God Rising: The Cult of Ainz
Written by: AtheistBasementDragon
Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots
Chapter 154: Family Reunion
...Outskirts of Crescent Lake...
The Captain of the Black Scripture looked at Zesshi with deep regret in his eyes. "We're with you, but before we do anything else, we need to bury our comrades. I'm not leaving them here to be eaten by animals, they deserved better than that, even the ones on the wrong side." His tone was bitter, and Zesshi did not begrudge him that.
"Agreed, but... who sided against me?" She asked reluctantly, only to be surprised when all three of the survivors shook their heads. "No. We're never going to tell you that."
"Why not?" Zesshi asked, her eyes widening with surprise.
"Because you should remember them all the same way, as your comrades. Bury them, remember them the way you should, I don't want this one bad choice to color your memories of them. Remember them all well, that is how it should be." He said solemnly as he put away his weapon.
Zesshi let that sink in for a moment as she traded looks with her aides, "Alright, we'll do it your way, we'll bury them and go into the city at night. I'll ask the Supreme Being for aid, there can't be too many down there, all we have to do is find them. Once we've gotten them out, I'll ask for his help drawing my father out, he's far away at Fortress Alaf, but I get the feeling he'll come right back here if he knows where I am."
"Alright." The Captain said calmly, "Let's go do this then." His voice was barely more than a whisper as the six of them returned to where the fallen lay. It had obviously been a brutal fight. Wounds were numerous and burns on flesh and vegetation were everywhere. The landscape was blasted straight to hell, shards of ice and rock had pierced trees and torn beasts to shreds, and scattered throughout this miniature hellscape were the bodies of elite Black Scripture members.
One by one the six people still standing, dug graves. They didn't rush the process, nor did they speak as it was done, with their vastly superior strength and stamina, it was an easy thing to do physically, but it was a mentally grim task. When the last grave was dug, Zesshi lowered her face to the empty hole and said, "Bury them with their equipment and everything for now, it will have to be retrieved, but don't leave them as naked, dishonored corpses, they can be properly wrapped and reburied later, with due honors. But this will have to suffice for the present."
It was an unasked question when she answered it, and the others complied, gently the bodies of their brethren were laid to rest, and then the dirt was piled back on top of them. They stood before the graves and bowed their heads in silence, and as they did so, Thirg and Tefl traded a look, and stepped away from the others, they tore some of the larger rocks that had been embedded into trees, out of the places they'd lodged themselves and brought them over to where the graves lay. One by one they put heavy rocks down to both mark and protect those spots.
"There, now they will lie at ease until they can be retrieved." Thirg said with a respectful voice. Time Turbulence looked over at him in surprise.
"Why would you do that?" He asked.
"They were great warriors, whatever else they were. Enemies or not, even an enemy can be respected. Die for the right side, die for the wrong side... you're dead either way, and the ones who die for the wrong side, can at least be remembered for having died bravely." He grunted and shrugged after he answered and then looked up to the sky, "How long before we move?" He asked, shifting the subject away from the dead and onto the living.
Zesshi thought it over, "We need to get into the palace, but we also need to find the way down to the space below. That won't be as hard as it sounds, we'll just need to find someone important in the city, and I can all but guarantee my bastard father has one of their family members hostage down there. They'll show us the way, whether they want to or not. So... give it a few hours more, then we move."
"Any special considerations?" Divine Chant asked curiously, "We don't need to like… cut off our ears or anything do we, I like my ears, they're pretty and I want to keep them as they are." She said in her songbird like voice as she touched her ears.
Zesshi thought that over for a moment. "Will you all trust me?" She asked gravely, "I mean really, because this isn't going to be pleasant for you, I promise."
They looked at her blankly, then at each other, "Yes." The Captain said, speaking for them all.
"Then hold still." Zesshi said and took up her scythe, she brought the tip of it to the back of the Captain's left ear, then as he braced himself, she gave a very dark laugh, lifted her scythe up away from his ear and slapped the butt of it down against the ground again. "You didn't think I was serious, did you?" She asked when he looked at her in blank confusion and touched his ears as if to be sure that they were still there.
She looked at him with a poker face, "Don't be absurd. As long as your hoods are up it shouldn't be a problem, I think the city is fairly depleted anyway. I doubt we'll see any guards, and none of them will care about a handful of people just minding their own business anyway." Zesshi said indifferently, and then narrowed her eyes and looked at her three comrades. "Just remember what it felt like to believe you were about to be mutilated, next time you look at someone who shares my heritage."
That brought a round of quiet reflection broken only by the sounds of chirping insects and leaves rustling in the winter breeze. Risking injury was one thing, standing still for mutilation was another. They quietly covered their heads with the hoods of their cloaks.
"The Theocracy does this to thousands of my race every year, my little sister, a girl who in human terms is barely more than a child, went through this, you've seen little elf and half-elf children like this, think long and hard about how unpleasant that moment was for you, stoic champions of humanity. Now imagine little ones standing in chains and waiting their turn for that to be done to them, turn a thought in their direction, and ask what you really want to defend. The one to be mutilated, or the mutilis?"
It was a mild rebuke, but it might as well have been a heavy one. They did not have the wherewithal to argue with her. A few minutes later, they were a group of elves as far as the casual observer was concerned, unusual looking, but nothing otherwise noteworthy.
Night came and the cloaks went on, "It really is beautiful." Zesshi said as they crested the hill again and looked out over the magnificent city, "To think it is ruled over by such an inept monster... well not for much longer." She said with a savage smile as they drew closer to the lake.
When they reached it, finding a dock was easy, the road led right to one. Boats, even at night, were making regular traffic back and forth, so it was trivial to hand over a few coins. The boat was of a small round shape that curved upward, a simple corracle with seats for passengers to sit around, while a small platform split it in two and a pilot or a captain would stand and paddle it in the desired direction.
The moon was bright overhead and the shining light danced over the waters. The lake was still as glass save for the places it was broken by paddle and vessel. The little brown craft, curiously enough, was obviously one solid piece, it had not been 'built' from cut wood. Thirg and Tefl looked smugly self satisfied at the barely restrained looks of awe from their fellow passengers. "Amazing what you can get a tree to grow when you're willing to put the work in to it." Tefl said as she leaned back and relaxed.
"Yes... very impressive." The Captain of the Black Scripture said mutely, his eyes widening as he took in more and more of the seemingly impossible city. The many branches and roots were only the most obvious feature, it was equally clear that canals, creeks, and waterfalls were no less common, the entire city seemed to exist as part of an idyllic natural landscape.
When they finally reached the other side, Zesshi got up, handed the boat captain a few coins, and they disembarked.
The boat rocked only lightly as they moved off, but they hadn't walked far before Thirg looked over at the other members of the Black Scripture, "Quit gawking like tourists. I know, my city makes Kami Miyako look like an unkempt horse barn, but pull your head from your fourth point of contact and try not to be so damned obvious." His words were a hushed correction said through gritted teeth, and the three surviving members had the decency to look a little embarrassed at the mistake.
"Sorry, we're not the Holocaust or Windflower scriptures, we're not used to having to do anything undercover. We go in, we hammer things until they die, we leave." Time Turbulence said with aplomb.
"Uh huh, well just treat this like any normal day and like you're not seeing anything unusual, we're going to one of the civil buildings here where the city's mayor lives, my guess is that he's still running things, or even if not, that his replacement still lives here, so we should have no problem getting who we need." Tefl retorted, "I'd like to keep this covert until we don't have to anymore."
"Alright, alright." Divine Chant said in a flustered voice with her face just a little bit flushed, "You don't have to be that way about it."
Tefl shrugged dismissively and kept walking.
Eventually they found themselves outside of a large wooden building that had grown out of the ground itself, the bark was still intact but had been polished to a shine, the smooth skin of the tree was almost reflective, and would have been, had it not been for the varying hues of green and brown and milky white that made up this unusual plant.
"Wait here, it doesn't take all of us for this." Thirg said and went to the door, he didn't bother with niceties, he simply ripped it open.
"Guess crime isn't much of a problem here, is it?" The Captain of the Black Scripture asked Tefl as he moved to stand next to her.
"It wasn't the last time we were here, and not much changes in this place." She smirked a little, "Except for our vile king, we generally don't have that many issues with each other, partly because there just aren't that many of us, partly because we live for so long, there's no reason to rush to get things when you know you'll be able to get it eventually if you just put a little effort in over time." She explained, as if showing off her race's 'superior' way of life.
"So... what makes the Elf King different?" Divine Chant asked as she touched her left ear as if relieved it were still intact.
Tefl frowned as her brother went inside. "We honestly don't know, nobody ever identified his parents, or family, or where he grew up, we don't really know anything about him, all we know is that hundreds of years ago he killed anybody who wouldn't obey, and set himself up as king, our women have been his dolls ever since, and our men, little better. Some have tried to kill him over the years... poison, magic, ambushes, a knife in the night while he sleeps, but nothing has ever worked... Zesshi is the first real chance we've gotten."
There was the brief sound of a scuffle within the house, a bitter refusal, and a little squeak of fear. "So... what's his name even, I've never met anyone who ever knew it." Time Turbulence asked curiously.
Tefl laughed at the question and waved it away with her hand. "He's only ever announced himself as the Elf King or the king of the elves, we don't think he has another name."
"Very strange." The Captain added.
"Very." Tefl agreed, "But it isn't like we have any say over it." She added just as her brother emerged from the house dragging an unhappy elf by the hand.
"This gentleman is going to show us the way below, aren't you?" He looked down over his shoulder at the wincing elf. He was slight and somewhat underfed, his blond hair was in bad shape and he looked to be in generally poor health but he nodded submissively and winced a little when Thirg's hand squeezed tight over his fingers.
"Yes!" He squeaked out, "But it won't do you any good."
"Sure it will." Zesshi said with a smile as she leaned down and cupped his face in her hands, "I have enough power to kill the bastard, and he's going to come right to me, one way or the other, it'll be a nice family reunion, and when it's all over, the age of sorrows for the elves will finally be past."
Her black and white eyes fairly danced with joy, so much so that even though their prisoner doubted she could win as she promised, he did not doubt that she believed that she could.
She straightened up, "Thirg, Tefl, the rest of you, let's move, I want this done before dawn."
"Right!" The five snapped crisply, and they made their way to the palace.
Every step sent Zesshi's blood boiling ever more, they could feel her anger crackling off of her like lightning arcing from the clouds and lighting up the night. It took everything she had to keep her killing intent in check when they finally reached the outer wall, a large root that grew from the great tree at the center.
"Hey, prisoner guy, where do we go, do we have to go all the way in or what?" Zesshi asked with a radiant smile on her face as she caressed her scythe.
He pointed to a part of the great tree palace. "Those branches include hollow paths, next to it is the throne room, pass through that, and that branch leads to a spot that teleports you down below."
"A permanent teleport site?! Come on now old man, you're kidding me?" The Captain said in denial, "That's impossible." He snorted, "You're trying to trick us aren't you?" He asked as he folded his arms in front of his chest.
"No! I swear! I didn't believe it either until... until they let me use it to go see my daughter after... after he was done with her on her first day there..." He clutched his head with his hands and his eyes went dead and hollow, as if numb from long suffering, "It's real, damn you…. All the hostages from all the hostage towns are under it and that is the only way in or out…." He said in a broken, tired voice.
"Alright, alright, I believe you, so... are we going to skip the tour?" The captain asked as he looked over at Divine Chant.
"Yes, definitely." She answered.
"Oh... shit. I hate flying." Zesshi said with an unhappy sigh, "But if it gets this done quicker... Just do it."
[Mass Fly] [Speed of Arrow] [Ball of Protection] [Weight of Mountain] She cast the four spells one right after the other, first they began to rise into the air, then shot towards their target, then a translucent vaguely blue ball formed around them, and finally by the time they hit the wall of the wood, they had enormous penetrating power, it sent them crashing in as if a mountain had struck the wooden wall. [Dispel] She said, and they dropped back down to their feet. The throne room was ornate, simple, and empty.
"Well, now what?" Time Turbulence asked.
"Now you do something for me." Zesshi said seriously and reached into her pack, she pulled out a series of scrolls, which she handed to Divine Chant. "Follow the path down the way he said, try not to kill too many, remember nobody here has a choice about fighting. When you're secure and down where the slaves are, use the message scroll, it will connect directly to the Sorcerer King. Tell him where you are and what you're doing and... who you are, and tell him I am in my father's throne room, that I am ready for the promise to be kept. He will do the rest."
"Wait, we're rescuing the elves? Are you joking?!" The Captain asked, more than a little disturbed by the prospect.
"No." Zesshi said abruptly, "One thing I've learned about all this is that in order to make one people, we have to work together. Remember what I said about a team building exercise? You and the undead monarch will be the ones who set the hostages free, it'll always be remembered here that 'humans' of the north, from among our enemy, helped save our people, and that will alleviate a lot of the bad blood that would otherwise endure for another age. I'll take care of my father, you just do this for me and... thank you again for staying by my side." She finished with a depth of sincerity in her voice that they'd never heard from her before.
"Alright, you got it. We'll go." Time Turbulence said and they took off running for the hall that opened up behind the throne.
Divine Chant looked back once and added, "Good luck, Zesshi!" Giving the woman a generous smile before she resumed dashing after her faster companions.
Thirg and Tefl threw off their cloaks and took their places at the right and left hands of Zesshi Zetsumei. "Looks like our big entrance got some attention, we've got company coming, why don't you take a seat and, 'welcome' them, Your Majesty?" Thirg said with a grin and pointed to the throne.
Zesshi looked at him as if he were absolutely mad before she remembered, "Oh... right, I'm technically a princess. Damn, that is still near impossible to get through my own head. I've never felt 'princesslike'."
"Well, get used to it, Your Majesty." Tefl added, "Please, sit down in 'your' chair." She mimicked her brother's gesture with a wide vampire smile, and Zesshi laughed at them both.
"Don't mind if I do." She said and sauntered cockily over and flopped herself down with seeming indifference as her two aides took up positions at her side just like loyal guards.
When guards and nobles and servants began to enter after having followed the noise, it created a bottleneck, in centuries nobody had ever dared to so much as touch the throne of the Elf King, let alone sit in it as if it were their own. Gawking people stopped in their tracks only to be forced forward by others who quickly froze to gawk in turn.
Zesshi chose to put a halt to it, "Come on in!" She shouted gleefully and waved them forward, "It'll be a pain to say this twice, so I'd rather have you all in here at once."
Elves began to shake themselves out of their disbelieving, frozen states and approached the throne.
She spoke clearly, crisply, and loudly to the elves who stood nearby, projecting her voice all the way to the rear. She sat with her back straight and eyes forward, doing her best to imitate the posture of the Sorcerer King on his throne. "My name is Zesshi Zetsumei, I am the daughter of the Elf King, by the human woman he raped over a hundred years ago, the one whose abuse started our war with the Slane Theocracy. I am also a General in the armies of the Sorcerer King, who fights against the Theocracy which abused so many for so long. In a few minutes, I expect my father will return from Fortress Alaf, he will come here, and I will kill him. When this is done, I will withdraw our people from the alliance with the Theocracy and we will instead join the side that has freed so many of our numbers. When my father arrives, I advise you to be out of this room, things will get very, very ugly, at least for a little while. Any questions?"
Of all the responses she might have expected, laughter was the last one, though in retrospect it shouldn't have been at all surprising. It started small, she sat and watched, then it was picked up by others, then others, then others, until the entire room was laughing as if she'd just told the funniest joke in the world. Thirg leaned over to her and whispered, "My Queen... a demonstration might be in order."
"Good idea." Zesshi said, and she tapped the butt of her scythe onto the floor by her foot, then when that did not get their attention she curled her lip dismissively and said softly, "Fine, the hard way." And she unleashed her killing intent, it swept over them so powerfully that their heads bowed in abject submission, many fell to one knee, a few fainted, but none was able to meet her gaze.
"I 'can' kill my father, and I 'will' kill my father. If you don't believe me, stick around and watch, it shouldn't be long." She let her black and white eyes sweep the room full of broken people, "Otherwise, get out, I'll send my servants out to retrieve you when it is over so that you can give me your loyalty."
It did not take long to clear the room. Zesshi scratched her left ear and looked up over at Tefl, "Say, do you think that was a vote of confidence, or do they just not want to risk getting caught in the middle of it?"
"I have no idea, one for some, the other for some, both for most, doesn't matter. But you've got a free hand and that's all that matters." She replied.
"I suppose you're right." Zesshi said happily, her heart was racing in her breast and she clenched her scythe tightly in her hand.
A gate opened in the middle of the throne room, "I guess they were successful, that looks like the Sorcerer King's work." Zesshi said joyfully. Any doubts about that were dispelled, when the muscular body of the Elf King flew through as if he'd been tossed like a bale of hay. He landed face first to the floor and as he rose to his hands and knees to stand up, he looked over his shoulder in outrage, but the gate was already fading away to nothing.
"Hello father, welcome home." Zesshi said happily, a broad smile spread over her face and her fingers twitched in anticipation. Her duelist armor black as the dark half of her hair, but etched with little red markings of runecraft, was like a second skin. It moved and rippled with her muscles and the little marks glowed the shade of blood as if it sensed she was readying herself for a fight. "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time now, and it's time for you to pay for what you've done."
AN: Just some news... I did the audio reading of the first chapter of 'God Rising' and uploaded it to YouTube. Urls are censored so... y00toob dot com slash channel slash UCzY5dLZitYen7LiNkW1mmgQ
I've also posted it to the 'God Rising' projects channel of my discord if that'll be easier. I plan on doing a chapter reading about once a week, and I'm told my voice is fairly good for this, take that as you will. Thank you to everyone who supported it. Next up is illustrations for an ebook. Once that is completed, aside being given away to everyone for free, I'll be sending a copy to the original creator of Overlord as a kind of 'thank you' for making something so fucking awesome. I'm told he likes fanfiction, so this seems appropriate. Big steps will follow in the chapters ahead as the last four cities of the Theocracy come under attack and the great leaders under Ainz Ooal Gown and those from beyond his borders, come together for a conference to settle how the post war world will be (I've been fondly referring to it as: The New World Yalta, a reference which history buffs and those with Wikipedia access will understand). Neia's character as you'll note up to now, has gotten a fuckton darker since the story began and she was a character who tried to talk Remedios down without violence, but... this probably puts the Neia of the Synod into context, her evolution is far from over, with some good and some bad along the way for her before the end. But having already written the final ending for God Rising... you're going to love it, I can say that with certainty.
And yes, there IS a sequel in mind but... I may not end up writing it, that remains to be seen, I was actually thinking I might dabble in the Tanyaverse after all this is overwith. Thanks for reading of course, and obligatory plug: patr30n dot com slash tellingstories has my original Isekei work on it. :)