Karolus sighed quietly to himself as he stood in front of the massive burning pyre of bodies, demihuman corpses piled to almost three times his height by his accompanying force of soldiers and paladins. They had arrived at the site of the brutal massacre roughly an hour ago, and almost to a man had shied away from the carnage, the trees of the forest covered with viscera as Carloman had lost himself to rage and butchered his foes.
Now that the battle was over, and his combat-activated skills had subsided, Louis had spent the last couple of hours going through various stages of revulsion at the carnage, as this was only the second time he had seen such a slaughter outside a game. Unable to avoid the brutality, and unwilling to show weakness in front of his companions, he had eventually grown numbly accustomed to it, and had been capable of putting on a stoic face for the troops when they had arrived.
"Such a waste of life…" he muttered under his breath as he stood some distance away from the inferno of crackling bodies.
Carloman, who was standing next to him, gave him an odd look before shrugging to himself and turning away from the pyre.
"It's a damn sight more respectful an end than they would have given anyone here. Still not sure why you insisted we collect their bodies and give them a funeral of sorts, it's far more than they deserve."
While the reason Karolus had given was that he wanted to avoid them being raised as undead, inside Louis felt it was the least he could do to pay back the misfortune that they had brought on these demihumans.
Sorry everyone, that wasn't really a fair fight, was it? If this was still Yggdrasil I'd probably be banned for hunting this many newbies…
Sighing again, he turned away from the pyre and walked back toward the campsite that had been set up by the troops while half of them collected the bodies for the pyre. Night was falling now, and Morgiana had called for a meeting to discuss what the group was going to do next.
Passing through the outskirts of the camp, Karolus passed by one of the open-sided tents that had been set up to temporarily house the many human prisoners that they had liberated from the demihuman horde. Many of them had been missing limbs or had otherwise been in extremely poor conditions, but with quick and efficient magical healing from the three of them after the end of the battle had managed to bring everyone back from the brink of death and avoid any casualties. Once the rest of their force caught up, Morgiana had quickly passed over the care of the ex-prisoners to them, and Karolus now watched as priests moved between them, tending to them both physically and spiritually.
While many of the saved humans still had depressed or hollow looks on their faces, Karolus felt that the atmosphere was more peaceful than it had been earlier, and assumed that the help of the priests was the reason. As they spotted Carloman and Karolus passing by, a ripple passed through the group, heads turning to follow them as they passed, and reverent whispers passed between the ones they saved. Uncomfortable at the attention, Karolus kept walking, while from the corner of his eye he saw Carloman giving the group a cheerful wave as they passed.
"Perhaps cheerfulness isn't quite the right mood for the moment, Carloman?"
"These people have had no cheerfulness whatsoever for months milord, surely it can't hurt to remind them that the emotion still exists in the world."
"Hmm, perhaps. You can be in charge of that then."
Carloman's grin seemed to indicate that was just fine by him.
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Karolus stifled a yawn as Morgiana brought up yet another issue for the meeting to discuss. They had been talking with the leaders of their accompanying force for the better part of three hours now, and Karolus had needed to say almost nothing, other than a short account of his fight with their two captives and a request that they be left alone. They had been completely suppressed by Morgiana's bindings, and remained where they had been defeated since there was no reason to move them. It seemed that the werewolf Lupusregina would occasionally attempt to break free of her bindings, but as her form change had expired she no longer had even the slightest hope of breaking free. The other prisoner, Yuri, had been determined to be a Dullahan, and seemed to be stoically resolved to her imprisonment for now. Karolus had requested that a tent be erected over them, which had got him a universal series of odd looks from everyone else in the meeting, but they had agreed without much complaint in the end - he couldn't bring himself to just leave human-looking foes out in the cold of night.
As the meeting finally drew to a close, everyone present began to leave in order to handle their own tasks, and Karolus once again found himself without a job to do for the evening. Morgiana had made it clear months ago that she wouldn't stand for him being given any tasks around camp, deeming them all beneath him, despite his repeated assurances that he would be more than happy to help wherever necessary.
I guess it's probably not a bad idea to keep me from making decisions, though probably not for the reasons they think.
Rising, Karolus stretched and left the tent, nodding to the guards who stiffened to attention as he passed out of the tent.
Maybe I should go visit these prisoners, I think I've given them enough time to cool down.
Passing through the camp, he quickly arrived at a clearing in the middle of the camp which surrounded a single small tent, which itself was surrounded by almost thirty armed guards, all looking inwards and looking thoroughly terrified at the howls emanating from within the tent.
Torture!? I thought everyone agreed to leave them alone!
Karolus picked up the pace, striding quickly across the field and through the ring of soldiers, who parted before him as one of them noticed him coming, and he brushed through the tent flap into the lit interior. Inside were two absolutely terrified junior paladins, who looked like they were ready to turn and run at the slightest provocation, as well as the two bound prisoners. The howls turned out to be in frustration rather than pain, as Lupusregina seemed to be trying to attack the roots holding her in place with her teeth, all her other appendages being thoroughly immobilized at this point. There was an aura of fury emanating from her that filled the room, but like most debuffs it didn't affect Karolus.
As he entered, the two paladins stood stiffly at attention, surreptitiously wiping away the sweat that had beaded up on their foreheads. Karolus recognized one of them immediately as the one with scary eyes who had failed at introducing them to the Queen in their first audience, but as she was the only one he knew, he turned to address her.
"...Neia, yes? How long has she been at this?"
The paladin seemed to jump, her face displaying abject shock that he knew her name, or indeed that he was speaking to her in the first place. It was really only luck that he remembered her name at all, as he'd heard soldiers quietly complaining about her scary face while they'd been riding over the last few months.
"Um...uh...about a-an hour my lord? I-Is something wrong?"
Karolus couldn't help but smile at her earnestness.
She's not really very intimidating as a person is she? Seems like an odd choice to join the Paladins. If only she did something about those eyes…
"No, nothing to be concerned about, just impressed at her stamina"
"She's, uh, bitten clean through three leather gags, my lord. I can go and get another if you'd like?"
"No, thank you, that won't be necessary."
Walking over to the struggling Lupusregina, she raised her head from her fruitless work to snarl at him, eliciting a quiet whimper out of the paladins behind him. The fury in her eyes was almost enough to make even Karolus turn his gaze away.
"I'm guessing you're not going to be a particularly talkative prisoner then…"
Stepping up to her, he caught a brief flash of fear in her eyes as she desperately went back to trying to break free.
That's a bit unfair, it's not like I'd hurt a defenseless prisoner; I'm a bit offended honestly.
Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a small silver necklace, which he deftly dropped over the head of Lupusregina, who turned and tried to bite him as he did so. The moment it settled around her neck, the aura of fear dropped away, and her persistent growling was silenced, leaving her mute - a fact which seemed to offend her even more than her imprisonment if her expression could be believed. He sighed as he straightened back up and turned to Yuri, who had been watching him carefully the entire time.
"That's a relief. I was always a bit sad you couldn't put the [Chain of Silence] on other people, it would have made for a lot less hassle when fighting casters that's for sure."
While he directed the comment at Yuri, he didn't expect a response, and indeed other than a slight narrowing of her eyebrows, she didn't respond. Reaching into his inventory again, Karolus drew out a camping chair and sat it on the ground in front of Yuri, sitting down as he started appraising her attire properly. His item appraisal revealed a couple of items that were common middle-tier items in Yggdrasil, but that didn't prove anything, as he had encountered other common magical items that were the same here as in Yggdrasil over the last three months.
What really caught his attention was the style of dress that the two wore, which was far nicer and more detailed than anything that even the Holy Queen had been wearing, and almost looked like maid outfits that he might have seen in a costume store. Additionally, the immediately recognizable cross on Yuri's chest was another thing that was out of place - Louis had seen no christian symbology anywhere through the holy kingdom, and his infrequent information gathering among the paladins had led him to believe there was practically nothing that even came close to any of the symbologies of the religions he was distantly familiar with.
The attitude I'm getting from her isn't what I'd be like if I was captured, and neither she nor I seem to recognize each other - she's certainly not one of the 41 guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown. Either they just coincidentally happen to look out of place and have Yggdrasil items, or they must be NPCs of some kind. Now how best to confirm it? I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.
"You wouldn't happen to work for Ainz Ooal Gown would you?"
Karolus thought he saw a flash of something in Yuri's eye, but he might have imagined it.
"We serve Jaldabaoth. Ainz Ooal Gown is our sworn enemy after his vassal Sir Momon interfered in our plan and fought our master, do not insult us by mistaking us for his servants."
The expression on Yuri's face as she finished was one of frustration, almost as if she felt bad for even saying the words coming out of her mouth.
"Are you quite sure? If you were servants of Momonga or the other members of his guild, I would be more than happy to release you if you would put me in contact with him."
"..."
A conflicted expression clouded Yuri's face for a moment, before her stoic expression returned, glaring at him in silence.
I'm...fairly confident that reaction means she's got something to do with Ainz Ooal Gown, but I can't be sure. I'd really like some information on the state of the guild if I can - it would be suicide to go into any sort of combat with the entire roster of the guild if they were hostile…
"Well, if you're sure. I guess I won't waste your time reminiscing about the victories I saw Touch-Me win then if it doesn't mean anything to you."
There was a sudden moment of real silence from the prisoners, with even Lupusregina ceasing her attempts to gnaw her way free to look at him with a conflicted expression, her eyes flicking between him and Yuri like a dog that had been caught breaking into a box of treats.
Too bad I never actually met Touch-Me in person, as he left before I joined the game, but I did watch the recordings of all his public fights at one point or another, including all his World Champion bouts. They should be a good icebreaker.
Removing the [Chain of Silence] from Lupusregina earned him another deep growl, but as he settled back on his chair and began to speak in detail about the victories of Touch-Me, he quickly had a captive audience, all four spectators in the room listening in silence as they hung on his every word.
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Hundreds of miles away, a far less pleasant meeting was playing out, though it was also dominated by a single voice. In the depths of Nazarick, Ainz had called together a meeting of the floor guardians to discuss the loss of Yuri and Lupusregina earlier in the day and discuss what their response would be. The flash of fury that he had felt when he had heard the news had led to him shattering his mahogany desk into chunks before the repeatedly activating emotion-nullifier calmed him down. He still felt a lingering anger at it, but time had tempered his rage. Albedo, on the other hand, had no such filter, and it showed.
Albedo stood over the unnatural sight of a cowed Demiurge, and had spent a good thirty minutes now berating him in front of the rest of the floor guardians, but by the looks on their faces they had no intention of stepping in and stopping the tirade any time soon.
*sigh*, I guess I need to step in or we'll be here all night…
"Albedo, enough. There is no further use for this, we must move on to the meeting."
"But my Lord! This wretched servant has failed you not once but twice now! How can we stand by and allow him to remain here, trusted, among your faithful!?"
"I have said it already, and I shall not repeat myself again - I will handle this at a later date. Can we please return to the purpose of this meeting?"
"...yes, my Lord. Of course."
With a final glare at Demiurge, she stepped back and finally sat in her assigned seat, leaving Ainz to breathe another sigh of relief in his mind.
"Well then, Demiurge, report."
"As you wish, my lord. I continue to serve as you command."
Ainz could see a look that was both haunted with grief and blessed with purpose on the face of the Demon as he finished his low bow and finally looked around the room.
"As you have all heard, as I returned from issuing orders to one of the demihuman forces, the portal closed behind me, and Shalltear confirmed that not only was it forcefully deactivated, but she was unable to open one in the vicinity."
With this, he gestured to a [Mirror of Remote Viewing] which was currently looking at a very wide angle view of a forest.
"High level anti-search and anti-divination magic is in play, and through trial and error we have determined that this is the estimated distance of the edge of the exclusion zone. If you look closely you can see a small patch of grey mist in the distance - that is the central location and where we assume they have set up camp."
Gesturing, he showed an image of a small force of soldiers making their way over the plains and into the mist.
"This is a recording of the arrival of the soldiers, who we have assumed have set up camp in the veil. We have not yet sent in scouts, but have tested the anti-scrying spells and determined them to be of at least the 8th level."
A loud crash echoed through the meeting, and everyone turned to look at Cocytus, who had dropped his fist onto his knee, the loud sound cutting across Demiurge.
"Enough. Wasted. Time! These. Foolish. Humans. Dare. Lay. Their. Hands. On. The.
Creations. Of. The. Supreme. Beings.
They. Must. Be. Made. To. Pay. Immediately."
There was a chorus of assent from Aura and Mare, before Demiurge regained control of the room.
"While I would love nothing more than to march out with our full force and crush these insects, we still do not know the extent of the enemy's power, and losing an expeditionary force could leave Nazarick weak. Lord Ainz has graciously confirmed that they are still alive and generally healthy, though they remain magically incapacitated - we assume they plan on using them as hostages of some kind in the meeting a day and a half from now. Let us wait on the outcome of that trap before showing our hand."
"That. Is. Insufficient.
We. Should. Face. Them. In. Open. Battle. And. Recover. Yuri. And. Lupusregina.
Lord. Ainz. Please. Let. This. Servant. Crush. Your. Foes."
Demiurge sniffed, put out that Cocytus of all people would dare question his plans, but his recent failures rested heavy on him, and he turned to Ainz with the rest of the room to see his response.
I thought we were just here to discuss the situation! I'm not prepared for this...hmm…
Taking a thoughtful pose, Ainz let the silence drag on in the room while he desperately figured out what the correct decision would be.
Demiurge's plan is still most likely the best, but will I seem weak if I don't act? Surely if it's Karolus' player in control, he wouldn't attack me on sight if I showed myself, but I can't say the same for his subordinates. Really wish I'd done my homework on him when I had the chance…
"The plan that Demiurge has developed should go ahead. I trust you with making amendments to the plan to suit the situation. That being said, we cannot simply leave Yuri and Lupusregina in the hands of their foes. Albedo, I give you permission to create a strike force to extract them.
They are to avoid unnecessary combat, and should attempt the extraction without being identified."
A look of savage excitement passed across Albedo's face, before she covered her mouth with her hand and bowed.
"Of course, my Lord. I shall most surely succeed!"
While he had not spoken up, Ainz could tell that Cocytus was dismayed about not having been chosen for the job.
"Uh, meanwhile, Cocytus: I am putting you in charge of organizing a full scale military venture if Albedo's strike team is compromised or captured."
With a loud rush of frosted air, Ainz saw his subordinate straighten, before bowing deeply.
"As. You. Wish. My. Lord.
I. Will. Not. Fail. You."