In the world of No Game No Life, on a plain just a thousand kilometers from the Flügel headquarters of Avant Heim.
A rare, lone Flügel girl paced back and forth on the ground, seemingly waiting for something.
"Why isn't Jii-chan back yet, meow! Where did she go? Don't tell me she went to challenge some unbeatable opponent and got bullied?"
Recalling Jibril's numerous failed and nearly fatal challenges against the Dragonia, Azriel couldn't help but worry.
"Waaaah, Jii-chan! My Jii-chan! What if she gets captured by some bad guy, becomes a pet, and gets… and then comes back with a big belly, meow!"
"Wait a minute… wouldn't Jii-chan's child be a mini-Jii, meow? Jii-chan is already so cute, a mini-Jii would be even cuter! Guhehehe, now that I think about it, it's not so bad. A Jii-chan mother-daughter package deal doesn't sound so unacceptable… hehehe~"
What began as normal concern quickly devolved into a full-blown vent of perverted fantasies.
It was a good thing no one dared to approach a Flügel's line of sight, otherwise any living being who heard this would have been executed on the spot by Azriel.
After a few moments of perversion, Azriel shook her head and returned to normal.
Staring at the spot where Jibril had vanished, she tilted her head and thought for a few seconds.
"So, where did Jii-chan go, meow? The Elves' life-controlling techniques have all been eradicated by us. It's a shame, but things like hypnosis play shouldn't exist, and even if they did, they wouldn't work on us Flügel. As long as she doesn't challenge a Dragonia, Jii-chan should be fine, right?"
With that thought, and recalling the confident expression on Jibril's face before she left, Azriel felt at ease.
"Jii-chan is so smart, she'll definitely be fine, meow!"
"When Jii-chan gets back, I'll drag her along to wipe out some Elves to celebrate, meow!"
In this world, the advantage of higher-ranking races over lower-ranking ones was quite significant.
For the Flügel, even the Elves, a mid-tier power in the great war, were nothing more than dust to be brushed away.
For Azriel, wiping out the main force of the Elves was on the same level as going for a walk in the countryside. The only small difference was that while a walk might yield a willow branch, wiping out the Elves would only yield their heads.
In reality, Azriel waited for a much shorter time than she had expected. As a long-lived being, she had been prepared to wait in the same spot for a couple of years.
But to her surprise, after only a few hours, Jibril reappeared before her.
"Master can ask me anything he wants to know. To be honest, despite my appearance, I'm one of the most knowledgeable Flügel around!"
The moment she saw Jibril, Azriel immediately pounced.
"Waaaah! I knew you'd be fine, Jii-chan! Come, let your big sister check your body—"
BANG!
With a roar, Azriel's body was sent flying back even faster than she had lunged, crashing into the ground and carving a deep trench.
"Azriel… are you brainless?"
Jibril looked at the idiot, speechless.
Luckily, she had recognized her in time and hadn't used any Authorities, only the most common Flügel combat method. Otherwise, with the effect of the Sword's Protection, even a reflexive, casual strike would have been enough to slice Azriel in two, preventing her from even healing.
"It's one thing to crash into me; you'd just get a beating at most. But if you had crashed into Master, I would have gotten serious, you know!" she warned menacingly.
She had been about to boast about her usefulness, but this idiot Azriel had interrupted her.
"What do you mean, 'just get a beating'?! Jii-chan, don't you have a little too little respect for your big sister, meow!" Azriel retorted reflexively. "How dare you be so insubordinate! I won't forgive you unless you let your sister hug you for a whole day… Wait, what did you just say, Jii-chan? Who is this guy?"
Completely unharmed, she flipped over and got up from the ground.
Noticing the black-haired, black-eyed male behind Jibril, she finally realized what her sister had called him. She instantly turned to stone, frozen on the spot.
No way, did I hear that right?
Faced with this self-deceiving fantasy, Jibril introduced him with a very proud tone.
"Do not address Lord Su Mo with such a disrespectful tone. He is my master—"
"I'll kill you, meow!"
Before she could finish her introduction, Azriel shot forward like a bolt of lightning, a scythe of death condensed in her hand, aimed straight at Su Mo's chest.
Her worst fears had been confirmed. Her most beloved little sister had become another man's pet. In her grief-stricken rage, Azriel held nothing back.
However…
BOOM!
Ten meters away from Su Mo, Jibril instantly teleported above Azriel, ruthlessly grabbing the Flügel leader's head and smashing it into the ground.
The immense weight granted by the Sword's Protection made it impossible for Azriel to break free. Her delicate face and head were slammed into the ground, creating a huge crater.
"I told you, didn't I? Don't lay a hand on Master!"
Seeing her still trying to struggle, Jibril was decisive. She activated the plundering nature of the Sword's Protection, siphoning all the Elementals from Azriel's body into her own, completely stripping her of the power to resist.
"What's going on, meow?"
Azriel had been about to use Heaven's Strike, but before she could, her body completely lost its strength. She stared wide-eyed at Jibril, who had so easily suppressed her.
"I was… instantly defeated by Jii-chan?"
She couldn't believe it, but she had to.
As the first unit, the leader of the Flügel, and their strongest, she possessed a technique to execute other Flügel. They should have been no match for her, not even the accomplished Jibril.
Yet, in that instant, she didn't even know what had happened before she was defeated.
How was this possible?
"How is it not possible?"
Seeing Azriel with her thoughts written all over her face, Jibril smiled proudly.
"After receiving Master's gift, I'm not the Jibril I used to be. A mere Azriel is nothing; I can suppress you with a wave of my hand."
This was no lie. In this world, the current Jibril probably had no rival besides the Old Deus and the Dragon King of the Dragonia.
But of course, the current Azriel couldn't understand this. She only understood that Jibril had become stronger, and that she had truly acknowledged a master.
So, even without any ability to resist, she still craned her neck like a flipping fish and met Jibril's gaze.
"Jii-chan, didn't you say you were just going to deal with some lower race weaker than the Ex-machina? How did you become someone's pet, meow?"
"…"
Jibril, for a rare moment, looked embarrassed. Recalling the confident declaration she had made to Azriel before she left, she also felt a little ashamed.
"It's because Lord Su Mo is so strong… I didn't know I was so weak before!"
After mumbling a few words, she turned to look at Su Mo.
"Master, although I hate to admit it, this thing is indeed the leader of the Flügel. She might be of some use…"
"What do you mean, 'this thing,' meow! Call me big sister, meow!" Azriel immediately protested.
"Let her be. I wasn't planning on dealing with her anyway."
Seeing Jibril's apprehension, Su Mo said casually. Jibril might not have been merciful with her words or her actions, but she didn't actually want to kill Azriel.
Hearing this, Azriel finally realized she had just taken a stroll through the gates of hell.
Cold sweat trickled down her back, but she didn't feel afraid. On the contrary, her gaze toward Su Mo was stern.
"Do you know what you're doing, meow? Daring to abduct a Flügel, are you not afraid of facing the wrath of our Master God?"
Never before had anyone dared to abduct another's retainer. First, it was impossible. Second, even if they succeeded, they would incur the hatred of an Old Deus, essentially making a powerful enemy. Especially when it came to the War God Artosh, no one dared to do so.
The reason so few Old Deus had fallen in the past ten thousand years was because the War God Artosh had stayed at home and not gone out. If he had, at least one god-level powerhouse would have fallen.
After bringing up Artosh, Azriel glared at Jibril again.
"And you, Jii-chan! No matter how lenient the Master God is with you, no matter how much he allows you to transgress, that is no reason to betray him!"
"You'd better tell the Master God you were forced, otherwise, not even I can protect you, meow!"
Although she had been defeated, she had two hundred percent faith in the strength of the War God Artosh.
"There is no one in this world who can survive the Master God's spear!"
Faced with Azriel's blind declaration, Jibril just smiled lightly.
"What if there is?" she retorted.
"Impossible!" Azriel replied decisively.
After her reply, remembering what Jibril had said before she left, a chill ran down her spine, and she suddenly realized something.
"…Jibril, don't tell me your goal is to challenge the Master God?"
Before she left, Jibril had said with her own mouth that she was going to find a way to defeat Lord Artosh. Could it be that she and her new master had come this time to slay a god?
"Well… although I'm interested, it's up to Lord Su Mo." Jibril smiled lightly and looked at Su Mo.
Knowing his style, it wouldn't be strange for him to slay a god while looking for the Ex-machina. However, Artosh didn't seem like the type to be easily dealt with.
Hearing Jibril's words, Azriel immediately looked at Su Mo and found his gaze was directed toward the Flügel's main base.
"The War God Artosh?" Su Mo replied nonchalantly. "I don't really care. It mainly depends on his intentions."
"The Master God's intentions?" Azriel froze.
Suddenly, an immense pressure came from the distance, a torrential aura that pressed down on the entire planet. It was the familiar might of an Old Deus.
"Lord Artosh?"
Sensing her Master God's divine power, Azriel also looked toward the Flügel's main base, toward the War God's throne, and was instantly speechless.
A golden light pierced the sky. The phantom of a god with eighteen wings was high in the clouds, his divine eyes piercing through everything, looking directly at their location.
Seeing this, the entire world trembled. All living beings, including the Old Deus, began to shake.
The War God, who had sat on his throne for over ten thousand years without moving, had actually stood up?
What was going on? Was this planet finally about to face its doom?