Mad God

After the populace of Rozex was finally calmed down, the leading figures met in the city's, so far, empty castle, where Rudrick once ruled over the Kingdom. Instead of the once huge, golden throne, there was a rounded table set up in the throne room. Rabout, Keina, and Seya had a prominent position to sit at, forming a triangle while the rest of the family heads of influential groups sat between them. Ariana was now standing behind Seya, but everyone present knew her strength was one of the strongest right now inside Rozex.

"We are meeting now to continue the reform of the Kingdom," Ariana spoke in the end, calming down the nervous Seya as she put her hands on her shoulders from behind. "My Master's plan was simple; after becoming Queen, her first order would have been the reconstruction of the ruling system."

"Hm?" Rabout tilted his head, deeply interested in it, while Keina crossed her arms, wearing a calm expression as she had a long talk with Ren once.

"We are about to switch to the same method my Master's Thunder Valley operates in." Ariana started her explanation by going through how the city of demons was established and how it works to make different tribes coexist peacefully.

"Hahahaha!" Rabout laughed out in the end, clapping his hands. "Good! I like it!"

"I also agree with it. If the demons can do it, we can do it too." Keina also nodded in acceptance.

"W-w-w-wait…" Seya stuttered, looking up at Ariana, who was still holding her by the shoulders. "Why was I appointed as one of the council members?"

"Because you are the Lord of the Spire of Seya." Ariana chuckled, speaking almost in the same tone as her master used to.

"Eh?!" She exclaimed as her face turned ghostly white.

"Congratulations!" Ooda rose first amongst the nobles, cupping his hands, followed by all the other family heads.

"Eh?! Eh?!" Seya turned her head left and right, unable to believe what was happening in front of her.

"The High Council is going to consist of the Lords of each Spire." Ariana continued. "But we may change the name as every tower is gone by now!" She joked a little, "Or you could rebuild it; well, it is up to you all! The High Council will be responsible for the Kingdom's direction, stances, relations with the outside world, etc."

"Hear this, Milly?" Rabout looked over his shoulder, "You are going to be swarmed with work!" He said, grinning at his little helper.

"No way! Don't you think I'll let you pass on things? It is your responsibility, not mine!"

"Not anymore! I am going to step down from the position of Lord. I plan to travel to the Immortal Wonders Sect after Ren is out! I appoint Milly as my successor."

It shocked not just her but many others present who were listening. It was the first time someone with no real tie to Zelig's bloodline would even be able to call herself a Lord.

"Any opposition?" Rabout asked, looking around, but nobody spoke, mainly because they were still shocked; only Keina answered.

"None." She nodded at Milly, who finally snapped back to reality.

"Wait! I did not say yes!"

"Too late!" Rabout laughed, "Don't worry, you can learn with Seya; you just need to watch how Keina does it!" He clapped in a good mood while the two girls let out a nervous sigh simultaneously, leaving Keina to remain the only entirely composed one present.

"Under the High Council is going to be the regular Council. Everyone present is going to have a seat in it. It is to deal with the everyday life of the city of Rozex. It would have the autonomy to deal with whatever happens on the Plateau of Harmony. If there is something where there is no consensus, it can put the issue forward so the High Council can deal with it." Hearing how much power and freedom they would receive was like a fairy tale, and honestly, it was still unbelievable for them. This meant they would be almost at the same level as the previous leaders of the city. Like being part of the bloodline of the Naulins. "Don't get so giddy already!" Ariana warned them, looking over their faces and feeling everyone's thoughts. She was reminding them of her own powers. "If the High Council thinks you step over a line, they can overrule you! This does not mean you can do whatever you wish! This is still not a democracy. If you are not up for the betterment of Rozex, you won't have a seat amongst us!"

"Zelig won't be happy about it," Veponia spoke up, echoing some of the other's thoughts.

"And?" Ariana asked with a strong voice, "This is your city, your Kingdom, is it not? He may have established it, but when was the last time he made a decision? When was the last time he stood out to lead it? Wasn't it Zelig who built it to be nothing more than a death trap? Isn't it HE who only watched you all as numbers on paper? As nothing more than an energy source for his weapon? Who here still cares about what that son of a bitch is thinking? Stand up, please, so I can slap some sense into you!" She raised her voice with the same intensity as Ren usually did.

"She is right." Keina nodded with strong fire in her eyes. "This is our Kingdom! It is time we take it into our hands! Isn't he built that Heaven's Gate or what? He can lord over that place but not over us! Do we really need to bow our heads to someone who did nothing for us in the past two thousand years?"

"That's right!" Rabout nodded with a serious look, "Whatever he was is of no matter anymore! Not after what happened yesterday! I say we announce that, from now on, the Naulin Kingdom will change its name and leaves the alliance of the Kingdom of Ten!" He leaned on the table, drawing a smile onto Ariana's face.

"What should we be called?" came the sudden question from Veponia.

"Why not simply call it the City of Rozex?" Seya asked. "We were always the smallest kingdom anyway…."

"Simple." Keina agreed with a small smile. "I like it."

"Me too." Rabout nodded, and soon it was decided that the Naulin Kingdom was no more and not just in name.

…
….
…..

Aerthus was floating high above the ground, amongst the thick, white clouds with closed eyes, standing still in the air, without a muscle being moved. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and his body moved as if time had slowed down. He dodged five sharp nails and aimed for his heart while Rumira flashed by him with a playful smile. For them, everything happened in slow motion, but anyone looking in from the outside would only see two blurry figures moving as fast as if they were teleporting.

"Father." Levictus's voice echoed inside Aerthus's mind, stopping him in his tracks. Rumira also flashed beside him, noticing the change in his expression.

"What happened?" The foxes' Queen asked with a slightly tilted head while her long, fluffy tails swayed behind her.

"Ren got captured," he answered with a low voice, furrowing his brows, listening to his son's narration.

"Captured?" Rumira raised her eyebrows as it was hard to believe it. "Are you sure?"

"I'll explain soon; I'll hold a Sect meeting right now!" He said while rushing down from the clouds, followed by her quickly.

When Aerthus narrated everything he knew, the people sitting inside the Grand Hall fell silent for a long, drawn-out minute before; surprisingly, it was Xendar who spoke up pretty calmly.

"If he was not strong enough to kill her, the trap wouldn't harm her either. It is clearly used as bait to draw us out, especially you Sect Head, and pick us off, one by one, using their home advantage."

"Mm." Anya nodded, sitting beside her husband, remaining calm just like him. "If she just sat down and did not even fight back, she must have some ideas. I wouldn't worry either. You all know how she is." she even flashed a little smile at them.

"I can't argue with that!" Dermitos nodded rapidly.

"We also have another problem that is… more disturbing." Carthus leaned forward, "Boursat is already at the southern borders of the Elroths' with a handful of disciples and some freshly promoted Elders. There were raids from the neighboring kingdoms, targeting their territory. Three villages were eradicated. Their people were not taken prisoner but simply killed and thrown into a mass graveyard."

"Bastards!" Anya exclaimed, hearing his report.

"It gets even worse." Carthus continued, "In the north, the two others who are also looking to leave the alliance are also under attack. A huge army of the Nervadask Kingdom has invaded on two fronts. Their ranks are bolstered by Heaven's Gate disciples and slave-collared conscripts from the previous Enjin Kingdom."

"So he started a second cleansing?" Aerthus sighed.

"Second?" Dermitos asked, as he knew nothing about something like this happening before.

"He did this once. That was when the Kingdom of Ten came into existence. If we let him do it, there will be only 'The Kingdom.' Gather the disciples who seem to be ready and at a high enough level!" Aerthus ordered, looking at Xendar. "You were a General once; it is time to dust off your expertise!" he said, flashing a slight smile. "Form a small battalion and head to the north. We are going to help out the two kingdoms there. Carthus, Dermitos, you two go to the south and reinforce Boursat; make sure they do not encroach on the territory of our ally! Don't go on the offense. Just keep them at bay!"

They quickly stood up, cupping their hands and acknowledging their orders, ready to carry them out immediately.

"I'll go and-" Aerthus continued, but Rumira stood up with a smile.

"Let us help." she looked at everyone in the room as they stopped in their tracks. "Ren is someone who is important to us. I'll go back and relay the news to the demons in charge. We are going to form an army and come down from the north! Plus…" She turned her eyes to Aerthus. "You should stay here and defend the Sect. If you leave, that human named Zelig may attack and kill the remaining disciples. Let me handle him!"

"Are you sure?" He asked back after a brief pause.

"Yes. We demons are a loyal bunch! What Ren accomplished in the north is not something we are afraid to repay! You humans previously feared the beast tides." she giggled, covering half of her face with one of her tails as her eyes glowed in a dangerous light. "Yet it was only beasts… We will show you what it looks like when true demons come down from the forest!"

…
….
…..

"Sect Master." Frode, the king of the Nervadask Kingdom, knelt before Zelig. "Everything is going according to the plan in the north. But in the south…."

"They are being kept out?" Zelig asked, standing up from his chair, walking to the window of his study, holding his hands behind his back, and watching the never-ending storm clouds in the distance.

"Yes. The separatists are being supported by the Immortal Wonders Sect. Besides the few skirmishes initially, they could not achieve anything substantial."

"They are as useless as you said they would be!" Zelig shook his head, "No matter. They are only playing the role of buying time for us to finish off the north first. Any reports about Aerthus?"

"Nothing major yet. Our people in the south and north reported which members of their Sect had been spotted, and he was not among them. For now, it seems he is staying in their headquarters."

"Weird. I was sure he would come out to collect his disciple. Their play of her leaving the Sect should've been a ruse only… I did not expect that they wouldn't come for her! Huh… something's not adding up!"

"Should we move on Rozex?" Frode asked a bold question, raising his head and watching Zelig's back.

"Are you expecting trouble?" He asked back calmly, not bothered by his words.

"I do. We can't trust those who remained there. Your most loyal forces had been used up completely! We don't have anyone there to stop them from switching sides."

"Switching sides? Hmf… I created that place. It lives and dies when I order it to do so!" He snorted so vigorously that the windows and the walls themselves shook from it. "I'll go and take care of it myself. They should've perished when my will ordered it! No matter, I'll do it manually then!" He laughed, making Frode tremble in his whole body, realizing that it was his own people and Kingdom that replaced the forces of Malevick. The question he could not shake off, echoing in his mind, was when would his time come to 'do as ordered' and sacrifice a million souls for his 'master.' "Go back to the front lines, breakthrough as fast as possible, and capture their capital cities! I want results! Throw every man at their walls! I don't care about casualties, only about results!"

"Y-yes…" he bowed his head, leaving the room, not daring to say anything more.

"Weird…" Zelig raised his hand, watching it tremble a little. "Why do I feel uneasy? It is like when I almost died at his hands…" he whispered. He saw images of bloody battles in his head and the time that Aerthus left him bleeding out on the battlefield. He was only saved by a chance encounter with a woman who later became the mother of the line of Malevick. Yet now her remaining, faint trace was also gone from the surface of the Realm with the death of everyone belonging to that bloodline. "Nonsense!" he shook his head and his hand, throwing out every faint memory of that woman as he already couldn't recall what her face looked like. "But Frode is right… they are a liability!" he opened the window, and by the next moment, he was gone, flying forward to undo more than a thousand years of history and wipe off the Plateau of Harmony from the surface of the Realm as he placed it on in the first place.