“Ugh!” Alice said. “Well, I’m still in the lead.”
“Nya, lucky you,” Neko said sarcastically, pressing the number generator. “Clyde and Tear.”
The young man flinched, not expecting to go so early. Yuki explained the bare minimum of the rules, but nothing else. And she did that on purpose.
“One thing,” Yuki said. “You can place two, three, even four cards face down. Though only the brave risk revealing too much of their hand. If you have less than a card in your hand, then you just play that one card until someone eliminates you.”
Clyde wondered if he should replicate Alice’s move. No one would suspect it after all. But… Tear was crafty. He’d have to play it safe.
He placed two cards face down. “Have at it.”
“I wonder… let’s go with pearl and watch,” Tear said.
Clyde unveiled two fish, grinning evilly. “That’s too bad. I’ll be taking two of your best cards and shuffling these fish into the deck.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Tear said, softly facepalming.
Clyde took Tear’s only two opals—and according to Yuki, they had the highest value. That would probably cost her the game, at least for now. The succubus placed two cards face down.
“Well you saw the hand, but can you get lucky?” she said.
“Chariot and a lantern,” Clyde said. Tear unveiled an apple and a lantern.
“Dammit,” she said, surrendering the lantern.
“You guessed at least one, while Tear guessed none,” Yuki said.
“Wager time! What are your demands. It can be anything,” Airi said, smiling. “Even a naked lap dance right here.”
“A favor for later,” Clyde said, the thrill of winning bombarding his blood.
“Wager acceptable,” Yuki said.
[You are owed one favor from Tear to use any time after this current game of Opals.]
Tear puffed her cheeks in a pout. “Beginner’s luck.”
“This whole game is luck,” Hinako said.
“Hinako and Matsume,” Neko said after pressing the number generator button.
Matsume grinned. “Finally. Place down your cards! Let’s see if luck’s with me.”
Abruptly, Clyde’s phone rang, silencing the entire spirit of the game. Selkie?
“Hello?” he answered.
“Good, you’re still awake,” Selkie said. “I just wanted to give you one teensy weensy heads up.”
“Okkkaayy,” the young man deadpanned.
“Did you know the fucking Supreme demon lord was living in your city? She’s the one we watched at the hotel. I couldn’t put a finger on her identity until my sources finally confirmed it.”
The young man’s blood chilled. “I kicked her out of the city and yet she still remains.”
“What are you going to do?” Selkie said. “I certainly h… wait. You kicked her out of the city? I know that form from before was powerful, but—”
“It’s a long story,” Clyde said. “Anyway, we’ll meet you at your hotel.” He hung up right at the start of Selkie’s protest. “Chesire, let’s go.” He looked at the others. “The goddamn Supreme is still here in the city.”
Tear seemed to pale.
Episode 70 (Part 4)
Clyde, Chesire, Tear, Ming, and Clare hurried to meet Selkie and her group at their hotel. Ignoring Selkie’s protests, Dark surprisingly kept the young man up to date with Lilith’s movements and the places she visited for the past few days. And they… were not what he’d expect from a fucking Supreme demon lord. The maid café, an ice cream shop, a BDSM shop, a super-BDSM megastore, the Dildo Emporium, a few rated R movies, adult megastores, and the city’s largest graveyard for some reason. What could she be up to? Why was she not ruling the Monster Kingdoms? Surely the succubus empress wouldn’t abandon them, right?
When Clyde and the party arrived at the hotel, he immediately had to ask the one question that nagged at him.
“Selkie, why do you insist on not telling me anything?”
Dark shook his head. “She’s a stubborn fool. The great lord of the dark does not approve—”
Selkie snatched the paper fan from Myr Myr’s hands and almost gave Dark a smack, but stopped. “You’re right.” She looked down. “You really came through for us with the Sol situation. I wanted to handle this problem, even if it broke the rules a little just so you and your team could have a break from the fighting for a bit.” She looked up. “This is your territory. It’s wrong for me to keep things from you. Please forgive me.”
“No need to be formal, it’s cool,” Clyde said. “You were looking out for us. So where is the succubus of the hour?”
“I’m right here.” They turned to see Lilith standing at the entrance. “Come. Let us talk, Stone. Catch up to me if you can.” She ran back outside, leaping to a rooftop at the last second.
“What the hell,” Clyde said. “Fuck. Everyone, let’s go after her. And remember what she did to this city and most importantly, to Tear.”
The succubus softly gasped.
The area mini-map Clyde had grinded for through Ki made following the Supreme much easier.
[Area Sense, level 4. You will be able to detect all enemies within a vicinity. You gain a mini-map to accompany your mental navigation system. Your foes will show up as red dots. Level this system up and you’ll gain more details and range. Example: yellow dots indicating tougher enemies and much more.]
Lilith waited for them on top of some random building. The moonlight seemed to cast her into a little shadow.
“Clyde Stone, do you know why I’m the Supreme demon lord?” she said.
“No, not really,” Clyde said. “Can we really not just discuss this inside? It’s cold as fuck out here.”
Lilith ignored the gripe. “The title of the Supreme is inherited. Each person given the title, passing it on to she who is worthy. You’re familiar with that, Tear. After all, no matter what you do, the throne will always belong to you. It finds you worthy.”
“You already know where you can shove your throne,” Tear said.
“Did we not have this discussion already?” Clyde said. “You didn’t lead us all the way to this cold ass roof just to rehash and beat the dead horse. So get to the point.”
“Before I changed things, the Supreme demon lords were true tyrants, overlords to both the monster kingdoms and places of the ancient world. I wanted to create a world where human and non-human lived peacefully together as one big society. The gods didn’t want that and so they attacked. But I held my ground, fended them off, defeated many challengers until eventually I’ve earned a little respect of my own. These days they do not bother attacking. In fact, the stone-viper games are more interesting to them than protecting innocent lives, even those who worship them.”
“Get to the point,” Clyde said. “Why are you still in my city? I don’t give a shit about demon lords, the stone-viper games or its makers, or your backstory.”
Lilith’s eyes widened upon noticing someone behind Clyde. “Chesire, what are you doing here?”
“I’d like to know the same,” Chesire said. “Why did you call a meeting with my queen then ditch it without a word?”
“Well, I would’ve taken the Stone’s word and left, but two nations away is someone truly powerful,” Lilith said. “Someone who is thousands of times more powerful than me and the Stone. I’m curious about her movements.”
“You’re talking about the Thousand Year, aren’t you?” Clyde said.
Lilith smiled. “Indeed. And before you ruined my backstory, I was going to explain to you my experience with Emyo. Well, not Emyo, but the cult that worships her.”
“Why?” Clyde said. “Why share this with your enemies?”
“Sssh, ouch,” Lilith said. “Listen, I am not your enemy.”
“You are,” Clyde said with a dose of his god chant, eyes glowing a little. “Do not be stupid enough to think I’m going to forget what your Inquisition did to Tear and this city
. Millions of lives just living, going about their daily routines until you plucked them away for no reason.”
“I truly didn’t mean for things to go that way,” Lilith said, “and I can’t apologize enough—”
“I’m not the one who needs the meaningless apology,” Clyde said. “It’s too bad they won’t be here to listen and judge for themselves. No matter what, I won’t have you in this city. So if you don’t—”
“If you cared about this city, you’d hear me out and allow me to make things right,” Lilith said.
“Do you honestly think I’ll trust you?” Clyde said as he reached for the power. “You made a grab for Tear, knowing damned well that she’s not interested in your throne. And you certainly don’t have any remorse in you.”
“Uhm, remember when I said she visited the graveyards?” Dark asked. “Not that I don’t agree with you, man. I support the idea of just smiting her away. But… I think she—”
“I spent every day with the spirits that died in that tragedy, so what?” Lilith said, then she sneered at Clyde. “Do you think I don’t feel like shit for what the Inquisition did regardless of my orders? I’m the one who sent them, believing they’d get the job done and go. I spent more time researching and casting spell after spell, hoping to undo my failed curse on the world, while the rogue group committed acts behind my back. I… tried to take steps in the direction of correcting the problem, but not even the empress can control everything.” Lilith sighed. “I’m just here out of curiosity about Emyo, nothing else. I won’t go after Tear or your team. You could even think of me as an extra layer of defense.”
“I don’t know, Clyde,” Selkie said. “Trusting the Supreme demon lord—”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Clyde said. “I’ll never trust her.”
“In that case, until she’s ready to leave the city, I’ll keep an eye on her,” Selkie said. “I’ve already informed Celestial. Anything you try will not only violate the ruling of the stone-viper games, but will be considered a direct attack on Celestial. Instead of taking chances, they will immediately mobilize the Punishment Squad.”
Lilith’s eyes widened. “Talk about overkill for someone who really is trying to atone for what happened here. I’m not expecting immediate forgiveness. And I also cannot stay away from my throne too long. My right hand Haruko and Chiho, Tear’s mother, are running things in my absence.”
Tear frowned, but said nothing, her eyes cold as she glared at Lilith.
Things still felt surreal to the young man—the fucking Supreme demon lord herself in his city, refusing to leave. Thankfully Selkie, a powerful Entity and representative of Celestial, offered to keep an all-seeing eye on her. Now that she mentioned them, the young man could feel just the faintest gaze aimed at Lilith. Or maybe that was his imagination. The realm of the gods could be anywhere.
“Two days and then you’re gone,” Clyde said then turned, summoning his wings. “Unless you want me to kill you, of course.”
Somewhere…
Afternoon…
“What the hell do you mean you cannot find a contact avenue for Airi?” the Disciple snapped. “The organization should’ve tracked her number by now, hell, even email. What is the hold up?”
The guard gulped. “There’s a chance that her phone is destroyed, ma’am. That or she doesn’t own one.”
“Then aim for someone close to her,” the Disciple said.
“We don’t know who…” He paused as the TV mounted on the wall revealed the news. A discussion about monsters quickly riled up the debaters sitting around a table. Then a clip revealed a few filmed sightings of a group called Team Stone.
“That couldn’t be,” the Disciple said as she hit the pause button. “Find that place and get some dragons there now. We need it searched from top to bottom. Get the proxy in contact with Airi, now!”
“Yes, Disciple!” the guard chanted as he scurried off to carry out his new orders.
“I think we’re finally making progress,” the woman said, smiling. She delayed ordering food online just a little longer. Having a definite lead made her antsy.
Tuesday. Week 2. Month 3. Year 1. Season: Winter.
[Satovian Universal Calendar: Domino, 46389.]
[School: Winter Break. Day 18 of 30.]
[Current declared fiancée(s): Melody, Alice, Tear, Harumi, Chika, Natalia, Kitome, Yuki, Tessa, Ruri.]
[Expecting: Harumi, Alice, Kitome. Time left: Harumi, kitsune: 5 months until due. Alice, half-demoness, half-angel: 5 months until due. Kitome, human: 9.3 months until due. Harumi: week 3, day 5. Alice: week 3, day 3. Kitome: week 2, day 3.]
Morning…
Clyde stared blankly at Jae, watching as the kuudere Stone Maiden crunched on the last blueberry pastry bar Yuki made. He wanted it so bad, managed to distract Alice from the big bowl long enough only to see it grabbed by someone else. Kitome then laughed at him. Well, the expression he made.
Sure, sure, at least someone was having fun from his loss. The delicious, crispy, turnover-like bar with perfect blueberry filling, all made from scratch and with love… gone. Yuki almost promised him more, but Tear nabbed her up, needing some huge favor. When he asked, she told the young man it was a secret, winking.
Then of course Alice asked him to run an errand like a fetch boy, pleading before he could refuse. She wanted to do it herself, but the half-demoness and Chika showed him a bombardment of work that had come in that morning.
In fact, everyone had assignments from either Tear, Yuki, or Chika. Well, Harumi and Ruri wanted to go with Clyde, but were pulled away by Airi to help out with dungeon finding, Tear’s paperwork, and small chores.
“I love to go in your stead, oh great King of the Dongs, but I can’t abandon the duties you assigned to me,” Asu said, twirling into Clyde. “Jae and Naoko will just have to be your company.”
The kuudere loli sighed, closing her manga.
“Where’s Natalia?” Clyde asked.
“In the library with Neko and Ako, Onii-chan,” Naoko answered. She crawled onto the young man’s back. “Shall I assume Right Hand today?”
“No, you can’t!” Natalia was standing on the stairs, pouting. Neko plucked her up with a single hand.
“Nya, come on, we don’t have all day,” Neko said.
“Lemme go, my position is at stake,” Natalia whined, but the catgirls took her away. Crunching pulled in the young man’s attention. He turned to see Jae going at a bag of potato chips.
“You know, you could always ask Yuki for seconds,” Clyde said, shaking his head. “Never mind. Let’s go. You two grab a stack of letters. Alice wants these mailed asap.”
As they walked to the postal store, Clyde immediately broke the silence. If he didn’t say anything, the kuuderes would remain quiet. At least Yuki didn’t give him that treatment. Despite the lack of emotions, the demoness could be quite conversational.
“So, what’s your story?” he asked Jae. The short dark-haired girl looked at him with kuudere eyes.
“I’m just a High Priestess.”
Clyde anime-fell to the side.
Episode 70 (Part 5)
Airi turned away from her laptop to face Harumi and Ruri, smiling at them.
“Okay, now one of the real reasons to why I brought you two here. You’re Clyde’s fiancées and are free, double win for me. Harmony Day’s coming up. What do you plan on getting him? Or, doing for him.” She grabbed and squeezed the fox girl’s tail. “I’m pretty sure there are a lot of things you can do with this.”
Harumi pulled back her tail, puffing her cheeks into a pout. “I’ll be getting him a normal gift, thank you.”
Ruri’s ears were perked up, tail wagging so adorably that Airi just wanted to hug her.
“What about you, Ruri?” Airi said. “Alice is working hard on her gift. She’s going to outdo everyone.”
“I don’t know,” Ruri said softly. “My clan doesn’t celebrate human holidays. Except Sex Day from the Lewdlands.”
<
br /> Airi laughed. “I love Sex Day. Drinks are like ninety percent off.”
Ruri rolled her eyes. “It’s not really fun for a princess. Unless you enjoy dressing up and attending formal dinners with scheming family members and a mother who basically rules over them with an iron fist.”
“Yeah, yeah, hellhounds live tough, blah blah,” Airi said. “I’m not one to judge how people celebrate holidays, even if it's as boring as that, but Team Stone should be all about the fun. You know, before we get inevitably sucked into the next big fight.”
A drop of sweat rolled off the back of Harumi’s head as she sighed. Then she settled with giving her best friend the blank stare treatment. Man, Toru’s habit really rubbed off on them.
“You’ll have to forgive her, Ruri, she’s not the best at reading the tones or any moods,” Harumi said.
“Oh, come on,” Airi said with a laugh. “I’m just being honest.”
“It’s okay,” Ruri said. “I like that about you. Team Stone’s composed of many who walked a different path in life at one point, some who were born in different realms.”
Harumi gave the hellhound a pet.
“Is this what you’ve called us for? Other than the dungeon thing,” Harumi asked.
“Don’t forget Tear’s paperwork,” Airi said, frowning momentarily. Her humorous mood continued to blossom. “The nerve of that big titty succubus.”
Harumi giggled.
“Anyway,” Airi continued, “let’s sneak out and go phone shopping. Matsume accidentally broke my old one.”
“At least attempt the paperwork,” Harumi said.
“Meh, I’ve got almost half of it done,” Airi said. “She didn’t give any specific deadline that I remember, so it's probably House Hades bitchwork. I couldn’t exactly say no, since she helped me a ton, but paperwork is so boring.” She gave Harumi a pouty face.
Ruri sighed. “And here they predicted it’d be me or Kanako that skipped out on chores.”
The Anime Trope System: Stone vs. Viper, #14 a LitRPG (ATS) Page 15