After Vanysa told Ainz everything she could and left the room. But while it was closing, she heard the sound of a 'gate' spell, marking the return of her lord's 'envoys'.
'I just want a drink… a thick drink, I want to drink and not think until I can get myself in my Demi's arms and he can just make me forget, just for a little while…' The demoness thought, and walked away, leaving the muffled voices to become silent when the final closure of the door at her back.
She went quickly to the Nazarick bar, and there she found Curete, deep in her cups, her golden face was flushed red and she was still shaking from her tears.
Vanysa went directly to the bar, "Two bottles, then two more till we can't talk anymore."
The mushroom headed bartender didn't say anything, he couldn't, he only turned around, grabbed two strong bottles of blood infused bourbon and slid them over to Vanysa. The demoness took the bottles by the neck and went to Curete's table.
She didn't ask anything, she just slid the bottle over to the seated Alecto Fury, and then sat as if she'd been given permission. "You look like you need more." Vanysa said when Curete raised her head when she felt the bottle come to a stop against her hand.
"You too." She said as Vanysa popped the cork on the bottle she saved for herself.
"Yeah… yeah I do." Vanysa swallowed and tipped the bottle to her lips and started to chug, it was graceless and crude, but her counterpart, seemingly granted permission by the crude act, imitated it herself, chugging the bottle down until it was empty and chasing it with what was left in the cup at left hand.
Four rounds later, with the bottles set beside each of them and their eyes heavy and bodies slumped forward, Vanysa finally asked, "So… how'd you do it… get through watchin Inta love woman after woman, then just forget them like he forgot you, then start all over again… I-I don't think I could do it. It was bad enough once. An he died, he didn't ferget me, didn't lose me… an I-I never really lost'im."
"I just, I didn't have a choice." Curete answered and closed her eyes, "It's hard, seeing him happy with someone else… but I wanted him to be happy, that was my wish, that was the bargain I made with the mocking stone when it brought me back. I wanted him to be happy… an now he is, just not with me. But he's alive, he's happy, an thas all I wanted. We had a good time together an… I guess in a weird way, I'm kinda free now too…"
"Thas true… you ain't daid… sho… maybe… ya cain't have that first love no more, but he ain't gotta be the last, huh, like me, I foun my Demi." Vanysa hiccupped.
"So, why are you drinking, then?" Curete asked, her eyes beginning to glass over to match that of the slightly drunker Tisaphone Fury.
"Cause… someone I love, they gonna get hurt one day, lot sooner'n I like to think, an ahm start'n to doubt I can do anythin to stop it… so all I wanna do now is get drunk an forget all that." Vanysa answered.
"Then we'll need more booze." Curete answered and raised her hand to call for the bartender again.
"A lot more." Vanysa said and raised her arm, somewhat shakily, to match.
When Vanysa was gone and the portal opened, he was just about to greet the pair and address Inta's intentions directly when he was struck to silence.
Entoma, far from striding through the gate, was carried through piggy back by Inta himself.
His red orbs went up and down over them both in an instant as he searched for the reason, first he thought, 'Is this some grand romantic gesture to show they're serious…?'
Then the thought perished when he saw the missing segments of shell, the pustules over what should have been smooth muscle, evidence of burns there, and he locked his eyes on Inta.
Before he could ask what was wrong, Entoma spoke. "Lord Ainz, we won. The Chasm will let your armies through and provide them with easy passage or even rest if they need it." Entoma's voice was a mix of pain and pride at once as she disentangled herself from Inta and the two knelt before his seated position at the desk.
Ainz rose quietly to his feet and pointed to Entoma, "I don't care about that now. My child is injured!" He exclaimed and drew a potion from his item box, he went to where she knelt and crouched down to offer out the red potion to her.
Entoma wanted to weep for joy, taking the potion in the golden hands she poured it down her throat as if it were life-giving water and she was dying of thirst.
Her injury glowed briefly, and then shell regrew where it had been previously removed, the injuries of the toxin used on her shrank and vanished as if they were never there in the first place, prompting a sigh of relief from the bug maid.
"Now tell me what happened." Ainz said and put a hand on her shoulder, then slid his skeletal fingers under her chin and tilted her head up, "Everything, from the beginning."
Entoma did as he bade, telling of their arrival, everything she saw within the chasm, Inta's fervent protection of her person, their meeting with the royalty of the chasm, the undercity area where the Ant Queen was discovered to have gone missing and the unknown source of powerful illusion magic, followed by their promise to try to recover the treasure of the Chasm that was the source of work and food alike.
And finally, after it all, they got to the border town of the Devor and explained what happened.
They shelled my child?!" Ainz roared, his limit breaker shattered and the whole of Nazarick rumbled. Inta's blood armor coated him instantly and his bones began to rattle in his body as it proved useless against the wrath of the outraged Lord.
"Wait here." Ainz commanded, and summoned the gate again. He gave them no chance to argue, question him, or follow, one moment he was there, and then he stepped into the vortex and was gone.