Chapter 2 - A Demand
Under the unsettling silence, Zeus is seen readjusting his collar after having experienced something baffling for the very first time in his life. To think a lady who isn't well acquainted with him managed to lay a hand on him, putting him at a loss for words!
"My apologies. My emotions got the better of me, but it won't happen again during our discussion." The lady spoke before turning her back against Zeus; a foolish move to do in front of an opponent.
"How much do you know?" Finally, Zeus utters.
"Did I strike a nerve?"
"..."
"Of course, I understand that my arrival has taken you by surprise. Truly, it's undeniable that nobody has come to grasp the truth behind your ingenious strategies and tactics used to commit your selfish deeds."
A twitch of an eyebrow from Zeus may seem unnoticeable to many, yet to this woman, who is conscious of the slightest difference, turns out to be a disturbing opponent.
"Are you implying that you seek to blackmail me?" A thunderous display of sparks circles around Zeus' figure upon his question!
"However, I'm not after what lies behind you, Zeus. You appear to misunderstand the underlying truths behind my words."
"..?"
"The Underworld, as well as I, the Monarch of it, demands that you, Zeus, the Emperor of the Olympus Empire, cease your unrelenting incitement of war and conquest."
—Silence…
"An excellent execution of your bold request, is it?" The Emperor, who was forced into a demand, casually laid his arms on his chair's armrests.
"Are you perhaps going to reply with 'But that's where it ends'?" The lady repeats the words that could have come out of Zeus' mouth, yet prompting no reactions from him whatsoever.
"No. But it fascinates me how someone unfamiliar with my life has come to understand my behavioral speech." Zeus let loose his golden glare, replacing it with a chilling tyrannical aura!
"A topic shouldn't be changed forcibly, Zeus. I had mentioned that I have a busy schedule, hence I would like to know where your response to my demand is." Not fazed by a threatening stare, this lady taps the desk one by one as if to suggest a timer has been set.
"And what if there isn't?"
"What an unnecessary question when you're already aware of my understanding of you, Zeus." A soft giggle echoes from this woman.
"Your request is invalid. An Emperor must not show weakness in front of his enemy." A dismay of a grin that's supposed to be innocent forms on his face.
"..."
Despite a response being given, it leaves nothing satisfactory for the woman who has stopped her finger-tapping. Though, from Zeus' perspective, he can only see a veil as an obstacle that blocks his foe's appearance and expressions.
Unbeknownst to Zeus, who has succeeded in disappointing the lady, she finds Zeus' answer to be out of character as well as a bothersome delay in her plan.
—Rustle!
In the blink of an eye, Zeus looked to be moving his arms, crossing them before folding his fingers together with a direct gaze at the lady. Moreover, it wasn't a menacing glance nor an intrigued stare. Rather, he was under the influence of poison and is currently having a glimpse at the culprit!
"Likewise, your indifference response is unnecessary." Her voice resounds like a threat!
When the veil is unable to mask away the fearsome glare of this lady, so does the ever-changing expression upon Zeus' face!
"I see. Your words are all for naught but a bundle of lies under the veil of your seductive voice." Zeus comments, while poisonous markings resembling nightshades climb their way onto his face!
"Excluding your impression of me, the demand I have mentioned is a favorable one to you." The woman reaches out her pale and delicate hand toward Zeus as she speaks.
"..."
"Otherwise, it would be unfair, wouldn't it?"
At this point, while Zeus is being infested with a deadly toxin, he's not uttering a word out of his tight lips. Was it his way of permitting an inferior enemy to blabber on their fantasy before their demise? Or perhaps the poison has overtaken Zeus?
"This Empire has grown dramatically to the point where its population of today has tripled from its early days." With her hand on Zeus' marked cheek, this woman carries on her speech.
"Must I state a fact that is lesser known to the civilians, Zeus? Or perhaps, what's the probability of someone uncovering a world-shattering truth about their well-respected Emperor?"
"The latter is something that has occurred more than once, hasn't it? Rather than silencing those who have uncovered your secrets, they're either found dead or convicted of a false crime. As a result of this, confidential information hasn't leaked nor slipped into the public domain." During her chatter, the lady's hand felt ominously cold to the touch for Zeus.
"I'm no exception to that rule of yours. A coward yet a tyrant you are, you desire my death, Zeus."
"Nevertheless, if I were to blackmail you, it wouldn't prove to be effective coming from the Underworld, the infamous organization, yes?"
Under the pressure of silence, Zeus didn't voice a word while the hand of his enemy was caressing his cheek, sensing it would be removed by that woman right afterward.
As the poison dwells in his body, the sight of this lady's hand brushing past the classified documents before arriving on the ink quill captures Zeus' attention, seeking to find out what she'll commit upon grabbing hold of his quill.
"You're preparing for war, are you not? Of course, it's done with a political and judicious approach." The quill's tip settles down on a peculiar document.
"An envoy sent to Yggdrasil. Isn't 'he' too clueless of his surroundings to be the person who'll unknowingly implant a seed of war, Zeus?"
"Forcing a victim to be the culprit is truly… Hm."
After a few seconds of chuckling to herself, the quill suddenly spattered its ink onto the document, staining the envoy's name completely as though its representation was hoping to be deciphered by Zeus.
"Moving on to our main subject, I, Monarch of the Underworld, would like to covet a peace treaty with the Sovereign of the Olympus Empire. I assure you understand the consequences of rejecting a demand, Zeus?"
"..."
"In every nook and cranny, my eyes are everywhere. You may attempt to escape my sight, but my men and women are in a horde of secrecies where you can't ever hope to trace their footsteps."
"I am a prime example of it, Zeus. You have seen me walk past the security you 'personally' invented to keep out even the trickiest of assassins."
"..."
"No reactions? Well, if I were to exclude the aforementioned reasons for why I made my first appearance here.."
—Thud.
"My existence alone is simply a sneak peek into the upcoming future, and you'll be in the front seat to witness your plans crumbling down." With a drop of the quill, this lady makes her way behind Zeus.
"I hope you don't disappoint me with the role that I have given you, Emperor of Olympians."
—FLASH!
"It seems you bear no will to live." Zeus spoke after letting loose a single thunder upon the lady.
"Ouch?"
—Crackling…
"Pfft. Hahah!" A sinister laughter fills the room when the sound of lightning subsides!
"Have I damaged your mind?" Zeus questions the lady once her hand rests upon his shoulder amidst her frenzied chuckle.
"Your secrets of your daughter will be kept hidden away under a rock whereas your selfish plans to succeed your brothers will grow unscathed by the Underworld."
"..?"
"On behalf of you and with fairness in place, I'll bestow you the chance to challenge my demand through a game."
"Unnecessary words!" Zeus discharges a fusillade of thunder toward his foe!
"Aren't you known to be the most prominent strategist? Then a game of strategy that bears a resemblance to the inner workings of a battlefield as well as every noble's game of idling, Chess."
"...!" Zeus bore witness to the woman taking leisurely steps to avoid the lightning, incomparably different from the moment when she withstood a strike of thunder on her own!
'It wasn't because she was unable to detect my Blessing?' Expressionless, he thought.
"On the 13th, it'll be a Tuesday worth remembering. I have given you 7 days to search for a representative to play chess with the Underworld's sole representative."
"...What arrogance."
"I saved your skin from revealing your poor smarts, have I not? And besides, it'll be an opportunity to grant your soldiers a vacati.."
—SWISSSSH!
"Perish." Cutting her words off, Zeus pinpoints a spot to penetrate through the woman's skull with a sharp snap of thunderbolt before firing it!
—CLASSSSH!
"Your poison tolerance may as well be above average as it served to only play a role on my stage."
"..?!"
"And that's not all. You were unaware of the slightest disturbance to your vicinity that not even the breaking of glass can be perceived through your paralyzed senses."
—SHATTERING!