...Before the Argland Council...
The Platinum Dragon lord stood beside his counterpart, the Obsidian Dragon lord, in front of them were their peers on the council, no sooner than they had returned than an urgent summons had gone out to all council members to return for the report of what they had found, both officially and unofficially.
"We spent a week in the city," the Platinum Dragon Lord said, "and I found a world of amazement. In my official capacity I was present when I accidentally learned just how far the Sorcerer King will go for his servants. One of them went missing, an ordinary human, and for that he launched an army. I toured his city, and found that he is widely worshiped as a god, while other temples remain open, their members decline not because of oppression, but rather because the people see HIM as a god more than the absent silent dieties of old. They worship him in many ways, but for them worship is an act of reflection on their morals and a decisive call to action, they worship through their service to their fellows, and neither make nor tolerate distinction between human and demihuman, or even human and heteromorph. He has encouraged education, and shapes children's minds to think creatively and he rewards innovation with success and status. His administrators are incorruptible and his methods are fair. I believe him when he says he does not hate life, he has enough power to bring death wherever he chooses, but he chooses not to do so. While I would like to know more of him personally, from distant observation, he is a king we can deal with. Therefore I recommend expanding our trade relations with him and that as a 'friendly neutral' nation in the war we passively support him by selling minerals at low rates to the dwarves, and providing a 'wartime discount' on raw materials to his country."
This produced some muttering among his peers. The Worm Dragon Lord spoke up, "That is...generous, but if we compensate the merchants for the loss, how will that impact our budget? Can we afford it?"
The Obsidian Dragon Lord spoke up, "A better question is...can we afford not to? While he was there officially, I moved in a subtle fashion, not announcing myself, I searched for a seedy underbelly and could not find one, I sought out poverty, and found that a myriad of programs were established to help the poor escape their conditions, he paid for their children to attend school and learn to read and write, among other things, so that they would not be bound to the fields, the unemployed were provided a stipend to stave off the need to resort to crime to stay alive, and this was tied to both a land grant, job training, and job location program so that they could learn a skill, own a farm, and find honest work. The 'toys' we brought back are marvels of magical workmanship and he promotes this extensively. Yes there will be a cost to favoring his nation, at least to the budget, but the greater cost is doing nothing and being ignored or worse, considered less than friendly. He fights a common enemy of ours, and if we forget that, then we may as well forget common ground. While we must steadfastly maintain our independence, expanding our relationship with his nation cannot be a bad idea, too...think on his victory, if he achieves all his aims, he will control all the land of the Slane Theocracy, the Draconic Kingdom will not stay independent for long, and the Roble Holy Kingdom's Queen will only have her throne because he put her there, he will rule most of the world and we will be among his last independent neighbors, do you want to be a brother nation to that...or a rival?" He asked.
It was a hard question, and it was met with a long silence. The votes on trade terms and rebates and wartime generosity to the Sorcerer King easily prevailed, and the terms were settled on easily, and dispatched by messenger, with confidence they made the right choice.
...Outside Prart...
Skana was all smiles as she rode out the gate, she had seven thousand soldiers behind her, many of them had gone through training guided by elites like Sebas or Cocytus, trained in Nazarick per the administration of Robel & Gilcrest, and they were equipped with the finest runecrafted gear that the dwarves could make. Riding on undead mounts raised from countless scrolls and used on the cheaply purchased dead horses, these summoned mounts did not disappear, did not feel pain, did not tire, did not feel hunger or thirst, and did not feel fear, and they were much...much stronger than their living counterparts.
Leaving Neia behind was hard, but Skana was smiling because she felt invincible, like she couldn't possibly lose, and her spirit of victory was infectious, though it was also shared independently by the competent fighters who rode out with her, they had learned to fight in a realm of the gods, and had been equipped in ways that those veterans of the war against Jaldabaoth could only DREAM about.
It was an otherworldly feel, with the black armor and cloaks, the finely made swords, they felt light as air, strong as giants, energetic as colts running wild. It was a heady feeling, but they were not going out to confront the army they knew was on the way, rather they had another goal, they rode out from the city and began to loop far around it, they ate up the ground like fire ate up dry grass in high winds. Skana leaned in as they galloped on, there was no need to spare the untiring mounts, and gradually they began to break off. First there was scout removal, they needed to deprive King Astraka of his eyes and ears, so they broke off in groups of twenty, riding out into the countryside while village militias gathered their forces under Gustav Montagne. After a few hours of breaking off small groups, there were five thousand riders remaining, and this one had another task. Skana knew that an army marches on its stomach, they couldn't march if they couldn't eat, so she was tasked with raiding the supply depots and caravans of food, a soldier with no food is already out of the fight...if the fight is days away. It didn't take long to find the first one. One of the Astraka backing towns, when they reached it, the gates were shut and there were soldiers manning the walls.
She called her five thousand to a halt, and they arrayed themselves against the town in an intimidatingly perfect line, they held still as stone statues, while on the walls, their spears swayed and even from a distance, it was clear that those on the defensive were afraid.
Skana raised a white flag and approached the town. "Who speaks for you?!" She asked. A hard looking man came to the space over the gate. "I do, I am Takra, military governor of the town of Lampiole."
"Will you open your gates and surrender?" Skana shouted.
"Never!" He said. "I will not allow my town to be burned!" He shouted back.
"Nor do I wish to burn your town!" Skana shouted in return.
"I will not allow my town to be plundered!" He shouted back.
"I do not want to plunder your town!" She shouted.
"Then what do you want?!" He shouted in confusion.
"Per the agreement of our god with your king, the willful destruction of all citizen property is a serious crime, in our faith, as it defies the justice decreed by our god, it is also a sin, therefore I must avoid all needless destruction. However I cannot allow your military supply to continue to flow to King Astraka. If I must go through you all to get to it, then I have no choice! BUT...if you surrender, I can spare every single one of your soldiers, I can guarantee their lives, and I swear in the name of my god...Ainz Ooal Gown, Sorcerer King...my Queen...Queen Calca...and my beloved...Neia Baraja...that the ONLY thing to come down will be those places which are responsible for supplying the King against us! Now what say you!" She asked.
He appeared hesitant.
"You have perhaps five hundred armed men beside you in front of you, you have perhaps seven thousand men women and children behind you, and I have five thousand veteran warriors with enchanted equipment behind me. Do not die for nothing!" She shouted passionately.
She looked over the walls, they were low, only about eight feet high, it would be easy to ride the horses up to the walls and use them to jump up the rest of the way, or even for one man to climb up from another two assisting him. She shook her head regretfully and looked over her shoulder, "Draw bows! Prepare to fire!" She shouted.
Bows came out and arrows were nocked in one single motion...five thousand times behind. "Form double ranks!" The line began to stretch the entire length of the wall, it was now impossible to defend it all.
Takra wavered, but fear of failure was greater than his fear of death. "Bows! Draw and loose! Don't take the time to aim, just shoot!" He shouted and dove for cover.
The exchange of arrows was brief, Black Justice archers outnumbered the smattering on the walls by well over ten to one, even with the protection of the walls, enchanted bows with rune craft symbols were far better than the simple yew mass produced for underpaid guards. It was...in its own way, awe inspiring to see the desperately outnumbered guard force try to stop the considerably larger force. But it wasn't really worth much, and people dropped like flies from the wall.
"First rank! Advance and mount the wall!" Skana shouted, Second rank, covering fire! Cease at breach points!" The advance was quick and large and the handful of soldiers that tried to resist were either put down by arrow fire or died quickly when they tried to defend their position against overwhelming numbers, any one they kept back just had to wait until someone got up the wall on one side or the other, and then they were outmaneuvered.
Takra drew his sword and defended the barred gate, but against three Black justice fighters, he was quickly cut down, and lay bleeding on the cobblestone inside the gate, while four members of Black Justice opened it. The arrow fire had ended, and Skana rode in, the people of the town hid in their homes, making it appear as if the town were deserted. Someone moved Takra's body out of the way, and the undead horse simply rode through a puddle of blood. She was followed by members of her army moving four abreast behind her. "Stow bows! Ready Swords!" She shouted, and five thousand swords being drawn at once created quite a sound, sound enough to keep most peasants inside their homes. There was one objective, and under iron discipline, they held to their course. A large warehouse near the garrison post, built of wood, it wasn't much of a structure, but it held enough food to feed thousands for at least a day. There were a dozen or so guards who had remained to defend the structure, but at the sight of so many advancing on them, they cast down their swords, went to their knees, and raised their hands.
"We surrender! So please...don't hurt us!" They shouted, fear etched on their faces.
"Today you live, per the edict of our god, we are prohibited from taking the lives of those who do not oppose us. Go to the gate, check your wounded and see them healed, warn them not to oppose us again." Skana said menacingly.
They scurried off and stumbled away as fast as they could. Skana approached the gate with her sword out and kicked it open, she entered, and found that yes, there was an abundance of food there just as she had expected.
She walked back out, "I need five hundred men!" She snapped, "Empty this warehouse, distribute a half sack of grain to every citizen in this town, man, woman, and child, inform each one that we are leaving thereafter. Do not take a single thing, do not buy a single thing, absolutely no destruction! If I find that anyone has so much as siezed a hat, I'll see them hang for it! All the remaining food in the warehouse, goes to Prart, I need twelve men, and load the military supply carts and take them back. Follow our planned line of march to reconnect with us afterwards!"
The orders were swiftly carried out, and when the warehouse was empty..."This...this we can burn!" She shouted, and within a few minutes she was watching the flames rise, she wondered if any of Astraka's people could see it. She hoped so. She felt a malicious grin on her face, this was nothing but a skirmish, but it was a blow nonetheless.
...In Prart...
Neia went over the supply lists, the ranks of soldiers continued to grow, as did the supplies of food and grain that were coming in, but soon enough she'd find that changing, and more importantly, traitors were a possible issue, she knew from the books in Nazarick's library that most sieges were lost from the inside, she remembered the impossible city of Byzantium that fell because one idiot forgot to lock a door and it allowed a tribe called 'Ottomans' to bypass the city's defenses. That had been a powerful facepalm. It was only marginally better than if somebody had opened it for them.
She needed a way to ferret out potential traitors, there had to be 'some' way to do it reliably...
...Hoburns...
Astraka walked the line of soldiers, they were a disciplined lot, a number had gone out yesterday, but here was another division, proud, strong, well trained, in gleaming armor that made him smile with satisfaction, good soldiers made for good ruling, and he was confident that his were among the best in the world now. The martial culture of the Holy Kingdom had not dulled over the years, and he was a proud member of that line of greatness, yes, everything was going to work out just fine. He moved to the front, time for a little encouragement.
"Soldiers! Today you go out to fight for your King, for your nation, for your gods! You go out to fight against servants of the undead and their phony Queen, you go out to fight for your glory and your honor, and to make an eternal name for yourselves, etched into history forever, serve with honor, break those who would break our ways, and we will make the nation that we DESERVE!" He shouted and raised his sword.
"Astraka! Astraka! Astraka!" They shouted back with raised swords and spears of their own.
King Astraka had a very wicked smile...and...for some reason, his mind went back to the river corpse he'd had disposed of, he wondered how much of her body was left now, not much...he was sure of that, it still irked his conscience a little bit...but just a little, after all...she was just a peasant, and who really cared on a personal level what happened when one of those animals died?
...Gustav's formation...
"We have our orders." He said, "We're to keep watch on the border wall, and when Remedios crosses it with her army, we are NOT to engage, we are to observe and continue to gather our strength."
The soldier in front of him sighed, "But sir...she burned my village, she killed my parents...how do I do nothing?!" He said with anguish.
Gustav sighed, "By keeping your sword sheathed, soldier. Listen to me, the chance WILL come to face her, but we are not fighting for ourselves or our personal revenge, no matter how justifiable, we are fighting to win a war, we observe, we report, we wait for the order to engage, and we continue to gather strength, do you want to attack her and fail, or succeed?" He asked.
The soldier looked glum. "Succeed." Same here, "We don't throw lives away like dust, we fight to win, if you want to die for nothing, you're in the wrong place." Gustav said firmly.
"Yes sir..." the soldier said, "Can I at least volunteer for the scouting expedition, I can at least play a larger role in bringing her down."
"That you can do." Gustav said, and the soldier lit up happily. Idly, Gustav wished every problem were so easily resolved.
...South of Carne Village...
General Enri rode her horse at the head of an army, her goblins were a fierce sight indeed, but it was so surreal to see humans, goblins, ogres, dwarves, and others all marching in unison towards the border with the Slane Theocracy. She'd studied hard in Nazarick, the goblin strategist had helped immensely, the training scenarios, the simulations, the dry runs, learning logistics and military orders and drills...the time when she'd been an illiterate peasant girl fleeing a pair of knights with her little sister seemed so...far away now. Now she was the leader of a large population, and a military commander, wife of the greatest alchemist in the known world, educated, literate, able to think and act dynamically and perform tasks that seemed like the magic of nobility once upon a time. It seemed like it was the first true opportunity to repay the kindness of the magic caster that had saved all their lives. She took a deep breath, this was the most important thing she'd ever done, perhaps the most important thing she ever would do. In all her youth, all she'd ever known was the harvest, but now this was something new, but all to familiar, she would be harvesting lives, a bloody harvest that would change the state of the world forever.
...North of the Katze Plains...
General Nimble rode next to Emperor Jircniv, they were marching with sixty thousand soldiers, their goal...E-Rantel, the city of the Sorcerer King that had become his administrative capitol and one of the trade capitols of the world. If the Sorcerer King was right, then within a matter of weeks, perhaps sooner, civil war would be on Re-Estize. And if it was one thing the Emperor did not do anymore, it was doubt that the Sorcerer King was right.
"What are you thinking General Nimble?" The Emperor asked.
"How bizarre all this is. I've seen many things, I saw the massacre at the Katze Plains, but...to imagine us walking into E-Rantel as its defenders against an invasion that hasn't happened yet? I don't know what to say?"
Jircniv laughed, "Well I don't blame you, but such is the way of the world now, everything is going to change, and look at it this way...we are inside the wheel and helping it to turn, the ones we're going to see are outside of the wheel, and it is going to crush them underneath as it rolls unstoppably forward."
General Nimble nodded..."Well, at least it is nice to know we're going to win."
"Yes, it is." Jircniv replied, and they rode in silence for the rest of the day, save for the constant noise of falling armored feet.
...General Zaryusu...
It was strange to lead dwarves and Quagoa as well as lizardmen and frogmen...but it was better to lead them all than to fight them all, and they made for the mountains of the dwarves in earnest, they would link up with dwarven units there and focus on securing any mountain passes, if they were lucky, nobody in Re-Estize would be intelligent enough to think to attack the empire over the mountains, but Zaryusu remembered what he'd learned in the Library of Nazarick..."One is secure against defeat only when prepared against attack." And so they would secure the passes, hold it firm, and dwarven engineers would work to build defenses that secured them against potential assault. It was a large task and of vital importance. Zaryusu wondered if he should have felt resentment. After all the Sorcerer King had killed some of his people, conquered, and subjegated them. Still, he hadn't been unjust in his rule, indeed his people were prospering more than ever before, their numbers increased rapidly and their infrastructure was expanding to allow for more, they had stopped struggling to live just day to day and had started to think of themselves as a people with a future, trade with the toadmen had benefitted both groups, and between the engineering of the dwarves and the mining of the quagoa, roads and fish farms were feeding more and tying them ever more firmly to a wider world had ever increasing benefits, merchants were now showing up from as far away as the empire and even the Draconic Kingdom, bringing new goods and new ideas. In the end, it turned out to be a good thing, so he shrugged off the lingering resentment of the defeated, and turned his attention to the promotion of their greatness under a just rule.
...In the Abelion Hills...
Leinas Rockbruise struggled to maintain her sense of reality as she looked at the ranks of demihumans and undead, there were twenty thousand demihumans and thousands of more undead in front of her, and here she was their general, there were Nagas, Sprigans, Stone Eaters, and many other species, it was nowhere near the massive army that had been together under Jaldabaoth, but the casualties had been so high that much of their population had been exterminated, but now here they were enough of them that even if they could not fight and win, they could fight and delay, her scouts had reported large numbers of both Theocracy forces, Elven armies, and Astrakan Loyalists were coming to the Abelion Hills from both sides. The demihumans now felt what the humans must have, years before when they had invaded under Jaldabaoth. Now it was there turn, but they were not without allies, she knew from communication with Gilcrest and Robel that Black Justice fighters were gathering in the thousands to defend the advance into the Abelion Hills, and the irony of their dependance on humans for their safety was not lost on them. It left her a more free hand to defend against the eastern front, but she had little hope of long term victory without reinforcement.
...Nazarick...'Harvesting grounds'
Olasird'arc Haylilyal was in a lot of pain. That was a regular thing for him, being skinned again and again, every time their supply of scrolls ran out...or every time he healed naturally when that happened, he ended up losing skin and scales to a demon far to powerful for him to ever challenge. In the end, it could be said that he had entered a broken state that no dragon ever had. He had no more will to resist, no more will to fight back, and he envied Heijenmal who had the sense to submit willingly.
Now he was staring into the face of the one who had killed him with ease, Ainz Ooal Gown.
"I've come here to make you an offer Olasird'arc, will you hear me out?" Ainz asked reasonably.
"Does it involve an end to pain?" He asked desperately.
"It does." Ainz answered.
"Tell me, please I beg you tell me!" He said with wide eyes as he lay still, unable to move under the force of the chains which bound him.
"I am now entering a war to change this world forever, and despite being as weak as an ant next to me, you are strong compared to many in this world, and I would use that strength to save many lives." Ainz answered.
"How?" Olasird'arc said.
"You will fight for me, you will carry warriors, supplies, and personally fight against my enemies, you will show them the power of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and aid in my victory. If you do this, while you will continue to surrender skin to me, you will no longer be a prisoner as you are, your sentence will end, and the skinning will be done with no pain whatsoever. You have the right to refuse my offer, but I would not, were I in your position. As a bonus, if you serve well, I will erase the memory of your torture, you will only be left with the memory that you know it is best to serve me." Ainz answered.
"What has my clan said?" He asked.
"All of them are willing surrenders, as are the other dragons and the frost giants you once called enemies. Do as I have commanded, and you may see your mountain again, you will be paid for your work and for your skin, your attempt at taking my life will be forgiven, and you will guard the dwarves against any threats, you will in time, have a better life and more wealth than you ever dreamed...or...if you prefer..."
Ainz stepped aside, and Olasrid'arc saw Demiurge...and beside him, a horned winged woman of some other species he did not know, who had very sharp looking claws and eyes filled with bloodlust and a cheerful smile.
"You already know Demiurge, this is Vanysa...she's got a...musical talent, and she wants very much to try it out on you, Demiurge has told her all about your singing voice, so she's perfectly comfortable with you saying no. So...what is your answer?" Ainz asked.
"I accept your offer, my breath, my scales, my claws, my wings are yours, only remove the memory of torment from me, grant me what you have offered, and your enemies will freeze or bleed until they are no more. But I ask one more small thing, before my memories are wiped, let me see my eldest son, and tell him he was right about the power of knowledge, it is why he is out there...and I am here. That...and my own foolish arrogance." Olasrid'arc said, noting the pouting look of disappointment on the sharp fanged Vanysa.
"Excellent." Ainz said. "Set him free. Now come along Vanysa, there is someone you need to see, or rather, someone who has something to say to you, and something else we must do." She looked disappointed, but she flapped her wings gently and flew after him with nothing but a pout.
...Kami Miyako prison...
Climb lay there reading another book when Princess Renner passed through the gate again, he never knew when she was going to come or go, but it was always exciting when she did. They ate dinner together, they talked, and she filled him in on the latest news.
"Climb, its going to happen, the noble faction is on the move, they're under the leadership of a low ranking noble named Philip...I've met him, he's a nasty simpering egotistical incompetent...but don't worry, everything is in hand, I might not be able to come back for awhile since I have a part to play, but this war won't last, the Sorcerer King is going to set everything better than it was before all this began, father will be avenged, and you'll be free, can you bear it just a little longer?" She asked.
"For you I would bear dragon flame." Climb said with iron conviction.
"Good, just be patient." She said, "I have to go, but this quick visit was at least enough to let me endure what happens next." She said, and as she turned back to the gate, Climb could not see the mad smile and wild eyes that had taken over her face, he knew only that his golden princess was doing what needed to be done, and that was all he needed to endure more of this.
...E-Rantel...
Philip was on top of the world, just as Hilma had promised, the other nobles had responded to his call, even those who outranked him technically, he was after all, the one who had the right backing, tomorrow they'd be moving out in earnest, they'd sweep away the nobles of the royal faction, and within a few weeks he'd be Philip the first...King of Re-Estize, then he'd invade the Forest of Tob with a nomal justification of routing out the escaped members of the royal faction, and attack E-Rantel by surprise, with the Sorcerer King's capitol in his hands, surely the overblown reputation of that lone magic caster would shatter, and people would flock to the banner of the heroic Philip, and in no time he'd be master of the known world...maybe he could even have that beautiful Albedo...women loved men with strength after all...it was a pleasant thought to have as he lay under the covers, and he fell to sleep with a happy smile on his face.
...Draconic Kingdom...
The Sorcerer King had informed her of his coming that day, and as a result, Draudillon was equal parts nervous and relieved, he'd heard that the girl had been found and was being brought to see her, she had also been told that she must have all the responsible nobles gathered in the courtyard for him to address personally.
Queen Draudillon & Vermillion worked overtime to be ready, everything had been perfectly cleaned and Queen Draudillon was perfectly sober, the nobles she had charged with the financial future of her kingdom were all assembled in the courtyard, and they were expecting a measure of praise for their abundant work on behalf of the Kingdom...while quietly wondering if there was an excuse to be found for further lining their pockets as a result of whatever was to happen next.
The Sorcerer King stepped through the gate, and Vanysa approached behind him, she looked perfectly fine, the same as when she'd left, and Queen Draudillon put her hand to her chest and sighed heavily with relief. Both she and Vermillion bowed to the Sorcerer King first, and then the Draconic Queen took the initiative and approached Vanysa. "I'm...very sorry for what happened to you." She reached out and took the girl's hands in hers. "I did not know you'd been robbed of everything by my nobles, and it was my job to know that was happening, therefore it is ultimately my responsibility. I'd like to restore everything to you that was lost, and accept whatever punishment your master decrees for me..." The queen looked down embarassed, bowing her head, and Vermillion standing beside her did the same. "I deserve that much, I should not have sent you home without an escort, I'm just glad you were not hurt." She said softly.
"I was." Vanysa said softly.
"Oh you were healed?" The Queen asked.
"Sort of...but first...I was tortured to the point that I killed myself." Vanysa said. "The Sorcerer King tells me that my back was ribbons, all the way from my shoulders down...to my feet...that my breasts had a final message carved in to them, that my nose was broken and my tongue was bitten off, I was broken, bruised, and badly abused, and I must have killed myself to keep from saying anything to whoever took me."
Queen Draudillon and Vermillion looked stunned at this clinical description of horror. "I am alive...but I'm different now." She said, and flexed her back muscles, popping out her wings, and to late remembering she was not dressed in such a way that allowed their emergence without tearing her clothing...regrettable, but...demonstrative, she fluttered her wings lightly, hovering inches higher than the Queen stood, her fangs sharp and her claws like needles, "Now I am this, a fury of the Sorcerer King, restored to this new state as an agent of punishment and retribution." Her voice was calm, clinical, and cold, even though her face was cheerful in its expression.
"And you are here to punish me?" Draudillon felt resigned to this.
"Nah, ah came here fer yer apology, and yah done given me tha, yah didn't do nothin on purpose, but ah wanna know who took me, them ah gets to play with, them ah gets to punish." She said.
"That I cannot even guess." The Queen answered.
Vanysa pouted. "Ah wasa fraida that." She sighed. "Majesty," she said to Ainz, "Can ah have one a them nobles ta play with at least?"
"Very well." Ainz said magnanimously. "Queen Draudillon, who among them is the worst of the worst in every way." He asked.
"Count Lancoptra." She said without hesitation, "Not only is he a thief, he is a killer, I know beyond doubt that he has killed at least ten of his own peasants...but I could never find a way to bring him down, he commanded to many men and to do so would have brought down the whole kingdom." She said regretfully.
"Perfect." Ainz said. "He is yours Vanysa."
She prostrated herself to the King, "Thank you for your generosity master." She replied, her bouncy voice disappearing and bloodlust rising.
"Now, lets pay a visit to them, show me to your balcony Queen Draudillon...oh and...do stay with me to watch, this will be...illustrative of how I see corruption."
She and Vermillion nodded at one another and bowed their heads obediently, within a few minutes a very human looking Vanysa stood a pace to the left of the Sorcerer King, while the Queen stood a pace to the right, and Vermillion just behind and center to them both, allowing him a view as well.
In the courtyard, drinks were flowing freely, and servants distributed delectable morsels, while musicians played in low gentle tones to maintain a jovial atmosphere. When the Queen clapped her hands from above, all went quiet. "Servants are dismissed, the nobles alone deserve these words!" She shouted, and they looked smugly back at her.
"First, may I have Count Lancoptra step forth, for I understand he is most deserving of all of this." Ainz said in his booming kingly voice, a self righteous looking bloated man with a beard on his neck swaggered forward and bowed arrogantly to the balcony.
"At your service." He said.
"Very good." Ainz said.
"First let me inform you and all your compatriots of why you are here. Some time back I rewarded this girl with great wealth for good service, and as she sought to use that to live a better life, you all conspired to rob her of her wealth, you left her in the gutter to die in poverty and hunger in a hovel not fit for a stray dog, in doing so to a servant you have stolen from me as well, and thieves have no place in my world, and that is all you are, mere thieves who are incapable of the tasks laid out for you by an honest...but far to trusting Queen."
Protests began, but Ainz began to release the pressure of his aura. "I would not bother speaking to you beneath me at all...but I believe all should know why they are being punished...and why they must die. Vanysa, sieze the Count, and do with him as you see fit."
Her wings sprang out and her form shifted, "As yah say majesty!" She said with a cheerful look, and she hopped down from the balcony, she took Lancoptra by his neck beard and began to rise up into the sky, "Hiya, I'm Vanysa, pleased ta meetcha." She said as she took him up and began to have her fun. Blood began to drip down from above as mad and joyful laughter rang out, but down below, nobody could find themselves to care. The pressure Ainz was exerting continued to build...and build...they fell to their knees, and then to their stomachs as they were crushed by the weight of his power. Please for mercy rang out at first, but eventually they could not even open their mouths, until at last...as Vermillion and Queen Draudillon watched in absolute horror...the bodies of the nobles were crushed into a red paste before their eyes, and the pressure immediately ceased.
The blood that dripped down from above became a rain, and it finally ended with a head falling down to the courtyard and rolling like a ball away from where it landed, followed quickly by a bloated neck bearded body that further stained the stone ground. When Vanysa landed, she was a blood soaked mass of gore and happiness.
Ainz looked at the two and said to the Queen, "Now...find better nobles, do not force me to pay another visit like this one."
Draudillon & Vermillion knelt in submission, "You will not, I swear it sire." She said.
"Good." Ainz said, and Vanysa smiled happily and gave a little wave behind her as the gate reappeared, and they returned to Nazarick.
AN: Thanks for everything you all, you'll notice this is a triple release, and the reason for that is...thanks to the donations to bdgiving dot org, among a few other smaller actions, one larger goal was accomplished, you who have donated, have paid for the tuition, uniform, books, school supplies, and food for a class of students at the Kasese school in Uganda. So...I figure...fuck it...triple release, y'all earned it. Enjoy. If you'd like to support this fan fiction effort, you can donate to bdgiving dot org and continue to act like slave drivers and get me to shell out double release days. :)
Because if you don't believe in a better world, and you're not doing anything to make it...what the hell are yah doin?