Anger and humiliation, that was all the bastards parading as gods had brought to him. Yet all Barbro could do was fume in silence. All of his incredulous servants and advisors were against dealing with the monster nation for one simple reason: nothing Re-Estize had would as much as scratch them. He wasn't a fool; he knew he couldn't just gather a peasant army and charge into the forest. He needed something more, something beyond his current means.
Some source of power, some artifact that could kill even players. They had been killed before, they weren't immortal, just extremely powerful. These monsters pretending to be benevolent Gods would die just like the rest of their cursed kind. He just needed to find a solution.
Barbro sat in his bed, fuming as sleep didn't come. Unlike him, his wife slept peacefully beside him. With his fumble, Boullope had grown more demanding that an heir should be produced and, with increasing opposition growing even among the ranks of Eight Fingers who feared more saints like Neia could appear, they wanted to keep a low profile and refused to do anything that would potentially anger the New Gods, choosing to bide their time.
Thus, he finally performed his duties as a husband and tried to impregnate his wife, who took the change a bit too dramatically and was now basically refusing to leave his side, scaring off the usual entertainment. The one saving grace in this was that Ellga was eager to please him and did things noble ladies often shied away from. If it was all an act or if she genuinely cared, it mattered little to him, he had a woman to enjoy.
The wine he drank didn't help much either, only further fueling his frustrations as wild thoughts came and went.
'We tried to warn you humans time and time again: do not trust the monster players, and what do you do? You stop my attempt at cleansing your kingdom of all the unworthy souls. This is the price for your hubris, young King.' An unknown voice entered his mind, shaking him to his core.
'What? What is going on?' Barbro looked around confused. Was the voice just in his head?
'Be still and listen. I will give you one more chance to prove you are worthy to be a part of the heavenly kingdom. I will let you be the instrument of our return. I will give you the means to kill the false gods. Those heretics must be eliminated and their hells cleansed,' The voice continued.
'Wait! You are the one who started the invasion! You almost destroyed my kingdom!' Barbro chose to communicate back in the same manner so as not to come off as a raving lunatic.
'Cleanse, young King, cleanse. The monster players have corrupted your kingdom, your very court. Remember how eager they were to call for their help, not ours. But fear not, it is not too late. Some souls can still be saved, and you will be the hero who liberates your people from the clutches of the monsters.'
'But how? They are too powerful,' Barbro asked. He wanted to get back at those bastards more than anything, but he was but a mortal man, and they were nigh-immortal individuals.
'Serve me, young King. Pledge undying loyalty to me, and I will give you the power. Should you succeed, you will serve as a Lord of Light in the heavenly kingdom. You will rule over your current lands and far more as our voice and hand. Should you fail and die, the monster players will devour your very soul. Choose wisely.'
Barbro hesitated. Was he willing to become a servant? He was a born king, ruling was his birthright, so putting himself under someone's rule wasn't something he wanted to do. But at the same time, if the monster players had already infested his home and everything going wrong was their fault, he needed allies and perhaps a superior who could back his every move. If he was a Lord in a heavenly kingdom and the first to bring the real gods back, he would be seen as a hero among all the nations and receive his well-deserved praise.
'I agree. I will be a Lord of Light and kill them for you. Give me the power, and I will serve you!' Barbro made the decision.
'Wise decision, young King.' A shimmering figure of an elf appeared before the bed. Barbro was never religious and had cared little for the Gods and churches, save for some official ceremonies he needed to attend for the sake of appearances, but even he knew that the figure he was looking at was Alah Alaf, The God of Light. The elf that appeared no older than twenty had long flowing blonde hair, sea blue eyes, and strong masculine features. The white robe he wore glowed with faint golden light, hinting at more beyond the cloth. He was partly translucent, as if not fully present.
The figure beckoned for Barbro to come closer. He got out of bed, not caring that he was nude, and took steps toward God with confidence. The God smiled back warm and inviting like a father smiling approvingly at his son.
With an elegant motion, he lifted his arm and touched Barbro's forehead. The moment the partially physical fingers touched his head, a pain like no other radiated through his body. Every piece of him was torn apart and rebuilt at the same time. He didn't even have the chance to scream before it was all over, for that was how instantaneous it was. His already decently muscular frame bulged with raw power, veins appearing on his biceps as his muscles tightened up, giving him an almost chiseled appearance, rivaling the kingdom's greatest warriors.
'It is done, young one. Serve me well, and I will reward you accordingly.' The God walked closer to his sleeping wife and gently touched her forehead with his palm, 'Yet uncorrupted. How interesting.'
"So she is not working against me for her father?" Barbro inquired, his voice low and measured not to wake his wife.
'No, not yet. The Monster Gods had only gotten to the father. But be careful, we need to be cautious. Do not show the gift I have given, do not execute the corrupt ones. Find a reason to get them out of your court first. Monster players are cunning, so you must be as well.' The god still spoke in his head, with Barbro suspecting only he could see Alah.
"Then I should just let them continue to corrupt my-"
'My lands, young one. These lands are mine and you are ruling them on my behalf, and you will do it as long as you keep loyalty in your heart. No, we won't let them corrupt the lands for long, but we need to be cautious. If we strike incorrectly, they will scatter like rats carrying the plague, and corruption will become even more difficult to cleanse. You will announce the return of myself and the worship of my pantheon, but you will do so as a concerned king who does not want human lands to fall into the clutches of monsters.' God corrected him.
'His…I guess I will have to accept that I am not the sole ruler but have a master now.' Barbro reasoned and replied, "Very well. I will follow your advice."
'Good. I will guide you. Rest for now, young one, and guard those who have not fallen. Their worship is the key to our return.'
His doubts were now gone, and his shattered confidence was now rebuilt. Barbro sat on the throne, radiating resolve, appearing as if engulfed with faint golden light. The nobles were still pouring into the throne room, already arguing about the most trivial of matters.
'I wonder how many of them are licking the boots of the monsters.' Barbro mused. He knew many of them would sell their own wives and mothers just to save their own skins, so in the worst case, the majority were already lost for good. Good riddance.
His wife sat on a smaller throne beside him, something she had started doing only for the last few days, as before she was rather disinterested in court politics and occupied herself with gossiping with other wives of the nobles. Zanac, Raven, and Boullope were all already present, chatting about the logistics of the upcoming grain harvest.
After looking over the crowd and seeing most of the notable people present, he cleared his throat and announced, "Let's start. I have made a major decision for our future."
All eyes were instantly on him, curious, wary, or simply empty-headed without any intelligence behind them. 'Not a single one of these cretins are excited for what I'm about to announce. I should get rid of you all for good measure.'
"Tonight I had a vision, and a great truth was revealed to me." Barbro stood up from the throne, taking in the silence.
"The monsters of Nazarick have infested our home, and there are traitors among the very court. It is not the Six Great Gods who are evil, but the monsters who pretend they have our best interests at heart, and who try to twist the very idea of goodness and light against us. The God of Light spoke to me last night and revealed the truth. We must return to old tradition and the worship of humanity's gods, and we must gather our strength to strike at the monsters. We will resume the worship and the true gods will guide us to righteous victory. We will build temples, we will facilitate the return of the Great Six, and in their name, we will move humanity forward. The old rot must be left behind and a new future embraced!"
Barbro ended his speech, feeling proud of how short and effective it was, and mostly made by himself with only minimal inspiration coming from Alah himself. Now it was time for the traitors to reveal themselves. He looked Boullope straight in the eye, waiting for what the older man would do.
"Your Majesty, we have no means to fight against Gods. You saw the power they wield. As we discussed before, if we attack Nazarick, we will all die." Boullope returned his gaze with unwavering determination.
"I told you the true Gods are on my side now. I won't let anyone stay in the way of the true path!" Barbro sneered, taking a step towards his father-in-law as his two guards put their hands on their weapons, signaling readiness to kill at the king's order.
"You are a mortal man, my king. If we attack the monster empire, we will lose. I will not throw my and my family's lives away for your revenge. Think of your nation, your legacy!" Boullope didn't back off or show any fear, living up to his reputation as a fierce warrior.
"I have no need for old fools. For openly standing against a most righteous cause, I, King Barbro, relieve you from your duties and title. Your title and Re-Boulorel with its surrounding lands will be assigned to your eldest son if he can prove his loyalty to the crown. Get out of my sight before I toss you in the prison myself." Barbro declared and then poked the man's chest, "And you better pray your son is not corrupted like you or I'll end your entire family by sunset!"
"And what about the queen, was that your plan to get rid of her?" Boullope hissed.
"I will stand with my husband, and if you and the rest of my family are traitors, then I will renounce my family name. Don't think you can manipulate me any longer!" Ellga shouted from the throne in a righteous fury. She finally had her husband's attention and hopefully trust as well, and she wasn't about to lose it, even if she had to sacrifice her family for it.
"Rest assured sister, I will stand by my King. On behalf of House Boullope, I pledge my service to the crown." Balloupe's oldest son Dimitri pushed through the stunned crowd.
"Then it's decided. Marquis Dmitri Boullope, your pledge is accepted. Dispose of this old fool," Barbro declared, pointing at the warrior.
"Your Majesty, as tradition goes, an accused noble is put on house arrest until the matter is properly investigated. Should I arrange the containment of the former marquis?" Raven spoke up, using the opportunity to get Boullope out of the way without him getting killed on the spot. Things had gone to catastrophic and losing a man with head on his shoulders and extensive military experience wasn't optimal.
"Yes, do that and make sure he cannot cause any trouble. I want a full investigation of his recent actions and if you find that Boullope has betrayed Re-Estize to the monsters, I want his public execution to be as brutal as possible." Barbro turned his back to the disgraced noble and returned to his throne. Ellga reached and reassuringly grasped his hand, publicly demonstrating that she stood with her husband, not her father.
"As you wish, Your Majesty. Guards, take him to a guest room and detain him there until my arrival." Raven ordered the guards with a dismissive hand motion towards Boullope.
Once the old marquis was removed from the throne room amidst his futile protests, Barbro spoke again, "Anyone else wants to object to my decision?"
"I stand by you, Your Majesty," Zanac responded first.
"I support your vision, Your Majesty," Raven was next to speak.
One by one the nobles declared that they were on his side. Barbro wasn't so naive to believe that all of them meant what they said. The other traitors wouldn't speak up so easily, but it didn't matter. He would eventually find them through their actions. Anyone who opposed him would be executed, their entire families hung from the gallows, and he would regain his status as a rightful and powerful king.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by Sluethen, fvvck, mfkz_rocker, Omnax, aidan_lo.
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