With how busy she had been, Souka had little time to think about the murder of her father at the hands of her brother. Now that she stood in front of the familiar entrance to the cavern system which was home to the majority of lizardmen, the memory of that fateful day surfaced once again.
Behind her stood Lady Bukubukuchagama, Lady Aura, Lord Mare, and twenty-five dragonewts. Souka and her peers would take over the lizardmen while her superiors would watch their performance, and if need be, intervene.
She gripped the two long daggers strapped to her belt. Soon she would have to confront her brother, the last living family she had.
"Is there a problem?" Lady Buku asked, noticing Souka's hesitation.
"No, my Lady. I am ready… We are ready to start." Souka hastily answered. She had hesitated with the decision once again. Such indecision was unforgivable for someone in her position.
"Proceed then." Buku said.
Souka saluted and nodded to her troop to start clearing a path to the throne room. She followed suit while observing the trio of her superiors, just in case they got ambushed. To make any of them exercise their boundless power due to a surprise attack would be an unforgivable failure.
It quickly became clear that it was not going to happen as most lizardmen dropped their weapons and prostrated, already knowing what kind of monsters were coming.
With the path to the throne room unimpeded, it only took a few minutes for Souka to confront her brother once again. Gabiru sat on the throne with the chieftain's weapon in his hand.
Souka drew her weapons and approached with a confident stride. Now she could not afford to show any hesitation. Gabiru stood up, before immediately kneeling with his trident in hand, "We surrender unconditionally. Please spare my people." he pleaded.
All twenty of his honor guard dropped their weapons and kneeled as well.
Souka gazed down at her brother, contempt shining in her eyes."And what of your master?" She mockingly asked as she stood towering before him.
Her brother's bow deepened as his features darkened."Master Gelmud abandoned us." Gabiru said, his voice breaking midway through.
"I will not accept your surrender. Stand up and fight, you coward!" Souka snarled, gripping her weapons so tightly her knuckles started to become white.
"Please, we are no match for you. Do not kill us." Gabiru whimpered.
"I will spare my people, but you killed my father!" She shouted and took a step closer to the pathetic excuse of her brother.
Gabiru's head snapped up in surprise, "Sister? Is that you?" He asked dumbfounded.
"Stand up and fight!" She shouted. 'You will not give up. I will not let you get out of this! Arrogant bastard, all my life I lived in your shadow, and now you cower like a coward!'
"I didn't want to kill him. I just needed to serve my master to protect our people. Sister, please, you have to understand." Gabiru said as he stood up.
"You sold our people out to a weak coward!" She shouted and charged him.
Gabiru tried his best to block her attack, but to her now much faster perception, she might as well have attacked an unmoving target. Her dagger quickly found its target and dug deep into Gabiru's side, shredding not only his armor, but his flesh as well.
While Gabiru's face twisted into one of shock and pain, Souka quickly followed up with a knee to his chest, the impact being so strong it sent him flying. Gabiru hit the throne, shattering it before slumping to the ground.
He let out a pitiful groan of pain, clutching his side while Souka approached him again, shouting, "Get up!"
"Sister, please, I-I give up! I give up. Don't." Gabiru whimpered while trying to sit up.
Souka dropped her daggers, pulled Gabiru up by his furry neck warmer, and punched him in the face as hard as she could, not realizing just how strong she was now compared to him. Gabiru's jaw practically shattered on impact with a crack.
"You killed my father!" She howled as she unrelentingly punched him again and again, gradually soaking her left fist in his blood.
Gabiru could only offer an incomprehensible moan as an answer before he mercifully passed out. She dropped her brother's body to the ground and stood up to pick up her daggers.
'I would have done the same in his place. I would have led my people into Lord Momonga's service without question. But he is merciful and cares for his people, not like the scum who left them all to die.' She looked around the chamber at the kneeling figures, who were too afraid to intervene in the execution of their leader. 'And that idiot followed Gelmud without question! He… I… dammit! How can I blame him if I would have done the same? No! He killed father, for that I will not forgive him!'
'I have to do this. I have to kill him.' With tears in her eyes, she approached her brother to do what needed to be done. Her hands trembled as she kneeled to slice his neck.
"Stop!" Lady Buku suddenly said, halting Souka in her tracks.
Souka turned, surprised. "My Lady?"
"Do you want to kill him, or are you doing it because you think that's what you have to do?" Buku asked as she approached the trembling dragonewt.
As far as she understood it, naming installed an almost undying loyalty that went both ways and that meant a subordinate probably would kill their own family if ordered to do so. That, however, didn't mean they would want to do it.
The poor fool had the misfortune of being named by an honorless bastard such as Gelmud, and now his own sister had to deal with the consequences. 'If that was my idiot pervert of a brother, I would want to spare him no matter what.'
"I… He serves the enemy of my master; thus, he must be eliminated." Souka said with dubious certainty in her voice, but her eyes teared up even more.
"You didn't quite answer my question." Buku calmly said as she put her hand on Souka's shoulder. "Do you want to kill him?"
"I…Sorry. I…" Souka said as she tried holding back her tears, inching the blade closer to her last surviving family member's neck.
Buku squeezed her shoulder, "I'll make it perfectly clear for you. Your brother is not a threat and Gelmud will not live for long. If you want him to live, it is entirely your decision." she said in a calm yet authoritative voice.
With trembling hands, she held the blade to her brother's neck. "I… I have to."
"This is not a test of your loyalty, or any test at all for that matter. I am leaving his life up to you. Only you will decide whether he lives or dies. Momonga will agree with my decision. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Lady Buku. Thank you." Souka finally said, taking the dagger off Gabiru's neck. She then stood up and addressed the still kneeling guards in the most authoritative tone she could muster. "Gather everyone in the main cave. Inform them that, as of now, all lizardmen and their lands belong to Tempest."
She then picked up Gabiru by his neck warmer and put him over her shoulder. "With your permission, Lady Buku, I will bring him to Tempest's prison."
"Inform the head guard that I have given this prisoner to you and then return to organize the takeover." Buku said with a smile. "Good job!"
"As you command, Lady Buku." Souka bowed with her brother's unconscious body over her shoulder before disappearing into her own shadow.
Never in her life could she have imagined just how merciful her masters could be. Once Gabiru was safely lying on the stone-cold floor of a small prison cell, she poured a healing potion into his mouth.
He suddenly opened his eyes with a cough, and pulled himself into a sitting position with a confused expression. "Sister… I…"
She punched him again, this time just hard enough to bruise but not break his jaw. "Just because you are alive doesn't mean I forgive you."
"But…" he started to say, though when his sister raised her fist again, he decided it was safer to remain silent.
"And my master has given me the name Souka, so you better start using it! You will remain in this cell until I decide what to do with you. Is that clear?"
"Stop for a minu…" once again, Souka's fist connected with his face. "Yes! It's very very clear." He hastily said while clutching his face.
"Good." Souka said and left the cell.
Gabiru slumped down back on the cold stone floor and stared at the ceiling. 'Why did she spare me? I didn't deserve it. At least our people are safe with her.'
‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›
While Momonga was dealing with Gelmud and the ogres, Pero, together with Shalltear and Demiurge, followed Geld to take over the surviving orcs. Considering how hardworking an average orc had proven to be, Pero was adamant about getting as many of them as possible.
The crudely constructed villages had been built all around the ogre fortress in a haphazard manner, resembling slums found in earth cities of the past. Geld had sent a message to the surviving orc clan leaders informing them that Tempest might be willing to accept their unconditional surrender, and ordered the representatives of each clan to gather in one place.
Pero was quickly reminded just how advanced Tempest was compared to an average monster village, as sanitation in the orc settlement seemed nonexistent, and he could only curse his extremely sharp sense of smell.
The orcs themselves didn't stink too bad as basic hygiene seemed to be a norm among them, but the waste products were piled up somewhere nearby, making him regret his decision to pick orcs instead of lizardmen. Trying to not openly show his disgust, he followed Geld into the village where four rows of orcs awaited while kneeling.
Geld approached his brethren with heavy steps. They may have offered surrender, but it didn't mean all of them would be spared. Far too many had been named by Gelmud already, and knowing the cruel efficiency of his master's advisors, there was little chance that the named ones would be spared.
The orc who was in front of the rest spoke without lifting his head. "Son of our former king, and the honorable Lord of Tempest, we welcome you. We can offer no resistance to your might and humbly beg for our lives to be spared."
"How many of ours did that majin taint?" Geld asked with barely hidden disgust. Compared to his masters, who took great care of their people, Gelmud seemingly cared only about himself.
"All those named by Gelmud are present. If that is the price to pay, we will give up our lives so rest can live."
"Lord Peroroncino will be the one to decide your fate." Geld said and turned to look at the avian Lord, waiting for orders.
"Gather all the ones with names aside, for now. The rest are joining us in Tempest." Peroroncino declared. 'I will let Momonga take the bullet and name them all.'
{ So Demiurge, should we will just kill the ones with names? } He asked the demon. Naming was a tricky business, and until all ins and outs were known, it was better to be on the safe side.
{ Lord Peroroncino, with your permission, I would like to offer a proposition. }
{ You plan to turn them into bacon? } Pero asked, chuckling at himself for the rather morbid assumption.
{ Bacon? If my Lord wants that I can run experiments on the possibility to use orcs as a food source. } Demiurge responded with his usual tone as if talking about regular pigs.
'Fuck, I forgot that it was Demiurge I was talking with.' { It was just a joke man, I would not want to find out how an orc tastes. Tell me, what do you have in mind? }
{ Of course. My apologies for not understanding your intentions. I propose running a renaming experiment. } Demiurge hastily responded.
{ Sure. Do you think they could be renamed? }
{ Considering that each named being becomes just as devoted to the Supreme Ones, like yourself, as much as native NPCs, every possibility to add new loyal forces to Tempest should be taken into consideration. }
{ I guess you can run some tests. Just don't go overboard, okay? } 'Who knows what sort of twisted fuckery Ulbert wrote in his backstory. That guy surely went all out on roleplaying the evil mastermind. I wonder how he is doing? Damn, maybe there is a way to summon our old buddies here.' Pero couldn't help but think of all the people still left back on earth.
{ I will exercise utmost caution and avoid unnecessary cruelty. My dedication to Nazarick requires nothing less, my Lord. }
{ Sounds good. You can take them and start your experimentation. }
{ Thank you, Lord Peroroncino. I will not fail to reach your expectations. }
'This accelerated thinking sure is useful.' Pero mused. The whole conversation had happened faster than Geld could blink even once.
"Demiurge, they are yours. Geld, stay behind and reorganize the remaining ones, then gather everyone in one place so Momonga can do the naming when he has the time."
"As you command, my Lord." Geld said and watched as the small group was taken away by Demiurge. Knowing the cruelty of the demon, he could only offer silent prayers and hope they wouldn't suffer for long.
As for the rest, gathering them all in one place was not an easy task by any means. How many had perished in the one-sided slaughter was hard to tell, but he himself killed at least seventy of his own people during the battle. No matter the inner turmoil he felt, his master's will needed to be carried out. Lord Momonga had clearly shown that he cared about those in his service, but was uncaring towards those who were not part of his domain. And even less to those who opposed him.
It came as a relief to see that the survivors were at least getting fed and he didn't need to face starving children as he feared he would. He had chosen the largest village and ordered the demolition of the buildings to accommodate every single orc that once served Gelmud.
It took two days to gather everyone, and when they were put in orderly rows the orcs still numbered over eighty thousand.
'That many... I know Lord Momonga's power is great, but I wonder if he can even name that many? I guess I should report that everything is in place.'
A quick message and five minutes of wait later, the orcs started to transform.
'All of them?! How?' An unthinkable amount of magicules were needed to perform such a feat. Thousands upon thousands of orcs evolved into high orcs almost instantaneously.
'If only father could have seen this. He saved our people through his sacrifice.'
His father's remains were frozen, awaiting for his last rites as his heroic sacrifice had impressed Lord Cocytus and Lord Momonga. Once Geld had finished reorganizing the orcs, he would have a chance to put his father to rest properly.
Proofreading by kamijazz, CreamY, Sad_Smiles, Somnium Hypnos, and I AM THE STRING CUTTER
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 (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.