Capítulo 21: Chapter 21 - Holy Reunion I
An awakening!
Gazef Stronoff woke up inside a small cabin, more specifically, it looked like he was using someone's bed to sleep there. He slowly got up, carefully, because his mind was still confused. Looking around, he noticed that his armor was positioned close to the ground, in the most tidy way possible, while his sword was at his side, so he also realized that he was just wearing the common clothes he normally wears underneath his armor.
"Argh..." He put his hand on his head as he sat on that bed, trying to remember correctly why he was there.
Yes, he came to save villages. Yes, he had finally gotten to one before an attack. And yes, he had entered into battle against magic casters.
Slowly he remembered having appeared inside a hut, surrounded by villagers, before passing out. His confused memories about what happened were sorting out, soon, he remembered who did something for him.
Had those three individuals planned in advance that he would fail? No, possibly it was just a pure precaution...
Finally getting out of bed, he went to the window and opened it, finally seeing that village, it was the same as before he arrived, there were some people walking nearby, with them noticing that he had woken up and waving. He waved back, with a sigh of relief.
'So that group managed to keep their word and protect this place... Ainz Ooal Gown... I owe you one...' He thought, observing the clear morning sky, before putting on at least the leggings of his armor and being greeted by the owner of the hut he was in, this being the Village Chief.
The two chatted a little, while the wife of the owner approached, offering the head warrior some food and drink. He normally wouldn't accept that due to his ethics, but he didn't refuse after his stomach growled, revealing that he was hungry.
After a few more hours of rest there, Gazeff left that hut, going to meet part of his group that had survived the attacks. Some of them were awake at the time he was teleported, but were too injured to get up and get involved in the rest of the fight. They told the head warrior what they could see.
"Is this serious? Those three were actually able to destroy so many angels and resist the magical blows without any difficulty?"
"Yes, Captain! They barely moved as they fought, not even the white warrior, who was among them, moved, he just used his sword and shield." One of Re-Estize's knights commented, his eyes wide. "And those spells... Really, they are something I have never seen before, I almost fainted from the amazement."
"You guys are talking a lot about the magic caster Momonga and the warrior Toucha, but that warrior in black armor?" Gazef asked, none of the knights knew if she did something or not. "I understand. We are very lucky that people, who can stand up to a surprise attack from Theocracy, are friendly and good-natured.... But wait, what about the survivors of the attacks?"
"The surviving enemies? We have already handcuffed them all, the Village Chief asked to leave the weakest of them here, to pay for the harm caused through forced labor."
"And that general of theirs?" Gazeff got straight to the main topic, as the most important person in the attack was not mentioned.
The knights in front of them seemed a little nervous about something, but soon one of them responded. "That warrior in white armor, he caught the enemy captain to obtain information... He told us that, when he obtains everything the enemy knows, he would communicate with us through this magical artifact."
The Royal head warrior received from one of the knights a type of rectangular and metallic artifact, with golden details on the ends. There are two protuberances that appear to be buttons, both had things written in a language that no one there understood, but there were symbols below, one representing negation and the other, even though it was also unknown, the logic was easy to understand.
"For them to take an enemy from battles of this level... could cause some problems, let's pray that we can get him again and use him as a bargaining chip for something." He sighed, not knowing well the new allies he had obtained, but from what he noticed in the simple conversations they had, at least the magic caster and the white warrior, they were both sincere and humble.
It didn't take long for the warriors to head towards E-Rantel, taking with them most of those captured. They would take advantage of the fact that that large city was close to the southwestern edge of the kingdom to organize things there, in addition to using the help of some adventurers.
While this was happening, Enri Emmot, the girl saved by the Ainz Ooal Gown group, was having some thoughts about her village situation. That's when she remembered the items Momonga handed her, that lich had told her that the item in hand summoned obedient and protective goblins.
It might even be an exaggeration to use an item as powerful as that, but after much thought, she activated it, with the intention that, if these goblins are obedient to the point of participating in suicide attacks, perhaps they could be their meat shields or even builders.
And that's how it was done...
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[1 week after]
"Ah... I think this is good, thank you very much." Enri said with an adorable smile.
"No problem, Miss Enri."
"Equally!"
"I think we can help you more!"
On her side, there were 3 goblins summoned thanks to the item [Horn of the Goblin General]. Different from ordinary goblins, they seemed to have more human uniforms, in addition to not showing savagery. Everyone was very friendly, with her saying there was nothing they needed to do now other than stay on guard. And so they do.
Not only were there those 3, there were 7 more of them walking around Carne Village, all trying to help as much as they could, as they had received orders to 'Help with the defense of the village and with problems between the residents.', trying to cover the work of those who had died, at least until someone from the village itself wanted to do that job. It was clearly a great choice.
Obviously, there were villagers who didn't want those monsters there, due to the danger that their race represented, but denying help at a time like that was out of the question. At least all the extra work wasn't just done by the goblins, as the prisoners were also taking care of some specific things, while they were locked in huts, chained. There was no need for an absurd level of guard over them, since the ones that were left were the weakest and didn't even seem to have offensive or defensive skills, they had been used in the attack just to make their group look bigger, nothing more than that.
Enri was putting the clothes to dry outside her house, which now seemed a little bigger and empty, as she only had her little sister with her. However, she didn't seem so depressed, the world can be sad and cruel, but it can also be happy and calm. This was the life of a peasant who lives close to forests. The girl hummed as she continued her tasks.
The hours passed, until she realized that she didn't have much water at home. Making her a little upset, as she was going to get ready to make stew for dinner. Because of this, she took a large bucket and headed towards the village well, observing the surrounding scenery.
Carne Village was being surrounded by wooden walls, an idea proposed by the goblins, which was widely accepted, even by the human elders. As for construction, only the eastern side and part of the northern side were complete, but no one thought that another attack would happen, as the previous one had occurred almost 1 week ago. Besides, if the reason for what happened really was Stronoff, they would attack E-Rantel instead.
"Yo!" The little sister tried to attract attention by waving as she played with other children around the village.
"Nemu! Don't get too dirty, understand? I just put the clothes to dry at home. And dinner might take a while to get ready!" She said loudly so that the little girl could hear clearly, and so she started walking towards the well again.
It was already afternoon, the sky was starting to show small signs of orange-like color, Enri was doing what she always did, waiting for some people to fill their buckets, so she could be the last one to do it. During this, a person and one of the summoned goblins began to be seen, both running into the village, crossing the improvised entrance gate. The man went towards the Village Chief's hut, while the goblin went towards the young girl. It seems that, even though he was told who owned the place, the little monster saw the girl as his real leader.
"Ms. Enri! Ms. Enri!!" The goblin said, running towards her.
"Huh? Did something happen?" She asked, very confused by the little summon's hurried manner, she was still taking the bucket out of the well using a crank.
"Knights, all in white and blue armor! There don't seem to be many of them, but the appearance and aura they emit seems to be that of some advanced group." The goblin's words left her frightened about the possibility of another attack.
"Finish pulling that bucket of water, go to my sister, Nemu, and leave her safe inside our house. I'll take a closer look so the other goblins don't mess up." Enri ordered and that little goblin accepted without question.
Even though she was not considered very important in Carne, she was still the summoner of a small group of obedient monsters, the situations would be intense if that group of knights saw those beings without a context of why they were there. She noticed the Village Chief approaching slightly behind her as they walked to the entrance.
There it was possible to see a group of at least 10 people arriving on horses, all of them were either armored or wearing a type of long, bluish robe. They seemed to be led by a woman who wore white, blue and black robes, and had very long brown hair that didn't look messy due to a white hairband.
On that woman's sides, she had two blonde people with fierce gazes. On the left, a woman with short hair, carrying a sword at her waist and a silver bow on her back, large enough to be noticeable but not exaggerated, wearing simple armor and a black cape over it. On the right side, a man with long hair, his fierce gaze seemed slightly empty, wearing clothes more reminiscent of a wizard than a knight, being blue and black, with almost unnoticeable details of white, he also carried a sword on his waist, but having a very long scabbard.
The symbol on their uniform was visible the closer they got...
"Are you villagers from this place?" The woman in front of everyone questioned, stopping her horse and looking around. One of the eyebrows raised when she noticed what would be a small trio of goblins with shields in front of Enri.
"Y-Yes, we are inhabitants of this humble village. What brings you here, visitors of the Holy Kingdom?" The Village Chief asked.
Yes, those symbols on their clothes were slightly familiar to Enri. They were the main brands of the Roble Holy Kingdom, but what were they doing here?
The woman stared at those goblins, wondering why they would apparently be raising shields to protect a human, ending up ignoring the question asked. Therefore, the person speaking was the man with sadistic eyes who was next to her.
"There are several reasons why we are walking here. I think the simplest thing would be in relation to a report, that there were people pretending to be soldiers from our Kingdom, attacking and destroying places here in Re-Estize to tarnish our name, in addition to the name of the Baharuth Empire." He said that with a calmness that was in no way similar to his look, but suddenly that expression of fury also disappeared. "If it's not inconvenient, it would be better to talk in a more closed area."
"Okay, you can come with me... Enri, you can come with us too if you want."
"Isn't she your daughter or something?" The brown haired woman questioned.
"No, she is the daughter of a friend of mine who died in the attack last week. But she's as thick-skinned as he was, so we were thinking of her as my successor." Enri was slightly embarrassed by the Village Chief's words, but she doesn't seem to say otherwise.
This way, 4 knights stayed there at the entrance to rest while the other 6, including the leader and the young man, would go to the village leader's hut. Entering there, his wife seemed to enter another room, this made some of the knights there sigh, as they thought she was traumatized by the symbol on the armor.
"Well, you gentlemen barely introduced yourself..."
"I'm sorry, I just became interested in something I observed in this place... I am the High Priestess of the Roble Holy Kingdom, my name is Kelart Custodio." The brown-haired woman said, making the eyes of the two inhabitants of Carne Village go wide-eyed.
"And I am her apprentice, my name is Letyan Baraja." Said the man with long blond hair.
"A High Priestess came here with paladins?...What are your other reasons for coming here besides the attacks?" The Village Chief went directly to ask about it, someone with so much importance there was something unthinkable.
"To the point, you seem like the type who doesn't like to travel too far into too much information." Said the boy as he tried to return to the beginning. "But do you at least have any idea who was responsible?"
"According to the Re-Estize head warrior, Gazef Stronoff, they are all possibly from Slane Theocracy, due to one of the attacks being composed of several magic casters and summons." Enri was the one speaking, as she sat on a chair. "I didn't see the battle itself, but according to the head warrior's reports, their summons were all related to angels."
Kelart took out a kind of small notebook and began to note while the villagers spoke. Letyan also sat in a chair while talking to the two people responsible for the place.
"Slane Theocracy... I even understand that they want to speed up this war between Baharuth and Re-Estize since... this kingdom will lose the war... the nobles here just postpone things..." He seemed to speak honestly about that and gave a sigh with that thought. "But to think that they would try to frame us as offensive, when we are completely neutral in this war... They are crazy who think they can do anything..."
"Let's pray that the fact that someone as famous as Gazef Stronoff, knowing that we have nothing to do with this, can help us not have our trade agreements destroyed." Kelart made that little comment, still holding the small notebook.
"If you want, later, you can go to some of those involved in the attack yourself, the weakest among the invading knights were kept here to do forced labor and supply part of the destroyed workforce." Enri commented, making the two leaders of that group from the Holy Kingdom nod, agreeing to follow this plan.
"Can we get back to the subject of 'other reasons'?" The old man asked.
"Oh yes! An accident occurred in the middle of a battle that I was present in, in the territory of the Holy Kingdom, and this accident is related to this thing here." He said, taking that sword out of its sheath and putting it on the table, it had a large blade with several engravings.
"A sword?" Enri asked curiously, but when she tried to touch it, the item seemed non-existent, a mirage, passing through her hands, making it impossible to touch. This left her wide-eyed, pulling her hands closer to her.
The boy laughed lightly and shook his head. "That's right, after we used this item that fell from the heavens to defeat our enemies at the moment, it became untouchable to everyone except me... It has an immense charge of energy considered evil by our best clerics." He said this, pointing in a friendly way to his mentor. "Like this one."
"I don't understand what this has to do with us." The chief replied.
"It's just that the sword seemed to come from the sky, but in fact it seemed to come from somewhere... After we had permission, we were traveling in a straight line, going to look for nearby villages to look for information and see if there were any sources of negative energy, like that of the item. However, the vast majority of those from Re-Estize had been destroyed, and that's how we heard about the rumor of our and the Empire's soldiers working together." The boy said calmly, looking at the sword there on the table. "And when we got close to here, we felt a similar or even stronger negative energy... So I wanted to know if you have any idea where this negative source would be..."
"Negative source?"
"I'm sorry, clerics, but I've been living here since my birth, and no one has ever told me anything about evil charges here, the most I can think of are the monsters that appear on the paths from here to E-Rantel." The Village Chief said.
"I understand, you seem to have a simple enough life to not understand these matters well, I forgive you for your ignorance." The boy said pointing at Enri, more specifically, the item around her neck, that horn. "Then I will give you an example, that on your neck is an item with a negative source, not as intense as the sword, but it is similar."
"If you have no idea about this, then can you at least tell us where you got such an item?" Kelart returned to the conversation.
Enri and the Chief looked at each other for a bit before they spoke, the girl starting. "There were two attacks that day, one in the morning and at dusk, the head warrior only helped us in the nightfall fight, in the morning fight, a strange trio appeared and saved us all... It was a man in loose and dark robes who gave me this item. He told me that it was used to create obedient goblins, who would even kill themselves if it meant protecting whoever summoned them."
The old man continued. "Yes, that trio was essential in defeating the magic casters of the Slane Theocracy, one of them said he was a magic caster, while the other two were warriors."
"Giving an item like that away so easily..." They could hear the blonde girl with fierce eyes and short hair, she spoke very quietly, as if she was in her own thoughts.
"Yes, sister, either the person has too much of that, or they are a benefactor." Lentyan completed the girl's thought.
"You don't seem to be lying... Do you have the names of these people?" the high priestess asked, still looking really calm, but ultra curious.
"Yes... The white warrior is called Toucha and the magic caster is called Momonga." The old man replied. "As for the female warrior with them, I don't remember hearing her name."
"I ended up hearing when they saved me outside the village, from what I understand, her name is Albedo." Enri added.
"Yeah, that's right... and they said something about... being part of a nomadic group of people who isolated themselves from the world, called Ainz Ooal Gown.... I think it's the only identity-related information we know. Sorry if it's not much... so far we've only interacted with them that day."
"Hm... never heard of people like that." Kelart commented while resting his palms on the table.
"Neither do I, these names don't make me think of anyone... And you, Letty?" The girl questioned, approaching her brother.
He seemed very thoughtful, with one hand stroking his chin as he observed the ceiling of that room. "Hmm... I feel like they might be the source of the sword I received... But we would have to confirm it somehow... Do you guys know where they are?"
"They said they would be keeping an eye on the village, as their base is currently close to here, but they didn't say exactly where the base is." Enri replied, scratching her own hands.
"So we will have to make rounds around this place to find out something related to this group...? Heh... At least we won't have to walk aimlessly in a straight line. It's already something." Kelart tried to think about the positive aspect of this, even though she really wanted to return to the comfort of the Holy Kingdom as quickly as possible.
"Okay... But I don't think we should appear aggressive or anything like that, maybe they'll appear on their own when they realize we're here, due to the previous attacks. So we could just settle down and set up a little hut... for a maximum of 10 days, what do you think about that, master?" The boy asked the High Priestess, who just sighed.
"I agree, if we try to look around for people who can defeat surprise attacks from Slane Theocracy, they could end up having a bad idea about us... Let's follow your plan, if it doesn't work, you won't have access to the laboratory or the library for 1 month. What do you think about this?" Kelart gave an adorable smile, but to the young Baraja it was sinister.
"A-Alright, we'll do it like this!" He replied, sweating a little with anxiety, but soon looked at Enri. "Can I come and talk to you privately for a bit? I will take advantage so you can better explain what happened to you."
And so it was it...
The Holy Kingdom group made a small tent next to the entrance to Carne Village, while other members of the group were talking to the inhabitants, as well as trying to get information from the prisoners. During that moment, the High Priestess' disciple was walking with Enri, both alone, it seemed to be a friendly conversation.
"Hm... I know what a life like that is like, in the Holy Kingdom I also had a lot of trouble protecting my sister." he said with a laugh.
"Oh? Really? I thought that people who live in capitals have a more prestigious life." The resident of Carne commented without many details.
"It really depends, even though I'm the youngest, I always had to interfere in other people's fights that they wanted to make against her. It doesn't matter if our father is of some high importance, people still judge us by our appearance."
Enri seemed to give a slight sigh and look down. "I think I ended up having the same impression when I saw you arriving at the village."
"Don't worry, you have plenty of reasons to think so, and also, it's not every day you come across someone who is intimidating just because of their neutral face." He was laughing again, as if that irritating topic was so common, that he decided to ignore the negativity in it.
They walked a little further, eventually moving away from the village and entering the forest. The boy appeared to look back to confirm he was not being followed and appears to have a slight smile on his face.
"Great, is this where that magic caster came from?" He asked.
"It's a little further ahead, when we arrive I'll let you know."
Slowly they were surrounded by more and more trees, until they reached a kind of dead end, with the trees being so close that it looked more like a natural wall than part of a forest. The boy carefully observed that, while he also seemed to observe the ground, there were still signs of several footsteps, as if the place had been untouched since the Emmot girls escaped.
"It was more or less around here... But tell me, why did you ask me to come here, right after telling your companions to wait for our saviors to appear?" She asked confused, after all that was hypocrisy.
"I have a feeling that the situation would be much more absurd and difficult to control if my companions were here... Due to the religious level within the kingdom I live in." He commented as he raised his hand, a kind of magical circle appearing in his palm.
"But they didn't seem this nervous before."
"It's because, unfortunately, my mentor doesn't have a magical sensitivity as good as mine... If she could feel what I feel... it would be more likely that she would attack your village, thinking it was the base of some demonic group." Letyan's words ended up scaring the peasant woman, who took a few steps back.
"I-Is this serious?... A-And what is this floating circle?"
"Yes, she is the type who would order to kill, even though she is a person who normally seeks information first and foremost... And to answer your last question... It is a magic I created to identify the surroundings..." Letyan said as he undid the magic and walked away, turning to Enri. "I think I found something... I would like you to return to the village. If my sister or anyone else asks about me, tell them I went to meditate... It's something I do a lot, so they might end up believing it."
"O-okay..." She said, still scared by the option of being attacked because of being near negative energy, or whatever that means. This made Enri think, if this energy was so great, that a person would attack mercilessly upon noticing it... Was this really related to her saviors?
"See you later then, Miss Emmot." He said before going deeper into that forest, climbing one of the trees to get through it.
Being alone now, Letyan Baraja continued to walk along the top of those large trees, until he noticed something that looked like a slightly flat and more open area. The sight of that landscape really made it seem like the trees were planted there to act as great walls, instead of being natural.
There were already stars in the sky when the boy came down from those trees and entered that separate area. It was possible to see something a little in the distance, it was very reminiscent of an entrance to an underground dungeon, they were rare, but not impossible to find, according to his research in the Holy Kingdom. However, something so well built, which seemed to be made by ancient humans, was the most unthinkable.
He began to walk slowly towards that entrance, not appearing to have anything with him other than that strange item on his waist. Suddenly, a purple energy appeared in mid-air, forming a kind of portal nearby, making him just look in the direction, without much extra reaction.
From within that portal, a man with a large red and gold mask appeared, with curved horns appearing to come out of his head, and between them a black top hat. His uniform was black, with a cloak used as a cape, with the internal colors being red, a rose on the left shoulder was one of several eye-catching things. His legs seemed to be covered by a fabric the same color as his clothes, preventing them from being seen, while his hands were covered with golden gloves that had sharp claws at the ends.
He was not alone, another man was there, a being with tanned skin, as well as long ears like an elf, white and opaque glasses and a red uniform that could be considered more formal, but even less elegant than the uniform the first has. And on the other side, a woman with equally tanned skin, red hair, bright yellow eyes, as well as a uniform like a maid and a small black hat on her head.
"Two knights and a lady magically appearing as I approach some sort of dungeon... I must imagine that you are from that group called Ainz Ooal Gown, am I correct?" It was strange to say the least, but Letyan didn't seem that surprised, he was just in a defensive state.
The man with the top hat laughed lightly. "Exactly, we are members of this group that you spoke about... I just noticed that you ordered your group to stay in the small village to the south, while you came here alone... May I know the reason?"
"So you have eyes and ears even in that village?" He asked, but soon a loud voice came from the man in the red dress.
"Silence! Don't see that you were asked something? You should just respond!" His voice seemed very powerful, but it had no effect on the blond-haired boy, who just shook his head instead of doing the order.
That ended up making the man in red clothes observe the people who were with him. Showing complete confusion, was something supposed to happen?
The man with the top hat also seemed confused by the reaction, but he sighed, seeming to observe it well. "My son, you shouldn't interrupt people like that, we are the youngest in these lands, and from what I saw, he seems to be important enough to ask questions instead of just answering."
"But, fath-" The one with glasses tried to justify himself, but was silenced by the one with the top hat.
"No 'But's... well... now... to answer your question, yes, we have eyes, but not ears, at least not very attentive ears..." He said this looking at the young man in blue clothes.
"Thank you very much for your consideration." He smiled and grabbed the handle of the sword, pulling it out of the sheath and releasing it, causing the blade to stick into the ground, as if its gravity were absurdly intense. "There are several reasons for me to come here alone, one of them is this... This item was what caught my attention and made me know about the existence of something powerful nearby."
The man in the top hat stared at the item, slowly approaching it and then looking at the man in red. "Son, could you see if this is really the sword?"
As requested, that well-dressed man also approached, summoning a kind of glass in mid-air, placing it between one of his eyes and the sword, as if he were analyzing it. After that, he just nodded and kept changing his vision between the item and the person who brought it.
"Before the important questions... May I know your name and title?" The man in black approached the item, trying to touch the handle, but he ended up going through it, it looked like a mirage.
"My name is Letyan Baraja, some call me the 'Craziest Priest' or just 'The Insane Gaze of Angels'... there are other titles, but generally, people know me by that..." He said with a small laugh. "I don't think you can touch the sword either... Don't worry, for some reason, everyone also has the same surprise..."
"I see..." He seemed to adjust his golden gloves. "My name is Ulbert Alain Odle... A nickname I have among my allies is 'Demon of Great Disaster'... But since you have a title related to angels, I think a title related to demons is not that unusual."
"It really depends on the religion of the place..." Letyan commented, laughing again, he had a slight smile on his face. "So, I have questions about the item."
"I'm sorry, but I don't know if I can answer such questions... to tell you the truth... seeing this sword having this effect of not allowing others to touch it makes me sick... this was... belonging to a great friend of mine, can you understand?" Ulbert said, moving away a little, without taking his eyes off the sword there.
"Well, it's not my fault if it flew towards a battlefield and ended up syncing with me... can anyone be to blame for that?"
"Only if it was your goal to do such a thing."
"Creating paranoid theories? Well, I was just in a fight and this came up, there's nothing to explain beyond that." Letyan soon picked up the sword again, but something happened...
Suddenly the maid there advanced towards the boy, taking a large mace from under her skirt and swinging it to hit him. "ULBERT-SAMA SAID HE DOESN'T WANT PEOPLE TOUCHING!!"
"Lupus! What are you doi-?" Ulbert was going to complain, but a not so common sight appeared in front of him.
That boy was still leaning down a little, so he could grab the long-bladed sword, but he had also raised his hand to block Lupus' attack, which was aimed at his head. The mace was full of thorns, and one of the thorns could be seen going through the boy's hand, causing it to bleed, but even so he was holding the item, it didn't even seem like the attack had been made with the maid's full strength.
The boy slowly raised his face, looking at the attacker's face. Her look of astonishment was tremendous, she perhaps thought that young man was weak or too slow. He just sighed, slowly turning his eyes towards Ulbert, who seemed surprised by what the situation had become.
"If they attack me, I attack, you understand?" That's what the boy said.
"Huh?" The three ended up speaking at the same time.
Letyan held tight to that mace, with a thorn still piercing his hand, he then let go of the sword's hilt, a strange glow appearing beneath his clothes as he spoke. "[Lapiste]" A magic circle appeared beneath the maid Lupus, before she could react, something appeared from the ground, launching her into the air as if she was a rocket. There on the ground, all that was left was a large stone with an arm-like shape and a fist at the end.
"Simply an Uppercut on a sassy maid, to make her tame... I don't like this type of violence, but I'll do it if anyone wants my harm." The boy said as he cracked his fists and looked back at Ulbert. "This was all just an accident and someone running around without orders, right?"
"Yes... I didn't expect her to attack someone so directly like that..." He stared at the scene and saw the Maid starting to fall from the height she was thrown. "My son, you better catch her before she hits the ground."
"Okay, father." The man in the red suit said as two scaly wings appeared on his back and he took flight to help the maid.
While Ulbert's two assistants were away, Letyan just laughed lightly and shook his head, walking towards the dungeon entrance. "We'd better talk to others, Akatsuki."
Ulbert stood there, just observing the situation, he shook his head too and ran towards the human there. Holding tight to one of his shoulders. "Where did you get that name?"
"Just think, little goat." The human responded with a slight smile. "According to the locals who live nearby, Suzuki and Masato are also here... And I don't think they would like to see me feeling the cold in the middle of the night, would they?"
Ulbert seemed to be completely amazed by what he heard, to the point of taking off his own mask, revealing his goat-demon face. His eyes were wide open and his jaw was down, as if he was trying to say something but couldn't, just seeing the human entering the dungeon with nothing in his hands other than that sword.
"H-Hey! Ulbert-Sama, why are you letting him in?" Said the maid, being carried by the demon NPC to his creator.
He remained silent, just staring at the dungeon entrance, as if he were inside his own thoughts. This made the girl want to run inside to try to attack that human again, while the demon in red clothes stared at his father, watching everything.
"Father, you seem to be very still, are you suffering from some paralysis effect?" was asked.
The demon player just shook his head and spoke again, still in disbelief. "Demiurge... My son... I want you to warn some of the Supreme Beings to gather on the 9th Floor... we have an incredible guest..."
"I understand, father, is there anything else?"
". . . If possible, take Lupusregina with you, I feel like she will end up in a near-death state if she attacks that human too much..."
"That is an unknown human, who, in my opinion, managed to throw Lupusregina Beta, in addition to surviving her attack without showing pain. Father, did you find out about that human secretly and research him by chance?" Demiurge's words revealed an honest questioning of the demon, in his mind, it was illogical to see such an inferior being seen as an 'incredible guest'.
"We were right..." He said, not responding to his son, but to his thoughts. "Using the guild name would really help us find more players... but I didn't expect that..."
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[Letyan Baraja's POV]
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I was having a simple, busy, and even a very interesting life...
Son of a father who is among the most famous people in an entire kingdom, son of an incredible mother, very tough, but fantastic, who has been in battle and led groups. Younger brother of a sweet girl who just wants to become someone in life, to show pride, even if our parents don't understand why she really wants that...
I still remember the moment I was born, with all the words and seconds recorded in my mind. It was a room inside a medical house of the Prime Estate, in Hoburns, the capital of the Roble Holy Kingdom, intended only for high-ranking warriors.
I remember the moment my mother and I locked eyes, her smile, her tears. From my father arriving late to see my birth, as he was trying to make my sister tidy enough to enter the place. And my sweet and sensitive sister looking at me with a big smile.
After a while, I came to understand that my father and sister's eyes are considered horrendous, psychotic, scary. I had those eyes too, but I managed to force my face to look more friendly, something that became natural over time. That, anyway, never changed the fact that I saw through their looks and the almost expressionless face my father always had. Few can actually tell when he is smiling, depressed, or even confused, and apparently those few people are just me and my mother, my older sister is not lucky enough to understand that face.
I remember the problems I ended up causing by wanting to help others, I remember the crazy and insane situations that made my existence noticed by the large circles of the kingdom I protect... I remember the day the royalty called me as one of the three pillars for them, my mentor and her sister being the "twin wings" of the magnificent and only Holy Queen Calca Bessarez, while I'm unofficially seen as the "Halo" of your majesty.
And yet...
I never expected to find that katana, my instrument in that world of leisure...
I never expected to return to this place, which I thought was a distant memory of a past moment when I just wanted to have fun and enjoy life... When I imagined that everything would finally end happily for me...
I was now entering one of the initial rooms on the 2nd Floor...
It was just as I remembered it, as if the layout hadn't changed since my unfortunate departure. I felt the presence of the undead, more specifically, the skeleton warriors, who were below the ground, just waiting for me to approach them to be activated. I could see the long suspension bridge in the distance, which separated the common area on that floor, from the Floor Guardian area there.
"What was her name again?" I ended up talking to myself as I walked a little further, the ground shook in certain parts, with skeletons slowly appearing. "It was 'Shall something'... Hmm... Shallian? Shallcry? Maybe I'm confusing it and it's 'Chair something'... knowing the mind of that bird-headed pervert... it's even possible..."
The monsters made a lot of noise and approached me, wanting to hit me with those swords, but I just started dodging them. In fact, it didn't even seem like a real attack...
From the moment I re-obtained [Kuwoi-Muramasa], I started to feel my body lighter...
Since the days I saw magic being done in my new life, I noticed how strangely similar to YGGDRASIL's skills they were. I even tested using them, but every time I used a skill, I felt my body bleeding inside, vomiting and headaches that could leave me in bed for days. The negative effects decreased the more I increased my stamina and physical training, but they still occurred, however now, with my katana in hand, I could use those skills again without having much backlash, but this only went to those from tier 6 and below.
Anyway, I was very used to the improvised method I created to return to using skills from that game...
"[Ignis]!!"
I felt the energy from the environment enter my body and quickly go to the palms of my hands, becoming fireballs almost immediately. There were only three projectiles, which meant I had to move both my arms, as if I were throwing repeated punches, but with my palms open, thus creating bursts of several fireballs that hit the skeleton warriors, knocking down most of those who weren't raising their shields in time.
"Did you like the heat? Well, now we're going to have a blizzard! [Grando]!" Instead of the fire projectiles, a thick spike of ice was now formed, heading towards the enemies, in the same way as I did with my own fire magic, I needed to use both hands repeatedly to create a volley of several of them.
There weren't as many projectiles per shot, but the intensity of the attacks was stronger due to the rigidity. This time, I could see the projectiles hitting the shields and the impact was destroying the monsters right there. Making me give a satisfied smile as I start walking on that bridge.
"Wow... it seems much more difficult to walk... was there some automatic movement system on bridges in the game, and I didn't know?" It was my first comment, it was very wobbly and loose, it was impossible to imagine 3 people walking in it at the same time, that's how I remembered it, at least.
'Maybe they changed it while I wasn't there. Yes, it was a more acceptable alternative...'
That area was actually two bridges connecting the two ends of the floor with a central platform where there could be limited battles. But just as I remembered, when I arrived at the central platform, nothing happened, the trap was people's paranoia waiting for something to appear.
I started walking through the second part of the area, until I felt a strong tremor in the ropes, as if they were breaking apart. Making me run to the other side, but it didn't seem to help, because the moment the rope was destroyed, the whole bridge was falling down.
I held on to the wood that formed the floor of the suspension bridge, and prepared myself for the impact against the strong wall. Now using the bridge as a ladder to climb that perpendicular structure, arriving at the entrance to an underground church.
"Argh... Was this something expected and different from before? Or am I too heavy?" I ended up talking to myself again, standing up and observing the dark immensity behind me.
In the game, it was a deep hole, but there was a bottom, which was actually a large portal that led to other areas. Did it still work like that? Maybe, but knowing some possibilities of places I could be taken made me shake in agony.
I don't even want the chance to fall into the cockroach room...
Looking ahead again, I opened the gates of that underground church, seeing a magnificent landscape. Stained glass windows all over the side walls, emitting colorful lights that left the place illuminated in certain parts, while others were bathed in darkness. A could see rows of benches at the ends, leaving a large central space.
And on the other side of that church, a grand altar with an oxidized bronze statue, trying to imitate any religious symbol, non-existent. In front of that, there were 5 women with dark hair, extremely pale skin, almost gray, and white clothes that covered part of their body, but leaving their curves and more striking parts of the silhouette very relevant.
"Vampires...? Hm... true, I think the Floor Guardian here is a Vampire... or True Vampire... It doesn't matter..." I said quietly, again to myself, as I slowly walked towards them. "Are you here to fight, beauties?"
One of them looked at my eyes, they all had red irises, but that one in particular had a brighter look, with a slight movement of her arm as if she was calling me. It was too obvious to know what was going on, unfortunately, I know some people who would fall for it.
"You are really using the skill [Charm]? How cute..." I laughed, adjusting my uniform and removing my robe and shirt so as not to damage it too much during the battle, putting it inside the new inventory space that came together with my katana.
My body was covered in countless self-made tattoos, all of which were circular glyphs. This was the type of magic that I used more often than common skills, ritualistic symbols that suck energy into my body and then the same energy was used immediately, not even giving time to my physique be affected.
"You shouldn't do that, if you knew I was compromised, miss..." They looked at me angrily, making noises as if they were territorial beasts wanting to scare off some invader. Well, that wouldn't work on me.
The 5 of them ran towards me, I just ducked, touching my hand to the ground. Two glyphs began to glow on my body, one of them was the level 1 enhancement symbol, [Vol], and the second was the ice symbol, [Grando]. And so I spoke out loud. "[Vol Grando]!!"
Ice clusters appeared from the ground, hindering and even hurting the Vampire Brides who almost managed to touch me. Being protected there, I already thought about my next form of attack. I wanted to have fun, test what that dungeon was like after seeing it as something real, but using the katana would take away the fun. Therefore, the level 2 enhancement and sickle constructor symbols both shone.
"[Melio Falcis]!!" I exclaimed again, a large 2-meter golden sickle with a dense blade appearing in my right hand.
With a strong movement from right to left, along with a firm hold using both my hands, I managed to create a horizontal slash that went through the ice walls I created, cutting it. I could notice that one of the vampires had been cut in half by the attack, it seems that she was trapped in the ice spikes instead of being expelled away.
That monster's body was lying on the ground, with a kind of black blood flowing out of its open parts. It was very viceral, more so than the game I remembered... Well, that was real now, I shouldn't expect everything to be exactly like a virtual world, in there.
I watched as they continued to growl and try to attack me again, two of them used physical attacks, while the others seemed to raise their hands towards me as if they were casting some spell. I felt a tremendous force hitting my body, it was some kind of invisible shockwave that knocked me to the ground. One of the vampire brides jumped on top of me, trying to devour me right there, and with my high speed, I lifted one of my legs, kicking her hard in the stomach and throwing it against the ceiling.
"[Melio Scutum]!" I used another set of glyphs, thus creating a large floating shield that covered the front part of my body, preventing the second vampire bride from trying to attack me there.
With that little time now, I pushed my legs to get off the ground. I realized that the other vampires were using that shockwave again, but thanks to my large shield still being active, it seemed to have no effect. That made me smile, already thinking of another way to destroy them.
"[Luminatio]!" From my left hand, a small light appeared, and when launched, it divided into two spheres, which began to rotate and increase in size as the seconds passed, heading towards the furthest enemies.
One vampire bride managed to dodge, while another wasn't so lucky. When touched, her pale body seemed to burn, as if she were under a scorching sun. Even with passive regeneration, it would take a while for her to be able to fight effectively again.
Undoing the shield, I was able to use my right hand again, stretching towards them and releasing the opposite of the previous attack."[Umbra]!" A kind of specter came out of the magic circle in my palm, it wasn't humanoid, just a line of negative energy. It crept through the air quickly, leaving a putrid trail, managing to pass through the bodies of the two closest vampires. Not physically attacking them, but it seemed to be a consistent stun.
"Now I want to test... [Torpor]!" I used it with both hands, creating a yellowish crystal in each.
Launching the crystals towards the vampires, when they were hit, they seemed to paralyze right there, with the crystal quickly covering their bodies, as if it was a tomb of golden ice. This honestly made me smile slightly, since I had created that skill, I had just tested it on nothing stronger than goblins or orcs.
"Good..." I observed the remaining vampire there, she seemed to understand the situation she was in, slowly taking steps back as she leaned against the wall. "Hmm? Do vampires feel scared too?" I ended up saying, having a dark smile out of habit.
Seeing that pathetic situation made me just sigh, looking at the vampire bride who was still cut in half there, she seemed to still be "alive", but she was unable to regenerate, in addition to her movements being slow and weak. I know they were vampires, but testing my skills there, without being afraid of being reprimanded by Kelart, made me realize that I was well above their level, with surprise attacks being the only things that could hit me at the moment.
"Am I really sorry for a vampire?" I questioned myself, it wasn't so many times that I fought against rational beings, and the times I did, I was defending my home, but now I was invading, just for fun and curiosity.
I pointed one of my hands against the one that still didn't seem so affected by the last attacks. When suddenly, a purple portal appeared in the middle of the room, making me turn my face, but not move out of position.
From inside that portal, a woman of small stature, with a small parasol, pale skin color, red eyes, hair as white as her skin, and a very chic red and purple outfit, came out. Next to her, there was a being that could pass for a human, if he had the aura of one, he had a butler's uniform, but with an appearance that I could only describe as a wise martial artist.
I could remember that they were NPCs, and important ones, but I couldn't remember their functions at the exact time. However, being able to connect some dots, that little one should be the Vampire Floor Guardian.
"What do you want?" I questioned them without much delay.
"The Supreme Beings were watching this battle, human... Your abilities have made them curious enough for you to be called to them at this very moment." Said the small woman, in a voice that I found irritating.
"No, thanks, I'm facing the dungeon precisely to get there without any shortcuts." I responded, but it didn't seem to have left them satisfied, at least the little girl was the only one to react, while the butler remained silent, observing.
"Did I say you had a choice?" She said in a serious tone. "You were called to go to them...immediately. Nothing was said about you having a choice."
I sighed. "Wait a bit then. As they say, 'after playing you have to clean up the mess'."
"What do you think you're saying?!" She exclaimed, but decided to ignore it.
I approached the vampire cutted in half, she clearly tried to attack me, but I ended up slapping her in the face to keep her quiet. Bringing the two halves of the body closer together, I raised my hand, using [Greater Transfer: Undead Constitution], a form of Healing for undead, and so she seemed to regenerate and connect instantly.
For the one that was burned, I just bit my own wrist until blood came out, aiming my bitten hand towards it, I threw blood at it, using a [Quadra Saint's Blood Pool]. The blood that touched her was undoing the effects of my light attack, making her regeneration return to normal.
I turned to the two who were waiting for me near the portal, walking towards them, while snapping my fingers, breaking the golden ice crystals that trapped the last two remaining vampire brides. I noticed that they looked at me strangely, the vampire was extremely confused by what she saw, while the butler just raised an eyebrow.
"What? Have you never seen an enemy healing someone?" I said going through that purple spiral.
On the other side, there was what I could call a meeting room, with several chairs there, but only 3 were being used at the moment. Observing who was there, I still couldn't really understand the proportion of the situation, that the friends I made in my last life were really here, at least some of them. I ended up smiling a little, walking closer to where they were, noticing the symbols behind the chairs. I couldn't forget my symbol, because I had remade it in this world as my signature.
So, I started to pull out my old chair to sit down, but before I could do that, I noticed someone raising their hand, as if asking me to stop what I was doing. This person was in full armor and looked much more superior than the paladins I always observe on the training grounds. He got up and walked towards me calmly, touching my shoulder, his hand was heavy, but his attempt not to appear aggressive was noticeable.
"Masato... it's been a long time huh?" I was the first to break the silence inside that place.
He stared at me, seeming to look at my appearance from top to bottom, before touching my shoulder with his other hand. "Keiko...Is it really you?..." His voice sounded like he was holding himself back from crying.
I simply took my katana from my waist and placed it on the table. "Of course, does anyone know your name?" I tried to create one of the very obvious reasons for them to know my identity, but really, I didn't even know if they told others their human names, I was just guessing, since the villagers from Carne used their IGN.
"Hm... Just extra care. Tell me about the life of that one." And then he pointed to the Brain Eater sitting there.
I just gave a soft smile, almost a smirk. "Fuyuki Yamamoto.... The last time I saw him, he was around 37 years old and worked as a physical and online literary restorer of 20th and 21st century content... However, he would be cheap if the subject of the book was related to horror or purely with 'fear of the unknown' as its theme. He only lived with his father, as he didn't have money for his own house, in addition, he has a black cat that is only his because his family took care of the kittens for two generations, you gave him the same name as Lovecraft's cat. " Everyone had a scary look, I mean, the demon player had, while the insectoid and the brain eater were difficult to read due to their facial equipment.
"SO IT IS REALLY YOU?!?" The three spoke loudly, with Masato soon starting to hug me very tightly. I was lucky that my body was minimally resistant to something like that.
"Yes yes, it's me, now can you stop this? I was walking for a few weeks until I got here and yet I didn't get a good rest." It was a lie that I was too tired, but it was a truth that I could barely relax during my trip.
He soon walked away, while the other two approached... That's when I noticed something interesting...
"I see Masato, Akatsuki and Fuyuki.... As far as I know, Satoru also came here... where is he?"
"Well... We arrived in this world a little more than a month ago... And we were interested in things here, as it reminds us of those isekai anime... But we decided to stay inside as a safety measure until we understand more about this new world." Tabula tried to explain. "And it's kind of... Suzuki got bored and decided to go out for a bit, infiltrating the city of E-Rantel as a novice but very rich adventurer."
". . . You are in an unknown world for 1 month and let someone with mild social problems leave here without many countermeasures to problems?"
"No, we gave him a [Scroll of Return], in case there is any problem, and anyway he is with one of the battle maids, Narberal Gamma." Ulbert was the one who answered me, but my confused expression made him describe who he was more so I could remember. "It's a Doppelganger, level 63, with a focus as Close Battle Magic Caster."
"Okay, that seems appropriate for the situation..." I replied, sitting down in my old chair.
We talked a little longer, mainly with the topic being about our lives while I was away from them. We went little by little, each one counting in parts and taking our turns. Until they mentioned Haruka...
Haruka... A girl really different from the conventional, but adorable and sweet after getting to know her for real...
And to think that my parents in my last life would have tried something like this...
I mean, I made a will and stuff, not giving them anything, because our family was already very rich, plus, knowing Haruka, they could visit her and even see some of my personal items, if they wanted something as a memory record. There was no logical reason to give them anything after my death. And even so, they tried to intervene and prevent my will from happening...
"What a bunch of mother fuckers... If I could show up there during this moment, the first thing I would do is tell her everything is fine... and then beat those greedy old bastards to the point where they couldn't even breathe."
"W h a t! This is very aggressive. Aren't they your parents?"
"They were." I reminded them. "And even if I were alive in that world and saw them doing something like this, I would still go up to them and beat them until they were forced to call security."
"So you've always been the type to say 'fuck' when you're really angry?" Tabula was the one who said, laughing. "I would never expect that from you."
"It's just that in my past life, no one ever crossed the line that makes me really angry... Here in this world, on the other hand, I've already crossed that line a few times... No one died, of course. But everyone runs away in fear... because of that, one of the stupid nicknames they created for me is 'The angel with the face of a demon'... "
TouchMe rubbed his chin a little against his own helmet. "The people of Roble Holy Kingdom really like the angel theme, right?" I nodded.
"Do they have something like Christianity in this world?" Ulbert was the next to ask, clearly because he was a demon now.
"It's confusing to explain... after some research and finding out about YGGDRASIL items in this world... I created some theories... There's a good chance that you're not the only ones from within the game who came here." Their eyes filled with surprise again, and they remained silent for me to continue speaking. "In this world there are some religions, and the way they talk about the deities of each of them, it is clear to think that they are all Players... The oldest recorded thing is related to 500 years ago, and it is also the time when one of the first of these religions were created... so there are other theories related to these gods or players having destroyed all information about what this world was like before the interference with YGGDRASIL."
"Fuck, this is very sinister..." I saw Tabula getting up, going to a mirror in that room. "I think it's best to talk about this kind of thing when we're all together, so that no one is left out of this information."
"I agree... With Keiko being an inhabitant of this world, and especially someone in contact with high-ranking people, we can use him as the main source of our basic knowledge... Of course, if it's not a problem for you."
"I don't mind sharing information with you, especially since you're new to this world and I know y'all, guys." I replied, also getting up. "I still have some time to stay here before people get worried about my disappearance, I think I'll spend the rest of the time with Haru-" Something happened unexpectedly, my stomach started to growl loudly, making the others to observe me carefully.
"Do you want to have dinner at least? We can call her here."
"Okay, Masato... that's a really good idea..." I replied, feeling slightly embarrassed about it.
"Okay..." he got up and went to the door. There seemed to be a maid on the other side, but I could still hear him. "Miss, I would like you to bring us a decent meal, I also want you to call Bukubuku if it's not a problem."
"Y-Yes, TouchMe-Sama! A-anything else?" I could hear the soft and shy voice of that maid, Masato looked at me, as if he was asking the same thing.
"A fruit dessert, if that's not too much to ask for." I replied.
"We also want a dessert based on fruit foods... Ah! And due to our visitor here, say that the food has to be something edible for the non-undeads... something that... you would give to the 6th Floor Guardians... Ah! And invite them to eat with us too."
"Y-Yes, TouchMe-Sama..." She said, still very shy and Masato closed the door.
"Hehehe, this is going to be a nice family reunion." Ulbert said as he seemed to slightly stretch his body, as if doing basic exercises in the same place.
"Hm... I understand calling Haruka... but why call our NPCs?"
"Well... you must have noticed while talking to me and Demiurge before, but to clarify... apparently, the vast majority of NPCs treat their creators as parents or masters, depending on whether there is some information like that in their Settings..." Ulbert explained as he continued to do the exercise, I could hear some of his bones cracking. "And you may not remember, but you and Haruka made jokes and wrote in your own NPCs' Settings that they were your children."
Upon hearing his words, I just facepalmed.
I had barely returned to seeing friends from a past life, but how did I become a father right away? I ended up whispering, expressing my concern. "Neia will go crazy if she finds out about this..."
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{A/N: Little note here for y'all, in the moment I'm publishing this chapter, the next one is still in WIP due to the level of work I'm having outside of this writting hobby. Still, I'll try my best to have it completed for y'all in June. Also, what do you thought about the new cover? I drew it myself.}
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