CHAPTER XII: ORGANIZATION
Among those I've already met congratulating us on our union, Mare, Aura and I meet a host of other nobles, merchants, and duchesses trying to impress us with their titles and holdings. I personally found their talk boring and not concerning me, most of the talk designed to garner favour and gain more power by affiliation to me. Since I had no real power to give them and no inclination to do so, I simply smiled and nodded as they took my expression for general interest. I thought nobles were meant to be smart...I guess not all of them.
Blue Roses and Darkness had come over to tell me they looked forward to working with me and the newly formed Knights of the Sorcerer Kingdom so long as we could pay them well and our missions weren't too boring for their skill level. As if on cue, Lord Ainz had announced to the assembled guests right then that I was officially in charge of the entire initiative and that all questions about it would go to me first. Aura had nudged me playfully with an elbow at the promotion, whispering to me that even as a supposed leader, I was still a subordinate to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Lord Ainz, Lady Chagama, and above all, herself and Mare.
I was glad that my first recruits were the Valkyries, a group of adventurers I had some experience leading already. The voice of Yggdrasil did the rest, my job class of Commander giving me access to the knowledge I needed to start turning an adventurer band into a vanguard force. Rassah and Bormu were both excited at their sudden promotion to something greater after brief approval by Lord Ainz but Krat warned me that such fame and good fortune always had a price and that I should be prepared to pay it. I agreed with him but he was still unaware that I already did pay a price, my soul now in another being and my loyalty absolute given her ability to overwrite my body functions.
Evileye had another idea for what I needed to do once the mingling was over, one that the warriors of the room seemed to agree with as we headed towards the training yards nearby.
"No holding back, Beric," Lakyus states from in front of me as she holds her sword at the ready, my own weapons in my hands but my over outfit still the white skirt instead of a white robe. It's Lady Chagama's idea to test the battle effectiveness of the costume but from the whistling Aura does and the light laughter that follows from the assembled audience on the sidelines, I'm regretting wearing it. I refocus back on the battle to distract myself from the embarrassment, silently intoning Preparations and feeling a blast of buffs surge through my body. My eyes now see exactly what Lakyus is as an adventurer and my brow raises in surprise at what it tells me. "You're a priest? I would've never guessed," I say while moving to a defensive stance but she suddenly becomes flustered and lowers her sword slightly. "Hey! I'm not reading out what you are, Mr Hero!" she retorts, my face becoming embarrassed as we both lower our guard and I apologise for my outburst.
The conversation is a ruse and she springs at me with her sword, my shield moving up and blocking the blade to her surprise. She swings her sword a few more times but without finesse, my arm now casually moving back and forth to block each reckless swing with ease. In retaliation, I block one more strike and push her on the stomach hard with my other hand, the blow pushing her a good distance back as I move back to a defensive stance. Lakyus almost falls over, her sword becoming overbalanced as it swings behind her and nearly pulling her backwards until she can right herself. "How can you move so effortlessly!? Does it have to do with your race!?"
"Well...yes. Elves generally have faster reflexes and better senses than standard humans. For example, your gold pouch is hidden underneath the plate of your chest armour from the noise it's making." My casual statement makes her release one hand from her sword and covers the middle of her chest until she realizes what she just did and becomes flustered again. "Are you...taunting me!? I thought this is a sparring match!" she shouts as she rushes me again, this time with far more speed and her sword swinging about with far more skill. There we go...now the real fight begins-
Something approaches from behind me and I dodge to my right as a large hammer comes smashing down where I was standing, my body already raising my shield to block the sword thrust from Lakyus and the extra blows from Gagaran's hammer. With a combination of dodging and blocking, I'm able to avoid the worst of their blows while my armour absorbs the ones I miss but I can tell that the armour and shield weren't meant to handle weapons of this magnitude. Every so often, I receive a dent or a crack on the metal that would make it more dangerous to block attacks from that angle without shattering the item. Silver just doesn't cut it anymore.
White Shield.
My shield explodes into a glowing radiance, the cracks and dents mending themselves as I swing the shield up in defence faster than I've ever moved it. Both Lakyus and Gagaran back away at their combined attacks now being easily blocked and even deflected to unbalance them, Gagaran smiling at the unexpected change as she braces her hammer in both hands. "Always full of surprise. I warned you about that, Lakyus-"
"I'm aware now, Gagaran. Thanks," she replies tensely but before I can say anything, another voice intrudes in my mind that sounds oddly familiar and feminine. "Beric...Beric, is that you?" the voice whispers and I look around wondering where the voice is coming from, putting a hand on my hand and shaking it thinking I misheard until the voice speaks again. "Beric, it's me...Beric, it's your mother...don't you recognize me?..."
My eyes are immediately drawn to the shield, the one thing that's new in this situation as my right arm moves in front of me. I'm forced to look away slightly to avoid being blinded. "It's so good to finally see you again, Beric. I'm sad that I never got to see you grow." The shield flashes with each word to my growing horror, my arm starting to shake at the magnitude of what I'm hearing. "M...Mom!?" I whisper as she laughs lightly to herself, the shield strobing in time with her laughs but her tone shifting to serious as she speaks again. "Where's your father? I can't...really see him..."
Black Sword.
The Spearmace in my left-hand moves to float in front of me, spinning a few times before darkening and reshaping into a long spear half blade and half hilt. My left-hand snatches the weapon by the centre grip and another voice intrudes on my mind as I touch the weapon. "Son! You figured it out! I told your mother you'd get it right but she didn't believe me!"
"Dad!?" I whisper in growing shock, both voices laughing simultaneously at my confusion. Dad is the one who stops laughing first, his voice now serious as he starts explaining what's going on in a sad tone. "This is the only gift I can give you from the afterlife, Beric. Once you took the sword and shield from my body in the world inside your mind, it allowed us to bind ourselves to you through your talent. I'll explain later but right now, watch out!"
The white shield rotates forward and blocks magical ice shot at me, my head looking over the shield to see Evileye holding a hand in front of her. The other Blue Roses look surprised that she attacked me when I'm not entirely there mentally. "You yourself said not to hold back, Lakyus. Let's test the extent of this new power," she states to the others as she fires more ice shards at me, my shield arm moving about on its own to block the magical shots. Lakyus is shouting for her to stop as she eyes the strange spear in my hand. "Don't you know what that is!? I do! That's a mirror of Crocdabal, the corrupted sword of the Dark Knight! He's wielding a shadow of a weapon of legend!
"Let's see how she likes her own medicine," the shield states into my head as I feel the shield face aim at Evileye, the magic spraying out of the strange metal of the shield completely identical to the magic she hit me with. Evileye brings up a hand and blocks the magic easily but her stance widens in preparation for combat. "She's good, I'll give her that. Nothing I can't handle," the spear states as it tries to make me move forward but I force it to stop and plant my feet in place, the spear vibrating in my hands as I resist its will. "Aren't you going to attack the enemy? That's what they are, aren't they?"
I don't answer because something else starts to well up inside me, my breathing becoming painful in my chest and my body falling to my knees in agony. "It hurts...I don't know...what it is..." I gasp as my hands open to brace against the ground on all fours, my eyes shut as pain lances through my entire body. "Markus, I warned you! His body can't handle the darkness or the light in such extremes! We have to go!" the shield states and I feel the power of the weapons start to diminish in my grip.
"No..." I gasp as I try to move, my body defying the pain stubbornly as I force myself upright. I'm starting to hyperventilate as I open my eyes, the Blue Roses now concerned for my well being and some of them slowly approaching me to offer me aid. The voice of Yggdrasil sounds loudly in my head but I shout the words at the top of my lungs to vent some of the pain. "Enjerukōru!" I scream into the air around me, my body leaning forward and my elbows kissing the earth as I shout in agony. Something sharp pushes out of my back, taking the pain with it slowly but my body still shouting as it feels like something is scraping slowly along my insides.
An odd clarity falls over me as I blink once, my body now feeling much better as I move from my elbows to my knees then to my feet gracefully. Everything around me seems calm and serene, the tan dirt and green plants around me seeming more vibrant and complete. From the looks that the Blue Roses are giving me when I turn back to them, however, I can tell that something is wrong. "Enjerukōru...Angel Call..." Evileye whispers aloud, the other Blue Roses glancing at her but only for a moment, all of them now holding their weapons at the ready for a fight. My mind feels like it's split into three, each person thinking something different yet I'm able to easily understand all of it simultaneously. "Are you...are you a god?" Lakyus whispers to me, my face smiling at such a ridiculous idea but the smile making them all take a step back.
"Laykus...I'm not even a warrior," I state with a voice that projected far too much power, the voice sounding like three voices speaking at once. What's happening to me? "I'm not a hero or a commander or even a man...I'm just a facade, a copy of someone who already died..." My hands move in front of my face, strange silver plate armour on my arms glowing and dimming in time with my slow breathing. As I gesture forward with my right arm, a large lance of similar material forms on it that's twice my size, the lance seeming to weight nothing as I move it upright. "Maybe that's why I hear my mom and dad now...maybe I'm already dead and this is just a bad dream-"
"Focus, Basugul! Remember who you are!" Lord Ainz shouts at me, my melancholy shattering as I turn to see him moving into the training ring. His hands grab at the armour on my body and start to remove it piece by piece but every time he does so, a new piece appears in its place. "Focus! Drive the power back down or it will consume you!" he shouts, shaking my shoulders to try and make me pay attention. My left-hand moves forward on its own and a large lance appears on the arm, the material forming and puncturing through Lord Ainz's stomach with ease.
The shock of what I've just done hits me hard, my mind rebelling as I back away from him in terror and watch Lord Ainz fall to his knees holding a large, glowing hole on his stomach. I start to hyperventilate again as I look at my hands, the left hand now covered in blood as I close them into fists and close my eyes to try and force the magic out of me. The magic resists my will but not for long, the two other minds in my head now desyncing and actively trying to fight me but my voice dominating them in turn. The shame is the difference, the thing that broke the harmony of the magic. No, no, no, no, no...what have I done?... WHAT HAVE I DONE!?
The armour on my body flakes away like leaves blew in the wind but my panic remains, so choking that I can barely move. The most I can manage is fall to my knees and lower my head, my body still breathing hard and my eyes unfocused as I try to get a hold of myself. I just betrayed Lord Ainz...I really did it...I can't believe I did that...
A shadow is cast over me and I look up to see Albedo glowing with dark malice, her eyes glowing yellow and her face not at all pleased. "I'm very disappointed in you, Basugul. You had such potential," she states reluctantly as her right-hand moves outwards, a familiar axe appearing in her hands. I nod slowly and lower my head in waiting as I hear the blade whoosh through the air in preparation to strike. It's only fair I pay the price of betrayal...I'm sorry, Aura...Mare...I was too weak...
The axe whooshes again towards me and I await a decapitating strike but the sound of metal striking metal sounds instead, my head looking up to see a dark blue lance blocking the axe with Shalltear wielding it. "Lord Ainz isn't dead! He just took a bad wound so no need to kill him!" Shalltear shouts at Albedo in equal strength but Albedo is unmoved and lifts her axe up again. "You of all people know that punishment must be served. This is a mercy for him," Albedo states coldly as she uses her other hand to move the lance out of the way forcefully, Shalltear trying to move the lance back in the path but halted by Albedo's strength.
The axe comes down again but a metal whip wraps around the axe and pulls it off target to embed in the ground. Mare soon arrives with staff in hand as he intones Grasp of Nature on the axe, vines starting to wrap around it to keep it in place. "You were about to kill my soulmate! I won't let you do that so easily!" Mare shouts at Albedo in hostility, him and Aura now standing in front of me protectively with weapons drawn. I wince as the easily brushes them aside with gentle flicks of her right wrist, her hand swatting them both away as she approaches me unhindered. "Such potential and loyalty...wasted..." she states as she reaches forward, her hand wrapping around my neck as I raise my head and close my eyes.
"Enough, Albedo," Lord Ainz commands, Albedo stopping with her hand on my neck half tightened and Lord Ainz moving to stand next to her menacingly. "Do you truly wish to harm a fellow guardian despite his failings? If there is any waste as you claim, it would be me allowing this to occur," he states threateningly, Albedo releasing her hand from my neck but still staring angrily at me. "He struck you with a weapon. Such an action is not to be taken lightly," she hisses but Lord Ainz places a hand on her shoulder, Albedo looking at him as he shakes his head no. "I was the one who was wounded so it is right that I am the one who gives punishment."
Albedo smiles darkly at the words and immediately bows at the waist to him while moving away, her eyes giving me a last look of amused pity before leaving. Lord Ainz places a hand on my head and lowers it gently but keeps the hand on my head as he speaks. "You have disgraced yourself in front of your colleagues and your family. That feels like punishment enough trying to atone for what you've done but I must add my own punishment as well." His hand leaves my head and moves towards my right arm, the arm coming up as he intones magic on my hand. "You are exiled from my inner sanctum for a month. Think on what you've done during that time and choose carefully if the power you wield is worth the price you just paid," he states with finality but I'm already in tears, the shame and regret making me choke out a response as he finishes speaking.
"No...it isn't worth it...I don't think it ever will be..."