Buku arrived at the capital, ready for her performance for the masses. She was an established actress back in the old world after all, and even the most theatrical of them all, Ulbert, had come up with what was easy for her to make her act believable. Antilene stood by her side, ready to do her part, her deadly scythe stood firmly over her shoulder. The half-elven girl obviously knew the truth about the whole ordeal but had shown no signs of even remotely caring about her former peers. In fact, she was embracing her new life wholeheartedly and ready to serve Buku without question. Seeing her as both her Goddess and a mother figure she had lacked throughout most of her life, she is ready to serve her with everything she has without question.
Antilene told everything upon request without hiding a thing so Buku was well aware that the only person she considered as her family was a maid who died decades ago, meaning she had little social communication or networking. It came as a surprise that she could get along with both Aura and Mare so easily, especially since she lacked social skills and the twins had nearly opposite personalities. Mare liked her quiet, non-intrusive demeanor and Aura enjoyed the fact that Antilene could somewhat keep up with her to make their games and duels more interesting.
On top of it, the half-elven girl had expressed her desire to be Buku's apostle since some of the other Gods were getting one, pledging to serve for the rest of her life. While Buku was considering the proposition, she didn't fully settle on it just yet as her mortal assistant had to prove her merit on the battlefield and if she could communicate properly with other mortals. Her antisocial tendencies weren't exactly conducive for gathering followers if even her brother's psychotic apostle could interact with people without much trouble.
Buku stepped in through a gate in a wider street, where she was met with a group of adventurers and nobles with the king at the helm, clad in his full plate set of armor. She was followed by a thousand of her immortals and a hundred valkyries clad in splendid equipment, all of who immediately spread out to bolster the frontlines currently held by Shalltear and her team without a word. To follow Ulbert's plan, they wouldn't attack the retreating demons once she did a mock ritual on the gate and 'freed' the poor creatures from their 'enslavement' to that priest.
Buku noticed several people approaching her immediately: King Barbro, the leader of Blue Roses Lakyus, and Neia, Ainz's soon-to-be apostle.
"We are ready to drive back the demons." King Barbro was the first to announce as if he would be the one to take charge.
With some curious onlookers and plenty of nobles, guards, and adventurers to observe, the stage was set. Buku looked up at the king, her expression oozing with amusement and smugness. "Go back to the castle. This is no time to play like a soldier, and take the rest of the nobles with you as well."
"I insist we coordinate our charges. This is our home-" The king raised his voice.
"Don't get in my way, boy!" Buku interrupted him and released her aura just enough to drive the point home and spook the king's horse, as he was the only one on the horseback, letting it wash over the entire area and a few neighboring streets.
The poor animal dropped the king in mud in an instant and took off as fast as it could as both Neia and Lakyus took a few steps back, letting it pass. Barbro let out a yelp and struggled to get back to his feet, only to fall back down once more, the weight of his now wet and dirty armor pulling him into the embrace of the liquified ground.
"Someone get him out of here and deliver him home. I won't be responsible if he hurts himself." Buku motioned at Barbro, adding more insult to the injury.
The King's two personal guards pulled him out of the mud immediately and got him back to his feet.
"You dare!" He screeched at the top of his lungs.
"I will repeat this once. Get back to the castle and don't get in my way. I am here to deal with a threat, not babysit a spoiled brat who wants to play a hero without actually doing something. Do you seriously think that I can't feel your desire for false glory as the Goddess of War? Stop embarrassing yourself and be a man for once," Buku mocked him even more.
Barbro became beet red, seemingly ready to explode but Buku simply ignored him, turning her attention to Boullope instead. "My army will clear all the hostile entities and I will deal with the mad cardinal personally. Be prepared to establish order once we depart. There is no need to risk the lives of your men and adventurers."
"We are ready, Lady Buku. My troops will keep their distance and make sure no one interferes with your operation," Boullope replied, giving Barbro a side glance as the King stomped off, cursing to the high heavens and while being followed by various nobles.
"Good. I look forward to working with you in the future. You possess a warrior's spirit." Buku praised the older man and turned her attention to Neia next.
"Did Ainz order you to participate?" She asked the girl.
"No, Lady Buku, but me and my team wish to contribute if we can." Neia bowed.
"There are seven people who died today showing extraordinary bravery and valor. Gather their remains here. You'll know who they are, but do so behind the battle lines," Buku ordered.
Ainz would be the last to arrive and perform another miracle on top of revealing his true self, and the resurrection of heroic people to serve the nation and the people would serve as a perfect advertisement for the rising empire and the benevolent Gods ruling said empire.
"You can count on us." Neia saluted and took off with her team guided by Eleleth to find the right corpses.
The last one to be addressed was Lakyus. Buku approached the leader of Blue Roses who appeared nervous but determined, standing proudly while gripping her massive black sword in her right hand.
"You have a request I presume?" Buku questioned.
"If you would permit it, the Blue Roses would like to join you. We lost our teammate and her memory does not let us easily stand idly by. We know the risks." Lakyus requested, meeting Buku's eyes with determination.
"Your friend is still alive. She is being held hostage by the cardinal. Unfortunately, the other adventurer with Yggdrasil gear is not." Buku revealed.
Lakyus lit up in surprise, her lip quivering. "We must hurry. Please let us join you. We won't get in the way."
"Very well, but don't expect me to protect you. Though I can promise eternal life if you die an honorable death and accept me as your Goddess," Buku turned and motioned for Lakyus to follow, grasping her equipment.
"Sounds like a great deal." A tall, massive woman with the jaw of a star from an old cheesy action movie laughed, wielding a massive Warhammer comparable to Antilene's weapon in size.
"Let's not disturb the Goddess needlessly." Lakyus shushed her as the whole group followed Buku. While she was still apprehensive about the claims of these new players who declared themselves as Gods, she couldn't deny their power as Ulbert's presence alone was enough to shake her and the entire kingdom to the core.
"Antilene, clear the path for us." Buku meanwhile causally ordered her assistant, waving her forward.
There was not a single word in response, only action. Antilene moved instantly towards the nearest demon, cutting it diagonally in half without as much slowing down, only gaining momentum and speed as she kept killing demon after demon.
Lakyus had never seen anyone or anything move that fast. This girl was a veritable force of nature, turning demons into mincemeat with such graceful causality that Lakyus almost forgot to walk along if not for Tina gently nudging her occasionally.
The Goddess herself moved with a casual stride, taking in the sight of her servant's path of destruction; Lakyus could practically feel the enjoyment this entity felt from the destruction around her. However, that wasn't all Lakyus could sense. There was something intangible and beyond her mind's grasp, a power she couldn't understand. Something that made her feel reverence and spoke to her deeper than anything she had ever encountered.
'Could it be that I feel the presence of a real God?' She was a priest, after all, and thus more sensitive to intangible energies most mortals could never feel, or so she thought. If she was so devoted to her God, why had she never felt anything like this when she was in the temples praying to her God? The revelations of today were too unsettling for her to dwell on them right now so she pushed them away, refocusing her mind. There was no time for uncertainty as they were about to reach the demon gate and its mad creator, the perpetrator of all of today's bloodshed and destruction.
Antilene was still clearing their path with minimal effort even though the number of demons increased with each step they took towards the cardinal. To this elven girl who looked younger than her, they were nothing but blades of grass waiting to be cut down with her sickle, like a farmer tending to his fields.
A few more steps and the street abruptly ended. They now stood at the foundations of a temple that was being built by the demons with Yvon floating a few meters above the ground. The man's expression turned into a hateful stare.
"So the most vile one has come to disturb God's work again. Begone, back to your hell realm!"
"Cute. Tell your owner we will eradicate his very existence if he ever steps foot on this world!" Buku retorted, producing a glowing orb from a small void in front of her.
"In his name, I will…" Yvon stopped, blinking. "Wait, you don't mean… you can't!" He screamed, his entire body shaking.
Buku lifted the orb and a ray of blinding light impacted the swirling darkness of the demon gate.
Lakyus watched the exchange with confusion. Buku seemed to be in no hurry to end the Cardinal and destroy the demon gate. Instead, she had used some sort of artifact.
"Hey, shorty is over there!" Gagaran shouted. "She's still moving."
Lakyus turned where Gagaran was pointing and saw her friend nailed to a wall with a bent metal rod. "We need to…"
Then something strange started to happen, causing all of them to stop and looked around. The demons suddenly stopped moving forward. In fact, the stream of creatures coming out of the gates stopped and those present glanced around in confusion.
Then they began to charge towards the gate in hordes, but not all of them did. Some charged directly at Yvon and attacked the cardinal, clashing their claws, weapons, and jaws against the man's invisible magic shield.
"Obey! In the name of Lord Alah, do as I order!" The man screamed, flailing his hands around.
"His power is fading in my presence. It won't take long till that shield fails." Buku let out a cruel laugh, spreading her arms with glee.
"Monster! Blasphemer! My Lo-" He didn't finish the sentence as the first demon broke through the shield and dug his sharp nails into the man's abdomen, impaling straight through. Another drove a curved sword into the man's back, and another bit at his legs. Yvon let out wails of pain, disappearing within a pile of creatures within seconds as he fell just like many who had fallen because of him, massacred like cattle before a wolf pack.
'They were forced to attack! Ulbert told the truth.' She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The majority of demons were now freed of cardinal's control, either running back into the gate, attacking Yvon, or prostrating before Buku, letting out growls and speaking in strange guttural languages.
This meant the path was clear. Together with her team, she rushed over to Evileye who was even paler than usual, her eyes sunken in and aimless as she had lost her mask. But at least her friend was still alive, if barely by a thread.
Gagaran grabbed the rod and pulled it out the wall with Evileye still pierced with a single movement, glancing at the others. Tia grabbed their friend and gently pulled her off the piece of metal holding her, Gagaran helping where he could.
"We need to heal her. Lakyus!" Gagran shouted as blood gushed out of their friend's abdomen.
"She is an undead! My healing will just harm her more!" Lakyus shouted back.
"Feed her! That will give her energy to regenerate," Buku shouted, observing the scene from a distance as her armies whittled down what was left of the resisting demons.
Lakyus didn't hesitate, she took off her left glove and rolled up her bodysuit, bringing her hand to Evileye's mouth as her friend was barely present, her glassy eyes staring at the hand in confusion.
"I won't, I… " Evileye weakly protested with a whisper so faint, Lakyus could barely hear it.
"I won't let you die." Lakyus pushed her hand closer, forcing it half into her friend's mouth. She had never seen Evileye drink blood as her friend had vowed never to give in to her nature but now there was no other option. She couldn't in her best conscience ask anyone else to volunteer even if she knew all her team would agree, self-sacrifice was never an easy thing.
"I might lose control… don't… I'll be… fine." Evileye refused to give in.
"It's that or the other side. Are you so weak that you think you will lose the battle against yourself?" Buku asked as she appeared right behind Lakyus.
"She is fading. Keno please…" Lakyus teared up. "I know how it feels to fight darkness. I believe you will remain in control."
"She is too weak-minded. A soft, scared child, and she will die like one." Buku's voice was a cruel blade cut into their hearts, the Goddess standing behind them.
Lakuys growled. "She isn't weak. You know nothing."
"Really? I can see her heart. A real vampire would be able to accept her friend's gift and know when to stop. This child is not a real vampire and for that, she will fade away like most mortals, dust in the annals of history." Buku continued.
Gagaran stood up and swung, aiming for Buku's head. Her massive fist couldn't reach the target. Antilene had appeared beside Buku and blocked it. Before the giant woman could attack again, the elven girl kicked her midsection, sending Gagran flying and then rolling.
"Now that takes guts. A stupid action, but one made out of passion and resolve," Buku commented.
Lakyus sighed. She couldn't force Evileye to drink the blood. She was about to pull her hand away when she felt fangs pierce her skin and a jolt of pain followed. Evileye's small hands gripped hers and she drank.
Lakyus grimaced, trying not to show that she was in pain as her friend drank with increasing fervor. She began to feel lightheaded but it was well worth it. Evileye's wound disappeared and her grip tightened, her eyes clearing up.
"Keno." Lakyus gasped, feeling her life force being drained away.
Evileye let go of her, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "I am not weak, but I have principles. Lakyus, heal yourself and get rest. I took a lot." She remarked as she stood up.
"You could be so much more if you used your gift properly and not shied away from it," Buku smirked.
"One of the Gods of Nazarick I presume?" Evileye looked up at Buku.
"Correct." Buku nodded.
"Thanks, I guess. That mad moron was rambling about you all the time." Evileye replied sharply. "Sorry Lakyus, your uncle didn't make it. But his corpse is over there, I think he should be strong enough to be resurrected."
"Right. We need to preserve him. You took a bit too much for me to cast resurrection right now." Lakyus slowly stood up with a stagger, as pale as Evileye.
"Just take his remains back to where we started, we'll take care of it. Ainz will make an appearance and resurrect those who have earned resurrection." Buku interrupted.
"But not everyone is strong enough," Lakyus interjected. The resurrection spell was proven to work only on those who were at least gold level and even then they lost a lot of power in the process, some needing to relearn basic things like walking.
"Only in regular fifth-tier resurrection's case, Ainz doesn't use the low-tier one. I thought you had heard about Neia being a conduit for mass resurrection." Buku remarked.
"You players are all the same. Most locals don't know that anything above tier six exists so don't shove your high-tier stuff in our faces." Evileye grumbled.
"Your power level should permit you to cast tier-eight spells. How come you failed against Yvon? His shield only worked up to the sixth tier." Buku continued with smug superiority laced in her tone.
Evileye glared and then turned away. "Let's just get Azuth and get out of here," ignoring Buku's question.
Lakyus wisely chose not to pick a fight with the player. The crisis was averted and its creator was dead, torn to shreds by demons. The demon gate had closed shortly after Yvon's death and crumbled into dust with the last of the demons either fleeing through it or getting slain. The worst was finally over.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by fvvck, Sluethen, Stac, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, Omnax, nate051499j6, mfkz_rocker, and aidan_lo.
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