area.

Barbo hits the ground and looks up. There is a small building in the fenced-off area and a long animal feeding trough, filled with disgusting food waste, near it.

"Now piggy, this is where you will live for a while. At least until you learn to behave. Now oink!"

"What?"

Maid jumps over the fence and kicks him in the chest, breaking his ribs. Kick sends Barbo rolling and a moment later he stops face down in the mud. Maid grabs him by the hair, lifting his head, and says,

"I SAID OINK!"

Out of fear and desperation, Barbo does his best to make a piglike sound as the maid laughs at him.

"Now that's a good piggy. Good piggies oink when they are told to, GOT IT?"

"Oink."

"Good piggy."

Bonus Story - Gift.

Relzanu slowly and carefully combs her mistress's hair. Even as her favored pet, Relzanu could still get a beating for doing something wrong. Lately, it has happened less and less. Shalltear controlled her mood more and didn't lash out at her servants at her smallest displeasure. Still, past events fresh in her mind made Relzanu as careful as possible.

Today Shalltear seemed particularly pleased with something.

"Tell me about yourself, Relzanu." She suddenly says.

The question confuses the poor pet, who is not used to talking with her mistress, let alone being asked questions like this. Shalltear usually didn't care about her servants in the slightest.

"I, there isn't much to tell mistress."

"They considered you strong for a human, right?"

"Um… my fighting ability was only about orichalcum class. I mostly excelled at reconnaissance."

"Really! Can you tell what Albedo is doing right now?"

"I'm sorry, mistress, but my ability is blocked inside the Great Tomb," Relzanu says, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable wrath of her mistress.

However, Shalltear just looks at Relzanu's reflection in the mirror with amusement.

"I will not hit you for telling the truth. I thought you have noticed that I can manage my temper." Shalltear says, but her voice drops to a dangerous tone.

"Yes, of course, mistress, I didn't mean to imply…"

Shalltear lets out a hiss, letting her know to just shut up.

"Can you see the outside world, then? Tell me happens in a place called the Dragon Kingdom?"

"Yes mistress, I can. The beastmen attacks still ravage the country. I can tell by their movements where they will attack next."

Shalltear smirks turn around and look into her pet's eyes. Seeing the mistress's gaze, Relzanu drops on her knees, preparing to pleasure her as usual. However, this time Shalltear stops herm gently grabs her neck, and lightly digs long sharp nails into the exposed skin.

"Not now. My father and other supreme beings always seek useful servants. As a daughter of a supreme being, I should learn from them and do the same, don't you think so too?"

"Yes, mistress. It's a wonderful idea."

Shalltear brings her other hand to her mouth and bites in her delicate finger, drawing blood, and at the same time digs nails deeper in Relzanu's neck, making her gasp.

"I will give you a gift. You will be more than just a mere pet."

She then pushed her bloodied finger into Relzanu's mouth, forcing her to drink the drops of her own blood. The young woman's breath gets ragged. Her orange eyes turn crimson red. Her skin pales rapidly.

Relzanu lets out a pained scream showing her newly grown fangs to her mistress. Shalltear finally lets go of her neck and says.

"You will be mine forever now. How does it feel?"

"Mistress… I… I can't describe how wonderful it feels."

"Now finish combing my hair and go prepare. We are going to the Dragon Kingdom. I want to show you off to my father before we go."