CHAPTER XVII: ARDOR
"Don't think I'm so easily bought," Aura replies as she takes the data crystal from my hand. I note the timidness she has in holding the crystal as she brings it up to her face, taking in the details and rubbing the item with her thumb. She exhales in excited surprise and says aloud, "I've... I've never held one of these before... and never seen one so... potent... now I understand why the supreme ones were so obsessed with these... are so obsessed with these... just... the raw potential..."
I move my hand over the crystal, blocking her view of it temporarily. Aura snaps out of the spell that the data crystal was casting on her and looks at me in confusion and bewilderment. I nod in understanding and explain, "Staring directly into the crystal for too long isn't good for you. Put it away for now and we'll deal with it later."
A brief pause. We stand there for too long as she tries to make sense of what just happened. Eventually, she agrees and tilts her hand to the right to allow the crystal to fall from her hand. The crystal falls into an emerald box that appears beneath it, the box closing as soon as it claims its prize. Aura releases a pent up breath and I hold her hand, feeling the slight tremors through her glove as she rasps, "Is it always like that?... Those feelings when looking at that data crystal... I felt like my mind was being... twisted... altered... if you hadn't blocked my view of it or if I was ungloved..."
"The purer the crystal, the more it affects the minds of those who encounter them. Shalltear exposed me to this effect when she... trained me against mental attacks. It's nothing I haven't experienced beforehand," I reply. I couldn't hide the mix of fear and anger from talking about the delicate subject and can see that range of emotions affecting Aura's face in a similar way. She tries not to act on what she feels but fails, holding my hand tighter and stating far too calmly, "I still can't believe you agreed to any of that. You may not remember everything that occurred but I do. I remember the broken husk Shalltear showed me and I couldn't believe that you were still alive inside. Shalltear didn't hold any punches and at times, I didn't think you would make it given the damage. What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't. I was doing as I was told like a good puppet," I say calmly but I can see the anger flare in Aura's eyes. She pulls her hand out of mine but I snatch it back, getting a glare from her before I can reply quickly, "But that's in the past. We made amends and I came out stronger for it. I'm not going to hold a grudge against Shalltear when she was following orders."
"That doesn't make it any better! Not for me!" she snaps as she pulls her hand out of my grip, this time more hastily. She turns away rapidly and walks off in a scalding rage, brushing past the maids trying to tidy up a long-overdue mess and making her way down the main hall. I want to go after her but find my feet locked in place, no matter how much I will myself to move. Then it occurs to me to look down and I exhale from my nose when I see tendrils of shadow locking my feet to the ground. As if responding to my gaze, the tendrils retract into the ground and I turn to follow their retreat, the shadow sliding back underneath Shalltear as she approaches me.
"She needs her space for now. If you keep giving in to her tantrums and responding like you always do, she won't stop having tantrums," Shalltear states knowingly. As much as I want to disagree, I grudgingly accept that she knows more about Aura than I do and accept her explanation. However, I reply back to her with a flat expression, "Are you sure she's willing to change that? She's how old and still having anger issues?"
"Not in front of others," she replies back, gesturing with her hand at the maids trying to be subtle about eavesdropping. They return their focus to work once they notice us paying attention and I can't help but be impressed by how swift and seamless the change is. My focus is shifted again when Shalltear takes my left hand and guides me down the hall, my body automatically letting her lead us past all of the working maids and past several rooms. She doesn't need to say anything, her grim expression and stiff posture saying everything that needs to be said.
When we reach the room she wishes, I already know what needs to be done. She lets go of my hand and takes a step away from the door, saying in a low whisper, "I'd thought that I could do this... but you know better and I know better... I can't go in there... I'm not brave enough to face my past as Aura can... I'm-"
"I understand," I whisper, Shalltear smiling and sighing in relief when I say the words. There's reluctance as she releases my hand but as I move my hand to open the door in front of me, the magical locks unlatch themselves. I nod somberly for her assistance and push the door gently open, trying to remain focused as I enter another supreme one's home.
The interior is not what I expect simply because it lacked any personality. A king-sized bed furnished with white sheets and pillows dominates the far wall with a typical pair of dark wooden nightstands paralleling the headdress. The magenta walls are devoid of excess ornamentation with only the white candles mounted in iron fixtures breaking up the pattern. The floor is the typical crimson carpeting seen everywhere else with a green rug carefully placed in the centre of the room. On top of all these observations, everything within the room is strangely clean, hardly used, and barely disturbed.
I start to look around unceremoniously, checking under the bed to find nothing underneath and lifting up the pillows and sheets to find more nothing. I check the empty nightstand drawers and search under the rug covering the crimson carpet. I tap against the floor and the walls as well, trying to find any hidden hatches or doors that I might've missed, giving up midway when I realize how ridiculous I must look in my searches.
As a last-ditch effort to find something, I slide an emerald box in front of me and let my fingers dance along its surface to manipulate the functions of the room magically. The nameplate of the room that appears confirms that it does belong to Peroroncino but the last time they had entered the room was over two years ago. Much of the data records that I skim through tell me what I had already guessed. Lord Ainz had already emptied the contents of the room into the Treasury of Nazarick prior to my entry but as I'm almost done skimming through the information, the display of magic shifts. Strange magical storage with a seven-part combination lock appears in place of the flow of data and I try to use the access codes that I have to open it but the system emits a strange buzzing sound each attempt to emphasize denied access.
I close my eyes and try to think of what a deranged supreme one of Peroroncino's calibre would use for a password, running through what I've learned about them and all of Shalltear's rants I've had to listen. There was plenty to be said about their rampant perversion, their borderline arrogance, and their ever-shifting moods but none of these qualities gave me any real hints. I grumble as I dig deeper, using the mental techniques taught to me by Solution to focus my mind further and use it to search for any hidden meanings among the data I have. The patterns among the data, the patterns not spoken, and the patterns in opposition flow through my mind, a single word surfacing among the many others that I dismiss as implausible solutions. The word is one that Shalltear always brings up when talking about her creator even as she scorns him for multiple reasons. Despite his flaws, there is an elegance to his madness...
"Elegant," I whisper aloud as I place the letters into the spaces, watching as the emerald box flashes white. The letters spin rapidly in their spaces like the tumblers of a lock, clicking in sequence from left to right before the entire image splits down the centre of the letters. A new display is revealed beyond, containing a single item that hasn't been interacted with for two years. The item's title says everything that needs to be said and I have to read it again several times just to try and understand why someone would need such a thing. I don't bother to take the item out either, dumbstruck in inaction by the audacity of what I've found.
Shalltear Bloodfallen, version 1.1
My curiosity gets the better of me and I try to access a full description of the item, pulling up a miniature projection of the subject in question instead. I feel a mix of revulsion and awe at the figure, marvelling at the careful craftsmanship while simultaneously scorning how dissimilar this figure is from the Shalltear I've grown fond of. Her proportions are completely altered to that of a middle-aged woman with a generous physique to match. Her hair is still silver but is somehow more brilliant and eye-catching, falling down to her waist in a single waterfall. Crimson eyes are replaced with a warm amber gaze and the smile on her face is far more inviting and far less condescending. The dress she wears is as ostentatious and beautiful as any noble lady would wear, the white and silver silk reminding me of a noble lady at her best before meeting with powerful lords.
It's as if her creator had taken a copy of his creation and removed all of her supposed flaws to make something as close to perfect as they could. I have to tear my eyes away from the figure to read the accompanying description, becoming further repulsed by the use of words such as perfect, refined, and superior in Peroroncino's explanation. I'm able to hold back most of the distracting thoughts and gain a general understanding of the subtle changes this item would bring, wondering if I should try even bother to mention finding such an item. Shalltear would be more in control of herself... of her bloodlust and want for lifeforce... she would have all of the things she often chastises herself for lacking... but will she still be the same Shalltear afterwards?... what else will it cost her?...
I rip the item out of the emerald box with my left hand, watching as it transforms into its data crystal form. I don't give the ideas and temptations any further thought as I close my hand around the crystal and crush it until there's nothing left but scraps of magical energy dissipating into the air. My hand tilts to the side and I watch grimly as the crystal debris tumble to the floor, years of progress creating one of the first messes that this room has seen in the same amount of time.
I nod to myself and reach for my head, pulling the silver helmet off swiftly. There's a feeling of weakness from severing my connection to all of the gifts that it grants but I give myself time to become accustomed to lacking information. I say to no one in particular as I hold the item in front of my face, "Now I understand why Lord Ainz took the role of leader... I can't do this...this is too much responsibility for me to have..."
I apply pressure to the item which resists my efforts at first. I apply more pressure in reply, feeling the metal slowly buckle until it creaks and hisses in protest. I feel partly sad that the last gift of my mother is being destroyed by my hands but as I finally collapse the item into a flatter sheet and continue to crumple the item into a smaller and smaller piece of ruined metal, the sadness is replaced with a sense of unease and dread. It feels odd that such a strong material is crushed so easily but I ignore the thought and gently toss the remains a moderate distance from me. My question is swiftly answered when I notice the piece of metal starting to vibrate on the ground and glow with a dangerous white light, a high pitched squeal slowly rising in volume to emphasize the imminent danger.
I throw my hands in front of me instinctively and form the strongest magical barrier I can muster just as the small piece of metal detonates with unexpected force. The pressure wave alone degrades the shield's strength substantially before a deadly wave of magical energy and heated shrapnel batters against what remains. My muscles ache from using so much magic so quickly but as I reach the maximum amount of power that I can muster, I can already tell that it wasn't going to be enough to stop the blast from escaping outside. I try to shout but the noise of magic fighting magic blocks out most noises I can make.
Just as the dark shield starts to fade, Shalltear is suddenly beside me with hands extended forward. I instinctively sync my dark magic with hers and let our combined magic bolster the barrier beyond what either of us can perform alone. Even with our combined magic, however, the full force of the blast is still too much. Cracks start to form on the shield's surface and the edges nearest to the walls bow towards us, letting some of the brilliant magic burn further parts of the room. Both of us reach the same conclusion and throw everything we have left into the bulwark, straining ourselves beyond what is safe to try and weaken the force of the blast enough to survive what comes out when the shield fails. But just as soon as the magic is unleashed, the energy dissipates as its fuel is spent. All that remains is a smouldering ruin of burnt wood and melted metal beyond the dark shield.
I'm already letting my magic dissipate and staggering over as quickly as I can manage to Shalltear. She collapses back first to the floor, still in possession of her faculties but breathing heavier than she should. As soon as I reach her and drop to my knees next to her, she fixes me in an exhausted but furious glare and snaps at me between breaths, "I hate you... so... so much... you always do this kind of crap..."
"I didn't think it would explode," I reply sheepishly as I groan in exhaustion and have a hard time keeping my balance but in reply, she uses what little strength she has left to hit me on the left shoulder in time with each of her words. "Don't mess with things you don't understand, idiot!"
She angrily lays down on the ground and stares up at the ceiling of the ruined room, slowly catching her breath but not letting me have a moment's respite from her angry gaze. I feel like laying down as well and falling asleep wherever I land but Shalltear snaps me out of my stupor with, "Help me up! I know you aren't down and out just yet!"
I contain whatever anger or irritation I would feel and do as commanded, groggily rising to my feet and pulling Shalltear up by her right arm. She throws her arm over my shoulder and offers her right leg, an exhausted groan escaping me as I pick her up fully in my weakened arms and stagger towards the doorway. I make sure to turn horizontally so that she doesn't get bumped into anything on the way through the door frame even as she snaps midway through, "I am gonna beat the shit out of you once were recovered. You were doing so well in keeping in my good graces too."
"Can't win them all," I groan as I try to form a gate with an empty magical store, feeling my muscles burn further at using more magic in such an exhausted state. Thankfully, the gate forms without complications and as I stagger towards it with Shalltear in my arms, I'm inwardly glad that she didn't ask about what was inside the room before it was reduced to a charred husk. She moves both arms over my shoulders suddenly and I can feel that most of her anger is spent when whispers in an exhausted rasp, "Thank you..."
"Of course, dear..." I reply, feeling slightly renewed that she isn't completely mad with me.
