Chapter 77

[|||| =LEVEL 23= ||||]

[|| =!BONUS LEVEL!= ||]

A sign from above

Sweat ran down Ruby's face freely. She ignored it for the moment but knew that she'd need a shower later. Her uncle spun and kicked at the flat of Eclipse Rose's blade. He was lucky she didn't cleave off a foot, but then again, his maneuver worked.

A dash through her semblance and she stabbed with her weapon, a shortsword now. Uncle Qrow parried one blow aside and slashed sharply. Ruby's side-hand pushed at her uncle and-wait, no, she wasn't supposed to use magic he-

Her uncle's blade was poking her belly. Dangit. She'd gotten distracted. A small sigh left her lips and she holstered Eclipse Rose onto the back of her waist.

"No. Magic." The blade lightly poked her with each word.

"I'm used to it," she muttered.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, Beacon might be fine with you using magic in your spars but you have to learn how to fight without it too."

"I know." She nodded. Something flickered in her chest. She ignored it.

"You could use dust as a sort of 'pretend magic' but then-" The flicker bursted into a flame. Oh, that was anger.

"I know!" Uncle Qrow stopped and Ruby blushed as she looked down. It happened again.

She had been… lashing out lately. Little stuff that didn't bother her before suddenly started being irritating. Jaune's habit of scratching his chin, Pyrrha's depression after Abyss left, the mystery of whoever attacked Vale in what people were calling the Mountain Glen incident… it all just made her angry. She had never known real anger before but now everything she would have brushed off stung.

Maybe she was just becoming a teenager. Yang joked about it but that didn't seem like the answer.

"Want to stop the training session here?" her uncle offered. Ruby nodded silently and let loose a little magic. The sweat disappeared from her forehead and the air cooled pleasantly, the heat of summer disappearing into something like winter. Uncle Qrow shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. Oh, come on it wasn't that cold.

"Come on, Kiddo, I'm going to go make some sandwiches," he offered. Ruby smiled and nodded brightly. It was only a little faked. The two went inside and Ruby plopped herself on the couch. She glanced at the letter on the coffee table once more, one she'd gotten just a few days ago.

Ruby,

I know you're still mad at me and, honestly, I deserve it. What I did was self-

She folded the letter over itself and put it back in the envelope, not reading the rest. She had read it at least three times over while she'd had it. Pyrrha was such a worrywart. She didn't blame her for dropping out of Beacon. Pyrrha joined to get closer to Abyss and maybe become a huntress. But she didn't need to become a huntress and with her and Jaune getting closer she had been a third wheel, even if none of them would admit it.

… also, she was probably sick of their constant fights and make-ups. He was such a butthead sometimes but she really did like him. Even if Abyss never saw it he really wanted to help people, just like her. The two really brought out the worst in each other. Like an evil wizard and a paladin! Total opposites, though Abyss was hardly evil.

She should really pen a letter to Pyrrha soon telling her not to worry about their friendship. If Abyss hadn't… left then they might have been future stepsisters. There was no reason to ruin a perfectly good friendship over bad memories.

"Want ham or a BLT?" Uncle Qrow called.

"BLT!" she called back. Hey wait, why wasn't she writing right now? It wasn't like she had anything better to do. With a short blitz of her semblance she rummaged some paper and a pen out of the hardware closet and set it on the coffee table.

Pyrrha,

Yeah, we're totally good! I know that beacon wasn't-

She tossed that paper out. Too casual. And she needed to capitalise Beacon.

Pyrrha,

Dropping out of Beacon was your decision and I-

Urrrrgh. Don't start it like that. Be positive!

Pyrrha,

Just because you made a bad decis-

Pyrrha,

Abyss was-

Pyrrha,

You shouldn't worry about ever not being my friend! We spent a lot of time together and even if we're apart I think-

"Urgh," Ruby groaned and put her head in her hands. Writing letters was hard.

"Wasting paper?" Uncle Qrow walked over to the couch and set a plate in front of her.

"Yeah. Sorry… for snapping at you earlier."

"Uh huh. I've kept from asking but if something's up and you want to talk about it I'm always there to listen, you know."

"I think it's just growing up stuff. And Abyss." She looked down at the paper sadly. "I'm just getting so angry now, and at stupid stuff. I got mad at a guy for chewing gum too loudly last week!"

"Those guys are super annoying," he said with a knowing nod.

"Yeah, but I was never annoyed by it before!" she said, waving her hands around for some kind of emphasis. She decidedly failed and crossed them on her chest, feeling awkward. "Ever since Beacon I've just felt different. I was sad and then mad and I kept hoping but… he's really gone. It's been almost a year. He's not coming back… is he?"

"I dunno. Maybe. He's a wizard, Ruby, and maybe a little more than that. I know that Ozpin couldn't do some of the stuff that he did. Maybe in his prime. Frankly your brother and what he did just went over my head sometimes. I ended up just rolling with it after he made some kind of secret spy ring at Signal."

"SubI," she said glumly. "They were cool."

"Smart kids. I still see Ocean hanging around Bella sometimes."

"She's the one that can change into the spider?"

"We don't talk about Ocean becoming a giant spider," he said seriously. That got a giggle out of her. Her uncle looked down at the papers she had brushed aside. "Pyrrha, huh? Not mad at her?"

"No but I don't know how to say it." She took a bite out of her BLT. Ooh, extra crispy bacon. Her uncle was a pretty good cook with the simple stuff. Anything more complex than homemade pizza and he fell apart. His lasagna normally caught fire somehow.

"Dear Pyrrha, I don't blame you and I want to be friends. Don't sorry, blah blah friendship and insert an anecdote somewhere. Done."

"Mmm," she swallowed her second bite and looked at the paper for a moment. "I'll get to it later."

"Sure. Don't leave your buddy hanging, though." She sighed and nodded.

"Want hu guh clothes hopping… mngh, later?"

"Don't speak with your mouth full, Ruby. Gross. And yeah, sure. Like a bigger huntress uniform or-"

"Start recording, Simmy… you are? Good." They both immediately stopped, Ruby in the middle of another big bite, her uncle with his mouth hanging open.

"Greetings, people of Remnant. This should be getting to all of you, as in the whole planet. I'm going to stop a lot of questions and say that yes, this is a telepathic prerecorded message."

"Abyssareyou-"

"It's a message, Ruby, quiet!" Qrow said urgently. She shut her mouth and listened. This wasn't what she was expecting today.

"For those of you who don't recognize my voice this is Abyss Mavros. About eight or nine months ago I was forced to leave Remnant, basically kidnapped. Before I get into the hows and whys of that I need to give you a bit of context."

Kidnapped… kidnapped?! He was alive! Her brother was alive! Tears collected at the edge of her vision but Ruby wiped those away quickly. Though she wasn't really listening with her ears she strained them, trying to absorb every word.

"My company, Nature's Bounty, was founded based on plants taken from other dimensions. These dimensions were reached via my semblance, which is capable of traveling to alternate realities, though it's completely exhausting to me and a bit dangerous."

Ruby frowned. Lying already. The plants were magical, imbued with affinities. This was a preface to something, she was sure of it.

"Most of the time I found empty lands, fertile but also dangerous. Raging deserts, abandoned cities, and wild forests. This is where I got the plants that I introduced to Remnant and sold, making a large part of the modern economy, perhaps a larger one than when I left if Mahogany hasn't been slacking. In my explorations I made contact with a few otherworldly civilizations. None of them were too much more impressive than Remnant. More populous, maybe, or more culturally diverse, but none as advanced or with warriors significantly more powerful.

"I discovered two important facts in my travels, which have been recorded by my chief scientist and good friend Doctor Polendina: Dust, aura, and grimm are entirely unique to Remnant besides a few very rare exceptions, though nowhere else do people have all three of these things. Secondly, there are beings powerful enough that some might call them gods. I don't believe the label applies but they are beings capable of warping reality one way or another and tend to be able to travel realities. In fact, Remnant's grimm problem is possibly due to the presence of one being we might call a god, though it left some thousands of years ago.

"Back to the point at hand, I seemingly angered one of these beings and was thrown into a different world, thankfully one I had friends in, and my semblance was crippled. I can no longer travel to Remnant."

There was a moment of silence. "… Damnit," Ruby swore tearfully. Her uncle gave her a look but then the message played once more.

"This message is meant as both a way to inform you all that I will not be coming back to Remnant, to give my last will and testament and execute it, and to tell my loved ones that I am still alive. Let's begin with the will. To prove that I am Abyss Mavros I'll give out a few of my passwords and things only my close family would know. I first met Ozpin when I was very young after I stopped wandering the Vacuan wastes. My adoptive mother, Summer Rose, picked me up and brought me to him, though I suffered something like a… soul heart attack during the flight. My soul was too strong, my semblance the same, and my mother's soul was intermixed with mine for reasons I won't be disclosing. That should be enough, I believe."

Ruby nodded impatiently, wanting to get on with the goodbyes and the part where he tells her how to go give him a hug. He was taking a while to talk.

"I give all of my belongings remaining on Remnant and one eigth of my liquid assets to my… best friend? Aunt? Whatever she is to me, Raven Branwen. Yes, Yang, I know your mother now sit down and stop burning your surroundings. One half of my liquid assets go to my adoptive sister, Ruby Rose, one quarter to my sister, Yang Xiao-Long, one sixteenth to my good friend Pyrrha Nikos, and the remaining assets to be donated to whatever or whoever Ruby decides to give it to, preferably a charity. This will is to be enacted by Mahogany.

Ah, but we've missed a spot, haven't we? I'm of sound mind and I'm sound enough of body to make my own decisions. Finally, Mahogany, if you fudge up my will I promise you that I'll start acting in Remnant. How do you think I'm talking to you, huh? If you dare to try and screw me over I will rip your sorry carcass in two and Raven will step in as acting CEO as per company policy. You know how far I've gone for my family, seen it person. Do as I say and I won't replace you. Violently. Sending you this with peace and love, of course."

Ruby smiled happily at what he had given her. He had never cared about the money he had and she didn't really care about it either but donating was nice. A hundredth of what her brother owned was probably enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. She could probably threaten Roman into dealing with her brother's will fairly but Auntie would probably do it…

Ah, right, he'd blown the secret about Auntie and Yang's relation. Her brother sucked sometimes.

"And now for the lovey dovey stuff… you get nothing." Ruby's mouth opened a little bit. What? "First of all, it would stretch this all out even more and neither I or you all, the entire people of Remnant, have the time for that. More importantly, I've figured out that this… curse on me will wear off. It's fairly foolproof to tampering or getting around, but I haven't given up yet.

Worst case scenario I have to wait a very, very long time until it wears off. Long enough that you'll all be nothing but bones in caskets when I get back. I'm certain that if I search hard enough there's somebody out there that can revive the dead. Or you all will find a way to cross dimensions to find me before then. But I promise you all that we'll see each other again. I'm not giving you your goodbyes because this isn't one.

If you're crying over me then quit it. I'm doing as well for myself outside Remnant as I was doing in it, which is to say I'm rich, powerful, and famous. Again. Worry about yourselves. If nobody on my end or your end has figured out a way to make proper contact within a decade I'll send another message. I'd rather not disrupt the whole world whenever I want to say hello, though, so let's get things sorted out, alright? … Simmie are you going to stop recording-"

There was a moment of silence in the house as Ruby and Qrow waited in case there was more. When Ruby sniffled Qrow reached out and hugged her.

[|||| =NEXT STAGE= ||||]

Evil overlording is like middle management

Momonga was in a bind. Not only had his world fallen apart when YGGDRASIL shut down but with this… new world he was in he just had so much going wrong.

He didn't know how to lead the NPCs of Nazerick! He was a damn salaryman! He barely survived his day to day job and now he couldn't sleep, couldn't enjoy comforts like food or bathing, couldn't even properly touch anything. Being undead was a less than glamorous existence and being guild master was so much worse. At least his bullshitting skills were alive and well.

And how well his bullshitting had served him now. Nazerick's loyalty to him was… unsettling. He never had luck with women but even he could realize that Albedo was fanatically in love with him, obsessed more like, and whatever Shalltear was thinking was left far from sane minds. At the very least her affections seemed to be shifting onto Abyss instead of him.

Oh… Abyss. No, no, that wasn't right… Abyss. The anomaly. That fucking hacker ruining his game balance. He called himself a god and for all intents and purposes he was one. Maybe he was brought out from YGGDRASIL into the new world like Momonga. If he were an admin or one of those shitty devs brought through it would explain a lot and boy was there a lot to explain.

He didn't use spell chants, didn't use normal spells, he stuck to normal elements, he was either completely harmless or an endgame world boss depending on his mood at the time, for the love of God, he wielded most forms of blood magic like an elemental. Shalltear, the strongest NPC in Nazerick, lost to him when he was a self-professed beginner at blood magic. He was simply too strong, like a level 100 player to some level 10s. Except that Momonga was the level 100 and Abyss broke the system. Maybe he actually was a god. At this point it wouldn't surprise him.

He kept a journal of all his ideas to defeat the man locked away in his item box along with his other plans and secrets. He didn't have much. Abyss was an aberration. He wouldn't want to take on the man without knowing more about his abilities and a full raid team.

However, there were only the NPCs left to stand with him and Abyss wasn't very forthcoming with what he could do. The best he had gotten was 'I can do almost anything with what affinities I possess.' As to what affinities he possessed? 'Plenty.' Nevermind what an affinity was. Presumably an inclination towards a certain element. There had been something similar for certain classes in YGGDRASIL.

At least he wasn't willing to use all that power he had to any large degree. He was no brute, for better or worse. That didn't make him any less scary, though. If anything it made him more so since Momonga was actually starting to like him. And Nazerick was too. If the guild was compromised… no. It couldn't be.

Maybe sucking up to him would work? But that would ruin the respect of his guild. So many problems to deal with.

[|||| =-= ||||]

"I've never had group bathing before," Abyss said casually as Momonga lowered himself into the water. The man himself was already reclining against the bath's walls.

"It's something I'm fond of. Bathing on your own is perfectly serviceable for getting clean yet group activities build community." In reality Nazerick was mostly populated by Japanese players. It seemed normal to have private hot springs.

"Do you have a mixed bathing section too?"

"Yes, though it's mostly used by the genderless beings of Nazerick."

"Ah, like the slimes." He nodded knowingly. Yes, the slimes did tend to melt into the water a little bit. It wasn't that they were exiled from the gender divided sections for doing so but nobody wanted to bathe in tainted waters. "It makes sense. I love the setting. It reminds me of a culture from my home, the Mistralians. At any rate, care to get straight to business?"

"We may as well." Momonga really didn't want to. "I've wondered whether you'd be interested in a small alteration in our arrangement."

"The one where you don't do acts of evil or where we adventure together?"

"More the first than the second. The more chaotic residents of Nazerick have had issues acclimating to your deman-"

"Compromise, Ainz. You don't go slaughtering the innocent and I'm happy to be friends. If you do terrible things for a good reason I have room for leniency."

"Compromise," he nodded agreeably and reminded himself to hold back with Abyss. He had to word his phrases properly. A less kind boss could have taken the word 'demand' as an accusation that he was forcing the issue with Ainz. He was, of course, but stating it blatantly would only make him angry.

"We are wondering whether it is harm to innocents that you're warding us from or general crimes. I'd prefer to clarify this before a member of Nazerick does something out of hand. Is it fine to commit euthanasea on the old and obsolete? What of the good people who would attack my members on sight? We are monsters, after all, and many would be happy to genocide our whole species with nothing but good intentions. And what of cruelties on the evil, such as bandits and criminals?"

"I appreciate that you're asking this. You're right, this does need a clarification. I had assumed that it was obvious but with you being more evil you've got a different perspective. Hm… think of it this way, if you can avoid killing someone who's probably good, do so. If it's bandits who kill and rape, loot and steal, even if it's with some claim to goodness, kill them. I'm willing to be lenient. Just try to kill more evil people than good. I'm not a saint, Ainz, and I'm not trying to be. You've got a good head on your shoulders. I doubt that you'll mess this up."

'You've got a good head on your shoulders', when used as an assertion of an employee's capabilities, meant that it was up to him to make this work since he was supposedly able to. Still, he had clarified a bit.

"I see. I'll give a speech to Nazerick today and update several of our policies. Thank you for telling me."

"Thanks for asking.

[|||| =-= ||||]

"-And with these rules in place we'll be able to accomplish our goals without angering Abyss."

"I'll implement them at once, Lord Ainz." Albedo smiled beautifically at him.

"Milord, these seem somewhat vague," Demiurge brought to his attention. His devil-tail swayed behind him as he leaned back. "I understand that morality in general is difficult to define and poorly understood by… well, all of Nazerick except you, but can we not clarify them further?"

"The vagueness is intentional," Momonga said, sounding far more confident than he was. "Morality in general is a guideline on how to act on the basis of societal rules. Since Abyss is inclined to keep society functioning that means that we can't take actions to hinder it, which is what these rules prevent."

"I understand, Ainz-sama." Mare nodded.

"Totally got it! Kill the bad guys, don't kill the other ones!" Aura agreed.

"Remember that you have room for mistakes in this matter. Between an action immensely helpful to Nazerick and the moral solution choose the first. And remember, the secrecy of Nazerick's existence is worth a mistake and the reprimand that may follow."

"Milord, have you considered my proposal?" Demiurge asked.

"Proposal?" Albedo asked curiously.

"I've rejected it. Abyss is too volatile for us to integrate into Nazerick. Besides that, his power would naturally lead to him taking the place of a supreme being or an equivalent."

"Not if-"

"Demiurge," Momonga said, his voice somewhat harsher. He needed to nip this train of thought in the bud. The wave of calm washed over him once more, taking away the rage he felt. "Do not offer to marry Shalltear to Abyss." Shalltear's mouth opened a little in surprise and she stared at Demiurge. "The happiness and safety of Nazerick's inhabitants is important above all. Abyss is not so much a threat that we've come to measures so sacrificial yet."

"Understood, Lord Ainz." Demiurge bowed his head, suitably cowed… wow, that sounded super evil. Still, even if he was unwilling to marry Shalltear off, even if she'd be willing to for the good of Nazerick, doing so wouldn't do much for Abyss' loyalties, he thought. He had three wives already. Another would be less effective.

"Are there any issues in need of discussion?" he asked. It would be a waste to let this meeting of the guardians loose without doing as much work possible. It was hard to gather all of them nowadays without disturbing their schedules.

"I. Have. News, Lord. Ainz… for. Everyone," Cocytus said in his usual slow manner. "… The. Draconic. Kingdom. Has. Had… breakthroughs."

"Issues?" he asked, curious. The kingdom was far enough away that it wasn't too relevant. He didn't need to know much about it besides its lack of military power and its relationships with the other kingdoms.

"They. Have. Defeated. The. Beastmen. Horde. Plaguing. Them… Genocide." Cocytus said. Ainz stopped, a bit stunned. He quickly began thinking about how to respond to that. What actions should Nazerick take? How will E-Rantel respond to the kingdom? How did that happen?

"How?" he asked simply.

"A. New. Adventuring. Team… Black Ice." Ainz nodded and waited. "Though. They. Are. Not. Quite. A. Team. More. A. Single. Person… Esdeath. She. Is. A. General… A. Leader. And. Warrior-mage. Half. Ice. Demon… Very. Strong."

"Demon…" Ainz mused. Demons were rarer in the new world than they were in YGGDRASIL and weaker by far. There were a few half demons that he had heard of but the discrimination that they faced was intense, leading them to spread to isolated places or to hide their heritage. That this Esdeath was able to openly call herself a half demon and still apparently lead an army was impressive.

"She leads soldiers?"

"Yes."

"Interesting. What are her methods? How has she helped the kingdom?"

"Brutally. Genocided. All. Of. The. Beastmen… But. Spared. Those. Under. Eighteen… She. Kicked. Out. Crystal. Tear… Beat. All. Of. Them. In. Single. Combat." Now THAT was interesting, almost as significant as the fact that the beastmen horde was annihilated.

Adamantite ranked adventurer teams didn't just fall into their positions. To be an adamantite adventurer required skills in combat beyond simply abnormal. Crystal Tear, the previous adamantite group contributing to the defeat of the beastmen, wasn't of too much note, being too far away to interfere in Nazerick's activities. But they were still war heroes and adamantite class adventurers. They shouldn't be overwhelmed by one single woman.

This Esdeath was interesting; unique. That made her dangerous.

"Hmm… Sebas," he looked towards the head butler, the homunculi already standing at attention. "You are still stationed in Re-estize. What are the recent findings there?"

"Thus far I've established an outpost in a manor and have acquired a sizable amount of funds to use. I have several identities ready and am going to work with Solution to explore the city further."

"Leave the work to Solution herself and to Yuri Alpha. I want you to travel to the Draconic Kingdom and to investigate this Esdeath and the going ons of the Draconic Kingdom."

"Of course, Lord Ainz." He nodded deeply, almost a bow really.

"Make sure to leave notes on what you've accomplished with Yuri Alpha and Solution. You'll likely be reassigned to this as soon as you get back," he commanded. "Anything else?" Nobody spoke.

"Then return to your duties. Dismissed."

[|||| =NEXT STAGE= ||||]

Retirement? Retirement.

"Dear Salem," the lady herself spoke. "How long since I've had a properly worded letter," she muttered. That it had been given over the dustnet was unfortunate but after humanity stopped using vellum all papers felt a bit fake anyways.

"Vale is in dire need of help. Plant monster, Abyss' lab, out of control… Doctor Polendina." She tried to recall the name signed at the end of the letter. Abyss had mentioned him once, she was sure. Wasn't his daughter a golem? Yes, and close friends with Ruby Rose. The doctor himself worked with Abyss, though she wasn't sure exactly what he did.

With a few taps on her scroll she summoned Watts to her room. In the meantime she wondered what it was Abyss had left behind. The letter mentioned that the plant growth had emerged from a dragon egg.

Dragons as a whole were going extinct when she had been young. To think that an egg still survived… it must have been fossilized. A proper life mage, as Abyss was, could bring it back easily enough. Without a soul, however, complications arose. Then again, Abyss specialized in the soul and void. She herself focused on grimm creation and a fair bit of territorial magic, mostly in the realm of corrupting the world to her whims.

But to hear that plants had sprung from a dragon egg and were threatening to slowly eat Vale… she lived in interesting times. It wasn't the most absurd thing she had heard in her life but it was in the upper realms of the list. How would she resolve such a thing?

Off the top of her head she would attempt corrupting it to the forces of grimm and command it to a ritual circle, wherupon she'd annihilate it. She had enough power to turn Mantle to a hellscape, which she'd done to her continent a few ages ago. Though she had no intention of attempting to overpower the godly curse on her or Ozman it was an option she'd never discard. Enough power could do anything, after all.

"You summoned me, Milady?" Watts asked behind her. She didn't bother to look at him, preferring to stare out the window.

"Tell me everything you know about one Doctor Poledina," she said.

"Doctor Polendina was a prominent researcher in Atlas. However, after some backroom dealings regarding a classified project and general Ironwood he was traded into Abyss' employ, where he founded a research division for Nature's Bounty. He seemingly had a daughter, Penny Polendina, at some point in his life, and she has been homeschooled by him, kept close all her life. I can tell you about some of the projects he's worked on if that interests you."

"I'm not," she turned to him. "He's sent a request for my aid in defeating an experiment gone rogue. A dragon egg underwent a transfusion of nature affinity thanks to Abyss. After his departure it cracked and a cancerous plant-like being emerged. It's been slowly growing throughout the main lab. Thus far nothing has been able to stop it. I am apparently the first of a list of 'drastic measures' Polendina has been forced to take."

"I… see." Watts looked down briefly before meeting her eyes. "I am sorry, Milady. I don't believe I'll be of any help if Doctor Polendina has been unable to find a solution."

"That's fine. I expected little," she turned back away, having lost interest in him. "Currently only myself or Ozpin are capable of combating this unless there is some unknown mundane method of stopping the creature. I doubt it, personally."

"Of course. Then shall I take my leave?"

"Yes." The door opened and shut softly.

On one hand this whole matter sounded tiresome. She was old, preferring to sit in her tower and idle about, acting only through her followers, those she recruited still being hot blooded and willing to rush about Remnant.

On the other hand this was a genuine problem, not one of her and Ozpin's feuds or another petty war. Left unchecked this seemed as though it would grow out of proportion, in this case literally.

She may be properly immortal but she had no desire to be consumed by a plant for eternity. She and Ozpin had talked of what might happen if humanity were to be driven extinct. Likely the gods would return, if only to see what had happened. Or, if not that, then he would be trapped elsewhere and she would live alone with her grimm until she went insane.

… Humanity could handle it for now. If it was as bad as the scientist claimed then she would be forced to intervene. Until then, however, she'd wait and watch.

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