Ah, welcome, welcome, Issei-san. Or should I say Issei-kun, since I've been told your wedding with my sister has been made legal already- I feel that perhaps a degree of familiarity between us is in order." Lucifer nodded with a good-natured smile on his lips that did not make Momonga's paranoia any easier. "How fortunate that you could find time to meet us, with all the other things that must be filling your schedule right now. I'd preface this with the usual compliment of big brotherly threats should you treat Rias poorly, but I think we're both mature enough to understand what would happen without me specifying it. And on the related note, I hope my sister's current mood is not because of your actions."
"Umu, acknowledged. And this meeting is a bother, not at all." Momonga's voice was resolute on the outside while he positioned himself so Rias was between Lucifer and him, doing his best to give the air of being in over his head and being just a fumbling teenager, hoping for the best. "And yes, I'd like if we referred to each other more familiarly from now on, Lucifer-san..."
"Please, call me Sirzechs." Lucifer nodded and looked out of the window.
After Lady Phenix had delivered her news and essentially caused Rias to enter a first stage of mental breakdown, a guard had come to invite Momonga to talk with Lucifer about 'some recent findings'. Momonga held no illusions that he could just turn down the 'invitation'.
In the end he had dragged Rias with him to serve as his shield, leaving the rest of Rias's Peerage and Riser's Queen to 'mingle' while the two moved to a meeting room that caused Suzuki Satorou to feel even more apprehensive than he had before, the ominous feeling of meeting a CEO after failing completely with a project hanging eerily in the air.
The fact the trio of Sirzechs, Beelzebub and Tannin within the room were all staring at Momonga didn't help the comparison.
Beelzebub's stare through opaque glasses didn't help the situation, neither did the raging look the lizardman sent Momonga from his place next to the wall of the meeting room. And Momonga's 'nope' meter started to approach critical levels when the lizardman started to creep towards the room's sole door almost as if to block off his escape route.
It seemed that Rias would be of little help either as she was staring at a cup of tea in front of her almost as if she was in a trance, content to merely trace her finger around the cup's rim while her lifeless eyes looked into the depths of the not-very-deep tea. Which Momonga couldn't really blame her for, he'd likely be the same if someone had suddenly disbanded Ainz Ooal Gown and told them to join a guild partly responsible for the disbanding or have their characters deleted. That, or he'd be absolutely livid and right now the depressed Rias was better than a ball of hellfire-Rias.
"So, um, what did you wish to talk about... Sirzechs?" Momonga faced the music. "Something about a great red... thing?"
"The Great Red. The True Dragon." The lizardman growled. "You have his scent, faintly but unmistakably. Dragon's sense of smell cannot be fooled."
"Uh..." Momonga squinted his eyes. 'Oh, he must mean that big red dragon in that void place... Hm, if that lizardman can- wait, did he just imply he's a dragon himself?'
A drop of cold sweat fell down Momonga's neck as he glanced at the lizardman who met his gaze with open hostility. 'Oh no. Dragons were one of the strongest races in YGGDRASIL and the bosses that were dragons were almost universally the hardest ones... So, thus far I've identified Lucifer, Beelzebub, and a dragon in this place. Just how many strong enemies can one cram into such a small area?!'
Momonga shook his head to clear his head of thoughts while he started to mentally prepare himself for another conflict that he hoped he could avoid but prepared for the worst. "Hm, it all began when I was in the infirmary and Beelzebub-sama announced that he was going to gut me like a fish..."
The glasses-wearing green-haired man and Sirzechs glanced at each other, the former shaking his head while paling.
"...And I teleported away. As you're aware, I landed in the bath with a group of girls, and afterwards I landed in a, hm, void." Momonga figured that he might as well tell the truth since it seemed innocent enough, and he already had an alibi for knowing how to teleport around. "I encountered a big red dragon who announced himself to be 'the world eater, great red'. I then teleported to Sirzechs and Rias's company, and you know the story from that moment forward. Truth be told, I didn't really think much about it at the time, with all the other things that were happening to me."
Sirzechs' eyes narrowed for a moment as he scanned Momonga's face, likely searching for falsehoods and causing the body-snatcher Overlord to sweat on the spot. 'Well, he is the Lord of Lies... I'll have to make sure I'll tell only the truth to him, but I should be able to twist the meaning by leaving some words or events out...'
"You're lying." The lizardman huffed, causing two puffs of black smoke to exit his nostrils. "Or leaving things out. There's no way the Great Red would allow you to leave, if you somehow managed to enter his domain by your own will, which I doubt as well. He resides in the Interdimensional gap, and a whelp like you wouldn't be able to open a portal there nor would you be able to survive there. The place would tear you into atoms, and the atoms into matter and anti-matter within seconds."
"Which indicates that perhaps Issei-kun didn't enter the Interdimensional gap by his own volition." Sirzechs leaned forwards, placed his elbows on the table and leaned his jaw on his knuckles. "Interesting. I wonder if Ddraig had a hand in what happened... he was the Red Dragon Emperor, after all, so he would have a unique affinity with the Great Red. Even though the latter is, as far as we're aware, completely unreasonable. That is, he completely ignores everything we say or do, outside killing anyone who enters his domain."
Beelzebub froze. "Ah, of course. If Ddraig negotiated with the Great Red for knowledge about destruction of souls... ha, it all fits into place!"
Momonga was completely lost as the would-be vivisector seemed to have an epiphany.
"Of course, we know Ddraig had contact with the Great Red in the past, that's how he'd know how the soul can be split, and if the Great Red sensed that his magic was being used, he would want to know what it had been used for. The fact Issei-san didn't die in the Interdimensional Gap means the Great Red must have intercepted Issei's teleportation after being made aware of Issei's magic, catching the signature after the first teleport, and redirecting it to his domain during the second teleport. He must have then protected Issei-san from the effects of the dimension. But the next question is..." Beelzebub seemed to calm down slightly. "What exactly is Issei's role in the Great Red's plan, if he has one? The timing is too coincidental... what if, and hear me out, the Great Red knew about the 'Supreme Being's impending attack and decided to uplift Issei to oppose him?"
"Why'd he bother with a runt like that?" The lizardman scoffed, unimpressed with Beelzebub's 'logic'. "The Great Red has never been one to use agents to do his will. He crushes who opposes him personally, and he never leaves the Interdimensional gap."
"Hm, indeed. However, it's been hundreds of years since anyone's had any proper communication with the Great Red, or rather, any two-way communication. Tannin challenging him into a fight and him ignoring you doesn't count." Beelzebub noted at Tannin.
Tannin bared his way-too-numerous teeth at Beelzebub.
"So, there's a chance he might have changed his methods. The fact you can smell him on Issei and he's alive is already proof enough that times are changing." Beelzebub looked tired as he took off his glasses and wiped them with his lab-coat. "If what young Riser had told Sirzechs is anywhere close to truth, this 'Supreme Being's approach might herald the beginning of the End Times. It'd only make sense for the Great Red to be interested in such affairs, as it would eventually reach his domain as well."
"The Great Red is a challenger. He wouldn't sit idly behind agents. If he knew this 'Supreme Being' to be a threat to him, he'd deal with it." The lizardman's, or rather Dragon's, tone was dismissive and almost defensive. "You don't know a dragon's mindset, Beelzebub. You think of the Great Red as if he was a Devil, a schemer who scurries in the shadows. He would burn away his enemies rather than fight from the shadows..."
"Yet, can you come up with a better explanation for why Issei is still alive after meeting the Great Red?" Sirzechs interjected into the conversation as it seemed to come to an impasse. "My, you're becoming more and more interesting person by the moment, Issei-kun. Did the Great Red tell you anything else, outside him introducing himself?"
'Oh crap...' Momonga recalled the end of the red dragon's speech. 'Erh, if I put it like this it'd still be truthful, technically... I should probably make it sound as if the Great Red was somehow impressive or outstanding and that I'm in awe... Tannin here seems to be in awe of him...' "He told me he smelled the scent of death. Then he spread his wings wide. Then I teleported away."
"Hm... Anything else?" Sirzech's eyes narrowed, causing drops of nervous sweat to fall down Momonga's neck while he shook his head. "Hm, Indeed, the coincidences seem to be adding up quite rapidly. It really seems like the Great Red knew about the impending undead attack, and it also seems like he deliberately sent Issei-kun away with the warning... Well, I can't blame you for not bringing it to my attention sooner, Issei-kun. The whole thing was quite hectic, and if my intuition is correct, the warning was never meant for me in the first place."
"So what remains is to decide what we'll do to you, if you indeed are the Great Red's unaware agent, Issei-san." Beelzebub bobbed his head back and forth while writing something on his notepad. "My vote is on 'do nothing and observe'. If Issei-san was blessed by Great Red to fight or at least oppose this 'Supreme Being' then we'll only gain from his presence."
"I vote the same." Sirzechs agreed with the man.
"I vote to kill him and toss his body to a furnace." the dragon beside the door scoffed and narrowed his slit-iris eyes. "But seeing that I'm voting against two Maou's, my vote never had any meaning, no?"
"Well, yes and no. I won't lie and claim I wouldn't place more weight on Beelzebub's opinion, but even then I'd like to personally ask you, Tannin, to refrain from killing Issei, or arrange an accident where he might unfortunately perish like being hit by a sudden and unexpected rockslide when he leaves the building. Please don't let your hate for the Great Red overwrite your logical mind, Tannin-san." Sirzechs answered easily. "Neh, Issei-kun?"
'Ugh, and my 'pretend not to be present and hope he won't talk to me again' plan was going so well already' Momonga sighed. "I'd like that, thank you Sirzechs and thank you, um, Tannin-san."
"I care little for your thanks. I'll be keeping an eye on you." The dragon reminded him with a growl. "Just give me a reason or a excuse and see what happens."
"Right. I'll do my best to disappoint you, then." Momonga slapped his hands on the table, shaking Rias from her depressive finger-tracing around the rim of her tea cup. "Um, was there anything else?"
"Ah, there's the matter of your Evil Pieces. After all, you'll be a King of your own Peerage as the step-in member of Phenix family. That also promotes you to a noble devil, although until you prove yourself in the Rating Games, you'll stay as a low-rank devil in terms of strength ranking." Beelzebub seemed to bring a case out of nowhere and place it on the table. "I hope you'll be able to appreciate the amount of strings Lady Phenix pulled to get this made for you, after all, usually the amount of Pieces awarded to a devil is tied to their ranking in the Rating Games, and gaining a full set of Pieces takes long time, considerable power, and noble birth to acquire. That being said, and in the light of recent findings, consider this a gift."
Momonga could tell that the case's contents held quite a bit of mana within them- not enough to make it a high-tier item, but enough to peak his curiosity as a collector. "I told Lady Phenix it'd take me about a week to make more Pieces, which was truthful, but it looks like you're in luck as I had enough Pieces at hand to form a full set. However, I'd like to analyze your Pawn Piece before I hand this case over and you start handing the Evil Pieces to whomever you see fit to add to your Peerage."
"Erm..." Momonga felt somewhat nervous as he glanced at the briefcase and at the man.
"I'll be present as well to ensure Ajuka won't start to perform a vivisection, or begin organ harvesting, or otherwise remove or open parts of you that don't need removing or opening." Sirzechs seemed to sense Momonga's hesitation and put out his two cents.
"The trip to Interdimensional Gap and the sudden awakening of your Phoenix powers might have destabilized the Piece so consider it a health check-up. " Beelzebub seemed too happy while he brought out a cassette recorder. "We can do it now if you don't mind."
"Um, I'd mind, actually." Momonga stalled for time while Rias had started to look at the case with rising apprehension. He guessed that seeing the case and feeling the Pieces within was causing the girl quite a bit of nostalgia and dread for her current situation. "Ugh... Is there no way to avoid the check-up?"
"One can only delay the inevitable." Beelzebub hugged himself and brought his hands to a X-stance, his glasses going opaque while an array of extremely invasive-looking tools appeared between his fingers. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
Sirzechs lightly slapped the back of the green-haired man's head. "Behave."
"Ugh... spoilsport." Ajuka Beelzebub groaned while he took out an instrument that looked like a doctor's stethoscope. "Normally I'd just extract the Piece and see what's wrong with it physically, but since my current patient is a bit shy, I'll go with an alternate method."
"Is that truly all you're going to do?" Rias asked quietly, causing Beelzebub to pause again.
"Ah, why does no-one trust doctors anymore..." The man spun around dramatically and walked over to Momonga, who froze in turn while resisting the urge to start casting 'distractions' "Hm, let's see... Oh?"
The man pushed the stethoscope against 'Issei's still clothed chest, moved the device around a bit, frowned, and then placed the device against his own chest.
"Well then, this is quite new." Beelzebub seemed confused. "Say, did you happen to see a chess piece fall out of your chest between the Rating Game and now?"
"Umu, no?" Momonga sweatdropped.
"Well then, a vivisection may be in ord..."
"Um, no?" this time the voice came from Sirzech's end of the table, causing Ajuka to sigh deeply.
"Well, it looks like whatever happened has either fused the Piece, or rather Pieces in your body to the point I can't even find it anymore, or it has somehow become invisible to my instruments. Both are quite worrying. Back at the infirmary I thought your body's state was due to the Piece, later discovering that it was likely because of your Phenix soul, but if the Piece is gone..." Beelzebub turned around, hugged himself and pat himself on the back. "Well then. Today marks the first time for many things. And amongst them is the first devil-human-phoenix hybrid managing to fully absorb a Piece!"
Momonga frowned at the man's speech before he blinked in sudden realization. He recalled the mental command to show his Inventory's contents before he properly realized what he was doing, but luckily the list of items appeared as a mental catalogue rather than a floating list it had been in-game. He sorted the items by date added, and found eight Evil Piece: Pawns at near the end. 'Huh, so the Piece went to my inventory. I imagine that's why Beelzebub couldn't find it on me. Hold on...'
'I don't remember that being there...' Momonga frowned, this time both mentally and physically as he saw an odd item name right beside the Piece's name. The item's name was mushed, almost as if it had multiple names that had all been written on top of eachother. 'Ah, I'll have to try to see if I can figure out what's causing my Inventory retrieval and deposit to malfunction and then try to fish out those two items. How'd they get in there anyway?'
"Uh, anyway, moving on... what now?" Momonga pushed onwards, well aware that he couldn't do anything to his inventory problems while he was flanked by ancient monsters and raid bosses.
"Well, as promised..." Beelzebub slid the case across the table like one would slide a case full of bribe money, complete with theatherical opening. "A set of Evil Pieces! Oh, and while you should be able to use these from the get-go thanks to part of Riser's soul, do contact me if you're having troubles and we'll have you perform the ritual necessary for becoming a King. The Kingship might not have transferred over with the soul shards."
"Thank you, and yes, Lady Phenix mentioned something of the sort..." Momonga paused as Beelzebub's expression turned pale. "Ah... bad memories?"
"She was... persuasive. In a decidedly unpleasant manner. And her imagination is truly one of a kind." Beelzebub seemed to realize something. "O-of course, in all the good ways, yes, please-dont-tell-her-I-said-that!"
The last part of his speech came out in a pained, pleading hiss, causing Momonga to mentally smirk at his tormentor. "Of course... Now, what's the incantation to use these Pieces?"
"Generally speaking you just put the piece against the chest of whoever you seek to turn Devil and include into your Peerage." Rias noted from the side, her eyes glued to the Queen piece in the set before Momonga.
Beelzebub went over the finer details of actually activating the artifacts and Momonga frowned. "So, how does one exactly judge a person's 'worth' in points?"
Kings should be able to get a feeling of a 'power score' when they interact with people. It's like starting to think about a number when you're close to someone. That number corresponds to that person's strength and affinity to a Piece." Rias noted. "Like when I approached you, Issei, I started to feel 'eight' and put eight Pawns in you to resurrect you."
"Resurrect? Oh, wait, yeah, these items were capable of resurrection and race change..." Momonga mumbled as he reached to grasp a Pawn piece of the set and turned it over in his hand. '[Silent Magic: Appraisal magic item]... hm, ít has about the same amount of mana as a scroll of a fourth or perhaps a fifth tier spell... However, mana expenditure doesn't necessarily translate to effective power, and it feels like these Pieces are designed to be quite effective channelling devices with primary focus on forced race change to 'devil'... ' "Hm, does the King himself affect who is suitable to become a part of the Peerage or the power level of the person who is being 'scouted'? Are there restrictions on who can be resurrected or recruited with the Pieces?"
"Technically. Depending on the King's power, the 'power number' for resurrecting or recruiting someone is reduced due to [Unused Pieces] rule. Thus, someone who was strong and could only be resurrected to a weak King with Queen Piece could be resurrected to a strong King with a Pawn." Beelzebub commented while tapping his lip with what looked like a pair of chopsticks he had picked from somewhere. "And technically as long as you had enough points to resurrect someone you could resurrect just about anyone as long as they were not a god or similar primordial force."
He cracked the chopsticks apart and used them to nab the Pawn piece from Momonga's hands, the latter cursing his carelessness as the Pawn piece would have glowed blue momentarily when he had cast the appraisal spell.
Momonga realized that his success with the inventory must have made him complacent, a mistake he couldn't afford and one he swore to look out for.
"However, one can add multiple Pieces to a person as long as they are of the same type, with the exception of the King piece which is a unique one as it won't confer any special abilities but massively boosts one's combat abilities while forcing the user to only have one Piece. Mutated Pieces in turn usually confer extra abilities and reduce the power requirement of a resurrection to one." Beelzebub continued while observing the Piece, occasionally taking out a tool and poking the Piece with it. "Hm, odd. I thought I saw something wrong with this one... Anyway, I was honestly quite surprised Riser the Original had a King Piece in his possession, but that's history now. Literally, as that particular King Piece is destroyed.."
"How does one make a mutated Piece? And where would one find King Pieces?" Momonga's collector's instincts flared up at the hint of acquiring rare artifacts, even if their worth paled in comparison to most of the items he held in his Inventory, at least if the Pieces in front of him were to be used as reference.
"Mutated Pieces are basically glitches in my system. It's hard to describe when or why they come to be, as I try to patch out the glitches when I find them." Beelzebub shrugged with the level of care one can only find in a long-term back-end developer, somehow reminding Momonga of the developers of YGGDRASIL, some of whom had been... colorful personalities. Beelzebub seemed to finish his examination of the Piece Momonga had touched and put it back to the case with the other Pawns. "And any King pieces still found in circulation are also ordered to be destroyed, the collateral damage that the things can cause is just bonkers."
"So, technically, if I were to find someone with a Queen piece in them, could I place a Pawn Piece of mine in them and claim them to my Peerage, if I was strong enough?" Momonga prodded onwards, causing Rias's face to light up with rising hope.
"Not really, since Pieces of different types can't be mixed." Beelzebub waved his hand dismissively. "Besides if someone had a Piece in them already then they'd be a part of an existing Peerage, which means you'd have to trade them for one of your Peerage members. However if the King of the peerage died, then the surviving Pieces could be traded to other Peerages with just material trade instead of exchange of Pieces."
"I see... what if I got my hands on two Queen pieces? Could I have two Queens?" Momonga prodded onwards, curious about the wonky system he had found himself in.
"Technically... but you'd have to get me to make you a second Queen Piece." Beelzebub said slowly while Rias's face began to practically beam, albeit the hope in her face was soon crushed. "Which, for the sake of solidarity, I won't do. After all, part of the restrictions around the number of people in the Peerage system is to balance them out for Rating Game. In addition we'd have to ask you to release the duplicate from your Peerage if you got your hands on a second Queen Piece and resurrected a second Queen for yourself. Oh, and you can use the Pieces you find to resurrect Peerage to fill in the spots that are vacated by using more than one Piece for resurrecting someone. While we're on the subject, if you find Pieces that you can't use then feel free to turn them over to me. As long as you haven't received the pieces through... unsavory methods, like attacking your fellow Kings for their Pieces, I'll reward you for their return."
"Ah, very well. A final question then, what happens when the holder of the Piece dies?" Momonga's plan started to form in his head.
"The Piece drops from them." Beelzebub seemed to have caught that something was amiss and narrowed his eyes at Momonga. "Under normal circumstances the Piece is then summoned back to the King and can be used again, or if that doesn't work, it merely drops out of them. Were you perhaps planning something?"
"Just professional curiosity." Momonga assured. 'Heh, in YGGDRASIL I focused on a roleplaying build... I wonder if, in turn, I could exploit the system a bit here... Aha, I'm starting to get a little excited...'
"Well then, I have no more questions. I'll presume I'll need to undergo the Kingship ritual since I haven't thought of any numbers when I've been close to people. A refreshed probably wouldn't hurt either way, it would be quite tragic if someone was wounded and I tried to use a Piece to resurrect them, yet failed because of negligence in ensuring I could do so." Momonga didn't bother trying and failing to use the Pieces if they were tied to some ritual he hadn't undergone. 'This will be quite interesting... Also, if I can learn new skills, does that also mean my level cap is lifted or removed entirely?'
The excitement that rose from the thought was quickly curb-stomped as the emotion suppression made itself known after taking a small vacation in the back of Momonga's head. 'Tch...'
"Very well, In that case we should get to it. Please hold still." Beelzebub took off his glasses and put them on the table, after which he grabbed Momonga's shoulder.
The pair plopped down on a field that looked oddly unkempt yet at the same time meticulously crafted to be the perfect mix of both a garden and part of wilderness.
'I really need to figure out how that forced teleportation works...' Momonga analyzed the situation while masking his contemplation by grumbling under his breath as he sat up after falling on his back, and he looked up at the green-haired man with the doctor's white coat on. "Hm, so the glasses were for show, then?"
"Oh come on, one can't make a proper crazy scientist doctor sidekick impression without glasses that can turn opaque at the flick of a switch, haven't you seen Magical Girl Milky Spiral Seven?" Beelzebub huffed, offering his hand at Momonga who took it.
"E-excuse me?"
"It's all the rage in the Underworld... oh, right. Amnesia. And the show probably doesn't air in the human world... a shame." Beelzebub shook his head. "Ah well, I'll have to ask Rias to get you the set of DVD's."
"I'm... quite alright, thank you." Momonga had been quite sure that he couldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but his expectations had been subverted yet again. 'Hold on, does that mean that he's basically cosplaying as a doctor and still tries to perform live vivisections on people?'
"Oh well, your loss." Beelzebub rolled his eyes while the two walked forward, with Momonga acutely aware that he was locked in the middle of nowhere with a raid boss who was not only the Great Fly, but also an unlicensed surgeon-doctor. He wasn't sure which one caused his stomach to ache more, but it was a close game.
The walk brought them to what looked like half overgrown half stylized marble 'ruin' that was so meticulously crafted to be the very image of an 'overgrown ruin' that it could only be called art. "Right, the ritual. Place your hand on that. It's a registration King piece that is linked to the system, it transfers to you the authority to begin forming your Peerage and the related skills a King needs to possess."
The green-haired man pointed at a King chess piece that was roughly the size of a small house in the center of the 'ruin'.
Momonga shrugged mentally and placed his hand on the Piece.
For a moment nothing seemed to happen, until a small tugging feeling began to form in the back of Momonga's head. The feeling was oddly familiar but he ignored, trying to make sense of the seemingly inert yet mana-filled artifact in front of him. He could have used an appraisal spell on it, but with the previous close call he didn't want to risk it.
However, the moment he realized what the tugging feeling was, he embraced it fully. Mostly out of a sudden fit of nostalgia, but also because it made sense to do so.
After all, for the Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, the feeling of forming a raiding party was quite familiar, and was positively exhilarating.
And the emotion was also quickly stomped.
'Dammit, emotion suppression, how I love you and hate you...'