Surrounding the table was Maxine, Corey, Tiberius, Caius, Gibson, Aria, Dular, Titus, and Optimus. Even Sadie was invited to the crypt.
"My Lord, My lady," Azazel pulled the two thrones for Michael and Gaya to sit. For a moment, Michael remained silent. He scanned everyone's face. All of his subordinates averted their gazes.
"Maxine," Michael turned his eyes to Maxine, who sat closer to Michael.
"Did you take care of the burial?" asked Michael.
"Yes my lord," Maxine stammered in fear. To their surprise, Michael did not act as they expected. He remained calm.
"Tiberius," Michael looked at Tiberius,
"Why didn't you tell me or her before you went to that meeting?" Due to Michael's demonic voice, they failed to guess whether he was mad, disappointed, or just simply asking. Tiberius was speechless for a second. He finally managed to answer Michael.
"To be honest, we thought we could handle it. Obviously, we thought wrong. So whatever punishment you have in mind, I can take it," Tiberius sighed. Michael noticed Sadie clenching her fist suddenly as though she didn't want to see him punish Tiberius.
"You did nothing wrong. The fault is mine," His words shocked everyone. They all expected the Dark Lord to punish or at the very least, shout at Tiberius. Contrary to their expectation, they heard the Dark Lord blames himself.
"My Lord," Maxine mumbled as Michael raised his hand.
"Although I recruited all of you, I neglected to create a hierarchy and a good way to communicate among yourselves. But that ends now. Today, we are beginning a new chapter in this world. Today, the Order of Death will be reborn," Michael slowly rose from his throne.
"From now on, you will address me as The Dark Lord and her as The Dark Queen," Michael looked at Gaya for a moment before turning his gaze back to them.
"Each of you will address the other in the room by Lord or Lady," said Michael. After Heinberg died, Michael and Gaya knew it was time they properly build up the order. Until now, ironically, there was no order in the order. Little things such as how the members address themselves mattered. Without strict discipline and rules, eventually, the order would fail, just like before.
"We are the shadow empire that will rule this world. I don't have to tell you how fucked up this world is. Slavery, famine, hunger, experiments on people, innocent people getting crushed by the wealthy, weak getting weaker, strong getting stronger and the list goes on. We will sit here all day if I list everything wrong with this world. Put simply, the eight great clans and the skyhall are the sicknesses and we are the cure," said Michael before pausing for a second. He let his words sink into their heads.
"Like any government, we need a hierarchy and order. Dark Queen," Michael looked at Gaya as she rose from her throne. Leaving the explaining things to Gaya, Michael plunged onto his throne once again. Azazel came to his side and stood beside his throne like a good servant.
"Each of you is either a king or a queen. You're allowed to have ministers as many as you need. But," Gaya raised her finger,
"Under no circumstance, a monster is to know the other king or a queen at this table. Otherwise, one minister could reveal all your identities to the eight great clans and destroy the order in a couple of days. After all, many empires fall not to foes who fight in front of them but to the traitors behind them. This brings me to my next topic, recruitment," Gaya glanced at the people. Like any organization, Gaya prioritized talent and loyalty over anything. If the order was her kingdom, Gaya would rather have hundred loyal talented people under her command than thousand rich nobles.
"I want three things from all of you and the people you choose to join our order," Gaya raised three fingers,
"Loyalty, talent, and the will to do whatever is necessary. You are here because you all have these three. So when you choose someone, he or she must have the three qualities I mentioned. Now when you find someone you want to recruit, you don't go and tell everything about us. There is a certain process to recruit someone. Before I explain the process, we have to assign certain tasks to you' I and Dark Lord derived tasks according to your strengths. First, Tiberius," Gaya gestured at Tiberius to stand.
"Tiberius, you are a warrior and an excellent leader. You fought against slavery and in a short amount of time, you have built a safe haven for all the freedom fighters. Soon, the order will help you wipe out slavery from the southern continent completely,"
Tiberius couldn't help feeling grateful towards the Dark Lord hearing the Dark Queen. Just as the Dark Lord promised him, he helped Tiberius free hundreds of slaves from nobles and helped him build an entire kingdom for all the freedom fighters through Caius. Thanks to the Dark Lord, all the slaves now had a destination, a place where they could be free without the fear of nobles. But his word was far from over. Until he free the last slave, he wouldn't stop fighting for them. With the help of the Dark Lord, it was not a pipe dream.
"So I will bestow you the title of King of War. Any and every military or war-related thing on land the order face will go through you. You will receive the necessary tools and training soon. Do you accept the task and serve the Dark Lord and the order with every fiber in your body?" asked Gaya.
Without saying a word, Tiberius stepped back and dropped to one knee,
"I accept Dark Queen,"
"Good," Gaya nodded. Michael did not plan anything dramatic but decided to keep everything simple. After Tiberius went back to his seat, Gaya turned her gaze towards Corey. Without uttering a word, Corey rose from her chair.
"Corey, you built an army and became a Pirate Lord with brains. Just like Tiberius, you are also an excellent leader and captain. Hence, I name you and the Queen of the Seas. You will lead the navel army of the order. Do you accept the task and serve the Dark Lord and the order with every fiber in your body?"
"I accept Dark Queen," Just like Tiberius, Corey also bent her knees to Michael.
"Next, Aria," Aria rose up. Her brothers felt overwhelmed by the pressure they felt from everyone in the room. To be honest, they couldn't believe their little sister has become an assassin under the Dark Lord. Although they felt grateful for the dark lord, they still had some concerns about their sister's safety.
"I don't have to tell you again what the Dark Lord did to you. He brought your brothers back to life. He is a god to you,"
"I am eternally grateful to the Dark Lord and to you Dark Queen," Aria spoke with confidence. Killing people had turned the soft delicate girl into a dominant assassin who feared no one except the Dark Lord and the Dark Queen.
"The Dark Lord and I decided to train you until you become the deadliest assassin in this entire world. At that time, you will lead the Assassin Guild the order will build. So hereby I name you the Queen of the shadows. You will receive orders soon. Do you accept the task and serve the Dark Lord and the order with every fiber in your body?" asked Gaya. As everyone expected, Aria dropped to one knee but unlike others, she drew her dagger, cutting her palm.
"My life is yours to command Dark Lord, Dark Queen," contemporary romance
"Good. But let's not think about dying anytime soon. Every one of you will become Immortals under the Dark Lord," Gaya startled everyone with her words. But none dared to question her.
"Caius," when Caius heard his name on the Dark Queen's lips, he shuddered. Even after serving them for a long time, he still feared them. He slowly rose from his chair. Deep down, the old man felt excited to get initiated into the order. This was once in a lifetime opportunity and he planned to capitalize it.
"From one of the senators to the man who controls two kingdoms, you have served us well. No one is better suited to rule the Southern continent to prosperity than you. So I name you the King of the Southern continent. Despite the humongous task before you, we believe you won't disappoint us. Do you accept the task and serve the Dark Lord and the order with every fiber in your body?"
Caius dropped to his knee, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed.
"I won't fail you Dark Lord, Dark Queen,"
Gaya and Michael nodded. After Caius, Dular saw the Dark Queen looking straight at him. He served the Dark Lord longer than everyone in the room. Everything from the moment he saw the Dark Lord kills a human in the Nether realm to this moment felt like a dream to him. Serving the Dark Lord was the best decision he had made in his entire life. Suppose had rejected the Dark Lord's offer, he would have either died or just been an orc who could summon a few netherels. But now, he could not only summon the undead but command the Alpha undead themselves.
When he rose up, he saw the other humans look at him in awe. His tall stature, green thick skin, and muscular build drew their attention like a magnet.
"You served us the longest, Dular. With the Dark Lord's help, you managed to achieve many breakthroughs. You are not a mere summoner anymore. I name you the King of the undead. You will command the undead army in the future. Soon, you will have everything you need to further improve yourself in summoning and controlling the undead. Do you accept the task and serve the Dark Lord and the order with every fiber in your body? "
To be continued….
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