The Contestants had come together in the dining room.

  Individually, each of them had been summoned by the Butler and each of them had obliged. Open curtains let the light of the stars in. It wasn’t much, on this moonless night. Candles around the table illuminated the room enough that Rykard could make everyone out clearly, yet not enough to call it anything more than twilight.

  As a man of culture, he had brought his haremettes into the room with him to witness the Divine Game start. Cryo and Loran were on their own. Lord had brought some slut with gigantic tits, rivalling Vyra and Hey. The woman was seated in his p and giggled as he squeezed her tits. Benhuldran was accompanied by two guards that stood, straight as fence posts, behind the back of his chair. A chalice in his hand was filled with water.

  Including Rykard, 5 Contestants were present. Not a bad amount out of the 7 total that were currently active. That Maliande was missing was regrettable to Rykard. He would have loved to have continued his lucky streak by adding a bratty cherry on top.

  The Butler stood at the head of the long table. He cleared his throat, then began to talk. “Within the next hour, I will be murdered.” The announcement raised eyebrows. “Before this happens, all of you will be locked in your rooms. The Contestants will not be allowed to leave it and wards will be in pce to assure this is the case. After the hour is up, all of you will be able to leave your rooms. This process will also disable the enchantments that prevented you from entering each other’s rooms. Your task will be to find the culprit, alongside evidence to prove that they have done it.”

  Loran raised a hand. “Will people appear in this mansion that are going to kill you?”

  The Butler remained motionless. “I was instructed to answer no questions, no matter what. I will be murdered within the hour. That is what you know for certain. Everything else after that is up to you. Whoever finds out whodunnit first will pce first in this game and receive the right to change the sky. As before, those who score lower will be allowed to influence the outcome as well, in progressively lesser capacity.”

  “Well, since asking questions will be meaningless, I’ll go back to my room first!” Lord decided and rose with the slut draped across his arms. “Got to use that hour productively.”

  “I could not agree more,” Rykard stated and rose to his feet as well. “Let’s go,” he told his women. The other Contestants followed quickly, none of them wanting to hold up the divine process.

  Once they were back in their chamber, the promised wards became active.

  Rykard could feel it in the air. A sort of stagnancy suddenly descended on them. The air was heavier than before and when he waved his arm, the wind created was sluggish. “A dimensional lock?” he theorized and pced a hand on the wall. He felt the magic circuitry around them.

  “The wording of the rules was quite interesting,” Miyo commented on his thoughts well before he spoke them. “The ‘Contestants’ aren’t allowed to leave. No mentions of their compatriots or lovers.” The vixen turned to Subana and Tess. “As goddess and chosen of a god of vows, what do you make of this?”

  “An oversight, likely intentional,” Tess was first to answer.

  “Such details would be omitted from my memories by decree of fairness… however, my own intellect and knowledge of the divine would lead me to agree.”

  “Could also be a trap,” Altana weighed in. “The gods are capricious.”

  “Does it even matter?” Punk asked and to demonstrate grabbed the doorknob. She gave it a couple of pushes and pulls, putting all of her power into it. Nothing budged. “What are we gonna do, bust down a divine warding spell?”

  “Should be easy enough,” Rykard stated.

  The Hellcat turned to him with wide eyes. After realizing he was completely sincere, she threw her head back and ughed. “Yeah, no, that was fucking stupid of me. Sorry, I’m still on normal people brain.”

  “We could sit here and wait and py whatever game the gods intend for us,” Rykard said. “Or… I could break down these wards and send Tess to become our murderer.” He grinned at the thief. “A confession would be proof enough for the gods.”

  A hand on her hips, the curvy dy of the night returned a sly smile. “Stealing victory from everyone else - I like it.”

  “There is still a chance we may be taking things too liberally. There is also the chance other Contestants may try the same,” Subana cautioned.

  “I doubt they have someone capable of standing up to our Tess,” Rykard stated. Whether she was stronger than Benhuldran they never got to test, but she was certainly up there when it came to the Contestants. Swimming in the ambient mana of his presence, training, and getting filled with his magic-rich seed would have elevated her further since. Just being near Rykard made submissives better versions of themselves.

  Miyo settled at the edge of the bed and smiled. “The decision is yours, Master.”