CHAPTER XVIII: CANDOR

I try to remain calm as Shalltear and I enter the throne room but I can't stop the flow of anger surging through me even if I want to. Lord Ainz is already sitting in his throne with Albedo standing beside it, both of them staring at us as I approach the throne with an aggressive stride. Shalltear is keeping pace with me but seems calmer and less enthusiastic about being here. I reach the throne and stand at the base of the steps, looking up at Lord Ainz as he intones, "I know why you're here, Beric Lowarm. You want to know the truth of what you heard in that dreamscape."

"What did my father mean, Lord Ainz?" I snap at him, uncaring of how I sounded to him. Albedo gives me a harsh look, her smile fading as she lifts her right hand to her side, her massive axe entering her hand from her inventory. Lord Ainz is quick to raise his hand to stop her but she doesn't obey or notice his order, her words mocking as she hisses, "You dare make demands of Lord Ainz? You, an upstart servant who doesn't know when to stay dead or when to stay alive? Why would he give you what you wish?"

"I intend to, Albedo," Lord Ainz intones calmly, Albedo turning to Lord Ainz with something akin to disbelief. The axe doesn't leave her hands and she snaps at him in growing madness, "Lord Ainz! Why would you relent to this...this traitor!? He pursues his answers at the cost of Nazarick! He consorts with other traitors who have already wronged you! Why give him this!?"

"He has chosen the right path time and again. He deserves the truth," Lord Ainz intones forcefully, Albedo looking ready to resist further but slowly relenting to his will. She doesn't relinquish her axe and turns to us to stare daggers at me while Lord Ainz turns his attention back to us. For once, I don't fear his crimson gaze upon me and he chuckles at my show of defiance, intoning through his mirth, "You are your father's son indeed. You have his indomitable will and recklessness that's tempered by a noble purpose. I hope you are ready for the truth."

Lord Ainz sighs, causing some of my anger to diminish. The gravity of the situation finally hits me but I remain firm in my conviction, waiting stoically for Lord Ainz to answer my question. Lord Ainz, in turn, collects his thoughts rapidly and intones slowly to us, "Long ago...before the fall of Yggdrasil...I was the only one left in the Great Tomb of Nazarick...the other supreme ones had left long before...and I hated them for leaving everything we built like none of it mattered...we poured our lives into this place..."

Shalltear moves my right hand into hers and squeezes it tightly, my hand doing the same as I continue to listen. Lord Ainz intones further with, "I let the power go to my head when there was no one to challenge me...I changed things thinking that...it was already the end...what consequences would there be?...so...I changed Albedo so that she would love me...and when it wasn't the end...when the world started again-"

"You did what!?" Shalltear shouts at Lord Ainz, the outburst causing me to jump slightly. Albedo looks at us with the same level of hostility despite the outburst but her smile is becoming more and more sinister by the second. Lord Ainz answers Shalltear's outburst by intoning to her, "At first, I tried to ignore the situation and ignore all the advances towards me. I wanted to treat you all fairly and had no interest in romance...all that mattered was the survival of Nazarick...but then Irlo happened...and everything that came after...I saw my friends again...and I had to fix my mistakes-"

"But you couldn't fix Albedo because she wouldn't let you," I say in growing apprehension, Albedo laughing maniacally in reply to my words. Lord Ainz only nods as Albedo retorts harshly with growing madness, "Why would I want to go back to the way I was!? Who cares if Lord Ainz made me love him! I like being who I am now! Why would I let him change the part of me I don't want to change!?"

"Lord Ainz! Why did you let her influence you like this!? Why did you relent and let her have her way!?" Shalltear shouts at him, Lord Ainz looking down in an abnormal display of shame. I couldn't imagine Lord Ainz showing any emotions like shame and seeing it here made the situation far more terrible. I pick up on the hint and find the idea dreadful in wait, voicing my doubts with a hint of sympathy. "The alternative...unrest and civil war...if he chose someone else-"

"I would kill them where they stood! No one will get in the way of me and my beloved!" Albedo rants in growing insanity, her laughter menacing and filled with madness. Suddenly, Shalltear releases my hand and rushes forward at high speed, her battle plate forming around her body as she thrusts her greatsword forward. Albedo lifts her right hand and blocks the blow with the palm of her armoured gauntlet, her armour forming around her rapidly as she pushes the blade aside. Metal screams against metal and Albedo's axe enters her other hand, Shalltear forced to jump down the platform to avoid the rapid counter swing. As Albedo slowly descends the stairs in pursuit, Shalltear lightly pushes me out of the way and hisses up at Albedo with her sword pointed at her, "You'll pay...you'll pay for all the betrayal you've done to me and Lord Ainz..."

"Betrayal!? You strike at your superior and dare talk of betrayal!? Didn't you learn from the first time you betrayed us!?" Albedo hisses back, her form leaping forward and swinging her axe downwards with both hands at Shalltear's helmet. The two weapons of choice lock together with a bang of metal, the energy fields of both screaming as neither side can push the guard of the other. I try to move to assist but someone places a hand on my right shoulder and holds me in place, my head snapping to the right to see Lord Ainz standing over me. He intones to me as he looks at the growing fight, "This fight must happen. They have something to prove to each other."

I try to move to assist Shalltear anyways but Lord Ainz keeps me in place despite my attempts to get free. He tells me to be still and watch, an order I grudgingly obey for the time being as I turn my eyes back to the growing conflict. Albedo leans her horned helm closer to the locked blades, her helm angling downwards to hiss at Shalltear with amusement, "You see that? No one is coming to save you. You can't beat me and you know it."

Shalltear replies by pulling back her greatsword and swinging it low to cut at her opponent's legs but Albedo jumps enough to avoid the swing and swings her weapon at Shalltear's chest plate. Shalltear angles her chest plate so that the axe scrapes against the plate but doesn't penetrate, a heated line springing to life on the armour. Both fighters are unbalanced but Albedo recovers faster and rams her left shoulder into Shalltear with a loud clang of metal, the sudden force and momentum knocking her to the ground. Shalltear raises her sword horizontally to block the coming axe, the weapons locking again but Albedo slowly forcing her axe downwards from her advantageous position. Shalltear kicks out at Albedo's legs and groin but she has too firm of a stance to be unbalanced so easily.

"How does it feel? To lose everything?" Albedo goads as she tries to force her axe downwards. Shalltear tries to push the weapon away but slowly loses ground, her arms beginning to shake from the exertion. She looks for a way out or something to give her an advantage but in her distraction, Albedo kicks Shalltears weapon aside by the pommel. I hear the crunch of armour as her greatsword gets knocked aside and wonder if Shalltear broke anything under her armour. My left hand renews its attempts to dislodge Lord Ainz's grip but his grip remains firm and uncompromising. He tells me again that this has to happen but I don't listen and continue my attempts to break free.

Shalltear freezes in place, her resistance ceasing suddenly. Her head is still able to move and she looks at her immobile limbs in confusion and horror. Albedo chuckles darkly as she raises her axe above her head with both hands, gloating with an arrogant tone, "You may be strong but I know your tricks and your weaknesses. You're helpless against mental attacks just as you were before. Do try to struggle more as I cut you to pieces."

The axe comes down fast and I shout in denial but am unable to move because of Lord Ainz. To everyone's surprise, Shalltear moves her right arm in the path of the axe, the sharpened edge cutting into armour and flesh but sticking in place. Albedo seems surprised by the sudden resistance and hisses down at Shalltear as she tries to get her weapon free, "How...how did you break my binding spell?...you don't have the will to-"

Shalltear surges upwards and throws Albedo's axe aside with her other hand, a roar of hatred following as her left fist swing around and slams into Albedo's helm. Metal distorts and bends as Albedo is sent sprawling backwards, Shalltear standing triumphantly over her foes as she approaches. Albedo quickly rights herself as Shalltear hisses at her, "I learned that from my fiance. Sometimes, you have to give ground to take it."

Albedo tears her dented helmet off her head but laughs menacingly, rising to her feet unburdened and unblemished. She's enjoying this fight and her face is that of a maniac enjoying a life or death struggle. She hisses back with growing amusement, "You latched onto the nearest warm body so soon? So much for your talk of loyalty and caring. Lord Ainz was right to choose me instead of you."

"You pressured him into a choice!" Shalltear shouts as she rushes Albedo who raising her forearms to block another left fist. Shalltear barrages her with a frenzy of punches as kicks while Albedo tries to kick at Shalltear's knees and ankles. Neither side is willing to back down and Shalltear shouts as she punches, "You made him choose! How can you say you love him when you made him love you!? That isn't loving!"

"And what would you know of love!?" Albedo retorts as she catches Shalltear's left fist with her right hand and punches her hard in the chest with her left fist. Shalltear coughs out blood as damaged metal bends inward into her flesh but Albedo doesn't relent, her fist slamming into the weak part of her armour repeatedly until it breaks open. Shalltear tries to block the assault but with one arm damaged, she can't defend herself well enough and takes more blows to her exposed flesh. Albedo finishes her attack by bringing Shalltear's head into her knee, Shalltear blocking the blow with her left arm but falling to the ground from the force of the impact. Albedo hisses down at her weakened foe, "Who would love you of all beings!? Lord Ainz surely doesn't! He saved you from death because he still had use of you! Did you foolishly think that he did so because he loved you!?"

Shalltear tries to rise, coughing more blood onto the floor and leaving a slight pool beneath her from her torn flesh. Albedo kicks her in the side, sending her a good distance further from the throne to my growing dismay. I try to surge forward when I see Albedo retrieve her axe from the ground but Lord Ainz pulls hard on my right shoulder as I attempt to move. I try to conjure a spell but something prevents the spell from forming and I shout at Lord Ainz, "This is crazy! She's going to kill her! Why would you let this happen!?"

"To prevent civil war and unrest...you said it yourself..." Lord Ainz intones, my eyes widening as I scream Shalltear's name while trying to move towards her to no avail. Albedo is already standing over her as she attempts to get up, her grieve slamming down into Shalltear back to keep her pinned to the ground. Shalltear screams in pain and anger as the axe raises above Albedo's head, her words triumphant as she gloats, "No one will miss you and Lord Ainz won't save you this time. Goodbye, Shalltear Bloodfallen."

The axe comes down hard and I scream in denial but before the axe can impact, Shalltear reaches behind her with her left hand and grabs the foot on her back. She pulls Albedo off balance and causes her to miss her swing, the axe sundering the top part of Shalltear's helm but missing the flesh beneath. Shalltear holds onto the foot as her form surges upwards, her strength pulling Albedo off her feet as she spins her around like a ragdoll. Shalltear cries out and hurls Albedo at a nearby wall, the speed of her flight too quick for Albedo to absorb the coming impact. The sound of metal and stone crunching resonates through the chamber but Albedo is quick to dislodge herself from the wall and groggily stay upright. Though she isn't too badly hurt, Albedo is winded by the impact and Shalltear walks swiftly towards her. Albedo hisses without looking at her, "What are you fighting for?...do you think Lord Ainz will let you kill me?...you haven't retrieved your blade all this time..."

"I'm not trying to kill you. I'm just curious why you fight so hard for something you already own," Shalltear goads, Albedo confused for a moment by the words. Shalltear stops in front of her as Albedo rises to defend herself but Shalltear makes no moves to attack and says in a triumphant tone, "If you want Lord Ainz so badly that you would kill every woman that tried to steal him away...and go as far as to plan all of this...I can respect that...all I want to know is why you deceived me."

Albedo stares daggers at her but slowly softens, her smile becoming slightly less maniacal and menacing as she seems to recover from her madness. Albedo seems almost embarrassed when she explains in a hushed tone, "He...I...thought you would rebel...to have your greatest desire denied...why would you not rebel?..."

"Lord Ainz knew I wouldn't...he had other plans for me," Shalltear states knowingly as she turns away, Albedo confused at the sudden turn of events as Shalltear allows her armour to flake away. Her exposed skin is covered in her blood and Lord Ainz releases my shoulder, my body surging towards Albedo. Before I can do anything hostile, Shalltear lifts her right hand and tells me to stop, showing me her blood-covered hand. I hesitate slightly and almost run past her but stop when she places her left hand on my cheek, her voice whispering slowly, "We're done here... let's just go home..."

Warring emotions almost overwhelm me and I keep eyeing Albedo with hostile intent but Shalltear places her left hand on my mouth, her smile comforting and sincere. The rage boiling in my brain subsides instantly and once she's sure I won't disobey, she gently walks past me and guides me by the hand towards Lord Ainz. I'm surprised that she doesn't find her wounds uncomfortable as she gently walks forward and whispers to Lord Ainz, "She didn't pressure you into this, did she...she offered nicely and you accepted..."

Lord Ainz opens his mouth to speak but no words come out, his mouth closing as Shalltear smiles knowingly at him. She nods to herself and guides me away, confusion plain on my face as she opens a gate to leave through. We pass Albedo who gives Shalltear a simple nod, Shalltear whispering to me as we move towards the gate, "I'm not Lord Ainz's type but so long as Lord Ainz has someone to keep close...that's all that matters...I'm okay with that."

After we walk through the gate and arrive in her bedroom, however, Shalltear drops her facade and fall to her knees in agony. Her hand releases mine as I move to see how bad her wounds are. Her right arm is cut open to the bone and is leaking large amounts of blood, the fingers on her hand holding the wound broken and pointing at odd angles. She closes her eyes with gritted teeth but smiles morbidly and gasps, "Well...we did it...we got our answers..."

I place my right hand against her open wound and close my eyes, my mind racing with emerald symbols that slowly form a complex pattern. I open my eyes as the channels of magic across my skin glow with a green light, my fingers and palm projecting the magic into another. Shalltear winces as the blood flowing down her arm reenters her body, the flesh knitting closed once all of the fluid is back where it belongs. She clenches and relaxes her arm a few times, nodding in satisfaction as I move my hand to hers. Fingers snap painfully back into place and the swelling of the bruised flesh reduces, her fingers wiggling and curling to test the extent of the healing. I'm still fixing her fingers when she says, "That's elvish...that isn't your magic..."

"It isn't..." I reply sadly, my right hand moving over her arms and body to remove any damage I can't see. She grabs my wrist and tells me that she's fine and that the magic is hurting me but I ignore both her pleas and the stinging of my limbs. When I'm comfortable with her health, I discharge the magic and slump forward slightly, Shalltear catching me and placing my head over her left shoulder as she whispers in frustration, "You're so stubborn and reckless at times...if you keep overusing your magic, you're going to kill yourself..."

"I can't lose anyone else...I can't..." I whisper as tears start to roll down my face, Shalltear holding me closer and rubbing my head to calm me down. All comforting does is make me break down more violently as I come to terms with reality but I try my best not to break down too roughly by keeping my mouth shut and keeping my breathing even. A hand rubs the mane running down my back but only reinforces another harsh truth, one that I still found deplorable. Shalltear kisses my left cheek and keeps saying the same words over and over again even as I fall deeper and deeper into self-loathing.

"I'm here for you now...don't be afraid..."