—x—
Momon POV
The blue sky of dawn had shed, only to be replaced with an orange-gold that stretched far and wide, resembling the color of tangerines. The sun was setting and the evening had come.
"Are you ready Ninya?"
The duo was standing in front of a rundown building in an even more rundown part of town. A slum that only promoted the worst type of behavior in men and women. Not out of an innate immoral maliciousness but desperation. After all, morality was a flexible thing, especially when survival was put on the table.
Regardless of that, this brothel was nothing but a heinous den of debauchery. Where the owners viewed their fellow humans as nothing but profit, tools to be thrown away when they finally broke.
And vice versa, the degenerates who acted as the primary clientele were primal beasts that gained pleasure from torturing the helpless.
At the end of the day, both parties were just deplorable individuals craving an inkling of power in their pathetic lives. It was human nature to strive for superiority. Even Suzuki wasn't immune to such impulses.
However, it was up to the righteous to acknowledge this impulse and act accordingly. To satisfy this desire for superiority and public recognition through virtuous methods. Like a philanthropist donating exorbitant amounts of money to charity to receive recognition from his peers. Or a fireman storming into a burning building to earn the respect of his community. Or even something as simple as doing community service and donating blood.
It is through these simple yet impactful actions that an individual gains recognition and respect from their peers. And strangely, their own sense of superiority and pride. It was thanks to this desire to be accepted and praised that allowed humanity to advance as fast as it did.
However, there will always be those that lack the emotional maturity or self-awareness to realize that this human impulse is meant to be satiated through aiding one's peers. No. There will always be the fools that bastardize this desire for superiority to something far more malicious.
Individuals that fuel their desire for superiority by pushing down others. Sadists that garner pleasure from sneering at the weak. Just like those corporate bastards that worked him and HeroHero half to death. Sitting in their greenhouses, hundreds of miles from the ground.
Understandably, it would be unfair to label everyone who garnered joy from other people's suffering as inherently evil. After all, could he really say that some schoolyard bully was inherently evil? No, of course not. Especially if he grew up to be a mature and functioning adult.
There was always redemption for those who misinterpreted and bastardized this desire for superiority.
But the men in this brothel? In front of him? They were a different story. The men in there tonight, brutally raping and beating half-dead prostitutes were too far gone. They're no longer the schoolyard bully that garnered joy from giving his classmates wet-willies. No, they were demented freaks that abandoned all that makes one human in exchange for their primal desire for superiority.
This was a conclusion he had reached by himself, without the aid of his friend's ideals and beliefs. A fact of life he had learned early in his adolescence and continued to acknowledge as he became an adult.
So with that wisdom in hand, he would walk into this brothel and slaughter every single degenerate without a shred of guilt. Not that he could even feel guilt for such a thing because of his undead nature.
However, Ninya was a different matter, she didn't have his unique beliefs that derived from his pathetic life in 2138 Japan. Nor did she have his undead nature to simply brush off the death of human mortals as a trivial matter.
For all intents and purposes, she was just a human girl. A traumatized and battle-hardened girl, but a mortal girl nonetheless. Was he truly doing the right thing by bringing her here? Adding more trauma on top of her already fragile mind like a cherry on top of a sundae?
Or was he helping her heal? Allowing her to confront her demons and break out of her shell.
What would Yamaiko do?
Send her off to some psychiatrist and let the government fix the problem?
Inform the authorities and allow the proper legal procedures to take place?
Don't make me laugh! All those options weren't available and absolutely fantastical! Hell! Knowing Yamaiko's personality, she would just give Ninya a piece of paper and tell her to list all of the people who wronged her in the past. And proceed to personally visit and punch each one of them to death!
"Muscle brain sensei," Momon muttered under his breath.
"Did you say something, Mr. Momon?"
The dark warrior waved his hand, "it's nothing, just thinking about something."
"Oh… I see," Ninya fidgeted.
Noticing his charge's distress, Momon placed a hand on her back, trying his best to replicate what his mother did for him when he was a child, "we can always turn back, you know that, right?"
She shook her head aggressively, "n-no, you said it yourself, this brothel more than likely has my sister in it… I can't just turn around."
"Of course, I wouldn't allow your sister to suffer any more than she already has. I will go in there and 'deal' with it, you can go back to the inn and wait with Blue Rose."
For a second, Ninya adopted a shocked expression, almost as if the words that came out of Momon's mouth were equal to the most vulgar slurs in the human dictionary.
"H-how… how can you say something like t-that…"
Momon, noticing her mood drop, stopped rubbing her back in worry, "Ninya…?"
"How can you say that!" she screamed.
The Overlord froze.
"You want me to just leave while you deal with it?" she clutched her staff, "deal with the thing that has been haunting me for so long!"
"I'm not saying that—"
"You!" she pointed at her guardian, "you said that you would help me fight the monsters that haunt my dreams! You said that!"
"I—"
"But now you just want me to leave?"
Ninya's knuckles turned white from gripping the Grâce de Fey.
Sensing that the tiny magic caster was going to continue her rant, he placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder, "Ninya, please calm down."
"But you said—!"
"I know what I said. And you know that it came from a place of worry and love, not pity. So please calm down."
Those words were like a bucket of cold water splashed over her head.
"I'm just worried. You're too young to see what's inside that brothel. Too young to kill a man. The difference between killing a goblin and an actual human is night and day. This isn't going to be like the time we stormed the cemetery. You won't be the spectator, watching as I slay faceless necromancers and magic casters. No, you will be the one with blood on your hands, killing men while looking them in the eye. It's something you can't go back from."
Momon looked downcast, "I care for you… and I'm afraid of what my friends would say to me if I exposed you to the things inside that building."
What would Touch Me do? What would Yamaiko say? How would Ulbert justify this?
"..."
"I'm not leaving, Mr. Momon."
"..."
Her voice was resolute yet uncompromising, and Momon knew better than to deny her.
"I see… then what are we waiting for?"
She playfully scoffed, "I'm waiting for you."
The black hero chuckled, "then I won't take up any more of your time. Let's do what we came here to do." Momon tugged his cloak, "cover yourself up."
"Yes, Mr. Momon," Ninya responded while adjusting her cloak to cover the majority of her body.
Struggling to fight back the voice in the back of his head telling him that this was a bad idea, he turned to Ninya and whispered, "The men in there are monsters in human skin, don't allow their appearance fool you."
Momon sighed, "They have thrown away everything that makes someone human: compassion, humility, and selflessness. It was these characteristics that allowed our species to thrive and beat back humanity's threats. These men threw away those values for something more primal and barbaric."
"Know this, Ninya, from henceforth, we will not be killing humans, but apes. Dirty unwashed chimpanzees that are so weak-willed that they resort to satisfying their primal urges for superiority and sex in the most deranged ways possible."
Walking closer to the brothel with Ninya in tow, he muttered, "so we must slay these savages like the beasts they are, for—"
"—those who do not save the weak cannot call themselves strong," Ninya finished.
The dark warrior spared his surrogate daughter a glance and a small nod before returning his attention to the brothel.
Reaching the front door of the brothel, Momon clutched the door handle, flinching in disgust as he noticed how sticky it was. With a slight growl, he opened the door and was greeted by an unwashed man behind a reception desk.
"Welcome to the worst brothel in the Re-Estize! How many half-dead dilapidated prostitutes would you like to service you tonight?"
The man's eyes gradually landed on Ninya's disguised form, "ah! I see that you've already picked up a slum rat. Would you like to hire more to serve you or are you simply interested in a room?"
It was almost comical how the unwashed man didn't feel even remotely intimidated by Momon. Disguised or not, he was a giant of a man.
"I'm not interested."
Eyeing the large warrior, the receptionist muttered, "look, I know how you noble types work. I know what ya want. Either satisfy your fucked up fetishes or get out."
Scowling in disgust, Momon decided enough was enough and walked closer to the receptionist's desk.
"I'm glad to see you shed your initial anxiety! So how many sluts do you want—"
Momon cut him off by grabbing his neck. He spent a moment to look into the deprived man's eyes before the undoubtable sound of a neck snapping echoed throughout the room.
"Come Ninya, we have more monsters to exterminate."
The tiny magic caster flinched as she saw the receptionist's body slump on the ground. However, she quickly hardened her resolve as Momon urged her to follow him.
The duo walked down a random hallway until they reached one of the many doors.
The smashing of flesh against flesh, feeble groans of resistance, and shallow breaths… but no screams.
With some reservation, Momon reached for the door handle and ripped the door off its hinges. The visage that greeted him was borderline horrifying. A girl that was more bone than fat with little to no teeth and discolored skin. It was clear that the woman was seconds away from becoming a corpse.
The fat man mounting the remains of the woman turned around in alarm, "W-what!?"
His apprehension eventually devolved into self-preserving fear, "W-who are you?!"
Until that fear eventually evolved into anger, "How dare you—!"
Before the fat pig of a man could finish, he grabbed his misshapen head and smashed it against the wall. It was going to be a long night, and he wasn't going to waste any of his precious time listening to pigs squeal.
"Come Ninya, you're going to deal with the next room."
Her legs shook, "I-I-I."
Momon glanced at his charge, she was visibly shaking and holding onto her staff like a lifeline.
Although he wanted nothing more than to tell her that everything was alright, that they could go home at any time. He knew better. Now was not the time to falter.
"What's wrong Ninya?"
"I-it's," Ninya chocked up, unable to finish her sentence.
Incapable of consoling her like he usually would because of his blood-covered hands, Momon asked once more, "what's wrong Ninya? Don't tell me you lost your conviction so soon?"
"I…" the tiny magic caster looked downcast, and instead of muttering a response, she pointed at the broken prostitute.
Turning his attention to the sex slave, Momon noticed just how bad of a state she was in. Her face wasn't even recognizable anymore, too swollen and cut up to even remotely resemble an actual human woman. She was so skinny that he was inclined to believe that she was already dead. Such beliefs were disproven by the small rise and fall of her scared chest.
He felt pity, but no inherent sadness at the sight of the broken-down woman. Such was the fate of an undead being.
"...you don't need to worry Ninya, I already arranged for their safe transportation to a friend in E-Rantel."
Ninya flinched, "t-that's good."
The dark warrior frowned, "it's going to be a long night, and you must have your head screwed on right."
"I-I understand Mr. Momon, it's just… what if Tuareninya ended up like her?"
The black hero frowned, "then we will heal her. Let her know that she's safe and secure her future."
Although those words should have soothed her nerves, Ninya was still nervous, obviously worried about the state of her sister. And it seemed like words would do little in soothing those nerves.
"It's okay to be nervous, Ninya, but you must focus on the mission in front of you… come, you'll clear the next room."
—x—
He was worried. Incredibly worried.
Not because of the mission, the minuscule Eight Fingers, or the transportation of all of these slaves. But because of his charge, Ninya.
She had killed her first man tonight. A dozen more after that. Eventually, she killed a hundred.
Ninya seemed so afraid in the beginning, flinching as she pierced a man's heart with a [Magic Arrow]. Even if the degenerate's back was turned, she still took several seconds to look at his lifeless corpse, especially his unblinking eyes.
There was no joy in her expression, only an odd mixture of remorse, guilt, and disbelief. Momon wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or not, but he was glad that she didn't derive any joy from killing humans
However, as time went by, her expression hardened, becoming far more resolute and steadfast. At some point, she stopped showing any emotions at all as she slew the men mounting half-dead sex slaves.
He wanted to say something, try his best to console his ward, but no words managed to escape his mouth. Touch Me's quotes and Yamaiko's advice can only go so far, for all intents and purposes, he was on his own. And that absolutely terrified him.
The dark warrior would put a pin on that issue and tackle the next obstacle ahead of them, one that he had been dreading.
The pair were currently in front of the last room of the brothel, the room farthest from the main entrance. Although he wanted to go to this room first, he had to first deal with the various Eight Finger guards and the clientele's guards first. Now that they were all dead, he could deal with the room housing Tuareninya.
Momon reached for the door handle and gave Ninya a nod, signifying for her to shoot the degenerates once he opened the door, just like they did for the other rooms.
After the tiny magic caster responded with an emotionless nod of her own, Momon slammed the door open and rushed inside.
"[Magic Arrow]!"
"Wha—!" the tip of the magical missile flew straight and true until it found its home inside a naked man's chest.
A second man, more than likely acting as a guard for the noble, flinched as he saw Momon's massive form rush toward him. In one fluid motion, the dark warrior grabbed his head and smashed it against a table until there wasn't anything more than scattered pieces of bone and brain matter.
"Sister!"
Momon turned around to see his ward run toward the broken form of his sister, Tuareninya. In her hands was a blue potion, the same type of potion they had been using for the other prostitutes of the brothel.
"Ninya," Momon muttered.
His charge, already clutching her sister's head with a blue potion in hand, looked at his guardian in worry, "what?"
"Here," the dark warrior threw a red potion and an ornate scroll, all of which Ninya clumsily caught.
"The blue potions we ordered from Nfirea won't properly heal the various STDs she's carrying. These will do that and more."
"I… I understand. Thank you, Mr. Momon."
Tuareninya's swollen and dry lips quietly whispered an amalgamation of words that neither member of Darkness understood. Most likely a result of her missing all of her teeth and dilapidated state. However, what words he did make out were: 'sister' and 'dream.'
"This isn't a dream, we're getting you out of here." Momon barked out, "Ninya, stop gawking and heal her immediately."
Rather than respond, the tiny magic caster gently poured the contents of the red potion into Tuareninya's mouth, healing her in almost an instant. Although her body healed, the poor woman remained still and unconscious. More than likely asleep out of exhaustion.
The Overlord didn't have the skills of a healer, so he couldn't determine what other afflictions she had, so just to stay safe, he ordered Ninya to use the scroll as well.
"Good…" Momon approached Ninya and her sister. The dark warrior slowly took off his cape and wrapped Tuareninya with his famed piece of apparel.
Picking her up in a bridal carry, he urged Ninya to follow him outside of the brothel.
"Do you still have that note that I gave you?"
The magic caster's emotionless expression had now evolved into a downtrodden look of shame and pity, "...yes, Mr. Momon."
"...good."
Finally making it outside of this deprived den of sin, Momon ordered, "pin the note on the front of the door."
Ninya's frowned, "yes, Mr. Momon."
Although she was too short to pin the piece of paper on the top of the door, she still managed to pin it close to eye level.
"Good, I will have an associate deliver Tuareninya to Blue Rose as discreetly as possible. The rest will be escorted back to E-Rantel and rendezvous with us at Carne Village. I have already informed Enri and her goblin troops."
"...understood."
The black hero sighed, "good… come, we have several more 'establishments' to hit before the sun decides to show its fluorescent form."
—x—
Pinned Note:
You're weak.
—Adamantite Adventurer Team, Darkness.
—x—
Hanzo Summon POV
"Is that all of them?"
Gently floating above the ground, the wraith responded, "I'm afraid not. Master is still raiding a few more of their brothels and slave trafficking facilities."
The ninja-type monster frowned, "we will lose the soothing embrace of the night at this rate. We still need to escort these 'things' to E-Rantel."
"You need not worry about such trivial things. Master has plans and only a fool would assume the worst when our master personally involves himself in these petty matters."
As the Hanzo left in charge, he had the responsibility of overseeing the process of transporting the various slaves to E-Rantel and eventually Carne Village. It was his job to worry! "The faith I have for my master is unbreakable. I just worry… how many establishments are left?"
Scoffing, the wraith responded, "one who has unbreakable faith wouldn't ask such a question… however, I will humor you. There are only two facilities left. Both are insignificant in scale and in scope, it won't be long before our master and his pet are done with them."
The Hanzo scoffed at the mention of their master's pet. Their master picked that human up like a passerby would adopt a stray puppyt. No one was entirely sure what place she had in their master's plan.
At the end of the day, he could care less. All he knew was that their master valued that human's life, thus, he would protect her with his life. As long as his master's interest in her didn't waver, neither would his resolve to protect her.
With a shake of his head, the Hanzo brushed off that irrelevant tangent from his mind and focused back on the conversation, "what of the transportation? We won't be able to make it E-Rantel before the night ends."
"Haha," the wraith chuckled, "I'm afraid that's your job, our master left the task of transporting these 'things' to you, thus, you must be the one to figure it out."
"But can't we just have our master cast a [Gate] spell and transport these slaves to Carne Village in an instant?"
"Oh don't be so foolish. If our master didn't deem it appropriate enough to even mention that obvious route, then it's clear that he wants you to transport these 'things' in a more conventional manner. That's why he ordered you to deal with this task to begin with. Our master wouldn't just throw his work off to someone else like some procrastinating bum, there's clearly a reason behind him ordering you to escort them to E-Rantel rather than simply using magic."
Seeing no fault in his comrade's reasoning, the Hanzo sighed, "you're right, our master would never be so negligent. I'll get to work on putting the gate guards to sleep and sneaking out the remaining members of the convoy."
"It is good that you see reason. I can already sense my brethren escorting the remaining slaves to our position. Ensure that you get them to their designated location in one piece."
The unnamed Hanzo scoffed, "I won't fail my master."
(A/N: The Hanzo was summoned via items.
I'm not sure to what extent summoned monsters connect or understand their master's will. So this Hanzo POV might make zero sense because he should already have a perfect understanding of Momonga's intentions and will.)
—x—
Eight Finger's Headquarters
Within a dark and gloomy room stood a massive yet ornate roundtable. Accompanying the table were equally gaudy chairs, and upon those seats were the most powerful men in the kingdom.
"To think that the fool would cause this much trouble on the first day he showed up."
A fellow department leader scoffed, "Bah, did you expect anything less? The fool is known as the 'Raven Black Hero' for god's sake."
Slamming against the table, a lanky and gaudily dressed man screamed, "Does it even matter!?"
"All of my businesses have been hit! Everything! Even the facilities that I've kept secret from everybody outside of Eight Fingers! The bastard destroyed my entire slave trafficking operation in the capital!"
The masked leader of Eight Finger rose his hand in a placating manner, "calm down Cocco Doll, there's no use in complaining about what's already been done."
"Easy for you to say! None of your stuff has been hit!"
Before the leader could respond, a woman spoke up, "Cocco Doll is right y'know? I've also been feeling the pressure from those little whores of Blue Rose hitting my black dust farms."
Although peeved by the fact that he was interrupted, the leader held his tongue, "are we really going to do this again Hilma? I already told you that we don't have any proof that they're responsible."
Truthfully, he already knew that Blue Rose was responsible for the raids. He simply brushed it off as a rumor in order to stunt the growth of the Drug Trade Department. Their growth was proving to be a threat to the other departments.
"And I told you that it's true. Those little skanks will feel my wraith eventually, at least until they slip up. Their leader would sell well."
Rising from his seat in a rage, "hello!? We're getting a bit sidetracked here! All my operations in the capital have been destroyed! Thousands of gold coins down the drain!"
The leader sighed, "Indeed… we need to focus on the issue at hand. Zero, what were your grunts doing? They should have at least managed to inform us about what was going on when the first brothel was sacked."
The large tattooed man frowned, "My boys were all killed before they had the chance."
"Ha, why do we even pay you? If you're top-notch 'security' is nothing more than an amalgamation of street thugs playing bodyguard?" Hilma scoffed.
Zero's frown deepened as his eyes twitched in rage at the insult.
"Now now, let's calm down. Irrelevant of our security department's strength, it's a bit much to expect our grunts to fight an adamantite adventurer on equal footing." the masked leader paused, "the question is if our elites and Six Arms can deal with them."
Zero perked up, "is that even a question? No adamantite team in all of the human nations can even hold a finger to our combined might."
The leader smirked, it was clear that Zero's pride had taken a blow. "That's good to hear… make plans to confront them as soon as possible, and invite our beneficiaries to watch. You know the drill."
"I'm afraid that won't be enough."
Cocco Doll scoffed in anger, "what in the world are you going on about now Zero!? Have you forgotten that you're on thin ice?! You will punish those bastards or I'll cut all of my funding!"
"Oh I will destroy them, I'm just referring to the fact that just killing them won't be enough."
Before anyone else could raise their voice in confusion, the massive man took a crumpled-up note from his pocket. He threw the note in the middle of the table, allowing everyone to read it.
"..."
"T-the absolute nerve!" Cocca Dool screamed.
Zero smirked, "indeed, we need to make an example of them. Something to show the world that even adamantite adventurers aren't safe."
Clasping her hands together, Hilma annoyingly muttered, "bah, the gall of them to call us weak… they need to learn that Eight Fingers aren't to be trifled with."
The former prostitute smiled, "with that being said, what do you have planned Zero~"
Zero smiled alongside Hilma, showing his malicious grin to the various department leaders, "I'm not so selfish as to just satiate my desire for revenge. That would make me a bad coworker."
The muscular man chuckled with vicious glee, "we can all have a part in torturing them in front of our beneficiaries."
"An excellent idea Zero," Cocca Doll exclaimed, "you're regaining some of my faith with such a selfless offer…"
"With that said, I want them in my custody after everything is done. I'll have them raped and mutilated every day in the view of every passerby in every slum in the capital!"
Hilma chuckled, "When they accept your challenge, I want you to forcefully shove some of my black dust into their nose. Get them addicted and destroy their minds."
After Cocco and Hilma's deranged requests, the other department leaders threw in their own two cents. The Assassination Department leader offered some of their most painful poisons to torture Darkness.
The Banking and Gambling Departments offered several pounds of gold to melt and pour into the duo's eyes to render them blind.
Once everyone was done, the masked leader ordered, "Make sure you drag every resident in whatever slum you want to do this in so they can bear witness. The entire kingdom must know what happens."
"Got it, boss. We'll make them regret looking down on us, on Six Arms."
—x—
A/N: I'm pretty busy nowadays since summer break ended, balancing university, work, and a social life. So expect slower updates. I still have motivation for this story so don't worry about me abandoning it. Just expect extended waits.
Also, just for the sake of those who may believe that Momonga is acting out of character even with my attempts to explain his new beliefs, let me give a TLDR:
Momonga as a character has several defining character traits, the most paramount being his high sense of loyalty. Loyalty to his friends, old guildmates, and those that he highly regards.
Any depiction of Momonga without this fact in mind is an incorrect depiction, borderline OC and SI.
This character trait is so predominant, that most out-of-character decisions can be explained by using Momonga's inherent sense of loyalty to his friends.
Realistically, if I was being a bit more lore-friendly, Momonga would do exactly what he did in the Overlord Bonus Volume and approach everything with an extreme amount of caution. He would calculate every risk and act accordingly. If I were to guess, he would let Carne Village burn to the ground because he overestimated the strength of the Slane knights and magic casters. He would use the entire event to learn more about the world and in his paranoia, he would underestimate his abilities as a magic caster and retreat back into the forest to conduct more experiments. Momonga would see himself more as a Yggdrasil player and act as such. Although he would be reasonable and interact with sentient beings with the same mannerisms as a salaryman, he would hold no sense of attachment or care. Momonga may eventually meet someone he likes and eventually build a friendship that earns his loyalty, but that is neither here nor there.
That's my lord-friendly interpretation of Momonga. Pretty boring right? That's why I utilized Momonga's loyalty to his friends so much and had him make a promise to Touch Me before the end of the game.
If you're still dissatisfied and believe Momonga is acting too out-of-character, I totally understand. I probably hold some of the same beliefs that you do.