A Living Nightmare
As Aura was preparing for her date and Thoth was meeting with the prophets, Albedo turned in her- or rather, her beloved's- bed.
Luckily for everyone, she is snuggled against an Ainz body pillow underneath the sheets, sparing any man the sight of her naked body.
She had gotten used to resting in it, she did not need to of course, but her master had commanded her to get rest, and this was the best way to relax in her opinion.
After all, who would not love to sleep while dreaming about getting rail- I mean... Passionately "hugged" by Bone Daddy?
She had decided to remove her ring, which prevented exhaustion, and she managed to sleep with a bit of effort and one or two magical items.
Her dreamy smile and heavy breathing seemed to shift as her face frowned and her legs kicked with a decent bit of force, luckily, she didn't break anything.
Her eyes snapped open, revealing her golden eyes.
Her hands tightly gripped the sheets as she sighed.
Of course, she couldn't even enjoy a wet dream now, not because of that dumb child!
She means Thoth of course, no other dumb child- except for Shalltear- is registered in her mind, though Mare is still on the naughty list for daring to cover the walls of Nazarick in dirt...
Dirt! Of all things!
Anyhow, she sat on the edge of the bed, body pillow behind her as she pondered.
Conveniently, the sheets seemed to move to cover her private areas.
She had to plan for the future, her darling no doubt already had everything in mind- However, thanks to his ramblings to her about all his issues and inconveniences, despite her deified perception of him, Albedo knew him better than anyone except Pandora's actor, who took a lot from his creator.
Those traits are hard to see through the extravagant acting though.
Thoth was no doubt a threat to her beloved, he could fight Rubedo on equal ground in his true form, and her previously mentioned youngest sister was more than capable of taking on half of Nazarick on her own!
Such terrifying combat ability, paired with his specialty of killing negative karma creatures, made him the Achilles heel of everyone within Nazarick except his brother-in-arms, Sebas Tian.
She had to get rid of Thoth, but her beloved would surely not attack him without a lot of proof, and even if she managed to get him to do so, he would insist on reviving him, making it all pointless.
No, she had to erase him completely and utterly, secretly without anyone aware of it. She could never do this alone however, she needed to get Rubedo on her side at least, along with her, she could try to mobilize Shalltear for her extensive combat abilities, but Albedo did not trust the loli enough to put her on the team.
Nigredo was a must. She is in charge of a lot of the intelligence-gathering operations and is an expert in divination magics, without her, the whole plan was doomed to fail.
Either way, no matter who she recruits, a few people were great risk factors to her plans, if they found out, they would side with Thoth, and if he gets even a few guardians on his side, then their odds of victory in a face to face confrontation fall dramatically- and fast.
Aura was clearly on his side, hell, Albedo noticed how Thoth seemed to debate with Demiurge just to get their little date, he prioritized his interests over the plan to aid Nazarick by worming his way around it.
Albedo clenched her fist, "THE NERVE!" She shouted, but luckily, the room was soundproofed.
Albedo held herself back from punching the bed, she couldn't break something her beloved had in her room, no, she could never.
Other than that, Shalltear the idiot had found a little sense and realized she was not good enough for Lord Ainz, but her adoration towards her beloved shifted toward Thoth, most likely out of gratitude.
Albedo considered ways of manipulating them to her side, they were still young and foolish after all, but no, it was not worth the risk.
Thoth might notice something off about them, and considering his vast knowledge and notable intellect, he might notice something is off-
Albedo froze in shock.
He had planned it all. He wanted this from the start.
In the start, he went with Lord Ainz under the guise of protection and help with exploration, something she and Demiurge were pleased with- but it hid the true meaning.
This way, Nazarick would naturally use his identity as the Blessed Child to expand its influence, therefore giving that identity more importance and more power in the world, now Thoth can use that identity as a tool.
Not to mention that they plan to use Thoth as a "Guardian Angel" for Lord Ainz to solidify his rightful claim over this world. But if they build up an empire around religion, what if the guardian angel it was centered around declared the ruler unworthy? A deadly civil war would follow.
He even planned for his death! His sacrifice for Shalltear? A calculated move to ensure her loyalty is to him first and Ainz second, his mind control in the Theocracy? Well, how to better write a legend than to have an angel weep, rage, and feel for his people?
Oh God, he even put a puppet on the head of the Enlightened Order, the nation that replaced the Theocracy after HE burned it to the ground and gained the loyalty of all the people there. His Crusader Summon is powerful enough to defeat all of their demons and devils and any other creatures they can summon! The only ones who would win are the ones that require XP to summon, which would then cause them to level down to level 99, weakening them. And with how weak the inhabitants of this world are, leveling up is gonna be close to impossible.
He cemented himself so deeply into every single one of their plans that now when she rips him out or tries to do so, the damage it would cause be catastrophic!
And that is not the half of it, his visits to Aura? "Just" is another bid to gain loyalty, this way, he could serve as a mediator between Shalltear and Aura and get the credit for doing that from Lord Ainz and Demiurge!
Oh, and Demiurge!
He seems to even ADMIRE Thoth! His joy for putting on great acts between good and evil is no doubt making him biased, and with Thoth suggesting plans that would make such a thing more common in the future, Demiurge is now inclined to follow his plans, even if they are slightly less optimal.
Slowly yet surely, Thoth is dismantling any semblance of control she has over Nazarick. And she only realized it now.
She stood up with vigor, the sheet wrapped around her body as her eyes burned with desperation.
If she just managed to change the plan before Jircniv arrived, his identity as the Guardian Angel would never have been established! There is still a chance to stop him from getting too much power-!'
A message from her beloved suddenly arrived, her mind being soothed by his deep and confident voice, though his original, more happy-go-lucky tone made her just as giddy inside.
As she listened to the message, her mind, as great as it is, froze up.
"Albedo, come to the Throne room, Jircniv is here."
He won.
Albedo recovered and sent back a quick agreement, her mind now determined more than ever before.
She lost the fight, but now that she is aware of Thoth and his plot, she will win.
Not for Nazarick, but for her beloved and her beloved only.
Everyone is still loyal to Nazarick first, she just needs to find enough proof to show Thoth as the scheming bastard he is.
Albedo looked at the list of NPCs and saw Thoth's name in a white glow, proving his loyalty to Nazarick.
Albedo thought for a second, enough time for books worth of ideas to fly through her brain.
If he is still loyal then that means he isn't after her beloved, no, he would be red otherwise and his wings would go black, so what is he after...?
Albedo couldn't figure it out, so she just started down the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown, and with a bitter taste in her mouth, teleported to the throne room.
She had a guest to greet.
-x-x-x-
Hello Hello! It seems Albedo is having a bit of a crisis at the moment. :D
I am posting this chapter now with some info. From this point on, if I go silent for a while, it is because I am writing chapters for my patrons, once I am four chapters ahead there, I will begin posting here once more.
Numero uno! School is rough, so updating might be slow, I will TRY to do one chapter a week, but I can't promise that. I will try at least one chapter every other week. Do not worry though future patrons, I will inform you if I feel unable to write.
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