All things considered, Eris expected everything to go a lot worse than it did. As she leaned against the wall of this gloomy, but rather useful place that was Knossos, she looked around with an uneasy smile. Sure, the Loki Familia got away almost scot free. Yes, Astraea Familia dominated Ishtar like she was a baby. Barca was raging at the damage done to his dungeon, Thanatos was doing his messiah spiel and mourning the casualties he suffered. She scoffed. Oh right, Ishtar was also sent back to heaven. That was nice to wake up to. Shaking her head, Eris sighed. But hey, as far as anyone concerned, no keys were lost, so Knossos was as safe as ever! Not to mention the leak that was Ishtar was dealt with, even if it was concerning. Overall, not having been wiped out yet was good, right? Still, trying to 'cheer' herself up didn't work as she thought. After all, when the Night Queen first gave the suggestion of the bait plan, Eris expected things to go a lot more smoothly. And given the barely restrained rage said Queen was radiating, so did she.
Ignoring the outraged screams in the background, the hooded individual clicked her tongue a few times, pretending to be calm as she paced around the room. Eris shared an uneasy look with Thanatos, who lazily smiled back and shrugged nonchalantly. Meanwhile Valletta was sitting on a chair, waiting for the Night Queen to finally make her point. Then, in absolute exasperation, she shook her head before glancing at the deities and other members of Evilus. Eris couldn't help but gulp. Despite her experience and life as a divine being, there was just something... wrong about this individual. At least for now it was only limited to unease but it stung her pride, which she had to swallow down before she said something unwise.
"Do you know why I'm disappointed with you?"
Valletta growled, rising from her seat. Yet the Night Queen only hushed at the top class adventurer, pressing her fingers together with a thin mouth.
"Lack. Of. Communication." She gestured with her hand with each word. Running her palms across her neck a few times, she took a sharp breath through her nose. A forced giggle escaped her as she spread her arms open. "Now I understand that this was bound to happen. Many moving cogs, more chances of failure. And I realize that this was just unfortunate timing. Loki and Astraea at the same time? Well yes, I see that to be difficult."
A growl escaped her and any act of politeness disappeared.
"Still... I hoped for more... results," the Night Queen muttered, giving a pointed look at the human in question.
"Pah, if they didn't get luc-"
Without hesitation, the slave trader snapped her fingers. Before Valletta could draw her own blade, sneering down at the Night Queen, her face was smashed into the Adamantite ground. It was the Pallum Knight, now hooded once more. In the shadows, barely visible to Eris, were two more figures, hidden, but ready to act as well. The goddess of chaos gulped and even Thanatos raised an eyebrow with worry. Right, the other reason why Eris didn't say anything to that condescending lecture. Why she stood alone here, without any of her own children. It would have been utterly meaningless in the face of the power houses the Night Queen had under command, however she pulled that off. Those faceless puppets under her thrall. But it wasn't anything like the charm Ishtar or Freya liked to use. No, her 'mind control' was a lot more brutal and direct.
Already, she could see it, as Valletta began to whimper, her eyes wide as she struggled with a bleeding face to get away. Yet she couldn't, starting to panic as she saw the Night Queen lean over her. In that moment, Eris only saw something utterly monstrous loom over Valletta. Not a hint of humanity in this beast. Not a hint of divinity. Only raw malice in the shape of a human as a guttural sound escaped the Night Queen's throat.
"Listen here, brat," the Night Queen whispered, sounding absolutely done with everything. "If I knew beforehand that you would just let the Loki Familia enter willy nilly like that, I would've prepared accordingly! If you had focused on stalling for time instead of throwing things at them like a caveman, we wouldn't be in this situation!" She threw her arms in the air with a hateful laugh. "Alas, I guess it was my fault to be under the impression you were going to stall for time until I dealt with Ishtar!"
By now tears were running down Valletta's face, unable to even scream. Eris and Thanatos groaned in discomfort. Not because of the agony the human was going through, no way, but because the air seemed to suffocate even them. It was like divine power itself was being weakened, rejecting its existence in this place. It was a drop in the ocean all things considered for Eris and her fellow god, but she could see how Valletta grew weaker and weaker, her bones beginning to crack from the pressure on her body from the Pallum Knight.
"But no, now!" The Night Queen began to breathe heavily, her increased volume making her throat exhausted. "Now they all got away scot free! Scurrying through the gaps you created by your mindless actions!" She pointed at herself with a snarl."I am aware that we could've wiped out Loki's kids with ease, if I had my resources in here, but I unfortunately thought you fucking idiots were more competent than you are!"
A loud clap interrupted this event. It was a bit intimidating at how fast the slave trader snapped her head at Thanatos, who raised his hands in a placating manner, a wry smile on his face.
"Now, now, I can't have you break my dear Valletta."
All that earned was a hateful scoff. Showing her teeth, she pointed at the two of them. Eris couldn't help but flinch before she sent a glare at her fellow god. Why was he dragging her into this?!
"Hah! Don't act like your kind actually cares! Only reason I am not mad at you is because I am used to you people not lifting a damn finger for anything!"
Shaking her head with a huff, the Night Queen snapped her fingers once more. At once, her three slaves, the two in the shadows and the one holding Valletta down, disappeared with pure speed. Valletta gasped for air, dragging herself away before sending a hateful look at the Night Queen. The latter ignored her completely as she twirled her hand at herself, taking in a long deep breath.
"But fine. I admit I am a bit... peeved!" A playful smile appeared on her face. Eris calmed down a bit. It was still fake, but at least it was better kept, which meant a better temper for now. Because of that, the goddess cleared her throat. Business was business after all and recent events did make her worry a bit. A certain name came to mind and she covered her mouth with a fan when the Night Queen looked at her.
"Where was Gojouno? I was under the impression that she would help out a lot more than she did."
It was still weird knowing that name and who it belonged to. There was no doubt that there had to be some relation with Senbonzakura there. Unfortunately, the Night Queen and a certain other goddess in the Far East kept mum about it. As expected, the slave trader glared at her, a growl escaping her throat.
"She has my absolute trust." She waved her hand dismissively. "Just one of her episodes, she rebounds quickly enough." A pause and she then bit her thumb a few times. "Still, I do admit it's bad timing."
There. Things like that didn't add up. The Night Queen was a monster. An utter psychopath. Yet in moments like these, when it came to the Far Eastern enforcer... one could almost call it a soft spot. If nothing else, Gojouno was someone she was protective of, for whatever reason. A thought for the future, if she ever got into position to make use of it. Nothing that would happen for the next decades however. Because of that, she gracefully let the matter lie, folding her fan with a polite smile. The Night Queen crossed her arms as she took the chair Valletta previously occupied, the latter having gone off once she realized she had no purpose in this meeting, beyond being a potential victim once more.
"Anyway, I do apologize for not making my other 'assets' available for you, but you must understand." The Night Queen clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Some of them are more... fickle than expected. I don't want to make the same mistake twice after losing track of the Hound."
Eris suppressed a scoff. 'Losing track'. Ah yes. One of her two 'monsters'. She recalled the reports, from whatever witnesses that were left alive. Naturally at first the Night Queen proclaimed them as magical arrows that could take down any threat. And it certainly was that way. However, these two things, the Hound and the Snake, weren't under her control. At all. Oh, she pretended to, that the slaughter these things did were all part of the plan. However, as a goddess who prided herself in chaos specifically, she was better at spotting bluffs than anyone else. There was a reason she was in control of the casino after all. The Hound, at best, followed some core commands. But beyond that? It did what it wanted to, rampaging in the dungeons. It was surprising the guild didn't usher a bounty yet. Then again, how could there be a bounty, if there were no witnesses? The Snake was even worse, being stuck in sleep while the Night Queen focused on her other aces. Last she heard was that the slave trader showed an interest in areas with a lot of dragon type monsters in the dungeon. What for? The materials were nice and all, but that couldn't be it.
Eris sighed. Trying to figure out her motives was a pain as always. So what if she was interested in dragons? Not her problem. The dungeon was outside her concern, her business was the only thing that mattered. Which meant sucking up to the leading figure of slavery even if it irked Eris. Because of that, she tilted her head politely with a small smile.
"What about step two?"
The Night Queen blinked before chuckling.
"It will go just as planned." She raised an eyebrow at Eris. "What, are you afraid?"
The goddess bristled up, but a hand on her shoulder forced her to calm down. Especially when that smug grin grew. No, she will not give that maniac the satisfaction. Nodding at Thanatos, she opened her fan and covered her mouth.
"Naturally not. I am just concerned for... let's call it wrong usage of assets."
"It is entirely appropriate." The Night Queen let out a scoff. "So far, Hestia has been lucky." She sent a pointed look at Eris. "But she will have no chance to direct force."
"I still don't get why you are targeting a small time Familia like that, Night Queen," Thanatos asked, rubbing his chin. The Night Queen in response licked her lips like a predator, before chopping her hand down a few times.
"Big picture is made of little pictures. Better to kill the tree while it's still a sapling. Take them out, it affects Loki and Astraea. Affecting them will make things easier in the long run." She paused and turned her back to them. "Besides... "
Hatred exploded from the Night Queen. Her posture didn't change. Her voice didn't change. Yet for a moment, Eris thought she was about to be devoured by a deep abyss. The thing tilted its head at them, causing Eris to take a step back while Thanatos stiffened up. An expression that would fit a maiden of love looked at them, mouth wide and eyes half lidded. Yet the emotion it showed was malice, the opposite of what such a face should mean.
"I hate heroes~!"