Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, Mr Bones bringing the Interlude at the end of the CZ arc of my fanfic He Who Came Back.
Who are the conspirators who tried to kill Neia Baraja?
With you
The One Who Came Back
Interlude 5
In a very ancient castle, built on the steep side of a mountain far to the north, untouched by the sun, a sinister group gathers. Rarely does this happen, but recent events demanded a closer meeting. The members commonly wear robes that cover their entire bodies, even their heads. Here, everyone could reveal themselves freely.
"Welcome, I bring information from the infiltrated group in the Holy Kingdom," said the one who appeared to be the host.
"What was the objective again? I've been too busy to pay attention to so many smaller plans unfolding," said the most pompous one.
"You and your experiments, never making an effort to participate," said the youngest.
"We all have our own objectives, but they cannot overshadow the main purpose of our organization. We have only lasted this long because of our discretion and collective power. Remember our motto," said the oldest.
"MEMENTO MORI," the members of the Corpus Of the Abyss said.
The members of this secret organization are undead, Lich Kings or Ancients, Vampires, and even other obscure creatures, all working to acquire as much magical power as they can.
"Recapping then," the host began. "Our objective was to infiltrate the Holy Kingdom, retrieve a particularly powerful body, that of Remedios Custodio, and use it as a vessel after summoning the demon king Jaldabaoth. As a sacrifice, we would use Neia Baraja, the Faceless. For months, we tested their defenses, hiring mercenaries disguised as followers of the Four or Zuranon."
"But Remedios was a paladin. Wouldn't the body reject possession?" asked the youngest one.
"Perhaps, but she was a fallen paladin, hatred permeated her heart. Her soul would be permanently destroyed during the ritual, and her body would be strengthened by the life force of the Faceless Saint using the Safarlísia sword. Everything indicated that we could summon Jaldabaoth before he regained all his power, thus allowing us to control him... maybe," explained the elder.
"A big 'maybe,' my old friend, but from what I can see, the result was fruitless," spoke the most pompous one.
"Yes, the Saint escaped with the help of the demon maid. Remedios' body was destroyed, and the sword lost. The only one to leave there died during the teleportation. The sword could be anywhere between here and the Holy Kingdom, but the plan was valid and can still be used."
"We need a body with fewer drawbacks than Remedios'. Gazeff's body was preserved. It would be easy to search the rubble of Re-Estize and retrieve it."
"If the Sorcerer Kingdom hasn't done that already, they wouldn't leave any powerful warriors behind, even in death."
"If he is not an option, we can use Clementine. We still have her body. Perhaps it could be an option."
"But we need to be prepared in case Jaldabaoth has already regained more power than we can control. Submitting to him is an option, but if we have an eighth-level sealing crystal like the one used by the hero Momon, we would be more secure," complained the most pompous one.
"So the next step is to find such a crystal," said the elder.
...
A few days later, in the Southern Holy Kingdom, in a port city, one of the nobles involved in the separation between the northern and southern kingdoms arrives at an isolated house with guards disguised as workers surrounding it. He heads directly to the office and knocks on the door.
"Come in!"
"Good afternoon, I bring news from the north."
"It's about time," said the figure, caressing a jar on the table.
"Apologies for the delay, but we encountered unforeseen circumstances. It appears that another group arrived before us. According to our spies, it seems they stole the Safarlísia sword in an attempt to summon Jaldabaoth using the body of "Remedios" that we had buried."
"You assured us that the body was useless!"
"Yes, despite the body being strong enough, we had to ruin it to avoid detection. We never imagined they would try to use the Faceless Saint as a sacrifice to retrieve it."
"THE SQUIRE WAS KILLED!" shouted the woman behind the table in joy.
"No, unfortunately, she escaped, and now her 'religion' is stronger than ever," lamented the noble.
"Don't worry, what's hers will be taken care of. I will personally put an end to her when the time comes. What I want to know now is... WHERE IS MY SWORD!!!." shouted Remédios Custódio as she caressed the jar containing her sister's head.
