The court of the Emperor was something to behold. The outside of the building had been rather boring and minimalistic, but the lack of windows made sense as each wall had been decorated with tapestries showing the myths and lore that surrounded the Rivalbane family.

  From the ceiling, heavy chandeliers in the shape of bear heads were hanging, a small fire burning in the mouths of the bears, and candles decorated their surface. The artificial light gave the feeling that the room was much darker than it actually was.

  Celeste had been surprised to find that the main gate from the guard station, which consisted of two massive oak doors, led directly to the throne room. She had expected there would at least be a waiting room, but Celeste found herself walking into a court in progress.

  At the end of the room was a massive throne, which was barely visible underneath numerous pelts, from what Celeste suspected to be mostly bears, though she wasn't an expert. To the sides of the room, various nobles were whispering among themselves, their voices hushed and bodies tense as they took in the newcomer. However, it was the musclebound man on the throne that took Celeste's attention. On the throne might be inaccurate. Thanks to the number of pelts, he was practically sitting in the throne.

  Emperor Rivalbane the Third was a man who was meant to rule from the battlefield. He had a bored expression on his face, though thanks to the wild and unkempt beard, it was hard to tell. He was wearing the classic tuxedo style with long coattails. His outfit seemed almost too small for him, his muscles giving the Emperor a bulky look, like a bodybuilder wearing a suit. Instead of the customary wide and flat-brimmed hat, he was sporting a crown that gleamed in the light of the flickering candles.

  As Celeste stepped into the throne room, she found herself walking along a carpeted floor. A couple of other nobles, pleading with the Emperor for something, quickly moved out of her way, making the bear of a man's eyes fall onto Celeste.

  "An intruder. And here I was thinking that the entertainment would be arriving during the banquet, though I do believe we are due for a break." The massive man said, sitting up in his throne.

  Celeste gave him a wide smile. "Your Majesty. I will be happy to provide you some entertainment, though please know that I am a goddess, who has come to pay her respect to someone she considers worthy of that respect." She said, laying the flattery on a little thick to ensure the Emperor knew she wasn't here to harm him.

  The gleam in the Emperor's eye seemed to light up the entire hall as he drew a pair of longswords from the side of his throne before slowly descending the small dais. His body longed to break through the outfit he was wearing, and Celeste could see his muscles roll underneath the tight clothes.

  The Emperor grinned, readying himself for battle. "Then show your respect by relieving me of my boredom and prove that you truly are a goddess."

  None of them bowed to each other, believing themselves better than the other, though the court itself was alive with whispers.

  They looked at each other, feeling out the moment. The massive mountain of a man staring down the short blonde woman. On its surface, this would be a brief fight. Celeste had to admit that she was surprised to find the Emperor willing to fight her, but to be fair, she was rather disrespectful, just barging in.

  The two combatants started moving at the same time, Emperor Rivalbane dashing straight for her throat, intent on ending it quickly. His finely honed swords met a clang as Celeste created two elegantly engraved mithril rods. Thanks to her craftmanship, the softer metal managed to hold against the attack. However, they sank into the rod quite a bit, getting stuck. Celeste used this to her advantage, trying to force the weapon out of the Emperor's hands, but finding her strength lacking.

  The goddess was impressed. For a mortal to match her strength, even if she wasn't specialized in strength, was insane.

  The Emperor threw his arms back, ripping the swords free from the rods and taking a step back. He seemed to appreciate the fact that Celeste was still standing. "You are braver than most would-be gods. I will give you that much." He said, a massive smile on his bearded face.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Celeste reformed the rods, and in full view of the court, she shifted the mithril rods to become long swords, matching that of the royalty she was fighting. "You honour me with your words." She said though she was about to get just what she wanted. "It is a shame that your weapons are made from such an inferior material."

  The massive noble seemed surprised by this, though he didn't let that stop his attack. The power behind the massive man's follow-up would have been enough to shatter mortals, and Celeste was pretty sure that he was either some kind of raid boss or some overwhelming faction leader because she could feel the stone cracking under her feet as she managed to block him.

  Celeste knew that she would be standing in a crater unless something was done, and with a simple thought, she repaired the ground under her using her divine power, making the Emperor's attack look incredibly underwhelming.

  Text from Image:

  Faultless Repair

  Type: Activated ability

  Energy usage: Variable

  Full effect: You can fix anything with the available materials and tools. Up to a 4 x 4 x4 meter cube per Rank worth of objects or constructions can be made like new each round, provided it is not completely destroyed. Every form of rot, decay, damage, and corruption is fixed, even for perishables such as food. If repairing magical or enchanted things, Energy is committed until the next loading screen.

  "As I said, weak weapons make for weak men." She casually taunted while dodging a double cleave from the two swords, only to turn her swords into a pair of bucklers that had her own smiling face on the front.

  Three rapid attacks quickly followed, and Celeste deflected them with her small shields. However, she could see that she had struck a nerve. The gleeful look in the Emperor's eyes was gone, his smile was just a little wider and to the point of manic as he failed to land blow after blow.

  "Is that so? Are you suggesting that I am weak?" His voice was rough and staggered as he was starting to run out of breath, his attacks much more intense and overwhelming.

  Celeste made sure to patch any damage the carpet and floor under her feet might take, making it seem like those swords could barely cut through the cloth.

  "Perish the thought," She said, going from wielding two mithril bucklers to a massive portable ram that she hammered into the Emperor's stomach, sending him flying back. "It is simply a matter of equipment. You do not expect a skilled painter to create a masterwork if their only paint is horse dung, do you? The same is true for your weapons. They are, to put it plainly, not up to the same standards as your skills." She explained, turning the portable ram into a pair of fans just to hide that smug little smile that crept onto her face from the onlookers.

  Celeste saw the Emperor fall into the same trap as so many others did, blaming your equipment. Of course, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't beat a god who could see any move he made before he did so. No, it was his equipment that was lacking in power and was bringing him down.

  Celeste took the fans and converted them into a pair of swords, the hilts formed into bear heads, while the swords themselves showed the Emperor slaying unknown foes by the dozen.

  She handed them over as she performed the conversational killing blow. "I mean, Mithril is the superior metal, and I am so proud that you have decided to spend your nation's wealth by allowing the poorest of your city to build with this superior material. You could have been wearing mithril clothes, or eating from mithril plates, but you have decided to hide it out of the way, not showing it to anyone but the lowest citizens. Truly, you are an Emperor of the people."

  The Emperor might not do anything right away, but the seed had been planted for him or his descendants to fall into corruption. Celeste was looking forward to it.

  The Emperor seemed unwilling to continue the fight, and as Celeste handed over the weapons, he had the good grace to appear grateful and not push his luck. After he had thanked the goddess, Celeste didn't waste more time in the hall of the mortal Emperor, instead bowing her head ever so slightly, which released a lot of whispering from the onlookers in the court, before turning around and walking out, probably breaking a lot of customs, rules and etiquette.

  Celeste found her way back to the orphanage, where Jasper was talking with the bald Asian man that Celeste had seen before leaving. They seemed to be discussing philosophy and how to determine right from wrong. Celeste didn't want to get caught up in the conversation. They could spend two more days in the city, but with Jasmine rescued, the goddess didn't feel the need to do so. A lot of things had been put into the world, and she was more interested in seeing how the world would progress.

  A quick talk with Jasper, and both agreed to call it for the day. The god of magic created a magical message for Jasmine and Erik, ensuring that they knew that the gods had decided to go back home, but that they expected to be back in a hundred years or so. Celeste couldn't help but notice that her husband felt a little bad about leaving with just a message, but they both soldiered on.

  With that, both of them logged out, satisfied that neither of them had died this time around.