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Chapter 133 - Long Live the Queen
🕑 Added 2019-10-02 16:59:13 +0000 UTC"Are you sure about this, senpai?" Exla asks me with one last concerned look back down the long corridor before the blast door closes. I returned to Arkaim with the cloud girl and the de-powered Zenlith and was led to one of the vaults from their age. It would appear that the current capital of the Dominion was built on top of the ruins of an ancient city called Arkheim, and there's an extensive underground bunker that hasn't been discovered by demons due to its impenetrable walls and an entrance that only opens for Old Humans with the correct code.
There, I locked him into a room shielded on all sides by thick walls from which there can be no escape without his abilities. According to Exla, as long as the new humans believe in the immortality of the god Zenlith, he will be unable to die even when she strips him of all his abilities. His body may be destroyed by disintegration - though I still don't know how to replicate what I did at the time - but he can reform it as long as the Imagination Engine is active.
I don't want to kill all humans, and I don't want to shut down the engine that most likely powers a lot of demon lives. So for now, I can only imprison him and proceed with what I told Thorvadis and Arcelia. Eventually, he'll be ripe for the picking.
"Are you having second thoughts about handing him over to me?" I float up into the night sky while turning to Exla. She shakes her head, and the fluffy hair seems to poof up even more under the motion.
"He deserves what's coming to him." Her expression tells me that she has resolved herself to let Zenlith, her brother, and only remaining family member in this world, pay for what he did with his life.
"As I said, I'm not going to kill him." Petting Exla's hair, I give her a warm smile, and she nuzzles into my hand. My plans for him aren't very thought-out yet, but I know that only killing him would be too little of a punishment. Serent's death was too quick and not nearly as painful as he deserved, but I didn't want to risk anything at that moment.
The thing I want out of the guilty Old Humans the most is terror equal to what they caused, and regret that can break a human's spirit. Leaving Zenlith to think about it for a while without any contact with others is only the first step. I'm playing the long game, now that the immediate crisis has been averted.
"Where are you going?" Senka suddenly appears before me in her astral body, her expression anything but amused.
"Back to the party in Erbilan. I'm sure they're beginning to miss me." I reply in my mind and think about all the food I'm missing out on. Also, since the cleanup of the corpses isn't beginning until tomorrow, I'll snatch up a mountain of human bodies to replenish the mass I lost in the battle against Zenlith and Serent. Currently, I barely have more than I had when I was first sent to the moon.
"Aorutihaua is impatient and thinks it's best if they left for Armeria again." The doll girl informs me while crossing her arms, and I turn my head to look at the floating castle above Arkaim. I zoom in on the highest tower, where I spot the androgynous onyx-skinned child sitting with their legs dangling over the balcony. Senka is right beside them, most likely trying to convince them not to leave.
"Alright, I'll talk to them." Sighing, I turn to Exla. "Go ahead without me. Tell those in Erbilan that I'll be coming soon."
"What is it, senpai?" The cloud girl looks up at me with an eyebrow raised, but I tilt my head toward the castle. She doesn't know what it is that I pointed at but takes the wordless explanation without asking any further questions. She doesn't go ahead though and follows me.
"[Hey, what's wrong?]" I come to a stop in front of Aorutihaua, who looks up slowly, seemingly without a hint of surprise at my presence. They look the same as they did when I first met them, a pointed helmet obscuring their face.
"[Mama yelled at me.]" There's evident dejection in their muffled voice, and I suppress the urge to pet them. Doing so while the helmet is on is pointless, even while the point may come across.
"[So you ran away?]" All depends on their answer now. If they ran away on their own after being yelled at or were sent away for a while, nothing will come of this, and mother and child will eventually reconcile. But if they ran away to escape their mother's wrath, then we may all end up as collateral.
"[This is the first time she has been angry with me.]" Lowering their head, Aorutihaua speaks in a miserable tone. Maybe they're just overreacting, but I don't want to take any chances.
"[Can you bring this child someplace safe?]" I ask of Exla with an imploring gaze. First of all, I need this potential ticking time bomb to get away from this city. There are a lot of things I have to do right now, but I think I know where I can bring them once I'm done here.
"[You want to get rid of me?]" The onyx-skinned child in question looks up at me, reproach in their muffled voice. Even through the helmet, I can tell that they're pouting.
"[Be a good child and stay with aunt Exla until I come to play with you.]" Patting the helmet after all, I put on my friendliest face. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn around to see the cloud girl's face close to mine. She wears a fake smile that would have frozen my blood if I had any.
"[Aunt?]" She asks, not dropping the mask of smiles that covers the death glare underneath.
"[I bit my tongue.]" I try to wiggle my way out by sticking out said tongue and averting my gaze.
"[That was on purpose!]" She spins me around to make me face her wrath.
"[I bitted my fong.]" Repeating myself in a childlike voice while lisping, I flutter my eyelashes innocently.
"[It wasn't on purpose after all?!]" Finishing the skit, Exla reacts precisely how I expected her to. Then her fist comes down on top of my head and causes me to bite off my tongue, which was still wedged between my teeth. "[Don't think I don't know this one!]"
"[Come on. Compared to them, you're ancient.]" I catch the tongue before it can fall into the city below and integrate it back into my body.
"[Girls don't like it when their age is played up, senpai.]" Exla retorts and puffs out her cheeks.
"[Hey, you're scaring them.]" Gesturing at Aorutihaua, I notice that they've taken off their helmet and are watching our exchange with interest. I guess the comedic skit actually made Exla more endearing to them.
"[Come with this aunt. Let's leave this granny to her adult business.]" Extending a hand toward the onyx child, the cloud girl regards me with a pout. I throw up my hands in defeat; I look the oldest here, and by my logic of calling Exla an aunt despite her childlike appearance, I can't be anything less than a granny.
I watch as Exla and Aorutihaua begin to fly away from the castle. Both turn around several times, and I wave until they disappear in the distance and start to travel at full speed. Maybe the cloud girl is taking them to Yagrath, though I doubt she'd want to expose her garden to the wrath of Areteniha either.
With these thoughts, I descend into the courtyard. Since I've already stopped here, I might as well greet my girls before returning to Erbilan. I land in front of the main gate where I met Rewera earlier to hand over the sleeping Korenga to her. Halthor has been secured in a cell next to the one in which Rolan and the others are staying, after being stripped of anything that could serve as a catalyst, of course. He'll have time to talk to them and Svanhild, a fellow Chosen Knight, when he wakes up.
During the time when Exla showed me the vault in which I locked Zenlith, I had the maid leader spread the news that we won the siege of Erbilan. Whether or not that also spells the end of the war, we'll see; I can only put so much trust in Sintress' effect on the humans.
But I'm confident that the morale of the humans should be thoroughly broken when I announce that their principal god has been defeated and that I even overcame the self-proclaimed embodiment of death. Though I wonder what happened to Lucianus V now that Zenlith has been rendered completely powerless. Did he turn into mist or become a lifeless doll? Whatever the case, as long as he isn't in control of the empire, we can find peace.
A sudden cheer from the streets of Arkaim causes me to look in the direction of the castle walls. The sound spreads like wildfire, and I hear all kinds of voices screaming in joy as the city doubtlessly fills with people leaving their homes. It seems that the maids have quickly broadcasted our victory at Erbilan already, and the celebrations are beginning now.
They're getting in the perfect mood for a festival, and I don't want to miss it, but I still have to return to the party in Erbilan as well. I'll give the girls a kiss each and quickly make my report to the military staff that stayed in Arkaim, then go back before returning here in the morning to announce my official coronation - which I'll place two weeks from now.
After all, I still need to go to Zohigal and talk to the lizardfolk about a treaty for the future. I initially promised to return there yesterday, but I'll have to do it tomorrow to not keep them waiting too much longer. There are many things that need to be done before I have the leeway to attend a grand ceremony before the people.
I enter through the front gate and am met by two rows of maids greeting me with respectful bows in the entrance hall. Although I told them I'd be heading back to Erbilan right away, they still lined up neatly to wait for me here. What would they have done if I only returned two days later?
"I apologize for our inability to do so earlier, Your Majesty." Rewera stands at the very end and welcomes me with an official air about her gesture as she bows at the perfect angle.
"It's alright." I wave off her concerns and peer across the lowered faces of the maids who each have their eyes closed in anticipation of their leader giving them the signal to move. They're no longer the one hundred-strong Maid Corps anymore, as some left with Asoko. But those that remain are here either out of a sense of duty or because they're attracted to me rather than to my lower half.
I could have worded that better.
My eyes stop on Nymphy, who can't close hers. I'm sure her compound eyes see me looking at her, as she purses her lips slightly while her cheeks redden a bit. Maybe she remembers what we did that night and interprets my gaze as another invitation. I give her a passing smile and proceed onward. I'm not at all averse to that idea; it was a good night.
At the end of the hall, I look up at Rewera with a casual expression, then wordlessly ascend the stairs. She immediately follows me, and the maids do the same, slowly dispersing along the way to do their work or head for sleep at this advanced hour, as I move toward the conference room where the military brass would be pulling an all-nighter if it hadn't been for our quick victory. But even now, they still await me there, unable to go to sleep until they have ascertained my safety with their own eyes.
Rewera pushes open the door for me, upon which Ophalen and the others stand up from their seats. I glance across the gathered clan heads before breaking out into a smile. Aurelia and Tokomaha regard me with expressions that suggest my victory was a matter of fact, while Vitalis smiles at me shyly.
"The siege of Erbilan has been lifted. The humans are retreating under the guidance of the Lady of Brilliance." I begin with the news that they can grasp, but the mention of a god already causes the clan leaders to blink in surprise. Then comes the bomb. "I killed Winter's Frost at Erbilan."
"After the battle, I went to pick up Korenga whose battle had taken her hundreds of leagues south of Erbilan. There, I was ambushed by two gods. I killed the Liberator of the Dead." Patting my stomach with a cold smile, I announce. "And the Lord of the Sky has been rendered powerless and is now imprisoned under Arkaim."
At the revelation that I killed Zylos, their mouths already slackened in surprise, but when they hear of those feats, I could imagine their jaws dropping to the floor if they weren't attached to their bodies. Though, with a metallic clang, Ophalen's metal lower jaw does come undone and falls onto the table, revealing the grievous wound underneath it. Nilotec quickly picks it up for his father and snaps it back into its mounting.
"With this, the human offensive has been crushed. Emperor Lucianus V was just a puppet. With his strings cut, he won't dare to do anything." I conclude the quick report. The death tolls and damages in Erbilan haven't been calculated yet, so I can't tell them the numbers, but they're pretty high. It'll take a while to recover from that.
But all that matters right now is that we beat back an army over a million strong, with barely one-tenth of their forces. If we can do it once, we can do it again - especially when their power has been reduced by three whole gods.
"Oh, and Chandra crowned me queen." I quickly add, but it doesn't seem to come to anybody's surprise. At these words, all the gathered demons smile before bowing their heads in reverence. The feeling of their respect washes over me, and I suppress my flaring emotions. Glancing at Aurelia and Tokomaha, who haven't moved, I see that both are, once again, taking this as a matter of course. Only Vitalis lowers her head alongside the gathered demons, deeper than anybody else.
The golden girl's smile does tell me that she was waiting for this moment when I would become her equal not only through power but also in my position in this world. She already deemed me worthy before, but now I'm her equal in every way. I'll exceed her expectations though.
The little goddess gives me a look that suggests I better not neglect her now that I'm going to be a lot busier with statecraft - in which she can't help me. I better keep her happy, or she might just up and leave. After all, gods from Armeria seem to be quite capricious - if Tahiri and Aratio are any indications.
With my report out of the way, I let the questions begin. Most revolve around who died and who survived, and numbers that I can't provide right now. While most commanders in high positions came through alive, I to inform Ophalen of the death of his son Morelit with much regret. I was there in his last moment, and it wasn't the death a warrior of his caliber deserved - but I told the old crocodilian that if I ever met the one responsible, I'd take revenge for him.
Finally, the talks are concluded, and I tell them that I'll return to Erbilan until the next day to ensure everything is in order. Neither Aurelia nor Tokomaha complain after hearing what happened in the siege battle. They know that the people over there deserve my attention more than they do. Vitalis looks dejected but doesn't say a word either.
With a nod at Senka, who has been sitting quietly and unmoving in her chair like a puppet with its strings cut - though all the while following my movements with her eyes - I leave the conference room. Rewera is the only maid to accompany me to the top of the tower from which I take off, though we do pass several maids along the way.
Most of them voice their congratulations on my victory which they couldn't do when standing at attention earlier, though some only bow silently in their shyness. Each one gets some hair petting from me nonetheless, leaving all of them speechless in my wake. With the mood in the castle set for my return, I inform the maid leader of my intentions of the crowning ceremony in two weeks from now before taking off back toward Erbilan.
There, I first sweep across the battlefield and swallow as many human bodies as I can find. If they come back to ask for their fallen, we'll tell them that they've been cremated, as is the custom among several demon tribes. The dead themselves don't care what happens to them after death - unless they turn undead and their souls are bound to their rotting corpses. Cremation or consumption has the same result in either case.
When I return to the keep, I find that the party is still ongoing and has become quite raucous. The ajura are some of the best drinkers among the demons, and it seems that they challenged everybody else to drinking games or contests. Those that haven't collapsed already are bellowing in celebration or roaring victory songs. Chandra is obviously the one who catches me and makes me compete with her.
After a few drinks, I do feel my tension fade away. Usually, I wouldn't be affected unless I drank away a barrel of strong ale, but I'm deliberately letting go of my inhibitions. In case something happens, I can always refresh my body with a simple thought.
Thus, we drink and celebrate through the night, consuming the stores of alcohol in Erbilan's keep. Kamii and Hestia, who retreated somewhere so that they wouldn't get roped into joining the alcoholic part of the festivities, return when they learn that I came back. I promptly place giant jugs filled to the brim in front of them, and soon, they become intoxicated as well.
When I think about it, this is what I believe this new life - I can no longer say new world after all - should boil down to. With my two girls here, I can't argue that my time when I was with Rolan and his party was better, but it was definitely unburdened by the fates of nations or even the entire world. The celebration after a completed quest is what I felt to be a highlight of life.
Looking back, I haven't had any such celebrations until after I was brought to Armeria in the wake of my mother's death. There, we celebrated the victory over the God King's small army coming to destroy Aoranam. Later, we ate and drank after winning over Roamukao, and had a big farewell feast after taking Kairaki and bringing reform to the Kingdom of Adanak.
Before then, I mostly experienced setback after setback, so I never got to realize how much I like doing this. Of course, I understand that if it isn't earned, it's just empty partying. As the leader of a nation, I have to be careful about wasting money.
With these idle thoughts, I cheer as Kamii and Hestia down the brew in their jugs, swept along by the festive atmosphere.
I wake up in the morning, lying naked on the broken remains of a table with Kamii and Hestia in a similar state of complete undress on top of me. Unlike me though, they found blankets to put underneath themselves and to cover themselves up with, and only I've been left out in the cold in all my bare glory.
Looking around, I find that many other demons are in the same situation as I. Some groan as their sleep is made uncomfortable by their positions or others lying on top of them, others are beginning to wake up while wondering what happened.
Even though I drank a lot, I don't have a hangover. What I do have is a blank space in my memories when it comes to the circumstances that led to my current state. Did I do it with my two girls in front of everybody, or did we all just strip down in the heat of the moment and dance on top of the table until it broke?
Carefully slipping out of their embrace, I grow out tentacles to softly place their heads down before sitting up and peering across the room once more. There's a hole in the wall, and an ajura's legs stick out over them. By the look of the sandals, they belong to Chandra, whom I might have punched through the wall. A lot of other tables and chairs are broken, and many demons look battered and bruised - not the result of the battle yesterday.
A drunken brawl perhaps.
I sigh and make a mental note to not overdo things from now on. For some reason, I feel like I've made one before but forgotten about it. Must have been a long time ago.
With the victory party in Erbilan concluded, I oversee the beginning of the cleanup in the morning, both inside and outside the fortress walls. There's no need for me to stay, and neither is there for Kamii and Hestia. Bringing them as well as the little dark elf's party along, we head back to Arkaim in the Chaos jet after discussing a few things with the hungover Chandra and the perfectly sober Rhosk.
I planned to continue onto Zohigal soon after but am held up by Korenga. She wants to know what happened after she fell asleep. Once brought up to date, she mostly expresses her regret at not being there to brawl with me - and even more at not being able to attend the party.
Finally, as I go to set off again, followed by all the girls in my entourage wishing to accompany me, I pass by the throne room with its double-winged doors open. Only a group of maids cleaning are inside, overseen by Rewera.
"Hmm." I make while stopping, causing Kamii to nearly run into me from behind. With a look at the girls, I smile and gesture for them to follow me before walking into the hall. The maid leader greets me with a respectful bow, and I lift a hand for her to be at ease.
Then I climb the stairs toward the throne. The footsteps following me stop, and I look back to see that Aurelia has raised a hand to stop everybody from coming up with me. She understands what this moment means.
Reaching the top, I let my hand glide over the armrests while rounding the throne. It has a simple design, seemingly carved out of a single block of stone, with a cushion placed in the spot where one would sit, and a red cloth draped over the backrest.
Senka is sitting behind the throne as if it's a matter of course. Her lifeless form makes me think she has run out of juice, but she cranks up her neck to look at me. I stop my feelings from welling up when I see her smile at me warmly - the first time she has ever shown an expression like that in all the time I've known her. She then closes her eyes as if telling me that this is my moment, and nothing should take that away from me.
Nodding, I proceed to finish rounding the throne. When I reach the front side again, I find that the maids have stopped working and are watching me with apparent anticipation. Others are peeking in from outside before quickly waving at more from down the corridor. I pause for a moment to let them gather but won't wait until all of them are present.
Peering across the gathered witnesses, I close my eyes and pull up the image of my mother before my eyes. Maou-mama, watch over me.
I sit down on the throne, cross my legs, and lean on an armrest. At the bottom of the platform, Aurelia falls onto one knee - to my earnest surprise. But I don't let it show, as I watch everybody else follow her gesture, honoring me in this unofficial moment of my ascension to the throne of the Dominion.
"Long live Queen Chaos!" Rewera, who remained standing to assume the role of the court announcer, speaks in a firm tone that echoes through the hall. Everybody repeats after her.
"Long live Queen Chaos!"
