“The masked arcane caster…? Actually, Gazef was saying that that Ainz Ooal Gown fellow he met wore a mask, too… I wonder if they’re the hip thing among casters… Oh, seems like we’re on the move.”
“Yeah. The squads that are traveling farther have to leave now so the raids happen at the same time.”
They were both looking at the departing units up ahead.
Climb looked around, searching for a certain woman.
Of course, he couldn’t find her. She would be coordinating with Prince Zanac. He figured it was self-centered of him to feel melancholy just because he couldn’t see her before leaving, especially given how hard things were for her.
“Okay, Climb, should we go, too?”
“…Yes! Let’s head out.”
Climb gave his squad the sortie order.
Climb. Assistant leader Brain Unglaus. Four former orichalcum-rank adventurers. Twenty members of Marquis Raeven’s militia. Plus, high-level priests and wizards’ guild members with connections to Marquis Raeven were tagging along to support from the rear. A total of thirty-two people quietly set out.
4
4 Late Fire Moon (September) 8:31 PM
“I didn’t expect such a strong lineup…I must thank Lord Ainz.” Those were the first words Sebas uttered upon meeting the group at the mansion.
With Demiurge at the head of the line, the assembly also contained the guardians Shalltear and Mare, while the Pleiades had provided Solution and Entoma. Moreover, several of Demiurge’s high-level evil lord minions were present as well. It was an unbelievably powerful force, perhaps even overkill.
“Especially to have the two strongest guardians with us…”
“Hmm. Lord Ainz has granted me full authority,” Demiurge said. “Do you have any objections, Sebas?”
“Of course not.”
“Then I would ask that you not misunderstand. Lord Ainz did say to rescue that human Tsuare, but the more important reason we are gathered is to execute the foolish Eight Fingers who spat upon the incomparable visages of the Supreme Beings.”
“I understand. Saving Tsuare is a secondary objective, correct?”
“Exactly, although I do approve of your desire to retrieve her while she’s alive—I doubt she would be able to withstand resurrection magic.”
That was a nasty way to put it.
“Still, what to do in the event she’s already dead is certainly an issue. If I were them, I’d chuck the hostage’s head at us the moment we foolishly arrived.”
“But wouldn’t you rather abuse her to set an example, Demiurge?”
“Yes, as you say, without a doubt. Immobilize the rescuers and then put her abuse on display… What an extremely invigorating scenario.”
“What’s exciting about it?” Sebas asked, concealing his irritation beneath a smile. Of course, with Demiurge’s powers of observation, he probably saw through it, so it was just for show.
“Everything, Sebas. Everything.” Demiurge grinned, and his fissure-like eyes gleamed coldly. “Actually, I’d let the people who came to save the prisoner take her and escape, then turn the tables just when they were starting to feel relieved. The greater the hope, the greater the despair!”
“That seems entertaining as well. If we get the chance, let’s do something like that, shall we?”
“B-but if they really got away, I—I think…wouldn’t that be a p-problem?”
Demiurge and Shalltear laughed.
“Mare, you’re so funny. We’d make that impossible. Well, if they really did manage to escape, I’d send them off with applause.”
“You’re so confident because you’d never let them break through, right? I’d expect nothing less from you, Demiurge.”
Though they didn’t have time to spare, Demiurge chattered on about tormenting humans. That irritated Sebas, so he asked a pointed question for the purpose of ending the conversation. “Demiurge, about executing the Eight Fingers members—do you already have the information we need?”
“Yes, no worries there, Sebas. The intelligence has been acquired.”
“Oooh,” some cooed in admiration. Sebas himself even exclaimed in surprise.
Demiurge hadn’t been in the capital very long at all. Sebas couldn’t imagine what methods he’d used to gather so quickly the data they needed. Considering he was operating under their master’s orders, he couldn’t be relying on rumors—it had to be confirmed reports.
“All we have to do now is raid the locations—yes, plural. Of course, if possible, we should capture multiple people with intelligence at each location so we can punish them for the other foolish acts they—” He cut off there, glanced at Sebas, and continued, “In order to deal them suitable damage in exchange for sullying the promise sworn on Lord Ainz’s supreme, radiant name, we need to get some information out of them. Any objections?”
“N-no!”
“They’ll pay with their lives for offending Lord Ainz.”
“How could I object?”
The two guardians and the butler replied in turn.
The two combat maids and the demon lords said nothing but assumed a humble posture toward Demiurge.
“Very good. Then first, Sebas. Could you tell us the location to which you’ve been summoned? Let’s see if it’s among the ones I have here.”
When Sebas named the place written on the parchment back at his house, Demiurge smiled. “Should we call it good luck? Or should we lament that we have one fewer location to raid? It seems to overlap with the list I looked into. I’ll leave that one up to you.”
“That’s fine. But Tsuare may be injured. It would be helpful if someone who can use healing magic came along.”
“True, it’s Lord Ainz’s wish to save that human… Solution. I originally wanted to keep you and your superior searching skill on reserve, but will you accompany Sebas as support?”
“Yes, Master Demiurge.”
“And as for the people who kidnapped her, who will most likely be in the building…”
“If you spare any of the humans who besmirched Lord Ainz’s honor, I really will murder you,” Demiurge said.
“Don’t worry, Demiurge. I’ll be sure to kill them all,” Sebas replied.
“I’ve been watching you guys for a while now… Couldn’t you be a bit more friendly with each other?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Sebas saw Demiurge pull a face. At the same time, he was probably making the same face himself.
But when he asked himself why he disliked Demiurge, he couldn’t quite pin it down. He didn’t get irritated at Shalltear even though she was a sadist, too, but for some reason talking to Demiurge annoyed him.
Still, quarreling with him now would be as good as spitting on the kindness of the Supreme Being. Sebas thanked their master in his head and bowed to Demiurge.
“My humble apologies for taking a rude tone when you’ve come to help me fix my own mistake.”
“…That’s fine, Sebas. Anyway, would you evacuate Tsuare to the Great Tomb of Nazarick as soon as you recover her?”
“Of course. But is everyone ready to accept her?”
“That will be nooo problemmm. I have thaaat coverrrred,” Entoma said in her syrupy voice.
Sebas nodded, convinced.
“So, no other issues at the moment, correct? Excellent. Now we’ll split into seven teams and decide who attacks where. Of course, Sebas and Solution are already set. First, I’d like to make sure we’re being careful—Shalltear.”
Shalltear jumped at Demiurge’s suddenly harsh tone.
“Wh-what is it, Demiurge?”
“I’d like you to stand by as a reserve. You lose yourself when you get too much blood on you. It’ll be a pain if you encounter a mob of easy pickings and go berserk.”
“I—I’m fine! If I suck up all the blood with my Pipette Lance, the chance that happens goes way down!”
“No, that’s not good enough. We need to proceed with extreme caution here and do everything we can to avoid takin
g risks. And Sebas, I need to apologize in advance. This operation to save Tsuare and bring the iron hammer down on the Eight Fingers is only the first phase of a larger plan. But I cannot disclose the full details—or even what happens in phase two—because after phase one is complete, you’ll return to Nazarick and not be involved. In order to avoid intelligence leaks, it’s better to keep the number of people who know to a minimum.”
“I understand. I’ll begin getting my preparations under way.”
Once Sebas had left the room, Demiurge addressed the remainder. “Okay. First, I’ll give you an outline so we don’t miss anything. Entoma, you can create illusions, right? Can you do one to my specifications?”
“Yes, siiir.”
Entoma made a virtual image in empty space according to Demiurge’s detailed request. He was satisfied with the result.
“Killing this person is prohibited. Some wounds will likely be forgiven, but I want everyone to remember that on principle, harming the target is forbidden—especially Shalltear.”
“I understand. You don’t need to harp on it.” She didn’t enjoy the repeated rebuke and puffed her cheeks out in displeasure.
Mare smiled awkwardly. “U-umm, you didn’t need to tell S-Sebas?”
“It’s okay. Knowing Sebas, he won’t harm this person without good reason… Just in case, Solution, can you stop him in an emergency?”
“Understood.”
Demiurge nodded in satisfaction.
This operation was tied to a plan that would benefit Nazarick enormously. If they suffered a major defeat here, it was possible their— No, the Supreme One, Ainz Ooal Gown, would be delayed from reaching his unspoken ultimate goal: world conquest.
Their master had left the entire operation up to him, so failure wasn’t an option.
Albedo had been stern with him about it as well, but it was clear that because Shalltear, Cocytus, and Sebas had all failed one after the other, any further blunders could cause their master to doubt the guardians’ abilities.
True, Lord Ainz had yet to display displeasure at any of those failures, and Cocytus’s seemed to have been planned from the beginning, but that didn’t make it right to take advantage of his kindness.
With this mission, I must demonstrate to Lord Ainz that we guardians can be of use to him.
Was there any point in subordinates existing if they were foolish and failed to perform satisfactorily?
Wasn’t it possible the last remaining Supreme One would be disgusted with their worthless abilities and also leave them?
Even Demiurge was petrified by the thought.
Failure is not an option. Our victory must be utterly complete to outweigh all our past mistakes.
With this resolution in mind, Demiurge scanned the room. “And don’t forget that the ones who brainwashed Shalltear might be out there waiting for an opening. Everyone, take care not to stray from your posts without permission. If any of the guardians, myself included, question you, raise both hands or the corresponding body parts and don’t do anything suspicious. If you do, we’ll kill you to be safe. Any questions?”
“U-um, I asked one before, but d-do you mind another?”
Demiurge smiled kindly at Mare and gestured for him to go ahead.
“So, I don’t think Sebas has a World Item like the rest of us. Is that all right?”
“It seems like Lord Ainz wishes for him to act as bait. It would be great if the enemy would bite. Albedo is already standing by in the Throne Room to monitor the situation. Oh, and those who can’t use Message should take special care to refrain from acting independently. I’m overseeing the operation, so if any issues arise, come to me with them. And I’ve briefed Mare on the entire plan, so if I’m unreachable for some reason, he should be able to strategically fill in.”
“And whadda…and me?”
“Sorry, Shalltear. As I mentioned before, we’re placing you on standby since we can’t fully trust you. Yes, we’re worried about Blood Frenzy.”
“Fine! Understood! Un-der-stood!”
“Once phase one is complete, we’ll proceed to phase two. I’ll explain it now. This is important, so I want you all to listen carefully—what is it?”
A shadow demon drifted into view from the darkness behind Demiurge and whispered the intelligence it had acquired.
“Really? That’s awfully sudden, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about it.” The new information bothered him, but he couldn’t ignore it.
“Sorry, Mare. According to the latest news, we have one more Eight Fingers base to raid. Apologies, but I’d like to change your target. I’m sure you can handle it on your own, but just in case, I’ll have Entoma go with you.”
“O-okay. L-leave it to me.”
“Excellent. We can go over the finer points later, but while I have everyone here, I will lay out the process of phase two, Gehenna. This will be our most important operation in the capital, so please give me your undivided attention.”
Chapter 8 | The Six Arms
1
4 Late Fire Moon (September) 9:51 PM
In the kingdom, people generally went to bed with the setting sun. Reasonably setting up most sources of light cost money, but as a result, the inhabitants of villages with many poor households ended up having rather healthy lifestyles.
In urban areas, however, elements not present in the countryside came into play. The fancy pleasure quarters cast the difference in especially sharp relief, as many types of establishments and residents suddenly became active after nightfall, as if they were nocturnal beasts.
But Climb’s destination was not such an area. Rather than a neighborhood shining brightly at night, it seemed more like an underworld enveloped in darkness.
Climb walked down the quiet alley in silence, carrying no light. He advanced along the dark backstreet without any illumination because his helmet carried the same effects as the Helm of Night Vision. Although it worked for up to only about fifteen yards ahead, his view through the thin visor was clear as midday.
Additionally, his mythril full plate armor didn’t make much noise, unlike steel plate. Add the magic it was enchanted with, and it didn’t make even the slightest clink. It would require extremely sharp ears or skills as a talented thief to hear him, even from nearby.
That’s why he was in the preliminary reconnaissance team.
As he exited the alley, his destination came into view.
A high barrier surrounded the area, walling it off. It reminded him of a jail or fortress. It was enough to make one wonder what kind of illegal activities were taking place inside. Even the illumination spells fixed to each side of the gate couldn’t erase that image.
Climb couldn’t see the target building from where he was, but according to their intelligence, it was on the other side of the wall.
“That’s it all right. No doubt about it,” Climb murmured as he crouched down, and a voice answered from the empty space right next to him.
“Yeah. From the location and the vibes, it does seem to be the spot. Still, I’ll go do some preliminary recon,” said the former orichalcum-rank thief adventurer.
Brain responded, “Be careful. Don’t forget that even if you’re invisible, some warriors can see through that.”
“Of course. Our enemy is the Eight Fingers. We need to proceed cautiously, assuming that their side has thieves as capable as me or casters. Okay, you two, pray I don’t mess this up.”
With that, the nearby presence faded away. Climb and Brain couldn’t hear the ex-adventurer even if they tried, but someone who possessed the same level of skill as he did might have been able to pick up the dry click of footsteps heading toward the building.
Only Climb and Brain remained.
They’d left the other squad members behind because they weren’t geared for stealth. Full plate armor was noisy and would have announced their position to the enemy. But they couldn’t very well strip off their armor heedlessly just to approach the enemy when they were fully anticipating
combat.
That’s how the duty fell upon these two.
Of course, they were both warriors, unable to mimic thieves. But because of Climb’s enchanted armor and Brain’s martial arts, they could operate in the dark, which just barely qualified them to come along. From here on out, it was certainly a job for a professional.
The reason they had run the risk of coming so close to the compound was to judge whether to attack or escape if the thief’s infiltration failed and the enemy strengthened their defenses. Simply keeping watch from their position was enough to fulfill their roles.
Still, as time passed while they waited, they grew more and more uneasy precisely because the pair hadn’t gone in themselves—their imaginations conjured up all the worst-case scenarios.
“I wonder if he’s okay.” The words were out of Climb’s mouth before he realized.
Brain responded softly. “I don’t know, but all we can do is believe in him, right? Trust in the power of a former orichalcum adventurer?”
“I suppose. He is a veteran.”
After waiting some time, Brain suddenly reached for the katana on his hip. Climb responded by putting his hand on his own sword when a panicked masculine voice sounded from nearby.
“Wait, wait! It’s me. I’m back.” It was their companion who’d left on reconnaissance.
“Yeah, I figured, since you got this close without doing anything… So you wanted to check if I could really detect you with my martial arts?”
“Yeah, my bad. You got me. I’m sorry—it was stupid to try to test Brain Unglaus himself.”
“No worries. I might have done the same thing if I were you. More importantly, can you tell us what you found out?”
The air next to Climb shifted, like someone had sat down. It was a strange feeling to know someone was there but not see them.
“First, I think this facility might be used for training. There’s a large yard over the wall that feels like a proving ground. I took only a cursory look at the building, but it has all these private compartments. It must belong to the Eight Fingers’ security division. There was an area I couldn’t get near because it was so well guarded. We’ve got a really bad situation, Climb.”
The Men of the Kingdom Part II Page 8
