We ended up spending the day and night in that camp. Brain kept us fed with some animals he could hunt and I tried to my best to get some info out of the vampiric pair. Not surprisingly though, they weren't that talkative especially about Nazarick and it's inhabitants. So I decided to play the long game. Talk about themselves, or the weather, or just about anything other than Nazarick. Much of which, I only got a grunt, a nod, or a simple sentence response devoid of emotion. Initially I thought I could just patiently wait for them to open up. But by morning on the second day of our little camp. I was getting really frustrated. So I decided instead of trying to talk to the pair right then, I'd see if I could find what I lost.
Against my better judgement, I rushed back out and spent the better part of the day scouring the area where me and Shalltear 'fought' trying to find my favorite necklace. I know it wasn't the best idea but what would you d? You lose an item that can make you fly and you don't try to get it back? Please. And I don't know it was either some divine smiling on me or if I was just exceptionally lucky, but after hours of bush and tree searching, I found the little devil gleaming in the grass thanks to a small ray of sunshine that blazed through the leaves. I grabbed it, threw it around my neck and, satisfied beyond all measure, yelled. "Fly."
I shot off into the air, rushing past the trees and into the blue sky above. This was never going to get old.
After being slightly childish or doing twirls and spins through the air, I took off back towards Brane's cabin area. When I began to descend, It looked like he caught sight of my shadow and looked up towards me. He immediately dropped a few squirrels and one rabbit
"That lunch?" I asked planting my feet back on the ground.
"What. The. Hell?" He asked with his mouth agape.
"What? Didn't I mention that I could fly?" I asked playing it off like nothing had happened.
"No. No you did not." He said trying his best to come to terms with what he just saw.
"Oh…well I can fly." I replied.
"I see that." He replied. "Care to tell me how?"
"Nope." I said sitting down on the ground and looking up at the sky with a satisfied smirk on my face.
Brain stared at me for some time looking more confused now then ever before mumbling something like "Okay then." As he started a small fire outside the cabin. I looked over to our still chained occupants who also had confused looks on their faces.
"Yeah. If I were you, I'd ask Shalltear for one of these." I said with large grin as I pointed towards my necklace before stuffing it under my new white cotton shirt I had slipped into this morning. It never really occurred to me until last night, that I should probably change my clothes often considering I don't have a shower at the moment.
It occurs to me that I never gave a real description of the pair of Vampire Brides as they preferred to be called. Well honestly it was kind of hard too. They looked exactly the same. From face to toe, they were almost identical. Both wore white dresses that you'd assume were just rags since they left a fair bit of skin exposed. I mean concubines or not, put some leather armor on at least. Their eyes were also identical being almost pure black save for a dot of bright crimson in the center. Really the only thing that separated them was their hair style since both were black as night. Reina wore hers straight down in a few braids while Remna's was styled to curve around the back of her head and back towards her neck seemingly defying gravity. In short, they looked like beautiful pale females who just happened to be blood sucking monsters…Kind of like most women.
As I sat there in the dirt doing my best to ignore the pair, a miracle happened. They began the conversation.
"You never did say how" One of them finally spoke up.
"How what?" I asked back.
"How do you know the Supreme Ones?" The one named Reina asked.
"I told you. I'm YGGDRASIL."I replied not understanding.
"Specifically. Were you one of ones who attacked Nazarick years ago?" Remna asked speaking up.
I laughed at the question harder than I meant to. I mean did I really come across as that stupid?
"Nope. I was too smart for that." I said catching my breath. "I mean seriously, who thought that was a good idea in the first place. All right guys, the guild called Ainz Ooal Gown has taken over YGGDRASIL strongest dungeon. I say we attack it." I continued trying to mimic what I thought must've been the initial thought process. "Morons."
"So how then?" Reina asked..
"Well we'd fight in tournaments." I replied simply. They didn't seem to understand so I figured telling them the name of one might due the trick."Know about the Black Dragon Battle Royale?"
Her face shifted to one of confusion while Remna's took on a shocked look. "You were there?"
"My first tournament. You can imagine my surprise when I actually found my way into the finals." I said growing slightly nostalgic.
"You fought Lord TouchMe?" Remna asked sounding even more shocked than she looked.
"No we talked about the weather. Of course we fought." I gave her a look meant to say stop asking stupid questions. " Well if you could call it a fight anyway. I got my ass handed to me." I finished with another laugh. Years later and I still remember that fight like it was yesterday. There I was some rookie fighting one of the most powerful people in the MMO and actually holding my own. I can't say that I didn't have a little bit of an ego about it afterwards which only compounded when TouchMe congratulated me on a good match. That guy hardly talked to anyone outside his guild mates. As Remna looked away contemplating what I just told her, Reina noticed my nostalgic grin and asked me about it.
"Why do you do that?" Reina asked.
I raised an eyebrow towards her."What? Laugh?"
"Yes. You were beaten. How was that not shameful to you?" She asked clearly confused by my actions. I tilted my head wondering if she was serious. When she gave no indication she was joking, I replied.
"Why is it shameful to lose?" I asked back to her. "Do you honestly think, that everyone you come across on the battlefield is going to be weaker than you are? And that when you lose you should be sad about it forever?"
Remna turned her gaze towards me as I continued.
"Look, I'm not sure if anyone in Nazarick's ever told you this but in life you're going to lose far more often then win. It's just a fact. If I curled up into a ball and cried every time something bad happened…Well, I wouldn't be the man I am today." I finished with another smile. Their confused faces didn't waver however.
"For humans victory may be yearned for. But for Nazarick it is expected." Remna replied after what sounded like a small sigh. "To look back on defeat with a smile is shameful to both the Guardians and the Supreme Ones?"
"Says who?" I asked. They once again were lost on the question. "Did any of the Supreme Ones tell you that? Specifically I mean?"
"Not specifically. It is simply understood by us and the Guardians themselves." Remna replied.
"Well that sounds a little dull wouldn't you say? I mean what does that say about you two then?" I questioned with a cocky smirk.
They looked at me angrily at first but that quickly shifted towards concern as they looked over towards each other.
"We have failed them all. Nazarick, Lady Shalltear, Lord Ainz. As such, when we see them again, we accept whatever punishment they deem worthy." Reina answered.
"Come on. Where's your backbone?!" I asked seriously. I don't know if it was just NPCs were naturally super obedient to their creators or not. But these two were taking the possibility of death for not winning a fight very seriously. A thought then occurred to me. One where they might actually answer something about Ainz.
"Fine. Let's you break out. Kill me and get back to Nazarick. What do you think Ainz will do to you? What's he like?" I asked.
The pair grew curious faces as they contemplated the question.
"He does what is best for Nazarick. That is all we ever need know." Remna answered.
"You seriously don't have a clue? Have you tried asking him?" I asked starting to get annoyed by their lack of courage.
"No but….." Remna's look of confusion began to grow as she thought about it. "Lady Shalltear herself is a servant to Lord Ainz. If she does not see fit to gift us with certain knowledge of him, that is our lot in life."
I stared dumbfounded at the undead woman for several seconds before scoffing. "With an attitude like that, its easy to see why Shally probably treats you like garbage."
"What did you just say?!" Reina demanded, her temper flaring and pulling on the chains that bound her. I wanted to stop right there and apologize but a strange feeling came over me and my mouth began to say something my character would've said rather than me.
"Tell me something, you're her concubines right? When was the last time you actually pleased your mistress?"
"What?!" The pair of them screamed simultaneously.
"I mean with how subservient you are, I'd imagine you as a poor choice in bed mates. 'As you wish. Of course my lady.' Boring." I said inwardly laughing at my horrible imitations. " A woman like Shalltear, I bet she'd like someone to really take charge and…."
"SILENCE!" Remna yelled pulling her chains so hard that I almost wondered if she was about to tear her arms off from the strain. "You say one more insulting thing about Lady Shalltear, and I will tear you apart in ways that Lady Albedo herself would dream about!"
The three of us sat there in silence for a good while before the feeling I had vanished and I was left wondering if I had taken a knife to any amount of progress we may have made before finally speaking again.
"My apologies… I shouldn't have said those things." I got no reply though other than a hate filled gaze and silence. Yep. Back to square one.
With a deep angry sigh, I picked myself up off the ground and decided to go for a walk. It wasn't like those two were going anywhere.
"Hey Brain, can you keep watch?" I called out.
"You just got back." He pointed out.
"And now I'm going again. Can you keep watch?" I asked.
"Sure thing. But don't take too long." He said giving a noticeable side eye towards the chained up pair as he he held a skinned squirrel over the fire. I nodded in thanks and began walking away from the abandoned settlement and thinking about what little I had actually learned from the conversation.
First and foremost of which was that I got a new name out of her. Albedo. Judging by her wording she must've been higher ranked than Shalltear which may or may not mean she was even more powerful. But then again that made sense. I had heard Nazarick was a massive tomb and if I remembered correctly that the guild holding it was at it's max forty one players strong. And since each one could create their own NPCs, they might very well have an entire army inside those walls. Which more than likely meant all of them will be out for my blood when Shalltear gets back to them.
"God damn it." I said aloud frustrated at the theory continuing on my walk through the forest. I mean how the hell was I going to explain that? 'Hey there. I stabbed Shalltear in the eye. Can I talk to you?' I might as well buy myself a casket and ship it to them. Then again, Shalltear did say they'd use my body to serve Nazarick. So I guess at the very least they'd make do with my corpse.
I suddenly realized I was talking about death rather casually and began to wonder if that actually was me or Haon chiming in. I guess technically it was Haon considering that was what I named myself but still I recognized that my old self wouldn't be so talkative about the subject of my own death. That thought and all the others though were silenced when I came across something sparkling in the distance. My heart gleamed for a split second with the hope that it might be a certain lost necklace of mine but it quickly vanished when my gaze finally saw it clearly. It looked like a piece of glass.
Now you can put two and two together and see that piece of broken glass in the middle of an empty grass field doesn't really make sense, so I don't think I need to tell you in detail on how I arrived at that conclusion. I looked around for any more shards and began to see them littered all over the ground with two bigger shards sticking out from the rest. Both of which were shaped like the upper and lower parts of a healing potion. Before I could attempt to piece together what happened here though, I caught sight of about five bodies littered around the fields each missing several vital appendages and noticeably drained of blood.
I froze as a wave of fear rushed over my body like water. Shalltear was still on the move and a lot closer to me than I thought. I grabbed Jade's hilt and immediately combed over the area looking for any sign of her. I didn't see anything. Nevertheless I readied myself. She was going to find me a little tougher to bring down this time when she attacked. That much I could guarantee.
Minutes passed however, and sooner rather later I began to wonder if she was actually still here. When we fought, she didn't seem like the type for sneaking around so I wondered what was keeping her. After some more time passed, I let myself breath and relax. She wasn't here. Or if she was she wasn't interested in attacking me right now. I decided to take another look at the poor bastards who were unlucky enough to run into her. They were a pretty divisive clique of people. It reminded me of the guys I met traveling to E-Rantel. I wondered for a moment what exactly those guys were doing before re focusing on the situation. I wondered how many bodies I had seen since I've gotten to this world and once again noticed how it didn't seem to bother me as much as it should've. Was that a good thing or a bad thing, I really wasn't sure any more.
Initially, I figured they were another part of Brane's group but after combing through their pockets and seeing a notice I realized I was wrong. These poor guys had taken on a contract to stop Brane's people.
I looked at their bodies yet again and felt both a huge swell of pity for them and huge amount of luck for me. I could've ended up just like them after all. Walking into a situation you think you know only to find that its far different than you could've ever imagine. Pretty much described my entire time here so far.
I reluctantly turned my back to them though when I noticed a large amount of crimson splattered on the grass. And even weirder than that, a trail of it leading into another edge of the forest. I grew a small smile. Maybe someone had actually escaped Shalltear. I took off following the trail into the woods. A number of times, I thought I'd look behind a tree and see whatever was left of the bastard leaning up against the bark. But I never did and the trail kept going. After a while, it sank in that this was an unusual amount of blood lost for a regular girl or guy to not be dead somewhere and it sent a small shiver down my spine. This could've just been a trap.
Before I could think about that any further though, I arrived at the opposite end of the forest which looked out towards a large clearing filled with nothing but grass and the occasional boulder. The trail kept going but I took cover behind a tree instead of chasing after it. After catching my breath from the run I had just taken, I crept my head around the bark to see if I could see where the trail ended. And I caught sight of the finish almost immediately.
It ended right behind the exact figure I had hoped to NOT run into in a large red puddle. It also then occurred to me that the blood I had been following hadn't dried up in the slightest. I figured it must've been the orb she held over her head when she slaughtered Brane's men but I didn't really have time to dwell on it. There Shalltear was, standing so perfectly still that you could almost mistake her for a statue if not for the the Victorian clothing. She also had a new weapon with her, a large blue lance that honestly looked way too big for her height.
What really caught my eye though was the crater she was standing in. Either she put that there or there had been some sort of skirmish here. And judging by her lack of movement, I guessed it was the latter. But there had been a fight here, where were the other fighters? And if they had indeed actually won, why just leave Shalltear here? And why the hell did it look like she was in a standing coma? None of it made any sense.
I then had a long arduous debate with myself behind that tree on what exactly I should do now. Every logical part of my brain screamed at me to get the hell out of there and that I was pushing my luck as it was. They were probably right, but that didn't change the fact that Shalltear still knew where Nazarick was and if I could somehow get her to tell me where, hopefully without dying, I just might be able to find away home.
So with a heavy heart, I mentally prepped myself for a fight if one should occur. Then when I finally mustered enough courage, I heard footsteps cracking on the grass. Just like that my courage vanished. Peaking my head ever so slightly from the tree, I could see someone or something new moving slowly towards frozen Shalltear. Almost as quickly as I had did that I tore it right back out of sight praying that I hadn't been spotted.
One of them had been a large hulking figure with what I thought looked like a black cloak and what I thought was some sort of staff at his side. I could also tell there was another figure to his right, but I had turned away too quickly to see anything else about them. A moment or two later their foot steps stopped and along with them my breath. I held it inside my chest all the while praying they hadn't actually spotted me.
"Shalltear." A voice I thought sounded familiar spoke with a strange radiance of power. I let loose the lightest breath I could just as another voice spoke up.
"Shalltear! Answer you master you disrespectful little wench!" A feminine voice filled with anger ordered. I figured it belonged to the second figure traveling with the large one.
"Be quiet!" The deeper voice suddenly yelled with a slight sense of alarm. "I didn't think it was possible, but Shalltear's clearly affected even though she's undead." He continued. "There was definitely a battle here and the victor took control of her mind. Then she was left here without any orders to take."
Ok. This guy was damn good. He put all that together in just a few seconds.
"We need to break the spell over Shalltear. Though it is a shame to waste such a powerful item on a counter spell.
I'm wasn't sure what he was doing, but a huge amount of magic suddenly appeared in the area sending shivers up and down my spine and standing my hairs up on end.
"Lord, what is that?" The female asked.
"The ring known as Shooting Star." He replied.
Fucking Shooting star?! That thing was one of the rarest items in Yggdrasil….In Yggdrasil? The guy talking must've been Ainz! I inwardly screamed at myself to leap out and talk to him, to ask god knows how many questions and hopefully get some answers. But I knew if I did, I might just be killed on the spot by either him or the female beside him.
"It's a super rare item. Three times a day, it allows the wielder to cast the spell Wish Upon A Star." He said in a similar tone to that of a teacher.
Super rare item? There was an understatement if I ever heard it. Might as well call being teleported to a medieval world "weird". But I digress.
"So, that item contains Super Tier magic?" She asked.
"Yes. You've never seen it?" He answered with light tone of interest.
"Not in person no. I've not been graced with the honor." She admitted.
"Well then your in luck. Using it requires a certain skill set. One which I happen to have." He said in an almost bragging tone.
"But Lord Ainz. Shalltear is a servant. She isn't worthy of such an item. Your compassion knows no bounds!"
Christ! This lady sounded even worse than the vampire chicks and that didn't seem possible. She hang on every word this guy said like some sort of lusty teenager. And since when was rescuing an NPC of yours something only compassionate people do?! It's supposed to be common goddamn sense!
I heard a few more footsteps taken before the man spoke again.
"Now then. Time to bring Shalltear back into the fold." I felt yet another explosion of magic and saw a powerful blue light seep onto the leaves and bark of the trees
"Shooting Star, cure Shalltear of all her status effects. I command you!" He yelled out.
The amount of magic energy seemed to double and the light only grew powerful for a total to six seconds before something strange happened. It faded, and amount of magic I could feel began to disappear astonishingly fast. You'd think that meant the spell worked but what I heard next signaled otherwise.
"We're leaving! Albedo, Let's go!" Ainz ordered sounding much more alarmed then before. Against my better judgment, I looked out towards them only see a slightly clearer look at Albedo grab onto Ainz and vanish in ray of blue light. Fearing Shalltear had woken up I looked over to her next. Nope, she was still as still as when I had arrived. I felt a small amount of magic linger several dozen yards away from here though and I immediately panicked. I finally here the mysterious Ainz and he disappears before I can talk to him? Oh no. Not on my watch.
I ran my hands through my cloak trying desperately to find a small contraption that would allow me to see where exactly they went. Finally I found them and pulled out a pair of simple glasses. Or rather as they were called back in Yggdrasil, Eagle Eyes.
I slipped them on over my head and immediately began began to figure out where they went. You see teleporting targets were always a bitch to track back in Yggdrasil. But they weren't impossible if you had the right items. Eagle Eyes was one such item. The pair had teleported to a spot several dozen yards away from Shalltear. With a deep breath, I crept along the tree line over towards them. Trying my best not too make any noise whatsoever. Whether they would of heard me I'm not sure, but I think I was saved by the quakes Ainz himself was making out of frustration from the spell not working. Here I got a much better glimpse of the man's face or to be more precise skeleton. I recognized it right away as Momonga. Ainz Ooal Gown's guild leader and one of the strongest mages in Yggdrasil. I was so stunned to actually see another player from YGGDRASIL being physically here that I hadn't noticed that he had started talking to Albedo again until a minute later.
"A World Level Item." He growled.
I nearly choked on the breath I was taking when I heard that sentence. A WLI was no laughing matter back in Yggdrasil. God knows what it was like here. True I didn't here it in context to whatever he meant but that didn't stop me from worrying about what he actually meant before he continued.
"The security level of Nazarick needs to be raised to maximum and every guardian needs to return home immediately."
"Yes lord. After Aura gathers the Vampire Brides she will join us there."
I froze yet again as they pair vanished in a mother flash of blue light. He had sent someone out to look for the other vampires?! And if they'd been searching for them nearby…..
My eyes widened in horror. I tore the glasses from my face and sprinted back across the field not paying frozen Shalltear any mind save for noticing the dagger I had left implanted in her right eye had vanished along with any wound it might've left.
I began to move faster as I followed the blood trail out of the forest and back into the clearing where I found the dead bodies. I brushed past them fully intent on getting back to Brane and the Brides before Momonga's people did. I kept my pace as the wind blew past me and I came towards the clearing that led back towards the mining camp. I was stopped though by a pair of hands that suddenly grabbed me from behind a tree. I moved to pull Jade from its sheathe before seeing the face of the person.
"Brain? What the hell?" I asked.
"We need to get out of here!" He said sounding more panicked than before. "Two monsters showed up and took the Vampires!"
"What?!"
"Look. I'll explain it in the cart! Let's just get the hell out here!" He said pulling me in the direction of the wagon we had hidden away nearby. I pulled away from him before we got close.
"I can't Brain." He looked at me I had lost every sense I had.
"Are you kidding me?! We need to go." He said with alarm.
"Brain, I can't. I need to go after them." I told him, really not liking how calm I seemed to be.
"For fuck's sake, WHY?!" He yelled at me. " They're god damn vampires who tried to kill you!"
"They're the only chance I've got to get back home." I finally told him. "And I know it's stupid but I can't risk losing that. Not when I've finally made some progress." His look softened a bit at my words but he still looked concerned.
"Look, I'm sorry. Truly I am." He admitted. "But there's got to be another way. Going after them is suicide, if it leads back to the monster that attacked me and my men."
"Yeah it probably is….." I said with a nod of agreement. "But I've still got to do it."
"Haon, you saved my life." Brain said sounding slightly shaken. "I'm trying to repay you now."
"You want to repay me?" I asked. "Go and actually help some people instead of hurting them. God knows this place could use a few more heroes." I said ending our conversation by turning my back to him and racing back towards the camp. I'm not sure what look he gave me as I left but if I had to guess it would be one that said "that guy's an idiot."
I slowed my speed when I got to the outskirts of the camp and took cover in case anyone was still skulking around there. After a few moments though, I didn't spot anyone and I started to survey the area. The fire Brane had started was doused, probably by him in the panic to get away. And the chains that had held the Brides were destroyed along with the post they were chained to. Well that was comforting.
Fortunately whatever freed them also left tracks. I didn't have any idea what t looked like but all that mattered was that I could see them and that they led away from the camp. I took a deep breath and began running the way led. Knowing full well that if I did actually find Nazarick and Momonga wasn't there, odds were I was going to get killed.
Well at least I wouldn't need to waste money on a casket.