Chapter 15: Path of No Return.
Yggdrasil, Seven Months after Ben's Induction to Ainz Ooal Gown
Ben dodged the blade of the Cherubim Gatekeeper as it descended from above and quickly erupted a barrier just in time to hear the heavy thud of another Cherubim's sword bouncing off his defensive spell.
He was currently analysing the maelstrom of activity that was occurring around him. Touchme, was busy cleaving away at multiple Cherubim Gatekeepers and at the same time, defending against the spells of a Primal Elemental Star guarding the Dungeon they were currently raiding.
So far, despite being a two man raid, thing were going pretty well for the brothers. As Ben barrier faced multiple assaults from two Cherubims, the young Sage continued studying his brothers fight with the remaining enemy.
The Primal Elemental tried to strike Touchme with a flaming fist while he was blocking an attack from Two Cherubims. Had Touchme been anyone else he might have been defenceless against so many successive attacks.
However, Touchme was not just anyone. Without looking he just sidestepped or dodged the attacks with ease. To anyone watching, Touchme's actions was beyond the norm even for fellow Level 100 players. Hell, even with the advance vision of Ben's [Sage Eyes, it was sometimes difficult to follow his brothers movements.
About six more Cherubims moved in on Touchme with a whirlwind of attacks and should have at least forced Touchme to parry, but the Paladin of Justice simply stepped, pivoted, or bent out of the way of their attacks. All with his sword held loosely in one hand and his shield hardly raised.
"[Call Greater Thunder]."
The two Cherubims that were facing Ben both launched the 9th tier lightning spell in an attempt to overpower Ben, but two Black portals the size of their attack, suddenly appeared Infront of the Sage Player, successfully sucking in both attacks.
"[Twin Magic: Counter Gate]."
The same moment the Angels attack were absorbed, two more portals appeared directly Infront of the Cherubims before unleashing the lightning spell they had conjure right back at them. The Cherubims were then sent flying into the Elemental Touchme had been facing, knocking it back a few feet away.
With the Elemental temporarily distracted, Touchme then raised his sword into the air as he began charging up an attack. Seeing this, Ben decided to throw in a support spell for his brother.
"[Darkened Strike]."
Touchme's sword was suddenly coated with a dark sinister aura. Now, what ever attack he was about to unleashed would also deal Dark damage to his opponent, a fatal weakness to Holy Element creatures like Cherubims.
Now fully recovered, the Elemental and Cherubim had all attempted to attack Touchme as he charged his attack, but a sudden darkness quickly engulfed their vision preventing them from attacking Touchme.
"[Widen Magic: Phantasmal Mirage]."
Though high level angels were somewhat immune to mental attacks, powerful illusions like [Phantasmal Mirage, which did not count as mind control, were a different story. Not only does the illusion create a false image against enemies, but it can also affect all five senses of an opponent, be it Sight, Sound, Smell, Touch and Taste. And thus could be used as an indirect form of mind manipulation, with the only drawback being the casters inability to use offensive spells while maintaining said illusion. Then again, since Ben wasn't battling alone, he did not need to worry about going offensive while using the spell.
"[Smite]!"
With his sword infused with Dark Magic, Touchme unleashed a powerful beam of darkness towards the remaining Cherubims and Elemental. Dark magic aside, they never stood a chance. This was pretty much the equivalent to of a level 20 Paladin hitting a Nat 20 on smite against Level 5 players. The Cherubims were instantly vaporised by the attack as they gave into their elemental weakness. The Primal managed to put up some kind of resistance, but was ultimately met with the same fate.
With all the monsters cleared, Touchme turned to his brother with a happy expression.
"That actually fun."
"Well, that's one way to put it. If we ignore the fact you could have taken them alone without my help."
"Oh come on Ben, you really shouldn't cut yourself short. You were basically the reason this fight end quickly."
"Yeah right." Ben said, not really buying into his brother's statement as he began to pick up the drops from their defeated foes.
Seeing this, Touchme could not help but let out a sigh at his brother's attitude. "You're angry at me aren't you?"
"Geez, I wonder why." Ben said dryly.
"Look, I was only gone for a few months." Touchme said defensively.
"Oh my dear brother in the Emperor, you were gone for six months." Ben clarified. "You basically threw me into your guild and left without saying anything. Hell, you haven't even been online since then. Now imagine my shock when I got a message from you at 3:00am in the morning to come online to talk, only for you to drag me into this dungeon raid. What floor is this anyway?"
"The fifth floor." Touchme said sheepishly. "Also, I sent you that message at 3:23am."
"You're not helping your case here."
"Sorry." Touchme apologized with a sigh. "It's just, things at work have been a little…difficult this past few months."
On hearing this, Ben instantly stopped looting for drops and immediately faced his brother. "It's that murder case isn't it?" His words came out more as a statement, than an actual question.
"Y-yes."
"Oh for god's sake brother, I thought we agreed you weren't going to get involved in that case."
"I know, I know. But I feel like I'm getting closer to the truth."
"The truth?" Ben asked in annoyance. "The same truth that left you injured the last time? Yeah, no."
"Ben-"
"Look…" He said cutting him off. "...I know you want to do good. I know the justice system is shitty-"
"Language."
On hearing that, Ben could not help but give his brother a look that said 'Are you for real right now?'.
"Ben, I know you're worried…"
"Worry doesn't even cover it…" Ben grumbled. "...You don't seem to be taking this seriously."
"I am though." Touchme countered. "That's why left without telling you. That's why I chose to talk to you in game and not IRL as to not involve you in this…"
"So you know you've gotten yourself into some deep shit…" Ben realized, as he stared at his brother's avatar. "...If you know this then stop."
"I…I can't." Touchme managed to say. "Look…all my life since entering the force, I've always wanted to do good. But with the present state of our society, doing real good has been nothing more than a Fantasy. Time and time again I had to turn a blind eye from various crimes…"
"Then why is this any different?"
For a moment Touchme was silent, but after a while he spoke. "The victim…he had two children. A daughter who reminded me of Jane (Touchme's daughter), and a boy who reminded me of you…I just couldn't let this case slide. You have to understand."
"Damnit…I do understand…" Ben said in frustration. In a society where morals were almost non existent, there were very few individual who actually exhibited good morals. Fortunately for Ben, he was one of those few individuals due to his brother's influence. "...but still…"
"...Ben, if you were in my shoes, would you turn a blind eye?"
"If it meant keeping you safe..." Ben thought to himself. Sure it was a rather selfish thought, but could you really fault him? He was basically his only living family member save his niece and brother's wife. His father had died before he was born while his mother had died from giving birth to him. Though he still considered his niece and brother's wife family, they still did not come close to the bond he shared with his brother.
After a rather long mental debate, Ben finally let out a tired sigh as he looked at his brother. "...Idiot."
"Ack!" Touchme was completely taken aback by his brother's statement, causing him to make such a comical sound.
"...Just promise me you won't overdo it…or else I'm going to come look for you wherever you are" Ben said.
Though his Avatar could not show it, a wave of relief washed over Touchme before placing his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You have my word."
Though not entirely convinced, Ben still nods in understanding. With their Real Life discussion over, Ben decided to change the topic towards their current situation. "Now then, how many floors do we have left to cover?"
"About three more before we encounter the boss." Touchme said, as he began leading his brother towards the next floor.
"I take it the boss isn't that strong since it's only the two of us here?"
"Actually, it's going to be very strong. I just wanted to face it alone with you."
"Really now…"
"Also, beating the boss will grant you a special class to complement your Archsage class."
"Hmm, colour me intrigued."
As the two brothers continued walking, a stray thought suddenly crossed Touchme's mind. "By the way, how has your stay in the Guild been? Hope the others aren't giving you too much trouble."
"That's actually a trick question."
"What do you mean?" Touchme asked.
"Like, how do I put this…" Ben said thoughtfully as he tried to come up with an accurate description.
"Come on Ben, the guild isn't that bad."
"Do you want the Censored or Uncensored description of your Guild?" Ben asked, in a completely neutral tone.
"Dear God, you already have an Uncensored version?"
"The uncensored version is mostly covered by Peroroncino." Ben said, causing his brother to face palm.
"What did that idiot do." Touchme thought to himself. "You know what, I'm all ears."
"Okay…" Ben said. "...so here's the thing…your guild members are all crazy."
"Ouch, you don't hold back."
"Now don't get me wrong, they're all good people…most of the time."
"Most of the time? Explain."
From there, Ben went on to explain to his brother how he saw most of the Guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown. After describing the minor members (a category he divided them into), he bagan talking about some of the prominent members of the guild.
"Herohero is probably my favourite member in the guild." Ben said, as he talked about the slime player. "Sometimes, he reminds me of you, save the overwork that is."
"I know how you feel."
"Tabula is also an amazing person." Ben added. "His dedication to detail and Alchemy is just amazing, still he takes fine-tuning to a whole different level. Sometimes it's a little hard to keep up."
"Bukubukuchagama is also great. Sometimes she feels more like the mother of the Guild. That's if you ignoring she's the voice actor of Inu…" whatever Ben was about to say was instantly halted as he noticed the heavy look his brother was giving him.
"Ben."
"...moving on." Ben said quickly, in an attempt to evade questioning. "Takemikazuchi is really good at PVPs, and the few times we sparred was great."
"Momonga is a good PKer, and strategist. But he takes cosplaying way too seriously than everyone else save…"
"Save who?"
"Nothing." Ben said waving his brother's question. "Now, we're moving into perverted Territory."
"My, this should be good." Touchme chuckled lightly. "So what did he do?"
"I honestly did not think anyone could be into so many fetishes. It's a miracle he's not on your watch list."
"Who said he wasn't?" Touchme asked, causing Ben to look at him skeptically. "I'm joking though. I'm not that evil."
"Right…"
"So, what exactly did Peroroncino do?"
"Where do I start." Ben said thoughtfully. "My first encounter with him was about 4 months ago when I had the unfortunate duty of becoming the DM for a DnD campaign."
In the vast plain of the Sixth Floor, five members of Ainz Ooal Gown are seen gathered around the wooden table. Since there wasn't any guild activity today, Herohero had suggested a game of DnD.
Ben, who had been elected as the Dungeon Master, sat at the head of the table, as he held up his rule book. To his right sat Tabula, next to him was Bukubukuchagama and Peroroncino, with the later lounged in his chair. And finally across from Peroroncino sat Herohero.
Right now, it has been fifteen minutes since their campaign began, and Ben was already beginning to question his sanity as he continued moderating.
"Okay…" Ben said, barely able to contain his frustration. "...so it's been several weeks since you guys got trapped in this cave-"
"Which could have been avoided had SOMEONE, not thought it was a good idea to temper with a Transportation Circle." Tabula said, as he glared pointed at Peroroncino.
"Look, I said I was sorry."
"I'm still moderating here."
"Right, continue."
"Now, unfortunately for you guys, all your food supply has been exhausted-"
"Still we are in our element…" Peroroncino said, interrupting Ben for the umpteenth time. "...we are sexy, and we are wet."
"Okay, remind again who the DM is?" Ben asked in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry about that." Peroroncino apologized. "It's just the condition needed a little fine tuning."
"Of course it did." Ben sighed, completely done with his guildmates antics. "As you guys continue to explore the cave again, this time, you stumble upon a Mysterious Dragon. Slumbering in the middle of the cave and-"
"I attempt to fuck it." Peroroncino suddenly said, catching Ben completely off guard.
"You what?!"
"The Dragon." Peroroncino clarifies. "I intend to-"
"No, I heard you the first time. Why would you-"
"I don't discriminate."
For all intent and purpose, Ben could have sworn he felt his eye twitch. "Okay, what if it's trying to help you?"
"Oh it can still help us, after I fuck it."
"Solid strategy." Tabula added. "I set the mood by playing my guitar."
"Don't entertain this…" Ben said while crossing his arm. "...besides, he has to roll first."
Picking up the die, Peroroncino began shaking his hand vigorously, as though he was beating his meat.
"The fuck is wrong with this guy." Ben asked himself, as the H addict made his roll. "I just hope he doesn't-"
"Natural 20."
"Oh come on!"
"Shouldn't we keep this kid friendly?" Bukubukuchagama asked, feeling slightly sorry for her brother's attitude.
"Last I checked he's legal." Peroroncino said, while pointing at Ben.
"There are so many things wrong with that statement…" Ben said as he shot him a incredulous look. Sighing in defeat, he just decided to go on with it. "...okay, Peroroncino grabs the loob and he screws the Dragon. There, you happy?"
"Hmm, best three seconds of my life."
"Three seconds?" Tabula turned to his teammate. "Impressive. I must know the secret to your training."
"Can we please get back to the game."
"Hold on, I also would like to fuck the Dragon."
"Tabula, not you too."
Not waiting to be told, Tabula also took the die to make his throw. The results…
"...Nat 20."
"Fuck!" Ben slammed his hand on the table. "Fine, Tabula also makes love with the Dragon, can we move on."
"Hold on a damn second. I'm not getting left behind on this." Bukubukuchagama said, causing Ben to slam his head on the table. Ignoring the Human player's reaction, she also made a roll, but unlike the others, the die landed on Nat 18.
"Hah, you failed." Ben said happily.
"Hold on a sec." Peroroncino said. "I'll use my Wingman spell on my sister to give her plus three advantage."
"Hah, 21!" Bukubukuchagama declared happily. " Give me those Dragon cheeks."
Herohero who had been silent this entire time decided speak up. "You know what, fuck it, I'm joining in."
"Hahahaha." For a total of two minutes, Touchme could not do anything but laugh hysterically at his brother's predicament.
"I'm glad my torture entertains you." Ben said dryly, as his brother laughter intensifies.
"I'm…sorr…hahahaha…it's just…this whole thing reminds of the first time I went on a raid with them."
"Wow." Ben said in disbelief
"Oh, don't get me wrong." Touchme said, now in control of himself. "Yours is worse, but my experience was still funny nonetheless."
Peering over the side of a tree, the level 88 Touchme is seen spying on a group of low level players, with Peroroncino and Tabula by his side. Though the other two players did not say it, their somewhat distant attitude suggested they might have had a bad day IRL.
"I say we kill them." Tabula suddenly said, causing Touchme to glare at his teammate.
"They're low level players." Touchme countered. "I say we leave them."
"Well I say we kill them." Peroroncino said, agreeing with the Alchemy Fanatic.
"Seriously? Can the both of you please keep your murder boners in your pants, just for today?"
"Hey, don't tell us what to do with our murder boners!" Tabula yelled at Touchme.
"Oh screw it all!" Peroroncino yelled as he prepared to attack the players, but not without uttering the most messed up statement Touchme had ever heard. "We are Erect with rage!"
"The actual…"
"...fuck." Ben muttered, this time joining in on his brother's laughter. "...he actually said that?"
"I was just as shocked as you when I heard it." Touchme said.
"Are there no limits to his fetish?"
"Apparently, he draws the line on incest." Touchme said. "Which is honestly the best thing we have as a limit for him."
"That sounds more like common sense than a limit."
"Among other things." Touchme said, before picking up something from his brother's description of his guildmates. "I noticed you did not mention Ulbert. I take it you two aren't getting along well?"
"Ulbert…he's a fucking asshole."
"Ben."
"I don't know what his problem is, but he's pretty much made it his life goal to always antagonize me."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Touchme said sincerely. "Ulbert has been a rather difficult individual…even for me. Eventually you might learn to tolerate him."
"I don't think that is ever going to happen."
"Is it that bad?"
"Let's not talk about it." Ben said, as he began walking to the entrance of the next floor. "We still have this dungeon to clear."
"I guess you're right." Touchme said before following after Ben.
Nazarick, Present Time
The moment Shalltear was done with her explanation, Ainz had remained silent as his mind went through so many questions. One in particular, was how Ben had been mind controlled.
Sure, human characters did not possess the same immunity to mind control like Undead Players, but even ignoring that, Ainz was fairly certain Ben had counter measures for that. But something about Shalltear's explanation did not seat well with him. According to the true vampire, Ainz was made to know that Shalltear had sensed that she would have fallen victim to the mind control spell, had Ben not stepped in between her. She even swore by him that she was one hundred percent certain that ability would have ignored her mental immunity.
This vital information had brought Ainz to a conclusion he feared. World Items. Those were pretty much the only things Ainz could think would threaten someone like Shalltear, and the thought that someone in this world had one did not sit well with him.
Shalltear also made mention of a spell Ben and her unnamed opponent used on her which ignored all her defenses and immunities. This info further cemented the possible use of a World Item. The question now was, how would he deal with this.
"Lord Ainz." The undead in question, looked over to Albedo who had been quite the whole time during Shalltear's explanation. "Can Lord Ben be freed from this mind control?" The question was definitely heavy for her to ask. The other guardians, also leaned in to hear their masters answer.
"I would like to make something very clear before answering." Ainz said, he mentally prepared to break the news to the guardians. "From Shalltear's explanation, the mind control in effect on Ben is most definitely the effect of a World Class Item. The only way to protect against the effects of a World Class Item is to have a World Class Item yourself, or a special class."
"So there's no way to save Lord Ben?" Demiurge asked.
"With the use of a normal World item, no." Ainz said. "But there are special World Items that could even bypass the effect of other World Items."
"So there's a chance at saving him?" Albedo asked.
"The thnig here Albedo, is that among all the balance-breaking World Class Items, there were the twenty items known as "The Twenty." The Twenty possessed unparallelled power."
"There was a famous item among the Twenty called [Longinus, which could completely delete its target, but the price the user paid for that was to be utterly deleted himself. There was no way to restore the data of anyone deleted by that World Class item, other than by using the resurrection powers of other World Class Items. Neither cash items or resurrection spells would work. If someone were to use it on an NPC of Nazarick, it would even reduce the maximum levels of NPCs which could be created the special feature of a guild homebase."
Ainz paused as he recalled several other equally insane items. "There was [Ahura Mazda, which had a potent effect on anything with a negative karma value, and its area of effect could span an entire world. There was [Five-Element Progression, which could request the YGGDRASIL developers to change part of the magic system. There was also [Ouroboros, which could request a more far-reaching change to the system than [Five-Element Progression]."
"Then, there was the most powerful World Class Item, [World Savior]. Normally, it only had the power of an ordinary club, but it could grow in strength without limit. A single enemy with this item could conquer the whole of Nazarick, even at the height of its power with all its members present."
"The items known as the Twenty were so powerful that they would vanish after being used once. Nazarick boasted possession of two of the Twenty. They would only be used against enemies of incredible power, because only items of matching power could rival them. In addition, it was one thing if they simply vanished after use. However, what if they fell into someone else's hands after vanishing? What if they fell into the hands of Nazarick's enemies?"
"Are you saying you can't risk using one of these items to help Lord Ben?" Albedo asked, as a sense of betrayal washed over her.
"As much as I hate to say this Albedo…the safety of all of Nazarick far supersedes my personal feelings or the safety of a single one of my Allies, including myself. If for some reason a powerful being like the one that helped Ben kill Shalltear gets his hand on it, the whole of Nazarick would be in serious danger."
"Besides, even if we do decide to use one of the two items, we would still need to capture him. And from Shalltear's run in with Ben, capture would do us more harm than good."
"Then what do you intend we do?" Albedo asked.
"The only logical means of freeing Lord Ben without one of the two is resurrection." Demiurge deduced.
"Are you saying we kill him?" Albedo asked, barely able to contain her disgust for the suggestion.
"He is not asking you to do that." Ainz said, before Albedo could say anything. "That is a burden that falls to me."
"Lord Ainz, you must reconsider. There has to be another way." Albedo pleaded
"Unless we somehow find the item used to control him, this is the only way. I'm sorry Albedo."
"I…I understand."
"How heartless have I become?" Ainz thought to himself. "To think I would actually value a measly little item over one of my comrade. Still, it's him over the safety of all of Nazarick."
"Lord Ainz." Shalltear called, ending Ainz train of thought. "Permit me to ask…do you think you can defeat Lord Ben?"
"An excellent question Shalltear…the answer to it? I don't know." Ainz admitted. "Though we're guildmates, Ben joined rather late and thus I never did face him in a PVP match. Besides that, he was actually ranked higher than me on the PVP board. But one thing is certain though. If we ever engaged in a spell shoot out, I would loss even though my MP pool is larger than his. His Sage ability [Sage Support, cuts the cost of all spells by 50 percent. But I do not intend to go into this battle unprepared."
"If that's so, I have a request Lord Ainz." Shalltear said.
"Go on."
"I would like to accompany you in your fight against Lord Ben. I know I've failed you far too many times now, but allow me to aid reduce this burden on you."
For a moment, Ainz stood silent as he contemplated Shalltear's request. "I'll think about it." Was the only answer he gave before turning to Albedo. "Albedo, I would like you to accompany me to see your sister."
"As you wish Lord Ainz."
Fifth Floor
The Fifth Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an extremely cold region that had been modelled after a glacier.
A bluish-white iceberg stood in the middle of an endless expanse of white land, like a tombstone. It seemed to glow from within and confused the senses. Snow fell from the heavy, overcast sky above, whipped into a mad dance by the freezing wind which carried frozen vapors on its gusts. In the distance was a frozen forest covered in snow, which looked like giants clad in robes of purest white.
The bone-chilling wind ruffled Ainz's clothing, which fluttered in the wind. Albedo stood about three feet beside him, and as he eyed the way she was dressed, Ainz couldn't help but ask
"Aren't you cold? If you need to, you can put on your armor. We should still have time for that."
Ainz was completely immune to all forms of cold-elemental attacks. He would not be chilled or frozen regardless of how low the temperature went. However, Albedo was a different matter. If she was in her full battle panoply, mere freezing gusts like this would not harm her, but she was currently wearing a white dress. He had asked her about this before teleporting, but he had come away with the feeling that she was just trying to put on a brave front.
However, Albedo simply smiled gently. "Thank you for your concern, Lord Ainz, but it is not necessary. Mere cold like this is not a problem."
Ainz nodded and replied, "I see. Then, let's go."
With those simple words, Ainz pushed open the frozen main gate. Though it was covered in a thick layer of ice, the gate still opened easily, as though it were welcoming a visitor.
A wave of cold air washed over them in the instant the gate opened. This was because the interior of the Prison was colder than even the freezing environs outside.
It was only after the chilling wind swept over her that Albedo began shivering. As Ainz saw this, he reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew a crimson cape, whose hem was decorated with flame-like patterns.
"Wear this, Albedo. It is not highly enchanted, but it should be enough to ward off the cold."
Albedo gave a silent thank you, before taking cape. For some reason, Ainz thought he saw her hesitate in accepting the cape, but he simply brushed the feeling away as a random thought crossed his mind
"Right, you mentioned Ben brought a woman here correct?"
"Yes. Neuronist should be watching her closely. Shall I summon Neuronist? It is unthinkable that she would not come to lead the way, thus forcing the Supreme Overlord of Nazarick to advance by himself…"
"It's fine. Though it's not a bad thing, she talks too much. There is a matter we need to settle as soon as possible and I would like to avoid wasting time."
"Understood."
"...Albedo, we're almost at your big sister's room. Are you ready?"
"I shall retrieve the doll now."
"Give it to me."
Albedo reached a hand toward the wall, and a pale-white hand reached back out, depositing a doll to her hand. It was a baby doll, which was about the same size as an actual baby. Ainz accepted the doll, and looked it over without averting his eyes.
"How revolting."
The doll was a caricature of a human infant, its distorted features resembling a Cupid doll. Its large, round eyes were particularly disgusting. Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brows and directed his gaze to the end of the corridor. There was a large fresco there, painted on a wall which contained a door.
He saw a mother and her baby. It was a painting of a mother gently cradling her child.
If that were all, it would have been a beautiful painting. However, the passage of time had worn away at the paint, turning it into a hideous sight. In particular, one could no longer see the shape of the baby itself. All that remained was something which looked like a corpse.
Ainz pushed open the door, which slid open with no sound or resistance, and he was greeted by the sound of crying babies.
It was not just the sound of one or two voices. Nor was it the result of an echo. Tens, hundreds of crying voices fused into one and reached Ainz's ears. However, he could not see any babies in the room. Still, although he could not see them, they were definitely there.
In this empty room, bare of all furniture, there was a cradle, and a woman gently rocked it. Though Ainz had entered the room, the woman in the black mourning clothes remained silent, caring only for the cradle she was rocking. Her face could not be seen because her long black hair completely covered it up.
Normally, if an NPC saw a Supreme Being and paid them no heed, Albedo would loudly rebuke them. However, she remained silent. Ainz knew the reason for that, because Albedo's guarded stance told him everything.
"It's about time to begin, no?"
"It should be. Please be careful."
As though on cue, the woman's movements froze. Then, she reached her hands into the cradle, and gently retrieved the baby within. No, that was not a real baby, but a baby doll.
"It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong."
She shook it forcefully and then cast it aside with all her strength. The doll shattered into pieces when it hit the wall.
"My baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyy-!"
A sound of grinding teeth came from the woman, and with that, the crying noises from the floor and ceiling grew louder. Soon, the source of the sound revealed itself, and lumps of flesh which resembled translucent babies emerged.
"To think Tabula Smaragdina put so many monsters in here… how much money did he spend on this?" Ainz thought
These squirming masses of flesh which resembled infants were close to level twenty, and they were called Carrion Babies.
In games like YGGDRASIL, one could place pop monsters within dungeons by paying the appropriate in-game or real-world currency. However, they would not come back to life after being destroyed, so they were more of a luxury to players. Those players that did not focus on roleplaying would not emplace such monsters.
The fact that he had put in so many Carrion Babies here, despite their low levels, was a testament to the meticulous nature of Tabula Smaragdina.
Just as Ainz was starting to be impressed, the woman produced a large pair of scissors from somewhere and gripped them tightly. A keen gaze looked out from her unkempt hair, directed at Ainz and Albedo.
"You, you, you, you, took, took, took, took, my baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyyyy-!"
"...She really is your sister. The resemblance is very strong."
"Eh!? Re-Really?"
The woman seemed to take the leisurely conversation as some sort of provocation and broke into a run, her killing intent driving her as swiftly as the wind. The woman in the black mourning clothes took unnaturally large strides as she charged, closing the distance to them in but a few steps.
The woman stabbed forcefully at Ainz with her scissors…
"Your child is here."
…And as Ainz presented the doll to the woman, her movements froze immediately, as though someone had pressed the stop button on her. She put her scissors away, and slowly accepted the doll.
"Ohhhhh."
She cradled her beloved child with infinite compassion, as though she would never let it go. Then, she gingerly placed the baby back in the cradle, before turning her face, shrouded as it was by her long hair, to Ainz and Albedo.
"Lord Momonga, and my lovely little sister. I trust you have been well?"
"It's been a while, Nigredo. You seem…well, I am glad you have not changed."
The reason why Ainz could calmly handle this chain of events was because he had witnessed this madness before, in the game. Back then, he was so scared that I screamed.
His guildmate said he had made a new NPC, and asked the other guild members to come see it with him. In the end, everyone had shrieked together and unleashed their full power on Nigredo. It felt quite nostalgic now when he looked back on it.
"Big Sister, it's been a while."
Indeed, this Nigredo was Albedo's older sister. In other words, she was an NPC created by the player Tabula Smaragdina.
If one said that Albedo was the incarnation of his love for gap moe, then Nigredo would be the character that represented Tabula Smaragdina's love for horror movies.
Although he wasn't a bad person by any stretch of the word, he was clearly quite a character.
Nigredo brushed away the long hair which covered her face, revealing her true visage. Her true face was creepy, to say the least. It had no skin, only exposed muscle.
Her mouth had no lips, yet held a beautiful set of teeth. Her eyes shone brightly in the absence of eyelids. An observer might think her beautiful if they looked solely at her eyes or teeth, but taken as a whole, her face inspired nothing but revulsion.
That frighteningly ugly face from the depths of a horror movie contorted. It was hard to tell because of the lack of skin, but she still had muscle tissue on her face, unlike Ainz, so one could eventually surmise that she should have been smiling.
"Then, Lord Momonga, how may I-"
"-Ah, my apologies. You were not in the Throne Room so you did not know, but my name is no longer Momonga. I am now Ainz Ooal Gown. Please address me as Ainz from now on."
There was a gasp of surprise, and then Nigredo slowly raised her head. "I understand, Lord Ainz."
"Then, Nigredo, I came here to seek your help. Could I make use of your abilities?"
"My abilities? Is it alive? Or unliving?"
"...Alive… I'll be frank with you. The target is Ben Strega."
"Lord Ben? ...Forgive my rudeness. If it is your order, then I will carry it out at once, Lord Ainz." Though her voice seemed doubtful, Nigredo immediately complied with the request.
"Please."
In response to Albedo's request, Nigredo raised her thumb playfully before casting a variety of spells. There was quite the variety of them.
Nigredo was a magic caster, and she was one of the highest-level NPCs in Nazarick. Though one could not tell from looking at her, she had been designed to specialize in divination and information gathering. That was why Ainz had come here to ask for help with locating Ben.
Soon enough, as befitting a person with her skills, Nigredo swiftly announced the results.
"I've found him."
"Put it on a [Crystal Monitor]."
She cast another spell, and a [Crystal Monitor] appeared, displaying something which looked like burnt down expanse of forest. Someone in a Black robe, was sitting on the barren bare ground.
"Amazing. You discerned the location of the target with pinpoint accuracy. I'd expect nothing less of a specialized magic cas-" As the image in the monitor became clearer, the praise vanished. Ben was now staring directly at Ainz.
"Shit."
"Stop the spell!" The urgency at which Ainz gave those orders had shocked Nigredo, but she complied non-theless
"T-that was close." Though Ainz knew of [Sage Eye] being able to detect divination magic. Seeing the speed at which Ben had noticed them had taken him off guard. Had he made Nigredo keep the spell active, he was certain Ben would make use of a spell to disrupt her divination, effectively harming her in the process.
"Forgive the disturbance, Lord Ainz."
A female voice echoed through his mind. It belonged to Narberal, who had stayed in E-Rantel. Anger blazed in Ainz at this untimely interruption.
"What is it, Narberal? I'm-" I'm busy, he wanted to say, but Ainz cut himself off halfway. As his emotion suppressors kicked in. "No, it's fine. What is it? It must be important for you to contact me with [Message, right?"
"Yes. Someone from the Adventurer's Guild is looking for you, and Lord Ben."
"...If it's about last night, tell them to wait… no, that's not right. There should be something else, am I correct?"
"Yes! You are as perceptive as always, Lord Ainz"
Narberal was not being clear, so Ainz let his silence show his confusion. Soon, she seemed to have picked up on that and spoke again:
"Actually, there is another problem besides that. It… concerns a certain Vampire."
"What? A Vampire, you say? Did they mention anything about that Vampire? Like say, silver hair, or crimson armor, or something?"
"Regretfully, they did not. The person they sent for yourself was little more than a runner. They said that they would explain at the guild, and hoped that you would hurry over as soon as possible, Lord Ainz. I hear that several adventurer teams have already made their way there… the Guild's messenger is nearby; what should I tell him?"
Ainz closed his eyes. Of course, he had no eyeballs, so it simply meant that the lights in his eye sockets vanished.
"What do you think of Narberal's [Message, Albedo?"
After finishing his explanation, Albedo lowered her eyes for a few moments, and then looked back at Ainz. "Given that we lack information, there will be merits and demerits to either alternative. Thus, you should select according to your personal preference, Lord Ainz. If it were up to me, I would ignore these humans…but…"
"But?"
"I feel that if the vampire they're referring to is Shalltear, then it would most definitely lead them to Lord Ben, which would end up ruining the good standing he has with them."
After thanking Albedo, Ainz fell into deep thought. After a brief period of hesitation, Ainz came to a conclusion. "Albedo, send someone to keep an eye on Ben. Make sure they are at least 300 meters away from Ben as that is the limit to his sensory range. I will go visit the Guild in E-Rantel. After that matter is concluded, I shall make preparations to face Ben."
"As you wish Lord Ben." Albedo bowed as she watched Ainz teleport out of the Fifth Floor. Once she was certain he was gone, Albedo turned back to her sister who had been silent after locating Ben. "Big Sister, I need your help in finding the NPC directly under Lord Ben."