The Gamer Chapter 1496 – Divided Gates Meeting 2 – The Leaders of the World Part 2 (Patreon)

““Josef Mengele, Supreme Man of the Purest Front,”” the two goddesses announced.

John’s mood went from fantastic to terrible in a split second. Alone, the dark-haired man appeared atop the platform, and immediately went into a quick stride. His cocksure smile was as infuriating as the self-assured clacking of his shoes on the solid floor.

The wave of dread washing through the room had John turn to Eliana before the gurgling growl hit his ears. All around, members of Fusion, and even those on the neighbouring table of the Illuminati, took an instinctive step away from the goddess of genocide. Needles of blood protruded from the space between her lips and teeth, forcing her jaw apart until it looked like the crimson mimicry of an anglerfish. Her skin paled, her fingernails, their nature as crystallized blood usually so well hidden, liquified and began to run up her digits in rivulets of murderous vitality.

Mengele continued to smile as he passed by them. The entire hall turned tense when the goddess of genocide coiled up like a spring ready to let loose. Then the maniac was past her, and with each step he brought between them, her body relaxed slightly.

When the last vestiges of nightmarish appearance had passed, Eliana turned to John and embraced him eagerly. “Call me a good girl,” she mumbled into his chest.

“You’re so much more than that,” John assured her, fingers streaking through her wild hair. He glanced up, to see Mengele take position among his followers. Vier, Herman’s clone, and the crimson cowl immediately stepped up to him, representing the two major factions in the attendants from the Purest Front: a tightly knit core of soldiers, predominantly German, if tanned, and a group of seven individuals, the one by Mengele’s side included, covered by the crimson robes and cowls. ‘If I was a betting boy, that’s their surprise for the gathering.’

“”Eglystas, Supreme Seeker of the Flame of Prometheus, and his Wise Council.””

Still hugging his pretty little psycho, John turned back to the platform just in time to see the group of seven manifest. One of them, Socrates (a shared name and appearance, but not actually the same person), John already knew. Five of the others were clad in similar clothes as him. Wizened old men, covered in white togas, so slightly different from the Roman counterpart in the way they wore them, often exposing half of their muscular chests.

Ahead of them walked a singular man who only wore a pair of loose pants, and nothing beyond that. His oiled chest was hairless and of deep olive colour. Flame patterns were etched in gold onto his skin, flickering as he moved. His eyes glowed argent with an intellect that made even John feel like he had much to learn from this man and a distance that made him question if any of that knowledge would ever be applicable to reality. Long, white hair flowed through the air behind him as he walked, like a jellyfish dragging its tentacles through a stream.

““Lu Zhi, Heavenly Jade Empress, and the Imperial Advisors.””

The entire room turned its attention to the platform at that announcement. The new empress of the Mandate of Heaven had not been seen in public since her coronation around the time of John’s first days in the Abyss. Her name and her being a young woman were all that was known.

John half expected a child based on that news, but instead he found a woman around her early twenties. Greyish black hair was tied up into twin buns, hidden under decorative white cloth. A few wild strands were allowed to go free, framing her face, a wonderful mixture between noble and adorable. Her eyes shimmered with the vibrant depth of jade, her skin was as white as porcelain, and her lips were a pure light pink. She entirely embodied the often overused phrase of jade beauty – except she smiled.

A mirthful smile spread those gorgeous lips. A short cape lay around her slender shoulders, fluttering with each bounce she took down the slope of the steps. Her outfit was primarily white, with Mithril plates of stylized armour partly covering her arms and legs, black gloves layered under one, white stockings underneath the other. Green, glowing thread stitched a dragon that wound up from her left leg up her clothes, its serpentine body coiling protectively around the cape.

Fascinatingly, thin Mithril had been used to create a frame of silver that surrounded a stretch of black that specifically and only covered her ass. It was a magnificent bubble butt, the nicely balanced kind. The cheeks were pronounced primarily because of their sheer roundness and that delectably firm shape, rather than any incredible size. In that sense, it was quite close to that of his girlfriend and that made it really difficult to look away.

John managed, though, primarily because he got the feeling he was being watched. Which just a slight glance upwards totally confirmed. The dragon stitched into her clothes shifted fluidly, moving on the white of the outfit like it was its personal ocean. It stared, shook its head, and shifted back up into its previous resting position.

‘I will not be shamed when she chooses to wear a goddamn butt emphasizing… holy, that’s a deep trench.’ John barely managed to stop himself from salivating when the empress of the Mandate of Heaven walked past. The black that hugged her butt did so with the conviction of custom-tailored latex.

“Fucking hell, what is that made out of?” Eliana mumbled, as distracted from her own misery by the sight as John was in general.

Lu Zhi turned her head and winked, causing the dragon on her clothes to let out an exasperated sigh. The four men following the empress did not react to any of this. With their square hats and ornate red and black robes, not to mention the way they hid their hands in their deep sleeves, they were every bit the stereotypical image of Chinese advisors, specifically of the eunuch kind.

‘I think my yellow fever is coming back,’ the Gamer joked to himself. He did not dare utter it out loud, for fear of creating a scandal with one of the guilds he wished to win over before the voting occurred.

““Eui, the Lady of Joseon, and Dangun the Sixth, King of Dangun and Head of the Dangun Clan.””

Two very different figures stepped forth. King Dangun was the typical image one would have of a Korean monarch. An oriental red robe covered most of his body, ornamentations regarding the history of his house stitched in brass into the chest and shoulder area. The collar was of simple white, a long chin beard falling past it. A finely trimmed moustache sat above his lips. His face was aged, appropriate for a man in his forties, and on his head sat a traditional black hat.

While Dangun may have looked young for his over 300 years of age, the power he radiated was, by all accounts, low for a leader of the Divided Gates. The same could not be said for the woman next to him.

The Lady of Joseon, Eui, was visible in her early thirties, at worst. Two deep trenches between eyes and nose hinted at the near constant scowl that she, even at that moment, wore. Although it was a mythology from the other side of the planet, John felt like he was beholding the matronal rage of Hera made manifest in a person. Black hair was tied behind the neck; brown eyes stared harshly ahead, scanning the room. She wore naught but the darkest black, like a grieving widow, every layer of her traditional robes consumed by the dour colour.

She was halfway down the stairs when she spotted John. Without a glance, she parted from her king, and strutted over to him. The negativity on her face manifested into actual anger. Metra and Aclysia stepped in front of the woman, only to both take a step back at John’s mental behest. Eui did not appear like she would have stopped anyway.

The Lady of Joseon was shorter than John, notably so, standing somewhere between Eliana and Sylph in height. John had long since learned his lesson of mistaking height for someone imposing – in the Abyss, the mass of one’s body was about as useful an indicator regarding strength as a Magic 8 Ball for genuine life advice.

“Keep your hands out of the affairs of the Korean people,” she admonished him, then turned away without caring for his response.

“Well, that’s one way to get a clear warning,” John mumbled and glanced at the king. He would have been the leader of the Dangun Clan on paper, but just from him waiting, with a resigned expression, for Eui’s return, it was clear who was the head of the nation.

““Jonas, Brother Dane; Lucas, Brother Norse; Scunnder, Brother Swede; and Vylara, Sister Fin; the Council of Four of the Odin’s Sons.””

Four familiar figures stepped forth. A set of triplets, or at least men that looked incredibly similar, with handsome faces, strong jaws, and heroic figures. Their primary differentiating features were their colour schemes. One had white hair and wore red, the colours of the Danish flag. The next had blue hair and wore mostly red, with a few white stripes on his mixture of suit and armour, making him the Norwegian of the group. The third was clad in clothes of blue, and his hair was of a thorough gold, giving him the colours of Sweden.

The sole woman of the group had hair of a nearly black, midnight blue. Her winged armour, a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy that bordered on Warhammer 40k aesthetics, was nearly entirely white. Those were the two colours of Finland, completing the set of Nordic countries.

Their arrival caused some murmurs in the hall, and John understood completely why. It was yet another occurrence where the gods of the north had refused to leave the safety of their home. The reasons for this could only be speculated on. From what John had heard, Odin had been a paranoid bastard at the best of times.

“Why did you get called out first?” Scunnder, the Swede, complained.

“Because I am always the most important,” Jonas, the Dane, responded with the swiftness of an old joke.

Lucas and Vylara sighed the sigh of the younger siblings, watching the older ones get up to their petty fights.

“”Romulus, the Apex, Leader of the Sons of Rome, and Emperor of the Greater Empire – our beloved.”” Sol and Luna climbed the steps of the stairs, and arrived just when the Apex stepped out of the teleporter. In perfect unison, the two much smaller women hovered up and wrapped their arms around his neck, kissing his cheeks with feminine fervour.

John chuckled, watching the ancient man ever so mildly blush and smile at the treatment. Much of what Romulus had done throughout history, John regarded as impressive but much different from what he would have done. If there was a single thing he wanted to have in common with the Apex by the time he had ten millennia down, it was that he still wanted to smile when two of his women gave him surprise kisses.

Romulus put his paw-like hands under the long legs of the celestial goddesses and effortlessly carried them as he descended the steps. “Leaders of the world, I am glad to have all of you in attendance today,” he raised his voice. “Every last one of the great elites here holds up the power of their home. Every last one of the great leaders here holds the power to plunge the world into a hellish war. The Divided Gates first came together in acknowledgement of our power, when the war against the Celtic gods took its cruel toll. Although we banished the last snake from Ireland, we came to the agreement that the war could have been avoided had we acknowledged them as our equals hundreds of years before.

“And so Gawain suggested the Divided Gates. A title, more than anything, that originally covered only Europeans, but expanded fast as our understanding of the world grew. The Mandate of Heaven was our greatest addition of the second wave, a guarantee that, even through borders of language and culture, we could understand the threat we posed to each other’s peace and prosperity. Soon, our ranks had swelled to ten and at ten it has remained since, save for the short stretches of time where a guild shattered swiftly. We are now in such a time and never before have we had such a clear contender to claim the open seat.

“Fusion has claimed the unclaimed continent and the power of the Gamer has seen it develop at a rapid pace. Our purpose here is to exchange our minds regarding Fusion’s place among us or besides us. As their sponsor, my opinion on the matter is clear, but I do owe the courtesy of the vote to you, who I declare my equals. The vote will be held tomorrow evening. Until then I encourage diplomacy – regarding this and other matters.” Romulus stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “John Newman, these people have gathered to judge your Federation. This is your first chance to address them.”

“I graciously accept this invitation,” John spoke up and separated from Eliana. “Good girl,” he whispered to her, in parting, and she smiled that happy little smile.

As he walked up to the platform, to be somewhere everyone could see him, several dozen members of the support staff from Fusion went into motion. They brought in eight chests, setting them at the foot of the stairs. Romulus made space, walking to the corner of the room where his people were gathered.

“As the Apex was kind enough to say, Fusion’s rapid ascent is undeniable,” John spoke with all the pride he could muster, which was a lot. “Our interests are manifold, but they are also peaceful. Our creed is that of truth, justice, and freedom for all. Opportunity for the downtrodden to rise to the top – if they are capable of doing so. Many of our stances on the way of the world rub against what many among you wish to see manifest or maintain, that I understand.” He looked particularly to the Lady of Joseon as he said that. “But it is the right of equals to criticize one another.”

Eui narrowed her eyes threateningly, then avoided his gaze altogether and instead picked a shrimp off a nearby platter. She ripped the overgrown seafood apart with one bite.

“Just like it is the right of equals to criticize one another, it is the right of equals to hate one another, and even if Fusion shall be acknowledged among the Divided Gates, we shall never, ever express anything but our utmost contempt for the Purest Front.” He stared at Mengele, who demonstrably turned away and exchanged a joke with a nearby soldier. “Short of the entire leadership being replaced and its ideology fundamentally being altered, we will never see eye to eye with this wicked guild.

“For the rest of you, allies and adversaries alike, I have respect, at the very least. As such, I wish to give to you a token of Fusion’s goodwill and the strength of our ascent.” He clapped his hands and the support staff flung the chests open.

Inside them gleamed piles of Loot and Guild Hall produce. Ingots of refined elemental materials, from metals to gemstones, items from funny party tricks to powerful weapons, all from John’s last grinding sessions, and Tokens. Stacks upon stacks of Tokens of different values, confined in specially made crystal tubes, to present them with all the splendour that Fusion’s primary path into global power represented.

Leaders from all of the Divided Gates, safe the Purest Front, came forwards. King Dangun came on his own, everyone else came in the groups that had been announced. They found each of the chests bearing the seal of their guild, and inspected the contents carefully. By and large, they were the same, and where John had made special choices for reasons of cultural understanding, he had been careful to balance the values. Most interest lay with the Tokens, however.

World leaders like them could commission Legendary items with relative ease, but this new money, that was something only Fusion with its reliable and bottomless Mine could provide. A currency that was worth its weight in itself and whose continuous minting was controlled through metal reserves. It was a wonderful alternative for the Abyssals – certainly much superior to the dollar. That it was backed by the Abyss Auction just made the deal irresistibly sweet.

One by one, the world leaders accepted the gift. All were diplomatic about it, having servants of their own carry the chest away after just a few moments. All of them but one.

Lu Zhi shut the lid of the chest and sat down on top, crossing her legs in a way that showed off the black-clad curve of her butt. “How about you throw a second chest on top?” she suggested, with a joking wink. “As payment for the feast I am giving you?”

“That feels like something that should be negotiated in private. I wouldn’t want to make our peers jealous,” John returned smoothly.

From seemingly nowhere, Lu Zhi produced a jade hand fan and hid her smile behind it. Her eyes glowed in the same colour as the mystical stone. There was something sharp to her in that moment, something regal – something ancient and imperial. “We will speak to you in private, then,” she spoke, her voice faintly overlapping with itself, like the segments of the fan she held. “Come to our chambers in the morning of the next day. Let us enjoy breakfast together, President of Fusion.” The fan folded with a satisfying snap, before disintegrating into bright green particles. “If you feel up to it.”

“Usually I take breakfast with my harem but-“ John was about to give her the agreement when she suddenly interrupted him.

“Understood, I’ll come to you, that will work for both of us.” She clapped her hands twice and a bunch of servants hurried over, picking the chest up – with her still on top of it. Rapidly, they carried her away. “You seem quite interesting, John Newman.”

“Likewise,” John shouted after her.

‘John…’ For once, the warning voice in his head did not belong to Stirwin but to his number two in matters of statecraft. ‘Am I sensing tugged heartstrings?’

‘She’s basically a royal tomboy!’ the Gamer defended himself immediately.

‘No! Bad perv! You are not flirting with the Heavenly Jade Empress! I forbid it!’

“I do remind ya that we’re currently trying to keep expanding the harem on the side of not doing it,” Rave whispered very quietly to him, as if she was chiming in the conversation in his head. “So, keep that in mind, we’re not accepting newcomers right now.”

John gave it the tiniest of nods, knowing it was wise to give here – for more reasons than one. ‘I mean, how preposterous would it be to have two rulers of leading nations in my harem?’ he asked himself.

Only time would answer that question.