I'm sure if you're still reading this, you've no doubt called bullshit on my infiltration into the most secure tomb known to man. And you'd be right. No man, beast, magical creature or otherwise should be able to sneak into that tomb let alone steal a ring from a high ranking guardian whose detect skills is at least one hundred. You see, the problem with telling this story myself is that I can only describe what happened to me in my point of view. But due to the shock and doubtless anger some of you probably share, allow me to give you Ains' version of events that led up to the, ahem "infiltration."
I told you all Ains' gift for strategy was unparalleled. So it shocks me none of you thought that I made into the temple only because he allowed it to be so. We'll start when we spilt up in E-Rantel. Keep in mind that I can't speak to these events myself but after doing a some research this is what I managed to piece together.
"You knew Haon my lord?" Nabe asked.
"I do." Momon replied walking beside Hamsuke who seemed content to just glare out towards the torches of the city. "He's a warrior from Yggdrasil. One that I fought a time or two."
"So an enemy." Nabe concluded.
"Not necessarily." Momon answered. "When we did fight it was during the tournaments Yggdrasil sponsored every now and again. Outside those, he seemed a decent man though we've never held a particularly long conversation. You remember your brief scuffle?"
Nabe thought back to said fight and remembered the hand Haon had offered afterwards.
"He seems honorable. At least for a human." She concluded. But if he isn't an enemy what is he then my lord?"
"Proof that we're not the only ones who were brought to this new world." Momon replied.
"I see." Nabe said understanding. "But if Haon is really from Yggdrasil why didn't you tell him who you were?"
"Because I don't want to discuss that information out in the open. I intend to to do it only from Nazarick itself." Momon said as the pair walked continued their walk through the streets en route to Nferia's lab.
"You intend to capture him?" Nabe asked.
"If necessary. After we assist in anything else Nferia has we'll scour the city to find him." Momon said just as they came into view of Nfeira's lab.
Of course if you know of Momon's exploits you know this is where the army of the dead attacked E-Rantel and threw a wrench into Momon's plans. According to my knowledge he didn't speak of me again until after he found out what happened to Shalltear. It turns out I'm not as good at stealth as I thought.
"The security level of Nazarick has to be raised to maximum and every guardian needs to come home immediately."
"Yes, lord. Aura will join us after she gathers the Vampire Brides."
As I panicked and ran back to Brain, Ains and Albedo teleported back to Nazarick and there the conversation turned to to me.
"You sensed him?"
"It was obvious." Albedo nodded. " All he did was hide behind a tree. He's the one you and Naberal met?"
"He is." Ains admitted.
"Sir, if you wanted him why not simply capture him then and there. He could be the one behind Shalltear's revolt."
"He isn't." Ains said turning back to her. "Shalltear is under the influece of exceptionally powerful magic. And from what I remember about Haon, he can fight magic and use magical items but as a warrior he can't cast it. Especially such a high level spell that currently enslaves Shalltear."
"But why is he out there then? It can't be coincidence."
"I don't think it was either." Ains replied. "I'll save that for when I ask him. But for now, we have a bigger problem to deal with in Shalltear. All my attention needs to be on her."
"I understand my lord. But….." her thought was cut off when she received a new message.
"Albedo?"
"Aura just found the Brides. She says that a new figure is coming back towards the camp. Haon."
Ains grumbled before an idea shot up inside his cranium. Much to Albedo's surprise.
"My lord?"
"Tell Aura to leave some tracks for Haon to follow. With a little luck, he might just bring himself to Nazarick."
"Yes lord. But how are we going to deal with him and Shalltear at the same time?"
"Order Mare down to the treasury when he gets back with his sister. I have an idea." Ains replied as he and Albedo teleported down to it.
You starting to piece it together yet? It took me a while to come to terms with it myself and I knew Ains was a master planner. He knew every single little thing I was going to do before I knew it. You want further proof? This happened down in the treasury.
"Mare." Ains greeted.
"H-Hello lord Ains." Mare said with a light bow. "What is it you desire?"
"The ring I gave you." Ains replied fairly quickly.
Mare's eyes widened and he looked down at his hand where the ring of Ains Ooal Gown sat. "My l-lord. I'm s-sorry if l-let you down….."
"No no. It's not that." Ains quickly replied with a hand wave. Mare looked back up confused as Ains continued. "A player from Yggdrasil is on his way here."
"The one you told Aura to leave tracks for?"
"Yes. If what I know about him is correct he won't just surrender himself outside the gates or fight through it. He'll try to infiltrate Nazarick.
"But my lord, that's impossible. None of the guardians would ever….." Mare started.
"I want you all to let him in." Ains replied. "Specifically I want him inside the throne room when I return.
"But, my lord why?"
"Because, I need answers and he might very well have them. And if on the chance he does fight. I want him locked in the tomb with no hope of escaping."
"But couldn't we just throw him in the dungeons?"
"He's done no harm to us yet as far as I know. And intend to return the favor, at least for now." Ains replied.
"O-Oh. I see." Mare said tilting his head down. "But why do you need the ring back?"
"I want him feeling confidant. To feel as if luck was on his side from the beginning. Which he's going to feel after he runs into you and Aura on your way out of the temple and sees a ring that can teleport him all around Nazarick."
"But my lord, how would he know about that?"
"Because, I'm going to start shouting it from the rooftops when I sense him." Aura yelled from behind her brother causing him to nearly trip in surprise.
"Correct. Aura's detection skill is second to none. And if Haon acts like I think he will he'll jump at a chance to steal a short cut."
Mare began to fully grasp the plan before looking puzzled yet again. "But if that's true, why do you still need the ring back?"
"I've created a new ring that acts as a one way portal to the throne room. That way once Shalltear is taken care of, and we finally meet he won't get any ideas about leaving. You really expect me to just let him keep a ring of Ains Ooal Gown?"
"N-No. My lord." Mare said once again bowing his head and handing him his ring.
"Good. Once inside the throne room, he'll be under the watch of the Pleiades the entire time. If he tries to do anything, they'll know about it." Ains replied taking the ring and handing Mare the new one way one.
"Don't worry, you'll get it back after this nonsense is concluded." Ains replied. Mare's eyes lit up as he thanked him.
"Now, gather the World Items from Pandora's Actor.. Haon will be here any minute and I need to make a few last minute preparations for Shalltear.
"Yes sir." Mare and Aura answered with a bow before taking off. Ains then to looked back to Albedo who remained behind him the entire time.
"If he does start a fight with the Pleiades, I want you to end him." Ains ordered.
"Yes my lord. But what about Demiurge and Cocytus? I've ordered them to meet me in one of the rooms where we'll watch the battle. They'll surely sense something.
"Cocytus already has his orders to let him pass through the entrance. Demiurge will be filled in by Naberal when he gets passed the eight floor. Once inside though, unless he does something harmful, act like he isn't there."
"Understood. My lord."
"Good. Now come with me, I want to show you something." He said turning just as Albedo followed.
You get it now? I never had a chance. And if I had done the slightest thing different, odds are I would've been killed. That's Ains' true power if you ask me. Not his spells or items. His mind. A mind that rarely makes mistakes and if ones occur they are quickly corrected. He's the player and we're all his pieces. Now sure, you can recognize yourself as a piece and try to rise past your position on the board like I did but odds are you'll never be more than that.
And as I stood there, in the throne room surrounded by the might of Nazarick. That's when I first realized how low of a player I was.
"Haon. Good to see you again." Ains replied. Shalltear looked confused by the recognition.
"Likewise. Ains." I said. "I take it I've taken you guys a bit by surprise."
"Not really." Aura replied. "Though I think its cool you gave Mare back his ring."
That threw off my plans. "Uh, what?"
"I think you've seriously overestimated your stealth." She replied with a grin. "You've got a good suit sure but all it does is make you invisible. You still smell like a human."
"Wait, so…you knew I was here?"
Aura and Mare, looked over to each other and laughed as a series of smirks grew along the faces of the guardians. Ains himself chuckled a bit at my confusion.
"Of course we did." He said. He then explained to me the same what I just told you. And just like that all my confidence that had accumulated since I'd been inside this temple vanished. And I was reminded just how good Ains was.
So I laughed. An action that threw off some guardians like Albedo, Demiurge, and Shalltear.
"Well, fucking fantastic." I said calming down. " I'm kind of shocked you actually remembered me from Yggdrasil though. I didn't exactly have your reputation."
"Lucky for you. Otherwise you'd never make it past the front gate." Ains replied with a certain lack of humor.
"Fair enough." I agreed. "So, what happens now?"
"That's entirely up to you." Ains replied sitting down on his throne. "The Pleiades will disarm you. And we can talk peacefully. Refuse and you can get better acquainted with both the Pleiades and floor guardians of Nazarick. I warn you though, starting a fight with them is the fastest way to the grave."
The looks from the guardians definitely showed they wanted me to pursue the second option and the warrior in me considered it just for the possible fight but there was no real debate. I slowly raised my hands in a sign of surrender.
"Ok. Ok. You got me." I replied. Ains stared for a moment before nodding his head. The next second three maids appeared around me and began taking away pretty much everything I had. Shadow Suit. Jade. My cloak, my pack, my daggers, my shoes, my necklaces, and hell they even took my socks. While this was going on, and now pretty much assuming I was gonna die any second, I figured I'd make some conversation.
"Good fight by the way. Ains and Shally."
"You saw that did you?" Momonga asked slightly amused. "Shally?"
"Right. Uh Shalltear." I corrected not wanting to disrespect one of his NPCs while in his presence. "How you doing by the way?" I asked over to her. "Glad you remembered me."
"Oh I remember you vividly. Particularly how you ran away like a coward." She replied through gritted teeth.
"Naturally." I replied. "And I'm impressed you saw me run. You had one good eye." I replied with a wink that caused her to emit a low growl. "Give Reina and Remna my regards as well."
"So you did run into Shalltear." Cocytus said. "How exactly?"
"Ask the blonde maid. I assume she's here somewhere." I said looking around for a blonde head of hair that didn't seem to be there.
"Explain." Ains suddenly ordered in a tone that meant I shouldn't delay.
"Look, after we split up in E-Rantel, I heard about a group of guys who were planning on kidnapping a blonde rich woman out on the road. I figured out where and decided to help her out. Low and behold."I glanced over to Shalltear who hadn't stopped glaring at me since I revealed myself. "That's where I met her."
"Shalltear, is that true?" Ains asked over to the newly revived vampire. She looked up to him then back to me.
"Yes it is. He seemed a useful warrior after he defeated Reina and Remna so I decided to make him a servant of Nazarick. Until he escaped into the mountain."
I was a little shocked when Shalltear spoke the truth. I was half expecting to say I had attacked her from out of the blue like the other bandit. But hey, maybe she was more honorable than I thought.
"Hmm." Ains said curling a finger down under his chin in a thinking motion. He then turned his attention back to me as the maids finally backed away with all my stuff in their hands leaving me in my undershirt and boxers. "So you coming across and fighting Shalltear was a simple coincidence?"
"I didn't seek her out if that's what you mean." I defended. "Nor do I have a clue what happened to her after I lost her. If I had I might have helped."
Shalltear broke out into a cold laugh and I couldn't hide a smile myself. "Ok maybe that's a bit pushing it. She did try to kill me. I wouldn't mind helping the Brides though. We got along ok."
"Yes, they told us about that." Albedo spoke up speaking directly to me for the first time. "Explain why you captured them."
"I thought they could lead me straight to you guys. I was kind of hoping you knew why we were brought here from Yggdrasil."
"Yes, but they say you helped them return to consciousness." Albedo specified.
"Well yeah. I figured since I had fought Shalltear by accident I could make it up by returning Reina and Remna unharmed…..ish." I continued. "But if you don't mind. Can you please tell me what the hell is going on here?"
"You think I know?" Ains asked.
"Dude, you're the head of the most powerful guild in the game. If anyone would know it's you." I pointed out.
"The game?" Albedo asked now thoroughly confused as similar looks began to grow on the faces of the NPCs.
"Uh..." Ains's voice suddenly cracked in what sounded faintly like panic. He glanced around the room before his sockets stayed on Demiurge who looked like he just came to an epiphany.
"May I explain it to them my lord?" Demiurge asked.
"You may." Ains quickly folllowed.
"At once my lord." Demiurge said with a slight bow. "This game terminology is meant for lord Ains and the other Supreme Beings. It is a way of illustrating how trivial all of Yggdrasil was compared to their glory."
I nearly fell over in shock at that save. This guy was a good talker.
"After all, why would anything in Yggdrasil or even in this new world be more than a game to Lord Ains?" Demiurge asked bowing his head once again.
The other guardians seemed more than convinced by that explanation. Much to my surprise and if I had to guess, Ains' himself.
"Very good uh, Demiurge." Ains spoke to his red suited demon who grew a small appreciteive smile. "Now. Leave us for now. I want to speak with our guest alone."
A series of affirmative nods swept through the room in complete obedience.
"I'm so confused." Shalltear replied standing up and wrapping the blanked around herself.
"Don't you start! Do you have any idea what lord Ains had to do?!" Aura asked smacking her behind the head.
"His heart went through such trauma trying to get you back!" Cocytus added on.
"But what did I do?!" Shalltear's voice echoed as other voices of disapproval spoke up.
The last one to leave was Albedo who still looked at me in almost the exact same way Nabe had when we first met. I bit back an insult that threatened to leap of my tongue and just settled for a wink in her direction to annoy her. It worked as she turned with a huff as the door finally shut behind her.
Now alone with Ains, and wondering what the hell gonna happen next I decided to make the first point.
"So uh, they don't know about that?"
"Why would they?" Ains replied. "Yggdrasil is all they've known. To them this is reality."
"Fair enough. And I guess it is for us now too." I replied chuckling before looking back up to the flags that still hung throughout the room. "Anyone else make it?"
"Not to my knowledge." Ains replied also looking up. "I hope that I'll find them somewhere out there but as time goes on…." His voice droned off as the thought more than likely depressed him.
"I bet you would have preferred you ran into TouchMe or HeroHero rather than me right?"
"You have no idea." Ains freely admitted. "But you're here now. And you're right. We really need to talk."
He ordered me over with a hand wave and like a peasant groveling before a king, I obeyed walking closer until I was right at the stairs to the throne.
"So Haon. I believe a proper introduction is in order. Momonga is no more. You stand before Ains Ooal Gown now."
"Right. Well I guess I'm Haon the….." I started to say handsome but I figured a different term would be more appropriate ,in light of what really happened. "Idiotic. Haon the Idiotic at your service."
Ains chuckled at the name as I hopefully started off on the right foot. "I think Haon will be just fine for now."
Great. Well at least I could talk to someone who was in the exact same predicament. Granted he had and entire tomb brought with him, a few hundred NPCs, god knows how many powerful weapons, and a few others who would probably love to see me dead.
But hey it was a start.
A/N: There you are. I hope that puts thing into a bit of perspective. I knew damn well I'd get a little pushback on last chapter and here's hoping it makes a little more sense now. Anyway, I think that'll do it for now.
See ya guys later.