Check Mate(2/2)

Silence filled the room as Ganesha, a God known for his talkative nature, stared at the mortal in front of him in shock and horror. He couldn't believe that a mortal had devised this plan.

"Why would Ouranos help you?" he finally managed to ask.

If he didn't agree to the terms presented by Ryuu, not only would the Guild impose penalties on his Familia, but their members would also be banned from the Dungeon for three months.

While many Familias might not have been intimidated by such threats, the Ganesha Familia knew they couldn't survive the harsh penalties. They were scheduled to host a Monster Feria in just four months, and the thought of facing such consequences was too much to bear.

Moreover, the terms of the deal were so unreasonable that refusal was not an option.

'100 High-Level monsters…'

…Was more than worth the risk of 'offending' the Loki Familia, even without the backing of Ouranos. It's worth noting that Ryuu was not interested in having a long conversation with Ganesha, which is why such an 'overkill' level of preparation was made.

"Do you accept or not?"

Ryuu didn't bother answering Ganesha's question, instead asking one of his own. Despite his confidence that he could quickly bring the Ganesha Familia to its knees, Ryuu wasn't arrogant. He wanted to maintain the status quo in case someone else dared to offend him.

While he was formulating backup plans, Ganesha couldn't help but feel a sense of bitterness as he observed Ryuu's attitude. He saw no reason to comment on it, though, as he didn't care about the situation. In his mind, the choice was clear: accept the deal and reap the benefits or refuse and disband.

He could feel a massive storm was brewing, and this man was the eye of the storm...no, it was better to say Ryuu could do whatever he wanted...

After signing a soul contract to finalize the deal, Ryuu didn't waste any time, his expression remaining unchanged.

"To the Demeter Familia"

Ryuu spoke to no one in particular, but Ganesha could see divinity buzzing around him as he finally chose to smile.

"You made the right choice, Ganesha-sama. Your business will soon prosper even more."

These words were left for him to hear as Ryuu disappeared...

"...I guess I'll have to inform Shakti about this"

Ganesha sighed in resignation as even he, a God as influential as him, would now treat Ryuu as a danger many times higher than Loki. Who was known for her tricks and wits...

As Ganesha struggled to make sense of the situation, the storm was growing in the Demeter Familia home as a similar situation unfolded…

"...Y-You..."

Demeter was dumbfounded. Though the Ouranos Familia stamp played a role in it, what she was terrified of was the man's cunning personality. As the Goddess who held the entire food production in Orario, Demeter wouldn't be fazed even if the Guild banned her from exploring the Dungeon for a hundred years. In fact, Ryuu didn't mention the Guild at all.

"The Ganesha Familia will ban us from participating in their events for five years!?"

She could be as carefree as she was for many reasons. Of course, one of them was their impeccable reputation. Though, if they were suddenly blacklisted from participating, not only would their reputation quickly sour, people would start doubting why such a thing occurred...

She was in an even worse situation than Ganesha, and such a thing, not considering she would risk angering Ouranos! The Fucking Oldest God in this damn world!

She could admit with no shame the man in front of her was utterly terrifying. If she did dare to refuse him, her entire Familia could meet their end just like this!

Moreover, Ryuu didn't just blackmail Demeter without offering any benefits. He proposed to increase their production even more, which amazed her to no end.

'How could he know how to achieve that?'

Accepting Ryuu's proposals could potentially guarantee their Familia even higher production, though Demeter had no idea how Ryuu could make that happen.

If a lord kills a single vassal, the other vassals may not intervene out of fear of angering their lord. But if all the vassals can see that the lord will not even provide food or salary for the 'surviving' and 'loyal' ones, they will all become angry. If they have nothing left to lose, they could potentially ally, form a single faction to overpower the lord, and then split the benefits.

To avoid this kind of backlash and make other Familias dependent on him to the point that they would never consider 'betraying' him, Ryuu had to use the method of the carrot and the stick. Following him meant always having a delicious carrot, while not daring to comply meant they would face 'Death'!

That was how another shocking soul contract was made.

With several check-mates in his hands, the rest was a piece of cake for Ryuu. He merely asked Hermes to teleport him to the Ishtar Familia, terrifying the Goddess presiding over the whole red-light district as she immediately accepted whatever he wanted her to do...

It was important to note she was also madly attracted by his good looks, as she asked him to change her benefit and instead requested to dual cultivate with her. However, Ryuu merely replied if she dared to ask him again, the red-light district would soon welcome a new Familia presiding over it, which immediately shut her mouth. The several improvements on the cleanliness of the Buildings to raise clients' satisfaction, or the technique he immediately gave her after the soul contract to entice males, were more than enough for her...

As the snow ball grew, even the Freya Familia, known as the strongest familia in Orario with a level 7 in charge, didn't dare refuse Ryuu's demands. If they refused, they would be blacklisted from the Colosseum, their food supplies would be cut by 50%, and their adventurers would be banned from the red-light district, which could cause huge dissatisfaction.

Though Freya herself didn't care much about all the conditions. Even the benefit he proposed wasn't why she accepted so easily...

"I really dislike Loki, so I would have agreed to help you even if you didn't offer anything in return. However, I won't turn down your generous offer"

She laughed as if she found the entire situation amusing. With the support of Hermes and Ouranos, Freya never considered using her charms on Ryuu. She knew that offending Ouranos would come at a high cost…

Moreover, even if she 'didn't care' about the benefit, could she refuse the deal to have several Familia as a backing once in the Denatus?

Of course not! It meant she could have absolute power to ask or do whatever she wanted; who wouldn't be tempted...?

After successfully convincing the Freya Familia to join his cause, Ryuu also easily convinced the other Familias. He used various tactics, such as offering small compensation, using the power of other Familias as collateral, or even allowing the 'weakest' of them to join him in the Dungeon once or twice and take all the loot for themselves.

As a result, all the Gods were extremely satisfied with the arrangement and signed a soul contract. None of them was allowed to reveal what happened to their Familia members or speak about the agreement until Ryuu announced it himself. With a single, unassuming piece of paper, Ryuu set in motion a series of events that would bring despair to the Loki Familia as a whole.

'Now, let's see how you handle this'

Ryuu's normally emotionless face broke into a smile as Apocalypse would soon descend on the Loki Familia…

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Important: It's true, it may be confusing, but how the benefits will be collected and handed to the various Familia WILL be explained later in the story! As these few chapters cover the span of a few days at most, I still struggle to integrate that part, though in chapter 19, it is mentioned as in a few more chapters, all doubts will be cleared up, so please don't think this is without its reasons and proper explanations. Thank you for reading.