The Game Against Maxwell:

Ten minutes passed as Maximus was still lying upon Aqua's lap as he could feel his mana being resupplied from her. She was using her Godly Aura to help speed up his rest and recovery. Around the two of them was a light aura outlining their figures.

Maximus could see she had her eyes still closed and he soon sensed he was nearing completion of his mana supply being refilled.

"It is so amazing to see how much mana supply she has even after restoring my reservoir of magical power, it's as though she has a near bottomless pit in reserve." He said to himself feeling impressed and proud of her.

The next moment the two of them felt a sharp bolt within themselves and knew he was ready to start again. Maximus wanted to get up but felt as though he should stay as he was, sensing the touch within her hands not wanting him to leave. He turned his gaze back up towards her face to see her eyes opened with a somber feel to them.

"What's the matter Aqua?" He inquired feeling a little concerned.

"It's just…" She paused for a moment feeling unsure of what to say. "I feel as though if we press on from here something worse is bound to happen compared to what we have already gone through. Not the idea of losing to someone, but something else entirely. I do not know how to explain it, but I feel as though we should not press forward and just try to break our way out of this place with your magic. If we do that, I am sure we can erase this entire Magical World we are trapped in." She said as though to suggest a better path.

"I like the sound of that idea; however, this trap of Maxwell's is set up around an object. At least I believe it to be and if so, we would have to level everything before and that would only serve to wear us down too much. At the same time, I feel it could also settle around Maxwell as a whole and if we defeat him, we can get out of here either way." He said keeping his eyes on hers.

He started to move a little when she pressed on his forehead and he saw the look in her eyes become dire and fear soon began to mount within her.

"Please, just stay here a little longer." She begged him while placing her head upon his.

"She really is concerned about what is ahead, and yet we need to leave this place and not be trapped in here for who knows how long." He said to himself and placed his hands on her cheek to get her attention. "Hey, there is no need to worry, so long as you stand by my side, nothing will happen to you, okay?" He said to reassure her.

She squinted her eyes and soon began to tremble a little at the thought of pressing on, sensing her fear heavy upon her shoulders.

"Aqua, trust me, everything will be alright." He said trying to help her confidence.

"Okay, if you say so." She said and opened her eyes to see the indominable spirit within his.

She leaned back as he began to pick himself up and stood next to her. He lowered his right hand to help her up and when she stood up, he gestured to her with a smile while shrugging his right shoulder.

"If you like and feel up to it, I can carry you to the castle so you are not to overwhelmed." He suggested.

Before he could say anything else, she jumped into his arms with her hands squeezing a fist full of his clothing and her head pressed against his chest. He felt the concern emanating from her and for a moment the two embraced each other.

"I do not know why but something horrible is going to happen, I just know it." She said to herself.

They both made their way through the forest and noticed nothing else was clouding their minds or playing with their senses. After walking for ten minutes, the two of them saw the castle come into view. The structure sat upon the hill, overlooking the entire forest. The road leading to it was not tarnished or tampered with in any way he could sense. Yet as he turned back to the castle, he could sense something powerful originating from it. The intense yet gentle pulse emanating off its walls of stone.

"Could he have made it so the entire castle is the thing which is keeping us here along with being the focal point for this magical world we are within?" Maximus wondered and looked back at Aqua who began to clinch her fist around his clothing once more. "That could be a good sign to take in as the closer we are getting; she feels more terrified. I wonder what could be setting her off?" He took note of her small action.

After arriving at the gate to the model of their home, Aqua looked upon the mighty structure and sensed the uneasy feeling had become so intense, she made sure not to let him go.

"Maximus, do you think you can just blast it with one of your attacks and be done with it? I do not want you to go in there, because something sinister about this place is giving me the willies something fierce." She said keeping her gaze from looking at the castle.

Maximus inspected it as close as he could and sensed multiple magical spells within various barriers and magical bubbles floating around. He formed a ball of light and fired toward the opened gate. The moment it hit the threshold; the ball disappeared within the blink of an eye.

"Clever of you to employ the same traps I placed upon mine and Aqua's home to keep unwelcomed guests from employing magic where they are not supposed to. He must have learned from watching me in previous times against all the other foes, whenever that was." He said to himself feeling a little impressed.

"Are you going to go through with finishing it?" She asked still attached to him and before he took a step towards the gate.

"Yes, because we need to end this here and now." He said stepping past the gate.

He looked around and noticed nothing happened and wondered if his foe was going to wait when he enters or do something else. They paused at the door for a few moments before making their way in. Aqua worked up the courage to look around and noticed the feeling within her had faded the moment after walking in.

"This is a little weird, it feels so peaceful all of a sudden. What could be at play?" She said to herself trying to think like Maximus as he was having the same thoughts.

"I was expecting to be hit with something the moment we walked through the grounds before entering, yet nothing has happened. I do not like that at all." He whispered and she heard him.

The two stopped within the center of the grand guest room. Everything was exactly the same as they had left it before entering this madness. To their right, they both saw Eris and Kazuma sitting upon one of the couches. Sitting at one of the others furniture was Darkness and Megumin.

"Darkness, Megumin!" Aqua and Maximus shouted at the same time, surprised to see those two here.

Before they could run to them, Maxwell stood up from the couch he was sitting on and turned to greet them.

"Ah, Lady Aqua and Maximus, what perfect timing. Please, have a seat." He gestured to them and they hesitantly waited and he took notice. "If you do not hurry, your companions will surely perish." He informed them with a grin on his face.

Maximus walked over and sat down with Aqua sitting upon his lap. Maxwell sat down across from them and leaned back a little to get comfortable.

"Tea or perhaps something a bit stronger, no?" He gestured as several cups of tea and glasses of wine appeared.

Aqua was about to reach for the wine when Maximus quickly grabbed her hand.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She inquired and turned around to see his stern face and shook his head side to side.

"He could have either poisoned it or put a sleeping agent within the drink." He warned her and pointed at the other two. "If you had not noticed, they have been silent and frozen in place ever since we got here." He informed her while pointing at them.

"I had a feeling you would be on your guard and had to test you just to make sure you did not lose yourself. Now then, onto business." Maxwell said as he crossed his right leg over the left. "I must congratulate you on making it this far however, this is the end of the line. Before you will lie one final task and that is you must face me, but not in the simple one on one battle." He said reaching for and taking a sip of his tea.

"Let me guess, we are to battle in a way where neither of us lift a finger to harm the other. I take it, those four did the same and are now your prisoners because they lost." He said moving Aqua to sit beside him.

"Uh, hey." She protested being moved from him.

"So then, what game shall we play and what are the terms?" Maximus asked.

Maxwell smiled as he placed his teacup back on the plate and laid it on the table.

"It is a simple game really, the two of us will play Chess. The terms are as follows: should you be defeated by me; you will swear fealty to Lord Alderp without question." He began to inform him the conditions.

"What about the others here?" Maximus inquired.

"I really have no need of them, so should you lose, they will remain here to live out the rest of their lives." Maxwell replied.

"Unacceptable!" Maximus snapped at him and Maxwell was not surprised by his response. "If I lose to you and if what you say is true about not needing them, then I wish for you to set them free from this place. Also, if I happen to win…"

"You and your party will be set free from this place without question or resistance from me." Maxwell quickly said.

"I do not like this at all, it's as if there is something else going into this I am not seeing." Maximus said to himself.

"Hey, that sounds easy for him. I will have you know; I have challenged Maximus several times throughout our stay here and I have never once been able to defeat him. So, there is no way he could lose to the likes of you or anyone for that matter." Aqua said confidently.

"That is not a high bar to set, Aqua. Every time we play, you use the same strategy and careless approach. There is no telling how skilled he is. Not to mention I thought we would have a different battle and never once would have guessed we would spar in this fashion." Maximus said to himself feeling a little unnerved.

"I like to impose another condition if you will and that is, should fate deem I am to be the winner, then you must not only release us but also promise not to come after me or my party ever again. Do you accept?" Maximus finished laying out his side of the terms.

"Having them go either way works for me. Also, should you win, I promise never to pursue you again even if my master orders me to do so." Maxwell said stretching forth his hand.

Maximus extended his and both shook on it.

"That was easier than I thought it would, I do not like that at all." Maximus said to himself.

The next moment the cups and glasses disappeared which was replaced with a board two sets of sixteen pieces facing each other, one white the other black. Maximus looked down and saw his set was white and Maxwell had the opposite.

After the board was set, a swirl of black and purple aura surrounded Aqua and Maximus, spinning like a whirlpool. Maximus braced himself and readied for what may come forth. After a few seconds the swirling aura came to a halt and Maximus noticed he had not moved but when he looked to where the others were, he noticed they disappeared.

"What?! Where did they all go?" He said to himself and turned to where Maxwell was sitting. "What is the meaning of this, explain yourself, what have you done with my party?" Maximus demanded him to answer.

Maxwell was sitting still with his arms crossed before his chest, sat up a little and chuckled a little.

"It's quite simple, just take a look at the board." He calmly said pointing at the board before them.

Maximus turned his confused and furious gaze down and saw to his disbelief all of his party members standing at certain spots where the corresponding chess pieces would be.

Meanwhile, just before being upon the board, Aqua was surrounded by the same dark aura. Her terror was mounting in a rapid pace and she turned in every direction to look for Maximus.

"Maximus!" She repeated multiple times over, feeling desperate. "Where are you?" She shouted and it echoed over through the dark void.

She began to squat while wrapping her arms around her chest as tears began to form.

"Don't leave me alone her in the dark." She said and began to cry for a few moments when she heard his voice echoing through the void. "Maximus!" She jumped up looking upward and soon saw him but was completely different. "How did he get so tall!?" She wondered with amazement.

"Aqua, you are here too? I can't believe it, where's Maximus and what happened?" Kazuma asked shouting from across the ways to her right.

"Wait, Aqua is here too?" Megumin's voice echoed next to Kazuma's spot.

Aqua looked toward in their direction and was feeling a little relieved to see she was not alone.

"Oh man, are we really playing this game again?" Eris said on the verge of tears as she was on her knees with her hands over her head.

Aqua turned around and saw her and Darkness on the other side of the board. Each of them was standing on a specific square as if to designate them for something.

Kazuma noticed where Aqua stood.

"It looks as though she is going to be the bishop on the right side of the pieces and I am still stuck with the same location as the last couple of times." He said as terror began to mount within him.

Darkness was gasping for air with an erotic smile, slightly satisfied yet wanted more.

Before Aqua could inquire further, they all heard Maximus' voice again echoing with such power and the others were surprised to see him sitting on the couch. His titanic form towered over them as they over stood three inches tall. In the background they saw the same dark void which took hold of them and they attempted to get his attention.

Meanwhile, Maximus saw something at the bottom edge of his vision after being instructed to look down and to his amazement and confusion, saw his party members as they looked back up at him. He quickly turned his gaze filled with anger back at Maxwell.

"Let them go!" He demanded.

"Why should I do that?" Maxwell inquired. "If I keep them here and on the board the seriousness will stay at the level it is. Not to mention, this will be quite fun in my opinion." He finished his thought while taking another sip of tea that materialized in his hand.

"Fine, just so you know, I will make you pay dearly should any harm happen to them, especially Aqua." Maximus snapped and prepared for the game.

Maxwell snapped his fingers and the next moment the empty spaces on the board were filled with their perspective pieces. Everyone noticed what corresponding piece they were to be.

"So, Darkness sits as the Knight on the left flank with Eris as the Queen, Aqua is the right-side Bishop, Megumin is the also on the right side as the Rook, and Kazuma is the Pawn in front of her. That makes since what with their classes and all. Eris being in her Goddess form sits well with being a Queen, yet I first would have thought she would have been the other Bishop. Aqua's Arch-Priest class suits the Bishop perfectly as Darkness being a Crusader is an obvious placement. Megumin being a Rook is about as close to a powerful Arch-Mage as can be and Kazuma being an ordinary adventurer could sometimes be considered a Pawn in the eyes of those who buy their services." He said to himself and turned back to Maxwell who snapped his fingers once more.

The moment after, the board came to life as several terrains appeared across the entire board from side-to-side. The first terrain, where the majority of the party members stood was that of a large castle, towering behind Kazuma. To his eyes it stood at least twenty feet and was as real as the actual structure, with multiple stones layering and spreading across the board. On the opposite side of the board was the same type of wall for Maxwell pieces as the Pawns on both sides stood in front of their perspective structures.

The row of squares Kazuma and the rest of the Pawns stood within peaceful grasslands that seem to stretch for miles. The next two rows that Maximus and Kazuma could see were that of a vast deep forest that lied beyond that. Despite being on top of a wall, the others could not see what lied ahead. Darkness however could see two squares which lied on the row with the swamp terrain and her excitement began to show in her eyes.

"Maximus, before you do anything else, I wish to go first and be drenched in the waters of that swamp! Oh, the various wild animals lashing out and torment me with their blows would satisfy me!" She said in a demanding tone as she hugged herself with wild thoughts that was making him feel unsettled.

Maximus continued to observe what the rest of the terrain was for each row. He saw a desert behind the forest with the last row being a jungle before the grasslands and castle wall where Maxwell's pieces sat.

"If these terrains are a representation of real life, which I am betting on since he would want us all to suffer in some way, then everyone can experience what it would feel like being in the actual place. Not to mention, with Aqua and I being so close he would revel in the thought of seeing me hesitate to use her, let alone the others." He said to himself as he looked down at Aqua and she turned to look up at him after noticing his gaze.

"What could he be thinking about that has him so worried?" She wondered to herself. "Please tell me it is not as bad as it looks." She could barely whisper while looking up at him.

"In this game white goes first which could put us at a serious disadvantage should I make the wrong move. This will call for us to truly trust one another." He said to himself. "Everyone, I need you to listen closely, no matter what happens, you need to listen to what my orders are no matter what. Since we will be making the first move, I am…"

"I shall make the first move, here I go!" Darkness shouted with pure excitement, interrupting him.

She jumped down from the wall with no injuries and proceeded to run towards the two squares resting within the swamp while laughing with uncomfortable joy.

"No, Darkness, do not make a move just yet!" Maximus and Kazuma shouted at the same time.

She turned to the right and stopped at the square she could only go to. The moment she stopped, the waters around her bubbled as though something was underneath.

"Come on, I am ready for you!" She shouted with a crazed joyful look in her eyes and started to laugh once more.

The next moment a pair of alligators burst forth from the depths and latched onto her arms in an attempt to pull her under. Darkness' strength was more than a match for the beasts and they released her. The next moment another one latched its jaws onto her midriff and lifted her up in the air. It then began to shake its head to the side violently and Darkness continued to revel in joy as she was being attacked by the creatures.

Aqua could hear the sounds and was shivering with fear of what was transpiring out in the unknown.

"This is crazy, this is crazy!" She repeated several times over as she squatted down with her hands over her ears. "Please do not let me go out there." She said as the fear continued to mount.

"I am not surprised she would do such a thing as the other times she did the same thing." Megumin said with a blank stare towards the commotion.

"That idiot and yet I am not surprised she would do such a thing as well. With that said, at least she was able to show me that each row comes with a certain condition that I would guess activates once you make a move." Maximus said and waited for Maxwell to make his first move.

Maxwell had a smile as he took his Pawn in front of his King two spaces. Once it landed on the desert square Maximus noticed nothing happened it.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" He protested with anger in his tone. "Your piece did not have anything happen to it yet mine will face consequences. That is in no way fair at all!" He raised his voice a little more.

"Too bad, your piece moved and so now you have no choice but to finish this game. I wonder how you will play from this moment henceforth. Will it be conservative or risk it all by trying to finish it quickly?" Maxwell said with a smile on his face.

Maximus sat there as the torment Darkness was going through made him wonder what other surprises could be in store for them. He saw Darkness enjoying herself and paid it no mind as he reached for the next piece to move.

"I knew he would play unfair in some way, yet not like this. What will happen to Darkness if I leave her there for too long, not to mention she would just rush back unless another square holds more torture for her to enjoy. I guess I can leave her there for now. So, what shall be my real first move?" He wondered as he studied the board to carefully plan his attack.