The emergency meeting began with prolonged prayers begging the Gods for guidance. The news Kaire and the Black Scripture had brought back from their excursion was beyond terrifying for all who knew. The dreaded Godslayers were now walking in this world, and the entrance to the depths of the unconquerable hell, called Nazarick, were opened for the unholy beasts to pour out and destroy the world as they knew it.
The only saving grace was that Kaire had managed to use the holy artifact on one of the monsters and send it back to hell to cause havoc among the ranks of the monster Gods. It was the only good news they had learned of and were much thankful for.
"We need to come to a decisive plan fast, humanity's very existence depends on our decisions." Pontifex opened the meeting quickly once the avid prayers were done.
"One of those monster Gods saved E-Rantel. That alone goes against our perceived notion of them wanting to destroy the world, to raze it to the ground. I think the more likely case is that the monstrous Ruler of Death aims for rulership over the world, not its destruction." Yvon stated his conclusions on the recent events.
"Slavery under the tyranny of monsters is fate worse than death!" Dominic spat.
"Agreed. We cannot expect any just rule from the monster of all monsters." Zinedine voiced his opinion, supporting their fellow Scripture member.
"Let's avoid bickering and stay on course. Consorting with monsters should not be something we entertain, let alone think about." Pontifex put the meeting back on course.
The recent events surely weren't good for his waning health, that was for sure, as he slumped in his chair. Perhaps it would be time to step down.
'I will have to nominate my successor soon. Maybe Raymond? He's still young and strong-willed enough to lead the nation through these turbulent times. I should talk with him.'
"Besides the divine artifact and possibly Zesshi Zetsumei, there are no other methods for us to stand against the monster Gods. The best course of action, in my opinion, would be to exercise caution and utilize the artifact wherever an opportunity presents itself," Berenice spoke up after a short period of silence, which none would disagree with.
"Kaire has requested a replacement. She fears due to her age she might not manage to capture the next monster successfully, her mind and body, she fears, had grown too weak to carry on her divine duty. Unfortunately, none of the four high priestesses are fully prepared to replace Kaire." Raymond reported, much to the disgruntlement of those around.
"We will have to pick a replacement soon. What of the monster she currently controls?" Pontifex asked.
"No news. The beast is still alive according to her, so she either is still fighting or was captured and kept alive for reasons we do not know of." Raymond replied.
"Troubling. Would it be feasible to keep half of the Black Scripture as guards for Kaire? If there is even the smallest possibility that the control can be traced back to her, then we should be prepared. We cannot risk losing that control," Pontifex questioned, his wrinkled face twisting in worry.
"I can work with just half of the Black Scripture at my disposal," Raymond replied.
"Good. Carry it out then. For now, we will keep our activities in Re-Estize to a minimum to avoid drawing suspicion." Pontifex stated.
There was little hope that mortals would be able to defeat this threat, but humanity had always been fighting for their place in the world no matter the odds. It would just have to fight once more against the greatest threat the world had ever seen.
Lupus slowly strode through the frozen halls of the prison with a tray in her hands, loaded with the finest food Nazarick had to offer.
Lord Peroroncino had not left his daughter's side for days, and had cut contact with almost everyone. The mighty avian, whom she could proudly call her lover, had lost all his lust for life after Shalltear had been mind-controlled and sent to kill Lord Ainz.
Unpleasant rumors were floating around of the Supreme Ones splitting into two fronts and fighting one another. Everyone knew that, even the weakest non-sentient monsters, and it shook Nazarick at its foundations. Lupus was no different.
'Would I have to take a side if that comes to pass?' This question had refused to leave her mind for the past few hours.
After all, she knew the chain of loyalty she would follow. At the top was her creator, Beast King Mekongawa, then Lord Ainz as the guild leader, followed by Lord Pero as her lover, and only then the rest of the Supreme Ones like Lady Buku. At least, that's how she knew she should feel.
The idea of standing against the man she loved was too painful to think about, but that could become her reality if this continued on.
'Some concubine I am. Etzli would stand by Lord Pero's side without a second thought.' Her main competition for her man's attention knew where her loyalties lay. But the vampire had the privilege of being Shalltear's underling and thus naturally considered Lord Pero the highest authority, was constantly flaunting this fact and gathering forces among the other concubines to be the head consort of their man.
She found Pero sitting cross-legged on the cold stone floor, his golden armor covered with a thin layer of ice from his lack of movement.
"I brought dinner, my Lord." Lupus politely greeted him.
"I'm not hungry," Pero replied, not even bothering to look at her.
"My Lord, you should eat!"
"I told you to not use honorifics."
"Pero, please eat. Look, it's still warm." She walked closer and leaned down, bringing the food ever closer.
"I'm not hungry," Pero ignored her attempts for the fourth day in a row, refusing to move.
'Please eat. I don't know how else to help.' She may be sadistic by nature, but she wasn't heartless. When it came to her man, all she did was playful bites and scratches during sex, things she knew he wouldn't mind. Or maybe tease him a bit at the worst possible times. Like she did just a few days ago when she confessed to Pero via the message that she forgot to put on underwear while he was busy talking with his sister.
"How can I help? I can't just watch." She pleaded.
"Unless you know how to free my daughter without killing her, there is nothing you can help with," Pero muttered, his beak barely shifting as he spoke.
'I am a failure. All I can do is to remain by his side until things change.' Lupus placed the tray on the floor and pulled a thick blanket out of her inventory, one every concubine of Lord Pero had for… private sessions.
She plopped down next to Pero and draped the blanket over both of their shoulders, pressing against his side. At first, Pero didn't react at all, allowing her to lean against him.
But as minutes turned into hours, Lupus started to shiver slightly, as her resistance against the cold began failing to keep up with freezing temperatures for too long.
"You should leave," Pero whispered.
"I am not leaving. I can't do anything else but stay by your side." She stubbornly refused the suggestion.
"I can order you to leave," Pero muttered absent-mindedly.
"I want to help. I can't let you sit here alone."
'If Pero sends me away, I can ask Lord Ainz to assign me to him. Would that count as a betrayal? The will of the Supreme Beings is absolute.'
The thoughts of where her loyalties lie once again surfaced, shaking her to her core. She was made to be loyal and knew whose orders to follow. Did her desires matter?
'Would it be blasphemous to switch my loyalties from my creator to Pero? Lady Albedo had hers changed by her creator. But mine is not here. He left a while ago.'
"Would it count as a betrayal if I had to follow Lord Ainz's wishes over yours?"
"Do you want to do that?" Pero asked.
"No. But I don't think I have a choice." Lupus sighed.
"That's bullshit. Everyone has a choice. They may be shitty choices, but they are there. I won't send you away; if you want to freeze your ass off, you are free to do so."
"I want to support you. That ass belongs to you, my Lord, so it may be in your interests to protect it." She tried a more playful approach.
"I won't leave her alone, and I'm not sending you away if you don't want to go."
"Would something happen if you left Lady Shalltear alone?" Lupus questioned, genuinely curious. All she knew was that Shalltear was mind-controlled and imprisoned for her own safety until the control could be broken.
Even she could see that the floor guardian was restrained to a level where she was not a danger neither to herself nor others.
"Ainz could…" Pero paused. 'That asshat wouldn't even touch other player creations in the game without permission. It's all his fault. If not for him, my girl would be safe and sound inside the Tomb. He… would not do anything to her without my permission.'
He couldn't deny this simple fact no matter how hard he tried. Ainz would not do anything to Shalltear and wouldn't allow others to touch her either.
"I guess nothing will happen while she is here." Pero glanced at his daughter, who was stripped to underwear and immobilized with chains and antimagic fields. Her stare was blank, without seemingly any lights behind her eyes.
'I can't leave the search for solutions to others. I need to stop moping around and do something.'
He jumped to his feet and approached the cell Shalltear was in. "I will get you back to normal, sweety. Please be patient. Daddy will save you," He spoke softly.
"Kill Ainz Ooal Gown. Kill everyone who tries to stop me," Shalltear responded in an emotionless tone, repeating what she had said many times already.
Pero flinched as much as his avian features let him and turned away from Shalltear. "Let's go. I need to blow off some steam."
"Uuh, should I invite other girls, or it will be just us?" Lupus perked up, her ears twitching under the hat. Would he finally attend to them?
"Sorry, I didn't mean like that." Pero saw her visibly deflate. He had ignored his concubines for the past few days, and they no doubt were starting to become worried if he had decided to drop them all.
"Sorry, I thought-"
"You know what, sure, call all of them," Pero interrupted her. He had neglected them for long enough. Worst of all, they had done their best to be supportive during these times, and he had pushed them away one by one with his blame game, till only Lupus stubbornly refused to back down.
There was not even a shred of mood for pleasure in his mind, but he had to regain some sense of normalcy to function and start seeking ways to help his daughter. And his women didn't need to suffer with him.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by aidan_lo, Saphire_Drake, clagan, Antilene, Lightflan, shynavyseal, x4x, and Sluethen.
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/WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).