Mad God – Reborn

The meeting of kings took place in a spacious room, once home to the Enjin Kingdom's decision-makers during a political debate. The room was decorated with huge paintings of past leaders and depictions of battlefields and heroes. The wooden walls were carved with legendary figures from the Kingdom's old tales, while the creamy, white marble floor tiles perfectly reflected the faces of everyone present. Even the windowsills were made of polished, glittering gold, shining in the morning sun as it barely reached the point where the bright, clear sky merged with the dark, cloudy portion.

"How quickly a dynasty could fall…" Ludwigh sighed with a somewhat conflicted, softly murmuring voice. He was the current ruler of the Kingdom of Lotharin. He watched the painting of the late King Takaya, who was beheaded only a week ago. Ludwigh wore a silver, suit-like outfit trimmed with gold at the front and golden eagles on both shoulders. He ran his fingers through his jet-black, slick hair, his hand hidden inside a white silk glove. He looked like the perfect aristocrat from any old tale, with his dark blue eyes slowly moving from the painting as he heard high heels approaching.

"They should not have done that." A similarly quiet voice greeted him, belonging to Queen Paoma. She wore the Heaven's Gate standard white and violet uniform, which hid away her beautiful, voluptuous body, the envy of hundreds of thousands back in any of the ten kingdoms. Her softly pink, wavy hair swung loosely behind her, and her vibrant, similarly pink eyes were mesmerizing to look into. Even the hundred-year-old Ludwigh felt his heart skip when he saw her. No wonder everyone called her the Angel of the Ten Kingdoms.

"You mean the betrayal, or you mean what Frode did?" He asked, regaining his composure as he faced the rumored, still-pure Queen Paoma, who took the throne not long after his brother's death and had been Queen for only the past 15 years.

"Both." She replied, watching the painting for a moment. "Now, none of us can question him."

"The evidence is… substantial." Ludwigh shook his head. "All of us received a copy, and my ministers combed them through. No tampering seems to have occurred. The reports are true."

"None that we could find." Paoma corrected him, looking around, as only servants were in the room beside them at the moment. They hurriedly prepared the table with refreshments for the meeting to be held soon. "We all know Frode is the hound of the Naulins. He is conditioned to serve them from birth. Planting evidence is easy for a Naulin anyway."

"If they hear you saying this…!" He grabbed onto her hand, dragged her farther away from the servants, and nervously looked at them for a second.

"I'm not afraid of that. No," she said firmly, furrowing her brows. "We are Kings and Queens here, and Elders in Heaven's Gate! I'm not a dog or a puppet to dance to a tune echoing from backstage."

"I get that. Still… it is better to be cautious, for the Gods' sake!" Ludwigh rolled his blue eyes, annoyed by her bluntness. "Some things are better to be mentioned only privately…"

"I am planning to speak up in this meeting anyway. I support King Kaipan's notion."

"What?!" He held back a scream, not expecting her words. He was already snapping his head towards the room's door, expecting Zelig to kick it down. The most shocking part was that her Kingdom and Kaipan had been enemies for the past 200 years, mainly because her late elder brother had completely broken any diplomatic relations while sitting on the throne. It all happened because of a dispute over a lousy gold mine... From that day on, they fought at least 50 skirmishes over the past 200 years, scrambling their armies over any petty little thing if they disagreed.

"We are an alliance. A group of rulers and not subjects under one true king, no matter how Sect Master Zelig sees himself." She proclaimed proudly, "I don't care if he is stronger. He is not my ruler! Wasn't it said that, in Heaven's Gate, we would have our own voice and votes in matters concerning the Sect? How did that go? Because I am being told what to do and not asked what to do. Since its establishment! What King Kaipan did, I can fully understand, and I stand with his reasoning." She looked down at her clothing and stretched it. "Sometimes I feel this is nothing more than glorified prisoner garb."

"You would look good in shackles." A third voice cut into her monologue, belonging to Frode. He walked into the room and looked at them with a flat, cold expression. "Especially with a collar around your neck, dragged onto a bed with a leather leash." he smiled suddenly, watching her young, fairy-like face.

"Ah, the ever-professional diplomat, King Frode." Ludwigh nodded toward him, preventing Paoma from saying something dangerous. "Weird that you only flaunt your eloquence when your owner is not looking… but I am a crude man; I wouldn't understand it." He smiled, speaking sharp words with a friendly, mild tone, drawing a chuckle from Paoma. Even though Ludwigh feared Zelig and would be the first to admit it, he wasn't without a backbone. He wasn't scared of the mutt before him, but of his owner.

"And they say Lotharinians don't have any sense of humor! I'll need to get used to it because we are now neighbors, aren't we?" He chuckled, looking into his eyes as he walked up to them, showing no visible anger or annoyance in his face or body language.

"So I heard," Ludwigh replied, not looking away, keeping straight eye contact with him. "It was a shock that the Nervadask Kingdom suddenly gobbled up another…"

"Traitors receive no compassion." Frode smiled proudly.

"Exterminating the whole royal family was unnecessary. I'll raise complaints towards the others." Paoma finally managed to interject, showing zero fear, her tone as confident as it could be.

"We can't take this lightly." Frode shook his head. "The other four also acknowledged this. The Enjins caused so much chaos in the background that it needed to be dealt with. We can't afford leniency towards them!" he said while the remaining four kings arrived as well, filling the room. The fact that they came at the same time was telling, because they were backing each other completely. The question was whether they were with Frode... or.... As Paoma and Ludwigh exchanged serious looks, Kaipan walked in too. Still, he wasn't alone, as a young, short girl walked beside him, wearing a tight-fitting white dress. Her long, silvery hair was tied in a ponytail, and she laughed happily, sounding like little bells chiming in the distance.

"Is that…?" Paoma raised her brows.

"Yeah. Rudrick's offspring… and also his killer," Frode answered seriously, curling his fingers into a ball.

"I heard he was caught and killed... Finally!" Paoma nodded, crossing her arms. "Justice, if you ask me. So the girl is strong… yet he looks like a teenager."

"Not everyone is blessed with your curves." Frode smiled, looking at her with clearly hungry eyes, like a wolf.

"Hmph!" She snorted in response, ignoring him instead. She watched Ren, trying to feel her strength, but it was as if she were nothing more than a regular human.

"Don't bother," Frode said, walking forward to greet the four kings who had already arrived, his voice turning serious and very much... angry. "She is way stronger than you."

"Really?" She tilted her head as Ludwigh furrowed his brows too.

Rudrick's death was already widely known in the Kingdom of Ten. As to who killed him, it was only something known by the leaders of the kingdoms or high-ranking personnel inside Heaven's Gate. The 'little' detail that Ren even stopped Zelig when he arrived was something they wouldn't believe, not that he would flaunt his failure to recover Rudrick alive. So... for now, besides Zelig, only Frode knew of this feat. Most in the Immortal Wonders Sect did not know her strength either. For everyone else, the girl before them was a 2nd stage Harmony expert and a strong one, capable of killing Rudrick… and brave or mad enough to attend this meeting. Alone.

"King Kaipan." Paoma walked up to him, cupping her hands respectfully.

"Queen Paoma." He returned the gesture, repeating it towards Ludwigh, who also arrived, greeting him, "King Ludwigh. Let me introduce you to my granddaughter's Master, Ren."

"It is good to finally make your acquaintance." Both said simultaneously, watching Ren's eyes, trying to see through her without success.

"Please!" She smiled. "We are going to know each other better anyway in the future. Probably even work together!"

"Hm?"Both of them looked a bit surprised as Kaipan just shook his head.

"I am afraid this meeting is mostly about her and not me anymore!" He said, sighing, "My resignation from the Alliance is going to be dwarfed by another notion she put forward."

"Really?" Paoma crossed her arms, even more intrigued than ever. "Is it some kind of plan of your Sect to draw heat off King Kaipan?" The pink-haired Queen blurted out, not holding back her thoughts, pinning a tricky question on Ren immediately.

"Ahahaha, no, no!" Ren shook her head, laughing. "Nothing like that! This is independent of the Immortal Wonders Sect, so that is why I am not wearing their uniform."

"Their?" Ludwigh caught on quickly.

"Yeah. I am expecting to leave the Sect, maybe even today," she answered calmly, surprising Kaipan, who was not expecting it and couldn't fathom the surprise of her disciples if they heard it.

"Fully or temporarily?" Paoma asked another quick question, already getting ideas from Ludwigh's gaze as he watched Ren's body language like a hawk, trying to see through any deception.

"Good question…" She curled her lips up a little but offered no further elaboration.

"I see everybody is here." Zelig's voice echoed inside the room, making everyone turn their heads toward him. "Good! We can begin; please sit!" He waved his hand as the chairs rattled on their own.

He sat at the head of the table while everyone else found their spot. As they sat down, they blinked in shock when Ren walked to the other end and sat on the opposite side, facing Zelig with a small, playful smile. Everyone knew she was invited, but as to why… It was a mystery. Especially now, as she was occupying Rudrick's vacant position.

"Let's start this meeting of the Kingdom of Ten with the most pressing matters," Zelig said, ignoring the nervous looks he got as they watched him. Nobody felt pressure raining down on them, which surprised them for a moment, but most subconsciously dismissed it. When he previously held a meeting after coming back from obscurity, he let his aura do half the talking... but now? Nothing.

"...?" Paoma furrowed her brows and glanced at Ren subconsciously, who leaned back in her chair, comfortable and unconcerned. As their eyes met, Ren flashed a barely noticeable grin and winked at her, sending an electric shock through her spine. She realized something at once and sent a frantic voice transmission to Ludwigh's side. "She is at the 3rd stage!"

"What are you on about? And don't send messages; Zelig could easily intercept them!" He replied quickly, avoiding her gaze to avoid arousing suspicion.

"Don't you get it?!" Paoma said once again, almost stumbling over her own words. Her breathing quickened for a brief moment before she resumed her calm, quite forcefully, which showed on her face. "Zelig always pressured us with his strength when present! Do you feel any pressure now?!"

"No…" Ludwigh whispered, finally diverting his eyes from the speaking Zelig, who was going over why the Enjin Kingdom had to be destroyed. Their cardinal sin and whatnot, but he wasn't hearing any of it anymore. Seeing Paoma's honest shock in her eyes and finally looking at Ren, who was playing with her hair, curling it around her finger, he realized it too. "No way in hell…"

What they realized was true. Zelig's aura tried to wash over the people in the room the moment he entered. It was a reflex for him, a 2000-year-old technique he used when 'negotiating,' making them less focused. They were easier to coerce that way, and he used it to push them into harsh, quick decisions, just so they could break free from the feeling. Yet, for the first time, he hit a brick wall. Quite literally, because Ren's own aura blocked him off right above their heads, nullifying any pressure he used to drop on the others.

"Yeah…" Paoma licked her lips, her eyes glowing a little. "This thing just got… extremely delicate…! Whatever the four planned would be useless now… Good! I like this girl!"

"Still… keep your cool. You are a Queen; don't rush into things, or you will repeat your brother's mistakes. And this is Zelig we are talking about. Not Kaipan!" Ludwigh warned her, and mentioning her brother cooled her emotions.

"So in conclusion…" Zelig ended his speech. "The Enjin kingdom is no more, as its royal family and the majority of the nobles have been put to the sword. For the people's safety, it has been put under the temporary rule of King Frode. Does anyone among us have any objection to the notion?"

"I do!" Paoma said immediately. "Why were they killed so quickly? Why was the whole family exterminated? Why were high-ranking nobles also eliminated?" she asked, shooting her questions in quick succession, leaving only dead silence behind before Zelig answered calmly.

"You should have read the report, Queen Paoma."

"I did."

"Then you should know their connections to Ironclaw and their whole plan: to take over the Alliance and turn it into an entity led only by them. When that failed, they decided to burn down the world instead."

"Hypocrite…" Ludwigh murmured to himself, praying the young Queen wouldn't say the same word out loud.

"Then why have you not punished the Naulins who were involved in the same way?" Her voice questioned him again, and if there was silence before, some of the Kings were trying to slide down right under the table before everything exploded.

"Many people who had a connection to Rudrick already died, as they had his powers inside of them. In a sense, most of his supporters in his line died with him. The whole branch of his has been crippled." Zelig explained in a relaxed tone, though in reality he was saying this to Ren. On the other end of the table, though... She smiled as she heard it, looking extremely happy about the good news.

"Still!" Queen Paoma pushed on, but Ren cut in before she could say more, silencing her.

"What my Ancestor did was the correct move."

"Ancestor?" Ludwigh murmured, trying to figure out her plans. Some other kings looked on weirdly, turning towards Ren, not expecting her to support Zelig. Even more telling was that the man in question looked just as surprised as they did for a brief moment.

"Yeah." Ren leaned forward, smiling like a kid. "A headless kingdom is prone to fall into chaos and into the hands of warlords fighting for a vacant, golden chair. What Grandpa Zelig did was prevent the loss of thousands of lives for nothing. Until everything settles down, King Frode can keep the peace. It is the most humane thing to do towards the masses living here."

"..." Paoma looked at her with an open mouth, then finally closed it, gulping back her next words. Slowly, she leaned back in her chair as her expression returned to a calmer look, keeping eye contact with Ren... Then she blinked and turned toward Zelig. "I have no more questions. I accept the conclusion."

"Good." Zelig nodded, not even looking at her, just watching Ren for a minute straight before licking his lips and speaking up again. "Then let's discuss our next topic." He threw an almost 10-page-long letter written by Kaipan onto the table. "The declaration of the Elroth Kingdom. The letter is clearly worded, and the tone between the lines is final. They are leaving our Alliance."