…Nazarick…days before the Fall of Philip…
Ainz was sitting in his private office with Albedo going over several documents pertaining to the war effort when the message from Climb's bodyguard came in. "Why would Zesshi Zetsumei wish to speak to me, I'm busy." He said, "And later you can explain why she knows you're there." He said with mild annoyance.
"Now Albedo, since Philip is marching forward with his army of incompetents, we need to make sure that there is enough food on hand for all the prisoners we will take, he'll be lucky if his army lasts a lunchbreak against the combined armies of myself, King Zanac, & General Nimble. It amazes me he could be so easily manipulated by so many people…just a moment Albedo, another message."
"A world item?!" Ainz said loudly. "I will be right there." Ainz stood up while Albedo beamed at him with absolute pride and adoration. "Zesshi Zetsumei, the Slane Theocracy trump card, has discarded her allegiance to them and is offering me their world class item along with her surrender. I will return shortly." Ainz said enthusiastically.
(AN: For details on what happened with Zesshi Zetsumei, read the side story 'Enemy Mine')
…Nazarick…Before the Throne of Kings…days after the Fall of Philip...
Vanysa skipped all the way to the base of the throne's steps and prostrated herself before her god. "Your majesty, I remember now, I remember everything." She kept her head lowered and her face a mere inch or so from the floor, this posture had a dual purpose to her. The first was always to show her abject submission to her divine ruler.
The second was to hide her shame, her capture, her failure to kill her captor, the way she was bodily degraded, ogled at, manhandled, and tortured with threats of violation never carried out…but always close at hand, and the fact that she'd lost the coins her majesty had given to her as a reward, he'd given her a gift and she'd had it taken away from her. She relayed the entire story. Her choked sobs interrupted her periodically as she came to things harder to describe, but he was her god, it was his right to know everything. He had his servants handy, and to relay her failure before them seemed…a fitting punishment. She felt the stares of Albedo and Shalltear the hardest.
She said the right things to them, things they would agree with…but they clearly did not like her. She felt their hostility whenever she was near to the Sorcerer King. Aura seemed to, but that was mainly a childish amusement. Demiurge…he seemed to find her pleasant to work with, but where she stood with him was harder to say.
Finally she got her story out in full, and she said softly, her face an inch above the puddle her tears had formed, "That is how I failed you my god, I am sorry I took so long to remember…I…I guess I blocked it out, I didn't want to remember that I wasn't strong enough, I didn't want to remember how I'd lost your gift…and…I didn't want to remember all that pain." She wrapped her arms around her waist from her prostrate posture and hugged herself as she remembered seeing a strip of flesh fall to the floor as it was peeled away from her arm, right down to the bone.
"First things first." Ainz said bluntly, "You killed yourself to protect what tiny knowledge you had, that is no easy thing to do. And I have not forgotten that you carved 'Faithful Servant' into your own breasts so that we would know, when your body was found, that you had given up nothing. While what happened was terrible, you should not feel as if you failed, you deprived them of the knowledge they sought, and that is a victory, not a defeat." Ainz said pointedly.
"Second, your coin is just…stored temporarily elsewhere. You will get it back." He said with absolute certainty. "Now, you have told us what happened, but I require the name, who did it?" Ainz asked in a voice that said answering this question was not optional.
Vanysa required several minutes to regain control of herself as memories tortured her. She felt herself reliving them all over again, every stroke of the whip, like an evil lover's caress, stripping away the flesh that hid her soul from view. She held her head in her hands as she stared at the floor and screamed as if the pain were newly made, her fragile and unstable mind not just remembering...not just 'rewatching' it all over again…but there, telling her it was new. Until the time of her torture as over, and other than her choked sobs and cries and falling tears, not a sound was made in the throne room. Albedo looked as if she were about to snap something out at her, but Ainz held up his hand to stop the rebuke before it began, and she returned to her quiet and purposeful posture.
"Astraka…" She said very, very softly.
"Again." Ainz said.
"Astraka." She said, slightly louder.
"Again!" Ainz said, his voice growing louder.
"Astraka! Astraka! ASTRAKA!" She said, her voice growing in power until it was a scream and she had snapped up to both knees and bowed her back and screamed the name to the ceiling, "King Astraka did it to me…he did everything…everythin' an ah couldn'a do nothin'. Ah promise ah trahd, ah trahd so hard, ah fought'im an ee hit me an all ah could do was jus wish ta die and beg yer fergibness till ah…till ah was alone an ah could cut mah g'bye sayin he didn win and bite mah tongue an choke on mah blood.. It hurt me so bad ahm so sorrah she wailed and wailed and wailed on her knees at the base of the throne as her speech faltered and the sparkling dancing eyes that Ainz had enjoyed whenever she teased him when he'd tamed the beastmen…turned clouded over like a corpse, as if something had died within her under his torture, as if she was not with them now in Nazarick, but was back in the dungeon feeling her flesh being peeled from her bones. "Ah gave im nuthin' ah swear, ah swear it, majesty."
"I know." The Sorcerer King said, and a dark pressure began to build from around his body that shook the throne of kings around him as, however briefly, his control over his power slipped.
"He can hurt you no more." Ainz said, "You are safe." His voice turned angry, "King Astraka…however…is not safe…King Astraka…is going to beg for death. Tell me Vanysa, do you think he can make good music?" Ainz asked.
That snapped her eyes back to clear and joyful, ripping her away from the mental state she had been bound up in, and now, the stormy gray green eyes flashed with a shine that rivaled the lightning of gray clouds, they were bright as fanatical stars, and she said, "If he does not…I will happily spend his lifetime teaching him. Can I your majesty, can I have him?" She asked softly.
"You can." Ainz said, "But first, I want to take everything away from him that he values. Only when he believes he has reached the depths of despair; will he know where despair truly begins. He will die ten thousand deaths before he has died even once!" Ainz shouted, his voice taking on a truly sadistic tone that made Demiurge and Vanysa both smile with joy as it echoed around the hall.
"First however, Vanysa, you have a task to tend to in the Draconic Kingdom, some of the nobles there need to die, painfully, and you are going to grant them their deaths, to legitimize and establish that Queen Draudillon is truly on the side of the population, and to begin the atonement for her past failures." Ainz said firmly, "Are you prepared for the task?" He asked.
Vanysa flexed the muscles of her back, and her wings emerged, and her horns grew, and her teeth became terrible fangs. She remained prostrate before her god, but the meaning was clear. "I am prostrate before his majesty ready to serve." She said.
A few moments later, the servant was gone.
"Sire," Demiurge began, "is it wise to put her to work so soon, she was clearly having trouble with her mental state…I'd swear she was reliving it all before our eyes."
"Growing fond of her?" Albedo teased him.
Demiurge harrumphed and pushed his glasses up towards his eyes, "She's a servant of Nazarick, of course we should consider these things, if she's put to work before she's ready she might fail, and that would not look good." He said.
Ainz considered his words briefly and then replied, "Think nothing of it, she is a Tisiphone Fury now, this will do her a world of good, odd as it may seem, I will have her visit with Pestonya of course, to help her cope with the return of her memories, but the nature of her mind is a single focus state, if she has a task, her mind won't return to that emotive place again, at least for a while."
"Now," Ainz began, did the rescues all go well? Any problems?" He asked.
"None, sire. The…safe houses…were safe for the captives, not for the captors." Demiurge said with a smile.
"Prisoners?" Ainz asked.
"None. The eight edge assassins eliminated the captors as a precaution first, and the last of the hostages were returned to their families today, per your instructions, after being given two nights of luxury in Nazarick as…compensation…for their ordeal." Demiurge replied.
"Good." Ainz said, "I wonder how long it will be before the Slane Theocracy realizes that their ploy was a failure?" He asked rhetorically.
"With their intelligence network crippled, they may not know for weeks, by that time my lord, most of Re-Estize will be back in the hands of King Zanac." Demiurge added.
"Has Zaryusu launched his support campaign?" Ainz asked.
"He has, and a number of villages are already raising the flag of the old royal house again, and he's due to arrive at the first large city today, he has had no need of attacking the northern cities of Re-Ulovale or Re-Bluemallashull, they immediately declared for King Zanac. Apparently, the nobles sent by the 'sort of' late King Philip were equal parts greedy and incompetent, and they were killed when people learned that King Zanac had invaded to reclaim the throne. One such noble was killed in a mutiny, another in a riot when he ordered that his guards kill peasants who were rioting over food…and instead the guards tossed the nobleman to the rioters and declared for King Zanac on the spot." Demiurge smirked as he recited all that very matter of factly.
"E-Libera has done nothing yet, but I doubt they will hold out. King Zanac will arrive at E-Pespel today, along with the Baharuth Empire's army and the undead force we dispatched with them." He continued.
"What of the captives of Philip's army?" Ainz asked.
"We have over one hundred and eighty-five thousand prisoners out of his nearly two hundred-thousand-man army. Five thousand were killed in the fighting, and this includes those who trampled their fellows to death or died of accidental injuries when they fled. The remaining ten thousand scattered to the winds and were allowed to retreat." Demiurge said with glee, while Shalltear and Albedo had broad smiles on their faces.
"Allow those prisoners not charged with any war crimes to have day passes, and further, allow them to perform tasks for us in exchange for pay…which they can pick up from Black Justice facilities. Also, inform all well behaved prisoners that there is land available to be purchased if they choose to remain. As the armies of General Nimble and King Zanac reclaim and restore order to the kingdom, allow these captives to travel back to their homes. And as one final measure, allow those who wish to continue military service, to undergo training outside of E-Rantel and prepare them as a supporting military to the Abelion Hills region, an additional five or ten thousand soldiers should be of some help." Ainz said.
"As you wish, my lord. In addition, General Enri has reported that Ikari city has fallen and she is currently rooting out slavers and other war criminals, and General Neia reports that the siege of Kasaga was a complete failure and King Astraka is fleeing for his life somewhere on the way back towards Hoburns, his location is currently unknown, but his destination is not hard to guess." Demiurge said with a clever smile.
"What of the elf king and the Slane Theocracy armies?" Ainz asked.
"They've reached the border of the Abelion Hills, and General Leinas is preparing a counter invasion to draw them away, in the meantime, Black Justice militia, per General Neia's orders, have gathered in force near Commonton, they number some fifteen thousand strong and growing, but that is straining their supplies, they need to be put to use. What orders shall we give, your majesty?" Demiurge asked.
Ainz looked over a map and pretended to think it over… "Send them in to the Abelion Hills, the demihumans there are few in number, and therefore a long term strategy for this must include the nature of the peace. By having them fight together, they will unite as one. But we need to do more. Summon Zesshi Zetsumei." Ainz said.
A few minutes later, Zesshi Zetsumei, former Black Scripture, former guardian of the treasury, knelt before the Sorcerer King. She had a peaceful smile on her face, like that moment when one realizes a wound that had long been troublesome, was finally gone and pained her no more.
"Your majesty has summoned me, and I obey." She said with glee from one bended knee.
"Today I begin to fulfill another of your conditions." Ainz said from the Throne of Kings.
"Your majesty?" She asked.
"You wished to slay your father, to take his life, for destroying the lives of your mother and yourself." He said.
Zesshi did not even hesitate to prostrate herself, it was instinctive, the desire of over a hundred years, long promised by her former rulers, now granted in a smattering of days by her new one.
"Raise your head, Zesshi Zetsumei. It may be a bit before that chance comes, but it comes fast. First, you are to take things from him." Ainz said.
Zesshi gave a cruel smile, "Everything, I will be overjoyed to take everything." She said.
"Good, you can begin by taking his kingdom. I will provide you with arms and support, and you will raise rebellion among his people, I am going to call for elf volunteers from E-Rantel to the resettlement lands bordering the Draconic Kingdom, I am going to offer them rune crafted equipment and supplies, and I will send them with you. You will then instigate a rebellion against his rule, promising the full support of the Sorcerous Kingdom." Ainz said, folding his fingertips together as he spoke, tapping the bones together in an almost 'clicking' rhythm.
"I expect due to his…behavior, you will have little difficulty in finding dissenters to assist you and given your own personal power, enhanced by items of your choice and augmented by runic gear, you should find taking Crescent Lake easy, I doubt very much he will have an interest in the Abelion Hills if his capital falls. The only question is…do you have enough power to face him?" Ainz asked, "Or do I need to send some assistance, such as Mare?"
Zesshi paused to think about that for a moment. "He did defeat my mother, he was more powerful than she was, but I also am more powerful than my mother was, I simply do not know if I can defeat him alone…he's said to be a battle demon who strikes with the force of a mountain. I was taught to fight in the style of the Black Scripture. We fight with fast and precise strikes at weak points, and I have…until Mare, never faced anything that required even close to my full strength."
She looked the Sorcerer King in the eyes then, and with a hard look she said, "However, chance or not, that is how I wish to face him, I owe a debt for the lives he's destroyed, and it has to come from me. If you will permit me, your majesty, I will fight him alone."
The throne room was silent as Ainz considered the matter. "Very well, however you will be given scrolls with buffs to use on yourself before the time comes."
"Thank you, your majesty, but may I ask for one more thing, as well as your forgiveness for this selfish desire?" She asked softly.
The guardians were silent, unsure if they were about to be pleased or angry.
"May I ask of you…a uniform of your kingdom…my new kingdom? When it comes time to face him, I do not wish to do so wearing the uniform of the people who ripped my heart open and spat in the wound?" She said with an ache in her voice.
"How much do you know of Black Justice?" Ainz asked.
"They liberated many elves, they overthrew the government of Prart, put down a demihuman raiding band, fought off a force sent by Remedios Custodio, rebuilt the capitol…they really…really hate slavery, and several other things." She said with a measure of admiration.
"Yes, to name a handful of their accomplishments. Are you aware that the Theocracy supported Remedios Custodio and was instrumental in her massacre of a city wide escape by elf slaves?" Ainz asked.
"I…no…I mean, I heard about the destruction of Wenmark, but not the slave massacre." She said softly.
"Wenmark made Kami Miyako look like a second Crescent Lake for elves." Ainz said bluntly, even Blue Rose endorsed its total destruction."
Zesshi sighed, "One more thing I owe the Theocracy for." She said, as if to keep count.
"Those elves who survived, did so because of Black Justice under Neia Baraja's leadership. Would you like to wear their uniform?" Ainz asked.
"Yes, my lord!" She shouted so loudly that the words echoed off the walls of the throne room.
"Then let it be done. First you will go to E-Rantel, you will be allowed to requisition whatever armor you require for yourself, you will then order the rune smiths there to provide you with ten thousand sets, there are many already made which have not yet been sent anywhere, therefore it should not be a difficult order. You are permitted to make use of the governor's manor as your headquarters, and the call up for the Elf Liberation Army will be sent out immediately. While you may hate your father, and rightly so, know that your elf heritage includes many people of good courage and will, and you will no doubt find many volunteers. I will have you provided with ample undead horses, you will rush as fast as you can to Border Lake, and you will be given wind scrolls and money for ships to ferry you along the coast, with strong winds you should be able to reach your destination in a few days, then you will disembark, and you will invade the elf kingdom from the east, on undead mounts with sufficient carts, you should be able to reach deep into the interior of the elf Kingdom in under two weeks. Three if you spend time raising ample rebellion. Demonstrate sufficient power, enough to show that you may defeat their king, and the elf king will have to return to restore order. He may or may not bring the Theocracy with him, but he will definitely abandon the Abelion Hills invasion." Ainz said with absolute confidence.
Zesshi could only listen in awe as he predicted his enemies' behavior and preempted them with his own to force them to dance to his tune. She remembered a brief conversation with someone in Nazarick the other day which mentioned that he had planned his rule out for ten thousand years, she hadn't believed it then…she did now. But what he said meant more to her than the world, and she gave him a rare thing from her, a very broad smile. "You called them people, sire." She said gratefully.
"What?" He asked in confusion.
"Elves, you called them 'people'. The ones who raised me…considered her to be livestock, you called her a person…thank you…for accepting 'all' of what I am." She said in a powerful and resolute voice.
"Sire, may I offer one other thing to you to express the depth of my gratitude?" She asked with respect pouring throughout the tone of her voice.
"You may." He said curiously.
"When I have won this in your name, and raised your banner over Crescent Lake and stuck the head of the Elf King on a pike…may I then go and bring to you the head of Cardinal Dominic Ihre Partouche?"
AN: Well I know some of you have been VERY impatient for this, still I hope the side story was entertaining for the last few days, I know this chapter is a little shorter than you were hoping for...but I like the ending point so...tough patooties. Going to take a break from world building beyond God Rising for a bit, I'd like to get a few chapters hammered out for this one. If you liked it, leave reviews, if you thought something could be improved, please feel free to say so, I like constructive criticism. If you would like to get an early look at new chapters, join the discord server (invite is to the right of the picture on the author page showing all the stories I've written).
NOW to the serious thing: Some time back, my secular community lost one of our own, a woman named Lucy Morgan, in her honor, we raised money to donate to a school oversees. This year, we're doing the same thing, we're trying to raise $300. This will pay for a class of secondary students books, materials, tuition, and food, at the Kasese school in Uganda. If you'd like to support this endeavor, you can donate at bdgiving dot org. Every time we reach 1/3 of the goal, I'll do a double chapter release day.
Thanks for reading!