The sunlight streamed in through the half draped windows of the great hall of the Re-Estize palace. As tranquil as the sight was, Gazef wasn't paying any attention to the warm red cloth of the drapes or even the cityscape outside the window with its many residents milling about the sidewalks and roadways.
He was thinking of what the future held.
He knew now without a shadow of a doubt, that the Slane Theocracy had him on a hit list. And unsurprisingly, he knew for a while that a faction of Re-Estize's nobles did not like him. Merely the fact of his humble background as a villager before becoming the Knight Captain was enough to boil the blood of many of the capital's aristocrats. The Theocracy knew to attack with his guard at its lowest. None of the nation's treasures equipped.
But to think they would conspire with the Theocracy...
He sighed, closing his eyes. The fools; if only they put this much energy into the war effort and defense of the kingdom, Re-Estize might not even be at war right now.
"Gazef, sir?"
Gazef started, opening his eyes and regaining his bearings. A young man approached, coming to a stop at a respectful distance. His eyes wore a wearied expression of mild concern as he observed him.
The young man was a knight as well. He was young; his blonde hair on display, and his eyes were sharp. The hard look in his eye that only someone who suffered in the past carried vaguely made him look five years older than a young man like him should.
"Ah, Climb, didn't see you there."
Climb raised a skeptical brow. "I somehow doubt that, sir," he said seriously.
Gazef couldn't help but release an amused chuckle. He turned to the young man, reaching out and shaking one of his shoulders in good nature.
"You really should loosen up!" he lightly scolded. Climb really was too mature for his age. But then again, this world wasn't kind to the innocent nor the naive.
He still wondered if it was a good thing or not that he seemed to grow up too fast. But at least he had someone close to his age, like the princess, even if there was such a large gap in status.
"I've just been thinking about the group of adventurers I'd met at Carne Village," the older man answered Climb's question, his countenance growing serious. "The group's leader; I feel there is more than meets the eye with him."
There was also that strange woman. She bore a disturbing resemblance to the Baharuth Empire's Emperor. But besides an uncanny resemblance, all it was was wild speculation with no evidence.
"I have yet to, but I must brief the King about what transpired there."
"They sound like a powerful group if you have to make a report about them."
Gazef smiled, a brief chuckle escaping from him. That's not even the half of it.
Gazef turned back towards the window, one arm resting on the sill. This time, he did look out at the cityscape of Re-Estize. He wished his entire unit had survived that day. Some were killed, protecting him from Nigun's Sunlight Scripture. But he would be doing a disservice by pitying himself. The best way to honor them would be to make it less necessary for new conscripts. His face was impassive as he continued to study the cityscape.
"How's your training been coming along?" he asked after some time.
A sigh escaped from Climb, his armor clinking with the slight movement. "I feel like no matter how much I train, I don't seem to be improving..."
Gazef knew that Climb may have perhaps reached a ceiling he couldn't get past. At a certain point, no matter how many times you swung a sword, you would not get any better with the blade.
"Well, keep at it," Gazef instead encouraged. "To keep from getting rusty." He turned to face the young man. "Later this evening, what say you we have a training session? Sometimes, how to attack is more useful than how hard you can hit something."
Climb agreed immediately with an excited nod of his head. "I'd be honored!" His face fell though. "However, I wouldn't want to leave the princess by herself if she were to leave the castle..."
Gazef nodded, understanding. "Don't worry, I'll ask her what would be a convenient time," he said, and Gazef could see the visible relief on his face. "Besides, it's not like we're pressed for time in that regard."
Nigun had so far been at this strange Tomb for just under twenty four hours. When he first entered what the denizens called the "Great Tomb of Nazarick", he almost suffered from information overload at what he had bore witness to.
The walls were so high, they reached towards the heavens. Where the walls finally met the ceiling, it was adorned with relief carvings and paintings; detailed scenes that seemed to tell some sort of story within its scenery. Hanging from the ceiling against the wall, and lined up along the edge, were massive banners, depicting a symbol or crest of some sort. They resembled the coat of arms that one would bear, representing their own nation.
Nigun remembered that he had seen over thirty different banners.
Were they all different nations under the rulership of that undead and the possibly revived God?
He had been meditating on this, while the two comrades with him, were seated at the table provided in the rather massive room. It was much larger than the barracks back at the Capital.
A pang of guilt almost managed to pierce his resolve as he thought back on his decision of surrender, but he shook his head. There were some factors that were lining up too well to be coincidences.
He was doing the right thing. He had to be.
One of the men, a tall fellow, who exceeded even his own height at about just above six feet, leaned back in his chair. His dark hair was groomed in a simple comb over, granting him a dignified appearance. Arthuris, the man's name was, Nigun remembered.
"What are we doing?" Arthuris suddenly asked aloud. The question was simple, but there was so much hidden in the query.
The other two men who sat at the table did not answer, whether it was because their reply would be controversial or they did not even have one was unclear.
Arthuris turned to Nigun.
"This was a mistake," he declared. His two peers observed both him and Nigun, wondering where this was going.
Nigun had been staring through the wall, trying to make sense of everything he'd seen.
To be perfectly honest, he didn't totally disagree with Arthuris. There were some factors that threatened the logic he was clinging to.
The metaphorical elephant in the room was the sheer number of heteromorphs that populated this place. Nigun was sure that was exactly what was on Arthuris' mind.
But he couldn't betray the second thoughts he was harboring now, at least not for them to see. He got them this far; there was no point in adding more confusion to the already tense situation.
Arthuris stood up and made his way over to where Nigun stood. He folded his arms, seemingly staring at the same spot of wall that Nigun was.
"This place is full of monsters and undead," Arthuris felt he had to point out. His voice was lower now, as if the conversation was just between the two of them. "I'm certain one of the maids is inhuman," he added, referring to the short one with a seemingly fake face. Was it a mask? The way she carried herself reminded him of a spider.
Something about her was off, and he decided not to pursue the thought.
Nigun finally faced him, his expression in serious thought.
"I believe this our faith being tested," Nigun finally answered. "Is not Lord Surshana an undead?"
The pointed question made Arthuris' thoughts turn toward the Undead Skeleton in command of the throne of this place. His eyes widened as he looked at Nigun. "You can't possibly be suggesting-"
"And you all saw it," Nigun continued, his voice a little louder so that the other two could hear him. "The use of Holy and Light magic," he pushed, his voice almost adopting a fanatic tilt to it. "Wasn't Lord Alah Alaf a master of the light element?"
One of the seated soldiers spoke up. "You think she's the-?" the man paused, thinking over the claim.
He shuddered at the ramifications of if the claim was wrong. "This could be heresy," he loudly whispered.
Arthuris looked down, unable to meet his comrades' eyes.
Let alone one, but two Great Gods having returned to their realm?
The very thought was what you'd expect from the ramblings of a heretic, and yet, the idea was unmistakably alluring all at once.
Arthuris said aloud what all of them, Nigun included, were thinking.
"That didn't look like Holy magic. It was something I'd never seen before."
Nigun knew what he was referring to. The wall of fire. And how she destroyed [Dominion Authority ] by glaring at it.
"There's another possibility too," Arthuris hesitantly added. "If this is anything like the Eight Greed Kings-"
Nigun sighed, turning back around. "I don't know," he admitted, cutting his comrade off. "But it's too much of a coincidence to be disregarded as a possibility, no? And if they are--" Nigun's voice lowered. "If they're Evil Gods, that is the worst case scenario."
He didn't say aloud that he sincerely hoped it was the case that this Ainz Ooal Gown and Haka were ressurected founders of their nation. Otherwise, they could all possibly be waiting for some terrible punishment...
And another, more hidden thought breached his consciousness.
That he might have committed treason for no good reason; even if it was really to save himself from dying.
It made him wonder what happened to Liutenant Marco. He'd saw him and his direct subordinates dragged away to some other area in this monstrous Tomb...
He was still a soldier of the Theocracy, and he would pray for him, but Nigun wondered if he should be praying for themselves as well.
"Even if that's the case," Arthuris whispered. He cut himself off, glancing at his peers in the room. He grabbed Nigun's shoulder, ushering him to a farther corner.
"You and I both know what Holy Magic looks like," he stated. His eyes narrowed. "What we saw...that was beyond even 7th tier magic."
Nigun knew he could deny it no longer. At least in front of Arthuris. "What do you expect me to do?" he replied, careful to keep his voice lowered, but his tone was no less harsh. "Even if you're right, and its something else, she destroyed [Dominion Authority ] as if it were an annoyance!" He turned his back to Arthuris, his expression grim. "I refuse to believe there's something besides Holy Magic that could do that."
Arthuris sighed, looking down at the floor. He knew what Nigun was getting at.
It was safe to assume none of them wanted to be first row spectators of the very world's status quo shifting for the worst.
It was with that thought in mind that a polite but loud knock was heard at the door. Everyone shared a nervous glance, but Nigun knew not to keep any of the tomb's denizens waiting.
He quickly made his way to the door, schooling his features before opening it.
The man they'd seen earlier by Ainz Ooal Gown's side was waiting; Demiurge.
He was an enigma to Nigun. He looked very unassuming, but there was no doubt to his regal bearing.
He wore a uniform of some sort that reminded Nigun of the Re-Estize nobles, but it looked aesthetically different. It was more subdued in appearance while looking no less dignified.
Demiurge's glasses always seemed as if they were reflecting light and it somehow made him look extremely intelligent, even with Nigun knowing nothing about him beyond the fact that he could command others with just his voice.
"Mr. Nigun, I presume?" Demiurge greeted, his hands folded behind him. He had the appearance of a humble servant, but that only made him even more dangerous in the eyes of a trained soldier like Nigun.
In his experience, those with an air of humility were the most threatening.
"Yes, that is me, Mr..?" he didn't want to just assume he could call him by name.
Demiurge had a disarming smile. "Please, just call me Demiurge," he pleasantly replied before idly straightening his tie. It was not a sign of nervousness at all, rather, it only showcased how at-ease the demon was.
"Lord Ainz requests your presence."
Haka wanted to throw herself off of her horse.
Not only did she have to worry about that crazy NPC, Albedo, but she had almost forgotten about that religious guy, Nigun.
The only reason she remembered was because Demiurge brought the Scripture Captain along with his men to the entrance along with Albedo.
Upon seeing Haka and the others, Nigun had dropped to one knee, quickly followed by his comrades. "Please, allow me to accompany you to the city," he implored, head bowed. He silently took note of a knight he'd never seen before, sporting an absurdly large pair of greatswords on his back.
Haka's shoulders slumped at the kowtowing, as she explicitly remembered telling the former Theocracy agents not to bow to her.
"Alright, fine," she relented. It would probably be for the best that he wouldn't be cooped up in the Tomb; she could already guess how uncomfortable they all were. She was a level 100 and she didn't even feel completely safe in the guild base.
Although Nigun's face was still hidden from his kneeling, she could see the obvious relief in the way his shoulders sagged.
"Are your faces well known outside of the Theocracy?" the mysterious Knight spoke up, turning his helmeted head toward the soldiers.
Although he looked completely different from his robed visage within the tomb, the Captain could recognize the regal voice. Demiurge also did not react to the knight suddenly speaking. This must have been Ainz Ooal Gown's combat gear.
Nigun understood the unsaid question. "No, sir," he clarified. "Our names may have some measure of notoriety, but any personal information besides that is not public knowledge." As long as he did not go around broadcasting his identity, he could blend in within any crowd, as was the intent of the Theocracy's scriptures.
Ainz nodded in approval, only muttering a "Very well." He focused his attention toward Albedo. "You will be riding wih me-"
Ainz cut himself off with a clearing of his throat. Albedo shoulders rose in excitement at the command.
Speaking of transportation, Haka thought. She didn't feel keen on sharing a horse with Nigun, but also didn't want to leave him without a ride. Unfortunately, she couldn't summon a mount. She hadn't put any levels in a class that could summon one. Back in the game, she'd stocked up on so many teleportation scrolls, she felt it'd be redundant.
...Unless she summoned another of her NPC's that did have levels in a summoner class...
Haka shook her head; she wasn't comfortable summoning another NPC right now. Valet was a person with sentience and it still felt weird to just create someone like that. Besides, what if the NPC she was thinking about had some weird personality quirk? She shuddered at the thought as she quickly glanced at the Succubus.
Albedo was a good example of a personality type she did not want to bring in to the world.
She'd think on this more, later.
She also didn't want to bother Ainz with such a petty request or make it seem like she was pawning the guy off to Valet. With a pained sigh, she called Nigun over.
"I guess you're riding with me..." She said, not letting her tone betray her annoyance.
To Nigun's credit, he seemed mildly surprised by the request, but did not question it. At least he didn't seem particularly clingy or obsessive like Albedo. She was grateful for that, at least.
So they were in two groups, with the warhorses provided by one of Ainz's NPC's in the tomb. Afrer a bit more preparation, they would set off for the nearest town in order to gather some more information.
Their next destination was the Fortress City of E-Rantel.