Note: This story uses the same setting as my other story "Momon, Big Black Changeling". Essentially, Ainz Ooal Gown is the same type of creature as in that story, although this and that story happen in different worlds.
The Word had been given; Supreme, Unbreakable, Inviolate.
And thus, the Sword that was raised above their heads, descended, bringing an end to All.
Yet for the intended victims, it was as if business was still going on as usual. They were utterly oblivious to the gruesome fate that awaited them, from a place that none really anticipated. They thought the darkness in which they lurked was sufficient to protect them from justice and retribution. It made sense; they had lived and thrived in it for a long time. But all around this murk now glittered a hundred gleaming eyes, from beings far more malevolent than they would ever expect.
The Eight Fingers had long held dominion over the Re-Estize Kingdom's underworld. They could trace their origins to the Kingdom's very founding, though none of these criminals obviously kept extensive records of their past. It was a dog-eat-dog world here in the darkness, and no one took notice of those who failed in their climb to the top. If ever some criminal succeeded to become a noble—well, he would be recorded as a noble, and not as some up-jumped criminal.
Each "Finger" of this united organization was responsible for a certain specialty of their trade. These were the departments of slavery, of assassinations, of smuggling, thievery, drugs, security, moneylending and racketeering. While their organization meant that there was more profit to be made by cooperating fully and respecting each other's territory; these Fingers were actually quite competitive and always sought to rule all Fingers in one way or another. It was only the very nature of their illegal work that prevented any one person from achieving ascendancy. There had been tales of a lich who had once infiltrated the organization who had schemed to own Seven out of Eight, only to be foiled by the Eighth who had sicced a party of high-level adventurers on it. Predictably this "savior" would then seek to unite all Eight under him, only to be torn down from that position by jealous subordinates not long after.
No one really knew if that story was true or made up. As with all things about the shadowy organization made up primarily of cutthroats and rogues, the truth was a pricey thing, and not to be given freely, if at all.
But in some cases, there were truths that needed to be said and heard.
"Coco Doll, you should not have done something so foolish," they told him, when the leaders of all the Eight Fingers once more gathered to speak. This grand council formed from the head of all eight departments were bound by mutual consent to seek a way forward in a unilateral manner, generally speaking. No one could make overt moves in the world "upside" without first consulting the rest. That was grounds for censure, and if the offending party did not make things right, a hidden war was inevitable. They all preferred their place in the dark, and did not wish for sunlight to come streaming into their underworld.
"I thought the opportunity was ripe," Coco Doll said. "I remember how we were all discussed crashing that particular party."
"But we all agreed on one particular thing," said another member, leader of smuggling, slamming his palms on the oaken table. "This council even voted on it. No funny business at Momon's party. Not even so much as a godsdamned prank! So why would you go at it yourself?"
"As I have already said, I judged that the opportunity was present," Coco Doll responded haughtily. "And so I made a plan and executed it flawlessly."
"A flawless plan?" grunted the leader of the security group. "Your pathetic play didn't even achieve its goal. As we have all seen, it was a miserable failure."
"The plan was flawless," Coco Doll insisted with a snort. "I found that pathetic shit, our little minion, who could be used as our patsy without showing our hands. I closed all the gaps. That it failed was not because the plan was flawed in any way; it was only because Momon is a far more troublesome person than all of us anticipated."
"Than you anticipated. We already knew he was going to be difficult to dispatch," said the feminine leader of the drug department. "And yet you went on this inane plot anyway, as if it didn't matter. That is not the sign of a well-executed scheme, fool. So, no, we can only conclude that it was not a flawless plan at all."
"I believe we've already lambasted our colleague enough," said the leader of the assassins. "I, myself, am personally grateful for this little tidbit. Now we know poison is definitely out of the question, if you want my department to handle this Momon." When Coco Doll made to bow in his seat, the assassin raised their hand. "But I am now concerned that you overstepped your bonds, Coco Doll. This act is supposed to be under my department's purview. If you had succeeded, then I would have been the first to crack open a bottle of vintage wine and toast your audacity. But you failed miserably, and now not only are my people slandered with your incompetence by association, you have alerted the birds above."
"How does it look, Zero?" one of them asked the leader of security. "Is it as bad as can be assumed?"
Zero shook his head. "We have been receiving quite a lot of reports about increased activity from the Adventurer's Guild. It is to be expected. Coco Doll did strike at one of their more valued members, on an occasion that the Guild would celebrate."
Everyone nodded at that, well aware of the Adventurer Guild's obsession with pairing up and breeding people together to find some powerful offspring. The Fingers had even assisted them in this, directly or indirectly, over the years. Momon, a powerful man, marrying Lakyus, another strong adventurer, would certainly be an undeniable coup.
A war with the Adventurer Guild, leaving aside the fact that it would constitute all the Guilds in the land, was also bad for business overall. No one here desired the great upheaval that would result from so boldly breaking the status quo and exposing everyone. Rival organizations from other kingdoms would certainly take notice, and would maneuver to take bites.
The leader of the gamblers was the next to speak. "My own sources from among the nobles here in the city can corroborate that. How can it not be big news, when the Aindra family is nobility? While some suspect intrigue, those in our pocket—in my pocket in particular—are telling my people they wish for us to lay low. We have not enough influence among either faction to stop a potential royal prerogative. That is part of why I pushed strongly for no action."
"More practically," said the leader of the smugglers. "My men have seen an uptick in business from all the shops, the smiths, and everyone else. Supplies are being bought, weapons are being reforged—there is a great hurry to stockpile many things. And because there are no news about a possible incursion of monsters from somewhere, the most obvious answer to this is because they're gearing up for one thing in particular."
They all stared, once again, at Coco Doll, who rather than being cowed, actually preened at all the attention.
"What all this boils down to, is a disruption of our business," came the raspy voice of the moneylenders. "It is certain that they know that we are behind this stupid attempt. And we can then follow this conclusion with another: that they will retaliate. And that, of course, will mean that all our businesses here will be substantially affected. A loss of profits profits none of us. And since we cannot just offer Coco Doll's head on a pike—"
"That sounds like a good idea," grunted Zero.
"Then we must prepare." They all looked at each other grimly. None of them were girded for war, and the thousands of daggers in their employ were as much aimed at each other as their potential enemies outside. Open warfare in their light was not their way.
Therefore, they would need to scurry into their boltholes, taking as much of their assets as they could, while making it as painful as possible for their pursuers to keep hounding them. They would weather this storm, and wait for it to pass, before once more taking up their former positions. Such an act would not be good for business, they all knew, but it would ensure they survived.
"We shall ensure that we'll cover your sorry asses," Zero said. As head of the security department, they would be the ones bearing the brunt of any potential repercussions. "But thankfully, my men have managed to secure a particularly powerful artifact. I've been told it's a 'city-killer' of some sort." He grinned. "I hope you all manage to squirrel away your businesses on time. There's no telling what sort of chaos and destruction this will cause when I give the order to deploy the artifact."
A lot of faces and shoulders relaxed around the high table. While the potentially staggering loss of revenue was a heart-breaking affair, the assurances of survival trumped such concerns. In that case, they should just work all the harder to reclaim their lost wealth much later. And if, in the process of unleashing this artifact their enemies got eliminated? Well, that would be a nice little bonus.
"But Coco Doll," Zero said. "You'll not be part of the security department's protection. This is my personal decision as leader, and I'm sure the others would agree that it is warranted."
That made Coco Doll sit up. "What? You can't do that! We're all part of the same group!"
"I'm afraid Zero will be busy with other commitments," the others said, each sharing knowing looks. "So try and see if you can survive."
"This is a situation of your own making."
"You set fire to the house, so you'll need to make your escape yourself."
Ainz Ooal Gown's declaration of annihilation had upset many plans in the making. Demiurge's plans, in particular, had called for subverting the Eight Fingers, and then in turn using them to subvert the Re-Estize Kingdom. The corruption of a nation through guile and intrigue spoke to him on a personal level; but thanks to fate and ill-timed luck, such grand plans had to be scrapped.
In some way, he and the rest of Nazarick's planners felt a sort of responsibility for what had occurred during Ainz-sama's wedding. They should have known that such a possibility could have happened. And Ainz-sama's anger made it clear that this was something that had not been foreseen; or rather, He had trusted his minions to handle that matter and had then been angered that this had still been allowed to continue.
There was no other explanation for his orders to completely annihilate the Eight Fingers. Ainz-sama was not particularly angry at these pathetic schemers, but was more displeased that Nazarick had not caught on to His vision and had instead let these humans spoil his day.
Even Albedo had come to Demiurge, screaming that her "precious" toy had been hurt, and that they should have known such a thing was likely. She had tried to rake Demiurge and the intelligence section over the coals for failing to screen that would-be assassin. Yet he had pointed out that she had been equally at fault for failing to anticipate such a thing, and had grown complacent in her little games. It would have been a simple thing to have all the food swapped for things made by Nazarick: but Albedo had insisted on leaving things be and letting the humans take care of that part, even when it was clearly a security risk. This of course led to a rat infiltrating the wedding to slip its poison in and taking them unawares.
Very fortunately, there were already countless contingencies in place to fulfill Ainz-sama's orders of virtually annihilating these rats. It was, in fact, the very first option that had already been laid out when the first of Nazarick's feelers had arrived at the Re-Estize Kingdom. There had been plans to utterly decimate the Eight Fingers, before then replacing them wholesale with Nazarick's own minions. While that plan had been shelved when Ainz-sama had decreed that their new policy would revolve around subtlety and deception, they had not been discarded entirely.
With the word given, all of Nazarick's soldiers were given their orders and then set loose. Obviously, the plan was modified to be conscious of Ainz-sama's desire that nothing can ever be traced to "mysterious creatures" that would lay a trail, however faint, back to Nazarick. So while Nazarick's forces started the cull from the lower levels of the Eight Fingers, Demiurge also ordered some to be attached to the nascent "retribution corps" that the mortal Adventurer's Guild was now forming.
Albedo had brought it to his attention. The Adventurer's Guild had independently realized the culprit of the event that had targeted that mortal Lakyus. For their own private reasons, they found this audacity to be something that could not be easily forgiven. Therefore, they were setting out on their own private war. Nazarick would therefore hide in their shadows (literally as in the case of the shadow demons) and assist in purging their targets to add another layer of deniability—just as Ainz-sama willed it. It was an acceptable plan, and something he approved of wholeheartedly. It fulfilled two goals at the same time, which was more than acceptable.
Of course, this was also helped by the fact that Ainz-sama was personally involved in the Guild's retribution, as Momon the Dark Hero.
The Adventurer's Guild of the Re-Estize Kingdom had been roused. An attack on one of their esteemed number: Momon of Eclipse Nebula and Lakyus of Blue Rose, was equivalent to an attack on all of them.
It had long been tradition for the adventurers of the guild to consider themselves as standing separate from the nation from which they hailed. They took on the difficult jobs. They were the neutral parties who cared nothing for power or politics, but to safeguard the common people, exactly as heroes must. And while there were some like those in the Slaine Theocracy who would insist that they must offer their powers only for the sake of humanity, by and large the average adventurer considered themselves protectors of the world.
That some sort of political intrigue had over-reached and had led to one of their more esteemed number being attacked provoked strong sentiments all around. Add to that the knowledge that it had been a criminal organization who had been responsible for such a heinous attempt, and their righteous indignation was aroused. This was what all heroes should do, in all the stories that featured them. They would fight against the evils of the world, and triumph as was their wont.
Many, therefore, heeded the call in the capital city of the Re-Estize Kingdom, to place themselves at the Guild's service for one especially grand quest. While the terms weren't anything too generous, and there was a high risk of danger, these people were all too happy to be involved in what promised to be a historic event.
This was not to say that the entirety of the Adventurer's Guild, meaning its constituents in other nations, had been mobilized. While the other branches would definitely have sympathized with an attack on one of their number, the Guild on the whole also knew when not to overstep the boundaries of nations. While their universal remit allowed them to act independently from their hosting nation, it was not as if that gave them complete freedom to do everything. The other branches, could not, for example, be sent to assist the Re-Estize branch with an infusion of reinforcements. That would have been seen as too incendiary; particularly if these adventurers came from the Baharuth Empire, the nation's current rival.
Still, there was a certain confidence in their preparations as the Re-Estize Guild mustered in its entirety. Ainzach had given the orders, but it was two particular high-level groups who led the charge. And it was rather fitting that these were the ones who were the aggrieved party in this very instance.
Momon the Dark Hero, of Eclipse Nebula; and Lakyus Aindra, his wife, of Blue Rose.
The fact that they had been ear-marked to be the leaders of this small group had inspired quite a lot of adventurers to join up. Lakyus was already something of a legendary figure among their association. Her group was all-female, after all, and had seen through many storied quests that were worth a whole bunch of stories. And Momon on the other hand was something of an exotic figure, a hero who had risen to the top through overcoming impossible odds. While some were skeptical of his origins and his intentions, they could not dispute his might, especially in having dealt with so many threats to the Kingdom. If he had not been an adventurer, he could have become a noble in his own right.
The word, too, had been spread, that Momon was offering his own special rewards for participation in this grand quest of rooting out the Eight Fingers. Exotic items from a distant land were an enticing thing for any adventurer worth their salt, and that was why even the lowest copper plate was signing up, even if their role wasn't that glamorous.
This grand mustering did not fail to attract the attention of the Re-Estize authorities, in particular the nobility. Some loudly questioned this disproportionate response from the Guild, fearing that their "misguided" actions would only result in a lot of destroyed property or even the lives of their precious citizens. And since the nobility had gotten involved, this meant the Factions were also alerted—and in turn, the King.
Princess Renner, long an advocate for suppressing illegal trade in her father's Kingdom, was one of the louder advocates in support of the Guild's action. She was opposed by those voices in the Greater Nobles, who thought it a gross violation of the Guild's charter—and Renner's involvement as a potential over-reach from royal authority. Still others were in support of finally getting rid of a den of criminals, declaring that justice had come at last for these malcontents.
Fortunately for Renner and the Guild, the brewing dispute among the nobility prevented any real objections to their intentions. And realistically, stopping the adventurers from doing as they wanted required manpower—manpower the detractors did not have easily on hand. The most they could do was pressure King Ramposa III for a formal censure of the local Guild, and perhaps to bog them down in negotiating compromises. But the King made no such remarks, choosing wisely to hand over the matter to his own faction. And while that might have been seen as weak and ineffectual of the King in any other situation, this time it allowed the Crown to sidestep the matter entirely as the nobles of the Faction squabbled fruitlessly over the matter.
And while they argued, Momon and his cohorts began to move.
It had been an interesting time for Ninya, as member of the renowned group Eclipse Nebula. She had been summoned from her current mission, bringing with her Dee and the strange man named B-4. As a member of Eclipse Nebula and Nabe-sama's apprentice she was used to being summoned at odd times and to odd places. But the Capital City of the Re-Estize Kingdom was a familiar location for her; and she then wondered if she was about to receive instructions personally from Momon again.
But she had been led to meet with Amelia, Momon's companion, who had commanded her to represent Eclipse Nebula in associating with a bunch of lower-ranked adventurers in some big quest, where the objectives weren't quite clear to her.
"Do not shame us in this, particularly sir Momon," Amelia told her frostily. "He expects you to do your utmost best as usual. Should you need to contact us with anything important, you may inform Dee. She shall ensure that word is brought back to the lord."
"Of course, my lady," she'd said hastily. The woman glared down at her with a displeased look, similar to that which Nabe had shown her. Then she had been dismissed, to start her mission as liaison with the adventurers from the Guild.
She was later able to piece together what had happened. It appeared that her leader's wedding with Lakyus of Blue Rose had been disrupted by an assassination attempt that had failed. Interrogation of the poisoner had yielded the information of the Eight Fingers' culpability in the matter.
What should have been a private affair between Momon, his new wife, her family and the criminal organization had then expanded beyond when word had come to Ainzach. For some reason, he had been angered by what had occurred, and had thus been the one to propose this expedition. Its goal: to eliminate all vestiges of the Eight Fingers from the Kingdom in its entirety.
As a native of the Kingdom, she was familiar with the Eight Fingers. While Ninya didn't really know the exact scope of the organization, she was sufficiently old enough to know that these people could not just be opposed lightly. Horrible things happened to those who tried, and even the nobility were not exempt from these criminals' retribution.
However, knowing Momon and his people as she did, she was now wondering at the stupidity of the Eight Fingers in rousing the anger of such a man. Putting his new wife aside, who was certainly a powerful adventurer in her own right, Ninya knew full well how powerful the Dark Hero was. She was apprentice to his assistant, by the gods! She'd heard that Momon was spearheading this quest himself. While the criminals were certainly formidable, she was less sure about their chances of success. Momon, to her, was a genuinely powerful individual, which might just suffice to eliminate these criminals in their entirety.
After a brief rest, Ninya then had to face the responsibilities foisted upon her. As a mid-level liaison of Eclipse Nebula, it fell to her to represent the group to the lower-ranked groups. The expectation was that she would work alongside them in the quest, and also offer "good news" about Momon and his people.
It was strange to be considered a sort of VIP among the lower-ranked adventurers. It made her guilty, as she knew full well that barely a year earlier she could count herself as one of them. Lowest among the low, humble people only looking to make a name for themselves, make some money, and hopefully become heroes. It had only been a freak set of circumstance that had led her down this path, that had let her stand beside the likes of Momon, to be treated as part of his group. But that didn't make her feel any less of a fraud: despite the hellish training she'd undergone, she knew she wasn't that great or powerful.
On the other hand, she knew she could not just disappoint these starry-eyed adventurers whom she talked to, who looked at her as she had looked at Momon long ago. She could not betray the trust they'd given her; in the trust Nabe-sama and sir Momon had also given her by taking her into Eclipse Nebula.
Thankfully, she didn't need to take on a leadership role. Those roles had already been arranged beforehand, and she was just working as Amelia had ordered: to be a liaison, and the public face for Eclipse Nebula while Momon and Nabe and all the rest did all the heavy lifting.
As she understood it, the quest would begin with a coordinated strike against the known businesses of the Eight Fingers all over the large area of the Capital City. They would expect stiff opposition from skilled, hardened criminals, who might possess skills equal to or even greater than normal adventurers. But the quest's objectives were clear: these businesses were to be disrupted, operations halted, and any illegal contraband confiscated.
Not long after the first briefing, she accompanied a troop of lower-ranked adventurers on the very first raid. Their target was a brothel in a seedy part of town, which their leaders had confirmed to be a part of the Eight Fingers.
First, the scouts did their thing, and performed preliminary surveillance on the location. Magical traps and counter-surveillance were detected, and were then taken care of by these scouts and by magic casters in the group who had the ability. After a brief discussion of their tactics, the scouts infiltrated the building using all the entrances. Then their heavy hitters charged through the doors, their armor hopefully working to absorb the first hits of whatever retaliation was waiting.
The rest of the group followed, pushing the raid forward. It was hoped that the initial shock from the masters inside the brothel would freeze them just enough to preserve their momentum as they dismantled and disabled all the defenses inside, from men to magical.
Chaos followed as screams filled the air. It wasn't quite the blood-curdling scream of people being killed—as the raid wasn't obviously here to kill. But for Ninya it was still rather disconcerting, as she followed along behind the main group, acting as the rear guard to ensure that no one was able to flank them from behind. The patrons were rounded up along with the guards, who did not resist when they saw the heavily armed adventurers blundering through the walls. The women, from the workers to the staff, were collected and gathered in another place.
"How dare you!" screamed one of the patrons. By his blonde hair and the earrings he wore, he looked like a noble. "You will be hearing from the King about this! He'll have your heads!" A few of the adventurers flinched at that, but they had all been assured that their raid was sanctioned by the Guild. There was nothing illegal about this, and so they did not have to fear retribution.
"Mission complete," had then been declared. A small contingent was broken off to escort the patrons and others back to the Guild. It was true that nothing would happen to most of the patrons, as they were guilty of nothing more than slaking their lusts on unfortunate women. But those criminals who were part of this trade were to be arrested on sight, to be given over to royal justice.
After that, it fell to the rest remaining in the brothel to explain the circumstances of this raid. They would be taken to another location that had been prepared, where they would be taken care of, hopefully. Ninya personally didn't know what sort of fate awaited them, but she hoped it was good.
Then there came a shout from the people upstairs. "Come help! There's someone… In bad condition!"
Being closest to the person, she was the first to follow along, despite knowing she had nothing that could reasonably help. She was a magic caster, and a particularly bad one at that. Still, she wanted to help in any way she could.
They came to a room, where she saw a body lying inside. The stench that wafted out from within was so strong that her knees crumpled beneath her. It smelled so strong and bad that she had to fight not to gag. Only her companions looked unfazed as they stood behind her, their faces placid.
Inside the room was a body. She'd thought it was dead, but judging from the panicked expression of the one who'd made the announcement, she was still alive. Well, only just.
A woman elbowed her way past B-4, who did nothing, and went beside the body. Ninya struggled to stand, leaning on the doorframe as she did so, as she covered her nose with the other hand.
"We need to get her to a proper healer!" the woman declared, after casting several spells on the body. "Hurry!"
Ninya stepped aside as stronger, burlier adventurers did as requested, scooping up the body in their arms to carry them outside that horrid-smelling room.
But as they passed her, something tingled at her consciousness. It was like she was recalling the long-forgotten images of a dream, hooking into her mind and never letting go.
That shade of hair… she knew it. It was blonde, the sort of blonde that was ever present on many other people.
But Ninya knew that hair. She rushed forward, surprising the men who were carrying the body. She pushed aside the ratty hair, which hung like thin strips of straw, and shrouded the poor unfortunate's face.
And there, gazing back at her, was the unmistakable face of Tuareninya.
Her sister.
This was an anonymous commission, thank you. A reminder that the story is commissioned.
If you'd like a story commissioned, feel free to contact me here, or on archiveofourown under "RHoldhous", or message me on discord under RHoldhous#6771/jonholdhous.
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