Veres watched on as the NPCs basked Momonga, no, Ainz, in shouts of praise. They had taken his proclamation as word of law, and fully intended to fulfill his dreams. Her presence was minimal in the declaration of his change of names. Finally, he teleported out of the Throne Room and Veres followed him out.
"Haaah- so tired." Ainz' figure seemed to change. Gone was the empowered leader of Nazarick, in his place was Suzuki Satoru. A man completely out of his depth who was struggling under the weight of leadership was all that Veres could see.
"They really are quite energetic." Ainz only scoffed at her dig. The NPCs were slavishly loyal and hyper focused on pleasing their masters. The energy with which they served Ainz and Veres weighed down on their human sensibilities.
The two walked in silence towards Ainz' room. They were thankful for the modicum of peace the assembly in the Throne Room provided. They weren't eager to get back to work, but knew they had no choice once they were accosted by the NPCs again. In that regard Veres was lucky. There wasn't nearly as much that she personally needed to look after as Ainz. She really only ever did something if Ainz was too busy or she got bored. The work was picking up though. And if they started going back outside more frequently then everything would need to be squared away before they left.
"Veres, what have you heard from the mine?" Ainz inquired. He had been too distracted to catch up on what had been going on with it the last few days. Instead, Veres had spent a large amount of time with Cocytus to get it back up and running. The possible uses for the Prismatic Ore made it too much of a boon to ignore.
"Hm? We have control of it again, and we've been experimenting with using undead spawns from Nazarick to start mining again. It seems like if we use an intelligent spawn as an overseer it will work. We've already begun limited extraction, but we ran into a problem." Her tone implied that she was frustrated by the problem.
"What's wrong? Is there no ore?" Ainz grew worried about what this problem would mean.
"No. Like a real ore, there are differences between each nugget for purity. In the game they were all made uniformly so they could be processed incredibly easily. Now, its unlikely that we can use any mined ore until we can process it properly." She was obviously exacerbated by the problems this was causing.
"Well, don't you know a lot about this kind of stuff?" Ainz asked. He knew that she had been an engineer or scientist of some kind, and that she worked with unusual materials.
"*Snort.* I don't know anything about mining. Besides, this ore is magical, so anything I know about material properties is out the window. For all I know it operates completely different from any elements I'm familiar with. It would be like you managing the budget of a country. It's technically the same kind of work as what you did but is completely different in application." Ainz couldn't respond to that. Just the thought of having to manage a country made him want to cower.
"Well, we can figure it out. I'm planning on going into the human city in disguise soon. We can gather good information on the strong beings in this world if we work as adventures. Plus, it will be nice to go exploring like old times." Veres had to agree, it sounded fun.
"Yes, but only if I can pick my disguise. We shouldn't try to stand out much, so we should only take a couple NPCs." Her eagerness showed in they way she seemed to bounce as they walked.
"Ah, ah. I was hoping we could go alone. Just the two of us." Ainz said tightly. Veres froze at his words, before she started walking again.
"We-well, I don't think they'll let us go alone. Not that I wouldn't want to! But, I figure we should know which ones to take if they make us bring some along. The Pleiades maids Yuri and Narberal should be good to take. They'll help our cover story of being foreigners who don't know anything about the area." Ainz silently thanked Veres in his heart. Without her to bounce ideas off of he probably would have gone alone, half-cocked and without a plan only to be drawn into trouble constantly. Now, they would know what they were doing when they got there. Hopefully.
"I see, that will work. We can use our human faces in our disguise so that we look like we're from the same place." Ainz didn't notice the discomfort that Veres felt about using their real faces. She didn't want to be scarred again, even if it was an illusion.
"What names should we use though? We can't go as Ainz and Veres if the Head Warrior knows we aren't human. What name would work? Momon? Or how about…" Ainz tapered off as he started thinking about what name to use.
"I don't care. We should keep them simple but unique. I don't want to think you're talking to somebody else just because I forgot my 'name' is something common like Jane or something. I guess Mel would be fine. We can worry about our backstory later." They had returned to Ainz' room, and the mountain of work within.
They ran. The three of them had been released by that terrifying monster. They had just been lucky to survive long enough to be let free.
The mission was terrible.
Everything had gone to shit so quickly. First, their leader started thinking with his dick more than his head, so they had to put down the struggle that caused.
Then, that monster showed up. All they could do was pray and watch helplessly as they were butchered by that armored monstrosity. They had felt relief when it stopped, until they saw its master. Any faith in their Gods was shattered upon seeing that Skeletal King.
When they had been allowed to run, that's what they did. They tried to warn the Sunlight Scripture about what was in the village but were laughed off.
After all, it was impossible for a God-like being to be in such an insignificant place.
So, once again, they ran.
They ran without stop, just to get away from the monsters behind them. Now, they tore through a forest as quickly as they could. The feeling of dread and terror within just didn't seem to dissipate as they ran.
Suddenly, the two in front noticed their third companion was missing.
He had just been behind them.
They realized they were being hunted. By what they didn't know, but they stood no chance. The two took off, no time or pity for their fallen comrade. They could only be happy in their fear-riddled hearts that his death was buying them more time.
Finally, they heard a scream. It came from a human that was tortured and broken beyond all belief. What followed that scream was a deep, rasping laughter full of malice and hatred. When a chorus of harsh voices joined in, their terror exploded.
Whatever was hunting them enjoyed it and wanted them to know. They didn't think, only trying to escape whatever horrors pursued them. If they could only escape the forest, they would be safe on the open plains. That's what their shattered psyches told them.
They reached a clearing, the gentle moonlight filtering down making them feel at ease. They'd be able to see anything coming if they rested here. But not for long, it was too dangerous to stop.
As they caught their breaths, the two could only think about what brought them here. They had been soldiers in the Slane Theocracy, loyal servants of the state and their Gods. They had been tasked with helping assassinate the Head Warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom. They had left their homes and families to do their duty to humanity. Now, they truly realized how puny and insignificant mankind was.
They're just children, trying to play in a world of Gods.
The two calmed their breath, getting ready to run again. But, they were distracted by a huffing sound. The second knight turned to the first, wondering if he was still out of breath, and froze.
The first knight gurgled softly as he tried to breathe through ruined lungs. His throat was crushed, so he couldn't cry out in terror as his life slipped away. His eyes were full of shock at the sudden pain.
What held the first knight's broken body in its maw was a monster of demonic proportions. It stood a full meter above him, with a massive crocodilian head crowned in brutal horns staring down at him. It watched him in glee as his terror returned in full force. The last knight turned and ran, just trying to get away from the menagerie of horrors that were behind him.
He ran, and ran, and ran. He didn't stop when his lungs started to burn. He didn't stop when his legs started to ache. All he could think about was escape.
Finally, he saw the edge of the forest. He could make out the road that headed towards human civilization. On it was a small caravan of wagons circled up for the night. He hoped that he would be safe in their midst, defended from harm with numbers. If not, they would buy him more time with their lives.
He scrambled into the perceived safety of the circle. A small fire sat in the middle, a clear sign of habitation. That didn't put him at ease. There should have been guards. A faint scent of blood hung in the air, driving him mad with images of what horrors might have occurred.
He heard a soft moaning. Full of trepidation and terror, he turned.
It was the third knight. He wasn't recognizable as human anymore. His eyes had been gouged out, bits of flesh and eye still clinging to the destroyed sockets. His face had been mauled, deep trenches marking where something sharp had been dragged along before being burned shut destroyed it. His limbs were twisted and bent, the bones broken beyond all repair as they pierced his skin.
He had been nailed to one of the wagons. Large, jagged spikes run through his limbs holding him off the ground. His torso was marred by holes and peelings. He had been partially skinned, with obvious signs of being fed on. Only the tattered remains of his armor a sign of who he once was.
The most terrifying part though, was that he was still alive. Something had gone to great lengths to destroy him and then leave him to be found.
The last knight collapsed. There was no escape. He could only hope for a merciful and swift death. He cried like he had never done so before as he heard that laughter return. He absently watched as more and more demonic monsters seemed to melt into the feeble light of the dying fire.
*Below is the promised character sheet. Hope it makes sense and is reasonable. I based the layout off of the original Character Sheets from the novels. Don't forget to comment and review.*
VERES
A FOXY GIRL OF MANY TALENTS WHO IS TOTALLY DEVOTED
Job:
One of the Almighty 42 Supreme Beings
Loyal and devoted friend and aid to Ainz
Residence:
The Ninth-Floor of the Grand Tomb of Nazarick (Usually Ainz' Room)
Alignment: Neutral Sense of Justice: 0
Racial Level: Kitsune 5 LV
Nine-Tailed 5 LV
Celestial Beast 15 LV
Job Level: Shrine maiden 5 LV
Duplicity 5 LV
False Piety 10 LV
[Racial Level: 35] + [Job Level: 65] Total level 100
Ability Chart [Shrine Maiden Form]
HP 70/100
MP 100/100
PHY. ATK 65/100
PHY. DEF 90/100
AGILITY 80/100
MAG. ATK 45/100
MAG. DEF 70/100
RESIST 65/100
SPECIAL 110/100
[A proud and devout believer in the Light God, she was scorned by her piers for her monstrous nature. Vowing vengeance and fighting for survival, she ran from her home. Hunted by those who had betrayed her, she was rescued by Death. Owing a great debt, she swore her loyalty to him and joined his Menagerie. She serves him faithfully as a priest of the Light God, but…]