Chapter 32: Unwelcome Visit
The sun had descended long ago, yet still, the Marquis kept going forth. His horse seemed long tired, but he didn't care. With tears in his eyes, he only had one goal.
He was lucky to have survived the massacre, the slaying of thousands of soldiers by monsters beyond humanity. He still remembered their very faces, their grotesque appearance that would haunt him forever.
'Ainz Ooal Gown is one of those monsters, a being ruling over monsters…'
He felt this would have happened and that they would lose even with the favor being on their side. For any other person, it would be unimaginable; that is why every other noble present at the massacre died, and he didn't. He was ready to escape, to desert the battlefield as he rid his horse for his life.
'I just couldn't die there. I have to see Rii-tan before I meet my end.'
He noticed the surroundings dawning a familiarity. This was near his town. He must be close to his home. Raeven smiled, a warmth overcoming his body as he imagined hugging his son.
He saw the outline of his mansion, tears streaming down his face as he couldn't wait any longer. He felt like a bow was pointed at him from behind, ready to shoot him down with its arrow at any given second if he stopped going forward. He shivered at the thought that the monsters followed him to his home, yet he didn't expect them to do so.
He entered the gates, quickly stepping off his mount as he ran toward the entrance.
"Rii-tan! I'm home! I made it! I'm here!"
Yet he heard nothing as he shouted his son's name inside his house. Silence, utter silence. He didn't hear his son's tiny footsteps running toward him, nor any of the staff cleaning or cooking. It felt weird. The candles were on, but the place seemed dead silent.
"Haha, very funny, Rii-tan! You can come out now you scared me all right!" Raeven chuckled nervously, hoping to turn around and find his son by any second. But still no sign of him.
"Rii-tan? Rii-tan?!" The Marquis called out for his son, but nobody answered. Suddenly, the doors to the main hall creaked open, yet the room was pitch dark, not a soul visible.
"Rii-tan?" With slow steps, Raeven neared the entrance, entering the darkness as he tried to find anybody inside.
"What?" The doors behind him closed, leaving him alone in the dark room.
"Welcome home, Marquis Raeven." A voice called out, and the Marquis nearly jumped from surprise.
"W-Who are you?" He asked of whoever hid in the shadows.
He could hear the person clap their hands, and in doing so, the room lit up, revealing a figure. It was a man dressed in an orange suit. His black hair was combed back, and a pair of glasses kept themselves in front of his eyes.
The most disturbing part was the man's eyes, like diamonds but barely visible behind those tinted glasses. He had pointed ears like an elf, but his armored tail said otherwise.
"W-Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Raeven asked again, grasping for his sword. Yet the man thought otherwise.
"I would advise against that. Or would you rather have your son die?" Those words that left the stranger's mouth felt like something stabbed through his heart.
"No, please, whatever business you have with me, keep him out of it, please!" Raeven pleaded but was surprised to see the person before him simply smile. The man said no words but clapped his hands again, now another corner of the room illuminated.
"Rii-tan!" Raeven called out, seeing his son resting on a couch. But before he could rush to him, he noticed a large creature at his son's side.
A creature clad with an animal skull as a head, while two dark wings sprouted from its back. The creature had dark grey skin and boasted tattoos on its chest, exposed from the waist up. It held a halberd in its right arm, holding its weapon similar to how an executioner would before he, well, executed his victims. In this case, the victim was his son. Raeven clearly noticed the message behind it. Gritting his teeth, he turned around to face the man.
"What do you want?!" He went straight to the point, forgetting even to ask his name.
"It is simple, really. You will from now on obey my master, Ainz Ooal Gown. In doing so, you will be allowed to keep ruling as a noble from your mansion. If you decline, well..." The man glanced at his son. They were threatening him, and he didn't like it one bit. But he couldn't do anything about it.
'Ainz Ooal Gown has found me then. It seems nobody is safe from his grasp.' He couldn't believe it. Now he thought he escaped the greatest evil that ever existed when it was right in his home the whole time. He could see the wickedness in the orange-suited man's eyes. He was sure this man was a servant of the Sorcerer King. There was no doubt about that.
"You want me to turn sides? Is that all?" Raeven inquired of the man, who simply showed his razor-sharp teeth.
"Oh yes! Of course, some other conditions may apply later on. But that should be all. The Sorcerer King has noticed your talent and has decided to keep you around to reign over the region Re-Estize together with the Princess." The man explained, talking about Re-Estize as if it weren't longer a kingdom. It probably never was.
'The Princess? I do not understand. What has she done?' He questioned, knowing the princess's true self. But more importantly, he would like to know what would become of him. What would these monsters do to a man who fought against them?
He was their enemy, even now. But he couldn't discern the right meaning behind the man's words. He couldn't read him, nothing. He was probably a lot smarter than him as he showed no signs of emotions or negative traits, like nervousness or some sort of a tick. No, the man stood completely still, almost unnaturally.
"I…accept your terms. If it means you leave my family alone." The Marquis lowered his head in surrender. But he could imagine the look the demon gave him right now.
"Now, was that so hard? I guess it was from your position. Well then." He signaled his servant to do something. Raeven's eyes darted to his boy, seeing the creature take out a vial, opening the lid as if it wanted to pour it into his son's mouth.
"No!" He shouted, rushing to stop the fluid from entering his son's mouth.
"[You may stop.]"
Suddenly a force wrapped itself around him, keeping him in place as an unimaginable pressure descended upon him the moment he tried to offer some resistance. But he couldn't move. No, he had to watch as the fluid entered his son's mouth.
'I failed. As a father and as a Marquis. How can I ever live with this burden.' A tear flowed down his face, daring not to watch his son die.
"Be at ease, Marquis Raeven. We won't poison your son. We simply gave him an antidote for the poison we already gave him." The man said, a hint of pleasure behind his explanation.
'How cruel could someone be?! They are all monsters! But at least…at least he is safe.' He couldn't imagine doing something like this to his worst enemy. No, this was torture of the highest grade. He was up against masters of manipulation, the worst kind of monsters who knew how to use their strength without killing recklessly.
His son still slept. The poison had made him unconscious. But Demiurge was sure he wouldn't die. And even if he did, he wouldn't believe the Marquis had it in him to disobey the new government.
"[You may move again.]"
Through his voice alone, he allowed the Marquis to move his own body with his own will once again. The mere thought of such a power seemed ridiculous, having control over others through speech alone. Truly an awful monster to be up against.
"Rii-tan!" Finally, he could hug his boy in his arms. He could feel his warmth, his heartbeat as he embraced his son fully.
"What a touching reunion." Demiurge mused. The Marquis then turned to him again, Demiurge seeing he had a question to ask.
"What about my wife and my staff? Where are they?" Raeven asked. He hadn't seen them here, so they must be somewhere else. Still, he didn't know where.
"They are safe. You do not have to worry. Soon, they will wake up and know nothing of what happened today." The man reassured. Raeven had no choice but to trust his words. But at least he had his son back.
'I will never again leave your side, Rii-tan.'
"I wish you all the best then, Marquis Raeven. We will see each other again soon. I am sure of that." With a spark of a flame, the man and his servant disappeared through the fire, leaving no traces of their existence.
Raeven sat there shocked, not daring to say another word as he held his son in his arms. The Marquis didn't move, nothing keeping him away from his own child.
'Let us stay here a little longer, Rii-tan.'
"We have to leave, Lakyus!" Evileye shouted at their leader, yet she didn't seem to listen.
"You don't understand, Evileye! This is my home, my country! I can't leave without defending it!" Lakyus spoke back, yet the team wasn't as adamant about staying like her.
They knew this would happen. Their leader wasn't the type to give up and retreat. No, she would probably stand up to the Sorcerer King even if it meant her death.
Gagaran eyed Tina, who in turn gave the signal. The giant woman rushed at Lakyus, grabbing her from behind as she kept her in place.
"This is for your own good, leader!" Gagaran assured, yet Lakyus wasn't having it.
"Let me go this instant!" She tried to use her elbow to hit Gagaran, yet she felt her strength leaving her.
One of the twins had already poisoned her with a needle, making her slowly go unconscious.
"Stop…this…" Lakyus stopped moving altogether, Gagaran easing her grip.
"Now, to get out of here, I recommend the Argland Council State, they got some excellent meat!" Gagaran said as she put Lakyus over her shoulders.
"We will teleport there, Gagaran." Evileye told Gagaran, who stopped just before she was about to leave the room.
"Aight. Forgot about that."
The once proud Re-Estize capital stood mostly in ruins. The walls have been completely torn apart while some of the houses were destroyed, Ainz decided to let some stay, reminding the people he wasn't completely heartless.
'Probably didn't make any difference. Who would say: Oh look, the Sorcerer King didn't destroy everything, what an awesome king. No, they would only see the destruction I caused. May as well finish the job and destroy everything.' Ainz didn't care much if the people of Re-Estize died or lived. But he would rather still have a population, so he decided to stop his troops from annihilating any more cities.
But the capital had to get destroyed. There was no doubt about that.
He had to destroy the symbol of their strength. Their once proud and untouchable capital is now lying in ruins. He hoped this action would lessen the chance of rebellion against his rule under the flag of Re-Estize. Even if it was extreme, he wouldn't allow any civil war to happen in the future.
'Don't let your conquered enemy remember who they once were. Did Tabula tell me that or Punitto Moe? I'm not sure.' Ainz thought as he sat on his golden throne in the Valencia Palace. He thought the place to be well-built and didn't want to destroy a piece of history. He was a collector, after all.
"My lord, most of the southern provinces have been conquered. Now that Re-Estize is without a king and an army, most cities will soon surrender to our power. I believe the northern regions may offer some resistance, yet our troops should be able to force their hand." Demiurge assured.
"Even if they resist our rule, they will face the truth that there is no other way than to obey. But, I do not want to appear as generally cruel. I show no mercy to my enemies, yet I give to those who obey and please me." Ainz said to the demon. Whatever he had in mind, he hoped to have turned some of Demiurge's ideas to become less brutal in the future.
"Of course, Lord Ainz." Demiurge said with a bow.
"Good. With this, I complete the chapter on Re-Estize's conquest through the Sorcerer Kingdom. Also, I had something other in mind, Demiurge. With one of my goals being the search of my fellow comrades, I find it important that my kingdom shows that interest as well. What would you say when I renamed it into the Kingdom of Nazarick?" Ainz proposed, hoping for a positive response from the Arch-Devil. Yet Ainz couldn't read his face.
'Also, Sorcerer Kingdom seems quite plain. Kingdom of Nazarick has more depth. I suppose I would keep my title as Sorcerer King. Changing it can always be an option in the future.' Ainz thought as he awaited the demon's reaction.
"My lord, whatever you find pleasing. It is not my place to decide-"
"Demiurge, I asked something of you. Reply." Ainz interrupted the demon before he could tell him why it wasn't his choice to preside over such a thing. Yet Ainz's reaction showed Demiurge he should speak his mind.
"I would not oppose such a change. Now that the world knows of our and your strength, hiding behind a name like the Sorcerer Kingdom doesn't provide any positive effects on ourselves and our surroundings. Kingdom of Nazarick could be a more descriptive approach to our nation. It would also lead to our nation getting a bit of history. As I suppose you would not keep Nazarick a secret forever." The demon said openly.
"Mmh, very well. I wish to speak with the guardians first before making such a drastic change. It is good to know you agree to my idea, Demiurge." Ainz said.
"I am but your humble servant, Lord Ainz." The demon said with a bow.
"Then you are dismissed, Demiurge. Return to your duties with integrating the regions into our kingdom. And be ready to begin the next step of our plan."
"Of course, Lord Ainz."
discord . gg / h6cpJ5d3xh
Here's my discord invitation code. Join if you're interested in becoming a proofreader of my next chapters, or you just want to hang around. Both work.
Early this week since I wont have time to upload it anytime later. Hope you enjoy this small chapter. Tell me in the comments about a title Ainz could have instead of the Sorcerer King, and if you find Kingdom of Nazarick appropriate.