Parpatra was cautious by nature. This trait was well known, especially amongst members of his team. And so, when he advanced forward, they followed suit with confidence as if there was no danger.
He checked for traps, and had his magic caster look for illusions. And at each tombstone he approached, he thrusted down with his earth penetrating spear. It pierced the grave, and with its holy tip, he sought to purify whatever twisted, mangled, unlife that may lay within the depth of this eerie tomb.
There was no reaction, and he yanked it up easily from the soft earth a moment later.
Then, he turned to his comrades to remind them once more.
"Be careful. A place like this always has unexpected surprises."
"Indeed. A keen observation. At least, as keen as one blinded by greed could be."
A woman said as she emerged out of an open doorway that led into pitch black darkness.
She was slender, but only her waist, for she possessed an incredibly voluptuous figure accentuated by her enormous chest and pert, round butt.
She had a slender face and wore expensive looking glasses and with dark hair done in a bun high up on her head.
But the most eye-catching of all, even more so than the enormous green gauntlets
She wore at her wrists, was her beauty.
She was utterly beautiful, whose appearance could be mistaken as an empress who ruled her empire with a cold, iron fist, if not for the maid outfit.
Her voice was stoic and stern, yet it possessed a certain allure that still dazed all who heard it even in this moment of tension.
"My name is Yuri Alpha, and you… are our test subjects."
She swept her hand out in a grand gesture before her, causing her breasts to sway like two pairs of heavy, soft, ripe fruits. And following her arm with their eyes, they saw rising from the ground, a slew of heavily armored skeletons.
That was the moment that reality fell upon them like stone bricks, waking them up from the midsummer erotic fantasy.
That's right… In such a place, such beauty shouldn't exist. She must be a demon of lust whose true appearance was that of an ugly witch, or perhaps a lich considering how she raised such numbers of heavily armored skeletons. The beautiful exterior she wore must've been a spell that she used in combination with a charming or bewitching spell to confuse and bewitch them.
"You… think you can beat us with these to help you?"
Parpatra's old voice seemed full of confidence as he puffed out his slender chest while his team closed into formation with practiced skill.
But inwardly, he was a bit nervous. Judging by their armor and weapons… most if not all of them must be enchanted.
Even if they could defeat them, their victory wouldn't be without sustaining damages themselves. Especially if this monster were to join the fight.
"I won't be fighting unless I must, you will face the Nazarick Old Guarders by themselves. I'm just here to gather data."
Yuri Alpha replied in a steady, even tone that belied the beginnings of a taunting smile she struggled to hold into place. Though thanks to her new race as a succubus, the grin appeared more like an alluring smile that sought to tempt the men before her.
Then, from the darkness, another maid appeared from behind her, clad in flowing robes and with purple hair. She seemed younger, and with an appearance that seemed "cuter" in contrast to the "ravishing" appearance of the mature beauty, but just devastatingly beautiful just the same.
A fact that they would've greatly admired and even deemed themselves lucky to meet, if not for the setting.
"Yuri-nee, let's get this over with and return to report. I miss Yuuji-sama already~"
The smaller, purple haired maid said with a spoiled yet irresistibly cute voice before she covered her mouth with her sleeve and let out a giggle of her own.
"It isn't as if they have a chance."
Yuri smiled in return and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You're right. I was supposed to prepare tea for Yuuji-sama this evening while he works."
"Eh? That's unfair! I want to join too!"
"No, you have your duties. I have mine. But I'm sure there will be next time."
"Aww… Okay…"
The softness and gentleness she showed in her eyes as she gazed at the smaller maid disappeared and was replaced by a bone-chilling coldness when she turned her eyes to the invaders, and waved her hand.
"Begin!"
Yuri commanded, and the undead with gleaming armor, crackling magic hammers, flaming swords, and icy arrows began their inexorable advance.
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
"Help me! No! Not like this! Not like this…"
The slender thief brandished a dagger and held it up, waving it wildly before his body, but nobody stopped.
A burst of flame illuminated the halls behind Gringham and engulfed his teammate. His screams reached him even though he had left him as quickly as possible to save his life.
He felt the burning in his muscles, the raging pain that ran through his body, and the erratic clinking of his armor. He looked over his shoulder, and saw the burnt corpse of his fallen teammate surrounded by orange red fire.
'That's the fourth one! The fourth one! But they don't know how many of us there are! If I just keep going…'
More screaming resounded as he run. And in front of him, he saw another flickering light from around the corner that was bouncing around like mad and more screaming.
'Another team, they're in combat, and they're losing!'
The leader of the Heavy Masher immediately realized that they will get caught between both sides.
'Just what the fuck is with this tomb!'
His eyes immediately darted around to find something. A door caught his eyes, and without thinking, he ran for it, flinging it open and diving in.
A few of his comrades made it in, but the rest who were looking behind them missed what happened and kept going.
He did not open the door to call them. Instead, he closed the door and pressed his ear to it.
The sound of tearing flesh, like ripping cloth, and screams echoed and redoubled when his pursuers caught the part of his team who kept running. And when it was done, instead of anguish, he felt… relieved that they were the ones who fell instead of him.
The room was pitch dark, except for a sliver of orangish red from the far side, a torch light.
"Do we go in?"
Gingham recognized the voice of one of his rangers.
"No… Fuck this shit. We wait, then go back out the way we came. Grab what gold we saw along the way. Leave, and never come back."
Gingham replied with a whisper.
"I think… I think I'm done with all this."
He added with a deep sigh following his words.
"So, you're thieves after all. And of the worst kind, at that. Even with your comrades dead, all you think about is taking what isn't yours and running away. I have seen a few noble humans, but you are not among them."
The room brightened with a sudden flash, and within it stood an old man in a butler outfit.
Gingham of the Heavy Masher was not a man easily frightened, and yet when the aged man in the formal suit stood before him with a stern look, the veteran worker could only feel a profound existential dread.
"I am Sebas Tian. And I am afraid you have committed three grave sins for which you must be punished."
Sebas raised his hand and held out a finger,
"The first is that you have attacked my master's home."
He raised a second finger,
"The second is that you abandoned your comrades, leaving them to die to save yourselves."
Then finally, he raised his thumb, "The third is that you sought to steal. If I were to add a fourth, it is that you made me lose a bet with a colleague."
"Ah… a bet?"
Gringham stammered, trying to stoke the conversation from dying out. As long as he could keep him talking, there'd be a chance.
"What if we were to help you to win another bet instead, double or nothing! Then could we persuade you to let us make it up to you! And your master also!"
Sebas did not respond, not with words. Instead, he "changed".
The old man was gone, and the body seemed to melt and form and grow so that he was now two or three times his former height and build.
Dark scales that glimmered and were, even at a glance, utterly impenetrable. Sharp, hook-like spikes and protrusions thrusted from his shoulders and head, and the hands were now tipped with razor claws.
However, his gestures remained as formal and dignified as the butler who stood before them moments ago.
"I accept your offer. My colleague predicted you would make it. And despite our differences, I respect his mind. Out of that respect… if nothing else, I allow you a second chance. You may choose to fight me to the death, and if you are victorious, you will be allowed to go free. Or…"
"Or?"
Gingham swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at the black, implacable face.
Fighting that thing is just asking to die. He knew that much.
"Or, you can kill one another, do that, and the last one standing will live. It's that simple, I promise you."
Gingham and his companions drew their weapons. There were only five, including himself, and he knew that none of them were a real threat.
'This is survival… nothing personal.'
Sebas watched with disinterest as they fell to hacking at one another, one by one falling to the floor, reduced to lumps of dead meat.
Then after a few minutes, one was left with blood streaked and breathing like he'd run a marathon.
The heavy armored Gringham went down to one knee as his heavy hammer fell from the nervous fingers.
"You killed your comrades… to save your own life."
Sebas said with an icy stare.
Gringham nodded,
"Yes… I… do that atone… can I, can I rest a minute before I leave?"
"Leave?"
Sebas asked rhetorically.
"You're not leaving."
"But you said if-"
"I said that if you defeated me you would be allowed to leave, but if you killed each other, then one of you would be allowed to live. I will keep my promise, you will continue to live. I fear however, that you will regret that very much, as you spend the rest of your days in the Frozen Prison."
Sebas replied, and with two long steps, he towered over the worker.
Gingham screamed as he was dragged away, down the stairs, and into a frozen hell.
The door shut behind him and was now alone, and around him, nothing but ice, snow and icy blocks. The warmth of his body's exertions were slowly drained away, until heat became a distant memory.
He would never leave that room.
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
Yuuji, Aika, Momonga, and Lelouch watched from within the throne room as the invaders entered and perished one by one, each to their own fate.
Some were lucky to have received instant death. While others would suffer for the rest of eternity.
None of them felt any guilt or pity or remorse.
Perhaps influenced by the "memories" given to them by the group chat, their new races and jobs, or because they still perceived some aspect of this world as "fiction", they found themselves lacking in empathy towards the workers who entered here by their own designs.
And any little pity they had vanished when they thought of their backgrounds and watched them proceed with their tests.
Soon, their interest waned, leaving only a pragmatic outlook to the results of their data collection and defense mechanism tests. At least, for Yuuji and Lelouch.
"Hey, darling."
"Yes?"
Yuuji turned his gaze towards Aika.
"Is what Yuri said true? Will she be staying with you while you work?"
An awkward smile appeared before he nodded helplessly.
"Yes. I told her that there was no need for it, but she insisted…"
"Heeh~ So she struck first, huh~? As expected of Yuri~"
Yuuji simply smiled awkwardly at the insinuation of her words as Aika giggled.
In Satoru's presence, he had always felt a bit awkward talking about his… "children's attraction towards him.
As if sensing Yuuji's unintentional awkward glance, Satoru turned towards him. There was a look of confusion for a moment, before realization seemed to hit him.
Then, he smiled with a nod.
"Take care of them. Even if I consider you a close friend, I won't forgive you if you make any of them sad."
Yuuji nodded solemnly.
"Of course. That will never happen."
"Hehe~ Don't worry, Momonga~ I'll be the first to punish him if he ever break their hearts~"
Momonga smiled, and returned his attention to the screen. At this point, most of the test had concluded. And all but one group remained; Arche's comrade, Foresight.
He raised to his feet, rapping the golden staff of Ainz Ooal Gown onto the ground, and said with a commanding voice.
"It's about time. Shall we see to the test of our potential future "champions"?"
They all stood up and made their way to the Amphitheatre.
AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!
Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!
Thank you~!