The Achievement Junkie

"Shut up." Tired of the roundabout discussion, Vixus cut to the core of the argument. "You just don't want to face the consequences of breaking the war pact and are so greedy that you'll ask your foes for godly aid with little to no repercussions on your part. If I'm wrong about that, please explain to me how so."

The representative from Limneer opened his mouth but the Vizor of Iscantor spoke up first, "Isn't he also forgetting the Leisure Guild's trade pact with Korten? By opening the guild branches in our territories, we would also gain access to elven trade goods, a privilege unique to Trodar alone."

"Right," the head representative of Prachten spoke up next. "Not only are you asking for more than you're willing to offer, you're wanting us to overlook your war crimes as well? Where did you find such confidence, I wonder…"

"That's enough bickering, so how about we get back to the real discussion," the lead noble of Limneer insisted. "Those are the issues that I have with the terms."

Nodding, Vixus stated, "In that case, Trodar sees no benefit in working with such a two-faced nation. With your inability to discuss things thoroughly, it's astounding that your nation functions at all. I feel sorry for any citizen headed by such perverse leadership."

Fully enraged, the lead noble glared at Vixus and the others.

At the side, Toms could no longer withhold his anger. A spell scroll appeared in his hand under the long table where those at the front sat. He steeled his nerves, ready to cast a spell that Toms could only afford after selling everything he owned.

"If Limneer won't be respected, then I see no reason to continue," stated the lead noble. "We'll leave immediately and--"

"Not so fast…"

A voice telepathically filled the room, catching all representatives of the three territories by surprise.

One of the side doors opened as Eedaj entered and continued, "Should anyone leave their seats now, I'll treat them as an enemy of the Leisure Guild."

"Who are--"

"Eedaj, thank you for joining us!" Vixus shouted with a smile. "It's a pleasure to have the Mind God joining our conference."

Hearing Eedaj's title struck everyone dumb, even Toms with his fingers clutched tightly to the spell scroll.

Turning to face the representatives of Limneer, Eedaj spoke normally for all to hear, "You know, things would've been handled differently if I or any god was heading this conference. We wouldn't leave you territories with a choice. In terms of power, all you can offer are able bodies and mid-level experts for the most part. Give me one reason why I should let you leave and return to your discussions with Sandros?"

"That--"

"And you…" Eedaj raised his arm, picking up a man beside the lead noble with telekinesis. "I'll tell you now that you won't be returning to Sandros either…"

Accepting his fate, Toms committed himself. He stood and pointed one hand toward Jack's party.

"Just die!"

Everyone else was confused. When Toms rushed to his feet claiming death upon those from Trodar, he didn't do anything else.

Noticing that nothing happened, Toms shouted again, "Die!" But again, nothing happened.

"Oh, Rikko no care for scroll…" Rikko sighed, depressed.

Only then did Toms notice the strange blue-skinned goblin now standing behind him. And in that goblin's hands was the precious spell scroll that cost everything from Toms.

"Give that back you useless goblin!" Toms yelled, taking out a sword with his one arm.

"Rikko no useless. You useless!"

With that shout, Rikko then appeared behind Toms again, now atop the table. But in his hands was Toms's decapitated head. "Ugh… Head too ugly for trophy…"

Rikko tossed the head back into the crowd of Limneer of representatives as he hopped off the table and itched his nose. At the same time, Eedaj slowly approached the lead noble and had everyone enraptured. Both appeared and immediately became the centers of attention and fear.

Eedaj asked, "Shall you speak for yourself, or shall I pass judgment first and speak for you later?"

"You can't--"

"Ah, ah, ahhh… Shhh, no need to shout."

Another voice filled the room all of a sudden. It wasn't telepathic yet no one was able to tell where it originated. When everyone looked to the now-silent lead noble, they found a clue, however.

On the lead noble's neck was a drip of blood, trickling down until it fell onto his expensive blouse. The stain continued to grow as more and more blood kept trickling, as if growing longer slowly with each passing second.

"Do you plea guilty or innocent?" asked the voice.

Trembling and pale from fright, the lead noble gradually opened his quivering mouth. "I-I… I didn't…"

The trail of blood suddenly became a plume of warm red as it stained the entire outfit. The lead noble's head fell softly, unable to hold his head up or the rest of his body. His corpse flopped onto the table for all to see in horror or awe.

Finally, the origin of the voice was revealed. A man in simple black clothing appeared where the lead noble once stood, casually looting the corpse.

"For those of you yet to be killed," Eedaj continued, shaking the Limneer representatives to the core, "you'll be questioned and inspected by me. We don't wish to kill you all. We're only after those that will lead to the eventual collapse of Limneer at cause Trodar and the Leisure Guild more trouble in the long run."

All was silent as Eedaj nonchalantly strolled through the aisles of Limneer's two seating sections. Some people instantly collapsed, dying in a way that none of them could understand while Eedaj filtered through all of their minds.

In the end, five of six generals were killed and three of five noble family heads were slain.

Those from Prachten and Iscantor were speechless. With no ability to even decipher or gauge the capabilities of those three men, they could only assume all three were deities like Eedaj. And seeing the stark difference between them and mortals shattered their expectations many times over.