CHAPTER TWENTYONE: Assembly
A cold night, colder than the one before. The little girl wanted to cry, but doing so would only result in more pain. She did not understand why the men her parents sent her off with were so mean to her. Just asking for food would make them yell and hit her. but there was one that did not yell at her, and he was her guard tonight.
"Hey... you doing all right?" A voice called out to her, it was the one who did not hit her, the one that gave her food for no reason. She sniffed as her breath could be seen in the freezing air.
"Here, take this... but make sure you hide it from the other guards okay?" She heard a thump in her room. there was a thin blanket with some bread wrapped in it she ate the bread and wrapped the blanket around her several times, feeling much better but still cold. She wanted to ask this man why he was nicer than the rest, but she was afraid that would make the food and help go away.
"I know it's hard, but I've seen lots of kids like you make it... just try to listen to what they say, and do it, no matter what." She nodded. It had been about a week before she realized she was what people would call "a slave".
"What will happen to me?" She asked in a frightened voice. He sat up against her door, his voice was young but strong.
"If you're lucky you will get bought by someone who likes you and will be nice, but that probably won't happen... you are very cute, so it could go the other way, and you get sold to a house... if that happens, just try to kill yourself I guess." The coldness in his voice gave way to sadness. She wanted to know more but figured she should leave it at that.
"Want some more food?" Another chunk of bread plopped into her cell from a small window, she was faster than the rats and got it.
"How old are you anyway? You look about ten or so." She frowned.
"Nine..." He let out a sound of disgust.
"Look... I don't like what they are doing... but I don't have too much of a choice in this too, you understand? I get food when I want and I don't freeze at nights, but I can't leave either... in a way I'm a slave as well. but still... just listen to what they say alright?" She nodded
"Uh-huh." He was silent for a while and she drifted to sleep.
"Danger!" Her eyes snapped open, the blonde streaks of hair matted with dirt made her large eyes seem even bigger. Her cell door was open, but nobody was there. Wrapping the blanket tighter around she slowly took a peek outside the door. there were sounds of people running around and whispering as she heard all the doors form the cells next to her get unlocked and opened. What was going on? But then her answer came loud.
"Attack, elves!" It came from inside but soon all panic broke out, there were sounds of screaming and yelling, the sound of metal hitting metal, and then flesh. She ran back into her room and flung the blanket over her head, she was trying to be as small as she could make herself. Hours passed and after a while it was silent. When she stepped out into the hallway there were dead men everywhere, blood colored the walls and floor but she just walked past them, everywhere she went the bodies of the dead lay around her. She hoped the nice one was not among these dead people.
A glint of silver caught her eye, a dagger lay in the hands of a dead man, it was well made, she knelt down and picked it up. Making a robe out of her blanket she looked for some water, a wine pouch was easy enough to find from a different body. As she walked out further she saw several people, they saw her immediately but did not seem to care.
"Just a human slave, not elf, leave her." One said, they agreed and jumped on a carriage that was filled with young elf slaves they were wrapped in thick looking blankets. All the men had long ears just like the ones they were rescuing. This was the first time Clementine would see an elf.
She shook her head, coming back to the present, for some reason this memory came to her whenever she looked at Zesshi for too long.
"Okay, there they are." Zesshi pointed at four hidden figures, they walked up silently so as to not attract the guards, but all the Beastmen were getting ready for the wedding so the guard was pretty lax at the moment.
The blonde maid pointed out the approaching agents.
"Hello ladies, what are we dealing with?" Clementine asked in a happy tone. The maid with the glasses answered softly.
"Lupusregina is getting ready and buying as much time as possible for us to set up an ambush, but she is worried as the power of the Cheiftan is much stronger than she had imagined. Inside the giant house that the agents and maids hid outside of, Lupusregina was inside thinking.
"Lady Lupu, do you not wish to take a bath before your big night with Lord Yelkis Olliver Sage?" One of the Rabbitmen women who was assigned to Lupusregina asked.
"No, it's okay, hey so what his deal anyway?"
"His...deal? Lady Lupu?" She asked confused.
"I mean... what makes him so powerful? I hear even without this new power he has, he is pretty tough huh?" The Rabbitman woman put her hands together.
"Yes! Our Chief and Lord had never once been hurt in battle, and he was always on the forefront of the battle."
"Wow, never been hit? Even once?" Her eyes went wide.
"Oh no! Master Yelkiv Olliver Sage has been struck many times, hundreds even, but not once did any attack even leave a scratch on the great chief! Pain and injury simply do not apply to out great chief!" She said now becoming excited as a fangirl would. Lupusregina frowned, this sounded an awful lot like her Lords ability to ignore damage from people far below his level. And if it was the same ability, only one of her sisters could even hurt him, and she was the only one not present. She cast [Message].
"Hey, I think only people above level 60 can even hurt this guy, do we know when Lord Ainz and his "clean up" team are coming? Only Narberal can even hurt him I think."
"Lord Ainz is dealing with The Baharuth Empires crisis at the moment, and his arrival has been delayed, also Lupusregina, we were tasked with this mission, I do not believe it proper to sit back and wait for Our Lord to come to do our jobs for us, it is us who should reduce the burden of work on Our Lord, not the other way around." Lupusregina could tell Yuri was annoyingly adjusting her glasses. Lupusregina sighed.
"Besides, there is one among us who should be able to fight him on his level. Do not bother our Lord until we have played all our hands." Yuri further instructed. Lupusregina knew what her beloved older sister had said wat the truth.
"Okay, then when this whole thing kicks off we'll just have to support our new agent then, huh?" Lupusregina asked Yuri said she was correct, their jobs would be to cull the Beastman guard so that Zesshi could fight the chief with no distractions, Lupusregina would stay hidden and provide healing and support to her during that time.
"Okay Lupusregina, I've told you what you need to know, as this has basically been your show now for some time, I feel it is up to you to provide the battle plan," Yuri said, she was testing her younger sister. Lupusregina began to think after she said she'd think of a great one, worthy of Nazarick even!
The agents and maids lying in wait outside talked among themselves.
"The overall plan will be to have Zesshi fight the Cheiftan, we will kill all the Beastmen around the camp so we can back up Zesshi, Lupusregina will take cover and provide support to Zesshio exclusively during the fight." Zesshi nodded, she could easily beat this Beastman without any support, but she would not be so overconfident to turn help down.
"Just leave the Beastmen to me, I can even provide a good distraction if you need that," Clementine said, but Yuri shook her head.
"Your job will be to get to the store entrance and make sure nobody can get inside," Clementine nodded, there was a service in that store that would send you anywhere you asked, if this chieftain got to it, there would be trouble.
"No, he would be considered too strong even to step foot in that store, he must somehow know this..." Clementine informed the group. Then CZ spoke up.
"Rules are posted..." She was looking through the scope of her magic gun at a small sign above the door, it was written in Yggdrasil writing and clearly stated: "only the weak may enter, the strong will be rejected." Shizu informed them.
"Okay and so just his troops have been using the store? That makes holding the storefront down easier for me." Clementine said pulling her mask down over her face. She was preparing for the attack. Then Lupusregina signaled Yuri that she was done thinking up the plan and told her sister what she wanted everyone to do, Yuri smiled, she was proud of the growth Lupusregina had shown on this mission, it was a good plan.
Far back in E-Rantel Ridda and Nabe were getting ready as well.
"Okay little one, we are all set to go to this store, you ready?" Nabe asked looking down at the girl in a black suit and long brown hair. Her pink eyes shown that she was determined to do this, Nabe smiled a bit. This girl had grown an awful lot in just a few days, but Momon walking into the room broke her train of thought.
"You already you two?" He asked, Ridda nodded but Momon knelt down to her so he could look eye level.
"Do not concern yourself with fighting, if you get caught up in a fight just concentrating on escape and defense, understood?" She nodded but asked a very surprising question.
"When this is over, and you have this "world item" and I have my revenge in that paladin... what will become of me?" She asked with eyes with knowledge beyond her young age.
"Eh? What do you mean?" He asked perplexed. She sighed as he assumed she was naive.
"Look, I understand why you are helping me, I am useful to you, and we made a deal, and I know you are a man of honor and will live up to that deal, but once that deal is fulfilled, what are your plans with me? I know that I was probably fated to a particular outcome the second I made that gold metal blade with my magic... nobody would let me just go with how valuable my skill has become... so I ask again, and please be honest... what will you do with me once I am no longer useful to you?" She asked with a determined expression. Nabe looked shocked but Momon sighed.
"I'm not going to lie to you Ridda, the selfish side of me did imagine throwing you into a room and making you provide metals for me..." She nodded as to say "figured as much."
"But I am not that kind of man, rather, I try not to be... and to be honest, the second I made you an official team member... you inherited my protection to it's fullest, I promise you, on my name and honor, I will not enslave you or exploit you for your abilities." He said nodding, she seemed to believe him immediately but thought of something.
"And if I had been able to produce this "prismatic ore," you asked me to try and make that other day?" There was a long silence from the raven black helmet.
"You would work for me, and "no" would not be an answer I would accept, but so long as you had a price, I would endeavor to fulfill that price, no matter the cost." Again she seemed satisfied with the honest answer. She thought again and nodded.
"Well, I only want to kill that woman... if you want to hire me to make metals for you after that... we can make a new deal after this one is fulfilled. Lock me up in a deep dark dungeon and whip me for all I care until I pass out... if you help me kill her, then it will be worth it and I will belong to you." Ainz shook his head.
"You are far too young to sell yourself away like that after you get your revenge, make a "terms and conditions" list for me, I will sign it without changing a single request. Again on my honor, I have no intention of exploiting a fellow member of my team." He finished saying and stood up. She nodded that she understood what he was saying. She was getting the carrot in this particular instance, and the stick was being handed to her to hurt the one she hated most, it was the best deal she would ever hope to get.
"So, with that settled, what say you and Nabe here go to this Dragon Kingdom for me and do a bit of shopping?" She nodded and Nabe smiled as she bowed to the knight.
"I have been assured that my involvement will not be necessary until the very end when we reap the rewards, so I will send you both as a sign of support, but again, do not engage in any form of fighting." She nodded but said one more thing that made Nabe's eyes flare with anger and brief hatred.
"Sir Momon, may I make a selfish request? And I would care to make this request... alone." She asked looking at the furious Nabe, but Nabe was already heading toward to door as a sign of some kind of respect, she left them alone.
"I am very curious, what do you want of me?" It was the only thing Nabe heard as she exited the room. That little girl certainly enjoyed pushing her luck. No matter she wasn't the worst human she had traveled with, at least she seemed to know her place in all this. Still, to ask more of their great Lord when he had already shown such kindness and mercy to her... it did not suit Narberal at all. But before not too long the two exited together, apparently, he had fulfilled her request as she looked almost happy for the first time ever.
"Okay Nabe, come back in," Ainz instructed and they went back to the room.
"A giant black portal was waiting for them in the room," Ainz, as Momon, was next to it making an "after you ladies." Motion with his arms and hands. the two walked through and they were suddenly outside. It was on the outskirts of the city, apparently there was some kind of spell that kept any kind of teleportation from happening within the Dragonic Capital, interesting nabe thought she'd have to inform her Lord of this, is it meant there was something strong in that city after all.
"Okay, let's get this over with," Nabe said silently and Ridda silently just followed her. They were teleported to the city that Yuri and Solution had cleared. There were tied up but dead. Most had acid burns covering them while others had bruises and broken limbs. Narberal recognized her sisters work. Ridda seemed less concerned with the blood and bodies than even Nabe.
"If we travel east from here we will come up to their camp before too long," Nabe said lifting her arm and pointing off into the direction they will be flying. They both cast [FLY] and silently hovered up into the air, the dark forest landscape pulled away from Ridda's feet as she looked down, the wind that whipped past her made her shiver but her escort was already on the move, she did not have time to sit here and relax. Nabe matched her flight speed with Ridda's and pulled up beside her.
"Make sure to stay back, some of these Beastmen will have range and magic attacks, just stay hidden and wait for us to finish fighting." Ridda didn't respond to the repeat in orders. Ridda wondered why she took such an interest in this her? Was it because her Lord made her a team member? Or just orders. Either way, Ridda never felt like she should let her guard down around her mentor. Not like Alis and Nero, around them she knew she had an unbreakable shield, but having that shield broken, and being too weak to do anything about it was the biggest shame she could feel. Nabe must have noticed her eyes tearing up, but assumed it was from the cold wind caused by their flight speed.
Ridda closed her eyes and flew in blackness, in her mind she saw her mothers face, the look of regret she saw on Alis would never be forgotten, in her final moments she thought she had failed at protecting her girls, she went to the grave believing she let her family die, not knowing the few seconds she bought were exactly what they had needed.
"I wish I could let her know..." It was a new wish Ridda felt when the rage didn't consume her every thought. Nabe cast her a slight glance.
"Ridda... can I tell you something." Her voice was still flat and cold but there was a tone of warmth to it deep down.
"The ones who made me... they are no longer here, like your mother and father... so I can at least understand how you might be feeling, but don't let the feelings of loss take over, instead cherish the ones who stayed behind for you and are here for you now." Ridda looked amazed at Nabe, this was the nicest thing she had said to her.
"So I should look at you and Sir Momon as my new mother and father?"
"Eh?" The question shattered Nabe's concentration and her flight spell was broken, she quickly recast it to remain in the air, but when she looked at Ridda she saw a slight smile. Nabe's face was still blushing at the mere mention of her as "mother and father" with her Lord Ainz! But Ridda had been teasing her, it was good that she felt this way around them. Seems she really felt like a team member after all. Little did Nabe know this was not just a joke to Ridda.
"You remind me of one of my sisters..." Nabe said as an image of a laughing werewolf with braids came to mind. Nabe never told a single person about how her sister Lupusregina would always make lewd comments and jokes to her when they were alone to tease her.
"Soooo Narberal, when are you gonna tell me about your "private moments" with our Lord out on the road together?" It was one of her favorite things to say when she got back from an adventure with her Lord as the adventurer Momon. It was true, of all the maids Narberal got the most "one on one" time with Ainz. But she would blush and deny any such acts and remind her sister of Lady Albedo! But as soon as she made Narberal blush Lupu would laugh and call her a pervert, she would never act that way in front of others...
"We must still be a way off, I can still can't make out the city from this high up," Ridda said looking at the sprawling black forest below them, her voice brought Nabe back to the present.
"We have a lot of time still as I hear this Chief is not rushing Lupusregina to get ready, It seems he's a patient man." She said with a smirk of how easily Lupusregina had wrapped this man around her finger. Handling men was a skill that she and Solution seemed to possess. Then on the horizon, tiny rows of lights appeared. nabe pointed them out to Ridda.
"There, we should be there soon." She said Ridda silently lowered her altitude as did Nabe. She cast [MESSAGE] to let her group know she was incoming, they directed them where to meet everyone as they waited for Lupusregina to give them the word. All the girls looked at Ridda curiously, none of them had expected another person to show up.
"This is Ridda, she was assigned by our um... Leader to do the "shopping" after we have secured the guild store and subdued all hostiles." Clementine walked right over to Ridda and knelt down to make contact with her. She sat in silence just looking her over then stood up and walked away. Ridda gave the rest of the girls a "what was that?" look. Most either shrugged or shook their heads. But Clementine giggled.
"You're a very cute girl," she said in an overly creepy tone, Zesshi sighed.
"Knock it off Clem, we got business to take care of." Clementine shrugged and laughed a bit.
"You Nazarick chicks are all the same, "business before pleasure." She bobbed her head back and forth, it would seem Clementine was feeling more like her "old self" again, for better or worse. A few of the maids let out a sigh of disgust but largely just ignored the new Nazarick agent.
"Anyway, all the Beastmen have been leaving the city, it looks like they want to have the ceremony in the forest area outside the city gates, this will make the battle much easier as it will away from the guild store," Yuri stressed, waiting had been the correct play. Suddenly Zesshi had a thought.
"Is this chieftain that I will be fighting, do you think he's stronger than Mare?" The question seemed very off topic, but they all shook their heads.
"Not even close, Mare would single handily kill him and all the Beatmen here in one spell," Yuri said honestly, Zesshi smiled and nodded.
"Okay then, just tell me what to do, ladies." The half-elf said smiling. The Beastmen were now all carrying torches and making a ring for the couple to stand in during the ceremony. Others were setting up tables of "food" for the after party. Some horribly gruesome decoration made from bones were also strewn about and hung from the various trees.
"Do Beastmen even get married?" Solution asked dubiously as they set up for the event.
"The leaders do I guess?" Shizu added. They were told just wait until the ceremony was underway before they spring the attack. And after a quiet couple of hours, the stage had been prepped, and before long it was time.
A huge parade of Beastmen of all kinds walked out into the area beneath the trees and all stood outside of the ring of fire they had made using the torches. The strange bone charms that hung all over the area from the trees swayed silently in the wind. It was dead silent. Yuri pointed to a female making her way to the circle of flame, she was followed by three Rabbitmen, it was Lupusregina, and she looked like she was ready to fight. As Narberal ran her gaze over the event she smiled as she noticed how grouped up the Beastmen were, some well-placed area of effect spells would go a long way in beginning the attack.
"There look," Solution whispered as a group of eight very well armed Beastmen appeared, they seemed to be mostly made up of Gorrilamen and Minoutars, Beastmen with heads of bulls. They were holding impressive weaponry and wore great gear, this was his royal guard, or the "Tribute of Power" as they called themselves, and in the center of the group was a Beastman who looked very out of place. He was just a normal build, not huge with muscles like his bodyguard's and his only indication he was not human was the bull horns that protruded from his head. The group made their way to the ring and the Tribute of power encircled the whole area outer area of the ring, and only Yelkis walked in the circle to join Lupusregina.
"Alright, soon as Lupusregina gives the word..." Yuri said, every woman had their part to play and they got into position. After a few seconds, a Snakeman approached the two holding a ceremonial looking staff and chalice. But before he could say even a single word, Lupusregina yelled out.
"Get em!" And then vanished from sight.