Chapter 137: Chapter 21
She could hear the sword calling for her, beckoning for her, as she rested in the makeshift office of the central officer tent. As always, it was completely unnecessary and far too luxurious, especially considering its temporary nature, but arguing with the archbishop regarding the necessities of display and distribution of resources was a massive waste of time. She had bigger fish to fry.
There was little difference to her if the chair was made out of simple wood sourced from local craftsmen and lumberjacks or an intricate masterpiece decorated with precious metals and jewels. As long as the furniture performed its function. The same could be said for the rest of her workspace, and they all tended to the latter besides a few of her personal baubles.
The now city-sized camp was growing daily, with new squadrons arriving every few days or even hours. The crusade legion was bound to be the largest military force gathered since the previous angelic invasion hundreds of years ago.
Hinata's current job was to organize the distribution of her most elite units that would counter dangerous majins directly, taking on the brunt of the attack. The force consisted mainly of crusaders, though many members of nobility, and even a royal scion, bolstered their ranks. Thousands upon thousands of men had been employed for this crusade, easily numbering into the six digits, and she was the one in charge of ensuring that the future battles wouldn't become a massacre.
She may be the one to take down the Storm Dragon and his direct subordinates, likely Special A to S rank majins, but there were bound to be many more strong monsters and demihumans that were far too strong for regular troops to handle. These elite units would be the lifeline for the C- and B-rank mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers sent by various human kingdoms, tanking hits and handling the most dangerous of majins and monsters.
Hinata rested her chin in her left hand, as she signed another order, just one of many, before handing it off to her assistant. She was hailed as a saint of humanity, but in truth, her evolution into a spiritual being was far from complete, and her mind and body could still tire out, especially after days of monotonous, mind-intensive work. One slip-up could result in disastrous consequences further down the line, and she had to ensure that the platoons of soldiers were organized for anything, anytime.
'Come, claim me. I will grant you the strength you need to carry on.' A soft, pleasant whisper akin to her most desirable thoughts urged her to the sword.
The weapon was guarded by her direct subordinates, nine out of the ten saints, on a rotation of four every few hours. Additionally, the holy box was enchanted in a way that only she, Louis, and Luminous herself could open. If an unauthorized person attempted to break it open, its barriers would also immediately notify the trio.
'The sword is getting more insistent. Maybe I should… I'd better resist its call until the battle.'
Yet no attempts at blocking out or deafening the intrusive thoughts worked, no matter what she did. She relocated her tent to the other side of the camp, set up powerful mental barriers, and cast subtle yet powerful holy spells to buff herself, but all in futile as the murmurs persisted.
'You need me. They know of you. They are coming.' The insistent whispers refused to cease. They were constant, interfering with her work during the day and infiltrating her dreams at night. A lesser human would have gone insane by now, but she wasn't the head of Ruberios' military forces for no reason.
Her gut instincts told her this might be true, warned her of the dangers that even her mistress cowered from. She felt a shadowy presence everywhere, if not multiple, wherever she went. It was easy to chalk it off to her nerves acting up, but ignoring her battle-honed instinct was not wise.
She fought the thoughts for hours longer, and it was already deep into the night when it finally got the best of her. It had loudly promised her respite, respite from all her troubles for hours upon end, and she caved. Something within Hinata clicked as she laid down her quill.
She exited her office and approached the section of camp where the sword was held.
"Lady Hinata!" Both saintly guards that stood at the entrance saluted, witnessing her approach.
"Step aside. I need to take the sword, now," Hinata declared, pushing past the pair with ease.
Neither tried to stop her. The ultimate authority over the weapon in the current situation was hers, they were there to prevent others from taking it.
The pair of guards within watched her unlock and open the box, grasping ahold of the weapon prized even above their own lives. The moment she touched the hilt of the sword, the rush of power swept all her mental fatigue away, repairing her body to its prime and seemingly empowering her soul.
Hinata grabbed the sword and picked it up one-handedly. It was hers and hers only for a moment before she quickly purged herself of those thoughts. The blade brought out the bloodthirsty and ambitious side of her, and those kinds of impulses had to be kept down during these fragile times. Without hesitation, she removed her Moonlight Rapier from its sheath and dropped the weapon into the box, while sliding Kingslayer into its place.
"I will carry the sword with me from now on. I have reason to believe that the monster nation will attempt to steal it," Hinata gave the nearby saints an excuse for her actions, however flimsy it may be.
"Lady Hinata, but Emperor Louis or-"
"I will report my decision to the Emperor! He has given me full authority over the crusade matters, including who possesses the saber," Hinata interrupted the saint and marched out of the secluded area. The guards momentarily shrugged at each other before resuming their duties, now guarding over their Lady Hinata's world-renowned rapier. A sword was still a sword.
'A wise decision. I will guide you. Together, we will claim the vengeance you seek,' the sword spoke in her mind.
'Don't get any ideas. I know what I must do.' She squashed the sword's presence in her mind, throwing up every mental barrier and strengthening method she knew despite knowing it would come back within seconds. Caution was needed more than ever before. Not even Luminous knew what sort of entity made this sword, and that made it ever so dangerous to wield.
'I am but a tool in your hands. Use me how you see fit,' the sword replied, retreating to the back of her mind.
'Right. Whatever you are, I am not buying your… what is this?' Her now far more sensitive detection abilities picked up dozens of demonic presences outside the central tent, within fighting distance. They were strong enough to give regular soldiers trouble, and their numbers so close by meant an attack was imminent.
Hinata charged out and surveyed around. She already suspected that Tempest was using some sort of stealth-type monsters to spy on humans, but until now it was nothing more than suspicion. These suspicions had finally been confirmed.
About fifty to ninety meters away, at least three dozen creatures were hidden in the shadows. The last time she held the sword Hianta was preoccupied with its power, but now it acted as an extension of her own senses. She determined their overall threat level, a good portion of their abilities, a fairly accurate estimation of their internal magicule count, and their positions down to the millimeter, all within nanoseconds as Thought Acceleration kicked in on instinct.
'Use me. Kill them all!' the sword prodded at her, basking in her growing desire to kill the enemy.
'I told you to back off!' Hinata hissed back in her mind, but still heeded the sword's advice. It was time to strike back and begin the purge of monsters.
She seized the sword and drew upon its magical power, fueling a holy spell that would strike all targets she could sense. But before she could finish, she sensed a few more enter her field of perception, although not to much surprise.
Three of these newcomers dwarfed her old power level by a landslide and were aiming in her direction, concealing their presence as much as they could. The last was much weaker and gave a distinct vibe of being a regular human, meaning the others likely were majins if they had intellect.
'Assasins.' Unsurprisingly, the monsters had decided to target her before the invasion could happen. She let out a sigh of relief. It meant that Veldora was afraid and had sent his lackeys to take her out before the real battle started.
'Let them come. The more I kill now, the fewer there will be on the field.'
The battle likely would cause immense collateral damage, even if she spun up barriers as quickly as she could. Hoping to spare the nearby soldiers, she marched out of the camp at a fast pace, aiming to kite them out of reasonable range. The group predictably followed her, slowly closing in in perfect coordination. They were either incredibly trained to the point they could coordinate without talking - her senses had not once sensed Thought Communication or Telepathy - or were controlled by an undetected third party.
After fifteen minutes of walking, she stopped in an empty grass field. The four figures were still close behind, the thirty-odd others having remained around the camp. Not waiting for them to do the first strike, she flipped around and charged, aura flaring as she pulled upon the power Luminous had given her.
Melt Slash was an ability that not only increased her agility and dexterity to a level that Luminous had to go all out to keep up with, but also coated her weapon with a spiritron-fueled disintegrative ability against monsters. In most cases, one hit would be enough to kill even a spiritual being, the spiritrons being far too powerful for most entities to withstand.
Even Luminous herself was wary of this ability and would fight defensively during their sparring matches whenever Hinata attempted to pull it off.
If this charged-up devastating ability were to fail, Hinata would witness the full power of the weapon she wielded. The instinctive knowledge she possessed assured a victory against the undead monsters.
Out of four targets, the pale woman in robes appeared like a caster, indicating that she would be the most troublesome if the fight dragged on. As she closed the distance between her and the monsters, Hinata decided that the woman would be her first target, the slim undead would be next, therefore leaving the human and the plate-clad monster for last.
The monster swung back in an attempt to dodge the attack, but was unsuccessful as the blade connected with the undead woman's delicate neck. A sizzling sound and a puff of smoke escaped from the shallow gash, but the strike proved to be nonlethal.
Leaping out of the path of the swinging staff, Hinata fell to a knee under the follow-up and thrust the blade upwards, piercing the caster's throat. Unlike before, the blade hit true, and the creature's head fell as Hinata wrenched the saber to the side.
The undead's lifeless body fell to the ground, dusting into magicules. Yet the death of their peer did nothing to stop the other two undead from struggling to land hits on her. The only one who faltered was the human, suggesting imperfect coordination she could exploit.
Hinata leaped back to create distance between her and her opponents to assess who to strike next, charging up the sword once more. There was always a chance they would use magic or direct projectile attacks as she crafted temporary barriers around herself.
'Do not hesitate. Let me guide you. Let me feast! I will bring you the victory you crave,' The sword urged her on, its voice intensifying within her mind.
'I shouldn't give in. This weapon will take control of me.' Hinata tried to keep her attention on the battle. If she hesitated or started to have an inner battle, she would be as good as dead.
'Let me become an extension of you. My power is yours. Do not hold back.' The sword grew more resolute in its tone, practically demanding to be freed from the mental shackles Hinata had constructed.
'Fine, but if you try to control me I swear to never wield you again.'
'I am but a weapon yearning to be wielded.' The weapon's whisper was reassuring, something she hadn't felt in a long time.
Hinata finally let down her guard and allowed its power to flow into her, permeating her semi-spiritual body. Indeed, the weapon felt like an extension of her, if not more.
Her attackers were closing in, endeavoring to land their precise and lethal strikes on all her expected weaknesses. Their speed was impressive, but it wasn't enough. The armored one reached her first, swinging its mace at her head. Hinata blocked with the flat side of her blade, before kicking at the undead. Its chestplate caved in under the strength imparted to Hinata by the cursed sword.
Next came the slender undead. It charged at her with a raised blade, but Hinata smoothly stepped aside, the undead splitting at the waist moments later.
The only one remaining was the human, quivering as tears swam down his cheeks.
"Lady Hinata help me! Please!" The man shouted as he did a clumsy attack. He wasn't trained to fight and seemed akin to a strange test, as if controlling a marionette.
'Human shields! The reptile is testing whether it's worth hiding behind human shields of those captured before.' She reasoned, and with a swift motion smacked the sword out of the man's hands.
"Lady Hinata, please help me! L-Lord Momonga is making me do this! I am a priest, I was kidnapped!" the man pleaded as he tried to punch her in the face, clearly resisting the entire way.
Without as much as a flinch, she drove the sword through the man's heart, ending his sorry life. The sword absorbed every last piece of this man's spirit, leaving nothing behind.
With that, Hinata left the now-burnt and trampled field, vowing to purge the camp of its shadow-like monsters. The amount of shadow-hidden figures nearby had only grown during the duration of the fight, meaning she had work to do.
X
Momonga intently watched his summons fight Hinata, analyzing with Omniscience at full speed. Her speed and technique were phenomenal, even surpassing Hakurou in melee combat. She surely was a great threat to even a floor guardian, such as Mare or Aura.
'She did hesitate for a half moment before killing the human. His soul is gone, Nazarick cannot trace him anymore. Hmm, it seems the claims about the sword being able to kill a True Dragon might be true if it can delete all of a person's soul. I know True Dragon factors are resilient if analysis of Veldora has meant anything, but it could still occur.'
Obviously, the nameless summons didn't have enough of a spiritual presence to be revived, but the human was fully gone as well. The sword pretty much ate the man's soul, the meager dregs of spiritual power in the undead, and left only bodies behind.
One thing was sure. Only Rubedo would be permitted to engage in close combat with Hinata. It didn't matter that Buku, Shalltear, and Albedo could likely match her speed if they tried. One mistake could spell their end, and he would not be able to revive them through Nazarick, but Rubedo was more forgiving due to her constitution. The others were either the grand target themselves or couldn't be counted on to stand a chance in a fight to the death against her.
"If Rubedo dies fighting her, we'll have to retreat to Nazarick and fight a siege, throwing fodder at Hinata with the hope of grinding her down. She likely isn't immune to ranged attacks, given her targeting of the empress first and foremost," Momonga said out loud to no one in particular as he tapped his pointy chin with his index finger, pondering many thoughts known to no one.
The maid and the eight edge assassins present in Momonga's office didn't react to his comments. The Supreme Being knew many things that they couldn't comprehend, and they knew they could only hope to carry out his will to best serve him.
The main problem now was that there was no way for Nazarick to evacuate the entire population of Tempest, should Hinata slay Rubedo during their duel. Which left him with two options, neither of them viable. One was to take in only the elite and strong, sacrificing the rest, or send them as refugees to allied nations. Frey, Carrion, and Gazel would likely take in them for a while, but that wasn't a given.
The only other option was to quickly find a way to expand Nazarick as a whole, which was theoretically possible, just that Momonga didn't know how. Omniscience gave the general idea of how to do it, but any attempt to make new floors or expand existing ones ended with them disappearing the moment he stopped concentrating.
'I think it's time to squeeze Ramiris and force her to help us. She can likely teach me how to make permanent changes to the tomb.'
Considering the childlike nature of the pixie demon lord, Momonga decided that it would be far easier to use Buku as a proxy. His friend was the one who had been dealing with the two Demon Lords living in Tempest thus far.
After some quick explanation of what his test with Hinata yielded and what his future plans were for the others, Momonga was greeted by Buku, who had teleported into his office.
"At first I wanted to tell you that you were paranoid, but it seems you were right on the mark this time, so thanks for not letting me be the one who leads the assault on Hinata," Buku sighed and sat down in a guest chair, pulling some papers out of her inventory as the maids moved to gather refreshments.
"I didn't want to risk anyone. In hindsight, letting you go after Yuuki was an unnecessary risk," Momonga admitted, correcting some charts on his desk.
"Momo, we can't always leave the job to the expendables. I admit I'm reckless at times, but without me and Pero you'd be in your shell all the time and wouldn't take any daring moves, be it as leader of Nazarick or as a man. It'll be up to us to stop Hinata," Buku replied, feeling that Momonga was about to overindulge in his paranoid side once more as she observed the skeleton move figurines on his many maps and changed charts and graphs she had no clue about.
"I know, I know," Momonga admitted. Buku could be a handful at times, but in the end, she was a good friend and did look out for him in her own way.
"That's why I need Ramiris to teach me how to expand Nazarick. If we fail to kill or subdue Hinata, we'll have to retreat and wear her down somehow," he continued. "If we include all patrols outside of the caves and put our all into summoning, we could hope to break her through sheer numbers afterward."
Buku let out another sigh and rubbed her temples, stating, "That little twat is still trying to get Mare. I won't let her, so don't make that promise as a reward," She resumed filling out some of her own paperwork, knowing she would need them in the future.
"That's why I asked you to deal with her. I wouldn't want to complicate things I know very little about."
"I'll just call her in and see where it goes," Buku nodded in agreement.
Ramiris did take her sweet time to arrive, mostly because she and the rest of the manga club were debating on which series to bring to the public first. It was a highly important topic, one of such great importance she and Veldora had even skipped lunch to debate over whether stretchy pirates or stretchy slimes would garner more attention.
"This better be important!" Ramiris crossed her arms and glared at both players, contempt dripping from her like a river.
"It is! Sit your ass down and listen carefully!" Buku dropped her voice, making the pixie gulp nervously and choose Momonga's shoulder pauldron bulb as her seat, for tactical reasons of course.
"I want to make it very clear that you will not talk about what you hear with anyone, save for floor guardians and guild members. For now, even Milim should not be informed," Buku continued in her normal speaking voice.
"W-what is going on?" Ramiris asked, shifting around in her uncomfortable 'seat.'
"Humans plan to invade Tempest and their leader Hinata is a danger to us."
"Invasion!? We need to call Walpurgis and-"
"We are not involving Demon Lords! One of them is behind this attack and we need you on our side."
Ramiris put her chin on her fist and swung her legs back and forth for a few moments, pondering. "I can't figure out who would benefit from it. Maybe Clayman. He's shifty like that."
"Then you don't know who Luminous is?" Momonga asked.
"Luminous. That name does ring a bell but… Gaah, I sometimes hate this constant reincarnation cycle. Every time I lose most of my memories and I have to wait decades for them to gradually come back!"
Ramirirs pouted and stood up. She pointed at Buku and resolutely declared, "I have your back. No matter who these Luminous and Hinata are, I'll kick their asses."
She performed a shadow boxing routine to emphasize her willingness to help, unaware she looked more akin to a doll mimicking martial artists than an actual martial artist to both spectators. The maids quickly filed in and out, supplying tea and milk.
"And that's why I called for you today. Nazarick has a similar ability to your intrinsic skill, and you will show Momonga how you are creating your labyrinth."
"How did you know it was a skill?" Ramiris tilted her head in confusion, slightly concerned.
"I have a skill that lets me see such things," Momonga replied, trying to sound casual and brush it off.
"So this Nazarick you connected me to knows everything about me? Aren't you a shrewd one?" Ramiris inched closer to Momonga's skeletal face and gave him a playful punch on the cheek, trying to intimidate him.
By some miracle, Momonga managed to prevent the eight-edge assassins from descending from the ceiling and tearing the pixie apart through sheer force of will and a lot of Thought Communication.
"In a sense. But I still need your help. I want you to teach me how to expand on the tomb's layout so we can take in all our population if it comes to the worst." Momonga pushed her a bit further away from his face with one finger, much to her disappointment. One punch meant nothing if her friend's friend-slash-superior could do it with just a finger.
"That's easy! I just…know. Hmm…" Ramiris sat down and put her chin on her fist again. "I can't really explain what I am doing. I just imagine how everything should look and the labyrinth changes according to my will."
"But how do you keep it stable? The moment I stop concentrating everything just fades. I have not found a way to stabilize it yet and I have no time for long experimentation."
"I…I just know. Sorry, I don't remember all the details of how my skill works. Maybe during my adolescence phase, I'll know better, but it's at least a few decades away. I can hide at least twenty thousand in my labyrinth right now though, and if I pushed it to the limits maybe half a million."
"That would be one solution, but if we're busy with fending off attackers, it will be hard to guard the entrance to your labyrinth. People might get trapped there." Momonga shot down her suggestion.
"Then unless you can somehow age me for about fifty years in a day, I don't know how else to help." Ramiris crossed her arms and took off his shoulder, buzzing around both him and Buku in circles as she dove for the milk she just noticed. Buku and Momonga took the moment to take their tea as well.
There was a spell to do just that from the game. Many tamer classes could age the creatures they captured in baby form or de-age very old animals to their primes. Aura, as a beast tamer, obviously knew the spell, and for fairly little effort, Momonga could learn it as well.
The issue was how much energy it would take to accomplish the deed. According to Ramiris, she was one of the most powerful Demon Lords in her adult form. She might have been an unreliable narrator when it came to her own current abilities, but if her claim was even close to being remotely true, growing her to the adolescent stage could drain not only all of his energy reserves but Nazarick's as well.
'Maybe I could make it sound like she will be indebted to us if I age her.' Momonga mused. If the cost wasn't too high, there surely would be benefits for turning Ramiris older. For one thing, she likely would regain more of her memories and could provide a lot of valuable information, something that more than justified even a high-magical energy expenditure.
The question was how to make sure she didn't break her side of the agreement. Making her a thrall as he did with Kagali and the clowns wasn't an option considering that other Demon Lords and Guy, in particular, might take offense to that, and he didn't currently hold many strong cards over her either.
Momonga didn't know a lot about the supposed oldest Demon Lord, but he was serious enough of a threat that even Milim warned him against pissing off the man. Another enemy at the moment surely wouldn't make things any easier.
"I could age you, but the price is rather steep, and I would need to ensure you repay Nazarick," Momonga declared out loud, having come to his decision.
"What do you mean, age her?" Buku asked.
"The aging spell exists, and if I am not mistaken, Aura knows it. Although I would perform the ritual myself just to be on the safe side."
"Age me!? Yeah, do that I could finally com-" Ramiris lit up in excitement.
"You are not going after Mare!" Buku immediately raised her voice.
"But you said that you're against it only because I'm small. In my next stage, I'll be over a meter tall." Ramiris turned to Buku with a pleading expression.
"We both know you only get in between Mare and Milim to spite her. I won't let you hurt my son!" Buku stood up and took a step forward Ramiris, threatening to squish the bug-like fairy.
The tiny demon lord shot like a bullet behind Momonga and shouted over his skull, "I was just joking! If you age me I'll be a lot more useful to you. I want to stay in Tempest permanently."
"Joining Nazarick is a one-way street, Ramiris. Think carefully about it," Momonga turned his head but couldn't see her, as she was directly behind his skull.
Ramirirs flew out of her hiding spot and glared at both with a much more serious expression. "One of my primary duties is to make sure no power destroys this world. If things are so serious I need to know what your goals are."
"The main goal is to protect our own," Momonga replied.
"We came from a ruined world, a world of endless war and destruction, and there we were helpless to stop it. Now things are different, and if possible we want to build a prosperous and thriving nation without harming the world in any way," Buku added in.
Ramiris continued staring at both as if looking right through them and then spoke in a tone that surprisingly gave off an aura of ageless maturity. "I want to make one thing sure. You have to promise to listen to me if I say something is too dangerous. I am well aware of how powerful you all are. I may not fully grasp the situation in my current stage, but I instinctively understand what actions should be avoided at all costs. There are some rules even the oldest Demon Lords don't violate."
"You have my word, I will listen to your advice," Momonga stood up and extended his hand.
"Then you have a deal. Age me up and I'll join Nazarick." Ramiris shook his index finger, returning to her juvenile demeanor. Buku sighed, knowing the fairy was going to become even more of a braggart until her friend performed the ritual.
Editing by aidan_lo
Proofreading by Sluethen, Aurodium, aidan_lo, FantasyTroll, Cakeeight, Alassandro, LightFlan, and nate051499j6.
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).
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