Word count: 2460 words
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*Location: E-Rantel - Obsidian Chains Branch*
Torches lined the walls in symmetrical precision, illuminating the place. A table of black wood sat in the center, with two chairs on each end.
The first to arrive was Ainz Ooal Gown.
His skeletal frame glided silently into the room. His Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was absent, a precaution in case of betrayal, even if unlikely. Two silent Elder Liches accompanied him until the threshold alongside Albedo and Demiurge, his two floor guardians, where they stopped and turned away. He took his seat, posture perfect, unmoving.
A few seconds later, the door opened again.
Meliodas stepped through, his boots echoing on stone. His appearance was as composed as always. He was wearing a long black coat with red runic trim. Behind him, four people followed: Makima, Yoriichi, Robin, and Mahito.
He sat opposite the undead overlord, leaning forward slightly with his hands laced together on the table while his subordinates stood in a formation behind him.
"I figured this would be a good place for the remaining transaction. I don't want people to know our relationship yet."
Ainz remained calm. "You said you had the answer. I am listening." He said,
Meliodas's expression shifted, eyes narrowing just slightly. "You seem to be in a rush. You want it straight, huh? Fine. It was the Slane Theocracy. They used a world item to put your little vampire in that state."
Ainz's inner thoughts were a mess. 'The Slane Theocracy… That zealot nest dares to use a World Item? But the real question is...'
"Do you know which World Item?" Ainz already had a suspicion, but still he decided to ask, his deal did include this type of questions.
Meliodas leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. "Downfall of Castle and Country. Whoever wears it can mind-control anyone. Shalltear was caught off guard. Still, she is lucky all they did was make her in a neutral state."
Ainz processed this, hands steepled before him. "Do you have intel on what happened exactly? And the one who used it? Do you know who it is? How did they manage to acquire a world item? Is a player involved in this?" Ainz further asked.
"Our deal did not include these questions. If you want the answers, you will have to pay more." Meliodas smiled shamelessly.
"You! How can you ask for mor-!" Albedo wanted to complain for her master's sake, but was immediately silenced.
"Albedo! Stay out of this." Ainz firmly ordered.
"My apologies, Ainz-sama." Albedo bowed her back.
"Hehehehe, dumb bitc- Ouch!" Mahito got elbowed in his side by Makima, silencing him as well.
"What do you want for these informations?" Ainz Asked.
"Oh, now you have time to chat? Alright. An additional wish upon a star ring." Meliodas answered, doing a number 1 with his index.
"Tsk... Alright, tell me." Ainz clicked his non-existent tongue.
"Her name is Kaire, she's an old hag working under the Theocracy. She tried brainwashing Shalltear with her World Item, but she's probably already dead. Shalltear sensed the immediate danger and targeted her with Purifying Javelin. The javelin did not kill her on the spot, however, it inflicted a severe injury on Kaire, effectively preventing her from completing the mind control, leaving Shalltear in that state. That's what happened." Meliodas paused for a moment to breathe, then continued.
"As for other players' involvement, yes, they are involved, this is how the Theocracy got the world item in the first place. But that was hundreds of years before, the players in question are dead a long time ago. Hope that answers your questions."
Ainz's sockets flared with crimson fire. "Then they have declared war, such foolish creatures."
Meliodas's tone remained calm. "I couldn't care less what you do, just don't get me involved. Enjoy your little war."
A heavy silence fell over the chamber. Then, after several breaths, Ainz raised his hand, and a dark purple portal appeared. With a subtle motion, he took out three objects and placed them gently on the table.
Two velvet boxes containing a Wish Upon a Star Ring each, and a big dark leather pouch holding twenty Summoning Crystals, each glowing faintly through the fabric of the pouch, the kind capable of calling forth Dominion Authority angels.
"This is your payment. It was a pleasure doing business with Obsidian chains."
Meliodas opened the box. His crimson eyes reflected the radiant glint of the ring. "The pleasure is mine, please seek our services in moments of need."
He smirked slightly, but it faded into a rare look of seriousness as he lifted the ring. "I will let you know when I'm prepared to start the Holy Kingdom operation. Until then, try not to go on a rampage."
Ainz simply nodded his head as he walked into the gate spell he created back to Nazarick.
*Re-Estize castle POV*
The kingdom of Re-Estize was quiet as always. Queen Renner was doing a great job, way better than her father, but not peacefully so.
On the other hand, the silence in her throne room was the kind that sat heavy in the air, where every distant sound seemed sharper, more intrusive. Through the tall windows, pale daylight spilled across the crimson carpet, illuminating the golden throne where Queen Renner sat, Climb clinging to her like he always did.
Meliodas decided to visit her in order to deliver news and meet her, maybe for the last time.
Her usual smile, that carefully crafted mask of warmth and sweetness did not fade when the massive doors swung open.
Meliodas entered first. His posture was relaxed, hands in his pockets, and by now, he had already mastered the art of nonchalance.
It could be said that power got into his head, I guess.
Behind him, Makima's footsteps were soundless, her eyes cutting through the chamber like a predator's. No matter how many times they met, Renner never felt comfortable being in the presence of this unusual woman.
Tatsumaki floated in with folded arms, her green hair drifting as if in a perpetual breeze.
Renner straightened, trying to read his expression. 'What does he want now...?'
"Welcome home, my dear husband." Renner greeted respectfully.
"Your Majesty, My wife..." Meliodas said, stopping halfway up the carpet.
"Why don't you take a seat?" Renner asked, pointing to the throne next to hers.
Meliodas' tone was casual, even friendly... too friendly. "It won't take long. I came to deliver some news. I won't be staying in Re-Estize any longer. From this point on, another will take control of your country. You'll work under him."
Renner blinked, the words tumbling through her mind like stones down a cliff. "You're leaving? Work… for another?" she repeated softly.
"He's undead," Meliodas continued, unbothered. "Someone from his faction will contact you soon with instructions."
The queen's lips parted, but no words came. She felt her heartbeat quicken. 'He's leaving me? After everything…?'
Her voice finally broke through, trembling despite her effort to steady it. "You… you're leaving? Why? Was I not good enough for you? Did I… displease you somehow?"
Meliodas tilted his head slightly, his smile faint but unreadable. "It's not about you. You've done everything I asked. My work here is simply done."
For Renner, the explanation was like cold water poured over her head. No accusation, no fault, just a final statement, as if she were a pawn in a game already won. He planned on abandoning her the moment she had to further use.
"I see..." She commented
That was when Climb stepped forward. His face was tight with barely contained rage, hands balled into fists. "You… you dare say that after everything you've done to her?!" His voice echoed harshly in the high-ceilinged hall. "You married her, made her do unthinkable things to her own family, to the king, her father himself! And now you're throwing her aside like she's nothing!"
Meliodas didn't move. His eyes flicked to Climb, calm… for the moment.
Climb took it as a challenge. "You're nothing but a..."
The words never finished.
*THUD!*
Climb's body slammed into the polished marble with such force that the sound reverberated through the chamber. The floor cracked under him, the breath torn from his lungs. His limbs strained uselessly against an invisible force.
Tatsumaki floated a little higher, one hand lazily raised, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You talk too much," she said, her voice like a whip crack.
Climb gasped, his ribs screaming in pain under the crushing telekinetic weight. He could feel the floor pressing into his spine, his arms and legs pinned as if caught in a vice. 'Move… damn it, move…!'
Meliodas stepped closer, his shadow falling over the struggling man. The change in his demeanor was instantaneous. "Useless trash like you should know their place. No talent whatsoever, only useless hardwork."
Climb froze under that look. It wasn't anger in Meliodas' eyes; it was something worse. A total, unshakable certainty that he was beneath notice, beneath existence. A subhuman without any use or purpose.
Renner's breath caught. This was the other side of him, the side she both feared and admired. The side that could kill someone without blinking.
"Stop!" she cried suddenly. Her voice cracked, desperation bleeding into every syllable. She pushed herself off the throne and dropped to her knees before Meliodas, grabbing the hem of his coat with trembling hands. "Please… spare him. I beg you."
For a second, there was only silence.
Then, Meliodas' expression shifted once again, frighteningly fast. The cold predator was gone, replaced by the lighthearted, almost boyish grin he wore so well. He chuckled softly, remembering the two wish upon a star he just got. "Well… since I'm in a good mood today, I'll let it slide."
Behind him, Tatsumaki made a small noise of irritation but released her grip, letting Climb collapse in a heap, gasping for air.
The queen didn't move from her knees, still clutching his coat, her heart pounding. What terrified her most wasn't that he could kill Climb in an instant. It was how easily and how quickly he could go from wanting to do it… to letting it go, as though neither mattered much at all.
That supreme power where everyone's life was within his grasp... 'This is exactly what I wanted, this is why I can't get enough of you, Meliodas.' Renner was looking to the ground, hiding her face full of ecstasy and bliss, being close to this man.
But once again, he is about to leave her. It did not mean she could not get him anymore. Obsidian chains were still operating in Re-Estize. There was a chance.
"Thank you, Meliodas-dono." She said, getting on her feet and back to her throne.
Renner slowly rose from her knees, her fingers loosening their grip on Meliodas' coat. Her breathing was steady again, but only because she forced it to be.
The mask she wore as queen slid back into place… but it was cracked, the strain showing at the corners of her eyes. And Meliodas knew this, but still, he did not mind it.
There was one more thing gnawing at her.
"…And what of our marriage?" she asked quietly, but the question carried across the chamber. There was an undertone of raw vulnerability that she couldn't quite hide. "I am your wife before the people. What shall I do in that regard?"
Meliodas glanced at her over his shoulder. For a brief moment, he said nothing as if weighing whether the question was even worth answering.
"You can do whatever you want," he said finally, voice casual, almost dismissive. "Announce a divorce. Keep wearing the title. Sleep in my chambers. It doesn't matter to me."
The words cut deeper than any open insult. He didn't say them with cruelty, just complete indifference, as though the institution of their marriage was nothing more than a meaningless arrangement to be discarded at will.
Renner knew that was the case, it was the point of this marriage in the first place. But for some reason, it still felt weird somehow.
Renner's fingers curled slightly at her side. 'It doesn't matter to him. At all...' *sigh*
Meliodas took another step, his coat swaying lightly with the movement.
"Wait," she called again. Her voice was steadier this time, but her sly eyes searched his face for any trace of attachment. "Will we meet again?"
He didn't turn around.
"Perhaps," he said, the single word falling with an almost lazy uncertainty. Then, after the briefest pause, he added, "But personally… I hope not."
The air in the room seemed to tighten. That faint sting of rejection delivered with such casual coldness left Renner momentarily breathless, but she did smile.
A swirl of dark purple mist began to gather before him, twisting and curling like smoke. It thickened in seconds, rising into a shimmering, unnatural portal.
Without another word, Meliodas stepped into the mist. The swirling darkness swallowed him and his two subordinates, and with a faint sound, the portal snapped shut.
Renner sat there for a moment, staring at the space where he'd been.
The sound of hurried footsteps broke the stillness.
"Your Majesty!" Climb's voice cracked with urgency as he stumbled toward her, still half-bent from the pressure Tatsumaki had dealt him. He ignored the pain, his only focus on reaching her. "Are you all right?"
She turned her head toward him slowly, her expression unreadable. "I am fine, Climb."
He dropped to one knee before her, his eyes searching hers for any sign of distress. "You never needed him," he said firmly, almost pleading. "He may have helped you reach this position, but you've ruled brilliantly before, and you'll continue to do so. You've always been the true strength of this kingdom, with or without Meliodas."
Renner gave a small, faint smile, but it was the kind of smile she used for the court and the people, not one born of genuine warmth. "Thank you, Climb."
But her thoughts were already far away.
She heard his words, but they slid past her like water over glass. In the quiet corners of her mind, she was already moving pieces, turning ideas over and over. 'No. This is not how it ends. I want him, I need him.'
Her gaze drifted back to the place where the portal had opened, her blue eyes hardening with something sharper than longing. 'If he won't come back on his own… I'll make him need to.'
Climb, still kneeling before her, mistook her silence for grief. He vowed silently to himself to protect her from the shadow Meliodas had left behind.
He had no idea the shadow wasn't gone at all, it was now the center of every thought in the queen's mind.
TO BE CONTINUED --->