Jasper looked down at the battered heroes and said, "Aren't you going to finish the job?"
Asmodeus shook his head with a wicked smile. "Nope. I'll put them in jail."
Jasper raised an eyebrow. "And then what?"
Asmodeus grinned. "Then, I'll let them escape."
Jasper looked confused. "Let them escape? Why?"
Asmodeus's smile widened. "They'll think they ran away by their own power. It attracts more people to invade, and I get to have more fun."
"Ohh, that makes sense."
Asmodeus waved his hand, summoning his servants to carry the heroes' bodies to the prison. Two female servants stepped forward. One was a tall, elegant demoness with flowing silver hair and piercing blue eyes. She wore a black, form-fitting dress that highlighted her slender figure. The other was shorter, with fiery red hair and mischievous green eyes, dressed in a dark, ornate robe adorned with crimson jewels. They moved with a grace that was both enchanting and deadly.
The servants effortlessly lifted the unconscious heroes and dragged them away, their movements synchronized and silent. Once the heroes were out of sight, the throne room grew quiet, leaving Jasper and Asmodeus alone.
Jasper turned to Asmodeus, his expression serious. "We have a lot to talk about, but first..."
The atmosphere grew tense, the air thick with anticipation. Asmodeus narrowed his eyes. "What is it?"
Jasper suddenly broke into a grin. "You know what?"
"What?!"
"This roleplaying thing is actually fun."
Asmodeus let out a relieved laugh. "Ohh... You scared me for a moment and of course it is! I told you it's better than that alchemy stuff."
Jasper smirked. "You know, you should try alchemy once. It's not that bad."
Asmodeus rolled his eyes, still smiling. "I'll leave the potions and experiments to you, my friend. I'm more interested in the theatrics and the thrill of the hunt."
Jasper laughed, the tension completely dissipated. "Fair enough. But I have to admit, seeing you that close in full dramatic mode was better than watching from my castle"
Asmodeus grinned. "It's all part of the show. Now, what was so urgent that you had to interrupt my performance?"
Jasper turned to Asmodeus, his expression casual. "The thing is... kingdoms are trying to start wars again, after centuries of peaceful time we had built together..."
Asmodeus shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I've noticed."
Jasper leaned against a nearby pillar. "You knew about it?"
"Of course," Asmodeus replied with a lazy smirk. "Population's been growing, problems cropping up everywhere—food shortages, sickness, the plagues, the usual. Some are getting ambitious, wanting to expand their territories."
With a sighed Asmodeus continued,
"Some don't have enough resources for that many people and they want to conquer... I guess basically peace caused population to increase and now population causes war, it's a fucking endless cycle. We did what we did for nothing, Shawty."
Jasper nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose it's inevitable and I told you over a thousand times not to call me that way"
Asmodeus chuckled and ignored Jasper's last words as usual, "Exactly, beside all that, wars make things interesting."
Jasper smirked. "You do enjoy chaos, don't you?"
Asmodeus grinned. "It keeps me entertained."
Jasper sighed, not overly concerned. "Well, I hope it doesn't get too messy."
Asmodeus waved a dismissive hand. "Eh, they'll figure it out. Or they won't. Either way, it's not our problem anymore"
Asmodeus asked, "Was there anything else you needed to tell me?"
Jasper drifted into brief thoughts and replied, "Forget it, they're not that important."
Asmodeus smiled at Jasper and said, "So, are you just going to leave or would you like to stay and have a drink?"
Jasper sighed and looked into the distance, "I suppose unwinding a bit wouldn't be too bad."
Jasper and Asmodeus headed to a private room to drink together. Asmodeus' servants brought them drinks and then left the room. They chatted while drinking, reminiscing about past adventures and what they 've been doing past few years.
After they finished their drinks, Jasper stood up. Asmodeus asked, "Are you leaving?"
Jasper smiled. "Since you know that I played some stupid games by myself in my castle, I got to say I actually invented some as well."
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow. "And?"
Jasper's eyes lit up with excitement. "You wanna play?"
Asmodeus shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Jasper spawned a chessboard in his palm. Asmodeus looked at it and asked, "Isn't that just chess?"
Jasper grinned. "No, it's Chess 2.0."
Jasper and Asmodeus started playing, but Asmodeus didn't see any difference from regular chess. He got bored and was about to finish. "Checkmate," he said.
Jasper smiled and suddenly shouted, "Kiiingg!? Stand up for your people, draw your sword, you coward!"
Asmodeus stood up and asked in surprise. "Okay calm down, I'm standing, Why are you shouting?" Then he realized the chess pieces had turned into tiny, real people on the board.
Jasper kept commanding, "Bishop, resurrect your people! The battle has just begun!"
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow, "Hey, what's going on and Why are you keep commanding isn't that my turn now?"
Jasper smirked, "Your turn? Would you wait for your opponent's strike in battle?" He continued commanding the pieces, "Knight, flank their defenses! Rook, hold the line!"
Asmodeus laughed, "This game might actually be fun." He started commanding his pieces too. "Pawns, advance and block their path! Queen, take down their knight!"
The pieces moved and clashed on the board, with the tiny warriors fighting valiantly. Jasper's bishop began healing fallen soldiers, bringing them back into the fray, while Asmodeus's queen led a fierce charge against Jasper's defenses.
Jasper, seeing his opportunity, commanded, "Cut their king's throat!"
Outside, Asmodeus's servants heard this and rushed inside in panic, but all they see was, two grown men deeply engrossed in the game. They sighed, "As usual..."
Asmodeus yelled, "LEAVE! We're on to something really important here."
After the servants left, Jasper's pawn advanced and beheaded Asmodeus's king. Jasper smiled smugly, "Seems like I won."
Asmodeus gave him a terrifying smile and said, "Your king is already dead!"
Jasper was confused, "Nani?!"
Asmodeus commanded, "Queen, take your revenge!"
Jasper watched in surprise as his queen piece turned on his king, executing him. "How on earth..."
Asmodeus explained with a grin, "While your king was fighting in the front lines, my king had a secret relationship with your queen hahaha. The moment you killed my King your queen couldn't help but take her revenge"
Jasper protested, "What?! How did I miss that happening? Hey that's against the rules!"
Asmodeus chuckled, "You were so focused on the battlefield to see what was happening behind your king! Like in battle, there are no rules in bed, my old friend! Hahaha."
Jasper fell to his knees, defeated. Asmodeus offered his hand and said, "Seems like it was a draw."
Jasper took his hand and stood up, shaking his head, "I can't believe I couldn't win even though it was your first time playing."
Asmodeus laughed heartily and said, "If you have more games like this, visit me sometimes! It was really fun"
Jasper nodded and said, "Yeah, it was... and remember, you can visit me anytime you want aswell"
After that, Jasper teleported himself to his castle...