Grandor was sitting in a chair.
In front of her was another chair, and between them rested a chessboard atop a round table.
The doors opened.
A green-haired boy entered with shackles around his wrists.
Two other figures walked behind him.
Yash had finally met Grandor.
Grandor: How about a little match before I make you my slave?
She said playfully, pointing toward the empty chair.
Yash sat down gracefully.
The match began.
Silence.
A few moves passed.
Grandor: I have deployed a great portion of my combatants toward Ruin Society. Check.
Yash moved his knight to block the check.
He remained silent.
Grandor: I have secretly moved my anthropomorphic alligators to hunt down the Ganas. Very secretly. Check.
She placed him in check with a pawn.
Yash stayed silent.
He moved his knight again.
Grandor: I have eliminated Ratan. That traitor.
Grandor captured Yash's knight.
The pieces were aligning exactly as she desired.
Grandor: You sent Pratik to Ruin Society to keep him away from this event. You let the Ganas roam freely because you believed I would focus all my attention on you. Your other two allies are still waiting inside the spacecraft.
She moved her knight.
The situation?
Yash's king was trapped in a corner.
One of his knights had already fallen.
His rooks remained unused, yet Grandor had both his king and rook within her sights.
Grandor: Aren't you trapped, pretty boy?
Yash: Do you know which chess piece is truly the most dangerous?
Grandor: If we're talking about the early game, it's the queen. If we're talking about the sneakiest piece, then it's the knight.
Yash: You forgot the pawn.
Yash moved a pawn two squares forward.
Grandor smiled.
Grandor: It won't matter if I erase that pawn early.
She captured it immediately.
Yash: You're right. But pawns aren't dangerous only because they can promote. They help create the right events.
Two moves later, the entire game flipped upside down.
Yash: You forgot that I still have another knight. His name is Gin.
I have two rooks: Mala and Ganaraj.
I have two bishops: Kel and Grimori.
The only reason I sent Pratik to Ruin Society was to make sure you would send your army there.
You exposed yourself.
Grandor: How exactly?
Yash: The world now knows what you've been hiding behind this empire of lies.
Grandor: That's impossible.
Yash: You were too obsessed with my king, weren't you?
Yash moved his queen.
Check.
Grandor defended using her knight.
Yash captured it with his bishop.
Yash: Kel and Grimori gathered the information I asked for a long time ago.
You never even noticed them.
Grandor's eyes widened.
Yash: They spread the exact rumors needed to make people question the legend of Grandor.
The heroic warrior Grandor...
Or perhaps the false tyrant Grandor.
Yash captured another one of Grandor's knights.
Yash: Kuon and Zesta, was it?
Thanks to them, I was able to create an illusion large enough to deceive even you.
Grandor glanced behind her.
The two figures standing there were nothing but illusions.
Grandor: When did you...
Yash: They captured me after eliminating Ratan.
Interestingly enough, they sealed my mouth.
I realized immediately that it was your order.
You knew I could manipulate emotions through words.
So I prepared beforehand.
I wrote notes.
I predicted the exact questions they would ask and prepared the exact answers I needed.
Even they learned the truth.
That you're a tyrant who oppresses Ruin Society for your own benefit.
Grandor's expression darkened.
She was barely restraining her rage.
Yash: You're not the one who created my path here.
I created it myself.
Checkmate.
The game ended on the board.
Shall we end ours as well?
Grandor laughed for several moments.
Grandor: Not bad.
In that case, I'll simply rebuild my false empire once more.
Besides, this changes nothing.
Ruin Society will still be erased.
And I'll create a new one for anyone who learns the truth.
In the next moment, the entire capital burst into flames.
Grandor: The world is burning, dear prince!
How are you going to save the people of the capital now?
Yash: Do you see any victims?
Grandor looked around.
Not a single casualty.
What?!
Yash smirked.
Yash: Let the world burn.
I lied about a few things during our conversation.
In fact, our entire conversation is being broadcast across the planet.
Let the world see the real Grandor.
The coward behind the throne.
What?!
Yash: The crowded capital you see is another illusion created by Kuon at my request.
Kel and Grimori evacuated everyone beforehand.
What remains is you, me, and perhaps your guilt.
Grandor: I see...
I lost.
However, I'll drag you down to the depths of hell with me.
Before Grandor could strike with her claw-like nails, she was hurled away.
It was Ganaraj.
I never used my queen or several other pieces during our game.
My my, what an idiot I am.
Grandor stood up and straightened her dress.
Grandor: Then I'll simply take both of you down.
Yash: Very well then...
To be continued...