"... I see." The humanoid crocodile with a metal lower jaw, General Ophalen, mutters after I finish my explanations. Everybody in the throne room shows varying degrees of surprise, especially the Maid Corps who gathered as a welcoming committee and instead got roped into listening as well.

"That means, the Chaos-sama who was taken to the giants was not you?" The maid with the large translucent wings asks. With her bright green bob and the curved reflexive glasses that cover almost the entire upper half of her face, she seriously reminds me of a dragonfly. She seems to have gotten over my earlier rebuke and feels comfortable enough to speak in my presence.

Wait, are those really very reflexive glasses? I think those are actually her eyes - compound eyes, like an insect's.

"She was my other half, which split from me in a transportation circle accident." Dispelling the thoughts about her appearance, I explain again. I already told them about everything that happened since that night when I left after warning my mother about the conspiracy. Asoko didn't tell them much and was enjoying the high life with the maids, according to Senka.

Incidentally, the doll girl is sitting on my lap - where else? The moment I saw her, I picked her up and squeezed her tight, and she returned the gesture despite her usual tsundere self. Aurelia is to my right and Tokomaha to my left, while Korenga is lying down on a couch in the corner of the room, not interested in politics; she doesn't understand the language I'm speaking either way, unlike the little goddess, who learned quite a bit from me on our journey back.

Across the table are the crocodile general, his son Nilotec, Chandra Ajura, the Great Clan leader Markor, and Athilacia, leader of the Lamia clan. Rewera is standing behind me, while the other maids have aligned at both sides of the table. Unlike the one in the meeting room in the tower, this one is rectangular and has a clear division of sides.

And rightly so, since currently, things aren't clear; the dominion doesn't have any laws of succession when it comes to the monarchy. When the previous ruler dies, there is a gathering of the biggest clans, which used to be the Twelve Great Clans and now include several newcomers since twenty years ago. They have extensive discussions and either elect someone or when they can't decide, hold a tournament.

Thus, the clan leaders across from me will let me know their decision in regards to how to handle this. The maid leader did overeagerly refer to me as the queen, but I'll have to hear it from these important people. But for now, it's still a questions and answers meeting.

"That means there are two successors who are equally eligible?" Markor scratches his goatee and asks nobody in particular, getting right to the important question.

"I wouldn't say we're equally eligible. As I am now, I'm far more suited for it." I state with confidence. While I do feel bad for Asoko, who is another me in every sense of the expression, I've gained incredibly powerful allies and have the edge over her in power, too. Unfortunately, only one of us can take center stage, and it's going to be me.

"Well, I'd like to test ya anyway." Chandra comments with a grin that reveals her sharp canines.

"I heard you were one of those who helped King Aldeath grasp the throne and sided with my mother when she succeeded him." Regarding the six-armed woman with a straightforward expression, I carefully choose my reply. "It would be my honor to be deemed worthy by you."

We don't have much time since Tahiri is still up there creating lightning and thunder. There hasn't been any rain, so Zenlith still hasn't caught on to what's going on here - or he has chosen not to intervene, now that the human army was destroyed. I remember Juzual saying that to them it's all just a huge game; when my mother died, the playing field was leveled, and the gods had no more reason to help the humans.

According to Vitalis' reports, that's not entirely true though. The Chosen Knights, a novelty among humans of the Empire of Terminus and the Kingdom of Lares, were empowered through the favors of the gods. In other words, they were given a glimpse into the reality of this world and gained access to some powers unique to their imaginations, similar to the gods of Adanak.

"Let's do it then." Standing up from her seat, Chandra cracks all six of her knuckles, followed by her muscular neck.

"Now?" I tilt my head at her suggestion.

"When else? Ya gonna be the queen, if ya win." She grins at me and makes a very interesting statement.

"Is that alright?" Looking at the other clan leaders, I ask for their opinion on the matter; it sounds like winning against Chandra is all it takes for me to prove myself and the other leaders have no input. Both Ophalen and Markor close their eyes, and Athilacia smiles in resignation, meaning they accept it.

"Chandra is also known as the Kingmaker." Senka suddenly says, and all eyes are on her. She's been completely silent for a while now, and everybody already forgot about the fact that she's not just a lifeless doll. "She's been there each time someone ascended to the throne in the past six hundred years. Then again, there were only two occasions, but that's still more than anybody else alive today can say about themselves."

"... that's a curious doll." Chandra leans over the table and looks at Senka with a raised eyebrow. It seems that she hasn't seen her speak and move just earlier, so she's understandably surprised. "Are ya a new kind of demon?"

"I'm not a demon; I'm a human." The doll girl replies with a deadpan delivery, just like she rebuked me the first time I questioned what she was.

But that was a mistake because I hear gasps coming from the maids, and alarmed expressions appear on the faces of the demon leaders. Chandra's eyes narrow a little as she regards Senka. What would they say if they learned that all demons were indirectly created by one of the Old Humans?

"That reminds me, I got a human back in Ajurai. He confessed to me that he was involved in the death of the queen." The six-armed woman casually drops this bomb into the room while scratching her cheek thoughtfully.

"What?! You never cared to tell us all this time?" Ophalen jumps up, causing his chair to topple over, and roars while baring his teeth. He's a bit taller than Chandra and his physique, despite his supposedly advanced age, is no less impressive than hers. Some of the maids flinch at the sudden outburst, and from the corners of my eyes, I see Tokomaha's ears twitch.

"I thought it best to leave the decision to the princess ya'll been waitin' for." Shrugging, Chandra doesn't let herself get intimidated at all. From that alone, I can tell that she not only looks powerful but also has a strong will. And that she doesn't seem to care for rank much.

The general grits his teeth but doesn't say anything else. Markor and Athilacia remain silent, though they must be thinking the same as Ophalen. How could she keep this secret for such a long time - and keep him alive, too? It's been over a year since then, and I feel that any other demon would have definitely killed him the moment he confessed. I know I would have.

"What's his name?" I ask, suppressing the anger welling up inside me. If it's Rolan, I'll have the Ajura clan leader hand him over so that I can execute him myself.

"It's Gram. One moon before the attack on the capital, he appeared in Ajurai with two other men and a dark elf with a cursed arm-" The red-haired woman begins to explain.

"Kamii?!" All thoughts about the big man are blown away, who I know was there during the battle against my mother, as she drops another bomb - this time directly on me.

"Oh, ya know her? She had quite an interestin' power in that arm of hers." Chandra confirms my hopeful suspicion.

"Where is she now?" I try not to sound too desperate, but it's hard to keep my emotions under control when it comes to the little dark elf. Senka told me where Hestia and Vitalis are because she has ingested their blood - whatever that means for a slime girl, that is - but she hasn't done the same with Kamii and only entered a temporary connection, which has been severed after some time passed.

"She was taken away by yer mother some days before the attack." If the ajura thinks it strange that I'm so interested in Kamii, she doesn't show it on her face.

"When the Queen returned from her inspection of the dominion she had a cursed dark elf named Kamii with her." Rewera suddenly joins the conversation. "However, after the castle fell, she disappeared without a trace, and nobody knows where she went."

Don't tell me the gods took her away when they left. Would they have any reason to do that? Maybe her power was interesting to them? Whatever the case, I need to find her.

"... tell me about Gram. Why did he come to you after what happened?" I can't fathom what must have run through his head to go to Chandra and even confess what he did.

"He told me he felt guilty." She replies with a downcast glance. It's strange seeing someone of her stature like that.

"Is that so... Have him brought here." I stand up and stare straight into the giant woman's green eyes. She returns the gaze with a steadfast one of her own, not letting my determination make her waver.

"Then ya gotta beat me first." Pumping her fists, Chandra reminds me of our duel to determine whether I'm suitable to be queen or not. I'll get this over with quickly; if she can't even decisively defeat a dragon or a Chosen Knight, she won't have a chance against me.

"Let us go to the arena then." Rewera suggests with a grin.

I look up into the sky and find that Tahiri is still going at it. Since no resources are required to use the Imagination Engine, she can keep doing it forever - hopefully, it won't take that long for Zenlith to make his appearance. He should be really angry at finding out that someone's intruding on his domain of weather control right under his nose.

The arena is located in the eastern part of the city and reminds me of the one I first met Aurelia in. I'm standing in the ring and across from me is Chandra, unarmed and with her upper body laid bare. Quite unlike Korenga, this one has the physique of a man, except for her face and her chest area. Those three pairs of boobs are somewhat distracting, but her bulging muscles do turn me off again.

My entourage, as well as the clan leaders, are sitting in the spectator's box reserved for high-ranking visitors, and the stands are filled with civilians and soldiers alike. Many have shown up after somehow hearing about our duel, even though the cleanup of the city is still underway; the fires have all been put out by now, but bodies and rubble still need to be cleared, so they shouldn't be wasting their time here.

Even the maids have come to watch, neglecting their duty to protect the castle.

"[Hey, didn't you say you'd play with me after you take care of things? Why are you playing with that big oaf now?]" Floating next to me is Aorutihaua, speaking in a tone that conjures up the image of a sulking pout before my eyes.

"[I told you this isn't a game. It's going to decide whether I become queen or not.]" Though I have no doubts about my victory. "[Now be a good child and go sit up there.]" I point at one of the empty seats in the spectator's box, next to Aurelia and the others.

"[Boo...]" The androgynous god makes, before flying away.

"We fight until ya make me give up." Chandra calls out to me across the ring right when the Child of the Sun leaves my side. I simply close my eyes and nod once in response.

Lightning flashes across the sky. The thunderclap that follows signals the beginning of our battle. The six-armed woman sprints forward, her heavy steps reminiscent of Korenga's powerful charge. But just from her movements, I can tell that their strength can't be compared; the Black God is completely out of her league.

I stand in place, not even taking a stance, and increase my density to the maximum. Chandra punches with all three of her right arms, the fists aiming at different points on my body; one connects with my face, one with my solar plexus, and the lowermost with my stomach.

The ajura is more than a head taller than I am, and she must surely weigh more than three times my apparent body weight. I admit that the impact is quite strong, but it's not even enough to make me budge an inch. A murmur runs through the crowd at our clash, but nobody is cheering. They must be awed.

But Chandra doesn't let up and begins a barrage of punches with all six of her arms. I can see that even the most skilled human would be completely overwhelmed, but she's wasting her strength on me.

Finally, I swing my arm and deliver a devastating punch to her midsection. Purposefully lowering my density and strength so that I don't rip her apart, the force is still enough to make her fold over completely. She falls to her knees and coughs up blood.

"Oh damn, I overdid it!" I quickly cast a healing spell on her, and another murmur runs through the crowd. Either they must be surprised by my strength, or wonder why I can cast light magic despite being a demon.

"Why did ya heal me? The battle's not over!" Chandra looks up at me with a bloodied grin and jumps up while performing an uppercut, using her entire body's momentum behind it. However, I neither let my guard down nor reduce my density. I hear a cracking sound in the wrist of the fist she hits me with, as I stand my ground without trouble.

Isn't this just bullying the weak?

Suddenly, I feel a drop on my head. Then another, followed by two more before the clouds seemingly release all their water content at the same time. It's Tahiri's signal that someone has come to confront her.

"We'll postpone this." I don't even wait for a response and shoot up into the air while covering my body in dragon armor. Even though I know that the Old Humans are those who created the dragons and their magic resistance - which means they could just ignore it if they wanted to - I still feel safer this way.

The spectators begin to talk among themselves, most likely wondering why I left in the middle of this all-decisive duel. To me, it wasn't that important, since I'll have ample opportunities to show my power, which should be overwhelming in the eyes of those who don't know better. If Zenlith has appeared here, he's far more important than whether I become queen right now or later.

"[Tahiri!]" I call out to the God of Storm as I fly into the clouds. Expanding my Chaos senses, I feel two presences high above me and quickly increase my speed. With a sonic boom, I break through the sound barrier, and within a few seconds, through the clouds, too.

Tahiri is floating above a sea of white clouds and is staring down a man in a white leather coat. Long and straight silver hair, violet eyes, and an expressionless face that nonetheless emanates self-confidence and a sense of superiority. I will never forget that appearance.

"Zenlith..." I mutter while glaring at him.

"And who are you?" He looks at me like regarding a pebble, the same way he has done that time he stopped me as I was on my way to help my mother in her battle. But I won't let myself get riled up by his dismissive behavior; our playing field has been evened out quite a bit since we last met.

"How about this?" I transform into my mother from memory. Finally, Zenlith's eyes widen, before disbelief settles in his gaze - all the while he's still maintaining a dignified and neutral expression.

"Pelomyx? But you should be-" He begins, his voice more accusing than surprised.

"Dead? Yes, she is dead." Undoing the transformation, I return to my usual blonde appearance. "I'm Chaos, child of Queen Pelomyx."

"... so what? You are just another vile creature." Zenlith narrows his eyes, and I feel air pressure coming from all around me. I've been able to withstand this same move last time, and now I got far more mass even while in midair, so this should be completely useless against me.

The pressure keeps increasing, and I get the impression of a submarine dead in the water, sinking deeper into the ocean. Could it be that he can imagine infinite pressure that can destroy even this body of mine? He's not surprised to see me bear it so far, which means he can do even more. I'll have to go at it differently; trying to break through the wall head-first won't do me any good against the Old Humans, it seems.

"So you want to measure your reach against mine, huh?" Speaking without moving my mouth, I provoke the Lord of the Sky to give it his all. "Let's see what runs out first. The space inside me or all the air of this planet."

At these words, I open up tiny holes all across my body and let the air flow in, letting it fill my infinite stomach. It doesn't show on the outside, but I feel an immense amount of air pushing into my depth. This is by far the biggest thing I've ever taken inside me.

"What?!" For the first time, Zenlith's expression of silent superiority cracks, as his eyes widen in angry bewilderment.

"Is this all?" It's a throwback to his taunt during our first meeting after he pummeled me with lightning strikes. Now that the air is being funneled inside me, I can open my mouth and give him a fearless grin.

"How dare you!" He raises his hand, and an invisible blade splits my body in half. It was able to cut through my increased density and the dragon armor easily. However, it neither hurts nor shows any other effects on me, as I literally pull myself together with the tentacles that make up my body.

"Go back to your friends, human." My smile disappears as my face reverts to my true visage. "Tell them that I know what you are."

Zenlith's expression turns into a grimace of shock. The thought that a being thinking himself all-powerful is showing such a face to me is exhilarating, and I can fully understand Mataku's enjoyment at bringing down the haughty gods of Adanak.

"Go back and tell them that I'm ending your kind, once and for all." Returning my appearance to that of my human one, I speak in a straightforward and natural tone; rather than feeling the need to display determination, I'm showing that I don't even consider it something worth getting worked up over. "It's time for you to learn what I really am."