CHAPTER 10: Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!
A/N: We'll be gradually reuploading previous chapters over the next few weeks in order to polish up the writing.
This story have reached 100 reviews! What a milestone! Thank you to everyone who supported this story. I really appreciate it. All in all, I know that it's impossible to satisfy each and every one of the readers, but I write to have fun and because I enjoy it. I hope you have fun reading as much as me and hackslashbash have fun writing them. If you don't like this fanfiction, there are other stories much more glorious and magnificent than this one. Or if you're not satisfied, you can write your own. Once again, thank you for all the love and support. As of today, 6th June, 2019, Tiamat; The Goddess of Dragons have received 106 reviews, 188 favorites, 231 followers, and 2 communities. To end this author note, I wanted to say, there is no such thing as a small achievement. An achievement is still an achievement no matter how small, and I'm happy that we have come this far.
WARNING: This chapter contain torture scene. You have been warned.
Always believe in yourself and always stretch yourself beyond your limits. Your life is worth a lot more than you think because you are capable of accomplishing more than you know. You have more potential than you think, but you will never know your full potential unless you keep challenging yourself and pushing beyond your own self imposed limits. - Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
The sun shone high above the blue sky when she returned to E-Rantel. As Pentakrisis slowly landed in a spiral descent just outside the gate, she saw the lookouts who were guarding the gate trembling in their shoes.
Well she supposed she could somewhat understand.
Pentakrisis lowered his head so that she could climb down safely, and once back on solid ground, Tiamat lovingly rubbed his forehead. Pentakrisis purred in satisfaction. It sounded more like a low-magnitude earthquake than a purr, but anyone could tell that the dragon was clearly happy with the simple act of affection.
He leaned his house sized head into her laughably small hands by comparison, nearly bulldozing her away with his sheer weight, as he begged for more attention.
"Awww, you're so cute Pentakrisis!" she couldn't help giggling. All of her dragons were cute in her opinion. They may have looked like fearsome meat shredders with their rugged scales and jaws full of teeth, but their behaviour towards her reminded her of a cat begging for attention.
She hoped she could finish this bet as planned. She missed her baby dragons, and from her mental link she knew that they missed her too. They had been calling out for her, desperately craving her attention. Moreover, she missed the Floor Guardians. She couldn't wait until she could finally return to Nazarick.
Pentakrisis was linked to her mind as well, and since he was obviously much more mature than the baby dragons, he had been reigning her babies in and kept from being too noisy by telling them of their journeys while they were fast asleep, sending mental images in their dreams about the outside world. But Tiamat had looked at things differently. She knew that Pentakrisis had definitely been bragging.
'The humans are weak moreover, they continue yapping like insects. It's ridiculously annoying. Next time when you see them, you can definitely eat them. Plus, look at this view!' Yup, Pentakrisis was definitely bragging as he smugly showed them the wonderful vistas of the New World.
Crystal clear skies, rolling green hills, and towering snow-capped mountains was shown to the triplets.
Then the baby dragons chirped in dissatisfaction. They were not old enough to be able to effectively communicate through the mental link yet, but from the sound of their cries she had understood that they were jealous of her and Pentakrisis's outings.
Without Pentakrisis regulating the mental link channel, she knew it would filled with her babies telling her they wanted to go out and have fun with her too.
'I'm sorry my cute babies…' she had apologized before leaving them with Aura. She trusted the dark elf would spare no effort in taking good care of them.
The guards who looked at this bizarre spectacle could only think of one thing. They all looked at each other and nodded in agreement. One look into each other's eyes and they knew they were all thinking of the same thing.
'She's crazy!'
Look at the beast's teeth! It looked like it could rip her apart in seconds! Those sharp claws could definitely easily rip her in half! Even when the dragon leaned in for a little bit, she had clearly stumbled because of its weight. Just the thought of being close to the predator and imagining all the horrible things it could do made their teeth clatter in sheer terror.
How she could she still think that the creature towering over them was cute was beyond their imagination.
"I'll see you tomorrow…" she whispered to Pentakrisis, and he nodded. He unfolded his wings and flew away, leaving behind a strong gust of wind as he faded into the distance. Tiamat waited until he had completely disappeared from view, and then made her way to the city gates.
"Good afternoon." she pleasantly greeted the guards. The guards immediately straightened up and nodded to her in return, moving to the side to let her in.
Since she had some free time, she decided to fulfill her promise from earlier that morning, and immediately headed straight for the inn. Since it was still noon, the inn was much emptier than it was the morning she was there. Perhaps it was the best time for the adventurers to go on quests since it was still bright out.
Her eyes landed on the single team in the inn who were all huddled together at one table: The Hissing Vipers. Right as she opened the door, all of them shot up to their feet. One person in particular had been faster than the other.
Antonios Vallilis.
"Hannah-sama, you're here!" he stood up faster than the others and bowed towards her at an impressive angle as soon as she walked through the door.
He had bent down so low that his head almost touched the floor, making Tiamat wonder in amazement.
'Wow, I didn't know the human body could bend that far.' Tiamat observed.
She hasn't tested her new body's flexibility yet since she focused more on her skills and abilities, as well as making sure that the oven in Nazarick worked. Had to keep that supply of cheese cake running. But she knew for sure that she didn't have the flexibility that guy had when she was on Earth.
She wasn't sure if she had heard him correctly. '...sama?' she thought to herself. His behaviour was weirding her out. A complete one-eighty from this morning. Did she hit him harder than she had previously thought? Or perhaps her 『Full Cure』had been ineffective? But she was so sure that she had healed all the damage she had caused him and more.
"That was fast!" one of them excitedly said. "Usually a quest takes about a day to finish. Could you tell us the rank of your quest?"
"Oi Borg, stop being rude! Of course that quest had been easy for someone of Hannah-sama's caliber!" Antonios chided Borg, causing the group to bicker amongst themselves.
Yup, her ears were perfectly fine. From the moment she'd arrived he had addressed her with the suffix sama. He reminded her of the Floor Guardians and Yuri, but without the same likeability.
In all honesty, she had felt uncomfortable around him ever since he tried to force her to join his group. Just this morning he had acted all haughty and prideful, and now he was worshipping the ground she walked on. This caused her to be wary of him.
"Er…" she tried to catch the group attention. "Antonios-san was it?"
The man's face shifted into a strange combination of shock and elation, obviously surprised that his name came out from her lips. "You remembered my name?"
"Ah, isn't that a given? We met this morning afterall. Also, Antonios-san, you don't have to be so polite with me." the man looked absolutely horrified by her suggestion, as if she had told him to kill his own family. But she didn't pay him any attention as she shifted her body to look at the other guy. "Borg-san was it? My quest was an A-ranked quest. There weren't any monsters and it was a lot easier than I had previously thought, so I returned earlier than expected."
The rest of the group looked at her in awe, their jaws gaping wide open, astounded by her comment. Even the innkeeper suddenly turned around towards their direction. Perhaps her comment had been offensive somehow?
"D-did I say something wrong?" she asked them. If she did then she had to properly apologize. She was really bad at this whole making new connections thing.
Making personal connections was absolutely imperative in every career, especially one as dangerous as an adventurer. To become an Adamantine adventurer, you couldn't just be good at what you did, or in her case, effectively completing her quests. Personal relationships with both clients and your co-workers were critical to completing objectives a single person could not handle, and especially so if the client asked her to work together with other teams in the future. That the only reason why she had agreed on questing together in the first place.
"That's crazy." her sensitive ears picked the quiet muttering of one person who is sitting in the back.
She was beginning to feel alarmed by the confusing turn of events. "What is it?" she asked no one in particular.
"I-If I may ask, what were you asked to do in the quest?" Borg asked her back.
Before she began to say anything, she remembered the guild rules from her last briefing with the receptionist. Upon reviewing her memories she found no rule that stated that the quest had to be confidential between Adventurers, and now that she had finished her quest, she guessed that as long as she didn't mention her client's personal information, it was alright for her to share the details of her quest.
"It was about the Curse of the Sea." she softly explained.
"T-the Curse of the Sea!"
"She said it was easy!"
"There's no way! That's a dead quest. No one had been able to successfully complete that quest for years!"
Suddenly amidst all the ruckus, Antonios started to chuckle. At first it was low and quiet but it gradually grew louder and louder. "I should've known! As expected of the Goddess herself!"
"You flatter me, Antonios-san, but I'm just a regular Priestess."
'Yeah right, like we would believe that! Since the beginning there was nothing regular about this person!' Was the thought that ran across the whole inn
"Humble, capable, and beautiful as well! You continue to baffle me Hannah-sama."
At that point, Tiamat decided that the guy was mentally deranged. Humble? That was because she had nothing worth being proud of. Capable? All she really did was teach someone how to make pickles. Beautiful? That was because she designed her character to look visually appealing. All in all, she had achieved nothing that truly made her proud.
'Beautiful, huh…' that statement lingered in her head for a while. 'If they had seen what I truly look like, would they still call me beautiful?' she scoffed to herself. She already knew the answer.
'There's no way.' she laughed inwardly. Even she herself didn't find herself appealing.
But to have been called beautiful when her appearance wasn't even her own had truly hurt. She had felt like she had stolen someone else's identity. She knew that she wasn't supposed to be treated like this, and it made her feel guilty.
"So, should we go on that quest I promised you?" she tried to change the topic before her good mood was ruined by her thoughts.
One of them cautiously stepped towards her, "Is it alright?" he asked tentatively.
He knew that he and his team were thinking the same thing. Years of working together until they reached Gold rank had forged a bond stronger than steel. They could communicate with the slightest of gestures. They were more than just comrades. They were family.
Right now they were all thinking of the same thing. They had felt that she might turn them away since the quest they had picked was easy. A group of Barghests had been attacking Adventurers collecting herbs in the forest, and the quest asked for someone to subjugate them.
Tiamat sensed their discomfort. "Of course. I promised after all. Besides, it's much more fun to do quests together right?" she smiled sweetly at them.
'An Angel!' they all thought in unison.
They expected her to be prideful and haughty. Most noble ladies that they had escorted didn't even bother to hold normal conversations with them. They had assumed that the girl in front of them would be cut from the same cloth.
Truly, you could not judge a book by its cover.
"Then shall we go?"
"HAI!"
(๑ ⌓ ๑)
It was settled.
Antonios Vallilis was insane.
When they went out to travel to the nearby forest, he had offered Tiamat to ride on his horse since she didn't have one. She has her dragons afterall. Moreover, she had never ridden a horse before.
As soon as Tiamat brought this problem up to the Hissing Vipers, Antonios had immediately offered his horse for her to ride.
She had argued that she'd walk, but he insisted.
To any other person who was watching, they would all draw the same conclusion.
The girl was being escorted by a bunch of Adventurers.
She was positioned exactly in the middle, in between the Hissing Viper members, and instead of riding the horse together with her, Antonios had settled on walking and guiding the horse since Tiamat didn't have any horseback riding experience.
At first, she had assumed that it would be the same as riding a dragon. But it felt...weirdly unstable.
The rest of the team cackled at their best friend's change of attitude.
Well, they could understand why he put her on such a high pedestal. She had restored his leg, and with it, his hopes for the future. So they let him be.
To be perfectly honest, the entire thing had made her terribly uncomfortable. He was acting way too formal around her. Even the Floor Guardians didn't act this extreme. She had no clue how to deal with him, so she just let him be. If he tried to do anything questionable, then Tiamat would do more than just snap his spine in half.
But for now, she would do nothing. After all, he wasn't really doing her any real harm.
"We're here." said one of the members of the Hissing Vipers who rode at the front. They had arrived at the outskirts of the forest.
Antonios immediately raised his hand to help her get down. She grimaced inwardly, but took his hand. It was just a gentlemanly gesture after all. As they tied their horses to the nearby trees, they formulated a plan.
She wasn't familiar with the composition of their team, but it seemed like Borg was the leader. "Listen up!. Our quest for today is to hunt a group of Barghests that have been showing up in the outskirts of the forest lately. We're going to go with our typical formation, two in the rear, and two on the front. Hannah-san, Antonios, and I are going to go look for bait."
"Bait?" Tiamat curiously asked.
Ah, that's right, she had used her sense of smell to find the group of Barghests in the forest. But her curiosity had gotten the better of her.
"Didn't you know Hannah-sama? Barghests love to prey on goblins because they're the type to play with their food before devouring them." Antonios explained.
"Then, do you have to kill a goblin first before we can hunt them?" a sound question from her part. This would waste a lot of time, time that she couldn't afford to lose. Though she thought that killing some innocent goblins for bait was cruel, she was slightly horrified when she found out that part of her didn't mind.
"Ideally, yes. Or else they won't come. They're typically the type to avoid humans, that's why we find it weird that they're hunting on the outskirts of the forest where human typically come and go." Borg explained.
"So where should we go find these goblins?"
"There's a small cave nearby where goblins dwell, we only need to kill one of them for bait."
"That's a waste of time." she mentioned to the team, and proceeded to go inside the forest all by herself.
"W-wait, Hannah-sama!" Antonios warned her. "To be going into the deep forest all by yourself is dangerous! We need to come up with a plan."
Tiamat stopped and turned to look at Antonios and the rest of the Hissing Vipers. "It's fine Antonios-san. I'll lead you to the Barghests myself." Having made her point, she continued walking towards the heart of the forest. "Aren't you going to come?" she asked the team who were all frozen in their boots.
Antonios was the first one to break out of his stupor, followed by the rest of the team.
Borg followed behind her as well, but his expression had turned stern. He wasn't too happy about the whole situation. Going into the forest without a plan was dangerous and suicidal.
Tiamat noticed his discomfort. "Relax." she mentioned to the whole team. "Whatever happens I won't let you die, so please rest assured."
"It's not like we don't trust you or your skills, Hannah-san." Borg replied, although he felt relieved that the Priestess was going to make sure that they were going to return home safe and sound. But there was still a sense of foreboding that shadowed the edges of his mind.
He believed she was being too hasty. He didn't know what the young Priestess was capable of, and in their excitement they had asked her to join in on the quest. They were essentially putting their lives into the hands of a stranger.
"How are you going to find the Barghests without bait?" one of them asked.
"It's simple, really…" Tiamat inwardly smiled to herself, it truly was simple. She could smell the monster's trails ever since they had arrived. Moreover, it seemed that the Barghests wanted to make their presence known. She had seen a lot of marks in the dirt. Paw prints and the scarred bark on the trees.
Of course in real life, there was no way Tiamat could pinpoint the location of animals or beasts from their trails. She was not a hunter. But since she and Momonga came to the New World, her enhanced senses had made her aware of all of these things.
"You have to look closely at their trails." she simply answered. "For example, this paw print on the ground." she pointed at the paw print that obviously belonged to a Barghest with her staff. Not just one, but a whole bunch of paw prints. It's like they're running from something instead of chasing something. That's because there was no other animal trails on the ground aside from the Barghests'.
She looked out around her surroundings. By now, she was a few meters away from where they began. But the forest was humid and she could feel it getting more stifling with each step they took into the forest.
One detail with the trail had been bothering her.
If they were running away, why did they run in groups? Wasn't it better for them to disperse rather than being hunted all at the same time?
Not long after they followed the trail, she heard a growl from the shadows.
"They're here." she warned the Hissing Vipers.
Antonios immediately stepped in front of her, as if to protect her. She rolled her eyes, a motion that went unnoticed by the Hissing Vipers. The rest of the team got into formation as well.
There were seven people in total including her. Tiamat was in front with the other two, while two remained in the middle, and the other two moved to the back. She had observed how they got into formation from the corner of her eyes. Their movement were practical, as if they had done this a thousand times or even more, and she wondered what kind of hell they had to go through to acquire those skills.
All of them were swordsmen. There were no archers, no assassins or thieves, no tank, and no support. They were essentially helpless against enemies who could attack from a distance, and would have to rely on potions to recover any damage they sustained in battles. She wondered how in the world they got as far as they did...
Soon, the Barghests crept out of the bushes. There were twenty Barghests in total. The Hissing Vipers tensed up and prepared to meet them head on.
Only twenty? Well, this made her job easy. She immediately casted one of her more basic support spells, " 『Draconic Power』."
The Hissing Vipers could feel their muscles condensing, their bones hardening to the point where they were unbreakable, their very souls imbued with the essence of power. As a great ocean of unbridled might surged through them, enhancing their bodies beyond mortal limits, they felt as if even mountains would shatter before them.
"So this is your power, Hannah-san." Borg whispered in awe.
"I'm going to act as support this time." she responded matter-of-factly, and moved towards the back of the formation. If any of the Barghests could break the Hissing Vipers' formation, then perhaps it would be a big enough threat to be killed by her hands.
One Barghest in particular growled loudly, and lowered its body, preparing to pounce. The chain wrapped around it started to swirl in a deadly orbit as it lunged at Borg and Antonios.
With a single swipe of his sword, Antonios bisected the Barghest, parting it in half as if he was swinging his blade through the air.
"A-Amazing. In just one move…" Antonios muttered out loud, completely amazed at the buffs Tiamat had put on them.
Feeling a sense of dread crawl into their hearts at the brutal death of their packmate, the rest of the Barghests attacked. Seeing that it was only a few low leveled Barghests against six buffed gold plated Adventurers, Tiamat could see that this would be an easy fight. She didn't even have to do anything.
With a few parries and counters, the Barghests were defeated. Sensing that there were no more Barghests in the area, she concluded that the six they had just killed must have been the Barghests the quest was referring to. Confirming the absence of other threats, she withdrew her mana from her buffs, and the team felt the strength drain out of them as they reverted back to their normal power level.
"Is this all, Hannah-sama?"
"Yes, the trails only indicate Barghests prints on the ground. This must've been it." she lied smoothly.
"I think we should at least look around the forest before we finish up. That was way too quick." A person in the back raised his concerns and all agreed.
"Then the two of you will go east. You both, go west. Me, Antonios, and Hannah-san will go North." Borg commanded. "We will meet again in half an hour at the entrance of the forest."
The group nodded and dispersed as planned. Borg and Antonios led the way while Tiamat followed behind them.
In silence, they prowled deeper into the forest. Trying to get a grasp of where they were, Antonios suddenly noticed that it was far too quiet.
"Oi, Borg…"
Borg looked towards Antonios and nodded. He mouthed, "I am aware."
The forest was dead silent.
There were no birds chirping despite it being early afternoon, no sounds of rustling leaves in the bushes and trees, and no high pitched sounds of chirping from insects.
There was nothing. It was as if all the living things in the forest had vanished..
There was only the whispering of leaves and the murmuring of the wind.
The eerie quiet put Antonios and Borg on edge.
They immediately raised their weapons and started walking slowly in their combat stance.
Tiamat just slowly followed behind.
A heavy snort sounded on their left side, as if someone was sleeping nearby. Borg and Antonios warily turned their heads, looked at each other, then nodded. Borg turned to the left and slowly walked towards the direction of where the sound came from while Antonios covered his rear.
He stood in front of Tiamat's left side, as if to protect her from harm.
Tiamat didn't move from her spot, she just tilted her head to the side and stared at Borg over Antonios's shoulder.
As Borg slowly lifted the heavy leaves from the branch of the tree, he suddenly started to inch back in fear.
Alarmed, Antonios called out, making sure nothing was wrong. "B-Borg?"
"We should get out of here…" Borg hissed fearfully, and sprinted for the forest entrance. "Antonios, let's go!"
Antonios knew that expression. The expression of haunting fear, the exact same as the one from four years ago.
"Hannah-sama, we need to go." He called out to the Priestess and ran ahead of her.
Slowly she followed behind him. Her pace slow, Antonios whispered loudly at her to speed up. Before she left, she turned her head back in the direction Borg was looking at earlier, and the corners of her lips curved ever so slightly upwards as glints of golden light flashed from the undergrowth.
When Antonios called her for the second time, she turned back, all traces of a smile wiped from her face and she followed them out of the forest.
(๑ ⌓ ๑)
A man suddenly awoke.
His chest was heaving as if he had been running for days. He blearily opened his eyes, and took in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he couldn't move his body. From his neck to the tips of his toes, he was completely paralyzed.
He couldn't look around since his head was strapped to something, and he could only see what was in his direct field of vision.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He tried to convince himself that this was just a bad dream.
He opened his eyes once again, and his eyes filled with determination. He was an important member to the guild, so his comrades must've known that he was kidnapped. For now, he had to make sure he remembered the place well. Afterall, gathering information has always been his forte.
The first thing he noted about his surroundings was that he was in the house of some noble. There was no way a newly instated Adventurer was capable of obtaining a house with a room of this size. From what he could see with his limited field of view, the walls and floor were impeccably clean. He tried to look upwards, and saw that the ceiling was made with stone slabs. He looked downwards to find that he was naked, butt naked, and strapped down with metal.
His lips became incredibly dry upon recalling the shocking turn of events. The last thing he remembered was that he had failed to inject the Priestess with the potion given to him. He licked his lips, only to realize that something was stuck to his mouth, making him incapable of speaking or closing his mouth. This terrified him.
He had lived a long life and had seen much more than an average adventurer. But he had never seen a prisoner being treated this way. The extent his capturers were willing to go to in order to immobilize their prisoners was insane, and fear grew within his heart.
He jolted in surprise when saw an abomination from the edges of his vision.
A bloated corpse with a beard of writhing tentacles inched closer to him. 'No, was it sashaying?' But how could there be a monster in a noble's house?!
"He's awake, Demiurge-sama." The voice sounded like a heavy gargle in his ears.
"Good." a sharp voice replied to the bloated corpse.
Then a man with long ears walked in, probably a dark elf from his skin tone and sharp ears. He had never seen an elf before, but he was certain that those ears were a clear enough indication. Was he perhaps in the realm of the elves?
The man continued to gather information. The dark elf in front of him was tall and well kempt. His eyes slowly traveled downwards, until he saw a silver tail covered with metal plates and six long spikes at the end. And suddenly he knew that he was not in the country of elves.
"Release his mouth." the tall elf, no, creature, ordered the bloated corpse. The tentacle abomination took off the metal plate that covered his mouth. He felt a temporary reprieve on the muscles of his jaw when the monster removed it. Just how long had he been held captive here?
"What's your name?" The red suited man leaned towards him, glasses reflecting the stark glare of the room
His throat was dry, and he took his time to answer the suited man's question. Why should he anyways?
Right now his plan was to stall as long as he could until his friends came and saved him.
"I will ask you once again, and you will answer within three seconds. What is your name?" The red suited creature repeated.
He felt a piece cold metal below one of his fingers, specifically under his nails. "Why should I answer to-!" He felt a searing sharp pain from his right side, and let out a sharp scream. He looked down from the corner of his eye and through the haze of pain saw the thing the bloated creature had been pulling off was his own nail by using some sort of metallic instrument.
He could feel it, his blood slowly running from his fingers down to the floor, falling down slowly but surely in small drops, like an unclosed tap.
"You only need to answer my questions." The suited man said in a monotone voice. "What is your name?" He repeated once again.
"Zirco! I'm Zirco Sesila!" He answered through gritted teeth.
"How old are you?"
"Thirty four years old."
"Do you have a family?"
"What does my family have to do with-!" Another nail was ripped off. "NO!" He screamed once again. The searing pain had felt like dipping his fingers in molten iron.
His thirst laid forgotten. Now, all he could feel was a hot blistering pain from where his nails were supposed to be.
"Answer the question." The creature cooly demanded.
He gritted his teeth. There was no way he was just going to lay down and accept this. He could feel a surge of emotion rising up from the pit of his stomach to his head.
"I'll kill you." He whispered. "I'll kill all of you! Don't you know who I am! When they're here I'll make sure you'll-!"
Another scream escaped the man's parched throat, filling the entire room with an infernal litany of his pain and suffering.
"Do you have a family?" the creature repeated.
"Kkh…" the pain was too much for him to handle. Throughout all his years of Adventuring he had never felt such immense pain, and so the man relented. "A wife and a daughter." he replied in a small whisper.
"Their names?"
He shut his mouth tight. There was no way he would answer that question, especially now that he knew where he was. He was in the castle of demons, and the man in front of him was definitely one.
The bloated corpse cut into his right arm, and at the unexpected attack he opened up his mouth in a long piercing cry. His throat was dry and sore from repeated screaming. His ears were ringing with the sound of his own agony. His face were soaked with tears and snot.
"I told you to answer in three seconds. Their names." the demon repeated.
A large pool of blood was starting to form on the floor as he gasped in pain. It was agonizing, and moreover, inhumane for them to treat him so. But what use was humanity to those who weren't humans?
His vision slowly dimmed from blood loss, and his lungs desperately fought for air.
He broke down in tears. If he lied would they know? Would they notice? Too scared to tell even a single lie, he apologized to his family in his heart as he whispered. "Mary and Maria."
"What is your job?"
"Adventurer…" his voice started to weaken.
"Neuronist. I'll give you fifteen minutes. Make it count." And with that the red-suited demon left the room.
"Of course, Demiurge-sama." the bloated horror bowed. The confined space seemed to shrink as the monstrous blob approached him. His body locked up in fear as he silently gulped, knowing that the worst was yet to come.
"Ho ho ho, I've been waiting for this." the monster cheerfully explained as it waved various sharp implements around in the air. "You know, I've been having a lot of fun with the humans Lady Tiamat sent me last time, so I wanted to try something new." It got even closer to him and in a horrid parody of a seductive whisper. "To be honest, you perfectly deserved it." as its sticky and long tongue caressed his cheeks.
He whimpered in terror. What could this creature do in fifteen minutes? He wondered
"You dared to attack our Supreme Being, whose beauty could even be compared to mine." the creature whispered in his ears. "Aren't you curious of what I did with those other humans?"
The man could only sniffle in response. He tried not to scream, afraid that his voice would give out on him. He felt extremely weak. His vision swam from all the pain he had felt. His eyes were dazed, distant, and glazed over. He could feel the metal bindings fall slack as his body was released from its bindings, but he was too weak to do anything as the creature in front of him pinned him down on the nearest table.
His body landed on the metal table with a hard thud, his blood smearing all over the place, and throughout the coldness of the room, the only warmth he felt was the trickle of his blood that is splattered across his naked body.
"I blessed them."
The man was taken aback by that response, and it showed in the way his eyes widened and his breath hitched.
"I consecrated every inch of their body. They tasted alright for filthy humans, so I'd go for another round, and another, and another until they were battered and covered in their nasty blood."
He could sense the madness in the way the creature spoke. He wished he had never learned of what happened. Anger and fear burned inside him and he tried in vain to pull away from the creature.
The creature gave him a huge smile, showing him its irregular teeth, "And you screamed just like they did."
Before he knew it, the creature suffocated him with its grotesque body and crushed his wrists with its tentacle like hands.
"Well, I suppose you'll experience it soon enough. However, Demiurge-sama is too bossy. Fifteen minutes is definitely not enough" The monster's tentacles waved around in apparent excitement. "No matter. Shall we make good use of our time?" she said lovingly, but nothing about her or the whole situation is lovely.
He needed to hold on, he needed to wait until his comrades got here. That was the least he could do.
But they did not come.
He just had a bad dream.
He was captured by a demon, taken to the demon's castle, and had his nails ripped off, his arms cut off, moreover that creature… it had…
No, no. he did not want to think about it.
That's right, that was just a dream.
He slowly opened his eyes.
The same stone slabs were in the ceiling, the same constrictive bindings, the same bone-chilling coldness. He was once again bound to his original spot.
But the room had obvious differences.
Dried blood splattered in front of his field of vision. His blood.
He started to tremble in fear. For he realized, it was not a dream.
A red-suited demon entered his field of vision bearing a wide diabolical grin.
"What is your name?"
"W-what? I answered these questions before-!" This time instead of his right arm, he felt a searing pain in his leg, and he saw from the corner of his eye that the monster was inspecting a bloodied toenail. "Stop! Please, I'm begging you, stop!"
"What is your name?"
"Zirco Sesila!"
"What's your wife's name?"
"Mary."
"What is your job?"
"Adventurer."
"Age?"
"Thirty four."
"Why did you attack Lady Tiamat?"
"Tiamat? Who are you- NONONONONONONO-!"
Neuronist had neatly snipped his left leg off.
Blood was once again pooling onto the floor. The sound of blood drip-dropping onto the smooth stone ground accompanied the man's ragged breathing. The room was filled with the metallic scent of blood.
"Fifteen minutes." The demon said once again, and the bloated monster giggled happily.
Same metal table, same searing pain, same blood, same pain, same action, same tongue. Oh God, that tongue.
Painpainpainpainpainsnappainpainpainpainpainpainonhisrectumpainpainpainpainpainpaincrackpainpainpainpainpainsplatpainpain.
"What is your age?"
"Three...four..."
"What's your last name?"
"Sesila…"
"What is your job?"
"My name is Zirco Sesila, I'm thirty four years old, my wife is Mary and my daughter is Maria. I'm an adventurer. My name is Zirco Sesila, I'm thirty four years old, my wife is Mary and my daughter is Maria. I'm an adventurer. My-" he repeated over and over again, his mind long broken.
His nails had been plucked only to be regrown and torn off again. He was repeatedly stabbed in the most sensitive parts of his body, dipped into bubbling acid, and had his brain slowly eaten by insects. His organs were melted then reconstructed in an endless. tortuous. loop. There was nothing they hadn't done to him. And everytime he was nearly brought to the brink, they healed him so that they could do it all. over. again.
How many hours had passed, how many fifteen minutes had been repeated, he had no idea. He did not keep track. He could not keep track. All he could focus on was the painpainpain.
He had long since given up on any hopes of rescue. He wished they would just let him die already.
(๑ ⌓ ๑)
Humans were delicately crafted, fine-tuned machines.
One of the things that kept such fragile machines alive in a world where only strength mattered was adrenaline. It was one of the body's vital defense mechanisms when faced with life or death circumstances.
Stressful situations triggered the release of the hormone adrenaline into the bloodstream. By pumping adrenaline throughout the body, it triggered specific processes in various organs, for example, it might make the body send extra oxygen to the lungs to aid the improve the human's running capabilities.
But a quick fight or flight reaction to a threat weren't the only feats adrenalines was capable of accomplishing.
It could temporarily increase a human's strength, sharpen mental focus, and most importantly, decrease the body's sensitivity to pain.
So what would happen if that option was taken away from a certain human?
Demiurge, by nature was the cruelest creation of Nazarick. And he expressed his viciousness in ways that would make most humans empty their stomachs.
By forcing humans to undergo extreme mental and physical stress, the body would in response release adrenaline from the adrenal gland in order to distract the body from pain.
After much trial and error and even more corpses, Demiurge found out a way to prevent the body from producing the hormone.
He healed him.
By healing the human, the body learned that no matter what happened or how extreme the situation might be, it would still be healed within a few minutes. Thus, he rendered the adrenal gland incapable of secreting adrenaline into the body by fooling it into thinking there was no danger. Making it impossible for the body to distract the mind from all of the pain the human experienced.
But Demiurge wasn't satisfied.
This insect dared to attack one of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick.
No matter how much pain and suffering the worm went through, it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.
If only Lady Tiamat hadn't asked him to keep this insect alive, he would've tossed it in the 7th Floor and let him swim in the warmth of the volcanoes.
He despised the vermin that had forced him into such a situation.
As soon as the Eight-Edged Assassin who was ordered to follow Lady Tiamat had briefed him on what happened. Even then, Demiurge had almost lost it. He had went outside for a bit and destroyed a bit of the land near Nazarick, creating a huge smoking crater on the ground. He didn't want to damage any of Nazarick's property after all.
He mentally made a note to ask Mare for a favor afterwards.
This definitely wouldn't do. He could not allow his emotions get the best of him. The Supreme Beings had entrusted this task to him and it would be blasphemous to have slacked in any shape, way, or form. He tidied up his suit which had collected a fair amount of dust with a few gentle swipes. This was a suit given to him by his creator, and he had to take good care of it.
It was about time he gave Lady Tiamat the report of his interrogation. There was no time to be dallying. He had prolonged this farce for too long.
He went back to the 5th Floor, and with no small amount of joy, saw that the man had completely and utterly broken down. The fool's eyes were blank, absolutely devoid of all will to live. Demiurge had never seen Neuronist happier.
He stood in front of the worm like he did before, finally deciding to use his 『Command Mantra』.
"Why did you attack Lady Tiamat?"
"I was ordered to…" his voice a tiny whisper against the demon's booming voice.
"Who ordered the attack?" he continued.
"Pluton Ainzach…"
"Why?"
"Capture her, dragon, charm, babies, capture, drago…"
At the short implication, in that short moment, Demiurge had never felt angrier. His wrath was made tangible as the brisk chill of the frozen tundra was blasted away as he unconsciously began to cast 『Hell Flame』. Oh, how dearly he wished he was allowed to tear the filth to pieces.
He gritted his teeth. Why, oh why, was he forbidden from cleansing the world of the trash before him? He quickly pushed the thought aside. It was not his place to question the will of a Supreme Being.
It would be such a simple task to stick his hand into the worm's heart and rupture it inside its body. But no, death would be too kind for him. He needed to suffer more.
"ELABORATE!"
The worm flinched at the sudden boom in his voice, but complied nonetheless.
"Control her through charm potion, control the priestess then you can control the dragon, control the dragon then you can control the world. Control the priestess and sell her to the highest bidder. Her offspring will be strong, as talented as she is. Control the priestess control the dragon control the world control her offspring control the priestess control the dragon control the offspring control the dragon control charm potion control world control bidder control world…" the worm repeated in an endless cycle of whispers.
Then, in a brief second, Demiurge disobeyed the Supreme Being's order by cleaning cutting off the maggot's head with a swipe of his hand.
"This definitely won't do." he fixed his glasses upwards, using the hand that wasn't covered in blood. "Revive him Neuronist. I need to make a report to Lady Tiamat. Do whatever you want with him, as long as you keep him alive."
"As you wish…" a disturbingly girlish giggle escaped through her mass of tentacles.
With that he left, and behind him 『Hell Flame』 broke loose. Luckily, the cold tundra prevented further property damage.
(๑ ⌓ ๑)
It was her second time there, and she was already used to the impression of the guildmaster's office. On one side of the lounge suite, sat the guildmaster Pluton Ainzach, and on the other side, relaxed three men wearing their Adventurer's armor.
The first man had a tangled mane of rust colored hair and wore a tan breastplate. The second one was a tall corpulent man with long dark blond hair, narrow eyes, and a wide nose. The last person had brown hair and sharp eyes, and had been smirking at her ever since she walked into the office. 'Weirdo.'.
Pluton bore a hard face, but when he saw Tiamat enter the room, she unmistakably saw the tension around him loosen a little.
"Lady Hannah, excellent. We've been expecting you. With this everyone is present."
She wondered why there were just four people in the room. The fact that everyone was scowling didn't make the atmosphere any lighter either.
"Please sit for now. I have a bit of a complicated story to tell―"
While saying so, Pluton left his seat and poured a pot of black tea into a kettle. While waiting for the tea, one of the three men in front of her tried to loosen up the atmosphere in the room.
The three men who sat in front of her all had the same impression.
Every one of them had turned his head towards the door to look at the new enigma in their city. "...a goddess of the moon." the words unconsciously spilling from his mouth. Because in front of them stood an unbelievably beautiful girl.
Her pale skin was without a single flaw, as if it was woven with moonlight. Her silver hair gently shone to her waist like a star glimmering in the night. When it came to her countenance, she made the most beautiful girl at the yearly festival look like nothing but a crudely carved pumpkin or a scarecrow.
She was a fairytale come alive. Even the descriptions of princesses out of fairytale books failed to express her beauty. One man gulped in disbelief.
"Nice to meet you gentlemen." she smiled politely at them.
Her smile was gentle and sincere. Her graceful fingers quickly covered her delicate lips in embarrassment as she accidentally let out a silent laugh. Bellote stood up from his chair and lightly patted his armor to remove the clinging dirt and sand.
"Hannah, right?" the rust colored haired man bravely started the conversation. "My name is Bellote, a Mythril class adventurer and the leader of Sky Wolf. To my right is Moknach, a Mythril class adventurer and the leader of Rainbow. To my left is Igvarge, also a Mythril class adventurer, and the leader of Kralga."
They had heard of the rumors of her unparalleled beauty, as well as the dragon that accompanied her. Yet, she only appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Clinging onto her body was a dress that appeared to be priceless despite its simplicity. Upon closer inspection, her white dress was decorated with magnificent silver embroidery. The closer they looked the more and more detailed and impossible the dress seemed. A dress straight from the annals of legend.
In fact, everything seemed to be mysteriously perfect with this woman. From her cascading silky hair down to her shoes, she was an otherworldly being that mesmerized them at first glance.
The staff that she held in her hand gleamed as it exerted a mysterious pressure. They could practically feel waves of power permeating through the floating azure orb. The staff was decorated with engravings of ivy and writs of an indecipherable language. No matter how one looked at it, the staff radiated holy might.
The only thing out of place was the Mythril plate perched on her hips.
No matter how much they looked, her appearance was that of a locked-up princess who shouldn't have been in a place like this.
"So you're Hannah huh? Amazing to have reached Mythril at such a young age." Moknach complimented her, his voice booming in the sizable office.
"The one with the dragon right?" Igvarge interjected.
"Yes." she nodded.
"I hope this doesn't offend you, but you don't look like the typical adventurer. How old are you?" Moknach asked curiously.
"Ha! You don't look like you could do anything. Your dragon must be the one who does all those quests for you!" Igvage provoked her, questioning her ability as an adventurer.
"Igvarge!" Bellote scolded him.
"It's alright Bellote-san, I'm not offended. It is perfectly understandable for Igvarge-san to assume things. But if you're worried that my performance is inadequate because of my age, then you can rest assured. I will make sure your worries won't come to be." she softly explained to the three men in front of her, trying her best to diffuse the tension.
Honestly, she wanted to laugh for a bit. To her, Igvarge's behaviour was like a jealous cat engulfed by pride and resentment, unable to accept that there was someone better than him.
Oh, how wrong he was.
"That's right Igvarge." the guildmaster interjected. "Lady Hannah is a very capable adventurer. Within three days she had finished…" Pluton was sweating a bit and realized he shouldn't have brought up that line of thought.
Igvarge quickly glanced at the guild master and pressed the issue, "She finished what?"
Guildmaster slowly exhaled and mumbled, "...a total of fifty three quests, ranging from F-ranked missions all the way to A-ranked missions without a single failure. Most of the quests we had available in the guild for this month had been completed by her."
Silence descended upon the room. No one wanted to believe what they just heard. But...it should be impossible. It would take a small army of adventurers of the highest caliber to finish most quests for the month. This was something that had never happened in the history of the guild. Yet she, some newcomer with a dragon did it herself? In three days?!
"It seems that I made a very wise decision in raising her rank to Mythril. However, we can all agree a pebble cannot depict the true nature of a mountain. Wouldn't you agree Lady Hannah." Pluton gently poured a cup of black tea in front of her, acting as if he was in front of some blasted royal.
"You flatter me, guildmaster." she said sincerely.
"F-fifty three quests… That's not possible!" Igvarge slammed his fist against the table as he stood up in disbelief. "There's no way a person can finish that many quests in only three days! Hell, even in a year!"
"Igvarge is right." this time Moknach raised his concerns. "One team could fulfill at most about three quests in one day depending on the ranking of those quests. Most parties, however, usually only take two quests per week. How...how did you do it?" He asked with traces of amazement and concern in his voice.
She raised the cup of tea to her nose, inhaling the soft scent of the tea. The faint smell released the tension in her shoulders. "It seems that you gentlemen have forgotten that I have a dragon." she took a small sip of her tea. "I simply fly."
At her brief explanation, the three men in front of her opened their mouths in disbelief. Of course, it made total sense! Just fly a dragon to your quest! But since no one had ever tamed a dragon or any companion that had the ability to fly and carry someone before, this simple fact didn't cross their minds.
The distance covered between each quest would be smaller via flying compared to riding a horse. The speed of traditional methods such as carriages and boats were laughable in comparison.
At that, the guildmaster chuckled at her statement. "Imagine that! An adventurer who can transverse the skies with a dragon, Lady Hannah is certainly the first I heard of!" He tried to diffuse the situation before the Mythrils present completely lost their calm.
"I'm flattered Ainzach-san." she gave him a small smile. "So why did you summon us here?"
Pluton then spread out a large piece of parchment on the table. It looked like what had been laid out was a map of E-Rantel and its surroundings.
Using her invisibility spell the other day, Tiamat had travelled around to make sure the map that had been given by the Elder of Carne Village was accurate. The map was ridiculously oversimplified and on top of that, the terrain scale was inconsistent. Perhaps it was because the measurement technique was underdeveloped. She didn't really know whether or not the inaccuracies were on purpose, but as an outline the map was good enough.
She had memorized the surroundings and entered it in her 『Automatic Mapping』, a skill which creates a 2-D representation of her surroundings in a five hundred meter radius around the player, but only if the player had explored the place before. It made things easier since she was able to fly around the area, which allowed her to quickly construct a mental chart of the forest.
Nonetheless, it was unnecessary to reveal the cards in her hand, so she pretended to view the map with great interest.
"By the way, does the young lady know of the phenomenon called the stampede?" Moknach asked Tiamat.
Tiamat sat there blinking her eyes, and as if he had already anticipated that she wouldn't understand, Moknach continued.
"Once in a while at the Great Forest of Tob, on average of once every ten years, monsters from the forest gather together and launch a massive raid on E-Rantel and nearby villages. The massive monster movement phenomenon, the stampede."
Saying so, he put his finger on the Great Forest of Tob.
"Do you know what causes this phenomenon?" Tiamat asked, clearly intrigued.
"Yes. There are three main reasons. First is because of food shortages in the forest. Once every ten years or so the forest's population greatly increases, causing a severe lack of food, forcing the monster's in the forest to venture out to look for food. The second reason is because of the power struggle within the forest. The losing powers are kicked out by the Wise King of the Forest and attack villagers or other things that they find." Bellato patiently explained to her.
Moknach continued. "Usually this would be considered a C-ranked quest since the monsters would be disorganized. Nothing major, usually just mere goblins and wolves and generally nothing above an ogre. But this stampede is on a scale that exceeds any we've ever seen in the past. But the greatest problem lies with the third reason. The birth of a capable monster who leads the monsters within the forest."
"Like some sort of a field boss?"
This time Igvarge interjected. "What's that? The one who's the leader isn't simply leading a bunch of monsters. What we're talking about is a monster that can lead others to the extent of uniting the weak groups of the forest together. In that situation there would be various kinds of monsters that possesses monstrous strength."
"At any rate, if it's that serious shouldn't you leave it to someone who could this so called stampede? Like an Adamantine adventurer?
Igvarge banged his hands on the table, clearly displeased with her reply. "You mention something like an Adamantine adventurer, but how many Adamantine adventurers do you think exist in this world?! Just to merely summon them, how much time and money do you think it would take?!" he angrily rebuked her.
"However, right now the situation is different. The Gold plated team, Hissing Vipers had actually ventured into the Great Forest of Tob for a quest. They saw monsters sitting around waiting for orders, as if hypnotized, on a scale that we've never seen before, and they thought it could be another stampede, even if the last occurrence only happened four years ago." the guildmaster explained.
"I can still remember the stampede from four years ago. It was hell… even when we were retreating some of our comrades were overrun and killed one by one. A lot of copper and iron adventurers died that year. Some of the were able to miraculously escape from the horde and gave up on adventuring all together."
The leader of team Rainbow narrated bitterly. His eyes lost a bit of their brightness upon remembering the massacre.
"This time the monsters number in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, ranging from lowly goblins to even frost dragons, if the report is to be believed. All of the forest's monsters concentrated in one place is definitely not going to be a pretty view. But the thing that's troubling me the most is that we have yet to see the demon who leads them." he continued.
"So, why did you call me here?"
Her words made the other members present lower their gazes uncomfortably.
"We want to ask for your opinion on this matter, as well as your advice on what should be done." answered the guildmaster.
Hearing Pluton plead, she give it some thought.
"Throughout these phenomenons, have you tried having a conversation with them?"
"Hahahah! Hilarious!"
"Ridiculous!"
"Don't say something so stupid!"
"There is no way we can communicate with monsters!"
Those were the shouts that erupted towards her in response to her comment. Especially Igvarge whose bloodshot eyes made her realize that what she said was completely insane by the New World's standards.
If the phenomenon that was currently happening was the result of a demon leading the huge number of monsters, it should be possible to communicate with them, taking into account the intelligence required to lead a large number of followers. That was why the first thing that came to her mind was to have a discussion. Was her logic so flawed?
Well, it wasn't as if there was a demon leading them this time around anyways.
"It cannot be done. For those monsters, human beings are nothing but livestock. We are literally seen as nothing but food. Trust me. Countless generations have tried. None have ever succeeded." Bellato said as he shook his head.
"Don't you have any procedures on how to defeat them? Like calling allied forces?"
"Of course we have called aid from other Adventurers Guilds, but something like an army cannot easily move from one area to another. Gathering units that are scattered in various places, and then organizing them until their departure could take several weeks. So it would be impossible to gather a large force when the monsters are right outside our gates."
"Then, there is no choice but to hold out until those forces come, right?"
"That is also impossible, even though E-Rantel is a well protected Fortress City, it cannot protect the villages around the city."
"In that case, shouldn't everyone just abandon their villages and escape into the city?"
"―You bitch, stop messing around! How many of our comrades do you think have sacrificed their lives to protect those villages?! And you're telling us that we should just abandon them?!"
Igvarge rose from his seat and was just about to grab her from across the table, until Bellato tackled him to the floor. But Tiamat remained calm. She raised her staff off the ground and tapped it against the floor, causing ripples of mana to travel along the floor. At this Igvarge gasped and fell back unto the couch.
"Mess around you say... I'm the one who should be saying that. After all the times the stampede has already occurred, why the hell did you guys make those pioneering villages anyways? That's just like building a house on a cliff or a riverside where there's always flooding during rainy seasons. Even if you wanted to establish them there, then why did you not put more effort into patrolling everyday or even make a defensive wall surrounding those villages? Did you gentlemen even do anything other than puff out your chests with pride?"
The guildmaster lowered his head with a bitter face, but she was far from finished.
"But when these villages are falling to the monsters at their doorsteps, their bodies become the alarm, warning you that danger is fast approaching. Is that it? And you have the audacity to flaunt yourselves in front of me that you're Mythril class adventurers? Don't make me laugh." at this point they knew that the soft spoken lady had been pushed over the edge.
"...It is just as you say. However, as the city's guildmaster, it is my duty and responsibility to protect this city and those villages. Just this once, please lend us your power."
As quick as a summer storm, her expression quickly morphed back into that of an inscrutable lady. "As stated in the guild rules, this is a private quest for me isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then what sort of reward for me do you have? I don't need your money, nor your honor and gratitude. So what could you present me?"
Bellato stood up in disbelief. "How could you? I thought you were a kind and virtuous lady! You demanded payment from us while you saved Carne Village free of charge?!"
She clicked her tongue at the rust haired adventurer, "Bellato-san, make no mistake. The current me who you are asking for help is a Mythril ranked adventurer who has a dragon as her companion. You, Moknach-san, Igvarge-san and Ainzach-san were the one who created the request. As stated in the guild guidebook, when it comes to emergency requests, the prices can surge up. But I don't want any of your money. So what are you gentlemen willing to give me?"
"Khh…"
"Bellato-san, I will say this one more time." she stood up from the sofa, raising her silver staff in her right hand, and angled the tip of the staff at Bellato. "I am Hannah Annafelowz, the disciple of the Goddess of Dragons, who is as eternal as heaven and earth, and the one who was praised as the ancestor of God! Do you think material things such as money will be enough to please her? Or do you try to arouse my sympathy and sway me? I am not a person who can be taken lightly!"
She turned her staff sideways at Moknach and in the distance they could hear the loud roar of the titan that had come to visit their town several days ago. The dark clouds slowly gathered across the sky, blotting out the sun, and soon the room was filled with a dull grey, as if the Goddess herself was displeased.
"If you manage to neutralize the stampede, I will raise your rank to Adamantine." the guildmaster eventually offered.
Her incited emotions cooled down with a gulp of a breath at that sentence.
She sat back down, calm and poised, as if nothing ever happened. The sky also seemed to clear up. The once dark gray clouds that blocked the warm rays of sunlight were nowhere to be seen, and in its place soft white clouds floated across the sky..
"Is that so?"
She lets go of her staff, and leaned it back against the sofa, reaching out to the warm cup of tea in front of her and slowly picked up a small tea spoon to gently mix her tea.
"You think being Adamantine alone is enough, Ainzach-san?"
All they could hear was the soft tone of her voice, as well as the small clink of metal against the ceramic cup.
"If I succeed in defeating this stampede, I want you to raise my rank to Adamantine, and I want you, Ainzach-san, to pull back your spies."
"S-Spies? What are you talking about?"
She put down the tea cup and gave him a small knowing smile. It was a beautiful smile, but he knew better. It was a smile full of promises, and he knew the promises weren't good ones. "Surely you didn't think I wouldn't notice, Ainzach-san? You put something in this tea, causing it to taste overbearingly sweet"
Pluton's eyes widened. "H-how did you…"
"Poison?" There was no way, at this point she knew that she was necessary for whatever he was planning. She had given his spy ample opportunities to kill her, but he didn't do so. "No, I'm sure your intention was not to kill me. This sweet taste… perhaps charm potion?"
It seemed that her speculation had hit the mark for the guildmaster started to stumble in place, and he tried in vain to cover the glass potion on his desk with his body.
She smiled, remembering the events from yesterday. As soon as Demiurge had finished interrogating the stalker, he had obtained information that the fluid in the syringe was probably a type of charm potion, and she asked Demiurge to give her the syringe so that they could test the effect it had.
But after looking at it with 『Appraise Item』, the potion was definitely only effective on low leveled monsters or newbie players. With her resist stats stacked so high, there was no way a weak charm potion would be able to affect her.
So she did the unthinkable. In front of Demiurge, she disabled her 『High Tier Physical Immunity』 and stuck the syringe into her left arm.
Demiurge grabbed her hand in panic, but it was too late, the syringe already stuck deep in her artery. Demiurge immediately called for Neuronist so that Neuronist could heal her, but she waved her hand, saying that there was no need for him to do that.
Afterall, just as she had thought, the charm potion was ineffective against her high resist.
"You know the funniest thing? I was attacked by a man back in the Kingdom while I was doing my first quest. And the man wanted to inject me with this." She pulled out a syringe from the small pouch at her waist, and the guildmaster's heart started beating even faster. "Is this what your guild does? Spying on their adventurers and poisoning them? Perhaps you are doing the same to these gentlemen as well, guildmaster?"
"P-Pluton, w-why?" a small voice of disbelief came from one of the Mythril ranked adventurers.
Tiamat could see Ainzach panicking. His blood pressure was over the top, and he could hear his heart to pounding loudly against his eardrums. His eyes lost focus. He could feel the once warm room turn cold at her revelation. "I-I understand. I will not meddle in any of your activities."
"Meddle? Is that what you think this is?" The dragoness eyed him from the corner of her eyes. "It seems you misunderstood, guildmaster." she sent him the sweetest smile he had ever seen. "I want you to stop monitoring me."
He quickly nodded with a pale face.
"You've betrayed my trust Pluton-san. After I receive my Adamantine plate, I will no longer be staying in this city."
He nodded once again, clearly dejected. His plans to keep her in E-Rantel had failed spectacularly.
Suddenly, someone came crashing into the room panting for breath. Everybody else immediately turned their heads towards the newcomer, while Tiamat sat there, calm and composed, while sipping on her tea.
"What's the matter?" Ainzach stood up in alarm.
"I-It's terrible! The stampede, it's here!."
Hearing those words, the people in the room opened their mouths in shock and panic.
In front of Tiamat, Bellote's skin turned completely white, while Moknach's eyes expanded to twice their usual size.
She put away the tea and faced the adventurer who warned them.
"My, seems like there's not even enough time to escape." she smiled at the adventurer and stood up. "You over there, please bear witness." she asked him, and the adventurer tilted his head in confusion.
Tiamat tapped her staff on the ground and Igvarge woke up as if he had been sleeping the whole time.
"Igvarge-san, Bellato-san, Moknach-san, as well as the guildmaster, Pluton Ainzach. You all have requested me, Hannah Annafelowz, a Mythril ranked Adventurer, to subjugate the stampede, and protect the city as well as those who live inside it. The payment will be my promotion to Adamantine rank. Correct?"
Igvarge just looked at her, clearly confused at what was happening, while Bellato, Moknach, and Pluton, especially Pluton desperately nodded their heads in agreement.
She smiled. A smile so large and beautiful, that there wasn't a man in the room who wouldn't stare at her.
'This is my win, Ainz!'
"I accept your quest."
