The evening mist curled around the empty town as pale light from the moon lit the untouched homes and roofs, casting long shadows through the desolate streets. The makeshift camp outside the town's edge simmered with quiet tension. The paladins lay out cold, civilians in the same state, though none were dead.
Two figures seemed entirely unmoved at the sight, though Sebas seemed a little concerned.
Shalltear Bloodfallen stood beside the campfire like a noblewoman gracing pigs with her presence. Her parasol, a term for a "fancy umbrella," rested against her shoulder, though there was no sun to block. Crimson eyes glowed faintly in the dark, and her delicate lips were twisted into a frown of unmistakable boredom.
"Ugh," she groaned, dramatically leaning forward. "Why are we even here?"
Behind her, Sebas Tian stood with the patience of a stone sculpture, arms folded behind him, eyes calmly scanning the camp.
"This is a direct assignment from Lord Demiurge, Lady Shalltear," he reminded her. "Please try to endure."
"I'm not enduring, I'm thriving!" she huffed. "But I can't even have a snack? Why are these people so important? I don't get it..."
She licked her lips, eyes glowing a menacing red as she twirled her umbrella in her hands.
The snapping of twigs drew their attention.
From the dark, Thoth and Aura emerged—Aura cheerfully waving as always, while Thoth walked with an apathetic look, though the way he froze up for a second gave him away.
"Hi, Shallty!" Aura chirped.
'Why are they here? This crazy bitch of all the people!' Thoth complained to himself, clearly not pleased with Shalltear's sudden intrusion.
Thoth nodded at Sebas quietly and ignored Shalltear.
'Her eyes are creepy. Is this how Ainz felt whenever I stared at him? Poor guy...' Thoth lamented.
Shalltear's face blossomed with a relieved smile. "You're back! Finally!" Then she gestured with the tip of her parasol toward the flickering camp. "Can I have a bite? Demiurge said if you allowed it I could!"
Thoth's expression barely changed, but the twitch of a wing said more than words.
"They're under our protection," he said simply.
Shalltear tilted her head. "...And?"
Sebas spoke before things could escalate.
"If I may speak, I agree with Lord Thoth," he said calmly, stepping forward. "Besides, Lady Shalltear, Lord Demiurge instructed us to follow the plan."
Shalltear sighed, clearly starving for a snack. She just wasn't herself when she was hungry.
"Anyway! You still haven't explained why you're here." Aura spoke up.
"Right, of course." Shalltear spoke up like a proper noble lady this time, "Demiurge sent me. He says the Theocracy's Black Scripture made landfall somewhere in this region."
Aura's expression instantly turned serious.
Sebas cleared his throat, "Perhaps it would be best if I elaborated, Lady Shalltear." Shalltear nodded, and Sebas continued, "Nazarick has noticed that the Theocracy, one of the human nations, has sent out what appears to be some sort of elite unit into this region. We were dispatched to eliminate them safely together."
"What a waste of time, I could have killed them all by myself!" Shalltear bragged.
Thoth's wings flapped lightly, the eyes exchanging concerned glances. His fingers curled as his gaze lowered for a second.
'Black Scripture…' he thought. 'They have a world item.'
He was tempted to say no. To reject Demiurge and his plan with "Ainz-sama's grand plan" not aligning with it, but that would mean possibly challenging Demiurge and drawing his attention. Something Thoth did not want at all.
He was scared. If he was mind-controlled, where would he go? He feared being twisted and manipulated, sure, but... What if he returned to that damned, senseless void? Would time flow differently there? Would he return into a coma?
Thoth was terrified of that. All of it. But he didn't let it show, even if the way his wings curled forward slightly, as if to shield him, gave him away.
"Fine," he said. "Alright, if Demiurge says so, I'll trust him. But we need to be careful, especially you, Shalltear."
Shalltear looked offended, "Hey! No need to single me out, I'm cautious enough to deal with these humans."
Thoth's eye twitched, but he dropped it. She might have to learn the hard way after all, but he would protect himself no matter what.
Time passed as the first rays of sun broke over the ruined buildings. The night passed, and morning came.
Thoth approached Neia near the edge of the camp. She looked up from her breakfast—a stale biscuit—and blinked, surprised.
"You're in charge while we're gone."
Her eyes widened. "Me? Why...?!" She was truly exasperated. After all, the paladins would overthrow her without Thoth and Aura there to keep her in charge.
"You're the only one I trust not to mess it up," he said bluntly.
Sebas Tian stepped forward, bowing slightly to her. "I will remain behind to assist you, Miss Neia. You don't have to worry."
Neia looked like she wanted to protest, but then saw the look in Thoth's eyes—entirely uninterested in her current plight, as if somewhere else entirely.
He wouldn't listen, not this time.
"I… I understand."
Thoth nodded once, then turned. Aura gave Neia a double thumbs-up as she followed after him.
The group moved at breakneck speed, skimming rivers and abandoned roads, passing one empty town after another.
Thoth said little. His wings remained folded. His mind was elsewhere.
'I wonder how the Sunlight Scripture from Carne Village is doing, I turned them into angels on accident and they promised to do their best...'
But Albedo took them away, and Thoth feared what had happened to them.
He liked them, though as time passed, he had grown far more apathetic and less zealous in his ideals. It was better this way, easier to simply detach rather than to attach and suffer.
Their many uses in the happy farm played in Thoth's mind, but he would rather not think about that.
'I'll check up on them when I get back... And if Albedo hurt my subordinates, I'll hold her accountable to Ainz.' Thoth promised to himself quietly.
They relied mostly on a map Demiurge gave Shalltear to navigate, luckily, Thoth had a few useful magical items in his inventory, and with a bit of finagling, he managed to use them.
As they arrived, the sky was painted red as the last rays of the sun slipped behind the horizon. A couple of days had passed, and they ran almost non-stop, an easy feat thanks to their insane endurance.
The ruins they approached were ancient—crumbled towers with jagged crosses embedded into the stone, half-sunken altars that reeked of divine magic long curdled into something else.
Aura knelt next to a tree, "They're close, three kilometers to the North."
Shalltear grinned, "FINALLY!" She shouted, her mouth widening into a happy smile as she leaned forward.
"Wait—!" Thoth shouted, but it was already too late.
Shalltear was gone. Already rushing forward.
She came to an abrupt stop just as she reached the enemy lines,
"Well hello, darlings! You wouldn't happen to be busy, would you?"
The Black Scripture consisted of only the most powerful members of the Theocracy, the most powerful human nation in the known world.
They immediately prepared for combat, hands on their scabbards.
"It's a vampire," one of them, an elderly lady dressed in a white robe, upon which was a large, golden dragon that seemed to hum with power, pointed out.
Shalltear licked her lips in anticipation.
'Ah~ I'll take these guys down, get to Nazarick quickly, and Lord Ainz will praise me so much! Finally, I'll prove to him how much better I am than that bitch!'
She threw away her umbrella, and it melted away into a swarm of bats as the Black Scripture drew their weapons and took a step forward.
"It's strong, buy me some time!" The older lady shouted, the golden dragon on her clothing glowing a brilliant gold.
Shalltear felt a shiver go up her spine. Whatever that thing was, it gave her a really bad feeling.
"I'll kill you first then!" She shouted and laughed.
She charged forward but was barely intercepted on time by the Scripture's captain, wielding a spear, he ducked just in time as Shalltear nearly ripped his head off.
She then kicked him, and he went flying through a dozen trees, his spine tensing like a chain about to snap.
Meanwhile, Thoth looked at the situation from a distance with Aura.
"..." Thoth stared in silence, watching as the world item swelled in power.
"What the fuck are you waiting for? Let's go help her!"
Thoth didn't move.
'How much longer until the world item triggers? If I show up, they'll target the biggest threat, and since they seem high enough level to see my wings even if they hide from mortal eyes, they'd probably target me. And if I hide them fully, I might be a bit weaker.'
"It would be best for us to stay back. We can help if things spiral out of control, here, we are unseen and can move at any time, right?"
He said that, but he was simply too scared of that world item. And he didn't want Aura anywhere near it either. He was far too worried for her and himself, but Shalltear signed her death warrant all by her lonesome.
'It's fucking trauma. I'm so paralyzed by this, it's frustrating.'
He was being difficult, he could tell that much. If they moved in now, they could kill all of the humans in a matter of minutes, they were simply that strong.
But he was a coward. He refused to even entertain the possibility of returning to that void. Even if it meant abandoning Shalltear. But at least, he could protect Aura.
Aura looked on and shrugged after a moment of thought.
"...Alright, but if things look difficult, I'll go and help her."
Thoth nodded. That was all he could do.
'If I tell her about the effects of the world item, she would rush in to save Shalltear, and possibly get brainwashed. And I won't fucking let her die, brainwashed or not.'
The two turned to the fight as a golden aura swelled in the air. It made Thoth choke a little as his wings wrapped around him, one of them reached for Aura, but she wasn't there anymore.
"No..." Thoth mumbled as he saw her run toward Shalltear, "NO!"
Shalltear charged for the old lady, all obstacles now removed from her way.
She needed just a second, not even that, to reach her.
"Downfall of Castle and Country!" The lady cried.
Shalltear could feel doom fall upon her, she could feel something press against her mind, until she went flying to the side.
Aura showed her into the tree line, breaking the line of sight, and rendering herself the primary target.
Her mind caved into the World Item's power instantly. There was no resisting it as her eyes grew dim and hollow.
Her tensed muscles, resisting the magic, relaxed. And finally, she stood there, gazing at the floor, relaxed, and unmoving. A living doll.
Thoth rushed forward, his wings feathers glinting like spears.
He stomped on the floor as he landed, the ground cracking beneath him.
"Cancel the effect."
The lady turned to him, and as she opened her mouth to speak, to give a command to her new weapon, Thoth rushed forward.
Unlike with Shalltear, there was nobody to slow him down, to get in his way.
He was beneath the woman in a second. He kicked her in the knee and held her in place, holding her by the collar at his feet.
"Give her back." His wings wrapped around them, feathers stabbing into her skin lightly, as if teasing her mortality. Their eyes swelled in color, casting a menacing red glow as the dark sheen in their feathers seemed to swell.
"Give her back," Thoth's eyes swelled with tears as his pupils looked to be on the verge of shattering, he sounded choked, as if he was holding something in.
"Give her back or we'll show you why we fucking fell!" His voice swelled.
"N-Never..." The old lady muttered despite her fear, and not a second later, Thoth snapped her neck.
He grabbed the world item, the other members of the Black Scripture were all dead or had fled, and he didn't care about them.
He had his crush to save.
-x-x-x-
Sup.
Hope you liked that chapter. I feel like it might be a bit rushed? I'll see if I can improve it, but I wanted to get something out for you guys before I head to my grandma's place in the countryside.
Either way, we'll now move into the "love triangle begins to form" arc, and I'll finally explain the whole machine monster thing going on in the Roble Holy Kingdom. Hope you all liked it, even if it is a little short and crappy.
Hope you all have a good one, and remember to leave reviews and comments if you liked the story! They make my day :D