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Chapter 134 - Thirteen
🕑 Added 2019-12-24 16:25:51 +0000 UTCHappy Holidays, everyone! Rewriting of vol4 is done, now comes the editing. But before then, a new chapter and the beginning of a new arc!
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Half a year has passed since the Battle of Erbilan. The war against humanity has ended. The Old Humans are scattered and weakened. Chaos took to the throne and ushered in a new era of darkness.
Or at least that's what a fantasy book would say. But this world is neither a fantasy, nor does it take place in a book. I'm Chaos, not a bringer of darkness, but a purveyor of love and happiness!
At least in the bedroom, that is. Not that I have a lot of time on my hands with all the administrative duties that come with being the queen of the Dominion. I wonder how Maou-mama did it, but I'm slowly learning.
Fortunately, I have capable people around me in Oquachit and Markor who are versed in matters outside of war as well. Other advisors have been supporting me in all this time as well, and we're well on our way to rebuild the Dominion from Erbilan all the way to Pontis Daemonis.
I've received little news from the human nations, but it seems that the Alliance has been officially dissolved. The Kingdom of Lares wasn't a member during the last war, so we weren't even officially enemies. Still, they haven't come forward to vie for peace with the Dominion yet.
I believe it's only a matter of time. Corruption has disappeared around the world since I didn't undergo the demon lord ritual. Without the threat of corruption or demon invasions, the humans no longer have a reason to sail halfway across the world to attack us.
Since many demons rely on it to grow older than the natural lifespans that Alverost gave them, Exla and I worked on making a contained version of the corruption that only extends slightly beyond the Ceogath continent, which doesn't rely on a single demon to generate but rather a collective imagination of the entire species. That way, demons who want to live long lives need to stay in the Dominion and the surrounding lands.
Without the looming threat of corruption or a demon invasion, Thorvadis and Arcelia's jobs are made easier. They're using their influence and names to spread the word that the gods they worshipped all this time were humans from a forgotten era who were playing a strategy game using entire nations as their toys.
It's going to be a long and hard road, but as a member of a species that can practically live forever, I'll see all of this to the end. For now, I only need to concentrate on rebuilding and keeping an eye on Zenlith, who's locked in the vaults of Arkaim. I'm sure the Old Humans will try something to get him out of there in time.
"Where does the story go from here?" Senka suddenly asks when the meeting finishes, and the ministers leave the room. I turn to look at her in surprise but find her looking up at me rather than into space as she usually does when saying something that sounds meta.
"Well, I doubt it's over yet." I look out the window to let my gaze sweep across the nightscape of Arkaim, which has grown busier again in recent months after the rebuilding has been completed and families returned to their homes. "Alverost and Shelnir are still out there. And we haven't heard from Sintress, who went to the moon to check on the fake Juzual."
Exla returned a few days after leaving with Aorutihaua to inform me that she has brought them to the Dark Continent after all. She then left again to be with the little meteorite god, and I haven't heard from her since either. I'm sure if something happened to her, Zenlith would have broken out of containment already, so that's a good indicator of her continued safety.
I just feel like something is brewing in the background of the period of peace we're having now.
"No, it's definitely not over yet." I glance at Flann, who stands beside Rewera. The blonde androgynous girl with the unfathomable green eyes has only been observing, rarely ever speaking in all the time she has been staying by my side. She's more of a doll than the actual cursed doll girl I'm talking to right now.
"Mataku." Senka mutters. We had plenty of time to catch up on everything that happened on both our sides, so she knows what kind of existence this Primordial Terror is.
I left the Adanak Kingdom to its own devices under Mereana since I had to take care of my people, but maybe it's time I take a look there to see how it's doing. After all, Mataku disappeared with Mithra after apparently succeeding in some kind of experiment, but I doubt he left the Armeria continent for good.
Nobody there can deal with him. I'm not even sure I could fight a Crawling Chaos that had thousands of years to experiment with the Imagination Engine. We come from the same species, and he most likely has plenty more mass than I do, as well as more knowledge about what is and isn't possible using imagination.
I never got to learn what machine Zenlith used to disintegrate my split bodies instantly since Exla destroyed it, but that might be the only way to kill Mataku. I'll have to speak to the cloud girl about that.
"Tell me when I'll be free to hop over to Armeria for a while." I address Rewera while picking up Senka. The doll girl could easily walk on her own, but I've been spoiling her recently. It seems she has become quite attached to me despite her snarky attitude.
The maid leader exchanges a glance with Flann then lowers her head apologetically. I can only laugh wryly at this, and I'm sure she's well aware of the fact that she just made a silent joke. She's implying that as the leader of a nation, I don't have any free time.
Of course, that's not entirely true. I could always appoint a prime minister and just drop everything on them, but I feel that at that point, a monarch has no more reason to exist. In other words, what I need now is somebody temporary I can trust to make decisions in my absence. Somebody who knows what they're doing, with experience in politics.
"Absolutely not." Aurelia crosses her arms and replies with a sour expression on her face.
"Why are you so opposed to this?" I've been learning under her since before my official coronation, and there's always more for her to teach me, so she's obviously the best choice.
"Because I wish to come with you." The golden girl's expression softens as she looks up at me.
"Oof, that was a critical hit." My defenses against an attack from that angle were down, so I took full damage from her gaze. There's no way I can refuse her coming with me to Armeria now.
Well, it was just a thought. I don't ever want to be separated from any of my girls again, so I'm going to bring all of them with me from now on. It's not a vacation, but I'd pick some of the maids to come with me through a lottery. I'm taking along Nymphy by default though.
"So, you want to go to Adanak and see how it's doing?" Tokomaha asks in our language. She still has an accent, but her progress has been incredible. She initially made excuses by saying that she only wanted to learn it so that she can understand what we're talking about. But her real motivation was to be closer to me all along. It's just another expression of her tsundere side.
"Yeah. There are several things I need to keep watch over in the Dominion, but Mataku poses a bigger threat to the world as a whole than the Old Humans." I turn to the little goddess with the leaf hair. She has started to tie the willow-like branches and leaves that grow from her head into a giant ponytail during meals recently. It's quite evident that it's to entice me rather than for convenience's sake.
"The movements in the Fatas Triarchy worry me." Hestia comments. At first glance, it may not seem related to my wish to visit Armeria, but the truth is that the Fatas have an iron grip on the humans in their nation, which they keep like slaves. Even if the influence of the gods has waned, the triarchy is large enough to start another war if they learn of my absence.
"Should we pay them a visit before going to Adanak?" I turn to the angel girl and ask. She has lost any attachments to her homeland even before I met her, and as a fallen angel with black wings, she feels a closer connection to demons than her kin. Her expression is neutral when talk about the Fatas Triarchy comes up.
"I believe that would be for the best. If they refuse peace, they shall have war then." The Black Valkyrie states with one of her bloodthirsty smiles. Then a giant crab claw lightly bops her on the back of the head, causing her to yelp in surprise.
"Stop that." Kamii says with her usual deadpan expression. The angel girl and the little dark elf have grown quite close over the past few months, so an interaction like the one just now has become commonplace between them. "We can't attack them."
"She's right. If we attacked first, we would be sending a message to the other nations that the Dominion is willing to use force to subjugate them. We'd just start another war." I explain with a sigh. It's not that Hestia doesn't understand politics, but she seems to be too excited at the prospect of killing her hated kin.
"Trying to maintain the moral high ground is doable with enough power, but it's by no means easy." Senka adds to the conversation with one of her tidbits of wisdom.
"We need to find Sintress." Even though she said that she doesn't want to flaunt her false godhood, at this point, she's the only one who can control the Fatas. I saw at Erbilan how they revered her while completely ignoring Exla, so she's still recognized as one of their gods despite opposing Zenlith.
Sintress made the human and Fata army leave back then, but she didn't give a definite order for them never to attack again. Few Fatas died, and there are many more where they came from, so their thirst for war is most likely still strong - unlike that of the humans, who have been beaten bloody in that last battle.
"What first?" Korenga asks with a thick accent. She learned the language alongside Tokomaha but displayed less enthusiasm in the process so she isn't as good yet. She understands most of our conversations, but forming complete sentences is still difficult for her.
"First comes the meeting with the clans. The treachery of the Vampire Court has finally been uncovered." Rewera interrupts our planning for a journey away from the Dominion.
I look up from the dinner table and find the maid leader towering over me. She's as intimidating as ever, but I've gotten used to her so her overbearing matron-like presence no longer cows me. And I'm the queen, so at the end of the day, she still has to listen to my decisions.
"Can't Chandra do something about that?" I roll my eyes. The vampire clan turned traitors during the human invasion, but there has never been definite evidence of it until now. Codebreakers were finally able to decipher the code Ascelin Sheason, the relatively young female leader of the court, used to write correspondence with the Alliance. Senka obviously had a hand in that.
"Lady Chandra wants nothing to do with such matters." I know that the Ajura clan leader stays away from politics, but the way Rewera said it makes it sound like she's too lazy to care. She's the leader of one of the Four Great Clans and known as the Kingmaker, but that doesn't mean she likes to live up to those titles. All that matters to her is fighting strong opponents.
"What about Nilotec?" I grasp at straws; in truth, Great Clan leaders Oquachit and Markor would both have more authority than the crocodilian general when it comes to matters regarding clans.
"Lord Nilotec has his hands full with taking over administration in Rodens." Despite knowing that he shouldn't have the power to pass judgment on the Vampire Court, Rewera still regards my question with an earnest answer.
After the - hopefully - last great war against humanity, Ophalen retired at a venerable age of over a hundred and thirty, and left it all to his first son Nilotec. The ceremony was conducted last month, but his newfound responsibilities keep tying the crocodilian down.
The only reason I mentioned Nilotec is that the Petsobek are like the natural enemies of the Vampire Court. With their hard scales and visceral fighting style, they can easily cut through the masses of artificially bred thralls of the court. Vampires themselves are physically stronger than humans, but not nearly on the level that allows them to compete with Kirali.
"When is the hearing going to be?" I sigh and give up.
"The Vampire Court has been ordered to appear in Arkaim in three days." Ignoring my attitude, Rewera informs me in a neutral tone.
"Do you think I could make it to the moon and back in three days?" I turn to Aurelia, who chuckles at my joke. Admittedly, I could most likely make it there in an hour or so, but the thing that disguised itself as Juzual on the moon is a Crawling Chaos, so I'm sure I'll be stuck there for a while if things go south.
"The time has come." Flann suddenly announces when I make my way to my room with Hestia. The daughter of Mithra follows me everywhere and never seems to sleep, so I haven't been paying much attention to her presence lately. That's why her speaking up without being talked to startles me.
"What?" I turn to look at her, to find that her eyes have become windows to space. They show a myriad of stars as if giving a glimpse into another universe. "Woah!"
I'm so surprised that I nearly drop Senka. Hestia raises a hand and wordlessly summons a black spirit spear, ready to shoot Flann if she makes any wrong moves. It doesn't seem like an overreaction after everything we've gone through, and the only reason I haven't done the same is that I'd instead go with swallowing her whole than leave any room for error.
"Thank you for your hard work." The androgynous blonde girl seems to be possessed by someone else, as she shows a genuinely grateful expression. She then turns toward the window, and I follow her gaze directed at the full moon illuminating the night sky. "Now, it is time for the endgame."
On the moon's surface, a gigantic thirteen is written in red Arabic numbers - something that hasn't been used since the time of the Old Humans. There can be only one explanation for this; the Crawling Chaos disguised as Juzual has decided that with most of the false gods dead and Zenlith rendered powerless, her time to make a move has come. And the number is definitely a countdown to something.
"And what is that endgame?" I ask Flann, guessing that Chaos-Juzual is possessing her somehow.
"To put an end to this whole farce." Turning back to me, the blonde replies coldly, all the glee she showed moments ago gone as if blown away. "The moon will crash into this world, and not even Exla will be able to do anything about it."
So that's what the number is about; it's showing the number of days until the moon is going to collide with Earth. And I don't need to have seen any of those disaster movies to know that the result will be the complete annihilation of all life on the planet. Depending on impact velocity, it may even shatter both celestial bodies.
"... ok?" The whole planet exploding is something straight out of science fiction, but it has never made me feel anything when I saw those scenes in movies either; the threat is real, but it doesn't register. I guess it's easy to lose sight of things when the scale is too grand. Threaten my girls or my people directly, and it would be a whole different matter. "Umm... any way to talk you out of doing this?"
"Do you even know who you are talking to?" Suddenly, Chaos-Juzual-Flann's tone changes into a more casual one, even coming across as slightly sassy. "I am the Witch of the End. My purpose is to bring an end to everything."
"And here I thought you were a Crawling Chaos." I tilt my head and reveal that I'm aware of the truth.
"So, you knew." Growing serious again, Chaos-Juzual-Flann looks up at me with a calm expression. "Well, our interests just happened to align."
"Why is it that when a Crawling Chaos wants to commit suicide, they have to take everyone else with them? Can't you do it silently and alone?" The latter is a rhetorical question, but the former is a serious one that I feel quite exasperated about. Mataku's goal in life seems to be the exact same thing, though his scale pales in comparison to this moon-dropping plan.
"Because life is meaningless, but nobody wants to die alone." Comes the reply almost immediately.
"Edgy." Senka shoots this comment off without even a second of delay.
"Yeah, what she said." I agree with a sigh. "Well, thank you for telling me in advance. I'll definitely do something about it."
"I look forward to seeing you try and fail." Chaos-Juzual-Flann replies, a sinister smile creeping onto her face.
"That expression unexpectedly suits Flann. It's pretty sexy." I point at the blonde girl, getting a nod of agreement out of Senka and Hestia. Even though I prefer to be the one on the attack, that face is one I could fall for as well. I feel compelled to do something to her after this. "Anyway, are you done?"
The possessed girl blinks her eyes in confusion, unable to grasp why none of us seem at all concerned about the impending doom of this whole planet. Then she shakes her head as if having come to a conclusion.
"I see that you have already made peace with yourself." It was the wrong conclusion. But what more can I expect from a person who seems to be an edgy teen?
"Yeah yeah. Can we have Flann back now, please?" I don't particularly need to talk to her right now - except to ask her to show me some more emotions after seeing her like this - but I think there's no more point in talking to Chaos-Juzual at this stage. She has made the first move; now it's time for us to make ours.
"See you all in thirteen hours, then - if we are all lucky and can wave to each other before the collision." With these last words, the windows to another galaxy retreat into Flann's pupils and disappear, upon which the blonde girl looks up at me in surprise.
"Is something the matter?" She asks, apparently unaware of the mental takeover just now.
"Hey... did she say thirteen hours?" I exchange an uneasy look with Senka and Hestia.
