Chapter 34: Saved
Tsuare lifelessly sat in the cell that was now her world, accompanied only by bloody streaks on the wall where she had fruitlessly scratched with her now ragged nails. Though there were no guards around, freedom still felt like it was a million miles away. She was not only held prisoner by the bars before her, but by her mind and her past.
Everytime she tried to escape, every time she tried to reach out to someone, anyone who could throw her a rope to escape from the hell hole she had lived in for the past several years, the pit that was her life sank a little lower. It was enough to crush anyone with the sheer weight of a hopeless future.
She wiped her eyes that were now stained with tears and a single purple bruise as she blinked to grow more accustomed to the darkness. Her brain was dull now, tired just as her body was after her single attempt to run away. The giant man who had kidnapped her just laughed when he had seen her try to run before smacking her in the face a single time before throwing her into the cell.
"Don't even try," he had threatened.
She curled her body next to the haystack that was barely keeping her warm, shielding her stomach from any possible abuse.
She felt vulnerable, weak, and useless.
She bitterly thought that she would rather die than be in this position yet again, and in her moment of desperation she prayed to anyone, anyone to come and save her.
However, something in her heart told her that what she wanted would never come, and no matter how much she prayed, she wouldn't find it. In the end, who was there to hear her prayers?
Hugging her knees, she recalled the time she was stuck in that brothel. She had prayed every day, wishing that someone, anyone would help her. But no one came. No one came until she was near death's door.
"No one will come for you, and then you will go back to work again!" the muscular bald man jeered and laughed at her from the other side of the bars, "And those nobles that saved you?" his eyes gleamed maliciously, "My colleagues will make sure to take everything they got!"
Tsuare bit her lips, knowing that she would just get laughed at—or worse, beat—if she responded. So instead, she pressed her palms to her ears trying to block his horrible words out, but it didn't work. Rather, his voice only grew louder and louder.
'Maybe… this is the end for me...' she listlessly thought.
Maybe the gods were finally kind enough to let her have freedom because no matter how hard she tried, there were simply no paths where she could just be...free.
She didn't want to experience being in the dark anymore, not when she had just gotten a reminder of the sun's warmth, the way the wind gently caressed her hair, and the subtle delicious undertone a simple soup could have. She had gotten a chance to stand under the sun—a chance she never thought she would be able to get again—and now she was forced to live in the deepest darkness again.
Life was too cruel.
Just when she thought all hope was lost, she heard something, a familiar voice calling her name.
She hesitantly took away her palms from her ears.
"TSUARE!"
Like a ray of light in the darkness of her cell, the voice guided her back to reality.
There it was, her rope. A tiny flicker of hope that fiercely fought back against the wind.
With the wide bright eyes gleaming with tears of relief, she reached her hand out of her prison bars, her fingers extended, and yelled out with all her might, "OVER HERE! I'M OVER HERE!"
The bald man gritted his teeth in annoyance, banging his fist against the metal bars, causing them to mold to the shape of his fist, "Shut up!" he yelled out.
"No!" Tsuare refused to listen to him anymore, "I'M RIGHT HERE!"
She felt like she was finally being liberated from everything that had happened to her.
The man laughed out loud, "Give up girl, don't you know who I am? I am Zero, the leader of Six Arms! There is no one in this Kingdom who can defeat me!"
"I'M OVER HERE!" Tsuare ignored him and continued shouting. She shouted so hard, her throat began hurting, and her voice began cracking.
"Shut up, bitch!" the man snarled, "You will never be nothing more than a slave and a prostitute. Even if you escape, no one will want you, no one will help you, and then you'll come crawling back to us!" he bellowed out loud.
Despite his insults and her own waning voice, Tsuare continued screaming with all her being.
"I'M RIGHT HERE!"
"Tsuare!" a yell echoed from the hallway, and suddenly there she was.
A beautiful lady with fiery red hair. Her savior.
"Ha? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zero laughed out loud, "This is who you were screaming for?" Zero cracked his knuckles, "You'll need a whole army to beat me, but you think you can manage with just you two?!"
"Are you okay, Tsuare?" Tiamat asked worriedly, and through the darkness Tiamat could see a giant bruise on her face.
"I'm okay!" Tsuare yelled out, but she coughed afterwards. All the screaming had taken a toll out of her throat and she slumped against the metal bar.
His eyes narrowed, "You must be looking down on me, huh?!" his tattoos began glowing, "I'll show you my full power and make you regret ever coming here! 『Panther's Seal』,『Rhino's Seal』,『Falcon's Seal』, 『Buffalo's Seal』, 『Lion's Seal』!"
His muscles began to bulge and pulse as the animal tattoos scattered across his body began to light up. "Prepare to witness my 『Single Strike Kill』!" he laughed as the wave of power surged through him, filling him with euphoria.
"Were you the one who did that to Tsuare?" Tiamat's voice almost cracked as she spoke. Zero chuckled at the woman's anger.
"So what if I did?" Zero taunted, smirking the entire time, before turning to Tsuare "I'll make sure to take my sweet time with your friend here! Then that'll teach you to look for anyone else to help you!"
But instead of whimpering in fear, Tsuare held his scornful gaze.
Zero snorted before turning back to the red haired woman. "Looks like you've caused us quite a bit of trouble by putting some unsavory thoughts into our merchandise," in a split second, he closed the distance between him and the mysterious woman, "Die!"
In the split second before his fist made contact with Tiamat's head, Tsuare closed her eyes shut. Her heart raced with fear as she was filled with dread. What if Lady Tiamat had died? What if she had gotten someone killed in her selfish desire to be saved?
"Tsuare," a radiant, familiar voice shone through the darkness, "You can rely on me. Everything's okay now."
Tsuare slowly opened her eyes, widening them in shock as she beheld the amazing sight before her.
Lady Tiamat was holding back the giant bald man's powerful punch with just her index finger.
The bald man was looking down at Lady Tiamat in shock as well. "How?! How were you able to stop my 『Single Strike Kill』?!"
"Well…" Tiamat scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "Maybe you misnamed your skill?" she suggested.
Zero's eyes bulged in humiliation and fury. In his entire life, he had not met a single person who was capable of surviving his fully powered punch, much less someone who could block it with just a single finger.
Once he got over his shock, he narrowed his eyes, "Don't think that you'll survive this next hit!" Again, he pulled his arm back to release a devastating punch, but the moment before he could extend his arm, Tiamat smoothly stepped to his side and flicked his temple.
The man flew through the walls of the building before he finally skidded to a stop, unmoving.
"Ah," Tiamat shook her hands worriedly as Tsuare watched her in confusion, "He used some interesting skills, so I wanted to bring him back to Ainz as a test subject..." she walked over to the still man, "Maybe I didn't kill him?" Tsuare found it very strange that Lady Tiamat had gone from confident to confused to hopeful in less than a minute.
In fact, this entire night had been the most bewildering experience of her life. With that thought in her mind, she blissfully passed out as her accumulated fatigue caught up to her.
"Ah!" Upon hearing the thud of Tsuare's body hitting the floor of her cell, Tiamat looked up from the still man that she had confirmed was still alive towards Tsuare, "Shit, did I come too late?"
Tiamat casually bent the bars of the cell aside and put a finger on Tsuare's neck, "Well, it looks like I made it in time," she sighed in relief upon confirming that the girl was merely passed out.
She stared at the straw-blonde girl for a little longer. There was no reason for her to go out of her way to save this girl, nor were there any benefits. Yet she went out of her way to save her anyways.
Tiamat's eyes softened. Perhaps she didn't need a reason to help the girl.
"Shroud," Tiamat called out, and the assassin appeared behind her in a flash.
"Yes, My Lady."
"Carry her back to the mansion," she softly ordered, and the arachnid silently picked up Tsuare without a hitch, "Gently," Tiamat added as Shroud flickered out of sight.
"It will be as you will," his whisper filled the empty room, him and the girl long gone.
Satisfied that Tsuare was now safe, Tiamat walked towards Zero, who was still out cold. She sighed out loud, crossing her arms across her chest.
"If only Ainz didn't tell me to hold myself back…" Tiamat clenched and unclenched her fists "I would've just pummeled the shit out of this guy," she muttered to herself.
"It is only because the Supreme Beings are too strong compared to these scum, My Lady," Sebas and Solution, who had just finished patrolling, arrived at the end of the hallway where Tiamat was standing over the unconscious Zero.
"Sebas, Solution!" Tiamat called out, "How was it?"
"A half baked plan. This place isn't even guarded." Sebas responded.
"Damn, that was a stupid move," Tiamat said, "He said he was strong... Just how overconfident was this guy?"
"What shall we do now, My Lady?"
Tiamat sighed and clutched her head, "And here I was, prepared to fight at least an army, but it turned out to just be one douchebag."
"Ahem," Sebas cleared his throat, "What should we do now, My Lady?"
"Ah, yeah," Tiamat distractedly shook her head, "I need to check on Ainz, Sebas will take this guy back to Nazarick. I guess he'd be good for some experimentation since he was using a few interesting skills."
"Very well, My Lady" Sebas and Solution both bowed before the butler unceremoniously picked up the gigantic man by the back of his shirt.
"Solution, please guard the mansion with Shroud and the rest of the Eight Edged Assassins."
"Understood," she simply responded and she disappeared in a blink of an eye.
"Welp," Tiamat got up and shook the dirt off her dress, "I guess we should go meet up with Ainz now."
"Indeed, My Lady," Sebas nodded, "Lord Ainz must be worried by now."
"Yeah, he is the kind to worry about stuff like this, huh?" Tiamat scratched her head, "That being said, do you know where he is?"
"Lord Ainz said that he would be supervising the elimination of the rest of this underground organization starting from their Security Division," Sebas smoothly explained, "I believe that we should send him a 『Message』."
"Right," the Dragoness sheepishly grinned, "We do have that spell."
But before she could contact Ainz with it, a familiar beep resounded in her head.
[Tia?]
[Ainz!] Tiamat cheerily replied, [We're done here. How are things on your end?]
[We have some interesting people here, and the bait will be useful for our latter plans. Since you're already finished, I'll meet you back in Nazarick.] and with that he ended 『Message』.
"Okay then, there's that," Tiamat turned and looked at Sebas, "Good job you guys! I'll meet you two later, okay?" she gave a thumbs-up.
"Thank you, My Lady."
Using 『Greater Teleportation』, she landed right inside of Ainz's office where Ainz and the rest of the Floor Guardians were waiting.
"Are you ready for the second phase?" Ainz asked, his arms propped atop the desk.
"Let's do it."
(ㆆᴗㆆ)
A knock came from her door.
Hilma looked up from her ledgers, "Come in."
A youngish thug hesitantly walked in. His eyes widened upon seeing the Head of Eight Fingers' Drug Division.
Hilma grinned to herself. She had put in a lot of work in maintaining her looks, so it was always nice to receive a reminder that her effort wasn't for naught.
After waiting for a split moment longer, Hilma gently asked, "What is it?"
"Ah?!" the messenger shook his head, startled out of his staring, "A-Ah! I apologize, Ms. Hilma!"
Hilma resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Just get on with it."
"R-Right," he cleared his throat before continuing, "Zero has called for a meeting of all the executives."
Hilma put a finger on her chin in thought, "Zero called in a meeting? Now that's certainly very odd. Ah," she looked at the messenger who was staring at her again, "You can leave now."
"Yes, Ms. Hilma!" he lowered his head before walking out, closing the door behind him.
Hilma sat down on her chair, "Must be about the dragon project," she muttered to herself.
Zero had indeed been quite confident in their last meeting. Apparently, one of his underlings knew something about the newly appointed Adamantine Adventure's weakness, and he was so sure that the plan would go in their favor.
Of course, when given a proposition to take control of an Adamantite Adventurer, most of the leaders of Eight Fingers agreed to his proposition, including herself.
Afterall, she had heard from a mouse in the castle that the Adventurer in question was to be granted a noble rank by the King. Surely it was meant to tie her powers and her dragon for the good of the Kingdom.
Well, everything in the Kingdom belonged to them anyways. That being said, it could never hurt to be too careful. A dragon that was not fully under their control could become a large problem indeed.
Even a dog, if undisciplined, would bite their master's hand.
But now, seeing that he had called a meeting so early after his proposal, Hilma was sure that the muscle brain had completely failed.
'If not, why would he call for a meeting this soon?' she pondered to herself. She didn't have enough faith in the man's plotting abilities to believe that he could have succeeded so quickly.
She rang a bell to call for the maids, and surely enough, one of them came with haste.
"Prepare a carriage," Hilma ordered, and the maid nodded.
She went from her office and walked down the big main stairs of her mansion that led straight towards the front door. There, a carriage was already waiting. She went inside while her butler and maid bowed mumbling words wishing for her safe travel, and she tapped the carriage wall three times. The driver nodded in affirmation, and snapped the reins to the horses. The horses immediately began trotting to the same place they had gone to thousands and thousands of times.
Hilma rested as much as she could in the bumpy carriage. To be honest, any form of travel within this Kingdom required a robust body. She also needed the mental resilience required for this sort of nonsense, which was by no means small. The organization she worked for was truly inconsiderate of a lady's need for a good night's rest.
After a few hours, they finally arrived and Hilma stepped down from her carriage to go into the meeting room as usual.
As she opened up the door, she was surprised that most of them had arrived earlier than she had expected. Perhaps this matter was much more important than she had thought.
"Ah, Hilma," a particularly fruity looking man smirked, "You sure were taking your time."
Hilma narrowed her eyes, "And it's quite unusual how you decided to come so early, Cocco Doll."
"Hmph," he crossed his arms, "This is a personal matter, so don't get all uppity with me."
"Since it's personal that means it must be important, right?"
"Perhaps," Coco conceded as the rest of the executives listened to the two bickering, "Now where is that baldy Zero?" the leader of the slave trade division inquired.
One of the guards hesitantly spoke up, "I apologize Doll-sama, but Zero-sama hasn't even arrived."
"Haaaaaa?!" Hilma scoffed in disbelief, "What's the point of calling an emergency meeting in the middle of the night if he's going to be late anyways?" her voice grew louder and louder as she spoke. The rest of the executives nodded in agreement. Hilma was not known for throwing tantrums, but they had to agree; it was indeed odd that the person who called the meeting was late to it.
"I apologize Hilma-sama, but—" the guards stammered, trying to calm one of the leaders of the largest crime syndicate down, but it was no use. She was pissed.
"Now, now Hilma," Coco interrupted, "Remember that anti-wrinkle cream I gave you the other day? The anti-aging properties wouldn't work if you keep huffing and puffing like that."
"Oh, shut it!" Hilma snarled, "All of us are busy with our own work, but this brute has the nerve to call a meeting and not show up to it?!"
All of a sudden, the door was thrown open and everyone went silent. Zero had finally showed up.
"Finally!" Hilma sat back in her seat, "Next time you want to call a meeting, you better—" but her words were halted when she saw Zero stood there, his face blank as he remained silent.
The Eight Fingers' leader who had been observing the strange proceedings thus far felt a sense of unease nettle his heart. Zero was never the quiet type. He was loud, boisterous, and proud to the point of arrogance.
As soon as Zero shifted to the left to make way for his group to enter the room, the confident Eight Fingers was stammering in surprise.
"What the?!" Noah Zweden—the leader of the gambling department—narrowed his eyes. "Zero, it's against our rules to bring outsiders into the meeting room without prior permission. What is the meaning of this?"
A group of seemingly inhuman existences had arrived at their front door. Two dark elf children, accompanied by an undead dressed in magnificent robes as well as a red haired woman were in front of them.
"Aura, Mare, bind all of them," a low voice rumbled—Noah noted that it was the undead that had commanded the dark elf—and as swift as the wind, one of the two small cloaked figures raised their staff and pointed it to the ground.
All of a sudden, vines started growing from their marbled floor and tied them in place, pushing their heads to the table in the process. It had happened so quickly that none of them were able to retaliate.
"Call reinforcements!" Noah screamed out to the guards, but the red haired woman had moved before he had even finished talking, and in the blink of an eye, the guards that were standing in front of the door had all died.
"What a workout," the red haired woman whined, "If you all would just calmly listen to what we had to say, it'll be easier on all of us, ya know?"
"What do you want?" the Leader of Eight Fingers tried to calmly negotiate, looking through the corner of his eye and ignoring his heart that was beating a mile a minute, "Seeing as you have brought Zero along with you, it seems that you two have made some sort of deal."
"Welllllll," the red haired woman slapped the unresponsive Zero's cheek and shrugged, "It's not really a deal, but something like that I guess?"
"Oi, Zero!" Hilma screamed out in despair, "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Oh, he can't really respond to you," the red haired woman responded, "But we're not obliged to explain anything to you anyways."
Hilma gritted her teeth, trying her hardest to escape from the vines that were binding her, and through the corner of her eyes, she looked once again at the quiet Zero, "Zero, wake up! You stupid baldy!"
"Hilma!" Noah snapped and Hilma grudgingly quieted down. He looked again at the intruders inside the room, "I promise you that after whatever you are doing here is done, we will personally come and tear you all to pieces, mark my words!" he snarled.
The dark elf that was dressed like a boy climbed on top of the table and grabbed him by the hair before slamming it back down again, causing the marble table to crack. The rest of the executives stared on fearfully and quelled all thoughts of anger from their minds.
"Watch your tongue!" the dark elf said with a cross expression, "You're speaking to Lady Tiamat, a Supreme Being!"
"Aura…" the red haired woman—Tiamat they now knew—shook her head, "You weren't supposed to say my name..."
"Ah!" the dark elf blushed in shame, "I-I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry about it," Tiamat looked kindly upon the dark elf, "It's not like any of them would get a chance to spill what they've seen here today anyways."
"L-Lady Tiamat…!" tears threatened to flow out of the dark elf's eyes, "I'm not w-wort—"
The leaders of Eight Fingers who were listening to this insanity grew even more anxious. It seemed like they were going to kill them tonight. And with this new found information, their fear grew. One of them flailed against the vines, but instead of loosening it, the vines just stuck to him tighter and tighter to the point where he felt like his blood circulation was almost cut off.
The undead who had only been watching silently, raised his hand and the inane chatter between the red haired lady and the dark elf stopped.
"Mare, raise their heads," it ordered and within seconds, the vines forcefully lifted their heads up to look only at the undead and the red haired woman.
Suddenly, a sense of pressure came over Hilma, a pressure so great that she felt like she couldn't breathe. As soon as her eyes landed on the undead, it felt as if someone was choking her. All she could hear was her own racing heart as her mouth dumbly opened and closed. A choked cry for help forced itself up her throat and she felt a drop run down her cheek.
All of her colleagues there were frozen. The undead was something out of an ancient nightmare. Adrenaline flew over their veins like carp through a river, but they couldn't move a single muscle. Even screaming was denied from them. The more they thought about running away or even just moving a bit, the more they felt discouraged and utterly terrified.
The absolute horror of Death had paralyzed them.
Despite lacking a tongue, the being spoke and broke the heavy silence, "Tonight, all of you will die, but before you do, I will at least answer your questions regarding your fate," his eyes flared red, "That will be my... conciliatory gift to all of you."
Even though Noah was struck by fear, he gathered what little remaining courage he had and asked away, "W-Why are you doing this? What did we do to you?"
The undead just stared at them and after a while he answered, "Nothing. You didn't do anything to any of us."
"Then why?" he asked desperately.
"It was simply because your organization will be beneficial to us."
The answer the undead had given bled out every last drop of hope they had left.
"Y-You're saying if we're not in this position then you wouldn't have attacked us like this?"
"Yes."
"T-That's…" the man's mind began to crack, "THAT'S BULLSHIT! WHAT DID WE EVER DO TO YOU?!"
"It's simply fate," the Lich explained calmly, "Your fate was to grow this organization for me to use."
"A-All our hard work…" Hilma whimpered, remembering the hard times she had to endure to sit where she was currently sitting.
But a giggle had erupted from the red haired woman, "Hard work? How laughable. You are merely standing on the pile of corpses that you built to get to where you are. I wouldn't call that hard work at all," her eyes narrowed, "You're simply climbing up bodies and using everyone around you to get to get ahead, no?"
Hilma gritted her teeth in shame.
"W-What are you going to do to this organization?" Noah asked again, "Are you going to destroy everything we've built? Or are you just going to use our network?"
"It's simple, run the organization as usual," the undead responded.
"W-What?" the answer was unexpected. Noah had thought that they were going to destroy Eight Fingers and make use of the vast network to build another organization, "If you're going to let it run as usual, then why kill us?! You could just bring us to your side!"
"I don't trust you."
"H-Huh?"
"I don't trust any of you."
"T-Then how are you going to run the organization if you kill us? No one knows how to do our job better than ourselves!" Noah pleaded.
This is it, this is the chance that they needed! If he could just make one chance, one opening for them to survive, he could easily stab them in the back later.
"You're exactly right."
Noah smiled widely, "Then you will—"
"I will extract your memories and transfer them into my doppelgangers," the Undead callously explained, "That way they will be able to run the organization the exact way that you do, and they will be loyal to me."
Noah's smile turned dead, "Extract...memories?"
"Yes."
His blood turned cold and so did the rest of the executives who were listening. It was hopeless. These beings don't listen to anyone, and they meant it when they said that they're going to die tonight. The undead had meant it when he said he was being generous in answering all of the questions they had to have.
Knowing that there was nothing they could do, they all went silent. Hilma wept quietly and so did others, maybe not as vocal as her, but Noah knew that they despaired in knowing that what they had accomplished had come to a swift and damning end.
"If there's no other questions, we shall take our leave," and with that the undead left the room with the red haired woman following behind it.
"W-Wait," Noah called out and the undead turned back one last time, "What are you?"
The undead tapped his golden staff loudly against the marbled floor and declared with a deep voice filled with majesty, "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, the leader of the Supreme Beings of the Tomb of Nazarick. With that name at stake there can be no defeat! Etch it into your memory as you curse your fate!"
(ㆆᴗㆆ)
Tsuare woke up with a gasp, her heart hammering against her ribcage. A buzzing resonated in her brain as she tried to make sense of recent events.
Once she had calmed down, she finally took in her new surroundings.
A soft warm bed, a window that let her feel the warmth of the sun, and the tasty smell of soup and bread on her bedside table.
She was back…
Tsuare resisted the urge to cry as she held her mouth closed with the palm of her hand.
Her prayer was finally answered.
Someone had come to save her from a situation that she had thought to be hopeless.
'No, I can't just sit still like this.'
She went down from her bed and noticed that the uncomfortable bump on her ankle had been healed.
Tsuare walked out the door and promptly was greeted by the cold blond maid, Solution-san.
"You're finally awake," Solution nodded, and before the maid could expect a reply, Tsuare had wrapped her arms around the maid's shoulders and pulled her close.
"Solution-san, I'm so glad I get to see you again," Tsuare mentioned softly. Even though the maid made no attempt to hug back, knowing that the hug was real and that Solution-san was real made the room warmer somehow, and her future seemingly a little less bleak.
She knew that this was not a dream, but reality.
After a while, the maid finally responded, "Unhand me."
"Ah," Tsuare opened her eyes to quit her reveries and quickly stepped away from the maid, "Sorry about that Solution-san, I'm just really happy to see you."
Solution just looked at her with complete disregard and crossed her arms across her ample chest, "You better thank Lady Tiamat for what she did for you. For a lower being to cause our exalted Lady so much trouble..." the maid gritted her teeth.
"Of course!" Tsuare responded happily. That was what she wanted to do in the first place anyhow. "Where can I find Lady Tiamat, Solution-san?"
"Follow me," the maid turned around without another word and began walking out the room. Tsuare hastily followed.
She noticed that the mansion was now much more decorated compared to before. It looked like a proper noble's mansion now, especially with the rich red carpet on the hallways, the vases filled with exquisite flowers, and the gentle paintings that graced the walls.
When they arrived before two twin oak doors, Solution knocked twice before opening the door. Tsuare could sparsely hear the conversation that was happening.
"With the new influx of income, we don't have to worry about the expenditures anymore,"
"Should I return the money you borrowed from Pandora's Actor, My Lady?"
"There is no need, Sebas. Just think of it as Nazarick's investment towards the newly planned business venture."
"My Lady," Solution spoke up, "The guest is finally awake."
"That's great!" Tiamat stood up happily from her chair, "Tsuare, have you eaten?" the woman smiled warmly at her, "I believe I asked Sebas to leave you with some mushroom cream soup and bread... Oh! Are you still hungry? Should I make you some more? I—oof,"
Tsuare immediately tackled the woman with a tight hug, and as soon as her warm arms wrapped around her body, the world around them melted away and Tiamat squeezed back, not wanting the moment to end. She felt her body press in, soft and warm. She inwardly thanked the gods and hugged all the tighter.
"Awwwww~" Tiamat patted Tsuare's hair, "I didn't know you had a cute side like this," she winked. Tsuare let go of her, slightly embarrassed.
"I-I, uh, I—" the young girl stammered, her cheeks dusted with a soft red. Tiamat patiently waited, and finally after a few seconds, Tsuare settled on softly saying, "Thank you…"
"Don't worry about it, Tsuare. Now, are you hungry?"
Tsuare nodded.
"Then why don't you eat with us? It's lunch time anyways, and Sebas brought in some good stuff!"
"Good stuff...?" Tsuare's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
"Meat, Tsuare, Meat!" Tiamat put an arm across Tsuare's shoulder, "You have no idea how loooooong I've been holding myself back!"
Tsuare giggled at Tiamat's antics, "Did you not have meat before?"
"Oh," Tiamat patted her back, "We've just been forced to be on a budget because of one stingy bonehead..." she growled to herself.
"Then I shall prepare the dining table," Sebas excused himself.
"Thank you, Sebas!" Tiamat gleefully bounced on the balls of her feet, "Now, do you know how to cook, Tsuare?"
"Cook? A bit... I cooked a bit when it was just me and my sister," Tsuare reminisced.
Tiamat's mood plummeted, "Tsuare," she gulped, "About your sister…"
But instead of being sad, Tsuare smiled a watery smile, "I know…"
"W-what?"
"She died, didn't she? I can already tell."
Tiamat lowered her head, "I'm sorry, Tsuare."
"Oh no, Lady Tiamat! Please raise your head, it's not your fault at all!" Tsuare waved her hand, feeling guilty that the woman who saved her was now apologizing for what had happened in the past, even though it wasn't her fault.
"But the bet I made you…" Tiamat looked away in shame, "Just forget about it okay?"
"Right, there was that too…" Tsuare also looked away, feeling awkward. She didn't expect to be talking about the future of her baby so soon.
After a brief tense moment, Tiamat gently reached out for Tsuare's hand, "I...I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier."
"H-Huh?"
"I'm sorry for telling you to... abort your baby. I-I shouldn't have told you that. I shouldn't have forced my views on you. The fact that you were trying to keep the baby after what had happened to you is very, very, admirable of you to do. And you're right, the baby isn't at fault. The baby didn't ask to be born into this world."
"Lady Tiamat, you don't have to apologize," Tsuare put her hand on top of Tiamat's own hand, "I know you said that to protect me. But this is something I would want to choose, not for the baby, but for myself."
"I understand. Again, it's very admirable for you to do, Tsuare. You're a strong woman," Tiamat declared, as if the strength of her statement would wash away what she had said in the past.
Tsuare smiled and laughed a little, "Said someone who sent a crime syndicate boss flying through a wall with one punch."
"H-Hey! It's not my fault that he was that weak!"
"I know, I know," Tsuare giggled.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"Yes?"
"You're free now, Tsuare. You can be whatever you want, like a doctor, a nurse, run a business, an inventor, a cook! And you can go wherever you want too!"
"That's right," Tsuare smiled at the woman in front of her. Indeed, she was truly free.
No longer would she have to think about returning to that damp, dark place. No more lashes for misbehaving, no more pain and suffering.
She was free. She could finally make her own choices in life.
Tsuare looked up and her blue eyes met with Tiamat's purple. Tiamat cocked her head to the left slightly, wondering what the small girl was thinking, but Tsuare just held the woman's hand tighter.
'And it's all because of the woman in front of me that my prayers were answered…'
"Please let me be useful to you, Lady Tiamat," Tsuare said out loud.
"W-what? Why?!" Tiamat asked, utterly confused, "If you're working under me, then wouldn't it be the same as when you were in that place?"
Tsuare looked up at Tiamat and the dragoness's eyes widened.
The girl's smile was the prettiest thing she had seen in a long time. It was a smile that extended from her eyes and spread all throughout her soul. A smile full of hope.
"It's different," Tsuare shook her head, "Because I'm choosing it."
Tiamat remained silent, and Tsuare haltingly began speaking again, "If it wasn't for you, I—" Tsuare looked down at her feet, "Before, the only driving force that kept me going was my little sister. But that...place," Tsuare gulped, "In that place, I saw a lot of people die... Either they got rough or the women committed... suicide," Tsuare's shoulders shook, "I wouldn't call their decision weak or cowardly. It's better to free yourself with your own hands than to be beaten to death."
Tsuare took a deep breath, and Tiamat tightened her hold on her.
"Yeah," Tiamat softly said, "I get that."
She had been through something similar after all.
Tsuare gave a small nod as she tried to hold back her tears. "A-And… a-a-and then—"
Just as she was on the verge of letting all her tears out, Tiamat enveloped her in a great warm hug.
Through that hug, Tsuare was reminded that she wasn't in that hell anymore. She was safe, and there weren't people taking delight in her torment anymore. Safe in the grasp of someone she had met just a few days ago, she let all her tears out. Tiamat silently held her as her sobbing gradually subsided into small hiccups.
Tsuare wiped away her tears and continued, "I thought that dying would be better than living. Was my sister really worth the pain I went through? Not really. For me, life was a never ending stream of pain and worry and unhappiness…" she took a deep breath before continuing, "Death truly seemed like the ultimate relief. Yet…" Tsuare closed her eyes as her breath hitched.
Tiamat gently patted her back, "Take your time."
Tsuare nodded and continued, "T-That day before you found me, I was ready to die. But…" her body was wracked with tremors as she started sobbing again, "I-I'm n-not ready—for d-death! I-I don't ev-even u—understand it m-myself!" she shuddered more against Tiamat's chest, "W-Why would I-I fear death—when l-living is so pa-painful?"
Her sore throat cleared up for a brief moment, "How… How do you see hope from the bottom of a well?"
"You…" Tiamat softly hesitated, "You're stronger than me. I...I don't think I could ever move on from something like that."
"I don't believe that," Tsuare slightly raised her voice, suddenly resolute and strong, "If you weren't there, I would never feel anything ever again. No relief from pain. No possible joys in the future. No happiness. No sadness. No love. No friendship. Nothing. And that's why," she turned her serious gaze onto Tiamat, "You—the one who saved me from that life—are definitely strong enough to overcome that kind of fate."
"How?" Tiamat asked Tsuare a question that she herself couldn't even answer, "How are you going to overcome it?" For some reason, it felt like she was asking herself more than she was the girl.
"I...I want to find a way to accept my past. That's why I don't want to live in fear anymore. I want to enjoy life, not at the expense of another life or my sister's," she smiled sadly, "Of course I'm going to grieve for her loss, but I also want to create a new life for myself with a new goal in mind."
Tiamat looked at the girl with admiration.
'I wonder...could I ever think like that?'
"And so," Tiamat shelved her thoughts for another time. This moment wasn't about her, "What is this new goal?"
Eyes gleaming with determination, Tsuare answered, "I want to be useful to you, Lady Tiamat! This time, I didn't get sold off, or taken somewhere I didn't want to go. This time I'm choosing what I want to do, and I want to stay by your side. So please," she bowed her head low, her straw blonde hair hanging down her head, "Please let me stay and help you!"
"But Tsuare…" Tiamat faltered.
You don't even know the real 'me'. Were the words that Tiamat left unsaid.
"I'm a hard worker, and I can learn quickly! I promise you, Lady Tiamat, I'm worth holding on to!"
Tiamat sighed and dropped like a rock on the newly arrived sofa inside of the office. Saving her was one thing, but to think that the girl was willing to stay with them? The Dragoness had never expected this outcome.
'Well, saving her probably makes her want to repay me I guess…That being said,' she tapped her fingers on the arm of the sofa, 'What should I do?,' she took a quick peek at Tsuare who was staring at her with sparkling eyes and an even brighter smile. A bead of cold sweat ran down Tiamat's neck, 'Rejecting that would be the right thing to do, right?'
Tiamat coughed into her fist, "I understand your sincerity, Tsuare. I'm happy with the goal you set for yourself, but right now we—"
In a lapse of judgement she looked at Tsuare's face again. When she saw her blue, sparkling eyes that were so fucking hopeful, the rest of the sentence just halted at the tip of her tongue.
'Fuuuuuuuuuuck,' Tiamat squirmed in her seat, and her eyes travelled down to Tsuare's stomach. It hadn't shown yet, but in a few months it would, and she knew from her past experience that a pregnant woman needed all the help she could get, 'The pregnancy would make it hard for her to make a living. She definitely doesn't have any friends or family to help her look after a baby... And that's not even thinking about how hard it'll be to work as her pregnancy progresses,' Tiamat opened her mouth to reject Tsuare but closed it as she reconsidered, 'But after last night...'
Since they were now in the second phase of their plan, Nazarick was as busy as ever. They were making doppelgangers left and right to fill in as the former staff of Eight Fingers. Even if she could offer Tsuare one of the empty jobs there, Tiamat knew that it would be an immoral thing to do.
Asking her to work for the organization that had used her? The Dragoness would have despised such a situation herself too.
'What to do, what to do…' it's not like she could ask her to work alongside—for lack of better terms—monsters, right?
All of a sudden, Sebas cleared his throat causing Tiamat to jolt in surprise, "I'm sorry for disturbing you two, but since I accidentally overheard the conversation, may I make a suggestion, My Lady?"
"Sebas-san…" Tsuare looked at Sebas. To think that the butler himself would help her out… Tsuare's eyes glistened in gratitude.
Tiamat looked questioningly at Sebas. She was certain that he knew the details of the second phase as well as the sheer amount of work that Nazarick was under right now, and she was pretty certain that he knew that the right thing to do here was to refuse. But how?
"Go on, Sebas."
"We still need someone to manage, Arachne, My Lady."
Tiamat's eyes widened, and within seconds, her face was decorated with a huge smile, "Sebas, you're a genius!"
"I am happy to help, My Lady," Sebas lowered his head.
"You're also here to inform us that lunch is prepared right?" Tiamat asked as she began to bounce up and down on the sofa. If she got no lunch, she swore to god she would—
"Yes, lunch is ready."
"Then it's settled!" Tiamat shot up to her feet with vigor, "Would you like to settle a business deal with me, valued client?" she offered her outstretched palm for Tsuare to take.
Meanwhile, Tsuare looked at Sebas and the hand offered to her in utter confusion, "W-What? Valued client?"
Omake: 60 Years Later
Tsuare took a sip from her teacup and gently put it back on its saucer.
Radiant rays of sunlight shone through the crystalline windows and gently illuminated the richly decorated room.
Each piece of furniture in the room told a story, a testimony to the personality of the owner. From the smallest paperweight to the large oak desk, each piece was made both for style and comfort, moderately priced from some truly talented designers.
The room was immaculate. The couches stood on opposite sides of each other above the hand-woven rug. The floor was a beautiful ceramic pattern polished to a shine, and the room was large, well lit by the magical lanterns that hung from its ceilings. Thick velvet curtains were pulled back from the long windows, allowing the sun to shine through and add to the warmth of the room.
Tsuare began to reminisce. The mansion she was living in when she first met Lady Tiamat had already been big by her standards, and now it was even bigger. Just a few decades ago, the place was a complex of buildings owned by different people, but since Nazarick needed more consolidated assets, the Lady just decided to buy the whole neighborhood.
'Well, it's only understandable considering the growth of Arachne,' she thought to herself, relaxing at the scent of tea in her cup and smiled to herself, 'To think it has been sixty years…'
As she meandered down memory lane, the person she had been waiting for finally entered her office.
"Tsuare!" Tiamat opened up her arms as soon as she entered the room, and Tsuare stood up to receive the hug.
The dragoness had donned her usual red hanfu dress, proudly displaying both her horns and tail in full view. But Tsuare was used to this, after all, it had been quite a few decades since Lady Tiamat revealed her true nature to Tsuare. She hadn't been too shocked as it had certainly answered questions regarding her strength.
"Lady Tiamat," Tsuare smiled gently, "My, you haven't aged a day."
Tiamat sheepishly smiled and returned the compliment, "And you look just as beautiful as when I first saw you."
"Lies," Tsuare retorted, "Look at me, My Lady," she held up her snow white hair, "I'm a grandmother now. I am no longer as youthful as I was sixty years ago."
And it was true. Tsuare was now seventy-nine years old, and in a few months she would be celebrating her eightieth birthday. Her blond hair had all turned white, and she was at the age where her eyesight and joints ought to be failing her were it not for the powerful magics of Nazarick. Were it not for the lines in her face, her sharp mind and easy motion would make anyone think that she was much younger than she was.
"Such is the price of being human, Tsuare," Tiamat said, "And even though you are a grandmother, you'll always be a titan in my eyes."
Titan was one of Lady Tiamat's nicknames for Tsuare. She had once said that Tsuare was a monster for being able to keep up with her obscene amounts of paperwork. Stubborn and headstrong with a tongue so sharp that one would be sliced in two if she believed them to be a waste of time. Not to mention, she was an icon for all the women in the Kingdom as Tsuare was the only woman who made a business empire that was so ridiculously influential.
"You flatter me," Tsuare snorted, "If it were not for you, none of my accomplishments would have been possible."
"If it weren't for you," Tiamat retorted, "Arachne and our other business ventures wouldn't have grown as big as they've had."
Tsuare let out a hearty laugh, "Ahahaha!" she wiped a tear from her eye, "That's true isn't it? You'd be buried under a pile of work without me."
"Exactly! So give yourself more credit," Tiamat hmph-ed in her seat.
Both women laughed at that. Tiamat wiped away a tear, "You remember the time where you wrote the wrong number down on an inventory check? We had to redo all of the forms after Ainz found out."
Tsuare clucked her tongue, "Oh, I was just getting started then," she pointed a finger accusingly at Tiamat, "You should have checked the work of a beginner you know?"
Tiamat raised her hands in the air with a nervous giggle, "Yeah… well in my defense, I didn't get much sleep that day. Or any other days."
Tsuare rolled her eyes, "Do you think any of us do?"
Tiamat burst into laughter again, "I—*wheeze*—good one!"
"But it was worth it in the end, right?" Tsuare suddenly began introspecting, "We've come a long way… Geoffrey passed on peacefully, and Ash is still out adventuring at his age..."
"Yeah," Tiamat looked at her protege fondly, "It was worth it."
Times had changed so much—yet so little—and the technology was all different, but the tales remained the same. Tsuare raised her aged hand and poured herself and Tiamat some more tea before placing the pot back onto the table.
"To think all of that happened in these sixty years…" Tsuare said softly, "Time does fly."
"Indeed," Tiamat let the scent of the tea waft into her nose before she took a sip. The old woman had massively improved compared to her younger days, "You're retiring too. What's going to happen to Arachne now?"
When Tiamat asked this, Tsuare immediately straightened up. This visit was also business talk after all, and business was her forte.
"You don't have to worry about that, Lady Tiamat. My son will continue this heritage that you have given us, and it will continue to his offspring, and the next one. We will ensure that your efforts will stay with you throughout eternity," Tsuare promptly replied.
The dragoness smiled, satisfied, "Splendid. Your work so far has been pretty awesome, Tsuare. Nazarick and I will never forget your accomplishments."
"I'm glad I could be of use, Lady Tiamat. I was able to live such a fulfilling life because of you, My Lady. So it is only fair that I repay the favor," Tsuare bowed her head low enough to touch the table.
"I see. But I have to say, what you did with Arachne exceeded everyone's expectations," Tiamat gave a thumbs up, "You took on a venture that none of us could have easily handled, yet you succeeded regardless. For your accomplishments, Nazarick and I have prepared you a little gift," Tiamat smiled.
"Oh no, My Lady. Please don't say that. As I said sixty years ago, I chose to work with you. My wish—then and now—was to be useful to you. So please," Tsuare adamantly refused, "I have received more than enough blessings in this lifetime."
"But what are you going to do when you retire, Tsuare? Your days will no longer be filled with work, and your night will be solemn and peaceful. I'm sure it will be quite lonely…"
"Such is the price of retiring, My Lady," Tsuare responded using Tiamat's previous remark.
"Well, I'm glad you think that way….buuuuuut," Tiamat sighed, "We already went through so much trouble to get the gift…."
Seeing that the dragoness had already gotten the gift, Tsuare relented and sighed while putting a hand on her forehead, "Very well. I humbly accept, My Lady."
The dragoness immediately brightened up, "I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Tsuare!" Tiamat turned back to look at the door where she had come in from, "Come in!"
As the double doors opened, Tsuare's eyes widened. It was a young teenage girl, and as soon as the teenager's eyes landed on Tsuare, her face was stained with silvery tears. Tsuare dimly noticed that her own cheeks were now damp.
"Onee-san…" she sobbed and tears flooded from her eyes as the girl's crying was only interrupted by her gulping for air.
The teenager's face was a mix between grief and joy. Seconds passed like hours and Tsuare just took it all in, struggling to comprehend that the girl in front of her wasn't one from the pictures or drawings she kept beside her bed, that she was real.
"L-Lucia…?" Tsuare kept looking at the teenager and back at the Dragoness in disbelief. Tiamat nodded and waved for her to go on. Even without uttering a single word, she had confirmed what Tsuare was thinking.
Tsuare got up from her chair and hesitantly took a step towards her younger sister, the one she was so sure had died.
Would her sister be disappointed that she didn't try her best? That she didn't try to escape from that hell and come to look for her before it was too late?
Aged silvery eyes looked into the vibrant blue eyes. Even if they were stained with tears, Lucia's eyes were still the same. She was still the same cheeky little girl who loved eating strawberries, who got excited at magic, and who would cry in especially lonely nights. Tsuare wanted to move closer to see, to touch. But she was scared that her sister would refuse.
Yet contrary to her expectations, her sister moved first.
"Onee-san!" the teenager ran towards her with a flying hug, and suddenly, all her defences fell like wet paper.
As she struggled to draw breath from her sister's iron tight hug, Tsuare's body molded together with the small girl's form. She could feel her warm torso and the heart that was beating from within. Lucia's small hands folded around Tsuare's back, drawing her in closer.
Tsuare could feel her body shake, crying for the missed time they would never get back, crying as if to release the anguish of several decades. She put her hand on the small girl's cheek and wiped her tears with her old, wrinkly fingers. To think that she would be grateful for being able to perform such a small gesture...
"H-How?" Tsuare asked the Dragoness.
"You know at this point that there is nothing impossible for Nazarick, Tsuare," Tiamat winked.
"B-But…" Tsuare's brain stopped working. There were just too many questions to ask; why now? Why not before? Why not when she was younger? Why does her little sister look the same?
"Resurrection magic," Tiamat simply said as if the dragoness had read all of the questions in her mind, "You know how dangerous it is, correct? You need to keep her a secret, Tsuare. If the public finds out—"
"I understand," Tsuare answered immediately. She knew just how dangerous resurrection magic was. If people knew just how easily Nazarick could bring people back from the brink, the world would be thrown into chaos. Everyone who felt that their loved ones suffered an unjust death would do anything at the chance of bringing them back to life.
"Why?" Why me? Was the unuttered question that was stuck on the tip of her tongue.
"I did tell you before, Tsuare," Tiamat walked over to her, "Your services to Nazarick have been greatly appreciated. This is our gift to you for your loyalty towards Nazarick, and for everything you have done these past decades."
Tsuare looked down at her little sister, and she ran her hands through her short brown hair, as if she couldn't believe this wasn't all part of some almost forgotten dream.
After so long without her little sister, she had tried her best to move forward, yet in reality she was just hiding her grief. As she tried to speak, her voice faltered into unintelligible croaks. There were just too many things she wanted to tell her little sister, far too many.
"Don't go, nee-san. Not again…" Lucia whispered.
Tsuare stopped, remembering the last time they saw one another; when she was being taken away.
"I'm sorry, Lucia. I won't go this time. Not if you still want me…" Tsuare softly replied.
The warmth of her body melted her cold skin, giving her hope. One of Tsuare's hands clasped around her little sister's back and the other stroked her hair, and with each stroke more tears fell, tears that neither of them wiped away.
After so many years, they finally had the chance to make new memories.
"Thank you, Lady Tiamat. Thank you so much…" Tsuare said between croaks.
"No problem!" Tiamat shot up from the couch, "I'm not particularly thrilled at the thought of being a third wheel to such a tearful reunion, sooooo you girls enjoy yourselves~!" Tiamat quickly closed the door behind her before immediately popping her head back in one last time, "Congratulations on being reunited! I wish you two alllllll the happiness in the world!"
Tsuare's face buckled and her tears finally rolled unchecked.
In this moment, she held her little sister in an embrace that she never wanted to end. She had lost her once. She wouldn't lose her again.
…
A/N: And so, Tsuare was finally reunited with her sister, and they live happily ever after on a strawberry farm TTvTT I wanted this ending so much for Tsuare. And sixty years is just a representation of how Nazarick can be, even if you are loyal to them. I wish you well and I hope you enjoy reading this! See you next chapter~
HackSlashBash: And with this, the Tsuare arc begins to crawl towards the end!
