Chapter 3: Darkness descends
Part 1
A sanctuary of holiness. A bristling city that goes quiet during the time for prayer and devotes themselves to their Gods. With the six Archbishops ruling over them there is peace in this place. The capital of the Slane Theocracy Astousa – the home of the six Archbishops and the Miko princesses.
If the best way to describe the Re-Estize kingdom would be to call it ancient and the best way to describe the Baharuth Empire would be to call it modern then the Theocracy would be best described as sacred.
All over the capital there were religious buildings of all sizes. All inns and hotels were named after a saint or famous priest. The people all wore religious clothing, and it was hardly uncommon to see priests and clerics walking amidst the ordinary citizens.
This city was home to not only the cathedrals of the Six Great Gods, but also the sole divine-magic type academy in the world.
This city was thus seen as one of the safest places - if not the safest place - in the human-inhabited regions of the continent. Under the protection of the six Great Gods there was peace…
A luxurious carriage rode through the streets of this great capital. Decorated with eye-popping golden decorations, people who saw it could only gape at its beauty. The carriage itself was pitch-black and carried a symbol that no one had seen before.
All who saw it assumed that royalty from another nation had come to the capital for an official visit and wondered why such a thing had not been announced. Whenever the queen of the Draconic Kingdom or the emperor of the Baharuth Empire had come to visit there would be a huge commotion and celebrations but now the city was the same as always and no special preparations had been made.
Little did they know that it was the Archbishops that had ordered to keep the arrival of this carriage a secret for as long as possible. If the people knew who was coming mass panic and rioting could break out in the streets.
Fluder could not help fidgeting around slightly. He was in the presence of two personal aides of Ainz and although they appeared harmless at first glance, he knew the two of them could take even him on in a fight.
He still could not believe that he had been designated as the emissary for Ainz Ooal Gown to negotiate with the Theocracy. Of course this was only the official reason. But he still felt anxious as he could not allow any mistake in the presence of these two servants that were part of Ainz's main staff.
A week after Lycan had returned from his mission in the Theocracy, Ainz had made his next move and arranged a diplomatic meeting with the Six Archbishops to facilitate future relations between the two nations, which had become geographical neighbors. Fluder had been chosen as he was a famous human to preside over these talks.
In front of Fluder sat a dark-skinned girl with twin tails and a strange cap on her head. Although he could not see her magic power either, he had heard that she was a powerful Cleric and mighty warrior. Next to him sat a maid that was quietly reading a book. She had her hair in a bun and was reading through plain glasses.
"Aah! I'm so tired of this carriage! Couldn't we just teleport into their home and get it over with?!"
Yuri payed no mind to the ordinary piece of nonsense that Lupusregina uttered. Instead she continued to read her book that she had borrowed from the library. As the deputy leader of the Pleiades she had little to no time for herself, which was fine considering that it meant serving her Lord but being able to enjoy a book every once in awhile was enjoyable too.
"At any rate why you are here Yuri-nee, weren't you reassigned to help Demiurge-sama in the empire or whatever? Why are you here? Could it be you wanted to be with me?" Lupusregina leered at Yuri with a wide grin on her face.
Yuri simply produced a cane from her storage space and, not taking her eyes off the pages of her book, rapped it against Lupusregina's head.
"Ouch! it hurts Yuri-nee! I'm an S not an M!"
"Ainz-sama asked me to guide you through the capital and escort you in case anything goes wrong and identify the human that attacked Lycan if possible, so here I am. My job also happens to include making sure that you don't get out of control!"
Yuri closed her book with a sigh as the mood for reading had left her. She took a long look at her sister and decided that this might be a good time to have a serious chat with her."By the way Lupu, I heard that Ainz-sama asked you to correct that carefree touch and feel attitude of yours, even if you were created that way you still have to take into account that our current master is Ainz-sama!"
Lupusregina pouted as she turned her head and tried to feign ignorance.
Fluder couldn't help but admire the two. When he had heard that most high ranking inhabitants of Nazarick were created by the 41 Supreme Beings he could hardly believe it. These maids who were so full of life and emotion were actually 'made' by someone. It was marveling to say the least.
"I wish you wouldn't ask me depressing questions like that Yuri-nee!"
Lupusregina got quiet as she suddenly displayed a rare depressed look on her face and began staring out the window while she looked like she was collecting her thoughts.
"Say, Yuri-nee? Do you remember the moment you were born?"
Yuri's eyes widened. She'd never expected a question like that from Lupusregina of all people.
"I'm afraid that much like most members of Nazarick my memory is hazy from the time that we were created and still in YGGDRASIL. I do remember some moments vaguely but not my birth. Though the first thing I remember is standing outside the throne room on the tenth floor."
Lupusregina did not stop looking out of the window as she listened to Yuri's Yuri had stopped talking she waited a bit before saying what she wanted to say."I don't remember the exact moment I was made either, however one memory is as clear in my mind as if it was yesterday."
She closed her eyes as she started remembering the scenes from back then.
"When Nobunaga-sama created me…
He must have been really happy with a daughter like me, even though I'm not as strong as a floor guardian he was really proud of making me for some reason."
Lupusregina's mind sunk into the past as she remembered the words she heard the supreme beings say to each other.
"What do you think Misaki-chan? I call her Lupusregina Beta! A werewolf cleric! She'll make a fine addition to the maid that Yamaiko-sensei made! I made her thinking of you!"
"Uhm…Let's see what her settings are…"
"Uh Kenji… what exactly do you mean by erotic lewd sadist? Lupusregina the wolf queen who loves to mess around with dirty talk and sadistic plays…"
"Ah that? Well you know since she had to be evil I kinda had to put something bad in her settings, no?"
"And why does she have such erotic skin and voluptuous breasts? Is this you casually telling me that I'm not big enough for you?"
"No, no, it's not like that; you know that I don't like 'em big. And I don't like exotic skin colors!"
"So you really do think that I don't have big breasts? Well sorry I'm so unsatisfactory!"
"Like I said it's not like that! Can you stop twisting my words?"
"You said that you made her thinking of me! Did you really not have a better way of telling me everything that you don't like about me? I know I'm not very lewd and have a timid personality! But I… I thought that that was the reason that you liked me in the first place!"
"Like I said can you stop interpreting my words the wrong way, please?"
"Erase her! If you really don't think of me that way than remove her from the game. I don't want to look at her every day!"
"What? But I spent so much time on her. That would be such a huge waste and I still feel proud about how well she turned out as an NPC. Can't we talk about this?"
"Do whatever you want, if you don't want to erase her, then I'm out of here! Go find yourself an exotic big-breasted girlfriend who will do lewd stuff. You know what, I'm gonna go make an NPC for Nazarick that will have everything I would want you to have. For one thing he won't be a wimp who won't tell his girlfriend the truth. Bye!"
"Oi, Misaki-chan wait up! Damn so unreasonable… Misaki wait up please…"
Lupusregina opened her eyes again as she wiped away something in her eye. To her that was the moment that she would remember for the rest of her life until she died.
"My creator, Nobunaga-sama made me in the likeness of Ankoro Mochi Mochi-sama. As far as I understand the two were a couple. But apparently she didn't like the way I looked and demanded my destruction."
Yuri' widened eyes as this was the first she had heard of such a thing.
"Besides me, probably Ainz-sama and maybe that idiot Lycan knows of this. But that is not important. What's important is that even when another of the supreme beings desired my destruction, Nobunaga-sama still refused to destroy me even at the cost of losing his loved one."
Lupusregina's face finally brightened up as she finished her story. "That's why even if I'm hated by everyone or disliked by others for being lewd, energetic and sadistic, I still won't change. Not even if Ainz-sama himself were to ask me too. Because my creator defended me the way I am now even in front of another supreme being. To change myself would be an insult to him!"
Lupuregina's frown returned. "As for that idiot Lycan well…"
She sighed as this part she did not remember with such fondness as the other part. "My creator defended my existence and caused Akoro Mochi Mochi-sama to hate him and create Lycan as if to spite him. The reason that Lycan is so arrogant and full of hate is probably because he was made while his creator was full of hate as well, and the reason he looks down on others who are weaker is because his creator made him to hate weak people. As for why he is one of the only NPC's in Nazarick without a purpose even I don't know."
Yuri patiently waited for Lupu to finish her story. She honestly had no way to respond to what her little sister had just said. Such a conversation between the supreme beings was something that could shake all of Nazarick if it got out. After all the supreme beings arguing was a very rare and controversial thing on its own.
Fluder, who had been silently listening to the conversation, hardly knew what to say. The thought that these supreme beings that used to rule over Nazarick could 'create' living, breathing creatures already put them in the realm of divine entities. He knew that he had encountered someone of unimaginable greatness, but this surpassed even his expectations. To think that Ainz Ooal Gown was one of those creatures…
Fluder began, "Uhm, I pardon for interrupting you Beta-sama…"
"Lupu-chan…" she corrected him.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're pretty strong for a human and Ainz-sama seems to like you for what you've done for Nazarick so you can just call me Lupu-chan, old man."
Fluder hesitated as he could clearly see through the charade that this maid put up. Although she might look like an innocent weak girl he knew full well that she is not a force to be trifled with. To call a beast like that by a cute nickname was unsettling to put it mildly.
"If it's alright with you I think I would prefer to call you Lupusregina-sama."
"Boo, you're no fun gramps. Well no matter, call me what you like as long as you don't get any strange ideas!"
Fluder, not knowing how to react to such a comment gave a wry smile and continued asking his question, "I'm sorry if I'm being impudent, but do you remember how the Supreme Beings made you? The library in Nazarick mentioned such a thing but no matter how hard I try I cannot begin to comprehend the terms of what is being said."
Upon hearing this Lupusregina made a bright smile as she pleasantly answered him,
"Of course gramps that's obvious. Only the Supreme Beings can create living creatures and only they can understand everything that has been left behind in the library."
Fluder made a depressed look as he realized that no matter how many resources he now possessed he would still not be able to see the extent of the abyss of magic in the same way as Ainz. Some powers and secrets were truly reserved only for the gods.
After a while the carriage finally stopped at its destination. The carriage halted in front of a large dome-like building that bore not a single one of the colors of the Six Great Gods and instead was shining brightly in a pure white gleam.
This was the Great Shrine of the first Miko Princess that became the aide of the Six Great Gods when they arrived in this world six hundred years ago. It was where the six Miko conducted their religious ceremonies and performed their miracles.
As the Theocracy had no official palace, and meeting in one of the six cathedrals would cause unnecessary internal tension, it was decided that the official visit of the representatives of foreign nations would be conducted here.
Fluder got out of the carriage and looked as he saw dozens of guards already outside of the shrine waiting for them.
After Lupusregina and Yuri got out they proceeded to follow him into the building.
Fluder looked to the sides as they walked ever further into the shrine. Along the sides of the red carpet there were armed guards that radiated a holy aura, and in the shadows more men remained hidden from sight armed with top quality weapons, bows and crossbows.
Fluder smirked as he thought how pointless their preparations were; if he wanted to kill the six archbishops he would have already done so, guards or not. He had not heard of a single magic caster or warrior in the entire Slane Theocracy that would be capable of stopping him in a fight. Though the overall level of warrior was much higher than in the Kingdom or even the Empire, there was not a single noteworthy figure amongst them.
Why Ainz-sama thinks it's necessary to even bother with negotiating is beyond me. If he really wanted to he could level this entire capital with a thought. But to think they actually agreed to this meeting considering their hatred of non-humans. Was it because Ainz-sama used my name to bait them? Could he truly be that cunning?
Fluder had to focus himself or he would once again fall into euphoria from thinking about the greatness of his master too much. He instead directed his gaze towards the six figures that stood in front of the altar at the end of the shrine.
As they got closer to the shrine the three of them slowed their pace and eventually came to a standstill before the elevated stairs leading to the altar as they prepared to greet their hosts.
A loud voice coming from the white robed man standing next to the six figures greeted them,
"We welcome you to the great Miko-shrine of the Slane Theocracy in the capital of our great nation: Astousa! You are in the presence of the ones who are closest to the gods: the six Archbishops, and those who guard this great nation from all evil! Praise be to our guardians, the Six Great Gods!"
"Praise the Six!"
A unanimous cheer rang out from all the guards in the Shrine as they presented their weapons as a salute to their gods and the archbishops.
Fluder and the two maids were completely unimpressed as they remained calm and were waiting for the tedious demonstration of power to be over. After having witnessed a ceremony in a place with such grandeur like the throne room of Nazarick they felt as if they were watching children trying to imitate adults.
One of the Archbishops, having noticed their lax attitude frowned as he addressed the three with a magnanimous voice.
"I, the Archbishop of Life, Ordoro Dale Mercuras, greet you, tri-arts Fluder, and you… esteemed emissaries of Ainz Ooal Gown on behalf of the Six Archbishops and under the guidance of the Six Great Gods. Welcome to our capital."
When Ordoro saw the attire of the women behind Fluder he almost wanted to burst out in laughter. Not only had this sorcerer sent women to negotiate, they were also dressed as maids. He wondered whether Ainz's plan was to seduce the Archbishops into releasing sensitive information.
How naïve, we are holy servants of this nation. We will not be seduced by wenches, no matter how fair they might look.
Fluder cracked a slight smile as it was easy to see through the thoughts of this bishop. But underestimating these maids would prove a fatal mistake for him if he was not careful.
A robed man standing next to the archbishops twitched as he saw that Fluder and the maids had not begun bowing yet. Even if they were emissaries from a foreign nation they would still have to bow in the presence of another country's leader or leaders. "If you do not wish to offend the archbishops then you will kneel and bow your heads to the six divinities immediately."
Fluder started remembering the time that he was forced to kneel in front of Ainz Ooal Gown by one of his subordinates that used mind-control magic. The contrast was almost enough to make him laugh out loud.
"You have to forgive me, these old knees of mine will not allow me to kneel easily. If it is acceptable to the six Excellencies, I will ask to remain standing."
The white robed man looked at the Six Archbishops for approval as they nodded slightly to signal their consent.
"Fine, you may stand in the presence of the six but the maidens behind you must kneel!"
Fluder looked towards Yuri and Lupusregina as he knew that bowing for them would be a problem. They were faithful servants of Ainz and thus would be greatly against bowing, no matter the reason, if it was not to someone from Nazarick.
Yuri looked towards Lupusregina and gestured that they had to swallow their malcontent as she kneeled and bowed reluctantly and waited for Lupusregina to do the same. After a brief moment of hesitation, Lupusregina too agreed to kneel, if only with a great frown on her face.
"Now that the emissaries have assumed an acceptable position you may present the interests of your master to the Six Archbishops of this divine nation."
The white robed man stepped back as he left the job of further negotiations to his superiors.
Fluder looked up to the six figures standing before him and internally laughed at how foolish the population of this nation was to follow six uninspiring figures such as these. None of them had any form of imposing aura or magic talent. The thought that these six were anywhere near the gods was laughable.
Even though he himself once served nothing more than a mere mortal, compared to these six the Emperor of Baharuth was still far superior.
"Ahem, well then. In the name of my patron and benefactor, the sorcerer king Ainz Ooal Gown, I thank Your Excellencies for finding the time to meet with us."
"Disperse with the pleasantries, Fluder; a traitor like you being allowed to stand in our presence is already considered lenient of us. Just get on with passing the message from your new master."
The fact that Fluder had betrayed the empire and defected to Ainz had greatly irked the Archbishops, and they weren't prepared to listen to senseless flattering. The sole reason that they had agreed to this meeting was because they wanted to hear from a man as mighty as Fluder what kind of person Ainz Ooal Gown was.
"Ah. Forgive me for wasting your time. Then I'll be passing on the thoughts of my master. My lord Ainz Ooal Gown has deemed it necessary to confront the Theocracy about a few matters regarding both of our national interests."
The gazes of the Six Archbishops sharpened. No matter what proposition that Fluder might make, if it was under orders of an Undead then surely he knew that they would refuse any cooperation. To do otherwise would be to go against centuries of religious teachings of the racial supremacy of humanity.
At the same time they had to be careful, as inviting war with this Sorcerer King would spell great disaster if they were unprepared.
"As you know, my lord has reclaimed the land around the fortress city of E-Rantel as his own. Before this event occurred, however, there was an incident with a group of humans who greatly offended him on two accounts."
Fluder had to exert effort to hide his smile as he knew that the next part would stir all kinds of reactions from the archbishops. He looked forward to seeing them up close.
"When my lord was strolling around admiring the landscape of the territory that he had lost many hundreds of years ago, he came across a group of knights that were slaughtering the inhabitants in a village not far from E-Rantel. Taking pity on the humans he chased the knights away and declared this village to be under his protection."
The archbishops flinched. Of course they remembered this story well. Initially, the plan was to keep slaughtering villagers of the kingdom to draw out the warrior captain Gazef Stronoff. All while pretending to be knights of the empire in order to sow further aggression between the two. When trapped, the Sunlight Scripture would move in and kill Gazef along with his warrior band.
Success meant that the Black Scripture would be allowed to infiltrate the Kingdom in order to deal with the supposed resurrection of the Catastrophic Dragon Lord, further ensured by the Kingdom's anti-royal faction.
Things had taken a turn for the worst, however, when Ainz interfered and caused the death of the entire Sunlight Scripture and the loss of one of the Theocracy's sacred treasures.
Fluder pretended that he didn't notice their distress and leisurely continued his speech,
"We could never discern the nation that these knights belonged to,but what happened next was what greatly disturbed my master. Not long after he had saved the village it became surrounded by a new foe. A group of warriors that were clearly from the Theocracy. From what I'm told they should be from the famous Sunlight Scripture."
Each of the Archbishops wanted to shout out all kinds of complaints and remarks but held their tongues. The fact that an entire scripture had been wiped out was known in most of the higher circles of the surrounding nations but had not yet been officially recognized in the Theocracy as such an announcement could lead to mass panic, not to mention it would lead to enormous diplomatic penalties. But now in the face of an emissary from Ainz Ooal Gown they could no longer deny it.
"What greatly offended my master was that these perpetrators attacked him even after he had tried to reason with them and persuade them to abort the attack or suffer the consequences."
The archbishops all thought that it made sense. Nigun's orders were to eliminate Gazef Stronoff and all witnesses who might recognize the Theocracy's men. Adding to that the fact that Ainz Ooal Gown was an undead, he would not even bother negotiating and would simply kill him on the spot.
A pity that him going up against Ainz was like a mouse fighting a lion.
Ordoro's eye twitched as he listened to what Fluder said.
Under the teachings of the Six Great Gods there should not be a reason to allow for the existence of Heteromorphic creatures, especially Undead who harbor a hatred against the living. The only reason that Ainz was allowed to keep existing was because his power was so great that it overthrew all principals and codes of humanity. As the bishop that oversaw the unit that Ainz destroyed, he could not feel anything but contempt.
"Paradyne, you must realize that in today's world Undead have become the continuous bane of humanity; it has become a standard to eliminate them on sight. Our unit acted in the same way as any group of soldiers would and they did not know that the land on which they were trespassing belonged to Ainz Ooal Gown."
The one who spoke this time was the Archbishop of Wind, Yliana Forx Aurado. She was the most levelheaded of the Six Archbishops and thought that if she allowed Ordoro to keep leading the diplomatic meeting things would only get worse.
The corners of Fluder's mouth twitched upwards. At least one of the archbishops had a good head on her shoulders. But it would still prove insufficient.
"Your Excellency, no matter the reason we cannot allow this incident to go undisputed, which reminds me that I have been forgetful. I have completely forgotten to deliver a gift that I was allowed to bring to you by my lord."
Fluder ruffled around inside of his robe and appeared to be retrieving something. At this moment the dozens of guards immediately readied their weapons and prepared to fire their strongest spells at a moment's notice. Fluder was the most powerful wizard in the human nations. If he took out a magic item here then it would be almost impossible to stop him from killing the archbishops if he so wished.
Fluder raised his hand and gestured to calm down as he slowly and without making any false moves produced an object wrapped in a piece of fine red cloth.
The archbishops gestured to one of their aides to go and retrieve the gift.
When it was delivered to them they motioned that the aide himself should open it in front of them as doing so themselves was too dangerous.
The aide slowly untangled the knot and revealed the contents hidden inside the cloth…
"What?"
"Is that?"
"That idiot Nigun!"
Before them inside the cloth, the Six Archbishops saw a beautifully shining crystal that seemed to contain a faint glimmer in its core. This was the same crystal that Nigun was given in case Gazef Stronoff proved too strong to fight. Normally to give this crystal just to eliminate one man was unheard of. But if Gazef proved too powerful and revealed the Theocracy's involvement with the nobles of the kingdom then it would be inviting even more trouble.
What was even worse was that they could clearly see that it had been used. The strong magic glow that was present in the crystal before was nowhere to be seen. Only a slight trace still remained.
"I believe this to be one of the great treasures of the Slane Theocracy. My master has deemed it proper to return it to you as a token of politeness as looting antiques is not one of his hobbies."
Antiques?
Archon, who had thus far remained silent, was racking his brain over what he had just heard. To call a magic item that could destroy an entire city an antique was unfathomable. Just how powerful was this sorcerer that he could leisurely return magic items like this without giving it a second thought?
"As for the second reason, I believe that perhaps you should already have an idea. Not too long ago my master sent some personnel to this city in order to find out if establishing diplomatic relations was beneficial."
Archon's brows twitched.
If that was true then the ones that the Sorcerer King sent would be…
"However, when one of these emissaries was taking a stroll through the city one certain evening one of the Theocracy's men attacked him unprovoked. Although he was saved by his comrades the offense still stands."
"Emissary? Don't you mean spy?!" Ordoro spat angrily.
Sending Emissaries to foreign nations was common practice but doing so in secret without announcing it was an entirely different matter.
"To begin with these are huge claims you are making Fluder! No man of the Theocracy would attack a random person on the street. There must have been a reason that this envoy of the Sorcerer King was attacked!"
Fluder gently stroked his beard as he often did when trying to hide a facial expression that he would prefer to remain unnoticed.
To think that they'd walk into this trap so easily. This Archbishop was really an idiot.
"Indeed you are right, Your Excellency. There really is a reason that he was attacked which brings me to my main point. The offense that this emissary has committed was that he was not of the human race!"
So it really was him.
Archon felt a vague sense of fear as he now knew for certain that the envoy that was attacked was the strange werewolf that Zesshi fought a while back.
"Your Excellencies, as you yourselves have stated, the very existence of the Undead to you and all of humanity is considered a nightmare that one does not wake up from. It is the unique trait of the Slane Theocracy, however, that every race that is not human must be exterminated."
Too late the Archbishops understood what Fluder was getting at. According to reports from their spies in the Empire, hundreds or perhaps thousands of demi-human and heteromorphic creatures were Ainz's devoted followers. A nation that pushed for extermination of these races would surely be seen as an enemy.
"Please wait a moment, Paradyne-dono! While we do not deny that there was indeed an incident with a non-human in the capital, it is our understanding that this non-human was a werewolf of some kind. In other words, the soldier who attacked him was doing his duty as a soldier of this nation to protect the innocent citizens of this capital."
Yliana tried to remedy the situation as best she could but knew that the six of them had already fallen into the trap and now could only struggle to avoid the worst outcome.
No matter what this could not escalate or else there would be no end to their troubles.
"Your Excellency seems to misunderstand the main topic. My master commands thousands of creatures like that werewolf who I can guarantee will not attack a human unless ordered to or in self-defense. But while one of these creatures was on a mission to judge whether relations with this nation were feasible he was attacked without provocation. Where does that leave the Theocracy?"
The archbishops tried to form words and reasons in their head but found themselves utterly jammed.
They had heard from reports that Ainz was a clever schemer but only now realized that this war of words had already been decided.
If they claimed that Fluder was lying then they would have to present a witness to disprove the accusations. They could not do so due to the fact that the witness was a national secret and one of the five legacies.
If they stated that the attack was for religious reasons then there was no telling what the reaction from the opposite party would be.
The best choice of action would be to formally apologize and try to reconcile. But to do so with an Undead went against everything that they themselves had preached to all followers of their faith. As the archbishops they would be in danger of being proclaimed heretics by all the lesser priests if they so much as negotiated with an Undead.
The fact that Fluder had been granted an audience in his master's name was solely because of his status as the greatest magic caster in the world. To think that Ainz Ooal Gown would be clever enough to create such a dangerous situation using nothing more than a name.
We've been played for fools. To think that we've fallen for his trap so neatly, we should have declined an official audience with them in the first place.
Archon was full of regret but could do little more than grit his in teeth in frustration and quietly continue listening as he had no voice in these official meetings and only served as a figurehead on the surface.
The same went for Ordoro but he was allowed to be the main voice during these meetings as he possessed great rhetoric and still commanded a large amount of respect in the Theocracy due to his charisma which people would not think he had at first glance.
Fluder could almost feel the excitement inside him as he prepared to deal to final blow. He could not wish for more than to be useful to his new master and peer ever deeper into the Abyss of magic but to see the Six Archbishops of the Slane Theocracy eliminated like this was still something to relish.
Time to finish it…
"Well then, my master is prepared to overlook this unfortunate incident without causing any international conflicts but there is one condition."
Condition?
The archbishops all became anxious at the thought of what he might ask. If he asked for the life of the soldier that attacked his subordinate or for tribute or sacrifices to be made, then they would have no choice but to decline.
If it was something small they could get away with appeasing the Sorcerer King without fear of being accused of sacrilege. But if it was an absurd request then…
"You see my master, Ainz Ooal Gown, wishes to rule peacefully without boundaries of race or affliction but dislikes slavery based on racial predestination. So much so that when the Empire allied with him it was under the condition of removing all demi-humans from slavery without delay."
The archbishops could almost taste the bitterness in their hearts as they heard what was said. Of course they knew about this development. Thanks to that little escapade in the empire entire scores of non-human denizens were freed from their chains and released back into the wild, so to speak.
Some of them were entire tribes which were caught by the Theocracy and then sold off to the empire as it was more profitable than simply slaying them all. Now they had entire clans of elves and other races that were starting to return to the borders of the Theocracy and were causing all kinds of trouble. Not to mention that now the Theocracy could no longer sell the slaves they already had to the empire.
"Which brings me to the condition. If you wish for my master to overlook this incident and avoid any confrontation then our only request is the abolishment of your slave trading and racial purging of non-human races throughout and beyond the borders of the Theocracy."
Checkmate.
The archbishops could never accept this. Even if they wanted to they could not. The amount of financial, political, and religious implications that the mere mention of such a policy would bring was unspeakable. They themselves would be burned at the stakes by other priests for heresy whilst the slave traders of the Theocracy watched amongst the crowds. But if they refused and Ainz decided to attack the capital, then all it would take for the proud crown jewel of their religion to turn into a second 'Silent City' was but one of Ainz's Spells.
"Fluder, you know full well that we can't accept these terms! You're asking way too much in return for beating up one lowly vassal of this Gown fellow, no lord cares that much for just one of his subordinates."
At this moment Lupusregina and Yuri twitched. Even if neither of them really cared for Lycan they still saw him as one of their own. To hear such a foolish mortal question the infinite love that Ainz had for all of his subjects made their blood boil.
Just as Lupusregina was about to stand up and smash the head of the one who insulted their master into bits Yuri stopped her with a fierce wave of killing intent that told her to stay in place.
Fluder, pretending not to notice what was going on behind him, continued to say calmly
"I see. That is very unfortunate. But my master has taken quite an offence to you. I'm sorry to say that if you refuse it will be a declaration of war."
Not only the Archbishops, the paladin guardians, the divine-type magic casters and all the other regular soldiers, all were perplexed.
The news of what had happened on Katze Plains had become an international news story that was talked about by the high society of almost every nation around the continent. The thought of waging war against a being capable of such carnage made them want to hurl.
"Of course you should realize that such a thing will be meaningless in the field as my master can turn all of your legions into compost with a single spell. In truth, he had already predicted that you would decline his offer and thus prepared the terms of this war if they are agreeable to you."
Archon, along with the other archbishops, was spitting all kinds of curses at Fluder and his master at the moment. Of course he had foreseen that they would decline. In their position they could not agree even if they advocated that it was to save the nation from doom. There was just too much money at stake for it to be accepted by the underground slave traders that contributed large sums to the Theocracy in secret.
"My master thus proposes that we hold a duel of old with the strongest elite of the Theocracy against the strongest warriors of the Tomb of Nazarick."
At this the archbishops' eyes lit up. In old records there existed recordings of old wars being resolved by a duel in order to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. But only if it was advantageous for both parties. Why would a sorcerer as powerful as Ainz want to settle the war with a duel where the outcome might prove uncertain?
"Of course my lord himself will not be participating in this duel as that would be rather boring. He promised to send two of his men to fight your best."
Only two?
"My lord proposes for the fight to occur in two months' time. As for the battlefield, I do not think that the border territory between E-Rantel and the Theocracy, the famous Charakuri Plains, will be a problem. What do you think?"
This Bastard.
A unanimous sense of hatred spread amongst most of the guards and archbishops as they listened to the calm and composed tone of Fluder who was casually talking about events that could decide the lives of millions.
From the moment that they had accepted this meeting they had been trapped by Ainz. If it wasn't for the prestige of 'tri-arts Fluder' they could have avoided it. But now all that they could do was quietly listen to the terms of the duel.
"Well then. I believe that that's for the most part what needed to be said. Do you have any questions, Your Excellencies? Ah, but the details will be sorted out later with another envoy."
"Yes, quite a few in fact! For starters why you a hero of humanity would bow your head to an undead for starters! But if you've gone senile then that's all that one can say. The most important question now is what happens if we win?"
Fluder paused for a moment and pretended not to hear the insult as he readied his reply.
"If you win? Let's see. I believe my master said that in the case that you are able to win he will return the remaining bodies of the Sunlight Scripture as well as forget about the incident with the emissary and overlook your racial extermination policies as well as pay you an adequate sum as a recompense. Also, my master has promised to leave the Theocracy alone for at least a hundred years."
These terms were quite good. To be able to get someone as dangerous as Ainz out of their hair for as long as one hundred years was already quite good, but all the other promises are very beneficial as well. To be able to recover the bodies of the Sunlight Scripture would raise their public opinion quite a bit.
Even if Ainz would not stay true to his word after he lost it would create massive disdain from neighboring nations and would turn every major power in the world into a potential enemy. Surely even Ainz would rather avoid such an outcome.
"Now then, you have two months to decide whether or not you accept. If in two months' time you are not present then… the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown will rain fire and death on your capital in three months' time."
The archbishops were rarely all of the same mind. As representatives of different branches of religion they would often quarrel over who retains rights to what. And all looked out mostly for themselves. But at this moment they were all thinking the exact same thing.
I want to give the order to execute this arrogant, senile fool.
Seeing the face of despair of the men who were listening to the conversation, Ordoro knew he had to intervene or their morale and beliefs could affect the Theocracy's foundation. These men would tell all of their families what they had heard as soon as they got home regardless of a gag-order. If their opinion of the archbishops was too low it could plunge the capital into panic.
"Paradyne! Know that your master is a mighty Undead but even they can still be killed in our world! We serve the Six Great Gods! Our immortal guardians will continue to watch over us and protect us from fallen sinners like you! Praise the Six!"
"Praise the Six!"
Responding to the passionate speech of the bishop the hall roared as their voices united into one cheer.
"Gods… you say…"
Fluder quietly stood without moving a muscle as he seemed to ponder about something.
"Fu…
Fuhahahahaha!
FUHAHAAHAHAHAHA!"
Loud laughter that one would hardly think belonged to a human rang through the shrine. All the soldiers, guards and paladins had their eyes glued to the legendary magic caster as he laughed like a mad dog.
"Fuhahaahaa… I'm sorry! Please forgive my outburst. But for you to continue to pray to idols and stories when the real god's messenger is right in front of you… what a good joke!"
Behind Fluder, Lupusregina and Yuri were also doing their best to hold back their laughter. Lupusregina aside, even Yuri could not help but laugh at the foolishness of humans who claim to know gods when their master was one of the 41 Supreme Beings that used to hunt gods for items and experience points, treating them as nothing more than slight challenges.
"Well then, my master will wait for you. Two months' time from now he will show you what it means to pass divine judgement. That is… if you have the courage to show up! Fuhahahaha!"
After exchanging formal farewells Fluder and the maids left, leaving behind them six aggravated archbishops and hundreds of frightened soldiers.
Ordoro and Yliana looked at each other and collected their thoughts as they reflected on what to do next.
Finally, Yliana made a decision.
"Summon the Captains of the Black, Windflower, Earthquake, and Firefly Scripture! We're having an emergency meeting!"
End of Part 1
Long live betas! I'll be posting the other parts when they have been corrected by my new beta 7137! Should be somewhere in the next few days!