284 MEET ANT MAN AND PEBBLE
"What the hell is this place?" Leo demanded, summoning Vanessa, his handler in the realm.
"This is a rare and advanced feature," Vanessa explained, her tone composed. "It's usually not accessible to someone of the emperor's level."
Leo's frustration deepened. "What is it, then?"
"This isn't a typical magical realm or dungeon. This is… this is a special realm of another System," Vanessa clarified.
"You're saying the freaking chessboard belongs to another System?" Leo asked, disbelief etched on his face.
"Yes, there are more than one System which brought people from other worlds to the Realm of Sins. Our System is the most widespread but it's not the only one," Vanessa said.
"I've known about other Systems. Yun-Yun's Gamemaster System is different from mine. But why the hell are there so many different Systems in this bloody world?" Leo asked.
"The various Systems are manifestation of the desire of a higher consciousness. The Systems brought people into this realm for a reason", she explained.
"What reason?" he asked.
"That you will discover later on your own. I'm not at liberty to tell", Vanessa replied.
"Now back to the bloody Chessboard, what the hell is it? Another big cheat?" Leo asked.
Vanessa nodded. "It's a temporary magical space formed by the Emperor's consciousness over the existing realm. Higher-tier mages in this realm could use domains to gain an edge in battle. The Chessboard is the System's way of granting him this power."
Leo's gaze hardened. "And how am I supposed to fight against this kind of crap?"
"You'll have to follow the rules of the domain. There are no exceptions," Vanessa replied firmly.
Suddenly, Petunia and Sujira surged forward on the chessboard, their pieces advancing swiftly before colliding with enemy pawns.
As their chess pieces merged into single squares with the enemy chess piece, miniature battlefield formed within them.
"What happens to them now?" Leo asked, his voice tense.
"The purpose of the chessboard is fighting to control the squares. The victor will claim the space," Vanessa answered.
The pawns opposing Petunia and Sujira revealed themselves as minor demonic creatures—twisted forms with warped bodies, elongated limbs, and claws that lashed out at blinding speed. Their strikes carried enough force to destroy most peak-tier mages.
"This is bullshit," Leo snapped. "They can cram an entire legion of demons into one chess piece?"
"The chess pieces represent the squares, not their contents. If you can fit an army inside, it's fair game," Vanessa replied nonchalantly.
Leo stepped forward, grimacing. "Why the hell am I moving so slow?"
"Because you're the King," Vanessa said. "Kings can only move one square at a time in chess."
"This is not a fucking chess game. The pieces are all moving on its own", Leo noticed.
The chess game wasn't governed by the usual rules of chess. This was a battlefield where units were restricted inside their respective confined space- their chess pieces. The only thing about these chess pieces that were like real chess was the movements.
The chess pieces here move like real chess and that was the only thing in this game that followed the rules of the game.
"Great," Leo grumbled. "I'd kill to be a Rook or a Bishop right now. Then I can charge over to the other end."
Petunia and Sujira were stopped by the 'Pawn' pieces on the other side. Once the two pieces clashed, the occupants could enter into the space of the other chess piece and claim the territory.
Meanwhile, golden dragon apparitions flared to life around Sujira and Petunia, manifestations of their Body Transformation Sutras.
The demonic claws failed to pierce their physical invulnerable defenses. With precision and ferocity, Sujira cut down the minor demons, her swords a blur of motion, while Petunia unleashed her Band of Mahari to ensnare and electrocute her foes.
Both of them defeated the enemies in their chess positions and captured their squares in quick succession.
"Not bad," Petunia said with a smirk.
"Neither are you", Sujira added.
"Don't get cocky," Ramses taunted from across the board. "Look at your position. You've already lost."
Leo sighed heavily as he advanced to another square. "This is taking fucking forever."
The enemy's Knight piece suddenly leapt across the board, confronting Sujira in her square, while a Bishop piece descended upon Petunia.
Sujira found herself facing a greater demon, a towering insectoid monstrosity with a nearly indestructible shell and spear-like legs. The creature lunged at her, its movements a blur.
"What the hell is this monster ant?" Sujira cried.
"Meet my favorite general… Ant man. He's well… indestructible", Koresh cried out and laughed.
Sujira's blades struck the creature, but they barely left a mark on its carapace as the demon quickly encircled her with its sharp limbs, forming a wall of spears.
"I'm trapped", Sujira complained.
On Petunia's side, she confronted a hulking, headless stone demon. Its massive, boulder-like body lunged at her, crashing down with bone-shaking force. Her tentacles struggled to restrain the creature, slipping against its impenetrable surface.
"What in hell is this bloody stone", Petunia complained.
"This is another of my favorite chess piece. I call him 'Pebble man'," the emperor replied.
The boulder demon crashed onto Petunia giving her no way to escape.
"Leo, help me with this bloody stone!" Petunia cried, her voice strained.
"I'm stuck too with this hellish insect!" Sujira shouted.
But Leo's chess piece was too slow.
"Dammit!" Leo roared, taking another step forward. He was still far from reaching them, bound by the infuriating limitations of the King's piece movement.
His frustration boiled over. "How am I supposed to save them when I can't even reach them in time?"
Before he could think of a solution, another square latched onto his own, merging their two spaces. Standing before him was Lady Dassa, the Godmother of the Temple of Hera.
"No need to worry about traveling the distance," Dassa said, her eyes gleaming. "I'll save you the trouble. I'll come to you."
The duel between them began.
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