Valkyrie's Shadow

Empire in Chains: Act 4, Chapter 1

Empire in Chains: Act 4, Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“I didn’t expect you to return from your vacation with a report.”

“It was a surprise to us as well, my lady,” Ludmila replied. “But it was still something of note that we felt important enough to bring to your attention.”

Placing several magical decanters of fresh blood into her inventory, Shalltear Bloodfallen frowned down at the sheets of paper spread out over the desk in Ludmila’s room in Warden’s Vale. Dressed in her ‘casual’ equipment, the Baroness used a Clean spell from a magic towel before rising from her bed to join Shalltear.

Shalltear would usually take the time to savour her vassal after an extended absence, but several details in the report took priority over her usual indulgences. It took her time to understand the implications of the information contained within the report from her four Noble vassals, but, by the time she refilled her last decanter, it was apparent that the matter would have to be brought to the attention of minds greater than her own.

An agent from a foreign land who thought the region that Nazarick had found itself in was a backwards land of weaklings and rife with empty posturing. Something deep within her stirred; perhaps anticipating the appearance of new adversaries far stronger than anything they had seen before.

Tormenting the weak was all well and good, but breaking the strong was far more delectable. After all, the further one fell, the greater the despair and suffering that came with it. What new delights would this world offer up to her? What new opportunities to prove herself worthy of her Master’s service?

A slow smile crept over Shalltear’s lips as she imagined what the future might have in store.

“Do you desire any further clarification or review on the content of our report?” Ludmila asked.

“A basic idea of what is going on is sufficient for now,” Shalltear answered.

“If I may ask, what will be done?”

“That depends,” Shalltear said. “The others may have information relevant to this report. We will review and analyse everything before deciding what actions should be taken and whether the matter merits His Majesty’s attention…there wasn’t anything else, arinsuka?”

“No,” Ludmila shook her head. “There were too many unknowns and we had no explicit instructions on what to do about this sort of threat. I apologise if the response was insufficient.”

Shalltear wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was, either. If she had been present, she would have probably dominated the subject of the report on the spot and wrung out every little bit of information from him. Going by the details on the report, however, her actions would likely result in catastrophic failure.

These cheeky weaklings and their unknown magics…

Shortly after Nazarick’s arrival, their Master had brought in a few dozen Humans to interrogate for information about the region. They were all part of some sort of special unit, so it was expected for them to offer up a wealth of knowledge. Instead, they gained little. Some strange magic simply triggered to terminate the men upon answering three questions.

No one in Nazarick knew of any spell or item that could accomplish this, so they were forced to accept that their new world hid many potentially dangerous unknowns that could thwart Nazarick’s efforts despite their laughable weakness.

“You’ve done well, Ludmila,” Shalltear said. “There is no need to second-guess yourself. You have been entrusted with responsibilities and I have every expectation that you will continue to fulfil your duties to the utmost of your ability, arinsu. Hopefully, your friends will make up for some of our shared deficiencies.”

“It will certainly be the case,” Ludmila replied. “They may need a bit of time to adjust to life as your vassals, but everyone looks forward to working in your court.”

“Good,” Shalltear smiled slightly. “Speaking of work, I believe a contingent of Death-series servitors is eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

“Yes, my lady. Though I must say that I’m more than a bit anxious about this first assignment.”

“Anxious?”

“We’re clearly outclassed. Or it would probably be more accurate to say that the configuration of our forces is unsuited for this task.”

The last time Ludmila had pointed out an issue with military deployments, she had been correct. At least within the bounds of how she conducted warfare. Demiurge noted that, while her battle in the Upper Reaches produced decisive results while limiting risks to nearly nothing, Ludmila’s grasp on the use of Death-series servitors was somewhat skewed in favour of defence. Strangely enough, her use of the Elder Liches was profoundly skilful. It seemed backwards for someone who was supposedly new at deploying magic casters but a natural at mundane strategy and tactics.

Months had passed since then, however, and a few looked with interest to what new developments she would come up with.

“You’ll be able to call upon Ilyshn’ish, arinsune?”

“I will, but this is an Ancient Dragon we’re dealing with. The combined forces of the Death-series servitors should be sufficient if the fight stays on the ground, but the gap in power between our aerial assets is vast.”

“Demiurge and Cocytus consider it the ideal exercise for this very reason.”

“The value of this ‘exercise’ is undeniable, but, at the same time, failure will be catastrophic for the Empire and a mark of shame against the Sorcerous Kingdom.”

“Then the answer is simple, arinsu,” Shalltear said. “Don’t fail. As for this gap in power, you of all people should understand that battle is rarely so straightforward, arinsu.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Ludmila lowered her head respectfully. Shalltear opened a Gate to Feoh Berkana. Her vassal checked over herself one last time before stepping through.

After collecting the report laid over Ludmila’s desk, Shalltear cast Greater Teleportation, arriving in E-Rantel’s central district. From the gazebo, she walked under the light of the afternoon sun to the office of the Department of Transportation. The Vampire Bride at the reception greeted her with a bow.

“Welcome, Shalltear-sama.”

Shalltear produced the report, holding it out towards the Vampire Bride.

“Ten copies. Immediately.”

The Vampire Bride received the report, disappearing up the stairs. Shalltear turned and idly paced down a hallway as she used a Message scroll.

?Pandora’s Actor.?

?Hm? If it isn’t Shalltear. By your tone, I take it that there is a pressing matter to attend to??

?There’s a report that you should look at. I’m having copies made at the moment, arinsu.?

?You will be contacting the others then??

?I’ll let Albedo know after you’ve had the chance to take a look. Are you in E-Rantel??

?I’m on my way out of the Adventurer Guild’s main office right now. Will Momon’s guest manor be secure enough??

?I-I think so? The threat doesn’t appear to be imminent, arinsu. I’ll see you there.?

It took an additional five minutes for the Vampire Bride to return with the ordered copies. Shalltear found Pandora’s Actor casually strolling up his manor walkway in the guise of Momon.

“Where’s Nabe?” Shalltear asked as the Doppelganger let her into the manor.

“Debriefing one of the casters coming out of a Platinum-ranked trial.”

“I wasn’t aware that she did that.”

“She must, occasionally. Nabe is an Adamantite-ranked Adventurer, after all. And while her feedback might be…sharp, she is an excellent War Wizard created by the Supreme Beings. Her expertise is especially valued by the Evocation specialists in the Guild. Also, while she might not admit it, Nabe is picking up some of their tricks and tactics, as well.”

Inside his office, Shalltear produced one of the copies to hand over to the Doppelganger. The sound of a flipping page occasionally broke the silence of the room.

“This can’t be a coincidence,” he murmured.

“Is something the matter?”

“I was just thinking about how everything seems to slide so perfectly into place with Ainz-sama’s guidance. Even as one blessed with superlative intellect by our Master, I cannot fathom how this has been brought about.”

Shalltear brightened at the idea that everything was moving according to the will of the greatest of the Supreme Beings.

“Then everything should be alright, arinsuka?”

“Umu. It appears that Ainz-sama is satisfied with our work and has raised the curtains on our next stage. Our Master never fails to astound me with how precise his calculations are.”

As expected of one of the great minds of Nazarick. Shalltear couldn’t discern even the slightest hint of what Pandora’s Actor spoke of.

“What does this information mean?” Shalltear asked, “Is there something I can do to help with Ainz-sama’s plans?”

“It is better not to know for now,” Pandora’s Actor answered. “Albedo will think something is amiss if it appears that you understand too much. She is quite overprotective of her role as the Guardian Overseer, so it’s better not to ruffle her feathers if it can be avoided. Worry not, however – this is important enough to call a meeting in Nazarick: things will become apparent enough.”

“I-I got it.”

With a nod, Shalltear left Pandora’s Actor, exiting Momon’s guest manor and making her way back towards the gazebo in the gardens.

Pandora’s Actor was, of course, correct in his assessment of Albedo. Just as the Floor Guardians might get jealous if they thought that someone else was performing their rightful duties in their place, the Guardian Overseer might get jealous if she felt that someone might be advising the Floor Guardians about their tasks. There was nothing inherently wrong with doing so – the Floor Guardians put their heads together on various things all the time – but Albedo was specifically created to perform functions that often overlapped with how they managed their new responsibilities in the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Shalltear wouldn’t exactly call it being a busybody, but if Albedo saw something that she thought she could offer useful input on, she would. Sometimes it was helpful; other times one simply had to smile and nod. She was that way by the Will of the Supreme Beings. If Shalltear understood things correctly, Albedo had even ‘adopted’ the Empire as a sort of ‘Area’ as well, sending all sorts of finely detailed requests regarding their administrative operations. Perhaps she was practising for the eventual takeover of the Re-Estize, which apparently needed much work to turn into a respectable ‘Area’ of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s sphere of influence.

Shalltear went from the gazebo in E-Rantel to the cabin outside of Nazarick, hopping through the teleportation gates to arrive at the tenth floor. There, she found Albedo in her usual place, scanning through the guild base’s administration panels. The Guardian Overseer dismissed the panels with a wave of her hand as the tapping of Shalltear’s heels approached.

“I’ve received a report,” Shalltear said from the bottom of the stairs to the Throne of Kings.

Albedo came down to retrieve the proffered documents in Shalltear’s hand. The slits of her amber eyes dilated as she furrowed her brow.

“How long have you had this for?”

“It was delivered to me less than thirty minutes ago, arinsu.”

“Why didn’t you come to me right away?”

“I-it took me a little while to understand what it was saying…”

Shalltear looked to the side with a frown. The Guardian Overseer let out a small sigh, turning her attention back to the report.

“Help gather the Guardians,” she said. “The NPCs deployed in E-Rantel, as well.”

Cocytus was the only NPC who required a Gate, as he was overseeing army training in the Azerlisia Mountains. Aura arrived with Mare. Demiurge teleported in from the Holy Kingdom with Shizu. Narberal brought in everyone from E-Rantel, including Pandora’s Actor, Sebas Tian, Yuri, Entoma, Solution, Nigredo and Pestonya. Lupusregina’s assignment in Carne Village was only a short run away.

As they lined up in front of the Throne of Kings, Albedo’s gaze settled on Demiurge.

“How go things in the Holy Kingdom of Roble?”

“All has been prepared for Ainz-sama’s arrival,” Demiurge’s smooth voice seemed to carry additional zest. “According to his escort, it should be three days until Ainz-sama arrives with the Paladin contingent he left E-Rantel with.”

“Making Ainz-sama travel overland like that,” Shalltear muttered. “Surely we could have teleported them over?”

“A suitable amount of hardship and suffering is required for our stalwart Paladin friends to invest themselves into their struggle,” Demiurge smiled. “If Ainz-sama teleported everywhere and solved every problem himself, everything certainly would have been over by now. But if it were to be done so simply, so too would Ainz-sama’s contributions be cheapened in their minds. There is little appreciation for true power amongst the natives of this region, as has been demonstrated time and again.”

Shalltear studied the floor. Did that make any sense? While she did appreciate extended suffering as anyone else would, it was hardly something to waste their Master’s precious time with.

“So,” Aura said, “why did you call us all in?”

“There has been a report of activity beyond our immediate region,” Albedo said as she held up the papers in her hand. “News of Ainz-sama’s great victory nearly a year ago has sent ripples out into the world. Now, it seems that an agent has appeared.”

“Agent…like a spy?” Mare’s eyes glinted, then his expression faded, “B-but Ainz-sama said that we should leave spies alone unless they try doing something they aren’t supposed to.”

“And a most prudent decision this was,” Demiurge nodded sagely. “The many agents sent to us from other nations are of insufficient effectiveness against the Hanzos and Eight Edged Assassins we have deployed around sensitive areas. Their attempts at divination are similarly a simple matter to thwart thanks to the efforts of Nigredo. Thus, they can only see what we wish for them to see. Yet, at the same time, their activities are a valuable case study for how intelligence operatives function in this world.”

The Guardian of the Seventh Floor paused to allow those in attendance to digest his explanation. Demiurge looked up towards Albedo standing at the right hand of the Throne of Kings.

“Might I have a look at this report?” He asked.

“Ah – I made copies for everyone,” Shalltear spoke up.

Aura made a noise as Shalltear produced the extra copies.

“If you had them in the first place, then say so!”

Wha–! Albedo’s the one who’s dangling the report in front of everyone with that smug look! I want my consideration back!

The atmosphere cooled considerably as those in attendance reviewed the information from her vassals visiting the Empire. As if to punctuate their feelings, Cocytus expelled a blast of frozen air.

“This…a greater threat? Preparations required.”

“Their belligerence is not guaranteed,” Sebas noted. “To provoke hostilities would be against Ainz-sama’s orders and will damage the image we have built up for the Sorcerous Kingdom by his command.”

“Hmm…I believe you two have skipped several steps,” Pandora’s Actor said. “Rather than a threat, this is an opportunity, is it not, Demiurge?”

“Indeed,” Demiurge’s tail swished idly as he smiled. “All of the essential pieces have already been deployed. Ainz-sama has already read everything well in advance and set events in motion. He was so confident that his plans would work out that he could embark on a leisurely carriage ride to the Holy Kingdom to assist in mine…”

Shaking his head silently, the Archdevil sighed.

“With every revelation, Ainz-sama demonstrates his supreme mastery of events. Every time he intervenes in our affairs, I feel so hopelessly outmatched by his peerless wisdom! One can only wonder what seeds will be sown by his hand in the Holy Kingdom.”

“Are we truly ready to exploit this opportunity?” Albedo asked, “…Shalltear.”

Shalltear blinked in surprise upon being addressed.

“Me?”

Everyone else in the throne room stared at her. Shalltear shifted nervously. Albedo narrowed her eyes. Pandora’s Actor let out a low chuckle, joined shortly after by Demiurge.

“Ainz-sama is truly unfathomable,” Pandora’s Actor said. “Understanding is not required – all one must do is act.”

“Several of your agents have been deployed in the Empire, have they not?” Demiurge asked, “One, in particular, is ideally suited for our purposes. She should have garnered quite a bit of the right attention by now.”