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They seemed like a formidable group. There was that aforementioned warrior in ornate, golden armor, who'd been so discourteous, then a mannish-looking woman in heavy plate, two identical-looking women with spiky ponytails lingering at the sides, then a short masked, cloaked figure standing towards the back. Excepting the mannish one, they were pretty-faced, at least for ordinary humans.
Albedo almost smiled behind the mask. Her bloodlust rose, momentarily, ready to continue the onslaught and stain this ground red with their blood; until a voice said in her mind, "Lord Ainz". Then she blinked, the world rushing back to focus, and a measure of reason returned, and she was once more the Overseer of Nazarick. She saw the adamantium plate on the blue-clothed warriors person, which immediately led her to think this was a high-ranking adventurer group and not some random rabble.
No, they were supposed to be the best, or so the insects at the guild had explained to her Master. And if that was the case, then they seemed like a good opportunity for her Master. She imagined the splendid bonus she'd get if she managed to forge a link with these creatures. Oh he'd shower her with praise, and then maybe a copious amount of his seed...
Adapting a soft, ingratiating voice, she said, "I am an adventurer, Amelia of the Eclipse Nebula." She displayed the inferior plate about which she had complained to her Master. It galled her to be diplomatic to these base creatures, but needs must. "I had been tasked with the elimination of the creatures infesting this cave." She gestured to the cave entrance behind her. "I have done so."
"Just the monsters?" one of the identical humans asked. "Did you find anyone else?" There had been a man, but obviously she could not tell them that, as he was already on the way to Neuronist's tender mercies.
Albedo took a split moment to think-then said, "I did find some strange boxes." She saw them tense. She narrowed her eyes. "It was odd, and I reasoned that the creatures might have been raiding caravans." She shrugged. "I debated on what I should do with such loot. But of course, I could not carry it all. Then I thought it best to just note the irregularity to the guild."
The group looked at each other. "Tia, Tina." The two identical girls nodded and jumped swiftly over Albedo's head, and into the cave. Albedo prided herself on restraining the urge to catch the creatures in midair and smash them to bits against the ground. She merely crossed her arms and watch them go.
"Stand down," said the warrior, to her other comrades. "My apologies... Amelia, was it? I am Lakyus, of the adventurer group Blue Rose. You may or may not have heard of us. I apologize for the rude way I greeted you. However, it is only because I thought you were one of those miscreants from the Eight Fingers."
"The Eight Fingers..." Albedo repeated, in a dubious, slightly surprised tone. She did not know about what she'd said-the latest reports from Sebastian and Solution Epsilon had not yet come in, and she wasn't at Nazarick to process the information-but she did not want to appear clueless in front of these humans. "I..." she said, pretending uncertainty.
Thankfully, she was saved from having to bluffing her way through the conversation when the two humans emerged back out from the cave. "She's telling the truth," one of them said.
"Plenty of fresh bodies. No sign of..." the other one hesitated, then looked at Albedo. "The goods are in there too. No signs of damage."
"I see," said Lakyus, nodding to herself. She hefted her great big sword and sheathed it behind her back. "Well, I suppose that clears it up. Again, I apologize, Miss Amelia. For yelling at you, and for possibly accusing you of being a part of that wretched group."
"It is fine," Albedo said.
"You're by yourself?" the mannish woman said.
"My comrades are off on another duty," said Albedo.
"You're pretty strong, for a copper plate," the woman replied, sizing her up.
"That's true," said the one named Tia, or was it Tina? "Those monsters looked like they were strong." They group stared at Albedo with wonder. "40, no 50."
"50?" Lakyus exclaimed. "Difficulty 50? And how many?"
"There were thirteen of 'em," said the other twin.
"And you're in copper plate?" the mannish woman said incredulously. She leered, a look which Albedo thought quick to smash into a bloody spear if not for the need for this fake diplomacy. "Hey sister, I think we need to spar sometime later. You look plenty strong; you should be mithril, at the least."
"That raises the question..." said the red-cloaked one, who had hitherto remained silent. "Of why there was even a request to take care of the monsters in this cave. Any other copper plate group may well have been decimated. Or captured, for some nefarious reason."
"Maybe that was the point," Lakyus said.
"The Eight Fingers?" the mannish woman asked.
"Definitely," Lakyus replied. "I don't know what they would have intended with a rookie adventurer group, but at this point I wouldn't put it past them if they concocted some hideous scheme." She sighed. "In any case, as a representative of the King, I would like to thank you Amelia, for your services."
"I am merely doing what is asked of me," Albedo said graciously. She then cocked her head, her gaze straying elsewhere, away from the group. "Are there more of you coming?"
"More of us?" Lakyus repeated. "What do you-"
"I sense them! I can sense enemies coming from the rear!" Tina shouted suddenly. "Lakyus, we've got big trouble."
"Formation!" Lakyus snapped. She drew her black-and-blue sword, as did the others with their weapons: the twins revealed gleaming daggers, and the mannish woman bared her large spiked mace.
"Shit, there's a lot of them."
Soon, emerging from the edge of the forest at the other side of the hill were a huge number of people, armed to the teeth, their cold, hard gazes turned to this small group. The smallest girl cursed, and said, "Lakyus, I should do 'it', now. There's too many of them."
"No, Evileye! Not yet!" said Lakyus. "You know what dwells within this sword! We cannot let two negative energies merge to form a dark confluence!"
"Damn you and your cursed sword! Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" The group of warriors steadily approached. Albedo appraised them, and still found them as weak, no, weaker than the creatures she'd just slain. Mere insects, to be crushed all at once. She was half-tempted to say so, but then the fool Lakyus went on, "Your job will be to make sure we have an escape route." She pointed at Albedo. "Especially to secure Amelia and escape."
"I'm not running," said the short girl.
"That's an order! It is our responsibility as adamantium plates to ensure that people like Amelia survive to fight another day!" The short girl felt silent, glanced towards her, then clenched her fist. Albedo so dearly wanted to coldly state that she was no weakling human, that they were far below her league, but if it meant staying "subtle", as her lord wanted, then so be it.
In short order, the new band swarmed all around the group, encircling them and leaving herself and Blue Rose with their backs against the cave. Albedo counted fifty humans, all weak, all trash. But since she was "too weak", she'd let this veteran adventurers do the heavy lifting. It was an excellent way to gather information for her master.
A cackle came from within the crowd. Two shapes presently came up from within the ring of heavily armed men. One was a nubile, dark-skinned woman, clad in revealing silk, chimes and rings accompanying her every step, her thick leather boots scrunching against the ground. To her side was a tall, bald, swarthy human with bulging muscles, and various shapes inked on his exposed skin.
"Tch. So it's the boss-man," Tia muttered. "To think he'd show up."
To the warrior's credit, Lakyus stood her ground, and said, "Halt! By order of the King, state the nature of your suspicious business!" The bald man looked around at each of them-and Albedo almost hurled a rock at him just for his filthy eyes defiling her-then laughed whole-heartedly.
"You've been quite naughty, 'Blue Rose'. I respect your prowess as warriors, your reputation as heroic adventurers; but certainly not your willingness to look into the deep, dark places, where your eyes were not meant to see. Do you think it justice, what you lot were doing for the past few months? No, it's disrupting business-valuable business which a lot of people in your Kingdom would hang you for even touching. Your little Princess cannot stop the King from banishing you, or even executing you, did you not know?"
"Shut it, scum!" snapped Lakyus. The mannish woman chuckled.
"You think we're intimidated by you and all your friends, vermin?" she said. "Do you think we're just a group of weakling girls, ready to be broken for your amusement?"
The bald man cocked his head. "You must have trouble listening. I respect your rank, and the skills which merited that rank, all earned through countless battles. That is why it breaks my heart to do this." Swift as lightning, he tossed something on the ground, which shattered in midair when Tina, just as quick, threw a dart to intercept it.
"Behind you!" the short girl yelled. The group quickly glanced there, and saw another glass had been broken on the ground. It spilled something green and sickly on the ground. "Be careful, I detect a gas from within. It won't stop me, but you might breathe it in!"
"Too late, too late," said the muscled man, who turned around. "That was not the second, but the third. Enjoy your last request, Blue Rose. I shall honor you by not tossing you to the men. You are to die-as warriors."
Lakyus cursed. She shook her head wildly. "You feel it, too?"
"Yeah, got double vision. Fuck. Must be some sort of hallucination gas," said the mannish woman. She drew her weapon, nodding to the hordes about to approach. "Ah well, a handicap's good every now and then."
"Evileye, you've got to withdraw now," Lakyus ordered. "Take Amelia and-"
"No way," said Evileye. "You're all compromised. I'm the only one able to tip the scales at this point. Let's just get rid of these guys first."
"Grh! Very well! Amelia, please fall back to the cave!"
"As you say," Albedo said calmly, curtsying. She backed up a few steps, though she lingered at the mouth to watch the battle unfold. Blue Rose looked formidable, but they faced a small army who, though individually weaker, had better chances as a group by sheer overwhelming numbers. The battle started when the small one named Evileye lunged forward, flinging her hand towards the group and muttering something Albedo didn't catch. In the next instant, great black crystals erupted from the ground, driving in a straight line towards the mass. A whole bunch of men were wiped out, impaled or bludgeoned upon the gleaming spikes.
This bought the time for the rest of the group to prepare. They cast several pieces of magic on themselves, including several arts that confused Albedo. She had not seen the like in all of Nazarick. Lord Ainz definitely needed to know this. At a hidden signal, the mannish woman ran forward to engage the dark-skinned woman, while Lakyus went with Evileye, Tia and Tina to engage their enemies near the ravaged sides.
Their formation seemed dubious, as it concentrated the bulk of Blue Rose's fighting power towards the weaker sides, leaving the bulky warrior to be close to surrounded by her enemies. A moment later, Albedo's eyebrows shot up when she saw the warrior make a huge swing-which the dark-skinned woman ducked under-and neatly decapitated ten men in one stroke alone. Their comrades stared, thunderstruck, at the desiccated remains.
"Back!" shouted the dark-skinned woman. "Don't move in unless you see an opening!" With a wave of her arms, six scimitars emerged from behind her. They then floated in midair, their blades pointed outward. With a flick of her wrist, they began revolving around her.
"Hoh. That's an interesting talent of yours," said the mannish woman. Albedo silently agreed. She had not sensed any magic, so it was something else entirely. The woman would be an excellent study. At least, if she survived. The two warriors charged forward, clashing towards each other.
On the other side, Lakyus and the others were making quick work of the low-level goons. Lakyus held the line with her massive blade, with Evileye using her strange magics to conjure crystallized shields to protect her comrades from arrows and crossbow-bolts; before then turning them into jagged projectiles to strike at their enemies. Tia and Tina spun and dived over and under Lakyus, driving quick fatal strikes into the bodies of their enemies, then slinking behind Lakyus to repeat the cycle again and again.
Albedo looked around. That bald man had disappeared. The fool had attempted to sound intimidating, so why had he not backed up his words with his skills? Unless he were a coward content to let others do the work.
"Damn!" The mannish woman shouted. "Look out, Amelia!" A group of men had broken through her defensive circle, while she was too busy with the scimitar woman. They headed with great determination towards Albedo, who sniffed and backed up into the cave. The men jeered, their tongues lolling out like ravenous dogs, like they'd scented weak prey. They followed her into the darkness of the cave.
Several moments later, Albedo re-emerged to the loud din of battle, dusting her boots on the ground. Her opinion of Blue Rose had plummeted: they had let someone they'd sworn to protect be in danger. If she had been a weak, powerless human, she would have been in dire straits.
Evileye jumped down in front of her. "Wha-oh, you're okay." The eye behind the mask looked surprised. "I... guess that's good. Sorry about that."
"It is no trouble," said Albedo, rolling her eyes. She looked to the side, ignoring whatever Evileye said next. She did not mean to, but there was something...
"You'd best return," said Albedo, absently gesturing to the melee. "As long as none of them break through, we should be fine."
"Hmph. I don't need a rookie to tell me that," said Evileye in a way that fired up Albedo's vindictive self, though yet again she hid her barbed steel behind a veil of silk. She watched the girl return to support her comrades, before stretching her arm to the side and grasping something in midair.
"Gakh!"
There were crunching sounds coming from within her clenched fist. Slowly, the air beside Albedo shimmered. The magic released itself, revealing the bald man. A moment later, his form shimmered, and another layer of magic ripped apart, showing her instead a cloaked man, his pasty face captured within Albedo's mailed fist. "Mrghgh!"
"Invisibility spell, accompanied by an underlying illusion. Do you know, my lord's a master in such things. Maybe that's why I sensed it before I even saw the magic." She squeezed harder, his head making squishy noises like a succulent grape being squeezed, eliciting a shriek from the man's throat. "Do you have any other talents, worm?"
"T-t-take my money! Gold, information, everything! Just please spare me, oh please!" He squirmed in her grasp, like a fish out of water, futilely trying to escape her implacable grip.
"As if such things are of interest to me. My master's vision is infinite, but I daresay it has no room for worms like yourself." She glanced at Blue Rose, who were still in the pitch of battle, the group now reunited and pushing back against the last of the army. Albedo went back inside the cave, and disposed of the wretch. The man might have had some use to Blue Rose, but their affairs were of no interest to Nazarick, and also to her lord. Blue Rose itself was more important.
Her decision was thus challenged when she saw something happen that the members of Blue Rose had not seen. The dark-skinned woman had disengaged from fighting the bulky woman, and was now skulking around behind her beleaguered comrades, her gaze unmistakably bent on Lakyus. The latter's group was too busy, and did not notice her in the dust of battle; and so Lakyus' back was therefore very exposed, with none of them realizing it. The woman grasped one of its floating scimitars, and dashed forward to strike.
"Lakyus!" Someone screamed.
In the last moment, Lakyus had turned, eyes wide, swinging her blade just in time to deflect the strike. But her stance was too weak, and she dropped her sword from the next blocked strike. Albedo saw the opening; nothing now could stop the woman from plunging her blade into Lakyus' chest. Unless-
A sick, wet sound followed. Followed by a scream, then the sound of bones breaking as Albedo snapped the woman's arm like an insolent twig, before tossing her to the side. The warrior's scimitars fell to the ground as she smashed against the floor like a puppet whose string had abruptly been cut.
"You should be more mindful of your surroundings," Albedo said, before she turned and grabbed hold of the nearest man and then hurled him against their comrades. The force of it was so strong it was like he'd been fired from a cannon. Fountains of blood rose from the shattered bodies crunching together. The mannish woman turned to behead the last enemy, then joined her comrades in staring at Albedo with wide-eyed fear and wonder.
()()()()()()
"H-how..."
"Th-that was so cool... So cool!" Lakyus said, her former attitude towards Albedo gone. She turned towards the unfortunate corpses, nigh unrecognizable against the offal and blood. "A bit disgusting, certainly, but you're pretty strong, Amelia."
"Yes. Very," Evileye remarked. "Makes me wonder if you're even human."
Tension spiked within Albedo as Evileye's suspicious gaze turned towards her. Her lord had made numerous plans against every outcome, and had even taken pains to hide her noticeable wings and horns. And yet she realized, too late, that she had been perhaps too hasty in ending the battle in such a flashy way. What she did was definitely not being "subtle". And she could not influence minds, like Demiurge or Ainz.
She picked up Lakyus' fallen greatsword, which made everyone but Lakyus tense. Albedo felt a faint voice against her head. Narrowing her eyes, she pushed back against the voice, which seemed to whisper nonsensical things straight into her mind.
"Hm... This is a cursed sword, is it not?"
"Y-yes. Please give it to me, Amelia. That sword will-!"
She felt the presence stir within the black-and-blue blade, which then regarded her with unseen eyes. It seemed surprised. A dark soul, which I dare not devour. Yours is a heart more blacker than mine, Overseer.
Silence, worm! she shouted in her mind, driving the weak tendrils of its influence from it. She would consult Demiurge about this: such a vulnerability to mental attack, however weak, spoke of a hole in Nazarick's defense. And she could not tolerate that.
I apologize, said the presence. It's been long and taxing, trying to break that bitch's mind. She resists me every minute I remain in her possession, even if there are cracks beginning to show. It won't be long before- The presence paused. Are you claiming me, my lord? Please use me, free me from that useless bitch, and let blood flow freely through the courts of Man! Bind your soul to mine, so I can-
Once more driving the intruder from her mind, like an incessant pest, she handed the blade, hilt first, back to Lakyus. "You are remarkably strong-willed, to handle that blade. There is a great demon lurking within, and it can easily erode the wills of lesser men."
"Huh? Oh, uh yes..." Lakyus flushed, before putting the cursed sword away. "I can handle it. I mean... oh, but you seem to be able to do the same, Amelia."
"Yes. I-no, we of Eclipse Nebula are strong against such things."
"Hey, you haven't answered our question," said Evileye coldly.
"Evileye..."
That insolent human. Her attitude reminded her of a smaller, more mortal Shalltear. She sighed, then lifted up her helm to display the face her lord had crafted for her. "As you can see, I am human, like you. Blessed with great strength and equipment, but cursed to an endless journey." Those were all things she made up on the spot, but none of it was giving away anything important.
"Wow you're..." Lakyus turned her head and coughed, her ears turning red. "You're beautiful, Amelia."
As it should be, Albedo thought, though she was rather surprised at the woman's reaction. It reminded her yet again of Shalltear, and her debauched ways. She put the helm back on and said, "I thank you for that, you are beautiful yourself."
"Oh sheesh, now you've found a woman who flirts back, Lakyus?" said the mannish woman, beaming. "Well, she's strong, so she can be your equal."
"Gagaran, it's not like that!" Lakyus said with a scowl. She cleared her throat. "Apologies again, Amelia. Please, you have helped us enough. I would like to invite you to sojourn with us back to the capital..."
"I have to turn this in, and rendezvous with my team-mates," said Albedo. As if she wanted to waste time dallying here while her husband was still out there, waiting to give her her prize!
"If that is your choice. Do not fear, we shall speak to the Guildmaster. I have no doubt your other comrades are as strong-"
"They are very strong," Albedo snapped, her tone more high-pitched than before. "My Mas-no, Lord Momon is someone whom I cannot even match."
"I see. In any case, we shall certainly recommend you for your deeds here. I am certain there is a promotion ready for you, or my name is not Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra. You have aided us, and brought a swift end to this confrontation." She curtsied. "It would have been more disastrous without you."
"That's because you got careless," Evileye said.
"Heh," the woman named Gagaran chuckled and said, "Looks like you got dumped, Lakyus."
"Gagaran..!"
Albedo appraised the Blue Rose's leader silently. It seemed she had attracted a prospective bond with her, and that was something rare. She knew she had skills that would make weak-willed men fall for her charms, but she had not expected even women to be affected. In any case, this might actually be a coup de grace, worthy of her lord's praise. She'd barely known these warriors, and already this woman was dancing in the palm of her hand.
Thus, she hesitated, plans forming in her mind. Having made a quick decision, Albedo then approached Lakyus. She loomed over the blonde, who looked up quizzically at her. She cupped her chin, which made Lakyus' eyes widen. She squeaked, like a small animal. Gagaran cackled in the distance.
"Though we part today," she said, pouring every ounce of seduction into her voice, "We shall certainly meet again. Fare you well, beautiful flower." And with that, Albedo considered her seed sown, and was certain it would bloom later-judging by the red-faced, spluttering warrior she left behind.
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