Hey Guys! Crescent Rider here and I am back with another chapter!
Before you all begin at the moment, I'd like to tell you all that there's an important question that I'm going to ask you all at the end of this chapter.
That is all, and enjoy the chapter!
E-Rantel
After Nfirea and his escorts arrived at E-Rantel for two days, the sun had already set and the night sky loomed over them.
However, there were a few things to settle first on Momon's end. Such as registering the Wise King into the Adventurer's Guild as his newest party member and Nadja registering as more of an independent Adventurer.
Hence, They had to split up with Nfirea and the Swords of Darkness for a while...
"Anyway, Momon-san. We will go to Nfirea's house to drop off his things," Peter volunteered on behalf of his party and himself,
"I understand," Momon understood, "Once I register this magical creature with the guild and Nadja registered on her own. We will head that way,"
"Ninya, don't forget what we've discussed on the way here," Nadja reminded,
"I won't," Ninya replied, "And I will do my best to surpass your expectations,"
"I know you won't," Nadja expected and smiled,
"Momon-san, I'll be sure to add a bonus to the payment since I was able to gather so much more than I originally did," Nfirea said, "Anyway, I'll see you soon,"
As Nfirea takes the herbs back to his shop, Lukrut went on about some drama about him being separated from Nabe. The latter bluntly expressed her disdain towards the adventurer before he was pushed by Dyne to move along.
Ninya bows to Nadja, who bows back, and joins up with his party.
With that, Momon took Nadja and the Wise King to the Adventurer's Guild. However, he had forced himself to mount onto the Wise King's back, and Nadja willingly chose to walk on the ground.
The townsfolk of E-Rantel commented on how Momon tamed such a mythical creature and remarked on how great an adventurer he was. For Momon, it felt like he was riding a merry-go-round as an old man.
Nadja didn't pity him nor joke about his circumstances as the comments around them deepened her theory regarding the New World's opinion towards Foreign creatures.
When Nadja eyes Momon, she sees him lowering his head in embarrassment and momentarily rubbing the side of the Wise King's head with her hand.
Then came a certain topic in mind.
"Momon-san," Nadja called out,
"Y-Yes?" Momon replied,
"I was wondering when you join the Adventurer's Guild, What are its policies?" Nadja inquired, "How do they work?"
Momon hums to himself and cups his chin in thought. But due to the Adventurer's Guild being somewhat close here, he decided to give one piece of information, "Well, there isn't much to expect in this kind of work. But I will tell you that after you've registered, you'll be starting at the lowest rank of the Adventurers, which is Copper,"
"What's the ranking system?" Nadja asked,
"There's Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and Adamantite," Momon listed,
"I understand, and as for the rest of the details. I'll figure it all out myself," Nadja said and remained silent throughout the walk
A Few Minutes Later
Momon and Nadja entered the Adventurer's Guild while Nabe stayed outside with the Wise King of the Forest.
As for registration, Momon required a portrait for the Wise King and paid for it as soon as it was finished.
Then they made their way to the Adventurer's Guild and have everything settled. The first order of business was the registration of the Wise King of the Forest, who was now named Hamsuke.
As for Nadja, she told Momon to wait for her outside as her registration required her to answer a few questionnaires and fill in a form.
It took a while, but she finishes it all and was given a copper plate necklace as part of her membership.
Nadja proceeds to wear this necklace on her neck and walks out of the guild to join Momon and the others. Though Muninn, who still remains on her shoulder, croaks at her a few times.
"I know what you're getting at, and that doesn't matter," Nadja quietly explained, "What matters is that the registration is done,"
Muninn blinks a few times, then stays quiet as Nadja walked out of the door. There, she saw Momon conserving with an old lady and Hamsuke raising its head with pride.
"Momon-san," Nadja called out, and Momon turns to her, "I've just finished registering into the Adventurer's Guild. I hope I didn't make you wait for too long,"
"I don't mind, as a matter of fact," Momon then gestures his hand at the old lady, "This is Lizzie Bareare, Nfirea's grandmother,"
"Ah, a relative. In that case, It's nice to meet you, Lizzy-san," Nadja greeted,
"Likewise," Lizzie said, then sets her eyes on Muninn, "And that's a strange sight you don't see every day,"
"Indeed, Muninn is a rare bird to find even in the wilderness," Nadja said and scratches Muninn's chin with her finger,
"Anyway, Nadja. Lizzie here wishes to accompany us to her home," Momon explained,
"Say no more, I'll be right behind you," Nadja said,
"Do you need something from my grandson?" Lizzie inquired,
"Not exactly, but my disciple accompanied your grandson to your home since he needed help in transporting the herbs," Nadja explained,
"Ah, I see," Lizzie understood, then led them to her home afterward,
Bareare Shop
As they arrived, Lizzie noticed that the door remains unlocked which spurs Nadja's suspicions.
While Hamsuke remains outside for obvious reasons, Momon, Nabe, and Nadja followed Lizzie into her shop as she called out for her grandson, "Nfirea! Momon-san has arrived!"
When given no response, Nadja's suspicion rose rather quickly and the same was said for Momon.
"What's going on?" Lizzie muttered,
"Trouble..." Momon remarked, and drew one of his greatswords,
As soon as Lizzie took notice, she was startled by this sudden action, "Wh-What is it?"
Momon chose not to respond and went to a door. As he opens it, he saw a dark stairway that leads down, "What's down this way?"
"It's the storage room for our herbs," Lizzie said, and Momon proceeds to move down the stairs,
Nadja provides some light with a glowing orb hovering over the palm of her hand. As they reached the bottom, Momon pushes the door wide open and what was revealed before them was a gruesome sight,
The walls and floor were riddled with blood, and the members of the Swords of Darkness now lie dead in the room.
Lizzie screeches in horror, "E-Eeek! What is going on? Huh?!"
A few moments later, Peter and Lukrut were slowly rising from the floor with weapons in hand and turns towards them with a decaying look on their faces.
"Zombies!" Lizzie screamed,
Momon acted immediately and sliced Peter and Lukrut's heads in one fell swoop. Nadja then spots Dyne rising with his mace in hand, and swiftly deals with him by converting the orb into a solid projectile and propelling it through Dyne's head a few times.
Once he fell on the floor dead again, the orb hovers back onto Nadja's hand.
"Where is Nfirea?!" Lizzie asked in distress,
"He's not here," Momon replied, and Lizzie runs off calling for her grandson's name, "Protect her,"
Nabe nods at his command and follows Lizzie.
Meanwhile, Nadja bends down on Ninya's body, hovers the orb above the latter, and raises his head with one hand. This revealed two things about him.
Ninya wasn't actually a boy as seen with the bandages wrapped around her chest and a tear shed from her swollen left eye.
Nadja didn't care about the fact that Ninya lied to her team about her gender. What she cared about was how she died in the most gruesome way possible.
Glancing around her wounds, Nadja had somehow learned that Ninya died rather painfully than quickly as her killer took the time to pleasure themselves with her suffering.
As a result of these findings...
...
...
...
Something snaps within her very mind...
"... Ainz-san..." Nadja called out, and Momon turns to her with disbelief as this was the first time he was referred to by his new name rather than his alias or his player name, "I'd like to make an exception..."
The orb hovers back onto Nadja's hand, but soon clenches her hand hard enough to break said orb into particles, "ANd a FaVor..."
If Momon was still human, he would have had chills down his spine as the hissing tone in Nadja's voice was enough to know that she was infuriated with the killers behind the murders as well as Nfirea's disappearance.
But being undead makes him somewhat void of the feeling, and responds with the following words, "Do what you will,"
Nadja didn't reply to his answer, instead, she places her right hand against the center of Ninya's chest and closes her eyes as she concentrates on a certain spell in mind.
Sometime later, Nadja slowly pulls her hand back and what comes out was a small and faint orb from Ninya's body and the former proceeded to open her eyes.
She then transfers some of her mana into the orb. This causes it to steadily glow bright and Nadja pulls out a small empty lantern from her inventory box.
Once the orb was placed into the lantern, she places it back into her inventory box, glances at Momon with one eye, and gives a single nod to him.
Momon nods back and goes to grab some sheets while Nadja decided to line all four bodies toward an open area. Momon then hung a lit lantern onto a hook, covered the bodies with individual sheets, and proceeded to examine the other bodies as well as their belongings.
As soon as Lizzie and Nabe returned, the two players knew what she was about to say next, "My grandson! Nfirea is not here!"
"Nothing was rummaged through, so their aim must have been Nfirea," Momon elaborated,
"Then, who are these people?" Lizzie inquired,
"They were adventurers that accepted your grandson's request with me," Momon explained,
"They were your friends?" Lizzie assumed,
"No. They were people I happened to work with this one time," Momon specified,
As for Nadja, she chose to remain silent, leaned against the wall far from the bodies, and wore a look of contempt towards their killers.
"More importantly, what do you think?" Momon inquired,
"About what?" Lizzie questioned,
"If there was a third-tier caster who can use [Create Undead], the culprits would have been able to gain time by hiding the bodies or taking them along," Momon explained, "Yet the bodies were left behind so distastefully,"
Nadja turns her head away when the term 'bodies' was mentioned.
"The culprits didn't care if they were found out," Momon said, "or perhaps they were confident that they would get away. Either way, it will be a problem if we don't deal with this quickly,"
Lizzie was still clouded by these assumptions. Though she would snap out of her thoughts when Momon spoke once more, "Why not make a request?"
"Isn't this a request fitting for an adventurer?" Momon presumed, "You're lucky, Lizzie Bareare. I am the strongest adventurer in this town and the only adventurer that can bring back your grandson. If you make a request, I may take you up on the offer,"
"True, if it were you..." Lizzie said, "I'll hire. I'll hire you,"
"I see. But, I am expensive. Are you ready to pay the price?" Momon inquired,
"How much will satisfy you?" Lizzie questioned,
"Everything," Momon requested,
"What?!" Lizzie exclaimed in disbelief,
"I want everything," Momon repeated,
"You... They say that demons will grant any wish for a human soul," Lizzie said, "It can't be, but are the three of you demons?"
"And does that matter?" Nadja spoke, and Lizzie turns to her, "Even if we are what you assume, it wouldn't change the fact that your grandson is in danger,"
"So, what will be your answer?" Momon followed,
With that in mind, Lizzie didn't hesitate to give her answer, "I'll hire you! I will give you everything that I have. Please save my grandson,"
"Then it is settled," Nadja said and summons Huginn from her other arm, "Scatter around and report to me on what you find,"
Huginn caws once and flies off Nadja's shoulder.
What comes next was preparation...
A Few Minutes Later...
Nadja decided to wait outside, and lean against Hamsuke's body as she waited for Momon's return as well as Huginn's report.
"Nadja-dono, how much longer must we wait?" Hamsuke questioned,
"Soon, Hamsuke," Nadja replied, "Soon,"
Nadja was in the middle of whirling a throwing knife from her hand and stared for a long period of time. Apparently, her thoughts were focused on how she couldn't feel a thing when she saw the corpses of the Swords of Darkness.
When nice people die, those who knew them would feel some sense of emotion such as sorrow and fury.
To her, she only felt the latter when she found Ninya's body riddled with puncture wounds. The former was absent, and it provided some light into her thoughts.
She was a monster to the core, and human emotions mean little to her...
Sometime later, Momon walks out of the shop, and Nadja took notice as she caught the handle of her knife, "Well?"
"We're going to the Cemetery," Momon declared, "That's where we'll find Nfirea,"
As he said this, Huginn returns and caws a few times at Nadja, "Then I guess we'd better get going. Huginn says that an army of undead creatures is marching their way toward the wall at the cemetery,"
"Alright," Momon said,
Momon mounts onto Hamsuke, and they departed their way toward the cemetery wall...
Cemetery
Upon arrival, the guards stationed there had retreated from the walls as the undead climbed over.
"You guys need to get away from here immediately!" A Guard yelled,
"Nabe, my sword," Momon requested as he dismounts from Hamsuke,
As he takes a sword from Nabe, he turns back to the guards, "All of you. Look behind you,"
The guards turned toward the wall and they saw a [Necroswarm Giant] climbing over the tower. Momon swiftly deals with it by throwing his greatsword through the creature's head.
Once it fell to the other side of the wall dead, Momon proceeds to grab the other sword from Nabe's arms.
"Who are you?" The guard asked,
"Open the gates," Momon demanded,
"Don't be stupid! An army of undead is on the other side!" The guard yelled,
"So? Is that a problem for me, Momon?" Momon questioned, and the guard somewhat baffled by his sentence,
"Forget it," Nadja said, "Even if you did manage to convince them, the undead would have flooded out of the cemetery by now,"
Nadja then casts [Fly] onto herself, "It's best that we just go over the gate than through,"
Nadja then flies over the gate and used holy magic to clear her landing and conjures two large orbs of light around her.
As they spin, the undead were helplessly destroyed as they rushed upon her. Momon soon arrives and cuts down several undead creatures with one swoop of his sword. He goes to retrieve his other sword, and that's when Hamsuke and Nabe join the fray.
However, the former panicked when it laid its eyes on the undead.
A Few Minutes Later
(Name Change: Everyone's is reverted back to their original names)
The group pushed forward, though Ainz remains on the ground while Hope and Narberal hovered above him. As for Hamsuke, the latter carries the giant hamster onto her back.
"I apologize for causing so much trouble," Hamsuke apologized,
"Can you stop moving?" Narberal demanded, "You're fluffy and hard to carry,"
"The undead are sensitive to life. Stay there so you aren't targeted," Ainz explained,
"I apologize, that I do," Hamsuke apologized once more,
As for Nadja, she remains silent and her ravens were absent. But noticed Ainz stop for a while and they did the same.
"At this rate, we won't be able to get far," Ainz remarked,
"Then, why not call our forces from Nazarick?" Narberal suggested,
"Don't say stupid things! How many times do I have to tell you the reason why we're here?" Ainz scolded, "How many times do I have to tell you the reason why we're here?"
"But, Ainz-sama. If you wanted to spread our names, why not wait until there were more human casualties?" Narberal asked,
"The aim of the enemy! The power of this town!" Ainz listed while cutting down a few skeletons, "If we had more knowledge we could have done things differently. But with our lack of information, I don't want to risk falling behind,"
"I see. You're amazing, Ainz-sama," Narberal praised, "Your consideration for everything is as expected of the Supreme One. I am in awe of you once again,"
'He was right, they are devoted people...' Hope remarked,
"By the way, please explain to a foolish one like myself," Narberal said, "Why did we not send in forces with undercover skills, sit back, and wait for a shift of situation that would give us the best timing?"
Momon was rather silent by this suggestion as he didn't think of this sooner. But he had to keep the visage of the Supreme One from falling apart, "I-If I told you all the answers, how would you improve?! Find the answer yourself!"
"Yes! I apologize," Narberal apologized,
"However, it is true we are short on time," Ainz said, "It can't be helped. We should make a move to open up a path,"
"In that case, I'll lend you a hand," Hope said, materializing a book in front of her, and stretches her hands towards the ground, "O' Heroes of Legend heed my call. Serve my every command and tear those who stand against me,"
The pages then flipped themselves until they glowed and what appears on the ground behind Momon were two summoning circles. Sometime later, the summoning had been completed.
The first was a shirtless muscled man with red markings and golden hair and arm tattoos, wore a belt with a golden demon buckle, black long cargo trousers, and golden armbands. As for his weapons, it consisted of a red sword, and a red club linked together with a chain.
And the second was two beings, a headless man in all black clothes and a red cravat with purple ends who wields two long hooked halberds. The other was a large gray wolf with bear traps clutching onto the heels of its paws.
As soon as they materialized, the undead didn't hesitate to target them instead of Ainz. But they dispatch their attackers rather quickly while Hope's book disappears in front of her.
Beowulf would smirk and engage the undead by slicing their heads off with his sword, clobbering them with his club, and even kicking them hard enough to send them hurling toward headstones, trees, and even other undead creatures.
As for Hessian Lobo, The rider sliced through the undead with each while the wolf rammed into the undead, uses its claws to them into pieces and even bites their heads off before moving on to slaughter the other batch of undead creatures.
'I've never seen those summons before,' Ainz remarked, and turns towards Hope, "Who are they?"
"The first is Beowulf, and the other is Hessian Lobo," Hope explained, "They'll handle the undead and clear a path while we proceed to the source of this wave,"
"Ah, I see," Ainz understood, "But just in case,"
Ainz then raised his sword towards an open area, "[Create Low Tier Undead]"
Two undead monsters appear, and they were a [Bone Vulture] and a [Wraith].
"You two are to drive out anyone who enters the cemetery," Ainz ordered, "You can kill the adventurers, but not the guards,"
Once those monsters departed, they press further into the cemetery. However, Hope's fury is still fixated on Ninya's killer.
And she plans to get back at them...
...
...
...
With a cruel afterlife that they'll never leave...
That is it for this chapter, everyone. What follows will be the confrontation and fight against the Swords of Darkness killers.
And after that, It'll be the next arc.
That's where this question comes in...
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...
...
Which scenario should I go with? Ainz vs Shalltear, Hope vs Shalltear, or Ainz and Hope vs Shalltear. In the old version, it was Hope vs Shalltear. Now, I still want to know what will be the desired fight once that arc begins.
Feel free to make your vote, and it ends after I've posted the 12th Chapter of the story.
As for today's Servants, Beowulf and Hessian Lobo. What do you think of them? Normally, people would prefer popular servants. But I chose Servants who seemed appropriate in the situation.
But don't worry, Different Servants will make an appearance in the future.
That is all I have to say, stay safe from the virus, and I will see you all in the next chapter!