Overlord Chapter 5 (part 3)
My black equipment vanished in tiny particles of dark glimmers and was replaced with a fearsome black and red demon armor. My hair grew even longer than it does in Oni Awakening form, now reaching past my buttocks.
Black gauntlets, with three painted layers of crimson sides and edges, appeared along my forearms, leaving none of my newly coated dark-steel skin exposed. An almost unholy-like black torso-plate formed on me, encasing the front and back of my chest, waist, abdomen, and back. I watched as something similar happened to my legs and feet – a protruding spike grew out of both knees. It was unlike the Oni Awakening in which spectral armor appeared in front of the body, like a worn hologram. With Oni Ascension, my body physically took on the likeness of an ancient demon warrior.
The entire form felt more like my own body than a hologram of armor in front of me. All of it looked like synthetic flesh and hardened into an unbreakable material. A red orb materialized at the core of my torso, pulsing like a beating heart. Two more red orbs appeared at the opposite of both my palms, matching the heart-beat-like pace of the one on my chest. I look to the fiend ahead with a somewhat crimson-shaded vision, meaning my eyes have taken the form of a deep-red color.
Raijin suddenly burst forth with fantastic lightning energy, exploding with power like a rod of lightning that was coated with smaller sparks of booming thunder. The godsword erupted with a gigantic blast throughout the dark room.
"Kaiserius… did you just… this power… it feels like you've ascended to godhood," Raijin remarked.
"Such is the power of this transformation – it allows an oni to temporarily embody all the power and authority of a god," said another voice, male, and divine-sounding, like the voice of an entity older than time itself. Its ethereal tone filled the entire room. The voice, alone, caused the surrounding darkness to break away until more than half the room sparkled with a clean white light. I looked to the blade on my left hand.
"It is good to meet you at last, my new master. I am the godsword of purification, Bishamon," he said. "I see you wield another of my kind; I am glad that it has found its way into the hands of a capable creature. But we will speak more in length, another time. For now, use my power to destroy this monster that you unleashed, when you lifted me from my pedestal. My previous master had not the necessary power to use me properly, and so could not vanquish the enemy. Instead, it was sealed beneath me."
"So that's when it happened. Then this solo quest of mine isn't over yet, is it? Oh. My voice sounds cool, like a true demon monster," I said in a low, groaning tone. Bishamon let out an approving grunt. I crossed both swords in front of me, then swung them to the front and my sides, releasing two surges of white crescent waves that obliterated all the spirits of malice it came in contact with and near it. Albedo let out a piercing roar, like the shout of an animal who has nothing left to lose. Her voice was mixed with the creature inside her.
"Can you purify her, Bishamon?" I asked.
"I can. Thrust me into her heart and I will quell the raging evil in her soul, such is my purpose as a divine blade that vanquishes evil. And do not worry for her life; I sense she is strong and should survive an attack from me if all I target is the corruption," he said. Okay, good enough for me.
I blurred to her and parried her axe with Raijin so hard that the impact of blades created a powerful sonic boom that flung the axe from her grasp. The explosion of force made its way to my skin, but I felt no damage on my body due to this form's immunity to all forms of damage. Reeling my left arm back, I pierced straight through Albedo's useless armor and plunged the flaming godsword into the woman's heart, quickly and gradually burning the dark aura from her body, much like a hellfire bomb thrown on top of a small block of ice.
The monster inside screamed out loud, through Albedo's mouth; its rancid voice was rapidly clearing from her throat. The female warrior wailed on my body, even sending shadowed weapons my way, pointlessly. Suddenly, I noticed Bishamon starting to blimp out of existence. The same was happening to my arm, the rest of my body, and even Shalltear. Albedo pulled herself away when Bishamon disappeared from her chest.
"Lord, forgive me, I can no longer sustain the effects of Blood Bond!" said Shalltear, half of her body vanished. "We're being forced back outside."
"No! Isn't there any way to extend it? The purification isn't comp-"
"-lete!" I finished, finding myself outside with Bishamon on my right hand and Raijin on my left. Albedo's eyes shot open as her entire being exploded with malicious dark energy. I grabbed Shalltear and leaped back, using my transformed body to shield her from the radiating waves of power that pulsed from Albedo as she rose. Momon stood back, grabbed his large swords, and crossed them over his body to defend himself.
"Kaiserius, what happened?" he asked.
"Blood Bond's effects wore off. I had no idea it even had a duration," I said as Shalltear fell to one knee, panting hard.
"Forgive me, master," she said, catching her breath. "Blood Bond takes a toll on my mana reserves when used in that way. It also places a debuff on me that drastically decreases my combat stats, and enters a much longer cooldown that usual. I was careless; I was so excited to fight alongside my lords that I failed to mention Blood Bond's duration. Had you known that, you might have been able to finish your purification."
"Well, what's done is done," I said. "Shalltear, join Narberal and retreat from combat. Momonga and I will finish the rest."
"I… I cannot," said the vampire, struggling to stand. She pressed her lance to the ground and leaned on it. "As a guardian, I will not leave my masters to fight alone! It is my job to protect the Supreme Beings…!"
"Your dedication is truly inspiring, and you do your title proud, Shalltear. But you can hardly stand, so do as Kaiserius says and get out of here," said the armored hero as he engaged Albedo in combat. Reluctant as she was, Shalltear nodded and turned to flee, but stumbled after a single step. I carried wrapped my arms around her, blurred to Nfirea and the others, and put her down. The alchemist and adventurer party backed away at my monstrous form. Narberal knelt and lowered her head.
"Narberal, see to Shalltear's safety as well. Momon and I will finish the battle ourselves."
The battle mage shook her head in protest.
"Master, no! As your creation, I simply cannot abide by that. Let me follow you," she said, raising her head as her onyx eyes my blood-red ones.
"Not happening. Stay here and look after everyone. That's an order," I said, flying back to the scene of battle as I witnessed Albedo and Momonga trading blows.
"The purification was interrupted," said Bishamon. "Forgive me, master, but there is no longer a way to spare the woman's life."
I winced when he said that, remaining afloat.
"The initial attack placed a heavy strain on her; I could feel her soul giving in from my power when I pierced her. As she is now, coupled with the fact that the darkness has already drained much of her strength, she does not have the life force to withstand another attack from a godsword that is wielded by one with the power of a god. If you were in mortal form, it is, perhaps, possible to try again due to your lack of strength. But, a godsword such as me, one of the three all-powerful blades, cannot be wielded by a mere god-descendant. Your current form is the only way for you to use me," he said.
"So I have to kill her, is that what you're saying?" I growled, gritting my teeth.
"It is," he answered. I could feel Bishamon's despair when those words left him. Even godswords have emotions, and it seems even they can feel regret. "And you must do it immediately. If you lose your form, you lose me as well. Oni Ascension cannot be used again for another half-day, as your soul requires that much time to recover from the strain of wielding god power as a mortal. By then, the darkness will have eaten its current host and will move on to its next victim."
I gripped the hilts of both swords, frustrated at my lack of ability. If what Bishamon says is true, I'm currently too powerful for Albedo to handle my attacks. I can strike her down with this all-powerful blade, and the monster will cease to be, but she'll die in the process. I can kill her with Raijin, but the darkness escapes since she doesn't have the ability to destroy it. There really is only one option.
"No, there is another way. Grant me usage of some of your powers, Bishamon," said Raijin, pulsing a faint glow in my hand. "A godsword can contain a small portion of another's abilities. A blade as important as yourself should only be brought forth during great emergencies. Otherwise, allow me to handle all other mundane tasks."
Sure, she says that, but this brings me back to what she said earlier: I'm not allowed to wield another godsword but her. Though I'd like to know the reason for that, now isn't the time to inquire. After some debate, a portion of the divine blade's violet flame surrounded the thunder katana, then vanished. Once the blade disappeared from my hand, my Oni Ascension transformation left with it. I could feel Bishamon's power coursing through Raijin. It felt like the storms of raging thunder was mixing with a fire that consumes all.
But, oddly enough, I feel more than just power seeping into me, from my godsword. What is this feeling? Courage? A deeper sense of righteousness? Whatever it is, I'll ask about it later.
I darted below and struck Albedo from behind. With the absence of Bishamon's armor-corrosion effect, Hermes Trismegistus's sturdiness has returned, but that didn't matter. A bolt of mighty thunder struck from the sky, at the point of impact. Albedo transferred the damage to her armor. But even with the damage transfer, a small bit of black smoke was pulled from her body and evaporated in the wind through Raijin's new purification power. What I didn't expect, however, was the small chip of the dark steel falling from her shoulder.
Momonga tackled Albedo then slashed both his adamantine swords into her chest plate, shoving her backwards with a forceful blow.
"Did your sword always emit thunder magic that potent?" he asked.
"Nope, it's a new thing," I said, raising my sword overhead using a two-handed gatotsu stance. My legs spread wide with most of my weight falling to the back leg; the front foot was faced forward, to the black, fume-spouting, Albedo. "So, you excited? Just like old times, huh?"
"Excited? Sure, but I doubt we've ever two-manned a high-level raid boss before. It could prove to be great experience," he said, readying himself as well. "By the way, while I fought her, I've been trying to get through to her. My efforts fell in vain. It's as if she's become a mindless husk whose sole purpose is to cause mayhem. I'm not sure if there's any way to salvage her now. Much as I hate to say this, we may have to put her down by force."
"Is that you, throwing in the towel, I'm hearing? What kind of Supreme Beings would we be if we can't save our servants from a little wannabe evil? It's hard to find quality helpers, these days," I said. Momonga nodded with a grunt and took first charge.
I'm not giving up on you, Albedo. Just hold on.
Albedo let out a loud shriek and ran to him, axe ready to carve his black plate armor into tin foil. I blurred past him and smashed the stock of my hilt into Albedo's upper leg, just under the hip, where the armor was thinner than normal in order to not hinder movement. Focused on Momonga, she never saw me coming. The helmed warrior jabbed his right elbow into her gut, backhanded her face with the same arm, then slammed his fist into her chest with the other. Albedo stood her ground, stomped on the dirt patch below, and pressed forward with her axe raised into the air, bringing it down with titanic might.
"Die!" she yelled in a satanic, demon-possessed, voice.
The axe donned a black-flame semblance as it crashed on the ground, releasing an aggressive, area-wide explosion. I jumped close behind Momonga as we took the hit together. I bit my lip, fighting through the pain as my self-healing took care of my body. Momonga, however, has no such luck. I placed a hand on the back of his chest plate, coursing an eighth-tier healing spell through him. Originally, the healing spell came from my paladin job, but I mixed it with dark magic so as to coat its harmful effects against the undead.
I back-flipped about ten meters and sheathed my blade, as I bombarded Albedo with well-aimed thunder spells. Momonga caught one of the thunder bolts, into his sword, charging it with focused lightning, and slashed at Albedo's face, attempting to split her head in half. She pushed against the ground to avoid the attack, but Momonga's long reach managed to scratch her cheek while she was relocating the damage she took.
When she transferred the damage to her armor, a surface cut still appeared on her cheek, evidencing that she can only transfer one type of damage at a time. The lightning spell was absorbed into her armor, but the physical slash was taken head-on.
"Interesting," said Momonga, gripping his hilts tightly, noting Albedo's reaction to the damage inflicted upon her. "Who would have thought that you'd make a good support-mage, as well as a decent field-combat healer?"
"I try, but don't get used to it," I scoffed, seeing my hp restored to full via self-regen. "At the end of the day, my war wizard is a DPS-oriented job class. My healing spells aren't as potent as a specialized healer, so you'll still need to watch yourself. Once my mp runs dry, I can't heal you anymore."
Consume… des… destroy…
Albedo roared into the dark sky.
We watched as her skin continued to peel from her face, assuming the rest was happening to the rest of her body. The dark spirit is still eating away at her – I have to finish her off soon, or else her death will mean nothing when the creature finishes her and seeks another host. Momonga and I continued our assault at her, with him as the tank and me as support bombardment and healing. When I struck her with Raijin, earlier, a small amount of the darkness seeped out of her and disappeared into the wind. It seems there's still a lot left, but I can feel her strength starting to wane.
Whether that's because the darkness is leaving her or more of her is being consumed from within, remains to be seen. Either way, it has to be me who attacks her with my sword. I clicked my tongue in my mouth, casting a dark rejuvenation spell on Momonga, whose hp dropped a bit when Ginnungagap managed to slash under his arm, where his armor was thin. My mp is just a little over half and is depleting fast with all the healing spells I'm giving my tank. I groaned and drew my sword, blurring in front of Momonga to intercept an overhead slash.
"Sorry, but we're going to have to switch!" I said, buckling under the sheer difference in strength between me and the possessed Albedo. "I have to be the one to attack her with my sword, in order to purify her soul. If you do it, you'll just kill her and set the evil spirit free."
Momonga jumped back as I dropped my guard and swerved to her side, causing her to stumble forward as I slashed the side of her armor, twice, and blasted a bolt of lightning at her, from my palm. A little more of the wicked black smoke left her as she let out an ear-splitting cry. At first, her voice was coated with the hideous sound of the monster's wretched voice. A few seconds later, however, even more of the corruption trailed out of her mouth as her own voice overpowered the shroud of her tenant's hold on her.
"Please… please… kill me!" Albedo managed to utter as another blotch of the black clouds left her. But instead of vanishing, it seemed to circle around her body. The power Raijin assimilated from Bishamon is definitely working into the wickedness inside her. Albedo coughed some blood out. Some of it even trickled down her eyes. She eyed me, weakly. "I don't… I don't want… this…"
"Albedo, hold on!" I said, charging at her as I swung at the black clouds that hovered over her. I managed to slice some, but the rest returned into her mouth, empowering her once more. This time, however, it wasn't as potent. The black aura around her was weak, hardly covering even half of her body. She raised her axe with one trembling hand, then gripped her own wrist before the world item could come crashing down again, in front of me. The woman struggled hard to contain herself.
"Fight it, Albedo! As your master, I order you to defeat this thing inside you!" Momonga barked at her.
"L… L-Lord… it's so… it's so strong…!" she said. I bit my lip and shot a healing spell at her, closing some of her wounds. Momonga leaped to her and swung both claymores at her chest plate, diagonally, hacking off a good several inches of the black steel armor from the waist area. I stabbed my sword through the exposed part of the woman's body, expelling a greater portion of the darkness. I pulled out quickly, then tossed another healing spell to close the wound I just made.
I was about to stab her again when it took over its host again and released a powerful blast that sent both of us back. The blast was sent in waves, further pushing us away from Albedo until the pulsing stopped and we were a good twelve meters away. It didn't do any damage, but it was successful in creating distance between us. Albedo fell to one knee, panting heavily. She dropped the black bardiche and held herself tightly, quivering as she spat more blood to the ground. I gritted my teeth.
"I don't understand, but why does she keep spitting blood out? Are my healing spells not working?" I asked to no one in particular.
"No, it's definitely working," said Momonga, standing up straight as he put away his dual claymores. "I checked her hp bar when you healed her, and she did recover. But she's losing it faster and faster as the malevolent spirit devours her. Perhaps it's possible to save her, if we continue what we're doing. But there wouldn't be much of her will remaining. She will be a shell of her former self, with very little ability to function."
"Damn it…" I muttered, gripping my godsword so hard my hand was quaking. Momonga approached me and placed a hand on mine, slowing the tremble to an eventual stop.
"We are powerful, Kaiserius, but we are not deities. There are some things we simply cannot do, and we must accept it as is. Come, let us end her suffering. Albedo is owed that much for her services as leader of the floor guardians and stalwart protector of the Great Tomb of Nazarick," he said, laying his hand off as we glanced to the dying woman, who vomited even more blood and fell to her shoulder. We made our way to her; she looked up at us. Momonga helped her up, whose legs wobbled and appeared to lack the strength to keep herself standing.
"M… My… love," she said, placing a shaking hand onto Momonga's black gauntlet that supported her underarm. "M… eet… in… n… next… life…"
Almost immediately, that arm fell limp as some of the darkness tried to surge back into her body. However, it didn't seem like there are was much left to control. I can almost see her life force draining from her eyes. Her arm budged, as if she was trying to pick it up, but she failed as more blood seeped out of her lips. Momonga lifted the arm. Albedo used what remained of her strength and willpower to guide it to my right hand, which held my godsword.
"Beg… of you… Lo… Lord. I don't… want to… hurt… Supr… eings…" she said, a slight smile featuring on her face.
I closed my eyes and turned away as I thrusted my blade into her waist. I pressed the hilt down so the tip would tilt up and pierce her heart, then went out the other end. Crimson-red blood splattered onto her beautiful jet-black hair, oozing down the strands. What remained of the darkness left through her mouth and dissipated into nothingness. I pulled my sword out as its electric-blue light burned the succubus's blood from the blade, leaving it immaculate. I returned my katana to its sheath.
Momonga slid his hand down her face, closing her eyelids, but her smile remained.
"Forgive me, Momonga, it was the only way," I told him, lowering my head to the floor, deeply anguished.
"There is nothing to forgive, my friend. You are not at fault," he assured me. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes about half way.
We stood together in silence, with Albedo's smiling corpse still in Momonga's arms. He raised a hand to the side of his head, ordering Narberal, Aura, and Shalltear to return. Either he has telepathic abilities, or he just used the whisper-message system. Since I doubt the former, it must be the latter. But how is that possible? The whisper-message function isn't a spell or anything, it's a feature available to all YGGDRASIL players, allowing us to speak to others from far distances. I'll have to ask him how to do it later.
Aura was the first to arrive, followed by Narberal, who was supporting an unarmored Shalltear by the arm and waist. The three women closed their eyes and bowed their heads at the sight before them, giving a moment of silence to their fallen comrade. I wonder if they thought it would end any other way. Peter and his team, along with Nfirea, approached us and laid eyes on the corpse in my arms. Momonga took her. They sighed a breath of relief.
"Oh good, she's dead. That chick was all sorts crazy," said Lukeluther. Narberal growled and drew her sword, spinning to the archer, ready to decapitate him. I blurred to them and caught the blade with two fingers. Lukeluther grunted, eyeing the steel weapon, a mere inch against his skin. I pressed the maid's sword down, then looked to her target.
"You probably shouldn't say things like that," I said, glancing at Albedo smiling face, then back at him. "She's not what you think, not bad, I mean. She was just caught in a mess I started, and died because of it."
"Oh. Sorry," he said, his head hanging low.
"Nabe," Momonga called. The woman turned to him. "Finish the quest without me, and Kai. Retrieve the reward, then return home immediately. If your escorts have questions about what took place today, sate their curiosities but do not reveal too much. I will leave it to your discretion on what you will say to them."
Shalltear's armor faded from her and was replaced with her usual full-body gothic dress. As Narberal bowed silently, I picked up Shalltear. The vampire blushed as I carried her, but said nothing.
"Wait, Mister Momon, what are you going to do?" asked Nfirea. "That woman in your arms, she was your friend, wasn't she? Are you going to bury her?"
"I… yes," he answered. "Forgive me for having to leave like this. It's very unprofessional."
"N-no, no, I understand. I'm sorry it ended this way. Go with my regards. I'll have Nabe return to you in no time," he said as he and the adventuring party left with Narberal.
He collected his horse, tied it on the wooden cart with all his herbs, and was gone within minutes. The last thing I heard from them was Dyne asking what happened to my oni minions. I'll have to remember to summon them again, later. I'm glad Shizuko is still at Carne Village. She would have only gotten in the way, in this fight, and probably perish needlessly.
Aura waved her hand in front of her, conjuring a black gate. We entered through it and arrived at the tenth floor of Nazarick, the throne room. Momonga dropped his black armor disguise and assumed his skeletal magic caster form; he looks the same as I remember, with all his entire set of divine-tier equipment. I'm quite jealous, since my armor is only of legendary quality. At least he doesn't have a talking, not to mention sentient, sword.
I surveyed the room. It looks about the same as I remember. The gilded throne, where the guild master sits, was still at the center-end of the room. The black spikes that looked more like obsidian dragon claws still held a metallized emblem of Ainz Ooal Gown, just behind the throne. Round-surfaced pedestals were layered at both sides, several feet away from the glorified chair. I shouldn't think of it like that; I'm almost sure it's a world item.
Five steps of stairs separated the surface where the throne was placed, and the dark magenta carpet that stretched all the way down from one side of the room to the other. Above the marbled floor were the dark magenta-colored flags that hung on the walls, signifying every single player character member of the guild. They each had their own symbols. As the fifteenth member of the guild, my flag, with the crest of a horned dragon's head on it, wasn't too far from the front. In fact, I can see it's still located at the left side of the hall, next to Blue Planet's member flag.
Enormous blue chandeliers hung from the ceiling, which reached very high up in the massive room. We even have tall pillars situated at along the sides of the hall, and even they didn't reach the ceiling's extraordinary height. Higher and higher up the hall, it began to get darker as the candles on the chandeliers, and torches on the walls, couldn't reach that high. It gave the illusion that there was no ceiling, that the tenth floor was infinite in height.
There was one major difference, one that I don't remember being present when I was last here. Piles and mountains of gold were littered all over the room. There were even rare items that laid on the floor, next to the YGGDRASIL currency. There are some items here, such as ceremonial weapons worth hundreds of thousands in YGGDRASIL gold. I recognize them from the treasury room. Mare suddenly appeared in a flash of white light, with several enormous stacks of gold that was being levitated through his use of magic.
He set them down, next to the other piles, and wiped some sweat from his head.
Some of the other floor guardians were present, minus Victim and Gargantua. There were other level 100 NPCs missing, such as Sebas, the head steward of the guild and leader of the Pleiades when Lastborn isn't around. The other Pleiades were here too, except Narberal of course. On that note, Solution is missing as well. I wonder where they went?
Being at the southern end of the room, none of them noticed our presences yet. Momonga hugged Albedo with one arm and dipped his hand into a pocket dimension, in the air. When he pulled it out, he was holding a golden ring with a red gem embedded into it, and an ordinary-looking silver ring. He gave them to me.
"Here, I believe these are yours. One of them is the ring you gave to me for safe keeping. You know, the one you won from that world event, about six months ago. You didn't know what to do with it, so you placed it in my care," he said, as I took the items and glanced at the gold one – the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. As for the second, I dropped it into my item pouch, deciding to deal with it another time.
"The guild ring… you know I can't wear this, since I'm not a member of the guild anymore," I said to him as a reminder, placing the item inside my pouch as well.
"We'll get that sorted out later. For now, there's something more pressing to attend to," he said as he made his way to the throne, following the long red carpet. I walked behind him. Shalltear and Aura hurriedly joined their colleagues, who stood at the right side of the carpet. The Pleiades were at the left. Upon the return of the two female floor guardians, all present NPCs turned to Momonga and bowed.
"I see, so this is why you gathered us here, my lord," said Demiurge, looking at the corpse in his master's arms. "Albedo, one of our mightiest, has fallen. Who did this, lord, that I may enact vengeance on that poor soul?"
"I don't know, Demiurge, do you really think you're capable of such a feat?" he asked as he teleported a few feet forward, in front of his throne, and set Albedo's corpse down.
Demiurge, whose attention was at Momonga and Albedo, suddenly turned his head, his crystalline eyes meeting mine and immediately dropped to one knee, followed by his colleagues.
"L-Lord Kaiserius!" he burst out. I approached Momonga's side, looking over the rest of our servants. The others gasped in delight. Aura and Shalltear could only smile. "When I saw Mare transferring gold and items from the treasury room to here, teleporting back and forth, he told me to gather the guardians and the Pleiades at the request of Lord Ainz. He also mentioned that our great lord had a pleasant surprise waiting for us. I thought it was Albedo's corpse, though I wondered how that could be pleasant, as she was a loyal servant of the guild. I never would have dreamed he meant the return of another Supreme Being!"
"Thanks for the warm greeting, Demiurge. And I'm sorry for leaving the guild abruptly. This time, I'm here to stay," I said to them. Momonga nodded, then ordered his servants to rise.
"It is no trouble at all, lord!" said Mare, beaming at me with his staff held closely to his chest. "Your departure was felt by everyone, but none of us will ever question the will of the Supreme Beings; that is absolute! We had faith that you would return someday, and you have."
"Perhaps, with time, the other lords will return as well," said Cocytus, expelling a breath of white smoke from his mouth. "But until then, we are grateful that Lord Ainz will not be alone in ruling us."
"Thank you, Mare, Cocytus," I said to them, as I looked to Momonga. "So, what are we doing here? And why did you have Mare teleport all this gold here?"
"We're going to revive Albedo. Many of our servants don't have a guild ring yet, but I still want them to witness this," he said. I narrowed my eyes. "I've been meaning to use up all this gold; it's useless in this world, due to their different usage of currency. Besides, revival magic doesn't work on NPCs; it only works on other players, so that makes my Wand of Revival useless. Nazarick's NPC corpses are immune to revival using my Shooting Star ring, leaving only one way to revive Albedo - the use of in-game gold."
"Fair point," I said, looking to the large piles of gold behind and around the gathered NPCs. "I contributed a lot of this gold, but I suppose I do hold some fault in this for letting the darkness possess Albedo."
"I as well, lord," Shalltear bowed her head in shame. "Had I not neglected to tell you of Blood Bond's duration, the outcome of all this may yet be different."
"True. But since we're both at fault, we'll raise our heads high and learn from this mistake," I told her as she looked up to me. "It takes 500 million gold to revive an NPC that has a total level of 100. We'll only be able to do this once, so I ask that the rest of you remain cautious in this world. Do whatever it takes to stay alive in battle, even if you must retreat. I mean it, don't die."
"Understood!" they all said. I looked to Momonga.
"All right, let's get this started," I said. The skeletal mage nodded and summoned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to his hand. He raised it over his head.
"Albedo, resurrect!"
The staff pulsed a red light, reaching the piles of gold in the throne room as they liquefied. I almost flinched at the sight, but knew it's for the best. The melted gold waved around like water in a running lake, for a few moments, before gathering together, around Albedo. A golden light wrapped around her, closing her wounds and bringing life back to her previously motionless body. I could see her hp bar, and it was refilling at an astronomical rate, until it was full. As the light faded, along with the gold, Albedo's helmless Hermes Trismegistus also disappeared, leaving her naked on the floor.
I covered my eyes partially, with one hand. Why the guild didn't revive her with at least her Virgin Snow dress on, is beyond me.
Momonga dipped his hand into a pocket universe again and emerged with a thick dark blanket. He threw it over Albedo, covering her from neck to ankle. I lowered my hand from my face as he cradled her body, supporting her head with his hand. The woman stirred awake as she was raised from the floor. She looked around the room, her eyes locking with mine first, then Momonga.
"Lord Kaiserius? Lord Ainz? My lords, what am I doing here? And why am I naked?" she asked. I let out a sigh of relief. Our hard-earned gold was all gone, but at least Albedo is alive and well. For a brief moment, I suddenly imagined Shalltear being the recently revived one and laying in front of us, naked with only a thick blanket to cover herself. Odd. Where did that thought come from?
I shrugged my shoulders. Oh well, it's probably nothing.
"Thank goodness. I'm sorry, Albedo, this was all because of my mistake," I said, causing the girl's cheeks to flush red. She shook her head. "We used the guild's funds to resurrect you, so you can continue serving and protecting Nazarick."
"Oh no… the fortune that was gathered by the combined efforts of the Supreme Beings, all of it was used to revive me?" she asked as Momonga put her on her feet. Albedo wrapped the blanket around her body, took a step back from us, then bowed. "I am not worthy of this kind gesture, my lords. I even caused harm to the Supreme Beings, thus violating my oath to protect them!"
"You did what?!" Demiurge angrily shouted at the woman. Albedo shrieked at his loud voice as he faced her with his fists clenched beside him. Momonga raised his palm to him, who backed away immediately and bowed to me. "Forgive me, my lord. I overreacted, but I cannot bear to let something like this slide."
"It's all right, just forget about it, Demiurge. Albedo was not at fault; she was under the control of a powerful creature, which was vanquished when Kaiserius purified it from her, killing her in the process," he said.
"I understand, lord, but something like this should not go unpunished. It is also a master's duty to discipline their servants," he said. Albedo lowered her head, then nodded as the other guardians began to berate her folly. Momonga and I backed away, watching the scene unfold before us. He sat on one of the stairs behind, and I stood beside him with my arms crossed against my chest. I imagined the silhouettes of my old friends in place of each floor guardian and Pleiades maid who stood in front of me.
"Kind of reminds you of the others, doesn't it?" I asked. Momonga nodded.
"Yes. These people are the creations of our old allies. They're like the children of those who made them."
"And now we're stuck babysitting them."
"Or they're babysitting us. Who can really tell?"
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, why do they call you Ainz?"
"That's part of my plan to bring in the other guild members, in case they were transported here with me. It worked for you, didn't it?" he asked with a chuckle. I said nothing in reply, not verbal anyway. I only passed him a smirk and scoff. "I'd like it if you did the same, Kaiserius. Maybe some of the others will hear of this name and come searching for me."
"It'll take some getting used to, but I don't see the harm… Ainz," I said to him, resulting a nod. Shalltear noticed her masters withdrawn from the scene and turned to us. She gave us her hands, pulling us back into the fray.
"We await your orders, masters," she said with a smile. "Also, I recommend scolding Albedo mercilessly."
"I second that, don't go easy on this bonehead," said Aura.
"Agreed. Harsh words are the least she deserves at this point," said Cocytus, exhaling steam from his nostrils… wherever those nostrils might be.
"Perhaps add in some lashing or boiling water. She must accept whatever punishment the masters will dish out," said Demiurge. "The position of floor guardian leader comes with strict responsibilities, which she failed to adhere to."
"Please don't be too hard on her, lords," said Mare, lowering his face a bit. "That is, if you don't mind me saying."
It was then that Ainz let out a laugh that somewhat confused those present. I let out a laugh as well, did so in my mind.
"We deserve the scolding. While it's your job to protect us, Kaiserius and I, as well as the other Supreme Beings, see you all as our children. It's a parent's job to protect our own, and we failed in that," he said, glancing to the revived succubus. "You have nothing to be guilty of, Albedo. Always remember that."
"Um… if you say so, my lord," she said timidly. Ainz turned to the gothic-dressed vampire.
"Shalltear, escort Albedo to her room and get her dressed," he said, gaining a nod from her as he looked to me and brought up the Master Source panel. My brows raised at that. I had no idea it could be brought up since we're no longer in YGGDRASIL. But since elements from the game exist here, I see no reason as to why this should surprise me. He typed some keys into the panel as a green aura surrounded me. A voice, in my head, asked if I would like to join the Ainz Ooal Gown guild. Huh, that's a new feature. "And now for your triumphant return, should you accept it, of course."
"I think it's pretty obvious at this point, isn't it?" I asked, mentally speaking 'yes,' as the aura wrapped around my body. Energy flowed through me. I felt stronger and completely energized. It's the benefits of being in a guild, I assume. We didn't feel it in YGGDRASIL, but now that we're living as our in-game avatars, we feel all that they feel. In this case, the passive bonuses granted to guild members.
There are various passive bonuses granted to guild members – this feature was in the game, such as an increase to hp and mp stats. A golden ring appeared on my right index finger, the same one placed inside my pouch – the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, every member of the guild owns one. It allows us to freely teleport to any room within the Great Tomb of Nazarick, allowing for quick and easy transportation around the place. I took the ring off, along with my gloves, and removed the two rings there. I wore my gloves back on, then inserted the rings over the gloves, in the same fingers.
"All hail Lord Kaiserius!" said the NPCs, taking a knee as they shouted praise several times.
I felt like I was really back home, the place I belong. After being apart from this place for so long, it felt nice to be part of an establishment again, a family that takes care of its own. I wonder how things would have turned out if I hadn't left in the first place? I wouldn't own a supreme-level godsword, and a wickedly powerful upgrade to Oni Awakening. On the plus side, we'd still be 500 million useless YGGDRASIL gold richer, since Albedo wouldn't have had to be revived for my mistake.
I shook my head.
No, stop it. All is forgiven, and this is my clean slate. Momonga doesn't seem the least bit pissed off that some of the rare items in the treasury were liquidated into usable gold for Albedo's resurrection, and I shouldn't be either. Her death taught me something important – although I wield the weapon of a god, I'm still only mortal. I don't hold the power over life and death, but I do hold the power to affect everything and everyone around me with the decisions I make. I watched my servants continue to shout praises to my name. It brought a fragment of happiness into my heart.
It is my charge to protect these people, the ones left behind by my old friends. Without regrets weighing me down, I feel like I can actually live up to that obligation. Blue Planet, Nishikeinrai, Warrior Takemikazuchi, Yamaiko, Peroroncino, everyone… I promise to protect those you considered your pride and joy. I will guard them with my life, even against their wishes that it should be the other way around. A family protects each other; that's how we saw it, and that's the virtue I'll pass on to them. I consider myself too young to have children. But this feeling of warmth that they give me, as offspring would give to their parents…
It feels pretty damn good.
Chapter 5 part 3… holy mother of sin, this chapter took so long to write. This is actually the fourth version of this chapter. The other three I finished, it just didn't feel right. So much editing, deleting entire pages on the sole reason that they felt like they were "missing something."
This one, at least, feels cleaner.
I looked to my notes and saw that I covered all the bits I wanted to cover, and even added a bunch of things on the fly.
I also noticed that I repeat a lot of the same words very often. I use an online thesaurus as a reference, and it's normally helpful, but there are times I see words it suggests to replace with a word I've already used recently. I comb through other synonyms, but often find myself using the word I'm more comfortable with… which is something I've used like three dozen times already in the past chapter.
God, writing is hard. I couldn't imagine doing this as an actual occupation. I now have increased respect for writers who win the Pulitzer Prize, they honestly deserve it.
Anyway, some of you might get pissed off at me for this, but chapter updates, from here on out, will take a long time to load out. On top of my new job, among other personal things, I'm not even sure I'll have a social life, never mind the time to churn out chapters as fast as I want. I'll find a way to fit chapter updates into my schedule, if you want to keep reading my poor excuse for fictional writing.