CHAPTER 25:

ROUTING THE INVADERS

Wild Dog. Amongst Workers, they ranked as the lowest of the low. True, there were many who had the same contemptible nature, but Wild Dog barely managed to survive where others that indulged in their activities did not.

Their leader had been a descendent of one of the Greed Kings. He didn't know it, but said Greed King had named himself for a manga character, Wyald, from Berserk. Their leader, who took the same name in emulation of his ancestor and hero, was admittedly strong, but he was nowhere near the level of one of the Black Scripture, for example. He was perhaps on the level of an Adamantite Adventurer at best.

But he had inherited his ancestor's holy texts. Hedonism was all he cared about, albeit tempered with enough pragmatism to ensure that he didn't get tossed into a dungeon. He cared little for politics, or for taking power. Slaking his lust for battle or for women was his raison d'etre. 'Excite and enjoy', his motto.

Still, he was just ignorant enough to think he could capture the infamous Zesshi Zetsumei, if not by force, then by trickery and leverage. The uppity ambassador would be sure to give him a nice bonus. And he couldn't stand being around those other Worker groups, especially that tosspot from Tenmu, who sneered at them all like his shit didn't stink. Hypocrite.

However, even as he and Keen Edge moved into Carne under the cover of darkness, a scout reported, "She's there, waiting for us on the watchtower!"

"How can she be waiting for us?" Wyald retorted.

As if to belie his words, he heard a girl's voice in the distance, crooning a nonsensical rhyme. "Boys and girls come out to play, on the busy motorway…"

Wyald emerged, to find they spoke the truth, or at least that the girl with mismatched hair was sitting in the watchtower, beneath the bell. She was kind of cute. Hmm, the Theocracy loved to exaggerate how strong their fighters were. He'd love to sample those goods…

Antilene knew exactly what Wyald was thinking of her. She knew the type. She just kept singing to herself, before she decided enough time had passed, and she opened her eyes. Keen Edge, wisely, hadn't emerged from hiding, but Wild Dog? Most of them, stupidly, had come into the square. She could see the way Wyald was looking at her with his simian features leering in lust.

"Good evening," she said, deciding to hide what she intended for now, daintily hopping from the watchtower, showing only a pleasant smile. "And to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You're coming with us, Zesshi Zetsumei. Or do you want to see these villagers hurt? All I have to do is tell the lads to raze it to the ground, and…"

"Hard pass," she said, her expression falling. "In other words, no."

"…Do you think you have a chance of stopping us, girl? We can set these trash-heaps alight quicker than you can blink," Wyald sneered. "Besides, you haven't a chance of beating me. I'm what you call a Godkin in the Theocracy, descended from one of the Eight Greed Kings!"

"So am I," Antilene said with a shrug. "And one of the Six Gods to boot on my mother's side. Gods, you're boring me already. Wild Dog, a rabid pooch whose bark is worse than its bite, and who delights in leaving messes. Thankfully, I have a butler and maids to help me clean up the trash. Sebas? That's your cue!"

As Sebas emerged, along with Yuri and Lupusregina (the other Pleiades currently dealing with Keen Edge), Wyald stared in surprise. "A butler? You brought a fucking butler to a serious fight?"

Antilene smirked. "Surely you've heard what has happened to the Eight Fingers and the Six Arms? I killed Peshurian of the Spatial Slash. Sebas there killed Erdström of the Dancing Scimitars. Don't you get it? You're fucked, and not even in a nice way."

"Really? You're the one who's fucked, you stupid bitch. In fact, you'll be having my cock tearing through your cunt, and I'll be enjoying your screams."

Bravado, that was all. Still, she was going to get him back for such language. "Just try it, you bastard…"

Jircniv grimaced as he watched the image hanging above the arena floor. After he had been contacted by Harry about what was happening, he made the mistake of saying yes when Harry asked if he wanted to watch the show. Of course, that meant leaving a Doppelganger in his place, and ensuring his Imperial Knights and Fluder were in on the deception (Baziwood Peshmei had also joined him as part of his duty), but Harry knew that Jircniv, ever the paranoid, was thinking about how easy it would be for Nazarick to kill him and install a puppet in his place.

However, he was sitting in the seat reserved for him in the arena relatively calmly, even partaking of the popcorn and cola that Pestonya had offered the audience. And he remarked, even as the massacre of Wild Dog and Keen Edge concluded, "I'd feel sorry for these idiots if it weren't for the fact that they were so vile. I'll certainly sleep a little easier with them both gone, especially Keen Edge."

"I find myself curious, given that they're assassins, why hadn't they gone after you?" Momonga asked, having swapped out with Pandora's Actor earlier.

"Oh, they hate me, but they know I have too many security measures about my person to attempt an assassination normally. They base their price on the difficulty of the assassination. I was too highly-priced for most to afford. But they always made me nervous. Or perhaps I hate them because, partly thanks to them, I had to engage in familicide to secure my power. As for Wild Dog…well, what need be said about them, other than the obvious?"

Everyone present in the stands nodded. However, Foresight, along with Arche's sisters, were elsewhere, on the 9th Floor, save for Imina, who was waiting with Aura to ambush Tenmu, or rather, its leader. Celicia and Tuare, however, were here in the arena seats, as were Hilma and Brain.

Hilma was smoking from her long pipe, looking nervously at the images of the two Worker groups being curbstomped. Brain looked a little more relaxed, though it helped he wasn't seated anywhere near Shalltear. In fact, he was seated closer to Cocytus, though not too close, to avoid being harmed by Cocytus' freezing aura.

The insectoid warrior in question seemed to sigh, a blast of frigid air escaping his mandibles. "What a disappointment," he rumbled. "For someone who boasted of being a descendent of one of the Greed Kings, he had far less power than any of the Pleiades. And the less said about his lack of valour and warrior's spirit, to say nothing of his needless vulgarity, the better. I'm hoping the other Workers show more mettle than that."

"Dragon Hunt will," Leinas mused. "The old man may be a pragmatist, but when backed into a corner, he's a damn good fighter. Not sure about Heavy Masher or Pinnacle. As for Tenmu, well, Erya is like any other bully. Once he's outmatched, he will either lash out or flee."

"Either way, his fate is sealed," Albedo said, her fingers dancing over a holographic interface as she checked the various security feeds from the Tomb of Nazarick. "Dragon Hunt are still lingering at the entrance for now. Cocytus, you will direct the Old Guard to subdue them. Offer them the chance for surrender once they are subdued. If they accept it, Aureole will open a Gate to the Frozen Prison, where they will reside until we are ready to deal with them. Otherwise, they will be sent here."

"I hear and obey, Lady Albedo," Cocytus said, the hulking insectoid leaving through a Gate summoned by Shalltear for the trip over.

"As for Heavy Masher, Pinnacle and Tenmu, they are being herded throughout Nazarick," Albedo said, her golden eyes scanning the feeds. Her eyes widened, before she smirked. "Shalltear…it seems that Heavy Masher have blundered their way towards the Adipocere Chamber, your very quarters. I thought for a moment they were going to end up in the Black Capsule, but this is another matter entirely. As long as you remember the ground rules, how do you feel about greeting them?"

Shalltear chuckled, before standing, and curtseying. "I will show them the hospitality they are due. In fact, I think my Vampire Brides will be perfectly accommodating to them. Make sure to keep recordings of what's going on, Albedo, as I want to savour the last moments of the rest of these cretins."

After she disappeared through a Gate, Albedo's eyes scanned the feeds, before she smiled. "Tenmu is about to encounter Imina and Aura…"

"Imina, Aura," Albedo sent via Message. "Erya Uzruth and his Elven slaves are nearing you. Get ready."

"Understood, Albedo," Imina said softly, but she started to gain a vicious smirk. "Aura, you're ready?"

"Yep," Aura said, even as they waited in a stone chamber, on either side of the entrance. Soon, the blonde, arrogant Erya Uzruth hurried in, followed by a trio of Elven slaves, dressed in stained rags, their ears cruelly cut. "Hey, over here, Rapist!"

Erya whirled to glare at them, before he started. "You…I know you…you're that knife-eared bitch from Foresight!"

Imina scowled. "I've told you before, you piece of Theocracy trash, my name is Imina."

"And why should I remember the name of some pointy-eared slut? You wouldn't have gotten into Foresight if you weren't sucking Termite's cock. And I'm taking that little brat of yours back with me."

Imina scoffed. "You act all polite in public, but now that we're alone, you show your true vulgar colours, swearing even in front of a kid, no offence, Aura."

"None taken, Imina," Aura said cheerfully. "You've got this?"

"I've got this," Imina said, readying her bow, having arrows ready to nock and fire.

"No, you don't." Erya's body glowed with Martial Arts skills activating, but so too did Imina's body. Over the past little while, she and Foresight had been training. While Arche in particular made the most progress in learning magic, they all had made progress. It helped that she had the (suitably-edited, given the writer's perversion) notes of Momonga and Harry's friend, Peroroncino, to learn new skills. And while she was nowhere near his level, she picked up some new tricks. And Aura had taught her some tricks herself, given her own Ranger abilities. In fact, Aura had supplied something that would be a surprise.

As Erya launched forward, she began nocking and firing arrows at speeds that would normally be considered superhuman, even for an Elf. The first arrow sped towards Erya's legs. He deflected that one. The next headed for his shoulder. He deflected that one too. But he didn't deflect the third, which dug into his right arm, and the fourth found his leg, interrupting his charge, and causing him to skid to a halt on the floor.

To give Erya his due, he didn't give up. His pride wouldn't let him. "HEAL ME! BUFF ME!" he bellowed at his slaves, even as he wrenched the arrows out of his body. "You're going to pay for that, slut! Wen Ah em dun wiv yu, Ah…Ah…" His voice began to slur. "…Wha didja duta meh, bisch?"

Imina smirked, indicating Aura. "As a fellow Ranger, as well as a Tamer, Aura knows quite a few exotic poisons from her pets. I took the antidote earlier just in case, but my arrows were poisoned with a rather nasty paralytic agent. It's hard to overdose on, so those two arrows won't prove lethal. I'd say more's the pity, but I know what's in store for you. Oh, and you need to use at least a 6th Tier spell to dispel this poison normally."

"CAHNT!" Erya snarled.

Imina shrugged, before she stepped onto him, humming a snatch from a song Harry had shown her from his memories. Namely, These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. As she finished walking all over him, she looked at the three Elven slaves, who were staring at her in understandable fear. She spread her arms welcomingly. "He will hurt you no more! This, I guarantee! Surrender, and you will be treated far better than you were under this bastard's aegis! In fact, as long as you leave him more or less alive, feel free to take out your frustrations on him."

The Elven slaves looked at each other, before tentative smiles reached their lips, which soon darkened into vicious sneers. Imina went over to Aura, who scratched her head as the beatdown began. "Wow. I knew they'd probably hate him, but…damn. Ooh, that one's healing him while they beat him. She and Lupusregina must've been sisters separated at birth or something."

Imina nodded. Lupusregina Beta had been teaching Roberdyck a thing or too, as well as teasing Hekkeran and Imina about their love life. The sadistic Werewolf cleric had a wicked sense of humour. "So, how long do you reckon we should let this go on for?"

"I dunno. What do you think?"

"Give it a couple of minutes. They have a lot of pent-up feelings to vent, and as long as they don't kill him, it should be fine…"

Pinnacle arrived in the 6th Floor Arena not long afterwards. Demiurge did the announcing, and the besuited Demon was clearly enjoying hamming things up. Then again, considering his performance as Jaldabaoth, Harry got the suspicion that the Demon enjoyed a bit of acting.

"Welcome, o trespassers!" he announced, a microphone in hand. "You who have sullied the Great Tomb of Nazarick with your filthy feet! You who have come here to find treasures that aren't yours for the taking! Know, then, that you stand before your hosts! The Supreme Ruler of Nazarick, the Undead King, Lord Momonga! The Chancellor of Lord Momonga, his trusted advisor and friend, Lord of the Fallen, Lord Enzo! And the Overseer of the Floor Guardians of Nazarick, the Merciful Pure-White Devil, Lady Albedo! Now, KNEEL."

Pinnacle were instantly on their knees, thanks to Demiurge's ability. "What the hell is this?!" yelped one of them, their leader, a moustached, heavily-scarred man known as Thornley(1).

Harry glared at him, before using Legilimency, just to be sure they were doing the right thing. And what he found in the man's mind disgusted him. For all that he wasn't as bad as Wild Dog or Keen Edge, let alone the Eight Fingers, all he cared about was the money he could get from retrieving Arche. More than once, his group had engaged in some dirty deeds, including murder, kidnapping, and standover tactics, to get. They were very nearly as bad as the bandit group Brain had been involved with, who were really mercenaries with nothing better to do. They drew the line at rape, but only to avoid further attention from the authorities.

"Momonga, Albedo," Harry said quietly. "Let's show them how fucked they are. Demiurge? Track 7 on the battle music playlist, if you don't mind."

Demiurge grinned, activating something on a holographic panel, and soon, strings and trumpets began sounding, in a bombastic beginning that sounded sinister. "Ugh, One-Winged Angel, the Advent Children version," Momonga muttered, he and Albedo using the disguise rings again, having donned them on Harry's suggestion when Pinnacle entered. "This cliché again, Enzo?"

"Don't diss the classics, Momonga," Harry said.

"What the hell are you doing?" Thornley demanded, even as, released from Demiurge's control, he stood.

"You came here into our home, seeking to steal away our children, and you ask that?"

"Uhh, they aren't yours," Thornley said. "You see, a client's word, as far as I am concerned, is law…well, unless they break it with us. Just hand over the girls, and we'll be on our way."

"They broke the contract with us," Harry said, cold anger filling his tone. "They agreed to adopt them out to us, and in exchange for money."

Thornley scoffed. "Look, minor details like that don't matter to us. The customer is always right, and you're not the customer. They are."

And then Harry laughed, a cracked, braying sound, more of hysteria than good cheer. It lasted a long time, until the song broke into heavy rock. "Why did I expect any different?!" he demanded. "You think you can brazen your way in here, and make demands of us? Do you think we're some peasants or merchants you can bully into submission? DO YOU?!"

He stepped forward even as the music began swooping in epic rock chords, before he unleashed his wings. Momonga and Albedo took that as their cue to remove their own disguise rings. And Harry would have enjoyed that blooming expression of shock and fear on Thornley and his underlings' faces more if he wasn't so pissed.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY CHILDREN AWAY FROM ME! NOT A SINGLE ONE!" Harry roared. "I AM 110% DONE WITH PEOPLE TAKING WHAT IS MINE FROM ME! DO YOU HEAR ME, YOU BASTARDS?! YOU HAVE SPENT YOUR ENTIRE CAREERS TAKING WHAT ISN'T YOURS, WHETHER IT BE PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOODS OR THEIR LIVES! BUT NO MORE! I SAID, NO MORE!"

"I agree," Momonga said, looking more and more agitated. "You come into my home, the one my friends and I created, and SULLY IT WITH YOUR PRESENCE?! AND FOR WHAT?!" Harry was startled out of his own fury when he realised that Momonga, despite his emotional suppression, had snapped. "YOU'RE SCUM! NO, YOU'RE WORSE THAN SCUM! YOU COME IN HERE, INTENDING TO KIDNAP THOSE GIRLS, AND ALL FOR THE SAKE OF MONEY?! THEY ARE PRICELESS BEYOND COMPARE, AND YOU DARE TO TEAR THEM AWAY FROM THOSE WHO CARE FOR THEM MORE THAN THEIR SO-CALLED PARENTS DID?! AAARRRRGGGHHHH!"

Then, the emotional suppression finally kicked in, Momonga briefly glowing with pale green light. Albedo, meanwhile, had walked forward. She was clearly holding in her own anger, but she was staying calm, if only barely. "Know this, then, you lower life-forms. You have threatened to take away our children, and with them, our hearts. Therefore, we will take everything from you…piece by piece. Your deaths will be a long time coming, though you will wish otherwise before this night is through. After all, we always need new resources. But first…we will break you."

And Harry saw, given the expressions on their faces, that Pinnacle now knew how fucked they were. They were trying to think of a way to ask for mercy, but Harry could tell that Thornley knew they couldn't think of anything in time. And indeed, they wouldn't.

Because in the next few seconds, all they would start to feel, for what they intended to do, was pain…

CHAPTER 25 ANNOTATIONS:

The Workers have been routed…but what's this? The return of ALL-CAPS HARRY?

But seriously, in some ways, in many ways, aside from Foresight surviving and thriving, this version of events proved better than canon. Dragon Hunt will survive, after all.

Firstly, Wyald and Wild Dog. Wyald is one of those characters you love to hate, especially in Berserk, so having an expy of him be pwned by Antilene, Sebas and the Pleiades is satisfying. Hell, I think they'd even curbstomp the actual Wyald from Berserk: as powerful an Apostle as Wyald is, I think the Pleiades are above most Apostles at the bare minimum.

Secondly, Imina versus Erya Uzruth. Honestly, while I could have had Antilene, Aura or Mare face him (I didn't want to do the same thing as canon, partly because Hamsuke pisses me off something fierce), it's actually fitting to have Imina finally take on the person that, even in canon, rouses her ire. I also wanted to show that Foresight's training with the Floor Guardians has paid some dividends: they may not have grown that much in strength, but they're still stronger than they were in canon. Plus, I thought Imina and Aura potentially having a friendly relationship was kind of sweet. I nearly considered having Aura save Imina, but I decided that would detract from Imina's well-deserved victory, so Aura's more there for support in case things go wrong.

As for the final confrontation with Pinnacle…well, I wanted to emulate the spirit of Momonga's canon rant, but also have it show not only the difference in character between canon Momonga and his counterpart here. True, Thornley didn't try to manipulate him by claiming to know another member of Ainz Ooal Gown, but the fact that Momonga has retained his empathy and cares strongly for the Furt children, to say nothing of Carne (which was about to be attacked by other Workers), has brought his temper to the boiling point. Canon Momonga wallows in the past, whereas this Momonga, while still immensely nostalgic, looks to what he has in the present and the future.

Review-answering time! AvidReader2425: I hadn't thought of that, but when I write a Master of Death Harry, it's usually one with complete immortality, not with any other death-related powers. This version is one of them.

Neon1311: While that's a good point, I still think Pandora's Actor wouldn't try to kill any members of Ainz Ooal Gown unless they were a clear and present danger to Momonga, whereas Albedo, if the theory is correct, would definitely do so. So, again, the premise of her unit in that context, while very plausible, is still flawed.

Have a Little Feith: Yes, but I honestly think it'd be less squicky. Honestly, if Shalltear looked like an adult rather than a loli, I'd bang her. And Yuri, as a Dullahan, is also undead, and she's definitely a waifu. Revenant or ghost-style undead who look more or less as they did in life are fine in my opinion, even if it is technically necrophilia. Otherwise, we wouldn't have such a proliferation of vampire romance novels, which predated Stephanie Meyer's mediocre works (Anne Rice, anyone?). And look at the people lusting after the likes of Sylvanas Windrunner from the Warcraft franchise.

Akuma-Heika: She has an innate Talent, Psychometry, which allows her to use skills within her weapons she wields. In her case, it's a scythe once wielded by Shurshana of the Six Gods, who must have been an undead specialising in the Eclipse classes. In fact, she nearly kills Mare with it, and only Mare's quick usage of resurrection spells saves him. Despite TV Tropes calling Antilene's fight with Mare a ROFLstomp, reading about it on the Overlord wiki, she may very well have killed another Floor Guardian with this same attack. Not Shalltear, of course, but still…

1. I didn't decide on it until I was writing this chapter, but Thornley and Pinnacle are basically expies of Olgierd von Everec and his mercenary gang from The Witcher 3, specifically the Hearts of Stone DLC campaign (and the name Thornley is derived from Olgierd's voice actor, Paul Thornley). And just so you know? I punted his arse towards Gaunter O'Dimm faster than you can say 'spoon in the eye'. He may have sympathetic traits, true, but he's still a nasty piece of work. And for all you Olgierd supporters, there's an excellent argument against saving Olgierd expounded by Geralt to Gaunter in the Games of Thrones crossover The White Wolf of Westeros by DrakeCross. For those of you who are curious, said scene is in Chapter 12 of that fic, The Man of Glass.