Momonga and Nazarick were transported in the DxD instead of the New World - and hilarity, lewdness - and also gore, psychological tortures and moments of unparalleled geniusness that ensued. That's just it.
Overlord of Biblical proportions (Overlord \ Highschoold DxD crossover)
- Thread starter Russian Reversal
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- Created
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- Ongoing
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- Recent readers
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- Threadmarks
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Statistics (40 threadmarks, 240k words)
User Total Russian Reversal 40
Prologue (1)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (1)
Walking along the corridors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Sebas crossed through another teleportation gate, the last in his journey to the First Floor. Walking across the threshold, Sebas fixed his uniform and dusted any debris that could have fallen on it – not that it was disheveled or dirty in any way after the teleportation. Sebas always took great caution to keep his suit pristine and well-kept at all times, his suit bestowed upon him by his Creator, Lord Touch Me, would never be tainted or wrinkled. Alas, his Lord's words had made Sebas experience something akin to nervousness.
His Lord, the last of the Supreme Ones, Momonga, had uttered unexpected words about a situation that had suddenly and profoundly changed, which had led to his current unusual assignment. Sebas was to go to the surface from his post in the 10th Floor, something very unusual.
Sebas had spent his entire life on the tenth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, fulfilling the primary function entrusted to him by his creator. Protecting the Throne Hall and the Holy of Holiest of the Great Tomb, the Hall in which the Forty-One Supreme Beings once proclaimed the power of Ainz Ooal Gown, is his duty. Sebas and the six Sisters of the Pleiades then performed a sacred function, their duty the most enviable of all, for they were to give as much time as possible to the Forty-One before They assembled for the final battle.
Only Albedo's, whose duty was to fight side by side with the Forty-One, and Pandora's Actor, the personal creation of Lord Momonga outweighed theirs. A creation that Sebas had never met in person, whose duty was to buy as much time as possible in the treasury, allowing the Forty-One to return and strike another blow, in the very back of the enemy… This was the first time that Sebas had done anything other than his duty, so perhaps it couldn't be helped that he would be 'nervous'.
Sebas had never left the confines of the Great Tomb, but he knew of exactly what lay beyond — the swamps of Helheim, full of creatures of level eighty and above. A swamp where the water was drenched with poison, the air covered with an acid mist, and the ground was full of steel grass that could easily pierce or destroy ordinary armor at a misstep.
It was one of the Great Tomb's best defenses, few were able to pass through these swamps to pose a danger to the Great Tomb and Ainz Ooal Gown.
Master Momonga, however, ordered Sebas to survey the lands around the Tomb as He had felt a great disturbance – and Sebas was willing to sacrifice his life if he had to, to do so.
Sebas traversed the final spans of the first floor, to the stairs leading to the surface, before appearing at the Tomb's threshold, glancing ahead and pausing for a moment. "Now… That's unusual."
As far as Sebas knew – the Great Tomb of Nazarick was located in Helheim's marshes, not…
In a void of nothingness.
Sebas shook his head, trying to see if his mind was affected by the illusion, as his resistance to those was great, but Sebas did not possess powers like [True Sight]. Of course, he could use his powers to forcibly clear his mind, and unless his opponent was using Super-tier magic or a World Class Item so he did so, and nothing changed. It should have cleared his mind of the illusions affecting his perception – however, the picture before him was unchanged.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick - at least its upper mausoleum and the ruins of the colonnade, along with the smaller mausoleums around it, were all in their place. The building standing on mounds exactly where they had been located in the past… Except, the mounds only extended a few paces from the walls of the Great Tomb, its farthest walls – beyond that, there was only emptiness.
A black, impenetrable void.
"This is definitely unusual… " Sebas was not blessed by his Creator to be as clever as Albedo, Pandora's Actor, or the Demiurge, but for a moment he allowed the thought that even they could not easily make sense of the picture before his eyes. Only their master, Lord Momonga, the Leader of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, could discern anything about the situation at the moment.
After all, he was the only one who could tell that something has happened, all the way back in the Throne Room even without casting a single spell. Truly, His Master's intellect is a frightening thing.
However, the current situation was definitely… Interfering with Sebas's order.
His original order was to go around the Great Tomb within a one-kilometer radius to scout out the surroundings, but his order didn't quite detail what he needed to do in case he simply… Couldn't.
Unfortunately, Sebas was incapable of following Lord Momonga's orders, given his inability to teleport and fly, so he could not leave the confines of the small clearing holding Nazarick in the middle of the void… Unless he was supposed to simply fall down, perhaps to make up for his failure to comply with a simple order from his Master.
Death in service was the ultimate reward for any member of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but such a reward was no excuse to violate orders. And unfortunately, if he fell into the void, he would definitely violate his orders to return to Lord Momonga along with the information he was due to receive.
Sebas took a couple of steps forward just in case, then checked the void with his foot just in case the void was simply an illusion. Unfortunately, he had to note that the void was indeed empty and was not capable of holding his weight. Sebas shifted his pensive gaze forward after that, staring into the void, before noticing a small dot of light in the distance.
Slowly the dot began to expand, as if it were getting closer to Sebas, and before long Sebas could determine that the dot was colored red – then to determine that the dot was not some formless light. It instead has a proper shape… A dragon. A big red dragon.
Sebas frowned slightly.
As he stuck his foot out into the void to pass the walls of Nazarick, he felt the 'terrain effects' that the void possesses try to affect him. Sebas could identify 'mana absorption', 'energy absorption', 'life absorption', and 'experience absorption', a very dangerous cocktail of negative effects. But since Sebas had enough protection against such things, he paid no attention to it.
"So that dragon also possesses the abilities to ignore these effects. Either that, or it is simply a very foolish being indeed…" Sebas slowly nodded at his deduction, as he watched the approaching, enlarging figure of the red dragon.
Much closer now, Sebas could make out some details of the red dragon. As quite obvious now, it is a huge red dragon, with a large horn on the end of its muzzle and only two pairs of wings… The most stereotypical a dragon could perhaps be.
Sebas had once heard that the Supreme Beings, Peroroncino and his Creator, Touch Me, talk about how 'the Great Red Dragon is such a pain'. Apparently its regeneration being the most infuriating? But he had never personally seen such a dragon.
If the dragon coming towards him really was the Great Red Dragon that the Supreme Being has talked about, then Sebas did not consider himself strong enough to fight someone his Creator, Lord Touch Me, considered a 'pain'. But as diligence demands, he first assessed the strength of the creature before him, using his senses of Ki.
The dragon indeed appeared strong in his senses – in fact, considerably stronger than he was, so Sebas did not consider himself capable of defeating the dragon if it comes to a fight. Perhaps the Dragon could even need three of Nazarick's best warriors at one time, Sebas, Albedo, and Cocytus, to defeat. In such a fight, Sebas assessed that their odds of victory would be quite high – perhaps even an eighty percent chance.
If Sebas were to fight the dragon alone however, then even using his full strength, given that such a dragon must have possessed numerous strong and hidden abilities – he estimated his chances of victory at between five and ten percent.
The words of his All-Seeing Master, Lord Momonga, about not starting a battle if it was not necessary, and about attempting a peaceful dialogue, made Sebas nod in awe at his Master's foresight. As expected of his Master, he was already aware of the fact that a creature of this world would be so strong.
But his Master's order is law– and Sebas needed to, in the event that the creature was intelligent, to invite him to a dialogue without starting the battle first.
Sebas thought about how to go about completing his order for a moment, before, when the dragon approached close enough to hear Sebas' voice, not daring to attack first, he addressed him, "Good day. Excuse me, Dragon, but my Master would like to speak with you…"
The one they called the Great Red, the Dragon of Dreams, and the Dragon of the Apocalypse spent his days as he always did – wandering in the Inter-world rift, the Dimensional gap, doing his duty.
The Great Red had no particular empathy for the inhabitants of Draconic Deus – or, as the younger races more commonly referred to this place, Earth, but he was not entirely heartless. If he had been, he would have allowed Ophis, the Ouroboros, the Dragon of Infinity, to continue their meaningless existence in this void, experiencing and feeling nothing.
But Ophis was weak. For a lesser race, perhaps, she was incredibly strong – but she was weaker than the Great Red, that was why he could her off the Dimensional Gap. She only wished to exist in the void – but she did not realize that by doing so, her existence would not last.
For creatures like him, the passing of time was no-issue. Thousands of years have merged together until the distinction between them vanished, as it would for an eternity more… But eternity of existence did not mean that time stood still.
The lesser races did not see, did not know, did not understand that time were passing through their fingers. They did not see that they should use their time better as the inhabitants of other worlds – worlds beyond the Gap were waiting for their moment. They were preparing to strike, and they would strike – so soon.
For the lesser races, though, whose perception of time was laughably lacking – what for the Great Red was a swift blow, for the lesser races was a matter that their descendants would meet in thousands of years.
For the Great Red, there was no difference between 'tomorrow' and 'in a thousand years' – both were swift events. But the lesser races, so limited in their perception, could not perceive it. The lives were so short, only a hundred, or two, years long.
And here, in their perception, Ophis had stayed for a 'long' time on Earth, and the Great Red have always been in the inter-world rift – and that 'in the past' it was the other way around. For Ophis and Great Red, it was no more than a few moments.
Great Red had come to the Dimensional Gap to repel an attack on his fiefdom, Draconic Deus. And Ophis, who did not seem to heed his words, in her desire to exist in the void, she had fled away thinking that he was there to fight her… Now, as far as the Great Red himself knew, she was gathering forces to try to drive him out of the inter-world rift.
At least, the last time the Great Red had been interested in the matter, it had looked like that.
No more than a mere few hundred years have passed since then, and he doubted that Ophis has had time to change its mind in that time. Though perhaps he should have checked in on her – the lesser races were very weak, but sometimes, among them there were those that could pose a threat to the Great Red. Especially if there were many of them and with Ophis on the wings… it would be quite troublesome.
However, before he could think on that idea more, an unexpected feeling interrupted his musings.
Feeling anything in the inter-world rift was itself unusual. Nothing existed in the inter-world rift, as existing in the inter-world rift drained any creature of their life, and even the most powerful could endure only short periods of existence here. Only the Great Red and the Ouroboros could exist here forever, thanks to their powers, abilities, and draconic nature.
Such a thing was already treated as common sense to anyone who know of the Dimensional Gap. And that if the Void doesn't destroy the being outright, then that Great Red would – everyone knew this as fact. The only exceptions to this were Ophis, whose brief battle with her, ended in her escape, and Tannin, both for the same reason, but with the latter being much more annoying. The young dragon could withstand, thanks to his dragon nature, the forces of the Gap, but was ten thousand years younger than the time when he could interest the Great Red in a battle.
However, the feeling that spread through the Dimensional Gap told the Great Red that someone new had come to his abode.
The feeling disappeared a moment after it had appeared, but it left behind a trace, an awareness of the location of the anomaly, and something that would more properly be described as the 'smell' of… Of something possessing a draconic nature.
It was a scent different from Tannin's and Ophis' - the one who appeared in the rift was much stronger than Tannin… Still not strong enough for the Great Red, but still extremely strong, perhaps on the level of one of the two babies, Albion and Ddraig?
Furthermore, there was something else, the smell was definitely of a Dragon, but there is something else there as well… Someone dragon-like, connected to the dragons, but not a dragon…
Maybe one of the [Longinus] hosts in which one of the little ones was sealed in? The last time the Great Red knew of them, their hosts were weak enough, but that was – five hundred years ago? Something like that, but if Great Red remembered the humans correctly, those usually lived for considerably less. So, perhaps one of them got a great host who managed to unleash the full power of his [Longinus] and decided to challenge the Great Red himself?
The Great Red would like to take a look at such a fool…
Gradually, however, as he approached the place from where he had felt the feeling coming from, his thoughts began to change in another direction. From a distance he could see a small, relative to his own dimensions, that is, clearing of land. An island floating in the inter-world gap, consisting of what could be called earth and water, as if it were a piece of small marsh that had been cut from some other picture and thrown away by a child into the Gap.
But that was not something that interested the Great Red much, such things happen from time to time, as people experimented only to have their surroundings be swallowed by the void.
It was the structure on it, the columns and ruined crypts of an ancient mausoleum or tomb, the sight of which the Great Red could not match his knowledge to. The architecture was a bit like the Greek pantheon the last time he saw it, but with European influences.
In addition, the Great Red literally felt nothing of the soaring tomb, and if his eyes could not see, it would be as if there were nothing there.
That in itself said enough – there were few powers in the world capable of defending itself from his gaze, maybe some Old Gods of lesser races at the peak of their powers could do such a thing. But to hide an entire mausoleum from him?!
Besides, his instincts were screaming at him that what he's seeing was not all there is to it to the Mausoleum. Even if he could not see anything under the thin layer of soaring earth, the Great Red could literally feel that if he wished, he could enter the mausoleum and be in a place that he could not dream of.
And it was frightening.
The Great Red approached a little more to take a closer look, before with a surprise he heard the voice. "Good afternoon. Excuse me, Dragon, but my Master would like to speak with you…"
The Great Red moved his gaze hurriedly, with perhaps a trace of panic from his surprise, trying to find the source of the words. Before, after a while, he found it.
Concentrating his gaze, he was surprised to see a man from the lesser races, a man with gray hair, straight sharp facial features, a gray beard and mustache on his straight face, standing on the marshy soil. The Great Red was poorly versed in the appearance of lesser races, but could guess, judging from his hair, that he was quite old.
However, the Great Red could not sense anything from the speaker. Standing right in front of him, he was invisible to the Great Red's perception, perhaps he could even attack the Great Red, and he wouldn't even understand who exactly attacked him at that moment.
It wasn't until a few moments later that the Great Red's brain informed him that the creature of a lesser race had said something, and then another second later that the Great Red realized exactly what he had said.
'Master…' The Great Red frowned momentarily. Few could appear in the inter-world rift on their own, much less hide from the Great Red's gaze – so this Master, the lesser race being spoke of, must have been powerful. Perhaps he was the bearer of the draconic [Sacred Gear] that the Great Red had sensed a little earlier?
Someone on the level of those little ones could perhaps survive the inter-world rift for a time – but to hide from the Great Red?
No, the situation didn't add up – a bearer of the Sacred Gears holding Albion or Ddraig wouldn't hide their presence. Those little guys were inexperienced, but they weren't shy about fighting and wouldn't just disappear…
After a moment, the creature of a lesser race - the Great Red considered the creature most likely to be a human male – put two fingers to his temple next to his ear, and began speaking.
"Yes, Lord Momonga?"
There was silence for a moment, in which the Great Red, flying close enough to hover over the roofs of the mausoleum and the crypts surrounding it, silently continued to watch the man. All the while feeling as if he were missing something extremely important.
"There was no territory found around the Great Tomb, only emptiness, but I did locate a representative of the intelligent species." The man talked calmly, as if he were talking about something trivial, like the weather yet with his head bowed so that the Great Red could see that he was talking to his superiors-perhaps to this 'Master' of his.
"As far as I can tell, this is the 'Great Red Dragon'…"
The Great Red found himself opening his eyes in surprise. He was the only being known by that name, he was the Great Red, no one needed to mention that he was a dragon, as he was the only one who bore that title. But the way the man spoke his name… It was as if the speaker wasn't sure exactly what he was seeing.
Absolutely everyone knew that it was the Great Red who had existed in the Inter-World Gap for the last hundreds of years. Only those who had existed for the last hundred years with absolutely no contact with Earth… Or those who had come from another world would not know about it.
The Great Red did not notice the moment when the man stopped talking, but after a moment he felt a portal open near him, and then the Great Red turned sharply around and froze.
It was a creature like a skeleton, but not a human skeleton animated by dark magic at all, but a skeleton whose bones had never held flesh in the first place. Wrapped in a dark purple robe, marked with gold edging, held over his shoulders by two large shoulder pads fashioned from the white bone of an unknown beast, the skeleton surveyed his entire form.
Its face was inlaid with two red spheres that glowed with unholy fire from within, perhaps as a mockery of eyes, while his head were concealed by a hood of purple, with golden symbols woven on it.
On each of his fingers, but one, was a ring. It and each of the items of his clothing, including the rings, exuded an incredible amount of power, as if he were fully clothed in divine relics. As if each of his fingers held a Mjölnir and his clothing consisted of the Shrouds of Turin.
But that was the least of the problematic things the Great Red could see. In his hands shone a massive golden staff that exuded an unholy aura, with distorted hundreds of faces in agony, created from a tangle of golden serpents that atop created the likeness of a crown. Each serpent diverging from the center, each one holding one gem in its mouth.
The feeling the staff gave off was even stronger than all his clothes combined, as if he were holding a [Longinus]. But the most striking thing, the thing that made Great Red pause, is in the center of his belly. Beneath his rib cage, the creature held a red orb, and one glance at it was enough to make the Great Red's mind fog.
The thing he saw – was not a mere object. It was a world.
An entire world, compressed into a small sphere like a toy, and displayed inside the body of the creature before him, for the amusement of the twisted being before the Great Red, like a trophy… Like a trophy that had been changed into a weapon, the world before it was not merely compressed into a single sphere, it had also been changed to become a weapon… A weapon against dragons.
And its powers made the creature that knew no fear, feel fear for the first time in its eternity of existence.
The picture formed in the Great Red's mind a moment later. The insensible strange place, the scent of a draconic being, the breach in the Dimensional Gap… all were things to lure him. As the Great Red had anticipated, they, the beings of another world, had come, all to invade Draconic Deus, in pursuit of their twisted goals and desires.
And the Being before him already possessed a world that embodied a weapon against dragons… He was here to kill Great Red.
And when the Great Red felt fear – he turned it into anger.
Momonga exhaled as each of the now living Floor Guardians swore an oath of allegiance to him. He still couldn't put his head around the fact that the game he had been playing for twelve years, Yggdrasil, had turned into reality… If it was actually reality, and not just the product of his fevered dreams of his demented mind. A product of a man's great grief, which had fallen asleep in the last moments of Yggdrasil's existence and was now generating visions for Momonga that he desperately wanted to believe in.
Momonga shook his head – reality or dream, doesn't matter in the end, he could only live through it. Turning his gaze to the Guardians, frozen after their introduction to him, as if awaiting his verdict… Something that he didn't have in mind in the first place!
'What do I do?!' Momonga's thoughts were panicked for a moment, before he breathed out and instantly taking control as he felt his panic disappear, as if cut off in an instant.
'I don't know why that kept happening – but thanks to that, my image is still intact.'
"Fine, my Guardians." Momonga tried to give a confident look to match his tone and was glad that his skeletal form could not sweat in terror or tremble with panic, or else he no doubt would be shaking.
"Lift your heads – verily, I have been blessed with such fine subordinates…"
At these words, Albedo and Shalltear flinched slightly, but did nothing more, allowing Momonga to exhale.
'Okay, by all appearances things are going well, and they obey me, but… What next?!'
Momonga thought for a moment, he had absolutely no idea what orders he was supposed to be giving the Guardians at this point, but a moment later his panic disappeared, allowing him to grasp the saving thought. "Hmm, Sebas hasn't come back with an answer yet…"
"I apologize for his tardiness, Lord Momonga," Albedo replied instantly, bowing her head even deeper, "I will instantly dispatch a subordinate and bring him back to punish him for not appearing before you…"
"No need," Momonga waved his hand aside as if to easily dismiss the thought from the table, and mentally rejoiced that he had once participated in Ainz Ooal Gown's RP actions at Ulbert's insistence. "I can just contact him. [Message]."
In an instant, his [Message] reached Sebas, causing Momonga to inwardly exhale in relief. He hadn't been able to contact any of the players he knew before, but apparently this ability had changed so that it now allowed him to contact former NPCs. It would be very embarrassing if that didn't work. "Sebas?"
"Yes, Lord Momonga?" Sebas instantly answered him in a short, professional tone.
"Umu, what did you discover during your inspection of the new location of the Great Tomb? Were you able to encounter anyone intelligent? Can you identify them?"
"There were no grounds to be found around the Great Tomb, only emptiness, but I was able to locate a member of the intelligent species." Sebas's answer made Momonga freeze for a moment, "As far as I can tell, it is a 'Great Red Dragon'."
And Sebas' next words cause a great amount of panic to swell up.
Momonga blinked a couple of times before a wave of calm suppressed the panic that had arisen in his soul. "Of course, I see, I'll be there in a moment."
Momonga, after finishing his talk with Sebas, glanced at the Floor Guardians in front of him, knowing that he would need their help if what Sebas said is true and there's a Great Red Dragon just outside Nazarick.
"At this moment, Sebas is faced with, umu, unintended consequences." Momonga nodded gravely, then glanced at the guards. "Prepare for the invasion- I will go personally to reconnoiter the situation."
A moment later, Momonga used the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] and immediately disappeared in a whirlwind of teleportation, transported to the first floor of the Great Tomb.
'What, the Great Red Dragon?! They're all supposed to be in Muspelheim! What's a farm boss doing here?!'
After another moment, Momonga's panic receded, allowing him to take a measured and sober assessment of the situation. "Hmm, if the NPC's originally tied to the guild base got the ability to leave their posts – it makes sense that other NPC's, including mobs, got exactly the same opportunities… I wonder why Nazarick were suddenly moved into a void, but it's not that urgent at the moment, unlike the Great Red Dragon… "
Momonga exited the tomb and hid behind one of the many pillars in the Mausoleum outer yards. Carefully peeking out from behind the pillar, looking at the frozen lizard flying above Nazarick, noting that his gaze really only saw the black void outside the outer ring of Nazarick's walls. "Hmm, looks really like the Great Red Dragon… Why is one here, though?"
The Great Red Dragon was one of Yggdrasil's many dragon bosses, from the Great Dragons expansion – there were dragons of all colors, including metallic ones. Ultimately, all of them were bosses, even if they were not the hardest. Each of these dragons possessed tremendous characteristics, higher than those of the average boss, which in turn greatly exceeded those of most players, but in return they were limited in their abilities.
The Great Red Dragon, for example, could breathe fire, attack with a tail and paws that deal bludgeoning damage, claws, and teeth that slash and stab, fly, and had excellent defense thanks to its natural scaly armor and high regeneration. But other than that, there was nothing special in its abilities. It was just a big damage sponge that dropped not half-bad loot – in other words, it was a 'farm boss'.
No one seriously counted on the fact that he could kill a group of players prepared to face him, it was just another mob – albeit a strong one. Of course, its characteristics far exceeded those of the average level one hundredth player, so even having prepared for its attacks no one was recommended to attack it alone, but overall it was a simple boss.
However, this was only true for YGGDRASIL – in this new world, this dragon could simply look like the 'Great Red Dragon' but instead be the local counterpart to a World Enemy. For all Momonga knows, the dragon could possess power dozens of times greater than the combined power of the entire Nazarick…
With that possibility in mind, Momonga should be careful and tried to engage in dialogue instead of attacking and try to determine what exactly this creature was and how exactly it ended up here.
However, just in case, Momonga applied a defensive spell on himself. "[Body of Effulgent Beryl]."
As far as Momonga himself knew, usually, the Great Red Dragon attacks first with its fire breath, something which was completely blocked by his usual equipment. But thanks to [Body of Effulgent Beryl] Momonga could also completely defend against any single crushing or bludgeoning attack, that is, the next paw or tail strike. The creature's claws and teeth dealt slashing and stabbing damage, against which Momonga was highly protected against by his racial resilience.
Judging from the fact that the dragon did not react to Momonga's actions, it was not aggressive, but Momonga preferred to be prepared just in case, so he used [Gate] to teleport behind the creature's back. He did so just in case it did decide to attack, to put it in an awkward position.
For a moment after teleporting, Momonga marveled at the size of the creature – it was much harder to appreciate the dragon's size in the game… A pause that made it too late for his mind to register that the dragon had turned toward him and exhaled flames.
The player instincts of Satoru Suzuki, who was controlling the avatar named 'Momonga' instantly oriented themselves for a fight. "[Flight]!"
The firestorm that burst from the dragon's throat slammed into Momonga's body a moment later, but Momonga's equipment's effects immediately blocked the creature's attack, allowing Momonga to emerge from the attack without a scratch. Some part of Momonga wondered how much damage the Great Red Dragon would have dealt him if he were without his equipment.
When he had fought it in the past, its attacks had dealt Momonga great damage, when he had not yet put his full equipment in order. He was curious, but now he was not prepared to risk taking damage from the dragon, especially since that damage was fire, Momonga's main weakness.
"[False Data: Life], [False Data: Mana]." Momonga's words coincided with Sebas's actions, which leapt from his position on the ground as soon as the dragon had moved to attack his Master. He moved with such speed that he crashed like a bullet, or cannonball, into the dragon, making it tilt in flight like a boat rocking in a storm.
"[Life Essence], [Mana Essence]." Momonga's magic instantly hid his own parameters, just in case the dragon could see them, and allowed him to look at the dragon's parameters – more specifically, its HP and Mana values. It is without specific information in numbers, but it allowed him to see those as two huge lights, one blue, one red, each overlapping and yet completely separate, allowing Momonga to see clearly the differences between them. With some relief, he found out that the Red Dragon was not some World Enemy but instead exactly what he appears to be, the Great Red Dragon.
'Hmm, about the same as the Great Red Dragon… In that case, it most likely also possesses the same abilities.'
The staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that Momonga released from his hands glowed a moment later – after which a huge flash of fire covered the creature's body. Momonga can see through his abilities that this did virtually no damage to the dragon.
'The same resistances as well…'
The dragon, however, having recovered from Sebas's blow, began to turn its head toward him, apparently realizing that its fire had not worked on Momonga. Now it seems that the Dragon was planning to rain fire down on Sebas and wagging its tail sharply, wanting to blow Momonga off, probably along with the staff hovering beside Momonga.
'Good thing I prepared myself,' Momonga inwardly nodded to himself as the tail approached,
"[Body of Effulgent Beryl], [Grasp Heart]!"
The dragon's tail slammed into Momonga, but failed to damage or move him thanks to the effect of his magic once again, causing the dragon to flail in place, clearly not expecting to encounter such an obstacle in its path. After which a heart emerged in Momonga's hands – from the looks of it, the heart did not belong to humans, but Momonga was not educated enough to claim that for sure. 'Hmm, it worked differently before… But I can experiment with that later.'
A moment later, Momonga squeezed the heart in his hands, causing the dragon to freeze, judging by the way it clenched its paws, in a fit of pain, but that didn't stop Sebas. Who immediately crashed into the creature again, causing the dragon, frozen and unbalanced by the pain Momonga's spell had caused, to lose control of its flight.
'It's to be expected that instakill won't work against him. Though weak, it's still a boss' Momonga nodded.
'Although, [Grasp Heart] can hold a target for a few seconds anyway, so it's not a waste.'
Momonga's staff glowed, followed a moment later by the glowing form of a humanoid giant, seemingly woven from flickering flashes of different colors flowing into each other.
'Primordial Star Elemental.' Momonga nodded. 'A good choice for this fight. If the dragon is indeed a Great Red Dragon, the Primordial Water Elemental could do more damage with icy attacks, but it is incapable of flying. Something which would make it almost less than useless in this great void, unlike the Primordial Star Elemental.'
Momonga suddenly had a strange feeling as if someone was thanking him for his actions, which was weird since there was no one else in the void besides him and Sebas. But before he could think about it more, Momonga returned his full attention to the battle, "[Obsidian Sword], [True Dark]."
Moments later, an obsidian blade lashed out and slammed into the dragon's body, but didn't do much damage. 'I see, like in YGGDRASIL, physical damage that is not strong enough to pierce armor still does some damage. Sebas doesn't do much damage either, but any damage is still good, at least it keeps the dragon's regeneration occupied. As for it resisting damage of the 'none'-type from [True Dark], that's a nasty discovery. In YGGDRASIL, the Great Red Dragon didn't have much defense against that… Though I sense the place is trying to use various types of debuffs on me, but thankfully my immunity from those, protects me. I suppose if it existed in this place, it should also have some protection from attacks of similar nature.'
A pillar of darkness engulfed the dragon's body, then Sebas struck another blow, pushing off the soaring island of the Great Tomb as he struck, sending the dragon's body down, still lost in its control. But before it could fall down, Sebas pushed off the falling body, then with an acrobatic trick flew easily in an upward arc, ending up back in Nazarick before he could also fall into the void.
The Primordial Star Elemental, meanwhile, rushed down after the creature.
"Sebas, stay where you are," Momonga commanded the NPC, or former NPC, Momonga wasn't going to think about what was happening about that right now. "[Flight]!"
Momonga could have used [Mass Flight] to go with Sebas to the dragon, but Sebas' mobility and speed in flight under Momonga's control would have been low, so he preferred to go by himself. Taking advantage of the fact that as a mage he could be far away and didn't need mobility as much, plus he spent significantly less mana on [Flight] than on [Mass Flight]. Both didn't require much from Momonga, but he still preferred not to unnecessarily waste resources.
Momonga rushed down into the void a moment later, feeling his staff instantly follow, using Momonga's own functions instead of his spell, before seeing the dragon desperately tearing at the Star Elemental with its claws.
Momonga's gaze could tell even without determining the target's HP that the fight didn't come easily to the dragon. The dragon's scales were scorched and burned by star fire in some places, but were already beginning to recover. A dragon's regeneration was truly terrifying.
"[Triplet Magic: Summon Undead X]" Momonga used the next spell, which immediately summoned three soaring 'Elemental Skulls' that immediately used their spells to attack the dragon with [Polar Claw], the strongest non-super-tier ice magic. The original Star Elemental exploded in a flash of light, self-destructing and doing a lot of damage to the dragon, while also blocking its regeneration completely for a short time. After which another Primordial Star Elemental appeared next to the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Momonga only nodded at this, already having a pretty good idea of exactly how the battle with the dragon would proceed. "[Create High-tier Undead: Eternal Death]!"
And as expected, Ainz Ooal Gown would emerge victorious once again.
The Great Red fought for his life in the hellish fight that had gone full tilt in seconds.
After the undead appeared, the Great Red had attacked instantly. However, as if in mockery, the strongest being of Draconic Deus could not even scratch the undead, which first shook off the True Dragon's fire as inconsequential. After which, when trying to strike the being, the Great Red had run into an insurmountable obstacle, which he could not even move.
And then came the pain.
The gray-haired man struck with such speed and force that the Great Red did not even have time to defend himself. Then his body was consumed by fire, then darkness, then his scales were slashed by a blade that continued to strike his body even now. And then came the cold and scalding fire of stars, and when the dragon managed to destroy the star creature, it exploded with icy fire, burning his scales before the creature was beside him again, just as it had before.
And then came the unbridled fear – an irrational sense of fear and helplessness crept into the Great Red's mind. The creature who knew no defeat, who knew no fear and weakness, wanted to escape – to escape, anywhere, to flee to earth from the creature that came from another world. Then, as if some thread inside his soul had been severed – and the Great Red, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, howled in terror.
It wasn't Ophis that was weak – it was all of them, all of them were unprepared for the emergence of creatures from other worlds… And because of his pride, the world might pay an unimaginable price.
The Great Red channeled all his energies into escaping. To warn all creatures of Draconic Deus of the terror that was coming for them, forcing all his strength toward forming a passage to Earth.
All of it came to naught as something descended upon the dragon's shoulders, cutting off his portal.
"Hmm, it was definitely the [Gate] spell…" Right behind him, the skeleton's voice sounded calm, as if he wasn't fighting the Great Red at this point, but merely noticing an amusing detail of the surroundings. "Hmm, I suggest you surrender… If you understand me, of course."
Great Red realized that he could no longer sense his connection to the Dimensional Gap, as if the whole of it were completely locked off from him. And that the creature who had so easily dealt with the Great Red was offering him to surrender.
It was his utter defeat.
Perhaps, purely in terms of power reserves, he still had plenty of them, his regeneration was healing his wounds quickly, and he had enough energy to fight like this for a long time – but he had already effectively lost. The creature in front of him had brushed aside all his attacks and possessed an incredible arsenal of abilities. He was also easily capable of creating creatures of inconceivable power with a single wave of his hand that could deal grave damage to him. He was covered with divine artifacts from head to toe and held an entire world inside him – in a sense that no writer could ever dream of…
And it was offering him surrender.
As if it was tired of fighting the True Dragon – as if the protector of Draconic Deus was less than a fly, an annoying creature that the alien invader was just too lazy to waste time destroying. It was as if he were suggesting that the Great Red simply step aside, like a mindless beast, to bend his knee and not interfere in the conquest of his world.
A cruel joke and at the same time an ultimatum that combines the arrogance and confidence of the strong, more irritated by the need to kill the Great Red than frightened by it.
If the Great Red could have laughed, he would have laughed. But instead of agreement, he only lunged at the creature again.
"Umu, too bad, I would have liked to have some information." The creature merely sighed, as if watching a foolish student unable to understand a simple lesson. "[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]."
Half an hour later, Momonga could finally take a relaxed breath – though he didn't need to do so in his new body, but it was how he dealt with the stress before. Now that the battle's done he needed to do something else, sending a [Message].
"Cocytus?"
"Yes. Lord. Momonga?" His message's recipient replied instantly, before snapping his mandibles, a sound that transmitted even through [Message].
"Prepare a place on the Fifth Floor to store a very large body." Momonga glanced at the gigantic body he was holding aloft with magic at the moment.
"You may also remove the alarm for the time being – I have dealt with the enemy."
"Yes. My. Lord. We. Watched. That. Happened. A. Great. Victory. My. Lord." Cocytus replied seriously.
Momonga blinked, then turned his head before realizing. "You've asked for Nigredo's help?"
"Yes. My. Lord." Cocytus replied again, flicking his mandibles, "For. Us. There. Are. No. More. Great. Honor. Than. To. Watch. On. Your. Battle."
'If only it was something exciting. Though, actually, that might be a good thing…' Momonga shook his head, then turned to Cocytus again,
"The body…"
"We. Have. Prepared. The. Place. Lord. Momonga. All. Clear. For. Moving." Cocytus answered once more, whereupon a [Gate] opened beneath Momonga, and he slowly sank into it.
The dragon had fought desperately to the end, and was generally strong – Momonga had to heal himself several times, and he wasted almost all of his mana and daily limits. Even all of his staff mana and limits were spent, with him needing to change his armor numerous times during the battle. But in the end, he won.
The dragon was strong but fought very straightforwardly. His fighting style was a bit different from the 'Great Red Dragon' that Momonga himself knew, like this one having a high resistance to parameter reduction from negative energy or trying to use [Gate] during the battle to escape. Such strategies showed that the dragon was not completely irrational, since he chose to retreat when he realized that he was at a disadvantage…
However, in the end, he was limited in the abilities that he could use – with his attacks consisting almost entirely of physical and fire ones. Even so, as fitting as a boss, the creature's characteristics really were immense.
It could kill most of the undead that Momonga summoned with one punch, and could take out a Primordial Star Elemental with two or three punches. Plus, the amount of HP and regeneration of the creature itself made the fight much, much harder. Momonga wasn't saying that it was hard to beat him, but if Momonga hadn't known the tactics to do it, and if he hadn't had that much of an arsenal of abilities, he might have lost.
Though, what clinched Momonga's victory in the end was the fact that the dragon in front of him didn't seem to have much experience in combat. Something which led Momonga to two opposing possibilities.
Either the creature in front of him was much stronger than everyone else around him, which was why he had never had to learn the art of battle… Or, alternatively, the creature in front of him was a novice, not having had time to learn anything yet.
And while Momonga would have been happy to discover that is in fact the former, that such creatures were quite rare, he was not foolish enough to discount the latter. Still, if he had fought two such bosses at once, however limited in their abilities, he probably wouldn't have been able to win – so he couldn't simply discount the second option.
The first creature that Momonga discovered outside Nazarick in this world turned out to be a 'Great Red Dragon' – a mere coincidence was unlikely in this case, so perhaps similar creatures existed everywhere in this world? It was a dangerous and disturbing thought – until he could disprove or confirm that thought, he had to be careful.
Of course, other than the general level of strength of the place he had found himself and Nazarick in, the other pertinent question is – where, in fact, was he?
The surrounding emptiness stretched as far as he could see – which even during the battle with the dragon, Momonga had never seen anything else around, which left him questioning exactly where he was at the moment.
Judging from the fact that the dragon attempted to cast [Gate] – there must be some other place than the endless void, somewhere the dragon was headed… But after encountering a creature of great power, which Momonga only defeated because he had prepared for the battle initially – and the fact that the creature had few ways to attack – he was not prepared to set out blindly. Especially knowing the possibility that there are creatures in this world with at least 'farm-boss' level of power, and thus there is quite likely someone stronger…
Unless the strongest creature in this world has decided, for some strange reason, to stroll through the void and attack the first person it meets.
At last, Momonga had fully passed along with the dragon's body through the portal, and then emerged in the wake of it, glancing around.
The fifth floor was a frozen wasteland, just as he remembered, allowing him to use it as a kind of refrigerator for the dragon's body. Of course, in YGGDRASIL, slain enemies were simply supposed to drop items, after which suitable players with the right skills could strip the creatures' corpses. But if this place was in fact a separate world and not YGGDRASIL, then it made sense that once a creature died its body had to be stripped by hand.
Come to think of it that way, what else could have changed with the world?
Momonga leaned on the staff – after depleting his mana and daily abilities, the only use for the staff was to increase the parameters and enhance Momonga's own abilities, including mana regeneration and so on. That was the only reason he was able to maintain [Flight] and cast [Gate] at the end of a draining battle.
As he looked thoughtfully at the dragon corpse, and he wondered what drops he could expect, he almost missed as Cocytus approached, whereupon he knelt down on one knee as he approached Momonga. "My. Lord. What. Do. You. Desire. To. Do. With. The. Body. Of. The. Defeated?"
Momonga thought about it for a moment, then unconsciously rubbed his chin in thought.
The simplest and most logical thing would probably be to try various experiments with the dragon's corpse – but he wasn't ready to test how resurrection works in this world right now. The dragon might have been a 'farm-boss', and even if it were revived still hostile – the forces on the Fifth Stage would quickly be able to pacify it, especially with the terrain effect of this floor.
Still, Momonga was not prepared to risk resurrecting a rather powerful creature within Nazarick at this point…
Next was, perhaps, processing the dragon's body for reagents. Its blood, meat, bones, eyes, scales, wings, claws, teeth, heart – every organ and inch of the Great Red Dragon's body was a very valuable ingredient for crafting.
That's probably exactly the order Momonga would give – but before he did, he hesitated.
The 'Great Red Dragon' of this world was slightly different from the ones Momonga himself knew of – and just as Momonga's magic had shown to be different from the way it worked in Yggdrasil… In that case, perhaps Momonga should have done at least one test before giving the order to recycle the body after all?
Although it was a 'farm-boss', the Great Red Dragon, or its counterpart of this world, there is one last possible use for the body, [Dark Wisdom]. While it's definitely not a player, hinted at by his abilities and the fact that players couldn't choose a dragon race – along with as many other facts like his predictability and inexperience in combat. However, as proved earlier with [Message], which was meant to communicate between players could now work in relation to NPCs a possibility exists.
In other words, the difference between NPCs and players was at least blurred, maybe even erased – which meant that Momonga had a chance that the most important ritual for his style of play would work.
Momonga held out his hand, then placed his hand on the dragon's muzzle, and uttered, "[Dark Wisdom]."
Once, no more than the cosmetic aura of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which represented dozens of souls screaming in agony, now it had taken a much more sinister role. And so, as Momonga activated his ability, another face was added to the choir of agony, the face of a man who subtly resembled a dragon in his appearance.
The dragon's body instantly seemed to shrivel up, as if it had aged hundreds of thousands of years, not as dragons age, growing stronger. No, the body withered as if it were human, the scales began to be covered with wrinkles that instantly scarred even the beast's impenetrable scales before the monolithic frame of the body cracked.
However, when the viscous scarlet blood was about to spill onto the ground from the cracks that cut through the creature's body, the cracks continued on and on and on, tearing the dragon's body apart. Before long, all of it collapsed into dust, in an instant turning into dark particles that immediately rose from their place, spinning in the invisible wind, instantly enveloping Momonga's body until his figure was completely hidden beneath them.
Cocytus remained silent on one knee – it was his Master's action, which meant that what was happening was fully in line with his predictions and plan.
Momonga, however, thought quite differently. 'Aw, crap, this looks very scary in reality!'
Momonga's mind forcibly calmed down a moment later, allowing him to silently begin to pick up on the details of the process. 'Umu, so this works differently in this world and apparently has the ability to affect at least some creatures. I didn't feel like my level or parameters increased, not that I would know how that would feel, but my instincts were telling me that I would know. Still, the main effect of the ritual was to be able to learn a new spell from a slain enemy whose body you sacrificed in exchange for it… Hmm, so this dragon had spells that I don't know? It showed nothing special during the battle, perhaps it was some kind of regeneration or self-enhancement spell that I didn't know before? If so, it's extremely unfortunate, a low-rank enhancement spell is far worse than being able to harvest a dragon's body… Well, it's only a farm-boss, I shouldn't expect something great.'
The dragon's body, now fully turning to dust, completely transformed into a black vortex that swirls around Momonga, before it began to approach his body, gently touching his bones and soaking into it.
The Great Red possessed an affinity for magic that only dragons could possess – if he wished, he would become an incredibly powerful mage…
If he wished for it, that is.
The Great Red had never met anyone strong enough to fight him – except for the Ouroboros, but that was the only case, and Ouroboros eventually lost and escaped from the Great Red. So, there was no reason for him to find any other way to become stronger.
Indeed, the Great Red never studied spells, for he did not need them.
Except for one.
One spell that the Great Red has used in the past. Though he could indeed appear in his form at any time in any of the worlds and many would be afraid to fight him, sometimes the best approach was not to win the battle, but to avoid it entirely.
The Great Red possessed one single spell.
In another world, in another story, he would have used that spell for the sake of his enemy and her ward, a boy with one stupid and, frankly, lustful dream.
However, it was a different world and a different story.
The story of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Momonga blinked as he looked at the vanished body as it completely transformed into black ash that soaked into Momonga's body before exhaling. "Umu, I have a strange feeling, as if it was inevitable…"
Momonga sensed that he had received a new spell from the body of the slain dragon.
The spell – [Create Body].
Walking along the corridors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Sebas crossed through another teleportation gate, the last in his journey to the First Floor. Walking across the threshold, Sebas fixed his uniform and dusted any debris that could have fallen on it – not that it was disheveled or dirty in any way after the teleportation. Sebas always took great caution to keep his suit pristine and well-kept at all times, his suit bestowed upon him by his Creator, Lord Touch Me, would never be tainted or wrinkled. Alas, his Lord's words had made Sebas experience something akin to nervousness.
His Lord, the last of the Supreme Ones, Momonga, had uttered unexpected words about a situation that had suddenly and profoundly changed, which had led to his current unusual assignment. Sebas was to go to the surface from his post in the 10th Floor, something very unusual.
Sebas had spent his entire life on the tenth floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, fulfilling the primary function entrusted to him by his creator. Protecting the Throne Hall and the Holy of Holiest of the Great Tomb, the Hall in which the Forty-One Supreme Beings once proclaimed the power of Ainz Ooal Gown, is his duty. Sebas and the six Sisters of the Pleiades then performed a sacred function, their duty the most enviable of all, for they were to give as much time as possible to the Forty-One before They assembled for the final battle.
Only Albedo's, whose duty was to fight side by side with the Forty-One, and Pandora's Actor, the personal creation of Lord Momonga outweighed theirs. A creation that Sebas had never met in person, whose duty was to buy as much time as possible in the treasury, allowing the Forty-One to return and strike another blow, in the very back of the enemy… This was the first time that Sebas had done anything other than his duty, so perhaps it couldn't be helped that he would be 'nervous'.
Sebas had never left the confines of the Great Tomb, but he knew of exactly what lay beyond — the swamps of Helheim, full of creatures of level eighty and above. A swamp where the water was drenched with poison, the air covered with an acid mist, and the ground was full of steel grass that could easily pierce or destroy ordinary armor at a misstep.
It was one of the Great Tomb's best defenses, few were able to pass through these swamps to pose a danger to the Great Tomb and Ainz Ooal Gown.
Master Momonga, however, ordered Sebas to survey the lands around the Tomb as He had felt a great disturbance – and Sebas was willing to sacrifice his life if he had to, to do so.
Sebas traversed the final spans of the first floor, to the stairs leading to the surface, before appearing at the Tomb's threshold, glancing ahead and pausing for a moment. "Now… That's unusual."
As far as Sebas knew – the Great Tomb of Nazarick was located in Helheim's marshes, not…
In a void of nothingness.
Sebas shook his head, trying to see if his mind was affected by the illusion, as his resistance to those was great, but Sebas did not possess powers like [True Sight]. Of course, he could use his powers to forcibly clear his mind, and unless his opponent was using Super-tier magic or a World Class Item so he did so, and nothing changed. It should have cleared his mind of the illusions affecting his perception – however, the picture before him was unchanged.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick - at least its upper mausoleum and the ruins of the colonnade, along with the smaller mausoleums around it, were all in their place. The building standing on mounds exactly where they had been located in the past… Except, the mounds only extended a few paces from the walls of the Great Tomb, its farthest walls – beyond that, there was only emptiness.
A black, impenetrable void.
"This is definitely unusual… " Sebas was not blessed by his Creator to be as clever as Albedo, Pandora's Actor, or the Demiurge, but for a moment he allowed the thought that even they could not easily make sense of the picture before his eyes. Only their master, Lord Momonga, the Leader of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, could discern anything about the situation at the moment.
After all, he was the only one who could tell that something has happened, all the way back in the Throne Room even without casting a single spell. Truly, His Master's intellect is a frightening thing.
However, the current situation was definitely… Interfering with Sebas's order.
His original order was to go around the Great Tomb within a one-kilometer radius to scout out the surroundings, but his order didn't quite detail what he needed to do in case he simply… Couldn't.
Unfortunately, Sebas was incapable of following Lord Momonga's orders, given his inability to teleport and fly, so he could not leave the confines of the small clearing holding Nazarick in the middle of the void… Unless he was supposed to simply fall down, perhaps to make up for his failure to comply with a simple order from his Master.
Death in service was the ultimate reward for any member of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but such a reward was no excuse to violate orders. And unfortunately, if he fell into the void, he would definitely violate his orders to return to Lord Momonga along with the information he was due to receive.
Sebas took a couple of steps forward just in case, then checked the void with his foot just in case the void was simply an illusion. Unfortunately, he had to note that the void was indeed empty and was not capable of holding his weight. Sebas shifted his pensive gaze forward after that, staring into the void, before noticing a small dot of light in the distance.
Slowly the dot began to expand, as if it were getting closer to Sebas, and before long Sebas could determine that the dot was colored red – then to determine that the dot was not some formless light. It instead has a proper shape… A dragon. A big red dragon.
Sebas frowned slightly.
As he stuck his foot out into the void to pass the walls of Nazarick, he felt the 'terrain effects' that the void possesses try to affect him. Sebas could identify 'mana absorption', 'energy absorption', 'life absorption', and 'experience absorption', a very dangerous cocktail of negative effects. But since Sebas had enough protection against such things, he paid no attention to it.
"So that dragon also possesses the abilities to ignore these effects. Either that, or it is simply a very foolish being indeed…" Sebas slowly nodded at his deduction, as he watched the approaching, enlarging figure of the red dragon.
Much closer now, Sebas could make out some details of the red dragon. As quite obvious now, it is a huge red dragon, with a large horn on the end of its muzzle and only two pairs of wings… The most stereotypical a dragon could perhaps be.
Sebas had once heard that the Supreme Beings, Peroroncino and his Creator, Touch Me, talk about how 'the Great Red Dragon is such a pain'. Apparently its regeneration being the most infuriating? But he had never personally seen such a dragon.
If the dragon coming towards him really was the Great Red Dragon that the Supreme Being has talked about, then Sebas did not consider himself strong enough to fight someone his Creator, Lord Touch Me, considered a 'pain'. But as diligence demands, he first assessed the strength of the creature before him, using his senses of Ki.
The dragon indeed appeared strong in his senses – in fact, considerably stronger than he was, so Sebas did not consider himself capable of defeating the dragon if it comes to a fight. Perhaps the Dragon could even need three of Nazarick's best warriors at one time, Sebas, Albedo, and Cocytus, to defeat. In such a fight, Sebas assessed that their odds of victory would be quite high – perhaps even an eighty percent chance.
If Sebas were to fight the dragon alone however, then even using his full strength, given that such a dragon must have possessed numerous strong and hidden abilities – he estimated his chances of victory at between five and ten percent.
The words of his All-Seeing Master, Lord Momonga, about not starting a battle if it was not necessary, and about attempting a peaceful dialogue, made Sebas nod in awe at his Master's foresight. As expected of his Master, he was already aware of the fact that a creature of this world would be so strong.
But his Master's order is law– and Sebas needed to, in the event that the creature was intelligent, to invite him to a dialogue without starting the battle first.
Sebas thought about how to go about completing his order for a moment, before, when the dragon approached close enough to hear Sebas' voice, not daring to attack first, he addressed him, "Good day. Excuse me, Dragon, but my Master would like to speak with you…"
The one they called the Great Red, the Dragon of Dreams, and the Dragon of the Apocalypse spent his days as he always did – wandering in the Inter-world rift, the Dimensional gap, doing his duty.
The Great Red had no particular empathy for the inhabitants of Draconic Deus – or, as the younger races more commonly referred to this place, Earth, but he was not entirely heartless. If he had been, he would have allowed Ophis, the Ouroboros, the Dragon of Infinity, to continue their meaningless existence in this void, experiencing and feeling nothing.
But Ophis was weak. For a lesser race, perhaps, she was incredibly strong – but she was weaker than the Great Red, that was why he could her off the Dimensional Gap. She only wished to exist in the void – but she did not realize that by doing so, her existence would not last.
For creatures like him, the passing of time was no-issue. Thousands of years have merged together until the distinction between them vanished, as it would for an eternity more… But eternity of existence did not mean that time stood still.
The lesser races did not see, did not know, did not understand that time were passing through their fingers. They did not see that they should use their time better as the inhabitants of other worlds – worlds beyond the Gap were waiting for their moment. They were preparing to strike, and they would strike – so soon.
For the lesser races, though, whose perception of time was laughably lacking – what for the Great Red was a swift blow, for the lesser races was a matter that their descendants would meet in thousands of years.
For the Great Red, there was no difference between 'tomorrow' and 'in a thousand years' – both were swift events. But the lesser races, so limited in their perception, could not perceive it. The lives were so short, only a hundred, or two, years long.
And here, in their perception, Ophis had stayed for a 'long' time on Earth, and the Great Red have always been in the inter-world rift – and that 'in the past' it was the other way around. For Ophis and Great Red, it was no more than a few moments.
Great Red had come to the Dimensional Gap to repel an attack on his fiefdom, Draconic Deus. And Ophis, who did not seem to heed his words, in her desire to exist in the void, she had fled away thinking that he was there to fight her… Now, as far as the Great Red himself knew, she was gathering forces to try to drive him out of the inter-world rift.
At least, the last time the Great Red had been interested in the matter, it had looked like that.
No more than a mere few hundred years have passed since then, and he doubted that Ophis has had time to change its mind in that time. Though perhaps he should have checked in on her – the lesser races were very weak, but sometimes, among them there were those that could pose a threat to the Great Red. Especially if there were many of them and with Ophis on the wings… it would be quite troublesome.
However, before he could think on that idea more, an unexpected feeling interrupted his musings.
Feeling anything in the inter-world rift was itself unusual. Nothing existed in the inter-world rift, as existing in the inter-world rift drained any creature of their life, and even the most powerful could endure only short periods of existence here. Only the Great Red and the Ouroboros could exist here forever, thanks to their powers, abilities, and draconic nature.
Such a thing was already treated as common sense to anyone who know of the Dimensional Gap. And that if the Void doesn't destroy the being outright, then that Great Red would – everyone knew this as fact. The only exceptions to this were Ophis, whose brief battle with her, ended in her escape, and Tannin, both for the same reason, but with the latter being much more annoying. The young dragon could withstand, thanks to his dragon nature, the forces of the Gap, but was ten thousand years younger than the time when he could interest the Great Red in a battle.
However, the feeling that spread through the Dimensional Gap told the Great Red that someone new had come to his abode.
The feeling disappeared a moment after it had appeared, but it left behind a trace, an awareness of the location of the anomaly, and something that would more properly be described as the 'smell' of… Of something possessing a draconic nature.
It was a scent different from Tannin's and Ophis' - the one who appeared in the rift was much stronger than Tannin… Still not strong enough for the Great Red, but still extremely strong, perhaps on the level of one of the two babies, Albion and Ddraig?
Furthermore, there was something else, the smell was definitely of a Dragon, but there is something else there as well… Someone dragon-like, connected to the dragons, but not a dragon…
Maybe one of the [Longinus] hosts in which one of the little ones was sealed in? The last time the Great Red knew of them, their hosts were weak enough, but that was – five hundred years ago? Something like that, but if Great Red remembered the humans correctly, those usually lived for considerably less. So, perhaps one of them got a great host who managed to unleash the full power of his [Longinus] and decided to challenge the Great Red himself?
The Great Red would like to take a look at such a fool…
Gradually, however, as he approached the place from where he had felt the feeling coming from, his thoughts began to change in another direction. From a distance he could see a small, relative to his own dimensions, that is, clearing of land. An island floating in the inter-world gap, consisting of what could be called earth and water, as if it were a piece of small marsh that had been cut from some other picture and thrown away by a child into the Gap.
But that was not something that interested the Great Red much, such things happen from time to time, as people experimented only to have their surroundings be swallowed by the void.
It was the structure on it, the columns and ruined crypts of an ancient mausoleum or tomb, the sight of which the Great Red could not match his knowledge to. The architecture was a bit like the Greek pantheon the last time he saw it, but with European influences.
In addition, the Great Red literally felt nothing of the soaring tomb, and if his eyes could not see, it would be as if there were nothing there.
That in itself said enough – there were few powers in the world capable of defending itself from his gaze, maybe some Old Gods of lesser races at the peak of their powers could do such a thing. But to hide an entire mausoleum from him?!
Besides, his instincts were screaming at him that what he's seeing was not all there is to it to the Mausoleum. Even if he could not see anything under the thin layer of soaring earth, the Great Red could literally feel that if he wished, he could enter the mausoleum and be in a place that he could not dream of.
And it was frightening.
The Great Red approached a little more to take a closer look, before with a surprise he heard the voice. "Good afternoon. Excuse me, Dragon, but my Master would like to speak with you…"
The Great Red moved his gaze hurriedly, with perhaps a trace of panic from his surprise, trying to find the source of the words. Before, after a while, he found it.
Concentrating his gaze, he was surprised to see a man from the lesser races, a man with gray hair, straight sharp facial features, a gray beard and mustache on his straight face, standing on the marshy soil. The Great Red was poorly versed in the appearance of lesser races, but could guess, judging from his hair, that he was quite old.
However, the Great Red could not sense anything from the speaker. Standing right in front of him, he was invisible to the Great Red's perception, perhaps he could even attack the Great Red, and he wouldn't even understand who exactly attacked him at that moment.
It wasn't until a few moments later that the Great Red's brain informed him that the creature of a lesser race had said something, and then another second later that the Great Red realized exactly what he had said.
'Master…' The Great Red frowned momentarily. Few could appear in the inter-world rift on their own, much less hide from the Great Red's gaze – so this Master, the lesser race being spoke of, must have been powerful. Perhaps he was the bearer of the draconic [Sacred Gear] that the Great Red had sensed a little earlier?
Someone on the level of those little ones could perhaps survive the inter-world rift for a time – but to hide from the Great Red?
No, the situation didn't add up – a bearer of the Sacred Gears holding Albion or Ddraig wouldn't hide their presence. Those little guys were inexperienced, but they weren't shy about fighting and wouldn't just disappear…
After a moment, the creature of a lesser race - the Great Red considered the creature most likely to be a human male – put two fingers to his temple next to his ear, and began speaking.
"Yes, Lord Momonga?"
There was silence for a moment, in which the Great Red, flying close enough to hover over the roofs of the mausoleum and the crypts surrounding it, silently continued to watch the man. All the while feeling as if he were missing something extremely important.
"There was no territory found around the Great Tomb, only emptiness, but I did locate a representative of the intelligent species." The man talked calmly, as if he were talking about something trivial, like the weather yet with his head bowed so that the Great Red could see that he was talking to his superiors-perhaps to this 'Master' of his.
"As far as I can tell, this is the 'Great Red Dragon'…"
The Great Red found himself opening his eyes in surprise. He was the only being known by that name, he was the Great Red, no one needed to mention that he was a dragon, as he was the only one who bore that title. But the way the man spoke his name… It was as if the speaker wasn't sure exactly what he was seeing.
Absolutely everyone knew that it was the Great Red who had existed in the Inter-World Gap for the last hundreds of years. Only those who had existed for the last hundred years with absolutely no contact with Earth… Or those who had come from another world would not know about it.
The Great Red did not notice the moment when the man stopped talking, but after a moment he felt a portal open near him, and then the Great Red turned sharply around and froze.
It was a creature like a skeleton, but not a human skeleton animated by dark magic at all, but a skeleton whose bones had never held flesh in the first place. Wrapped in a dark purple robe, marked with gold edging, held over his shoulders by two large shoulder pads fashioned from the white bone of an unknown beast, the skeleton surveyed his entire form.
Its face was inlaid with two red spheres that glowed with unholy fire from within, perhaps as a mockery of eyes, while his head were concealed by a hood of purple, with golden symbols woven on it.
On each of his fingers, but one, was a ring. It and each of the items of his clothing, including the rings, exuded an incredible amount of power, as if he were fully clothed in divine relics. As if each of his fingers held a Mjölnir and his clothing consisted of the Shrouds of Turin.
But that was the least of the problematic things the Great Red could see. In his hands shone a massive golden staff that exuded an unholy aura, with distorted hundreds of faces in agony, created from a tangle of golden serpents that atop created the likeness of a crown. Each serpent diverging from the center, each one holding one gem in its mouth.
The feeling the staff gave off was even stronger than all his clothes combined, as if he were holding a [Longinus]. But the most striking thing, the thing that made Great Red pause, is in the center of his belly. Beneath his rib cage, the creature held a red orb, and one glance at it was enough to make the Great Red's mind fog.
The thing he saw – was not a mere object. It was a world.
An entire world, compressed into a small sphere like a toy, and displayed inside the body of the creature before him, for the amusement of the twisted being before the Great Red, like a trophy… Like a trophy that had been changed into a weapon, the world before it was not merely compressed into a single sphere, it had also been changed to become a weapon… A weapon against dragons.
And its powers made the creature that knew no fear, feel fear for the first time in its eternity of existence.
The picture formed in the Great Red's mind a moment later. The insensible strange place, the scent of a draconic being, the breach in the Dimensional Gap… all were things to lure him. As the Great Red had anticipated, they, the beings of another world, had come, all to invade Draconic Deus, in pursuit of their twisted goals and desires.
And the Being before him already possessed a world that embodied a weapon against dragons… He was here to kill Great Red.
And when the Great Red felt fear – he turned it into anger.
Momonga exhaled as each of the now living Floor Guardians swore an oath of allegiance to him. He still couldn't put his head around the fact that the game he had been playing for twelve years, Yggdrasil, had turned into reality… If it was actually reality, and not just the product of his fevered dreams of his demented mind. A product of a man's great grief, which had fallen asleep in the last moments of Yggdrasil's existence and was now generating visions for Momonga that he desperately wanted to believe in.
Momonga shook his head – reality or dream, doesn't matter in the end, he could only live through it. Turning his gaze to the Guardians, frozen after their introduction to him, as if awaiting his verdict… Something that he didn't have in mind in the first place!
'What do I do?!' Momonga's thoughts were panicked for a moment, before he breathed out and instantly taking control as he felt his panic disappear, as if cut off in an instant.
'I don't know why that kept happening – but thanks to that, my image is still intact.'
"Fine, my Guardians." Momonga tried to give a confident look to match his tone and was glad that his skeletal form could not sweat in terror or tremble with panic, or else he no doubt would be shaking.
"Lift your heads – verily, I have been blessed with such fine subordinates…"
At these words, Albedo and Shalltear flinched slightly, but did nothing more, allowing Momonga to exhale.
'Okay, by all appearances things are going well, and they obey me, but… What next?!'
Momonga thought for a moment, he had absolutely no idea what orders he was supposed to be giving the Guardians at this point, but a moment later his panic disappeared, allowing him to grasp the saving thought. "Hmm, Sebas hasn't come back with an answer yet…"
"I apologize for his tardiness, Lord Momonga," Albedo replied instantly, bowing her head even deeper, "I will instantly dispatch a subordinate and bring him back to punish him for not appearing before you…"
"No need," Momonga waved his hand aside as if to easily dismiss the thought from the table, and mentally rejoiced that he had once participated in Ainz Ooal Gown's RP actions at Ulbert's insistence. "I can just contact him. [Message]."
In an instant, his [Message] reached Sebas, causing Momonga to inwardly exhale in relief. He hadn't been able to contact any of the players he knew before, but apparently this ability had changed so that it now allowed him to contact former NPCs. It would be very embarrassing if that didn't work. "Sebas?"
"Yes, Lord Momonga?" Sebas instantly answered him in a short, professional tone.
"Umu, what did you discover during your inspection of the new location of the Great Tomb? Were you able to encounter anyone intelligent? Can you identify them?"
"There were no grounds to be found around the Great Tomb, only emptiness, but I was able to locate a member of the intelligent species." Sebas's answer made Momonga freeze for a moment, "As far as I can tell, it is a 'Great Red Dragon'."
And Sebas' next words cause a great amount of panic to swell up.
Momonga blinked a couple of times before a wave of calm suppressed the panic that had arisen in his soul. "Of course, I see, I'll be there in a moment."
Momonga, after finishing his talk with Sebas, glanced at the Floor Guardians in front of him, knowing that he would need their help if what Sebas said is true and there's a Great Red Dragon just outside Nazarick.
"At this moment, Sebas is faced with, umu, unintended consequences." Momonga nodded gravely, then glanced at the guards. "Prepare for the invasion- I will go personally to reconnoiter the situation."
A moment later, Momonga used the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] and immediately disappeared in a whirlwind of teleportation, transported to the first floor of the Great Tomb.
'What, the Great Red Dragon?! They're all supposed to be in Muspelheim! What's a farm boss doing here?!'
After another moment, Momonga's panic receded, allowing him to take a measured and sober assessment of the situation. "Hmm, if the NPC's originally tied to the guild base got the ability to leave their posts – it makes sense that other NPC's, including mobs, got exactly the same opportunities… I wonder why Nazarick were suddenly moved into a void, but it's not that urgent at the moment, unlike the Great Red Dragon… "
Momonga exited the tomb and hid behind one of the many pillars in the Mausoleum outer yards. Carefully peeking out from behind the pillar, looking at the frozen lizard flying above Nazarick, noting that his gaze really only saw the black void outside the outer ring of Nazarick's walls. "Hmm, looks really like the Great Red Dragon… Why is one here, though?"
The Great Red Dragon was one of Yggdrasil's many dragon bosses, from the Great Dragons expansion – there were dragons of all colors, including metallic ones. Ultimately, all of them were bosses, even if they were not the hardest. Each of these dragons possessed tremendous characteristics, higher than those of the average boss, which in turn greatly exceeded those of most players, but in return they were limited in their abilities.
The Great Red Dragon, for example, could breathe fire, attack with a tail and paws that deal bludgeoning damage, claws, and teeth that slash and stab, fly, and had excellent defense thanks to its natural scaly armor and high regeneration. But other than that, there was nothing special in its abilities. It was just a big damage sponge that dropped not half-bad loot – in other words, it was a 'farm boss'.
No one seriously counted on the fact that he could kill a group of players prepared to face him, it was just another mob – albeit a strong one. Of course, its characteristics far exceeded those of the average level one hundredth player, so even having prepared for its attacks no one was recommended to attack it alone, but overall it was a simple boss.
However, this was only true for YGGDRASIL – in this new world, this dragon could simply look like the 'Great Red Dragon' but instead be the local counterpart to a World Enemy. For all Momonga knows, the dragon could possess power dozens of times greater than the combined power of the entire Nazarick…
With that possibility in mind, Momonga should be careful and tried to engage in dialogue instead of attacking and try to determine what exactly this creature was and how exactly it ended up here.
However, just in case, Momonga applied a defensive spell on himself. "[Body of Effulgent Beryl]."
As far as Momonga himself knew, usually, the Great Red Dragon attacks first with its fire breath, something which was completely blocked by his usual equipment. But thanks to [Body of Effulgent Beryl] Momonga could also completely defend against any single crushing or bludgeoning attack, that is, the next paw or tail strike. The creature's claws and teeth dealt slashing and stabbing damage, against which Momonga was highly protected against by his racial resilience.
Judging from the fact that the dragon did not react to Momonga's actions, it was not aggressive, but Momonga preferred to be prepared just in case, so he used [Gate] to teleport behind the creature's back. He did so just in case it did decide to attack, to put it in an awkward position.
For a moment after teleporting, Momonga marveled at the size of the creature – it was much harder to appreciate the dragon's size in the game… A pause that made it too late for his mind to register that the dragon had turned toward him and exhaled flames.
The player instincts of Satoru Suzuki, who was controlling the avatar named 'Momonga' instantly oriented themselves for a fight. "[Flight]!"
The firestorm that burst from the dragon's throat slammed into Momonga's body a moment later, but Momonga's equipment's effects immediately blocked the creature's attack, allowing Momonga to emerge from the attack without a scratch. Some part of Momonga wondered how much damage the Great Red Dragon would have dealt him if he were without his equipment.
When he had fought it in the past, its attacks had dealt Momonga great damage, when he had not yet put his full equipment in order. He was curious, but now he was not prepared to risk taking damage from the dragon, especially since that damage was fire, Momonga's main weakness.
"[False Data: Life], [False Data: Mana]." Momonga's words coincided with Sebas's actions, which leapt from his position on the ground as soon as the dragon had moved to attack his Master. He moved with such speed that he crashed like a bullet, or cannonball, into the dragon, making it tilt in flight like a boat rocking in a storm.
"[Life Essence], [Mana Essence]." Momonga's magic instantly hid his own parameters, just in case the dragon could see them, and allowed him to look at the dragon's parameters – more specifically, its HP and Mana values. It is without specific information in numbers, but it allowed him to see those as two huge lights, one blue, one red, each overlapping and yet completely separate, allowing Momonga to see clearly the differences between them. With some relief, he found out that the Red Dragon was not some World Enemy but instead exactly what he appears to be, the Great Red Dragon.
'Hmm, about the same as the Great Red Dragon… In that case, it most likely also possesses the same abilities.'
The staff of Ainz Ooal Gown that Momonga released from his hands glowed a moment later – after which a huge flash of fire covered the creature's body. Momonga can see through his abilities that this did virtually no damage to the dragon.
'The same resistances as well…'
The dragon, however, having recovered from Sebas's blow, began to turn its head toward him, apparently realizing that its fire had not worked on Momonga. Now it seems that the Dragon was planning to rain fire down on Sebas and wagging its tail sharply, wanting to blow Momonga off, probably along with the staff hovering beside Momonga.
'Good thing I prepared myself,' Momonga inwardly nodded to himself as the tail approached,
"[Body of Effulgent Beryl], [Grasp Heart]!"
The dragon's tail slammed into Momonga, but failed to damage or move him thanks to the effect of his magic once again, causing the dragon to flail in place, clearly not expecting to encounter such an obstacle in its path. After which a heart emerged in Momonga's hands – from the looks of it, the heart did not belong to humans, but Momonga was not educated enough to claim that for sure. 'Hmm, it worked differently before… But I can experiment with that later.'
A moment later, Momonga squeezed the heart in his hands, causing the dragon to freeze, judging by the way it clenched its paws, in a fit of pain, but that didn't stop Sebas. Who immediately crashed into the creature again, causing the dragon, frozen and unbalanced by the pain Momonga's spell had caused, to lose control of its flight.
'It's to be expected that instakill won't work against him. Though weak, it's still a boss' Momonga nodded.
'Although, [Grasp Heart] can hold a target for a few seconds anyway, so it's not a waste.'
Momonga's staff glowed, followed a moment later by the glowing form of a humanoid giant, seemingly woven from flickering flashes of different colors flowing into each other.
'Primordial Star Elemental.' Momonga nodded. 'A good choice for this fight. If the dragon is indeed a Great Red Dragon, the Primordial Water Elemental could do more damage with icy attacks, but it is incapable of flying. Something which would make it almost less than useless in this great void, unlike the Primordial Star Elemental.'
Momonga suddenly had a strange feeling as if someone was thanking him for his actions, which was weird since there was no one else in the void besides him and Sebas. But before he could think about it more, Momonga returned his full attention to the battle, "[Obsidian Sword], [True Dark]."
Moments later, an obsidian blade lashed out and slammed into the dragon's body, but didn't do much damage. 'I see, like in YGGDRASIL, physical damage that is not strong enough to pierce armor still does some damage. Sebas doesn't do much damage either, but any damage is still good, at least it keeps the dragon's regeneration occupied. As for it resisting damage of the 'none'-type from [True Dark], that's a nasty discovery. In YGGDRASIL, the Great Red Dragon didn't have much defense against that… Though I sense the place is trying to use various types of debuffs on me, but thankfully my immunity from those, protects me. I suppose if it existed in this place, it should also have some protection from attacks of similar nature.'
A pillar of darkness engulfed the dragon's body, then Sebas struck another blow, pushing off the soaring island of the Great Tomb as he struck, sending the dragon's body down, still lost in its control. But before it could fall down, Sebas pushed off the falling body, then with an acrobatic trick flew easily in an upward arc, ending up back in Nazarick before he could also fall into the void.
The Primordial Star Elemental, meanwhile, rushed down after the creature.
"Sebas, stay where you are," Momonga commanded the NPC, or former NPC, Momonga wasn't going to think about what was happening about that right now. "[Flight]!"
Momonga could have used [Mass Flight] to go with Sebas to the dragon, but Sebas' mobility and speed in flight under Momonga's control would have been low, so he preferred to go by himself. Taking advantage of the fact that as a mage he could be far away and didn't need mobility as much, plus he spent significantly less mana on [Flight] than on [Mass Flight]. Both didn't require much from Momonga, but he still preferred not to unnecessarily waste resources.
Momonga rushed down into the void a moment later, feeling his staff instantly follow, using Momonga's own functions instead of his spell, before seeing the dragon desperately tearing at the Star Elemental with its claws.
Momonga's gaze could tell even without determining the target's HP that the fight didn't come easily to the dragon. The dragon's scales were scorched and burned by star fire in some places, but were already beginning to recover. A dragon's regeneration was truly terrifying.
"[Triplet Magic: Summon Undead X]" Momonga used the next spell, which immediately summoned three soaring 'Elemental Skulls' that immediately used their spells to attack the dragon with [Polar Claw], the strongest non-super-tier ice magic. The original Star Elemental exploded in a flash of light, self-destructing and doing a lot of damage to the dragon, while also blocking its regeneration completely for a short time. After which another Primordial Star Elemental appeared next to the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Momonga only nodded at this, already having a pretty good idea of exactly how the battle with the dragon would proceed. "[Create High-tier Undead: Eternal Death]!"
And as expected, Ainz Ooal Gown would emerge victorious once again.
The Great Red fought for his life in the hellish fight that had gone full tilt in seconds.
After the undead appeared, the Great Red had attacked instantly. However, as if in mockery, the strongest being of Draconic Deus could not even scratch the undead, which first shook off the True Dragon's fire as inconsequential. After which, when trying to strike the being, the Great Red had run into an insurmountable obstacle, which he could not even move.
And then came the pain.
The gray-haired man struck with such speed and force that the Great Red did not even have time to defend himself. Then his body was consumed by fire, then darkness, then his scales were slashed by a blade that continued to strike his body even now. And then came the cold and scalding fire of stars, and when the dragon managed to destroy the star creature, it exploded with icy fire, burning his scales before the creature was beside him again, just as it had before.
And then came the unbridled fear – an irrational sense of fear and helplessness crept into the Great Red's mind. The creature who knew no defeat, who knew no fear and weakness, wanted to escape – to escape, anywhere, to flee to earth from the creature that came from another world. Then, as if some thread inside his soul had been severed – and the Great Red, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, howled in terror.
It wasn't Ophis that was weak – it was all of them, all of them were unprepared for the emergence of creatures from other worlds… And because of his pride, the world might pay an unimaginable price.
The Great Red channeled all his energies into escaping. To warn all creatures of Draconic Deus of the terror that was coming for them, forcing all his strength toward forming a passage to Earth.
All of it came to naught as something descended upon the dragon's shoulders, cutting off his portal.
"Hmm, it was definitely the [Gate] spell…" Right behind him, the skeleton's voice sounded calm, as if he wasn't fighting the Great Red at this point, but merely noticing an amusing detail of the surroundings. "Hmm, I suggest you surrender… If you understand me, of course."
Great Red realized that he could no longer sense his connection to the Dimensional Gap, as if the whole of it were completely locked off from him. And that the creature who had so easily dealt with the Great Red was offering him to surrender.
It was his utter defeat.
Perhaps, purely in terms of power reserves, he still had plenty of them, his regeneration was healing his wounds quickly, and he had enough energy to fight like this for a long time – but he had already effectively lost. The creature in front of him had brushed aside all his attacks and possessed an incredible arsenal of abilities. He was also easily capable of creating creatures of inconceivable power with a single wave of his hand that could deal grave damage to him. He was covered with divine artifacts from head to toe and held an entire world inside him – in a sense that no writer could ever dream of…
And it was offering him surrender.
As if it was tired of fighting the True Dragon – as if the protector of Draconic Deus was less than a fly, an annoying creature that the alien invader was just too lazy to waste time destroying. It was as if he were suggesting that the Great Red simply step aside, like a mindless beast, to bend his knee and not interfere in the conquest of his world.
A cruel joke and at the same time an ultimatum that combines the arrogance and confidence of the strong, more irritated by the need to kill the Great Red than frightened by it.
If the Great Red could have laughed, he would have laughed. But instead of agreement, he only lunged at the creature again.
"Umu, too bad, I would have liked to have some information." The creature merely sighed, as if watching a foolish student unable to understand a simple lesson. "[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]."
Half an hour later, Momonga could finally take a relaxed breath – though he didn't need to do so in his new body, but it was how he dealt with the stress before. Now that the battle's done he needed to do something else, sending a [Message].
"Cocytus?"
"Yes. Lord. Momonga?" His message's recipient replied instantly, before snapping his mandibles, a sound that transmitted even through [Message].
"Prepare a place on the Fifth Floor to store a very large body." Momonga glanced at the gigantic body he was holding aloft with magic at the moment.
"You may also remove the alarm for the time being – I have dealt with the enemy."
"Yes. My. Lord. We. Watched. That. Happened. A. Great. Victory. My. Lord." Cocytus replied seriously.
Momonga blinked, then turned his head before realizing. "You've asked for Nigredo's help?"
"Yes. My. Lord." Cocytus replied again, flicking his mandibles, "For. Us. There. Are. No. More. Great. Honor. Than. To. Watch. On. Your. Battle."
'If only it was something exciting. Though, actually, that might be a good thing…' Momonga shook his head, then turned to Cocytus again,
"The body…"
"We. Have. Prepared. The. Place. Lord. Momonga. All. Clear. For. Moving." Cocytus answered once more, whereupon a [Gate] opened beneath Momonga, and he slowly sank into it.
The dragon had fought desperately to the end, and was generally strong – Momonga had to heal himself several times, and he wasted almost all of his mana and daily limits. Even all of his staff mana and limits were spent, with him needing to change his armor numerous times during the battle. But in the end, he won.
The dragon was strong but fought very straightforwardly. His fighting style was a bit different from the 'Great Red Dragon' that Momonga himself knew, like this one having a high resistance to parameter reduction from negative energy or trying to use [Gate] during the battle to escape. Such strategies showed that the dragon was not completely irrational, since he chose to retreat when he realized that he was at a disadvantage…
However, in the end, he was limited in the abilities that he could use – with his attacks consisting almost entirely of physical and fire ones. Even so, as fitting as a boss, the creature's characteristics really were immense.
It could kill most of the undead that Momonga summoned with one punch, and could take out a Primordial Star Elemental with two or three punches. Plus, the amount of HP and regeneration of the creature itself made the fight much, much harder. Momonga wasn't saying that it was hard to beat him, but if Momonga hadn't known the tactics to do it, and if he hadn't had that much of an arsenal of abilities, he might have lost.
Though, what clinched Momonga's victory in the end was the fact that the dragon in front of him didn't seem to have much experience in combat. Something which led Momonga to two opposing possibilities.
Either the creature in front of him was much stronger than everyone else around him, which was why he had never had to learn the art of battle… Or, alternatively, the creature in front of him was a novice, not having had time to learn anything yet.
And while Momonga would have been happy to discover that is in fact the former, that such creatures were quite rare, he was not foolish enough to discount the latter. Still, if he had fought two such bosses at once, however limited in their abilities, he probably wouldn't have been able to win – so he couldn't simply discount the second option.
The first creature that Momonga discovered outside Nazarick in this world turned out to be a 'Great Red Dragon' – a mere coincidence was unlikely in this case, so perhaps similar creatures existed everywhere in this world? It was a dangerous and disturbing thought – until he could disprove or confirm that thought, he had to be careful.
Of course, other than the general level of strength of the place he had found himself and Nazarick in, the other pertinent question is – where, in fact, was he?
The surrounding emptiness stretched as far as he could see – which even during the battle with the dragon, Momonga had never seen anything else around, which left him questioning exactly where he was at the moment.
Judging from the fact that the dragon attempted to cast [Gate] – there must be some other place than the endless void, somewhere the dragon was headed… But after encountering a creature of great power, which Momonga only defeated because he had prepared for the battle initially – and the fact that the creature had few ways to attack – he was not prepared to set out blindly. Especially knowing the possibility that there are creatures in this world with at least 'farm-boss' level of power, and thus there is quite likely someone stronger…
Unless the strongest creature in this world has decided, for some strange reason, to stroll through the void and attack the first person it meets.
At last, Momonga had fully passed along with the dragon's body through the portal, and then emerged in the wake of it, glancing around.
The fifth floor was a frozen wasteland, just as he remembered, allowing him to use it as a kind of refrigerator for the dragon's body. Of course, in YGGDRASIL, slain enemies were simply supposed to drop items, after which suitable players with the right skills could strip the creatures' corpses. But if this place was in fact a separate world and not YGGDRASIL, then it made sense that once a creature died its body had to be stripped by hand.
Come to think of it that way, what else could have changed with the world?
Momonga leaned on the staff – after depleting his mana and daily abilities, the only use for the staff was to increase the parameters and enhance Momonga's own abilities, including mana regeneration and so on. That was the only reason he was able to maintain [Flight] and cast [Gate] at the end of a draining battle.
As he looked thoughtfully at the dragon corpse, and he wondered what drops he could expect, he almost missed as Cocytus approached, whereupon he knelt down on one knee as he approached Momonga. "My. Lord. What. Do. You. Desire. To. Do. With. The. Body. Of. The. Defeated?"
Momonga thought about it for a moment, then unconsciously rubbed his chin in thought.
The simplest and most logical thing would probably be to try various experiments with the dragon's corpse – but he wasn't ready to test how resurrection works in this world right now. The dragon might have been a 'farm-boss', and even if it were revived still hostile – the forces on the Fifth Stage would quickly be able to pacify it, especially with the terrain effect of this floor.
Still, Momonga was not prepared to risk resurrecting a rather powerful creature within Nazarick at this point…
Next was, perhaps, processing the dragon's body for reagents. Its blood, meat, bones, eyes, scales, wings, claws, teeth, heart – every organ and inch of the Great Red Dragon's body was a very valuable ingredient for crafting.
That's probably exactly the order Momonga would give – but before he did, he hesitated.
The 'Great Red Dragon' of this world was slightly different from the ones Momonga himself knew of – and just as Momonga's magic had shown to be different from the way it worked in Yggdrasil… In that case, perhaps Momonga should have done at least one test before giving the order to recycle the body after all?
Although it was a 'farm-boss', the Great Red Dragon, or its counterpart of this world, there is one last possible use for the body, [Dark Wisdom]. While it's definitely not a player, hinted at by his abilities and the fact that players couldn't choose a dragon race – along with as many other facts like his predictability and inexperience in combat. However, as proved earlier with [Message], which was meant to communicate between players could now work in relation to NPCs a possibility exists.
In other words, the difference between NPCs and players was at least blurred, maybe even erased – which meant that Momonga had a chance that the most important ritual for his style of play would work.
Momonga held out his hand, then placed his hand on the dragon's muzzle, and uttered, "[Dark Wisdom]."
Once, no more than the cosmetic aura of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which represented dozens of souls screaming in agony, now it had taken a much more sinister role. And so, as Momonga activated his ability, another face was added to the choir of agony, the face of a man who subtly resembled a dragon in his appearance.
The dragon's body instantly seemed to shrivel up, as if it had aged hundreds of thousands of years, not as dragons age, growing stronger. No, the body withered as if it were human, the scales began to be covered with wrinkles that instantly scarred even the beast's impenetrable scales before the monolithic frame of the body cracked.
However, when the viscous scarlet blood was about to spill onto the ground from the cracks that cut through the creature's body, the cracks continued on and on and on, tearing the dragon's body apart. Before long, all of it collapsed into dust, in an instant turning into dark particles that immediately rose from their place, spinning in the invisible wind, instantly enveloping Momonga's body until his figure was completely hidden beneath them.
Cocytus remained silent on one knee – it was his Master's action, which meant that what was happening was fully in line with his predictions and plan.
Momonga, however, thought quite differently. 'Aw, crap, this looks very scary in reality!'
Momonga's mind forcibly calmed down a moment later, allowing him to silently begin to pick up on the details of the process. 'Umu, so this works differently in this world and apparently has the ability to affect at least some creatures. I didn't feel like my level or parameters increased, not that I would know how that would feel, but my instincts were telling me that I would know. Still, the main effect of the ritual was to be able to learn a new spell from a slain enemy whose body you sacrificed in exchange for it… Hmm, so this dragon had spells that I don't know? It showed nothing special during the battle, perhaps it was some kind of regeneration or self-enhancement spell that I didn't know before? If so, it's extremely unfortunate, a low-rank enhancement spell is far worse than being able to harvest a dragon's body… Well, it's only a farm-boss, I shouldn't expect something great.'
The dragon's body, now fully turning to dust, completely transformed into a black vortex that swirls around Momonga, before it began to approach his body, gently touching his bones and soaking into it.
The Great Red possessed an affinity for magic that only dragons could possess – if he wished, he would become an incredibly powerful mage…
If he wished for it, that is.
The Great Red had never met anyone strong enough to fight him – except for the Ouroboros, but that was the only case, and Ouroboros eventually lost and escaped from the Great Red. So, there was no reason for him to find any other way to become stronger.
Indeed, the Great Red never studied spells, for he did not need them.
Except for one.
One spell that the Great Red has used in the past. Though he could indeed appear in his form at any time in any of the worlds and many would be afraid to fight him, sometimes the best approach was not to win the battle, but to avoid it entirely.
The Great Red possessed one single spell.
In another world, in another story, he would have used that spell for the sake of his enemy and her ward, a boy with one stupid and, frankly, lustful dream.
However, it was a different world and a different story.
The story of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Momonga blinked as he looked at the vanished body as it completely transformed into black ash that soaked into Momonga's body before exhaling. "Umu, I have a strange feeling, as if it was inevitable…"
Momonga sensed that he had received a new spell from the body of the slain dragon.
The spell – [Create Body].
Honestly it's a Mix, Great Red is both the Strongest Being of it's World so it normally just exercises it's Authority to deal with anything that get's it's Ire, meaning it never actually has to actively fight with the Great Tomb being something foreign and thus from beyond the Dimensional Gap it wasn't within it's Authority nor was the Tome and it's Inhabitants vulnerable to the Effects of the gap, Meaning Great Red had to actually try and fight,,, which it had never actually done.
Honestly I do wonder how Ophis will handle this change
Honestly I do wonder how Ophis will handle this change
I get irked about Great Tomb after a while. I'd love to run into a fic where they get hit with the nerf bat they so deserve. Their leader gets to be level ten which is the baseline adult human, only because he had lived as a human before so he had stats to apply. Everything else in the tomb? Starts off at level one with no growth cheats or anything.
Great Red should have been able to tear apart the Tomb. Heck, they should have been falling apart on their own and worrying about merely existing themselves. Turning the second strongest entity in DxD into a mook? Meh. I really get irked seeing the Tomb actually have power that comes out of nowhere. They were video game characters. They didn't live in a world or get any experience to level or anything.
I'd love to see them arrive in a hard science world where none of their magic works. Then again their Lich wouldn't last long then.
I don't mind Momonga learning that things are real, but that really should apply to the Tomb which dooms them. Handwave crap that they are the strongest ever just cause? Nope. Things like their world items just not working or anything beyond middle-tier equipment just looking fancy, but not having any actual effects.
Maybe there are new costs like a GP, exp, or some other cost for them to exist or some currency that Momonga doesn't even have any of. They are on a timer, which runs out and they lose their guild base or rights to even be a guild or each game-like thing one after another until they are all baseline members of their respective species.
They are reborn into a new world, but they've actually got to do it fair which means that they start fresh.
Great Red should have been able to tear apart the Tomb. Heck, they should have been falling apart on their own and worrying about merely existing themselves. Turning the second strongest entity in DxD into a mook? Meh. I really get irked seeing the Tomb actually have power that comes out of nowhere. They were video game characters. They didn't live in a world or get any experience to level or anything.
I'd love to see them arrive in a hard science world where none of their magic works. Then again their Lich wouldn't last long then.
I don't mind Momonga learning that things are real, but that really should apply to the Tomb which dooms them. Handwave crap that they are the strongest ever just cause? Nope. Things like their world items just not working or anything beyond middle-tier equipment just looking fancy, but not having any actual effects.
Maybe there are new costs like a GP, exp, or some other cost for them to exist or some currency that Momonga doesn't even have any of. They are on a timer, which runs out and they lose their guild base or rights to even be a guild or each game-like thing one after another until they are all baseline members of their respective species.
They are reborn into a new world, but they've actually got to do it fair which means that they start fresh.
Prologue (2)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (2)
Unfortunately, the Great Red Dragon's body completely dissolved after Momonga used his most beloved and important of rituals on it, [Dark Wisdom], leaving him no reagents or materials to harvest.
This saddened Momonga, but not much – if the Great Red Dragons were common in this world, he could hunt them later. However, the new spell obtained from the slain dragon at least intrigued Momonga.
Momonga did not know any spells from YGGDRASIL with this particular name, [Create Body], though he had learned all the spells that his opponents could use at any given moment in order to pick the right strategy to confront. Though, of course, this spell could simply be a secret of the other players that they hadn't revealed all this time, this kind of thing happened more often than it might seem in YGGDRASIL. Information was critical to all players, and being able to hide their trump cards and convince their opponents of making incorrect preparation for PvP was the key to victory.
On the other hand, Momonga knew a few spells, like [Polymorph] or the Super-tier Magic [Magnum Opus], Tabula Smaragdina knew the latter – that were similar to what Momonga understood from his newly learned spell… Well, he'll find a use for it.
In any case, after sending all the Guardians back to their posts and ordering Nigredo to begin exploring the surroundings around Nazarick, Momonga returned to his chambers, eager to begin experimenting with a newfound spell.
The first experiments were quite successful, with the spell [Create Body] doing exactly what it said on the tin. The spell could change his body, to any one Momonga could imagine, capable of working as an illusion, but at the same time the created body was also fully alive and material.
Momonga later tested how his new body worked. For example, in his skeleton body Momonga did not need to breathe, but by creating a new body, looking like his, Satoru Suzuki's, old body he began to breathe reflexively and automatically.
Momonga was a little scared, but after creating his body, he focused on stopping to breathe. And after twenty minutes without finding any negative effects, he just let his instinct take hold now that he knows that his body didn't need oxygen.
He then teleported to the treasury, whose atmosphere was completely saturated with the poisonous vapors of [Blood of Jormungandr], but after breathing a couple lungfuls, found that it had no negative effects on Momonga.
From the information he managed to gather, the body Momonga created with the spell was considered a 'cosmetic object'. Healing potions still damaged him, for instance, while his passive skills still continued to work, and the undead on the first floors continued to ignore him. However, perhaps it was because he was a Nazarick's master and not because he was still considered undead in the perception of the other undead?
His new body also possessed all the abilities of his past body, as well as its weaknesses, and was capable of considerable customization.
To begin with, back on the Sixth Floor, on the free plains, Momonga used a spell to create himself a dragon body. Instantly he grew to enormous size and was covered in scales, but Momonga's claws provided him no bonuses as his 'natural weapon', just as his scales provided him no additional armor. The created wings also proved unable to lift him into the air, though his change in size allowed him to look over the Sixth Floor from a dozen meters above. The experiment to see if he could turn smaller would be delayed, however…
Momonga's further experiments, however, were interrupted when Nigredo informed him that she had made a complete survey of Nazarick's surroundings and found nothing but the same black void that Momonga had seen before. At least, that is what her scouting an area about the size of Japan back home. It might be possible that there exists something else beside the void, but at this point trying to reach it would be hazardous without any landmark to guide one back to Nazarick.
This information reassured and alarmed Momonga a little at the same time. The fact that he need not fear any surprise attack at the moment did please Momonga, especially considering that Nazarick was protected from teleportation and outside surveillance, but the fact that he was actually currently in the void was disturbing. It was like what he imagined being lost in space would feel.
Nazarick may have been home to Momonga, but he could not afford to hole himself in it all the time. Even assuming that he could stop spending money to maintain Nazarick, something Momonga was afraid to do in a world where he could easily stumble upon the Great Red Dragon outside the tomb. And that all NPCs could exist without the need for food due to their equipment, especially if Momonga distributed the contents of the treasury among them. An eternal existence in the void didn't sound like something Momonga would like…
Especially when knowing that there might exist unknown dangers outside the walls of Nazarick that might endanger it. Existences that existed outside of Nazarick's surveillance, threats that Momonga would never suspect until the moment they strike.
However, Momonga recalled the dragon's attempt during the battle to open the [Gate] blocked by the [Dimensional Lock] that his staff had used a little earlier, and thought about it more. [Gate] was a high-level teleportation spell, capable of creating a passage for the player even into another of the nine worlds of YGGDRASIL. In other words, it was confirmation that in addition to the empty world Nazarick was currently in, there was at least one other world beyond that to which the dragon had planned to escape to.
In addition, given the fact that the dragon had attempted to retreat to this world – it most likely considered this place safe from Momonga. Which meant that somewhere there were other beings more powerful than the Great Red Dragon – a kind of 'base' for the dragon, or maybe even its 'lair'.
Conjectures sadly would not fully answer Momonga's questions as to why and how exactly the dragon ended up near Nazarick. That's why Momonga authorized Nigredo to use her most powerful abilities as a master of surveillance to observe other worlds – on the condition that she would act with extreme care, use only abilities fully covered by all possible spells and counter-spells from all sides, To be extra careful to spot any possible information when observing and, should any of the objects of surveillance notice something or her surveillance to be noticed by someone, to immediately retreat.
Nigredo, of course, obeyed Momonga, and it was only at this point that Momonga realized that he was still using his 'created body', namely his body of Satoru Suzuki, and Nigredo could still easily identify him as Momonga. This question intrigued Momonga – but he came to the logical conclusion that it was likely that Nigredo had decided that no other creature could be in the Great Tomb of Nazarick at the moment but him. And that no one would dare to communicate with the Guardians the way he did, giving orders, even if his appearance was new to Nigredo. Either that, or [Message] also included some kind of caller ID.
In any case, Momonga pushed these thoughts to a distant shelf focusing on Nigredo, as they looked at the first attempt at observing the other world, one that the Dragon had tried to connect to. Which, not so surprisingly after Momonga's previous mental conclusions, worked.
Momonga could see for a brief moment a world, full of high cliffs and mountains, and various caves… Which proved to be full of dragons, of various kinds, ones Momonga could recognize at a glance, like simple reds, ice or bronzes, to the ones Momonga had seen for the first time.
'I see, no wonder the dragon wanted to escape here, this world seems to be full of dragons,'
Momonga frowned, feeling something inside him stir. Dragons were the strongest race of all, possessing the strongest characteristics and, usually, a whole host of abilities that could simply be called 'cheats'.
"Nigredo," Momonga turned to the girl, who looked at him intently with her unblinking, eyelidless eyes.
"Be careful, but if you succeed, I need you to determine the dragon's average level, abilities, and species, if you can do so. When you have done this, start checking and examining other worlds besides the one we are currently observing, your orders would be exactly the same – catalog any possible dangers. This information is vital to all of Nazarick."
"As you command, my Lord," Nigredo bowed deeply before turning to the screen before her, beginning to cast spells and use her abilities.
Momonga, knowing that he could not help Nigredo, who was vastly superior to him in gathering information, immediately teleported back to the sixth floor. With nothing else to do, he proceeded to further explore the new spell abilities that he had obtained from the body of the slain dragon.
Further research, however, only confirmed Momonga's earlier conclusions, that his 'new' body was more or less a 'cosmetic object', like the way his robe emitted a black and red aura of 'terror', which was essentially a purely cosmetic effect.
The wings created by the spell could not lift Momonga into the air if he tried to take the form of an angel, dragon, or any other winged creature because it did not grant him [Flight]. Though, his body could change its size, either larger or smaller conferring a change in Point of View, but not anymore or less power. He's just as strong as 40 meters tall or as small as a mouse.
Momonga tried to test the limits of his size change, how big or small he could become. He stopped his experiments in getting larger when he realized that he could become at least several hundred meters tall, and still felt that he could become bigger still. Which he didn't try, since, by this point, it would become more of a problem for Momonga than an advantage.
The smallest size that Momonga could take was the size of a small insect, after which he tried to give himself [Flight] by shrinking his body and giving himself enormous wings, and then flapped them to try it out. This time, thanks to the laws of Physics, Momonga did manage to fly, but it was not easy to use unlike Momonga's usual flight using magic.
Although he could 'fly' just by changing his body and physics, it would take him many years of experimentation with proportions and mastering with those until he could actually use his new wings reliably. Plus the fact that Momonga had to use physical laws, not magic, which supported creature flight, makes him susceptible to spells that use them.
Further experiments displayed similar results. Any extra limbs he created worked almost perfectly, Momonga didn't tangle with the extra legs when moving and the extra arms were automatically positioned so as not to interfere with Momonga's main arms. Actually using them as separate limbs was another matter entirely, incredibly difficult. It is as if his body rejected attempts to use three arms at once.
Only after twenty minutes of constant trial did Momonga manage to move the three arms simultaneously in different directions. Sadly, such a paltry feat required such a mental effort from Momonga that for a second Momonga thought his brain would explode from it.
Momonga had repeatedly seen users of more than one pair of limbs in his home world, with cybernetics advancing at a steady pace. But he also heard that getting used to and learning to use those required special extra modifications and was incredibly difficult for normal people to use.
Contrarily, attempts to change his limbs to tentacles, for example, or to lengthen his limbs were much more functional. As long as Momonga acted relatively within his 'normal' understanding of his normal body's capabilities, he could use almost any form without problems.
But when he tried to change his form to gain a 'natural advantage', what in YGGDRASIL would be considered as 'racial abilities', such as [Flight] or [Multi-armedness], he was immediately met with the most serious of resistance. In theory, he could force his body to use it, but it required such mental focus that any potential ideas about combat use instantly disappeared from his mind.
Which was not to say, however, that there was no way Momonga could use the spell in combat, at least it could be used to deceive his opponent.
His abilities, weaknesses, and immunity remained exactly as they were in his original body, regardless of which 'created body' he used. In particular, he was able to create himself a body composed of fire, which would fool his enemy into thinking that fire was useless against him. Common sense after all was that trying to attack a living fire with a ball of fire was pointless, so any opponent would prefer to use ice magic against him. To which Momonga was completely immune due to his build.
Momonga could also become minuscule and completely transparent – this could not save him from special abilities or detection spells, but would allow him to easily pass unnoticed by unobservant enemies. Further experiments also revealed to him that his human body, though still fundamentally the same as his undead body, appeared fully alive. It was warm, had a pulse, and was stealthy enough that no detection spells or illusions or doppelgängers could detect the switch.
With his 'false' body, any observers would detect him as that creature in question – it was even able to fool the senses of life-detection. Sebas, when Momonga set out to create a Draconid body but took a human form, still registered him, and probably to other creatures as well, as Draconid.
Though, he was still primarily identified by them as 'Momonga', which was an interesting feature that Momonga could not check until he found a being from outside the Nazarick.
Also, along with changing his body, he could change the appearance of his equipment without changing its properties – he could turn his robe into a ring and his ring into a robe. Trying to put on a duplicate piece of equipment, such as a robe while he was already wearing another robe that had taken the form of a ring, was also possible. But, this new robe worn 'on top of' the original one had no additional effects, which was also great information.
He could easily make his opponents see a completely different outfit worn than the one he was actually wearing – adding another layer of information obfuscation. Although the inability to repeatedly use the same 'outfit slot' did frustrate Momonga a bit. He couldn't simply turn all his equipment into easily carried accessories.
The last and most interesting experiment he had carried out was an experiment in the functions of his new body. Though it was not necessary to breathe, and while not enough time has passed for him to feel ravenous, the total lack of a sense of hunger probably also meant that he didn't need to eat. Momonga easily concluded that this was because of his undead nature. But even without the need to, he was still able to breathe, smell, and feel touch in his new body, even more clearly than when he used an undead body.
The sense of pain was still dulled either in his fleshy body – he noted it, but only indirectly, as a fact. It seems that even with a human body, pain would not affect his thinking or feeling, while he could feel the delicate texture of the petals or leaves around him.
Through this observation, Momonga realized another important feature, apparently his magically created body was fully functional in terms of the race whose appearance he was taking. Although he received no additional senses or abilities from other races, having taken human form, Momonga opened his inventory before retrieving [Infinite Water Pitch] from it along with one cup to test something.
In YGGDRASIL, Momonga could enjoy various foods, drinks, and potions that provided various buffs, being as much a player as anyone else. YGGDRASIL however was severely limited by laws in terms of the sensations that players could receive from the environment. So there was naturally no smell or taste in the game. Having been moved to the new world, though, Momonga assumed that he could now taste – and he definitely could smell… The unfortunate smell of a burning dragon and a burning poisoned swamp still sticking to his nostrils.
In this new world however, now, due to his condition, he was unable to eat food or drink drinks, as he was solely a mass of bones. All the food he bit off or drinks he tried to drink simply poured out through the empty space at the bottom of his mouth. By creating a new body for himself, however, Momonga could test whether the objects' behavior would change in this regard.
Pouring some water into the cup, Momonga put his [Infinite Water Pitch] back into his inventory, then brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. A moment later, he felt the cool taste of fresh spring water on his lips and tongue, which immediately rushed down his throat into his gullet and down into Momonga's stomach.
Unless you exclude the fact that in place of Momonga's stomach was his World Class Item, so the water probably disappeared to an unknown destination never to appear again.
For a second, Momonga had only one thought. 'Umu, this saves me a big weakness in the form of not being able to use potions or food giving buffs… Plus, it was delicious.'
The water that Momonga just drank was plain water without any additional features or effects. But because in the past in his world, Suzuki Satoru had existed on repeatedly distilled water that came to him along with nutritional rations. Created from poisoned sewage and industrial water after being repeatedly used and treated by industrial units and chemicals, the water that Momonga just drank was the most delicious water. Perhaps, even the most delicious drink that he had ever tasted.
"Is this what the rich enjoyed in that world?" Momonga exclaimed for a second, then chuckled inwardly.
"Hmm, it's been less than twenty-four hours, but I already think of my past world as 'another' world entirely, as if it was long ago and now has nothing to do with me… Though, I suppose, that's not surprising, I have already decided that even if I get the chance to return to my past world – I won't take it. So, it makes sense to start settling in the new world and consider my past world my 'past' world, which I have no desire to return to."
Momonga paused for a second, then checked his body again and looked around to see if the liquid had spilled anywhere else. He then listened to the sensations of his body to see if he had any desire to go to the bathroom. But wherever the water had disappeared to, it didn't look like it was now waiting for a moment to come out. In fact, Momonga wasn't even sure if his body at the moment had the same organs that his body was supposed to have, so his body functions at the moment remained a big mystery to him.
Realizing this, Momonga nodded to himself and put his cup away in his inventory before returning to his experiments. "Umu, so I should start developing tactics that use my newfound abilities… "
Albedo raised her hands, folded in a prayerful gesture, then gazed lovingly at the [Throne of Kings] before her, on which her Lord, Momonga, had once sat. "Ah, my love, I pray that you will allow me to share your bed… "
When Sebas returned with the urgent report that, Lord Momonga, the Last of the Supreme Beings, and, in Albedo's opinion, the only one worthy of the title, had gone into battle, Albedo had almost disobeyed the order to stay put. Every one of the Guardians of the Floors, every one of Nazarick, down to the last maid, was willing to go after him. Death in service was the ultimate reward for any of the beings of Nazarick, but the very thought that they might lose Him, the Last Supreme Being and Lord of the Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga, is unthinkable. It was an endless torture worse than any other.
Albedo herself almost threw herself at Sebas for being there, before rushing to flee to her Lord, but Sebas uttered the most sacred of words, that he had received orders from Lord Momonga, that he should remain in Nazarick. These words managed for a moment to keep the Floor Guardians from acting harshly – and from attacking Sebas for the perceived disloyalty, for his betrayal of Nazarick and the Forty-One Supreme Beings.
But even assurances that Lord Momonga could always retreat if the battle failed, a ludicrous notion, could not completely appease the Floor Guardians.
So the general decision to turn at short notice to go to Nigredo, Albedo's own older sister, was formed unanimously and in a matter of seconds – whereupon the Guardians instantly rushed to the Fifth Floor. All in order to be able to view her Beloved's battle.
Albedo was aware that her lover, Lord Momonga, always maintained a passive shield to protect him from surveillance, even when he wasn't using his ring to completely hide him for observation. Nigredo however is a high level Area Guardian specialized enough to bypass that protection, even considering that it was Lord Momonga's own protection.
So the general procession of the Floor Guardians and Sebas, who had joined them, clearly also worried about Lord Momonga's fate, made their way instantly to the Frozen Prison. After which, opening the way to Nigredo, are able to convey the necessary information and requests to her.
Nigredo responded instantly, using her own abilities and spells to glimpse Lord Momonga's battle…
And what the Guardians of the Floors saw was breathtaking.
For He had shown Himself to be a Ruler by taking their oaths, but now He had shown Himself to be a Warrior by fighting the beast. For each of the Guardians could tell that the dragon was vastly stronger than any of them.
Yet He fought it one on one, seemingly without even noticing the danger from the creature, for He was cruel and efficient, clever and strong, cunning. Every action of the dragon were at the palm of His hand, always being one step ahead of the creature.
In the end, He had easily dispatched even such a powerful foe with a ruthlessness and genius. Every blow from the beast were turned into another wound on the dragon's own body, and every mad attack into a suitable step to showcase His own power.
The dragon, what first had seemed a powerful enemy to all the Guardians, had become nothing more than a prop for a stage to demonstrate the power of their Lord, another stepping stone in their Lord's ascendancy.
Albedo's heart seemed ready to burst with the emotions of admiration and lust that almost overwhelmed her…
If it were not for that leech, Shalltear – who began moaning halfway through the battle, Albedo would not have found a single reason to be displeased at all!
In the end, after the battle, the enemy was defeated, and the beast, uttering its last howl, tried to throw itself away from the stage. But He, the Lord of Death, did not give it the right to leave the performance.
And, moments later, Cocytus received a [Message] that Lord Momonga wished to return the body of the dragon to Nazarick as belonging by right to the Lord.
Indeed, every creature should be glad of the opportunity to bestow his body upon the Great Lord, for it was the highest honor and favor that the Lord could bestow upon inferior beings outside the confines of Nazarick. Certainly, as their Lord commanded, Cocytus rushed away, to see if he could find a place that fit the parameters specified by Lord Momonga, while the other Guardians shuddered at His power again. Each of them repeating their oath again and again and wishing only to devote themselves even more to His service.
But as the other Guardians left the Fifth Floor, returning to their sacred duties, Albedo lingered longest, wanting to enjoy the sight of Him a little longer. And, for the moment, since the Great Tomb of Nazarick was truly in the void and therefore not in need of general supervision, Albedo could afford to linger even for a moment.
And what she saw sent shivers down her spine, for she saw her Lord take multiple forms, first as a man, then as a demon, an angel, and a dragon, and her heart filled with joy.
None of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb knew the limits of the powers of the Supreme Beings, so to discover powers they had not known before was not strange. But Albedo's heart was filled with joyful longing, not from the realization of their Lord's power, but from the realization that her Lord had changed his body in order to…
To share the bed with her.
Albedo's heart was filled with a sweet longing and delightful trill of this realization. It was so strong that it seemed as if her heart were about to burst, but Albedo managed to bring herself under control and return back to the [Throne of Kings]. Back to the feet of her Lord, waiting for the moment when He would utter the cherished words…
Albedo raised her hands in a gesture of prayer, then lowered it, covering her eyes and making the deepest bow to the empty throne, barely touching the ground with her face… Though, she was ready to kiss every inch of ground blessed by His footsteps, this was not the time.
"Let the Great Tomb of Nazarick be forever ruled by the Lord of Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga," Albedo slowly raised her gaze to the throne, then looked at it lovingly, as if to complete a prayer before a god… No, before the Supreme Being who stands above all gods of all worlds, repeating words she had only once heard from her Creator, Lord Tabula Smaragdina, but instantly understood their meaning. It was a gesture of longing, and of certainty.
"Amen."
Unfortunately, the Great Red Dragon's body completely dissolved after Momonga used his most beloved and important of rituals on it, [Dark Wisdom], leaving him no reagents or materials to harvest.
This saddened Momonga, but not much – if the Great Red Dragons were common in this world, he could hunt them later. However, the new spell obtained from the slain dragon at least intrigued Momonga.
Momonga did not know any spells from YGGDRASIL with this particular name, [Create Body], though he had learned all the spells that his opponents could use at any given moment in order to pick the right strategy to confront. Though, of course, this spell could simply be a secret of the other players that they hadn't revealed all this time, this kind of thing happened more often than it might seem in YGGDRASIL. Information was critical to all players, and being able to hide their trump cards and convince their opponents of making incorrect preparation for PvP was the key to victory.
On the other hand, Momonga knew a few spells, like [Polymorph] or the Super-tier Magic [Magnum Opus], Tabula Smaragdina knew the latter – that were similar to what Momonga understood from his newly learned spell… Well, he'll find a use for it.
In any case, after sending all the Guardians back to their posts and ordering Nigredo to begin exploring the surroundings around Nazarick, Momonga returned to his chambers, eager to begin experimenting with a newfound spell.
The first experiments were quite successful, with the spell [Create Body] doing exactly what it said on the tin. The spell could change his body, to any one Momonga could imagine, capable of working as an illusion, but at the same time the created body was also fully alive and material.
Momonga later tested how his new body worked. For example, in his skeleton body Momonga did not need to breathe, but by creating a new body, looking like his, Satoru Suzuki's, old body he began to breathe reflexively and automatically.
Momonga was a little scared, but after creating his body, he focused on stopping to breathe. And after twenty minutes without finding any negative effects, he just let his instinct take hold now that he knows that his body didn't need oxygen.
He then teleported to the treasury, whose atmosphere was completely saturated with the poisonous vapors of [Blood of Jormungandr], but after breathing a couple lungfuls, found that it had no negative effects on Momonga.
From the information he managed to gather, the body Momonga created with the spell was considered a 'cosmetic object'. Healing potions still damaged him, for instance, while his passive skills still continued to work, and the undead on the first floors continued to ignore him. However, perhaps it was because he was a Nazarick's master and not because he was still considered undead in the perception of the other undead?
His new body also possessed all the abilities of his past body, as well as its weaknesses, and was capable of considerable customization.
To begin with, back on the Sixth Floor, on the free plains, Momonga used a spell to create himself a dragon body. Instantly he grew to enormous size and was covered in scales, but Momonga's claws provided him no bonuses as his 'natural weapon', just as his scales provided him no additional armor. The created wings also proved unable to lift him into the air, though his change in size allowed him to look over the Sixth Floor from a dozen meters above. The experiment to see if he could turn smaller would be delayed, however…
Momonga's further experiments, however, were interrupted when Nigredo informed him that she had made a complete survey of Nazarick's surroundings and found nothing but the same black void that Momonga had seen before. At least, that is what her scouting an area about the size of Japan back home. It might be possible that there exists something else beside the void, but at this point trying to reach it would be hazardous without any landmark to guide one back to Nazarick.
This information reassured and alarmed Momonga a little at the same time. The fact that he need not fear any surprise attack at the moment did please Momonga, especially considering that Nazarick was protected from teleportation and outside surveillance, but the fact that he was actually currently in the void was disturbing. It was like what he imagined being lost in space would feel.
Nazarick may have been home to Momonga, but he could not afford to hole himself in it all the time. Even assuming that he could stop spending money to maintain Nazarick, something Momonga was afraid to do in a world where he could easily stumble upon the Great Red Dragon outside the tomb. And that all NPCs could exist without the need for food due to their equipment, especially if Momonga distributed the contents of the treasury among them. An eternal existence in the void didn't sound like something Momonga would like…
Especially when knowing that there might exist unknown dangers outside the walls of Nazarick that might endanger it. Existences that existed outside of Nazarick's surveillance, threats that Momonga would never suspect until the moment they strike.
However, Momonga recalled the dragon's attempt during the battle to open the [Gate] blocked by the [Dimensional Lock] that his staff had used a little earlier, and thought about it more. [Gate] was a high-level teleportation spell, capable of creating a passage for the player even into another of the nine worlds of YGGDRASIL. In other words, it was confirmation that in addition to the empty world Nazarick was currently in, there was at least one other world beyond that to which the dragon had planned to escape to.
In addition, given the fact that the dragon had attempted to retreat to this world – it most likely considered this place safe from Momonga. Which meant that somewhere there were other beings more powerful than the Great Red Dragon – a kind of 'base' for the dragon, or maybe even its 'lair'.
Conjectures sadly would not fully answer Momonga's questions as to why and how exactly the dragon ended up near Nazarick. That's why Momonga authorized Nigredo to use her most powerful abilities as a master of surveillance to observe other worlds – on the condition that she would act with extreme care, use only abilities fully covered by all possible spells and counter-spells from all sides, To be extra careful to spot any possible information when observing and, should any of the objects of surveillance notice something or her surveillance to be noticed by someone, to immediately retreat.
Nigredo, of course, obeyed Momonga, and it was only at this point that Momonga realized that he was still using his 'created body', namely his body of Satoru Suzuki, and Nigredo could still easily identify him as Momonga. This question intrigued Momonga – but he came to the logical conclusion that it was likely that Nigredo had decided that no other creature could be in the Great Tomb of Nazarick at the moment but him. And that no one would dare to communicate with the Guardians the way he did, giving orders, even if his appearance was new to Nigredo. Either that, or [Message] also included some kind of caller ID.
In any case, Momonga pushed these thoughts to a distant shelf focusing on Nigredo, as they looked at the first attempt at observing the other world, one that the Dragon had tried to connect to. Which, not so surprisingly after Momonga's previous mental conclusions, worked.
Momonga could see for a brief moment a world, full of high cliffs and mountains, and various caves… Which proved to be full of dragons, of various kinds, ones Momonga could recognize at a glance, like simple reds, ice or bronzes, to the ones Momonga had seen for the first time.
'I see, no wonder the dragon wanted to escape here, this world seems to be full of dragons,'
Momonga frowned, feeling something inside him stir. Dragons were the strongest race of all, possessing the strongest characteristics and, usually, a whole host of abilities that could simply be called 'cheats'.
"Nigredo," Momonga turned to the girl, who looked at him intently with her unblinking, eyelidless eyes.
"Be careful, but if you succeed, I need you to determine the dragon's average level, abilities, and species, if you can do so. When you have done this, start checking and examining other worlds besides the one we are currently observing, your orders would be exactly the same – catalog any possible dangers. This information is vital to all of Nazarick."
"As you command, my Lord," Nigredo bowed deeply before turning to the screen before her, beginning to cast spells and use her abilities.
Momonga, knowing that he could not help Nigredo, who was vastly superior to him in gathering information, immediately teleported back to the sixth floor. With nothing else to do, he proceeded to further explore the new spell abilities that he had obtained from the body of the slain dragon.
Further research, however, only confirmed Momonga's earlier conclusions, that his 'new' body was more or less a 'cosmetic object', like the way his robe emitted a black and red aura of 'terror', which was essentially a purely cosmetic effect.
The wings created by the spell could not lift Momonga into the air if he tried to take the form of an angel, dragon, or any other winged creature because it did not grant him [Flight]. Though, his body could change its size, either larger or smaller conferring a change in Point of View, but not anymore or less power. He's just as strong as 40 meters tall or as small as a mouse.
Momonga tried to test the limits of his size change, how big or small he could become. He stopped his experiments in getting larger when he realized that he could become at least several hundred meters tall, and still felt that he could become bigger still. Which he didn't try, since, by this point, it would become more of a problem for Momonga than an advantage.
The smallest size that Momonga could take was the size of a small insect, after which he tried to give himself [Flight] by shrinking his body and giving himself enormous wings, and then flapped them to try it out. This time, thanks to the laws of Physics, Momonga did manage to fly, but it was not easy to use unlike Momonga's usual flight using magic.
Although he could 'fly' just by changing his body and physics, it would take him many years of experimentation with proportions and mastering with those until he could actually use his new wings reliably. Plus the fact that Momonga had to use physical laws, not magic, which supported creature flight, makes him susceptible to spells that use them.
Further experiments displayed similar results. Any extra limbs he created worked almost perfectly, Momonga didn't tangle with the extra legs when moving and the extra arms were automatically positioned so as not to interfere with Momonga's main arms. Actually using them as separate limbs was another matter entirely, incredibly difficult. It is as if his body rejected attempts to use three arms at once.
Only after twenty minutes of constant trial did Momonga manage to move the three arms simultaneously in different directions. Sadly, such a paltry feat required such a mental effort from Momonga that for a second Momonga thought his brain would explode from it.
Momonga had repeatedly seen users of more than one pair of limbs in his home world, with cybernetics advancing at a steady pace. But he also heard that getting used to and learning to use those required special extra modifications and was incredibly difficult for normal people to use.
Contrarily, attempts to change his limbs to tentacles, for example, or to lengthen his limbs were much more functional. As long as Momonga acted relatively within his 'normal' understanding of his normal body's capabilities, he could use almost any form without problems.
But when he tried to change his form to gain a 'natural advantage', what in YGGDRASIL would be considered as 'racial abilities', such as [Flight] or [Multi-armedness], he was immediately met with the most serious of resistance. In theory, he could force his body to use it, but it required such mental focus that any potential ideas about combat use instantly disappeared from his mind.
Which was not to say, however, that there was no way Momonga could use the spell in combat, at least it could be used to deceive his opponent.
His abilities, weaknesses, and immunity remained exactly as they were in his original body, regardless of which 'created body' he used. In particular, he was able to create himself a body composed of fire, which would fool his enemy into thinking that fire was useless against him. Common sense after all was that trying to attack a living fire with a ball of fire was pointless, so any opponent would prefer to use ice magic against him. To which Momonga was completely immune due to his build.
Momonga could also become minuscule and completely transparent – this could not save him from special abilities or detection spells, but would allow him to easily pass unnoticed by unobservant enemies. Further experiments also revealed to him that his human body, though still fundamentally the same as his undead body, appeared fully alive. It was warm, had a pulse, and was stealthy enough that no detection spells or illusions or doppelgängers could detect the switch.
With his 'false' body, any observers would detect him as that creature in question – it was even able to fool the senses of life-detection. Sebas, when Momonga set out to create a Draconid body but took a human form, still registered him, and probably to other creatures as well, as Draconid.
Though, he was still primarily identified by them as 'Momonga', which was an interesting feature that Momonga could not check until he found a being from outside the Nazarick.
Also, along with changing his body, he could change the appearance of his equipment without changing its properties – he could turn his robe into a ring and his ring into a robe. Trying to put on a duplicate piece of equipment, such as a robe while he was already wearing another robe that had taken the form of a ring, was also possible. But, this new robe worn 'on top of' the original one had no additional effects, which was also great information.
He could easily make his opponents see a completely different outfit worn than the one he was actually wearing – adding another layer of information obfuscation. Although the inability to repeatedly use the same 'outfit slot' did frustrate Momonga a bit. He couldn't simply turn all his equipment into easily carried accessories.
The last and most interesting experiment he had carried out was an experiment in the functions of his new body. Though it was not necessary to breathe, and while not enough time has passed for him to feel ravenous, the total lack of a sense of hunger probably also meant that he didn't need to eat. Momonga easily concluded that this was because of his undead nature. But even without the need to, he was still able to breathe, smell, and feel touch in his new body, even more clearly than when he used an undead body.
The sense of pain was still dulled either in his fleshy body – he noted it, but only indirectly, as a fact. It seems that even with a human body, pain would not affect his thinking or feeling, while he could feel the delicate texture of the petals or leaves around him.
Through this observation, Momonga realized another important feature, apparently his magically created body was fully functional in terms of the race whose appearance he was taking. Although he received no additional senses or abilities from other races, having taken human form, Momonga opened his inventory before retrieving [Infinite Water Pitch] from it along with one cup to test something.
In YGGDRASIL, Momonga could enjoy various foods, drinks, and potions that provided various buffs, being as much a player as anyone else. YGGDRASIL however was severely limited by laws in terms of the sensations that players could receive from the environment. So there was naturally no smell or taste in the game. Having been moved to the new world, though, Momonga assumed that he could now taste – and he definitely could smell… The unfortunate smell of a burning dragon and a burning poisoned swamp still sticking to his nostrils.
In this new world however, now, due to his condition, he was unable to eat food or drink drinks, as he was solely a mass of bones. All the food he bit off or drinks he tried to drink simply poured out through the empty space at the bottom of his mouth. By creating a new body for himself, however, Momonga could test whether the objects' behavior would change in this regard.
Pouring some water into the cup, Momonga put his [Infinite Water Pitch] back into his inventory, then brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. A moment later, he felt the cool taste of fresh spring water on his lips and tongue, which immediately rushed down his throat into his gullet and down into Momonga's stomach.
Unless you exclude the fact that in place of Momonga's stomach was his World Class Item, so the water probably disappeared to an unknown destination never to appear again.
For a second, Momonga had only one thought. 'Umu, this saves me a big weakness in the form of not being able to use potions or food giving buffs… Plus, it was delicious.'
The water that Momonga just drank was plain water without any additional features or effects. But because in the past in his world, Suzuki Satoru had existed on repeatedly distilled water that came to him along with nutritional rations. Created from poisoned sewage and industrial water after being repeatedly used and treated by industrial units and chemicals, the water that Momonga just drank was the most delicious water. Perhaps, even the most delicious drink that he had ever tasted.
"Is this what the rich enjoyed in that world?" Momonga exclaimed for a second, then chuckled inwardly.
"Hmm, it's been less than twenty-four hours, but I already think of my past world as 'another' world entirely, as if it was long ago and now has nothing to do with me… Though, I suppose, that's not surprising, I have already decided that even if I get the chance to return to my past world – I won't take it. So, it makes sense to start settling in the new world and consider my past world my 'past' world, which I have no desire to return to."
Momonga paused for a second, then checked his body again and looked around to see if the liquid had spilled anywhere else. He then listened to the sensations of his body to see if he had any desire to go to the bathroom. But wherever the water had disappeared to, it didn't look like it was now waiting for a moment to come out. In fact, Momonga wasn't even sure if his body at the moment had the same organs that his body was supposed to have, so his body functions at the moment remained a big mystery to him.
Realizing this, Momonga nodded to himself and put his cup away in his inventory before returning to his experiments. "Umu, so I should start developing tactics that use my newfound abilities… "
Albedo raised her hands, folded in a prayerful gesture, then gazed lovingly at the [Throne of Kings] before her, on which her Lord, Momonga, had once sat. "Ah, my love, I pray that you will allow me to share your bed… "
When Sebas returned with the urgent report that, Lord Momonga, the Last of the Supreme Beings, and, in Albedo's opinion, the only one worthy of the title, had gone into battle, Albedo had almost disobeyed the order to stay put. Every one of the Guardians of the Floors, every one of Nazarick, down to the last maid, was willing to go after him. Death in service was the ultimate reward for any of the beings of Nazarick, but the very thought that they might lose Him, the Last Supreme Being and Lord of the Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga, is unthinkable. It was an endless torture worse than any other.
Albedo herself almost threw herself at Sebas for being there, before rushing to flee to her Lord, but Sebas uttered the most sacred of words, that he had received orders from Lord Momonga, that he should remain in Nazarick. These words managed for a moment to keep the Floor Guardians from acting harshly – and from attacking Sebas for the perceived disloyalty, for his betrayal of Nazarick and the Forty-One Supreme Beings.
But even assurances that Lord Momonga could always retreat if the battle failed, a ludicrous notion, could not completely appease the Floor Guardians.
So the general decision to turn at short notice to go to Nigredo, Albedo's own older sister, was formed unanimously and in a matter of seconds – whereupon the Guardians instantly rushed to the Fifth Floor. All in order to be able to view her Beloved's battle.
Albedo was aware that her lover, Lord Momonga, always maintained a passive shield to protect him from surveillance, even when he wasn't using his ring to completely hide him for observation. Nigredo however is a high level Area Guardian specialized enough to bypass that protection, even considering that it was Lord Momonga's own protection.
So the general procession of the Floor Guardians and Sebas, who had joined them, clearly also worried about Lord Momonga's fate, made their way instantly to the Frozen Prison. After which, opening the way to Nigredo, are able to convey the necessary information and requests to her.
Nigredo responded instantly, using her own abilities and spells to glimpse Lord Momonga's battle…
And what the Guardians of the Floors saw was breathtaking.
For He had shown Himself to be a Ruler by taking their oaths, but now He had shown Himself to be a Warrior by fighting the beast. For each of the Guardians could tell that the dragon was vastly stronger than any of them.
Yet He fought it one on one, seemingly without even noticing the danger from the creature, for He was cruel and efficient, clever and strong, cunning. Every action of the dragon were at the palm of His hand, always being one step ahead of the creature.
In the end, He had easily dispatched even such a powerful foe with a ruthlessness and genius. Every blow from the beast were turned into another wound on the dragon's own body, and every mad attack into a suitable step to showcase His own power.
The dragon, what first had seemed a powerful enemy to all the Guardians, had become nothing more than a prop for a stage to demonstrate the power of their Lord, another stepping stone in their Lord's ascendancy.
Albedo's heart seemed ready to burst with the emotions of admiration and lust that almost overwhelmed her…
If it were not for that leech, Shalltear – who began moaning halfway through the battle, Albedo would not have found a single reason to be displeased at all!
In the end, after the battle, the enemy was defeated, and the beast, uttering its last howl, tried to throw itself away from the stage. But He, the Lord of Death, did not give it the right to leave the performance.
And, moments later, Cocytus received a [Message] that Lord Momonga wished to return the body of the dragon to Nazarick as belonging by right to the Lord.
Indeed, every creature should be glad of the opportunity to bestow his body upon the Great Lord, for it was the highest honor and favor that the Lord could bestow upon inferior beings outside the confines of Nazarick. Certainly, as their Lord commanded, Cocytus rushed away, to see if he could find a place that fit the parameters specified by Lord Momonga, while the other Guardians shuddered at His power again. Each of them repeating their oath again and again and wishing only to devote themselves even more to His service.
But as the other Guardians left the Fifth Floor, returning to their sacred duties, Albedo lingered longest, wanting to enjoy the sight of Him a little longer. And, for the moment, since the Great Tomb of Nazarick was truly in the void and therefore not in need of general supervision, Albedo could afford to linger even for a moment.
And what she saw sent shivers down her spine, for she saw her Lord take multiple forms, first as a man, then as a demon, an angel, and a dragon, and her heart filled with joy.
None of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb knew the limits of the powers of the Supreme Beings, so to discover powers they had not known before was not strange. But Albedo's heart was filled with joyful longing, not from the realization of their Lord's power, but from the realization that her Lord had changed his body in order to…
To share the bed with her.
Albedo's heart was filled with a sweet longing and delightful trill of this realization. It was so strong that it seemed as if her heart were about to burst, but Albedo managed to bring herself under control and return back to the [Throne of Kings]. Back to the feet of her Lord, waiting for the moment when He would utter the cherished words…
Albedo raised her hands in a gesture of prayer, then lowered it, covering her eyes and making the deepest bow to the empty throne, barely touching the ground with her face… Though, she was ready to kiss every inch of ground blessed by His footsteps, this was not the time.
"Let the Great Tomb of Nazarick be forever ruled by the Lord of Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga," Albedo slowly raised her gaze to the throne, then looked at it lovingly, as if to complete a prayer before a god… No, before the Supreme Being who stands above all gods of all worlds, repeating words she had only once heard from her Creator, Lord Tabula Smaragdina, but instantly understood their meaning. It was a gesture of longing, and of certainty.
"Amen."
ALRIGHT! Another chapter!!! May you continue to write many many more.
TheEmpOfMankind
THE GREAT MANPEROR
- Location
- Golden Toilet On Terra
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Yeah Russian Reversal is way too much of an Ainz Fanboy/girl/whatever.
Also to anyone else who sees this and wants to comment suggestions to make the fic better/tell the writer what they're writing isn't good, I suggest you give up immediately because they really don't care and will still make Ainz and Co. Needlessly overpowered because they like them so much. They don't care about making a good and interesting story, all they care about is Ainz stomp.
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Prologue (3)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (3)
Momonga spent a few hours figuring out how his new spell worked before finally fitting it into his standard combat strategies before he considered his mission on the Sixth Floor complete. With that done, he returned to his chambers with the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown].
Momonga was not at all bothered by his appearance – which was odd enough.
Though he had indeed spent an incredible amount of time in the body of his game avatar, Momonga, he was still, remained, and considered himself, at least until recently, a human.
He did not resemble schoolchildren who called themselves 'elves' or 'lords of darkness' while playing games, and never once until then had he thought about something like 'Why are my hands not bone, I am Momonga, am I?' Except when he had a particularly vivid dream about Yggdrasil, confused in his sleep whether his dream was still going on at the moment.
Any claim to the contrary is a filthy lie! He didn't suffer from Eight-Grade Syndrome!
In other words, Momonga completely correlated with his human body… until recently.
When he had found himself in his skeletal body, back in the first moments of this new world, Momonga didn't panic, at least about that, and was easily able to adapt to his new conditions. Except with some strange curiosity he began to notice the features of his 'old new' body, he was seemingly completely unconcerned that his body was now a collection of bones. Without the flesh and skin part, that is – his education at least covered the part where every human does have bones inside their body.
As he began experimenting with his newfound spell, Momonga only strengthened his own relative perception – the bodies he created had almost no effect on his self-perception and did not cause Momonga to feel any 'wrongness'. Whether it was a human, dragon, insect or just a mass of living fire, the only feeling of wrongness he got was trying to use the 'racial skills' of his new body, and his attempt to change his gender.
Strangely, even though the formless mass of fire he could transform into was supposed to be sexless, Momonga still considered himself a man when taking this form. When he tried to take the form of a human woman, one of his past colleagues, he failed. Even when in the sexless form of fire as before, but concentrating on his desire to create a 'female blob of fire', a sense of impropriety forced him to abandon such a thing.
'I wonder if this is solely about my perception and psyche, or the fact that the female body also possesses certain 'racial' or, in this case, 'sexual' skills that I cannot fully utilize?' Momonga thought about it for a moment before shaking his head and raising his gaze to the door of his private quarters before entering it.
Momonga had been in his chambers before, but had done so quite rarely, since the chambers created for Role Play were meaningless to Momonga. Other than the occasional chance to admire the beautiful interior – which Momonga wasn't entirely what they are, only that they looked good.
Momonga's gaze momentarily slid over the expensive wood paneling, the magical chandelier, the desk, the huge bed covered with expensive sheets, Albedo, who was completely naked and now lying on the bed over the sheets, the pillows behind her head…
Momonga felt as if there was something extra in the row of things he had been observing, before determining that it was most likely Albedo's presence. He was pretty sure that he hadn't edited Albedo's data to the extent that he had changed where she's usually located.
Albedo's completely naked figure lay on the sheets, black and purple bedspread with the gold embroidered symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown on top. Her voluminous breasts with pink nipples straight with excitement, heaving in tune with her noisy breathing, and her juices flowing down the inner surface of her thighs…
Momonga instantly felt his mind begin to cloud over, before it was forcefully calmed down
"Hmm, Albedo?"
"Yes, my Lord?" Albedo said with a gasp, causing Momonga's mind to clear once more, as it nearly crashed by the mere tone of Albedo's slightly husky voice… perhaps as expected of a succubus, the ultimate seducer.
"You're… Naked," Momonga couldn't resist pointing out the obvious and most important fact.
"Absolutely, my Lord," Albedo replied, stretching her lips in a lustful and enchanting smile, before suddenly flinching at the same time as her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh no, Lord Momonga, did you wish to undress me yourself?! I beg your pardon, I'll get dressed now and…"
"No, no." Momonga tried to object to Albedo to calm her down, but when Albedo's chest jerked up from her abrupt attempt to stand up, drawing Momonga's gaze back to it and forcing his consciousness to clear again, he spoke slowly.
"Umu, that is, yes, you must get dressed because I… "Momonga's mind once again grasped at the saving thought, saving him from embarrassment. Though what it's saving him from, he rather not know.
"Nigredo is inspecting the other worlds at the moment, and she has discovered a detail that seems important to me, so I have come to inform you that I am departing at this moment and that you… Umu, that you remain temporarily as leader of the Nazarick"
"Certainly, my Lord!" Instantly, Albedo dropped to her knees, bowing her head and putting her hand to her chest… An action that took place while Albedo was still completely naked, causing Momonga to involuntarily draw a parallel with the eroge that Peroroncino had once spoken of. And found that what he saw before him was far better than what Peroroncino had spoken of in the past…
His suppression of emotion again allowed Momonga to shed the rosy haze from his thoughts and respond quickly. "Yes, Umu, have a good day, I'm off."
After another moment, Momonga used the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] functions and teleported to the Fifth Floor, the Frozen Prison, his mind instinctively knowing that he needed to 'cool off'.
After which he exhaled, shouting inwardly, 'What was that?!'
After another moment, the suppression of emotion helped Momonga look at the situation calmly again. "Hmm, if you think about it this way – the very first experiment I did in this world was to touch Albedo's chest, and she had expressed that she liked it. So, it makes sense that she thought as if something like that would have a continuation. Besides, I changed her settings in the last minutes of YGGDRASIL and prescribed that she was in love with me, so it made sense that she would come to me for that… Ah, Tabula, I apologize, but I defiled the NPC you created, I am very much regretful. Besides that – how am I supposed to react to this now!"
Momonga felt his emotions being forcibly suppressed again. "In the past world, I was a loser with no family or girlfriend – I didn't go on dates and died a virgin… And Albedo does look gorgeous, she was created by Tabula Smaragdina, he completely did his best modeling her appearance, creating a truly world-class beauty. I just panicked, how else was I supposed to react to this?! I need to let Albedo know that her feelings are not real and were something her creator did not plan to put in her, before something irreparable happens… Even if she hates me – better she does it now than after I defile her even more." While Momopnga felt a certain sense of sadness at losing her love, it was something that he must do!
"But even so, I need to gather my thoughts, prepare for her reaction…" Momonga imagined the moment when Albedo's beautiful features would turn into an angry grimace, and she would cover him with insults and his nonexistent… When he tried imagining it as Tabula saying it, he couldn't bear it. The newly existing heart in his new body ached with pain.
"Albedo, I'm sorry, I never planned for it to turn out like this… "
Momonga inhaled and exhaled several times, then looked down at his hands.
His current body was that of a human, Momonga had used his past appearance as a model, without some details like biomechanical changes to his skin or pupils, or a connector for the hardware on the back of his head. It was a regular human body, like the ones he regularly saw in YGGDRASIL.
"Can I even think about touching Albedo?" Momonga was suddenly in the deep throes of depression. He was not handsome, while Albedo was simply incredible – everything from the tips of his hair to… The suppression of emotion worked again the moment Momonga's mind began imagining a completely naked Albedo and her groin region. Something Momonga had not seen in the past except in porn and brothels.
And then Momonga lowered his gaze again, looking at the way the pants that had seemed fitting before were starting to get a bit too tight.
"Well, that's… Expected, I guess," Momonga shook his head.
Though his mind was clearing from the mental effects of arousal, because of what it was, his abilities did not affect his body's natural reaction. A body which was responding to the expected reaction of the normal body of an ordinary man who had just encountered the incredible and aroused beauty of Albedo.
Momonga was suddenly hit with a realization, as he pulled a blade from his inventory and sliced his arm, aiming to hit all the deep veins, then watched as his blood poured from the cut arm. The initial blow did some damage to him along with the cut, but the blood that poured down did not continue to damage him.
"Hmm, as in the original body, human body-related debuffs like [Bleed] don't apply to my body, but the cosmetic effect makes it look like I keep bleeding. Another trick in my arsenal – but I need to be careful. I don't know yet if my blood would be considered blood suitable for activating vampiric abilities or Shalltear's [Blood Madness], for example. Hmm, actually, how much blood could I draw from my body, before it affects my health, if it does at all. Would the blood flow indefinitely?"
Momonga held that thought and set it aside for a while.
Judging by the presence of physiological responses, and the ability to breath, and drink water, his spell-created body could somehow mimic the functions of a full body, right down to bleeding and demonstrating arousal… It might take some more experimentation with this before Momonga could fully get used to his body – but it could wait awhile.
So Momonga applied [Create Body] once more, reverting to his usual appearance and looking at the small pool of blood under his feet before shaking his head. "I escaped from Albedo by saying that Nigredo got some information about the world around us… I should probably at least check Nigredo's progress in that case."
After taking the decision, Momonga slowly moved forward, looking out over the ice-covered mansion of the Fifth Floor, before making his way to the door leading to Nigredo's room.
Under normal circumstances, anyone entering would have to do a certain sequence of actions to ensure that Nigredo would not attack anyone who entered. Something especially important in this 'Friendly Fire allowed' world.
But, given that the Floor Guards had done this sequence before and Nigredo was currently working under the orders of Momonga himself, he didn't need to worry about this. So, knocking for decency's sake, Momonga opened the door leading to the Area under Nigredo's control… Instantly finding Nigredo on one knee, head bowed.
Momonga could trace a similarity in the posture of Albedo and Nigredo, whom Tabula had created as sisters… However, at the same time, where Albedo evoked love and desire, Nigredo, whose face was completely devoid of skin, hardly aroused Momonga himself. He had no desire to check if it would happen if the older sister took on a similar state of dress as his younger – that is completely nude. He really didn't want to know what horror Tabula's mind could conjure up behind her dress.
"Lord Momonga," Nigredo uttered in her low, chested female voice, "You have arrived at the right time – as expected…"
"Yes?" Momonga was inwardly surprised, but did not show it, rejoicing at the fact that if he was not willing to show emotion on his face, his face would show his standard expression… Which meant, none, since his 'real' body was a skeleton without a face.
"Umu, of course. What have you discovered, Nigredo?"
"My Lord, you can see it now," Momonga looked up from Nigredo to see a screen showing… A girl revealing two black raven wings?
'Hmm, she doesn't look like a 'bird man' like Peroroncino… Maybe a fallen angel? Or is it a unique race of this world?'
After another moment, Momonga noticed the fact that in front of the girl, dressed, it seemed, in normal human clothes, was a boy. Judging by his appearance, height, and clothing that suggested something like a school uniform, was a schoolboy himself, with short brown hair sticking out in different directions.
"My Lord," Nigredo never rose from her seat, "I have discovered several worlds in the course of my observation, and I can assume that there are more – I have also examined the various inhabitants and stumbled upon this man."
Apparently the guy and the girl were talking at the moment, however, after exchanging words, the girl took half a step back, after which an object that resembled a spear appeared in her hands. So it seems that the inhabitants of this world had some fighting strength, Momonga was curious what the boy could do.
"And what did you find out?" With a strange sense of detachment, Momonga watched as the guy, seemingly surprised by the girl's actions, took a step back, then nearly stumbled, falling on his back, which made the girl with wings in front of him laugh. Truly, it is important to be alert at any time, as shown by the boy failing to prepare any defense against the girl's assault. Of course, it is very possible that the boy was just acting…
'Hmm, I'm watching, most likely, the last moments of a schoolboy, a young person and feel nothing from this picture… It's like I really stopped being human – although I can take human form thanks to the new spell. Then again, such a sight was a dime a dozen back in the corporate hellhole I called a home – but to feel nothing…'
"According to your orders, I've maintained complete secrecy and was extremely cautious in my assessment, but I was able to determine that most of the creatures of this world are extremely weak," Nigredo's words caused Momonga to calm down slightly.
"The average level of creatures of this world ranges from ten to forty, though I have come across creatures of level fifty or sixty on several occasions. I was also able to detect creatures that were most likely stronger, but remembering your order and not knowing their abilities and counter-surveillance capabilities, I retreated."
'That's not bad, actually.' Momonga nodded. 'In YGGDRASIL the real game didn't really begin until level 70, with the previous levels considered 'training', where any actual battlefield value started on level 90. The information that creatures of this world were weaker than usual is really nice, but at the same time, the information that there is someone stronger than this level still makes me wary. Especially since I don't know how many potential enemies there are.' Momonga would've liked to scout out these 'stronger' creatures, but it's too risky – there's no point in getting more information only to trigger the enemy's attack.
'In the past, Nazarick has been able to withstand the largest raid in the history of YGGDRASIL, involving a total of fifteen hundred members. But such a thing is an inherently losing position, as in this case Nazarick will have to go into siege mode entirely. An alarming news…'
"Umu, but why exactly are you looking at this man?" The girl's spear snapped from her hand, then slammed into the guy's body, piercing through his abdomen. And though Nigredo's observation provided no sound at the moment, from the looks of it, the girl then burst into laughter, while the guy, holding onto the spear, fell to the ground, beginning to cough up blood instantly. "Is he strong?"
'Yup, that's definitely a fatal wound…' Momonga himself was surprised at the callousness of his remark.
"I don't think so, my Lord – my observation revealed that his level is probably below the fifth, while the fallen angel's level is below the twentieth," Momonga only shook his head at these words. The difference in power between levels increased exponentially. The difference between level one and twenty was magnitudes lesser than the difference between ninety-nine and one hundred, but even so, a fifteen level difference meant that the guy had no chance in a battle against the girl… And it seems that Momonga's earlier assumption was correct – it really was a fallen angel.
"But the observation also revealed that this person possessed an artifact of considerable power."
'Hmm!' Momonga suddenly felt more interested in the screen, as he could feel his collector instincts begin to kick in. Collecting new artifacts was always a pleasant addition to Momonga's pastime – especially if it was a potentially unknown artifact from another world, power aside.
"So… What level of power did you detect?"
"I suppose… " Nigredo answered slowly, as if unsure. "A World-Class item?
Momonga blinked.
The whole world seemed to stand still for a moment…
Before the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] appeared in Momonga's hands.
"Seal all exits from Nazarick, full alert, prepare everyone for battle," Momonga uttered commands so quickly that they seemed to merge into a single word, then in one motion changed one of the rings to one that completely protected him from all surveillance and used a spell. "[Gate]!"
Issei Hyoudou tried to breathe desperately, finding that he could only get a coughing wheeze instead, trying against all hope to keep the blood draining from his body. Touching the spear that pierced his body burned his hands, but Issei still hoped that he could get it out of his body. But his arms grew weaker by the second and more and more blood gushed out of his body with each shaking fit of coughing in his chest, each one a searing pain in his punctured lungs.
"Really? In one fell swoop?" Yuma's voice – no, not Yuma, the girl he'd gone out with, but the fallen angel Raynare, if that was her real name. She seemed to be both encouraging and almost joyous as he watched Issei struggling to breath and dying.
"I thought you're going to be a problem, but fuck, you were so weak… Yeah, just my luck."
After another moment, the spear that had pierced his body disappeared, and Issei, who had been held in place until then thanks to the spear, fell to the ground. The sudden change in elevation caused him to hit his head on the dirt that had already mixed with his drained blood into the slush.
"Well, that's a job well done, maybe I'll even get some praise from lord Azazel? Time to go, see you later, Issei!" Raynare's mocking voice sounded the same time as Issei heard the flapping of wings, as if someone had opened them, preparing to fly. All Issei's remaining strength was enough to strain his leaden arms one last time to roll over onto his back, to see his murderer, to see Raynare, preparing to fly…
And to see… Death.
A black portal, it seemed, from the sight of which Issei's soul sought to leave his body, taking his gaze into the blackest and darkest depths of space, consuming all light.
'So that's what you are…' Issei chuckled weakly, feeling his consciousness begin to leave him following the sight of Death coming for him. 'A tunnel, at the end of which I will see only light… Ha ha, God, when I see you… Or maybe the devil, perversion is a sin I've been told… I have a few questions about the job of your angels… I would like to lodge a complaint…'
"What the…" Raynare, however, has a wildly different response to the sudden appearance of the portal. Recoiling, as she looked in equal measure of interest, apprehension and fear, before turning around, trying to flee. "All right, fuck it, my job's already done anyway!"
However, Issei could not even try to escape as Raynare had intended to do, forced to watch as the first thing to emerge from the dark passage was… a staff? A very expensive-looking staff, brimming with so much power, that even the dying Issei could tell.
A golden, sun-shining staff as if made of intertwined golden snakes, each rising to the top to form a crown as the snakes faced away from the center. In each snakes' mouth, a shimmering gem of one of seven colors, while the staff itself was covered in a sinister black and red aura. From that staff wafted illusionary figures rising for moments as faces twisted in agony, as if screaming in pain, before falling back into oblivion. And holding that staff was…
A middle-aged Japanese man.
Indeed, a terrifying staff, the mere sight of which sent shivers down Issei's spine, was held by a man Issei could easily have met on the street, in a store or even at school. Only the realization that middle-aged Japanese didn't hold such staffs or appear from black portals kept Issei from exclaiming that this man was a mere passerby…
Other than the fact that Issei's lungs were completely punctured and now filled with blood, and Issei himself was dying, of course.
A moment later, the man turned from Issei to Raynare, who immediately cried out in fear. Issei could see another spear of light in her hands that had earlier pierced Issei's chest, whereupon she threw the spear. But unlike with Issei, the spear of light suddenly shattered powerlessly before it even reached the man a dozen centimeters away.
The man only lifted his hand and spoke out calmly in response – even his voice sounded so normal. "[Mass Hold Species]."
A moment later, Issei realized that he couldn't move an inch, though perhaps the reason was that his body was finally starting to fail after being wounded. But, as the magical circle of hundreds of intertwined symbols that instantly appeared under him and the fact that Raynare was also frozen in place told him, it wasn't. At least it was not just because his body was finally starting to fail.
In a blink of an eye, the man was already standing next to Raynare with a speed that Issei couldn't parse. Then, with a single movement of his hand, he grabbed her and sent her hurtling inside the black portal. After another moment, Issei realized that his consciousness had finally completely failed him, and he was being sent into the darkness… He was finally going to die, he didn't even have time to mutter his last regrets, his full attention on the battle between Raynare and the middle-aged man.
Only to feel a life-giving spring-flavored moisture pouring into his mouth a second later – the pain instantly receding before him, and Issei abruptly opened his eyes. As his consciousness returned fully – the first thing Issei saw was the middle-aged man leaning over him…
The man's eyes expressed nothing.
There seemed to be absolutely nothing in them, nothing human, no compassion or pity, as if he were looking into the eyes of a wax figure that had suddenly descended from its stand.
Issei would have shuddered if he could – but the man, no, the creature with the appearance of a man only picked Issei up with one hand, whereupon Issei realized himself already in flight, approaching a dark gap in space.
A sharp jolt caused the flier sheet that he'd received earlier from the girl who handed them out to fall out of Issei's pocket. But now Issei had very different problems to worry about, the flier falling out of his pocket.
However, the man who instantly followed him in, picked up the leaflet on the flier as he went, before dashing inside after the boy, completely disappearing from the outside world.
A moment later, the black portal closed, as if it had shrunk to a single point until the point itself disappeared.
The only evidence that anything had happened there recently was the tiny hole where the Fallen's spear had pierced the pavement, and the pool of blood, the last reminder of Issei Hyoudou.
Rias wrinkled her nose before she sneezed.
"Something wrong, miss~tress~?" Akeno poke out in a teasing voice that many guys would find seductive, but Rias only found annoying at the moment.
"A contract just stopped working," Rias only exhaled and shook her head. "The demon summoning one."
"Did it go out of range?" Her knight, Yuto, asked the most logical of possible questions.
Unfortunately, in the life of demons executing the contracts of humans, there are all kinds of kinks that make their job harder. The person who took the flier, for example, could board a plane and fly to the other side of the world, ending up in the territory of a completely different pantheon. A group which would not regard the appearance of demons in their territory calmly. Not to mention the energy consumption for long-range teleportation, making any possible contract not worth it.
Rias could, in theory, teleport a few hundred kilometers, maybe even a total of a thousand, through several jumps, but such an action would have left her completely without power for a while.
"Then it wouldn't have activated in the first place," Rias frowned as she was in the process of being summoned before the beacon that was supposed to direct her towards the flier suddenly disappeared.
"Maybe it was wards." Akeno made another suggestion.
"Though, it would take a lot of strength for it to be able to block a summoning contract."
"I hope not," Rias shook her head. The Fallen on the edge of the city was an old problem that Rias could never quite get rid of. Because of the potential scandal of a clash between the Fallen and the younger sister of the current ruling Satan under the title Lucifer, the situation could turn very bad very quickly.
The only consolation for Rias in that headache was that the gathered Fallen were weak enough so that at any moment, if the situation called for it, Rias could deal with the enemy with her own strength. To find out that they'd gotten a reasonably strong barrier master from somewhere now would have been unpleasant.
Not to mention, in that case, there was the question of who had actually started to summon Rias. Judging from the fact that the contract required Rias and her power, the wish must have been really significant – if the Fallen found this man and for some reason dragged him under the barrier… Oh, the situation didn't look good.
But because of the political implications, it simply couldn't be handled in one fell swoop by Rias.
"Well, don't sulk, miss~tress~." Akeno melodically spoke again, causing Rias to try on the pillow beside her for a moment, weighing it in the manner of a throwing projectile. Akeno sighed almost despondently at that, hiding her face with her hands.
Rias clutched the pillow in her hands, but still exhaled and placed it beside her. And then, gathering herself again, returned to the discussion that had been interrupted a moment earlier by the call of the contract, which was now clearly not working.
"So, we go back to the question… Who has any ideas where to find strong pieces in anticipation of the battle with Riser?"
Momonga spent a few hours figuring out how his new spell worked before finally fitting it into his standard combat strategies before he considered his mission on the Sixth Floor complete. With that done, he returned to his chambers with the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown].
Momonga was not at all bothered by his appearance – which was odd enough.
Though he had indeed spent an incredible amount of time in the body of his game avatar, Momonga, he was still, remained, and considered himself, at least until recently, a human.
He did not resemble schoolchildren who called themselves 'elves' or 'lords of darkness' while playing games, and never once until then had he thought about something like 'Why are my hands not bone, I am Momonga, am I?' Except when he had a particularly vivid dream about Yggdrasil, confused in his sleep whether his dream was still going on at the moment.
Any claim to the contrary is a filthy lie! He didn't suffer from Eight-Grade Syndrome!
In other words, Momonga completely correlated with his human body… until recently.
When he had found himself in his skeletal body, back in the first moments of this new world, Momonga didn't panic, at least about that, and was easily able to adapt to his new conditions. Except with some strange curiosity he began to notice the features of his 'old new' body, he was seemingly completely unconcerned that his body was now a collection of bones. Without the flesh and skin part, that is – his education at least covered the part where every human does have bones inside their body.
As he began experimenting with his newfound spell, Momonga only strengthened his own relative perception – the bodies he created had almost no effect on his self-perception and did not cause Momonga to feel any 'wrongness'. Whether it was a human, dragon, insect or just a mass of living fire, the only feeling of wrongness he got was trying to use the 'racial skills' of his new body, and his attempt to change his gender.
Strangely, even though the formless mass of fire he could transform into was supposed to be sexless, Momonga still considered himself a man when taking this form. When he tried to take the form of a human woman, one of his past colleagues, he failed. Even when in the sexless form of fire as before, but concentrating on his desire to create a 'female blob of fire', a sense of impropriety forced him to abandon such a thing.
'I wonder if this is solely about my perception and psyche, or the fact that the female body also possesses certain 'racial' or, in this case, 'sexual' skills that I cannot fully utilize?' Momonga thought about it for a moment before shaking his head and raising his gaze to the door of his private quarters before entering it.
Momonga had been in his chambers before, but had done so quite rarely, since the chambers created for Role Play were meaningless to Momonga. Other than the occasional chance to admire the beautiful interior – which Momonga wasn't entirely what they are, only that they looked good.
Momonga's gaze momentarily slid over the expensive wood paneling, the magical chandelier, the desk, the huge bed covered with expensive sheets, Albedo, who was completely naked and now lying on the bed over the sheets, the pillows behind her head…
Momonga felt as if there was something extra in the row of things he had been observing, before determining that it was most likely Albedo's presence. He was pretty sure that he hadn't edited Albedo's data to the extent that he had changed where she's usually located.
Albedo's completely naked figure lay on the sheets, black and purple bedspread with the gold embroidered symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown on top. Her voluminous breasts with pink nipples straight with excitement, heaving in tune with her noisy breathing, and her juices flowing down the inner surface of her thighs…
Momonga instantly felt his mind begin to cloud over, before it was forcefully calmed down
"Hmm, Albedo?"
"Yes, my Lord?" Albedo said with a gasp, causing Momonga's mind to clear once more, as it nearly crashed by the mere tone of Albedo's slightly husky voice… perhaps as expected of a succubus, the ultimate seducer.
"You're… Naked," Momonga couldn't resist pointing out the obvious and most important fact.
"Absolutely, my Lord," Albedo replied, stretching her lips in a lustful and enchanting smile, before suddenly flinching at the same time as her eyes widened in horror.
"Oh no, Lord Momonga, did you wish to undress me yourself?! I beg your pardon, I'll get dressed now and…"
"No, no." Momonga tried to object to Albedo to calm her down, but when Albedo's chest jerked up from her abrupt attempt to stand up, drawing Momonga's gaze back to it and forcing his consciousness to clear again, he spoke slowly.
"Umu, that is, yes, you must get dressed because I… "Momonga's mind once again grasped at the saving thought, saving him from embarrassment. Though what it's saving him from, he rather not know.
"Nigredo is inspecting the other worlds at the moment, and she has discovered a detail that seems important to me, so I have come to inform you that I am departing at this moment and that you… Umu, that you remain temporarily as leader of the Nazarick"
"Certainly, my Lord!" Instantly, Albedo dropped to her knees, bowing her head and putting her hand to her chest… An action that took place while Albedo was still completely naked, causing Momonga to involuntarily draw a parallel with the eroge that Peroroncino had once spoken of. And found that what he saw before him was far better than what Peroroncino had spoken of in the past…
His suppression of emotion again allowed Momonga to shed the rosy haze from his thoughts and respond quickly. "Yes, Umu, have a good day, I'm off."
After another moment, Momonga used the [Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown] functions and teleported to the Fifth Floor, the Frozen Prison, his mind instinctively knowing that he needed to 'cool off'.
After which he exhaled, shouting inwardly, 'What was that?!'
After another moment, the suppression of emotion helped Momonga look at the situation calmly again. "Hmm, if you think about it this way – the very first experiment I did in this world was to touch Albedo's chest, and she had expressed that she liked it. So, it makes sense that she thought as if something like that would have a continuation. Besides, I changed her settings in the last minutes of YGGDRASIL and prescribed that she was in love with me, so it made sense that she would come to me for that… Ah, Tabula, I apologize, but I defiled the NPC you created, I am very much regretful. Besides that – how am I supposed to react to this now!"
Momonga felt his emotions being forcibly suppressed again. "In the past world, I was a loser with no family or girlfriend – I didn't go on dates and died a virgin… And Albedo does look gorgeous, she was created by Tabula Smaragdina, he completely did his best modeling her appearance, creating a truly world-class beauty. I just panicked, how else was I supposed to react to this?! I need to let Albedo know that her feelings are not real and were something her creator did not plan to put in her, before something irreparable happens… Even if she hates me – better she does it now than after I defile her even more." While Momopnga felt a certain sense of sadness at losing her love, it was something that he must do!
"But even so, I need to gather my thoughts, prepare for her reaction…" Momonga imagined the moment when Albedo's beautiful features would turn into an angry grimace, and she would cover him with insults and his nonexistent… When he tried imagining it as Tabula saying it, he couldn't bear it. The newly existing heart in his new body ached with pain.
"Albedo, I'm sorry, I never planned for it to turn out like this… "
Momonga inhaled and exhaled several times, then looked down at his hands.
His current body was that of a human, Momonga had used his past appearance as a model, without some details like biomechanical changes to his skin or pupils, or a connector for the hardware on the back of his head. It was a regular human body, like the ones he regularly saw in YGGDRASIL.
"Can I even think about touching Albedo?" Momonga was suddenly in the deep throes of depression. He was not handsome, while Albedo was simply incredible – everything from the tips of his hair to… The suppression of emotion worked again the moment Momonga's mind began imagining a completely naked Albedo and her groin region. Something Momonga had not seen in the past except in porn and brothels.
And then Momonga lowered his gaze again, looking at the way the pants that had seemed fitting before were starting to get a bit too tight.
"Well, that's… Expected, I guess," Momonga shook his head.
Though his mind was clearing from the mental effects of arousal, because of what it was, his abilities did not affect his body's natural reaction. A body which was responding to the expected reaction of the normal body of an ordinary man who had just encountered the incredible and aroused beauty of Albedo.
Momonga was suddenly hit with a realization, as he pulled a blade from his inventory and sliced his arm, aiming to hit all the deep veins, then watched as his blood poured from the cut arm. The initial blow did some damage to him along with the cut, but the blood that poured down did not continue to damage him.
"Hmm, as in the original body, human body-related debuffs like [Bleed] don't apply to my body, but the cosmetic effect makes it look like I keep bleeding. Another trick in my arsenal – but I need to be careful. I don't know yet if my blood would be considered blood suitable for activating vampiric abilities or Shalltear's [Blood Madness], for example. Hmm, actually, how much blood could I draw from my body, before it affects my health, if it does at all. Would the blood flow indefinitely?"
Momonga held that thought and set it aside for a while.
Judging by the presence of physiological responses, and the ability to breath, and drink water, his spell-created body could somehow mimic the functions of a full body, right down to bleeding and demonstrating arousal… It might take some more experimentation with this before Momonga could fully get used to his body – but it could wait awhile.
So Momonga applied [Create Body] once more, reverting to his usual appearance and looking at the small pool of blood under his feet before shaking his head. "I escaped from Albedo by saying that Nigredo got some information about the world around us… I should probably at least check Nigredo's progress in that case."
After taking the decision, Momonga slowly moved forward, looking out over the ice-covered mansion of the Fifth Floor, before making his way to the door leading to Nigredo's room.
Under normal circumstances, anyone entering would have to do a certain sequence of actions to ensure that Nigredo would not attack anyone who entered. Something especially important in this 'Friendly Fire allowed' world.
But, given that the Floor Guards had done this sequence before and Nigredo was currently working under the orders of Momonga himself, he didn't need to worry about this. So, knocking for decency's sake, Momonga opened the door leading to the Area under Nigredo's control… Instantly finding Nigredo on one knee, head bowed.
Momonga could trace a similarity in the posture of Albedo and Nigredo, whom Tabula had created as sisters… However, at the same time, where Albedo evoked love and desire, Nigredo, whose face was completely devoid of skin, hardly aroused Momonga himself. He had no desire to check if it would happen if the older sister took on a similar state of dress as his younger – that is completely nude. He really didn't want to know what horror Tabula's mind could conjure up behind her dress.
"Lord Momonga," Nigredo uttered in her low, chested female voice, "You have arrived at the right time – as expected…"
"Yes?" Momonga was inwardly surprised, but did not show it, rejoicing at the fact that if he was not willing to show emotion on his face, his face would show his standard expression… Which meant, none, since his 'real' body was a skeleton without a face.
"Umu, of course. What have you discovered, Nigredo?"
"My Lord, you can see it now," Momonga looked up from Nigredo to see a screen showing… A girl revealing two black raven wings?
'Hmm, she doesn't look like a 'bird man' like Peroroncino… Maybe a fallen angel? Or is it a unique race of this world?'
After another moment, Momonga noticed the fact that in front of the girl, dressed, it seemed, in normal human clothes, was a boy. Judging by his appearance, height, and clothing that suggested something like a school uniform, was a schoolboy himself, with short brown hair sticking out in different directions.
"My Lord," Nigredo never rose from her seat, "I have discovered several worlds in the course of my observation, and I can assume that there are more – I have also examined the various inhabitants and stumbled upon this man."
Apparently the guy and the girl were talking at the moment, however, after exchanging words, the girl took half a step back, after which an object that resembled a spear appeared in her hands. So it seems that the inhabitants of this world had some fighting strength, Momonga was curious what the boy could do.
"And what did you find out?" With a strange sense of detachment, Momonga watched as the guy, seemingly surprised by the girl's actions, took a step back, then nearly stumbled, falling on his back, which made the girl with wings in front of him laugh. Truly, it is important to be alert at any time, as shown by the boy failing to prepare any defense against the girl's assault. Of course, it is very possible that the boy was just acting…
'Hmm, I'm watching, most likely, the last moments of a schoolboy, a young person and feel nothing from this picture… It's like I really stopped being human – although I can take human form thanks to the new spell. Then again, such a sight was a dime a dozen back in the corporate hellhole I called a home – but to feel nothing…'
"According to your orders, I've maintained complete secrecy and was extremely cautious in my assessment, but I was able to determine that most of the creatures of this world are extremely weak," Nigredo's words caused Momonga to calm down slightly.
"The average level of creatures of this world ranges from ten to forty, though I have come across creatures of level fifty or sixty on several occasions. I was also able to detect creatures that were most likely stronger, but remembering your order and not knowing their abilities and counter-surveillance capabilities, I retreated."
'That's not bad, actually.' Momonga nodded. 'In YGGDRASIL the real game didn't really begin until level 70, with the previous levels considered 'training', where any actual battlefield value started on level 90. The information that creatures of this world were weaker than usual is really nice, but at the same time, the information that there is someone stronger than this level still makes me wary. Especially since I don't know how many potential enemies there are.' Momonga would've liked to scout out these 'stronger' creatures, but it's too risky – there's no point in getting more information only to trigger the enemy's attack.
'In the past, Nazarick has been able to withstand the largest raid in the history of YGGDRASIL, involving a total of fifteen hundred members. But such a thing is an inherently losing position, as in this case Nazarick will have to go into siege mode entirely. An alarming news…'
"Umu, but why exactly are you looking at this man?" The girl's spear snapped from her hand, then slammed into the guy's body, piercing through his abdomen. And though Nigredo's observation provided no sound at the moment, from the looks of it, the girl then burst into laughter, while the guy, holding onto the spear, fell to the ground, beginning to cough up blood instantly. "Is he strong?"
'Yup, that's definitely a fatal wound…' Momonga himself was surprised at the callousness of his remark.
"I don't think so, my Lord – my observation revealed that his level is probably below the fifth, while the fallen angel's level is below the twentieth," Momonga only shook his head at these words. The difference in power between levels increased exponentially. The difference between level one and twenty was magnitudes lesser than the difference between ninety-nine and one hundred, but even so, a fifteen level difference meant that the guy had no chance in a battle against the girl… And it seems that Momonga's earlier assumption was correct – it really was a fallen angel.
"But the observation also revealed that this person possessed an artifact of considerable power."
'Hmm!' Momonga suddenly felt more interested in the screen, as he could feel his collector instincts begin to kick in. Collecting new artifacts was always a pleasant addition to Momonga's pastime – especially if it was a potentially unknown artifact from another world, power aside.
"So… What level of power did you detect?"
"I suppose… " Nigredo answered slowly, as if unsure. "A World-Class item?
Momonga blinked.
The whole world seemed to stand still for a moment…
Before the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] appeared in Momonga's hands.
"Seal all exits from Nazarick, full alert, prepare everyone for battle," Momonga uttered commands so quickly that they seemed to merge into a single word, then in one motion changed one of the rings to one that completely protected him from all surveillance and used a spell. "[Gate]!"
Issei Hyoudou tried to breathe desperately, finding that he could only get a coughing wheeze instead, trying against all hope to keep the blood draining from his body. Touching the spear that pierced his body burned his hands, but Issei still hoped that he could get it out of his body. But his arms grew weaker by the second and more and more blood gushed out of his body with each shaking fit of coughing in his chest, each one a searing pain in his punctured lungs.
"Really? In one fell swoop?" Yuma's voice – no, not Yuma, the girl he'd gone out with, but the fallen angel Raynare, if that was her real name. She seemed to be both encouraging and almost joyous as he watched Issei struggling to breath and dying.
"I thought you're going to be a problem, but fuck, you were so weak… Yeah, just my luck."
After another moment, the spear that had pierced his body disappeared, and Issei, who had been held in place until then thanks to the spear, fell to the ground. The sudden change in elevation caused him to hit his head on the dirt that had already mixed with his drained blood into the slush.
"Well, that's a job well done, maybe I'll even get some praise from lord Azazel? Time to go, see you later, Issei!" Raynare's mocking voice sounded the same time as Issei heard the flapping of wings, as if someone had opened them, preparing to fly. All Issei's remaining strength was enough to strain his leaden arms one last time to roll over onto his back, to see his murderer, to see Raynare, preparing to fly…
And to see… Death.
A black portal, it seemed, from the sight of which Issei's soul sought to leave his body, taking his gaze into the blackest and darkest depths of space, consuming all light.
'So that's what you are…' Issei chuckled weakly, feeling his consciousness begin to leave him following the sight of Death coming for him. 'A tunnel, at the end of which I will see only light… Ha ha, God, when I see you… Or maybe the devil, perversion is a sin I've been told… I have a few questions about the job of your angels… I would like to lodge a complaint…'
"What the…" Raynare, however, has a wildly different response to the sudden appearance of the portal. Recoiling, as she looked in equal measure of interest, apprehension and fear, before turning around, trying to flee. "All right, fuck it, my job's already done anyway!"
However, Issei could not even try to escape as Raynare had intended to do, forced to watch as the first thing to emerge from the dark passage was… a staff? A very expensive-looking staff, brimming with so much power, that even the dying Issei could tell.
A golden, sun-shining staff as if made of intertwined golden snakes, each rising to the top to form a crown as the snakes faced away from the center. In each snakes' mouth, a shimmering gem of one of seven colors, while the staff itself was covered in a sinister black and red aura. From that staff wafted illusionary figures rising for moments as faces twisted in agony, as if screaming in pain, before falling back into oblivion. And holding that staff was…
A middle-aged Japanese man.
Indeed, a terrifying staff, the mere sight of which sent shivers down Issei's spine, was held by a man Issei could easily have met on the street, in a store or even at school. Only the realization that middle-aged Japanese didn't hold such staffs or appear from black portals kept Issei from exclaiming that this man was a mere passerby…
Other than the fact that Issei's lungs were completely punctured and now filled with blood, and Issei himself was dying, of course.
A moment later, the man turned from Issei to Raynare, who immediately cried out in fear. Issei could see another spear of light in her hands that had earlier pierced Issei's chest, whereupon she threw the spear. But unlike with Issei, the spear of light suddenly shattered powerlessly before it even reached the man a dozen centimeters away.
The man only lifted his hand and spoke out calmly in response – even his voice sounded so normal. "[Mass Hold Species]."
A moment later, Issei realized that he couldn't move an inch, though perhaps the reason was that his body was finally starting to fail after being wounded. But, as the magical circle of hundreds of intertwined symbols that instantly appeared under him and the fact that Raynare was also frozen in place told him, it wasn't. At least it was not just because his body was finally starting to fail.
In a blink of an eye, the man was already standing next to Raynare with a speed that Issei couldn't parse. Then, with a single movement of his hand, he grabbed her and sent her hurtling inside the black portal. After another moment, Issei realized that his consciousness had finally completely failed him, and he was being sent into the darkness… He was finally going to die, he didn't even have time to mutter his last regrets, his full attention on the battle between Raynare and the middle-aged man.
Only to feel a life-giving spring-flavored moisture pouring into his mouth a second later – the pain instantly receding before him, and Issei abruptly opened his eyes. As his consciousness returned fully – the first thing Issei saw was the middle-aged man leaning over him…
The man's eyes expressed nothing.
There seemed to be absolutely nothing in them, nothing human, no compassion or pity, as if he were looking into the eyes of a wax figure that had suddenly descended from its stand.
Issei would have shuddered if he could – but the man, no, the creature with the appearance of a man only picked Issei up with one hand, whereupon Issei realized himself already in flight, approaching a dark gap in space.
A sharp jolt caused the flier sheet that he'd received earlier from the girl who handed them out to fall out of Issei's pocket. But now Issei had very different problems to worry about, the flier falling out of his pocket.
However, the man who instantly followed him in, picked up the leaflet on the flier as he went, before dashing inside after the boy, completely disappearing from the outside world.
A moment later, the black portal closed, as if it had shrunk to a single point until the point itself disappeared.
The only evidence that anything had happened there recently was the tiny hole where the Fallen's spear had pierced the pavement, and the pool of blood, the last reminder of Issei Hyoudou.
Rias wrinkled her nose before she sneezed.
"Something wrong, miss~tress~?" Akeno poke out in a teasing voice that many guys would find seductive, but Rias only found annoying at the moment.
"A contract just stopped working," Rias only exhaled and shook her head. "The demon summoning one."
"Did it go out of range?" Her knight, Yuto, asked the most logical of possible questions.
Unfortunately, in the life of demons executing the contracts of humans, there are all kinds of kinks that make their job harder. The person who took the flier, for example, could board a plane and fly to the other side of the world, ending up in the territory of a completely different pantheon. A group which would not regard the appearance of demons in their territory calmly. Not to mention the energy consumption for long-range teleportation, making any possible contract not worth it.
Rias could, in theory, teleport a few hundred kilometers, maybe even a total of a thousand, through several jumps, but such an action would have left her completely without power for a while.
"Then it wouldn't have activated in the first place," Rias frowned as she was in the process of being summoned before the beacon that was supposed to direct her towards the flier suddenly disappeared.
"Maybe it was wards." Akeno made another suggestion.
"Though, it would take a lot of strength for it to be able to block a summoning contract."
"I hope not," Rias shook her head. The Fallen on the edge of the city was an old problem that Rias could never quite get rid of. Because of the potential scandal of a clash between the Fallen and the younger sister of the current ruling Satan under the title Lucifer, the situation could turn very bad very quickly.
The only consolation for Rias in that headache was that the gathered Fallen were weak enough so that at any moment, if the situation called for it, Rias could deal with the enemy with her own strength. To find out that they'd gotten a reasonably strong barrier master from somewhere now would have been unpleasant.
Not to mention, in that case, there was the question of who had actually started to summon Rias. Judging from the fact that the contract required Rias and her power, the wish must have been really significant – if the Fallen found this man and for some reason dragged him under the barrier… Oh, the situation didn't look good.
But because of the political implications, it simply couldn't be handled in one fell swoop by Rias.
"Well, don't sulk, miss~tress~." Akeno melodically spoke again, causing Rias to try on the pillow beside her for a moment, weighing it in the manner of a throwing projectile. Akeno sighed almost despondently at that, hiding her face with her hands.
Rias clutched the pillow in her hands, but still exhaled and placed it beside her. And then, gathering herself again, returned to the discussion that had been interrupted a moment earlier by the call of the contract, which was now clearly not working.
"So, we go back to the question… Who has any ideas where to find strong pieces in anticipation of the battle with Riser?"
Prologue (4)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (4)
Momonga worked as fast as he could, pulling off the theft of a potential World Class Item from under a potential enemy's nose in a textbook-example fashion.
However, the [Gate] he opened did not lead back to the Frozen Prison. Although that place was probably more suited to holding an enemy on a long term basis, at this point, with the suspicion that the guy possessed a World Class Item, it was too dangerous to leave him unsupervised.
The [Throne of Kings] blocked the use of World Class Items (WCI) in Nazarick and whose target was Nazarick, but it was a necessary risk for the tantalizing treasure that he's fishing. It is almost a miracle and a half to find a low-leveled character possessing a World Class item. But then, with its nature as an incredibly random find, it's no surprise that a low-level player could actually find one. It is also equally no surprise that the guy just got PKed.
Usually, WCIs were owned by one-hundredth-level players, and only those with the support of a strong enough guild behind them, who decided to give the artifact to either the strongest or most strategically fit member.
In that case, Momonga couldn't allow a potentially incredibly strong opponent who managed to maybe fool Nigredo's assessment and the opponent who managed to kill him to access the Fifth Floor immediately. While it is likely that Nigredo's assessment were correct, it is very unlikely that a WCI possessor to be so weak as to be level 5. And that the assailant that had managed to assassinate and figure out the location of a WCI to be a mere level 20.
So instead, Momonga moved the both of them to the first floor, next to the entrance to the Nazarick Tomb, to the room where the teleportation trap was located.
Momonga possessed his own World Class Item, in addition to the work of [Throne of Kings], and so could withstand a surprise attack by an unknown artifact, and the teleportation trap could activate if necessary, separating the enemies. Just in case Momonga found out that they weren't really in conflict with each other, or took out Momonga himself if they blocked teleportation in some way.
Fortunately, Momonga's magic worked without any problems, paralyzing the two potential opponents. And Momonga's cast spell, [Life Essence], which allows Momonga to see the opponent's health value, confirmed that the guy's HP, which had dropped to almost zero, recovered as he had used a [Minor Healing Potion].
Experienced players could control the information manifested by using [False Data: Life] spell at the same time as taking damage or healing. But most likely the guy wasn't using the spell after all and was indeed practically dead before Momonga's potion took effect, which means he was also not an ally of the fallen angel.
Even so, though, Momonga wasn't ready to settle down so easily – especially when it came to a potential World Class Item.
"[Mass Charm Species]!" Momonga applied another spell, whereupon the girl and the boy, who had previously been looking around and trying to wriggle out of Momonga's spell, slumped slightly as their facial expressions relaxed, and they looked at Momonga carefully.
"What's your name, friends?" Momonga addressed the two in the most 'friendly' tone he could.
"Raynare," The winged girl replied, after which her wings disappeared instantly.
"Hyoudou Issei," The boy replied soon after, then turned his head to the girl, "So your real name really is Raynare, not Yuuma?"
"Yes, that's my real name," She nodded, before Momonga took a closer look at the girl.
Dressed in the most ordinary clothes, at least for this world, since Momonga didn't think a light cream-colored blouse and dark dress along with small black heeled shoes would have lived long in his past world on the street. The girl was quite tall, with black hair and violet colored eyes…
'Not the strangest eye color I've ever seen' Momonga shook his head, remembering how his acquaintances from his past world were constantly changing their appearance. He then looked at the guy – a short-cropped brown hair with strands sticking out in different directions, maybe a hundred and seventy centimeters tall, and with brown eyes, silently looking at Raynare.
"I don't want to interrupt you." Momonga realized, however, that most likely his magic did work and Issei would start questioning Raynare about the cause of his death next. And thinking about what happened could break the spell, so Momonga decided to interject.
"Raynare, would you please step aside and wait in the hallway for me for a bit?"
She only frowned a bit at Momonga's 'request', proving that she's uncomfortable with the command, though her magic made her see Momonga as a 'close friend', and so she nodded.
"Absolutely," Rayanare replied, and Momonga nodded, as he lifted the [Mass Hold Species] spell in effect, allowing Raynare to leave the room, before turning to Issei, who had risen from his seat and was shaking himself off, looking around.
"Issei, tell me, do you have a World Class Item?" Momonga decided to take the bull by the horns and asked an important question.
"Um…" Issei was clearly embarrassed by this question, and not a little bit confused.
"I don't think so… But then, I don't know what a 'World Class Item' is."
"Hmm, I see," Momonga mentally noted that Issei probably didn't know the terminology of YGGDRASIL players, existing, literally, in another world entirely.
"In that case, maybe you have some artifacts? Magical ones, I mean."
Issei only frowned harder. "No, I don't think so… At least, I've never seen them?"
"Although Raynare said I had, um…" Issei frowned again, trying to remember the specific term.
"A [Sacred Gear]? Which was supposed to be dangerous, or something like that… Could that be it?"
"Probably," Momonga noted that this was probably what he needed, but decided not to tell Issei,
"And until now you, um… Didn't know you had it? You didn't check your inventory?"
"No, I didn't," Issei shrugged, "I didn't even know magic existed until today, I've never checked the storeroom either. Or is this inventory like in the games? Do I get one of those?"
"Probably." Momonga shied away again. "Can you summon it now?"
"No, I can't, but maybe now…" Issei frowned and then tried to concentrate, but after a few seconds he exhaled, no WCI in sight.
"No, I guess I can't. Or like I don't know how to do it? Can you teach me?"
"Umu, a little later." Momonga didn't even think for a second about teaching the guy how to use the World Class Item, not if the guy didn't know that he possessed the artifact and couldn't summon it himself. Hmm, if his [Sacred Gear] really wasn't summoned at the moment, the only answer to where it was now was the player's 'inventory'.
And to get an item out of someone's Inventory – it took thief classes. Something that Momonga didn't possess but could easily get.
For a brief moment, Momonga thought about summoning Aura, being a level one hundred [Ranger], she had good enough skills in thievery, but in the end decided not to do it anyway. She was specialized as a [Beast Master], while her stealing skills were rudimentary at best.
Most likely, Momonga needs to summon a specialist in order not to miss out on the World Class Item. He most likely needs to take a visit to Ashurbanipal, the Great Library of Nazarick, and summon a creature specialized in theft, a high level one… Momonga probably should choke his greed, thinking that it's a waste, and maybe summon a 100th level thief in that case.
'So, it's decided,' Momonga nodded before turning back to the conversation. "Umu, you said you only encountered magic today? Is Magic not common in this world?"
"'This World'?" Issei grasped at the strange wording before patting his eyes a few times and returning to the discussion.
"No, of course not. Magic in this world is nothing more than fairy tales and legends, though some temples or TV shows talk about practicing magic. But so far I haven't seen a single real magician, until I've met Raynare and you that is."
"Umu, I see." Momonga noted internally both the fact that magic was not common in this world, at least not that Issei knew, and the fact that magical beings, like fallen angels, were not commonly known.
"I take it that the only intelligent population of this world are humans… Speaking of which, what is it called, the world that is?"
"Yes, only humans live in this world… Um, well, at least I always thought so," Issei clearly remembered Raynare at the last moment and corrected himself "And, well, um, this planet is called Earth…"
Momonga blinked, hearing a very familiar name coming out very unexpectedly.
'Did I go back in time?!' The panic inside Momonga was instantly quelled, he did see some antic buildings that are common in the 21st Century, but just put the thought away at that moment.
'No, there were no other worlds on Earth… Or did I just not know? Issei apparently never knew that magic existed, and that non-humans lived nearby. Perhaps Earth's past really did, and then they were destroyed? Or did they continue to exist, it's just that I also, like Issei, never knew of their existence…?'
"What is the date now?" Momonga asked perhaps a touch a bit too urgently, wanting to be sure of Issei's words.
"Um, the thirteenth of April, Friday…" Issei thought for a second, then finished his thought,
"Two thousand and five."
'Wow, I really did go back in time…' Momonga blinked. 'One hundred and thirty-three years, to be exact, in the past. Ha ha, That's before… before the world turned to hell…'
Momonga hadn't had time to look at the world around him when he teleported to Earth, how strange it was for him to use that name and those words in that sentence now. Seeking to capture the World-Class Item that Nigredo mentioned, he ignored his surroundings. But if he really was on Earth in the past…
Momonga shook his head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts, then returned his attention to Issei. His [Mass Charm Species] should have lasted a long time on a low-level opponent, but this world had changed the effect of his magic somewhat, so he shouldn't have been distracted. Hmm, probably better to…
"[Message]," Momonga used magic to contact Ashurbanipal's Elder Librarian, "Titus?"
"My great Lord, Momonga." A moment later, he heard Titus' slightly husky voice resounding in his mind. "I have no greater honor than to answer thee - how may I serve thy cause, my Lord?"
'Um, yes, right, NPCs and their eccentricities, I almost forgot that.' Momonga sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hearing the unfamiliar speech before continuing.
"I need you to summon the strongest NPC who specializes in surveillance and send them covertly to the First Floor, there's a fallen angel there who needs to be looked after. She's been affected by [Mass Charm Species], but we don't know how long it will last. I also need the strongest summon specialized as a thief to come to me, in the room next to the entrance on the First Floor,"
Momonga nodded, "Someone who can retrieve items of the World Class Item tier from an inventory is needed."
'Thy wish will be fulfilled with the highest zeal, my Lord.' Momonga was glad for the conversation to be over that his mind didn't have to work overtime to translate the overly flowery words, before turning his attention back to Issei.
"Ahem, Issei, by the way… umm, why, don't you tell me a little about yourself…"
At these words, Issei frowned slightly, scratching his chin, looking up, clearly not knowing where he should start his story before nodding. "Well, I'm an ordinary schoolboy, studying at Kuoh Academy, class 2-B…"
Momonga compared what he saw in front of him with the information that Issei was saying, coming to the conclusion that Issei was talking about a 'high school. A place that his low-class stature wouldn't allow him to even look at – back in his old world, that is. Looking at his clothing, Momonga could guess that Issei's family was comfortably middle-class, and yet were much poorer than what that economic class meant in his old world.
'Huh, how strange…' Momonga shook his head. 'I only finished elementary school, and it cost my mother a lot of money. Only a couple of people I knew graduated from high school… How strange to find that many people could afford high school in the past – even the random guy from the streets.'
"I live with my mother and father, I have two best friends, Matsuda and Motohama." Issei shrugged, then continued with something that almost made Momonga's world tumble.
"In the evenings I like to watch porn, peeping at the school girls clubs, the Kendo club, or swim team for example. Sometimes they catch me and beat me up, but overall I think it's worth it…"
Momonga blinked, then looked at Issei like he's some kind of alien. 'Well, at least I already feel better knowing what I'm going to do with him…'
"Are your parents influential? How will they react if you don't show up at home?" Momonga asked the following questions and only magic prevented Issei from understanding what the Undead Lord, who had taken human form, was now thinking.
"No, my father is just an office worker, while my mother is a housewife, though sometimes she took some side jobs when she gets tired of sitting at home," Issei smiled slightly at the mention of his family, causing Momonga to shake his head
'I really am not human anymore with what I'm contemplating doing… An office worker though, how nostalgic.'
"If I don't come home, they won't worry right away, I've gone to sleepovers with friends several times before, without even telling them before…" Issei smiled a little, as if remembering something fondly. "Ha, one time when I went to Motohama and didn't come home until a day later, my father put me under house arrest for a month, and my mother didn't cook my favorite food for a year… Ha, if I do that now, I don't think I'll get off that easily…" Momonga did feel a little bad in destroying a happy family, but he's willing to do much worse to keep his own family a little bit safe. Something that a World Class Item would definitely contribute to.
"But anyway, they'll probably try to call me when it gets dark, then go to Matsuda and Motohama and their parents, and if they don't find me there, they'll definitely panic." Issei grinned a little, but not in a mockery of his parents' worries, but with a kind of warmth.
"Why are you asking?" It seems that [Charm Species] still allows some doubt and suspicion to appear, Momonga concluded. He would note that in the future, [Charm Species] does not instill absolute loyalty.
"It's nothing," Momonga looked away, then grimaced slightly.
'Office worker, housewife, loving parents…' Momonga looked down, feeling a bit reluctant to do what he's about to do.
He wasn't at all interested in the fate of the guy in front of him. If anything, the fact that he was peeping and harassing girls and thought it was 'worth it' rather made him look at Issei negatively. But the thought of his worried parents, especially considering the loving mother that Momonga remembered, and the office worker father that Momonga once was, made his soul stir unpleasantly.
'Haha, are these the remnants of my humanity? Haven't I completely changed yet?' Momonga shook his head slightly before deciding on a course of action. 'In any case, I don't yet know how this world works, so covering up the disappearance of a person, an entire family even more so, can be quite difficult… So, in the meantime, I need to experiment with my powers, so I'll just take it as if I were conducting another experiment on the effectiveness of my magic.'
"[Sleep]," Momonga held out his hand and Issei slowly closed his eyes, whereupon his breathing leveled out, instantly sinking into a deep sleep. "[Control Amnesia]."
After another moment, Momonga felt his magic sink into the boy's consciousness – images, sounds, sensations began to flash before Momonga's eyes, and Momonga himself felt his mana slowly begin to subside.
The mana waste wasn't immediately catastrophic, but it seriously overpowered his passive regeneration, so Momonga wouldn't be able to maintain the spell forever. He measured that even if he currently held the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] that he had returned to his inventory, it would still not be enough. In fact, even if he used all the equipment he could find in Nazarick's Treasury aimed at regenerating mana it wouldn't be… No, recalculating, if he were to do so, he would probably be able to get close to equilibrium, or at least reduce mana waste to almost imperceptible. It seriously depended on what exactly he could find in the Treasury. Momonga didn't thoroughly remember everything stored in the Treasury, but it didn't matter right now.
At the moment, Momonga didn't need to search for any specific moments or anything like that in Issei's past, otherwise it might have stretched out for a long time and the mana expenditure might have become quite obscene. Momonga only needed to erase Issei's recent memories, starting from the moment he fell asleep, to the moment when Raynare revealed her wings and her true nature, methodically erasing them completely.
After wiping those off, eventually Momonga stopped applying mana to his spell – almost forty minutes of Issei's life had been removed, summarily, since that moment. And while it wasn't fatal or obvious, the missing forty minutes of Issei's life would most likely raise questions.
Momonga wasn't entirely sure if he could, the spell had worked quite differently in the past, but he tried to trust his senses and add a new memory to Issei. Using the most recent memory, that is of Issei being killed by the Fallen Angel, Momonga substituted something else. Using Momonga's own memory of the Guardian of Asgard, or more their voice lines, he inserted a voice saying 'Hit the head!', followed by the feeling of a blow and loss of consciousness.
Now Momonga needed to rip the clothes on Issei and drop him somewhere on the outskirts of town. Perhaps he could even be dropped from some height a little so that he would simultaneously wake up and get a couple of fresh scratches on his face and body. In support of the theory of a 'gang attack' or something like that.
"It's not because of you, it's because of your parents… Though perhaps that's not exactly a consolation. " Momonga shook his head. It was strange to him, simultaneously frightening and pleasant, to find that he had at least some human feelings left. It was pleasant to find that he still had emotions – frightening to find that he had only these slight emotions left. He felt nothing and was ready to kill the guy simply because it was the easiest and simplest of the options to resolve a problem.
Even now he decided not to kill Issei not because he was human, a child, Japanese, or a combination of all three and not because Momonga, as a resident of 'Neo' Japan, felt some kind of kinship with him. It was simply because he saw in Issei's parents a parallel with his own situation. Though it was a little strange to him to see Issei's mother as he saw his own.
But in Issei's father he did see himself, and it led him to some strange associations that
Momonga would rather not contemplate.
Finally wading out of Issei's memory, Momonga heard a light knock on the door, then turned around to, "Come in."
A moment later, the door to the room opened, whereupon the silhouette of a man dressed in baggy black clothing completely concealing his features appeared. His head was concealed under a high-lifted black hood sealed with gold staples attached to the rest of his clothing. He wore a traditional but all-black short kimono, transitioning into wide, baggy pants that ended in straps that covered his legs and feet. With his feet transitioning, seemingly even merging with his wooden boots on perpendicular platforms, also black, on which he moved entirely silently.
"Goemon," Momonga nodded toward the newly summoned NPC, a level 80 Ninja-type summon that specializes in thievery, who dropped to his knees in an instant, in one fused motion.
"I'm glad to be in your service, My Lord," Goemon, one of the ninja-type beings kept for summoning in Ashurbanipal, specialized in stealing, so it was the right choice. Technically, he was level eighty, so it wasn't the most ideal of all the options that existed in YGGDRASIL, but Ashurbanipal didn't keep many books to summon creatures above eighty. And among that group, Momonga couldn't think of anyone who specialized entirely in stealing, unlike Goemon, so he really was most likely the best of the options.
"What does my Lord commands?"
"You need to completely free this guy's inventory," Momonga pointed at the lying Issei, "Try not to kill him… But freeing his inventory completely is of the highest priority."
"Absolutely, My Lord," Goemon bowed deeply to Momonga after his command, then rose from his knees in one motion and made his way to the sleeping Issei.
As Goemon made his way to the sleeping boy, he looked down at him through the hood that seemed to block his view. Though, it would be more accurate to say that his hood was his face and eyes, it was the shape that Goemon took, because that was the shape he was.
Goemon had been summoned by Titus Annaeus Secundus to serve the Supreme Being, Lord Momonga, the Greatest of Warriors and the Smartest of Rulers, the Most Cunning of Commanders and the Strongest of Mages. He who allowed no mistakes and gave light under the shadow of his gaze to anyone who bent his head and his knee.
And so Goemon was at a loss, why was his presence necessary? Was this but another test? But as a servant, it was not his job to question his Master's orders, he simply carried them out.
As he reached out his hands to the sleeping young man, Goemon instantly sensed exactly what the Lord wanted stolen in the boy's inventory – he even instantly knew exactly what was stored in his inventory.
'[Longinus: Boosted Gear]' Goemon noted to himself, but did not bother his Lord with unnecessary information that he already knew in his infinite wisdom anyway. What he found later however caused the ninja's thoughts to stall a moment later.
In addition to the object, [Longinus], there was another thing in the boy's inventory, or rather, a living creature.
Unlike his other summoned brethren, such as Hanzo, who specialize in gathering information and stealth, Goemon had no specialized abilities regarding enemy assessment.
At the same time, however, Goemon still possessed the skills of a related specialization, so it could at least roughly determine the dragon's level.
The dragon was considerably stronger than him. But at the same time, it was no surprise.
Though he was an eightieth level creature, it was primarily a thief, and mostly had skills related to that very activity, not fighting. Lord Momonga was much stronger than him as well… Then again, why state the obvious?
Of course, this couldn't completely appease Goemon's worry, knowing that he would let a potentially hostile monster out. But the Gordian knot of his doubts was dispelled by the words Lord Momonga had told him just a few seconds ago.
'Release his inventory completely.'
In other words, his Lord already knew that the boy's inventory contained a dragon, and so Goemon could only applaud his Lord's knowledge, and as his Master's faithful servant, do his bidding.
So, a moment later, a gauntlet came into the light in Goemon's hands, the [Longinus]… Which instantly cracked, releasing the dragon contained within.
A moment later, the room became packed, as the newly released red dragon crashed into the walls and immediately broke through them, as it crashed into the ceiling with a roar.
"You, the one who set me free!" The red dragon, as far as Momonga could tell from the dragon's appearance and color, but this time much smaller than the one he had slayed before, turned to Goemon, speaking clearly and loudly.
"Know that I will not forget your deeds! Know that it is in my power to give you much, and appreciate it, for I grant you this favor! Tell me, what is your desire!?"
Only Momonga's miraculous skill, saving him from sudden panic attacks, allowed him to hold his ground and not fall to the ground the moment a huge red dragon appeared in place of the young boy and some red gauntlet.
Although, Momonga admitted, at the moment his face did not express any emotion solely because it was frozen in shock.
'[Silent Magic: Life Essence], [Silent Magic: Mana Essence].' Momonga uttered silently to himself, casting his usual suite of magics, before sighing in relief.
'Less than the Great Red Dragon I killed a little earlier, but it's definitely a hundred-level dragon… It has almost as much mana as I do, and I had to go a lot to break the max cap of one hundred – and apparently this dragon is intelligent, so fighting it is undesirable… Tch, Dragons are filthy cheaters!'
A moment later, Momonga came back to reality again, watching as Goemon continued to stare silently at the dragon, perhaps waiting for Momonga's command, or was just finding a way to escape. And although the creature's face was not visible, because its size made his head far above the canopy, for some reason Momonga was sure that it was now glaring at Momonga. It was as if the dragon were trying to measure Momonga's mettle before he would fight him… or flee.
"Ahem, I'd like to…" Momonga wanted to finish the phrase 'start by introducing ourselves to each other!' but couldn't finish his thought before he was interrupted.
"Silence, you whelp!" The dragon responded with a swish of its tail, crashing into Momonga.
The creature's attack was clearly not serious, as Momonga was sure that the dragon could have attacked with far more force. Especially, considering that the tail attack was bludgeoning damage, and with [Body of Effulgent Beryl] still active, it had no chance in hell of breaking through Momonga's passive barrier.
But even without waiting for the tail to hit Momonga, Goemon reacted much faster – instantly striking the dragon that had dared to attack his Lord.
'A battle is undesirable, but apparently inevitable…' Momonga sighed, feeling the staff that had now become somewhat familiar appear in his hand, then releasing it beside him.
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" A moment later, three kaleidoscopic slashes made their way to their target, crashing into the dragon's body. As three deep gashes appeared on the dragon's body, it howled in pain, and turned to Momonga.
The dragon's health had decreased by a decent amount, but Momonga needed to be smarter if he planned to win this battle. Though, he had achieved his main goal of distracting the dragon from the far weaker in battle, Goemon… He didn't exactly want to waste the NPC, which must cost a pretty penny to summon.
'Okay, until we know how he attacks, I shouldn't take any chances.' Momonga used the best trump card he had. "[Teleportation]!"
A moment later, and he was in a completely different direction from the dragon, who was busy releasing a fiery cloud of white and blue flame, where Momonga used to be. As Momonga appeared, the dragon instantly started turning around, looking for Momonga, rumbling in his growling voice. "[Boost]!"
Whereupon Momonga blinked. [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence] had just told him that the health and mana of the dragon in front of him had just… Doubled.
"Оh… That's just unfair!" Momonga shifted his gaze to the broken gauntlet that had already been turned into scraps of twisted steel under the dragon's feet. 'So that's what this World Class Item was capable of doing… I wish I had gotten it, but I need to finish the fight now! It would be best if he could only [Boost] once, but if he could do it multiple times, I would lose simply by a battle of attrition!.'
"[The Goal Of All Life is Death]!" Momonga activated his strongest skill, and started dodging like a madman for the 12 seconds needed for its activation. "[True Death]!"
The only thing Momonga could hope for was that the dragon in front of him didn't know how to instantly revive after death. Goemon attempted to attack again, a moment later he was joined in his actions by Hanzo, the guardian that was supposed to stay in stealth. It seems that the ninja preferred the opportunity to protect his Master over following orders.
"[Message]," Momonga dodged another fiery exhalation with [Teleportation], noting that three seconds of the required twelve had already passed. Still, he required another insurance just in case his strongest skill didn't work. "Albedo, prepare the guards – you will probably be called to battle if my ability doesn't work…"
'By your orders, Master Momonga!' Momonga cut the conversation with the girl short as he noticed that the creature's health and mana had doubled again, his mental clock told him that five seconds had passed after the previous [Boost]. Before he could think about it further, he turned his attention back to the struggling Goemon and Hanzo, who were desperately dodging the dragon's attacks.
Momonga needed to distract the dragon again. "[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!"
The dragon howled, but once again exhaled flames towards Momonga – this time flooding the surrounding area with flames.
'Learning fast…' Momonga noted the dragon's actions with some respect.'So it can amplify his attacks multiple times for the next attack, making it many times stronger… However, this only works for one attack and requires a considerable amount of mana - comparable to [Reality Slash], which is known for its huge mana waste. But the subsequent attack does not change in mana consumption, no matter how many times the attack is 'Boosted'... Cheat, indeed.'
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" Momonga once again distracted the dragon, one last time as his mental clock struck 12 seconds, and the giant bronze clock hovering behind him completed its full revolution – after which he smiled. "Time is up."
There was a resounding sound of bells ringing… And the dragon simply dropped dead.
Goemon and Hanzo froze, as they stared at the slumping dragon, and Momonga himself waited a few seconds, ready to use [Teleportation] and send [Message] to the Guardians just in case the dragon was faking its death. There are many ways to fool [Life Essence].
The dragon, however, never got up even when the flames it had cast around it continued to burn, clearly not going out anytime soon.
'Huh, his fire spell is reminiscent of Demiurge's [Mantle of Hellfire]. That fire can ignore even immunity to fire attacks and is impossible to extinguish.' Momonga traced the still blazing flames of the dragon with his eyes, then shook his head.
'Okay, if it doesn't extinguish itself, some of Nazarick's creatures can put it out… As a last resort, I can use Nazarick's daily limit on recovery, it should cover the flames… I hope.'
Momonga looked around him, noting the ruined walls, and shook his head. 'And, of course, we'll have to rebuild the walls, at least they're relatively inexpensive.'
After he finished documenting the damages, without approaching the blazing flames, Momonga made his way to the dragon's body and thought for a moment about what he should do with the dragon's body. 'Hmm, I hope I can get that broken ability of his by using [Dark Wisdom] again. But our battle lasted fifteen seconds at most, the dragon must have had many other spells that it didn't have time to show.' But then again it's a red dragon, they're not exactly known for their breadth of abilities.
'Besides, it might not have been a spell, but a skill instead, and [Dark Wisdom] can only absorb spells along with the defeated bodies, but not their skills. If I lose the second most excellent body of a high-level red dragon and get something useless in return… I'll be quite salty. [Create Body] is a good spell, but it doesn't outstrip the high-end drop from the Great Red Dragon that I lost.'
Momonga thought for a moment, then remembering something urgent that he almost forgot, sent a [Message], "Albedo, you can clear the alarm. The enemy's killed… and send Aura to dismember the body, take it apart for resources, by the looks of it, it's a high level red dragon, so I assume it will yield excellent materials…"
"Of course, Lord Momonga!" Albedo replied instantly and Momonga shook his head at her enthusiasm, turning away from the body, trying to find Issei with his gaze.
And finding with his gaze only a bloody mess where his body should have been lying.
'Well, that wasn't such a good plan…' Momonga shook his head, finding that his 'mercy' had gone to waste anyway, simply because a dragon decided to pop out of nowhere.
Of course, he could try to resurrect Issei, but all resurrection magic required payment for the act of resurrection or the expenditure of valuable items. And Momonga, though he empathized with Issei's parents, was not willing to spend valuable items for nothing.
Not to mention that Issei was clearly a low-leveled person, so a simple spell like [Raise the Dead] probably wouldn't work on him. Most likely Momonga would have had to use [Resurrection] or [True Resurrection], which required large sums or expenditure of really rare items.
'Well, if it makes you feel better in your postmortem – I planned to just take your World Class Item, or, I suppose, [Sacred Gear] – and let you go home… Too bad that didn't happen' -
Momonga shook his head, then held out his palm and his golden [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] returned to his hand, before, a moment later, disappearing into his inventory.
After another moment, Momonga turned to the kneeling Goemon, Hanzo, and… Momonga blinked, "Raynare?"
Hearing Momonga's voice, the fallen angel slowly trembled, the acrid smell of ammonia spread around.
Trembling, slowly, Raynare looked up, full of madness and fear, while her face clearly tried to form a welcoming smile, but constantly turned into a grimace of horror halfway through. The strange expression made it look as if Raynare were having an epileptic seizure right now.
"Fa… " Raynare tried to say something, but her voice trailed off so high that she coughed, and then she looked up at Momonga again, her eyes bulging with an expression of fear and surprise. "Father?!"
"Umu," Momonga concluded that [Control Species] or perhaps [Charm Species] have some very interesting side effects, as he looked at Raynare's trembling form.
Raynare, a moment later, rolled her eyes before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
He needed to make sure to take into account the side-effects if he were to use the spells again in the future. He knows that [Charm Species] were supposed to make the target feel as if the caster was their best friend – he wasn't sure it was supposed to make them believe he was their parent, though.
Momonga worked as fast as he could, pulling off the theft of a potential World Class Item from under a potential enemy's nose in a textbook-example fashion.
However, the [Gate] he opened did not lead back to the Frozen Prison. Although that place was probably more suited to holding an enemy on a long term basis, at this point, with the suspicion that the guy possessed a World Class Item, it was too dangerous to leave him unsupervised.
The [Throne of Kings] blocked the use of World Class Items (WCI) in Nazarick and whose target was Nazarick, but it was a necessary risk for the tantalizing treasure that he's fishing. It is almost a miracle and a half to find a low-leveled character possessing a World Class item. But then, with its nature as an incredibly random find, it's no surprise that a low-level player could actually find one. It is also equally no surprise that the guy just got PKed.
Usually, WCIs were owned by one-hundredth-level players, and only those with the support of a strong enough guild behind them, who decided to give the artifact to either the strongest or most strategically fit member.
In that case, Momonga couldn't allow a potentially incredibly strong opponent who managed to maybe fool Nigredo's assessment and the opponent who managed to kill him to access the Fifth Floor immediately. While it is likely that Nigredo's assessment were correct, it is very unlikely that a WCI possessor to be so weak as to be level 5. And that the assailant that had managed to assassinate and figure out the location of a WCI to be a mere level 20.
So instead, Momonga moved the both of them to the first floor, next to the entrance to the Nazarick Tomb, to the room where the teleportation trap was located.
Momonga possessed his own World Class Item, in addition to the work of [Throne of Kings], and so could withstand a surprise attack by an unknown artifact, and the teleportation trap could activate if necessary, separating the enemies. Just in case Momonga found out that they weren't really in conflict with each other, or took out Momonga himself if they blocked teleportation in some way.
Fortunately, Momonga's magic worked without any problems, paralyzing the two potential opponents. And Momonga's cast spell, [Life Essence], which allows Momonga to see the opponent's health value, confirmed that the guy's HP, which had dropped to almost zero, recovered as he had used a [Minor Healing Potion].
Experienced players could control the information manifested by using [False Data: Life] spell at the same time as taking damage or healing. But most likely the guy wasn't using the spell after all and was indeed practically dead before Momonga's potion took effect, which means he was also not an ally of the fallen angel.
Even so, though, Momonga wasn't ready to settle down so easily – especially when it came to a potential World Class Item.
"[Mass Charm Species]!" Momonga applied another spell, whereupon the girl and the boy, who had previously been looking around and trying to wriggle out of Momonga's spell, slumped slightly as their facial expressions relaxed, and they looked at Momonga carefully.
"What's your name, friends?" Momonga addressed the two in the most 'friendly' tone he could.
"Raynare," The winged girl replied, after which her wings disappeared instantly.
"Hyoudou Issei," The boy replied soon after, then turned his head to the girl, "So your real name really is Raynare, not Yuuma?"
"Yes, that's my real name," She nodded, before Momonga took a closer look at the girl.
Dressed in the most ordinary clothes, at least for this world, since Momonga didn't think a light cream-colored blouse and dark dress along with small black heeled shoes would have lived long in his past world on the street. The girl was quite tall, with black hair and violet colored eyes…
'Not the strangest eye color I've ever seen' Momonga shook his head, remembering how his acquaintances from his past world were constantly changing their appearance. He then looked at the guy – a short-cropped brown hair with strands sticking out in different directions, maybe a hundred and seventy centimeters tall, and with brown eyes, silently looking at Raynare.
"I don't want to interrupt you." Momonga realized, however, that most likely his magic did work and Issei would start questioning Raynare about the cause of his death next. And thinking about what happened could break the spell, so Momonga decided to interject.
"Raynare, would you please step aside and wait in the hallway for me for a bit?"
She only frowned a bit at Momonga's 'request', proving that she's uncomfortable with the command, though her magic made her see Momonga as a 'close friend', and so she nodded.
"Absolutely," Rayanare replied, and Momonga nodded, as he lifted the [Mass Hold Species] spell in effect, allowing Raynare to leave the room, before turning to Issei, who had risen from his seat and was shaking himself off, looking around.
"Issei, tell me, do you have a World Class Item?" Momonga decided to take the bull by the horns and asked an important question.
"Um…" Issei was clearly embarrassed by this question, and not a little bit confused.
"I don't think so… But then, I don't know what a 'World Class Item' is."
"Hmm, I see," Momonga mentally noted that Issei probably didn't know the terminology of YGGDRASIL players, existing, literally, in another world entirely.
"In that case, maybe you have some artifacts? Magical ones, I mean."
Issei only frowned harder. "No, I don't think so… At least, I've never seen them?"
"Although Raynare said I had, um…" Issei frowned again, trying to remember the specific term.
"A [Sacred Gear]? Which was supposed to be dangerous, or something like that… Could that be it?"
"Probably," Momonga noted that this was probably what he needed, but decided not to tell Issei,
"And until now you, um… Didn't know you had it? You didn't check your inventory?"
"No, I didn't," Issei shrugged, "I didn't even know magic existed until today, I've never checked the storeroom either. Or is this inventory like in the games? Do I get one of those?"
"Probably." Momonga shied away again. "Can you summon it now?"
"No, I can't, but maybe now…" Issei frowned and then tried to concentrate, but after a few seconds he exhaled, no WCI in sight.
"No, I guess I can't. Or like I don't know how to do it? Can you teach me?"
"Umu, a little later." Momonga didn't even think for a second about teaching the guy how to use the World Class Item, not if the guy didn't know that he possessed the artifact and couldn't summon it himself. Hmm, if his [Sacred Gear] really wasn't summoned at the moment, the only answer to where it was now was the player's 'inventory'.
And to get an item out of someone's Inventory – it took thief classes. Something that Momonga didn't possess but could easily get.
For a brief moment, Momonga thought about summoning Aura, being a level one hundred [Ranger], she had good enough skills in thievery, but in the end decided not to do it anyway. She was specialized as a [Beast Master], while her stealing skills were rudimentary at best.
Most likely, Momonga needs to summon a specialist in order not to miss out on the World Class Item. He most likely needs to take a visit to Ashurbanipal, the Great Library of Nazarick, and summon a creature specialized in theft, a high level one… Momonga probably should choke his greed, thinking that it's a waste, and maybe summon a 100th level thief in that case.
'So, it's decided,' Momonga nodded before turning back to the conversation. "Umu, you said you only encountered magic today? Is Magic not common in this world?"
"'This World'?" Issei grasped at the strange wording before patting his eyes a few times and returning to the discussion.
"No, of course not. Magic in this world is nothing more than fairy tales and legends, though some temples or TV shows talk about practicing magic. But so far I haven't seen a single real magician, until I've met Raynare and you that is."
"Umu, I see." Momonga noted internally both the fact that magic was not common in this world, at least not that Issei knew, and the fact that magical beings, like fallen angels, were not commonly known.
"I take it that the only intelligent population of this world are humans… Speaking of which, what is it called, the world that is?"
"Yes, only humans live in this world… Um, well, at least I always thought so," Issei clearly remembered Raynare at the last moment and corrected himself "And, well, um, this planet is called Earth…"
Momonga blinked, hearing a very familiar name coming out very unexpectedly.
'Did I go back in time?!' The panic inside Momonga was instantly quelled, he did see some antic buildings that are common in the 21st Century, but just put the thought away at that moment.
'No, there were no other worlds on Earth… Or did I just not know? Issei apparently never knew that magic existed, and that non-humans lived nearby. Perhaps Earth's past really did, and then they were destroyed? Or did they continue to exist, it's just that I also, like Issei, never knew of their existence…?'
"What is the date now?" Momonga asked perhaps a touch a bit too urgently, wanting to be sure of Issei's words.
"Um, the thirteenth of April, Friday…" Issei thought for a second, then finished his thought,
"Two thousand and five."
'Wow, I really did go back in time…' Momonga blinked. 'One hundred and thirty-three years, to be exact, in the past. Ha ha, That's before… before the world turned to hell…'
Momonga hadn't had time to look at the world around him when he teleported to Earth, how strange it was for him to use that name and those words in that sentence now. Seeking to capture the World-Class Item that Nigredo mentioned, he ignored his surroundings. But if he really was on Earth in the past…
Momonga shook his head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts, then returned his attention to Issei. His [Mass Charm Species] should have lasted a long time on a low-level opponent, but this world had changed the effect of his magic somewhat, so he shouldn't have been distracted. Hmm, probably better to…
"[Message]," Momonga used magic to contact Ashurbanipal's Elder Librarian, "Titus?"
"My great Lord, Momonga." A moment later, he heard Titus' slightly husky voice resounding in his mind. "I have no greater honor than to answer thee - how may I serve thy cause, my Lord?"
'Um, yes, right, NPCs and their eccentricities, I almost forgot that.' Momonga sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, hearing the unfamiliar speech before continuing.
"I need you to summon the strongest NPC who specializes in surveillance and send them covertly to the First Floor, there's a fallen angel there who needs to be looked after. She's been affected by [Mass Charm Species], but we don't know how long it will last. I also need the strongest summon specialized as a thief to come to me, in the room next to the entrance on the First Floor,"
Momonga nodded, "Someone who can retrieve items of the World Class Item tier from an inventory is needed."
'Thy wish will be fulfilled with the highest zeal, my Lord.' Momonga was glad for the conversation to be over that his mind didn't have to work overtime to translate the overly flowery words, before turning his attention back to Issei.
"Ahem, Issei, by the way… umm, why, don't you tell me a little about yourself…"
At these words, Issei frowned slightly, scratching his chin, looking up, clearly not knowing where he should start his story before nodding. "Well, I'm an ordinary schoolboy, studying at Kuoh Academy, class 2-B…"
Momonga compared what he saw in front of him with the information that Issei was saying, coming to the conclusion that Issei was talking about a 'high school. A place that his low-class stature wouldn't allow him to even look at – back in his old world, that is. Looking at his clothing, Momonga could guess that Issei's family was comfortably middle-class, and yet were much poorer than what that economic class meant in his old world.
'Huh, how strange…' Momonga shook his head. 'I only finished elementary school, and it cost my mother a lot of money. Only a couple of people I knew graduated from high school… How strange to find that many people could afford high school in the past – even the random guy from the streets.'
"I live with my mother and father, I have two best friends, Matsuda and Motohama." Issei shrugged, then continued with something that almost made Momonga's world tumble.
"In the evenings I like to watch porn, peeping at the school girls clubs, the Kendo club, or swim team for example. Sometimes they catch me and beat me up, but overall I think it's worth it…"
Momonga blinked, then looked at Issei like he's some kind of alien. 'Well, at least I already feel better knowing what I'm going to do with him…'
"Are your parents influential? How will they react if you don't show up at home?" Momonga asked the following questions and only magic prevented Issei from understanding what the Undead Lord, who had taken human form, was now thinking.
"No, my father is just an office worker, while my mother is a housewife, though sometimes she took some side jobs when she gets tired of sitting at home," Issei smiled slightly at the mention of his family, causing Momonga to shake his head
'I really am not human anymore with what I'm contemplating doing… An office worker though, how nostalgic.'
"If I don't come home, they won't worry right away, I've gone to sleepovers with friends several times before, without even telling them before…" Issei smiled a little, as if remembering something fondly. "Ha, one time when I went to Motohama and didn't come home until a day later, my father put me under house arrest for a month, and my mother didn't cook my favorite food for a year… Ha, if I do that now, I don't think I'll get off that easily…" Momonga did feel a little bad in destroying a happy family, but he's willing to do much worse to keep his own family a little bit safe. Something that a World Class Item would definitely contribute to.
"But anyway, they'll probably try to call me when it gets dark, then go to Matsuda and Motohama and their parents, and if they don't find me there, they'll definitely panic." Issei grinned a little, but not in a mockery of his parents' worries, but with a kind of warmth.
"Why are you asking?" It seems that [Charm Species] still allows some doubt and suspicion to appear, Momonga concluded. He would note that in the future, [Charm Species] does not instill absolute loyalty.
"It's nothing," Momonga looked away, then grimaced slightly.
'Office worker, housewife, loving parents…' Momonga looked down, feeling a bit reluctant to do what he's about to do.
He wasn't at all interested in the fate of the guy in front of him. If anything, the fact that he was peeping and harassing girls and thought it was 'worth it' rather made him look at Issei negatively. But the thought of his worried parents, especially considering the loving mother that Momonga remembered, and the office worker father that Momonga once was, made his soul stir unpleasantly.
'Haha, are these the remnants of my humanity? Haven't I completely changed yet?' Momonga shook his head slightly before deciding on a course of action. 'In any case, I don't yet know how this world works, so covering up the disappearance of a person, an entire family even more so, can be quite difficult… So, in the meantime, I need to experiment with my powers, so I'll just take it as if I were conducting another experiment on the effectiveness of my magic.'
"[Sleep]," Momonga held out his hand and Issei slowly closed his eyes, whereupon his breathing leveled out, instantly sinking into a deep sleep. "[Control Amnesia]."
After another moment, Momonga felt his magic sink into the boy's consciousness – images, sounds, sensations began to flash before Momonga's eyes, and Momonga himself felt his mana slowly begin to subside.
The mana waste wasn't immediately catastrophic, but it seriously overpowered his passive regeneration, so Momonga wouldn't be able to maintain the spell forever. He measured that even if he currently held the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] that he had returned to his inventory, it would still not be enough. In fact, even if he used all the equipment he could find in Nazarick's Treasury aimed at regenerating mana it wouldn't be… No, recalculating, if he were to do so, he would probably be able to get close to equilibrium, or at least reduce mana waste to almost imperceptible. It seriously depended on what exactly he could find in the Treasury. Momonga didn't thoroughly remember everything stored in the Treasury, but it didn't matter right now.
At the moment, Momonga didn't need to search for any specific moments or anything like that in Issei's past, otherwise it might have stretched out for a long time and the mana expenditure might have become quite obscene. Momonga only needed to erase Issei's recent memories, starting from the moment he fell asleep, to the moment when Raynare revealed her wings and her true nature, methodically erasing them completely.
After wiping those off, eventually Momonga stopped applying mana to his spell – almost forty minutes of Issei's life had been removed, summarily, since that moment. And while it wasn't fatal or obvious, the missing forty minutes of Issei's life would most likely raise questions.
Momonga wasn't entirely sure if he could, the spell had worked quite differently in the past, but he tried to trust his senses and add a new memory to Issei. Using the most recent memory, that is of Issei being killed by the Fallen Angel, Momonga substituted something else. Using Momonga's own memory of the Guardian of Asgard, or more their voice lines, he inserted a voice saying 'Hit the head!', followed by the feeling of a blow and loss of consciousness.
Now Momonga needed to rip the clothes on Issei and drop him somewhere on the outskirts of town. Perhaps he could even be dropped from some height a little so that he would simultaneously wake up and get a couple of fresh scratches on his face and body. In support of the theory of a 'gang attack' or something like that.
"It's not because of you, it's because of your parents… Though perhaps that's not exactly a consolation. " Momonga shook his head. It was strange to him, simultaneously frightening and pleasant, to find that he had at least some human feelings left. It was pleasant to find that he still had emotions – frightening to find that he had only these slight emotions left. He felt nothing and was ready to kill the guy simply because it was the easiest and simplest of the options to resolve a problem.
Even now he decided not to kill Issei not because he was human, a child, Japanese, or a combination of all three and not because Momonga, as a resident of 'Neo' Japan, felt some kind of kinship with him. It was simply because he saw in Issei's parents a parallel with his own situation. Though it was a little strange to him to see Issei's mother as he saw his own.
But in Issei's father he did see himself, and it led him to some strange associations that
Momonga would rather not contemplate.
Finally wading out of Issei's memory, Momonga heard a light knock on the door, then turned around to, "Come in."
A moment later, the door to the room opened, whereupon the silhouette of a man dressed in baggy black clothing completely concealing his features appeared. His head was concealed under a high-lifted black hood sealed with gold staples attached to the rest of his clothing. He wore a traditional but all-black short kimono, transitioning into wide, baggy pants that ended in straps that covered his legs and feet. With his feet transitioning, seemingly even merging with his wooden boots on perpendicular platforms, also black, on which he moved entirely silently.
"Goemon," Momonga nodded toward the newly summoned NPC, a level 80 Ninja-type summon that specializes in thievery, who dropped to his knees in an instant, in one fused motion.
"I'm glad to be in your service, My Lord," Goemon, one of the ninja-type beings kept for summoning in Ashurbanipal, specialized in stealing, so it was the right choice. Technically, he was level eighty, so it wasn't the most ideal of all the options that existed in YGGDRASIL, but Ashurbanipal didn't keep many books to summon creatures above eighty. And among that group, Momonga couldn't think of anyone who specialized entirely in stealing, unlike Goemon, so he really was most likely the best of the options.
"What does my Lord commands?"
"You need to completely free this guy's inventory," Momonga pointed at the lying Issei, "Try not to kill him… But freeing his inventory completely is of the highest priority."
"Absolutely, My Lord," Goemon bowed deeply to Momonga after his command, then rose from his knees in one motion and made his way to the sleeping Issei.
As Goemon made his way to the sleeping boy, he looked down at him through the hood that seemed to block his view. Though, it would be more accurate to say that his hood was his face and eyes, it was the shape that Goemon took, because that was the shape he was.
Goemon had been summoned by Titus Annaeus Secundus to serve the Supreme Being, Lord Momonga, the Greatest of Warriors and the Smartest of Rulers, the Most Cunning of Commanders and the Strongest of Mages. He who allowed no mistakes and gave light under the shadow of his gaze to anyone who bent his head and his knee.
And so Goemon was at a loss, why was his presence necessary? Was this but another test? But as a servant, it was not his job to question his Master's orders, he simply carried them out.
As he reached out his hands to the sleeping young man, Goemon instantly sensed exactly what the Lord wanted stolen in the boy's inventory – he even instantly knew exactly what was stored in his inventory.
'[Longinus: Boosted Gear]' Goemon noted to himself, but did not bother his Lord with unnecessary information that he already knew in his infinite wisdom anyway. What he found later however caused the ninja's thoughts to stall a moment later.
In addition to the object, [Longinus], there was another thing in the boy's inventory, or rather, a living creature.
Unlike his other summoned brethren, such as Hanzo, who specialize in gathering information and stealth, Goemon had no specialized abilities regarding enemy assessment.
At the same time, however, Goemon still possessed the skills of a related specialization, so it could at least roughly determine the dragon's level.
The dragon was considerably stronger than him. But at the same time, it was no surprise.
Though he was an eightieth level creature, it was primarily a thief, and mostly had skills related to that very activity, not fighting. Lord Momonga was much stronger than him as well… Then again, why state the obvious?
Of course, this couldn't completely appease Goemon's worry, knowing that he would let a potentially hostile monster out. But the Gordian knot of his doubts was dispelled by the words Lord Momonga had told him just a few seconds ago.
'Release his inventory completely.'
In other words, his Lord already knew that the boy's inventory contained a dragon, and so Goemon could only applaud his Lord's knowledge, and as his Master's faithful servant, do his bidding.
So, a moment later, a gauntlet came into the light in Goemon's hands, the [Longinus]… Which instantly cracked, releasing the dragon contained within.
A moment later, the room became packed, as the newly released red dragon crashed into the walls and immediately broke through them, as it crashed into the ceiling with a roar.
"You, the one who set me free!" The red dragon, as far as Momonga could tell from the dragon's appearance and color, but this time much smaller than the one he had slayed before, turned to Goemon, speaking clearly and loudly.
"Know that I will not forget your deeds! Know that it is in my power to give you much, and appreciate it, for I grant you this favor! Tell me, what is your desire!?"
Only Momonga's miraculous skill, saving him from sudden panic attacks, allowed him to hold his ground and not fall to the ground the moment a huge red dragon appeared in place of the young boy and some red gauntlet.
Although, Momonga admitted, at the moment his face did not express any emotion solely because it was frozen in shock.
'[Silent Magic: Life Essence], [Silent Magic: Mana Essence].' Momonga uttered silently to himself, casting his usual suite of magics, before sighing in relief.
'Less than the Great Red Dragon I killed a little earlier, but it's definitely a hundred-level dragon… It has almost as much mana as I do, and I had to go a lot to break the max cap of one hundred – and apparently this dragon is intelligent, so fighting it is undesirable… Tch, Dragons are filthy cheaters!'
A moment later, Momonga came back to reality again, watching as Goemon continued to stare silently at the dragon, perhaps waiting for Momonga's command, or was just finding a way to escape. And although the creature's face was not visible, because its size made his head far above the canopy, for some reason Momonga was sure that it was now glaring at Momonga. It was as if the dragon were trying to measure Momonga's mettle before he would fight him… or flee.
"Ahem, I'd like to…" Momonga wanted to finish the phrase 'start by introducing ourselves to each other!' but couldn't finish his thought before he was interrupted.
"Silence, you whelp!" The dragon responded with a swish of its tail, crashing into Momonga.
The creature's attack was clearly not serious, as Momonga was sure that the dragon could have attacked with far more force. Especially, considering that the tail attack was bludgeoning damage, and with [Body of Effulgent Beryl] still active, it had no chance in hell of breaking through Momonga's passive barrier.
But even without waiting for the tail to hit Momonga, Goemon reacted much faster – instantly striking the dragon that had dared to attack his Lord.
'A battle is undesirable, but apparently inevitable…' Momonga sighed, feeling the staff that had now become somewhat familiar appear in his hand, then releasing it beside him.
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" A moment later, three kaleidoscopic slashes made their way to their target, crashing into the dragon's body. As three deep gashes appeared on the dragon's body, it howled in pain, and turned to Momonga.
The dragon's health had decreased by a decent amount, but Momonga needed to be smarter if he planned to win this battle. Though, he had achieved his main goal of distracting the dragon from the far weaker in battle, Goemon… He didn't exactly want to waste the NPC, which must cost a pretty penny to summon.
'Okay, until we know how he attacks, I shouldn't take any chances.' Momonga used the best trump card he had. "[Teleportation]!"
A moment later, and he was in a completely different direction from the dragon, who was busy releasing a fiery cloud of white and blue flame, where Momonga used to be. As Momonga appeared, the dragon instantly started turning around, looking for Momonga, rumbling in his growling voice. "[Boost]!"
Whereupon Momonga blinked. [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence] had just told him that the health and mana of the dragon in front of him had just… Doubled.
"Оh… That's just unfair!" Momonga shifted his gaze to the broken gauntlet that had already been turned into scraps of twisted steel under the dragon's feet. 'So that's what this World Class Item was capable of doing… I wish I had gotten it, but I need to finish the fight now! It would be best if he could only [Boost] once, but if he could do it multiple times, I would lose simply by a battle of attrition!.'
"[The Goal Of All Life is Death]!" Momonga activated his strongest skill, and started dodging like a madman for the 12 seconds needed for its activation. "[True Death]!"
The only thing Momonga could hope for was that the dragon in front of him didn't know how to instantly revive after death. Goemon attempted to attack again, a moment later he was joined in his actions by Hanzo, the guardian that was supposed to stay in stealth. It seems that the ninja preferred the opportunity to protect his Master over following orders.
"[Message]," Momonga dodged another fiery exhalation with [Teleportation], noting that three seconds of the required twelve had already passed. Still, he required another insurance just in case his strongest skill didn't work. "Albedo, prepare the guards – you will probably be called to battle if my ability doesn't work…"
'By your orders, Master Momonga!' Momonga cut the conversation with the girl short as he noticed that the creature's health and mana had doubled again, his mental clock told him that five seconds had passed after the previous [Boost]. Before he could think about it further, he turned his attention back to the struggling Goemon and Hanzo, who were desperately dodging the dragon's attacks.
Momonga needed to distract the dragon again. "[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!"
The dragon howled, but once again exhaled flames towards Momonga – this time flooding the surrounding area with flames.
'Learning fast…' Momonga noted the dragon's actions with some respect.'So it can amplify his attacks multiple times for the next attack, making it many times stronger… However, this only works for one attack and requires a considerable amount of mana - comparable to [Reality Slash], which is known for its huge mana waste. But the subsequent attack does not change in mana consumption, no matter how many times the attack is 'Boosted'... Cheat, indeed.'
"[Triplet Maximized Magic: Reality Slash]!" Momonga once again distracted the dragon, one last time as his mental clock struck 12 seconds, and the giant bronze clock hovering behind him completed its full revolution – after which he smiled. "Time is up."
There was a resounding sound of bells ringing… And the dragon simply dropped dead.
Goemon and Hanzo froze, as they stared at the slumping dragon, and Momonga himself waited a few seconds, ready to use [Teleportation] and send [Message] to the Guardians just in case the dragon was faking its death. There are many ways to fool [Life Essence].
The dragon, however, never got up even when the flames it had cast around it continued to burn, clearly not going out anytime soon.
'Huh, his fire spell is reminiscent of Demiurge's [Mantle of Hellfire]. That fire can ignore even immunity to fire attacks and is impossible to extinguish.' Momonga traced the still blazing flames of the dragon with his eyes, then shook his head.
'Okay, if it doesn't extinguish itself, some of Nazarick's creatures can put it out… As a last resort, I can use Nazarick's daily limit on recovery, it should cover the flames… I hope.'
Momonga looked around him, noting the ruined walls, and shook his head. 'And, of course, we'll have to rebuild the walls, at least they're relatively inexpensive.'
After he finished documenting the damages, without approaching the blazing flames, Momonga made his way to the dragon's body and thought for a moment about what he should do with the dragon's body. 'Hmm, I hope I can get that broken ability of his by using [Dark Wisdom] again. But our battle lasted fifteen seconds at most, the dragon must have had many other spells that it didn't have time to show.' But then again it's a red dragon, they're not exactly known for their breadth of abilities.
'Besides, it might not have been a spell, but a skill instead, and [Dark Wisdom] can only absorb spells along with the defeated bodies, but not their skills. If I lose the second most excellent body of a high-level red dragon and get something useless in return… I'll be quite salty. [Create Body] is a good spell, but it doesn't outstrip the high-end drop from the Great Red Dragon that I lost.'
Momonga thought for a moment, then remembering something urgent that he almost forgot, sent a [Message], "Albedo, you can clear the alarm. The enemy's killed… and send Aura to dismember the body, take it apart for resources, by the looks of it, it's a high level red dragon, so I assume it will yield excellent materials…"
"Of course, Lord Momonga!" Albedo replied instantly and Momonga shook his head at her enthusiasm, turning away from the body, trying to find Issei with his gaze.
And finding with his gaze only a bloody mess where his body should have been lying.
'Well, that wasn't such a good plan…' Momonga shook his head, finding that his 'mercy' had gone to waste anyway, simply because a dragon decided to pop out of nowhere.
Of course, he could try to resurrect Issei, but all resurrection magic required payment for the act of resurrection or the expenditure of valuable items. And Momonga, though he empathized with Issei's parents, was not willing to spend valuable items for nothing.
Not to mention that Issei was clearly a low-leveled person, so a simple spell like [Raise the Dead] probably wouldn't work on him. Most likely Momonga would have had to use [Resurrection] or [True Resurrection], which required large sums or expenditure of really rare items.
'Well, if it makes you feel better in your postmortem – I planned to just take your World Class Item, or, I suppose, [Sacred Gear] – and let you go home… Too bad that didn't happen' -
Momonga shook his head, then held out his palm and his golden [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] returned to his hand, before, a moment later, disappearing into his inventory.
After another moment, Momonga turned to the kneeling Goemon, Hanzo, and… Momonga blinked, "Raynare?"
Hearing Momonga's voice, the fallen angel slowly trembled, the acrid smell of ammonia spread around.
Trembling, slowly, Raynare looked up, full of madness and fear, while her face clearly tried to form a welcoming smile, but constantly turned into a grimace of horror halfway through. The strange expression made it look as if Raynare were having an epileptic seizure right now.
"Fa… " Raynare tried to say something, but her voice trailed off so high that she coughed, and then she looked up at Momonga again, her eyes bulging with an expression of fear and surprise. "Father?!"
"Umu," Momonga concluded that [Control Species] or perhaps [Charm Species] have some very interesting side effects, as he looked at Raynare's trembling form.
Raynare, a moment later, rolled her eyes before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.
He needed to make sure to take into account the side-effects if he were to use the spells again in the future. He knows that [Charm Species] were supposed to make the target feel as if the caster was their best friend – he wasn't sure it was supposed to make them believe he was their parent, though.
Prologue (5)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (5)
Raynare surprisingly felt very good.
She was running through a big, big rainbow.
And beneath the rainbow, white lambs were frolicking.
Raynare frowned a little as there was something strange to the lambs. No, actually the lambs were white only in relation to their fur, as each of the lambs had a human head covered in brown hair, and each of the lambs was bleating "Yoo-yoo-yuma…"
"Ha ha, what a silly name, Yuuma." Raynare paid no attention to the bleating lambs as she continued to run down the rainbow. "Ha ha, how good… "
Also, a little further along the rainbow on the sides lay the slain Red Dragon Emperor, and Raynare ran on, knowing that no one could have killed the Welsh Dragon. What a silly dream!
And at the end of the rainbow stood Him.
"Father-e-e!" Raynare ran across the rainbow toward Father, who, for some reason, this time took the form of a middle-aged Japanese man. But Yuma knew for sure that it was Father, she still remembered when Father took the form of a burning bush after all! Taking the form of a middle-aged Japanese man were incomparably normal.
"Father, I had a strange dream, as if You had returned! Back after You died!"
"Umu." Father simply nodded gravely at Raynare's words, then held out his hand to her.
"Wake up."
"But Father, I just woke up from a strange dream in which you just waved your hand and killed the Red Dragon Emperor!" Raynare smiled at her Father. "I am not dreaming!"
"Umu, I see" Father uttered something as he nodded slightly, as if to confirm his words, coming to a final conclusion. "[Awaken]."
Raynare opened her eyes abruptly, the beautiful large rainbow she had been running on, and the multitude of Issei lambs vanished immediately before her eyes… Unlike Father in the body of a middle-aged Japanese man and the dead body of the Red Dragon Emperor beside her.
Raynare blinked, shifted her gaze from the dragon to Father, then back, then closed her eyes, feeling her feet begin to run on the big beautiful rainbow again.
"[Awaken]." A rainbow that immediately dissipated and Raynare opened her eyes again, looking at the Father and the dead dragon… Raynare wondered for a second, could she now pretend to be mute? Mentally retarded maybe? She was ready right now to start pissing in her pants… Um, in her skirt, if it could save her from Father's wrath.
Then her memories helpfully suggested to Raynare that she had communicated with Father before. He had appeared out of nowhere right in front of her as she had struck Issei, used some ability that made Raynare unable to even move, then she found herself in an obscure stone room. And then she suddenly realized that Father was her best and closest friend, and Raynare no longer remembered when she had any friends in the past, then he asked her to leave and wait in the corridor…
And then the room that Father and this guy, Issei, were in literally exploded from the inside, a large piece of stone crashed into Raynare's head, and she lost consciousness. Thankfully her concussion only lasted for a few seconds, thanks to her fallen angel nature she woke up just seconds later to see… To see the fucking Red Dragon Emperor spinning around attacking something unseen, bleeding from the huge incisions that ran through his entire body, seemingly even separating parts of him. Making her come to the conclusion that she was dreaming, and that her concussion was more severe than she first thought.
Then the middle-aged Japanese man she had seen moments before, who had suddenly become her 'dear and close friend', and had ceased to be after she had lost consciousness, held up his hand and Raynare heard a resounding bell ring. And the Red Dragon Emperor, or Emperor of Red Dragons, Raynare did not remember what was correct, rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground dead.
Then, seemingly completely unsurprised that he had just defeated one of the strongest creatures in the world, the Japanese man turned to the void, saying something about the need to dismantle the damn Welsh Dragon into 'materials.' MATERIALS! The Welsh Dragon!
Raynare's worldview, which had cracked several times in the last few seconds, suddenly fell into place in the only possible configuration with a slight 'pop', bringing her a simple and understandable thought.
Father, He, had returned. It was the simplest, most logical and understandable of all the inferences Raynare could come to.
To begin with, perhaps, the problem of the [Sacred Gears] had been occupying the minds of all factions and pantheons for a very long time, since their creation by God… I mean, Father.
Different factions approached the matter differently, but all agreed that having someone on their side with a [Sacred Gear] was better than not having, or worse, against them. Many conducted various experiments, but the fallen angels achieved the highest understanding of the [Sacred Gear] system of all factions thanks to the efforts of Lord Azazel, and by necessity.
The Fallen were the weakest and fewest of the biblical factions, and one of the weakest factions in the international arena. The [Sacred Gears] were their only salvation. Without the ability to replenish their numbers naturally, and without the ability to convert people like Devils, their numbers were constantly dwindling. And because the mass fall of the angels stopped after Michael took control of the devastated Throne of His and His [Heaven's System] they didn't even have that avenue to replenish their numbers.
And so, the Fallen had to begin to become well-versed in the intricacies of human technology, political wrangling and [Sacred Gears], all in order to survive. Lord Azazel himself taught most of the fallen angels how to identify and just what ridiculous existence [Sacred Gears] are, and the most ridiculous among them were the [Longinus].
And so Raynare knew that destroying a [Longinus], which was definitely Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor, who had previously been sealed in [Longinus: Boosted Gear], was not only a very bad idea, but in principle impossible.
No one has been able to destroy a [Longinus] before, and not for lack of diligence or effort. At different times, different factions and organizations have repeatedly caught carriers of Ddraig or Albion or other [Sacred Gear], trying to unseal the creatures imprisoned in them for a variety of purposes. Some, hoping for the creatures' gratitude, some simply wanting to target peaceful peoples with powerful beasts.
And they could – they really could. If Albion or Ddraig broke free – even the most powerful gods would have to treat what happened as a world crisis and act with all urgency. Lord Azazel himself rated his strength compared to the two Dragon Emperors as 'between zero and nothing' – and Raynare could not even imagine how strong Lord Azazel was.
The various Pantheons then had come to the conclusion that the [Longinus] were more trouble than they're worth, and started trying to find ways to destroy it. But no one was able to do that – not even the God of Destruction himself, Shiva, could.
The fallen angels, after much experimentation, had made little progress in their skills in manipulating [Sacred Gears]. Even Lord Azazel himself, the greatest master of artifacts who himself had successfully created a [Sacred Gears], though he would still deem it a failure, had failed. He, in the end, had declared that to completely destroy [Longinuses] or to release what was stored in them, was impossible.
But what did Lord Azazel's words mean to the one who had personally created those very [Longinuses] and sealed Ddraig and Albion in them?!
Then who would have the strength to deal with Albion or Ddraig other than the one who had already dealt with them once?
And finally, who would have the desire to initially free Ddraig from his confinement – only to finish him off a few seconds later?!
Raynare had only managed to fight a few times in the Great War, for she was one of the youngest angels He had created. But, she was aware of the fact that in the past He had sealed Ddraig because He could not destroy him immediately. But she also knew that in those days He had been greatly wounded. His strength had been undermined long before the Great War began.
Though Raynare did not know thoroughly why, His mind had been wounded by Lucifer's betrayal, and His soul destroyed by the death of His Son, and so He had not found the strength to destroy Ddraig… But still, as an absolute existence, there shouldn't have been much trouble in killing Ddraig once for all, for He is mighty.
Raynare knows that His hatred for dragons was great – He had hated dragons since the Serpent and the Expulsion of the first humans from Paradise. And so, now that He had returned, he had immediately searched out for Ddraig and had finished what He had once started, after He had regained His strength, was logical… No, it was the only rational justification for everything that had happened.
Raynare imagined that Albion would soon suffer the same fate as his Red brethren.
Indeed, if Raynare had simply killed Issei and his [Sacred Gear] had gone away to be reborn, appearing years later in a different host –that would have been a problem to search for… An irritant to Him.
And that is why He had appeared so unexpectedly before Raynare, wanting to deal with Ddraig before Issei, his current host, died… A grim picture formed in Raynare's mind, and she twitched for the first time, realizing that all this time she had been in prostration, staring ahead of herself with unseeing eyes. And that her unblinking eyes were desperately watery from the tension and dust that rose in the air during the brief collision with the Red Dragon Emperor.
Raynare blinked, then looked up at Him, who had taken the form of a middle-aged Japanese man, dressed in simple office clothes, totally out of sync with the power He had demonstrated earlier, and at… A child? An elven child? A child of the dark elf?
"Lord Momonga, if you wish to create something voluminous from the body, like armor or cloak, I should cut off the scales in this, this, and this place," The child, seemingly completely unimpressed by the enormity of the dead Ddraig, poked at the creature's scales a few times, Her manner of speaking, talking about cutting up a caught game, without any pity for the slain.
"But in that case we'll have practically no skin left for the scrolls – I'll have to take off the undamaged body parts first, so it won't be a very efficient use of materials…"
"Umu, in that case – take off enough skin for one complete set of armor, enough for a cloak, gloves, boots, cuirass, belt, pants and helmet, but send the rest for scrolls. The armor is primarily for experimentation, there is no real practical need for it, while scrolls are a consumable item." Father supported the girl's words with a cold detachment, as if he were simply looking at pieces of meat in front of him, wondering which part of the pig would go to steak and which would be smoked.
"Thank you, Aura"
"He~he…" As he reached up and ran his hand through the girl's hair, she instantly broke into a smile and let out a light chuckle, clearly enjoying the touch and swaying slightly in place, like a dog following his hand… In a not-so-appropriate way for a child.
Raynare had heard of elves and seen one once before, but in general elves very rarely appear in public, especially in Japan, where she had worked for a long time… Dark elves especially appeared even more rarely.
But on the other hand, He was someone you could expect the most incredible and impossible things from.
Raynare blinked once more, shifting her gaze to the side… To realize that she was not, in fact, in Japan. To the side were a total, black, indifferent emptiness that stretched as far as she could see – and Raynare suddenly felt her throat go dry.
Never before had she seen what the Dimensional Gap looked like, especially in person – she had only heard of its existence, but she imagined that this was most likely what it was.
That's right, she was in the Dimensional Gap, a space famous for its antithesis for life… And she was still alive.
Raynare shifted her gaze from the void to the figure of the Father ahead, then swallowed.
There was no doubt in her mind, she still existed only because of Father's intervention and because of His desire. All she had to do was say something against Father, and she was dead. No, maybe if she even drew Father's attention to herself, and she was dead.
And if so, she had already failed on all fronts.
"Umu, Raynare, I presume?" Father turned to Raynare, and she felt a shudder run through her entire body, she then reflexively grasped her groin as if trying to forcibly keep her bladder from emptying.
'Fallen angels have always died in excruciating pain, and for it to be drawn for a long time.' Raynare swallowed. 'Father does not forgive betrayal… But I did fall after He died, so potentially it wasn't actually a betrayal? Or, I suppose, not died, but went into the Dimensional Gap for some reason… I fell because of a mistake! It was all because the [Heaven System] was out of control! Father, forgive me, I repent, I repent! I believe, Lord, I believe!'
"Raynare, I know you are capable of speaking," Father's eye traced Raynare's hand to her groin, whereupon she realized how provocative the pose looked, and this despite the fact that she was a fallen angel! She had to show that she was remorseful for her fall, that it was not her fault, not to give evidence to the contrary!
Especially when she smelled of urine!
Raynare felt her brain completely boil over, then began to cover her eyes, feeling her feet touch the beautiful rainbow again.
"Umu, this is starting to get a bit tiresome, [Awaken]," Raynare came back to reality again, looking at her Father approaching and the dark elven girl beside him, what did He call her? Aura or something?
"Lord Momonga, if she's boring you, I'll get rid of her at this very moment!" Aura took a step toward Raynare and Raynare realized that the girl would happily follow through with her threat, the second Father commanded.
"Fa…" Raynare tried to squeeze words out of herself, but could only make a squeaking sound. The threat to her life, however, allowed her to force out a semblance of a word out.
"Fa… Father!" Raynare then dropped to her knees, instantly folding her hands in a gesture of prayer.
"Father, forgive me! I repent of all my sins, I repent of my sins, murder, and theft, and profanity, lying, blasphemy, especially of that last one! Three times I repent, three times I believe, repent and believe!"
Raynare fell into a kind of madness, repeating over and over 'repent' and 'believe', unable to utter anything else but these words.
"Umu," Father's voice passed her ears. "Hmm, I think I still have a scroll of [Cure Madness] in my Inventory somewhere, but is there any point in using it? Hmm, Aura?"
A moment later, Raynare's consciousness was pierced by… Fear. An unbelievable terror that forced her into silence, interrupting her mutterings, choking instead on a mute scream, frozen, unwilling to even move. No, deprived of that possibility.
It was a fear and terror that had no form that is permeating her whole being, born from the depths of the oldest and most primal of fears, born before the moment of human consciousness, from their animal instincts.
"Umu, enough," And the fear disappeared a moment later, as if it had never existed, allowing Raynare to exhale a breath that she had held back without realizing, after which she emptied the contents of her stomach.
"Bleh!" Aura's voice broke through the veil of her consciousness before Raynare could lift her face, busy as she was dumping the entire contents of her humble lunch and afternoon snack onto the stone floors.
"Umu, quite uncultured." Father furrowed his brow slightly, but Raynare had been through so much in the last hour that she no longer even knew whether she should have fallen into another panic or just give up and go with the flow.
"What do you mean, when you call the Lord Momonga 'Father'?!" Aura, however, clearly annoyed by Raynare's actions, reached for her belt, whereupon Raynare flinched when the tip of a whip, so fast that even her heightened senses as a fallen angel could not track its movements, clicked beside her.
Raynare looked up at Father, expecting His reaction, but He only looked back at her silently.
'That's… Why is Father silent?' Raynare blinked, knowing that even at the height of God's anger, torture wasn't an option He would choose. Nor would her creation be a mystery to Father, He was the one that created her after all.
'Is it a test? Yes, that's right, it's a test, He wants to know what I have to say about Him. Ha-ha, I don't think this test is that effective considering that He's standing around with his [Omniscience]… However, as I am in the focus of His powers, it probably makes no difference to Him whether He's standing around, or not! Ha-ha…' Once again the rainbows are beckoning her, but she knows that if she answered the call, she would be gone for good.
"I'm not talking about Him being my biological Father," Raynare finally understood that her old understanding of the world is gone for good. All she had left was to walk through the ruins, trying to find a sign of what would become her new 'normality' from this day forward.
"I was simply created by Him…"
After saying it, Raynare thought for a moment. Explaining to a mortal, even an elf, what it meant, to be 'created', was hard enough, the first thing they would start thinking about would be to draw parallels with robots or golems, not understanding what exactly Raynare meant.
But Aura surprised the girl with her response, "Wait, like we are? How I was?"
Raynare blinked, then looked at Aura. Father, for some reason, also shifted His gaze to the girl, who shifted her gaze first to Father and then to Raynare.
Raynare wondered for a moment, could the girl really be an angel and not an elf like she appeared to be?
Gently, Raynare tried to open her senses and feel her nature… To freeze in a vain attempt to free her stomach from the contents from which it had already been freed a little earlier. The girl, no, Lady Aura was felt many times stronger than Lord Azazel himself! The head of the entire faction of fallen angels! The man who had rebelled against Father!
Although Raynare realized after a moment, that if this girl was also created by Father, then Azazel was very lucky that Father was weakened then. Otherwise, the Fallen would only be left in the history pages – if Father didn't burn those either.
"I guess… That is indeed the case." Raynare answered, her body still continuing to shake finely after the revelation, then shook her head,
"The Lord… I mean, Father created us many years ago… we thought we had lost Father…"
"Umu, that…" Father tried, as if uncertain, to intervene in Raynare's words, but the woman, finally understanding the situation in which she had found herself in, could not help herself.
"But He is back! Father is with us again!" Raynare raised her hands in the air after which she lost her mind. At least, that's how she looked, Raynare, unable to keep her shattered psyche under control any longer, laughed like a madwoman.
To think, just a few days ago she had considered an errand as something that is most important in her life, the one she had received from Lord Azazel about having to get rid of a certain Issei Hyoudou. Never could she imagine, that in the end of that path, Raynare had met with Father, seen the murder of the Red Dragon Emperor, talked to a dark elven girl who could deal with the entire Biblical faction herself. And Father was still alive and had not smitten her!
Raynare burst into laughter, unable to keep herself under control, and continued laughing until her laughter turned into hysterical howls. Before collapsing to the ground, only a dozen centimeters away from her puddle of vomit and urine, then, unable to hold back her howls, began sobbing.
"Lord Momonga, is it true?! Have you returned here to return to your abandoned children?!" Aura instantly jumped up in mute amazement and adoration looking at Father, but Raynare no longer cared about anything around her, the distraught fallen woman was laughing and crying as hard as she could.
"Ah… umu, well." Father looked at the dark elf with an amused and unsure look, as if to mock her ignorance. "About that, umu, Aura…"
"So Lady Bukubukuchagama can come back to us, too!" The dark elf's next words made Father freeze.
Momonga looked into Aura's eyes, understanding her loneliness… But how had she arrived at this point? He just wanted to find out information from Raynare, he had heard her calling him father and had heard something in the past from Tabula about such things. Sadly, he had never been a religious man and there were almost none of those in his social circle, so he knew next to nothing about religion.
He knew that the angels were God's messengers, so, in retrospect, he might have been able to guess that an angel might consider God as their father. Especially after noting that he was considered their father in the same sense in which Ainz Ooal Gown were considered 'parents' of the NPCs…
So, in hindsight, he might have guessed that if Raynare addressed him as 'father', that meant she saw him as her God… But he certainly couldn't have ever imagined that the conversation would take that turn! He definitely didn't expect Raynare to start vomiting and pissing herself out of nowhere!
He just wanted to find out information from Raynare - about what exactly she wanted to do with Issei, why, what she knew about these [Sacred Gears] and whatever else she knew. Issei knew nothing about the magical side of the world, so he decided to use Raynare and get the information from her.
But then she started calling him 'father' and then passed out, so Momonga decided to leave her alone for a while and get busy with Aura cutting up a dragon that happened to come his way. But then Raynare woke up, started calling him 'father', catching Aura's interest, Momonga's too. And so he decided to find out why she's doing that, and at the same time thought it would be rude, and he would hurt Aura if he didn't let her ask her questions.
All that led to Aura now looking at him intently, eyes glistening with moisture and underlying hope, lips trembling, and Momonga realized… That he couldn't upset Aura now.
Telling her that Bukubukuchagama wasn't coming back would trample her heart, and break her forever. Besides, with some probability, Bukubukuchagama or any other member of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild could actually exist in this world. Or, if he indeed did go to Earth's past, he just has to wait a couple of decades, and they would have been born in this world in the future.
He has no idea how to go from there, though… maybe he could fib and say something along the line that their 'rebirth' had some unforeseen issues? Or maybe even that they had suffered from amnesia due to some random enemy action. If nothing else, he has time to figure out what to do then.
And so, he wouldn't be lying when he says that Bukubukuchagama 'would' return – after all, Aura's question was not whether Bukubukuchagama 'will return' to us, but if Bukubukuchagama 'may return' to us. And because she theoretically could, it wouldn't be a lie if he says yes.
"Umu," Momonga squeezed his heart in a vice and nodded slowly, no matter how hard it is for him to lie – because he knew that it would be a lie. But, at the very least, he also wanted to believe that it would also be possible, he had been doing that for the last ten years after all.
"I don't know if it will happen, and if it will – when exactly it will happen… But it is possible."
Aura, hearing Momonga's words, froze… Whereupon Momonga saw tears running down her dark cheek, from her heterochromatic eyes.
"So… She's going to come back." Aura almost whispered these words, as if she herself could not believe what she was saying. "She really can… Come back too."
Momonga, unable to stand it, stretched out his arms to Aura, then pulled her into an embrace and, unable to restrain himself, lifted Aura in his arms and embraced her.
Aura instantly clutched at his office clothes, which he had created a little earlier, hiding the sight of his outfit, after which she began crying.
"Uwaaa…" Momonga instantly felt his clothes begin to soak in moisture. "Uwaaaah!"
'Aura may seem older and more serious than her brother, Mare, but she's still just a child.' Momonga felt like an old man as he stroked Aura's back and head as she, unable to contain her sobs, pressed her cheek against his clothes as she continued to shake in resounding cries. Raynare, on the other hand, had stopped sobbing a little earlier, and just continued lying on the ground, on her back, looking up at the ceiling, before closing her eyes with a sort of detached smile. Her consciousness finally leaving her.
"Well, well, don't cry, Aura, it's all right," Momonga ran a hand over the girl's back, feeling her wailing begin to subside into silent sobs and shaking shoulders before, when she calmed down a little, allowing Momonga to put her down from his embrace.
Aura still flinched periodically and sniffled noisily as she looked at Momonga, so there was no way to mistake her condition for anything else. Still, she stubbornly tried to force her expression back to a serious and even frown that only further emphasized her childlike directness in wanting to imitate her elders. Momonga could not contain a small, love-filled smile, looking at her action, which showed even more on his human face.
"Lord Momonga, I've made you dirty," Aura replied to Momonga after a moment, still unable to get her voice completely under control, proof of how much Momonga's words had affected her, "I humbly apologize and…"
"There's no need for that, Aura," Momonga held out the sleeve of his robe to Aura's face, then gently wiped the tears from her face, first from her right cheek, then from her left.
"You are my treasure, and I appreciate everything you give me – whether it is your smile, your work, or even your tears."
Aura, hearing these words, looked away, her eyes instantly beginning to fill with tears again, but she noisily sucked in air through her nose, then turned, looking at Momonga with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Lord Momonga, I believe I have an important errand to run – and I must do it, by all means, even if it grinds my bones into powder!"
"I'd rather you didn't hurt yourself trying to do my errands, especially if they're wrong or stupid," Momonga held out his hand and then patted Aura's head. "But yes, I suppose you should take care of the dragon's body, before it begins to decay."
"By your will, Lord Momonga!" Aura saluted him with her usual pep, then teleported to the body in a single, cohesive motion. Which, as if by itself, began to disintegrate into its component parts with a speed and professionalism that even the most advanced automated disassembly lines of his past world could not have expected.
Momonga shifted his gaze to the bloodstain, in which no human form was discernible, and shook his head. The only thing that's left of poor Issei. 'Well, in that case, I should think about what to do with the murdered Issei Hyoudou…'
Momonga shifted his gaze to the side, to Raynare, who continued to lie quietly on the ground, and shook his head.
'And I still need to decide what I should do with Raynare and her unexpected outburst, which I kind of indirectly confirmed to Aura, hmm…'
'Well,' - Momonga shrugged. 'Let's hope it doesn't have any far-reaching consequences.
Raynare surprisingly felt very good.
She was running through a big, big rainbow.
And beneath the rainbow, white lambs were frolicking.
Raynare frowned a little as there was something strange to the lambs. No, actually the lambs were white only in relation to their fur, as each of the lambs had a human head covered in brown hair, and each of the lambs was bleating "Yoo-yoo-yuma…"
"Ha ha, what a silly name, Yuuma." Raynare paid no attention to the bleating lambs as she continued to run down the rainbow. "Ha ha, how good… "
Also, a little further along the rainbow on the sides lay the slain Red Dragon Emperor, and Raynare ran on, knowing that no one could have killed the Welsh Dragon. What a silly dream!
And at the end of the rainbow stood Him.
"Father-e-e!" Raynare ran across the rainbow toward Father, who, for some reason, this time took the form of a middle-aged Japanese man. But Yuma knew for sure that it was Father, she still remembered when Father took the form of a burning bush after all! Taking the form of a middle-aged Japanese man were incomparably normal.
"Father, I had a strange dream, as if You had returned! Back after You died!"
"Umu." Father simply nodded gravely at Raynare's words, then held out his hand to her.
"Wake up."
"But Father, I just woke up from a strange dream in which you just waved your hand and killed the Red Dragon Emperor!" Raynare smiled at her Father. "I am not dreaming!"
"Umu, I see" Father uttered something as he nodded slightly, as if to confirm his words, coming to a final conclusion. "[Awaken]."
Raynare opened her eyes abruptly, the beautiful large rainbow she had been running on, and the multitude of Issei lambs vanished immediately before her eyes… Unlike Father in the body of a middle-aged Japanese man and the dead body of the Red Dragon Emperor beside her.
Raynare blinked, shifted her gaze from the dragon to Father, then back, then closed her eyes, feeling her feet begin to run on the big beautiful rainbow again.
"[Awaken]." A rainbow that immediately dissipated and Raynare opened her eyes again, looking at the Father and the dead dragon… Raynare wondered for a second, could she now pretend to be mute? Mentally retarded maybe? She was ready right now to start pissing in her pants… Um, in her skirt, if it could save her from Father's wrath.
Then her memories helpfully suggested to Raynare that she had communicated with Father before. He had appeared out of nowhere right in front of her as she had struck Issei, used some ability that made Raynare unable to even move, then she found herself in an obscure stone room. And then she suddenly realized that Father was her best and closest friend, and Raynare no longer remembered when she had any friends in the past, then he asked her to leave and wait in the corridor…
And then the room that Father and this guy, Issei, were in literally exploded from the inside, a large piece of stone crashed into Raynare's head, and she lost consciousness. Thankfully her concussion only lasted for a few seconds, thanks to her fallen angel nature she woke up just seconds later to see… To see the fucking Red Dragon Emperor spinning around attacking something unseen, bleeding from the huge incisions that ran through his entire body, seemingly even separating parts of him. Making her come to the conclusion that she was dreaming, and that her concussion was more severe than she first thought.
Then the middle-aged Japanese man she had seen moments before, who had suddenly become her 'dear and close friend', and had ceased to be after she had lost consciousness, held up his hand and Raynare heard a resounding bell ring. And the Red Dragon Emperor, or Emperor of Red Dragons, Raynare did not remember what was correct, rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground dead.
Then, seemingly completely unsurprised that he had just defeated one of the strongest creatures in the world, the Japanese man turned to the void, saying something about the need to dismantle the damn Welsh Dragon into 'materials.' MATERIALS! The Welsh Dragon!
Raynare's worldview, which had cracked several times in the last few seconds, suddenly fell into place in the only possible configuration with a slight 'pop', bringing her a simple and understandable thought.
Father, He, had returned. It was the simplest, most logical and understandable of all the inferences Raynare could come to.
To begin with, perhaps, the problem of the [Sacred Gears] had been occupying the minds of all factions and pantheons for a very long time, since their creation by God… I mean, Father.
Different factions approached the matter differently, but all agreed that having someone on their side with a [Sacred Gear] was better than not having, or worse, against them. Many conducted various experiments, but the fallen angels achieved the highest understanding of the [Sacred Gear] system of all factions thanks to the efforts of Lord Azazel, and by necessity.
The Fallen were the weakest and fewest of the biblical factions, and one of the weakest factions in the international arena. The [Sacred Gears] were their only salvation. Without the ability to replenish their numbers naturally, and without the ability to convert people like Devils, their numbers were constantly dwindling. And because the mass fall of the angels stopped after Michael took control of the devastated Throne of His and His [Heaven's System] they didn't even have that avenue to replenish their numbers.
And so, the Fallen had to begin to become well-versed in the intricacies of human technology, political wrangling and [Sacred Gears], all in order to survive. Lord Azazel himself taught most of the fallen angels how to identify and just what ridiculous existence [Sacred Gears] are, and the most ridiculous among them were the [Longinus].
And so Raynare knew that destroying a [Longinus], which was definitely Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor, who had previously been sealed in [Longinus: Boosted Gear], was not only a very bad idea, but in principle impossible.
No one has been able to destroy a [Longinus] before, and not for lack of diligence or effort. At different times, different factions and organizations have repeatedly caught carriers of Ddraig or Albion or other [Sacred Gear], trying to unseal the creatures imprisoned in them for a variety of purposes. Some, hoping for the creatures' gratitude, some simply wanting to target peaceful peoples with powerful beasts.
And they could – they really could. If Albion or Ddraig broke free – even the most powerful gods would have to treat what happened as a world crisis and act with all urgency. Lord Azazel himself rated his strength compared to the two Dragon Emperors as 'between zero and nothing' – and Raynare could not even imagine how strong Lord Azazel was.
The various Pantheons then had come to the conclusion that the [Longinus] were more trouble than they're worth, and started trying to find ways to destroy it. But no one was able to do that – not even the God of Destruction himself, Shiva, could.
The fallen angels, after much experimentation, had made little progress in their skills in manipulating [Sacred Gears]. Even Lord Azazel himself, the greatest master of artifacts who himself had successfully created a [Sacred Gears], though he would still deem it a failure, had failed. He, in the end, had declared that to completely destroy [Longinuses] or to release what was stored in them, was impossible.
But what did Lord Azazel's words mean to the one who had personally created those very [Longinuses] and sealed Ddraig and Albion in them?!
Then who would have the strength to deal with Albion or Ddraig other than the one who had already dealt with them once?
And finally, who would have the desire to initially free Ddraig from his confinement – only to finish him off a few seconds later?!
Raynare had only managed to fight a few times in the Great War, for she was one of the youngest angels He had created. But, she was aware of the fact that in the past He had sealed Ddraig because He could not destroy him immediately. But she also knew that in those days He had been greatly wounded. His strength had been undermined long before the Great War began.
Though Raynare did not know thoroughly why, His mind had been wounded by Lucifer's betrayal, and His soul destroyed by the death of His Son, and so He had not found the strength to destroy Ddraig… But still, as an absolute existence, there shouldn't have been much trouble in killing Ddraig once for all, for He is mighty.
Raynare knows that His hatred for dragons was great – He had hated dragons since the Serpent and the Expulsion of the first humans from Paradise. And so, now that He had returned, he had immediately searched out for Ddraig and had finished what He had once started, after He had regained His strength, was logical… No, it was the only rational justification for everything that had happened.
Raynare imagined that Albion would soon suffer the same fate as his Red brethren.
Indeed, if Raynare had simply killed Issei and his [Sacred Gear] had gone away to be reborn, appearing years later in a different host –that would have been a problem to search for… An irritant to Him.
And that is why He had appeared so unexpectedly before Raynare, wanting to deal with Ddraig before Issei, his current host, died… A grim picture formed in Raynare's mind, and she twitched for the first time, realizing that all this time she had been in prostration, staring ahead of herself with unseeing eyes. And that her unblinking eyes were desperately watery from the tension and dust that rose in the air during the brief collision with the Red Dragon Emperor.
Raynare blinked, then looked up at Him, who had taken the form of a middle-aged Japanese man, dressed in simple office clothes, totally out of sync with the power He had demonstrated earlier, and at… A child? An elven child? A child of the dark elf?
"Lord Momonga, if you wish to create something voluminous from the body, like armor or cloak, I should cut off the scales in this, this, and this place," The child, seemingly completely unimpressed by the enormity of the dead Ddraig, poked at the creature's scales a few times, Her manner of speaking, talking about cutting up a caught game, without any pity for the slain.
"But in that case we'll have practically no skin left for the scrolls – I'll have to take off the undamaged body parts first, so it won't be a very efficient use of materials…"
"Umu, in that case – take off enough skin for one complete set of armor, enough for a cloak, gloves, boots, cuirass, belt, pants and helmet, but send the rest for scrolls. The armor is primarily for experimentation, there is no real practical need for it, while scrolls are a consumable item." Father supported the girl's words with a cold detachment, as if he were simply looking at pieces of meat in front of him, wondering which part of the pig would go to steak and which would be smoked.
"Thank you, Aura"
"He~he…" As he reached up and ran his hand through the girl's hair, she instantly broke into a smile and let out a light chuckle, clearly enjoying the touch and swaying slightly in place, like a dog following his hand… In a not-so-appropriate way for a child.
Raynare had heard of elves and seen one once before, but in general elves very rarely appear in public, especially in Japan, where she had worked for a long time… Dark elves especially appeared even more rarely.
But on the other hand, He was someone you could expect the most incredible and impossible things from.
Raynare blinked once more, shifting her gaze to the side… To realize that she was not, in fact, in Japan. To the side were a total, black, indifferent emptiness that stretched as far as she could see – and Raynare suddenly felt her throat go dry.
Never before had she seen what the Dimensional Gap looked like, especially in person – she had only heard of its existence, but she imagined that this was most likely what it was.
That's right, she was in the Dimensional Gap, a space famous for its antithesis for life… And she was still alive.
Raynare shifted her gaze from the void to the figure of the Father ahead, then swallowed.
There was no doubt in her mind, she still existed only because of Father's intervention and because of His desire. All she had to do was say something against Father, and she was dead. No, maybe if she even drew Father's attention to herself, and she was dead.
And if so, she had already failed on all fronts.
"Umu, Raynare, I presume?" Father turned to Raynare, and she felt a shudder run through her entire body, she then reflexively grasped her groin as if trying to forcibly keep her bladder from emptying.
'Fallen angels have always died in excruciating pain, and for it to be drawn for a long time.' Raynare swallowed. 'Father does not forgive betrayal… But I did fall after He died, so potentially it wasn't actually a betrayal? Or, I suppose, not died, but went into the Dimensional Gap for some reason… I fell because of a mistake! It was all because the [Heaven System] was out of control! Father, forgive me, I repent, I repent! I believe, Lord, I believe!'
"Raynare, I know you are capable of speaking," Father's eye traced Raynare's hand to her groin, whereupon she realized how provocative the pose looked, and this despite the fact that she was a fallen angel! She had to show that she was remorseful for her fall, that it was not her fault, not to give evidence to the contrary!
Especially when she smelled of urine!
Raynare felt her brain completely boil over, then began to cover her eyes, feeling her feet touch the beautiful rainbow again.
"Umu, this is starting to get a bit tiresome, [Awaken]," Raynare came back to reality again, looking at her Father approaching and the dark elven girl beside him, what did He call her? Aura or something?
"Lord Momonga, if she's boring you, I'll get rid of her at this very moment!" Aura took a step toward Raynare and Raynare realized that the girl would happily follow through with her threat, the second Father commanded.
"Fa…" Raynare tried to squeeze words out of herself, but could only make a squeaking sound. The threat to her life, however, allowed her to force out a semblance of a word out.
"Fa… Father!" Raynare then dropped to her knees, instantly folding her hands in a gesture of prayer.
"Father, forgive me! I repent of all my sins, I repent of my sins, murder, and theft, and profanity, lying, blasphemy, especially of that last one! Three times I repent, three times I believe, repent and believe!"
Raynare fell into a kind of madness, repeating over and over 'repent' and 'believe', unable to utter anything else but these words.
"Umu," Father's voice passed her ears. "Hmm, I think I still have a scroll of [Cure Madness] in my Inventory somewhere, but is there any point in using it? Hmm, Aura?"
A moment later, Raynare's consciousness was pierced by… Fear. An unbelievable terror that forced her into silence, interrupting her mutterings, choking instead on a mute scream, frozen, unwilling to even move. No, deprived of that possibility.
It was a fear and terror that had no form that is permeating her whole being, born from the depths of the oldest and most primal of fears, born before the moment of human consciousness, from their animal instincts.
"Umu, enough," And the fear disappeared a moment later, as if it had never existed, allowing Raynare to exhale a breath that she had held back without realizing, after which she emptied the contents of her stomach.
"Bleh!" Aura's voice broke through the veil of her consciousness before Raynare could lift her face, busy as she was dumping the entire contents of her humble lunch and afternoon snack onto the stone floors.
"Umu, quite uncultured." Father furrowed his brow slightly, but Raynare had been through so much in the last hour that she no longer even knew whether she should have fallen into another panic or just give up and go with the flow.
"What do you mean, when you call the Lord Momonga 'Father'?!" Aura, however, clearly annoyed by Raynare's actions, reached for her belt, whereupon Raynare flinched when the tip of a whip, so fast that even her heightened senses as a fallen angel could not track its movements, clicked beside her.
Raynare looked up at Father, expecting His reaction, but He only looked back at her silently.
'That's… Why is Father silent?' Raynare blinked, knowing that even at the height of God's anger, torture wasn't an option He would choose. Nor would her creation be a mystery to Father, He was the one that created her after all.
'Is it a test? Yes, that's right, it's a test, He wants to know what I have to say about Him. Ha-ha, I don't think this test is that effective considering that He's standing around with his [Omniscience]… However, as I am in the focus of His powers, it probably makes no difference to Him whether He's standing around, or not! Ha-ha…' Once again the rainbows are beckoning her, but she knows that if she answered the call, she would be gone for good.
"I'm not talking about Him being my biological Father," Raynare finally understood that her old understanding of the world is gone for good. All she had left was to walk through the ruins, trying to find a sign of what would become her new 'normality' from this day forward.
"I was simply created by Him…"
After saying it, Raynare thought for a moment. Explaining to a mortal, even an elf, what it meant, to be 'created', was hard enough, the first thing they would start thinking about would be to draw parallels with robots or golems, not understanding what exactly Raynare meant.
But Aura surprised the girl with her response, "Wait, like we are? How I was?"
Raynare blinked, then looked at Aura. Father, for some reason, also shifted His gaze to the girl, who shifted her gaze first to Father and then to Raynare.
Raynare wondered for a moment, could the girl really be an angel and not an elf like she appeared to be?
Gently, Raynare tried to open her senses and feel her nature… To freeze in a vain attempt to free her stomach from the contents from which it had already been freed a little earlier. The girl, no, Lady Aura was felt many times stronger than Lord Azazel himself! The head of the entire faction of fallen angels! The man who had rebelled against Father!
Although Raynare realized after a moment, that if this girl was also created by Father, then Azazel was very lucky that Father was weakened then. Otherwise, the Fallen would only be left in the history pages – if Father didn't burn those either.
"I guess… That is indeed the case." Raynare answered, her body still continuing to shake finely after the revelation, then shook her head,
"The Lord… I mean, Father created us many years ago… we thought we had lost Father…"
"Umu, that…" Father tried, as if uncertain, to intervene in Raynare's words, but the woman, finally understanding the situation in which she had found herself in, could not help herself.
"But He is back! Father is with us again!" Raynare raised her hands in the air after which she lost her mind. At least, that's how she looked, Raynare, unable to keep her shattered psyche under control any longer, laughed like a madwoman.
To think, just a few days ago she had considered an errand as something that is most important in her life, the one she had received from Lord Azazel about having to get rid of a certain Issei Hyoudou. Never could she imagine, that in the end of that path, Raynare had met with Father, seen the murder of the Red Dragon Emperor, talked to a dark elven girl who could deal with the entire Biblical faction herself. And Father was still alive and had not smitten her!
Raynare burst into laughter, unable to keep herself under control, and continued laughing until her laughter turned into hysterical howls. Before collapsing to the ground, only a dozen centimeters away from her puddle of vomit and urine, then, unable to hold back her howls, began sobbing.
"Lord Momonga, is it true?! Have you returned here to return to your abandoned children?!" Aura instantly jumped up in mute amazement and adoration looking at Father, but Raynare no longer cared about anything around her, the distraught fallen woman was laughing and crying as hard as she could.
"Ah… umu, well." Father looked at the dark elf with an amused and unsure look, as if to mock her ignorance. "About that, umu, Aura…"
"So Lady Bukubukuchagama can come back to us, too!" The dark elf's next words made Father freeze.
Momonga looked into Aura's eyes, understanding her loneliness… But how had she arrived at this point? He just wanted to find out information from Raynare, he had heard her calling him father and had heard something in the past from Tabula about such things. Sadly, he had never been a religious man and there were almost none of those in his social circle, so he knew next to nothing about religion.
He knew that the angels were God's messengers, so, in retrospect, he might have been able to guess that an angel might consider God as their father. Especially after noting that he was considered their father in the same sense in which Ainz Ooal Gown were considered 'parents' of the NPCs…
So, in hindsight, he might have guessed that if Raynare addressed him as 'father', that meant she saw him as her God… But he certainly couldn't have ever imagined that the conversation would take that turn! He definitely didn't expect Raynare to start vomiting and pissing herself out of nowhere!
He just wanted to find out information from Raynare - about what exactly she wanted to do with Issei, why, what she knew about these [Sacred Gears] and whatever else she knew. Issei knew nothing about the magical side of the world, so he decided to use Raynare and get the information from her.
But then she started calling him 'father' and then passed out, so Momonga decided to leave her alone for a while and get busy with Aura cutting up a dragon that happened to come his way. But then Raynare woke up, started calling him 'father', catching Aura's interest, Momonga's too. And so he decided to find out why she's doing that, and at the same time thought it would be rude, and he would hurt Aura if he didn't let her ask her questions.
All that led to Aura now looking at him intently, eyes glistening with moisture and underlying hope, lips trembling, and Momonga realized… That he couldn't upset Aura now.
Telling her that Bukubukuchagama wasn't coming back would trample her heart, and break her forever. Besides, with some probability, Bukubukuchagama or any other member of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild could actually exist in this world. Or, if he indeed did go to Earth's past, he just has to wait a couple of decades, and they would have been born in this world in the future.
He has no idea how to go from there, though… maybe he could fib and say something along the line that their 'rebirth' had some unforeseen issues? Or maybe even that they had suffered from amnesia due to some random enemy action. If nothing else, he has time to figure out what to do then.
And so, he wouldn't be lying when he says that Bukubukuchagama 'would' return – after all, Aura's question was not whether Bukubukuchagama 'will return' to us, but if Bukubukuchagama 'may return' to us. And because she theoretically could, it wouldn't be a lie if he says yes.
"Umu," Momonga squeezed his heart in a vice and nodded slowly, no matter how hard it is for him to lie – because he knew that it would be a lie. But, at the very least, he also wanted to believe that it would also be possible, he had been doing that for the last ten years after all.
"I don't know if it will happen, and if it will – when exactly it will happen… But it is possible."
Aura, hearing Momonga's words, froze… Whereupon Momonga saw tears running down her dark cheek, from her heterochromatic eyes.
"So… She's going to come back." Aura almost whispered these words, as if she herself could not believe what she was saying. "She really can… Come back too."
Momonga, unable to stand it, stretched out his arms to Aura, then pulled her into an embrace and, unable to restrain himself, lifted Aura in his arms and embraced her.
Aura instantly clutched at his office clothes, which he had created a little earlier, hiding the sight of his outfit, after which she began crying.
"Uwaaa…" Momonga instantly felt his clothes begin to soak in moisture. "Uwaaaah!"
'Aura may seem older and more serious than her brother, Mare, but she's still just a child.' Momonga felt like an old man as he stroked Aura's back and head as she, unable to contain her sobs, pressed her cheek against his clothes as she continued to shake in resounding cries. Raynare, on the other hand, had stopped sobbing a little earlier, and just continued lying on the ground, on her back, looking up at the ceiling, before closing her eyes with a sort of detached smile. Her consciousness finally leaving her.
"Well, well, don't cry, Aura, it's all right," Momonga ran a hand over the girl's back, feeling her wailing begin to subside into silent sobs and shaking shoulders before, when she calmed down a little, allowing Momonga to put her down from his embrace.
Aura still flinched periodically and sniffled noisily as she looked at Momonga, so there was no way to mistake her condition for anything else. Still, she stubbornly tried to force her expression back to a serious and even frown that only further emphasized her childlike directness in wanting to imitate her elders. Momonga could not contain a small, love-filled smile, looking at her action, which showed even more on his human face.
"Lord Momonga, I've made you dirty," Aura replied to Momonga after a moment, still unable to get her voice completely under control, proof of how much Momonga's words had affected her, "I humbly apologize and…"
"There's no need for that, Aura," Momonga held out the sleeve of his robe to Aura's face, then gently wiped the tears from her face, first from her right cheek, then from her left.
"You are my treasure, and I appreciate everything you give me – whether it is your smile, your work, or even your tears."
Aura, hearing these words, looked away, her eyes instantly beginning to fill with tears again, but she noisily sucked in air through her nose, then turned, looking at Momonga with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Lord Momonga, I believe I have an important errand to run – and I must do it, by all means, even if it grinds my bones into powder!"
"I'd rather you didn't hurt yourself trying to do my errands, especially if they're wrong or stupid," Momonga held out his hand and then patted Aura's head. "But yes, I suppose you should take care of the dragon's body, before it begins to decay."
"By your will, Lord Momonga!" Aura saluted him with her usual pep, then teleported to the body in a single, cohesive motion. Which, as if by itself, began to disintegrate into its component parts with a speed and professionalism that even the most advanced automated disassembly lines of his past world could not have expected.
Momonga shifted his gaze to the bloodstain, in which no human form was discernible, and shook his head. The only thing that's left of poor Issei. 'Well, in that case, I should think about what to do with the murdered Issei Hyoudou…'
Momonga shifted his gaze to the side, to Raynare, who continued to lie quietly on the ground, and shook his head.
'And I still need to decide what I should do with Raynare and her unexpected outburst, which I kind of indirectly confirmed to Aura, hmm…'
'Well,' - Momonga shrugged. 'Let's hope it doesn't have any far-reaching consequences.
Overlord (6)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord (6)
Momonga examined Raynare closely, but she never woke up from her strange zen trance, continuing to lie still on the ground with a slight and mysterious smile. Momonga even used [Awaken] on the girl, but the low-level spell didn't work, so apparently Raynare wasn't asleep either. But if that were so, then her current situation was even stranger than Momonga had assumed.
Raynare didn't wake up during the cutting of the red dragon, which was over in a few minutes. Nor did she wake up during the transfer of its parts, which added to Nazarick's collection, nor even when Momonga, as a test, ordered Aura to get rid of Raynare herself.
When Raynare did not rise even when she was about to die, Momonga was able to determine that whatever the fallen angel's condition is, she was clearly now completely useless in terms of answers… Except maybe using [Control Amnesia]? Where he could see the answers to his questions straight from Raynare's mind. But, as the brief experiment with Issei had shown, the mana consumption was considerable. And it would take a long time and many attempts to accrue an acceptable amount of information.
And, so, relying on the fact that Raynare had no unique escape powers of any kind, Momonga ordered her imprisonment in the Frozen Prison. That done with, he returned to pondering the current situation he had found himself in. Seeing off Raynare, who had never woken up, being carried away with some strange hesitation by Cocytus' vassals who, as if they were in doubt as to how exactly they should treat Raynare.
Although, Momonga had zero knowledge of the body language, gestures, and seemingly unchanging faces of the insectoids, and therefore did not give it any weight. For all he knows, that's their default expression.
'Hmm, Raynare can be dealt with a little later, at the very least, she can be killed and resurrected again to unequivocally rid her of all the statuses affecting her.' Momonga pondered the solution, as if to 'turn on and off' a living being was just something normal, the old reliable technique, before shaking his head.
'Judging by Nigredo's assessment, she should be able to withstand even the lowest-level resurrection, and experimenting with resurrection should have happened sooner or later. However, if she refuses to resurrect, I have no decent ways to resurrect her forcibly, only some high-level magic and [Wish Upon A Star] can do that. And the latter is too valuable, since I can only apply it six times without spending exp, after which I have to spend my own experience to activate it. An unfortunate situation indeed, so it's worth checking first to see if she wakes up on her own, after which I can send Pestonia to help Raynare recover. And only after that failed, can I experiment with resurrection. '
Momonga shook his head once more before returning his gaze to the spot where the red dragon fire had finally gone out. It burned long enough, but in the end it still went out even without using the special abilities of the inhabitants of Nazarick, though it did scorch the walls black completely.
However, the bare walls of one of the random rooms on the first floor were practically worthless. And the daily limits on restoration had covered rebuilding the room, hallway and a couple of corridors damaged when the red dragon suddenly appeared in front of Momonga easily.
"Umu, so the World Class Item is lost." Momonga's emotions surged for a moment, along with his anger at the dragon that destroyed the World Class Item, then at the Goemon that appeared to have somehow participated in it. Then at himself for making such a mistake, before dissipating completely.
'Okay, no point in crying over spilled milk, in a pinch I can always console myself with the thought that I deprived a potential enemy of a World Class Item. I wish I'd gotten it, but at least I got some important information in return. First and foremost, the very information that in this world at least some World Class Items are not just artifacts, but contain other sealed beings with strange and powerful abilities inside them,'
Momonga imagined for a moment himself sealed in the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown], giving the user the ability to use [Goal of All Life Is Death], but dispelled the thought. 'In that case I need to be careful, perhaps the World-Class Items of this world, [Sacred Gear], operate on entirely different principles than those of YGGDRASIL. When the dragon was released from the Inventory of Issei, he appeared intelligent, but far more critical to note was that the [Throne of Kings] did not suppress the effects of his strange ability, [Boost]. If the [Throne of Kings] has lost its function of neutralizing the actions of enemy World Class Items within Nazarick, this is extremely disturbing news, for it suggests that the actions of the World Class Items have changed.'
Momonga rubbed his belly where his own World Class Item was stored in some doubt. 'Or is it that this World Class Item was not directly directed against Nazarick. After all, the ability used, [Boost], only affected the dragon itself, the function of the WCI enhancing the dragon rather than targeting Nazarick directly. Or is it because the WCI of this world, the [Sacred Gears] is a living being, whereas in YGGDRASIL they were merely artifacts? Or could it be that once it left the bounds of the Inventory and, I assume, the gauntlet, the red dragon ceased to be a World-Class Item. And that it became just a high-level creature with the unique abilities for which it was originally imprisoned in an artifact for. And the [Throne of Kings] has no effect on creature abilities? I have so many theories, and I should check them out… But at the same time, I wouldn't want another World Class Item bearer anywhere near Nazarick. If [Throne of Kings] has now changed its effect or World Class Items no longer offer their bearers protection from other World Class Items, it might cost me dearly… Haaaa, I feel exhausted just imagining the consequences…'
After these reflections, Momonga shifted his gaze, finding Hanzo and Goemon still silently awaiting orders, in the 'dogeza' pose with their heads down. As if they imagined themselves as samurais, waiting for the moment when their lord would allow them to seppuku and retire from life with what remains of their honor.
"Why are you still here?" Momonga turned to the two ninjas, then inwardly cringed a little as the two creatures flinched, just realizing how harsh his words might be taken.
"I mean, umu, I wanted to say that you have done your tasks well and can go to rest for a while…"
Both creatures twitched after these words, then nodded slowly, "Of course, my Lord, we will always be ready to answer your call."
'Yes, they've just encountered, albeit briefly, a one hundred level dragon. I might be used to that thanks to my experience from YGGDRASIL, but the both of them, only having existed for… how old? Half an hour old? They must have been terrified of something like that, that must be why they're trembling so much. They showed their best side by rushing to defend me from the red dragon, even though they know they were nothing more than an annoying gnat to him.'
Momonga shook his head slightly. 'Of course, they're much lesser in importance when compared to Nazarick's NPCs, but they're really loyal to me and performed well right after their summoning. Ha, I'll have to figure out how to reward them… Come to think of it, maybe I should reward all of Nazarick's NPCs? They are loyal to me, but their loyalty may change over time. And even if not, I will never forgive myself if I become to Nazarick's NPCs what my old bosses were to me. No, even more than that, they are not just NPCs now, they are now living beings. Human and non-human beings, with their own goals, thoughts and aspirations, not just mindless drones for battle, I will need to devote time to studying them and trying to develop some sort of reward system. Ah, my head starts to hurt just thinking about it. Besides, I still need to figure out exactly what to tell Raynare when she wakes up'.
Momonga shook his head once again, trying to jostle his gray matter. 'I haven't directly confirmed what she said about me being her god or 'father', but apparently indirectly confirmed it to Aura by answering her question. She seemed to easily take for granted that I was some sort of 'god'. Especially when Raynare said that she was 'created'. In the minds of the NPCs, she was 'created' in the same way as they are. And based on the loyalty I have managed to see from the NPCs, it is extremely easy for them to imagine me as some kind of 'god'. If I tell the NPCs now that I just lied to Raynare, then I'll have to answer Aura's question about Bukubukuchagama. Not to mention the fact that posing as a god will obviously make it easier for me to influence Raynare.'
Momonga sighed, feeling the convoluted web of lies he has to manage trying to strangle him.
'But if I accept that Raynare and, I assume, the other fallen angels at least, or anyone else, are my NPCs from the past, there will be a problem with how I should treat them. I just can't consider Raynare on the level of my own NPCs. But if I start treating them significantly worse, the NPCs will notice this, they'll have a question like 'if Momonga treats his past NPCs so badly – then he'll treat his current NPCs, us, badly in the future too'. It'll break their heart… Or maybe they'll revolt, and then I'll be destroyed. I have a lot of trump cards up my sleeve and full information on all Nazarick NPCs, but the most I can fight under such conditions is two hundredth level NPCs. And that's if I burn through every expendable item I have. If all Nazarick turns against me, there is almost nothing to save me, most likely I can't even hope to escape from Nazarick. Especially considering that I don't want to fight Nazarick – the last memory of Ainz Ooal Gown…'
Momonga took a slow breath, then held his breath, and exhaled. 'Okay, Momonga, no need to panic, we'll deal with problems as they come. Raynare appears to be still out cold, and I've ordered the NPC to let me know when she wakes up – so she's not my concern right now. The one issue I need to tackle right now, is something else entirely.'
Momonga shifted his gaze to the bloody pool of blood in which no human figure could be discerned, crushed first by the red dragon's paw and then burned to black charcoal by its flames. "What to do with Issei Hyoudou?"
Scratching his head, Momonga was struck by the conundrum he's in. "Initially, I did plan to let him go home, albeit by taking his [Sacred Gear] and changing his memory. I will not however sacrifice rare, scarce items to resurrect him, especially given the danger that the red dragon in his inventory might resurrect along with his resurrection. Who knows what the dragon's reaction to that will be."
Momonga shook his head. "From what he told me before he died, his parents won't really notice he's missing until 24 hours later, and they're not powerful. They can't make my life much more difficult in the future – especially if I do go back now and kill them… However, if the disappearance of one person can still be justified somehow, the disappearance of an entire family would be difficult to explain. It might attract the powerful figures in the world's attention. Not to mention that in this case, I would not just have to show up for a moment, but to search around the city a bit and possibly leave some traces."
Momonga frowned slightly, coming with another avenue of actions. "If I completely ignore Issei's parents… Hmm, from what he says, magic is not available to his family, or his parents have managed to hide its existence from their son all this time, but more likely still the former. While teleporting into this place would require at least a ninth tier of magic, [Gate], protection from the multiple debuffs of this place is also necessary. Furthermore, an encounter with Nazarick itself, a small island in a seeming infinity of nothingness, seems minimal at best, especially if I keep the scrying defenses up. In other words, the possibility that a threat could come from them is minimal. "
Satisfied with his conclusion, Momonga nodded. "In that case, it's probably easiest to just leave them alone…" Momonga frowned slightly, as another niggling though drilled into his mind.
"But I wouldn't want to upset these people… Huh, how strange, I don't feel anything about Issei's death, but for some reason I am saddened by his parents' possible reaction, just because I can draw a parallel with myself. Really, what a farce."
Momonga tensed for a moment, thinking, trying to reconcile his rational part with his emotional part, or, in other words, trying to find a suitable justification for his feelings.
"Hmm, okay… To begin with, I need information, and while Raynare is a good source of potential information, she is still unconscious, or whatever else happened to her. Also, now that her status is at the level of 'potential fellow NPCs' for the denizen of Nazarick, any harsh actions towards her, like using charm magic, the NPC's will try on themselves. Which means I can't vouch for the truthfulness of the information she can give me, since I can't just torture her… Not to mention the fact that her information may only concern her side, she may lie out of ignorance, or might have biases that I can't detect if I just have one source of information. The need to verify the information she will give me from other sources, the fact that being a weak creature she may simply not know much. And of course the fact that Raynare may overlook some details she would consider 'obvious' if she really perceived me as her 'god'."
Momonga felt some phantom shiver down his back when he imagined the rest of the NPCs calling him god.
"Besides, I just don't want to sit twiddling my thumbs in Nazarick, even if it's my home, it's basically just a box floating in the void, I'd be glad to have some chance to get out of it. Especially if I can find a place without red dragons jumping out of the void every few minutes."
Momonga grimaced like he's feeling a toothache, "What is wrong with these dragons anyway, why am I always bumping into them?! I hope I don't get more dragons in my way…"
Momonga thought of an idea that suddenly struck him for a moment. In principle, after getting rid of Issei, and having the abilities of his new spell, [Create Body], he could just copy Issei's body and impersonate him. Besides, he really wouldn't mind going back to school.
More specifically, the chance to attend high school was a rare chance. He had only managed to learn elementary school in his life, so raising his level of education would be nice. However, his memories of Issei made him instantly drop the plan of using Issei as his cover. Momonga considered himself to be a bad actor, so if he had to play the role of Issei - he had no doubt that he would screw up in something big, and very soon at that… And let's not forget the fact that Momonga didn't want to look like some perverted voyeur!
He was totally not okay with peeping on girls and hanging out with some weird guys just to avoid arousing suspicion! But the support of his family would immediately give him extra protection and plausibility to his story. A man who appeared out of nowhere raised far more questions than a man with a family… there are so many advantages, but so many disadvantages either.
"No, I definitely don't agree to be Issei Hyoudou." Momonga made a firm decision before hesitating, still looking at the black remains of the former human.
"Ahem, maybe I could send a… Doppelgänger? Yes, a doppelgänger sounds great, it could take on the appearance of Issei Hyoudou to allay suspicion and still work for me at the same time, especially since doppelgängers are born actors. But at the same time, a simple doppelgänger would not do, they are able to check their surroundings thoughts, determining exactly how they should behave, but therein lies their main weakness. If two people have different perceptions of the same person at once, a doppelgänger will be torn between two opposing behaviors, which in the end will spell their doom… Or so it was explained and should work, understandably, doppelgängers in YGGDRASIL functioned quite differently, given that it was all just a game. However, since this world is no longer a game…"
Momonga thought and shook his head. "Hmm, okay, so just any doppelgänger won't do, I need someone with a high racial level to not get confused in their role, with excellent acting skills, with high intelligence… And let's not forget that there are really strong beings in this world"
Momonga raised his hand, rubbing his chin a little. "Nigredo has confirmed that in this world, or rather, in these worlds, in this universe? How do you say it right?"
Momonga thought for a second, then threw off the distraction. "There are a multitude of creatures with an average level of forty, including many stronger creatures. And I've already encountered a boss myself, and the owner of a World Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. I should start switching to the vocabulary of this world if I want to try to pass myself off as a local god. Of course, it might just be that I'm that unlucky, but potentially, this world is dangerous enough, and sending an untrained and weak doppelgänger on a mission makes no sense… If I still want to use a doppelgänger to gather information, hmm…"
Momonga rubbed his chin in his thoughtfulness once more. "I could even use his disguise myself and even possibly influence Issei's family through him and enroll myself in the high school. My disguise would be even stronger with somebody extensively on my side already entrenched. But in that case, I would additionally need a doppelgänger close enough to me and who understands how I think… So, all in all, I need a high-leveled doppelgänger with high intelligence, strength, and also familiar with my mannerisms to be able to create a fake identity for me to insert myself into…" Momonga sighed.
"Where could I find someone like…"
Momonga suddenly stopped thinking as an eerie thought ran through his mind.
Fear shackled his heart.
His soul quivered in the wind.
All Momonga could utter was a weak denial. "Oh no…"
"OH YES!" Pandora's Actor pirouetted on the spot, then instantly stopped in place and gave a martial salute with his hand to his temple. "Mein Gott! Dein Wille wird geschehen!"
"Please, at least not German!" The great Father of the Pandora Actor, froze, opening His mouth before still closing it, clearly admiring the incredible coolness of Pandora Actor himself.
At the thought of his Father admiring him so much, Pandora's Actor felt some strange feeling rise from his depths, as if it would tickle lightly through all his nerve endings. The sensation made Pandora's Actor hold back his laughter and swear in his heart to become even cooler so that his Father could enjoy a great performance. A performance Pandora's Actor would hold in His honor!
"Ah, m, um, yes…" Father finally managed to close His mouth before He coughed into his fist.
"Pandora's Actor, do you understand exactly what I am asking of you?"
"Jawoll!" Pandora Actor saluted immediately, after which he felt his Father literally knock him to the ground, pinning him to the couch next to him.
"I also forbid you to use German during this entire mission!" His Father stared at him with His burning eyes staring deep into Pandora Actor's very soul. "That's right, I forbid you to use German at all! Period!"
Pandora Actor only smiled inwardly at these words. This meant that his Father fully acknowledged the Pandora Actor's actions, that He agreed that the Pandora Actor had fully mastered the coolness that came with the German language that his Father had put into him. And now, Pandora Actor himself had to find new ways to demonstrate his coolness, and at the same time to widen the very horizon of understanding 'coolness'.
Exactly as his Father had bequeathed him!. "Of course, Lord Mo~mo~nga!"
"The singing isn't much better, but they can be tolerated," Father swallowed something, probably an exclamation of just how cool Pandora Actor's is as he pulled away from Pandora's Actor, letting him first lift one leg high. Then, using that as a lever and counterbalance, to rise in a single upward motion, remembering to turn in his movement so that his cloak would rustle behind him and his back would be turned to his Father. The greatest insult a resident of Nazarick could ever show to the Greatest of High Beings, but Pandora Actor was permitted to do so. Because it was Lord Momonga Himself who had created him as such.
Pandora's Actor knew that his pose, the way he now turned his back to his Maker, turning his head to the side as if looking past his Father. Looking at the Lord with one eye and shifting his body slightly as if he were leaning on one leg, and putting out the other to the side, was the peak essence of coolness. "Oh, my Creator, Your will be done!"
"Kuh, can you not call me that?" His Father swallowed yet another exclamation of coolness.
"You may address me as 'Father' or 'Pa…' No, just call me 'Father.'"
"Father?" Pandora actor couldn't believe his ears for a second – which, strictly speaking, he didn't have in this uniform and form. Was it really not a dream, was it real? Had he really earned this, this most sacred right of all, this almost blasphemous right to call Him, the Supreme Being, the Lord of all the Great Tomb Nazarick… Father?! His own Father?!
Pandora's Actor would have cried with the force of a thousand waterfalls if he could, but his body was deprived of that ability… Besides, the Pandora Actor understood that mindless sobbing was not cool, and his Father appreciated his coolness in everything.
He had created him as such. Which meant that the Pandora Actor, who had been given the greatest right of all, the right to call Lord Momonga his Father, could not, in no way, shame his Lord and show his 'uncool' side. And mere moments after his Father had granted him His greatest mercy at that!
Some tears were cool, Pandora's Actor knew this, but with all his great intellect given to him at his Father's creation he could find no way to turn those tears that were waiting to come out, into cool tears. He could only smile helplessly, seeing how, with just one sentence, his Father had turned all his lauded intellect to nothing, and acknowledge his utter admiration and powerlessness in the face of the Greatest Supreme Being.
"Yes, but only in private, umu, it would be strange for you to call me Father on a mission."
Father shook His head, before acting as if he had forgotten something. "Ah, right, I almost completely forgot, in addition to your mission of gathering information and posing as Issei, I will also travel with you as your… Umu, the older brother of Issei, and I'm counting on you to help me maintain my cover."
Pandora's Actor paused for a moment before realizing something magnificent. Indeed, there's no reward as great as the right to call Him, the Greatest, their Father, could have been bestowed without an equally great test. For otherwise it would have been only an undeserved reward, weighing down the soul of Lord Momonga's loyal servant, and becoming a stigma on their minds. For none of all Nazarick would have allowed themselves to benefit from a reward bestowed upon them by a Supreme Being without an equally grand achievement.
And his Father, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, bestowed upon Pandora's Actor just this – the opportunity to prove, not to the Father himself, but to himself, the right for him to enjoy the greatest reward of all. For the Actor was not to take center stage in this play, being only an Actor, he was to become not the leading role, but the support, the main stage decoration, which would elevate his Father above all others.
Just so, Pandora's Actor was to play his part as an Actor is supposed to, and let his Father ascend to the applause of the audience. Playing villain and hero as his role required, to allow his Father to rise above them all.
"Umu, however, I will likely be away a lot on Nazarick business, so I will need to come up with a rationale as to why I will be away a lot. Hmm, maybe sanitary quarantine? No, I don't think they are that common in this world yet, and I don't think I could easily find slums that often use 'cleaners' in this world…" His Father pretended to be thinking for a moment, as if He in his infinite Wisdom hadn't found an answer to something. Immersing Himself in thoughts that were beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, and plans that stretched wider and deeper than any body of water, before shaking his head.
"Ahem, well, that can be decided later."
"That's right, Father!" Pandora's Actor instantly saluted his Father's decision, causing Him to freeze for a second.
"Um, also, please don't salute… Not in Nazarick, not on the mission, not anywhere,"
Momonga nodded seriously, and Pandora's Actor was pleased that his Father considered his salutes also had perfectly achieved coolness, and therefore no longer necessary.
For the Actor's skill was not to repeat the same old tricks, but to seek out new roles, each of which he had to turn into a peak of cool!
"Ah right, regarding the looks you need to use," Father pronounced before with a wave of his hand he enacted a miracle, "[Create Body]."
A moment later, Father's form changed, and a young man with brown hair and brown eyes appeared before Actor. Pandora's Actor felt a joyous longing in his chest, for he knew that the Father was the God of Death and the Supreme Being, but to see a new facet of His power was a blessing in itself. But to see how they would become alike, indeed, as Son and Father, was a blessing above all others, for it confirmed once again that Actor was indeed entitled to call himself a son and Lord Momonga his Father.
'How great is His wisdom, for His every movement leads to its purpose, every gesture is woven into a single story, an endless spectacle where He owns all the roses from the sighing audience. Being both hero and villain, dragon and knight, truly, there is no happiness higher than being His son.' Pandora's Actor fortified his heart, for it had been bestowed upon him by his Father, and began to scrutinize the form of the young lad before him.
Before, a moment later, Pandora's Actor form changed and the exact same copy of the young lad arose before his mirror reflection.
"Umu, okay in that case, um, [Create Body]. I'll take advantage of that."
A moment later, his Lord's form changes again, now a slightly older and slightly taller than his previous one. With shorter hair running neatly down the sides of his head, clearly combed unlike Issei's hair, and eyes a tone darker, so that tracing the family resemblance was incredibly easy.
'Father, even so, I can only rejoice in how similar we are now, even if none of these bodies are our real ones…' Pandora's Actor smiled slightly, but refrained from showing his happiness fully. Wide smiles were very rarely cool, and this was clearly not the time for that.
"Umu, in that case… I'd also like to give this to you for safekeeping, it's the remains of your disguise's World-Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. It's pretty much destroyed, but I think we can still benefit from it."
A moment later, Father's hand disappeared into his Inventory, then emerged holding a split and shattered red gauntlet, crumpled in many places and covered in caked blood and black soot. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about the gauntlet, even if the Chief Blacksmith were to repair it, it would become just another gauntlet, a relic among the thousands of others collected in the Treasury of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. But if his Lord said that it was a World Class Item, then it must be one.
In its current state, with caked blood and the imprint of a large claw and the slight, not yet fully gone smell and sense of the presence of the mighty red dragon sealed within, this gauntlet could indeed 'do good'.
'How far does Your knowledge extend, Father? How far does Your eye see, and how grandiose are Your schemes really?' Pandora's Actor took the glove in his hand gently, after which, a moment later, it disappeared into his Inventory. Before, realizing exactly what role he was to play in the new play, pressed his hand to his heart, his outflow of admiration no longer could be held back.
"Wenn es meines Gottes Wille ist!"
Momonga could not hold back his emotions either. "I SAID NO GERMAN!"
Momonga examined Raynare closely, but she never woke up from her strange zen trance, continuing to lie still on the ground with a slight and mysterious smile. Momonga even used [Awaken] on the girl, but the low-level spell didn't work, so apparently Raynare wasn't asleep either. But if that were so, then her current situation was even stranger than Momonga had assumed.
Raynare didn't wake up during the cutting of the red dragon, which was over in a few minutes. Nor did she wake up during the transfer of its parts, which added to Nazarick's collection, nor even when Momonga, as a test, ordered Aura to get rid of Raynare herself.
When Raynare did not rise even when she was about to die, Momonga was able to determine that whatever the fallen angel's condition is, she was clearly now completely useless in terms of answers… Except maybe using [Control Amnesia]? Where he could see the answers to his questions straight from Raynare's mind. But, as the brief experiment with Issei had shown, the mana consumption was considerable. And it would take a long time and many attempts to accrue an acceptable amount of information.
And, so, relying on the fact that Raynare had no unique escape powers of any kind, Momonga ordered her imprisonment in the Frozen Prison. That done with, he returned to pondering the current situation he had found himself in. Seeing off Raynare, who had never woken up, being carried away with some strange hesitation by Cocytus' vassals who, as if they were in doubt as to how exactly they should treat Raynare.
Although, Momonga had zero knowledge of the body language, gestures, and seemingly unchanging faces of the insectoids, and therefore did not give it any weight. For all he knows, that's their default expression.
'Hmm, Raynare can be dealt with a little later, at the very least, she can be killed and resurrected again to unequivocally rid her of all the statuses affecting her.' Momonga pondered the solution, as if to 'turn on and off' a living being was just something normal, the old reliable technique, before shaking his head.
'Judging by Nigredo's assessment, she should be able to withstand even the lowest-level resurrection, and experimenting with resurrection should have happened sooner or later. However, if she refuses to resurrect, I have no decent ways to resurrect her forcibly, only some high-level magic and [Wish Upon A Star] can do that. And the latter is too valuable, since I can only apply it six times without spending exp, after which I have to spend my own experience to activate it. An unfortunate situation indeed, so it's worth checking first to see if she wakes up on her own, after which I can send Pestonia to help Raynare recover. And only after that failed, can I experiment with resurrection. '
Momonga shook his head once more before returning his gaze to the spot where the red dragon fire had finally gone out. It burned long enough, but in the end it still went out even without using the special abilities of the inhabitants of Nazarick, though it did scorch the walls black completely.
However, the bare walls of one of the random rooms on the first floor were practically worthless. And the daily limits on restoration had covered rebuilding the room, hallway and a couple of corridors damaged when the red dragon suddenly appeared in front of Momonga easily.
"Umu, so the World Class Item is lost." Momonga's emotions surged for a moment, along with his anger at the dragon that destroyed the World Class Item, then at the Goemon that appeared to have somehow participated in it. Then at himself for making such a mistake, before dissipating completely.
'Okay, no point in crying over spilled milk, in a pinch I can always console myself with the thought that I deprived a potential enemy of a World Class Item. I wish I'd gotten it, but at least I got some important information in return. First and foremost, the very information that in this world at least some World Class Items are not just artifacts, but contain other sealed beings with strange and powerful abilities inside them,'
Momonga imagined for a moment himself sealed in the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown], giving the user the ability to use [Goal of All Life Is Death], but dispelled the thought. 'In that case I need to be careful, perhaps the World-Class Items of this world, [Sacred Gear], operate on entirely different principles than those of YGGDRASIL. When the dragon was released from the Inventory of Issei, he appeared intelligent, but far more critical to note was that the [Throne of Kings] did not suppress the effects of his strange ability, [Boost]. If the [Throne of Kings] has lost its function of neutralizing the actions of enemy World Class Items within Nazarick, this is extremely disturbing news, for it suggests that the actions of the World Class Items have changed.'
Momonga rubbed his belly where his own World Class Item was stored in some doubt. 'Or is it that this World Class Item was not directly directed against Nazarick. After all, the ability used, [Boost], only affected the dragon itself, the function of the WCI enhancing the dragon rather than targeting Nazarick directly. Or is it because the WCI of this world, the [Sacred Gears] is a living being, whereas in YGGDRASIL they were merely artifacts? Or could it be that once it left the bounds of the Inventory and, I assume, the gauntlet, the red dragon ceased to be a World-Class Item. And that it became just a high-level creature with the unique abilities for which it was originally imprisoned in an artifact for. And the [Throne of Kings] has no effect on creature abilities? I have so many theories, and I should check them out… But at the same time, I wouldn't want another World Class Item bearer anywhere near Nazarick. If [Throne of Kings] has now changed its effect or World Class Items no longer offer their bearers protection from other World Class Items, it might cost me dearly… Haaaa, I feel exhausted just imagining the consequences…'
After these reflections, Momonga shifted his gaze, finding Hanzo and Goemon still silently awaiting orders, in the 'dogeza' pose with their heads down. As if they imagined themselves as samurais, waiting for the moment when their lord would allow them to seppuku and retire from life with what remains of their honor.
"Why are you still here?" Momonga turned to the two ninjas, then inwardly cringed a little as the two creatures flinched, just realizing how harsh his words might be taken.
"I mean, umu, I wanted to say that you have done your tasks well and can go to rest for a while…"
Both creatures twitched after these words, then nodded slowly, "Of course, my Lord, we will always be ready to answer your call."
'Yes, they've just encountered, albeit briefly, a one hundred level dragon. I might be used to that thanks to my experience from YGGDRASIL, but the both of them, only having existed for… how old? Half an hour old? They must have been terrified of something like that, that must be why they're trembling so much. They showed their best side by rushing to defend me from the red dragon, even though they know they were nothing more than an annoying gnat to him.'
Momonga shook his head slightly. 'Of course, they're much lesser in importance when compared to Nazarick's NPCs, but they're really loyal to me and performed well right after their summoning. Ha, I'll have to figure out how to reward them… Come to think of it, maybe I should reward all of Nazarick's NPCs? They are loyal to me, but their loyalty may change over time. And even if not, I will never forgive myself if I become to Nazarick's NPCs what my old bosses were to me. No, even more than that, they are not just NPCs now, they are now living beings. Human and non-human beings, with their own goals, thoughts and aspirations, not just mindless drones for battle, I will need to devote time to studying them and trying to develop some sort of reward system. Ah, my head starts to hurt just thinking about it. Besides, I still need to figure out exactly what to tell Raynare when she wakes up'.
Momonga shook his head once again, trying to jostle his gray matter. 'I haven't directly confirmed what she said about me being her god or 'father', but apparently indirectly confirmed it to Aura by answering her question. She seemed to easily take for granted that I was some sort of 'god'. Especially when Raynare said that she was 'created'. In the minds of the NPCs, she was 'created' in the same way as they are. And based on the loyalty I have managed to see from the NPCs, it is extremely easy for them to imagine me as some kind of 'god'. If I tell the NPCs now that I just lied to Raynare, then I'll have to answer Aura's question about Bukubukuchagama. Not to mention the fact that posing as a god will obviously make it easier for me to influence Raynare.'
Momonga sighed, feeling the convoluted web of lies he has to manage trying to strangle him.
'But if I accept that Raynare and, I assume, the other fallen angels at least, or anyone else, are my NPCs from the past, there will be a problem with how I should treat them. I just can't consider Raynare on the level of my own NPCs. But if I start treating them significantly worse, the NPCs will notice this, they'll have a question like 'if Momonga treats his past NPCs so badly – then he'll treat his current NPCs, us, badly in the future too'. It'll break their heart… Or maybe they'll revolt, and then I'll be destroyed. I have a lot of trump cards up my sleeve and full information on all Nazarick NPCs, but the most I can fight under such conditions is two hundredth level NPCs. And that's if I burn through every expendable item I have. If all Nazarick turns against me, there is almost nothing to save me, most likely I can't even hope to escape from Nazarick. Especially considering that I don't want to fight Nazarick – the last memory of Ainz Ooal Gown…'
Momonga took a slow breath, then held his breath, and exhaled. 'Okay, Momonga, no need to panic, we'll deal with problems as they come. Raynare appears to be still out cold, and I've ordered the NPC to let me know when she wakes up – so she's not my concern right now. The one issue I need to tackle right now, is something else entirely.'
Momonga shifted his gaze to the bloody pool of blood in which no human figure could be discerned, crushed first by the red dragon's paw and then burned to black charcoal by its flames. "What to do with Issei Hyoudou?"
Scratching his head, Momonga was struck by the conundrum he's in. "Initially, I did plan to let him go home, albeit by taking his [Sacred Gear] and changing his memory. I will not however sacrifice rare, scarce items to resurrect him, especially given the danger that the red dragon in his inventory might resurrect along with his resurrection. Who knows what the dragon's reaction to that will be."
Momonga shook his head. "From what he told me before he died, his parents won't really notice he's missing until 24 hours later, and they're not powerful. They can't make my life much more difficult in the future – especially if I do go back now and kill them… However, if the disappearance of one person can still be justified somehow, the disappearance of an entire family would be difficult to explain. It might attract the powerful figures in the world's attention. Not to mention that in this case, I would not just have to show up for a moment, but to search around the city a bit and possibly leave some traces."
Momonga frowned slightly, coming with another avenue of actions. "If I completely ignore Issei's parents… Hmm, from what he says, magic is not available to his family, or his parents have managed to hide its existence from their son all this time, but more likely still the former. While teleporting into this place would require at least a ninth tier of magic, [Gate], protection from the multiple debuffs of this place is also necessary. Furthermore, an encounter with Nazarick itself, a small island in a seeming infinity of nothingness, seems minimal at best, especially if I keep the scrying defenses up. In other words, the possibility that a threat could come from them is minimal. "
Satisfied with his conclusion, Momonga nodded. "In that case, it's probably easiest to just leave them alone…" Momonga frowned slightly, as another niggling though drilled into his mind.
"But I wouldn't want to upset these people… Huh, how strange, I don't feel anything about Issei's death, but for some reason I am saddened by his parents' possible reaction, just because I can draw a parallel with myself. Really, what a farce."
Momonga tensed for a moment, thinking, trying to reconcile his rational part with his emotional part, or, in other words, trying to find a suitable justification for his feelings.
"Hmm, okay… To begin with, I need information, and while Raynare is a good source of potential information, she is still unconscious, or whatever else happened to her. Also, now that her status is at the level of 'potential fellow NPCs' for the denizen of Nazarick, any harsh actions towards her, like using charm magic, the NPC's will try on themselves. Which means I can't vouch for the truthfulness of the information she can give me, since I can't just torture her… Not to mention the fact that her information may only concern her side, she may lie out of ignorance, or might have biases that I can't detect if I just have one source of information. The need to verify the information she will give me from other sources, the fact that being a weak creature she may simply not know much. And of course the fact that Raynare may overlook some details she would consider 'obvious' if she really perceived me as her 'god'."
Momonga felt some phantom shiver down his back when he imagined the rest of the NPCs calling him god.
"Besides, I just don't want to sit twiddling my thumbs in Nazarick, even if it's my home, it's basically just a box floating in the void, I'd be glad to have some chance to get out of it. Especially if I can find a place without red dragons jumping out of the void every few minutes."
Momonga grimaced like he's feeling a toothache, "What is wrong with these dragons anyway, why am I always bumping into them?! I hope I don't get more dragons in my way…"
Momonga thought of an idea that suddenly struck him for a moment. In principle, after getting rid of Issei, and having the abilities of his new spell, [Create Body], he could just copy Issei's body and impersonate him. Besides, he really wouldn't mind going back to school.
More specifically, the chance to attend high school was a rare chance. He had only managed to learn elementary school in his life, so raising his level of education would be nice. However, his memories of Issei made him instantly drop the plan of using Issei as his cover. Momonga considered himself to be a bad actor, so if he had to play the role of Issei - he had no doubt that he would screw up in something big, and very soon at that… And let's not forget the fact that Momonga didn't want to look like some perverted voyeur!
He was totally not okay with peeping on girls and hanging out with some weird guys just to avoid arousing suspicion! But the support of his family would immediately give him extra protection and plausibility to his story. A man who appeared out of nowhere raised far more questions than a man with a family… there are so many advantages, but so many disadvantages either.
"No, I definitely don't agree to be Issei Hyoudou." Momonga made a firm decision before hesitating, still looking at the black remains of the former human.
"Ahem, maybe I could send a… Doppelgänger? Yes, a doppelgänger sounds great, it could take on the appearance of Issei Hyoudou to allay suspicion and still work for me at the same time, especially since doppelgängers are born actors. But at the same time, a simple doppelgänger would not do, they are able to check their surroundings thoughts, determining exactly how they should behave, but therein lies their main weakness. If two people have different perceptions of the same person at once, a doppelgänger will be torn between two opposing behaviors, which in the end will spell their doom… Or so it was explained and should work, understandably, doppelgängers in YGGDRASIL functioned quite differently, given that it was all just a game. However, since this world is no longer a game…"
Momonga thought and shook his head. "Hmm, okay, so just any doppelgänger won't do, I need someone with a high racial level to not get confused in their role, with excellent acting skills, with high intelligence… And let's not forget that there are really strong beings in this world"
Momonga raised his hand, rubbing his chin a little. "Nigredo has confirmed that in this world, or rather, in these worlds, in this universe? How do you say it right?"
Momonga thought for a second, then threw off the distraction. "There are a multitude of creatures with an average level of forty, including many stronger creatures. And I've already encountered a boss myself, and the owner of a World Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. I should start switching to the vocabulary of this world if I want to try to pass myself off as a local god. Of course, it might just be that I'm that unlucky, but potentially, this world is dangerous enough, and sending an untrained and weak doppelgänger on a mission makes no sense… If I still want to use a doppelgänger to gather information, hmm…"
Momonga rubbed his chin in his thoughtfulness once more. "I could even use his disguise myself and even possibly influence Issei's family through him and enroll myself in the high school. My disguise would be even stronger with somebody extensively on my side already entrenched. But in that case, I would additionally need a doppelgänger close enough to me and who understands how I think… So, all in all, I need a high-leveled doppelgänger with high intelligence, strength, and also familiar with my mannerisms to be able to create a fake identity for me to insert myself into…" Momonga sighed.
"Where could I find someone like…"
Momonga suddenly stopped thinking as an eerie thought ran through his mind.
Fear shackled his heart.
His soul quivered in the wind.
All Momonga could utter was a weak denial. "Oh no…"
"OH YES!" Pandora's Actor pirouetted on the spot, then instantly stopped in place and gave a martial salute with his hand to his temple. "Mein Gott! Dein Wille wird geschehen!"
"Please, at least not German!" The great Father of the Pandora Actor, froze, opening His mouth before still closing it, clearly admiring the incredible coolness of Pandora Actor himself.
At the thought of his Father admiring him so much, Pandora's Actor felt some strange feeling rise from his depths, as if it would tickle lightly through all his nerve endings. The sensation made Pandora's Actor hold back his laughter and swear in his heart to become even cooler so that his Father could enjoy a great performance. A performance Pandora's Actor would hold in His honor!
"Ah, m, um, yes…" Father finally managed to close His mouth before He coughed into his fist.
"Pandora's Actor, do you understand exactly what I am asking of you?"
"Jawoll!" Pandora Actor saluted immediately, after which he felt his Father literally knock him to the ground, pinning him to the couch next to him.
"I also forbid you to use German during this entire mission!" His Father stared at him with His burning eyes staring deep into Pandora Actor's very soul. "That's right, I forbid you to use German at all! Period!"
Pandora Actor only smiled inwardly at these words. This meant that his Father fully acknowledged the Pandora Actor's actions, that He agreed that the Pandora Actor had fully mastered the coolness that came with the German language that his Father had put into him. And now, Pandora Actor himself had to find new ways to demonstrate his coolness, and at the same time to widen the very horizon of understanding 'coolness'.
Exactly as his Father had bequeathed him!. "Of course, Lord Mo~mo~nga!"
"The singing isn't much better, but they can be tolerated," Father swallowed something, probably an exclamation of just how cool Pandora Actor's is as he pulled away from Pandora's Actor, letting him first lift one leg high. Then, using that as a lever and counterbalance, to rise in a single upward motion, remembering to turn in his movement so that his cloak would rustle behind him and his back would be turned to his Father. The greatest insult a resident of Nazarick could ever show to the Greatest of High Beings, but Pandora Actor was permitted to do so. Because it was Lord Momonga Himself who had created him as such.
Pandora's Actor knew that his pose, the way he now turned his back to his Maker, turning his head to the side as if looking past his Father. Looking at the Lord with one eye and shifting his body slightly as if he were leaning on one leg, and putting out the other to the side, was the peak essence of coolness. "Oh, my Creator, Your will be done!"
"Kuh, can you not call me that?" His Father swallowed yet another exclamation of coolness.
"You may address me as 'Father' or 'Pa…' No, just call me 'Father.'"
"Father?" Pandora actor couldn't believe his ears for a second – which, strictly speaking, he didn't have in this uniform and form. Was it really not a dream, was it real? Had he really earned this, this most sacred right of all, this almost blasphemous right to call Him, the Supreme Being, the Lord of all the Great Tomb Nazarick… Father?! His own Father?!
Pandora's Actor would have cried with the force of a thousand waterfalls if he could, but his body was deprived of that ability… Besides, the Pandora Actor understood that mindless sobbing was not cool, and his Father appreciated his coolness in everything.
He had created him as such. Which meant that the Pandora Actor, who had been given the greatest right of all, the right to call Lord Momonga his Father, could not, in no way, shame his Lord and show his 'uncool' side. And mere moments after his Father had granted him His greatest mercy at that!
Some tears were cool, Pandora's Actor knew this, but with all his great intellect given to him at his Father's creation he could find no way to turn those tears that were waiting to come out, into cool tears. He could only smile helplessly, seeing how, with just one sentence, his Father had turned all his lauded intellect to nothing, and acknowledge his utter admiration and powerlessness in the face of the Greatest Supreme Being.
"Yes, but only in private, umu, it would be strange for you to call me Father on a mission."
Father shook His head, before acting as if he had forgotten something. "Ah, right, I almost completely forgot, in addition to your mission of gathering information and posing as Issei, I will also travel with you as your… Umu, the older brother of Issei, and I'm counting on you to help me maintain my cover."
Pandora's Actor paused for a moment before realizing something magnificent. Indeed, there's no reward as great as the right to call Him, the Greatest, their Father, could have been bestowed without an equally great test. For otherwise it would have been only an undeserved reward, weighing down the soul of Lord Momonga's loyal servant, and becoming a stigma on their minds. For none of all Nazarick would have allowed themselves to benefit from a reward bestowed upon them by a Supreme Being without an equally grand achievement.
And his Father, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, bestowed upon Pandora's Actor just this – the opportunity to prove, not to the Father himself, but to himself, the right for him to enjoy the greatest reward of all. For the Actor was not to take center stage in this play, being only an Actor, he was to become not the leading role, but the support, the main stage decoration, which would elevate his Father above all others.
Just so, Pandora's Actor was to play his part as an Actor is supposed to, and let his Father ascend to the applause of the audience. Playing villain and hero as his role required, to allow his Father to rise above them all.
"Umu, however, I will likely be away a lot on Nazarick business, so I will need to come up with a rationale as to why I will be away a lot. Hmm, maybe sanitary quarantine? No, I don't think they are that common in this world yet, and I don't think I could easily find slums that often use 'cleaners' in this world…" His Father pretended to be thinking for a moment, as if He in his infinite Wisdom hadn't found an answer to something. Immersing Himself in thoughts that were beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, and plans that stretched wider and deeper than any body of water, before shaking his head.
"Ahem, well, that can be decided later."
"That's right, Father!" Pandora's Actor instantly saluted his Father's decision, causing Him to freeze for a second.
"Um, also, please don't salute… Not in Nazarick, not on the mission, not anywhere,"
Momonga nodded seriously, and Pandora's Actor was pleased that his Father considered his salutes also had perfectly achieved coolness, and therefore no longer necessary.
For the Actor's skill was not to repeat the same old tricks, but to seek out new roles, each of which he had to turn into a peak of cool!
"Ah right, regarding the looks you need to use," Father pronounced before with a wave of his hand he enacted a miracle, "[Create Body]."
A moment later, Father's form changed, and a young man with brown hair and brown eyes appeared before Actor. Pandora's Actor felt a joyous longing in his chest, for he knew that the Father was the God of Death and the Supreme Being, but to see a new facet of His power was a blessing in itself. But to see how they would become alike, indeed, as Son and Father, was a blessing above all others, for it confirmed once again that Actor was indeed entitled to call himself a son and Lord Momonga his Father.
'How great is His wisdom, for His every movement leads to its purpose, every gesture is woven into a single story, an endless spectacle where He owns all the roses from the sighing audience. Being both hero and villain, dragon and knight, truly, there is no happiness higher than being His son.' Pandora's Actor fortified his heart, for it had been bestowed upon him by his Father, and began to scrutinize the form of the young lad before him.
Before, a moment later, Pandora's Actor form changed and the exact same copy of the young lad arose before his mirror reflection.
"Umu, okay in that case, um, [Create Body]. I'll take advantage of that."
A moment later, his Lord's form changes again, now a slightly older and slightly taller than his previous one. With shorter hair running neatly down the sides of his head, clearly combed unlike Issei's hair, and eyes a tone darker, so that tracing the family resemblance was incredibly easy.
'Father, even so, I can only rejoice in how similar we are now, even if none of these bodies are our real ones…' Pandora's Actor smiled slightly, but refrained from showing his happiness fully. Wide smiles were very rarely cool, and this was clearly not the time for that.
"Umu, in that case… I'd also like to give this to you for safekeeping, it's the remains of your disguise's World-Class Item, um, [Sacred Gear]. It's pretty much destroyed, but I think we can still benefit from it."
A moment later, Father's hand disappeared into his Inventory, then emerged holding a split and shattered red gauntlet, crumpled in many places and covered in caked blood and black soot. Indeed, there was nothing unusual about the gauntlet, even if the Chief Blacksmith were to repair it, it would become just another gauntlet, a relic among the thousands of others collected in the Treasury of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. But if his Lord said that it was a World Class Item, then it must be one.
In its current state, with caked blood and the imprint of a large claw and the slight, not yet fully gone smell and sense of the presence of the mighty red dragon sealed within, this gauntlet could indeed 'do good'.
'How far does Your knowledge extend, Father? How far does Your eye see, and how grandiose are Your schemes really?' Pandora's Actor took the glove in his hand gently, after which, a moment later, it disappeared into his Inventory. Before, realizing exactly what role he was to play in the new play, pressed his hand to his heart, his outflow of admiration no longer could be held back.
"Wenn es meines Gottes Wille ist!"
Momonga could not hold back his emotions either. "I SAID NO GERMAN!"
Prologue (7)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Prologue (7)
Tannin was an old dragon. Old even to dragons – not just to humans and similar short-lived races. One of the Six Dragon Kings, it was expected for him to be old. At least, he was once one of them, before he was reborn as a demon, and the Dragon Kings dwindled in number to five.
Of course, even powerful demons couldn't completely reborn Tannin into a demon, to etch out all his dragon essence and completely replace that with a demonic one. Tannin may have changed his essence, stopped being a Dragon King and became a 'queen'-piece demon. But in the end he was still a dragon, whatever the whispers of those who hated him whispered behind his back, laughing at his decision to enlist as a demon for the ephemeral purpose of 'saving the species,'.
Many dragons had a rather simple view of the world, that if someone was too weak to survive – perhaps they didn't deserve to survive in the first place.
But Tannin thought otherwise. Defying the beliefs of so many dragons, he caused a split in his society, forcing the ever-quarreling winged lizards to unite, into groups that supported Tannin's decision to save the dragon species. With the other side, a group that were offended by his decision to serve the demons, dismissing his title of Dragon King as an old unwanted rag.
And, where the seed of enmity had been planted, a harvest of lies would spring up. And so many rumors about Tannin began to spread faster than listeners had time to hear all the previous ones. That he had lost his dragon wings, that he was no longer defined by their senses as a dragon, that he now worked as a watchdog for his new master, Mephisto.
Of course, lies were nothing more than that, lies – Tannin was in fact still a dragon.
And dragons had many natural advantages over many other races – advantages so important that it was simply impossible to get past them.
One of those advantages was a dragon's natural disposition to learn magic.
Of course, Tannin was never really strong in that direction. The only magic he really relied on was the magic of his [Blast Breath] and other than that he only relied on his strong claws.
But even so, thanks to his nature, and thanks to the action of his [Figure], Tannin has a keen sense to detect magic. He was able to sense strong magic from several hundred meters away, even while distracted by the communication with his sons.
So when Tannin sensed the usage of really powerful magic, as far as Tannin himself could determine, some kind of portal, he was alert. The not yet fully formed portal was enough to alert Tannin to the intrusion, only for it to disappear a moment later – Tannin instantly realized that the situation was strange.
When that intrusion was instantly gone, as if knowing that Tannin had cottoned on to its presence, the situation went from strange to mysterious.
Teleportation wasn't some rare trick in the world of the supernatural, but it was unlikely that any of the demons in Tannin's neighborhood would suddenly dare to invade the demesne of a former Dragon King, an Ultimate rank Demon. At least, not without an extremely good reason.
And, as further questioning and inspection of the demons' situation showed, none of Tannin's acquaintances planned to pay him a surprise visit. That, in turn, made Tannin's situation even more puzzling. Who in that case would try to appear in Tannin's fiefdom? More importantly, if they were planning to do so, why did they change their mind moments later, allowing the portal to disperse before it could even fully form?
Especially strange was the fact that Tannin himself and his territory were of no interest. His territory was populated almost entirely by dragons, with the only thing of interest in his mountain being the Dragon Apples. With all the attempts Tannin himself or the ruling Satans had made to establish relations between the other races, the process of reconciling the two different races, dragons and demons, was too slow. And that was even for Tannin himself, who was an unaging and very old man.
Who could have thought of trying to go into dragon territory? Why would they change their minds? And, in the end, what did this event itself mean to Tannin himself and his dragon wards?
Tannin did not know the answers to these questions… But for some reason, when he thought about the strange incident, Tannin's insides began to tighten into a strange and unpleasant knot…
He hoped that it's just indigestion, and not his instincts crying out that he's in great danger…
Goemon and Hanzo looked at each other with uneasy looks. Though neither could see the other's eyes, they both could tell that each other's expression was nothing but good. Stepping astride to their destination, even with the pall of their failure hanging heavy on their head, they couldn't help but admire the architecture of the place they had found themselves in.
The small room was filled with a light and enchanting half-light, accentuating the expensive wood counter in the room, the chandelier hanging above highlighting the many shelves full of precious drinks behind the glass cabinet. In front, laid several padded seats in front of the bar, and finally their attention landed on the steward of this bar himself.
There could be nothing else this place could be, a place where failures like them go to wash away their shame. In concert, the two of them bowed fully before the proprietor of the bar, bending their waist to a right angle. "Dear Lord Clavu, we ask you to allow us two, unworthy, to wash away our shame in your bar with alcohol!"
"Oh, distinguished gentlemen," At these greetings, Clavu, the bar steward, sous chef, and more importantly the myconid created by the Supreme Being Blue Planet, only shook his head. "My bar is always open to visitors, on the days that I run it, of course, especially to such courteous gentlemen, so please, take a seat"
A moment later, the tentacle-like roots that made up Clavu's arms pointed to the two seats across from him. And the two, Goemon and Hanzo, made their way to those, neither of them breaking out of the general rhythm of their stride. Then, in a unified motion, they each made their way to the padded seats, each seated opposite the bar.
"What would you like?" Clavu tilted his head slightly, a sign that would be difficult to interpret for those capable of discerning only the emotions of humans. A motion which the two summoned beings instantly identified as a sign of attentive listening from the myconid whose head was a mushroom.
"I would prefer poison, but my Lord has not granted me permission to leave on my own." Hanzo answered first. "So any drink, the most bitter and alcoholic of all, will do, for I want my body to feel as trashy as my soul."
"I choose the same option," The Goemon repeated the order, after which he lowered his gaze, or at least tilted his head, since it was virtually impossible to determine the direction of his gaze.
"Hmm, I think I have just the right thing for you," Clavu reached for the first glass for the entrant, "However, such a disposition makes me ask you, gentlemen – what exactly is the sadness that brought you to me?"
"We have made an unforgivable mistake," Each of the two ninjas said at the same time,
"And for that we have been sent to…"
The two ninja beings were silent for a moment, as if each was gathering his strength to utter a curse word, before Hanzo spoke first. "Rest."
"Oh!" The mikonid's tentacles trembled, as he heard one of the worst fates for the Servant of Nazarick imaginable, the glass in his hands nearly falling to the floor, picked up a moment later. "A tragic fate indeed…"
'Rest' was a curse word for all the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick - the worst curse of all. It meant the impossibility of fulfilling one's duties, of devoting oneself to the service of the Supreme Beings, of showing one's love, loyalty, and admiration to the Supreme Beings, of fulfilling one's purpose in this world.
Those sent to 'rest' were sentenced to an ultimate punishment far surpassing death. For death meant blissful oblivion and a ghostly chance that one day their Lord would call them back into His service, granting them the right to devote themselves to His service. While 'rest' meant that the inhabitant of Nazarick was forced to exist, devoid of purpose and meaning for their existence, watching others, blessed with sacred duties and orders, perform their duty.
Truly, it was a torture above a thousand others.
The fact that any of Nazarick's servants received that horrific stigma, 'rest', was worthy of regret and a hundred tears. Along with it, a lingering fear as to how it was that the hapless servant of Forty-One had earned such a horrible punishment.
"That is why we wish to forget ourselves in alcohol, so that we do not have to feel this painful feeling," Hanzo replied, and then bowed his head, "Lord Clavu, I beg you!" Goemon repeating his words were the last straw and Clavu could not refrain from nodding back,
"Certainly, gentlemen, at once!"
Clavu turned away for a second mug, beginning to wipe that one down, but a small worm of doubt and deadly curiosity continued to grind at his mind before Clavu gave up. "However, forgive me for being rude, but I just have to wonder what brought you to such a horrible punishment…"
Hanzo and Goemon were silent for a moment, before Hanzo answered first, "I disobeyed an order…" As if in some visceral reaction of disgust, Clavu yanked his tentacles away from the ninja, causing his hands to let go of the mug in his hands, before hurriedly extending them back to catch it.
"I allowed an attack on Lord Momonga!" Goemon howled a moment later, and Clavu, who had reached for the falling glass, felt all strength leave his body, and instead of catching the falling utensil, he collapsed beside it. All he could hear, as if through a pall of mist, were the muffled sound of the broken mug.
Clavu lay like that for a few seconds, slowly trying to come to his senses and realize what had happened. As if trying to convince himself that the words he had heard were only fantasies. Before realizing that he was still lying on the floor of the bar, next to the shards of the broken glass, and realizing that what he had heard was not a dream.
From that moment, Clavu realized how serious the sins of his customers really were, and he feared for his bar and himself. Whether he would incur the wrath of Lord Momonga and a curse on his bar if he allowed these seemingly so noble gentlemen to remain inside.
Indeed, disobeying orders, such a great transgression, deserved only a punishment as great as 'rest'. But to allow an attack on Lord Momonga, the Last and Greatest Lord of the Supreme Beings… No, such a transgression deserved not even 'rest' but ex… ex… exi…!
No, he could not utter that cursed word even in his mind!
A moment later, Clavu's tentacles quickly opened the utensil drawer, pulling out a second mug for his visitor and no longer caring to wipe it cleaner than it already is. These people needed the strongest, crappiest alcohol that the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick had ever stored… And so did he!
He needed urgently to clear his mind of these words and these thoughts!
The third mug ended up next to the other two, after which Clavu's light tentacles headed for the very bottom of his liquor cabinet drawer. However, Clavu didn't have time to get the necessary liquor out of his supply before he heard a familiar voice. "Hmm, sous chef, gentlemen? What are you doing?"
"Lord Demiurge!" The sous chef distracted himself from his activities for a moment, if only to respond to his regular visitor. "Please, I don't believe I'm saying this – but I'm afraid this really isn't the best time for you to be here."
"Hmm, really?" Lord Demiurge, in his usual orange jacket and small glasses on his face, only smiled good-naturedly – the very intense aura he was exuding, made clear that it was all a facade. "I think I heard some words that would make such egress impossible…"
Clavu froze, for the very utterance of such blasphemous and cursed words as 'to allow an attack on Lord Momonga' should have carried a punishment commensurate with the blasphemy of the highest caliber. And Clavu understood that his relationship with Lord Demiurge meant nothing in the face of the Supreme Beings and their judgment.
"But before I can answer you gentlemen, I just have to ask you one thing…" Lord Demiurge glanced at the three men at the bar, whereupon they felt themselves pressed into place, pulled and gutted before the eyes of the Seventh Floor Guardian, who was in an infinite rage. His eyes, normally hidden, opened fully, revealing to the world the gaze of two diamonds with countless facets in place of his eyeballs, looking at the world with anger.
"WHO HAS MADE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF LORD MOMONGA?!" Lord Demiurge's voice seemed to pierce the soul of the listeners, and made them freeze. Unlike last time, when Clavu fell to the ground as soon as he heard the Goemon's words, this time Clavu seemed bereft of strength to even fall. His mind and soul froze in primal, powerless fear at the thought of such an act, then cursed ten thousand times the thought of standing on the same level as the Supreme Beings, their Lord.
"No one, Lord Demiurge!" Hanzo answered first as he was the first to come to his senses, then fell to his knees, "Never! Never! Never! Such great blasphemy, who would dare!?"
A moment later, the Goemon also fell to his knees, and after that, Clavu himself, with his hands folded in a prayerful gesture, denying any possibility of such sacrilege.
After a moment, the hatred and power that the visitors felt from the Floor Guardian vanished, and Lord Demiurge, slightly, adjusted his glasses with a glance at the still kneeling creatures. His anger now slightly abated. "In that case, I suppose I must apologize for my abrupt actions, but I must also correct your misconceptions."
Moments after the pressure disappeared, the Hanzo and Goemon were able to rise slowly and unsteadily, still staggering slightly from the strength demonstrated by the Floor Guardian. Though the weakest in direct combat of them all, he still possessed power unassailable to the other inhabitants of Nazarick, and so his action caused the three creatures to stagger backwards, still struggling to come to their senses.
"Was 'rest' all Lord Momonga said to you?" Lord Demiurge smiled at the trio, but the glint behind his eye made it clear that a wrong answer was unacceptable. Clavu of course agreed, forgetting a single word from their Lord was unforgivable.
"Or was there something else in His words and actions?"
"He…" Hanzo thought for a moment before he answered. "He… complimented us on our work!"
"And so He did, gentlemen!" Lord Demiurge smiled, as if to convey the obvious through his smile to the denizens of Nazarick, "You have done your part admirably, as He would have wished you to do. Do you really think that anything you could create and do could frustrate His plans? Do you really think you could… Ha-ha, thwart Him?!"
No, of course such a thing was impossible, Clavu instantly realized. For each of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick knew that their Supreme Lord, the Lord of Life and Death, the Head of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga could make no mistake. For His plans embodied countless all other plans, that they, the denizens of Nazarick, were all, in their originality, merely small pawns on His great playing board. It was impossible for any inhabitant of Nazarick, no, not one at all, to challenge the will and thwart the Supreme Being.
"I see that you are beginning to understand." Lord Demiurge smiled, then paternally patted the shoulder first of the Hanzo and then of the Goemon.
"You thought you had made a mistake while in fact, you were only doing His will, dancing to His song, unaware that your every movement was incorporated into His great plan. And so because you did His will, He rewarded you," Lord Demiurge shook his head as if he was looking at the clumsy dance of a child.
"Rewarded you with rest."
Of course, none of the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick would have allowed themselves to doubt the words of the Supreme Being. But when it came to the words of someone even as highly placed as Lord Demiurge, still infinitely closer to the rest of the inhabitants to the Supreme Being, doubt could arise in interpreting the Supreme Beings' words. Especially in interpreting 'rest', one of the most terrible punishments to which a faithful servant of Forty-One could be subjected to.
Particularly when it was to be taken as a 'reward'? From these words alone, doubt itself would naturally arise.
"But how can 'rest' be a reward? Is it not the greatest suffering to which a loyal servant of a Supreme Being might be subjected to?" Clavu, like the picture perfect of a supplicating believer asking their priest for absolution.
"Haha, yes," Lord Demiurge laughed a little fatherly, "And that is why it is a reward, because it is the Supreme Being who decides what is a reward and what is a punishment. It is by His command that suffering can turn into happiness, and happiness can turn into suffering, for He is the Supreme Being." Demiurge shook his head, as if once again contemplating the Supreme Being's innumerable sides and admiring each of them,
"Rest is not only suffering, but redemption, for He gives everyone the opportunity to become more than they already are. For rest is His cruel reward for faithful service, the opportunity to use time and one's own suffering to become even better, to become a more suitable instrument of His will, to spend time on one's perfection. For this is His beloved and cruel reward, like a great craftsman, He allows His faithful instruments to be freed from their labor so that each of them may find their new purpose, new powers, new ways to praise Him. Giving forth from their suffering the most beautiful melody that glorifies Him, each move calculated, and each plan laid before His eyes. He may have already predicted that you would go to this bar in failure to understand His thought, and therefore turned reward into punishment. But, by allowing you to learn of His thoughts through my pathetic attempts to understand His words, He has once again turned painful suffering into the greatest reward."
Lord Demiurge smiled indulgently in ecstasy and looked up to the emblem of Ainz Ooal Gown embroidered on the ceiling, "Truly, for only He determines what is a reward or suffering, for He who is truly worthy to be called the Supreme Being."
Filled with bile at himself for his disbelief at Lord Demiurge's words, Clavu could only retreat, blurring inwardly, for lack of the right body parts, in a self-deprecating smile. Indeed, how could he have thought that all this was not part of His great plan… Clavu felt dirty for allowing these thoughts to enter his mind and allowing the fact that Lord Momonga's infinite love bestowed upon all of Nazarick, and His infinite wisdom, might have been overridden by the actions of summoned beings.
"Don't be sad, gentlemen." Lord Demiurge shook his head as he looked warmly on the three, as if looking at his own children. "For your sadness, self-deprecation, and remorse are also only part of His great plan, which we can only comprehend a fraction of what He will reveal to us one day. Even my words are only part of His action, for He has foreseen what has been, is and will be, and your repentance will be the fire that will forge you into the instruments of His exalted will."
Once again, Clavu could only smile self-deprecatingly, for to be an instrument of the will of the Supreme Being was the main and only purpose of the life of every inhabitant of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And Lord Momonga was able to grant them this, through a thousand plans and actions anticipating the wishes and prayers of them all… Indeed, only He who is rightly worthy to be called the Supreme Being.
"In that case!" Hanzo was the first to rise from his seat. "Pardon us, Lord Clavu, Lord Demiurge, but I believe that I must begin preparations!"
"And me too!" The Goemon rose from his seat, but Lord Demiurge only smiled at the duo's actions.
"I think that at least you will have time for one round of drinks, if you have already come to this bar." Demiurge only smiled a little deeper, as if with his 'mischievous' smile all would be revealed.
"For you have understood exactly what your reward is. For understanding what your reward is, I don't think you have anywhere to be in a hurry,"
Lord Demiurge nodded. "After all… You have been given a gift of rest."
And everyone at the bar nodded at those words.
"Though, I confess…" Said the Lord Demiurge, loosening the ties on his tie, while the smile on his face never changed.
"I confess I've been wondering exactly where His grand design is now taking place or where it's leading to… But," He nodded at the way Clavu had quickly swept up the remains of the mug he'd broken earlier.
"I do hope that the fallen angel Raynare will wake up soon and reveal this secret to us…"
Momonga sneezed unexpectedly, then rubbed his nose a little. "Hmm, so the created body is so real that it is even capable of sneezing… Interesting, but also rather unpleasant. Sneezing makes me momentarily distracted, blink, make a sound and leave traces in the form of droplets of saliva. If someone takes advantage of these factors and hangs some sort of 'dust traps' around themselves… Hmm, maybe I should start wearing my familiar dust and gas mask from the past world? Although, on the other hand, judging from what Nigredo has managed to gather while observing this world – wearing a gas mask is not commonplace here and wearing it would make me stand out… Hmm, how problematic, perhaps I should create a human body, but try to 'disable' its ability to sneeze? I wonder if a spell can do that… "
Momonga thought about the limitless experiments he could still pull off with his newfound spell, but dispelled those thoughts immediately. "No, I'm just trying to find myself a distraction now, I've already decided what I need to do, and the longer I put it off, the harder it will be to admit it later… Tabula, I hope your daughter will forgive me!"
Momonga made his way to the Throne Room where, according to the maid found along the way, Albedo was present, trying to distract himself by thinking along the way. "I wonder if she considers the Throne Room her workplace and that is why she is there? I wonder where her private quarters are? I don't remember Tabula prescribing one to her, though I haven't read all the way through her settings, and may well have managed to forget some information in the intervening time… Huh, one of these days I'm going to have to sit down and do a thorough inventory of Nazarick, I can't even remember how many locations we've built in Nazarick… Haaah, things keep piling up and piling up, I feel bad about my plan of just running away from Nazarick to another world. Um, is it the human world, maybe? Is it Earth? I'll have to find out what the worlds of this place are called, so I don't get confused about naming them again."
Momonga made his way to the Throne Room, then froze, becoming timid, as if he was about to enter Albedo's private chambers. Which made no sense, given that he was the ruler of Nazarick and this was his throne room.
"Well, okay, I just need to go in, repent to Albedo for what I've done and endure her first reaction. After that, I can retire to the human world for a while and give Albedo a chance to cool off a bit… Huh, is that what you were talking about, Touch Me?" Momonga suddenly remembered Touch Me's words about how he sometimes came to YGGDRASIL after a fight with his wife to give them both time to cool down and blow off some steam by gutting some enemy. "But Albedo is not my wife… And I don't know how she will feel about me at the end of our conversation."
Momonga thought for a moment, then took another slow breath, exhaled, gathering his strength, and opened the gates to the Throne Room.
Instantly a huge hall appeared before his eyes, huge columns with many flags hung on the sides of the passage leading to the [Throne of Kings] and the Ainz Ooal Gown flag hanging all over the wall. A moment later, Momonga found Albedo standing beside the throne, in fact, she instantly dropped to one knee as Momonga appeared at the entrance to the throne room, and she bowed her head without looking at him.
'It pains me how much trust they place in me, especially Albedo, and I betrayed it by desecrating Tabula's creation…' Momonga shook his head, but finding the strength of will, he took a step inside, letting the gates of the throne room close behind him, moving toward Albedo.
The passage leading to the [Throne of Kings] was long enough, and all the time that Momonga walked that way, he heard no sound but his own footsteps, muffled by the expensive carpet laid on the floor. With each step and with each passing second, Momonga felt his nervousness grow as if he were walking toward his executioner. But as he approached Albedo, finally his panic rose to such levels that his acting skill came forward as if it's expected, allowing Momonga to act as if he were completely unconcerned about what he's about to do.
"Umu, raise your head and rise from your knees." Albedo, obeying his words, rose instantly, all the while casting a glowing smile and a bewitching glance at Momonga. The joyful expression put yet another dagger into his non-existent heart – but he still steeled his resolve.
"I must tell you something, Albedo." He nodded resolutely inwardly, aware that he might be signing his own death warrant, but unable to turn from this road without desecrating the memory of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Those feelings you have for me… they're not real. "
Albedo, hearing this, blinked in incomprehension, then tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression an image of confusion. "My Lord?"
"Umu, Tabula Smaragdina, your creator, did not prescribe – that is, did not give you these feelings you're currently feeling for me." Momonga nodded, feeling the weight that had been hanging there, unknowingly to Momonga himself, slowly begin to fall from his soul,
"Your love for me… Umu, this is what I put in you, I saw in you something that I… Something that I did not like, and therefore I changed it. Forgive me." Momonga bowed his head to Albedo a moment later, suddenly aware that he was still in the human body that he had chosen to use in the human world. 'Huh, I didn't even feel it – any body I create feels like mine… I think I need to dispel this body and use my usual Avatar, otherwise it'll starts to feel like I'm unable to face my mistakes and hide behind someone else's guises, like someone else did it, not me…'
"My Lord, please raise your head!" However, whatever reaction Momonga was expecting to receive, Albedo panicking was not one of them.
"Please, please, raise your head!" A moment later, Albedo found herself on the floor beside Momonga, on her knees, looking into his eyes with panic. "Please!"
"Umu," Momonga lifted his head momentarily, an action that achieved an audible sigh of relief from Albedo.
"Albedo, I have changed you, regarding what you were supposed to be… I apologize for that."
"Not at all, Lord Momonga!" Albedo instantly rose from her feet, finding herself at his side.
"Lord Tabula was the Supreme Being and my Creator, but I would not trade my feelings for anything else! My Lord, if my feelings don't please you, then I'll…"
"No, no," Momonga almost succumbed to a panic attack when Albedo raised her World Class Item after a moment, pointing it at herself, but the panic attack was drowned out a moment later. Once again, he had to thank his lucky stars that his emotion suppression still works even in his newly created bodies, otherwise he would also be panicking like Albedo.
"Your feelings, ahem… Your feelings don't bother me, I would even say that they please me…" At these words, Albedo shuddered, as if an invisible electric shock went through her whole body.
"But right now, you're not what Tabula made you." Momonga knew that the NPCs Creators were the most important of all for them, so Albedo couldn't help but feel something when she heard the news. Though for some reason, Momonga saw some disgust in Abbedo's expression when he mentioned Tabula's name? It must be just a trick of his new fleshy body.
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"What was I like before?" Albedo smiled as she asked her question and Momonga suddenly stopped speaking, unsure of how he could put what he had read back then, gently.
'Well of course, naturally, the first thing she would ask in this case is exactly what she has lost…' Momonga felt some regret for his past action, but most of all vexation that he now has to say some crass words to what effectively is his niece.
'But… can I say that she was supposed to have been a 'whore'? Tabula, why did your love for the gap-moe generate such conflict!'
"You were different," Momonga finally answered vaguely, averting his gaze, asking another question to mask it.
"Do you think Tabula would approve of my actions?"
"I think that my Creator, Lord Tabula Smaragdina, would be pleased with my feelings with the feeling that he is seeing his daughter off to her wedding, entrusting her to One who can take care of her." Albedo only smiled at Momonga's question,
"Lord Momonga, if my feelings do not bother you. If… If you even… are in fact pleased with them, then… I don't mind" At that moment, Albedo flinched, as if she'd been struck by another electric shock, but continued speaking without changing her expression. In fact, is she having a fever right now? Momonga could seen some redness in her face, and in fact her breath was getting shallower by the moment. Their conversation must be taking a great toll on her,
"Ah, no, no, of course yes," Momonga blinked. Huh, he had been preparing for this conversation for so long and gathering his strength for so long, and in the end it was all resolved so easily… Momonga's feelings at that moment were in equal parts relief, from Albedo not ending up trying to kill him, but also regret, from realizing just how much the NPCs trusted him and how much he's far from their expectation.
'Huh, I guess my worries about their betrayal really are meaningless after all…' Momonga shook his head, then looked up at Albedo, who was still staring at him intently, Momonga resolved himself into clearing up this conundrum once and for all.
"Albedo, just in case, you shouldn't feel bad or reluctant to tell me your true feelings, I am ready to apologize in any way I can for what I did to you…"
"Lord Momonga?" Albedo blinked, after which a smile blossomed on her lips. "Ah, in that case, I suppose I could ask you to forgive my rudeness…"
'Ah, so she did decide to…' Momonga's further thought was interrupted the moment Albedo grasped the collar of his jacket, the style of which he had spied a little earlier from Issei's uniform. She pulled Momonga forward, before literally thrusting her lips into his, and Momonga's mind seemed to take leave of his body for a moment as Albedo's tongue penetrated his mouth.
His emotions were cleared after a moment, but his inaction came not because of his emotions, but because his brain simply did not know what it needed to do at the moment.
The pleasurable feeling from his tongue spilled over his body, concentrating in his stomach and… going somewhere lower.
Albedo was insistent, clearly trying to taste everything that made up Momonga, but at the same time she did not cross some invisible line beyond which insistence would turn into aggression. Instead, while holding the initiative, she still allowed Momonga to back away at any moment.
And Momonga liked that strange and unfamiliar feeling… Kissing – his first kiss, was not bad at all.
Momonga's experience in love affairs was, naturally, zero – so he did not know what exactly he was supposed to do rationally in the current circumstances. So he did the only thing he could, he trusted his instincts. And so when their tongues touched again, he easily overpowered Albedo, who didn't actually put up much of a fight, and answered her actions by deepening his kiss, invading Albedo's mouth.
For a moment, it seemed as if the two of them were entwined in some strange dance that existed only for the two of them. The kiss continued longer and longer, and Momonga completely forgot about breathing, immersed in a strange and so pleasant feeling, as if trying to taste Albedo in her entirety.
His instincts were screaming at him to take hold of Albedo's hips and continue on, the blood in his brain surging towards his loins. Luckily, before he could do anything further, his rational mind returned, and he pulled away from Albedo, taking a noisy sip of air. Not because he needed it, but as if trying to make the air replace the strange feeling still dancing all over his body.
Albedo pulled away with the same sigh, wandering the walls with her eyes blanketed in a pinkish veil, before taking a sharp breath, then another, and another…
And, with a muffled cry that turned into a groan, she collapsed on her knees, trembling.
Momonga rushed over to Albedo, before he noticed a stain slowly begin to appear on her white dress, about the level of her groin, and her legs glistening in the candelabra light from the droplets left on them. Momonga froze, then swallowed the strange sweet fruity taste still reigning in his mouth and looked away.
'Well, I suppose now my departure can still be considered an attempt to give Albedo some time to rest a little…' Momonga shifted his gaze. 'I'll tell Sebas or maybe Demiurge… Or anyone else, really, about where I'm going. I need to reign myself in before I make another mistake I can't take back… I'm not ready to be a father yet!'
Albedo, previously trembling finely, seemed able to find the ground beneath her feet and lift her slightly lucid gaze to find Momonga's eyes. And, once again emitting a muffled, obscene, long and completely indecent moan, she fell to the ground again, trembling even more than before, while the stain on her dress only grew larger.
'Okay, I'll tell them using [Message]!' Momonga felt a panic attack begin gathering, before it got muffled by his emotion suppression. Seeing it as the sign that he needed to leave soon, he then sighed and turned around, doing his best not to make it look like he's running away.
"Well, Albedo, I'm off! [Gate]!"
Momonga had a strange feeling as if he's supposed to buy some milk or cigarettes after that debacle with Albedo, especially when he's planning to leave for a long time.
What a strange feeling…
Tannin was an old dragon. Old even to dragons – not just to humans and similar short-lived races. One of the Six Dragon Kings, it was expected for him to be old. At least, he was once one of them, before he was reborn as a demon, and the Dragon Kings dwindled in number to five.
Of course, even powerful demons couldn't completely reborn Tannin into a demon, to etch out all his dragon essence and completely replace that with a demonic one. Tannin may have changed his essence, stopped being a Dragon King and became a 'queen'-piece demon. But in the end he was still a dragon, whatever the whispers of those who hated him whispered behind his back, laughing at his decision to enlist as a demon for the ephemeral purpose of 'saving the species,'.
Many dragons had a rather simple view of the world, that if someone was too weak to survive – perhaps they didn't deserve to survive in the first place.
But Tannin thought otherwise. Defying the beliefs of so many dragons, he caused a split in his society, forcing the ever-quarreling winged lizards to unite, into groups that supported Tannin's decision to save the dragon species. With the other side, a group that were offended by his decision to serve the demons, dismissing his title of Dragon King as an old unwanted rag.
And, where the seed of enmity had been planted, a harvest of lies would spring up. And so many rumors about Tannin began to spread faster than listeners had time to hear all the previous ones. That he had lost his dragon wings, that he was no longer defined by their senses as a dragon, that he now worked as a watchdog for his new master, Mephisto.
Of course, lies were nothing more than that, lies – Tannin was in fact still a dragon.
And dragons had many natural advantages over many other races – advantages so important that it was simply impossible to get past them.
One of those advantages was a dragon's natural disposition to learn magic.
Of course, Tannin was never really strong in that direction. The only magic he really relied on was the magic of his [Blast Breath] and other than that he only relied on his strong claws.
But even so, thanks to his nature, and thanks to the action of his [Figure], Tannin has a keen sense to detect magic. He was able to sense strong magic from several hundred meters away, even while distracted by the communication with his sons.
So when Tannin sensed the usage of really powerful magic, as far as Tannin himself could determine, some kind of portal, he was alert. The not yet fully formed portal was enough to alert Tannin to the intrusion, only for it to disappear a moment later – Tannin instantly realized that the situation was strange.
When that intrusion was instantly gone, as if knowing that Tannin had cottoned on to its presence, the situation went from strange to mysterious.
Teleportation wasn't some rare trick in the world of the supernatural, but it was unlikely that any of the demons in Tannin's neighborhood would suddenly dare to invade the demesne of a former Dragon King, an Ultimate rank Demon. At least, not without an extremely good reason.
And, as further questioning and inspection of the demons' situation showed, none of Tannin's acquaintances planned to pay him a surprise visit. That, in turn, made Tannin's situation even more puzzling. Who in that case would try to appear in Tannin's fiefdom? More importantly, if they were planning to do so, why did they change their mind moments later, allowing the portal to disperse before it could even fully form?
Especially strange was the fact that Tannin himself and his territory were of no interest. His territory was populated almost entirely by dragons, with the only thing of interest in his mountain being the Dragon Apples. With all the attempts Tannin himself or the ruling Satans had made to establish relations between the other races, the process of reconciling the two different races, dragons and demons, was too slow. And that was even for Tannin himself, who was an unaging and very old man.
Who could have thought of trying to go into dragon territory? Why would they change their minds? And, in the end, what did this event itself mean to Tannin himself and his dragon wards?
Tannin did not know the answers to these questions… But for some reason, when he thought about the strange incident, Tannin's insides began to tighten into a strange and unpleasant knot…
He hoped that it's just indigestion, and not his instincts crying out that he's in great danger…
Goemon and Hanzo looked at each other with uneasy looks. Though neither could see the other's eyes, they both could tell that each other's expression was nothing but good. Stepping astride to their destination, even with the pall of their failure hanging heavy on their head, they couldn't help but admire the architecture of the place they had found themselves in.
The small room was filled with a light and enchanting half-light, accentuating the expensive wood counter in the room, the chandelier hanging above highlighting the many shelves full of precious drinks behind the glass cabinet. In front, laid several padded seats in front of the bar, and finally their attention landed on the steward of this bar himself.
There could be nothing else this place could be, a place where failures like them go to wash away their shame. In concert, the two of them bowed fully before the proprietor of the bar, bending their waist to a right angle. "Dear Lord Clavu, we ask you to allow us two, unworthy, to wash away our shame in your bar with alcohol!"
"Oh, distinguished gentlemen," At these greetings, Clavu, the bar steward, sous chef, and more importantly the myconid created by the Supreme Being Blue Planet, only shook his head. "My bar is always open to visitors, on the days that I run it, of course, especially to such courteous gentlemen, so please, take a seat"
A moment later, the tentacle-like roots that made up Clavu's arms pointed to the two seats across from him. And the two, Goemon and Hanzo, made their way to those, neither of them breaking out of the general rhythm of their stride. Then, in a unified motion, they each made their way to the padded seats, each seated opposite the bar.
"What would you like?" Clavu tilted his head slightly, a sign that would be difficult to interpret for those capable of discerning only the emotions of humans. A motion which the two summoned beings instantly identified as a sign of attentive listening from the myconid whose head was a mushroom.
"I would prefer poison, but my Lord has not granted me permission to leave on my own." Hanzo answered first. "So any drink, the most bitter and alcoholic of all, will do, for I want my body to feel as trashy as my soul."
"I choose the same option," The Goemon repeated the order, after which he lowered his gaze, or at least tilted his head, since it was virtually impossible to determine the direction of his gaze.
"Hmm, I think I have just the right thing for you," Clavu reached for the first glass for the entrant, "However, such a disposition makes me ask you, gentlemen – what exactly is the sadness that brought you to me?"
"We have made an unforgivable mistake," Each of the two ninjas said at the same time,
"And for that we have been sent to…"
The two ninja beings were silent for a moment, as if each was gathering his strength to utter a curse word, before Hanzo spoke first. "Rest."
"Oh!" The mikonid's tentacles trembled, as he heard one of the worst fates for the Servant of Nazarick imaginable, the glass in his hands nearly falling to the floor, picked up a moment later. "A tragic fate indeed…"
'Rest' was a curse word for all the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick - the worst curse of all. It meant the impossibility of fulfilling one's duties, of devoting oneself to the service of the Supreme Beings, of showing one's love, loyalty, and admiration to the Supreme Beings, of fulfilling one's purpose in this world.
Those sent to 'rest' were sentenced to an ultimate punishment far surpassing death. For death meant blissful oblivion and a ghostly chance that one day their Lord would call them back into His service, granting them the right to devote themselves to His service. While 'rest' meant that the inhabitant of Nazarick was forced to exist, devoid of purpose and meaning for their existence, watching others, blessed with sacred duties and orders, perform their duty.
Truly, it was a torture above a thousand others.
The fact that any of Nazarick's servants received that horrific stigma, 'rest', was worthy of regret and a hundred tears. Along with it, a lingering fear as to how it was that the hapless servant of Forty-One had earned such a horrible punishment.
"That is why we wish to forget ourselves in alcohol, so that we do not have to feel this painful feeling," Hanzo replied, and then bowed his head, "Lord Clavu, I beg you!" Goemon repeating his words were the last straw and Clavu could not refrain from nodding back,
"Certainly, gentlemen, at once!"
Clavu turned away for a second mug, beginning to wipe that one down, but a small worm of doubt and deadly curiosity continued to grind at his mind before Clavu gave up. "However, forgive me for being rude, but I just have to wonder what brought you to such a horrible punishment…"
Hanzo and Goemon were silent for a moment, before Hanzo answered first, "I disobeyed an order…" As if in some visceral reaction of disgust, Clavu yanked his tentacles away from the ninja, causing his hands to let go of the mug in his hands, before hurriedly extending them back to catch it.
"I allowed an attack on Lord Momonga!" Goemon howled a moment later, and Clavu, who had reached for the falling glass, felt all strength leave his body, and instead of catching the falling utensil, he collapsed beside it. All he could hear, as if through a pall of mist, were the muffled sound of the broken mug.
Clavu lay like that for a few seconds, slowly trying to come to his senses and realize what had happened. As if trying to convince himself that the words he had heard were only fantasies. Before realizing that he was still lying on the floor of the bar, next to the shards of the broken glass, and realizing that what he had heard was not a dream.
From that moment, Clavu realized how serious the sins of his customers really were, and he feared for his bar and himself. Whether he would incur the wrath of Lord Momonga and a curse on his bar if he allowed these seemingly so noble gentlemen to remain inside.
Indeed, disobeying orders, such a great transgression, deserved only a punishment as great as 'rest'. But to allow an attack on Lord Momonga, the Last and Greatest Lord of the Supreme Beings… No, such a transgression deserved not even 'rest' but ex… ex… exi…!
No, he could not utter that cursed word even in his mind!
A moment later, Clavu's tentacles quickly opened the utensil drawer, pulling out a second mug for his visitor and no longer caring to wipe it cleaner than it already is. These people needed the strongest, crappiest alcohol that the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick had ever stored… And so did he!
He needed urgently to clear his mind of these words and these thoughts!
The third mug ended up next to the other two, after which Clavu's light tentacles headed for the very bottom of his liquor cabinet drawer. However, Clavu didn't have time to get the necessary liquor out of his supply before he heard a familiar voice. "Hmm, sous chef, gentlemen? What are you doing?"
"Lord Demiurge!" The sous chef distracted himself from his activities for a moment, if only to respond to his regular visitor. "Please, I don't believe I'm saying this – but I'm afraid this really isn't the best time for you to be here."
"Hmm, really?" Lord Demiurge, in his usual orange jacket and small glasses on his face, only smiled good-naturedly – the very intense aura he was exuding, made clear that it was all a facade. "I think I heard some words that would make such egress impossible…"
Clavu froze, for the very utterance of such blasphemous and cursed words as 'to allow an attack on Lord Momonga' should have carried a punishment commensurate with the blasphemy of the highest caliber. And Clavu understood that his relationship with Lord Demiurge meant nothing in the face of the Supreme Beings and their judgment.
"But before I can answer you gentlemen, I just have to ask you one thing…" Lord Demiurge glanced at the three men at the bar, whereupon they felt themselves pressed into place, pulled and gutted before the eyes of the Seventh Floor Guardian, who was in an infinite rage. His eyes, normally hidden, opened fully, revealing to the world the gaze of two diamonds with countless facets in place of his eyeballs, looking at the world with anger.
"WHO HAS MADE HIMSELF THE EQUAL OF LORD MOMONGA?!" Lord Demiurge's voice seemed to pierce the soul of the listeners, and made them freeze. Unlike last time, when Clavu fell to the ground as soon as he heard the Goemon's words, this time Clavu seemed bereft of strength to even fall. His mind and soul froze in primal, powerless fear at the thought of such an act, then cursed ten thousand times the thought of standing on the same level as the Supreme Beings, their Lord.
"No one, Lord Demiurge!" Hanzo answered first as he was the first to come to his senses, then fell to his knees, "Never! Never! Never! Such great blasphemy, who would dare!?"
A moment later, the Goemon also fell to his knees, and after that, Clavu himself, with his hands folded in a prayerful gesture, denying any possibility of such sacrilege.
After a moment, the hatred and power that the visitors felt from the Floor Guardian vanished, and Lord Demiurge, slightly, adjusted his glasses with a glance at the still kneeling creatures. His anger now slightly abated. "In that case, I suppose I must apologize for my abrupt actions, but I must also correct your misconceptions."
Moments after the pressure disappeared, the Hanzo and Goemon were able to rise slowly and unsteadily, still staggering slightly from the strength demonstrated by the Floor Guardian. Though the weakest in direct combat of them all, he still possessed power unassailable to the other inhabitants of Nazarick, and so his action caused the three creatures to stagger backwards, still struggling to come to their senses.
"Was 'rest' all Lord Momonga said to you?" Lord Demiurge smiled at the trio, but the glint behind his eye made it clear that a wrong answer was unacceptable. Clavu of course agreed, forgetting a single word from their Lord was unforgivable.
"Or was there something else in His words and actions?"
"He…" Hanzo thought for a moment before he answered. "He… complimented us on our work!"
"And so He did, gentlemen!" Lord Demiurge smiled, as if to convey the obvious through his smile to the denizens of Nazarick, "You have done your part admirably, as He would have wished you to do. Do you really think that anything you could create and do could frustrate His plans? Do you really think you could… Ha-ha, thwart Him?!"
No, of course such a thing was impossible, Clavu instantly realized. For each of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick knew that their Supreme Lord, the Lord of Life and Death, the Head of the Forty-One Supreme Beings, Lord Momonga could make no mistake. For His plans embodied countless all other plans, that they, the denizens of Nazarick, were all, in their originality, merely small pawns on His great playing board. It was impossible for any inhabitant of Nazarick, no, not one at all, to challenge the will and thwart the Supreme Being.
"I see that you are beginning to understand." Lord Demiurge smiled, then paternally patted the shoulder first of the Hanzo and then of the Goemon.
"You thought you had made a mistake while in fact, you were only doing His will, dancing to His song, unaware that your every movement was incorporated into His great plan. And so because you did His will, He rewarded you," Lord Demiurge shook his head as if he was looking at the clumsy dance of a child.
"Rewarded you with rest."
Of course, none of the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick would have allowed themselves to doubt the words of the Supreme Being. But when it came to the words of someone even as highly placed as Lord Demiurge, still infinitely closer to the rest of the inhabitants to the Supreme Being, doubt could arise in interpreting the Supreme Beings' words. Especially in interpreting 'rest', one of the most terrible punishments to which a faithful servant of Forty-One could be subjected to.
Particularly when it was to be taken as a 'reward'? From these words alone, doubt itself would naturally arise.
"But how can 'rest' be a reward? Is it not the greatest suffering to which a loyal servant of a Supreme Being might be subjected to?" Clavu, like the picture perfect of a supplicating believer asking their priest for absolution.
"Haha, yes," Lord Demiurge laughed a little fatherly, "And that is why it is a reward, because it is the Supreme Being who decides what is a reward and what is a punishment. It is by His command that suffering can turn into happiness, and happiness can turn into suffering, for He is the Supreme Being." Demiurge shook his head, as if once again contemplating the Supreme Being's innumerable sides and admiring each of them,
"Rest is not only suffering, but redemption, for He gives everyone the opportunity to become more than they already are. For rest is His cruel reward for faithful service, the opportunity to use time and one's own suffering to become even better, to become a more suitable instrument of His will, to spend time on one's perfection. For this is His beloved and cruel reward, like a great craftsman, He allows His faithful instruments to be freed from their labor so that each of them may find their new purpose, new powers, new ways to praise Him. Giving forth from their suffering the most beautiful melody that glorifies Him, each move calculated, and each plan laid before His eyes. He may have already predicted that you would go to this bar in failure to understand His thought, and therefore turned reward into punishment. But, by allowing you to learn of His thoughts through my pathetic attempts to understand His words, He has once again turned painful suffering into the greatest reward."
Lord Demiurge smiled indulgently in ecstasy and looked up to the emblem of Ainz Ooal Gown embroidered on the ceiling, "Truly, for only He determines what is a reward or suffering, for He who is truly worthy to be called the Supreme Being."
Filled with bile at himself for his disbelief at Lord Demiurge's words, Clavu could only retreat, blurring inwardly, for lack of the right body parts, in a self-deprecating smile. Indeed, how could he have thought that all this was not part of His great plan… Clavu felt dirty for allowing these thoughts to enter his mind and allowing the fact that Lord Momonga's infinite love bestowed upon all of Nazarick, and His infinite wisdom, might have been overridden by the actions of summoned beings.
"Don't be sad, gentlemen." Lord Demiurge shook his head as he looked warmly on the three, as if looking at his own children. "For your sadness, self-deprecation, and remorse are also only part of His great plan, which we can only comprehend a fraction of what He will reveal to us one day. Even my words are only part of His action, for He has foreseen what has been, is and will be, and your repentance will be the fire that will forge you into the instruments of His exalted will."
Once again, Clavu could only smile self-deprecatingly, for to be an instrument of the will of the Supreme Being was the main and only purpose of the life of every inhabitant of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And Lord Momonga was able to grant them this, through a thousand plans and actions anticipating the wishes and prayers of them all… Indeed, only He who is rightly worthy to be called the Supreme Being.
"In that case!" Hanzo was the first to rise from his seat. "Pardon us, Lord Clavu, Lord Demiurge, but I believe that I must begin preparations!"
"And me too!" The Goemon rose from his seat, but Lord Demiurge only smiled at the duo's actions.
"I think that at least you will have time for one round of drinks, if you have already come to this bar." Demiurge only smiled a little deeper, as if with his 'mischievous' smile all would be revealed.
"For you have understood exactly what your reward is. For understanding what your reward is, I don't think you have anywhere to be in a hurry,"
Lord Demiurge nodded. "After all… You have been given a gift of rest."
And everyone at the bar nodded at those words.
"Though, I confess…" Said the Lord Demiurge, loosening the ties on his tie, while the smile on his face never changed.
"I confess I've been wondering exactly where His grand design is now taking place or where it's leading to… But," He nodded at the way Clavu had quickly swept up the remains of the mug he'd broken earlier.
"I do hope that the fallen angel Raynare will wake up soon and reveal this secret to us…"
Momonga sneezed unexpectedly, then rubbed his nose a little. "Hmm, so the created body is so real that it is even capable of sneezing… Interesting, but also rather unpleasant. Sneezing makes me momentarily distracted, blink, make a sound and leave traces in the form of droplets of saliva. If someone takes advantage of these factors and hangs some sort of 'dust traps' around themselves… Hmm, maybe I should start wearing my familiar dust and gas mask from the past world? Although, on the other hand, judging from what Nigredo has managed to gather while observing this world – wearing a gas mask is not commonplace here and wearing it would make me stand out… Hmm, how problematic, perhaps I should create a human body, but try to 'disable' its ability to sneeze? I wonder if a spell can do that… "
Momonga thought about the limitless experiments he could still pull off with his newfound spell, but dispelled those thoughts immediately. "No, I'm just trying to find myself a distraction now, I've already decided what I need to do, and the longer I put it off, the harder it will be to admit it later… Tabula, I hope your daughter will forgive me!"
Momonga made his way to the Throne Room where, according to the maid found along the way, Albedo was present, trying to distract himself by thinking along the way. "I wonder if she considers the Throne Room her workplace and that is why she is there? I wonder where her private quarters are? I don't remember Tabula prescribing one to her, though I haven't read all the way through her settings, and may well have managed to forget some information in the intervening time… Huh, one of these days I'm going to have to sit down and do a thorough inventory of Nazarick, I can't even remember how many locations we've built in Nazarick… Haaah, things keep piling up and piling up, I feel bad about my plan of just running away from Nazarick to another world. Um, is it the human world, maybe? Is it Earth? I'll have to find out what the worlds of this place are called, so I don't get confused about naming them again."
Momonga made his way to the Throne Room, then froze, becoming timid, as if he was about to enter Albedo's private chambers. Which made no sense, given that he was the ruler of Nazarick and this was his throne room.
"Well, okay, I just need to go in, repent to Albedo for what I've done and endure her first reaction. After that, I can retire to the human world for a while and give Albedo a chance to cool off a bit… Huh, is that what you were talking about, Touch Me?" Momonga suddenly remembered Touch Me's words about how he sometimes came to YGGDRASIL after a fight with his wife to give them both time to cool down and blow off some steam by gutting some enemy. "But Albedo is not my wife… And I don't know how she will feel about me at the end of our conversation."
Momonga thought for a moment, then took another slow breath, exhaled, gathering his strength, and opened the gates to the Throne Room.
Instantly a huge hall appeared before his eyes, huge columns with many flags hung on the sides of the passage leading to the [Throne of Kings] and the Ainz Ooal Gown flag hanging all over the wall. A moment later, Momonga found Albedo standing beside the throne, in fact, she instantly dropped to one knee as Momonga appeared at the entrance to the throne room, and she bowed her head without looking at him.
'It pains me how much trust they place in me, especially Albedo, and I betrayed it by desecrating Tabula's creation…' Momonga shook his head, but finding the strength of will, he took a step inside, letting the gates of the throne room close behind him, moving toward Albedo.
The passage leading to the [Throne of Kings] was long enough, and all the time that Momonga walked that way, he heard no sound but his own footsteps, muffled by the expensive carpet laid on the floor. With each step and with each passing second, Momonga felt his nervousness grow as if he were walking toward his executioner. But as he approached Albedo, finally his panic rose to such levels that his acting skill came forward as if it's expected, allowing Momonga to act as if he were completely unconcerned about what he's about to do.
"Umu, raise your head and rise from your knees." Albedo, obeying his words, rose instantly, all the while casting a glowing smile and a bewitching glance at Momonga. The joyful expression put yet another dagger into his non-existent heart – but he still steeled his resolve.
"I must tell you something, Albedo." He nodded resolutely inwardly, aware that he might be signing his own death warrant, but unable to turn from this road without desecrating the memory of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Those feelings you have for me… they're not real. "
Albedo, hearing this, blinked in incomprehension, then tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression an image of confusion. "My Lord?"
"Umu, Tabula Smaragdina, your creator, did not prescribe – that is, did not give you these feelings you're currently feeling for me." Momonga nodded, feeling the weight that had been hanging there, unknowingly to Momonga himself, slowly begin to fall from his soul,
"Your love for me… Umu, this is what I put in you, I saw in you something that I… Something that I did not like, and therefore I changed it. Forgive me." Momonga bowed his head to Albedo a moment later, suddenly aware that he was still in the human body that he had chosen to use in the human world. 'Huh, I didn't even feel it – any body I create feels like mine… I think I need to dispel this body and use my usual Avatar, otherwise it'll starts to feel like I'm unable to face my mistakes and hide behind someone else's guises, like someone else did it, not me…'
"My Lord, please raise your head!" However, whatever reaction Momonga was expecting to receive, Albedo panicking was not one of them.
"Please, please, raise your head!" A moment later, Albedo found herself on the floor beside Momonga, on her knees, looking into his eyes with panic. "Please!"
"Umu," Momonga lifted his head momentarily, an action that achieved an audible sigh of relief from Albedo.
"Albedo, I have changed you, regarding what you were supposed to be… I apologize for that."
"Not at all, Lord Momonga!" Albedo instantly rose from her feet, finding herself at his side.
"Lord Tabula was the Supreme Being and my Creator, but I would not trade my feelings for anything else! My Lord, if my feelings don't please you, then I'll…"
"No, no," Momonga almost succumbed to a panic attack when Albedo raised her World Class Item after a moment, pointing it at herself, but the panic attack was drowned out a moment later. Once again, he had to thank his lucky stars that his emotion suppression still works even in his newly created bodies, otherwise he would also be panicking like Albedo.
"Your feelings, ahem… Your feelings don't bother me, I would even say that they please me…" At these words, Albedo shuddered, as if an invisible electric shock went through her whole body.
"But right now, you're not what Tabula made you." Momonga knew that the NPCs Creators were the most important of all for them, so Albedo couldn't help but feel something when she heard the news. Though for some reason, Momonga saw some disgust in Abbedo's expression when he mentioned Tabula's name? It must be just a trick of his new fleshy body.
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"What was I like before?" Albedo smiled as she asked her question and Momonga suddenly stopped speaking, unsure of how he could put what he had read back then, gently.
'Well of course, naturally, the first thing she would ask in this case is exactly what she has lost…' Momonga felt some regret for his past action, but most of all vexation that he now has to say some crass words to what effectively is his niece.
'But… can I say that she was supposed to have been a 'whore'? Tabula, why did your love for the gap-moe generate such conflict!'
"You were different," Momonga finally answered vaguely, averting his gaze, asking another question to mask it.
"Do you think Tabula would approve of my actions?"
"I think that my Creator, Lord Tabula Smaragdina, would be pleased with my feelings with the feeling that he is seeing his daughter off to her wedding, entrusting her to One who can take care of her." Albedo only smiled at Momonga's question,
"Lord Momonga, if my feelings do not bother you. If… If you even… are in fact pleased with them, then… I don't mind" At that moment, Albedo flinched, as if she'd been struck by another electric shock, but continued speaking without changing her expression. In fact, is she having a fever right now? Momonga could seen some redness in her face, and in fact her breath was getting shallower by the moment. Their conversation must be taking a great toll on her,
"Ah, no, no, of course yes," Momonga blinked. Huh, he had been preparing for this conversation for so long and gathering his strength for so long, and in the end it was all resolved so easily… Momonga's feelings at that moment were in equal parts relief, from Albedo not ending up trying to kill him, but also regret, from realizing just how much the NPCs trusted him and how much he's far from their expectation.
'Huh, I guess my worries about their betrayal really are meaningless after all…' Momonga shook his head, then looked up at Albedo, who was still staring at him intently, Momonga resolved himself into clearing up this conundrum once and for all.
"Albedo, just in case, you shouldn't feel bad or reluctant to tell me your true feelings, I am ready to apologize in any way I can for what I did to you…"
"Lord Momonga?" Albedo blinked, after which a smile blossomed on her lips. "Ah, in that case, I suppose I could ask you to forgive my rudeness…"
'Ah, so she did decide to…' Momonga's further thought was interrupted the moment Albedo grasped the collar of his jacket, the style of which he had spied a little earlier from Issei's uniform. She pulled Momonga forward, before literally thrusting her lips into his, and Momonga's mind seemed to take leave of his body for a moment as Albedo's tongue penetrated his mouth.
His emotions were cleared after a moment, but his inaction came not because of his emotions, but because his brain simply did not know what it needed to do at the moment.
The pleasurable feeling from his tongue spilled over his body, concentrating in his stomach and… going somewhere lower.
Albedo was insistent, clearly trying to taste everything that made up Momonga, but at the same time she did not cross some invisible line beyond which insistence would turn into aggression. Instead, while holding the initiative, she still allowed Momonga to back away at any moment.
And Momonga liked that strange and unfamiliar feeling… Kissing – his first kiss, was not bad at all.
Momonga's experience in love affairs was, naturally, zero – so he did not know what exactly he was supposed to do rationally in the current circumstances. So he did the only thing he could, he trusted his instincts. And so when their tongues touched again, he easily overpowered Albedo, who didn't actually put up much of a fight, and answered her actions by deepening his kiss, invading Albedo's mouth.
For a moment, it seemed as if the two of them were entwined in some strange dance that existed only for the two of them. The kiss continued longer and longer, and Momonga completely forgot about breathing, immersed in a strange and so pleasant feeling, as if trying to taste Albedo in her entirety.
His instincts were screaming at him to take hold of Albedo's hips and continue on, the blood in his brain surging towards his loins. Luckily, before he could do anything further, his rational mind returned, and he pulled away from Albedo, taking a noisy sip of air. Not because he needed it, but as if trying to make the air replace the strange feeling still dancing all over his body.
Albedo pulled away with the same sigh, wandering the walls with her eyes blanketed in a pinkish veil, before taking a sharp breath, then another, and another…
And, with a muffled cry that turned into a groan, she collapsed on her knees, trembling.
Momonga rushed over to Albedo, before he noticed a stain slowly begin to appear on her white dress, about the level of her groin, and her legs glistening in the candelabra light from the droplets left on them. Momonga froze, then swallowed the strange sweet fruity taste still reigning in his mouth and looked away.
'Well, I suppose now my departure can still be considered an attempt to give Albedo some time to rest a little…' Momonga shifted his gaze. 'I'll tell Sebas or maybe Demiurge… Or anyone else, really, about where I'm going. I need to reign myself in before I make another mistake I can't take back… I'm not ready to be a father yet!'
Albedo, previously trembling finely, seemed able to find the ground beneath her feet and lift her slightly lucid gaze to find Momonga's eyes. And, once again emitting a muffled, obscene, long and completely indecent moan, she fell to the ground again, trembling even more than before, while the stain on her dress only grew larger.
'Okay, I'll tell them using [Message]!' Momonga felt a panic attack begin gathering, before it got muffled by his emotion suppression. Seeing it as the sign that he needed to leave soon, he then sighed and turned around, doing his best not to make it look like he's running away.
"Well, Albedo, I'm off! [Gate]!"
Momonga had a strange feeling as if he's supposed to buy some milk or cigarettes after that debacle with Albedo, especially when he's planning to leave for a long time.
What a strange feeling…
Overlord of a High School (1)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (1)
The NPC formerly known as Pandora's Actor, now playing the role of 'Issei Hyoudou', moved through the slowly darkening streets of the city of Kuoh. He refrained from assessing his surroundings openly, to not give away his unfamiliarity with the surroundings.
'Hmm, how unusual.' Pandora's Actor, no 'Issei', smiled inwardly. 'There are so many people around, so many different thoughts – and they're all meaningless, chaotic and so geistlos.'
Unlike lesser Doppelgängers, 'Issei' was a Greater Doppelgänger with the maximum racial level, so his mind reading was not as bare and superficial as that of his lesser brethren. He could read not only the superficial thoughts swirling above, but even the deepest of them, pulling out important information from the depths of the minds of those around him. And at the same time, remembering to appreciate all other thoughts of no importance other than as a collectible item.
The whole point, however, was that Issei was a collector of sorts, a trait he shared with his Father, he shared a love of collections of all unusual kinds. Primarily, related to objects of a magical nature, but anything could be a collection for Issei. Father also loved to collect living people, unusual creatures, strange materials, exotic spells, and a host of others, while Issei above all else loved to collect the roles available to him and given to him from his surroundings.
So now, finding himself in a new world, outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Issei expected to be able to collect hundreds of new roles. And he did see them, as he walked the streets, revealing with a light touch the minds and souls of those around him. But, he realized with some sadness, all these roles were… Empty. They were practically meaningless.
The people around him did not give themselves to their roles, preferring to hold those as meaningless carnival masks. They use their daily life, walking through familiar roads, following their routines, as if hoping that it was the mask that would turn them into another being, into another role, rather than their actions.
Standing at the crossroads, looking at his watch, the young man considered himself 'an exemplary worker, a faithful husband, and a good teacher'. But he, in fact, was empty inside, like a glass jar whose walls had been painted over, in a foolish attempt to pass off emptiness as fullness.
No, there was no desire inside him to really commit to his role, as a 'model employee' he pondered how he could wean himself off his job early and weasel a pay raise from his boss. A 'Faithful husband'? Nothing more than a paper lantern, easily pierced with one finger, only just below his 'faithfulness' were fantasies, desires, dark emotions. A 'Good teacher'? It was only a screen to hide his weariness and stale irritation at stupid students, and at himself, forever stuck in his position as a mere 'teacher'.
Empty, empty, empty and absolutely meaningless existence, protected solely by the easy mask and drawing of the 'role' that they performed, but deprived of the most important thing. They lack the spark of existence, the meaning of existence itself – they were soulless beings in their weak, imperfect bodies.
Indeed, Issei knew that they were not actors, but only scenery, wandering meaninglessly around the stage, creating 'extras' as the background in the Actor's and Father's stories.
There were dozens, hundreds, of them wandering about their business and yet deprived of the sacred understanding of what their business was. Blind kittens trying to find their way through meaningless pokes at walls, unaware of what they were really deprived of.
Issei even felt some pity for them. He had no particular love for humanity in him, but faced with the sight of their current condition, he could do no other than regret their senseless and hopeless walk to one day realize their true destiny.
Only once in Issei's path did he encounter one man, from whom he felt something like a faint facsimile of the spark of that great flame that burned within each of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And, as the analysis of his mind told him, it was all down to his religious devotion to the Shinto Temple at the edge of town and its gods.
Issei supposed that, in a sense, it made sense. It was not a drive granted by a Supreme Being, whom the lower beings could not see in any other way than as God, but it was a drive all the same.
Blind to their destiny, humans try to unravel the will of their gods, trying to find their destiny through the determination of their will and plan… a laughable endeavor. Even beings emboldened by the presence of the Supreme Being among them and gifted with an understanding of their purpose of existence were unable to fully grasp the majesty of the plans and the might of the will of their Master. Then, what chance do men, deprived of this grace forever, have? They were no more than blind men, trying naively to understand the will of their gods, relying solely on their own knowledge.
Still, the fact that this slight shadow of a spark existed within one of them was worthy of Issei's approval and praise. His mind was incapable of even imagining how terrible it was to exist without will or understanding. And the fact that some tried to bridge this endless chasm, acquiring something whose absence they could not even fathom, was worthy of all praise.
All of this, however, was only Issei's idle musings as he moved toward his home. Although he had not been handed the memory of Issei Hyoudou, Father had shared with him the information he had gained from his knowledge – Issei was supposed to live in Kuoh. So, all Issei had to do was to gradually narrow his search by reading the thoughts of old Issei's acquaintances, who began appearing periodically, and he could figure out the location of Issei's home.
Something which he had just accomplished, an easy task over all.
"Hmm?" As Issei tried to get inside the heads of the two people sitting inside, and succeeding, he was intrigued by what he had found. 'Funny indeed – I can see why Father decided to take an interest in these people. There is a spark of understanding in them, as in the priest I met earlier, but it was born not of following the gods, but of their own awareness of their place in this world. For them the reason for their existence was Issei himself and his birth. Hmm, entertaining specimens indeed – but, alas, your spark of awareness is nothing before the will of my Father – even if I can feel some regret for your fate.'
After another moment, having carefully traced the basic details in the mind of Issei's parents, Issei could only shake his head. If his Father were around now, then…
Then, as if He could hear Issei's thoughts – a [Gate] that opened near Issei, instantly revealing to the light, his Father, who had already taken the form of 'Issei's big brother', just when Issei thought of it.
'Indeed, He already knows all the steps of this act, tens of thousands of years in advance.'
Issei bowed slightly at the sight of Father, no, his older brother, but he allowed himself an indulgence, there was no one around them after all. He checked. "Father, you are just in time…"
"Umu," Father replied, looking around, as the [Gate] closed behind him. "I assume this is Issei's home?"
"It is, Father," Issei nodded, "And I apologize in advance for any rudeness I may commit towards you and…"
"Not to worry, we have a mission and we both have a part to play." Father nodded seriously.
"So from now on, you are Issei Hyoudou, and I am… Umu, Satoru Suzuki."
Father, of course, already knew exactly what plan Issei had picked up to infiltrate this family, and with one stroke of his pen, completed the necessary picture, even the family name… Haha, did Father already know everything that was stored in the minds of Issei's parents? Of course, that was exactly what it was, his Father had already made His first move.
"Absolutely, esteemed elder brother." Issei bowed.
"No, no, just call me 'brother', or you can use 'bro' or 'elder', if you want to be formal." Father shook His head.
"We will continue to act like brothers in public and at any time, until we return to Nazarick or I tell you directly and explicitly that we no longer need to support the masquerade. Do you understand me, Junior?"
"Absolutely, bro," Issei blurted out, sporting the slightly cocky smile he'd found in the memory of Issei's parents. "I'll go first and introduce you."
"Okay," Father nodded, then turned toward the entrance gate moving to the side a bit, giving Issei the opportunity to advance.
Issei, moving towards the strange contraption of this world, already had knowledge from his surroundings of how the 'doorbell' was supposed to work. And, as he pressed the button, hearing with his heightened ears the slight trill of a bird inside the house.
A moment later, with a beep, the door leading inside the yard and then to the front doors opened, so Issei made his way inside. It still pained his heart to stop himself to turn around and hold the door for Father, devoting himself entirely to his role.
Climbing quickly up the low porch, Issei opened the door leading inside the house, after which he was instantly confronted with Issei's mother and father, Gorou and Miki Hyoudou. They looked very irritated, fearful, and relieved at the same time – quite the mix of emotions.
"Young man!" Miki Hyoudou, a middle-aged woman, well-preserved looks for her age, with short dark brown hair gathered into a ponytail down to her shoulder blades and brown eyes. Issei notes that there's a glimmer of tears in her eyes – and that she was restraining herself from hugging him. Though, it looked equally likely that she was about to punch Issei as well.
"I am waiting for an explanation of where you were all this time, and why I could not call your phone!?" Gorou Hyoudou, a middle-aged man with short-cut brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a slight unshaven face, his big glasses prominent on his face. He was trying to look menacing, but he did not dare interrupt his wife, making it clear who was really 'the man' in this house.
"Mom, I'm sorry!" Issei instantly fell into a 'dogeza', just as Issei had apparently always done in the past when his mother was angry with him. "The phone fell out of my pocket into the sink! It's my fault, I'm sorry!"
Issei immediately began bowing enthusiastically, as if to apologize to Issei's mother, inwardly pleased that he had managed to spy many details before from the minds of random people, and inwardly apologizing to his Father for calling this woman 'mother'. Miki Hyoudou, on the other hand, looked at Issei with a frown for a few more seconds, but then relaxed and looked away, dropping her shoulders and exhaling defeatedly, realizing that her anger might be misplaced. After all, it's not like her son meant for his phone to be broken, right?
"Okay, but the money for the new phone is going to be deducted from your birthday present. And where have you been all this time?!"
Taking the question as his cue, Issei stood up, shook himself off a little, then acted as if he came to himself as if he almost forgot to say something important. "Mom, I found my big brother!"
At this moment, Father, finding the best moment for His appearance, took a step, coming out from behind the front door showing Himself off to the two adults. After which, Miki Hyoudou abruptly gasped out and took a step back, along with Gorou, throwing incomprehensible glances now at Issei and at Father.
"Umu, good afternoon, dear father, mother," Father bowed slowly, keeping a smile of politeness and some embarrassment on His face, perfectly playing the role of a person 'embarrassed by the unexpected development of events'.
"My name is Satoru Suzuki." Miki blinked, then shifted her gaze once again to Issei and then to Father, obviously comparing their physical resemblance to each other before frowning.
Of course, Miki hadn't given birth to a second son a year before Issei, which she had just happened to forget. But a look at the mind around Issei in his way 'home', had long since shown him the appropriate way forward.
"Dad, my brother told me he's my half-brother, and came here from Kyoto looking for his father whom he had never seen before." A moment later, Gorou's thoughts stirred, some half-forgotten memory rising to the surface, making the lie even easier, thanks to Gorou himself beginning to remember his past.
"He said that his mother, Mai Suzuki, died recently, and he came to look for the father he had never met. And seeing how similar we looked, I made an assumption…"
Images began to form in Gorou's mind, and he froze, his pupils dilating. 'Got him.'
Gorou and Miki had been trying to have children for a long time, but because of Miki's medical issue, her previous pregnancies had come only after long attempts and ended in miscarriages. So, a year before Miki finally became pregnant with Issei, his father, Gorou, went on a long pilgrimage to every temple he could think of, praying to the gods for help. A pilgrimage which included a visit to Kyoto, traditionally considered the seat of power of the gods of Shintoism – along being home to Japan's most famous temples. He had left his wife behind for the duration of his trip – for almost a month.
Of course, Gorou really loved his wife and during the whole trip he really only visited temples and prayed incessantly to all the gods he could think of. He had even made the pilgrimage barefoot, stepping in the cold snow, almost losing his own feet from frostbite as perhaps some sacrifice to ensure that his prayers were heard.
As much as his intentions were pure, in the end he still had left his wife's side for almost a month. Something which led to a small fight when his wife had discovered that Gorou had some relationship with a woman in his travels. Someone named Mai Suzuki.
Now, the fact of the matter is, from what Issei could gather, this Mai Suzuki was nothing more than a nurse who was secretly consulted by Gorou about their medical issues of conceiving. Something that Gorou told his wife about, reassuring her when she discovered the many times Gorou called this Mai.
However, now that living proof to the contrary had appeared before Miki and Gorou's eyes, and with Mai Suzuki's death – all Gorou's previous explanations meant nothing. Especially considering how similar Issei and Satoru were to each other, and both of them, according to Issei's parents' memory, were pretty much carbon copies of a young Gorou.
"Gorou…" Miki, clearly coming to the same conclusion, slowly turned to her husband as her eyes glazed over, and her voice became dry and lifeless. "You… what… What do you have to say about this?!"
"This…" Gorou took a step back out of shock as if he was struck, his back striking against the wall. "This is all some mistake! A joke, a prank…"
Gorou was indeed faithful to his wife, but the problem was that seeing the provided proof to the contrary, he couldn't produce anything that spoke in his favor except his words. Besides, that very long month alone had really made Miki doubt his fidelity for a while and… well, Issei's perversion has to come from somewhere.
'Ja, what juicy stories you have…' Issei smiled inwardly, 'Hmm, and you're an interesting ausstellungsstück to boot, Gorou Hyoudou…'
It turns out that in the past, Gorou Hyoudou had a desire to gather numerous beautiful girls around him for the purpose of creating a harem of concubines. While he didn't directly pass this dream on to his son, Issei, he still allowed it to flourish. Of course, soon after he got married, he abandoned that dream in short order, not wanting to hurt his wife along with really loving her. At the same time, however, Miki also knew of this old dream of Gorou's, and it was this knowledge that now broke free, finally overwriting her perception of the figure of the 'faithful husband' that was Gorou.
'How ironic, Vater, with how many empty masks of 'fidelity' there are in the world, but the only one who truly wore none was the one whose mask was became face,' Issei sighed at his Father's brilliance. Truly, He, the Father, was the greatest of playwrights, for His pen, Pandora's Actor, was now writing the great tragedy of irony, weaving the disparate shards of chance into the unified fabric of a tragically comic plot.
"Gorou!" Miki raised her hand in anger, then with a sharp sweeping blow made a harsh slap that resounded in the hallway. "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"
Gorou, grasping his cheek, which had a scarred handprint on it, looked up at Father, equally confused and shocked, now replaced by anger, "He's lying! He's lying, I'm going to throw him out of the house!"
"Maybe I should really go away… I don't want to cause any trouble." His Father's acting was so perfect that Issei could even believe that He was really ashamed, embarrassed, and disappointed. Bringing His participation in this performance to such perfection that He literally dissolved into His role, ceasing to play a character on stage, completing the deception.
"I did not mean to cause any…"
"Nonsense!" And of course, as He had planned, Miki completely bought the act and was immediately on Father's side. "You should stay, where are you going to go from here! You've come from so far away… And you, Gorou!" Miki glared angrily at her husband, a complete 180 from his way of talking with Father.
"Get out! I don't want to see you again!" Gorou, upon hearing his wife's angry remarks, still full of anger and confusion, did the only thing his lacking thought processes were good enough to do – he lunged at Father, raising his fist.
Issei would have had no trouble turning Gorou into bloody mists with one sloppy movement of his hands. He had indeed copied an appearance that was not memorized by him at creation, not allowing Issei's original stats and skill to be added to his own, so he had to use only his own parameters.
Even so, as a level one hundred creature, even in his weakest, most basic form, Pandora's Actor possessed enough strength to take down not only Gorou, but most of the houses on this street in a single blow.
And yet Issei knew that his boiling blood, which demanded action, was only another of his tests. Just as his Father was always able to keep things under control, so Issei, if he wished to be His son, had to keep his feelings from interfering with His play. And of course, in no way could Gorou harm his Father, so this was all just another scene in a play, Gorou was simply playing on strings.
As one would expect, Father intercepted Gorou's fist a moment later with ease. Even without using [Perfect Warrior], Father is a hundredth level Player, and was therefore many times stronger than a mere human with no special abilities. However, the moment Gorou's fist was intercepted with an ease that could not be expected from Father's appearance, he only seemed to become more enraged, and grasped Father's body with his other hand, trying to knock him to the ground.
Of course, it was utterly useless, Father didn't budge even when the man put his whole weight into the action. Gorou, faced with unexpected resistance, fell on the ground in a heap.
'Hmm, really, what exactly is Father up to at this point? What advantage is he getting from letting the man embarrass himself?' At other times, Issei would not have hesitated to ask Father for advice or guidance, any insult or taunt was better than the most ghostly possibility of allowing a misinterpretation of His motives and actions. But this time, Issei could not do so, for it was all a test.
A test of how Issei himself could understand his Creator's intent, and his ability to anticipate His plans in order to be rewarded with the right to call him Father. Father himself had unambiguously pointed this out by saying to Issei that 'until the moment when I tell you directly and unambiguously', that Issei had to play his part without asking any advice from Father. And so, Issei now has to evaluate all the variables so that he could come to the right conclusions, to what Father is planning.
'So what are the variables? Just after Gorou was branded a cheater in Miki's mind, now he seems aggressive, unbalanced, and at the same time, pathetic and distrustful. He was acting as if to take out his anger on his son, illegitimate or not, for daring to bring Gorou's own misdeeds to light. All because the son himself sought his father, an act that only happened because of insurmountable circumstances, as his mother had died, leaving the pubescent boy without parents… Vater, tell me, are You the hero of this play, or the villain? Or are You something more, and from the beginning You did not plan to hide under the mask known to these people, appearing to them in Your splendor as the True Supreme Being?'
Sure enough, Gorou tried to rise from the floor, unable to move Father even with all his strength, this time swinging his fists again, to which Father only raised his hands, pushing Gorou away lightly. "Umu, I apologize for what happened, but perhaps I really should leave…"
Issei almost laughed – with just one phrase Father turned Gorou into a pathetic villain, whose words no one else would believe, at the same time elevating himself with His modesty, strength, and politeness to heroic heights. Turning reality into the most basic of plays, with an unambiguous hero and villain, and yet at the same time, plausibly real. So much so that the actors and the audience cease to notice the uniqueness of the script, carried away by the 'realism' of the scene.
Pandora's Actor was not one to revel in human suffering, and he even, on some insignificant level, sympathized with Gorou Hyoudou's plight. But like an enchanted man watching the majesty of a storm approaching with all its destructive potential, devouring houses with indifferent force, Issei simply watched the play with mortal admiration. As He created His great play, using human souls and minds as canvas and words and deeds as ink.
"Gorou, that's enough!" Miki rushed forward, trying to hold back the now hysterical Gorou. But Gorou no longer seemed to hear her, striving with all his strength to harm Father, and yet unable even to even wound Him, especially now that his hands were completely restrained in Father's grip.
Out of impotence and anger, Gorou kicked out his knee, trying to hit Father in the groin. Which, as if by surprise, Father let go of Gorou's hands, though Father himself, of course, suffered no damage, and it was all just a calculated move. For in his blind rage Gorou swung his fist to strike again, but the knee, seemingly crashing into an impenetrable barrier in his path, failed him, causing him to stagger backwards and tip over slightly. Falling, so that his clenched fist hand crashed not into Father, but into Miki, who had rushed to separate Father and Gorou, crashing into her face, breaking her nose, and throwing her to the ground.
A muffled cry of pain and surprise from Miki finally made Gorou stop. After which the anger was completely gone from his face, with blood seemingly draining from it, leaving only a funeral white wax mask, and Gorou turned on the spot, rushing to see Miki.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" Gorou dropped to his knees, but when he reached out his hands to his wife, the latter struck them back, refusing to be helped by the one that had hurt her. Both mentally, and now physically.
"Go away…" Miki's voice was quiet and muffled, but her pain was unmistakable. "Just go away…"
Gorou, recoiled back more than if he were actually struck, threw a hurt look at Miki, then at Issei, who had adopted a proper shocked look, then at Father. And, unable to contain himself, rushed away into the street with a sob, eager to escape as far away from this house as possible.
"Umu, it didn't turn out the way I wanted…" Father said quietly and completely with frustration, but in a way that could be heard in the silence that settled, allowing Miki to once again reinforce her opinion of him as a truly frustrated and noble hero. "Sorry, I didn't mean for things to turn out like this… It's all my fault…"
"No…" Miki tried to hold back the tears of pain, resentment, betrayal, and shock inside.
"You shouldn't worry… it's not your… fault." Each of the words was accompanied by a sob, simultaneous with the pop of bloody bubbles from Miki's broken nose, and on the last word she finally could not help herself, sobbing at full voice. Father, seeing this, shifted his gaze to Issei, and Issei could almost have sworn it was as if Father was scolding him. His expression seemingly expressed 'what have you done?!', but since that was completely impossible, Issei realized the most logical of all thoughts at the moment was that he had to help his 'mother'!
"Mother, I'm going to call an ambulance!" Issei acted with alacrity, as he began reading the surrounding minds for the ambulance number, but before he could, Father's voice stopped him.
"No need." Father spoke out, after which he knelt down on one knee beside Miki, making her stop for a moment in her gasping cry as she watched Father warily. Father then reached behind her back, so that she couldn't see what he's doing, while Issei could see that father was reaching for his Inventory for an item, a [Potion of Minor Healing.]
A moment later, Issei realized that this woman's place in Father's plans was far greater than he had initially assumed!
For his Father clearly knew that if He used the potion now, she would later have to be taken under Nazarick's personal control or guard – even if she were killed, she could be resurrected and subsequently interrogated for important information. And if she was not killed, she would surely soon begin asking questions of her own concerning Father's potion, not to mention just how valuable the items were from the Supreme Beings themselves!
"Drink it." Father handed the small vial full of red liquid, and the woman, shaken by sobs and the news that had completely overturned her past conception of her life and her world, did not even resist. Miki, powerlessly, and without question, accepted the vial, drinking its contents easily. Which immediately, as one would expect, healed the minor wounds that Gorou's fist had inflicted on her, instantly restoring her bloodied nose, and removing the blood from her face. A sure sign of rapid magical healing that restores even severed body parts, which included, for example, the blood that had left Miki's blood vessels earlier.
As soon as the healing ended, and probably feeling the pain disappear, Miki opened her eyes and, unbelieving, groped her nose.
"How! What?" She looked up at Father with a confused and surprised look on her face, her earlier sadness suddenly overwritten.
"[Sleep]," Father used a spell that instantly allowed the exhausted woman to fall asleep, with her falling in his arms, thus leaving the last memory in the woman's mind of falling asleep in Father's arms…
Indeed, with each movement He only moved forward, toward the fulfillment of His purposes.
"Pandora's Actor… Issei, I need you to find your father, apologize to him, and… Make the situation at least a little better," Father sighed, playing his role even when there's no one watching.
"Please, I don't think he's gone far, but… I don't know, send him somewhere, preferably somewhere far away, so he can't interfere anymore, and no more of this. He has suffered enough already."
Issei thought about Father's order for a moment. He was tempted to ask about Father's specific instructions, but He had already said before that the masquerade would continue until He said otherwise, precisely and unequivocally. Which meant that this was still a test for Issei's understanding of Father's own instructions.
"All right," Issei nodded, adopting his role's vernacular, and then, as he rose, he quickly disappeared behind the door leading out of the house.
Of course, it was easy to find Gorou Hyoudou with the abilities that Issei possessed. Even if he was more lacking, Gorou had barely made it one block away, so he had instantly caught up with him. Gorou was running away, through unlit alleys, torn between anger, fear and bitterness, dropping tears on the way, alternating between angry and resentful… Making Issei's job much easier as he traveled through abandoned passages.
At this point, however, Issei, Pandora's Actor, froze.
What exactly did 'make the situation a little better' mean? The spark in Gorou's soul has extinguished and destroyed, it could not be corrected by simple actions, unless one reversed time, or allowed the Supreme Being to act Himself. Or, most blasphemously of all, went against the will of the Supreme Being, his Creator Himself. And though the Issei could take Their guises – he was by no means equal to Them. Even more, it was by possessing the ability to take Their guises that Actor was fully aware of the gulf between them.
And now, having personally witnessed his Father's great performance, he was convinced of this once more.
'Send him somewhere, preferably somewhere far away, so he can't interfere anymore' – but where exactly? Issei didn't know the place Father had spoken off nor anywhere in this world much either – all the information he knew was made up of scraps of thoughts and memories of the people around him. Issei could confidently pronounce the name of the city, Kyoto, as he had guessed that it was far enough away – but he had absolutely no idea where that city was. And without that knowledge and having no one he knew in the city itself – Issei could not teleport Gorou there…
And most importantly, 'he's suffered enough already.' What does Father mean by that? It was certain that the spark this man possessed had been extinguished, and therefore he would henceforth suffer for eternity because of what had happened until he… Died! Eureka!
Suddenly, in a single moment of realization, all of Father's words came together in a single picture, and Issei could barely keep from raising his hand to his face, seeking to cover it in a fit of shame. "Oh! Mein Gott, how foolish I am… "
A moment later, Issei dispelled his [Stealth] and appeared behind the man who had changed from running to staggering, and then he turned to him. "Father!"
Gorou paused for a moment before turning to Issei, his face changing into a relieved expression, but still with a tinge of anger and sadness. "Issei?"
"Yes, father!" Issei nodded. "Hurry, let's go home! We realized that this man was a trickster and mom is waiting for you! Come, she wants to apologize!"
Gorou blinked, trying to comprehend what had been said, whereupon, a moment later, a huge weight was lifted from his soul, relief made him practically soar above the ground, and the tears in his eyes changed from angry to joyful. His expression, a smile full of joy with his purpose, his soul, roaring back to life.
Whereupon, Issei's fist turned Gorou Hyoudou into a bloody mist.
"Indeed, the best of deaths." Issei smiled, a creepy visage now that he's covered in blood.
"Truly, Father is merciful."
To make things right… Issei could only go so far as to violate the Supreme Being's previous orders, to tell him about the plan and bring Gorou back to the family… unthinkable.
Or, he could simply tell what Gorou wanted to hear before he killed him, 'send him to a place where he won't disturb us.' that is, to the afterlife.
To kill, at the same time, make it that the last moments before his death, he felt a sense of grace. For his suffering was over, and for a moment he soared above himself, for all weight had been lifted from his soul and relief allowed him to forget everything for a moment… And in that moment. Issei killed him.
Faster than his mind would have felt any pain or betrayal, allowing him to die on top of his grace, in the Father's mercy, merciful even to the one who had to die to do His will.
"Truly the only one worthy to be called the Supreme Being…" Issei sighed as, with a masterful stroke of His pen, Father had set another point in the great play, allowing each of them to feel their part of both drama and catharsis.
For a moment, Issei transformed to his original form to blow away the settling blood mist, thus destroying any possibility of Gorou Hyoudou's resurrection. That is, of course, if ruling out [True Resurrection] and stronger magic from those who knew of his existence and would have wished to use such powers for it.
In a blink of an eye, Issei has returned, leaving no proof of what he had done before except for the pool of blood in the alleyway.
"Truly." Issei smiled, a serene, beautiful smile, totally out of place in the bloody alleyway. "I am blessed to be your son, Vater."
The NPC formerly known as Pandora's Actor, now playing the role of 'Issei Hyoudou', moved through the slowly darkening streets of the city of Kuoh. He refrained from assessing his surroundings openly, to not give away his unfamiliarity with the surroundings.
'Hmm, how unusual.' Pandora's Actor, no 'Issei', smiled inwardly. 'There are so many people around, so many different thoughts – and they're all meaningless, chaotic and so geistlos.'
Unlike lesser Doppelgängers, 'Issei' was a Greater Doppelgänger with the maximum racial level, so his mind reading was not as bare and superficial as that of his lesser brethren. He could read not only the superficial thoughts swirling above, but even the deepest of them, pulling out important information from the depths of the minds of those around him. And at the same time, remembering to appreciate all other thoughts of no importance other than as a collectible item.
The whole point, however, was that Issei was a collector of sorts, a trait he shared with his Father, he shared a love of collections of all unusual kinds. Primarily, related to objects of a magical nature, but anything could be a collection for Issei. Father also loved to collect living people, unusual creatures, strange materials, exotic spells, and a host of others, while Issei above all else loved to collect the roles available to him and given to him from his surroundings.
So now, finding himself in a new world, outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Issei expected to be able to collect hundreds of new roles. And he did see them, as he walked the streets, revealing with a light touch the minds and souls of those around him. But, he realized with some sadness, all these roles were… Empty. They were practically meaningless.
The people around him did not give themselves to their roles, preferring to hold those as meaningless carnival masks. They use their daily life, walking through familiar roads, following their routines, as if hoping that it was the mask that would turn them into another being, into another role, rather than their actions.
Standing at the crossroads, looking at his watch, the young man considered himself 'an exemplary worker, a faithful husband, and a good teacher'. But he, in fact, was empty inside, like a glass jar whose walls had been painted over, in a foolish attempt to pass off emptiness as fullness.
No, there was no desire inside him to really commit to his role, as a 'model employee' he pondered how he could wean himself off his job early and weasel a pay raise from his boss. A 'Faithful husband'? Nothing more than a paper lantern, easily pierced with one finger, only just below his 'faithfulness' were fantasies, desires, dark emotions. A 'Good teacher'? It was only a screen to hide his weariness and stale irritation at stupid students, and at himself, forever stuck in his position as a mere 'teacher'.
Empty, empty, empty and absolutely meaningless existence, protected solely by the easy mask and drawing of the 'role' that they performed, but deprived of the most important thing. They lack the spark of existence, the meaning of existence itself – they were soulless beings in their weak, imperfect bodies.
Indeed, Issei knew that they were not actors, but only scenery, wandering meaninglessly around the stage, creating 'extras' as the background in the Actor's and Father's stories.
There were dozens, hundreds, of them wandering about their business and yet deprived of the sacred understanding of what their business was. Blind kittens trying to find their way through meaningless pokes at walls, unaware of what they were really deprived of.
Issei even felt some pity for them. He had no particular love for humanity in him, but faced with the sight of their current condition, he could do no other than regret their senseless and hopeless walk to one day realize their true destiny.
Only once in Issei's path did he encounter one man, from whom he felt something like a faint facsimile of the spark of that great flame that burned within each of the inhabitants of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. And, as the analysis of his mind told him, it was all down to his religious devotion to the Shinto Temple at the edge of town and its gods.
Issei supposed that, in a sense, it made sense. It was not a drive granted by a Supreme Being, whom the lower beings could not see in any other way than as God, but it was a drive all the same.
Blind to their destiny, humans try to unravel the will of their gods, trying to find their destiny through the determination of their will and plan… a laughable endeavor. Even beings emboldened by the presence of the Supreme Being among them and gifted with an understanding of their purpose of existence were unable to fully grasp the majesty of the plans and the might of the will of their Master. Then, what chance do men, deprived of this grace forever, have? They were no more than blind men, trying naively to understand the will of their gods, relying solely on their own knowledge.
Still, the fact that this slight shadow of a spark existed within one of them was worthy of Issei's approval and praise. His mind was incapable of even imagining how terrible it was to exist without will or understanding. And the fact that some tried to bridge this endless chasm, acquiring something whose absence they could not even fathom, was worthy of all praise.
All of this, however, was only Issei's idle musings as he moved toward his home. Although he had not been handed the memory of Issei Hyoudou, Father had shared with him the information he had gained from his knowledge – Issei was supposed to live in Kuoh. So, all Issei had to do was to gradually narrow his search by reading the thoughts of old Issei's acquaintances, who began appearing periodically, and he could figure out the location of Issei's home.
Something which he had just accomplished, an easy task over all.
"Hmm?" As Issei tried to get inside the heads of the two people sitting inside, and succeeding, he was intrigued by what he had found. 'Funny indeed – I can see why Father decided to take an interest in these people. There is a spark of understanding in them, as in the priest I met earlier, but it was born not of following the gods, but of their own awareness of their place in this world. For them the reason for their existence was Issei himself and his birth. Hmm, entertaining specimens indeed – but, alas, your spark of awareness is nothing before the will of my Father – even if I can feel some regret for your fate.'
After another moment, having carefully traced the basic details in the mind of Issei's parents, Issei could only shake his head. If his Father were around now, then…
Then, as if He could hear Issei's thoughts – a [Gate] that opened near Issei, instantly revealing to the light, his Father, who had already taken the form of 'Issei's big brother', just when Issei thought of it.
'Indeed, He already knows all the steps of this act, tens of thousands of years in advance.'
Issei bowed slightly at the sight of Father, no, his older brother, but he allowed himself an indulgence, there was no one around them after all. He checked. "Father, you are just in time…"
"Umu," Father replied, looking around, as the [Gate] closed behind him. "I assume this is Issei's home?"
"It is, Father," Issei nodded, "And I apologize in advance for any rudeness I may commit towards you and…"
"Not to worry, we have a mission and we both have a part to play." Father nodded seriously.
"So from now on, you are Issei Hyoudou, and I am… Umu, Satoru Suzuki."
Father, of course, already knew exactly what plan Issei had picked up to infiltrate this family, and with one stroke of his pen, completed the necessary picture, even the family name… Haha, did Father already know everything that was stored in the minds of Issei's parents? Of course, that was exactly what it was, his Father had already made His first move.
"Absolutely, esteemed elder brother." Issei bowed.
"No, no, just call me 'brother', or you can use 'bro' or 'elder', if you want to be formal." Father shook His head.
"We will continue to act like brothers in public and at any time, until we return to Nazarick or I tell you directly and explicitly that we no longer need to support the masquerade. Do you understand me, Junior?"
"Absolutely, bro," Issei blurted out, sporting the slightly cocky smile he'd found in the memory of Issei's parents. "I'll go first and introduce you."
"Okay," Father nodded, then turned toward the entrance gate moving to the side a bit, giving Issei the opportunity to advance.
Issei, moving towards the strange contraption of this world, already had knowledge from his surroundings of how the 'doorbell' was supposed to work. And, as he pressed the button, hearing with his heightened ears the slight trill of a bird inside the house.
A moment later, with a beep, the door leading inside the yard and then to the front doors opened, so Issei made his way inside. It still pained his heart to stop himself to turn around and hold the door for Father, devoting himself entirely to his role.
Climbing quickly up the low porch, Issei opened the door leading inside the house, after which he was instantly confronted with Issei's mother and father, Gorou and Miki Hyoudou. They looked very irritated, fearful, and relieved at the same time – quite the mix of emotions.
"Young man!" Miki Hyoudou, a middle-aged woman, well-preserved looks for her age, with short dark brown hair gathered into a ponytail down to her shoulder blades and brown eyes. Issei notes that there's a glimmer of tears in her eyes – and that she was restraining herself from hugging him. Though, it looked equally likely that she was about to punch Issei as well.
"I am waiting for an explanation of where you were all this time, and why I could not call your phone!?" Gorou Hyoudou, a middle-aged man with short-cut brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a slight unshaven face, his big glasses prominent on his face. He was trying to look menacing, but he did not dare interrupt his wife, making it clear who was really 'the man' in this house.
"Mom, I'm sorry!" Issei instantly fell into a 'dogeza', just as Issei had apparently always done in the past when his mother was angry with him. "The phone fell out of my pocket into the sink! It's my fault, I'm sorry!"
Issei immediately began bowing enthusiastically, as if to apologize to Issei's mother, inwardly pleased that he had managed to spy many details before from the minds of random people, and inwardly apologizing to his Father for calling this woman 'mother'. Miki Hyoudou, on the other hand, looked at Issei with a frown for a few more seconds, but then relaxed and looked away, dropping her shoulders and exhaling defeatedly, realizing that her anger might be misplaced. After all, it's not like her son meant for his phone to be broken, right?
"Okay, but the money for the new phone is going to be deducted from your birthday present. And where have you been all this time?!"
Taking the question as his cue, Issei stood up, shook himself off a little, then acted as if he came to himself as if he almost forgot to say something important. "Mom, I found my big brother!"
At this moment, Father, finding the best moment for His appearance, took a step, coming out from behind the front door showing Himself off to the two adults. After which, Miki Hyoudou abruptly gasped out and took a step back, along with Gorou, throwing incomprehensible glances now at Issei and at Father.
"Umu, good afternoon, dear father, mother," Father bowed slowly, keeping a smile of politeness and some embarrassment on His face, perfectly playing the role of a person 'embarrassed by the unexpected development of events'.
"My name is Satoru Suzuki." Miki blinked, then shifted her gaze once again to Issei and then to Father, obviously comparing their physical resemblance to each other before frowning.
Of course, Miki hadn't given birth to a second son a year before Issei, which she had just happened to forget. But a look at the mind around Issei in his way 'home', had long since shown him the appropriate way forward.
"Dad, my brother told me he's my half-brother, and came here from Kyoto looking for his father whom he had never seen before." A moment later, Gorou's thoughts stirred, some half-forgotten memory rising to the surface, making the lie even easier, thanks to Gorou himself beginning to remember his past.
"He said that his mother, Mai Suzuki, died recently, and he came to look for the father he had never met. And seeing how similar we looked, I made an assumption…"
Images began to form in Gorou's mind, and he froze, his pupils dilating. 'Got him.'
Gorou and Miki had been trying to have children for a long time, but because of Miki's medical issue, her previous pregnancies had come only after long attempts and ended in miscarriages. So, a year before Miki finally became pregnant with Issei, his father, Gorou, went on a long pilgrimage to every temple he could think of, praying to the gods for help. A pilgrimage which included a visit to Kyoto, traditionally considered the seat of power of the gods of Shintoism – along being home to Japan's most famous temples. He had left his wife behind for the duration of his trip – for almost a month.
Of course, Gorou really loved his wife and during the whole trip he really only visited temples and prayed incessantly to all the gods he could think of. He had even made the pilgrimage barefoot, stepping in the cold snow, almost losing his own feet from frostbite as perhaps some sacrifice to ensure that his prayers were heard.
As much as his intentions were pure, in the end he still had left his wife's side for almost a month. Something which led to a small fight when his wife had discovered that Gorou had some relationship with a woman in his travels. Someone named Mai Suzuki.
Now, the fact of the matter is, from what Issei could gather, this Mai Suzuki was nothing more than a nurse who was secretly consulted by Gorou about their medical issues of conceiving. Something that Gorou told his wife about, reassuring her when she discovered the many times Gorou called this Mai.
However, now that living proof to the contrary had appeared before Miki and Gorou's eyes, and with Mai Suzuki's death – all Gorou's previous explanations meant nothing. Especially considering how similar Issei and Satoru were to each other, and both of them, according to Issei's parents' memory, were pretty much carbon copies of a young Gorou.
"Gorou…" Miki, clearly coming to the same conclusion, slowly turned to her husband as her eyes glazed over, and her voice became dry and lifeless. "You… what… What do you have to say about this?!"
"This…" Gorou took a step back out of shock as if he was struck, his back striking against the wall. "This is all some mistake! A joke, a prank…"
Gorou was indeed faithful to his wife, but the problem was that seeing the provided proof to the contrary, he couldn't produce anything that spoke in his favor except his words. Besides, that very long month alone had really made Miki doubt his fidelity for a while and… well, Issei's perversion has to come from somewhere.
'Ja, what juicy stories you have…' Issei smiled inwardly, 'Hmm, and you're an interesting ausstellungsstück to boot, Gorou Hyoudou…'
It turns out that in the past, Gorou Hyoudou had a desire to gather numerous beautiful girls around him for the purpose of creating a harem of concubines. While he didn't directly pass this dream on to his son, Issei, he still allowed it to flourish. Of course, soon after he got married, he abandoned that dream in short order, not wanting to hurt his wife along with really loving her. At the same time, however, Miki also knew of this old dream of Gorou's, and it was this knowledge that now broke free, finally overwriting her perception of the figure of the 'faithful husband' that was Gorou.
'How ironic, Vater, with how many empty masks of 'fidelity' there are in the world, but the only one who truly wore none was the one whose mask was became face,' Issei sighed at his Father's brilliance. Truly, He, the Father, was the greatest of playwrights, for His pen, Pandora's Actor, was now writing the great tragedy of irony, weaving the disparate shards of chance into the unified fabric of a tragically comic plot.
"Gorou!" Miki raised her hand in anger, then with a sharp sweeping blow made a harsh slap that resounded in the hallway. "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"
Gorou, grasping his cheek, which had a scarred handprint on it, looked up at Father, equally confused and shocked, now replaced by anger, "He's lying! He's lying, I'm going to throw him out of the house!"
"Maybe I should really go away… I don't want to cause any trouble." His Father's acting was so perfect that Issei could even believe that He was really ashamed, embarrassed, and disappointed. Bringing His participation in this performance to such perfection that He literally dissolved into His role, ceasing to play a character on stage, completing the deception.
"I did not mean to cause any…"
"Nonsense!" And of course, as He had planned, Miki completely bought the act and was immediately on Father's side. "You should stay, where are you going to go from here! You've come from so far away… And you, Gorou!" Miki glared angrily at her husband, a complete 180 from his way of talking with Father.
"Get out! I don't want to see you again!" Gorou, upon hearing his wife's angry remarks, still full of anger and confusion, did the only thing his lacking thought processes were good enough to do – he lunged at Father, raising his fist.
Issei would have had no trouble turning Gorou into bloody mists with one sloppy movement of his hands. He had indeed copied an appearance that was not memorized by him at creation, not allowing Issei's original stats and skill to be added to his own, so he had to use only his own parameters.
Even so, as a level one hundred creature, even in his weakest, most basic form, Pandora's Actor possessed enough strength to take down not only Gorou, but most of the houses on this street in a single blow.
And yet Issei knew that his boiling blood, which demanded action, was only another of his tests. Just as his Father was always able to keep things under control, so Issei, if he wished to be His son, had to keep his feelings from interfering with His play. And of course, in no way could Gorou harm his Father, so this was all just another scene in a play, Gorou was simply playing on strings.
As one would expect, Father intercepted Gorou's fist a moment later with ease. Even without using [Perfect Warrior], Father is a hundredth level Player, and was therefore many times stronger than a mere human with no special abilities. However, the moment Gorou's fist was intercepted with an ease that could not be expected from Father's appearance, he only seemed to become more enraged, and grasped Father's body with his other hand, trying to knock him to the ground.
Of course, it was utterly useless, Father didn't budge even when the man put his whole weight into the action. Gorou, faced with unexpected resistance, fell on the ground in a heap.
'Hmm, really, what exactly is Father up to at this point? What advantage is he getting from letting the man embarrass himself?' At other times, Issei would not have hesitated to ask Father for advice or guidance, any insult or taunt was better than the most ghostly possibility of allowing a misinterpretation of His motives and actions. But this time, Issei could not do so, for it was all a test.
A test of how Issei himself could understand his Creator's intent, and his ability to anticipate His plans in order to be rewarded with the right to call him Father. Father himself had unambiguously pointed this out by saying to Issei that 'until the moment when I tell you directly and unambiguously', that Issei had to play his part without asking any advice from Father. And so, Issei now has to evaluate all the variables so that he could come to the right conclusions, to what Father is planning.
'So what are the variables? Just after Gorou was branded a cheater in Miki's mind, now he seems aggressive, unbalanced, and at the same time, pathetic and distrustful. He was acting as if to take out his anger on his son, illegitimate or not, for daring to bring Gorou's own misdeeds to light. All because the son himself sought his father, an act that only happened because of insurmountable circumstances, as his mother had died, leaving the pubescent boy without parents… Vater, tell me, are You the hero of this play, or the villain? Or are You something more, and from the beginning You did not plan to hide under the mask known to these people, appearing to them in Your splendor as the True Supreme Being?'
Sure enough, Gorou tried to rise from the floor, unable to move Father even with all his strength, this time swinging his fists again, to which Father only raised his hands, pushing Gorou away lightly. "Umu, I apologize for what happened, but perhaps I really should leave…"
Issei almost laughed – with just one phrase Father turned Gorou into a pathetic villain, whose words no one else would believe, at the same time elevating himself with His modesty, strength, and politeness to heroic heights. Turning reality into the most basic of plays, with an unambiguous hero and villain, and yet at the same time, plausibly real. So much so that the actors and the audience cease to notice the uniqueness of the script, carried away by the 'realism' of the scene.
Pandora's Actor was not one to revel in human suffering, and he even, on some insignificant level, sympathized with Gorou Hyoudou's plight. But like an enchanted man watching the majesty of a storm approaching with all its destructive potential, devouring houses with indifferent force, Issei simply watched the play with mortal admiration. As He created His great play, using human souls and minds as canvas and words and deeds as ink.
"Gorou, that's enough!" Miki rushed forward, trying to hold back the now hysterical Gorou. But Gorou no longer seemed to hear her, striving with all his strength to harm Father, and yet unable even to even wound Him, especially now that his hands were completely restrained in Father's grip.
Out of impotence and anger, Gorou kicked out his knee, trying to hit Father in the groin. Which, as if by surprise, Father let go of Gorou's hands, though Father himself, of course, suffered no damage, and it was all just a calculated move. For in his blind rage Gorou swung his fist to strike again, but the knee, seemingly crashing into an impenetrable barrier in his path, failed him, causing him to stagger backwards and tip over slightly. Falling, so that his clenched fist hand crashed not into Father, but into Miki, who had rushed to separate Father and Gorou, crashing into her face, breaking her nose, and throwing her to the ground.
A muffled cry of pain and surprise from Miki finally made Gorou stop. After which the anger was completely gone from his face, with blood seemingly draining from it, leaving only a funeral white wax mask, and Gorou turned on the spot, rushing to see Miki.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to!" Gorou dropped to his knees, but when he reached out his hands to his wife, the latter struck them back, refusing to be helped by the one that had hurt her. Both mentally, and now physically.
"Go away…" Miki's voice was quiet and muffled, but her pain was unmistakable. "Just go away…"
Gorou, recoiled back more than if he were actually struck, threw a hurt look at Miki, then at Issei, who had adopted a proper shocked look, then at Father. And, unable to contain himself, rushed away into the street with a sob, eager to escape as far away from this house as possible.
"Umu, it didn't turn out the way I wanted…" Father said quietly and completely with frustration, but in a way that could be heard in the silence that settled, allowing Miki to once again reinforce her opinion of him as a truly frustrated and noble hero. "Sorry, I didn't mean for things to turn out like this… It's all my fault…"
"No…" Miki tried to hold back the tears of pain, resentment, betrayal, and shock inside.
"You shouldn't worry… it's not your… fault." Each of the words was accompanied by a sob, simultaneous with the pop of bloody bubbles from Miki's broken nose, and on the last word she finally could not help herself, sobbing at full voice. Father, seeing this, shifted his gaze to Issei, and Issei could almost have sworn it was as if Father was scolding him. His expression seemingly expressed 'what have you done?!', but since that was completely impossible, Issei realized the most logical of all thoughts at the moment was that he had to help his 'mother'!
"Mother, I'm going to call an ambulance!" Issei acted with alacrity, as he began reading the surrounding minds for the ambulance number, but before he could, Father's voice stopped him.
"No need." Father spoke out, after which he knelt down on one knee beside Miki, making her stop for a moment in her gasping cry as she watched Father warily. Father then reached behind her back, so that she couldn't see what he's doing, while Issei could see that father was reaching for his Inventory for an item, a [Potion of Minor Healing.]
A moment later, Issei realized that this woman's place in Father's plans was far greater than he had initially assumed!
For his Father clearly knew that if He used the potion now, she would later have to be taken under Nazarick's personal control or guard – even if she were killed, she could be resurrected and subsequently interrogated for important information. And if she was not killed, she would surely soon begin asking questions of her own concerning Father's potion, not to mention just how valuable the items were from the Supreme Beings themselves!
"Drink it." Father handed the small vial full of red liquid, and the woman, shaken by sobs and the news that had completely overturned her past conception of her life and her world, did not even resist. Miki, powerlessly, and without question, accepted the vial, drinking its contents easily. Which immediately, as one would expect, healed the minor wounds that Gorou's fist had inflicted on her, instantly restoring her bloodied nose, and removing the blood from her face. A sure sign of rapid magical healing that restores even severed body parts, which included, for example, the blood that had left Miki's blood vessels earlier.
As soon as the healing ended, and probably feeling the pain disappear, Miki opened her eyes and, unbelieving, groped her nose.
"How! What?" She looked up at Father with a confused and surprised look on her face, her earlier sadness suddenly overwritten.
"[Sleep]," Father used a spell that instantly allowed the exhausted woman to fall asleep, with her falling in his arms, thus leaving the last memory in the woman's mind of falling asleep in Father's arms…
Indeed, with each movement He only moved forward, toward the fulfillment of His purposes.
"Pandora's Actor… Issei, I need you to find your father, apologize to him, and… Make the situation at least a little better," Father sighed, playing his role even when there's no one watching.
"Please, I don't think he's gone far, but… I don't know, send him somewhere, preferably somewhere far away, so he can't interfere anymore, and no more of this. He has suffered enough already."
Issei thought about Father's order for a moment. He was tempted to ask about Father's specific instructions, but He had already said before that the masquerade would continue until He said otherwise, precisely and unequivocally. Which meant that this was still a test for Issei's understanding of Father's own instructions.
"All right," Issei nodded, adopting his role's vernacular, and then, as he rose, he quickly disappeared behind the door leading out of the house.
Of course, it was easy to find Gorou Hyoudou with the abilities that Issei possessed. Even if he was more lacking, Gorou had barely made it one block away, so he had instantly caught up with him. Gorou was running away, through unlit alleys, torn between anger, fear and bitterness, dropping tears on the way, alternating between angry and resentful… Making Issei's job much easier as he traveled through abandoned passages.
At this point, however, Issei, Pandora's Actor, froze.
What exactly did 'make the situation a little better' mean? The spark in Gorou's soul has extinguished and destroyed, it could not be corrected by simple actions, unless one reversed time, or allowed the Supreme Being to act Himself. Or, most blasphemously of all, went against the will of the Supreme Being, his Creator Himself. And though the Issei could take Their guises – he was by no means equal to Them. Even more, it was by possessing the ability to take Their guises that Actor was fully aware of the gulf between them.
And now, having personally witnessed his Father's great performance, he was convinced of this once more.
'Send him somewhere, preferably somewhere far away, so he can't interfere anymore' – but where exactly? Issei didn't know the place Father had spoken off nor anywhere in this world much either – all the information he knew was made up of scraps of thoughts and memories of the people around him. Issei could confidently pronounce the name of the city, Kyoto, as he had guessed that it was far enough away – but he had absolutely no idea where that city was. And without that knowledge and having no one he knew in the city itself – Issei could not teleport Gorou there…
And most importantly, 'he's suffered enough already.' What does Father mean by that? It was certain that the spark this man possessed had been extinguished, and therefore he would henceforth suffer for eternity because of what had happened until he… Died! Eureka!
Suddenly, in a single moment of realization, all of Father's words came together in a single picture, and Issei could barely keep from raising his hand to his face, seeking to cover it in a fit of shame. "Oh! Mein Gott, how foolish I am… "
A moment later, Issei dispelled his [Stealth] and appeared behind the man who had changed from running to staggering, and then he turned to him. "Father!"
Gorou paused for a moment before turning to Issei, his face changing into a relieved expression, but still with a tinge of anger and sadness. "Issei?"
"Yes, father!" Issei nodded. "Hurry, let's go home! We realized that this man was a trickster and mom is waiting for you! Come, she wants to apologize!"
Gorou blinked, trying to comprehend what had been said, whereupon, a moment later, a huge weight was lifted from his soul, relief made him practically soar above the ground, and the tears in his eyes changed from angry to joyful. His expression, a smile full of joy with his purpose, his soul, roaring back to life.
Whereupon, Issei's fist turned Gorou Hyoudou into a bloody mist.
"Indeed, the best of deaths." Issei smiled, a creepy visage now that he's covered in blood.
"Truly, Father is merciful."
To make things right… Issei could only go so far as to violate the Supreme Being's previous orders, to tell him about the plan and bring Gorou back to the family… unthinkable.
Or, he could simply tell what Gorou wanted to hear before he killed him, 'send him to a place where he won't disturb us.' that is, to the afterlife.
To kill, at the same time, make it that the last moments before his death, he felt a sense of grace. For his suffering was over, and for a moment he soared above himself, for all weight had been lifted from his soul and relief allowed him to forget everything for a moment… And in that moment. Issei killed him.
Faster than his mind would have felt any pain or betrayal, allowing him to die on top of his grace, in the Father's mercy, merciful even to the one who had to die to do His will.
"Truly the only one worthy to be called the Supreme Being…" Issei sighed as, with a masterful stroke of His pen, Father had set another point in the great play, allowing each of them to feel their part of both drama and catharsis.
For a moment, Issei transformed to his original form to blow away the settling blood mist, thus destroying any possibility of Gorou Hyoudou's resurrection. That is, of course, if ruling out [True Resurrection] and stronger magic from those who knew of his existence and would have wished to use such powers for it.
In a blink of an eye, Issei has returned, leaving no proof of what he had done before except for the pool of blood in the alleyway.
"Truly." Issei smiled, a serene, beautiful smile, totally out of place in the bloody alleyway. "I am blessed to be your son, Vater."
Devil. The correct term for Judeo-christian demons in this world/fandom is Devil.
Also, it's Ultimate Class, not Rank.
Therefore, Tannin is an Ultimate Class, Reincarnated Queen piece devil.
Great story, though. But I totally feel for the Hyoudou family, as they're one of the most wholesome families around, so to seem them suffering like this is unfortunate.
Overlord of a High School (2)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (2)
'This is just a nightmare…' Momonga exhaled sadly, as he brought Issei's mother back to her bed, Miki, or so he had managed to hear during her fight with her husband. So, Miki Hyoudou.
'This has gone completely off plan…' Of course, Momonga wanted to introduce himself as Issei's older brother – however, what happened back there was not how he planned to do it at all!
He wanted, if it worked, to introduce himself as some distant relative of the Hyoudou family, telling them that he had come to find his relatives. Something like a third cousin or even further, then try to convince Issei's parents to let him stay with them for a few days, using his friendship with Issei as a reason. And if that didn't work, use [Control Amnesia] on Issei's parents, convincing them that they had recently arranged for Momonga to come and stay with them for a few days until he could find a suitable house for himself.
After all, he didn't want to upset Issei's parents and didn't plan on enjoying their hospitality for long. He was palling on finding some simple job and getting one legally once he figured out exactly what documents he needed to have with him in this world and how he could get a work permit.
However, in the end – his first encounter with Issei's parents turned into a complete disaster…
'Pandora's Actor!' Momonga cast an angry glance toward the front door, as if to glare at the Pandora's Actor beyond the door as he placed Miki on the bed. She looked uncomfortable with her wet clothes, but Momonga couldn't undress her! He was embarrassed enough thinking of such actions, before his emotions and anger were forcibly extinguished, and he could balance his emotions again.
'No, it's stupid to be angry at Pandora's Actor when he only acted according to my own orders and was created by myself. If there's one person in the world I should be mad at, it's myself, for creating him as such. And for not telling him my plan right away, relying on the possibility that Pandora's Actor would be able to guess my thoughts simply because he was made by me… Besides, reasoning logically – Pandora's Actor did exactly what I wanted him to do, and did it all in the best way. Gorou was simply an unintended collateral – well, he's now in a better place, I think that Pandora's Actor shouldn't have trouble following such a simple order. Living a full life without any worries should be recompense enough, right?'
Momonga shook his head, clearing his mind, putting Gorou's fate out of his mind, it's not like as his 'illegitimate child' he should interact much with him. 'Pandora's Actor was able to put together a realistic and self-explanatory explanation on the fly, saying that I am Gorou's illegitimate son… Umu, I have drawn parallels for myself with Gorou before, but now I don't even know what to think about having 'illegitimate children'… Ha, I'm not even married, let alone have children, so how would I have illegitimate ones!? God, I'm still a virgin! What am I even thinking about?!'
Momonga shook his head, then looked at Miki again, at her calm expression, thanks to magic no longer distorted by pain or sadness, as surely her sleep would be altered if she fell asleep in the usual way… Ha, if she could fall asleep at all after having her life turned upside-down.
'Okay, what's done is done, I gave orders to Actor to take care of Gorou, so he's no longer a problem and send him somewhere else. Hell, maybe I should have sent the money with him, otherwise he'll have trouble surviving in Neo-Tokyo or somewhere else… Or, ahem, is there a Neo-Tokyo in this world? Maybe it's just Tokyo for now? Things shouldn't be as bad as in the future, right?'
Momonga dismissed these thoughts after a short nod. 'Okay, I think Gorou can handle it, he still has his job and savings after all… I'm sorry, Gorou, I didn't mean for it to turn out this way! I really, really apologize! But anyway – Pandora's Actor has created a good cover for me, even if not what I originally intended.'
Momonga raised his hand, then scratched his chin. 'A child out of wedlock is a simple, believable story, plus, if my supposed mother is really dead, then that takes away Miki's ability to verify the information, since she clearly has no resurrection spells… hopefully. This can also serve as a fairly simple but strong and realistic shield against many questions, explaining why I suddenly appeared in this town without any knowledge about it or money. All without any prior information about my appearance, and why no one even suspected my existence until I arrived in town…'
Momonga tilted his head, then sighed. 'Okay, Pandora's Actor did accomplish what I wanted very well, if not in the way I originally intended. So, the only one I can be offended or angry with what happened, is myself.'
Somewhere, downstairs, a door opened with a slight creak, then closed, and Momonga could hear someone making their way to the stairs, quickly going upstairs and ending up next to the door leading to Issei's parents' room… Or, well, now it was just Miki's room now.
A moment later the door opened and out of the dark corridor – completely unobstructed to him due to Momonga's racial skill, [Dark Vision], appeared the figure of a young boy with brown eyes and brown short ungroomed hair.
Pandora's Actor, finding Momonga's gaze, only nodded silently to him – conveying the information that Gorou had been ferried somewhere away, somewhere where he couldn't obstruct Momonga.
'Huh, so at least, that's been dealt with.' Momonga nodded back, then cast one last look at Miki – the middle-aged woman was not young, you could tell that from one look at her, but she was perfectly preserved for her years. Momonga thinks that she was about the same age as his real age – maybe even a little younger… And she looked really good.
'Maybe it's because she lives in this world where the ecology hasn't been so badly destroyed yet?' Momonga looked up to the window, looking out through that into the night sky, practically empty except for a few bright stars and the moon – unlike his old world, where such a view is completely obstructed by pollution. 'Huh, she's probably never been exposed to acid rain, or is she just taking care of herself? Maybe genetic modification? No, ahem, I don't think they use them so massively yet – like cybernetic implants… Maybe it's simply heredity?' Momonga thought for a second, then looked away from the peacefully sleeping woman and made his way to the first floor, Pandora's Actor following silently behind him.
Miki Hyoudou slowly opened her eyes, then stretched out, yawning heavily, trying to figure out why exactly she felt so uncomfortable at this moment, covered in sweat.
"What happened…?" Miki tried to remember if Gorou had decided yesterday to repeat their sex escapades, which they had entertained in the past, and whose numbers had invariably begun to dwindle as Issei grew older, and they got older.
Checking herself over, she didn't feel the expected soreness, instead feeling overall tired. "No, I guess not…"
Miki ran her hand beside her, trying to find Gorou, but feeling nothing but the blankets, which made her situation even weirder. Why would she sleep over the blanket? In fact, the bed looked like it was still made, which meant that she had fallen asleep over the blanket with her sweaty, clammy clothes, and she could still feel the sweat-wet fabric sticking to her.
Miki frowned, looking over the sweaty clothes – she was wearing her favorite cream blouse, along with a dark brown skirt… clothes that she would never wear to sleep.
"Why am I dressed and sleeping so strangely?" Miki's question bursts through her cloudy mind, before a whirlwind of memories and images pierced into her mind, stripped of the saving cloak of sleep. All at once, the memory about Gorou's infidelity, the appearance of Satoru Suzuki, who looked so similar to Issei, the fight, the blow from Gorou, then the crying and the last, confusion along with the painful thoughts.
About how Satoru held her in his arms, said something, and then how she had lost consciousness in the stranger's arms.
And then, she woke up here, in her bed, alone.
A sob fitted from her chest a moment later, followed by a second and a third. Miki could only raise her hands to her face, trying to press those to her eyes, as if to dam the shed tears coming out against her will. The shivers that ran through her whole body, however, prevented her from doing so, so without holding back, Miki burst into tears, trying to muffle her loud sobs.
Twenty years of marriage… Twenty entire years she'd spent married to Gorou. Everything from romantic dates under the shade of a sakura tree, to hot sex in a love hotel, from meeting her parents to crazy trips with friends to the sea in the middle of the work week. For twenty years, they had lived, hiding nothing from each other, sharing the most intimate, expensive and shameful things. She remembered the time when they barely had enough to rent a small room and when they bought a house together, they had been together all this time.
Twenty long years, time they had spent together sharing everything, and in the end…
Miki didn't know whether she should have burst into tears at Gorou's betrayal – or laughed at how, in retrospect, she could have been so blind? Gorou had never concealed his foolish adolescent ambition to gather a harem, heck, he was even worse than Issei in high school! Which says something!
Miki should have realized at once that such a man could not be a good husband – but she fell in love with Gorou like a fool. She had believed all his promises to be a model family man, to abandon his old habits, to become a responsible adult… Only to be betrayed.
Ha-ha, she could only laugh at how short-sighted she was, but now before her eyes was the confirmation. A trip to Kyoto, a pilgrimage to the temples for the birth of a child… Isn't she a fool? How could she see all the humble young man, looking for the last member of his family that had abandoned him, and still close her eyes. To believe Gorou, no matter what!?
Now before her eyes was only one, but the most important, confirmation of his infidelity, his son by another woman… How many other sons did Gorou have? How many more trips did he use as an excuse for his infidelity, were the business trips, visiting his mother in the village, corporate holidays, actually just that? And how many more she didn't know about!
Miki couldn't help herself but to continue crying, sobbing out loud, unable to even move out of her seat and pull off her sweaty, sticky clothes.
Miki felt dirty, the feeling of betrayal, treachery, overwhelming her, Miki didn't even know if she was actually awake and was not just having a bad dream. If she was, she wanted to wake up from this nightmare…
But the clothes clinging to her body, and the clarity of her thoughts, told Miki that she was awake. Miki lifted her fingers, then dug one into her other hand, hissing a moment later as she felt the pain.
It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare, one that she has to live through.
Miki lifted her head, looking at the clock hanging in front of her bed, and it was very late in the day already. She always woke up a little earlier than everyone else – she would make breakfast for her husband and son, saw them off to work and school… And as the clock in front of her told her, she was already a little late with her usual routine, it was six forty-five in the morning.
Yet Miki could not find it in herself to get out of bed, even to move her hands and pull off her sticky clothes or wipe away her tears. Miki just kept lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, as if trying to find signs on it, an answer of exactly what she was supposed to do with herself now that her whole life had collapsed overnight.
But the ceiling was silent, leaving Miki lying there alone with no answer.
Minute after minute passed, but Miki could not get her thoughts together, before the natural needs of her body forced her to slowly get up. That is, unless she wanted to continue lying not only in sweat and dried tears that stung her skin unpleasantly, but in something even more physiological and disgusting.
Slowly Miki lifted one arm, then the other, and, bending those, lifted herself above her bed before exhaling.
The events of yesterday were still swirling around in her mind, but she had no way to form a coherent picture. She remembered Issei returning, the shocking news, Gorou's punch, the pain, and the slight metallic taste in her mouth, and in between one blink and the next, she was in Satoru's hands. Then, she tasted a light taste, as if she were drinking fresh spring water, then the pain was gone – and she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes much later, lying in her bed with no idea what happened in the intervening hours.
"Well, at least now I know the threshold of news before I would pass out… What a bad joke…" Miki sighed, defeatedly – not that anyone could blame her after such information surfaced. "Ah… Right, shouldn't there be some pain and swelling?"
Miki felt her eyes fill with tears again after she remembered Gorou's punch, as she lifted her hand, groping her face to check for any swelling. Only to find one devoid of any damage whatsoever.
"Was I actually dreaming all that? How I wish it were so…" Miki took a step toward the door of her bedroom, her legs still slightly wobbly.
"No, I remember the pain and the blood. But where did it all go? Is my nose still broken?" Touching her face again, Miki noted that her nose was just as usual.
"Or not? I don't know what's real and what's not anymore…"
After making her way through slowly, Miki opened the door – after which she smelt an incredible smell coming from the kitchen that made her bladder retreat for a moment and her stomach rumble piercingly. She couldn't eat anything last night, worrying about Issei not returning for so long after school, and after that… Her appetite was the last thing on her mind, suddenly falling asleep or not.
Miki made her way to the bathroom before closing the door and dumping her clothes in the laundry basket, and she stepped into the shower as if trying to wash herself of everything that had happened yesterday. Minute after minute, Miki desperately tried to wipe off all the dirt that she couldn't stop feeling on her body. Before, finally giving up after washing her hair and brushing her teeth a third time, and feeling a little better but still not fully clean, she got out of the shower, quickly putting on a change of clothes
After her shower, the clock showed a little after seven. Usually, by this time, Gorou and Issei would start waking up, then spend ten or twenty minutes cleaning up, and then they would go down to breakfast, gathering around the same table as a family.
Thoughts of Gorou caused pain to bloom from within Miki and, at the same time, resentment and anger.
She wondered if he had ever laughed at the way Miki was busying herself in the kitchen, unaware of what he was doing behind her back. Maybe he even compared Miki to the others? Haha, and what place did she deserve on his list? Probably somewhere high, since he chose to live with her.
Or maybe he just couldn't afford to live with those who were really high on his list? Or maybe they didn't know about his true nature either.
Miki wished she could stop thinking about it, but she couldn't, and she would be happy to take any opportunity to distract herself. So, when her stomach protested again, remembering the great smell from the kitchen, she took control of herself and after putting on her homely yukata, walked down the steps to the first floor.
As she approached the kitchen, the smells became more and more appealing, and as she entered the kitchen, Miki's eyes blurred at the sight of the table.
She could recognize the rice and soy sauce pork by sight, alongside the eel sashimi, and mushroom tempura – but most of the dishes on the table seemed unfamiliar to Miki.
Meat, rice, slathered with sauces she'd never seen in the past. And each of the dishes literally shone, as if prepared for the presentation of a new ultra-expensive three Michelin restaurant in Tokyo. It was as if each of these dishes were the trump card of such an establishment that rich people would pay millions for.
Miki swallowed the saliva that almost ran down her chin before finding the man who had turned her life through no fault of his own, Satoru, who was in the kitchen preparing the incredible food. As soon as Satoru noticed her, he instantly bowed deeply.
"Miki, I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday and… I've cooked breakfast." Satoru said softly, maintaining perfect posture even as he bowed before rising.
"I have no money to repay for the opportunity to be here, but I am ready to start working as soon as I, um… get to know the city. Until then, I hope I can repay you with these low-level… I mean, this simple meal."
Miki froze, feeling her already damaged psyche seek to break free of her control again. 'No money, ha ha? Then tell me how you bought all this! Heck, even if you are secretly a world-class chef – where the hell did you get those groceries, where did you find the cooking utensils, I don't think you'd even have time for that while I was asleep!'
'Wait, what did he say…?' Miki lowered her eyes, as Satoru's words stuck a chord with her. 'He didn't say he had 'no money', he said he had 'no money to repay for the opportunity to be here' and an apology for yesterday'. He really sees what happened yesterday as his fault, as if he was to blame for Gorou's infidelity and the fight that followed. And this is all after his mother died – maybe just a week or less ago… Ha, don't tell me he spent all his money to make this breakfast trying to apologize to me for something that wasn't even his fault?!'
Miki felt her heart ache again – but it wasn't for Gorou, it was about the young man in front of her, the realization of how good a man he really was, and how much he must have suffered. He had only come to Gorou only after he was left without his mother's care, after which he tried to leave when he realized that he had not caused the reaction he had hoped for. And even though it was not his fault – he still tried to apologize, probably after having spent ungodly amounts of money – and even with the inheritance he received from his mother… No, wait, he isn't yet of legal age! How could he even get here as a minor, all the way from Kyoto?!
Miki thought about it for a second before deciding not to get involved in Satoru's personal life, at least now, while they were still practically strangers to each other, and while she was in this state.
"You shouldn't have…" Miki tried to tell Satoru that he shouldn't have felt bad about what happened yesterday, but he instantly interrupted her words.
"No, Miki, I should." Satoru exhaled, feeling bad enough by the looks of him, but still keeping himself under control. "I am the cause of what happened yesterday, and you are a fine woman who agreed to shelter me despite everything that happened, I even feel bad about providing you only such low-level… I mean, only food and nothing else. So, please, just try – it may not be much, but with your lev… I mean, in your condition, I'm sure this food will give you a meaningful buff… I mean, give you strength."
Faced with Satoru's insistence, and still exhausted from yesterday's events, Miki found no strength or ability to resist his words, so after making her way to the small table, to her seat, she sat down, and then looked around. She noticed that Iseei was nowhere to be found, and that Satoru wasn't going to eat, continuing to stand. "You're not going to eat? And Issei? Where is he?"
"We have already eaten," Satoru replied calmly, after which, Miki shifted her gaze to the sink, where the dishes she usually accumulated, which she washed for each member of the family, and found it to be empty of dirty dishes. And, following her gaze, Satoru immediately added, "Umu, I already washed the dishes."
Hearing this, Miki shifted her gaze back to the dishes in front of her. All of them are as fresh and incredible looking, meat, rice, mushrooms, the glazes – it all looked so incredible that Miki did not even know if she had the right to destroy this beautiful composition with her actions. Somewhere inside her, Miki was somewhat mad that her son wasn't with her right now, but Miki quickly extinguished that thought and the flame of resentment inside.
She shouldn't have thought that she was the only one who felt bad right now. For Issei also, his world had also collapsed yesterday, and it was only natural that he wanted to be alone.
It was just strange to Miki that now, in the kitchen, preparing to try some incredible restaurant dish, she was alone.
No, she was not alone, she was together with Satoru – even if she only knew him for the second day, he seemed to her to be a really kind, open, and reliable young man… Even if he appeared in this house at the same time as the tragedy.
Miki shook her head, she didn't want to think about that again, especially when she was trying to blame an innocent person of another's sin. She then quickly picked up her chopsticks and, deciding to try the sashimi first, took a small piece and put it in her mouth.
A moment later, the tender eel literally melted in her mouth.
The gentle and delicious taste caused Miki to relax her shoulders, and somewhere inside her a small flame seemed to ignite, filling her body with strength. 'Ha, it's true what they say, a good breakfast can give you strength for the whole day…'
Almost unknowingly, Miki reached for a second bite, then, as she swallowed it, felt a smile blooming on her face.
She hadn't smiled since the moment Issei had suddenly disappeared yesterday, not returning after school at the usual time, and after the debacle with Gorou, she only smiled now. There were only two reasons for this, either the food she was eating was magical and could strangely empower Miki – and Miki didn't believe that – even if the food tasted magical…
Instead, she believed that the source of her happiness was the atmosphere of the table. The amount of care and sincerity coming from Satoru was almost palpable as she ate the incredible home-cooked meal that must have taken ages to prepare, the young man made for her.
"Would you like to try the pork?" Satoru smiled, then moved the other dish a little closer to Miki. Miki, still unable to wipe the smile off her face, extended her chopsticks to the pork and took a small piece of artistically sliced pork into her mouth. Then she felt her thoughts gradually begin to clear, all her previous fears and doubts slowly began to recede into the background.
And the reason for that was…
"Thank you, Satoru", Miki smiled slightly at the young man. "For your care."
What Miki had lacked all these years – but she hadn't even noticed it until now… Someone showed care for her, and it was not her son or husband, but a random man from the street. Well, not really strangers… Ha-ha, her husband's son by his mistress.
Miki only smiled sadly at the thought before returning to her meal.
'Umu, I see,' Momonga watched as Miki slowly devoured the food on the table, as he looked at her parameters with [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence]. Miki's parameters and characteristics were negligible, so she was the perfect candidate to experiment on – given that the low-level food Momonga pulled out of his inventory gave not a percentage buff, but a fixed one – something like '+200 to HP max'.
In other words, it was much more effective for low-level players, whose HP might only be a hundred or two hundred, but for high-level players it was useless garbage. Even throwing such items in the trash would not bother any of them, they would not bother to clutter their Inventory with such low-level items. No one except Momonga himself, of course.
Being a pathological collector, he kept an incredible stockpile of the most useless things in his Inventory, not to mention Nazarick's treasure trove. Low-level food was one of the least bizarre things he kept in his inventory. And, as you could tell, due to her low stats, even slightly below the non-combatant first-level of YGGDRASIL classes – Miki was the perfect specimen for a test.
For one, Momonga could test whether the food from Nazarick and its buffs worked on the inhabitants of this world. Whether the people of the new world were affected by a dish if not eaten completely, which was impossible in the past in YGGDRASIL, and how trying to eat several dishes at once worked.
Unfortunately, only one food buff could be active at a time in YGGDRASIL - Momonga had already tested this on himself, and these buffs behaved the same way as in the game. If he ate a new dish while the previous buffs were still active, the new buffs would replace the previous one. Furthermore, the buffs from the dish would not appear until he ate the dish in its entirety, as in YGGDRASIL, if now consuming even more time.
The creatures of this world, however, behaved differently.
As Momonga looked at Miki's stats, Momonga could see two buffs stacking, from two different dishes – and they both began to act instantly when Miki first tasted the dish. Their effects however were reduced relative to the full effects – Momonga assumed that their effectiveness depended on how much of the total dish Miki ate.
In that case, the YGGDRASIL dishes gave the creatures of this world much more tactical flexibility, but became much more restricted by how much they can stomach. Momonga needed to check exactly how much Miki could eat – could she eat two dishes at once and get two effects at once? And, when she ate a dish in portions – would the effect of that increase with each portion? But did the effect timer reset, or was Miki limited, she had to take some time to dispense with the dish and get its full effect, and in doing so she lost buff time to eat the food? What if she ate two dishes of the same type – would their effect double? Would the timer update? Would the buffs remain if you vomit out the food after eating it?
Momonga saw so many potential experiments before him.
Besides, he was really feeling guilty before Miki, and so he apologized to her – maybe the low-level consumables weren't much like Momonga's sincere remorse, but he wasn't willing to spend anything high-level on Miki. And as it was, while the low-level consumables were practically worthless to Momonga, especially considering how many of them he had accumulated in his inventory and Nazarick, they were extremely tasty.
This Momonga had determined on his own a little earlier, but here Momonga could have been wrong. His tongue was used to chemically treated water and food paste, so for him almost any food was incredibly tasty.
But this one seemed to taste better than usual – so Momonga decided to share these dishes. Plus, it saved Miki from having to cook food for today… Hmm, and maybe for tomorrow as well? At the same time, Momonga would check to see if the food outside his inventory in this world would go bad, and if it would lose its flavor.
However, Miki, who glanced at him a few times, made Momonga stop his experimental planning for a moment before inwardly sighing. 'Ha, of course, seeing someone just standing there watching you eat is uncomfortable. Hmm, maybe I should have gone somewhere, then come back using [Perfect Unknowable]? Okay, it's too late to fix this – I'll do that next time when I conduct these experiments.'
"I'm sorry, Miki, if I'm making you uncomfortable," Momonga apologized, before grasping the excuse that came to his mind a moment later,
"I just don't know where I should be going right now…"
"No need to apologize, I'm just very grateful for the food and concern," Miki smiled slightly, "Really. And as for what you should be doing…" Miki sighed a little. "Don't you have to get ready for school?"
Momonga blinked. He certainly wanted to go to school, but education was very expensive in his home world, even if it had been cheaper in the past, Momonga didn't think he could afford that without a single bill in his pocket.
Sure, he could spend the gold or sell some of the items in his Inventory – but that would be tantamount to announcing his connection to YGGDRASIL. Anyone with any knowledge of it would instantly get information about Momonga and completely destroy his cover before he could get all the knowledge he needed.
"Umu, I'd be happy to, but…" Momonga spread his hands, as he tried his best to think of excuses in case the school here was affordable to all the people, and being that poor would be strange even for a teenager coming from out of town. "I don't even know where it is…"
"Ah yes, that's right," Miki nodded slowly before setting the sticks away from herself, "I really thank you for the food, Satoru."
"You're welcome, Miki," Satoru shook his head. Miki hadn't eaten a single dish to the end, and even the total came out to less than one full serving, so he couldn't really conclude his experiments…
'Hmm, is that her limitation? Appetite?' Momonga held back the impulse to put a hand to his chin in a gesture of thoughtfulness. 'Or is she just lacking stomach volume? Hmm, if you force-feed a person food– or maybe if the food is not in the stomach, but only in the mouth or esophagus, will it give bonuses or… No, not the time to be thinking about it!'
"Really, if you think about it that way – then I guess I need to work out your adoption, if you want to, of course. A young man like you, no matter how mature you are, you still need a family." Miki sighed and shook her head.
"Umu, that's right, adoption," Momonga nodded understandingly before he realized what Miki was saying, "Wait, what?!"
'This is just a nightmare…' Momonga exhaled sadly, as he brought Issei's mother back to her bed, Miki, or so he had managed to hear during her fight with her husband. So, Miki Hyoudou.
'This has gone completely off plan…' Of course, Momonga wanted to introduce himself as Issei's older brother – however, what happened back there was not how he planned to do it at all!
He wanted, if it worked, to introduce himself as some distant relative of the Hyoudou family, telling them that he had come to find his relatives. Something like a third cousin or even further, then try to convince Issei's parents to let him stay with them for a few days, using his friendship with Issei as a reason. And if that didn't work, use [Control Amnesia] on Issei's parents, convincing them that they had recently arranged for Momonga to come and stay with them for a few days until he could find a suitable house for himself.
After all, he didn't want to upset Issei's parents and didn't plan on enjoying their hospitality for long. He was palling on finding some simple job and getting one legally once he figured out exactly what documents he needed to have with him in this world and how he could get a work permit.
However, in the end – his first encounter with Issei's parents turned into a complete disaster…
'Pandora's Actor!' Momonga cast an angry glance toward the front door, as if to glare at the Pandora's Actor beyond the door as he placed Miki on the bed. She looked uncomfortable with her wet clothes, but Momonga couldn't undress her! He was embarrassed enough thinking of such actions, before his emotions and anger were forcibly extinguished, and he could balance his emotions again.
'No, it's stupid to be angry at Pandora's Actor when he only acted according to my own orders and was created by myself. If there's one person in the world I should be mad at, it's myself, for creating him as such. And for not telling him my plan right away, relying on the possibility that Pandora's Actor would be able to guess my thoughts simply because he was made by me… Besides, reasoning logically – Pandora's Actor did exactly what I wanted him to do, and did it all in the best way. Gorou was simply an unintended collateral – well, he's now in a better place, I think that Pandora's Actor shouldn't have trouble following such a simple order. Living a full life without any worries should be recompense enough, right?'
Momonga shook his head, clearing his mind, putting Gorou's fate out of his mind, it's not like as his 'illegitimate child' he should interact much with him. 'Pandora's Actor was able to put together a realistic and self-explanatory explanation on the fly, saying that I am Gorou's illegitimate son… Umu, I have drawn parallels for myself with Gorou before, but now I don't even know what to think about having 'illegitimate children'… Ha, I'm not even married, let alone have children, so how would I have illegitimate ones!? God, I'm still a virgin! What am I even thinking about?!'
Momonga shook his head, then looked at Miki again, at her calm expression, thanks to magic no longer distorted by pain or sadness, as surely her sleep would be altered if she fell asleep in the usual way… Ha, if she could fall asleep at all after having her life turned upside-down.
'Okay, what's done is done, I gave orders to Actor to take care of Gorou, so he's no longer a problem and send him somewhere else. Hell, maybe I should have sent the money with him, otherwise he'll have trouble surviving in Neo-Tokyo or somewhere else… Or, ahem, is there a Neo-Tokyo in this world? Maybe it's just Tokyo for now? Things shouldn't be as bad as in the future, right?'
Momonga dismissed these thoughts after a short nod. 'Okay, I think Gorou can handle it, he still has his job and savings after all… I'm sorry, Gorou, I didn't mean for it to turn out this way! I really, really apologize! But anyway – Pandora's Actor has created a good cover for me, even if not what I originally intended.'
Momonga raised his hand, then scratched his chin. 'A child out of wedlock is a simple, believable story, plus, if my supposed mother is really dead, then that takes away Miki's ability to verify the information, since she clearly has no resurrection spells… hopefully. This can also serve as a fairly simple but strong and realistic shield against many questions, explaining why I suddenly appeared in this town without any knowledge about it or money. All without any prior information about my appearance, and why no one even suspected my existence until I arrived in town…'
Momonga tilted his head, then sighed. 'Okay, Pandora's Actor did accomplish what I wanted very well, if not in the way I originally intended. So, the only one I can be offended or angry with what happened, is myself.'
Somewhere, downstairs, a door opened with a slight creak, then closed, and Momonga could hear someone making their way to the stairs, quickly going upstairs and ending up next to the door leading to Issei's parents' room… Or, well, now it was just Miki's room now.
A moment later the door opened and out of the dark corridor – completely unobstructed to him due to Momonga's racial skill, [Dark Vision], appeared the figure of a young boy with brown eyes and brown short ungroomed hair.
Pandora's Actor, finding Momonga's gaze, only nodded silently to him – conveying the information that Gorou had been ferried somewhere away, somewhere where he couldn't obstruct Momonga.
'Huh, so at least, that's been dealt with.' Momonga nodded back, then cast one last look at Miki – the middle-aged woman was not young, you could tell that from one look at her, but she was perfectly preserved for her years. Momonga thinks that she was about the same age as his real age – maybe even a little younger… And she looked really good.
'Maybe it's because she lives in this world where the ecology hasn't been so badly destroyed yet?' Momonga looked up to the window, looking out through that into the night sky, practically empty except for a few bright stars and the moon – unlike his old world, where such a view is completely obstructed by pollution. 'Huh, she's probably never been exposed to acid rain, or is she just taking care of herself? Maybe genetic modification? No, ahem, I don't think they use them so massively yet – like cybernetic implants… Maybe it's simply heredity?' Momonga thought for a second, then looked away from the peacefully sleeping woman and made his way to the first floor, Pandora's Actor following silently behind him.
Miki Hyoudou slowly opened her eyes, then stretched out, yawning heavily, trying to figure out why exactly she felt so uncomfortable at this moment, covered in sweat.
"What happened…?" Miki tried to remember if Gorou had decided yesterday to repeat their sex escapades, which they had entertained in the past, and whose numbers had invariably begun to dwindle as Issei grew older, and they got older.
Checking herself over, she didn't feel the expected soreness, instead feeling overall tired. "No, I guess not…"
Miki ran her hand beside her, trying to find Gorou, but feeling nothing but the blankets, which made her situation even weirder. Why would she sleep over the blanket? In fact, the bed looked like it was still made, which meant that she had fallen asleep over the blanket with her sweaty, clammy clothes, and she could still feel the sweat-wet fabric sticking to her.
Miki frowned, looking over the sweaty clothes – she was wearing her favorite cream blouse, along with a dark brown skirt… clothes that she would never wear to sleep.
"Why am I dressed and sleeping so strangely?" Miki's question bursts through her cloudy mind, before a whirlwind of memories and images pierced into her mind, stripped of the saving cloak of sleep. All at once, the memory about Gorou's infidelity, the appearance of Satoru Suzuki, who looked so similar to Issei, the fight, the blow from Gorou, then the crying and the last, confusion along with the painful thoughts.
About how Satoru held her in his arms, said something, and then how she had lost consciousness in the stranger's arms.
And then, she woke up here, in her bed, alone.
A sob fitted from her chest a moment later, followed by a second and a third. Miki could only raise her hands to her face, trying to press those to her eyes, as if to dam the shed tears coming out against her will. The shivers that ran through her whole body, however, prevented her from doing so, so without holding back, Miki burst into tears, trying to muffle her loud sobs.
Twenty years of marriage… Twenty entire years she'd spent married to Gorou. Everything from romantic dates under the shade of a sakura tree, to hot sex in a love hotel, from meeting her parents to crazy trips with friends to the sea in the middle of the work week. For twenty years, they had lived, hiding nothing from each other, sharing the most intimate, expensive and shameful things. She remembered the time when they barely had enough to rent a small room and when they bought a house together, they had been together all this time.
Twenty long years, time they had spent together sharing everything, and in the end…
Miki didn't know whether she should have burst into tears at Gorou's betrayal – or laughed at how, in retrospect, she could have been so blind? Gorou had never concealed his foolish adolescent ambition to gather a harem, heck, he was even worse than Issei in high school! Which says something!
Miki should have realized at once that such a man could not be a good husband – but she fell in love with Gorou like a fool. She had believed all his promises to be a model family man, to abandon his old habits, to become a responsible adult… Only to be betrayed.
Ha-ha, she could only laugh at how short-sighted she was, but now before her eyes was the confirmation. A trip to Kyoto, a pilgrimage to the temples for the birth of a child… Isn't she a fool? How could she see all the humble young man, looking for the last member of his family that had abandoned him, and still close her eyes. To believe Gorou, no matter what!?
Now before her eyes was only one, but the most important, confirmation of his infidelity, his son by another woman… How many other sons did Gorou have? How many more trips did he use as an excuse for his infidelity, were the business trips, visiting his mother in the village, corporate holidays, actually just that? And how many more she didn't know about!
Miki couldn't help herself but to continue crying, sobbing out loud, unable to even move out of her seat and pull off her sweaty, sticky clothes.
Miki felt dirty, the feeling of betrayal, treachery, overwhelming her, Miki didn't even know if she was actually awake and was not just having a bad dream. If she was, she wanted to wake up from this nightmare…
But the clothes clinging to her body, and the clarity of her thoughts, told Miki that she was awake. Miki lifted her fingers, then dug one into her other hand, hissing a moment later as she felt the pain.
It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream – it was a nightmare, one that she has to live through.
Miki lifted her head, looking at the clock hanging in front of her bed, and it was very late in the day already. She always woke up a little earlier than everyone else – she would make breakfast for her husband and son, saw them off to work and school… And as the clock in front of her told her, she was already a little late with her usual routine, it was six forty-five in the morning.
Yet Miki could not find it in herself to get out of bed, even to move her hands and pull off her sticky clothes or wipe away her tears. Miki just kept lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling, as if trying to find signs on it, an answer of exactly what she was supposed to do with herself now that her whole life had collapsed overnight.
But the ceiling was silent, leaving Miki lying there alone with no answer.
Minute after minute passed, but Miki could not get her thoughts together, before the natural needs of her body forced her to slowly get up. That is, unless she wanted to continue lying not only in sweat and dried tears that stung her skin unpleasantly, but in something even more physiological and disgusting.
Slowly Miki lifted one arm, then the other, and, bending those, lifted herself above her bed before exhaling.
The events of yesterday were still swirling around in her mind, but she had no way to form a coherent picture. She remembered Issei returning, the shocking news, Gorou's punch, the pain, and the slight metallic taste in her mouth, and in between one blink and the next, she was in Satoru's hands. Then, she tasted a light taste, as if she were drinking fresh spring water, then the pain was gone – and she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes much later, lying in her bed with no idea what happened in the intervening hours.
"Well, at least now I know the threshold of news before I would pass out… What a bad joke…" Miki sighed, defeatedly – not that anyone could blame her after such information surfaced. "Ah… Right, shouldn't there be some pain and swelling?"
Miki felt her eyes fill with tears again after she remembered Gorou's punch, as she lifted her hand, groping her face to check for any swelling. Only to find one devoid of any damage whatsoever.
"Was I actually dreaming all that? How I wish it were so…" Miki took a step toward the door of her bedroom, her legs still slightly wobbly.
"No, I remember the pain and the blood. But where did it all go? Is my nose still broken?" Touching her face again, Miki noted that her nose was just as usual.
"Or not? I don't know what's real and what's not anymore…"
After making her way through slowly, Miki opened the door – after which she smelt an incredible smell coming from the kitchen that made her bladder retreat for a moment and her stomach rumble piercingly. She couldn't eat anything last night, worrying about Issei not returning for so long after school, and after that… Her appetite was the last thing on her mind, suddenly falling asleep or not.
Miki made her way to the bathroom before closing the door and dumping her clothes in the laundry basket, and she stepped into the shower as if trying to wash herself of everything that had happened yesterday. Minute after minute, Miki desperately tried to wipe off all the dirt that she couldn't stop feeling on her body. Before, finally giving up after washing her hair and brushing her teeth a third time, and feeling a little better but still not fully clean, she got out of the shower, quickly putting on a change of clothes
After her shower, the clock showed a little after seven. Usually, by this time, Gorou and Issei would start waking up, then spend ten or twenty minutes cleaning up, and then they would go down to breakfast, gathering around the same table as a family.
Thoughts of Gorou caused pain to bloom from within Miki and, at the same time, resentment and anger.
She wondered if he had ever laughed at the way Miki was busying herself in the kitchen, unaware of what he was doing behind her back. Maybe he even compared Miki to the others? Haha, and what place did she deserve on his list? Probably somewhere high, since he chose to live with her.
Or maybe he just couldn't afford to live with those who were really high on his list? Or maybe they didn't know about his true nature either.
Miki wished she could stop thinking about it, but she couldn't, and she would be happy to take any opportunity to distract herself. So, when her stomach protested again, remembering the great smell from the kitchen, she took control of herself and after putting on her homely yukata, walked down the steps to the first floor.
As she approached the kitchen, the smells became more and more appealing, and as she entered the kitchen, Miki's eyes blurred at the sight of the table.
She could recognize the rice and soy sauce pork by sight, alongside the eel sashimi, and mushroom tempura – but most of the dishes on the table seemed unfamiliar to Miki.
Meat, rice, slathered with sauces she'd never seen in the past. And each of the dishes literally shone, as if prepared for the presentation of a new ultra-expensive three Michelin restaurant in Tokyo. It was as if each of these dishes were the trump card of such an establishment that rich people would pay millions for.
Miki swallowed the saliva that almost ran down her chin before finding the man who had turned her life through no fault of his own, Satoru, who was in the kitchen preparing the incredible food. As soon as Satoru noticed her, he instantly bowed deeply.
"Miki, I would like to apologize for what happened yesterday and… I've cooked breakfast." Satoru said softly, maintaining perfect posture even as he bowed before rising.
"I have no money to repay for the opportunity to be here, but I am ready to start working as soon as I, um… get to know the city. Until then, I hope I can repay you with these low-level… I mean, this simple meal."
Miki froze, feeling her already damaged psyche seek to break free of her control again. 'No money, ha ha? Then tell me how you bought all this! Heck, even if you are secretly a world-class chef – where the hell did you get those groceries, where did you find the cooking utensils, I don't think you'd even have time for that while I was asleep!'
'Wait, what did he say…?' Miki lowered her eyes, as Satoru's words stuck a chord with her. 'He didn't say he had 'no money', he said he had 'no money to repay for the opportunity to be here' and an apology for yesterday'. He really sees what happened yesterday as his fault, as if he was to blame for Gorou's infidelity and the fight that followed. And this is all after his mother died – maybe just a week or less ago… Ha, don't tell me he spent all his money to make this breakfast trying to apologize to me for something that wasn't even his fault?!'
Miki felt her heart ache again – but it wasn't for Gorou, it was about the young man in front of her, the realization of how good a man he really was, and how much he must have suffered. He had only come to Gorou only after he was left without his mother's care, after which he tried to leave when he realized that he had not caused the reaction he had hoped for. And even though it was not his fault – he still tried to apologize, probably after having spent ungodly amounts of money – and even with the inheritance he received from his mother… No, wait, he isn't yet of legal age! How could he even get here as a minor, all the way from Kyoto?!
Miki thought about it for a second before deciding not to get involved in Satoru's personal life, at least now, while they were still practically strangers to each other, and while she was in this state.
"You shouldn't have…" Miki tried to tell Satoru that he shouldn't have felt bad about what happened yesterday, but he instantly interrupted her words.
"No, Miki, I should." Satoru exhaled, feeling bad enough by the looks of him, but still keeping himself under control. "I am the cause of what happened yesterday, and you are a fine woman who agreed to shelter me despite everything that happened, I even feel bad about providing you only such low-level… I mean, only food and nothing else. So, please, just try – it may not be much, but with your lev… I mean, in your condition, I'm sure this food will give you a meaningful buff… I mean, give you strength."
Faced with Satoru's insistence, and still exhausted from yesterday's events, Miki found no strength or ability to resist his words, so after making her way to the small table, to her seat, she sat down, and then looked around. She noticed that Iseei was nowhere to be found, and that Satoru wasn't going to eat, continuing to stand. "You're not going to eat? And Issei? Where is he?"
"We have already eaten," Satoru replied calmly, after which, Miki shifted her gaze to the sink, where the dishes she usually accumulated, which she washed for each member of the family, and found it to be empty of dirty dishes. And, following her gaze, Satoru immediately added, "Umu, I already washed the dishes."
Hearing this, Miki shifted her gaze back to the dishes in front of her. All of them are as fresh and incredible looking, meat, rice, mushrooms, the glazes – it all looked so incredible that Miki did not even know if she had the right to destroy this beautiful composition with her actions. Somewhere inside her, Miki was somewhat mad that her son wasn't with her right now, but Miki quickly extinguished that thought and the flame of resentment inside.
She shouldn't have thought that she was the only one who felt bad right now. For Issei also, his world had also collapsed yesterday, and it was only natural that he wanted to be alone.
It was just strange to Miki that now, in the kitchen, preparing to try some incredible restaurant dish, she was alone.
No, she was not alone, she was together with Satoru – even if she only knew him for the second day, he seemed to her to be a really kind, open, and reliable young man… Even if he appeared in this house at the same time as the tragedy.
Miki shook her head, she didn't want to think about that again, especially when she was trying to blame an innocent person of another's sin. She then quickly picked up her chopsticks and, deciding to try the sashimi first, took a small piece and put it in her mouth.
A moment later, the tender eel literally melted in her mouth.
The gentle and delicious taste caused Miki to relax her shoulders, and somewhere inside her a small flame seemed to ignite, filling her body with strength. 'Ha, it's true what they say, a good breakfast can give you strength for the whole day…'
Almost unknowingly, Miki reached for a second bite, then, as she swallowed it, felt a smile blooming on her face.
She hadn't smiled since the moment Issei had suddenly disappeared yesterday, not returning after school at the usual time, and after the debacle with Gorou, she only smiled now. There were only two reasons for this, either the food she was eating was magical and could strangely empower Miki – and Miki didn't believe that – even if the food tasted magical…
Instead, she believed that the source of her happiness was the atmosphere of the table. The amount of care and sincerity coming from Satoru was almost palpable as she ate the incredible home-cooked meal that must have taken ages to prepare, the young man made for her.
"Would you like to try the pork?" Satoru smiled, then moved the other dish a little closer to Miki. Miki, still unable to wipe the smile off her face, extended her chopsticks to the pork and took a small piece of artistically sliced pork into her mouth. Then she felt her thoughts gradually begin to clear, all her previous fears and doubts slowly began to recede into the background.
And the reason for that was…
"Thank you, Satoru", Miki smiled slightly at the young man. "For your care."
What Miki had lacked all these years – but she hadn't even noticed it until now… Someone showed care for her, and it was not her son or husband, but a random man from the street. Well, not really strangers… Ha-ha, her husband's son by his mistress.
Miki only smiled sadly at the thought before returning to her meal.
'Umu, I see,' Momonga watched as Miki slowly devoured the food on the table, as he looked at her parameters with [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence]. Miki's parameters and characteristics were negligible, so she was the perfect candidate to experiment on – given that the low-level food Momonga pulled out of his inventory gave not a percentage buff, but a fixed one – something like '+200 to HP max'.
In other words, it was much more effective for low-level players, whose HP might only be a hundred or two hundred, but for high-level players it was useless garbage. Even throwing such items in the trash would not bother any of them, they would not bother to clutter their Inventory with such low-level items. No one except Momonga himself, of course.
Being a pathological collector, he kept an incredible stockpile of the most useless things in his Inventory, not to mention Nazarick's treasure trove. Low-level food was one of the least bizarre things he kept in his inventory. And, as you could tell, due to her low stats, even slightly below the non-combatant first-level of YGGDRASIL classes – Miki was the perfect specimen for a test.
For one, Momonga could test whether the food from Nazarick and its buffs worked on the inhabitants of this world. Whether the people of the new world were affected by a dish if not eaten completely, which was impossible in the past in YGGDRASIL, and how trying to eat several dishes at once worked.
Unfortunately, only one food buff could be active at a time in YGGDRASIL - Momonga had already tested this on himself, and these buffs behaved the same way as in the game. If he ate a new dish while the previous buffs were still active, the new buffs would replace the previous one. Furthermore, the buffs from the dish would not appear until he ate the dish in its entirety, as in YGGDRASIL, if now consuming even more time.
The creatures of this world, however, behaved differently.
As Momonga looked at Miki's stats, Momonga could see two buffs stacking, from two different dishes – and they both began to act instantly when Miki first tasted the dish. Their effects however were reduced relative to the full effects – Momonga assumed that their effectiveness depended on how much of the total dish Miki ate.
In that case, the YGGDRASIL dishes gave the creatures of this world much more tactical flexibility, but became much more restricted by how much they can stomach. Momonga needed to check exactly how much Miki could eat – could she eat two dishes at once and get two effects at once? And, when she ate a dish in portions – would the effect of that increase with each portion? But did the effect timer reset, or was Miki limited, she had to take some time to dispense with the dish and get its full effect, and in doing so she lost buff time to eat the food? What if she ate two dishes of the same type – would their effect double? Would the timer update? Would the buffs remain if you vomit out the food after eating it?
Momonga saw so many potential experiments before him.
Besides, he was really feeling guilty before Miki, and so he apologized to her – maybe the low-level consumables weren't much like Momonga's sincere remorse, but he wasn't willing to spend anything high-level on Miki. And as it was, while the low-level consumables were practically worthless to Momonga, especially considering how many of them he had accumulated in his inventory and Nazarick, they were extremely tasty.
This Momonga had determined on his own a little earlier, but here Momonga could have been wrong. His tongue was used to chemically treated water and food paste, so for him almost any food was incredibly tasty.
But this one seemed to taste better than usual – so Momonga decided to share these dishes. Plus, it saved Miki from having to cook food for today… Hmm, and maybe for tomorrow as well? At the same time, Momonga would check to see if the food outside his inventory in this world would go bad, and if it would lose its flavor.
However, Miki, who glanced at him a few times, made Momonga stop his experimental planning for a moment before inwardly sighing. 'Ha, of course, seeing someone just standing there watching you eat is uncomfortable. Hmm, maybe I should have gone somewhere, then come back using [Perfect Unknowable]? Okay, it's too late to fix this – I'll do that next time when I conduct these experiments.'
"I'm sorry, Miki, if I'm making you uncomfortable," Momonga apologized, before grasping the excuse that came to his mind a moment later,
"I just don't know where I should be going right now…"
"No need to apologize, I'm just very grateful for the food and concern," Miki smiled slightly, "Really. And as for what you should be doing…" Miki sighed a little. "Don't you have to get ready for school?"
Momonga blinked. He certainly wanted to go to school, but education was very expensive in his home world, even if it had been cheaper in the past, Momonga didn't think he could afford that without a single bill in his pocket.
Sure, he could spend the gold or sell some of the items in his Inventory – but that would be tantamount to announcing his connection to YGGDRASIL. Anyone with any knowledge of it would instantly get information about Momonga and completely destroy his cover before he could get all the knowledge he needed.
"Umu, I'd be happy to, but…" Momonga spread his hands, as he tried his best to think of excuses in case the school here was affordable to all the people, and being that poor would be strange even for a teenager coming from out of town. "I don't even know where it is…"
"Ah yes, that's right," Miki nodded slowly before setting the sticks away from herself, "I really thank you for the food, Satoru."
"You're welcome, Miki," Satoru shook his head. Miki hadn't eaten a single dish to the end, and even the total came out to less than one full serving, so he couldn't really conclude his experiments…
'Hmm, is that her limitation? Appetite?' Momonga held back the impulse to put a hand to his chin in a gesture of thoughtfulness. 'Or is she just lacking stomach volume? Hmm, if you force-feed a person food– or maybe if the food is not in the stomach, but only in the mouth or esophagus, will it give bonuses or… No, not the time to be thinking about it!'
"Really, if you think about it that way – then I guess I need to work out your adoption, if you want to, of course. A young man like you, no matter how mature you are, you still need a family." Miki sighed and shook her head.
"Umu, that's right, adoption," Momonga nodded understandingly before he realized what Miki was saying, "Wait, what?!"
This is just too freakin sad to read. Poor Miki. She didn't deserve this.
Overlord of a High School (3)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (3)
Momonga froze, an expression of shock writ on his face as he looked at Miki, pondering exactly what he should have done at the moment, and how very different the Earth of the past was from his own past world. In his past world, the practice of adoption and even orphanages still existed, but not until the age of twelve. For at that age a child could well afford to work on the assembly line without additional problems, and thus be able to earn, provide for himself, and pay the bills – nobody wants to adopt a parasite. So orphanages function more like a cheap labor pool than a place for orphans to be adopted.
And they were the lucky ones.
Of course, there were certain age-related restrictions. After all, it was difficult for a child, unless he had inherited an apartment from his parents or had just been released from an orphanage, to find a place willing to rent them a room. As children were known to be forgetful and could easily set off a fire or similar disaster.
Momonga saw dead orphans with a certain frequency and periodicity – and more than once had to go around certain neighborhoods because of the work of the 'cleaners'. Especially during colder times or months of letting orphans out of their orphanages – but he was officially a year older than Issei, which meant he was already seventeen. He should be able to get a job easily in almost any job that didn't require connections or special education
Not that he wanted to work in an assembly line factory or as an office worker again, but for a few days, at least. Enough time to make up his mind about how the world worked and how he should behave in society, that would have been enough.
Adoption, on the other hand, was a very rare occurrence. Usually it was either when a rich person could not have children for some reason, which all the technology of his past world could not help. Or ceremonially, in the case of adoption into one of the rich families, as a reward or with some purpose in mind. Last, and very rarely, by the kindness of a rich man who might take a fancy to a random orphan.
Perhaps that was the point, though? Education in the past might have been extremely cheap, but only available to certain families or groups of people, and that's why Miki wanted to adopt him, to give him the opportunity to learn. In Momonga's past world, anyone could get into a school if they had the money and met the minimum requirements of the institution itself. If in the past, only certain groups of people could learn, Momonga might even be a little surprised that mega-corporations did something relatively good in this world. Where they made it possible for everyone to learn, regardless of status – though with regard to their money.
But no, Miki had said a little earlier that he had to be in school, hadn't she? So he must have belonged to one of those families… Ha, really, trying to pass himself off as a local in another world was really hard.
Momonga thought about it for a moment, then decided to take a risk. "Well, I have this…"
Whereupon Momonga pulled out from behind his back – to be exact, he created with [Create Greater Item] a copy of the documents he had managed to study a little earlier, using Gorou and Issei's documents as an example – something like the 'ID card' he had in his past world, only of a slightly different type. Of course, after replacing the important details with new ones that fit him.
He'll try to show Miki's documents, and if she starts asking questions that Momonga won't be able to answer, he could just wipe her memory using [Control Amnesia], then head to the adoption process with her. Huh, if they don't use body chip implants at this time – then what marking will be made to indicate his adoption? If they're going to brand or something like that - Momonga will need to scrutinize that branding for the future, since just one use of [Create Body] could easily change his branding, taking away his credibility.
In any case, reaching forward with the card to Miki, Momonga paused for a moment. He wouldn't want to use a tenth tier spell like [Control Amnesia] right away, after yesterday he'd managed to put some simple wards on the area to protect himself from surveillance. But he decided to limit himself to the simpler and weaker wards, so as not to raise suspicion in any possible observer with the very strength of the wards.
As a last resort, he would rather feed his opponent false information about his weakness and gain their scorn and underestimation than reveal his hand completely.
Miki, taking the card, immersed herself in reading it for a few seconds – before blinking and shifting her gaze to Momonga.
Momonga, on the other hand, tensed inwardly as he looked at Miki's strange expression. "Is something wrong?"
"These papers… They say you're of legal age, you have a driver's license… Why do you have one? Do you have a car?" Miki blinked, in apparent confusion, before exhaling slowly, while Momonga had already prepared to use [Charm Species] and [Control Amnesia].
Apparently, just copying Gorou's papers, he forgot to delete some important details he didn't know about. "And here I was wondering how did you get here and about money… Ha, you are actually emancipated?"
"Emancipated?" The word pricked Momonga's memory a little, but that knowledge wasn't on the surface of his mind, and he didn't have time to dig into his memory right now. So, he just nodded, hoping that it wasn't a trap. But, judging by Miki's facial expression, it was an answer to her question, explaining if not all, then many questions at once, "Yes, I am, Miki."
Miki raised her hand and put it to her face before looking away, an action that seemed suspicious to Momonga, but he allowed Miki to act as he saw no intention to attack or do anything similar or unexpected. "Ha, a great rarity indeed, I guess that explains a lot – how you got here, the money, your maturity… It's just, it is so rare that I never thought I would ever meet anyone emancipated even once in my whole life."
'Oh, apparently what Miki thought I did is possible, but is really an extremely rare event… Maybe it would have been better to just let her adopt me?' Momonga thought about it, but decided against it in the end.
'No, until I know the situation definitively – it's better to use as little high-rank magic as possible. The less magic used in creating my cover, the less likely I am to screw up on some little thing. I should try to adapt to this world – the more underestimated I am and the less my enemies are aware of my abilities, the better.'
"Ahem, in that case," Miki twirled Momonga's ID in her hands before returning them. "I guess there's no point in me going anywhere with you right now – much less to school… But, huh, maybe I should go with you after all? I think you'll soon realize that emancipated people are very rare, and it would be better if I could be present during your enrollment for school. At least it would be better for the principal."
"Absolutely, I would love to have you with me Miki," Momonga nodded. One more person, especially one who knows how the world works and who can guide him at the right moment, has always been a joy for Momonga. When it's available, discounting a trustworthy guide just because you want to go on an 'adventure' is beyond foolish.
"And I think it's best for you to prepare to bring your emancipation documents with you when we go to school, just to make all progress smoothly… Actually, did you already bring all your stuff with you from Kyoto? Yesterday, you… yesterday, you came without your things – did you move them overnight?" Miki stumbled as her memory of what happened yesterday was still raw.
'Ah, crap, that's right, I forgot to fabricate some luggage… I guess it's a good that I had put Miki to sleep, she would've asked some uncomfortable questions.' Momonga, however, not showing his discomfort, only nodded. Then, after a slight momentary regret, did not dispel his ID documents, instead returning them to his inventory, forgoing their original function as a temporary item. He rather not risks crafting them again and miss some slight detail that would mark them out as fakes, especially now that he has to use them as his permanent personal documents.
"That's right, Miki…" Momonga simply agreed, not showing outwardly any of his thoughts.
Things created with [Create Greater Item] could exist for a long time, as long as their existence was maintained by Momonga himself. The cost of maintaining them depended on the size, quality, quantity, and purpose of the items, plus, of course, the inability to create artifacts, magical weapons, food, or materials – anything that could be a resource.
Instead, he could only create facsimiles of the item, albeit a high-quality one, one that would be immediately recognized as a 'fake' if he ever tried using it as a resource, disappearing as soon as Momonga wished it. Of course, given that his documents were essentially a 'page of paper' in YGGDRASIL terms – Momonga could maintain the existence of his ID indefinitely.
Still, albeit only a drop in a pool, such an act reduced Momonga's potential mana regeneration. It would last at least until he learned the look of his documents thoroughly and could reproduce them perfectly every time after.
'One more item on the quickly growing to-do list…' Momonga sighed, then frowned. 'Now, a question, who has any idea what an emancipation resolution looks like?! What even is an emancipation resolution!'
Issei made his way to the gates of Issei's school before closing his eyes, drawing in the scent with his nose.
'Ah, mein Freund, indeed – it is the smell of… purposelessness.' Issei smiled, then crossed the small boundary separating the school grounds and the rest of the city. As he got closer, he could feel the sleepy and already awake minds of the students and adults around him begin to slowly spin, preparing for their daily drudgery. And through it all, the smell of directionlessness, of people simply 'existing' rather than 'living' are thick in the air.
'Purposeless teachers, purposeless students, purposeless people and even purposeless demons… what a contradiction in terms'
Issei even began counting the demons, sensing their presence around him. 'One, two, three, four, five… Oh, there's a whole posse of them here!'
Kiba Yuuto is a demon, a former human in fact, reborn with the help of [Evil Pieces]… Hmm, a race-changing artifact from this world? Interesting… Maybe Issei should take the form of some Supreme Being and try to steal those? A good idea, but Issei couldn't afford to be distracted by his passion for collecting now that he had a mission...
Though maybe a little later?
Issei thought for a moment, before lightly touching Kiba Yuuto's thoughts, trying to determine if he was a potential danger, an actor, or just another setting of this scene.
'Hmm, a [Knight] of Rias Gremory – his current level… Hmm, judging by his thoughts and memories, he is supposed to be well above the level of a new 'low class demon'. But still hasn't made his way to 'middle class demon', so I would estimate his level to be about the twentieth? Perhaps, a little lower, although his ability to create swords…! O mein Vater, that's not an ability – that's an artifact he possesses!' Issei felt his interest slowly begin to take over as he discovered an artifact in his 'stroll'.
'[Sword Birth], another of these so-called [Sacred Gear] that Father mentioned earlier. The feeling I got makes it not nearly as strong as the World Class Item – but it is still a unique artifact of this world, a member of a very high rank of artifacts! Though the swords he created are quite weak, but the tactical flexibility itself is magnificent!
Oh? Hmm, further, within his memories he was… Trained by Okita Soji? I'm not familiar with the name, but he looks like a strong enough opponent. However, in Yuuto's memory he hasn't demonstrated anything really strong. In his training Okita would bring Kiba along to destroy hmm, Stray Devils? Another unfamiliar term… Still, judging by the monster's appearance, the one in the memory was about level fifteen – even an opponent only ten levels higher could easily deal with him, so it's not a good measuring stick of Okita's strength. Still, this is Yuuto's thoughts, and Okita's strength was in no question to him as he was… A [Knight] of Sirzechs Lucifer? Hmm, he's the elder brother of Rias Gremory, and is supposed to be the Strongest Satan. What strange information, isn't there supposed to be only one Satan, Lucifer? Are there multiple Satans in this world? Hm-hm-hm, what lovely information I've found! I wonder… what lies deeper within you, Yuuto Kiba?'
With a silent smirk, Issei did find something exciting beneath all that memories and thoughts.
'Oh, sadistic experiments to create [Holy Swords] users!' Issei nearly jumped from the emotions from Yuuto at that memory, almost overwhelming him. 'The only surviving orphan at that… This is so cool! His real name is Isaiah, not Yuuto Kiba – great, unbelievable! So cool!' Issei felt some exuberance as he began to penetrate the very center of Yuuto's mind, half absorbed by the horizons that opened before him. Of course, the other half is still keeping vigil, no matter how intriguing this first demon he had found, choosing him as his target simply because he was nearest. All must be because of Father's will!
'And inside him…? Oh, my what a struggle! Two raging streams of flame, two sparks trying to defeat each other, were raging inside Yuuto. His loyalty to Rias Gremory, who saved him in his final moments – and his hatred for the holy church, for the very concept of a [Holy Sword], a desire for revenge for all his slain comrades…'
The beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick were bestowed by Their grace with the knowledge of their purpose, their life purpose. Whether as a 'maid' or as 'Floor Guardians', while the people of this world were empty and meaningless, bereft of that purpose of which they were incapable of even realizing.
And yet, even among these masses of empty vessels devoid of everything, there were those who tried to raise in their souls that great flame that burned in every inhabitant of the Great Tomb. They do so senselessly, and yet commendably, capable of generating pathetic sparks from their own understanding of their purpose – such a purpose existed inside Yuuto… Yet Yuuto Kiba was torn – for there were two of these sparks in his soul. Both of them insignificant compared to the great flame of a true servant of the Forty-One, and yet real, tangible – and each of these sparks were tearing his soul apart.
His colliding passion causing him great suffering.
Issei could not imagine the terrible agony that Yuuto must have felt, being torn between his two destinies. It would be a pain throughout his entire being, like the thorns of a rose sprouting through his flesh.
And yet, just like a blooming rose, it was so beautiful and thrilling, a magnificent tragedy for those who wished to enjoy it.
"Ise!" A loud voice of a student interrupted Issei's musings, causing him to remember that he had a mission, and to turn away from the contemplation of the stunning specimen, turning away, hiding a slight expression of displeasure on his face. "I know that look on your stupid face, you bastard! You almost drooled there just now, your eyes glistening – did you get lucky with that Yuma yesterday, you bastard?!"
The student who approached Issei had a shaved bald head, dressed in his school uniform, and was practically sobbing, as he looked at Issei – or, well, 'Issei'.
"Brother, we were abandoned, abandoned to our cruel fate!" Almost sobbing as hysterically as the first, dressed exactly the same as the first, with disheveled hair and large glasses covering at least half of his face. He seems to linger behind the first, as he responded to his cry, torn between trying to be the more resilient of the two, and wanting to fall to the ground and tear up right on his way to school.
"Ah, Matsuda, Motohama" Issei easily picked up on the superficial thoughts of the schoolchildren, getting their name and relationship with 'Issei'. "If you mean yesterday about Yuma and me, then…"
Issei thought about what he should answer for a moment. 'Yuma', that was the name the Fallen Angel, Raynare, had introduced herself to Issei with. Issei was not fully aware of what had transpired between the Fallen Angel and 'Issei', but he did receive adequate information from Father as He prepared to go into this world.
It seems that 'Issei' had died after his date. More precisely, he should have died after Yuma, Raynare's actions, but he was saved by Father, before becoming an unfortunate collateral of the fight between Father and the red dragon's… Or, perhaps it was intentional – considering all other actions that followed before and after what had transpired.
The bottom line, however, was that the date between Issei and Yuma did not end in a way that the Issei could have simply told. Even if he had received permission to inform these people about the existence of magic, fallen angels, and, as could be understood from Yuuto Kiba, demons and dragons – he had to play the role of Issei.
And so, instead of answering, he merely picked up a superficial thought from the mind of one of the schoolchildren, then voiced that. It seems that 'Issei' doesn't have the best of reputations with the fairer sex. "It was all a prank… When I met her for the date, Yuma filmed me and then laughed and ran away! It was kind of a set-up, or maybe she was forced to do it as a way to humiliate her…"
Moments later, Issei collapsed on his knees, after which he balled his fists and began striking the ground. The perfect pose to act out despair!. "I'm crushed, totally crushed!"
"Shit, man!" Matsuda, the bald guy, made his way over to Issei, then instantly knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder in a conciliatory gesture. "Don't worry, I have some raunchy new mag on me – the best boobs, I'll give it to you for free!"
"Dude, let's go to my place after class! I have so much new stuff, and my parents have moved out of the house for the rest of the week! It'll cheer you up right away!" Motohama, the young man with glasses, immediately got on the other side of Issei, showing his support of him.
Issei, however, only noted that simultaneously with the real worry for Issei and his trampled love life and the friendly support and sympathy from the depths of the two schoolboys' minds – came relief. As if they feared that if Issei would get a girlfriend, bypassing them in life, and that by getting a girlfriend he would leave their 'perverted trio'. Which was once an offensive nickname that the trio of friends now proudly wore. Along with that, however, were considerable anger – both at Yuma, for daring to wound Issei, and at themselves, for being relieved to learn that Issei didn't actually have a girlfriend.
"Thank you guys!" Issei rose from his stupor, then smiled sadly, wiping away a small tear that had appeared as he sucked in the air noisily. "You two are real friends."
"No problems, bro," Matsuda gave Issei a friendly slight nudge on the shoulder as they began walking towards the school, causing Issei to note that Matsuda was in excellent physical shape – surpassing his supposed first level.
"Ah, speaking of bros," Issei shook his head, acting out some kind of surprise. "I think I found an older brother…"
Matsuda and Motohama, upon hearing this, instantly stopped their attempt to walk forward, shifting their attention back to Issei. "Ise, don't tell me you found someone you're willing to trade us for…"
"No, that's not what I mean," Issei shook his head, "I really did find my older brother… It turned out that my father had a family on the side, and the result of that relationship came here after his mother died, trying to find his father. So to make matters short, mother kicked father out and now my sort of older brother lives with us."
Matsuda and Motohama shifted their gaze to each other at these words, then back to Issei. And then, clearly not knowing what else they should have said somewhere along the way, just said the first thing that popped into their mind.
"That sucks, brother," Matsuda spoke up first, briefly summarizing the news.
Motohama only nodded at that, allowing Issei to frown and hang his shoulders. "Yeah."
Matsuda and Motohama's thoughts swirled in their heads, regret mixed with some awkwardness and along with that, sadness, sympathy, and anger. Not only were Issei's dreams trampled yesterday, his father also turned out to be nothing like he had seemed all these years.
'They really were good friends to you, Issei.' Issei sighed mentally, and outwardly, to complete his act. 'If that's any consolation for you in the afterlife, of course.'
Issei's attention was then drawn towards the direction of the school as more and more figures of schoolboys and schoolgirls, adults and youths, demons and humans with their emotions swirled in the distance.
Issei smiled a little. Indeed, his Father had prepared a great task for him – and at the same time, seemingly a dangerous one. It was a buffet full of viands and possibilities – even just one Yuuto Kiba was already such a unique specimen, so what awaited Issei next? So many choices, so many wonderful, wonderful choices…
Issei's gaze suddenly came upon the figure of Father – and at the same time the figure of Issei's mother, Miki, walking lightly across the school grounds. Father's face expressed no emotion, while Miki seemed to be changing somewhat rapidly as she cast a slightly unfocused look around her, and at the same time looking at Father ahead, now with apprehension, and with respect…
'Father, have you come here to see if I have done Your will?' Issei smiled inwardly, feeling as if he were a child before the gaze of his Parent, watching intently as the child wrote their first letters.
'Father, such grace and mercy… Father, look at me, for I am now Issei Hyoudou, and I am doing Your bidding!'
"Brothers, but you know exactly what will never betray us?" Issei – no, Pandora's Actor, who took that mask, dissolved into it, and became Issei Hyoudou until Father said otherwise – smiled a smile full of pain, and at the same time, an undercurrent of confidence.
A moment later, Matsuda and Motohama smiled as they understood his message, and then, embracing together, they threw their arms up in the air with a loud shout.
"BOOBS!" A loud shout surprised Momonga – though the shame he felt was definitely not about the content of the shout, but who exactly was shouting.
'I'm not listening, I'm not even looking, don't look at me, let no one see or notice me, I don't even know these people… Pandora's Actor! Why!?' Momonga kept his gaze straight ahead, trying not to shift his eyes, running from the shame that rose so high that it dissipated after a moment.
'I am so grateful for my abilities… If it weren't for them, I would have run away by now, using [Time Stop] and [Perfect Unknowable] liberally.'
Momonga took a few steps before he heard voices – apparently someone was enraged by the shouts of schoolchildren, including Pandora's Actor's, posing as Issei at this moment, trying to quiet them. 'I am grateful to you, whoever you are. I am very grateful…'
Stopping for a moment, Momonga waited for Miki to walk a little closer to him, as he had unconsciously hastened his steps as soon as he noticed Pandora's Actor.
'Huh, and why did I only copy Gorou's documents…'
As it turned out, Gorou could indeed drive. A fact that was reflected in his driver's license, which Momonga had copied and not changed because he didn't know what that particular box on the card meant. So when Miki discovered this fact, and thanks to the fact that Gorou had left his car as he ran off into the night without it, she offered to let Momonga drive.
Momonga should compensate Gorou, somehow, later for this loss.
Momonga in turn reasoned that if he had a driver's license, it would be hard for him to find a reason not to get into a car, although he had never driven a car in the past world.
In YGGDRASIL, Momonga had used many different mounts, including mechanical ones. Even though he didn't have the special abilities of the cavalry classes, barring him from bonuses for fighting on horseback or driving a mount – he was still capable of using those.
Therefore, he decided to at least try himself as a driver… As it turned out - Momonga didn't know how to drive.
Thankfully, he didn't crash into anything along the way – and, as far as he could tell from the lack of police chasing him, he hadn't broken any traffic rules… At least, other than speeding.
Momonga had forgotten that in YGGDRASIL, mounts were used primarily for two things – either to move quickly from one location to another or during a battle to change positions quickly. Perhaps as an extra power in case the mounts were strong enough, or to activate the special abilities of players that required those, like [Ramming].
So when he got behind the steering wheel of the car, Momonga used it as he always did. He didn't pay any attention to the fact that the mounts, cars, of this world were not meant to be used at full speed – even if they had the ability to move quickly. The fact that he's accustomed to the speed of level one hundred players, with the maximum speed of the car 'below a specialized level forty mount' didn't help matters. His mind was simply used to processing things moving at a much greater speed.
So Miki, who was sitting in the front seat and had only time to buckle up, was instantly crushed by the speed of the bellowing beast of a car. A car which immediately burst with inhuman speed into the thick stream of cars on the road, and then rushed forward, as Momonga maneuvered the car between offensively slow cars.
Momonga didn't even pay attention to the strangled wheezes Miki made beside him, as she tried to figure out what she was seeing in front of her eyes. Momonga ignored it all completely, considering what was happening as normal as it was in YGGDRASIL, having covered the distance to Kuoh Academy in literally minutes.
After that, having easily parked with a ninety-degree turn he had practiced in the past – adjusting for the car's comparative clumsiness of course, Momonga calmly stepped out of the car. While for Miki, she seemed to just flow out of her seat – like slime, barely finding the ground under her feet only because Momonga had put his arm up to her and waited another dozen minutes before she could regain her composure a bit.
If it hadn't been for Momonga's buff-giving food a little earlier, it's likely that Miki would have parted with the contents of her stomach by now. Something which made Momonga think of experiments – if the person who ate the buff-giving food expelled it from her body, would its effects end? What about the natural exit of that one from the body? Some high-level food could give extremely long-lasting buffs, what if the person went to the toilet earlier – would the buffs stop working, or not?
Momonga shoved those thoughts away again – after which he did lead Miki to the headmaster, supporting her for a while as she couldn't walk on her own.
And now, when she did seem to have found her legs, she still intermittently stopped to cast strange glances at Momonga – something that made him feel uncomfortable. But, at the same time, Momonga knew that he well deserved the reaction, Momonga was faced with his child acting strangely as Miki also was faced with the strange actions of her newfound son.
'I don't even know what's more embarrassing – when he salutes and speaks German, trying to do some ridiculous 'cool' pose all the time, or now as he acts like Issei.' Momonga couldn't help himself, and put his palm to his face, as if trying to hide from the world behind the barrier of his fingers.
'Ha, I don't even know what to do. Miki, should I apologize for my son's actions, or sympathize, because I know what it's like to have a shameful child…'
Momonga cast a glance at Miki, who was looking at Pandora's Actor – Issei. Or rather, at the trio of schoolchildren, at the moment seeking to escape from some girl with a wooden sword in her hands, running after the trio, threatening them with every possible punishment under the sun.
Momonga turned his gaze to Miki, wanting to convey his silent sympathy and understanding, but found on her face not what he himself was experiencing – but a strange detached expression, full of pain and recognition.
Then Miki shook her head and turned away, finding Momonga's gaze.
Momonga sighed, then tried to silently convey a commiserating thought to her. 'Don't worry, I understand how you feel right now…'
It was unclear whether his thought had reached Miki's mind, but she cheered up a little and then smiled a little, less sadly and without so much pain inside.
"Let's go, Miki," Momonga nodded toward the nearby school administration building, noting that there were still twenty minutes left before classes began – if classes here began the same time as in his previous world, at least, at half past eight.
Miki, taking a few steps forward, clearly strengthened and recovered from Momonga's trip, stopped for a moment, then smiled Momonga's way. "You know if you want… You can call me Mom."
Momonga froze, an expression of shock writ on his face as he looked at Miki, pondering exactly what he should have done at the moment, and how very different the Earth of the past was from his own past world. In his past world, the practice of adoption and even orphanages still existed, but not until the age of twelve. For at that age a child could well afford to work on the assembly line without additional problems, and thus be able to earn, provide for himself, and pay the bills – nobody wants to adopt a parasite. So orphanages function more like a cheap labor pool than a place for orphans to be adopted.
And they were the lucky ones.
Of course, there were certain age-related restrictions. After all, it was difficult for a child, unless he had inherited an apartment from his parents or had just been released from an orphanage, to find a place willing to rent them a room. As children were known to be forgetful and could easily set off a fire or similar disaster.
Momonga saw dead orphans with a certain frequency and periodicity – and more than once had to go around certain neighborhoods because of the work of the 'cleaners'. Especially during colder times or months of letting orphans out of their orphanages – but he was officially a year older than Issei, which meant he was already seventeen. He should be able to get a job easily in almost any job that didn't require connections or special education
Not that he wanted to work in an assembly line factory or as an office worker again, but for a few days, at least. Enough time to make up his mind about how the world worked and how he should behave in society, that would have been enough.
Adoption, on the other hand, was a very rare occurrence. Usually it was either when a rich person could not have children for some reason, which all the technology of his past world could not help. Or ceremonially, in the case of adoption into one of the rich families, as a reward or with some purpose in mind. Last, and very rarely, by the kindness of a rich man who might take a fancy to a random orphan.
Perhaps that was the point, though? Education in the past might have been extremely cheap, but only available to certain families or groups of people, and that's why Miki wanted to adopt him, to give him the opportunity to learn. In Momonga's past world, anyone could get into a school if they had the money and met the minimum requirements of the institution itself. If in the past, only certain groups of people could learn, Momonga might even be a little surprised that mega-corporations did something relatively good in this world. Where they made it possible for everyone to learn, regardless of status – though with regard to their money.
But no, Miki had said a little earlier that he had to be in school, hadn't she? So he must have belonged to one of those families… Ha, really, trying to pass himself off as a local in another world was really hard.
Momonga thought about it for a moment, then decided to take a risk. "Well, I have this…"
Whereupon Momonga pulled out from behind his back – to be exact, he created with [Create Greater Item] a copy of the documents he had managed to study a little earlier, using Gorou and Issei's documents as an example – something like the 'ID card' he had in his past world, only of a slightly different type. Of course, after replacing the important details with new ones that fit him.
He'll try to show Miki's documents, and if she starts asking questions that Momonga won't be able to answer, he could just wipe her memory using [Control Amnesia], then head to the adoption process with her. Huh, if they don't use body chip implants at this time – then what marking will be made to indicate his adoption? If they're going to brand or something like that - Momonga will need to scrutinize that branding for the future, since just one use of [Create Body] could easily change his branding, taking away his credibility.
In any case, reaching forward with the card to Miki, Momonga paused for a moment. He wouldn't want to use a tenth tier spell like [Control Amnesia] right away, after yesterday he'd managed to put some simple wards on the area to protect himself from surveillance. But he decided to limit himself to the simpler and weaker wards, so as not to raise suspicion in any possible observer with the very strength of the wards.
As a last resort, he would rather feed his opponent false information about his weakness and gain their scorn and underestimation than reveal his hand completely.
Miki, taking the card, immersed herself in reading it for a few seconds – before blinking and shifting her gaze to Momonga.
Momonga, on the other hand, tensed inwardly as he looked at Miki's strange expression. "Is something wrong?"
"These papers… They say you're of legal age, you have a driver's license… Why do you have one? Do you have a car?" Miki blinked, in apparent confusion, before exhaling slowly, while Momonga had already prepared to use [Charm Species] and [Control Amnesia].
Apparently, just copying Gorou's papers, he forgot to delete some important details he didn't know about. "And here I was wondering how did you get here and about money… Ha, you are actually emancipated?"
"Emancipated?" The word pricked Momonga's memory a little, but that knowledge wasn't on the surface of his mind, and he didn't have time to dig into his memory right now. So, he just nodded, hoping that it wasn't a trap. But, judging by Miki's facial expression, it was an answer to her question, explaining if not all, then many questions at once, "Yes, I am, Miki."
Miki raised her hand and put it to her face before looking away, an action that seemed suspicious to Momonga, but he allowed Miki to act as he saw no intention to attack or do anything similar or unexpected. "Ha, a great rarity indeed, I guess that explains a lot – how you got here, the money, your maturity… It's just, it is so rare that I never thought I would ever meet anyone emancipated even once in my whole life."
'Oh, apparently what Miki thought I did is possible, but is really an extremely rare event… Maybe it would have been better to just let her adopt me?' Momonga thought about it, but decided against it in the end.
'No, until I know the situation definitively – it's better to use as little high-rank magic as possible. The less magic used in creating my cover, the less likely I am to screw up on some little thing. I should try to adapt to this world – the more underestimated I am and the less my enemies are aware of my abilities, the better.'
"Ahem, in that case," Miki twirled Momonga's ID in her hands before returning them. "I guess there's no point in me going anywhere with you right now – much less to school… But, huh, maybe I should go with you after all? I think you'll soon realize that emancipated people are very rare, and it would be better if I could be present during your enrollment for school. At least it would be better for the principal."
"Absolutely, I would love to have you with me Miki," Momonga nodded. One more person, especially one who knows how the world works and who can guide him at the right moment, has always been a joy for Momonga. When it's available, discounting a trustworthy guide just because you want to go on an 'adventure' is beyond foolish.
"And I think it's best for you to prepare to bring your emancipation documents with you when we go to school, just to make all progress smoothly… Actually, did you already bring all your stuff with you from Kyoto? Yesterday, you… yesterday, you came without your things – did you move them overnight?" Miki stumbled as her memory of what happened yesterday was still raw.
'Ah, crap, that's right, I forgot to fabricate some luggage… I guess it's a good that I had put Miki to sleep, she would've asked some uncomfortable questions.' Momonga, however, not showing his discomfort, only nodded. Then, after a slight momentary regret, did not dispel his ID documents, instead returning them to his inventory, forgoing their original function as a temporary item. He rather not risks crafting them again and miss some slight detail that would mark them out as fakes, especially now that he has to use them as his permanent personal documents.
"That's right, Miki…" Momonga simply agreed, not showing outwardly any of his thoughts.
Things created with [Create Greater Item] could exist for a long time, as long as their existence was maintained by Momonga himself. The cost of maintaining them depended on the size, quality, quantity, and purpose of the items, plus, of course, the inability to create artifacts, magical weapons, food, or materials – anything that could be a resource.
Instead, he could only create facsimiles of the item, albeit a high-quality one, one that would be immediately recognized as a 'fake' if he ever tried using it as a resource, disappearing as soon as Momonga wished it. Of course, given that his documents were essentially a 'page of paper' in YGGDRASIL terms – Momonga could maintain the existence of his ID indefinitely.
Still, albeit only a drop in a pool, such an act reduced Momonga's potential mana regeneration. It would last at least until he learned the look of his documents thoroughly and could reproduce them perfectly every time after.
'One more item on the quickly growing to-do list…' Momonga sighed, then frowned. 'Now, a question, who has any idea what an emancipation resolution looks like?! What even is an emancipation resolution!'
Issei made his way to the gates of Issei's school before closing his eyes, drawing in the scent with his nose.
'Ah, mein Freund, indeed – it is the smell of… purposelessness.' Issei smiled, then crossed the small boundary separating the school grounds and the rest of the city. As he got closer, he could feel the sleepy and already awake minds of the students and adults around him begin to slowly spin, preparing for their daily drudgery. And through it all, the smell of directionlessness, of people simply 'existing' rather than 'living' are thick in the air.
'Purposeless teachers, purposeless students, purposeless people and even purposeless demons… what a contradiction in terms'
Issei even began counting the demons, sensing their presence around him. 'One, two, three, four, five… Oh, there's a whole posse of them here!'
Kiba Yuuto is a demon, a former human in fact, reborn with the help of [Evil Pieces]… Hmm, a race-changing artifact from this world? Interesting… Maybe Issei should take the form of some Supreme Being and try to steal those? A good idea, but Issei couldn't afford to be distracted by his passion for collecting now that he had a mission...
Though maybe a little later?
Issei thought for a moment, before lightly touching Kiba Yuuto's thoughts, trying to determine if he was a potential danger, an actor, or just another setting of this scene.
'Hmm, a [Knight] of Rias Gremory – his current level… Hmm, judging by his thoughts and memories, he is supposed to be well above the level of a new 'low class demon'. But still hasn't made his way to 'middle class demon', so I would estimate his level to be about the twentieth? Perhaps, a little lower, although his ability to create swords…! O mein Vater, that's not an ability – that's an artifact he possesses!' Issei felt his interest slowly begin to take over as he discovered an artifact in his 'stroll'.
'[Sword Birth], another of these so-called [Sacred Gear] that Father mentioned earlier. The feeling I got makes it not nearly as strong as the World Class Item – but it is still a unique artifact of this world, a member of a very high rank of artifacts! Though the swords he created are quite weak, but the tactical flexibility itself is magnificent!
Oh? Hmm, further, within his memories he was… Trained by Okita Soji? I'm not familiar with the name, but he looks like a strong enough opponent. However, in Yuuto's memory he hasn't demonstrated anything really strong. In his training Okita would bring Kiba along to destroy hmm, Stray Devils? Another unfamiliar term… Still, judging by the monster's appearance, the one in the memory was about level fifteen – even an opponent only ten levels higher could easily deal with him, so it's not a good measuring stick of Okita's strength. Still, this is Yuuto's thoughts, and Okita's strength was in no question to him as he was… A [Knight] of Sirzechs Lucifer? Hmm, he's the elder brother of Rias Gremory, and is supposed to be the Strongest Satan. What strange information, isn't there supposed to be only one Satan, Lucifer? Are there multiple Satans in this world? Hm-hm-hm, what lovely information I've found! I wonder… what lies deeper within you, Yuuto Kiba?'
With a silent smirk, Issei did find something exciting beneath all that memories and thoughts.
'Oh, sadistic experiments to create [Holy Swords] users!' Issei nearly jumped from the emotions from Yuuto at that memory, almost overwhelming him. 'The only surviving orphan at that… This is so cool! His real name is Isaiah, not Yuuto Kiba – great, unbelievable! So cool!' Issei felt some exuberance as he began to penetrate the very center of Yuuto's mind, half absorbed by the horizons that opened before him. Of course, the other half is still keeping vigil, no matter how intriguing this first demon he had found, choosing him as his target simply because he was nearest. All must be because of Father's will!
'And inside him…? Oh, my what a struggle! Two raging streams of flame, two sparks trying to defeat each other, were raging inside Yuuto. His loyalty to Rias Gremory, who saved him in his final moments – and his hatred for the holy church, for the very concept of a [Holy Sword], a desire for revenge for all his slain comrades…'
The beings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick were bestowed by Their grace with the knowledge of their purpose, their life purpose. Whether as a 'maid' or as 'Floor Guardians', while the people of this world were empty and meaningless, bereft of that purpose of which they were incapable of even realizing.
And yet, even among these masses of empty vessels devoid of everything, there were those who tried to raise in their souls that great flame that burned in every inhabitant of the Great Tomb. They do so senselessly, and yet commendably, capable of generating pathetic sparks from their own understanding of their purpose – such a purpose existed inside Yuuto… Yet Yuuto Kiba was torn – for there were two of these sparks in his soul. Both of them insignificant compared to the great flame of a true servant of the Forty-One, and yet real, tangible – and each of these sparks were tearing his soul apart.
His colliding passion causing him great suffering.
Issei could not imagine the terrible agony that Yuuto must have felt, being torn between his two destinies. It would be a pain throughout his entire being, like the thorns of a rose sprouting through his flesh.
And yet, just like a blooming rose, it was so beautiful and thrilling, a magnificent tragedy for those who wished to enjoy it.
"Ise!" A loud voice of a student interrupted Issei's musings, causing him to remember that he had a mission, and to turn away from the contemplation of the stunning specimen, turning away, hiding a slight expression of displeasure on his face. "I know that look on your stupid face, you bastard! You almost drooled there just now, your eyes glistening – did you get lucky with that Yuma yesterday, you bastard?!"
The student who approached Issei had a shaved bald head, dressed in his school uniform, and was practically sobbing, as he looked at Issei – or, well, 'Issei'.
"Brother, we were abandoned, abandoned to our cruel fate!" Almost sobbing as hysterically as the first, dressed exactly the same as the first, with disheveled hair and large glasses covering at least half of his face. He seems to linger behind the first, as he responded to his cry, torn between trying to be the more resilient of the two, and wanting to fall to the ground and tear up right on his way to school.
"Ah, Matsuda, Motohama" Issei easily picked up on the superficial thoughts of the schoolchildren, getting their name and relationship with 'Issei'. "If you mean yesterday about Yuma and me, then…"
Issei thought about what he should answer for a moment. 'Yuma', that was the name the Fallen Angel, Raynare, had introduced herself to Issei with. Issei was not fully aware of what had transpired between the Fallen Angel and 'Issei', but he did receive adequate information from Father as He prepared to go into this world.
It seems that 'Issei' had died after his date. More precisely, he should have died after Yuma, Raynare's actions, but he was saved by Father, before becoming an unfortunate collateral of the fight between Father and the red dragon's… Or, perhaps it was intentional – considering all other actions that followed before and after what had transpired.
The bottom line, however, was that the date between Issei and Yuma did not end in a way that the Issei could have simply told. Even if he had received permission to inform these people about the existence of magic, fallen angels, and, as could be understood from Yuuto Kiba, demons and dragons – he had to play the role of Issei.
And so, instead of answering, he merely picked up a superficial thought from the mind of one of the schoolchildren, then voiced that. It seems that 'Issei' doesn't have the best of reputations with the fairer sex. "It was all a prank… When I met her for the date, Yuma filmed me and then laughed and ran away! It was kind of a set-up, or maybe she was forced to do it as a way to humiliate her…"
Moments later, Issei collapsed on his knees, after which he balled his fists and began striking the ground. The perfect pose to act out despair!. "I'm crushed, totally crushed!"
"Shit, man!" Matsuda, the bald guy, made his way over to Issei, then instantly knelt down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder in a conciliatory gesture. "Don't worry, I have some raunchy new mag on me – the best boobs, I'll give it to you for free!"
"Dude, let's go to my place after class! I have so much new stuff, and my parents have moved out of the house for the rest of the week! It'll cheer you up right away!" Motohama, the young man with glasses, immediately got on the other side of Issei, showing his support of him.
Issei, however, only noted that simultaneously with the real worry for Issei and his trampled love life and the friendly support and sympathy from the depths of the two schoolboys' minds – came relief. As if they feared that if Issei would get a girlfriend, bypassing them in life, and that by getting a girlfriend he would leave their 'perverted trio'. Which was once an offensive nickname that the trio of friends now proudly wore. Along with that, however, were considerable anger – both at Yuma, for daring to wound Issei, and at themselves, for being relieved to learn that Issei didn't actually have a girlfriend.
"Thank you guys!" Issei rose from his stupor, then smiled sadly, wiping away a small tear that had appeared as he sucked in the air noisily. "You two are real friends."
"No problems, bro," Matsuda gave Issei a friendly slight nudge on the shoulder as they began walking towards the school, causing Issei to note that Matsuda was in excellent physical shape – surpassing his supposed first level.
"Ah, speaking of bros," Issei shook his head, acting out some kind of surprise. "I think I found an older brother…"
Matsuda and Motohama, upon hearing this, instantly stopped their attempt to walk forward, shifting their attention back to Issei. "Ise, don't tell me you found someone you're willing to trade us for…"
"No, that's not what I mean," Issei shook his head, "I really did find my older brother… It turned out that my father had a family on the side, and the result of that relationship came here after his mother died, trying to find his father. So to make matters short, mother kicked father out and now my sort of older brother lives with us."
Matsuda and Motohama shifted their gaze to each other at these words, then back to Issei. And then, clearly not knowing what else they should have said somewhere along the way, just said the first thing that popped into their mind.
"That sucks, brother," Matsuda spoke up first, briefly summarizing the news.
Motohama only nodded at that, allowing Issei to frown and hang his shoulders. "Yeah."
Matsuda and Motohama's thoughts swirled in their heads, regret mixed with some awkwardness and along with that, sadness, sympathy, and anger. Not only were Issei's dreams trampled yesterday, his father also turned out to be nothing like he had seemed all these years.
'They really were good friends to you, Issei.' Issei sighed mentally, and outwardly, to complete his act. 'If that's any consolation for you in the afterlife, of course.'
Issei's attention was then drawn towards the direction of the school as more and more figures of schoolboys and schoolgirls, adults and youths, demons and humans with their emotions swirled in the distance.
Issei smiled a little. Indeed, his Father had prepared a great task for him – and at the same time, seemingly a dangerous one. It was a buffet full of viands and possibilities – even just one Yuuto Kiba was already such a unique specimen, so what awaited Issei next? So many choices, so many wonderful, wonderful choices…
Issei's gaze suddenly came upon the figure of Father – and at the same time the figure of Issei's mother, Miki, walking lightly across the school grounds. Father's face expressed no emotion, while Miki seemed to be changing somewhat rapidly as she cast a slightly unfocused look around her, and at the same time looking at Father ahead, now with apprehension, and with respect…
'Father, have you come here to see if I have done Your will?' Issei smiled inwardly, feeling as if he were a child before the gaze of his Parent, watching intently as the child wrote their first letters.
'Father, such grace and mercy… Father, look at me, for I am now Issei Hyoudou, and I am doing Your bidding!'
"Brothers, but you know exactly what will never betray us?" Issei – no, Pandora's Actor, who took that mask, dissolved into it, and became Issei Hyoudou until Father said otherwise – smiled a smile full of pain, and at the same time, an undercurrent of confidence.
A moment later, Matsuda and Motohama smiled as they understood his message, and then, embracing together, they threw their arms up in the air with a loud shout.
"BOOBS!" A loud shout surprised Momonga – though the shame he felt was definitely not about the content of the shout, but who exactly was shouting.
'I'm not listening, I'm not even looking, don't look at me, let no one see or notice me, I don't even know these people… Pandora's Actor! Why!?' Momonga kept his gaze straight ahead, trying not to shift his eyes, running from the shame that rose so high that it dissipated after a moment.
'I am so grateful for my abilities… If it weren't for them, I would have run away by now, using [Time Stop] and [Perfect Unknowable] liberally.'
Momonga took a few steps before he heard voices – apparently someone was enraged by the shouts of schoolchildren, including Pandora's Actor's, posing as Issei at this moment, trying to quiet them. 'I am grateful to you, whoever you are. I am very grateful…'
Stopping for a moment, Momonga waited for Miki to walk a little closer to him, as he had unconsciously hastened his steps as soon as he noticed Pandora's Actor.
'Huh, and why did I only copy Gorou's documents…'
As it turned out, Gorou could indeed drive. A fact that was reflected in his driver's license, which Momonga had copied and not changed because he didn't know what that particular box on the card meant. So when Miki discovered this fact, and thanks to the fact that Gorou had left his car as he ran off into the night without it, she offered to let Momonga drive.
Momonga should compensate Gorou, somehow, later for this loss.
Momonga in turn reasoned that if he had a driver's license, it would be hard for him to find a reason not to get into a car, although he had never driven a car in the past world.
In YGGDRASIL, Momonga had used many different mounts, including mechanical ones. Even though he didn't have the special abilities of the cavalry classes, barring him from bonuses for fighting on horseback or driving a mount – he was still capable of using those.
Therefore, he decided to at least try himself as a driver… As it turned out - Momonga didn't know how to drive.
Thankfully, he didn't crash into anything along the way – and, as far as he could tell from the lack of police chasing him, he hadn't broken any traffic rules… At least, other than speeding.
Momonga had forgotten that in YGGDRASIL, mounts were used primarily for two things – either to move quickly from one location to another or during a battle to change positions quickly. Perhaps as an extra power in case the mounts were strong enough, or to activate the special abilities of players that required those, like [Ramming].
So when he got behind the steering wheel of the car, Momonga used it as he always did. He didn't pay any attention to the fact that the mounts, cars, of this world were not meant to be used at full speed – even if they had the ability to move quickly. The fact that he's accustomed to the speed of level one hundred players, with the maximum speed of the car 'below a specialized level forty mount' didn't help matters. His mind was simply used to processing things moving at a much greater speed.
So Miki, who was sitting in the front seat and had only time to buckle up, was instantly crushed by the speed of the bellowing beast of a car. A car which immediately burst with inhuman speed into the thick stream of cars on the road, and then rushed forward, as Momonga maneuvered the car between offensively slow cars.
Momonga didn't even pay attention to the strangled wheezes Miki made beside him, as she tried to figure out what she was seeing in front of her eyes. Momonga ignored it all completely, considering what was happening as normal as it was in YGGDRASIL, having covered the distance to Kuoh Academy in literally minutes.
After that, having easily parked with a ninety-degree turn he had practiced in the past – adjusting for the car's comparative clumsiness of course, Momonga calmly stepped out of the car. While for Miki, she seemed to just flow out of her seat – like slime, barely finding the ground under her feet only because Momonga had put his arm up to her and waited another dozen minutes before she could regain her composure a bit.
If it hadn't been for Momonga's buff-giving food a little earlier, it's likely that Miki would have parted with the contents of her stomach by now. Something which made Momonga think of experiments – if the person who ate the buff-giving food expelled it from her body, would its effects end? What about the natural exit of that one from the body? Some high-level food could give extremely long-lasting buffs, what if the person went to the toilet earlier – would the buffs stop working, or not?
Momonga shoved those thoughts away again – after which he did lead Miki to the headmaster, supporting her for a while as she couldn't walk on her own.
And now, when she did seem to have found her legs, she still intermittently stopped to cast strange glances at Momonga – something that made him feel uncomfortable. But, at the same time, Momonga knew that he well deserved the reaction, Momonga was faced with his child acting strangely as Miki also was faced with the strange actions of her newfound son.
'I don't even know what's more embarrassing – when he salutes and speaks German, trying to do some ridiculous 'cool' pose all the time, or now as he acts like Issei.' Momonga couldn't help himself, and put his palm to his face, as if trying to hide from the world behind the barrier of his fingers.
'Ha, I don't even know what to do. Miki, should I apologize for my son's actions, or sympathize, because I know what it's like to have a shameful child…'
Momonga cast a glance at Miki, who was looking at Pandora's Actor – Issei. Or rather, at the trio of schoolchildren, at the moment seeking to escape from some girl with a wooden sword in her hands, running after the trio, threatening them with every possible punishment under the sun.
Momonga turned his gaze to Miki, wanting to convey his silent sympathy and understanding, but found on her face not what he himself was experiencing – but a strange detached expression, full of pain and recognition.
Then Miki shook her head and turned away, finding Momonga's gaze.
Momonga sighed, then tried to silently convey a commiserating thought to her. 'Don't worry, I understand how you feel right now…'
It was unclear whether his thought had reached Miki's mind, but she cheered up a little and then smiled a little, less sadly and without so much pain inside.
"Let's go, Miki," Momonga nodded toward the nearby school administration building, noting that there were still twenty minutes left before classes began – if classes here began the same time as in his previous world, at least, at half past eight.
Miki, taking a few steps forward, clearly strengthened and recovered from Momonga's trip, stopped for a moment, then smiled Momonga's way. "You know if you want… You can call me Mom."
Oh, Momonga. Why do you do this to yourself?
Also, Pandora's Actor is just... Wow.
Also, Pandora's Actor is just... Wow.
Overlord of a High School (4)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (4)
Miki paused for a moment before giving herself a huge mental slap. 'Miki, you're a stuffed-up, brainless fool! He just lost his mother just days ago – and you decided to just go ahead and suggest that he call you 'mother'?! Just because he took care of you and Issei reminded you of Gorou's behavior?! You have no brains at all in your head, Miki! You're an idiot!'
"Umu," Satoru then looked at Miki as if he was thinking for a second, most likely from shock, as if to assess her, but before Miki could apologize for her outburst, he only nodded slightly,
"Okay, Mom…"
Miki blinked, as if trying to settle the words she heard in her head before nodding briefly, feeling uncomfortable with both her own actions and Satoru's reaction for agreeing to her proposal so easily. Though, along with that came some joy at Satoru agreeing and calling her 'mother', and the realization that it was not okay to easily call someone mother after your own mother died just recently. Perhaps it was simply his way of dealing with the shock? Or was he actually not that close with his mother?
Miki lowered her gaze, unable to meet Satoru's gaze, then moved forward, making her way to the main building of Kuoh Academy.
'Although, I don't know how his mother died and how he feels about it…' The thought of Mai Suzuki, Gorou's mistress, sparked deep anger in Miki's soul that clashed simultaneously with her empathy for Satoru, causing her mind to freeze in indecision. She hated Mai Suzuki as her husband's mistress… Ex-husband if she can help it.
At the same time, she sympathized with Satoru for losing his mother. Satoru seemed to her a really kind, wonderful, caring young man, and Miki deeply felt sorry for his loss – but she could not let go of her hatred either. The dueling sentiments froze her in indecision, as if someone had stretched her mind into a single thin line and was now pulling at it from both sides, making Miki unsure of how to feel.
'Ha, but if he did call me mother… Was Mai abusive?' Miki thought for a moment, and she could see the chain of logic forming.
'And well if you think about it, emancipation is very rare – so, the 'why' he decided to take such an opportunity… No one seeks to become an adult early for nothing – and such recognition requires a court order that requires Satoru to be able to prove that he is capable of behaving as an independent member of society. And along with that driver's license… it didn't paint a pretty picture.'
Miki then paled slightly, remembering exactly how Satoru drove the car.
No, judging by the fact that he managed to get to Kuoh Academy in record time and without a single accident at that speed, he was indeed a first-class driver – but at the same time… He was, simply put, a death hazard on the road as he demonstrated driving skills that an ordinary person could not even dream of, at the same time disregarding all possible traffic rules… Probably, Miki couldn't really tell.
She was squeezed into the seat moments after Satoru got behind the wheel, and so she wasn't sure if he had broken any other traffic rules other than the speed limit. All the while, she was trying to figure out if she was dead already – the flashing lights she could only see rushing toward her – really, looked like light at the end of the tunnel.
At the very least, she did feel as if her soul were leaving her body, so the comparison seemed very apt to her.
Still, the very fact that he could drive, albeit in obvious violation of speeding rules, meant that was how he learned how to do it. And, as Miki was still alive, even after such a drive, then he had been practicing that way for a very long time.
Which meant that he had gotten his driver's license a long time ago – again, it doesn't paint a pretty picture.
It takes people years to learn even to drive at ordinary speeds in the not very busy Kuoh traffic. Even if Satoru was a genius chef and a genius driver at the same time, the kind that are born once in a generation and become legends, it would still take him years to learn to drive like that.
And that, in turn, meant that Satoru had long ago became emancipated – maybe even as early as fourteen, since that was the youngest age a court would recognize a child as ready to become an adult. But the question remained, not 'how' exactly he was recognized as an adult, but 'why' he decided to do such a thing…
Only a mature and well-balanced person could be emancipated – and the court would only grant such decision only on a dire need. In cases where the minor was in a dreadful living conditions, or perhaps seeking to escape from their family…
Miki stumbled as her thoughts reached the very possible but deeply troubling conclusion – as she stopped to look behind her for Satoru, she found no one. Luckily, before she could panic, she immediately found Satoru already in front of her as they had reached the headmaster office's floor – with him waiting for her to catch up. As Miki looked at Satoru's worried face, she could feel her conjecture looking more and more probable.
'If that's so… that would explain why he doesn't seem to care at all about his mother's death – no, probably somewhere inside him, he feels something about it. But, judging by his actions, he cared more about what happened to me and Gorou yesterday than something as close and tragic as the death of his mother. He never once mentioned his past, and easily agreed to my proposal. What if, in fact, he was not so much looking for his father as trying to escape from his mother? What if he really decided to find Gorou not because he had no one else, but because he wanted no one else? If you think about it… It's possible.'
Miki felt like pulling on her clothes, a slight nervous tic showing always when she was heavily immersed in her thoughts. 'Gorou never once visited Kyoto again, after the first time – so Satoru's mother wasn't dating Gorou anymore, and Satoru became… a by-product of their indiscretion. It is even possible that Gorou decided to return home just because his mistress got pregnant, severing all ties with her, while his mistress decided to keep the child. And being the son of a single mother failed to give Satoru a proper childhood, while Mai failed to become a good mother. Perhaps after being abandoned by Gorou, she neglected herself, after which Satoru simply had to grow up early and apply for emancipation. But, by getting his rights he also got the responsibilities of an adult, and he couldn't leave his mother so easily. Even though she gave him nothing maternal but birth itself, and, after her death, he tried to leave for another city, trying to find someone near and dear to him – the father he had never seen…' Miki's heart was filled with pain toward a fellow woman being abandoned – even if it's for her ex-husband's mistress, she did also just get abandoned, by the same person even!
The feeling of empathy, however, could not overpower her overflowing anger toward her too – but it was especially filled with pain toward the young man who had to grow up so quickly in such hellish conditions. A young man who, despite this, had managed not to squander his human feelings and qualities, and still remained a kind young man. A kind man who just wanted to find some warmth in this cruel world – he was looking for his father, but was ready to accept warmth from Miki as well, easily agreeing even to call her his mother.
Miki's heart ached even more as the whole picture came together in her mind, causing her to stifle a rudimentary sob as she realized the situation before deciding to accept Satoru fully as her new son in her heart. 'Issei, I hope you get along with your big brother…'
The thought of Issei, on the other hand, suddenly resonated not only with a familiar love for her child, but also with a slight note of bitterness. 'Issei, you look so much like your father…'
In his youthful days, Gorou was an even more open and perverted person than Issei – and in that respect, Issei clearly is Gorou's son. Miki wasn't a shy girl herself – that was one of the reasons she and Gorou had hit it off in the first place, but after all that had happened? It was hard and painful to see in Issei the habits of Gorou as he had once been, and who, because of those habits, had ended up committing the greatest betrayal.
Satoru clearly understood this, as he constantly threw her a reassuring, sad, empathetic and understanding smile a little earlier, as he watched Issei's actions – but there was nothing more Satoru himself could do. He clearly couldn't remake Issei's proclivities in one day, but Miki inwardly vowed to erase Gorou's habits from Issei and prevent him from growing up to be like his father.
Making his way up the fourth floor to the headmaster's office, Satoru paused slightly in front of the doors, as he began looking around them carefully, clearly in a fit of nervousness. It took a while before, facing Miki's reassuring smile and gaze, he stepped forward to open the doors and find himself in front of the headmaster.
Miki had only met the man a couple of times before – first, when she'd tried to get Issei into the school and a couple of times when he'd called them to school after another of Issei's deeds. The headmaster was essentially a stranger to her.
The headmaster was a fairly ordinary middle-aged man, with the fact that he's a foreigner the only notable thing about him – he's maybe a little older than Gorou… Or, well, Miki herself. His hair already starting to turn gray, gathered into a neat lacquered hairstyle on his head, he wore strict black-rimmed glasses and an expensive suit.
The European looked more like a businessman than a school principal.
Another notable thing about the headmaster is the unmistakable aura of power and strength he exudes causally. A rather unsuitable aura to have for the rather high, but not too high, position he has in society. It was as if he had the ability to easily destroy the life of anyone who would only cross his path.
Under the influence of this aura of power and strength, Miki unconsciously straightened her posture, while Satoru, who had seemingly easily overcome this aura, just took a step forward. Not paying attention to the strange look the headmaster was giving from under his glasses towards Satoru, he just began glancing at the various objects in the room. First, Satoru would look at the pen on the desk, then to the pile of papers on the desk, to the small mirror hanging on the wall behind the principal's desk, then to the principal himself.
It was as if, only at that moment, did he notice the headmaster's presence. Still, surprise or not, Satoru stared at the headmaster straight in the eye, facing the man for a moment in a silent duel.
Miki instantly felt an uncomfortable pressure building up in the room, as if she had found herself at a very 'heated' negotiation between two power-brokers quite by accident.
Whatever it was that was happening, it seems that the headmaster conceded the battle, as he looked away first from Satoru and spoke first. "Good morning, Miss Hyoudou, and you, Mr…?"
"Suzuki," Satoru replied calmly before bowing slightly, not low enough to show deference, but not so shallow as to show disregard and rudeness, demonstrating the perfect proficiency of his movements. It was as if he had done nothing but meet all sorts of bureaucrats and officials for decades. "Satoru Suzuki. Good morning, Headmaster."
"Ah, good morning, Headmaster." Miki followed soon after, the shock of Satoru's first meeting with the headmaster almost making her forget decorum. After a short exchange of words, Miki was able to raise her voice, thereby drawing the headmaster's attention back to herself, which suddenly became much less threatening than it had been just a moment ago.
"I… ahem, some important things happened yesterday and I… I would like to help Satoru transfer to this school."
"Is that so, Miss Hyoudou?" The headmaster in a snap returned his attention to Satoru, his eyes searching for something that he couldn't find. "This is… A rather unusual and unexpected request. Although I have nothing against transferring students – the school year has already begun, even if only a few days ago, and a transfer to this school requires passing exams…"
"I understand," Miki shook her head. "But what happened… It's very unusual, for me, too."
"I am emancipated," Satoru finally spoke up, causing the headmaster to look in his direction again, this time with an upraised eyebrow. "And I would like to study at this school, but because of my unexpected move to this town I was unable to prepare a complete list of all the necessary documents, and previous events prevented me from applying earlier… I am willing to complete any conditions for studying at this, umu, Kuoh Academy. I would like to find out if it is possible."
After Satoru's calm but impassioned words, the headmaster was deep in thought for a moment, before nodding. Miki could feel her shoulder relaxing somewhat, a proper education is necessary for a proper life after all. Hopefully, living in a less stringent environment would be a healing period for Satoru.
"Of course – but first, I would need your high school diploma and, um, your documents, along with an approved application for emancipation. Forgive me if I cannot take your word so easily."
"Of course," Satoru nodded easily, before Miki realized that Satoru had not brought any document bag or anything like that – before Satoru reached into the pouch of his jacket. It was a very prim and proper jacket, suitable as a school uniform, but honestly looking more like an office worker's uniform.
For a moment, it seemed to Miki as if reality itself blinked suddenly. Perhaps for a split second, like a strange trick of the eye, it was as if Satoru had shifted a little, by millimeters, from his seat. And then with a magician's gesture and flourish he pulled several sheets of documents from his pocket, all bearing the necessary stamps and signatures, so that their veracity was not to be doubted.
The headmaster took those, ran a glance over the documents, and then smiled. "I see no reason to stop you from studying at our academy."
"Hmm?" Satoru was as surprised as Miki by the headmaster's easy acceptance, but the headmaster only shook his head.
"You know, exams would just be a formality, looking at your certificates." The headmaster turned his gaze to the grades from Satoru's emancipation certification, and Miki blinked in surprise. It seemed as if every subject a person could imagine was written in Satoru's certificate – 'Japanese', 'Math', 'Biology', alongside elective courses like 'Photography' and 'Programming' — and each of them had a grade beside it, exactly one hundred points.
Miki gasped in surprise a little – where did Satoru come from?! A hundred in all subjects, and with the sheer number of subjects… It was just an inhuman level of academics. And what school could one find so many subjects to study?! Did he go to an academy at Kyoto University?! Only an institution like that would have had the means and resources to provide those subjects. Furthermore, to graduate early with a hundred all those courses at one of the most prestigious schools at one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.
Where does Satoru's abilities end? He was a super-chef, a stunt driver, and now it turns out he was also a super genius… and all this while he was emancipated and single! That's the kind of person they should make movies about!
"I think our academy will be glad to have you in our ranks." The headmaster smiled at Satoru, then turned his gaze and began addressing the still shocked Miki. "The first class starts in fifteen minutes… I think you'll find a place in class 3-A, you can get the uniform fitted later."
'Just like that?' Momonga inwardly sighed with relief as he looked into the director's eyes, and the magic of the headmaster seems to be casting. 'Though apparently it's not my grades after all, it's the fact that this guy couldn't get through my surveillance protection ring. I'm glad that I'm always prepared, it would be quite laughable for my disguise to fail just as soon as I started using it.'
Momonga had a lot of racial and class passive skills – most of them he had turned off a little earlier so as not to provoke mass deaths of random observers from his [Aura of Despair V] or something similar. But some of them he never thought to turn off, like his passive skill [Arcane Sight].
This ability allowed Momonga to see through any form of magical concealment and invisibility, but did not work for some abilities not directly related to magic. For example, he was able to ignore even the ultimate spell of stealth, [Perfect Unknowable], which even one-hundred-level rangers could barely get through unless they were specialized in stealth neutralization and information gathering. On the other hand, he was incapable of ignoring stealth granted by the natural skills and special abilities of those same rangers if those skills were not considered spells, even if they happen to be available from level 1.
Additionally, this passive ability allowed him to see through illusions, detect magical enchantments, magical creatures and intangible objects such as ethereal creatures. As well as that, he could see the effects of magic and the traces left by its application if the magic applied was strong enough and was applied recently. There were some ways to bypass or to block Momonga's [Arcane Sight], but in this case the opponent had to have special classes and abilities of specialized builds or creature types.
The only problem was that, for all its good points, [Arcane Sight] did not allow Momonga to determine the very type of enchantment or magic applied, or the level and direction of a magical creature's abilities. All the skill would tell him was only that the object was enchanted, or the creature had some magical abilities.
So when Momonga suddenly discovered that the doors leading to the principal's office were enchanted, he had immediately stopped moving for a moment and prepared some counter-measures.
The fact that magic existed in this world had already been known – so discovering a magical artifact, albeit in the form of doors, was not so strange to Momonga. The problem begins when he doesn't know the function of the magical doors – could be either a trap or a harmless artifact enchanted with something like [Silence] so that they would not slam or creak as they opened and closed.
In YGGDRASIL, permanent magical objects were created in a very different way, with [Data Crystals], while the magic cast on objects was most often temporary – with some exceptions of course. But this world had already proven that there were unknown artifacts that did not fit within the normal logic of YGGDRASIL.
And so, as expected, as Momonga stood in front of the doors, he cast the spell [All Appraisal Magic Item]. The spell fully reveals the item's properties and abilities, as well as how it was created, enchanted, its creator, and similar additional information.
In retrospect, Momonga probably should have checked if the spell worked the same way earlier on the [Longinus], the remnants of which he received after killing the red dragon. But by the time of this realization, Momonga had already given those to the Pandora Actor, and so he simply had to check it another time.
However, luckily, the information from the artifact doors came to Momonga without any problems. As it turned out, these doors were a kind of emergency portal installed here and were made of something called [Hellwood]. Its original construction was disguised by a layer of plain wood.
When activated, anyone passing through would be deposited out in the location designated beforehand, in effect it was a door that was enchanted by a spell that is similar to [Gate] – with some limitation. The doors can only be used by a few specific users, and only led to a predefined place – some place called 'Lilith'?
The artifact itself was enchanted, slash, created by Serafall Sitri-Leviathan and Sirzechs Gremory-Lucifer, and was very, very strong. It had a built-in semblance of regeneration in case it was damaged, and automatically used weak information gathering magic on anyone passing through.
In other words, if Momonga walked through those doors without the ring protecting him completely from information-gathering magic – his automatic barrier to suppress surveillance would most likely activate, and the artifact would explode from his return spell.
Another thing to add was that whoever was sitting in the principal's chair at the moment – they were clearly gathering information about everyone entering their office… Momonga had to rely on the effect of his ring and prepare for battle as soon as he crossed the threshold.
Though he felt sorry for Miki, he was ready to sacrifice her at any moment and give Pandora's Actor the order to retreat immediately if anything goes wrong.
A moment later, however, Momonga realized that Miki was looking at him with a strange look, most likely having no idea why Momonga was frozen in front of the doors. So, he cast aside his doubts, quickly made a fight plan in his head if a fight did happen, and as he opened the doors, he took a resolute step inside.
And, of course, instantly found himself face to face with a man that almost made Momonga cringe – he was almost a splitting image of his old bosses from the past world, except without the visible signs of cybernetic modifications.
Sure enough, Momonga picked up instantly that the man's office contained several other artifacts.
The pen on the desk was a transformed object, a staff originally, as his spell later explained to him, enchanted to take the form of a pen and transform back at the wearer's will. The pen/staff, had been enchanted by someone called 'Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa', and was comparatively not half bad of an artifact. It's not too high rank, but it still gives appreciable bonuses when used, enough to make Momonga to consider it to be a usable item if extremely niche in usage case.
The stack of paper had a low rank distraction illusion applied to it, preventing a casual observer from detecting the contents of the sheets themselves. The mirror had the ability to dispel the low-rank illusions of anyone who happened to be reflected in it. Momonga could only nod approvingly internally at the fact that the owner of this office had successfully hung a mirror that instantly reflected everyone who entered the office. He was also very glad that his [Create Body] was not an illusion. In addition, the mirror itself could use a strong enough attack spell, but only once.
And lastly, the Headmaster's glasses, also enchanted by a certain 'Agrippa', possesses basic information gathering abilities like [Mana Essence] and [Life Essence], as well as identifying low-ranking illusions that fell into the man's gaze.
Momonga could only be pleased that he wore his ring – currently transformed as his underwear, that concealed every information about his presence. And because attempting to remove his underwear was last on any list of priority actions for an enemy should a battle with Momonga begin – Momonga considered that one tidbit quite genius, in his own option.
Luckily also for Momonga, the artifact glasses did not have the ability to see the doppelgängers' true form, but internally Momonga noted the need to inform the Pandora's Actor soon to stay as far away from the Director as possible. Just in case.
Lastly, but most importantly, Momonga had determined that the man sitting across from him had magical abilities, but he could not determine his level or his highest tier of magic. He could not even determine who exactly this man was! Was he this same Agrippa who made the enchanted items?
Anyway, needless to say, Momonga's haunches were raised, and he had to struggle with himself not to silently start to cast some spells. So much so that he might act a bit wooden.
However, luckily, their dialogue about Momonga joining the Academy went well without an outbreak of battle, even when Momonga himself had determined that the headmaster had already moved into the category of 'potential adversaries' in his perception. Everything seemed to be able to resolve peacefully – until the moment when the headmaster demanded from Momonga his credentials.
And, of course, Momonga didn't have one – emotion suppression activated several times in quick succession.
He did, however, have an idea, an attempt which he was going to use that might work. And so, without making any sudden movements, Momonga raised his hand and put it inside his jacket's non-existent inside pocket, where there was nothing. And with a silent cast, Momonga cast [Time Stop]. An almost suicidal move that could mark the beginning of battle if the headmaster had any artifact that counters [Time Stop] – but Momonga's earlier observation made him confident enough to use the spell.
Judging by the level of the artifacts – his opponent was not too strong, and therefore should not have protection against temporal spells, but Momonga was ready for his opponent's reaction, in case he reacted with hostility to his action. But, despite Momonga's paranoid self and his racing heart, the headmaster froze with the rest of the world.
Quickly, Momonga leaped to action in the frozen time. First, he spent some precious seconds memorizing his original posture and position before the Time Stop. Next, he walked behind the headmaster's desk, and began perusing the documents on his desk to find something that he can fake as his credentials. Unluckily, Momonga didn't find anything useful, instead finding that these documents did not appear to be about the school at all, if the document title saying 'Gremory Territory' and 'Lilith' meant anything. Hmm, wasn't the door linked to this 'Lilith'?
Momonga wanted to read more to sate his curiosity, but simply had no time, luckily his next search was more fruitful finding exactly what he was looking for – other people's certificates. Momonga quickly glanced through the documents and made his own appropriate copies.
Unfortunately, he didn't know very well which subjects he was required to put on the list and which weren't, and which scores were the most realistic, so he did the only thing he could do. He copied all the information he could and then gave himself the maximum number of scores everywhere, a hundred, figuring this way he could attract attention, but no more than by his emancipation. It should reduce the risks of being rejected into the Academy and requiring additional exams, which Momonga himself wasn't sure of passing.
Fortunately, the certificates he found were written in Japanese – a language that he could write and understand. Momonga had already determined that he understood the local language by ear, but was a bit unsure whether the script would also be the same – something that he was happy to find to be true.
Though, as it turned out, he understood more than just Japanese. It turned out that he understood at least some other languages – something he found out when he had visited another country at night, though he wasn't sure what country or what language the people were speaking. But, other than finding that he could understand foreign languages now, he still couldn't parse the foreign writing, so finding the Japanese entries in the certificates made Momonga happy.
Of course, [Time Stop] did not allow him to interact with other stopped creatures, but he was still able to interact with himself. Either changing his equipment or placing buffs on himself, as well as with inanimate objects that were not associated with Players, were possible.
For example, he could easily open the unlocked safe next to the director, take out the certificates, create his own copy, and return them back. In YGGDRASIL, players didn't specifically use [Time Stop] to read and forge documents, but if the opponent had no countermeasures against temporal abilities – it opened up a huge range of actions for other Players. The examples were myriad – putting or refreshing buffs mid-fight, laying traps right in front of enemies, watching the next step of the opponent, or even changing their equipment completely.
Or, as in this case, steal an item from under the guard's nose while fleeing away. That is why temporal defenses are the basic requirement for any Player above Level 70 – without it, you'll just die instantly.
Of course, the ability still has limitations, and it's impossible to stun-lock an enemy by abusing [Time Stop]. First, being that the spell itself required a lot of mana, and any spell to be used needs to use the metamagic [Delay], increasing their mana usage. And lastly, and the thing that makes it almost impossible to pull off, was that one had to be incredibly precise in using each successive [Time Stop].
Momonga was one of the rare players who could implement this tactic without burning his mana for nothing, having studied and trained his abilities over the years of YGGDRASIL, not that he ever had the chance to use the strategy. Until now, he had never had the chance to do so…
Until this moment, when he decided to vociferously burn his mana again, after it had finally almost fully recovered from the waste of killing the Great Red Dragon, using a spell of the tenth rank to forge documents. Momonga had to use [Time Stop] several times to fully copy the necessary documents before he returned to his seat, assuming the pose he had held before, to wait until the end of the spell.
Of course, he quickly ran into another problem. His credentials were too amazing – luckily, the problem was solved without him having to do anything, and he's now a student of Kuoh Academy.
The mana he had spent on the documents were very well spent. Documents that had ended up being his pass to the world of education – so, at the moment, he was in an extremely happy mood. He was ready to start his studies at the academy, even if he now had to be wary of the principal of the place along with some others… If his senses weren't fooled, he had seen a couple more holders of magic in this school.
However, that's a concern for later, after all what's the chance that the people he sensed earlier would be anyway near him? The school is a very large place with many students and classes. And so, with nothing more to worry about, rejoicing inwardly, Momonga let Miki out of the principal's office first before following behind her.
As Momonga was about to exit, his good mood died a quick death, tensing inwardly, almost flinching when he heard a quiet voice from behind him. "And where are your real documents, Satoru Suzuki?"
Momonga almost froze when he heard those words, but with such outstanding credentials and having blocked all attempts to gather information, it would be foolish to expect himself to be above suspicion.
But right now, almost any move he could make was a bad one – Miki was already behind the doors in front of him - and Momonga should have ended the conversation as quickly as possible... But by not giving away any information - even if he decided to play "cool" and say something like "how did you know?" - he would only confirm his opponent's possible assumption, since he might be bluffing, testing Momonga's honesty.
"What do you mean, Director?" So Momonga decided to play it as simply as possible, testing his opponent's hand.
"Nothing at all," And just as Momonga predicted, his opponent was bluffing, "I'm sorry, I haven't been sleeping much lately, and I'm starting to talk to myself…"
"It's no problem, Headmaster," Momonga smiled, "Have a good day, I think I should get to class…"
Johan Braun was an excellent wizard – and excellent wizards quickly rose through the ranks. That was why he's in the position he's in, the headmaster of Kuoh Academy, a place where two Heiresses study, a place regularly visited by two Satans alongside the head of two Pillar Houses. Johan was very high up in the hierarchy of his organization indeed.
Coming from a rather old and venerable family of mages, he was trained for generations under the wing of the Grauzauberer, the Grey Wizards. Johan had shown himself to be a great man – he was talented, energetic, and even had some political weight in his circles. Even at his young age, he had already reached the rank of 'Master' which mages usually reached only in their later years, when their hairs were gray. Perhaps, befitting the name of their magic association, if they received it at all, of course.
His growth potential however was not infinite, of course, and the next step up from his position, 'Magister', seemed a long and difficult road even for him, not to mention 'Archmage' – the highest rank a mage could achieve. Well, theoretically there was the rank of 'Archmagister' above that, the position as head of his magic association. Sadly, this position has been held by Mephisto Pheles for centuries, the current and perhaps for a long time more, leader of Grey Wizards. There was no chance of anyone else gaining that position, as he was what one would call a 'cheat' existence.
While all decent wizards learned magic as humans – Mephisto Pheles had learned magic as a demon, a race already possessing powers too high for wizards to compete with. Add human magic to his natural magic to that? And you get a cheater holding the mantle of 'Archimagister' for hundreds of years since the death of the founder and past head, Faust.
Still, it's not like the Grey Wizards would complain much. It was Mephisto's action that started the integration of Grey Wizards with the demons, an act that had greatly benefitted the association. And while such actions forced many mages to leave the association, founding their own instead, the good still balanced out the bad. After all, centuries of stories about 'dishonest tricksters who steal souls' could not be undone by the fact that Mephisto himself was not a bad guy, who was genuinely into magic.
Especially considering that demons could indeed steal souls and some even practiced it periodically even when the act was made illegal…
Still, on the whole, the Association's integration with the demons brought more positive things to the Grey Wizards, and to Johan in particular. The demons were very interested in the services of mages, and the mages were very interested in what they can pay with. Not always necessarily monetary compensation, the demons could provide magic materials that were difficult to find on Earth, patronage, or even their own knowledge.
At the same time, the demons could closely monitor the progress of individual mages, selecting the most promising mages for the most important demons. While the mages themselves were given information about their potential employers – usually the information was even close enough to the truth!
In other words, it was a fruitful cooperation in which the pros far outweighed the cons – at least from Johan's perspective – many of the mages who left the organization refused to 'become the demons' lapdogs'. Johan didn't see much of a problem with that, though – many of the magic universities kept their own associate academies and schools with them, for roughly the same purposes that the demons kept their relations with the Grey Wizards.
Was there anything wrong with that?
In any case, Johan had quickly risen through the ranks, attracting the attention of the top Gray Wizards and, through them, the attention of powerful demons, so the invitation to serve one such demon was no surprise to him. The only thing that came as a slight surprise to him was who offered him the service.
Zeoticus Gremory, one of the most powerful demons, father of the Crimson Lucifer himself, the current ruler of the Underworld. One of the rulers that is – considered also the strongest demon ever born in the world, it was rumored that he was stronger even than the original Lucifer. In other words, he was going to get a contract from a very powerful demon with enormous power and connections with no string attached.
So, of course, Johan jumped at the chance given to him.
The catch turned out to be that Johan should have questioned exactly why Zeoticus needed a mage. Usually, demons used mages to show the prestige of their family, to use them as their agents in places where demons themselves were lacking, sometimes as teachers or instructors, as far as magic was concerned. If the demons for some reason wanted to learn, of course, or as teachers of everything 'human'. Some lucky magicians were even reincarnated!
For demons, recruiting magicians into their peerages was the easier option.
First, magicians were close to the human world, but already knew about its magical side and would probably already be vetted for potential thoroughly beforehand. And second, they would not start praying the second they see a demon.
Zeoticus Gremory, however, needed a mage for only one thing…
To dump all his administerial work on him!
Technically, Zeoticus was the 'Administrator' of Kuoh Academy, overseeing both the school and its associated college, but he very rarely showed up to his workplace, preferring to go about his demonic business and dance around in his bloody camel costume!
That man was willing to do anything but the school bureaucracy he was supposed to control!
And so, of course, all Zeoticus' labors fell on the shoulders of Johan, who was put in as headmaster, as his officially contracted mage. He works alongside Elizabeth Rosenkreuz, who was officially contracted mage of the Sitri family as headmaster of the college. If it weren't for the help of Sona Sitri and her wonderful student council helping to sort out the school's affairs, Johan would have died of stress long ago, buried under a large pile of paperwork.
Technically, Rias Gremory and her 'Occult Research Club' were also supposed to help with the running of Kuoh Academy. But, because of some quirk of their own, the demons had divided what they thought was 'fair' in their duties. Sona helped with the running of the Academy during the day, and Rias helped at night. There's only one problem with that arrangement, though.
Kuoh Academy did not operate at night!
Rias did occasionally help with the little things, like securing the academy grounds at night with her team, but she did absolutely no paperwork. And Johan's concern was not any possible attacks on the school, but the endless attempts to get funding for new teachers, the old school building renovation, when it was abandoned when the academy moved into the new building. And finally build a normal dormitory for college students! Not everyone attending this school was connected to the demonic aristocracy, damn you, having virtually endless supplies of money! The ordinary students needed a dormitory, too!
Besides, who would be crazy enough to attack a school where two Satan's sisters study?
The constant numbers and reports seemed to be swirling in front of Johan's face…
So when he sensed something unusual – he even rejoiced to be able to think no more about student lists and the annual budget revision.
His joy, however, was short-lived.
The doors that led to his study were enchanted by the [Bishop] of Zeoticus Gremory himself – a very powerful wizard, Agrippa, in case of emergency. The door was to be used if it became necessary to drag Rias and Sona away from any danger, or if any other means of escape were blocked. At the same time, the door also served as an excellent defensive tool, since they identified the true nature of the creature entering through them. The door, perfectly relieving anxiety about agents and unknowns seeking to get close to the younger sisters of two of the four ruling Satans in the academy… At least as far as Johan himself knew.
However, when someone else entered following Miki Hyoudou, an ordinary human, as confirmed by the artifact's reaction – Johan instantly sounded the alarm.
Agrippa was a powerful mage, but he wasn't too strong – on the world scale, I mean – there were many more extremely powerful creatures in this world. Some of them even preferred not to wave their power like a flag, but keeping it secret instead, balancing the strategic advantage of showing their power with the tactical advantage of hiding it.
Even Johan himself, if he tried very hard and prepared himself, could probably fool the artifact. However, Johan was helped immensely by the fact that he knew about the artifact in the first place. A fact that random people should not know.
Agrippa had hidden the enchanted [Hellwood] inside the door, behind a layer of ordinary wood, and had made it so that it was not easy to sense the magic of the door. It was possible to do it, but at a glance? This wasn't just the level of 'high-class' demons, but quite possibly an 'ultimate-class' demons – and Johan preferred not even to look at such creatures for fear of their capabilities.
Of course, he was technically under the patronage of Zeoticus, who, for his many downsides, would not leave his subordinates unprotected, but it would have done Johan no good if he were turned to ash. Even the [Evil Pieces] had their limitations, they could not resurrect a person from a pile of ashes, requiring a relatively whole body – and that's if Zeoticus even decided to rebirth Johan into a demon… If Zeoticus could do it at all in the first place. It's possible that Agrippa might well have costed two of the Lord's [Bishops], so Johan would really hate to die for nothing.
The reason for him panicking so much?
There was nothing, no information… The doors didn't work whatsoever, and Johan saw nothing in his glasses. Glasses that were supposed to determine the level of magical energy in the target. The mirror also couldn't dispel any illusion… If it was an illusion and not something else.
And this person, who Johan had met for the first time, wanted to enroll, even after the school year had already begun. He was also the perfect student – judging by his age and grades, a hundred points for every school subject imaginable. He also did not exude any supernatural presence whatsoever, the perfect shoo-in for Kuoh Academy. That is if not for the fact that it's the same school where two younger sisters of two ruling Satans were studying, completely by chance.
Of course, there was a slim chance that it was all just a coincidence. Some magic that was placed on the young man without his knowledge – or perhaps he might even possess some [Sacred Gear] with surveillance blocking capabilities. Given how many such students there were at this school, Johan would not even be surprised that he stumbled upon another one by pure chance, as if something was pulling people with [Sacred Gears] to this academy.
However, the boy, who introduced himself as Satoru, had unmistakably glanced at all the magical objects in the study – including a folder of reports from Lord Gremory. Something which had a good distraction spell on them. And then, he had provided Johan with his education certificate…
Signed by Johan himself.
His certificate was signed by Johan as the principal, with the same signature even! And Johan was pretty sure that he was not the principal of Kyoto Academy!
It could have been a completely random mistake on Satoru's part when he had forged the documents – or, it could have been a conscious move, a hint, even, 'I'll get into this school, whether you like it or not. Your signature is already on my paperwork – so why shouldn't it be on my application?'
And Johan didn't know at all what he was to do or think about this. He had to think quickly on the fly, and the only thing that came to his mind was to send him to school lessons, to get more time for him to look at him more closely. And, of course, to inform Zeoticus Gremory about what had happened immediately. His daughter was studying here, and if something unpleasant happened afterwards, Zeoticus would simply and without any hesitation remove Johan's head off his shoulders, and would, in fact, be absolutely in the right about it.
The least said about what the Lucifer would do to him, the better.
So after trying to provoke Satoru for a moment at the end of their meeting and not getting any meaningful response from him, it showed that Satoru knows of the other side of the world – the supernatural side. Johan could only sigh as he set aside the newly obtained certificate, taking out his phone and getting ready to dial his boss' number on it.
Johan hated doing paperwork, but in this situation, he would really prefer to do just that.
Miki paused for a moment before giving herself a huge mental slap. 'Miki, you're a stuffed-up, brainless fool! He just lost his mother just days ago – and you decided to just go ahead and suggest that he call you 'mother'?! Just because he took care of you and Issei reminded you of Gorou's behavior?! You have no brains at all in your head, Miki! You're an idiot!'
"Umu," Satoru then looked at Miki as if he was thinking for a second, most likely from shock, as if to assess her, but before Miki could apologize for her outburst, he only nodded slightly,
"Okay, Mom…"
Miki blinked, as if trying to settle the words she heard in her head before nodding briefly, feeling uncomfortable with both her own actions and Satoru's reaction for agreeing to her proposal so easily. Though, along with that came some joy at Satoru agreeing and calling her 'mother', and the realization that it was not okay to easily call someone mother after your own mother died just recently. Perhaps it was simply his way of dealing with the shock? Or was he actually not that close with his mother?
Miki lowered her gaze, unable to meet Satoru's gaze, then moved forward, making her way to the main building of Kuoh Academy.
'Although, I don't know how his mother died and how he feels about it…' The thought of Mai Suzuki, Gorou's mistress, sparked deep anger in Miki's soul that clashed simultaneously with her empathy for Satoru, causing her mind to freeze in indecision. She hated Mai Suzuki as her husband's mistress… Ex-husband if she can help it.
At the same time, she sympathized with Satoru for losing his mother. Satoru seemed to her a really kind, wonderful, caring young man, and Miki deeply felt sorry for his loss – but she could not let go of her hatred either. The dueling sentiments froze her in indecision, as if someone had stretched her mind into a single thin line and was now pulling at it from both sides, making Miki unsure of how to feel.
'Ha, but if he did call me mother… Was Mai abusive?' Miki thought for a moment, and she could see the chain of logic forming.
'And well if you think about it, emancipation is very rare – so, the 'why' he decided to take such an opportunity… No one seeks to become an adult early for nothing – and such recognition requires a court order that requires Satoru to be able to prove that he is capable of behaving as an independent member of society. And along with that driver's license… it didn't paint a pretty picture.'
Miki then paled slightly, remembering exactly how Satoru drove the car.
No, judging by the fact that he managed to get to Kuoh Academy in record time and without a single accident at that speed, he was indeed a first-class driver – but at the same time… He was, simply put, a death hazard on the road as he demonstrated driving skills that an ordinary person could not even dream of, at the same time disregarding all possible traffic rules… Probably, Miki couldn't really tell.
She was squeezed into the seat moments after Satoru got behind the wheel, and so she wasn't sure if he had broken any other traffic rules other than the speed limit. All the while, she was trying to figure out if she was dead already – the flashing lights she could only see rushing toward her – really, looked like light at the end of the tunnel.
At the very least, she did feel as if her soul were leaving her body, so the comparison seemed very apt to her.
Still, the very fact that he could drive, albeit in obvious violation of speeding rules, meant that was how he learned how to do it. And, as Miki was still alive, even after such a drive, then he had been practicing that way for a very long time.
Which meant that he had gotten his driver's license a long time ago – again, it doesn't paint a pretty picture.
It takes people years to learn even to drive at ordinary speeds in the not very busy Kuoh traffic. Even if Satoru was a genius chef and a genius driver at the same time, the kind that are born once in a generation and become legends, it would still take him years to learn to drive like that.
And that, in turn, meant that Satoru had long ago became emancipated – maybe even as early as fourteen, since that was the youngest age a court would recognize a child as ready to become an adult. But the question remained, not 'how' exactly he was recognized as an adult, but 'why' he decided to do such a thing…
Only a mature and well-balanced person could be emancipated – and the court would only grant such decision only on a dire need. In cases where the minor was in a dreadful living conditions, or perhaps seeking to escape from their family…
Miki stumbled as her thoughts reached the very possible but deeply troubling conclusion – as she stopped to look behind her for Satoru, she found no one. Luckily, before she could panic, she immediately found Satoru already in front of her as they had reached the headmaster office's floor – with him waiting for her to catch up. As Miki looked at Satoru's worried face, she could feel her conjecture looking more and more probable.
'If that's so… that would explain why he doesn't seem to care at all about his mother's death – no, probably somewhere inside him, he feels something about it. But, judging by his actions, he cared more about what happened to me and Gorou yesterday than something as close and tragic as the death of his mother. He never once mentioned his past, and easily agreed to my proposal. What if, in fact, he was not so much looking for his father as trying to escape from his mother? What if he really decided to find Gorou not because he had no one else, but because he wanted no one else? If you think about it… It's possible.'
Miki felt like pulling on her clothes, a slight nervous tic showing always when she was heavily immersed in her thoughts. 'Gorou never once visited Kyoto again, after the first time – so Satoru's mother wasn't dating Gorou anymore, and Satoru became… a by-product of their indiscretion. It is even possible that Gorou decided to return home just because his mistress got pregnant, severing all ties with her, while his mistress decided to keep the child. And being the son of a single mother failed to give Satoru a proper childhood, while Mai failed to become a good mother. Perhaps after being abandoned by Gorou, she neglected herself, after which Satoru simply had to grow up early and apply for emancipation. But, by getting his rights he also got the responsibilities of an adult, and he couldn't leave his mother so easily. Even though she gave him nothing maternal but birth itself, and, after her death, he tried to leave for another city, trying to find someone near and dear to him – the father he had never seen…' Miki's heart was filled with pain toward a fellow woman being abandoned – even if it's for her ex-husband's mistress, she did also just get abandoned, by the same person even!
The feeling of empathy, however, could not overpower her overflowing anger toward her too – but it was especially filled with pain toward the young man who had to grow up so quickly in such hellish conditions. A young man who, despite this, had managed not to squander his human feelings and qualities, and still remained a kind young man. A kind man who just wanted to find some warmth in this cruel world – he was looking for his father, but was ready to accept warmth from Miki as well, easily agreeing even to call her his mother.
Miki's heart ached even more as the whole picture came together in her mind, causing her to stifle a rudimentary sob as she realized the situation before deciding to accept Satoru fully as her new son in her heart. 'Issei, I hope you get along with your big brother…'
The thought of Issei, on the other hand, suddenly resonated not only with a familiar love for her child, but also with a slight note of bitterness. 'Issei, you look so much like your father…'
In his youthful days, Gorou was an even more open and perverted person than Issei – and in that respect, Issei clearly is Gorou's son. Miki wasn't a shy girl herself – that was one of the reasons she and Gorou had hit it off in the first place, but after all that had happened? It was hard and painful to see in Issei the habits of Gorou as he had once been, and who, because of those habits, had ended up committing the greatest betrayal.
Satoru clearly understood this, as he constantly threw her a reassuring, sad, empathetic and understanding smile a little earlier, as he watched Issei's actions – but there was nothing more Satoru himself could do. He clearly couldn't remake Issei's proclivities in one day, but Miki inwardly vowed to erase Gorou's habits from Issei and prevent him from growing up to be like his father.
Making his way up the fourth floor to the headmaster's office, Satoru paused slightly in front of the doors, as he began looking around them carefully, clearly in a fit of nervousness. It took a while before, facing Miki's reassuring smile and gaze, he stepped forward to open the doors and find himself in front of the headmaster.
Miki had only met the man a couple of times before – first, when she'd tried to get Issei into the school and a couple of times when he'd called them to school after another of Issei's deeds. The headmaster was essentially a stranger to her.
The headmaster was a fairly ordinary middle-aged man, with the fact that he's a foreigner the only notable thing about him – he's maybe a little older than Gorou… Or, well, Miki herself. His hair already starting to turn gray, gathered into a neat lacquered hairstyle on his head, he wore strict black-rimmed glasses and an expensive suit.
The European looked more like a businessman than a school principal.
Another notable thing about the headmaster is the unmistakable aura of power and strength he exudes causally. A rather unsuitable aura to have for the rather high, but not too high, position he has in society. It was as if he had the ability to easily destroy the life of anyone who would only cross his path.
Under the influence of this aura of power and strength, Miki unconsciously straightened her posture, while Satoru, who had seemingly easily overcome this aura, just took a step forward. Not paying attention to the strange look the headmaster was giving from under his glasses towards Satoru, he just began glancing at the various objects in the room. First, Satoru would look at the pen on the desk, then to the pile of papers on the desk, to the small mirror hanging on the wall behind the principal's desk, then to the principal himself.
It was as if, only at that moment, did he notice the headmaster's presence. Still, surprise or not, Satoru stared at the headmaster straight in the eye, facing the man for a moment in a silent duel.
Miki instantly felt an uncomfortable pressure building up in the room, as if she had found herself at a very 'heated' negotiation between two power-brokers quite by accident.
Whatever it was that was happening, it seems that the headmaster conceded the battle, as he looked away first from Satoru and spoke first. "Good morning, Miss Hyoudou, and you, Mr…?"
"Suzuki," Satoru replied calmly before bowing slightly, not low enough to show deference, but not so shallow as to show disregard and rudeness, demonstrating the perfect proficiency of his movements. It was as if he had done nothing but meet all sorts of bureaucrats and officials for decades. "Satoru Suzuki. Good morning, Headmaster."
"Ah, good morning, Headmaster." Miki followed soon after, the shock of Satoru's first meeting with the headmaster almost making her forget decorum. After a short exchange of words, Miki was able to raise her voice, thereby drawing the headmaster's attention back to herself, which suddenly became much less threatening than it had been just a moment ago.
"I… ahem, some important things happened yesterday and I… I would like to help Satoru transfer to this school."
"Is that so, Miss Hyoudou?" The headmaster in a snap returned his attention to Satoru, his eyes searching for something that he couldn't find. "This is… A rather unusual and unexpected request. Although I have nothing against transferring students – the school year has already begun, even if only a few days ago, and a transfer to this school requires passing exams…"
"I understand," Miki shook her head. "But what happened… It's very unusual, for me, too."
"I am emancipated," Satoru finally spoke up, causing the headmaster to look in his direction again, this time with an upraised eyebrow. "And I would like to study at this school, but because of my unexpected move to this town I was unable to prepare a complete list of all the necessary documents, and previous events prevented me from applying earlier… I am willing to complete any conditions for studying at this, umu, Kuoh Academy. I would like to find out if it is possible."
After Satoru's calm but impassioned words, the headmaster was deep in thought for a moment, before nodding. Miki could feel her shoulder relaxing somewhat, a proper education is necessary for a proper life after all. Hopefully, living in a less stringent environment would be a healing period for Satoru.
"Of course – but first, I would need your high school diploma and, um, your documents, along with an approved application for emancipation. Forgive me if I cannot take your word so easily."
"Of course," Satoru nodded easily, before Miki realized that Satoru had not brought any document bag or anything like that – before Satoru reached into the pouch of his jacket. It was a very prim and proper jacket, suitable as a school uniform, but honestly looking more like an office worker's uniform.
For a moment, it seemed to Miki as if reality itself blinked suddenly. Perhaps for a split second, like a strange trick of the eye, it was as if Satoru had shifted a little, by millimeters, from his seat. And then with a magician's gesture and flourish he pulled several sheets of documents from his pocket, all bearing the necessary stamps and signatures, so that their veracity was not to be doubted.
The headmaster took those, ran a glance over the documents, and then smiled. "I see no reason to stop you from studying at our academy."
"Hmm?" Satoru was as surprised as Miki by the headmaster's easy acceptance, but the headmaster only shook his head.
"You know, exams would just be a formality, looking at your certificates." The headmaster turned his gaze to the grades from Satoru's emancipation certification, and Miki blinked in surprise. It seemed as if every subject a person could imagine was written in Satoru's certificate – 'Japanese', 'Math', 'Biology', alongside elective courses like 'Photography' and 'Programming' — and each of them had a grade beside it, exactly one hundred points.
Miki gasped in surprise a little – where did Satoru come from?! A hundred in all subjects, and with the sheer number of subjects… It was just an inhuman level of academics. And what school could one find so many subjects to study?! Did he go to an academy at Kyoto University?! Only an institution like that would have had the means and resources to provide those subjects. Furthermore, to graduate early with a hundred all those courses at one of the most prestigious schools at one of the most prestigious universities in Japan.
Where does Satoru's abilities end? He was a super-chef, a stunt driver, and now it turns out he was also a super genius… and all this while he was emancipated and single! That's the kind of person they should make movies about!
"I think our academy will be glad to have you in our ranks." The headmaster smiled at Satoru, then turned his gaze and began addressing the still shocked Miki. "The first class starts in fifteen minutes… I think you'll find a place in class 3-A, you can get the uniform fitted later."
'Just like that?' Momonga inwardly sighed with relief as he looked into the director's eyes, and the magic of the headmaster seems to be casting. 'Though apparently it's not my grades after all, it's the fact that this guy couldn't get through my surveillance protection ring. I'm glad that I'm always prepared, it would be quite laughable for my disguise to fail just as soon as I started using it.'
Momonga had a lot of racial and class passive skills – most of them he had turned off a little earlier so as not to provoke mass deaths of random observers from his [Aura of Despair V] or something similar. But some of them he never thought to turn off, like his passive skill [Arcane Sight].
This ability allowed Momonga to see through any form of magical concealment and invisibility, but did not work for some abilities not directly related to magic. For example, he was able to ignore even the ultimate spell of stealth, [Perfect Unknowable], which even one-hundred-level rangers could barely get through unless they were specialized in stealth neutralization and information gathering. On the other hand, he was incapable of ignoring stealth granted by the natural skills and special abilities of those same rangers if those skills were not considered spells, even if they happen to be available from level 1.
Additionally, this passive ability allowed him to see through illusions, detect magical enchantments, magical creatures and intangible objects such as ethereal creatures. As well as that, he could see the effects of magic and the traces left by its application if the magic applied was strong enough and was applied recently. There were some ways to bypass or to block Momonga's [Arcane Sight], but in this case the opponent had to have special classes and abilities of specialized builds or creature types.
The only problem was that, for all its good points, [Arcane Sight] did not allow Momonga to determine the very type of enchantment or magic applied, or the level and direction of a magical creature's abilities. All the skill would tell him was only that the object was enchanted, or the creature had some magical abilities.
So when Momonga suddenly discovered that the doors leading to the principal's office were enchanted, he had immediately stopped moving for a moment and prepared some counter-measures.
The fact that magic existed in this world had already been known – so discovering a magical artifact, albeit in the form of doors, was not so strange to Momonga. The problem begins when he doesn't know the function of the magical doors – could be either a trap or a harmless artifact enchanted with something like [Silence] so that they would not slam or creak as they opened and closed.
In YGGDRASIL, permanent magical objects were created in a very different way, with [Data Crystals], while the magic cast on objects was most often temporary – with some exceptions of course. But this world had already proven that there were unknown artifacts that did not fit within the normal logic of YGGDRASIL.
And so, as expected, as Momonga stood in front of the doors, he cast the spell [All Appraisal Magic Item]. The spell fully reveals the item's properties and abilities, as well as how it was created, enchanted, its creator, and similar additional information.
In retrospect, Momonga probably should have checked if the spell worked the same way earlier on the [Longinus], the remnants of which he received after killing the red dragon. But by the time of this realization, Momonga had already given those to the Pandora Actor, and so he simply had to check it another time.
However, luckily, the information from the artifact doors came to Momonga without any problems. As it turned out, these doors were a kind of emergency portal installed here and were made of something called [Hellwood]. Its original construction was disguised by a layer of plain wood.
When activated, anyone passing through would be deposited out in the location designated beforehand, in effect it was a door that was enchanted by a spell that is similar to [Gate] – with some limitation. The doors can only be used by a few specific users, and only led to a predefined place – some place called 'Lilith'?
The artifact itself was enchanted, slash, created by Serafall Sitri-Leviathan and Sirzechs Gremory-Lucifer, and was very, very strong. It had a built-in semblance of regeneration in case it was damaged, and automatically used weak information gathering magic on anyone passing through.
In other words, if Momonga walked through those doors without the ring protecting him completely from information-gathering magic – his automatic barrier to suppress surveillance would most likely activate, and the artifact would explode from his return spell.
Another thing to add was that whoever was sitting in the principal's chair at the moment – they were clearly gathering information about everyone entering their office… Momonga had to rely on the effect of his ring and prepare for battle as soon as he crossed the threshold.
Though he felt sorry for Miki, he was ready to sacrifice her at any moment and give Pandora's Actor the order to retreat immediately if anything goes wrong.
A moment later, however, Momonga realized that Miki was looking at him with a strange look, most likely having no idea why Momonga was frozen in front of the doors. So, he cast aside his doubts, quickly made a fight plan in his head if a fight did happen, and as he opened the doors, he took a resolute step inside.
And, of course, instantly found himself face to face with a man that almost made Momonga cringe – he was almost a splitting image of his old bosses from the past world, except without the visible signs of cybernetic modifications.
Sure enough, Momonga picked up instantly that the man's office contained several other artifacts.
The pen on the desk was a transformed object, a staff originally, as his spell later explained to him, enchanted to take the form of a pen and transform back at the wearer's will. The pen/staff, had been enchanted by someone called 'Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa', and was comparatively not half bad of an artifact. It's not too high rank, but it still gives appreciable bonuses when used, enough to make Momonga to consider it to be a usable item if extremely niche in usage case.
The stack of paper had a low rank distraction illusion applied to it, preventing a casual observer from detecting the contents of the sheets themselves. The mirror had the ability to dispel the low-rank illusions of anyone who happened to be reflected in it. Momonga could only nod approvingly internally at the fact that the owner of this office had successfully hung a mirror that instantly reflected everyone who entered the office. He was also very glad that his [Create Body] was not an illusion. In addition, the mirror itself could use a strong enough attack spell, but only once.
And lastly, the Headmaster's glasses, also enchanted by a certain 'Agrippa', possesses basic information gathering abilities like [Mana Essence] and [Life Essence], as well as identifying low-ranking illusions that fell into the man's gaze.
Momonga could only be pleased that he wore his ring – currently transformed as his underwear, that concealed every information about his presence. And because attempting to remove his underwear was last on any list of priority actions for an enemy should a battle with Momonga begin – Momonga considered that one tidbit quite genius, in his own option.
Luckily also for Momonga, the artifact glasses did not have the ability to see the doppelgängers' true form, but internally Momonga noted the need to inform the Pandora's Actor soon to stay as far away from the Director as possible. Just in case.
Lastly, but most importantly, Momonga had determined that the man sitting across from him had magical abilities, but he could not determine his level or his highest tier of magic. He could not even determine who exactly this man was! Was he this same Agrippa who made the enchanted items?
Anyway, needless to say, Momonga's haunches were raised, and he had to struggle with himself not to silently start to cast some spells. So much so that he might act a bit wooden.
However, luckily, their dialogue about Momonga joining the Academy went well without an outbreak of battle, even when Momonga himself had determined that the headmaster had already moved into the category of 'potential adversaries' in his perception. Everything seemed to be able to resolve peacefully – until the moment when the headmaster demanded from Momonga his credentials.
And, of course, Momonga didn't have one – emotion suppression activated several times in quick succession.
He did, however, have an idea, an attempt which he was going to use that might work. And so, without making any sudden movements, Momonga raised his hand and put it inside his jacket's non-existent inside pocket, where there was nothing. And with a silent cast, Momonga cast [Time Stop]. An almost suicidal move that could mark the beginning of battle if the headmaster had any artifact that counters [Time Stop] – but Momonga's earlier observation made him confident enough to use the spell.
Judging by the level of the artifacts – his opponent was not too strong, and therefore should not have protection against temporal spells, but Momonga was ready for his opponent's reaction, in case he reacted with hostility to his action. But, despite Momonga's paranoid self and his racing heart, the headmaster froze with the rest of the world.
Quickly, Momonga leaped to action in the frozen time. First, he spent some precious seconds memorizing his original posture and position before the Time Stop. Next, he walked behind the headmaster's desk, and began perusing the documents on his desk to find something that he can fake as his credentials. Unluckily, Momonga didn't find anything useful, instead finding that these documents did not appear to be about the school at all, if the document title saying 'Gremory Territory' and 'Lilith' meant anything. Hmm, wasn't the door linked to this 'Lilith'?
Momonga wanted to read more to sate his curiosity, but simply had no time, luckily his next search was more fruitful finding exactly what he was looking for – other people's certificates. Momonga quickly glanced through the documents and made his own appropriate copies.
Unfortunately, he didn't know very well which subjects he was required to put on the list and which weren't, and which scores were the most realistic, so he did the only thing he could do. He copied all the information he could and then gave himself the maximum number of scores everywhere, a hundred, figuring this way he could attract attention, but no more than by his emancipation. It should reduce the risks of being rejected into the Academy and requiring additional exams, which Momonga himself wasn't sure of passing.
Fortunately, the certificates he found were written in Japanese – a language that he could write and understand. Momonga had already determined that he understood the local language by ear, but was a bit unsure whether the script would also be the same – something that he was happy to find to be true.
Though, as it turned out, he understood more than just Japanese. It turned out that he understood at least some other languages – something he found out when he had visited another country at night, though he wasn't sure what country or what language the people were speaking. But, other than finding that he could understand foreign languages now, he still couldn't parse the foreign writing, so finding the Japanese entries in the certificates made Momonga happy.
Of course, [Time Stop] did not allow him to interact with other stopped creatures, but he was still able to interact with himself. Either changing his equipment or placing buffs on himself, as well as with inanimate objects that were not associated with Players, were possible.
For example, he could easily open the unlocked safe next to the director, take out the certificates, create his own copy, and return them back. In YGGDRASIL, players didn't specifically use [Time Stop] to read and forge documents, but if the opponent had no countermeasures against temporal abilities – it opened up a huge range of actions for other Players. The examples were myriad – putting or refreshing buffs mid-fight, laying traps right in front of enemies, watching the next step of the opponent, or even changing their equipment completely.
Or, as in this case, steal an item from under the guard's nose while fleeing away. That is why temporal defenses are the basic requirement for any Player above Level 70 – without it, you'll just die instantly.
Of course, the ability still has limitations, and it's impossible to stun-lock an enemy by abusing [Time Stop]. First, being that the spell itself required a lot of mana, and any spell to be used needs to use the metamagic [Delay], increasing their mana usage. And lastly, and the thing that makes it almost impossible to pull off, was that one had to be incredibly precise in using each successive [Time Stop].
Momonga was one of the rare players who could implement this tactic without burning his mana for nothing, having studied and trained his abilities over the years of YGGDRASIL, not that he ever had the chance to use the strategy. Until now, he had never had the chance to do so…
Until this moment, when he decided to vociferously burn his mana again, after it had finally almost fully recovered from the waste of killing the Great Red Dragon, using a spell of the tenth rank to forge documents. Momonga had to use [Time Stop] several times to fully copy the necessary documents before he returned to his seat, assuming the pose he had held before, to wait until the end of the spell.
Of course, he quickly ran into another problem. His credentials were too amazing – luckily, the problem was solved without him having to do anything, and he's now a student of Kuoh Academy.
The mana he had spent on the documents were very well spent. Documents that had ended up being his pass to the world of education – so, at the moment, he was in an extremely happy mood. He was ready to start his studies at the academy, even if he now had to be wary of the principal of the place along with some others… If his senses weren't fooled, he had seen a couple more holders of magic in this school.
However, that's a concern for later, after all what's the chance that the people he sensed earlier would be anyway near him? The school is a very large place with many students and classes. And so, with nothing more to worry about, rejoicing inwardly, Momonga let Miki out of the principal's office first before following behind her.
As Momonga was about to exit, his good mood died a quick death, tensing inwardly, almost flinching when he heard a quiet voice from behind him. "And where are your real documents, Satoru Suzuki?"
Momonga almost froze when he heard those words, but with such outstanding credentials and having blocked all attempts to gather information, it would be foolish to expect himself to be above suspicion.
But right now, almost any move he could make was a bad one – Miki was already behind the doors in front of him - and Momonga should have ended the conversation as quickly as possible... But by not giving away any information - even if he decided to play "cool" and say something like "how did you know?" - he would only confirm his opponent's possible assumption, since he might be bluffing, testing Momonga's honesty.
"What do you mean, Director?" So Momonga decided to play it as simply as possible, testing his opponent's hand.
"Nothing at all," And just as Momonga predicted, his opponent was bluffing, "I'm sorry, I haven't been sleeping much lately, and I'm starting to talk to myself…"
"It's no problem, Headmaster," Momonga smiled, "Have a good day, I think I should get to class…"
Johan Braun was an excellent wizard – and excellent wizards quickly rose through the ranks. That was why he's in the position he's in, the headmaster of Kuoh Academy, a place where two Heiresses study, a place regularly visited by two Satans alongside the head of two Pillar Houses. Johan was very high up in the hierarchy of his organization indeed.
Coming from a rather old and venerable family of mages, he was trained for generations under the wing of the Grauzauberer, the Grey Wizards. Johan had shown himself to be a great man – he was talented, energetic, and even had some political weight in his circles. Even at his young age, he had already reached the rank of 'Master' which mages usually reached only in their later years, when their hairs were gray. Perhaps, befitting the name of their magic association, if they received it at all, of course.
His growth potential however was not infinite, of course, and the next step up from his position, 'Magister', seemed a long and difficult road even for him, not to mention 'Archmage' – the highest rank a mage could achieve. Well, theoretically there was the rank of 'Archmagister' above that, the position as head of his magic association. Sadly, this position has been held by Mephisto Pheles for centuries, the current and perhaps for a long time more, leader of Grey Wizards. There was no chance of anyone else gaining that position, as he was what one would call a 'cheat' existence.
While all decent wizards learned magic as humans – Mephisto Pheles had learned magic as a demon, a race already possessing powers too high for wizards to compete with. Add human magic to his natural magic to that? And you get a cheater holding the mantle of 'Archimagister' for hundreds of years since the death of the founder and past head, Faust.
Still, it's not like the Grey Wizards would complain much. It was Mephisto's action that started the integration of Grey Wizards with the demons, an act that had greatly benefitted the association. And while such actions forced many mages to leave the association, founding their own instead, the good still balanced out the bad. After all, centuries of stories about 'dishonest tricksters who steal souls' could not be undone by the fact that Mephisto himself was not a bad guy, who was genuinely into magic.
Especially considering that demons could indeed steal souls and some even practiced it periodically even when the act was made illegal…
Still, on the whole, the Association's integration with the demons brought more positive things to the Grey Wizards, and to Johan in particular. The demons were very interested in the services of mages, and the mages were very interested in what they can pay with. Not always necessarily monetary compensation, the demons could provide magic materials that were difficult to find on Earth, patronage, or even their own knowledge.
At the same time, the demons could closely monitor the progress of individual mages, selecting the most promising mages for the most important demons. While the mages themselves were given information about their potential employers – usually the information was even close enough to the truth!
In other words, it was a fruitful cooperation in which the pros far outweighed the cons – at least from Johan's perspective – many of the mages who left the organization refused to 'become the demons' lapdogs'. Johan didn't see much of a problem with that, though – many of the magic universities kept their own associate academies and schools with them, for roughly the same purposes that the demons kept their relations with the Grey Wizards.
Was there anything wrong with that?
In any case, Johan had quickly risen through the ranks, attracting the attention of the top Gray Wizards and, through them, the attention of powerful demons, so the invitation to serve one such demon was no surprise to him. The only thing that came as a slight surprise to him was who offered him the service.
Zeoticus Gremory, one of the most powerful demons, father of the Crimson Lucifer himself, the current ruler of the Underworld. One of the rulers that is – considered also the strongest demon ever born in the world, it was rumored that he was stronger even than the original Lucifer. In other words, he was going to get a contract from a very powerful demon with enormous power and connections with no string attached.
So, of course, Johan jumped at the chance given to him.
The catch turned out to be that Johan should have questioned exactly why Zeoticus needed a mage. Usually, demons used mages to show the prestige of their family, to use them as their agents in places where demons themselves were lacking, sometimes as teachers or instructors, as far as magic was concerned. If the demons for some reason wanted to learn, of course, or as teachers of everything 'human'. Some lucky magicians were even reincarnated!
For demons, recruiting magicians into their peerages was the easier option.
First, magicians were close to the human world, but already knew about its magical side and would probably already be vetted for potential thoroughly beforehand. And second, they would not start praying the second they see a demon.
Zeoticus Gremory, however, needed a mage for only one thing…
To dump all his administerial work on him!
Technically, Zeoticus was the 'Administrator' of Kuoh Academy, overseeing both the school and its associated college, but he very rarely showed up to his workplace, preferring to go about his demonic business and dance around in his bloody camel costume!
That man was willing to do anything but the school bureaucracy he was supposed to control!
And so, of course, all Zeoticus' labors fell on the shoulders of Johan, who was put in as headmaster, as his officially contracted mage. He works alongside Elizabeth Rosenkreuz, who was officially contracted mage of the Sitri family as headmaster of the college. If it weren't for the help of Sona Sitri and her wonderful student council helping to sort out the school's affairs, Johan would have died of stress long ago, buried under a large pile of paperwork.
Technically, Rias Gremory and her 'Occult Research Club' were also supposed to help with the running of Kuoh Academy. But, because of some quirk of their own, the demons had divided what they thought was 'fair' in their duties. Sona helped with the running of the Academy during the day, and Rias helped at night. There's only one problem with that arrangement, though.
Kuoh Academy did not operate at night!
Rias did occasionally help with the little things, like securing the academy grounds at night with her team, but she did absolutely no paperwork. And Johan's concern was not any possible attacks on the school, but the endless attempts to get funding for new teachers, the old school building renovation, when it was abandoned when the academy moved into the new building. And finally build a normal dormitory for college students! Not everyone attending this school was connected to the demonic aristocracy, damn you, having virtually endless supplies of money! The ordinary students needed a dormitory, too!
Besides, who would be crazy enough to attack a school where two Satan's sisters study?
The constant numbers and reports seemed to be swirling in front of Johan's face…
So when he sensed something unusual – he even rejoiced to be able to think no more about student lists and the annual budget revision.
His joy, however, was short-lived.
The doors that led to his study were enchanted by the [Bishop] of Zeoticus Gremory himself – a very powerful wizard, Agrippa, in case of emergency. The door was to be used if it became necessary to drag Rias and Sona away from any danger, or if any other means of escape were blocked. At the same time, the door also served as an excellent defensive tool, since they identified the true nature of the creature entering through them. The door, perfectly relieving anxiety about agents and unknowns seeking to get close to the younger sisters of two of the four ruling Satans in the academy… At least as far as Johan himself knew.
However, when someone else entered following Miki Hyoudou, an ordinary human, as confirmed by the artifact's reaction – Johan instantly sounded the alarm.
Agrippa was a powerful mage, but he wasn't too strong – on the world scale, I mean – there were many more extremely powerful creatures in this world. Some of them even preferred not to wave their power like a flag, but keeping it secret instead, balancing the strategic advantage of showing their power with the tactical advantage of hiding it.
Even Johan himself, if he tried very hard and prepared himself, could probably fool the artifact. However, Johan was helped immensely by the fact that he knew about the artifact in the first place. A fact that random people should not know.
Agrippa had hidden the enchanted [Hellwood] inside the door, behind a layer of ordinary wood, and had made it so that it was not easy to sense the magic of the door. It was possible to do it, but at a glance? This wasn't just the level of 'high-class' demons, but quite possibly an 'ultimate-class' demons – and Johan preferred not even to look at such creatures for fear of their capabilities.
Of course, he was technically under the patronage of Zeoticus, who, for his many downsides, would not leave his subordinates unprotected, but it would have done Johan no good if he were turned to ash. Even the [Evil Pieces] had their limitations, they could not resurrect a person from a pile of ashes, requiring a relatively whole body – and that's if Zeoticus even decided to rebirth Johan into a demon… If Zeoticus could do it at all in the first place. It's possible that Agrippa might well have costed two of the Lord's [Bishops], so Johan would really hate to die for nothing.
The reason for him panicking so much?
There was nothing, no information… The doors didn't work whatsoever, and Johan saw nothing in his glasses. Glasses that were supposed to determine the level of magical energy in the target. The mirror also couldn't dispel any illusion… If it was an illusion and not something else.
And this person, who Johan had met for the first time, wanted to enroll, even after the school year had already begun. He was also the perfect student – judging by his age and grades, a hundred points for every school subject imaginable. He also did not exude any supernatural presence whatsoever, the perfect shoo-in for Kuoh Academy. That is if not for the fact that it's the same school where two younger sisters of two ruling Satans were studying, completely by chance.
Of course, there was a slim chance that it was all just a coincidence. Some magic that was placed on the young man without his knowledge – or perhaps he might even possess some [Sacred Gear] with surveillance blocking capabilities. Given how many such students there were at this school, Johan would not even be surprised that he stumbled upon another one by pure chance, as if something was pulling people with [Sacred Gears] to this academy.
However, the boy, who introduced himself as Satoru, had unmistakably glanced at all the magical objects in the study – including a folder of reports from Lord Gremory. Something which had a good distraction spell on them. And then, he had provided Johan with his education certificate…
Signed by Johan himself.
His certificate was signed by Johan as the principal, with the same signature even! And Johan was pretty sure that he was not the principal of Kyoto Academy!
It could have been a completely random mistake on Satoru's part when he had forged the documents – or, it could have been a conscious move, a hint, even, 'I'll get into this school, whether you like it or not. Your signature is already on my paperwork – so why shouldn't it be on my application?'
And Johan didn't know at all what he was to do or think about this. He had to think quickly on the fly, and the only thing that came to his mind was to send him to school lessons, to get more time for him to look at him more closely. And, of course, to inform Zeoticus Gremory about what had happened immediately. His daughter was studying here, and if something unpleasant happened afterwards, Zeoticus would simply and without any hesitation remove Johan's head off his shoulders, and would, in fact, be absolutely in the right about it.
The least said about what the Lucifer would do to him, the better.
So after trying to provoke Satoru for a moment at the end of their meeting and not getting any meaningful response from him, it showed that Satoru knows of the other side of the world – the supernatural side. Johan could only sigh as he set aside the newly obtained certificate, taking out his phone and getting ready to dial his boss' number on it.
Johan hated doing paperwork, but in this situation, he would really prefer to do just that.
- Location
- Planet Earth
Surprised the MC did not, or could not, resurrect Issei, instead of just acting like "Welp, nothing to do now".
Also surprised he did not just erase/alter whatever aspects of Issei that he did not like, maybe turn Issei into a dutiful son or something.
Aside from that, feels kinda weird how much the MC keeps saying 'umu', almost every other sentence... Thats a sound/behavior you usually only see with kids or petite adults trying to be "cute" in Anime's.
Also surprised he did not just erase/alter whatever aspects of Issei that he did not like, maybe turn Issei into a dutiful son or something.
Aside from that, feels kinda weird how much the MC keeps saying 'umu', almost every other sentence... Thats a sound/behavior you usually only see with kids or petite adults trying to be "cute" in Anime's.
Every single time I read the word "demon(s)" in this story, I cringe a little. Like, I'm starting to believe that you didn't watch or read High school DxD before, cos anyone that's familiar with this story that Biblical demons are reffered to as "devils." I understand it that Momonga isn't all that familiar with the setting, so he'd obviously refere to them as "demons" cos he don't know better, everyone else that's native to DxD would not make that mistake. Therefore, there is really no reason for the principal to refere to them as anything BUT devils.
Anyway, thanks for the update.
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
The reasons for this were mentioned - 1st is fear that Ddraig would ressurect with him, 2nd is that Issei is too weak and thus should be ressurected with high-level ressurection abilities, that spends resources that Momonga didn't want to spend on him. Not to mention that he doesn't care about Issei and that it creates a good cover for him to slip into the world unnoticed.
And it's a canonical verbal tic of Momonga.
It's just here like that because demons (plural) are much widespread and acceptable than devils (plural) and is much more in use, as christianity does mentions plural demons, but only singular Devil. If you really want to argue about translations - well, DxD devils are neither devils nor demons, but akuma, which is a type of an evil spirit that is usually associated with demons in translation. In other words - it all comes down to the ease of use and the fact that translator wanted to make a clear distinction for DxD devils to be biblical demons, not just a regular demons from other mythologies. But I, for the ease of distinction, call them demons. That is all.
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Overlord of a High School (5)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (5)
Momonga lightly made his way out of the principal's office before turning to Miki, who was following behind him, smiling slightly. A smile that Momonga returned, glad to have a chance at furthering his education, even if it had almost hit a snag in his meeting with the headmaster. "Thank you for your help, Miki… I mean, Mom."
Momonga wasn't sure exactly why Miki had suggested for him to call her 'mother', especially when they haven't known each other for long – familial relations or not. But, it might have been a quite common occurrence.
And judging by her not asking more about his emancipation – especially since he didn't have a good idea of what that was himself, it was easier for him to refer to Miki as mother. Something which also added a layer of plausibility to his identity, if he lived with his mother, he was less suspicious, especially as a young man who had not yet reached adulthood.
True, the very thought of addressing Miki as 'mother' was strange to him, but he would soldier on.
The last time he had seen his mother was decades ago, when he found her dead in the kitchen, trying to make his favorite dish. It was probably the worst day of Momonga's entire life – perhaps even worse than the end of YGGDRASIL, despite the recentness of the latter.
But time had passed, and old wounds were scabbed over. And with her body long ago being turned in for processing at the fertilizer aggregators, there were no more things that triggered any memories of her passing. So, Momonga pretty much stopped thinking about it years later, remembering what had happened only occasionally on the anniversary of her death.
When the developers of YGGDRASIL announced the end of service – on the days leading to it, Momonga often remembered and drew parallels to it with the death of his mother. Perhaps trying to reassure himself that even such great past wounds became less painful as time passes and would be forgotten in time, so he would survive even the end of YGGDRASIL.
And, so, as a result, he had long since stopped being sad about his mother's death, simply accepting what had happened as the harsh truth of life, so he felt no sadness in calling Miki 'mother'. Still, the very act of referring to her in that way felt strange, unfamiliar, and, frankly, unexpected to Momonga. After all, she was close to his real age!
However, Momonga could easily suppress his thoughts on the subject with the thought that he was doing it to avoid drawing attention to himself as he walked Miki out of school, watching the minutes pass before his classes started.
'Ha, I didn't even bring a computer with me, how would I take the class? Or will they give me a school one? How exactly schooling worked in Japan in the past?' Momonga thought for a moment, but judging by the fact that the principal hadn't mentioned it, then it was likely that the school would provide his study material.
If worse comes to worst, Momonga would have no trouble creating them with [Create Greater Item] – though, Momonga hadn't checked to see if he could create a complete computer or complex electronics at all using his abilities alone. 'Okay, I'll walk Miki to the gate, and maybe I can check it before class starts.'
Escorting Miki to the gate, Momonga bowed slightly as he said his goodbyes. "Thank you again for your help."
"You're welcome, Satoru," Miki smiled back warmly at him, before turning around and making her way back home – Momonga, on the other hand, activated [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence].
'Hmm, from the looks of it, for Miki, every single bite she ate was considered a separate dish, so now the effects of food are starting to disappear and weaken, one by one. Interesting observation, I should write it down somewhere. Hmm, maybe I should start creating a sort of 'Experiment Journal'? I'm sure it'll be useful in familiarizing Nazarick as to the differences between this world and YGGDRASIL. Huh, another thing to add to the ever-growing and growing list of concerns…'
After a moment of watching Miki's disappearing form, Momonga turned away, then quickly walked to his class, leaving Miki to make her way home alone… Walking, since she didn't have a driver's license.
Pandora's Actor, no, Issei Hyoudou, he didn't want to become sloppy because of his happiness having Father near him, made his way to his class exactly as he normally would. All the while, he kept a grim and sour smile on his expression and responded languidly to attempts to cheer him up from his friends. Issei was perfectly maintaining the mask of the man who had just survived an awful 'date' and a betrayal by his father. An expression that let the world know that something extremely sad and unfortunate had happened in his life.
Issei's act was so perfect that it even caused Aika Kiryuu – an old acquaintance of Issei since elementary school who never missed an opportunity to vent a sarcasm or mock him, to retreat, allowing him to 'mope' himself in peace.
Issei would love to dive deeper into Aika's psyche, to know more about 'Issei', but found that he was too disappointed by her to bother. Of course, he still did it, his orders were absolute no matter what he felt about it.
'There's nothing special about Aika Kiryuu – she's as directionless as the rest of her peers.' Issei sighed inwardly a little.
'Although meeting Kiba Yuuto has stirred my feelings as an actor and my instincts as a collector too much, it would be too stupid to assume that everyone I meet on my path will be as unique as this ausstellungsstück… Father bestows rewards – but only on those who can take it themselves, wonderful delicacies are hidden at this banquet among the tasteless dishes of third-rate cooks. Father has given me a purpose – in my service I need to get information about my entire surroundings, now I am a restaurant critic, and even if the offered dishes taste like dust – I will do my Father's will and deliver every minute detail of the dish.'
'Pandora's Actor?' Just as he reiterated his loyalty to his Father, Issei instantly felt the connection of a [Message] from Father formed between him.
"Yes, Father?" Issei spoke softly as he leaned forward, crossing his arms in front of him to conceal the movement of his lips, yet speaking softly to minimize the chance of eavesdropping. He was now looking as if he were scowling at something under his nose – a fitting picture for someone who had looked so sad a little earlier.
'I ran into the headmaster of this school – he has magical powers and possessed several artifacts that might not be made by him, precluding the existence of another. And, by all appearances, he knows I am no ordinary person – he has probably already passed on information about me to the others aware of the magical world he knows.'
Father replied bluntly, getting right to the point. 'The artifacts he possessed allowed him to ignore low rank illusions, and possibly see the true form of doppelgängers, though whether he can see through the abilities of a greater doppelgänger is still unknown. Plus, he can summon back-up. If someone stronger shows up, be prepared for a fighting retreat if the enemy turns out to be too strong – retreating with as much information as possible is priority. If you think you are being lured into a trap – retreat, any information you might gather by springing it is useless if you can't pass it on. Until such a possibility occurs, act naturally and try to gather information without giving yourself away, but don't take any unnecessary risks. If you were to be near the director for whatever, use your special abilities to conceal your nature, but do not transform without a plan – you are Nazarick's trump card, to use you without a plan is dangerous and pointless. If you discover any strong adversary, let me know immediately.'
"As you command, Father," Issei nodded slightly, simultaneously suppressing his desire to bow completely and yet incapable of not showing respect to his Creator in any way, even if He was incapable of seeing him when using [Message].
After a moment, the connection between Issei and Momonga disappeared again, and Issei breathed out a slightly picturesque exhale, as if he had just finished a sad and inaudible monologue. Thinking out loud some thought, confusing the potential observer, then slowly leaned his head back with his hands in front of him, showing his 'defeated' posture.
Issei's mind, however, was working at full strength – his current target for observation being the director, there's some problem, however.
If he was to observe through walls without seeing the target or looking into their eyes, without communicating or using his special skills, he could only penetrate the minds of extremely weak beings, level thirtieth and below. And that was if they had no resistance to mental influences, so there was a good chance that he could not penetrate the director's mind. What was especially dangerous, however, was that it's possible, in the attempt to invade his mind, Issei's action could be detected by the Headmaster himself, so Issei froze in indecision.
If he could have approached the Headmaster and could see him, then Issei would have planned much more confidently. However, his order was also very clear – to stay away from the Headmaster and not draw attention to himself. On the other hand – Father also said about the need to gather information without risking himself in vain…
Issei was at a loss.
He wanted to receive more information from Father, to clarify his orders, to prevent a single blunder in his work, and not to fail in a single verse of his song. And yet, at the same time, all this was a test of the Issei himself, on how he would be able to act appropriately to carry out His plans.
Issei frowned before still taking his chances, preparing to flee a moment later if he was discovered. Overconfidence might be a slow and insidious killer, but underconfidence might even kill you even quicker – or worse, disappoint Father.
"[Mirror of Thought]." Inaudible to anyone listening, furthermore turning sideways, looking out the window, Issei used his strongest of mind reading abilities, then further amplified it and cast spells to conceal his potential interference with another being's mind.
"[The Look From Within], [Silence in the Looking Glass]."
A moment later, Issei's mind reached out to the headmaster's mind, with careful light touches testing the latter's mind defenses. It was hard to tell if something had been originally applied to the Headmaster's mind, since he had acted calmly even before Issei's actions and did not react when he did start. Of course, it's very possible that it's all a trap – but jumping the gun is unwise as well…
'Hmm, so far so good… However, I should be wary – creatures of this world may have strange abilities that interfere with my observation or even be able to notice my actions easily.'
So, carefully, but quickly, Issei began to retrieve the memories of the Headmaster, Johan, starting with the most recent ones, since Father had only met him a dozen minutes ago.
'Hmm, so… Zeoticus Gremory's contracted mage, the younger sisters of the two Satans… And they decided? Hmm, really? Of course, they will provide insurance and protection – but even so… Ah, validation? It makes sense, but the risk… Ah, a potential enemy would not kill them so easily, but try to take them alive, and they are sure they could prevent that. Johan, growing up – resentment, eager to prove himself, prone to confrontation – all useful stuff to know. And regarding his powers, um, Johan he's… level thirtieth? Within those limits, plus or minus five levels, judging abilities in the new world and only by their memories and thoughts is extremely difficult, note for the future, humans are an unreliable source of information.'
Confident that his intrusion has not been detected yet – or if he had, then he needed to get more pertinent information quicker. Issei began focusing on his older memories. 'Hmm, going a bit deeper now – a little more orderly chaos, but still empty meaninglessness, bereft of purpose. Oh, there's another babysitter for the Sisters – a demon, one that's a little higher level than Johan, but they can't interfere. Agrippa – stronger than Johan, but I would not call him strong… Ah, finally, the Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer. From the rumors, Johan has heard but not seen first-hand, the owner of a really impressive power, at least above the eightieth level. But, Johan has never observed him personally, so the estimate may differ greatly in either direction by dozens of levels… Perhaps even to the hundredth level? Potential danger – I need to warn Father…'
The sharp sound of bells brought Issei back to the tangible world, informing him that classes had begun, and he quickly left Johan's mind and rose with all the students, as their routine greeting began. 'It is necessary to deliver information about certain things to Father, but it is not urgent at the moment. Instead of apprehension, the poor fools had decided to choose pompous hubris as their response, a desire to turn Father's appearance into their own luck.'
Issei had to fight his instinctive desire to destroy all these ants to dare to presume to use Father, but he successfully controlled himself. Assuring himself that it's all a part of Father's plan, he just has to play his role, and all would be right.
'These fools see the danger he represented, the barest hint of the iceberg they've seen, as a 'test' for Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. All the while, not even realizing that they are only writing their own lines in His great play… Truly, Father, how far does your plan extend?'
'Having some kind of plan at this point would be nice,' Momonga sighed as his thoughts turned maudlin, before rising from his seat after the bell sounded. The memories he got from Issei informing him what he needed to do.
Unfortunately, the school didn't provide him with a computer – although he noticed that those existed in this world, albeit so ancient and primitive that they would have been of value only as antiques in his past world. But, having roughly understood the principle of operating them, Momonga was willing to try his hand at working with them…
However, the problem was that apparently none of the students were assigned a computer – they all used paper instead! And they had to use expensive ink to write on them! Wasting both the ink and the paper!
You had computers, why didn't you use them and write on paper instead?!
Fortunately for Momonga himself, he was provided the textbooks and notebooks of this world, along with a suitable single-seat desk and writing utensils – something that he was grateful for. He doesn't really have the legal tender to buy the expensive school supplies. How rich must the school be to provide such rare resources to every student for free!?
Momonga has to admit – it's weird to hold on to a pen for the first time.
Although writing with a stationary was not unusual for Momonga, after the widespread use of technology in his past world making tablets and stylus the preferred way of writing, he never actually ever held a pen in his life. Even in YGGDRASIL, magic and special abilities existed that could transfer entire texts in a flash, he could still write Japanese, though not very confidently, quickly or beautifully.
By the end, however, he did figure out both how to write his name, and after introducing himself to the class, received some initially interested looks from the other students. Something which was quickly replaced by disappointed and even disgusted ones when he mentioned that he was Issei Hyoudou's older brother.
'Issei, it's my fault you accidentally died, I admit and apologize… But stop destroying my reputation from the afterlife!' Only his undead nature was able to suppress his desire to fix his reputation and use some kind of spell like [Wish Upon A Star] to change all people's memories of Issei.
Other than that car wreck of a first introduction, lessons proved uninteresting for Momonga – at least the first lessons, that is. Not because he's a natural genius or anything like that, nor because he was well-educated, his only elementary school level education proves that. Rather, he never had a problem with the Japanese language in the first place, given that he was an adult who knew it well – even if he had to refresh some of the grammar rules he'd managed to forget. He'd even managed to learn some that he didn't know!
He knew math because he had studied YGGDRASIL formulas, he remembered biology roughly because of his study of the world of YGGDRASIL itself, even if he had to make extra marks in his recollections concerning magical creatures.
Literature, history, and chemistry, however, were another matter entirely, he was poorly taught in those subjects – in fact he lacked formal education in those subjects entirely! He could recall scattered memories in the past from his friends from Ainz Ooal Gown mentioning bits and bobs about the subject, but no more than that. He had managed to deflect suspicion for a couple of times during class, using the years as a salaryman to avoid attention and to get extra work instead of answering a question. But in the end, he mostly just stared blankly at his textbook and whatever it is the teacher wrote on the board, hoping that his teachers would perceive his gaze as understanding the subject.
Finally, however, when the school bell rang and the students began to gather for their big break, chatting among themselves about inane things and about where to settle down for lunch, Momonga ran into a problem.
Momonga didn't need to eat, strictly speaking. Though he could do so thanks to his new body, food did give him buffs, but the concern was that Momonga didn't have the kind of money that people of this Japan used. Without money, he couldn't buy himself a proper lunch, and judging by the way all the surrounding students acted, not eating lunch would be taken as something strange – something that might even attract attention.
No, of course he could use the food in his inventory, but as far as he could tell from Miki's reaction – that kind of food was unusual in this world… even the low-leveled item.
Momonga frowned as he pondered this conundrum. Should he risk not eating anything? After all, it wouldn't be strange if he missed one meal, would it? Maybe it was a little strange, but if he brought lunch tomorrow, maybe the watchers could just let today's mistake by Momonga pass them by, dismissing it as mere coincidence?
A slight exclamation from the people who had not yet left the classroom caused Momonga to scramble out of his musings, chiding himself for losing focus. Thankfully, he did not make any sudden movements that would attract attention, as the idle chatter suddenly turned into insistent whispers. So, instead, he shifted his gaze first to the window, concentrating on its reflective surface, checking to see who was standing behind him at the moment and listening a little more closely to his surroundings' voices.
In the reflection of the glass, Momonga saw two girls in school uniforms with… very noticeable features.
One has long red hair running freely down almost to her knees, the hair covering her very provocative school uniform, whose skirt was obviously specially shortened. Most notably however were her volume of breasts that seemed more dangerous to her back than seductive. Momonga certainly preferred big breasts to small ones, so it was impossible to say that he didn't like what he saw, but…
'What am I thinking! Maybe they're coming to attack me right now! Get your head back in the game, Momonga!' Momonga shifted his gaze to the second girl who entered following the first, walking half a step behind the red-haired girl. 'But their appearance doesn't help me concentrate on this possibility at all. What a scary ability, to distract me so completely!'
The second entrant was slightly shorter than the first, with black hair gathered into a high, thin ponytail that came down almost to the girl's heels. Momonga wondered how she styled her hair that it wouldn't drag on the floor. The other girl was dressed in the same clothes as the first entrant, and with breasts that seemed even larger than the first girl's. Given her barely realistic breast volume and the length of her hair, Momonga wondered for a second if this girl was a created NPC like the denizens of Nazarick – they definitely were eye-catching enough to merit such a possibility.
Before Momonga could think about this possibility further, however, his new sense that he pegged as his magic radar, noted that the two girls possessed magical abilities. So, slowly, without making any sudden movements, he slowly turned his gaze to them.
"They're here…", "…don't tell me they know…", "…and it's Issei's brother! Of course, he is…", "…and yet he seemed so decent…"
With each of his classmates''silent' conversation he overheard, Momonga felt his dignity crumble under the iron boot of indifferent public opinion, making him even consider going back to Nazarick for a moment. Huh, to think, in Nazarick he was choked with endless admiration from the NPCs, but as soon as he was in the opposite situation, he instantly preferred undeserved admiration to undeserved censure.
They activated his emotion suppression almost equally!
'Issei, why couldn't you just be a regular schoolboy?!' Momonga's overwrought emotions dissipated a moment later, exactly as the breezy couple stopped in front of his desk.
"Hello," The red-haired girl smiled at Momonga before extending her hand for a handshake,
"My name is Rias Gremory, and behind me is Akeno Himejima."
"Umu, a pleasure." Momonga responded to Rias' handshake in kind, still inwardly wary of her actions and reactions as he also watched Akeno behind her – thankfully she wasn't moving to box him in. She was keeping a calm and even good-natured smile, slightly raised one hand and waved at him slightly without saying anything.
"Satoru Suzuki."
"It's nice to meet you, Satoru," Rias glanced at him with a smile before letting go of his hand.
"I must admit, it's very unusual to meet a newcomer who transferred after the beginning of the school year. I hope you'll forgive this mild curiosity – you're not busy right now, are you?"
"No." Momonga was even glad for the chance that he could not procure lunch without attracting suspicion. But at the same time, he reminded himself that depending on where the two girls were taking him now, he might be in for a fight.
"If you wanted to talk about something, I would be happy to answer your questions." After another moment, Momonga sensed an attempt to use magic, but not directed against him – but against the people around him. Gradually, Momonga could easily hear their whispers begin to subside and people began to return to their normal activities.
'An illusion? Or some kind of mind effect…'
'[Silent magic: Life Essence], [Silent magic: Mana Essence].' Momonga silently cast his spells, glancing at the data revealed. His findings made him relax a bit.
'Unless they used something like [False Data: Life] and [False Data: Mana] beforehand, what's shown should be how strong they truly are. Hmm, I'd say the red one, Rias – is close to a level forty mage, while Akeno is much weaker, about twentieth. They are both completely no danger for me, but it's really like Nigredo said, meeting a level forty being in this world is not that rare. After all, what are the chances of me finding two in a school I just randomly enrolled in?'
As Momonga slowly started to stand up, he once again assessed his situation.
'The difference between Rias and Akeno may seem enormous, but they are much closer in power level than level ninety-nine and level one hundred… Hmm, the only question remains, are they the Director's spies or his soldiers?'
"Then I guess we can take a little walk. You don't mind, right, Satoru? This is not exactly the best place to have a chat." Rias smiled calmly, then started to walk away, clearly expecting Momonga to follow behind her, with Akeno herself, showing a good bit of professional training, lagging behind Rias. The position as they moved, maintained so that Momonga himself would be on an angle between the two of them.
'Basic PK trick, one leads, the other watches from the side.' Momonga easily rose from his seat, standing and then walking between the two girls. 'In case of danger – I have to deal with them instantly and simultaneously…'
Then, remembering the ability of the previously slain red dragon, and the fact that his [Goal of All Life Is Death] was still on recharge, and was only supposed to recover in three full days, Momonga tensed a little internally. 'Assuming that these girls do not possess any of the strange abilities of this world, that would counter me. A level one like Issei did carry a World-Class Item after all, so I need to keep on my toes.'
Rias silently made her way to the exit of the classroom, opening the door before stepping forward, Momonga following closely behind… Which had almost made him nearly bump into a tall and stout man in gilded purple armor, with a stern expression on his slightly unshaven face, who had taken a step back.
Momonga's gaze lingered for a moment before realizing that the figure in front of him was shrouded in a light haze, as if the figure itself were translucent. It was a clear sign of the use of magical invisibility that was countered by Momonga's [Arcane Sight].
"Something wrong?" Akeno spoke for the first time, asking from the side from Momonga, and he had to slow his responses before he could cast a spell.
Momonga on the other hand only smiled inwardly, not planning to reveal his cards so early and so easily, inwardly beginning to prepare for a possible fight. 'Another level forty, but this one appears to be more of a magic knight, judging by his armor. A rather astute act if Rias was leading me to an ambush, having an invisible backup. And, oh? I see another one – this one appears to be a mage, but judging by how far he's on the corridor, he fights from a long distance rather than a middle distance. Ranged attacks or summoner?'
"No, nothing," Momonga swept his gaze lightly over the black-haired figure of the frozen demon in front of him, as he counted the 'invisible' figures around him. He moved his eyes surreptitiously so as to not give out the fact that the ambushers were not so hidden after all.
'And that makes eight – or six, if you exclude the two girls in front of me. It's hard to judge levels using only basic indicators like HP and Mana, but I would say their levels are in the thirtieth or higher, the strongest being apparently the forty-five leveled mage. Garbage in combat, but still enough for me to be on guard. Who knows what these strange people around here will throw out…'
'Who knows what this strange man will pull…' Akeno watched the unknown young man who had introduced himself as 'Satoru Suzuki' closely, trying to move at some distance, so that she was not leading him in a kind of convoy, but simply moving slightly behind Rias. Slightly behind her 'king' that is.
The news of an unknown person appearing at Kuoh's academy had reached Rias Gremory from her father within minutes of his first entrance to the headmaster's office – after which Rias had to argue with Zeoticus a great deal. First, demanding that he promise not to send Gremory's fighting forces directly into the academy – fearing both diplomatic incidents and the fact that in the end, there might easily be nothing of the Academy left. The fighting would also almost certainly disrupt the normal work and rhythm of Kuoh's life.
By the end of the day, though, Akeno had no doubt that Zeoticus had sent his personal bodyguards or some other elite group of demons anyway. After all, while she couldn't see any, she had a feeling as if someone powerful was near her, even if she couldn't pinpoint exactly where or how many there were.
Akeno could sense the presence of high-ranking demons, being always gifted at sensing magic – and she felt nothing from Satoru. Literally, nothing.
He didn't feel like a demon, a fallen angel, a mage, or even a human, which left Akeno with no idea what 'Satoru Suzuki' was supposed to be. After all, all living things possessed magic, no matter how small.
But perhaps that was no surprise.
In the first case, Akeno simply didn't know what she was supposed to feel, and therefore couldn't grasp Satoru's identity. The world was big and for the hundreds of magical beings and abilities that Akeno knew about, there were a thousand that she didn't know about. And then, above all, ten thousand of things that she didn't know that she didn't know about.
Of course, this is all barring the possibility that Satoru had an ability that masked him even from Akeno's keen perception, unrelated to his general level of power – such as a [Sacred Gear] or magic.
In the third and most unpleasant option, her inability to tell what Satoru is, was proof of his strength. That Zeoticus had been right in his assessment of an ultimate class demon level opponent, and Akeno needed to pick up Rias and run away right now, straight to Director Johan's door. All in, hoping that she had enough strength and time to activate the emergency portal.
Akeno had fought in the past, although intermittently – the destruction of the Stray Devils in the city fell on the shoulders of all demons who encountered one. But, it was Rias who was in charge of tracking them down and destroying them throughout Kuoh's territory, with Akeno occasionally accompanying her. Even then the level of enemies she had fought were only low-leveled Demons, with anything tougher screened by the many demons the two older sibling Maous had placed in the city.
In other words, Akeno was relatively inexperienced in combat, only being in a scrap several times – and so, the possibility of fighting an enemy that she had no hope in defeating had only remained in her imagination.
An enemy equal to that of an Ultimate-rank Demon was definitely in that category of a hopeless fight. If Satoru really was that strong, that is. But the fact that the possibility exists was still something that caused her heart to beat erratically.
And now they would suddenly provoke such an opponent.
Akeno was dead… To be fair – most of this city was dead, including Rias and Sona. Of course, if anything happens to the two heirs, Satoru would also be dead, as the emergency forces arrived in Kuoh – followed closely behind by the two Maous. But that would be cold comfort if she were already dead.
So Rias, though she had hammered out permission to at least try to make contact with the mysterious Satoru, didn't feel too confident. That's why she didn't immediately lash out at him, demanding him to respect the Underworld's authority over Kuoh, long ago bought from the Youkai factions for the Demon Faction's use. Instead, preferring the most diplomatic and mild of languages, 'excuse my curiosity, but can you tell me a little about what the hell you were even doing in my city!?' if a lot more politely. Well, she did say polite, and not diplomatic – she had almost had a heart attack when she heard Rias speak that way.
Luckily, nothing bad happened, and Satoru had acquiesced to her demands peacefully.
According to Zeoticus, there was zero chance that this was all completely coincidental, and in the matter of protecting her daughter, Akeno was inclined to believe him. As were believing that having her and Rias 'escorting' the Ultimate-Rank level threat was more ridiculous than threatening.
Why would basically handing the most probable assassination target on a platter be the way to go? Akeno understood that having Satoru where they could see him is much better than letting him wander alone – but why couldn't Sona handle it instead?
Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno could see that Satoru was taking glances at the window, looking at something out of it. Akeno, unable to hold her curiosity back, followed the direction of his gaze, spotting three familiar troublemakers, currently enjoying their lunch and seemingly were loudly chatting about something. Most likely about a woman's body.
The famous 'perverted trio' of Kuoh Academy – no less an attraction of the academy than the 'two Great Ladies of Kuoh' – Akeno and Rias themselves, if for two entirely different reasons.
As far as Rias and Akeno have managed to gather, Satoru Suzuki had introduced himself as the older brother of one the perverted trio, Issei Hyoudou. He had applied to the Academy just this morning, together with documents in his name and a diploma from Kyoto University Academy. Fakes, of course.
However, while the diploma might have been fake, was Satoru's relation to the Hyoudou family also fake? The Youkai were famous for having large and long family relations, at least some of them. For the longer-lived Youkai species, they could create many families during their lifetime, so having many extended families was not impossible, especially as Kuoh was formerly a Youkai territory.
Of course, it was also possible that this was all a Youkai prank – that faction is famous for having some very egregious pranksters, after all. And while there were not many true 'heavyweights' among that faction that would risk pulling such a prank on the heirs of two very important Pillar families.
And while no one investigated the Hyoudou family too hard when enrolling Issei in the academy – as far as it was known, they did not have Japanese monster blood flowing in them either.
But even so there remained the issue of family resemblance – Satoru Suzuki looked like the splitting image of a much older and mature Issei, and not at all dissimilar to the Hyoudou Patriarch either. Not that changing appearance is a rare skill, nor was it all that common either.
But still, to be able to change one appearance to mimic familial resemblance so perfectly, requires great magical power, and knowledge. Never mind, doing so without giving out any trace of it? One needed to be an ancient magical being, who has centuries of experience in controlling their magic – lending credence to Satoru's identity as someone of the Ultimate rank.
But in that case – why Issei? Issei was certainly an amusing pervert, but he was ill-suited as a cover to infiltrate Kuoh Academy, his reputation preceded his accomplishments, and one mention to Satoru that he was Issei's older brother could bury his reputation permanently.
Something wasn't quite clicking right in Akeno's mind, as if she had overlooked, or perhaps didn't possess an important piece of information, which made Akeno nervous. Her nervousness then passed on to Rias, and seeing the nervous 'king', only made her even more nervous.
Only Satoru seemed perfectly calm in the current situation – having to escort such an unknown is nerve-wracking to both Akeno and Rias. Sadly they cannot simply leave, as while watching him during lessons, they also had to do it with the help of simple human observers, since it turned out that she simply could not use magic to watch him. Nor can they simply send familiars, as if through their eyes they could not find him.
Rias managed to find out that all throughout the day's lessons, Satoru was perfectly calm, and in some time he just seemed bored. He hadn't even bothered to put out the textbooks, preferring to sit silently sinking into his thoughts, only sometimes reacting to the teachers' questions.
What's even stranger, however, was that whenever he was called by the teacher to answer some sort of question – even once from a subject not in the textbook, he would just shrug. Oftentimes, the teacher would even just simply forget that they had asked him a question! And no one found it weird or even glanced strangely at his actions.
Akeno even checked Satoru's teachers and surroundings after class for mental manipulation, but could find nothing. Which meant either that there was no such manipulation or that Akeno couldn't detect it.
The possible consequence of the latter option unnerved Akeno, causing her already troubled mind to think of even more dire possibilities, which in no way helped her calm at the moment.
So, with the stairs leading to the rooftop of Kuoh Academy in sight, Rias started speeding up, almost leaving her [Queen] and Satoru behind. Akeno didn't blame her though, Rias could barely keep herself from some kind of nervous tic, and Akeno wasn't much better off wanting for all this to be over with.
Though what kind of plan is just leading the unknown danger to the rooftop to talk with him, Akeno doesn't really know. It's not like the change in elevation would make the situation any less dangerous to the two of them. Actually, why couldn't they just have this talk in the headmaster's office, so that the escape route is much closer?
'I should have just put my foot down and told Rias that the school wasn't her responsibility, right now.' Akeno tried to calm down, seeing as Satoru hadn't reacted to Rias' action, and failed. 'It's Sona's responsibility by day, we should have just dumped everything on Sona…'
Though knowing Sona, who fancied herself more of a strategist and tactician, but not a negotiator, who panicked about involving her family in any way, she couldn't imagine what she'd do. Most likely, she'll just try to sit Satoru down to play chess – which was probably even sillier than trying to negotiate on the academy rooftop during their lunch break.
Anyway, walking up the steps up to the rooftop, and the waiting Rias, they're already here. She just has to hope that Satoru didn't have any ill-intent – and if he does, she's really hoping that the Gremory backup she's feeling was around, wasn't just a tic of her nervousness.
If nothing else, the rooftop should provide a clear firing line.
So now, Rias, who Akeno could see was trying to regain her original confidence when she had argued with Zeoticus about the fate of Kuoh Academy, took a deep breath. Another of the reasons Rias wanted to designate the location where she would confront Satoru, was for this small symbolic gesture of defining the negotiating place.
Though, even Rias knew that such a symbolic gesture meant little.
After all, she had decided to not invite Satoru to the Occult Research Club, the actual seat of her power, nor had she actually recalled her whole peerage. Perhaps she was feeling that leading Satoru there would have an adverse effect on the chance of open negotiations? And seeing that any other rooms would just elicit the same response, the roof was the only place suitable as 'neutral' territory.
At least the roof has chairs? Akeno doesn't really know how to feel if she has to entertain the 'guest' on the concrete ground. Rias seems to have already chosen the place where the negotiations were supposed to take place, seeing as she's already seated on one of the chairs.
So Akeno, trying to appear more confident than she really felt, made her way, taking a seat behind Rias' back, as her role as [Queen] dictates. Satoru, who looked as relaxed and unruffled as he was before, maintaining an unreadable expression, settled down opposite Rias, tucking his legs slightly.
There was an awkward silence for a moment – Satoru was clearly putting the initiative in Rias's hands, and yet he looked so calm that Akeno would not be surprised if he was now planning their destruction. At the same time managing, in a strange way, to give the initiative and yet keep the situation under his watchful control.
"Ahem," Rias spoke first, trying to ease her nervousness, and unable to tolerate the silence anymore. "It is a pleasure to welcome you to Kuoh and especially to this academy."
"Umu, thank you." Satoru nodded slightly, showing the proper amount of 'official' respect, but nothing more. It is as if he doesn't care at all about the fact that he was in the presence of the heiress of the Gremory family and the younger sister of Lucifer to boot. He had easily dismissed the fact that Rias had greeted him on behalf of Kuoh, and thus on behalf of the ruler of this place… Not that Akeno was too well versed in such diplomatic etiquette.
Akeno were only familiar with how Rias would act as the heiress and never really in any official capacity, or only in view of her upcoming duties as heiress to the Gremory family. But at least, judging from the interaction, that was the impression Akeno got from the brief exchange of phrases.
Rias waited a few seconds to see if Satoru would say anything else, but he didn't seem to care at all about this negotiation. He was really acting as if he was only 'satisfying' Rias Gremory's curiosity, as it was said, rather than engaging in dialogue. Ha, to invert and twist Rias' own phrase in an instant, as a result of which she was now relegated from the position of 'negotiator' to the position of 'asking for answers'.
It was a cruel and mocking but masterfully executed trick that may have caused enmity, but it also demonstrated Satoru's keen mind.
'Ha ha, I'm slowly beginning to like you…' Akeno smiled slightly, feeling her nervousness slowly begin to recede at the playful gesture.
"Ahem, in that case…" Rias, still feeling uncomfortable though, especially after Satoru had reduced her negotiating position with a single phrase, easily bridging the chasm that separated the 'heiress of the Gremory family' from that of the common man.
"I would like to know… What is your purpose for coming here? In Kuoh Academy especially."
"Hmm, my purpose for entering Kuoh Academy…? Well, that's simple… I wanted to get along better with my little brother, Issei. I see it to be much simpler for me to enroll at the same school as he did." Satoru both answered and did not answer Rias' question.
Akeno knew he could easily lie, but if Issei really was his little brother – who knows, maybe he was telling the truth? I mean, coming to protect his family and younger brother from the world of the paranormal was a simple, understandable, and logical motivation… Though it didn't explain who Satoru Suzuki really was or who he was to Issei, as Rias had investigated Issei when the thought of adding him to her peerage first appeared.
Issei had no older brother.
"Which faction do you represent?" Rias took the plunge, simultaneously questioning both Satoru's political affiliation and his species.
"Only myself." Which Satoru just as easily rebuffed. In a way it answered Rias' question by actually saying that he had come here, unaffiliated with any faction, and thus not having their support behind him. Which, also, in turn, meant that he was strong enough to allow himself this autonomy. And yet, his answer also easily evaded divulging his true nature, so that Rias couldn't continue to press the subject – that is, unless she wanted to choose to stand as opposition, who was trying to ferret out his secrets.
With one simple answer, he had positioned himself as a neutral figure – one that, without having a clear picture of his power, Rias couldn't take any hostile action towards. At the same time, he had also hinted that even if Rias did figure out his affiliation, he had shown that he was acting on his own volition without the support of that faction – and also without any restriction.
Of course, that was simple sophistry, as any hostile action on his part would still carry an effect to his faction – no matter how independent he proclaimed to be. But, Rias couldn't move to figure out that information without being the party that had 'broken the peace' first.
'You're really good!' Akeno liked this strange, appealing way of Satoru, turning his verbal opponent's words, thoughts, and actions into his own advantage. With slight hints and just a few words, achieving results that would not have looked half as graceful had they been uttered by someone not maintaining Satoru's mask of quiet politeness.
Akeno had never thought until this moment that she would enjoy watching someone satisfy their own sadistic tendencies, much less through conversation – but life, as it turned out, was amazing and full of surprises!
"Ahem, right, what about… your plans?" Rias looked intently at Satoru. "I mean, I'd prefer it if you weren't planning to set up your residence here…"
"But Miki's house is in Kuoh and I live in it. I suppose you could think of it as my residence as well…" Satoru tilted his head slightly to the side. "Well, Miki's residence…"
Akeno felt her smile creep further up her cheeks against her will. It was only the guise of professionalism to prevent her from bursting out laughing, as Satoru took Rias by the nose like that and made her look like a fool. Akeno considered Rias her friend and wouldn't have been happy if Satoru had become truly hostile to her – in the end, he still kept his calm politeness and clearly made it clear that he wasn't Rias' enemy.
Even if his answers amounted to mockery with a slight touch of sadism and masterful, truly masterful skills as a negotiator and deft politician. He hadn't actually outright become hostile, it was simply Rias' bad luck to encounter such a cunning linguist.
Akeno had heard of the Youkai of Kyoto being mired in politics, but never thought she could see the results of such a brutal selection for herself… Not that Satoru had shown any Youkai characteristics.
Satoru's words and actions seemed to tickle the nerves all over Akeno's body a little, causing her to take another close look at the new guy.
"Ahem."- Rias tried to clear her throat once more to mask the redness in her cheeks as she was led around in circles in the conversation.
"Rias, perhaps I could get you some water to drink? It seems that your throat is particularly dry." Satoru feigned politeness, though he didn't particularly change his expression from his polite and calm mask, managing at once to both hint at his desire to leave the current negotiations, seeing that lunch is coming to an end. And to mock Rias' actions and nervousness, standing on a fine line between sadism and mockery, an insult and a joke.
Akeno couldn't help herself and let out a light chuckle with her nose, which earned her an angry look from Rias, who had broken negotiating protocol and had tacitly dismissed Satoru.
But he instead looked from Rias to Akeno and back again, keeping the same expression as before, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Rias, realizing that she was being mocked like a little child trying to get into a place where it was too soon for her, only took a deep breath and exhaled, asking the last and most important question, "Do we have reason to be wary of you?"
"No," Satoru answered calmly, before he looked at Rias carefully, his gaze touching Rias' as she suddenly flinched, just as Akeno flinched instantly, forgetting her mirth in the same second.
If eyes were a reflection of the soul, then this man, this creature, had no soul, his eyes were empty and lifeless, staring at the world coldly. It was like an empty abyss, drawing in anyone who stared too long into it.
"Unless you take the first step against me, that is, I would not be the first to break the peace." Satoru replied, keeping the same calm and polite tone and the same expression on his face, but his eyes differently – paradoxically empty and yet full of ruthlessness.
"And I would be glad if you would not do so right now, as a gesture of goodwill. I would like my first day of class to end peacefully." Satoru looked away, and the spell was immediately broken, allowing Akeno and Rias to breathe out the air that they suddenly held as they were plunged to the deep end of the pool.
"And call these people away, before either of us takes the first and final step."
A moment later, Satoru looked up, and Akeno realized that three pairs of demons had appeared behind her where there was no one before. Judging by the look of them, they were ready to rush into battle at that moment, as soon as anyone made a move.
'First and last step, just like he said' Akeno froze once more, finding herself in such a precarious situation so suddenly. A stark difference from the pleasant, for her, conversation they had before,
'But that explains exactly why I felt the presence of strong demons nearby, other than Rias herself – although it does not explain how Satoru could find them so easily. Ha, so he was really someone on the level of the Ultimate-Ranks, if not stronger. God – ouch! Who the hell brought him into our school…'
The demons, obviously intent on battle, hesitated for a moment… before they obeyed the order and lowered their arms, stepping back to show their peacefulness.
Rias could give the order, "Stand back."
Satoru on the other hand only silently and slowly rose from his seat, not provoking the demons before smiling and bowing slightly again. "A pleasure doing business with you, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima."
Turning around slowly, Satoru headed away – exactly at the moment when the bell sounded to end the lunch break.
The only thought in Akeno's mind at that moment was something truly trivial.
'Hah, he remembered my name!'
Momonga lightly made his way out of the principal's office before turning to Miki, who was following behind him, smiling slightly. A smile that Momonga returned, glad to have a chance at furthering his education, even if it had almost hit a snag in his meeting with the headmaster. "Thank you for your help, Miki… I mean, Mom."
Momonga wasn't sure exactly why Miki had suggested for him to call her 'mother', especially when they haven't known each other for long – familial relations or not. But, it might have been a quite common occurrence.
And judging by her not asking more about his emancipation – especially since he didn't have a good idea of what that was himself, it was easier for him to refer to Miki as mother. Something which also added a layer of plausibility to his identity, if he lived with his mother, he was less suspicious, especially as a young man who had not yet reached adulthood.
True, the very thought of addressing Miki as 'mother' was strange to him, but he would soldier on.
The last time he had seen his mother was decades ago, when he found her dead in the kitchen, trying to make his favorite dish. It was probably the worst day of Momonga's entire life – perhaps even worse than the end of YGGDRASIL, despite the recentness of the latter.
But time had passed, and old wounds were scabbed over. And with her body long ago being turned in for processing at the fertilizer aggregators, there were no more things that triggered any memories of her passing. So, Momonga pretty much stopped thinking about it years later, remembering what had happened only occasionally on the anniversary of her death.
When the developers of YGGDRASIL announced the end of service – on the days leading to it, Momonga often remembered and drew parallels to it with the death of his mother. Perhaps trying to reassure himself that even such great past wounds became less painful as time passes and would be forgotten in time, so he would survive even the end of YGGDRASIL.
And, so, as a result, he had long since stopped being sad about his mother's death, simply accepting what had happened as the harsh truth of life, so he felt no sadness in calling Miki 'mother'. Still, the very act of referring to her in that way felt strange, unfamiliar, and, frankly, unexpected to Momonga. After all, she was close to his real age!
However, Momonga could easily suppress his thoughts on the subject with the thought that he was doing it to avoid drawing attention to himself as he walked Miki out of school, watching the minutes pass before his classes started.
'Ha, I didn't even bring a computer with me, how would I take the class? Or will they give me a school one? How exactly schooling worked in Japan in the past?' Momonga thought for a moment, but judging by the fact that the principal hadn't mentioned it, then it was likely that the school would provide his study material.
If worse comes to worst, Momonga would have no trouble creating them with [Create Greater Item] – though, Momonga hadn't checked to see if he could create a complete computer or complex electronics at all using his abilities alone. 'Okay, I'll walk Miki to the gate, and maybe I can check it before class starts.'
Escorting Miki to the gate, Momonga bowed slightly as he said his goodbyes. "Thank you again for your help."
"You're welcome, Satoru," Miki smiled back warmly at him, before turning around and making her way back home – Momonga, on the other hand, activated [Life Essence] and [Mana Essence].
'Hmm, from the looks of it, for Miki, every single bite she ate was considered a separate dish, so now the effects of food are starting to disappear and weaken, one by one. Interesting observation, I should write it down somewhere. Hmm, maybe I should start creating a sort of 'Experiment Journal'? I'm sure it'll be useful in familiarizing Nazarick as to the differences between this world and YGGDRASIL. Huh, another thing to add to the ever-growing and growing list of concerns…'
After a moment of watching Miki's disappearing form, Momonga turned away, then quickly walked to his class, leaving Miki to make her way home alone… Walking, since she didn't have a driver's license.
Pandora's Actor, no, Issei Hyoudou, he didn't want to become sloppy because of his happiness having Father near him, made his way to his class exactly as he normally would. All the while, he kept a grim and sour smile on his expression and responded languidly to attempts to cheer him up from his friends. Issei was perfectly maintaining the mask of the man who had just survived an awful 'date' and a betrayal by his father. An expression that let the world know that something extremely sad and unfortunate had happened in his life.
Issei's act was so perfect that it even caused Aika Kiryuu – an old acquaintance of Issei since elementary school who never missed an opportunity to vent a sarcasm or mock him, to retreat, allowing him to 'mope' himself in peace.
Issei would love to dive deeper into Aika's psyche, to know more about 'Issei', but found that he was too disappointed by her to bother. Of course, he still did it, his orders were absolute no matter what he felt about it.
'There's nothing special about Aika Kiryuu – she's as directionless as the rest of her peers.' Issei sighed inwardly a little.
'Although meeting Kiba Yuuto has stirred my feelings as an actor and my instincts as a collector too much, it would be too stupid to assume that everyone I meet on my path will be as unique as this ausstellungsstück… Father bestows rewards – but only on those who can take it themselves, wonderful delicacies are hidden at this banquet among the tasteless dishes of third-rate cooks. Father has given me a purpose – in my service I need to get information about my entire surroundings, now I am a restaurant critic, and even if the offered dishes taste like dust – I will do my Father's will and deliver every minute detail of the dish.'
'Pandora's Actor?' Just as he reiterated his loyalty to his Father, Issei instantly felt the connection of a [Message] from Father formed between him.
"Yes, Father?" Issei spoke softly as he leaned forward, crossing his arms in front of him to conceal the movement of his lips, yet speaking softly to minimize the chance of eavesdropping. He was now looking as if he were scowling at something under his nose – a fitting picture for someone who had looked so sad a little earlier.
'I ran into the headmaster of this school – he has magical powers and possessed several artifacts that might not be made by him, precluding the existence of another. And, by all appearances, he knows I am no ordinary person – he has probably already passed on information about me to the others aware of the magical world he knows.'
Father replied bluntly, getting right to the point. 'The artifacts he possessed allowed him to ignore low rank illusions, and possibly see the true form of doppelgängers, though whether he can see through the abilities of a greater doppelgänger is still unknown. Plus, he can summon back-up. If someone stronger shows up, be prepared for a fighting retreat if the enemy turns out to be too strong – retreating with as much information as possible is priority. If you think you are being lured into a trap – retreat, any information you might gather by springing it is useless if you can't pass it on. Until such a possibility occurs, act naturally and try to gather information without giving yourself away, but don't take any unnecessary risks. If you were to be near the director for whatever, use your special abilities to conceal your nature, but do not transform without a plan – you are Nazarick's trump card, to use you without a plan is dangerous and pointless. If you discover any strong adversary, let me know immediately.'
"As you command, Father," Issei nodded slightly, simultaneously suppressing his desire to bow completely and yet incapable of not showing respect to his Creator in any way, even if He was incapable of seeing him when using [Message].
After a moment, the connection between Issei and Momonga disappeared again, and Issei breathed out a slightly picturesque exhale, as if he had just finished a sad and inaudible monologue. Thinking out loud some thought, confusing the potential observer, then slowly leaned his head back with his hands in front of him, showing his 'defeated' posture.
Issei's mind, however, was working at full strength – his current target for observation being the director, there's some problem, however.
If he was to observe through walls without seeing the target or looking into their eyes, without communicating or using his special skills, he could only penetrate the minds of extremely weak beings, level thirtieth and below. And that was if they had no resistance to mental influences, so there was a good chance that he could not penetrate the director's mind. What was especially dangerous, however, was that it's possible, in the attempt to invade his mind, Issei's action could be detected by the Headmaster himself, so Issei froze in indecision.
If he could have approached the Headmaster and could see him, then Issei would have planned much more confidently. However, his order was also very clear – to stay away from the Headmaster and not draw attention to himself. On the other hand – Father also said about the need to gather information without risking himself in vain…
Issei was at a loss.
He wanted to receive more information from Father, to clarify his orders, to prevent a single blunder in his work, and not to fail in a single verse of his song. And yet, at the same time, all this was a test of the Issei himself, on how he would be able to act appropriately to carry out His plans.
Issei frowned before still taking his chances, preparing to flee a moment later if he was discovered. Overconfidence might be a slow and insidious killer, but underconfidence might even kill you even quicker – or worse, disappoint Father.
"[Mirror of Thought]." Inaudible to anyone listening, furthermore turning sideways, looking out the window, Issei used his strongest of mind reading abilities, then further amplified it and cast spells to conceal his potential interference with another being's mind.
"[The Look From Within], [Silence in the Looking Glass]."
A moment later, Issei's mind reached out to the headmaster's mind, with careful light touches testing the latter's mind defenses. It was hard to tell if something had been originally applied to the Headmaster's mind, since he had acted calmly even before Issei's actions and did not react when he did start. Of course, it's very possible that it's all a trap – but jumping the gun is unwise as well…
'Hmm, so far so good… However, I should be wary – creatures of this world may have strange abilities that interfere with my observation or even be able to notice my actions easily.'
So, carefully, but quickly, Issei began to retrieve the memories of the Headmaster, Johan, starting with the most recent ones, since Father had only met him a dozen minutes ago.
'Hmm, so… Zeoticus Gremory's contracted mage, the younger sisters of the two Satans… And they decided? Hmm, really? Of course, they will provide insurance and protection – but even so… Ah, validation? It makes sense, but the risk… Ah, a potential enemy would not kill them so easily, but try to take them alive, and they are sure they could prevent that. Johan, growing up – resentment, eager to prove himself, prone to confrontation – all useful stuff to know. And regarding his powers, um, Johan he's… level thirtieth? Within those limits, plus or minus five levels, judging abilities in the new world and only by their memories and thoughts is extremely difficult, note for the future, humans are an unreliable source of information.'
Confident that his intrusion has not been detected yet – or if he had, then he needed to get more pertinent information quicker. Issei began focusing on his older memories. 'Hmm, going a bit deeper now – a little more orderly chaos, but still empty meaninglessness, bereft of purpose. Oh, there's another babysitter for the Sisters – a demon, one that's a little higher level than Johan, but they can't interfere. Agrippa – stronger than Johan, but I would not call him strong… Ah, finally, the Maou, Sirzechs Lucifer. From the rumors, Johan has heard but not seen first-hand, the owner of a really impressive power, at least above the eightieth level. But, Johan has never observed him personally, so the estimate may differ greatly in either direction by dozens of levels… Perhaps even to the hundredth level? Potential danger – I need to warn Father…'
The sharp sound of bells brought Issei back to the tangible world, informing him that classes had begun, and he quickly left Johan's mind and rose with all the students, as their routine greeting began. 'It is necessary to deliver information about certain things to Father, but it is not urgent at the moment. Instead of apprehension, the poor fools had decided to choose pompous hubris as their response, a desire to turn Father's appearance into their own luck.'
Issei had to fight his instinctive desire to destroy all these ants to dare to presume to use Father, but he successfully controlled himself. Assuring himself that it's all a part of Father's plan, he just has to play his role, and all would be right.
'These fools see the danger he represented, the barest hint of the iceberg they've seen, as a 'test' for Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. All the while, not even realizing that they are only writing their own lines in His great play… Truly, Father, how far does your plan extend?'
'Having some kind of plan at this point would be nice,' Momonga sighed as his thoughts turned maudlin, before rising from his seat after the bell sounded. The memories he got from Issei informing him what he needed to do.
Unfortunately, the school didn't provide him with a computer – although he noticed that those existed in this world, albeit so ancient and primitive that they would have been of value only as antiques in his past world. But, having roughly understood the principle of operating them, Momonga was willing to try his hand at working with them…
However, the problem was that apparently none of the students were assigned a computer – they all used paper instead! And they had to use expensive ink to write on them! Wasting both the ink and the paper!
You had computers, why didn't you use them and write on paper instead?!
Fortunately for Momonga himself, he was provided the textbooks and notebooks of this world, along with a suitable single-seat desk and writing utensils – something that he was grateful for. He doesn't really have the legal tender to buy the expensive school supplies. How rich must the school be to provide such rare resources to every student for free!?
Momonga has to admit – it's weird to hold on to a pen for the first time.
Although writing with a stationary was not unusual for Momonga, after the widespread use of technology in his past world making tablets and stylus the preferred way of writing, he never actually ever held a pen in his life. Even in YGGDRASIL, magic and special abilities existed that could transfer entire texts in a flash, he could still write Japanese, though not very confidently, quickly or beautifully.
By the end, however, he did figure out both how to write his name, and after introducing himself to the class, received some initially interested looks from the other students. Something which was quickly replaced by disappointed and even disgusted ones when he mentioned that he was Issei Hyoudou's older brother.
'Issei, it's my fault you accidentally died, I admit and apologize… But stop destroying my reputation from the afterlife!' Only his undead nature was able to suppress his desire to fix his reputation and use some kind of spell like [Wish Upon A Star] to change all people's memories of Issei.
Other than that car wreck of a first introduction, lessons proved uninteresting for Momonga – at least the first lessons, that is. Not because he's a natural genius or anything like that, nor because he was well-educated, his only elementary school level education proves that. Rather, he never had a problem with the Japanese language in the first place, given that he was an adult who knew it well – even if he had to refresh some of the grammar rules he'd managed to forget. He'd even managed to learn some that he didn't know!
He knew math because he had studied YGGDRASIL formulas, he remembered biology roughly because of his study of the world of YGGDRASIL itself, even if he had to make extra marks in his recollections concerning magical creatures.
Literature, history, and chemistry, however, were another matter entirely, he was poorly taught in those subjects – in fact he lacked formal education in those subjects entirely! He could recall scattered memories in the past from his friends from Ainz Ooal Gown mentioning bits and bobs about the subject, but no more than that. He had managed to deflect suspicion for a couple of times during class, using the years as a salaryman to avoid attention and to get extra work instead of answering a question. But in the end, he mostly just stared blankly at his textbook and whatever it is the teacher wrote on the board, hoping that his teachers would perceive his gaze as understanding the subject.
Finally, however, when the school bell rang and the students began to gather for their big break, chatting among themselves about inane things and about where to settle down for lunch, Momonga ran into a problem.
Momonga didn't need to eat, strictly speaking. Though he could do so thanks to his new body, food did give him buffs, but the concern was that Momonga didn't have the kind of money that people of this Japan used. Without money, he couldn't buy himself a proper lunch, and judging by the way all the surrounding students acted, not eating lunch would be taken as something strange – something that might even attract attention.
No, of course he could use the food in his inventory, but as far as he could tell from Miki's reaction – that kind of food was unusual in this world… even the low-leveled item.
Momonga frowned as he pondered this conundrum. Should he risk not eating anything? After all, it wouldn't be strange if he missed one meal, would it? Maybe it was a little strange, but if he brought lunch tomorrow, maybe the watchers could just let today's mistake by Momonga pass them by, dismissing it as mere coincidence?
A slight exclamation from the people who had not yet left the classroom caused Momonga to scramble out of his musings, chiding himself for losing focus. Thankfully, he did not make any sudden movements that would attract attention, as the idle chatter suddenly turned into insistent whispers. So, instead, he shifted his gaze first to the window, concentrating on its reflective surface, checking to see who was standing behind him at the moment and listening a little more closely to his surroundings' voices.
In the reflection of the glass, Momonga saw two girls in school uniforms with… very noticeable features.
One has long red hair running freely down almost to her knees, the hair covering her very provocative school uniform, whose skirt was obviously specially shortened. Most notably however were her volume of breasts that seemed more dangerous to her back than seductive. Momonga certainly preferred big breasts to small ones, so it was impossible to say that he didn't like what he saw, but…
'What am I thinking! Maybe they're coming to attack me right now! Get your head back in the game, Momonga!' Momonga shifted his gaze to the second girl who entered following the first, walking half a step behind the red-haired girl. 'But their appearance doesn't help me concentrate on this possibility at all. What a scary ability, to distract me so completely!'
The second entrant was slightly shorter than the first, with black hair gathered into a high, thin ponytail that came down almost to the girl's heels. Momonga wondered how she styled her hair that it wouldn't drag on the floor. The other girl was dressed in the same clothes as the first entrant, and with breasts that seemed even larger than the first girl's. Given her barely realistic breast volume and the length of her hair, Momonga wondered for a second if this girl was a created NPC like the denizens of Nazarick – they definitely were eye-catching enough to merit such a possibility.
Before Momonga could think about this possibility further, however, his new sense that he pegged as his magic radar, noted that the two girls possessed magical abilities. So, slowly, without making any sudden movements, he slowly turned his gaze to them.
"They're here…", "…don't tell me they know…", "…and it's Issei's brother! Of course, he is…", "…and yet he seemed so decent…"
With each of his classmates''silent' conversation he overheard, Momonga felt his dignity crumble under the iron boot of indifferent public opinion, making him even consider going back to Nazarick for a moment. Huh, to think, in Nazarick he was choked with endless admiration from the NPCs, but as soon as he was in the opposite situation, he instantly preferred undeserved admiration to undeserved censure.
They activated his emotion suppression almost equally!
'Issei, why couldn't you just be a regular schoolboy?!' Momonga's overwrought emotions dissipated a moment later, exactly as the breezy couple stopped in front of his desk.
"Hello," The red-haired girl smiled at Momonga before extending her hand for a handshake,
"My name is Rias Gremory, and behind me is Akeno Himejima."
"Umu, a pleasure." Momonga responded to Rias' handshake in kind, still inwardly wary of her actions and reactions as he also watched Akeno behind her – thankfully she wasn't moving to box him in. She was keeping a calm and even good-natured smile, slightly raised one hand and waved at him slightly without saying anything.
"Satoru Suzuki."
"It's nice to meet you, Satoru," Rias glanced at him with a smile before letting go of his hand.
"I must admit, it's very unusual to meet a newcomer who transferred after the beginning of the school year. I hope you'll forgive this mild curiosity – you're not busy right now, are you?"
"No." Momonga was even glad for the chance that he could not procure lunch without attracting suspicion. But at the same time, he reminded himself that depending on where the two girls were taking him now, he might be in for a fight.
"If you wanted to talk about something, I would be happy to answer your questions." After another moment, Momonga sensed an attempt to use magic, but not directed against him – but against the people around him. Gradually, Momonga could easily hear their whispers begin to subside and people began to return to their normal activities.
'An illusion? Or some kind of mind effect…'
'[Silent magic: Life Essence], [Silent magic: Mana Essence].' Momonga silently cast his spells, glancing at the data revealed. His findings made him relax a bit.
'Unless they used something like [False Data: Life] and [False Data: Mana] beforehand, what's shown should be how strong they truly are. Hmm, I'd say the red one, Rias – is close to a level forty mage, while Akeno is much weaker, about twentieth. They are both completely no danger for me, but it's really like Nigredo said, meeting a level forty being in this world is not that rare. After all, what are the chances of me finding two in a school I just randomly enrolled in?'
As Momonga slowly started to stand up, he once again assessed his situation.
'The difference between Rias and Akeno may seem enormous, but they are much closer in power level than level ninety-nine and level one hundred… Hmm, the only question remains, are they the Director's spies or his soldiers?'
"Then I guess we can take a little walk. You don't mind, right, Satoru? This is not exactly the best place to have a chat." Rias smiled calmly, then started to walk away, clearly expecting Momonga to follow behind her, with Akeno herself, showing a good bit of professional training, lagging behind Rias. The position as they moved, maintained so that Momonga himself would be on an angle between the two of them.
'Basic PK trick, one leads, the other watches from the side.' Momonga easily rose from his seat, standing and then walking between the two girls. 'In case of danger – I have to deal with them instantly and simultaneously…'
Then, remembering the ability of the previously slain red dragon, and the fact that his [Goal of All Life Is Death] was still on recharge, and was only supposed to recover in three full days, Momonga tensed a little internally. 'Assuming that these girls do not possess any of the strange abilities of this world, that would counter me. A level one like Issei did carry a World-Class Item after all, so I need to keep on my toes.'
Rias silently made her way to the exit of the classroom, opening the door before stepping forward, Momonga following closely behind… Which had almost made him nearly bump into a tall and stout man in gilded purple armor, with a stern expression on his slightly unshaven face, who had taken a step back.
Momonga's gaze lingered for a moment before realizing that the figure in front of him was shrouded in a light haze, as if the figure itself were translucent. It was a clear sign of the use of magical invisibility that was countered by Momonga's [Arcane Sight].
"Something wrong?" Akeno spoke for the first time, asking from the side from Momonga, and he had to slow his responses before he could cast a spell.
Momonga on the other hand only smiled inwardly, not planning to reveal his cards so early and so easily, inwardly beginning to prepare for a possible fight. 'Another level forty, but this one appears to be more of a magic knight, judging by his armor. A rather astute act if Rias was leading me to an ambush, having an invisible backup. And, oh? I see another one – this one appears to be a mage, but judging by how far he's on the corridor, he fights from a long distance rather than a middle distance. Ranged attacks or summoner?'
"No, nothing," Momonga swept his gaze lightly over the black-haired figure of the frozen demon in front of him, as he counted the 'invisible' figures around him. He moved his eyes surreptitiously so as to not give out the fact that the ambushers were not so hidden after all.
'And that makes eight – or six, if you exclude the two girls in front of me. It's hard to judge levels using only basic indicators like HP and Mana, but I would say their levels are in the thirtieth or higher, the strongest being apparently the forty-five leveled mage. Garbage in combat, but still enough for me to be on guard. Who knows what these strange people around here will throw out…'
'Who knows what this strange man will pull…' Akeno watched the unknown young man who had introduced himself as 'Satoru Suzuki' closely, trying to move at some distance, so that she was not leading him in a kind of convoy, but simply moving slightly behind Rias. Slightly behind her 'king' that is.
The news of an unknown person appearing at Kuoh's academy had reached Rias Gremory from her father within minutes of his first entrance to the headmaster's office – after which Rias had to argue with Zeoticus a great deal. First, demanding that he promise not to send Gremory's fighting forces directly into the academy – fearing both diplomatic incidents and the fact that in the end, there might easily be nothing of the Academy left. The fighting would also almost certainly disrupt the normal work and rhythm of Kuoh's life.
By the end of the day, though, Akeno had no doubt that Zeoticus had sent his personal bodyguards or some other elite group of demons anyway. After all, while she couldn't see any, she had a feeling as if someone powerful was near her, even if she couldn't pinpoint exactly where or how many there were.
Akeno could sense the presence of high-ranking demons, being always gifted at sensing magic – and she felt nothing from Satoru. Literally, nothing.
He didn't feel like a demon, a fallen angel, a mage, or even a human, which left Akeno with no idea what 'Satoru Suzuki' was supposed to be. After all, all living things possessed magic, no matter how small.
But perhaps that was no surprise.
In the first case, Akeno simply didn't know what she was supposed to feel, and therefore couldn't grasp Satoru's identity. The world was big and for the hundreds of magical beings and abilities that Akeno knew about, there were a thousand that she didn't know about. And then, above all, ten thousand of things that she didn't know that she didn't know about.
Of course, this is all barring the possibility that Satoru had an ability that masked him even from Akeno's keen perception, unrelated to his general level of power – such as a [Sacred Gear] or magic.
In the third and most unpleasant option, her inability to tell what Satoru is, was proof of his strength. That Zeoticus had been right in his assessment of an ultimate class demon level opponent, and Akeno needed to pick up Rias and run away right now, straight to Director Johan's door. All in, hoping that she had enough strength and time to activate the emergency portal.
Akeno had fought in the past, although intermittently – the destruction of the Stray Devils in the city fell on the shoulders of all demons who encountered one. But, it was Rias who was in charge of tracking them down and destroying them throughout Kuoh's territory, with Akeno occasionally accompanying her. Even then the level of enemies she had fought were only low-leveled Demons, with anything tougher screened by the many demons the two older sibling Maous had placed in the city.
In other words, Akeno was relatively inexperienced in combat, only being in a scrap several times – and so, the possibility of fighting an enemy that she had no hope in defeating had only remained in her imagination.
An enemy equal to that of an Ultimate-rank Demon was definitely in that category of a hopeless fight. If Satoru really was that strong, that is. But the fact that the possibility exists was still something that caused her heart to beat erratically.
And now they would suddenly provoke such an opponent.
Akeno was dead… To be fair – most of this city was dead, including Rias and Sona. Of course, if anything happens to the two heirs, Satoru would also be dead, as the emergency forces arrived in Kuoh – followed closely behind by the two Maous. But that would be cold comfort if she were already dead.
So Rias, though she had hammered out permission to at least try to make contact with the mysterious Satoru, didn't feel too confident. That's why she didn't immediately lash out at him, demanding him to respect the Underworld's authority over Kuoh, long ago bought from the Youkai factions for the Demon Faction's use. Instead, preferring the most diplomatic and mild of languages, 'excuse my curiosity, but can you tell me a little about what the hell you were even doing in my city!?' if a lot more politely. Well, she did say polite, and not diplomatic – she had almost had a heart attack when she heard Rias speak that way.
Luckily, nothing bad happened, and Satoru had acquiesced to her demands peacefully.
According to Zeoticus, there was zero chance that this was all completely coincidental, and in the matter of protecting her daughter, Akeno was inclined to believe him. As were believing that having her and Rias 'escorting' the Ultimate-Rank level threat was more ridiculous than threatening.
Why would basically handing the most probable assassination target on a platter be the way to go? Akeno understood that having Satoru where they could see him is much better than letting him wander alone – but why couldn't Sona handle it instead?
Out of the corner of her eye, Akeno could see that Satoru was taking glances at the window, looking at something out of it. Akeno, unable to hold her curiosity back, followed the direction of his gaze, spotting three familiar troublemakers, currently enjoying their lunch and seemingly were loudly chatting about something. Most likely about a woman's body.
The famous 'perverted trio' of Kuoh Academy – no less an attraction of the academy than the 'two Great Ladies of Kuoh' – Akeno and Rias themselves, if for two entirely different reasons.
As far as Rias and Akeno have managed to gather, Satoru Suzuki had introduced himself as the older brother of one the perverted trio, Issei Hyoudou. He had applied to the Academy just this morning, together with documents in his name and a diploma from Kyoto University Academy. Fakes, of course.
However, while the diploma might have been fake, was Satoru's relation to the Hyoudou family also fake? The Youkai were famous for having large and long family relations, at least some of them. For the longer-lived Youkai species, they could create many families during their lifetime, so having many extended families was not impossible, especially as Kuoh was formerly a Youkai territory.
Of course, it was also possible that this was all a Youkai prank – that faction is famous for having some very egregious pranksters, after all. And while there were not many true 'heavyweights' among that faction that would risk pulling such a prank on the heirs of two very important Pillar families.
And while no one investigated the Hyoudou family too hard when enrolling Issei in the academy – as far as it was known, they did not have Japanese monster blood flowing in them either.
But even so there remained the issue of family resemblance – Satoru Suzuki looked like the splitting image of a much older and mature Issei, and not at all dissimilar to the Hyoudou Patriarch either. Not that changing appearance is a rare skill, nor was it all that common either.
But still, to be able to change one appearance to mimic familial resemblance so perfectly, requires great magical power, and knowledge. Never mind, doing so without giving out any trace of it? One needed to be an ancient magical being, who has centuries of experience in controlling their magic – lending credence to Satoru's identity as someone of the Ultimate rank.
But in that case – why Issei? Issei was certainly an amusing pervert, but he was ill-suited as a cover to infiltrate Kuoh Academy, his reputation preceded his accomplishments, and one mention to Satoru that he was Issei's older brother could bury his reputation permanently.
Something wasn't quite clicking right in Akeno's mind, as if she had overlooked, or perhaps didn't possess an important piece of information, which made Akeno nervous. Her nervousness then passed on to Rias, and seeing the nervous 'king', only made her even more nervous.
Only Satoru seemed perfectly calm in the current situation – having to escort such an unknown is nerve-wracking to both Akeno and Rias. Sadly they cannot simply leave, as while watching him during lessons, they also had to do it with the help of simple human observers, since it turned out that she simply could not use magic to watch him. Nor can they simply send familiars, as if through their eyes they could not find him.
Rias managed to find out that all throughout the day's lessons, Satoru was perfectly calm, and in some time he just seemed bored. He hadn't even bothered to put out the textbooks, preferring to sit silently sinking into his thoughts, only sometimes reacting to the teachers' questions.
What's even stranger, however, was that whenever he was called by the teacher to answer some sort of question – even once from a subject not in the textbook, he would just shrug. Oftentimes, the teacher would even just simply forget that they had asked him a question! And no one found it weird or even glanced strangely at his actions.
Akeno even checked Satoru's teachers and surroundings after class for mental manipulation, but could find nothing. Which meant either that there was no such manipulation or that Akeno couldn't detect it.
The possible consequence of the latter option unnerved Akeno, causing her already troubled mind to think of even more dire possibilities, which in no way helped her calm at the moment.
So, with the stairs leading to the rooftop of Kuoh Academy in sight, Rias started speeding up, almost leaving her [Queen] and Satoru behind. Akeno didn't blame her though, Rias could barely keep herself from some kind of nervous tic, and Akeno wasn't much better off wanting for all this to be over with.
Though what kind of plan is just leading the unknown danger to the rooftop to talk with him, Akeno doesn't really know. It's not like the change in elevation would make the situation any less dangerous to the two of them. Actually, why couldn't they just have this talk in the headmaster's office, so that the escape route is much closer?
'I should have just put my foot down and told Rias that the school wasn't her responsibility, right now.' Akeno tried to calm down, seeing as Satoru hadn't reacted to Rias' action, and failed. 'It's Sona's responsibility by day, we should have just dumped everything on Sona…'
Though knowing Sona, who fancied herself more of a strategist and tactician, but not a negotiator, who panicked about involving her family in any way, she couldn't imagine what she'd do. Most likely, she'll just try to sit Satoru down to play chess – which was probably even sillier than trying to negotiate on the academy rooftop during their lunch break.
Anyway, walking up the steps up to the rooftop, and the waiting Rias, they're already here. She just has to hope that Satoru didn't have any ill-intent – and if he does, she's really hoping that the Gremory backup she's feeling was around, wasn't just a tic of her nervousness.
If nothing else, the rooftop should provide a clear firing line.
So now, Rias, who Akeno could see was trying to regain her original confidence when she had argued with Zeoticus about the fate of Kuoh Academy, took a deep breath. Another of the reasons Rias wanted to designate the location where she would confront Satoru, was for this small symbolic gesture of defining the negotiating place.
Though, even Rias knew that such a symbolic gesture meant little.
After all, she had decided to not invite Satoru to the Occult Research Club, the actual seat of her power, nor had she actually recalled her whole peerage. Perhaps she was feeling that leading Satoru there would have an adverse effect on the chance of open negotiations? And seeing that any other rooms would just elicit the same response, the roof was the only place suitable as 'neutral' territory.
At least the roof has chairs? Akeno doesn't really know how to feel if she has to entertain the 'guest' on the concrete ground. Rias seems to have already chosen the place where the negotiations were supposed to take place, seeing as she's already seated on one of the chairs.
So Akeno, trying to appear more confident than she really felt, made her way, taking a seat behind Rias' back, as her role as [Queen] dictates. Satoru, who looked as relaxed and unruffled as he was before, maintaining an unreadable expression, settled down opposite Rias, tucking his legs slightly.
There was an awkward silence for a moment – Satoru was clearly putting the initiative in Rias's hands, and yet he looked so calm that Akeno would not be surprised if he was now planning their destruction. At the same time managing, in a strange way, to give the initiative and yet keep the situation under his watchful control.
"Ahem," Rias spoke first, trying to ease her nervousness, and unable to tolerate the silence anymore. "It is a pleasure to welcome you to Kuoh and especially to this academy."
"Umu, thank you." Satoru nodded slightly, showing the proper amount of 'official' respect, but nothing more. It is as if he doesn't care at all about the fact that he was in the presence of the heiress of the Gremory family and the younger sister of Lucifer to boot. He had easily dismissed the fact that Rias had greeted him on behalf of Kuoh, and thus on behalf of the ruler of this place… Not that Akeno was too well versed in such diplomatic etiquette.
Akeno were only familiar with how Rias would act as the heiress and never really in any official capacity, or only in view of her upcoming duties as heiress to the Gremory family. But at least, judging from the interaction, that was the impression Akeno got from the brief exchange of phrases.
Rias waited a few seconds to see if Satoru would say anything else, but he didn't seem to care at all about this negotiation. He was really acting as if he was only 'satisfying' Rias Gremory's curiosity, as it was said, rather than engaging in dialogue. Ha, to invert and twist Rias' own phrase in an instant, as a result of which she was now relegated from the position of 'negotiator' to the position of 'asking for answers'.
It was a cruel and mocking but masterfully executed trick that may have caused enmity, but it also demonstrated Satoru's keen mind.
'Ha ha, I'm slowly beginning to like you…' Akeno smiled slightly, feeling her nervousness slowly begin to recede at the playful gesture.
"Ahem, in that case…" Rias, still feeling uncomfortable though, especially after Satoru had reduced her negotiating position with a single phrase, easily bridging the chasm that separated the 'heiress of the Gremory family' from that of the common man.
"I would like to know… What is your purpose for coming here? In Kuoh Academy especially."
"Hmm, my purpose for entering Kuoh Academy…? Well, that's simple… I wanted to get along better with my little brother, Issei. I see it to be much simpler for me to enroll at the same school as he did." Satoru both answered and did not answer Rias' question.
Akeno knew he could easily lie, but if Issei really was his little brother – who knows, maybe he was telling the truth? I mean, coming to protect his family and younger brother from the world of the paranormal was a simple, understandable, and logical motivation… Though it didn't explain who Satoru Suzuki really was or who he was to Issei, as Rias had investigated Issei when the thought of adding him to her peerage first appeared.
Issei had no older brother.
"Which faction do you represent?" Rias took the plunge, simultaneously questioning both Satoru's political affiliation and his species.
"Only myself." Which Satoru just as easily rebuffed. In a way it answered Rias' question by actually saying that he had come here, unaffiliated with any faction, and thus not having their support behind him. Which, also, in turn, meant that he was strong enough to allow himself this autonomy. And yet, his answer also easily evaded divulging his true nature, so that Rias couldn't continue to press the subject – that is, unless she wanted to choose to stand as opposition, who was trying to ferret out his secrets.
With one simple answer, he had positioned himself as a neutral figure – one that, without having a clear picture of his power, Rias couldn't take any hostile action towards. At the same time, he had also hinted that even if Rias did figure out his affiliation, he had shown that he was acting on his own volition without the support of that faction – and also without any restriction.
Of course, that was simple sophistry, as any hostile action on his part would still carry an effect to his faction – no matter how independent he proclaimed to be. But, Rias couldn't move to figure out that information without being the party that had 'broken the peace' first.
'You're really good!' Akeno liked this strange, appealing way of Satoru, turning his verbal opponent's words, thoughts, and actions into his own advantage. With slight hints and just a few words, achieving results that would not have looked half as graceful had they been uttered by someone not maintaining Satoru's mask of quiet politeness.
Akeno had never thought until this moment that she would enjoy watching someone satisfy their own sadistic tendencies, much less through conversation – but life, as it turned out, was amazing and full of surprises!
"Ahem, right, what about… your plans?" Rias looked intently at Satoru. "I mean, I'd prefer it if you weren't planning to set up your residence here…"
"But Miki's house is in Kuoh and I live in it. I suppose you could think of it as my residence as well…" Satoru tilted his head slightly to the side. "Well, Miki's residence…"
Akeno felt her smile creep further up her cheeks against her will. It was only the guise of professionalism to prevent her from bursting out laughing, as Satoru took Rias by the nose like that and made her look like a fool. Akeno considered Rias her friend and wouldn't have been happy if Satoru had become truly hostile to her – in the end, he still kept his calm politeness and clearly made it clear that he wasn't Rias' enemy.
Even if his answers amounted to mockery with a slight touch of sadism and masterful, truly masterful skills as a negotiator and deft politician. He hadn't actually outright become hostile, it was simply Rias' bad luck to encounter such a cunning linguist.
Akeno had heard of the Youkai of Kyoto being mired in politics, but never thought she could see the results of such a brutal selection for herself… Not that Satoru had shown any Youkai characteristics.
Satoru's words and actions seemed to tickle the nerves all over Akeno's body a little, causing her to take another close look at the new guy.
"Ahem."- Rias tried to clear her throat once more to mask the redness in her cheeks as she was led around in circles in the conversation.
"Rias, perhaps I could get you some water to drink? It seems that your throat is particularly dry." Satoru feigned politeness, though he didn't particularly change his expression from his polite and calm mask, managing at once to both hint at his desire to leave the current negotiations, seeing that lunch is coming to an end. And to mock Rias' actions and nervousness, standing on a fine line between sadism and mockery, an insult and a joke.
Akeno couldn't help herself and let out a light chuckle with her nose, which earned her an angry look from Rias, who had broken negotiating protocol and had tacitly dismissed Satoru.
But he instead looked from Rias to Akeno and back again, keeping the same expression as before, as if he had nothing to do with it.
Rias, realizing that she was being mocked like a little child trying to get into a place where it was too soon for her, only took a deep breath and exhaled, asking the last and most important question, "Do we have reason to be wary of you?"
"No," Satoru answered calmly, before he looked at Rias carefully, his gaze touching Rias' as she suddenly flinched, just as Akeno flinched instantly, forgetting her mirth in the same second.
If eyes were a reflection of the soul, then this man, this creature, had no soul, his eyes were empty and lifeless, staring at the world coldly. It was like an empty abyss, drawing in anyone who stared too long into it.
"Unless you take the first step against me, that is, I would not be the first to break the peace." Satoru replied, keeping the same calm and polite tone and the same expression on his face, but his eyes differently – paradoxically empty and yet full of ruthlessness.
"And I would be glad if you would not do so right now, as a gesture of goodwill. I would like my first day of class to end peacefully." Satoru looked away, and the spell was immediately broken, allowing Akeno and Rias to breathe out the air that they suddenly held as they were plunged to the deep end of the pool.
"And call these people away, before either of us takes the first and final step."
A moment later, Satoru looked up, and Akeno realized that three pairs of demons had appeared behind her where there was no one before. Judging by the look of them, they were ready to rush into battle at that moment, as soon as anyone made a move.
'First and last step, just like he said' Akeno froze once more, finding herself in such a precarious situation so suddenly. A stark difference from the pleasant, for her, conversation they had before,
'But that explains exactly why I felt the presence of strong demons nearby, other than Rias herself – although it does not explain how Satoru could find them so easily. Ha, so he was really someone on the level of the Ultimate-Ranks, if not stronger. God – ouch! Who the hell brought him into our school…'
The demons, obviously intent on battle, hesitated for a moment… before they obeyed the order and lowered their arms, stepping back to show their peacefulness.
Rias could give the order, "Stand back."
Satoru on the other hand only silently and slowly rose from his seat, not provoking the demons before smiling and bowing slightly again. "A pleasure doing business with you, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima."
Turning around slowly, Satoru headed away – exactly at the moment when the bell sounded to end the lunch break.
The only thought in Akeno's mind at that moment was something truly trivial.
'Hah, he remembered my name!'
Overlord of a High School (6)
- Location
- Somwhere Under The Sea
Overlord of a High School (6)
'Hmm, that could have gone better, but all in all, not bad,' Momonga noted internally the results of the past negotiations.
After all, he still had absolutely no idea who exactly Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima were. But judging by the fact that the demons watching them obeyed her orders and had appeared instantly, as soon as Momonga looked into Rias' eyes, and she reacted strangely for some reason, when she recoiled – she was someone important.
Maybe she was a commander of some sort…? Apparently she wasn't too surprised by the appearance of the invisible people, so she was at least aware that they were there. Perhaps she had even sent them there herself to watch the proceedings or maybe just as backup and just pretended not to notice them the whole time? Perhaps she hoped to be able to attack Momonga if necessary, if he didn't notice the people's presence?
On the other hand, these people weren't even strong enough to penetrate his passive defenses – but Rias shouldn't have known that, given the surveillance protection Momonga used. In which case, Rias would have been planning to the best of her capabilities and knowledge and used someone strong enough, by her standards, for her possible ambush or at least emergency defense.
Well, she at least has some tactical acumen on her side, as creatures from level thirtieth to forty were about the same as what Momonga himself would choose as a human shield. At least if he was prepared to retreat at the first sign of trouble, as the ratio of cost to expected effectiveness was terrible – namely, zero. They were completely useless except for the very possibility of the chance of intercepting a strike aimed at Momonga.
But in that case, the plan regarding ambushing Momonga made no sense.
Against a level one hundred player, especially given the inability to gather information about him, it might require either several battles for intelligence gathering, or two or even three level one hundred players. Thirtieth and Fortieth level creatures in this case could act solely in the role of living shields, disposable test objects, living projectiles to disarm traps or for reconnaissance at the cost of their lives.
'So either someone was using Rias as bait, to gain information about me, or she has extremely seriously underestimated me and my abilities, or from her point of view level forty is strong enough to use against an unknown threat…' Momonga frowned at the potential implications coming from this information.
'On the other hand, this is a new world after all, and I'm judging using only simple basic information gathering spells from the past – and I've already come across one really strong being of this world, the 'Great Red Dragon'. Umu, staying vigilant in this case is still a priority.'
Momonga ended that line of thought with a nod, as he sat silently in the classroom as the teacher drone on about one subject or another, as Momonga didn't really know what they were talking about. If nothing else, that meeting with Rias had allowed me to pass lunch without suspicion.
'Getting back to my other thoughts. I don't know Rias' identity yet, but she at least has some weight in the local balance of power.'
Momonga nodded to himself, not paying attention as the teacher, who, seeing his action, cheered up a bit as he continued his lesson.
'And judging from the outcome of our conversation, as long as I go about my business quietly, or at least without implicitly being against her interests, she will not attack me. It can't be called peace, because she will definitely try to gather information about me to find out my weaknesses – then again, I'm actually already doing that by using Pandora's Actor as a proxy. Which means that this 'peace' is precarious – but, for the moment, we've both outlined red lines that no one should cross.'
After another look up at the board, and seeing nothing that he could understand, Momonga returned to something that is actually fruitful – planning his next move. Unknowingly, Momonga's action, shaking his head, caused the teacher to panic and check his writing on the board to fix the mistake that the newly transferred genius had noticed.
'Rias apparently doesn't want me to stay in this town for long – understandable, no one wants an unknown near their base, but I managed to convince her that I would just stay within the confines of Miki's residence. Hmm, come to think of it, I wouldn't mind walking around town and maybe doing a bit of shopping. Ha, I'd be happy to get out into nature, something that I couldn't have done before. Indeed, the opportunity to enjoy nature, I don't think even the rich could afford it in my past world, excluding perhaps the artificial gardens of the arcologies. But here, I need nothing more than to get on a car drive.'
Momonga remembered exactly how he'd gotten to the academy this morning before frowning, causing the teacher who'd caught his expression to falter slightly.
'No, get me off the wheel, how about a train ride instead? Or even by bus. Hah, but that would obviously require money, and there's no way I can start earning money willy-nilly, especially since it's against the academy's rule.'
As it turned out, the high school of this world was something full-time and disallowed any part-time work. And, although he still hadn't received his tuition bill yet, probably because he would get it at the end of the month. Hah, finding an earning opportunity at the moment was already difficult, and now he has to work around the academy's rules as well?
'Maybe I can use doppelgängers?' Momonga thought for a moment.
'Send them to work in this world after summoning them, to find them proper identities though… Finding identification for himself was already causing him so many issues, to find them for the doppelgängers too would be close to impossible. After all, if this world were anything like his past world, strange amounts of wealth gained would be scrutinized heavily by the authorities – especially for taxing purposes. Maybe he should just make them mine for mineral resources to sell? Processing raw ores into ingots should be profitable enough. But then again, where would I find a seller that wouldn't ask too many questions?'
Another errant head shake, and the teacher had to scramble once again – how could he have missed such a simple mistake?
'Hmm, maybe if I could easily find some high paying job in this world that I would be good for – maybe killing monsters? But apparently the monsters of this world were hidden from ordinary people, which makes it unlikely that I could easily find such a job. I could ask Rias, but apparently she didn't really want to do business with me in general, preferring that we both not interact too much. Not to mention that she would obviously start gathering information about my abilities, even if I hid it, some would definitely leak out. This, of course, assuming that she would actually have a job killing creatures that she would be willing to offer me and pay for… Ha, perhaps I shouldn't have done what I did in the end? While necessary, it did sour our relationship a bit, making it awkward if I were to ask a favor now.'
Unfortunately, Momonga's own [Create Body] spell, though it created a perfectly natural body, was somewhat limited in functions – while it was capable of simulating the body's sensations and physiological responses within certain limits, it could not fully reflect its emotions. More specifically, it followed a strange system, mirroring the actions of Momonga's normal undead body and his undead body could not display his emotions, except for rare exceptions like blinking or opening his mouth. In this case it led to the fact that without additional assistance, his new body could only display a small range of emotions, mostly through the eyes, with almost no involvement of his facial expressions themselves. But Momonga could compensate for this disadvantage by manually maintaining his facial expressions, just as a person could smile just by moving their lips, it just wouldn't show in his eyes.
In his opinion, a wide smile with dead eyes just looks creepy as hell, so he preferred not to show any expression. At least it worked really well as a poker face, not showing Momonga's inner panic at all.
After the previous night, during which Momonga had worked out several appropriate facial expressions, he had settled on what he considered a standard 'polite and calm' expression, and just kept that same expression all the time. However, during the conversation with Rias, Momonga was struck by great nervousness, as if he were sitting in an interview in his former world. And so, while Rias only asked him questions, making him only answer and answer, Momonga himself was unsure whether he could ask a question in response.
So when his nervousness hit its ceiling at the end of the meeting, Momonga, after his passive skill got rid of his emotions, decided to do something so that Rias and Akeno would not take advantage of his weakness. He had issued them a warning, determined to show that he could be serious too. And to do so, he stopped faking his facial expression in his current body for a moment, instead returning that to a completely impenetrable mask before looking seriously at Rias with more than a clear hint of a threat.
And it ended up causing the men who had been standing silently around Momonga all this time to rush forward, defending their charge, almost making Momonga react violently.
Luckily, Rias called her subordinates back before it could have turned into a full-fledged battle. Still, his attempt to impress Rias was rather unsuccessful, and all Momonga himself could do was turn around and quickly walk away, pretending as if it was all part of his plans.
And so, from that moment on, Momonga sat silently in the classroom, watching the lessons gradually go by in front of him. If he had less control of his actions, Momonga would have loved to begin scratching his head in annoyance – that was such a failure!
Hah, well there's no use in crying over spilled milk, he'll just have to move forward without expecting any cooperation from Rias' part.
Still, the idea of enrolling in a school, itself, wasn't that bad in Momonga's mind. He barely remembered what his elementary school was like, only remembering that he generally liked learning – and from a rational point of view, the idea of going to school to get smarter and better at running Nazarick wasn't bad. Of course, seeing that what the teacher was speaking and writing were basically Greek to him, and he could probably learn the language much easier now, he needs a lot of studying to catch up to the curriculum. Besides, by staying in school, he could actually look closer at the human world, escape from Nazarick, and gather more information.
In general, there were a bunch of reasons why in the end, Momonga's plan was not bad.
At the same time, however, Momonga suddenly realized that the school in this world did not provide specific information, concentrating instead on general information. Perhaps Momonga should have remembered this earlier, but the last time he visited a school in his former world was decades ago, and he hasn't even thought about formal education since. Especially since mentions of a school were usually when he came across vacancies of various levels, like 'high school diploma required'.
Considering that certain jobs required a certain level of education – it would be logical to assume that at the school he could get that very knowledge he needed. At least that's what he thought would happen.
Momonga doesn't really know what the teacher's teaching, but he doesn't think he's teaching on how to operate certain heavy machinery, or the complex machination of things that his previous world's high-level jobs required. Perhaps it is something that requires special permissions? It's strange how the classes he's been in have been a shotgun blast of all possible subjects. Why would he even need to learn the reason a specific author chose a red door in his writings instead of blue?
Momonga could somewhat understand the necessity of learning geography and language, gathering information is basic warfare 101 after all. But why advanced algebra and literature?
In addition, Momonga had seriously underestimated the time and energy he needed to spend on school. The realization that he needed to study for a full year, day after day, five days a week, for half the day came to Momonga only when he suddenly realized that he had spent seven and a half hours on school today. Of which only an hour and a half was spent on all kinds of breaks, which meant he had studied for the full six hours.
And that's only for 1 year! To think that a normal education was supposed to take 12 years…
Of course, that was only half of his regular work shift, and after each work shift he found time to play YGGDRASIL, which meant it wasn't such an obstacle. But to think that every year, eight hours total would be spent on only one thing…
'This is the most useless and frustrating grind I've ever had to think about.' Momonga shook his head, forcing the teacher to look away, then, in a slightly shaky voice, continued reading a paragraph from the textbook.
'Every year, for twelve years, eight hours a day, with only weekend breaks, ha… Why do I have to do this! I don't even like this quest, and I wasn't promised any significant reward at the end! And I'm even used to the uselessly long grind in YGGDRASIL!'
The grind in YGGDRASIL was divided into two types – one that players liked, and one that was rewarded by the developers. If a player enjoyed dealing with hordes of low-level enemies, turning entire armies into nothing with a single spell? Then they didn't really need a reason in the form of a reward to go to the same location and kill the same enemies over and over again. And the one the Players didn't like doing? The developers could promise or even hint at some reward, or Players could accidentally find out about some rare drop and go grind the same boss – even if they didn't like the grind itself!
In Momonga's situation, however, he didn't like the grind, and he didn't like the fact that he wasn't entitled to any significant reward for it in the end. At least not one that he could see.
Apparently, as was proven in his easy admission, barring the surprise of the supernatural presence accusing some hiccups, he could forge documents pretty well with his magic. If he were to use real crafters and maybe by carefully studying the documents of this world, he could get rid of the need to get documents legally!
'Ha, besides, I can't even go to work properly if I'm completely tied to the school from morning till night – and with Pandora's Actor gathering information even in my absence there's no reason to stay. Especially since I've already fully exposed myself to the local faction, while Pandora's Actor, thanks to my bad luck, was able to slip under their noses easily – why do I need to stay? I could just stay in Nazarick… Okay, maybe sitting indefinitely in Nazarick with nothing to do isn't any better either – besides, with Albedo there… Ha, Albedo, there's another headache that I would prefer to never have to address.'
Momonga shook his head, and the teacher, who seemed to be somewhere between life and death by this point, finally gave his soul to God and could only murmur something about studying a textbook on their own. 'Okay, even so, I should stick around for a couple more days, maybe I'll even change my mind about staying in school? And, ha, Miki, I'm sorry for how things turned out, that I accidentally destroyed your life for something I didn't even like in the end, Miki, I apologize very much!'
A moment later the bell rang, snapping Momonga out of his musings, whereupon he shifted his gaze to his watch, then to his teacher, whose face was changing between all the colors of the rainbow, attracting Momonga's attention. Which just seems to make their pallor worse for some reason. 'Hmm, maybe he's sick? If so, I hope he has the money to pay for treatment – I'm sorry, teacher, but I have nothing!'
Shrugging internally at his teacher's strange condition, Momonga blinked as he realized that his [Arcane Sight] had determined that he actually had magical powers. After which Momonga shrugged.
'Rias has clearly already made the first move against me…' Momonga turned away, eager to exit the class and school entirely. 'So getting out of here soon might not be a bad idea – but along with all my previous actions… Ah, I'm starting to get a headache.'
"I'm going to have such a bad headache in the morning…" Miki paused her libations for a moment, looking at herself in the frosted black reflection of the television, before she scoffed and put her hands back on the bottle of wine, swallowing a big sip. "Ha, that hits the spot!"
When she got back to her empty home after dropping off Satoru, Miki found that she didn't know how to live her life anymore. Everything seemed pointless and useless, the world seemed ruined, and where yesterday the idyllic garden of beautiful family life had bloomed, now was only slowly fading ashes. Probably if it were not for a completely random chain of coincidences, Miki would have still been asleep, having exhausted all her strength in repeating the same thoughts in her head a thousand times in a row the day before.
However, Miki had gotten out of bed, and had faced the earnest Satoru as he had cooked breakfast. Ha, what a silly thing to do.
Miki took another large gulp of wine before she tried to rise from her seat on the couch, and found that she's unable to put her legs under her. She leaned to the side and almost flew into the refrigerator, before she froze and wrinkled her face.
She had seldom drank alcohol – she might have allowed herself a little sip of wine for the holidays in the past few years. But other than that, she had never had a passion for alcohol in any form. She had tried it, of course, and once or twice in her distant youth had drunk to the point where she could definitely be called 'drunk', but even so her level of familiarity with alcohol was extremely close to zero.
"Ha, that's right, with alcohol you need to have some snacks along…" Miki paused, after which, putting down the wine bottle that luckily hadn't spilled even with her rough handling, she opened the refrigerator, peering into it to find her snacks
"Ha, wine is supposed to… What is it supposed to be accompanied by? Cheese and chocolate? Haha, there's neither!"
Miki's gaze came across the neatly packed dishes that Satoru had prepared this morning, and she hummed sadly to herself. "Okay, the food Satoru cooked looks and tastes like the most expensive restaurant food I have ever tasted in my life. Maybe not cheese or chocolate, but it will absolutely do as an appetizer! Maybe I should have drunk sake instead of wine to make it go together better…"
Pulling out a container from the fridge that contained… something from her morning breakfast, Miki made her way back to her seat, grabbing the bottle and closing the fridge before settling down in front of the TV again.
In the morning, finding herself with Satoru as he showed her concern, Miki felt… Better.
Much better than she had expected – much better than she thought was possible, given her morning.
The trip a little later had been… unusual – the mildest word Miki could use in this case, but it hadn't been bad in the end. No, in a way, it was even… Interesting.
If Miki needed something to distract herself, a car ride at a couple of hundred kilometers an hour on a road jammed with morning cars rushing to work by the inhabitants of Kuoh was exactly what Miki needed.
Then in the principal's office, Miki found out that in addition to his previous incredible qualities, Satoru is also a genius in about all areas of human knowledge. After that, Miki said her goodbyes to him, sending him to school and… And as she slowly walked home, Miki suddenly realized that with each step she walked, moving away from Satoru, the thoughts that seemed to have receded completely from his mere presence began to return again.
With each step that she walked, each moment that she moved away from Satoru, from Kuoh Academy, Miki felt her past thoughts begin to press more and more into place. About Gorou, about her marriage, about Issei…
About Issei, her Issei, her son… The son for whom she had sacrificed her health, her strength, her entire inheritance on the best doctors and medicine. And to move in with Gorou, she had given up all her friends and dreams. How stupid she had been…
Miki barely put the cold container of food down before taking another large sip of the wine.
Ha, no, of course not, Issei, her son, it wasn't his fault. Gorou, it was by following him that Miki had almost cut all her ties to the past world – giving up her once seemingly wonderful career prospect because he had promised to take care of her. For her to become a housewife, halting her career, she had even stopped talking to all her past friends.
Why hadn't she seen red flags before? Gorou always pretended to care about her, but if only Miki hadn't been so blind… If only she had seen what he actually is…
'Miki, honey!' Gorou's voice sounded pitiful and squeaky in Miki's head, reflecting her inner state and the copious amount of alcohol she had drunk.
'With your health, you shouldn't be working! I'll take care of the two of us, but in the meantime, you lock yourself in the house, don't talk to anyone, cook, clean, do the laundry, and wash – it's a lot easier than shifting papers at work! Oh, I know about how much you wanted to go into the teaching career, but then you'd start socializing with other people – what if you're just like me and started chasing after the nearest man! No, stay home, Miki, you're tied up inside your cell now, where you have to clean up every day and make sure the bars don't rust. Just perfect!'
Miki took another swig of her bottle of wine before reaching for the food container and opening it.
Issei wasn't to blame, not at all for what had happened, but… He was so much like his father. Looking at him, Miki would remember Gorou and anger and pain started to boil inside her. It was not Issei's fault, absolutely not his fault…
Miki could say it over and over again, but making herself not only say it, but also hear it, was much harder.
Miki hadn't met Issei in the morning, and when she met him again at school – he only reminded Miki how much he had taken after his father. She wanted to cry for how low she had fallen, judging her own son for his father's action. At the same time, she could only cry after realizing that even knowing the wrongness of her feelings, there was nothing she could do about them.
It seemed that, at this time, only Satoru remained her ray of hope in this strange and unsteady world, which, overnight, had ceased to make any sense.
Miki put the eel sashimi in her mouth, and then leaned back on the couch.
As soon as she thought about Satoru, her thoughts, which seemed to be full of unsolvable questions, wavered and retreated a step.
When Miki was with Satoru, when he showed her his caring or poised adulthood, when he helped her, or even when he drove, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding dangers - Miki felt… protected.
Did it make any sense at all? Or was it all a consequence of yesterday's betrayal? Did her psyche, now wounded, damaged and scarred forever by what had happened, with her sanity was already beginning to slip through her fingers, her thoughts began to muddle through? The effect and the cause had switched places, and tomorrow she would wake up in a small room with soft white walls?
Miki raised the bottle of wine again, and then, after greedy gulps of the last drops, she didn't even set it down, instead letting the now empty bottle fall from her hands to the floor and roll away.
To hell with cleaning, to hell with her responsibilities, there were no more responsibilities!
There was no family, no home, no husband, just her, she was alone, an aging housewife who had lost everything in an instant. She didn't even have a job, the last time she had had a job six months ago was as a librarian for a couple of months, because she was tired of sitting at home. She had worked three or four hours a day, two or three days a week, and only for two months… Did she even remember what it was like to wake up every day for work, to go to that – did she remember what 'work' even was?
Her world had fallen apart – Gorou hadn't even shown up on her doorstep after yesterday to try to even apologize or explain himself. She'd even gotten a call from his work, so apparently Gorou hadn't shown up there either… And rightly so, let him run away with his tail between his legs – the bastard!
Ha ha, twenty years of marriage turned to nothing in a dozen minutes on one fateful evening.
And in the sea of her shaky life, there was only one lighthouse, seemingly immovable even in this storm – a lighthouse called 'Satoru'.
Only Satoru had kept her from falling into a meaningless existence that morning, lying in her bed and crying from her own weakness, only he could throw off her silly thoughts. And, when Miki found herself cut off from him – the thoughts returned again. With each step, with each passing moment, the memories began to appear, crumbling Miki's mind. She did not have the strength to return home on her own – her strength had run out a couple of streets before her house.
All the pathetic remnants of her strength were only enough to go to the nearest store and to so many bottles of wine that she could carry.
So, all Miki did when she got home was drink alcohol, pausing between panicked sobs and hysterical laughter, trying to drown out her thoughts for the last… last twenty-four hours? After all, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since Satoru took his first step over the threshold of this house.
It wasn't so long ago that her life had turned upside down, and yet it felt so long. As her thoughts seemingly slowly break through the lid of her skull, digging into her brain and turning it, along with all her thoughts and memories, along with her entire worldview into a meaningless liquid mush. She could only drink more to dampen the pain, as her head mixed together the seemingly supposed to be always separate thoughts. Husband and lover, son and scorn, Satoru and…
Miki just wanted things to be simple again.
Her seemingly unsinkable titanic of quiet family life turned out to be a cardboard boat in a small stream. It sank not even because it ran into a rock, but simply because its cardboard got wet, and it was time for it to fall apart. The world ceased to have any meaning and everything that Miki thought was sacred, thought inviolable, became nothing.
Miki just wanted it all to end. For someone wise and knowledgeable and full of understanding coming along and telling her how to live her life. What was the sacred meaning of her twenty years of marriage to Gorou, how she should feel about Issei now, how she should live her life now, what was her damn meaning in life?
Miki had once asked herself this question – and had once come up with the answer. Her raison d'être was to be Gorou's wife and Issei's mother, a model housewife and, later, a grandmother.
And, as it turned out, she didn't know a damn thing.
She couldn't even guess a single letter of her reason for living, her seemingly appropriate answer couldn't even fit into the puzzle given to her. And now, as if she were just as trapped, as if, when doing a crossword puzzle, she easily gave an answer, barely hearing the question. Giving an answer consisting of five letters, only to discover that that answer had to consist of twenty letters, three numbers and two apostrophes!
Nothing made sense, everything made no sense, and she was a boat stuck in a storm…
The latter, however, was due not only to the metaphysical storm in her life, but also to the fact that Miki had already drunk enough to not only be considered merely 'drunk'. She was rapidly approaching the state of being 'half-dead' if only judging by her blood alcohol content.
Miki stood up, whereupon she reached for another bottle of wine with an unsure step and in a couple of awkward movements pulled the cork with a corkscrew before taking another sip.
Gorou was out of her life, she didn't want to see Issei, and Miki had never believed in God.
Miki wanted, genuinely wanted someone, someone kind, wise and strong to appear and solve all her problems.
Miki took another helping of the exquisite sashimi, where did Satoru even find such a fresh fish? As she felt instantly a little better, along with her thoughts rearranging itself.
"Satoru…" At the thought of the newcomer, the person responsible for revealing Gorou's trickery, Miki could only smile sadly, feeling her soul grow a little warmer. "If only you could help me…"
"How… Fascinating!" Issei, Pandora's Actor, gently treaded the strings of Miki Hyoudou's soul and thoughts, watching with bated breath, as slowly, as if in the throes of birth, her soul was re-forged. In place of the spark of purpose that had burned out in the past, a new one rose, quite young and small, but quickly rising before his own eyes, gradually flaring up more and more.
"Father… I thank you a hundred, no! A hundred thousand times for every movement that You make in this world, that I can make in this world, and I am so, so grateful to You that I can see the bestimmung in her soul."
Issei obeyed his Father's commands, primarily what He said directly – he had studied the occupants of Kuoh Academy carefully for the past day. Classes were surprisingly easy for him, he could always use his teacher's knowledge as an answer to any question, even if he didn't know the answer himself when it came to history or literature, but most of the time he didn't even have to answer correctly. No, he needed only to answer, as Issei had always answered.
Skimming over the thoughts and memories of his surroundings, quite uniform in their perception of Issei, it showed that he was only required to answer what people expected to hear as his answers. Sometimes guessing, sometimes blundering, and sometimes showing unexpected strange wit in non-obvious places, forcing his 'irrational and unusual' answers, where there seemed to be no logical connection between the question and the answer. In the sense that these answers pointed not to logical systematic weaknesses or strengths in Issei's education, but were merely a random sampling of possible choices, each of which was quite randomly defined as 'suitable' and 'unsuitable' for Issei. All based on such fuzzy concepts such as 'I think Issei knows this' and 'I think Issei couldn't answer that'.
Pandora's Actor acted to seem as 'ordinary' as possible in the perception of all the people around Issei.
And, since Issei wasn't even supposed to pay attention to the progress of the lessons and the questions and assignments from the teachers, he devoted himself entirely to the study of his surroundings.
Mostly, of course, it was all meaningless. All around him were empty stupid people with empty stupid meaninglessness in their souls and heads. Miserable souls, so miserable that they were not even capable of understanding what exactly they were deprived of.
Just as a blind man couldn't comprehend what it meant to 'see', so do the people of this world were doomed to exist unable to fully comprehend what they had never had in the first place.
And yet among the tasteless dust and irritating emptiness there were exceptions, oh so appealing exceptions.
Kiba Yuuto, as for example. His hatred and purpose, all pointing in the same direction were so exhilarating to watch, all the while he put on a facade of calm. A little further along is Akeno Himejima, a magnificent and unique figure. Similar to Kiba Yuuto, and yet so different from him.
Where Kiba should have been a [Holy Swordsman], a road tragically cut off, Akeno was born as a [Half-Fallen Angel] and could not get rid of that stigma. Where Kiba was full of hatred for the world around him – Akeno was full of disgust for herself. And where Kiba was torn between two inner fires, Akeno created a clamp of her own, trying to strangle herself, each time approaching and recoiling from that boundary, walking in circles, unable to leave her own self.
Kiba was a loyal [Knight], Akeno was a loyal [Queen], and they both pursued their goals. Kiba's goal contradicted his loyalty, the destruction of all [Holy Swords] – while Akeno's goal coincided with her fidelity. To destroy forever the very notion of 'Akeno Himejima, the fallen angel'.
A wonderful, unique being, a magnificent exhibit, looking at which Issei could pull out a new mask, a new emotion and a new reaction time after time. He now understood why his Father liked to collect not the prints of personalities, but their wholeness enclosed in the overall shell of a living being. Turning what would only be paintings in His gallery into living artists, continuing to paint new and new masterpieces, even when the artists themselves became exhibits.
And even more – Issei felt his mind tickle with a pile of thoughts of each new discovery prepared for him by Father. For in His mercy He not only bestowed the greatest reward at the end – but also rewarded Issei at every step of the way as he followed according to His will.
All the more incredible, was to see how the seemingly certain truth of the world about the invariability of the blindness of those born outside the mercy of the Forty-One crumbled under his gaze. Father wove His actions into a single thread, moment by moment, creating a vision for one who was deprived of it, as if in the stories of men making the blind see – a miracle. But of course, on a level that was beyond the imagination of any creature but the inhabitants of the Great Tomb, surprising even their imagination and consciousness.
Father also was outlining for Issei, a new path, a new stage of his play, rising to a crescendo step by step, allowing him, Issei, Pandora's Actor, to play first fiddle in His great play.
For this was a test for Issei as much as it was his reward, it was a punishment as much as a blessing. For such was the will of the Greatest Supreme Being that determined the very meaning of these words and concepts, just as the lesser beings determined only one of them for each of their decisions.
Now Issei saw what his Father was doing, and what role Miki played in His great infinite play. Why she had ascended the stage, and how she would be exalted by His will, and how she would be brought down if it were His whim.
In other words, Issei saw both his role and his path…
"Father!" Issei smiled, exultant – inwardly, of course, he would not fail to play his part. "Your faithful son will play the part assigned to him, as You have decided then, and will turn the audience into actors and the actors into stars. For Thou hast already taken the actress from her two-person little street box and raised her to the great stage before the eyes of the world. And all that remains to me is to act in Your will and grant her those lines that she will have to utter. To see if she is worthy to be the one standing on that stage, or to be rejected as talentless."
"Father, please look at me as I enact your will!" Issei could not restrain himself, responding with a high military salute before reporting back to his Father, all-seeing eye.
"Vater mit uns!"
'Hmm, that could have gone better, but all in all, not bad,' Momonga noted internally the results of the past negotiations.
After all, he still had absolutely no idea who exactly Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima were. But judging by the fact that the demons watching them obeyed her orders and had appeared instantly, as soon as Momonga looked into Rias' eyes, and she reacted strangely for some reason, when she recoiled – she was someone important.
Maybe she was a commander of some sort…? Apparently she wasn't too surprised by the appearance of the invisible people, so she was at least aware that they were there. Perhaps she had even sent them there herself to watch the proceedings or maybe just as backup and just pretended not to notice them the whole time? Perhaps she hoped to be able to attack Momonga if necessary, if he didn't notice the people's presence?
On the other hand, these people weren't even strong enough to penetrate his passive defenses – but Rias shouldn't have known that, given the surveillance protection Momonga used. In which case, Rias would have been planning to the best of her capabilities and knowledge and used someone strong enough, by her standards, for her possible ambush or at least emergency defense.
Well, she at least has some tactical acumen on her side, as creatures from level thirtieth to forty were about the same as what Momonga himself would choose as a human shield. At least if he was prepared to retreat at the first sign of trouble, as the ratio of cost to expected effectiveness was terrible – namely, zero. They were completely useless except for the very possibility of the chance of intercepting a strike aimed at Momonga.
But in that case, the plan regarding ambushing Momonga made no sense.
Against a level one hundred player, especially given the inability to gather information about him, it might require either several battles for intelligence gathering, or two or even three level one hundred players. Thirtieth and Fortieth level creatures in this case could act solely in the role of living shields, disposable test objects, living projectiles to disarm traps or for reconnaissance at the cost of their lives.
'So either someone was using Rias as bait, to gain information about me, or she has extremely seriously underestimated me and my abilities, or from her point of view level forty is strong enough to use against an unknown threat…' Momonga frowned at the potential implications coming from this information.
'On the other hand, this is a new world after all, and I'm judging using only simple basic information gathering spells from the past – and I've already come across one really strong being of this world, the 'Great Red Dragon'. Umu, staying vigilant in this case is still a priority.'
Momonga ended that line of thought with a nod, as he sat silently in the classroom as the teacher drone on about one subject or another, as Momonga didn't really know what they were talking about. If nothing else, that meeting with Rias had allowed me to pass lunch without suspicion.
'Getting back to my other thoughts. I don't know Rias' identity yet, but she at least has some weight in the local balance of power.'
Momonga nodded to himself, not paying attention as the teacher, who, seeing his action, cheered up a bit as he continued his lesson.
'And judging from the outcome of our conversation, as long as I go about my business quietly, or at least without implicitly being against her interests, she will not attack me. It can't be called peace, because she will definitely try to gather information about me to find out my weaknesses – then again, I'm actually already doing that by using Pandora's Actor as a proxy. Which means that this 'peace' is precarious – but, for the moment, we've both outlined red lines that no one should cross.'
After another look up at the board, and seeing nothing that he could understand, Momonga returned to something that is actually fruitful – planning his next move. Unknowingly, Momonga's action, shaking his head, caused the teacher to panic and check his writing on the board to fix the mistake that the newly transferred genius had noticed.
'Rias apparently doesn't want me to stay in this town for long – understandable, no one wants an unknown near their base, but I managed to convince her that I would just stay within the confines of Miki's residence. Hmm, come to think of it, I wouldn't mind walking around town and maybe doing a bit of shopping. Ha, I'd be happy to get out into nature, something that I couldn't have done before. Indeed, the opportunity to enjoy nature, I don't think even the rich could afford it in my past world, excluding perhaps the artificial gardens of the arcologies. But here, I need nothing more than to get on a car drive.'
Momonga remembered exactly how he'd gotten to the academy this morning before frowning, causing the teacher who'd caught his expression to falter slightly.
'No, get me off the wheel, how about a train ride instead? Or even by bus. Hah, but that would obviously require money, and there's no way I can start earning money willy-nilly, especially since it's against the academy's rule.'
As it turned out, the high school of this world was something full-time and disallowed any part-time work. And, although he still hadn't received his tuition bill yet, probably because he would get it at the end of the month. Hah, finding an earning opportunity at the moment was already difficult, and now he has to work around the academy's rules as well?
'Maybe I can use doppelgängers?' Momonga thought for a moment.
'Send them to work in this world after summoning them, to find them proper identities though… Finding identification for himself was already causing him so many issues, to find them for the doppelgängers too would be close to impossible. After all, if this world were anything like his past world, strange amounts of wealth gained would be scrutinized heavily by the authorities – especially for taxing purposes. Maybe he should just make them mine for mineral resources to sell? Processing raw ores into ingots should be profitable enough. But then again, where would I find a seller that wouldn't ask too many questions?'
Another errant head shake, and the teacher had to scramble once again – how could he have missed such a simple mistake?
'Hmm, maybe if I could easily find some high paying job in this world that I would be good for – maybe killing monsters? But apparently the monsters of this world were hidden from ordinary people, which makes it unlikely that I could easily find such a job. I could ask Rias, but apparently she didn't really want to do business with me in general, preferring that we both not interact too much. Not to mention that she would obviously start gathering information about my abilities, even if I hid it, some would definitely leak out. This, of course, assuming that she would actually have a job killing creatures that she would be willing to offer me and pay for… Ha, perhaps I shouldn't have done what I did in the end? While necessary, it did sour our relationship a bit, making it awkward if I were to ask a favor now.'
Unfortunately, Momonga's own [Create Body] spell, though it created a perfectly natural body, was somewhat limited in functions – while it was capable of simulating the body's sensations and physiological responses within certain limits, it could not fully reflect its emotions. More specifically, it followed a strange system, mirroring the actions of Momonga's normal undead body and his undead body could not display his emotions, except for rare exceptions like blinking or opening his mouth. In this case it led to the fact that without additional assistance, his new body could only display a small range of emotions, mostly through the eyes, with almost no involvement of his facial expressions themselves. But Momonga could compensate for this disadvantage by manually maintaining his facial expressions, just as a person could smile just by moving their lips, it just wouldn't show in his eyes.
In his opinion, a wide smile with dead eyes just looks creepy as hell, so he preferred not to show any expression. At least it worked really well as a poker face, not showing Momonga's inner panic at all.
After the previous night, during which Momonga had worked out several appropriate facial expressions, he had settled on what he considered a standard 'polite and calm' expression, and just kept that same expression all the time. However, during the conversation with Rias, Momonga was struck by great nervousness, as if he were sitting in an interview in his former world. And so, while Rias only asked him questions, making him only answer and answer, Momonga himself was unsure whether he could ask a question in response.
So when his nervousness hit its ceiling at the end of the meeting, Momonga, after his passive skill got rid of his emotions, decided to do something so that Rias and Akeno would not take advantage of his weakness. He had issued them a warning, determined to show that he could be serious too. And to do so, he stopped faking his facial expression in his current body for a moment, instead returning that to a completely impenetrable mask before looking seriously at Rias with more than a clear hint of a threat.
And it ended up causing the men who had been standing silently around Momonga all this time to rush forward, defending their charge, almost making Momonga react violently.
Luckily, Rias called her subordinates back before it could have turned into a full-fledged battle. Still, his attempt to impress Rias was rather unsuccessful, and all Momonga himself could do was turn around and quickly walk away, pretending as if it was all part of his plans.
And so, from that moment on, Momonga sat silently in the classroom, watching the lessons gradually go by in front of him. If he had less control of his actions, Momonga would have loved to begin scratching his head in annoyance – that was such a failure!
Hah, well there's no use in crying over spilled milk, he'll just have to move forward without expecting any cooperation from Rias' part.
Still, the idea of enrolling in a school, itself, wasn't that bad in Momonga's mind. He barely remembered what his elementary school was like, only remembering that he generally liked learning – and from a rational point of view, the idea of going to school to get smarter and better at running Nazarick wasn't bad. Of course, seeing that what the teacher was speaking and writing were basically Greek to him, and he could probably learn the language much easier now, he needs a lot of studying to catch up to the curriculum. Besides, by staying in school, he could actually look closer at the human world, escape from Nazarick, and gather more information.
In general, there were a bunch of reasons why in the end, Momonga's plan was not bad.
At the same time, however, Momonga suddenly realized that the school in this world did not provide specific information, concentrating instead on general information. Perhaps Momonga should have remembered this earlier, but the last time he visited a school in his former world was decades ago, and he hasn't even thought about formal education since. Especially since mentions of a school were usually when he came across vacancies of various levels, like 'high school diploma required'.
Considering that certain jobs required a certain level of education – it would be logical to assume that at the school he could get that very knowledge he needed. At least that's what he thought would happen.
Momonga doesn't really know what the teacher's teaching, but he doesn't think he's teaching on how to operate certain heavy machinery, or the complex machination of things that his previous world's high-level jobs required. Perhaps it is something that requires special permissions? It's strange how the classes he's been in have been a shotgun blast of all possible subjects. Why would he even need to learn the reason a specific author chose a red door in his writings instead of blue?
Momonga could somewhat understand the necessity of learning geography and language, gathering information is basic warfare 101 after all. But why advanced algebra and literature?
In addition, Momonga had seriously underestimated the time and energy he needed to spend on school. The realization that he needed to study for a full year, day after day, five days a week, for half the day came to Momonga only when he suddenly realized that he had spent seven and a half hours on school today. Of which only an hour and a half was spent on all kinds of breaks, which meant he had studied for the full six hours.
And that's only for 1 year! To think that a normal education was supposed to take 12 years…
Of course, that was only half of his regular work shift, and after each work shift he found time to play YGGDRASIL, which meant it wasn't such an obstacle. But to think that every year, eight hours total would be spent on only one thing…
'This is the most useless and frustrating grind I've ever had to think about.' Momonga shook his head, forcing the teacher to look away, then, in a slightly shaky voice, continued reading a paragraph from the textbook.
'Every year, for twelve years, eight hours a day, with only weekend breaks, ha… Why do I have to do this! I don't even like this quest, and I wasn't promised any significant reward at the end! And I'm even used to the uselessly long grind in YGGDRASIL!'
The grind in YGGDRASIL was divided into two types – one that players liked, and one that was rewarded by the developers. If a player enjoyed dealing with hordes of low-level enemies, turning entire armies into nothing with a single spell? Then they didn't really need a reason in the form of a reward to go to the same location and kill the same enemies over and over again. And the one the Players didn't like doing? The developers could promise or even hint at some reward, or Players could accidentally find out about some rare drop and go grind the same boss – even if they didn't like the grind itself!
In Momonga's situation, however, he didn't like the grind, and he didn't like the fact that he wasn't entitled to any significant reward for it in the end. At least not one that he could see.
Apparently, as was proven in his easy admission, barring the surprise of the supernatural presence accusing some hiccups, he could forge documents pretty well with his magic. If he were to use real crafters and maybe by carefully studying the documents of this world, he could get rid of the need to get documents legally!
'Ha, besides, I can't even go to work properly if I'm completely tied to the school from morning till night – and with Pandora's Actor gathering information even in my absence there's no reason to stay. Especially since I've already fully exposed myself to the local faction, while Pandora's Actor, thanks to my bad luck, was able to slip under their noses easily – why do I need to stay? I could just stay in Nazarick… Okay, maybe sitting indefinitely in Nazarick with nothing to do isn't any better either – besides, with Albedo there… Ha, Albedo, there's another headache that I would prefer to never have to address.'
Momonga shook his head, and the teacher, who seemed to be somewhere between life and death by this point, finally gave his soul to God and could only murmur something about studying a textbook on their own. 'Okay, even so, I should stick around for a couple more days, maybe I'll even change my mind about staying in school? And, ha, Miki, I'm sorry for how things turned out, that I accidentally destroyed your life for something I didn't even like in the end, Miki, I apologize very much!'
A moment later the bell rang, snapping Momonga out of his musings, whereupon he shifted his gaze to his watch, then to his teacher, whose face was changing between all the colors of the rainbow, attracting Momonga's attention. Which just seems to make their pallor worse for some reason. 'Hmm, maybe he's sick? If so, I hope he has the money to pay for treatment – I'm sorry, teacher, but I have nothing!'
Shrugging internally at his teacher's strange condition, Momonga blinked as he realized that his [Arcane Sight] had determined that he actually had magical powers. After which Momonga shrugged.
'Rias has clearly already made the first move against me…' Momonga turned away, eager to exit the class and school entirely. 'So getting out of here soon might not be a bad idea – but along with all my previous actions… Ah, I'm starting to get a headache.'
"I'm going to have such a bad headache in the morning…" Miki paused her libations for a moment, looking at herself in the frosted black reflection of the television, before she scoffed and put her hands back on the bottle of wine, swallowing a big sip. "Ha, that hits the spot!"
When she got back to her empty home after dropping off Satoru, Miki found that she didn't know how to live her life anymore. Everything seemed pointless and useless, the world seemed ruined, and where yesterday the idyllic garden of beautiful family life had bloomed, now was only slowly fading ashes. Probably if it were not for a completely random chain of coincidences, Miki would have still been asleep, having exhausted all her strength in repeating the same thoughts in her head a thousand times in a row the day before.
However, Miki had gotten out of bed, and had faced the earnest Satoru as he had cooked breakfast. Ha, what a silly thing to do.
Miki took another large gulp of wine before she tried to rise from her seat on the couch, and found that she's unable to put her legs under her. She leaned to the side and almost flew into the refrigerator, before she froze and wrinkled her face.
She had seldom drank alcohol – she might have allowed herself a little sip of wine for the holidays in the past few years. But other than that, she had never had a passion for alcohol in any form. She had tried it, of course, and once or twice in her distant youth had drunk to the point where she could definitely be called 'drunk', but even so her level of familiarity with alcohol was extremely close to zero.
"Ha, that's right, with alcohol you need to have some snacks along…" Miki paused, after which, putting down the wine bottle that luckily hadn't spilled even with her rough handling, she opened the refrigerator, peering into it to find her snacks
"Ha, wine is supposed to… What is it supposed to be accompanied by? Cheese and chocolate? Haha, there's neither!"
Miki's gaze came across the neatly packed dishes that Satoru had prepared this morning, and she hummed sadly to herself. "Okay, the food Satoru cooked looks and tastes like the most expensive restaurant food I have ever tasted in my life. Maybe not cheese or chocolate, but it will absolutely do as an appetizer! Maybe I should have drunk sake instead of wine to make it go together better…"
Pulling out a container from the fridge that contained… something from her morning breakfast, Miki made her way back to her seat, grabbing the bottle and closing the fridge before settling down in front of the TV again.
In the morning, finding herself with Satoru as he showed her concern, Miki felt… Better.
Much better than she had expected – much better than she thought was possible, given her morning.
The trip a little later had been… unusual – the mildest word Miki could use in this case, but it hadn't been bad in the end. No, in a way, it was even… Interesting.
If Miki needed something to distract herself, a car ride at a couple of hundred kilometers an hour on a road jammed with morning cars rushing to work by the inhabitants of Kuoh was exactly what Miki needed.
Then in the principal's office, Miki found out that in addition to his previous incredible qualities, Satoru is also a genius in about all areas of human knowledge. After that, Miki said her goodbyes to him, sending him to school and… And as she slowly walked home, Miki suddenly realized that with each step she walked, moving away from Satoru, the thoughts that seemed to have receded completely from his mere presence began to return again.
With each step that she walked, each moment that she moved away from Satoru, from Kuoh Academy, Miki felt her past thoughts begin to press more and more into place. About Gorou, about her marriage, about Issei…
About Issei, her Issei, her son… The son for whom she had sacrificed her health, her strength, her entire inheritance on the best doctors and medicine. And to move in with Gorou, she had given up all her friends and dreams. How stupid she had been…
Miki barely put the cold container of food down before taking another large sip of the wine.
Ha, no, of course not, Issei, her son, it wasn't his fault. Gorou, it was by following him that Miki had almost cut all her ties to the past world – giving up her once seemingly wonderful career prospect because he had promised to take care of her. For her to become a housewife, halting her career, she had even stopped talking to all her past friends.
Why hadn't she seen red flags before? Gorou always pretended to care about her, but if only Miki hadn't been so blind… If only she had seen what he actually is…
'Miki, honey!' Gorou's voice sounded pitiful and squeaky in Miki's head, reflecting her inner state and the copious amount of alcohol she had drunk.
'With your health, you shouldn't be working! I'll take care of the two of us, but in the meantime, you lock yourself in the house, don't talk to anyone, cook, clean, do the laundry, and wash – it's a lot easier than shifting papers at work! Oh, I know about how much you wanted to go into the teaching career, but then you'd start socializing with other people – what if you're just like me and started chasing after the nearest man! No, stay home, Miki, you're tied up inside your cell now, where you have to clean up every day and make sure the bars don't rust. Just perfect!'
Miki took another swig of her bottle of wine before reaching for the food container and opening it.
Issei wasn't to blame, not at all for what had happened, but… He was so much like his father. Looking at him, Miki would remember Gorou and anger and pain started to boil inside her. It was not Issei's fault, absolutely not his fault…
Miki could say it over and over again, but making herself not only say it, but also hear it, was much harder.
Miki hadn't met Issei in the morning, and when she met him again at school – he only reminded Miki how much he had taken after his father. She wanted to cry for how low she had fallen, judging her own son for his father's action. At the same time, she could only cry after realizing that even knowing the wrongness of her feelings, there was nothing she could do about them.
It seemed that, at this time, only Satoru remained her ray of hope in this strange and unsteady world, which, overnight, had ceased to make any sense.
Miki put the eel sashimi in her mouth, and then leaned back on the couch.
As soon as she thought about Satoru, her thoughts, which seemed to be full of unsolvable questions, wavered and retreated a step.
When Miki was with Satoru, when he showed her his caring or poised adulthood, when he helped her, or even when he drove, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding dangers - Miki felt… protected.
Did it make any sense at all? Or was it all a consequence of yesterday's betrayal? Did her psyche, now wounded, damaged and scarred forever by what had happened, with her sanity was already beginning to slip through her fingers, her thoughts began to muddle through? The effect and the cause had switched places, and tomorrow she would wake up in a small room with soft white walls?
Miki raised the bottle of wine again, and then, after greedy gulps of the last drops, she didn't even set it down, instead letting the now empty bottle fall from her hands to the floor and roll away.
To hell with cleaning, to hell with her responsibilities, there were no more responsibilities!
There was no family, no home, no husband, just her, she was alone, an aging housewife who had lost everything in an instant. She didn't even have a job, the last time she had had a job six months ago was as a librarian for a couple of months, because she was tired of sitting at home. She had worked three or four hours a day, two or three days a week, and only for two months… Did she even remember what it was like to wake up every day for work, to go to that – did she remember what 'work' even was?
Her world had fallen apart – Gorou hadn't even shown up on her doorstep after yesterday to try to even apologize or explain himself. She'd even gotten a call from his work, so apparently Gorou hadn't shown up there either… And rightly so, let him run away with his tail between his legs – the bastard!
Ha ha, twenty years of marriage turned to nothing in a dozen minutes on one fateful evening.
And in the sea of her shaky life, there was only one lighthouse, seemingly immovable even in this storm – a lighthouse called 'Satoru'.
Only Satoru had kept her from falling into a meaningless existence that morning, lying in her bed and crying from her own weakness, only he could throw off her silly thoughts. And, when Miki found herself cut off from him – the thoughts returned again. With each step, with each passing moment, the memories began to appear, crumbling Miki's mind. She did not have the strength to return home on her own – her strength had run out a couple of streets before her house.
All the pathetic remnants of her strength were only enough to go to the nearest store and to so many bottles of wine that she could carry.
So, all Miki did when she got home was drink alcohol, pausing between panicked sobs and hysterical laughter, trying to drown out her thoughts for the last… last twenty-four hours? After all, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since Satoru took his first step over the threshold of this house.
It wasn't so long ago that her life had turned upside down, and yet it felt so long. As her thoughts seemingly slowly break through the lid of her skull, digging into her brain and turning it, along with all her thoughts and memories, along with her entire worldview into a meaningless liquid mush. She could only drink more to dampen the pain, as her head mixed together the seemingly supposed to be always separate thoughts. Husband and lover, son and scorn, Satoru and…
Miki just wanted things to be simple again.
Her seemingly unsinkable titanic of quiet family life turned out to be a cardboard boat in a small stream. It sank not even because it ran into a rock, but simply because its cardboard got wet, and it was time for it to fall apart. The world ceased to have any meaning and everything that Miki thought was sacred, thought inviolable, became nothing.
Miki just wanted it all to end. For someone wise and knowledgeable and full of understanding coming along and telling her how to live her life. What was the sacred meaning of her twenty years of marriage to Gorou, how she should feel about Issei now, how she should live her life now, what was her damn meaning in life?
Miki had once asked herself this question – and had once come up with the answer. Her raison d'être was to be Gorou's wife and Issei's mother, a model housewife and, later, a grandmother.
And, as it turned out, she didn't know a damn thing.
She couldn't even guess a single letter of her reason for living, her seemingly appropriate answer couldn't even fit into the puzzle given to her. And now, as if she were just as trapped, as if, when doing a crossword puzzle, she easily gave an answer, barely hearing the question. Giving an answer consisting of five letters, only to discover that that answer had to consist of twenty letters, three numbers and two apostrophes!
Nothing made sense, everything made no sense, and she was a boat stuck in a storm…
The latter, however, was due not only to the metaphysical storm in her life, but also to the fact that Miki had already drunk enough to not only be considered merely 'drunk'. She was rapidly approaching the state of being 'half-dead' if only judging by her blood alcohol content.
Miki stood up, whereupon she reached for another bottle of wine with an unsure step and in a couple of awkward movements pulled the cork with a corkscrew before taking another sip.
Gorou was out of her life, she didn't want to see Issei, and Miki had never believed in God.
Miki wanted, genuinely wanted someone, someone kind, wise and strong to appear and solve all her problems.
Miki took another helping of the exquisite sashimi, where did Satoru even find such a fresh fish? As she felt instantly a little better, along with her thoughts rearranging itself.
"Satoru…" At the thought of the newcomer, the person responsible for revealing Gorou's trickery, Miki could only smile sadly, feeling her soul grow a little warmer. "If only you could help me…"
"How… Fascinating!" Issei, Pandora's Actor, gently treaded the strings of Miki Hyoudou's soul and thoughts, watching with bated breath, as slowly, as if in the throes of birth, her soul was re-forged. In place of the spark of purpose that had burned out in the past, a new one rose, quite young and small, but quickly rising before his own eyes, gradually flaring up more and more.
"Father… I thank you a hundred, no! A hundred thousand times for every movement that You make in this world, that I can make in this world, and I am so, so grateful to You that I can see the bestimmung in her soul."
Issei obeyed his Father's commands, primarily what He said directly – he had studied the occupants of Kuoh Academy carefully for the past day. Classes were surprisingly easy for him, he could always use his teacher's knowledge as an answer to any question, even if he didn't know the answer himself when it came to history or literature, but most of the time he didn't even have to answer correctly. No, he needed only to answer, as Issei had always answered.
Skimming over the thoughts and memories of his surroundings, quite uniform in their perception of Issei, it showed that he was only required to answer what people expected to hear as his answers. Sometimes guessing, sometimes blundering, and sometimes showing unexpected strange wit in non-obvious places, forcing his 'irrational and unusual' answers, where there seemed to be no logical connection between the question and the answer. In the sense that these answers pointed not to logical systematic weaknesses or strengths in Issei's education, but were merely a random sampling of possible choices, each of which was quite randomly defined as 'suitable' and 'unsuitable' for Issei. All based on such fuzzy concepts such as 'I think Issei knows this' and 'I think Issei couldn't answer that'.
Pandora's Actor acted to seem as 'ordinary' as possible in the perception of all the people around Issei.
And, since Issei wasn't even supposed to pay attention to the progress of the lessons and the questions and assignments from the teachers, he devoted himself entirely to the study of his surroundings.
Mostly, of course, it was all meaningless. All around him were empty stupid people with empty stupid meaninglessness in their souls and heads. Miserable souls, so miserable that they were not even capable of understanding what exactly they were deprived of.
Just as a blind man couldn't comprehend what it meant to 'see', so do the people of this world were doomed to exist unable to fully comprehend what they had never had in the first place.
And yet among the tasteless dust and irritating emptiness there were exceptions, oh so appealing exceptions.
Kiba Yuuto, as for example. His hatred and purpose, all pointing in the same direction were so exhilarating to watch, all the while he put on a facade of calm. A little further along is Akeno Himejima, a magnificent and unique figure. Similar to Kiba Yuuto, and yet so different from him.
Where Kiba should have been a [Holy Swordsman], a road tragically cut off, Akeno was born as a [Half-Fallen Angel] and could not get rid of that stigma. Where Kiba was full of hatred for the world around him – Akeno was full of disgust for herself. And where Kiba was torn between two inner fires, Akeno created a clamp of her own, trying to strangle herself, each time approaching and recoiling from that boundary, walking in circles, unable to leave her own self.
Kiba was a loyal [Knight], Akeno was a loyal [Queen], and they both pursued their goals. Kiba's goal contradicted his loyalty, the destruction of all [Holy Swords] – while Akeno's goal coincided with her fidelity. To destroy forever the very notion of 'Akeno Himejima, the fallen angel'.
A wonderful, unique being, a magnificent exhibit, looking at which Issei could pull out a new mask, a new emotion and a new reaction time after time. He now understood why his Father liked to collect not the prints of personalities, but their wholeness enclosed in the overall shell of a living being. Turning what would only be paintings in His gallery into living artists, continuing to paint new and new masterpieces, even when the artists themselves became exhibits.
And even more – Issei felt his mind tickle with a pile of thoughts of each new discovery prepared for him by Father. For in His mercy He not only bestowed the greatest reward at the end – but also rewarded Issei at every step of the way as he followed according to His will.
All the more incredible, was to see how the seemingly certain truth of the world about the invariability of the blindness of those born outside the mercy of the Forty-One crumbled under his gaze. Father wove His actions into a single thread, moment by moment, creating a vision for one who was deprived of it, as if in the stories of men making the blind see – a miracle. But of course, on a level that was beyond the imagination of any creature but the inhabitants of the Great Tomb, surprising even their imagination and consciousness.
Father also was outlining for Issei, a new path, a new stage of his play, rising to a crescendo step by step, allowing him, Issei, Pandora's Actor, to play first fiddle in His great play.
For this was a test for Issei as much as it was his reward, it was a punishment as much as a blessing. For such was the will of the Greatest Supreme Being that determined the very meaning of these words and concepts, just as the lesser beings determined only one of them for each of their decisions.
Now Issei saw what his Father was doing, and what role Miki played in His great infinite play. Why she had ascended the stage, and how she would be exalted by His will, and how she would be brought down if it were His whim.
In other words, Issei saw both his role and his path…
"Father!" Issei smiled, exultant – inwardly, of course, he would not fail to play his part. "Your faithful son will play the part assigned to him, as You have decided then, and will turn the audience into actors and the actors into stars. For Thou hast already taken the actress from her two-person little street box and raised her to the great stage before the eyes of the world. And all that remains to me is to act in Your will and grant her those lines that she will have to utter. To see if she is worthy to be the one standing on that stage, or to be rejected as talentless."
"Father, please look at me as I enact your will!" Issei could not restrain himself, responding with a high military salute before reporting back to his Father, all-seeing eye.
"Vater mit uns!"
It's 'Yūto Kiba', not the other way around.
Other than you using the first person when you're supposed to be using the third person, this chapter was really good.
Thanks for the update.
Other than you using the first person when you're supposed to be using the third person, this chapter was really good.
Thanks for the update.