Chapter 13: Eyes and Ears Part 1
"You're finished now, Helin!" The boy fell to the ground without words, still holding firm on his weapon. His exercise partner was harsher than usual, using his fury in a duel made for learning and improving one's skills. But this novice didn't think so.
Much like the others, Helin was trained in all sorts of combat, from spears and swords to fists and kicks. It was a never-ending cycle, not even Helin, who once bore the name Nferia, knew when it would end. He still remembered the day clear he arrived at this place, stripped away from any memories he possessed from his life before. He tried hard, but these memories were lost forever. But now he had to focus on other things. He clenched his fist around his training sword and got up again, gazing at his sparring partner. He, surprised by the willpower Helin showed, attacked in return. But Helin wasn't a fool, guided by emotions. That was something his adoptive father taught him. Emotions could lead to disaster. Only keen perception and logic should be used in a fight. That is what he remembered and never forgot.
He moved one step back, just when his attacker wanted to strike, and used the tip of the sword to attack towards the stomach, clean and sharp. His enemy didn't perceive his action fast enough, and out of fear, he reacted to try and block the strike. But it was too late. The dull edge of Helin's sword made contact with his stomach and launched him to the ground, making Helin the winner of this sparring match.
"Good fight, Helin!" A voice greeted him from his left, old but wise. It was one of the trainers overseeing the progress of the trainees. And he was pretty impressed by Helin's quick disposal of his enemy. "That was an excellent move, dangerous but effective if your enemy is not thinking straight." With that, he looked at the boy lying on the ground, hugging his stomach from the pain he had received. "Didn't I tell you, boy, not to make such stupid moves! You're gonna get yourself killed with that! Now go to the infirmary. Maybe they can do something about your pain!" The boy quickly got up and left, running. "So, Helin, I think it's time for you to take the trial. You certainly developed the skills of a knight capable of serving the six gods. And not speaking of all the high-ranked visitors you receive when training. You're something special, kid!" The old man hit Helin on the back as a gesture of goodwill. To Helin's luck, he trained his body well enough not to stumble away from that, as he did before he began training.
"Thank you, Sir Dirk. I really have improved a lot since I entered. A lot, thanks to you." He replied to the old man, who only chuckled at that.
"You better know it! But now you should better get some rest. The next trials are gonna be in a month, so you better be in good health."
"I suppose you're right. See you tomorrow then." Helin said, and the old man only left with a wink, back to nagging some other trainees. But just about when he wanted to enter his room, a messenger greeted him, clothed in simple blue cloth with a white cowl symbolizing him as such.
"Helin Gaillard Lauransan, you have a message from His Holiness. He requests you at his personal residence." Helin nodded and closed the door, leaving for a much longer walk than expected today. But just as the sun was about to enter the underworld, he arrived at the mansion. It was pristine, a real beauty, made for one of the six cardinals. But it wasn't anything grand like a palace or a castle. That was for kings. Some guards greeted him, but as they saw him, they bowed shortly and opened the gates for him. Inside, he removed his shoes and put on clean ones. It was quieter than usual, a feeling he didn't often find in the training camp.
"Upstairs." He heard a voice say, a voice he would recognize everywhere. He followed the stairs until he arrived on the first floor, where a door lay open, and a man stood at the window, looking outside towards the gardens. Helin quickly entered the office and knelt before the man.
"Your Holiness, Father." His father only waved his fingers, allowing him to stand up straight. Helin responded and lifted himself up again.
"I have seen the reports of your training and how well you are progressing in your education. And I must say, I am proud of you. You have done well." Hearing these words was a warmth to his soul. He almost smiled, but his discipline didn't allow it.
"Do you know what will come next?" The Cardinal of Earth asked. Helin could only blink with confusion at such a question, which could be answered in so many ways.
"Uhm, I believe the trial comes next for me." He answered, but the reaction from his adoptive father showed him his answer was wrong.
"Yes, you are right in one way. But what will happen after the trial? Let me indulge you. Most of us have seen you're progress, and it is astonishing to say at least. You know what this means? You will be applied to the official Scripture-Training-Program, where you will see fit to become the best humanity has to offer."
Helin couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew of the Scriptures, the most elite units the theocracy has to offer, but only whispers and myths, nothing that would give them proof to exist. But Raymond just confirmed their existence and that he would once become a member of said Scriptures.
"Now, don't think you are at your peak, there is always room to improve. And we await your training and education with pleasure. You will certainly not disappoint, of that I am sure." Helin could feel that his father wasn't lying. He really believed in his ability to become a soldier of a Scripture.
"I-I don't know what to say. It would be an honor to serve in the Scriptures, now that I know they really exist."
"Their existence is kept hidden for a reason, we don't even speak of them with our own people. You know why? Because knowledge is key, and if our citizens don't know much about our elite units, then how can our enemies know more. They know only whispers and rumors of past events, nothing up to date. We have improved much since then. But that is not the point now. I hope you take your potions applied to you regularly?"
"Every day, Sir." He answered with a straight face.
"Good, now, I believe you have earned yourself some sleep. You may stay here in your room, there is no need to sleep with the other trainees. After all, you are much more than a simple soldier:" That was true. Hearing all this praise, he received changed his perception somehow.
"Of course, Sir." He bowed and left swiftly to his chamber. Inside was nothing of grand notice. It was a simple room with a bed, a desk and chair, a closet, and a window for light to peek through.
He lay on his bed, quickly finding himself in another world of his mind.
"He's asleep. Good." Raymond said while slowly closing the door and making his way downstairs. He left the house and strolled to the nearby church, where someone awaited him. Raymond entered the chapel, the moonlight shining through the clerestory windows providing subtle light to see just enough.
"May the Six Gods bless you, Raymond." A voice called out from the darkness, the shadows perfectly hiding his face from any distinction.
"You as well, Zinedine." He returned the gesture to the Cardinal of Water.
"How is the boy?" Zinedine asked.
"He has found purpose. I believe he will be even more prestigious than we expect him to become." Raymond responded, which provided a slight grin on the Cardinal's face.
"So we hope. Currently, there doesn't seem to be any negative effects on him, even when drinking the potion regularly. Let us hope it continues, and we might have found our perfect candidate." Zinedine said, massaging his chin with the thought of how this could be possible.
"It is a mystery indeed. All others have shown some rather negative side effects, but he, I don't even think he noticed any changes." Raymond told of what he could perceive. The boy thought he was on a level of an average warrior, but he exceeded that.
"Mmh, we still don't know all the effects the potion is capable of nor its true purpose. Only recently could we decipher some of the ancient text the gods left us behind. In there stood how to use one of their religious artifacts, the [Vessel of Equality]. And to say it is a gift from the gods is the least it can be. Its power is unimaginable." Zinedine spoke with pure admiration.
"Maybe so, but the process of these potions is still a mystery to me. When will you publish that information, Zinedine?" Raymond asked, curious about how such potions were made.
"No need to wait for him to tell you, Raymond." A new voice found itself in the halls of the church. Both of the Cardinals turned their head towards the newcomer, only to see the Cardinal of Fire, Berenice standing beside them. "I knew why you keep it hidden! And I cannot believe that a Cardinal out of all people would allow such a thing, let alone continue to do so regularly!" She snaps at the Cardinal of Water, who tries to keep his composure even when being scolded.
"The Six Great Gods left this artifact behind for a reason! If they gave us this with the intention of doing that, then we have to obey!" Zinedine responded to Berenice, who stared at Zinedine, thinking about how to respond.
"Well, there must be a better way than to use the blood of innocents!" She called out. Hearing this, Raymond knew what she was talking about, and he didn't want to believe it.
"Zinedine, you know what innocent means? It means to still be a newborn child, so that is why you never wanted to tell me!" Raymond couldn't believe it anymore. If the words of Berenice could be trusted, Zinedine was using the blood of innocent children to fuel his project.
"It is a step we must take! The Cardinal of Darkness and Light are already supporting this. Even if it seems outlandish, it is the will of the gods! Why would they give such an artifact to us if not to use it properly?" The Cardinal of Water was desperate to convince. He knew he had to try, at least.
"But there has to be a better way, Zinedine. We cannot sacrifice future farmers, soldiers, or even Scripture Members to be killed in such a way. You ruin a future that could never flourish! Stop your mad ambition now, until you find a way to use the artifact without killing!" Berenice told Zinedine, who clenched his teeth in return.
"We are researching that at the moment. But we cannot wait, as our enemies won't wait for us! This is what the Theocracy needs! The borders of men are getting smaller every year. We cannot wait any longer! We already produced much potions, all available for all Scriptures. Even Certain Death used it once, and she called it delightful. But even she couldn't be proven innocent and suffered the side effects."
"You know this is madness, Zinedine. Even if it is a gift from the heavens, we cannot sacrifice our own children for its purpose!" Raymond said, knowing what this would cause if it got to the public.
"So what do you suggest, using the blood of demi-humans or even beastmen? Never! Never would I allow such filthy blood, even if deemed innocent, to touch an artifact of the gods!" Zinedine was furious, his temper out of control of such a thought existing.
"At least that is a better alternative! You disgust me, Zinedine! I thought you were better than to murder children for this purpose!" Berenice didn't want this to continue any longer. She needed to stop this.
"To die for a purpose given by the gods is the greatest honor, I shall remind you, Berenice. And even if the council decides against it, nothing can be done." So he said, as not even the council could change something. He had the support of two other Cardinals, meaning it would always be a tie even if the Cardinal of Wind voted against him.
"You know, Zinedine, if this information gets public, the neighboring nations will either not believe it or outright hate us! I hope this knowledge is well hidden for you, or you will step down as Cardinal immediately." Raymond pressed his finger against Zinedine's chest, threatening the Cardinal of Water for right.
"Fine! This conversation never happened!" Quickly he hasted out of the church, into the darkness outside. Now only Berenice and Raymond were left, their shadows merging with the darkness provided by night.
"I hope I mustn't endure living in a society that kills children for power any longer!" With that sentence, Berenice stormed out, and Raymond was left alone, standing before the vast stained glass windows, portraying the Six Great Gods themselves. The God of Light was reaching out his hand as if to save anyone who looked at him.
"Guidance be with us all."
As long as dragons sleep, they could eventually forget that one day they have to wake up and see how the world is running. It was quite a forgetful thing to do, and most dragons didn't even care at this point and kept themselves hidden from all eyes and ears. One of few tried otherwise.
"Is this how you greet an old friend?" A female voice called out to the huge creature, which gradually raised its head towards the source.
"Rigrit, you came. Forgive me. I welcome you into my home. How have you been?" The dragon asked.
"Well, to my knowledge, everything seems fine with Blue Rose now that I gave the mantle away. I hope it stays that way. How about you? Oh wait, you don't actually do much here, do you?" Rigrit chuckled at her remarkable joke. Even the Platinum Dragon Lord had to laugh purely out of courtesy.
"Very funny Rigrit. But I'm not sleeping all the time. Actually, I'm doing gods work here, defending the world of anything that could harm it."
"That brings me to why I'm here. You know about it?"
The dragon raised his head, a silence like no other following the question asked by Rigrit. It was visible that what he was about to say would come from the deepest part of his soul. "Of course, how could I not sense this all-familiar presence? It is back. After all this time." His voice was filled with unwanted memories where he had seen many of his own race die to such beings.
"Yes, there seems to be a change. A being named Ainz Ooal Gown, until now only the name is public, but there is no information about the figure, only that he saved the Warrior Captian in a village called Carne." She read a report she wrote not too long ago. He wore a mask, a grinning smile carved onto it. Clothed in an expensive robe was something Witnesses said as well. From what she could tell, this Ainz Ooal Gown was a Sorcerer or something of that sort.
"Mmh, then we must investigate first. But it would be unwise to enter territory already under the enemy's protection." Tsaindorcus said, thinking about what they should do next.
"But until we know more, we cannot act. There's practically nothing on this guy. Like he just appeared one day…" This brought her to one of many things the Platinum Dragon Lord told her: beings that appeared out of nothingness.
"You are right about that. They appear every couple centuries. Powerful beings that can change a world just with their presence. They only know to conquer," He clenched his claws around a collumn so strong it broke into pieces. "and kill whatever they find."
"Then what do you suggest, Tsain? How can we stop these beings from even traveling here." Rigrit asked her own wisdom, not helping her further.
"For that, I have no answer. But we must wait for the enemy to reveal himself properly. It seems he has already taken action in the kingdom, and I must say it was rather a gruesome act. Letting the kingdom's people bathe in the blood of their own is a cruel way to torture humans." He didn't particularly care about the kingdom, but this act alone showed some perspective about the being called Ainz Ooal Gown. "He has chosen to conquer, like all the others. He will show himself soon. Until then, we should make preparations. You need to gather your friends, make them ready so they can act at any given time. I will try to do the same with the remaining dragons. We all share the same enemy, so they will unite again to fight this threat."
"There some left that I could call. Most disappeared without a trace. But what if we don't make it? What if we cannot defeat this threat like the demon gods?" Rigrit was right to worry. It was not common for a world-ending scenario to appear, and like that, it should stay.
"We shouldn't focus on that. We only need to see success, or fear might bind our vision. The Theocracy itself is already a powerful nation, even if their beliefs are rather extreme and narcissistic. If this Ainz Ooal Gown reveals himself to be a threat, they will surely try to defeat him with our help, but after that is over, they will revert to their usual nature. I might even think letting them get eradicated when it comes to such a point." Rigrit knew his words held some truth. The Theocracy was a dangerous nation, blessed with many artifacts left by the six gods, and in their case, they left these items in the wrong hands.
"But not all are fanatics in the Theocracy, Tsain. We can surely come to an agreement with them when the time comes. The more support we have, the better."
"I don't know about that. How does an ally help you when he's your enemy in disguise? They would put us to the front and wait until we are dead or the enemy. If we are left alive, they will attack us, and if the enemy is still alive, they will attack him. There is no trust in such people; I will never want them to watch my back. Thus I only trust you and some selective others." His words had a kind of calmness to him. Even at his size, his voice had no arrogance visible to the ears.
"Well, you're right about that. Seems I don't know very much, even at my age." She laughed, Tsain doing the same but more controlled. Some emotions kept him in check before laughing about a subject he knew much about.
"It is only because it happened to me once while fighting the Eight Greed Kings. They were killing my folk right and left, at that time I first felt fear. It was, how should I say it, dreadful to see my brethren getting slaughtered like animals left and right. And it was our pride and their greed that began it all. That is when it happened, one of my closest betrayed me to seek life from the Greed Kings, yet they chopped his head of right infront of me. In my rage I lashed out at the Greed Kings and could successfully wound one, only for him to heal like it was nothing. I tell you, Rigrit, that I want people with me that I trust, and you can count yourself with these people."
Rigrit smiled at knowing such a thing. If a dragon could trust her, maybe she achieved everything in life. "It warms my heart that you think that way, Tsain, no, really. Even when you keep some secrets hidden from us, you still seem keen on protecting the world."
"The sins of the father are passed upon the son. And for that sin, I have to defend the world out of pure self-interest. I hope that doesn't disturb you." His voice got deeper, more ashamed of what his father did in the past.
"No, at least you want to save the world. Thats what counts, I believe." Rigrit answered.
"Well, I hope when this is all over, we can have such a pleasant chat again." Tsain said, with it meaning that their conversation should end any moment now, and Rigrit found it rather funny that Tsain still tried to be formal about it.
"If you want me out of here, just say the word!" She said with a grin, the dragon only sight at that.
"Right, I meant I am at the end of my words. What else do you want to talk about? I have nothing more to say. But what about you, is there something you like to tell me?" He asked Rigrit.
"Mmh, there is a thing I want to ask." She made a thoughtful pose as of reaching into the depths of her mind to seek a worthy question.
"Ask it away, friend." Tsaindorcus replied, awaiting her final question with the patience of a dragon.
"When will you finally use that armor again!"
"Hyaa!" Quick as a bullet, Shalltear lashed out at the golem in front of her, and in one quick burst with her lance, she destroyed it into tiny rocks, all flying in different directions. "Another one!"
She knew all her Lance's abilities, but her new armor was a different story. She just received this armor from her lord and got permission to test its abilities in the Colosseum. And she could practically tell the difference immediately. She was generally faster, stronger, and quicker to react. It also provided her with much better regeneration and protection than her last armor. It could self-heal, which meant that even if destroyed, it would make itself new again. There was so much to know about its effects that Shalltear couldn't remember many of them. But one was that it provided even better resistance against magic, making her even a bigger threat to her enemies.
But that wasn't the only thing Ainz gifted her. She also received a rather weird cape, but for her, it was perfect. It was fluid, like blood, but still keeping the form of a cloak. It passively sucked the surrounding blood into it, making it stronger for a short duration to protect against incoming attacks all around her. It could slow enemies down or completely freeze them in its liquid and drain them of their blood. It suited Shalltears design perfectly.
"You're next!" She used her blood cloak to form a barrier around her, protecting her from incoming attacks but letting her hit the enemy. But it was to say that the golems she was currently fighting were about level 60. They were no challenge for Shalltear herself and more of test dummies to practice her new equipment on. She disposed of them in just a matter of seconds, letting the cleaning staff remove the rocks left.
"This gear really is impressive. I wonder where Lord Ainz kept this all the time." She was still bewildered by the motion of gifting her such an impressive feat of armor and of divine class nonetheless, the same as her lance and her new cloak. "Seems the mysteries surrounding Nazarick even keep the Guardians in the dark." She said, using her wings to fly up into the sky. "This floor, still it amazes me what the Supreme Beings could create. But how, how could they make all of this? I cant, none of the other Guardians seem to be capable of, meaning it is another secret of our creators, but why must there be secrets! I just don't get it!" She swung her lance out at the sky, creating a gust of wind that traveled all around the floor. "Oops, better leave before someone notices me." She traveled via gate back to her floor. Instantly she was greeted by two Vampire Brides.
"Not now. Im not in the mood." She made her way through both of them and threw them to the side, seeking one particular room. There stood a statue of Cainabel, a god for vampires, their deity, and the first progenitor of all undead called vampires.
"A strange thing. They let me worship the Divine Ancestor of Vampires. But they are our true gods, so why did Perononchino put this statue here? Does he want me to worship Cainabel because I am a vampire? If that is the reason and the thought of a Supreme Being then I should obey, but is it even okay for me to worship multiple deities? I have to ask Lord Ainz about it, it seems only he could deliver me these answers." She kept staring at the statue of the Lord of Blood, or as the Supreme Beings called him, a weak event boss.
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Finally, a new chapter. It isn't the biggest, most interesting or action filled chapter, but it provides much insight into the world around Ainz, something I'm going to focus again in the second part of this chapter.
I'm also considering making a discord where I would post my chapter first, and of course, to a selective group, and later here. Gives me some people that would pre-read my chapters for any weaknesses, and if some are interested I will be glad to make one.
So back to the story. Yeah, kinda got creative with whats going on in the Theocracy. Making them more of a threat. And maybe some of you might even know whats about the potion they are producing.
And for the ones that are confused: Nferia=Helin
He lost his memories because of the [Crown of Wisdom] and now is a tool of the Theocracy. Quite random, right. But perfect in my sight. Just the thing you wont find anywhere.