They vanished.
Lakyus turned to face Aura and Wololo, her eyes watery and red.
"Don't worry, I've just sent them back to the vicinity of some small town." The leonin spoke, and walked over to her. "They'll live, as long as they don't try anything stupid. As for you, now you serve me."
"..." Lakyus's bitter face was one of reluctance, of pain.
"You may hate me, but cooperate and serve yme well, and you will be rewarded properly." Wololo turned to tap on the dark elf, "Aura, see her to her new room, and give her a briefing. I'll be at the workshop. And clean her up a little, she looks so miserable."
"Yes, Wololo-sama." Aura bowed.
Wololo then teleported away, in a flashy transformation into vines and flowers.
Aura then turned to look at Lakyus and gave a nice, warm smile. "It'll be good to have another woman around the house. So cheer up, and come with me. Your friends are alive. So as Wololo-sama said, play along and everything will be fine."
Lakyus, still rubbing away the tears in her eyes, reluctantly obeys, and followed her through a different flight of stairs.
"Why can't I have that old room?"
"It's not suitable." Aura spoke, and they soon arrived at a room. She pulled out a metal key, and unlocks the door. She then hands over the keys to Lakyus. "This is your room. Wash up and change into something you like."
"Wow." Lakyus gasped. The room was like a little princess's room, with plenty of natural lighting and a beautiful bed. There was a few cabinets and a lovely dressing table by the side. There were plenty of soft colors, pink, baby blue and peach, so the room exuded an aura of cuteness. "Its a little… overwhelming."
"We're not too familiar with human tastes, but the dwarven architect that designed the room said this was the design human girls love, so we went with his expertises. Let us know if you don't like it."
Aura then walked over to the cabinet, and opened them, revealing a few different sets of clothes.
"And some new clothes for your duties."
Lakyus quickly walked over and inspected what was her new clothes, and turned to Aura.
"What… exactly is my duty again?" She asked, while looking carefully at the clothes they prepared for her. A few of them were dresses, and some of them were fitting shirts that's normally worn beneath armor. The nature of the dressing made her wonder whether her job is to bear that mad squirrel a heir.
"Ah… we'll get to that." The dark elf then sat on the small sofa in the room.
Lakyus grabbed one set of the new clothes and went into a small changing room to change, out of her dirty, torn clothes. In about a minute she came out, in a new set of shirt and pants.
"So… sit, and let me explain what actually Wololo-sama has in mind… and how you fit in."
Lakyus then sat down on the chair opposite the sofa.
"The supreme beings have decided to have a contest, a battle of their skill and prowess. And rather than fight it out themselves, they have decided to select natives of this new world to fight for them."
"Wait. Supreme beings?"
"Yes."
"With an 's'?"
Aura looked at Lakyus quizzically. "Oh. Yes."
"Is Wololo a supreme being?"
"Yes, Wololo-sama is one of them."
"And… who are we competing against?"
"Ainz Ooal Gown-sama. The leader of the Supreme being, the overlord of death. A very powerful undead elder lich."
"Huh?!"
"Wololo-sama and Ainz-sama are supreme beings, our gods, and they are having a competition. It is battle that requires you mortals as representative of the supreme beings, as we, the beings of Nazarick are not allowed to compete." Aura was a little annoyed at having to repeat herself. But she is tasked to brief this mortal, and so she will.
"So the supreme beings do battle, and I selected to fight for Wololo?"
Lakyus tried to mentally process what she just heard.
Am I caught in some conflict between the gods? The gods have now descended and are selecting us mortals as their champions, to fight a war by proxy?
"Yes. Finally you get it. So you will also assist us to train some new people. And just help Wololo-sama win this battle of the gods.."
Battle of the gods.
Lakyus waited a while. More of a stunned silence, really.
There is more than one person with Wololo's power? Thinking about it, she felt a strange chill pass through her body, and faced the realisation that the world will change, whether she liked it or not.
They were teleported far away, to a vast grassland close to a border village, Carne Village.
All of them were awfully quiet. They were beaten, and humiliated. All four of them were overwhelmed, and in the end, they may have forced Lakyus to submit to whoever captured her.
Tia touched her skin, wondering how normal it looked. A while ago, it was covered in scars and cuts, and she was bleeding. Insects and worms were crawling and biting at every part of her, and though her body is perfectly fine, she still feels them. Crawling.
Tina too, went through the same torture, and for her, it was the worms. Them crawling and pushing their way into every part of her gave her a kind of shock she didn't know before. Not even in her assassin's torture training did she encounter such sadistic ways of inflicting mental pain. Her skin felt it, her ears felt it, certain parts of her still felt it. Her eyes were weak, and in her mind, what she needed now, was sleep.
Gagaran fared slightly better, the pain that she felt has since numbed, and psychologically she wasn't scarred as bad as the two assassins who experienced the various insect tanks. All she got was various slow cuts and intense pain from the strange liquid the torturers sprayed on her body. Physically painful, but it fades in time.
Evileye on the other hand, was knocked unconscious. She had far better tolerance for pain as a vampire, and so the physical torture that was attempted, mostly didn't quite work on her. But it was not the pain that worried her. For her, this was a threat that exceeded that of the evil deities, and the world needed to be prepared, or be swept away by the incredible power that this enemy faced.
As each of them nursed their pain and worries, they slowly walked, and eventually arrived at Carne Village.
There was a strangeness in the air. One that was different from previous defeats, and the team somehow was missing it's usual cohesiveness.
And without Lakyus, perhaps them together as the Blue Rose, will end. Looking at the eyes of Tia and Tina, there was something that changed in them. There was a kind of fear in their eye, a deep, gaping hole.
To Evileye, it felt like she lost at least 3 of her friends that day.
"Let's rest at this village, alright?" Evileye asked, finally arriving at the village's gate.
Tia and Tina could only muster a nod. Gagaran could still smile, and reply. "Yes."
Carne Village.
The guards of the village looked at them cautiously, and a few armed goblins appeared, took combat position, ready to strike.
"Who are you, and why are you here!" One goblin yelled.
Evileye responded for the team, noticing the unusual presence of a goblin in a human village, but they were too weak to fight. "We need food and shelter."
"Go call the boss." Evileye overheard them speak, and some footsteps were heard. The Blue Rose, or at least the two assassins were in no mood for a fight, and if the goblins chased them away, they would just leave and camp somewhere in the forests.
A bit more footsteps and whispering, and eventually, a young, cute-looking girl appeared on the wooden tower. She looked 16, and had a radiant smile that greeted them.
"Sorry, the goblins didn't hear you clearly. Who are you again?" Enri asked.
"We are the Blue Rose, an adamantite ranked adventurer group, and we'd like to rest in your village."
"Oh." Some more whispering happened, but in about 30 seconds, the wooden gates were opened. The young lady earlier was at the gates, ready to greet them.
"Sorry for the trouble, we don't have much here to satisfy high level adventurers. But we'll give you what we can, some simple food and really basic beds..." Enri was modestly describing her village's facilities.
"That'll do." Evileye said as the team walked slowly into the walled village. She noticed the walls were somewhat new, and the goblins were the primary group manning and patrolling them.
"It's my first time meeting the Blue Rose… but pardon my ignorance, isn't there 5 of you?" Enri asked.
Everyone in the group felt like they were stabbed. It felt like she just tore open a recovering wound.
"Erm.. some things happened. Let's not probe further, okay?" Evileye quickly tried to diffuse the negativity.
"Ah yes, I'm so sorry. I really hear a lot of great stories of your adventures!" Enri smiled.
Evileye tapped Enri on the shoulder and pulled her close. "I don't mean to be rude, but the team's a little down. So just erm… do you mind just getting us to a place we can rest and get some food. I think they really need it."
"Oh…"
Enri, getting the message, started to walk faster to the village hall, which has some guest rooms that are normally made available to visitors. And her guests were swiftly brought into their guest rooms. Evileye then passed Enri a little bit of money to pay for the room.
"I'll get some food cooked." Enri bowed and left the 4 girls in the room, closing the door. "Do you need any potions?"
"We have enough, thanks." Evileye replied, and Enri nodded, and left them alone in the guest room.
Tia and Tina collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep from exhaustion. Gagaran too, tried to take a nap. Perhaps they all wished this was a bad dream they could wake up from.
Evileye left her teammates in the room to rest, and walked out.
"Let's leave the food outside." Evileye whispered to Enri who was cooking at the kitchen a short walk away.
"Oh.. okay. Something pretty bad must have happened, huh."
"Yeah. It's complicated. Anyway, how'd you get goblins so happily patrolling in your village?"
"Oh… we got some help. We were attacked by some rogue knights and templars, and this wonderful hero came and assisted us to fight them off."
Evileye looked at her curiously. "Is he still here?"
"He left. But left us the goblins for protection."
"I see."
"How are you two feeling?"
"I… don't know." Tia said, sighing. She just woke up from her sleep. It has not been a peaceful one, as the dreams of the insects crawling all over replay in her mind. "I feel… weak."
Tina sat next to her, and leaned on her twin sister. "I… think I want to retire. Find a quiet farm somewhere and live quietly. Maybe this Carne village would be nice."
Tia hugged her sister, in understanding.
Gagaran looked over at Evileye. "It's just the two of us then." She then walked over to hug both of the assassins. She was thankful that she did not have to experience the insect pool, but could relate to the horror as she was next to them, watching them scream and struggle when the insects were poured out.
"You'll both be staying here?"
"Yea… let me stay and accompany my sister." Tia said. "I think we just need some time to recover from what we just experienced."
Evileye nodded, "We'll head for the city then, and afterwards I'll need to look for some old friends." With the threat they faced, Evileye needed to sound the alarm, fast.
Gagaran then packed up her things, but half way she stopped and gave the two assassins another hug. "Take care, you two. We'll be here if you need us."
Tia nodded.
Evileye felt a strange pain in her chest. This scene of parting ways, is a kind of torment that she could not put words to.
The training room, is large, airy place, where there is a lot of natural lighting from the windows high up, and the room is littered with rays of sunlight. The walls are made out of natural, aged wood, giving the room a relaxed, cozy yet historic feel. It's as if this place had been here for ages, when it was just built barely a month ago.
"This is the main training area, where you will be conducting the combat training. I believe you have little experience giving training, but you'll have to get used to it soon."
"Who am I training?" Lakyus asked.
"As of now..." Aura gave an awkward laugh, while rubbing her head slightly.
"So… what do I do in the meantime?"
"Ermm…"
*bloosh*
"You'll be helping me in the workshop, and a few other things." Wololo-sama appeared out of the floor, through a flower like structure that was blooming. Wololo's teleportation skills seem to always be accompanied by some flashy animation.
Lakyus gulped.
"Ah… Aura's told you about the battle, right?" Lakyus nodded. "Your Kirineiram happens to be the most valuable new-world item I have so far."
"Can I have it back?"
"Soon, after I'm done researching it."
Then, a shadow appeared, and attempted to attack Lakyus with a slash. She reacted in time to dodge it, but unarmed, she was unable to retaliate.
"You! Didn't we kill you already?" Lakyus entered into a combat stance, but unarmed and without her armor, she didn't stand a good chance.
Arana, the spider lady that the Blue Rose had slain earlier, shrugged. "Seems like I don't die so easily." She now had a full set of light armor, and twin three feet long short blades on both hands. If they were to fight, Arana would win because of her superior equipment.
"Ah yes, you two already met." Aura commented. "Lakyus, meet Arana. Arana, meet Lakyus."
Wololo then tapped Arana on the head, "Now now, be good to our new team-member."
"What?!"
"You heard me, she's our new team-member."
"She's joining us?"
"Yes."
"But why? She's the enemy!"
"Because I say so. And no, she isn't the enemy."
Arana, realising her insolence in challenging Wololo, quickly bowed and apologised. "I'm sorry Wololo-sama. I don't mean to challenge your decision."
"I accept your apology, So be nice to each other. You'll be working together."
"Ooh?!" Both Lakyus and Arana reacted.
The ceasefire was accepted, despite protests from certain parties. The King declared, together with the Six Nobles.
The Six Nobles, after Marquis Boullope's incredibly specific narration of the immense power they faced, unanimously agreed that further war against such an enemy, would only bring negative consequences.
King Lamposa, however, was greatly pleased at the outcome of the discussion. War was averted, and a peaceful coexistence likely.
Gazef and Brain once again was tasked with the honor of delivering the message, along a convoy with a partial, initial, fulfillment of the ceasefire terms as a gesture of goodwill. Boullope, surprisingly and unsurprisingly, volunteered to provide the demands from his domain, along with a personal letter of apology.
Prince Barbro, in response of the Marquis's perceived betrayal and desertion of their cause though, accused Marquis Boullope of cowardice. He was not too happy, with how the Marquis torpedoed his chances at being King. In anger, he left for his own domain. To him, it felt like his chances of being King had just evaporated before his eyes, and he was not going to take it. If the nobles refuse to assist him in his quest for the throne, he would have to seize it himself.
Raeven still had the north to deal with. Erik has yet to respond to his earlier offers of autonomy, and after a concession to ceasefire, the nobles may not be willing to lose further grounds against a belligerent group of peasants. The speed at which this skirmish was settled was quite unlike prior occasions.
A swift and decisive crushing by this Necropolis, and Raeven himself made a note to find out more of this "Ainz Ooal Gown", about his abilities, his objectives and his motivations. He then commissioned a network of merchants to gather information, data, anything they could get from Necropolis, through the trade route that would soon be opened as a result of the ceasefire.
"The mistress summons!" The village chief yells.
The elves ran over in a hurry. There was no leniency in disobedience, not when it is Lady Albedo that gives the command.
Gathered in a town square, they awaited. Every now and then, the mayor would give pronouncements here, of the desires of their lord and Emperor, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama. The mayor would often be seen reciting from a huge scroll prepared by the scribes, listing down the orders of the week.
But a pronouncement by Lady Albedo is unusual, and therefore treated with great respect... and fear.
"Welcome, all of you citizens of Necropolis."
"His greatness, and your Emperor, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, is in a divine battle with a Supreme Being."
"Divine battle?" The elves whispered amongst themselves, but they quickly silenced themselves once Albedo continued.
"All of you, are his subjects, and as his subjects, his battle, is also your battle. Ainz-sama's victory, determines the fate of Necropolis. Defeat, and Necropolis will be destroyed. Remember, thatyour lives depend on Ainz-sama, and the fate of your world rests on Ainz-sama's victory." Albedo spoke, her voice loud and clear, as she stood on the speaker's platform.
"So, those with hidden talents for combat, speak and report to the mayor's quarter tomorrow. You will be assessed, and if deemed worthy, will be properly trained. To be Ainz-sana's champion is an honor not to be refused, and you will be suitably rewarded should you succeed. Victory, is how you repay your Emperor's kindness."
Albedo paused, and waited for the message to sink in.
"Your Emperor and master lifted you from your pathetic misery, it is time to repay his benevolence! Now prove yourself and serve your Lord and Supreme Being!"
Albedo paused again.
"Defeat, will not be tolerated! Glory, to our supreme being, Ainz-sama!"
Albedo stopped, and watched the shocked reaction of her crowd. Some 3,000 elves gathered from throughout the village, it was the first time they had heard and understood their purpose and reason for existence.
It was quiet at first, as the news sinks in but somewhere amongst the crowd, someone yelled.
"Glory to Emperor Ainz!"
"Victory to his majesty, Ainz-sama!" And another continued.
And the crowd continued chanting Ainz-sama's name.
Albedo smiled. Though weak, perhaps there was a glimmer of hope in them. Even if most of them would only be able to serve as fodder in the battles ahead.
AN : Shorter chapter. Enjoy.
(hopefully I didn't write anyone OOC. )