Chapter 23

Tuare was gripping her hand so tightly that, if not for Ninya's now superior resilience, her fingers surely would be broken by now. Her sister had put up a brave face, reminding Ninya of the many admirable qualities Tuare had shown in her youth. But it was easy to see Tuare couldn't maintain her courage for too long, and she began trembling in fear as they both stood in front of the gate, with its dark swirling void not appearing friendly or inviting by any stretch of the imagination.

"It will be fine. I know it looks scary, but that's just how it looks. Just close your eyes and take a deep breath." Ninya assured her, gently guiding her older sister towards their new home, their safe new home.

Tuare could see nothing but steely determination in Ninya's eyes, which helped ease her furiously thumping heart, albeit only a bit. She nodded with determination and took a step forward. Her inhale just before crossing the barrier was audibly sharp, though the girl didn't stop because Ninya didn't do so. They bravely walked through the darkness instead.

"Celi…" She gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

"It takes a while to get used to it. This is Nazarick. This is where the Gods live. Just be polite and let's move." Ninya dragged her sister forward, taking the lead.

The servant staff of the ninth floor was more or less used to the presence of outsiders, so there weren't any hostile or curious stares from either the maids or the door guards. If an outsider was allowed here, they were important.

"Our place isn't that far away. First, let's go see our living space, and then I'll show you where you can get food," Ninya explained.

Tuare just replied with a silent nod, as she did to most things. Her sister was cautiously glancing around, which was understandable. To see such luxury for a simple farmer girl was a culture shock. Tuare had not spoken a word about what she went through since the noble sold her into slavery, but it was very unlikely that she had seen anything even remotely close to the halls of Nazarick, for any metric Ninya could think of.

Not even five minutes in, Ninya noticed a familiar figure waving her over. Entoma, one of the Pleiades Maids, was approaching them, unreadable as always. The cute mask, this short-statured maid wore, betrayed no emotion.

"Ninya, Tuare, Lord Peroroncino ordered me to relocate both of you to larger accommodations, and then you both shall report to him," The maid explained in a high-pitched voice.

"That's great," Ninya replied.

The old room would have been a bit tight for her and Tuare, but it wouldn't make them feel terribly claustrophobic. It was still an upgrade from how they lived back on the farm. Being given a larger room without having to pay a single copper coin was just another brilliant display of kindness shown by her master.

And what an upgrade it was. They could not help but gasp. The main room was at least twice as big compared to her previous one, with two spacious beds and all the amenities both girls could ever dream of.

Ninya managed to calm down much faster than her sister, already having semi-expected something of this splendor for the living place of the Gods. She only gave a passive glance around since she didn't spend that much time in her living space in the first place. Ninya then felt a faint tugging at her hand, and her eyes met that of her anxiously staring sister. She slowly let go of Tuare's hand, seeing how keen she was in wanting to inspect her new surroundings, most likely at a slower pace in order to become familiar with the new place. This did stop Ninya from straying too far from her sister, as she still felt the need to be protective even though they were in a much safer space.

Tuare was carefully shifting around as if everything around her was so brittle that even the slightest touch would turn the furniture into dust. Seeing how overly cautious she was, Ninya felt anger welling up within her, at the sheer fact that her beloved sister had to treat everything as if it were made of the most fragile glass, when they were probably more durable than most castles' walls.

'She is scared to even breathe properly. If I have the chance, I will hunt down every single bastard who ever laid hands on her and make them pay!' Ninya's hands clenched into fists as her knuckles turned white, once again reminded of how cruel and despondent Tuare's life had been, no doubt caused by the sheer cruelty of humanity.

There was nothing left of the bright, cheerful girl Tuare once was. Only a frightened shell of a woman remained, scared of everything and everyone that wasn't her.

"We should move on. The rest of the team has already arrived in Lord Pero's office," Entoma suggested.

"What do you mean, the rest of the team? Are Lakrut and I getting teamed up with someone?" Ninya questioned, surprised at the statement.

"Your team. Lord Ainz graciously returned all of them back to life," The maid explained, deadpan as always despite the news.

"All of them? Tuare, we should go," Ninya called after her sister, spooking the girl.

"Y-yes," She whispered back and returned to her side, firmly seizing Ninya's hand.

'My friends are back. To think the New Gods cared about us more than even the old ones and nobles ever did,' Ninya mused. Her anticipation of the reunion with her team grew with each step as they walked through the halls.

Now, the familiar path toward Lord Pero's office felt like it was on the other end of the world, with how long the trip felt. Tuare's grip only grew stronger as they moved closer to their destination, tightening beyond what Ninya thought possible for her sibling.

'If not for my new strength, it would hurt like hell. How can she even have such a grip?' Ninya did her best to ignore the irritation. Tuare needed a safe pillar to hang onto, and she was more than willing to be that pillar.

That did raise one problem. She likely will be sent on a mission soon, and her sister will have to stay behind, all alone, in Nazarick.

At least Nazarick was safe, probably the safest place in the world. As they strode through the tunnels the ever-increasing amount of maids scared her sister even more. But it was safe, and that was all that mattered, protected by several Gods and their powerful minions.

'She'll be fine… probably. It's not like anyone here will try to hurt her. Maybe I could get her a job to at least be busy with something, to keep her mind off the past and offer her a path forward. But I don't want to make it seem like I'm pressuring her…' Ninya contemplated what to do with her sister while she was away working.

Although Tuare outwardly didn't show it, she had been in great distress whenever Ninya was not around, which in the last days before returning to Nazarick was quite a lot. Lord Sebas was very kind towards her, and even Solution was not her usual disturbing self when interacting with her sister, as rare as those interactions were.

The time to worry about what to do with her sister needed to be set aside for later, as they entered her master's office.

'They aren't human anymore,' Was the first thought that crossed her mind. Peter had large animal ears peeking out of his blonde hair, and he was the most human-looking out of the three. Dyne looked more like a tree than a human, and Brita was much taller than before, and not only had blue skin, but also six arms.

Lukrut, Dyne, and Brita were casually chatting among themselves standing in a half circle, while Lord Pero and Peter were discussing a training regimen for their group. Her team leader was standing over the Avian God's shoulder and taking notes on a small notepad with what looked like a ballpoint pen, a device unique to the Gods.

This pen was another wonderful contraption only found in Nazarick and nowhere else in the world. There were a lot of such small things that made a lot of day-to-day activities convenient and made Ninya wonder who came up with such revolutionary designs, but she attributed it to them being Gods, who had items mortals could never have hoped for, as befitting of their status.

"Hey, Ninya is here!" Brita loudly exclaimed, being the first to notice her, "Nice horns."

To avoid spooking her sister, Ninya hadn't changed back to her human form and hadn't even mentioned what her basic form looked like. Tuare was already stressed as she was without being fully exposed to her inhuman nature.

"Lord Pero," Ninya first bowed before her master just in case. The avian did prefer a casual approach, but a lot of Nazarick's natives took offense if proper respect was not shown towards their Gods. Tuare followed her example and mumbled the same title under her breath, bowing.

"Hey Ninya, be at ease." Pero glanced up and greeted her. "And you must be Tuare. Welcome to Nazarick, I hope you'll like it here."

"T-thank you, Lord," Tuare replied, barely above a whisper.

"Now then, since all the squad is back together, I'll let you all train together for a few weeks. But be ready in case I need to lend you to Ulbert." Pero continued as he stood up from his seat.

Without hurry, he walked around the table, with Peter doing the same and joining his peers.

"As most of you might have heard, Some of Slane's scum managed to capture and temporarily mind-control my daughter." The avian took a long pause. "And there was one person who was instrumental in finding the culprits. I won't ask for you to get along with her, but I will demand that you won't try killing each other."

'Is he talking about that monster?' Ninya stared at her master with a confused expression, hoping that her suspicion wasn't true. But there was no such luck in this world.

The one creature she never wanted to see free, the one she despised first and foremost, entered the room and kneeled before Lord Pero without acknowledging anyone else.

Ninya pushed Tuare behind her back and drew her sword with a snarl. Her friends also assumed fighting positions, ready to fight the beast that caused them so much suffering.

"I said there will be no attempts at killing each other!" Pero raised his voice.

"You can't expect us to just forget what she did! That monster killed us! Tortured Ninya, and you set her free!" Peter screamed, his form becoming more beast-like with each word.

Brita and Dyne knowingly pulled their leader away from the God of Murder as Peter struggled to break their grip, snarling like a wild beast at the avian.

"She helped me save my daughter. I didn't owe you a second chance, but you got one anyway!" Pero retorted, spreading his four wings into a threatening gesture, his overwhelming aura pouring out and filling the room like a torrent of suffocating gas.

"My Lord, I cannot deprive you of your servants. If tearing my flesh is required to make them loyal, they can freely do so." Clementine slowly rose, her face twisted in a near inhumanly wide smile with her eyes shining with pure madness behind her gaze. Her already short breath became even more shallow as she leaned forward with audible wheezes, her eyes seemingly insane beyond what mortal minds could produce.

"Is that what you all want?" Pero asked.

Ninya stepped forward and dropped the sword on the ground as her nails turned into razor-sharp claws.

"Ah, such a wonderful gift our God has given you. Show me! Tear my flesh, drink my blood. Let me atone for my sins!" Clementine moaned, spreading her arms and fervently staring up at the ceiling.

'That woman is sick. She… just what the hell is wrong with her.' Ninya's anger was slowly replaced with disgust. She had seen what torture had been inflicted upon Clementine, and nothing she could do would come close. There was no point in inflicting more beyond mere emotional sadism now.

"Just leave us alone, you sick bitch!" She kicked Clementine in her exposed midsection hard enough to make the woman fall and spat on her. "I don't want anything to do with you."

"Boss. You can see that she has a ton of screws loose. Why did you set her free?" Peter shouted with a growl, his wolf-like face also twisted in disgust. His fully transformed form was as tall as Pero's and much wider, giving a striking intimidation factor that was enough for Dyne and Brita to let him go and back off.

"I told you. She gave me information that helped release my daughter. She may not be all there, but she is loyal to me and won't harm anyone without my direct order. Remember, I am the God of Murder," Pero stated, taking a step away from Clementine, who had gotten up and stood uncomfortably close to him.

"Will we turn like her over time?" Brita questioned. Despite Ninya being able to stand up for herself, she had gotten between the smaller girl and the insane woman, twisting all her hands into knuckles, ready to fight the blonde monster to the death.

"I doubt that. Look, I won't force you to work together, just try to be somewhat civil. Clementine won't harm any of you, right?"

"I won't touch any of them, even if they attack me first, my Lord. I wouldn't dream of depriving you of your servants!" Clementine exclaimed.

"And you believe her?" Peter demanded, his voice laced with suspicion.

"I know she is speaking the truth. Just… if you need to blow off some steam, do it in an arena with referees, not somewhere on the ninth floor. The last thing I need is Albedo on my neck about any of you misbehaving. Now, you can all rest for today, and I'll see you all tomorrow morning in the arena. Lupus and Etzli will help you train," Pero dismissed them all, sending them away with a wave of his hand.

Only when Ninya and Tuare were back in their living space did her sister speak, "That woman…what did she do to you?"

"You don't want to know. But those twenty minutes before she killed me were the longest in my life." Ninya muttered quietly as she took off her boots and plopped down in her bed.

"Celi…"

"You don't want to talk about your past, and I prefer to not tell you what happened to me. I trust Lord Pero. If he said we are safe, then we are. He and the other Gods are the reason I have a second chance, and they also helped me to find you."

Tuare laid down next to her, hugging from behind just like she did when they were still kids and there was a thunderstorm outside.

"Are they really Gods?" Tuare pulled Ninya closer, hugging tightly.

"I believe so. Since I came back…I have had this feeling. I can't describe it… I just know. We will be fine, sis."

Edited by aidan_lo.

Proofread by aidan_lo, x4x, and Cay.

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