...In Kami Miyako...
Raymond went over the first piece of material. "Handor is dead, and we've successfully framed Black Justice for the deed. With our people filling the council, the first thing they...or should I say 'we' did is 'appeal' to the Slane Theocracy for help in restoring order from the 'insurrection'."
"Are they actually rebelling?" Dominic asked in idle curiosity.
"Does it matter?" Berenice asked, "It only matters that we have an excuse to say they are. Remedios's actions have resulted in reprisals, some priests have been murdered, the fact is that the only difference between loyal citizen and rebel at this point is who is in charge, since they get to say who is what. Had Caspond lived, our people would be called rebels, hell Remedios essentially was. Thanks to Handor, we turned that around, now that he's a martyr and we've blamed the right group, our council is in charge and we've got Black Justice branded as rebels. We essentially rule the Holy Roble Kingdom now."
There were some smug grins around the table, the Sorcerer King had been thoroughly outmaneuvered now.
"He may be a clever undead, but with all of our heads together, we're vastly superior." Maxmillian said confidently. "We now have the upper hand, he can't invade without casus belli, and such an invasion would set off a chain reaction that might even draw Argland to support us, and even the Sorcerer King wouldn't like to face all of us at once."
"Gentlemen this worked because we thought ahead, everything from Handor's edicts to the call for our 'help' being prepared and even the advance movement of our soldiers to prepare to send them into the South, would have been impossible if we were simply always reacting, it was our preparation that made us successful here, we shouldn't forget that lesson. Now that we're proxy rulers, all we have to do is send our scriptures and our armies in, and even Black Justice won't stand a chance against all our precautions." Yvon added.
"With our orthodoxy dominant between here, there, and Re-Estize, we should have enough support in the temples to defeat the heresy coming out of the Baharuth Empire, and with heresy in the Holy Kingdom obliterated, well that should be the end of this damn cult!" Dominic said with satisfaction and venom filling his voice.
That was when a messenger dropped another report in front of Raymond, a report from Thousand Mile Astrologer.
He read silently for a moment as his colleagues looked on expectantly.
"Wenmark is no more...its gone." He said in barely a whisper.
"What do you MEAN Wenmark is no more?!" Dominic shouted in outrage.
"I mean it doesn't fucking exist, what don't you grasp?!" Raymond snapped, his frustration with Dominic's temper was more or less constant, but he rarely let it spill over like it did just now.
"HOW! What happened?!" Dominic snapped back.
"If you would stop interrupting, you'd find out!" Berenice snapped in return. "Its damned hard to get a full report out if you stop every three minutes with a question that is going to be answered anyway if you'll just listen!"
Dominic settled back into his seat, sullen and angry at the rebuke as Raymond continued to read the report.
"A rebellion began by a group of elves, the city caught fire, every human is dead and the elves are gone." He said softly.
Five other mouths were about to start shouting when he raised his hand as he looked at the paper in front of him. "There is more...this is strange, all the human children...they're all gone...all of them. Thousand Mile Astrologer went above and beyond on this one...she reached out to our contacts in Remedios's ranks before submitting this...and what they tell us is that she showed up at the city, killed many elves trying to escape, but left to chase down more of them, and when she came back to the city after linking up with the rest of her army...everything was burned and destroyed. They searched the entire city, the bodies of the elves were gone, the children were gone, all that remained were the thousands and thousands of charred human corpses some killed by fire, others by weapons, but whatever it was...everyone is indeed very...very dead."
"Probably she couldn't believe what she saw." Berenice said solemnly.
"Does she know where the children went?" Dominic asked, his voice taking on a subdued tone that was not characteristic of his usual behavior.
Raymond flipped through the pages. "No, no idea." He said softly. "One other strange thing, the center of the city was completely untouched except for soldiers who were blockading every road into and out of it, they died apparently instantly, fell where they stood, nobody even attempted to flee as near as we can tell, they simply fell over dead and burned where they were. My guess would be that they 'thought' they had somebody cornered and did not know who or what they were dealing with, and that was when this magic was unleashed."
There were collective swallows by the cardinals. "Anything else?" Maxmillian asked.
"Neia Baraja and Black Justice were clear participants, Remedios saw Neia herself atop the wall. They even traded words."
Yvon frowned. "Neia Baraja is not a magic caster, the most we know she can do, aside from a few martial arts, is imbue her arrows with power, she's good...but she's not...well not capable of THAT." He said as he waved his hand towards the report.
"The Sorcerer King." Dominic said. The other cardinals turned to look at him.
"When I met with Jircniv to seek his assistance, to ask him to stop the Synod and to try to coax him back from his current course, he warned me about this, remember? He said the Sorcerer King had more spells like those he used on the Katze Plains. This had to be one of them." Dominic's voice was regaining its temper and its urgency.
"Well...what can we do about it?" Raymond asked.
He was met with silence, the only relief they felt was that they had an unquestioned diplomatic victory that would keep the Sorcerer King OUT of the Holy Kingdom in an official military capacity.
...Sorcerous Kingdom...Nazarick...
"How much of her body do you have, Demiurge?" Ainz asked as he looked down at the thorough mess of a corpse, it was impossible to say how much was really there, bits of arms, legs, fingers, and...lots of messy guts littered the table.
"Thanks to the efforts of Kyouhukou's children, we actually have most of it. I cannot put a precise number on that, but excess of 90% of her body is present on the table." Demiurge said with ample confidence, "More than enough to facilitate a resurrection if an item is used, and even if it isn't, with your limitless magic, I'm sure it would be trivially easy for you to do."
"Yes, I see..." Ainz said as he took out a wand, similar to the one used on Neia when she had previously died, she'd returned from beyond with a new job class, one incredibly useful to himself as it turned out, idly he wondered if that was related to his absurdly high 'luck' stat, and whether or not that would happen with this one. 'Only one way to find out.' He reasoned in his own head.
He held it over the remains and said, "Raise dead." He watched as the organs and 'mush' that made up the body began to reassemble themselves, moving and writhing as they came together, the body had been so badly mutilated that it took longer than usual, but gradually it took form, the shape became human, ample breasts took shape, and long golden spun hair grew out to its former length, delicate features and cyan eyes went from dead and glassy to full of life, and then she began to breath. The bare breasts rose and fell with a rhythmic pace that was common with good health, and the eyes of a living woman stared upwards in shock, confusion, and fear at the skeletal face of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Ainz had forgotten the issue of her lack of clothing when he used his wand, but it was impossible to ignore now as the naked woman tried to sit up, and blushed deeply at her nakedness. Ainz was glad that he could not blush, as it would have ruined his solemn intentions. He took his cloak off, and draped it over the woman.
"I see you're awake, Queen Calca." Ainz said, forcing his noble voice to remain calm and collected, as she looked around in confusion. "W-where am I?" She asked.
"You are in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, my home." Ainz said politely. "I apologize for your lack of clothing, I'm afraid there was none with you when your remains were reclaimed."
"My...remains?" She asked, her already pale skin going from a red blush to a more pale white. "I was killed, I died?" She asked softly.
"Yes, you were killed by Jaldabaoth during his attack on your capitol." Ainz said.
"Then how...?" She began.
"He used your body as a club, and kept your corpse with him for quite some time, he finally 'tired' of doing so and threw what remained of you into the council chamber where I was meeting with your surviving leadership, including your brother, King Caspond." Ainz said.
"Please...tell me...everything?" She said, her royal voice cracking with emotion as memories began to return to her.
"Your nation was all but destroyed by Jaldabaoth after your death, the survivors came to my capitol and asked my help. I provided it, I killed Jaldabaoth and assisted the North in its resistance, your brother was made king, the demihuman army was destroyed, I conquered the Abelion Hills after my first attempt at defeating him failed...I'm afraid I miscalculated and used to much mana helping your people, however my second attempt was a success, and that was sufficient. After that, I was assisting my squire, one of your citizens in overseeing the rebuilding. Things have taken a dark turn since then."
"Why...what has my brother done...?" She asked, shock filling her voice and her body began to tremble as she took in all that she was hearing.
"Died, unfortunately." Ainz answered, "He was assassinated, a man named Count Handor took over..."
"I know him." She said with a grim and much displeased voice. "He is as corrupt as they come, I'm sure any reconstruction efforts first served his own ambitions. I was never able to justify his removal, he wasn't that stupid, but with him as king..."
Then her brother's death hit her, and she brought her knees up to her chest, bent her head forward, and began to weep. Ainz placed a skeletal hand on her shoulder, offering her his sympathy as best he could. "Caspond...no..." She whispered softly.
"There is...more, if you are ready to hear it, if you wish to wait..." Ainz trailed off on the offer as she shook her head.
"I have a duty to hear it." She said softly, wiping her face clean of tears.
"Count Handor became King Handor, and King Handor became a corpse. While all this was going on, Remedios Custodio attempted to exterminate those who had chosen to follow my ideals, and after her arrest and escape...well do you remember how she felt about the undead?" Ainz asked, and she nodded numbly.
"She declared that anyone who followed me was not a human anymore, and she's killed many of those I worked to save, most recently at Wenmark, do you know the city?" He asked.
She nodded numbly, "Southern Kingdom, prosperous, strong ties between their rulers and the Slane Theocracy, reports filtered my way about cruelty to prisoners, I heard some...bad things, I had thought to send some people to investigate under cover of a trade mission, but then the invasion happened and...I guess I died."
"It was worse than you know," Ainz said, "Wenmark was engaged in the enslaving of elves, their females were concubines or breeding stock, their males were laborers worked to death or the lowliest of servants, the squire who served me became an important leader, and undertook a rescue attempt, trying to help the elves escape. Remedios killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, no way to know...before she rode off pursuing another group of them, inside the city, everything went to hell and the entire city is now a burned out ruin."
She stared at him in shock. "Can I...see?" She asked.
Ainz nodded, "I can take you through it, yes."
"I mean...am I not a prisoner?" She said, letting one of her fears be voiced.
Ainz let out a sigh, a gesture that shocked her since she knew the undead did not breath, she concluded that he'd learned to mimic the living to set them at ease, and her estimation of his ability as a ruler jumped up more notches.
"Hear me out," he said, "Handor has been killed and a council staffed with Slane Theocracy friendly persons has taken control, the edicts put forth and the framing of those who followed my ideals have given free reign to exterminate all those who served under me, all those who fought for your kingdom, all those who followed my ideals of justice, and because your nation 'invited' the Slane Theocracy, and because my servant is nominally a mere citizen of your country with no authority over it of her own, she is now considered a criminal and any action of my own would constitute an invasion. Do I need to explain the ramifications of that?" He asked.
She shook her head, "No, I understand, the form matters as much as the action, if you act while they're under invitation, you're the aggressor occupying a peaceful nation that is just putting down a criminal insurrection."
"Precisely." Ainz answered, "I must adhere to diplomatic norms...ruling is so...complicated, even when trying to do what should be done." Her estimation jumped another notch as he expressed so simply the frustration that she had felt herself so many times, she felt the power of his noble voice and the overwhelming power of his presence, even the simple gesture of a touch on her shoulder spoke volumes of his compassion and understanding. She felt a certain kinship with this king, but he had not answered her question directly so she chose to ask it again.
"Am I a prisoner?" She asked, meeting his glowing red eyes, it was a vital question, it dictated her treatment, her life, her fate, perhaps even whether she survived the next moment.
"No." Ainz answered flatly and she sighed with an abiding relief.
"How long as it been?" She asked.
"Several years." Ainz answered.
"Why wait so long to revive me?" She asked curiously.
"The paladins refused the attempt previously, as there was a chance you could be revived as undead." Ainz answered truthfully, "I admit even now I was a bit reluctant, some do not wish to be revived after they die, and I assumed they would know your wishes and that you would not want to risk coming back like me or worse...but the truth is I need you." He replied.
She felt the answer like a slap to the face, she felt as if she'd been rejected by her people, she was horrified by what she had heard Remedios had been doing, the ascent of Count Handor, the manipulation of the Slane Theocracy, a sister nation no less...it was all to much, she wanted to cry, but she held back her tears and listened on.
"With you revived, you can be returned to the throne." Ainz answered, and instantly she understood what he intended.
"I am your just cause." She said, "With my life restored, I am the rightful queen of the Holy Roble Kingdom, I can authoritatively depose the Slane Theocracy controlled council, I can deal with Remedios, I can order the removal of the Slane Theocracy's forces if they enter my kingdom. I can set things to rights." She concluded.
"Your reputation for intelligence is not baseless I see." Ainz said.
"Will you help me?" He asked as bluntly in return as she had asked after her status.
"If I refuse...do you take my life, imprison, or hurt me?" She asked, the shock of all she'd heard sending numbness into her voice.
"If you refuse, I will offer you an estate in exile in my kingdom, or if you wish to return on your own and see what you can accomplish, then I will provide you with an escort to your border, and order a Black Justice...those are my followers, or an adventurer team I'm paying for, to get you to your capitol. The choice is yours and I will honor it, I swear it on my name." Ainz said, but the oath was unnecessary, the power of his voice thudded into her with the certainty that air filled her lungs.
She thought long and hard, "What do you want...if I accept your help?" She asked, her noble voice sounding meek as the impact of her death, her shattered nation...her nakedness, all exposed how powerless she was, all she had was a status that was currently denied her, what chould she offer an undead king? If he were a mortal, even a demihuman, she could offer marriage and heirs to him, but her body was useless to a skeleton who was already immortal and so had no need of heirs.
Ainz raised his hand and began to tic off his wants. "First...a complete ban on the slave trade, including the use of convicts in bondage, that is the loophole they used in Wenmark and they got away with it under your nose for I do not even know how long. The second, permission for my followers to practice their faith openly and freely, in all the ways that they are called to do so, and just so you know, this does not include harming anyone except in self defense. Third, we open trade routes. Fourth, the expansion of my postal system, and finally...I want war crimes trials for all those who have abused the innocents who adhered to my ideals of justice, or who perpetrated violence on civilians at all. This guilty, I expect to be permitted to punish myself, save for those you deem it necessary to punish yourself."
"You..." She could scarcely believe what she was hearing, she didn't know what the devil that postal system thing he mentioned was, but the rest of it, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"You're not demanding half my kingdom? You're not demanding to plunder my treasury, you're not demanding I marry someone convenient for your interests...?" Her voice was filled with disbelief, "You're asking for a pittance, for nothing really." She wanted to let tears out, she was no fool, for all the naivte asserted about her, she was a Queen, she was a ruler through and through who had a matchless mind that even her brother acknowledged so well that he stepped aside for her to be the first female leader of her nation in all its history, she knew the ways of politics as well as she knew how to care for her own body, and this did not make sense to her, he could demand nearly everything, yet he was hardly asking for anything. It occurred to her briefly that he might ask so little because all she might have to do is appear in the capitol and she would be restored to the throne, but given what she knew of the Slane Theocracy and its methods, she knew all to well that they would never let that happen, in all probability they'd just kill her and pretend she'd never been there in the first place.
"Why?" She asked.
"Why what?" Ainz asked in return.
"Why are you asking so little?" She clarified.
"It would be unjust to demand everything of a woman who does not even have clothes on her back. The throne is yours, the people who follow me however, depend on me, an unworthy king forgets that, I will not be an unworthy king." He responded firmly.
She felt the iron in his voice, and she saw the servant of his nearby looking visibly moved, she couldn't disbelieve him, she couldn't find it in her to doubt he was anything less than the pinnacle of nobility, that which she aspired to be, he already was.
She swung her legs over the side of the table she lay on, the cloak that covered her front fell away, leaving her naked again as she descended to one knee in front of the Sorcerer King with her head deeply bowed. "Lend me your strength Sorcerer King, restore me to the throne, help me right what has been made wrong, and I swear to meet all your conditions, or die in the attempt."
"I have one more condition." Ainz said, and her heart thudded in her chest, threatening to burst through her breast, was this it...was this the moment when the hammer of limitless demands came down on her desperate head?
"...Yes, Sorcerer King?" She asked through trembling lips as her courage threatened to flag and falter.
"Get dressed." He said, and Queen Calca blushed all over...all over again.
Ainz took up the cloak and covered her body again, giving her a rush of gratitude that her modesty was restored, "Demiurge, have some clothing brought for the Queen, first we must make her status known, then we will begin to right the ship of state."
The next few days were heady ones as Calca was given guest quarters in Nazarick that befitted a noble woman, maids of incomparable beauty attended to her and meals were like unto those prepared for gods, the drinks alone would rock the most hardened noble to their core, and this time was not idly spent. Ainz had invited to his home, not only Jircniv, but also members of his diplomatic corps, as well as diplomats of the Draconic Kingdom, Argland, and Re-Estize, people who knew the Queen from having met her at official gatherings before, so that they would know beyond doubt and spread the truth, that the true Queen of the Holy Roble Kingdom was restored to life and able to rule again.
...Arwinter...Royal Palace...
Jircniv relayed the events to his favorite woman, and she tittered a great deal. "He really got them didn't he?"
Jircniv nodded firmly, "Oh yes, the Slane Theocracy did not know who they were dealing with, I warned them, I tried to warn them." He said, shaking his head as he sat next to her in bed, happy and at least momentarily sated by their urgent lovemaking.
"Now that she's restored, she's the rightful heir, but they can't let her have the throne again with the Sorcerer King's backing, and they haven't a chance in hell of assassinating her while he is having her guarded, which means they can either pull out entirely or they can stay and be the invaders, and we both know what they'll choose to do, don't we?"
Jircniv sighed heavily, "We do. They're stubborn, being out maneuvered like this will frustrate them, horrify them, but damn those fools...they saw the way my lord shattered my attempt at resistance in front of them, he destroyed our chance to ally against him in one blow and brought me under his authority without a fight, how can they have not thought he would have planned for this...did he plan for this...oh by..." He paused as he locked eyes with his woman.
"He did, didn't he?" She said. "It makes sense no other way but that he planned to restore her to life just when the Theocracy was most invested and could NOT pull out, not without handing him the entire kingdom just months before the Synod. How many others know about her?" She asked the emperor.
"The Draconic Kingdom's Queen is probably hearing about it right this second, I'm sure Zanac already knows as well by now, and the Argland Council is probably hearing about it too, I was the only actual ruler to appear there, no doubt because I'm his vassal directly, but with my diplomats who had been there before in tow, well even if I had doubts before, I wouldn't now. She spoke just like her, looked and moved, the Argland Council diplomats were more insistent on thoroughly questioning her, and in doing a magic exam to ensure she was indeed human and not controlled, nobody doubts their skills...now that we all know the truth, there is only one side we can be on. Though the Argland Council will stay neutral, that is a victory unto itself. I'm...so glad I'm on his side now." He said with relief.
"Me too." She said, "Now turn your attention away from nations and back to the bed my love, let the Sorcerer King finish his diplomatic checkmate, you've got something else demanding your attention." She said as she threw the sheets on the bed open and moved to stradle him again.
"Ahhh, its good to be the emperor." He sighed as she lowered her weight onto him, the earthshaking events of the world forgotten as the shaking of the royal bed drew his attention again instead.
AN: I trust you find the start of the next arc to be to your liking. If not, to late, you already read it. ;) Reviews are urged, they tell me that the story should continue, and I love hearing about the things you liked, wanted to know, want to see, and so on.
To the reviewer who said he was feeling down, well I hope this cheers you up even further.
And to the reviewer who asked the following:
How many part will god rising have: Around 80 chapters, give or take. Total parts...well honestly as much as I've drawn it up, that can adjust somewhat depending on the fine points, what looks like a good break point now, might not look good in practice so we'll see.
If the story ends: It will, unless I die, I WILL finish the story.
Will you consider doing another one following the ending of god rising: Probably not. This will probably be my last Overlord fiction, once I've told the story I want to tell, time to do new things, and I have other projects waiting for me.
Also will Tinamoc be present there: IF I did another fiction, he might be a minor character encountered briefly, unless it was centered in his sphere of influence, bringing him in would be awkward at best.