Ch 181: Let’s play a game.

"How are your reforms going?" asked Akeno out loud. Her phone was beside her on the bed, on speaker mode so that Noah's voice could be heard clearly.

"Rather well so far, but I'm taking it slow for the first round of reforms. The really big ones will have to come later, once the political situation is more stable. I only asked for the world leaders to deal with five things for now: prevent the apparition of a super-bacteria in hospitals by finding alternatives to feeding the cattle too many antibiotics, global extradition for criminals, systematic DNA tests at birth to stop paternity fraud, that they treat swatting as attempted murder, and that they pass laws to punish those who deliberately spread misinformation or hatred on internet."

"Aside for the cattle and super-bacteria issue, those reforms are limited in scope or difficulty and should be easy to implement. For all five cases, they have up to 6 months to obtain a consensus from the relevant experts, then another six months before I start evaluating their progress. And if no significant progress has been made, well…"

"I can guess. They better have a good excuse." chuckled Akeno.

"I revived Olga-Marie. I'm already getting started in teaching her the pleasure of being a sub by forcing her to wear a latex bodysuit. Once she grows used to it, I'll gently introduce her to bondage sex."

Akeno lowered her gaze to watch the latex-covered girl kneeling at her feet.

"Speaking about such things, I didn't tell you about what happened earlier today, Noah. After we summoned the six Valkyries, we successfully rescued Airi and Touko. The bastards had beaten them up then tortured them with electric shocks. And they were about to rape them as well."

The bound girl had the grace to lower her eyes in shame. Her ass still hurt from the earlier spanking.

"Can't really say I'm surprised. Take good care of them, okay?"

"You don't need to tell me. In fact, they both asked me to help them grow stronger and teach them Shunpo. After what happened today, all of our disciples did."

"…That might be a bit of an issue. How old are the Saegusa siblings?"

"No worries. Mayumi is twenty, and Izumi and Kasumi will turn eighteen in two weeks."

"I see. So you're going to be busy. You won't have time to train them all yourself."

"Noah, I have lent Corruption to Rin for now. She's already starting to use it on the Valkyries."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm envious."

"I am, too." smiled Akeno. "Since the Valkyries share part of their minds, Rin can play with any of them, and they all feel it. She's going to exploit that to the fullest."

"I'll have to work on creating some sense-sharing item soon."

"Yeah. Anyway, the kidnappers got a dose of Mist Dispersal after we were done, and the Valkyries and I subdued the USNA reinforcements. Lina and two other young women. I have started training them. In fact, Lina is bound and gagged, kneeling at my feet right now, and she's listening to our conversation."

Lina glared at her through her hood's eye openings and grunted in dissatisfaction, but she couldn't do much. Her arms were trapped in a leather armbinder, and straps securing her legs to her thighs kept her kneeling.

Squirming on the ground behind Lina were her former colleagues, who Lina had told her were named Rachel and Clara. Both were stuck inside black neoprene sleeping bags, with their senses and voices deprived by ear plugs, penis gags, and thick latex isolation hoods with no eye openings and integrated padded earmuffs. All they could feel aside from their bondage were the pill vibrators inside their pussies and asses, keeping them aroused despite their predicament. With the special collars, those two were bound to soon develop a taste for bondage, sensory deprivation, and the general feeling of helplessness that went with them.

"Ohoh, well done, Akeno. But how did the USNA react? Surely they aren't taking this well."

"I do not care how they take it. But their official position is that Angie Sirius passed away during a confidential assignment, defending her nation from infiltrators. The irony. They didn't mention Japan. I think they decided to cut their losses."

Lina flinched as she heard that, as Akeno hadn't told her yet.

"Don't grow overconfident, Akeno. It will bite you in the ass."

"…Yeah, you're probably right about that. It's just that everything is going so well, and with six Valkyries to assist us, I can't imagine any threat serious enough to harm us."

"Just being strong enough to protect yourself isn't enough, Akeno. You need to become strong enough that no one will dare attack those close to you. Case in point, Airi and Touko."

"Yes. I won't relax my efforts to become stronger, don't worry about that."

"This aside, do you have news about how the others are doing?"

"I do, actually. I called Chaldea earlier today for a sitrep, and I talked with Da Vinci for a while. Asuka and Scathach are in a timeline where nothing significant seem to be happening, and my little sis is suffering in Scathach's hands. I fully understand her. But she's steadily growing stronger."

"Chisato, Sakura and Darkness are in a timeline that is basically a dark isekai fantasy world gone bad, then set on nightmare difficulty. Their situation isn't that great. That world sounds like one hell of a mess."

"Oh? What's happening?"

"When they appeared in the middle of a church, the priests initially thought they were their goddess's Champions, here to answer their wishes of bringing genocide to the demon kin, but they quickly changed their tune when the girls started doing something about demon kin children being enslaved and mutilated by the Church. And demon kin women being enslaved to serve as holy whores for the clergy. I swear, the hypocrisy of those guys!"

"Now, Chisato, Sakura and Darkness are considered heretics and relentlessly hunted down by the Inquisition, and the Church is basically the top dog among half of the human territories. The other half? Taken over by four kids from yet another world, who may or may not be good guys. And then there's the demons, who try to invade human lands as often as they fight among themselves and take humans as slaves as well."

"Yeah, that one." sighed Noah.

Akeno didn't feel surprised that Noah knew about that world as well, but didn't ask for details as Lina was listening.

"They should be okay, though. A week ago, Nero, Saika and Medusa have been sent as reinforcements."

"Genos and Miwa are doing well. Their timeline seems pretty quiet. Humans are at war against tank-sized insects and have lost most of their cities, but their lives aren't at risk. It will be another matter when the puller is found, if they have to enter deep into insect territory, but Da Vinci and Romani agreed to send them a few Servants when the time comes. Chaldea's fusion reactor is fully back online and Da Vinci somehow managed to increase its output."

"As for the last team, Gudako, Mash and Bell, they are already back. They were sent into France in the hundred years war era, and Lev was the 'puller'. The overconfident idiot couldn't wait for Alaya to sniff his position and showed up by himself, to taunt them or to deliver his mandatory villain's monologue. For his outstanding efforts, Lev has been promoted to a dead idiot."

"That's nice." said Noah with a hopeful voice, and Akeno chuckled as she heard the implied question.

"And they brought back with them two Heroic Spirits. Atalanta, and Jeanne D'Arc. An angry version of her. I understand the first few days since they returned were difficult between the two Jeannes, but with Gudako and Mash acting as mediators, they have made peace. Bell has already gone to another timeline with Artoria and Lancelot. They should be okay. As for Gudako and Mash, they are waiting for Rin and me to return and fix Mash's declining lifespan."

"I'm happy that things seem to be going well, aside from the world visited by Sakura, Chisato and Darkness. I'll be going, I have many things to do. Do not hesitate to call me if anything happens. Or even if nothing happens, my love. Just hearing your voice warms me up."

"Ufufu, make sure to love me plenty when we meet again. I call first dibs, even if I'm sure you'd like to spend some sweet time with Rin, Artoria and everyone else."

"Yes, you'll have the first turn. Later, Akeno."

"Later. I miss you."

The call ended, and Akeno put the smartphone back in her pocket.

She leaned forward, and removed the belts keeping Lina's legs folded, then the strap keeping the penis gag in her mouth.

"Let's play a game, Lina."

"Do I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice. You just won't like the outcome if you refuse." smirked Akeno as she picked her up in her arms and forced Lina to sit on her lap, her bound arms pressed against her chest. She didn't miss the winces of pain due to Lina's ass being sore.

"The rules are as follow. I will allow you to ask about the conversation you just heard. I'm sure you have many questions. But you will pay each answer with an orgasm. Either one of yours, or one of mine, decided by a coin toss. After five answers, I will heal your butt. And for each five questions, your fate will improve."

"What do you mean, my fate will improve?"

"I will allow you to draw a card. When you decide to stop the game, you will get to choose a card from those you took, and that card will determine what kind of slave I will turn you into. If you refuse to play, I will shuffle them and draw one at random."

As she spoke, Akeno took from her inventory a short stack of cards she had prepared using item creation and spread them on the bed.

One represented a naked woman bound to a whipping post, with a woman holding a whip standing behind her, and the word 'Masochist' under the illustration.

Another card showed a woman completely encased in silver latex and standing at attention, her face half hidden by a visor, called "Drone".

A card showed a girl wearing a strange leather suit keeping her limbs folded, on her elbows and knees and wearing a fake ears headband, a leach connected to her collar, with the word "Pet".

Another showed a latex maid, her ankles and wrists shackled. Yet another a girl covered in body fluids, with an ecstatic expression on her face and the word "Addicted".

There were nine cards in total, each representing either a curse that Corruption could apply, or something more niche, like a bunny girl slave or a chastity slave.

Lina's eyes widened as she considered the cards, staring in fear at the more extreme of them. After a minute, Akeno gathered the cards, shuffling thoroughly before spreading them face down on a nearby table.

"If I were you, I'd aim for the maid card." smiled Akeno. "Or maybe I'd settle for anal slave. But how much effort will it take you to reach the one you choose? That will be up to luck, and your own willpower."

"…And what happens if I draw all the cards?"

"Ufufu, I didn't take you for the greedy kind. Do you really feel up to offering or receiving forty-five orgasms? If you select them all, I will let you choose what kind of slaves Clara and Rachel will become… If not, I have a different game in mind for them. So let's start with your first question."

Lina sighed, realizing that playing this sick game wasn't something she could avoid.

"Before, you told us that your boyfriend lived far away. Does he live in another world?"

"Yes. As it turns out, there is a huge number of timelines and parallel words. We are able, under certain conditions, to travel between them. Time for the coin toss. Head or tail?"

"It doesn't really matter. Head." sighed Lina.

Akeno tossed the coin, and it settled on head.

"You get the first orgasm." smiled Akeno as she started massaging Lina's breasts. With Hands of Nirvana and her ample experience, it didn't take her long to have Lina panting and squirming in her lap. Akeno didn't try to prolong the teasing, and once Lina was close, plunged two fingers into Lina's pussy and pumped. Lina quickly started to spam as she experienced her first orgasm while in bondage. The first of many.

…

In the end, after the twentieth question, an exhausted Lina settled for being trained as a bunny girl.

…

Noah thought for a few minutes, the fingers of his left hand gently taping on his desk, when he finally decided to ask.

[Lilith-sama, could I ask for a favor?]

[What do you wish for?]

[I would like to be able to contact Aria, Susanoo's Champion. It is about the world Chisato, Sakura and Darkness currently are in.]

[I have read your memories. You want to save that girl Hitomi, right?]

Noah could hear the soft chuckle in Lilith's voice.

[Yes.]

[I have an idea, but let me ask the others first…]

Noah waited for a few minutes, until Lilith talked again.

[The others do not mind. I will give you the possibility to contact not only the six Champions, but the six subordinates as well, as long as they accept from their end. And the seven subordinates will be able to contact each other as well. But you will have to do something for me.]

[What do you wish for, Lilith-sama?]

Noah winced as he remembered the time when he had to play sentai ranger, and Lilith snorted.

[Nothing like that. Once Akeno and the others are done saving Rin's world, you will have a few months to enjoy your reunion and get to know the new additions to your harem. I will then ask you if you wish to explore and take charge of another world. That one will be based on one of the few human fictions that managed to get me… emotionally invested, let's say. And let me tell you, that is a rare occurrence for a deity who has lived for a long, long time. A fiction that reminded me of my time as a mortal.]

[But I have a problem. I chose four Champions for this cycle. One is dead, two more are unwilling to take more worlds in their purview. And then, there is you. If I create that world, and you do not wish to take charge of it, I will have to let another God's Champion take over my own creation, and that would be… embarrassing. I could directly take charge, but it would be time-consuming. And still embarrassing.]

[I will gladly work to avoid you any embarrassment, Lilith-sama. And I am grateful for your trust. How big will that world be?]

[Expect a total population of over fifty billion souls, spread over a dozen or so worlds. One of them being an alternate Earth named Terra. It will be my Magnum Opus for this cycle of the Great Game. And I scaled it down a lot. The original fiction had over a million worlds.]

[What? A million worlds and Terra? Please, please tell me it's not the 40k fiction!] pleaded Noah as he paled.

[Of course not. That fiction is far too dark for me. Although a few gods participating in the great game are using it as source material. No, the one I'm creating is based on a Xianxia novel, although Terra will be inspired from several different fictions.]

[Thanks gods…] said Noah, feeling insanely relieved. On a good day, 40k was hell. On a bad day… [So that's why there are many empty palaces on the island. Between the sheer scale and the fact that people in Xianxia fictions are so prideful and bloodthirsty…]

[Indeed. But you and Akeno are doing well in that regard. It will not be too big of an issue to fill them out... I can tell that you still agree to take this one on. I have added the champions and the subordinates involved in the current world to your contacts, but they will disappear from the list if they decline.]

[Thank you, Lilith-sama.] smiled Noah.

[I knew I could count on you, my lustful Champion. As an additional reward for you being so willing, and to give you something concrete to look forward to, I will add to that world a smattering of girls I know you'd like to meet. Like D.va from Overwatch, or Shizuna Rem Misurugi from the Trails series.]

[That is a great gift! Consider me fully motivated, Lilith-sama!]

Noah suddenly felt like tap-dancing, and he heard the goddess's chuckle.

[I knew I could find the right arguments. Keep working hard, my Champion.]

As he selected Aria in the contact list and pressed the button, Noah wondered if he would manage to avoid harem politics with potentially thousands of members. Probably not, and it was a scary thought.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Aria, this is Noah. Is now a good time to talk?"

"Yeah. How are you able to contact me directly? Did something happen to Chisato?"

"I just traded a favor with my goddess to be able to contact you. Susanoo-sama gave his permission. How are you doing?"

"Somewhat bored. At the same time, I do not want for things to become exciting."

"Spoken like a true veteran soldier. Boring is good." chuckled Noah.

"Yeah. Once the Ptolemy 2 get its finishing touches, We'll be a lot busier."

"I can imagine. I called you to ask for permission to call Chisato directly. I know a few things about the world she's in, if what Akeno heard is accurate."

"Oh? That would help. That world is freaking horrible. Part of me would like to manage it to deliver some ass-kicking and start making things less terrible, and another part doesn't want to touch it with a pole. It's probably too far gone already. At this point I'm just hoping the girls will stay alive, do their thing and leave… Noah, Is Kurumi, Chris or…"

"Crap, I should have thought to bring them back before calling you. I'll revive them before the end of the day and call you back so you guys can talk."

"Thank you, Noah. I need to hang up for now, someone is coming."

"Ok, talk to you later."

Noah rubbed two neurons together this time and decided to revive the three people he had promised to resurrect before calling Chisato.