A few days after the Furias’ and her teachers’ reunion, the situation became a bit complicated. Both the four and the old hero group were eating lunch. Imata was not with them as she was dragged off to work. The topic of discussion had reached an undesirable subject.

“Y-you- YOU STARTED THAT WAR!” Furias shouted.

“Calm down,” Sors said, “Let me explain. My reason is completely reasonable. Just hear me out.”

“If you say that you wanted to blow people up I will strangle you, even if you’re my teacher.” Furias threatened.

Clasping her hands, Sors touched her own lips. She remained silent. Her current posture and absence of words perfectly described what she was about to say. Everyone had quickly moved away, taking their food with them.

“I wanted to blow people up-“

Breaking the table Furias, lunged at Sors. Before the hands could reach their target, Sors had grabbed them. Sors’ face held a wry smile, contrasting Furias look of pure rage.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sors continued, “Even if that war was disastrous, disaster-stricken, calamity inducing, bloody-“

“Just get on with it,” Desyra interrupted.

“Fine,” Sors groaned, “I wanted to blow people up because I needed to clear a grudge.”

Hearing the stupid, reason Furias erupted. Tapping into her godly traits she pushed Sors down. The war she described was about a small fight between two nations who were on the forefront of innovation. Due to their mutual destruction, the world’s technological level regressed and stagnated. No one would be happy seeing eras’ worth of knowledge burst into flames.

“HELP! MY PUPIL IS ASSAULTING ME!” Sors yelled.

“Really?” Menor asked, “I know you’re shameless but really?”

“Maybe she’s secretly masochistic,” Igno explained.

“Please don’t,” Desyra plead. “Just don’t.”

Furias ended in a headlock after the small skirmish. Being forced to tap out, she gave up. Crying over spilled milk was useless. Yet she was unhappy that such nations were destroyed for a pitiful reason. Unfortunately, the fate of those who offend the strong had never gone without consequences.

Repairing the table they all ordered another round of food. As each restaurant they ate at was forced to close to restock, they went to the castle’s canteen. What could they do? Turning air into money was such a great hobby.

Remembering the flower that brought constipation, Igno dragged Vendra away to somewhere. From the shrine maiden’s expression, it was ensured that there was a misunderstanding. Seeing the two off with looks of pity the subject remained on war games.

In a literal context, Desyra had taken out a chess board. She stated it was a great way to waste time. Admitting its better than using real people due to the simplicity of the game. It would take too much time and effort to use real people. They could have played shogi, checkers, go or mahjong, but chess was simple but had enough complexity to understand.

Taking the challenge Furias requested a quick rundown of the rules. After carefully listening, she prepared to face off against her teachers. She did not believe that she could win, knowing that losing is part of the learning experience. Challenging Sors she thought she should at least last a few turns.

“Are you going to do scholars?” Menor asked.

“I won’t be that harsh,” Sors replied.

Deciding to choose white, Furias took the first move. She did not know what Menor meant by scholars but she had her guard up. Believing that taking the initiative was important she took a bit of time deciding her first move. She moved her white pawn on f2 to f4.

Sors, who had her eyes closed, took one look at the board and sighed. She moved her black pawn on e7 to e6.

In response, Furias moved her white pawn on g2 to g4.

Without looking, Sors moved her queen, “Checkmate.”

Looking at the board, Furias felt embarrassed. Bursting into laughter Desyra and Menor had never expected the game would end in two turns. Sors held a disappointed look. To think one of her disciples would conduct such a blunder.

Pushing Furias aside, Astra requested a match with Desyra. She believed that she would not make the same mistake. Being a master of the sword she had participated in tons of psychological battles. She believed chess was all about that.

Four moves. Scholar’s Mate.

Seeing that she lost so quickly, Astra was in despair. She thought that she was at least better than her godly companion. However, to her dismay, she learned Scholar’s Mate was used against all beginners and was easy to avoid. Seeing that the two had lost the ability to continue the next contestants were Sors and Menor.

“We never did found out who was better at this,” said Sors.

“Indeed,” Menor replied.

Taking their time they casually moved their pieces forward. With the click and clacks of wood hitting wood they never let a single second of silence. Their current atmosphere made it feel as if it was a casual game. In truth, the match was full of deceit and bait. Both of them were able to visualize and predict what the next move would be. There were only so many moves in a game of chess and with every move the possibilities were reduced.

“You know they say war is like a game of chess,” Menor spoke to the two former heroes. “Without the psychological battles… kind of. It’s more of baiting and planning.”

“Killing off all valuable pieces when possible,” Sors replied taking a rook.

“Pawns are still useful,” Menor said, taking her bishop.

As the number of chess pieces dwindled the time of each turn increased. When there were only a handful of pieces on the board, the atmosphere became tense. After another minute the number of pieces fell to two. Both kings. The game ended in a draw. For most of the match, it was the king dancing around their queen.

“I remember why we never played games that could draw,” Sors spoke.

“Yes…” Menor replied. “We always tie on these games, somehow.”

“Pretty odd,” Sors agreed.

“Both of you shut it,” Desyra complained, “Even in poker lasts forever when you two play.”

Over on the sidelines, Furias and Astra analyzed the game they just witness. However, the speed of each turn passed too quickly. They could not comprehend the intention of each move nor had the time to. Pieces were flying off the board every other turn.

“Does this represent multi-tasking and sacrifice on the battlefield?” Furias asked.

“Only if you’re a cold-blooded general,” Menor replied.

“I see, unfortunately, there wouldn’t be a time where I could test it out. It’s too peaceful in this day and age.”

“There is,” Sors said, “A war of religion, a holy war, will start.

“What?” Furais spoke.

Thinking for a second Furias recalled what the queen had said. Falling under the mantle of embarrassment she covered her face in shame. The one held accountable for the upcoming war was her. When she was a conqueror she was prepared for battle but had lost all motivation when she was abandoned. She was able to convince other deities that competition between religions would promote believers to stall for time. The war was bound to happen.

The only problem was that Sors kicked started the war that was supposed to happen centuries later. Disrupting the divine connection of the hero and the realm above was a huge indicator of their presence. Menor had the forethought to falsify the connection when he killed the hero, so his acts were not noticed.

Hearing what Sors did Furias pounced on her once again. Such a grand war would further push the world’s technological level back. Also with the four participating, the war was guaranteed to be short-lived. Preventing the rapid development that came with prolonged war. The holy war held no benefit. For the war-hungry Sors, it did not matter. She was always looking for an excuse to blow something up.

After being detained by Sors again Furias had a match with Astra. Facing someone at a similar skill level allowed rapid improvements. As they did Memora walked into the room while looking through a few parchments.

“Father I need you to check something,” she said, handing a few folders.

Quickly reading the papers, Menor replied, “Oh? You’re going to set a distorted barrier?”

“Yes, by doing so would greatly reduce the risk of damage to the terrain. Also, it would hold any enhanced materials created from the fights between you four and this world’s divinity.”

“Hm… I know you can do this, but I don’t think you would have a chance to act with them watching.”

“No, I found some people with potential. Oddly enough they wanted these blue stones as payment,” Memora said, taking out a stone.

Hearing the payment option Sors had choked on her drink and spat it out. Coughing, she regretted not separating the entrance of her trachea and esophagus. Looking at Menor she saw a complicated smile. Tell the truth or bury it to never be known. It was a tough decision to make. With Desyra she had forgotten the false curse Menor made.

In the beginning, Menor had just made plain white stones. He did not take into account the power of will and belief being so strong. In the past, he had done such things many times and such events had never happened. Now that there were stones that matched his false demand, reality literally bent and turned fiction into the truth.

“What’s with that face again?” Memora asked, “I know that I say things without giving context, but I feel like there’s more to it.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Menor waved his hand. “It’s just Sors doing things again.”

“I’ll not retort,” Sors agreed, with tears in her eyes.

“Anyways the annoying hero should be here soon. What bad timing. I’ll send him to fight a dragon or something.” Memora complained, checking the time.

Flipping through the paper’s Memora verified the rest of the plans with her father. The large amount of magic to be used for fire and water magic was in the arrangements. She had made sure the after effects of magic deficiency of the area were taken care of. Hypothesizing that one of the byproducts of the war would cover the problem. There was also the chance of too much magic, but that was easier to fix. The only thing that bugged her was her father’s current expression.

Pushing the suspicion to the back of her mind Memora prepared to leave. After a few more things she told Sors to start the war whenever. Everything had been prepared. With the help of the blue stone workers, Memora quickly achieved her goal. She even surpassed it to some extent. Walking to the door Memora reminded the four to not destroy the world. She had not known Igno was absent.

BAM!

Before she could open the door it swung open. Hitting Memora in the head and sent papers flying. Out from the doorway, a boy in white armor strolled in. He held an exhausted look as if he was questioning his existence.

“Is the general- err, I mean, the queen here?” the boy asked.

Rubbing her forehead, Memora shouted, “Desyra please pull the lever next to you!”

“Um, sure,” Desyra replied pulling a nearby leaver.

“WAIT, STOP! WRONG LEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!”

After Memora’s echoes disappeared, the atmosphere became silent. While the edge of Desyra’s mouth twitched. How could she know which leaver to pull? There were two so she pulled the closes one. Knowing she wouldn’t be let off she sighed. At least she got revenge for the small chase.

“Why are their trapdoors built into this castle?” Desyra asked, “I’m sure we’re on the second floor.”

“I’m wondering why there were multiple leavers,” Sors said.

“Wait, didn’t she also inherited the event abilities?” Desyra remembered.

“Yes,” Menor replied, “But it’s fairly weak. It only comes into effect for small things such as sales.”

“Good, her mother’s ability is bullshit,” Sors complained.

Out of the ground, brown roots sprung up around Desyra. Not resisting the roots they tangled around her. With half of her body wrapped she sighed.

“I deserved this,” Desyra spoke with a wry smile.

“I was wondering when she’ll beat you up,” Sors said.

“No,” Desyra disagreed. “I believe that would come later- no actually… This is just unfair. See you in a bit.”

Waving bye, she disappeared into the ground. In a heartbeat, Astra jumped after her desired. To Furias’ dismay, their intense game of chess was halted. Covering the newly formed hole, Sors wondered how far the root spread. With a tired voice, Memor guessed that they had reached the planet’s core. She was probably absorbing heat energy as a substitute for her source of magic.

The boy in white armor, who started the situation, was frozen. He had not processed the events that had unfolded. Instead, he was pushed into the canteen by his entourage. Being snapped out of his daze, he saw Menor and Sors. With a shiver traveling down his spine, he attempted to run away. He made eye contact with Sors before he could.

Seeing that the person was Gary Stu, Sors rolled her eyes. At the moment she had neither the intention nor the time to mess with an ignorant brat. Requesting what he wanted Sors assured him that she would pass it on. If it were any other time she would have twisted the brat’s words, but because the queen was Menor’s daughter it was a waste of effort.

With a shy expression, the brat‘s face turned red. Having difficulty forming words in his mouth he kept stuttering. Rubbing the back of his head he could only let out incomprehensible mutters.

Feeling a tinge of fright Sors looked at Menor. She knew what the brat was thinking and his intentions. What she was more concerned about was Menor’s reaction. Seeing Menor’s causal act of eating, she felt a storm brewing.

“I get the gist of what you want,” Sors said, carefully watching the scary father. “I’ll inform her about it.”

“No, no, no, it’s not like that,” Gary Stu spoke.

Asking with hesitation, “Then what is it?”

“I-I was going to confess,” he spoke unaware of the disasters brewing around him. “I was going to tell her I like her.”

With careful words, Sors asked, “Does the queen show any interest in you? Does she give you special treatment?”

When she asked the question, Menor had looked up and made eye-contact with the females behind Gary Stu. Sors was pretty sure telepathy was in play, as a silent message was sent between the two sides. An agreement had been reached in an instant.

“No,” Gary Stu said, “All my advancements were declined. I’m pretty sure it was our standing. With me being the hero and all. I know she would accept if I told her my feelings. I did promise her-“

“Checkmate,” Menor said, taking Furias’ king.

Noticing Menor’s move, Furias pouted. She was waiting for Astra to return. Because she was pondering what her next move would be, she had not noticed the surroundings. Having someone barging into the game was not fun. Especially since he made her lose.

“You know she’s married to the former queen right?” Menor asked.

“Eh? Really?” Gary Stu replied, “But I haven’t heard anything about that. It might be a temporary thing so I won’t give up. I-“

“Ok, that’s enough,” Menor stood up cracking his knuckles as cyan flames began to dance around him.

Feeling the destructive intent, Sors quickly grabbed Furias and escaped. Furias who was not paying attention began to choke. The aura that Menor was emitting began to warp reality. Memora’s efforts of the kingdom’s self-preservation had gone to waste.

Before Gary Stu could notice his demise, his entourage restrained him. Being the clueless and ignorant brat he was his mind had not comprehended the situation. He requested for the reasons for such actions, but his only replies were sinister smiles.

“Don’t even try to act brave here,” Menor spoke, with a glare of pure coldness.

Pulling his fist back, Menor threw a punch that caused the world to shake. The destructive force behind the act was so devastating even the gods trembled in fear. Waves of empathy were suddenly felt throughout the multitudes of parallel and alternate worlds. From males to females, to robots, all sentient life felt pity.

There were legends of this moment. They tell the tale where fear became integrated into genetics. Where in a world with a three to one ratio jumped to a ten to one ratio. Even though no names were recorded in this legend one thing was assured.

“Don’t touch the daughter.”

To say the least, the world’s divine realm had noticed the existence of a person with such a destructive force. In response, they began to cower in fear and prepared for war.