Hum, hu hum... " A series of joyful hums echoed in a cave.
Or, at least the hums were joyful if one took in the emotion they were hummed from, and ignored the horrible, growly coughs that the hums sounded like.
Elder Lich created by the Supreme One and the leader of the Fourty-One, Momonga, hummed joyfully though a throat that had once belonged to Riser Phenix, but now belonged to the Elder Lich alongside the rest of the Phenix son's body.
Riser's body, even if it had been human-like in the past, was little more than a dessicated husk now. The Elder Lich had long since remodeled the body to better suit his powers and in the process removed much of what had been precious to the Phenix boy but had been useless for the Lich- or rather, had been useful for the Lich as reagents in his research for becoming a Undead Phoenix.
'Indeed, it all makes sense. As expected from the Supreme One...' The lich felt genuine joy as he worked, stretching his canvas across a desk and dipping his feather-pen into a pot of ink. 'Hahaha... indeed, from the very creation my humble self to this moment, and for all time afterwards... I can only hope that I can dance the motions he requires of me...'
The Lich glanced to the side towards his new 'research assistant'. 'Indeed, indeed... when I was found by that 'Kokabiel', I thought I had failed the Supreme Being twice...'
The Elder Lich had escaped the Phenix manor of Rating Grounds in the aftermath of combat with the red-headed Devil male he had later learned to be 'Sirzechs Lucifer', and had established a small base of sorts under a rocky outcrop in a swamp with the help of a cadre of undead he created through the Elder Lich's racial ability. Initially the tunnel created by the undead had been filled with water thanks to swamp draining to it, but he had reinforced its structure until it was only damp, turning it to a cavern that would allow non-undead and non-permanently regenerating beings to stay alive within.
Indeed, the Elder Lich had no problems living under water, and Lord Phenix, whom he was using as his test subject in his research to turn himself into a Phoenix, had little problems with living under water as well. Although the 'living' was a bit subjective as the man's regeneration had been pushed quite hard by having it regenerate oxygen into his brain after breathing in water for nearly half a day before the cavern had been water-proofed and drained. In other words, the man had been drowning in foul swamp-water for almost half a day.
The Elder Lich had thought of the grand base the Supreme Beings had made in the poisonous and swampy marshes of Helheim when he had been building his own base, although he felt ashamed that he had, for a moment, thought of the meager cavern he had created within the same thought as the legendary fortress of the Beings.
However, even if he had done his best to camouflage his new base and ward it against outside observation, he had known that his hiding spot would likely be compromised if he attacked people nearby upon receiving his Master's orders so he began attacking groups of secluded and weak people far away from his new base- Using combination of teleportation, sudden fireballs and summoning undead amidst the scattered survivors to his advantage.
Yet, the first setback had come after his first strike against the Devils, which had resulted in a decimating loss for the Elder Lich both by losing his strike team and then losing in personal combat against the person he had tried to ambush.
However, it had seemed that the person the Elder Lich had attempted to ambush had heard of the 'Supreme being', and had offered his assistance in exchange for 'mutual benefits'.
'...Indeed, could it be that He decided to send Kokabiel to assist me in his crusade to purge the weak and pathetic fools off this world?' The Riser-Lich tapped his dessicated cheek with the feather of his quill. 'True, it seems that this 'Kokabiel' had heard of Rias Gremory's marriage and had infiltrated the Underworld to ambush and kill her during her marriage ceremony, but it seemed that he had failed twice- both because she had been offered as tribute, or 'married', to my Lord and Master... and also because the marriage ceremony had never been held.'
For a moment the Elder Lich felt rage that the insignificant fleas would deny the Supreme Being a grand ceremony to celebrate the giftting, pathetic as the gift might be. However, the feeling was squished soon afterwards and the Lich considered the alternatives. 'Hm, indeed... Foiling Kokabiel's initial, foolish plot also drew his attention towards the 'Supreme Being', and the fool thinks he can use my Lord as a tool for his own miserable plan of merely restarting a war between the Three Factions, completely unaware that he's merely dancing on the strings of my Master who had manipulated his every move, and sparking a war between my Master's enemies while He squashes the survivors.'
'Well, at least Kokabiel is a useful tool in the Supreme Being's plan... Even if he does not realize it. The fact his magic has allowed my base to stay hidden only assisted His plan, and I already have enough sacrifices to nearly fulfill the mana requirements for the ritual to have my body transform to that of a Phoenix...' The Elder Lich wrote another symbol on the scroll he was creating, dipping a quill into his ink once more, with the amount of ink in the pot having been perfectly calculated so it would be consumed entirely in the writing process. 'Indeed, and if the Three Factions wage war against each other they will all be greatly weakened so my Master needs to merely reveal himself and all three will beg for him to accept their servitude, or give them a quick death.'
The Elder Lich had been more than a little worried over his ability, or rather his current inability to play the still obscured part of the grand act of the Supreme Being, on the account that he had failed to become a Undead Phoenix. The failure meant that he was left unable to play the part he had been ordained to play in the grand act with an end that was obscured to all but the Supreme Being himself.
The dessicated Undead had even shared his plight with Kokabiel as it became more and more clear that the access to Lord Phenix alone wouldn't allow him to complete his incomplete existence.
To his joy, the Fallen Angel had offered to assist, since his agents in 'Human world' had located a member of the Phenix family, and had departed to acquire an additional test subject for the Elder Lich. The concessions and pacts the Fallen Angel had demanded from 'Riser' and by proxy from the Supreme Being in exchange for the help had been accepted with little inertia, as the Elder Lich knew that Kokabiel wouldn't live to claim his prize once the man's usefulness to the Supreme Being came to an end. It was likely that Kokabiel realized it as well, which had made the Elder Lich a bit worried as neither of the two would do anything without strings attached.
'...Though, if I had known Kokabiel had intended to capture a Phenix from the grounds my Master had declared his, I'd have fought him to the bitter end...' The dessicated husk of a magician paused his work to observe the slowly forming circle on the paper. 'Yet... the fact Kokabiel had not been obliterated and erased from the very existence itself for daring to trespass upon His land, and attempt to lay hand on what was His made me wonder... and, I truly feel incompetent for even daring to think that Kokabiel had somehow managed to out-smart or fool my Master...'
The Elder Lich sighed in bliss as the Scroll was stable even after having so much mana poured into it, the shattered soul he had used as the main reagent for the ink bonding with the canvas without issues. 'Truly, my merciful and wise Master must have seen my plight with my research during our brief conversation, and deliberately fooled Kokabiel into thinking he had managed to capture this 'Ravel' under his own guile and power, ignorant of how close he had come to utter annihilation, while in truth He had sent her to me deliberately so I could finish my task...'
Indeed, the Elder Lich's work had sped up trendermously with the new, improved and synergizing materials at hand.
"Ahahaha! Aha!" The laughter was unnatural, soundlike like sandpaper rubbing against stone, as the Elder Lich could no longer hold back his mirth. 'I only need one more reagent, souls, enough souls to sacrifice and use them as a substitute for massive quantities of mana needed to fuel this Scroll! The soul of the Father, the bone of the Son, and the flesh of the Daughter and Sister, how poethic that you would be all sacrificed as reagents to bring forth a new being! And as for the mana or souls to actually complete this Scroll...'
Fortunately, with the war about to break between the Three Factions, the souls would be abundant indeed. 'Truly, all creation dances on his strings, and for Him to be able to control so many interlacing plans and so many people to such a perfect degree without even meeting them in the first place or them knowing they're used as marionettes, he truly is the Supreme One!'
"Ahaha! And I'm truly grateful for you as well, my dear assistants!" The Elder Lich turned towards his reagents, or rather what remained of them.
The female let out a sound that might have been a cry of pain or a sob, if the sealing cloth around her face wasn't robbing her of her view and ability to speak.
Indeed, it was unnecessary for her to use those faculties, and her screaming had proven quite annoying when she had regained her consciousness.
The Elder Lich couldn't understand why a regenerating creature like her would be so troubled over getting her arms and legs sawed off three or four times so he could get enough parchment for both experimentation and for his plans, but he realized that the female might be somewhat distressed by the state of her father, since 'he' lied in front of the girl.
She'd have a moment of respite however, mostly due to the fact her legs and arms had stopped regenerating, since her 'mana' had been almost drained entirely and had left her no more strength to regenerate herself anymore. The Elder Lich had been quite disappointed in the respective levels of strength between the male phoenix who could easily regenerate hundred times more than his pathetic whelp.
Lord Phenix's body, or the nightmarish patchwork of limbs, muscle and sinew that had been 'Lord Phenix' was in a surprisingly good state, considering that the Elder Lich had pulled the man's soul out of his body and used the necromantic magic he possessed to meld it into a mass of corrupted ink so he could inscribe the man's abilities into a highly modified [Scroll of Dark Wisdom].
Normally the spell [Dark Wisdom] could only be used in combination with powerful corpses, incredible amounts of mana, and could only teach its user a spell of eldritch power, but the Elder Lich had managed to crack open the mystery of ability transfer. It was quite simple, in the end- one merely needed to use the right reagents to turn the very spell from one that granted knowledge to one that imbued the very soul and spiritual body to another, with the caveat that the donor soul would be completely corrupted and destroyed in the process. while the new host body would also undergo some changes.
A problem was, however, that due to the changed nature, the spell itself would no longer be a spell, but rather a ritual that had to be tailored specifically to the ability and to the reagents it required. Problem then had become the lack of suitably powerful and fitting reagents, as the Soul would be only a part of the process itself.
Normal parchment of the Underworld could only take spells up to tier four, severely limiting the spells the Elder Lich could inscribe and prepare, and made the preparation of the [Scroll of Dark Wisdom] completely unfeasible, but the flayed skin of the Phoenix's daughter could take even tier eight spells, and with the unique link between father and daughter, the Elder Lich managed to push the absorption to its absolute limits.
Yet, the Scroll wouldn't be complete until he found enough sacrifices to actually fuel its mana requirement, and then use the Scroll upon himself.
'Hm?' The Elder Lich felt as one of his undead sentries outside the cave let out a warning, but before any of the Undead guards around his base could intercept, an intruder slipped through his safety nets and defenses.
For some reason the defenses didn't even recognize the intruder as a threat, nor as an enemy, causing Elder Lich to pause his work.
A large, eagle-sized crow swooped through the cavern and came to perch upon the Elder Lich's shoulder, causing the latter to sigh in relief.
"Aah... Welcome, welcome to my humble abode, o fellow creation of the Supreme One..." The Lich greeted the three-legged crow which turned its head a few times, before coming to stare at the armless and legless female. "Ah, indeed, I have succeeded... I am humbled that the Supreme One would send you to observe the results of my handiwork..."
The Crow let out a caw, shrugged, and turned to peck the Elder Lich a few times before hopping off the now-confused Lich's shoulder.
The Crow then pecked the girl hard, causing its sharp beak to draw blood, and the bird flew off with little fanfare.
'What... what did it convey? What are you trying to tell me, o Supreme One?' The Elder Lich felt confused, cursing his lacking intelligence once again for being unable to even grasp at the depths of cunning at which his Master operated.
Then the combination of moves clicked. 'Ah, ah! Of course! He'd know I wouldn't have enough Mana to fuel the Scroll nor the materials to create it, so he sent this girl to me... in which case that peck on me would imply something is coming to attack me, while the peck on the girl would signal that someone is coming to claim the girl back... But since he's using a Crow instead of contacting me through [Message], he's observed by a carde of unknowing actors and soon-to-be sacrifices which he'll lead to my trap so I can complete my work... Ahaha! How cruel! How perfect!'
The Elder Lich cackled once again. 'Ahahaa! And with Kokabiel departing to the Human World to round up his followers, the fools of the Underworld will be stretched thin and are forced to divert their attention upon every front at once when Kokabiel makes his move!'
The Elder Lich lifted his hands up with a feeling of rapture coursing through his dessicated body, almost as if in prayer, and lamented the fact he was forbidden from speaking His true name. "Sasuga! Sasuga, my Master!"
The wrapped, amputated girl in the cavern could only twist and let a muffled scream in response.
Sona Sitri felt incredibly wary as she showered the cold sweat off her skin. The late-night nightmare about a pink-clad terror confessing to a brown-haired terror had left her feeling shaky and unstable, but hot water warmed her body even if it couldn't warm her shivering soul.
'...I feel pity for Rias... she has to bear being with Issei, or Momon daily from now on...' Sona sighed as she stepped out of the shower, still dripping with water, and reached for her glasses. She could see without them but wearing glasses gave her an air of a smart, studied girl. Of course that was exactly who she was, but she also knew that the world revolved around appearances and what lies beneath was often found later which means that unless she wished to be underestimated, she'd need to project her personality into her appearance as well.
Granted, being underestimated would be a boon as well but as she was the heiress of the Sitri family she couldn't afford such luxury. A cheap shot against an enemy would not be worth losing face as the future ruler of the family.
Sona adjusted her glasses as they fogged up and then wiped them as it became clear she wouldn't be seeing anything through the glasses anytime soon. 'Ugh... I'll never get comfortable wearing these, but I'll have to just keep using them so they appear natural... Anyone could tell the difference between someone trying to look smart by wearing glasses and someone wearing them naturally based on the awkwardness of their use... Still, I curse whoever first circulated the social stigma of glasses-wearing people being more learned than those without...'
She paused her thoughts as something moved and she channeled the water still clinging to her body into an armor of sorts while a whip of water slashed across a shadow that danced towards her across the room in her quarters of Sitri manor.
The whip seemed to connect but the shadowy shape revealed itself to be a pillow, which snapped in two from the impact.
As Sona's eyes widened as she felt a spike of pain from her thigh, and looked down to see a blade made of light piercing through her leg, distracting her enough for the water-armor to dissipate. "AAH!"
A meaty 'thwack' came from behind her and Sona felt as her head was knocked forwards from the impact landing on the back of her head.
Then she only saw blackness.
.
.
Kokabiel analyzed the web of wards now covering Kuoh after summoning his light-sword and stabbing the Heiress of Sitri family of Devils, followed by smacking the girl in the back of her head so hard her consciousness left her. 'Heh... Azazel's whelp is still ten thousand years too young to catch me if he believes that detection ward is enough to find me. It may have caught me unaware once, back in that mansion, but I won't fall to it again.'
'Indeed... Still, things are getting interesting. I didn't expect to find Angels in that mansion as well...' Kokabiel thought while hefting the still-naked body on his shoulder. He had re-checked the mansion where he had found the Phenix girl, just in case the pink Maou patrolling the town had decided to hide in there, after dropping off the Phenix girl to his new ally.
What he had found out in the Phenix manor had left him quite surprised: He had barely managed to get a few feet past the gates before he had been confronted by a maid-looking Angel, and upon being attacked, the Angel had turned into a nearly twelve-feet tall lion-faced creature and had been immediately reinforced by five other similar Angels.
Kokabiel had managed to flee and the Angels didn't seem to be interested in giving a chase so he had turned his attention to a new project- since Rias Gremory would be very difficult to get to due to her location and due to her Peerages being on high alert after losing the Phenix girl, Kokabiel could turn to a 'second candidate' for sparking a war between the Three Factions.
The Fallen Angel left Sitri Sona's room after tying the girl up with the 'sealing cloth' that his new ally had given him. The cloth would suppress the target's power to a great degree, but could be broken fairly simply if the user was allowed to gather their strength and focus on it, so when using it the kidnapper had to keep the prey in constant state of torment for them to not break loose.
'Let's see... Freed was killed, and the other members of the Church are less than useless... but I can use this 'Elder Lich' for my ends... ' Kokabiel was deep in thought as he walked the hallways of the now-deserted mansion.
The mansion normally had a sizable servant staff, but the 'dogs had left the farm and the foxes were free to rampage amongst the hens'- meaning that once Serafall had left, Kokabiel had struck and massacred the servants of the Sitri mansion, using his stealth and speed to his advantage. 'With the departure of that Maou, and the deaths of many observers thanks to Freed's actions before his demise, the city is nearly unobserved... '
'The fools... They only see the 'Supreme Being' and forget their other enemies...' Kokabiel cast a teleporting circle on the ground just outside the mansion where he had piled up the bodies belonging to the servants. 'Now, all I have to do is to have the Sitri heiress killed in the Underworld by a Fallen Angel, that being me. That should destabilize the Truce.'
A cruel smile spread on Kokabiel's lips. 'That wouldn't be enough to break the Truce, but if I flee to the Human World and lead my pursuers to that estate where the group of Angels reside, they'll think that my actions had been sanctioned by Heavens, and if rumours about Serafall Leviathan's sis-con tendencies are true, she's not going to stop and ask for Heavens to explain their actions, and the two factions will think the Underworld is attacking them...'
The mansion's grounds echoed with cruel laughter as the Fallen Angel teleported away.
.
.
"Ow..." Rias groaned and Momonga glanced at the girl who was sitting on top of three pillows all neatly arranged on top of her already cushioned chair in the Phenix family's mansion's dining room, which was more akin to a dining hall since the room was roughly the size of a small house.
Momonga, or rather, Suzuki Satoru felt uncomfortable in such lavish yet empty space, while 'Momonga' was faring little better on the account that the empty space made him feel like a target that had been caught in the open.
The fact he had gotten a [Message] from his 'maids' during the night that the mansion had been attacked but the unknown enemy had been forced to flee soon afterwards didn't help his paranoia.
The Crow Momonga had created with [Lead of Yatagarasu] had returned during the morning, giving Momonga less time to contemplate the situation than he would have liked.
The Crow's beak had been bloody, and Lady Phenix had analyzed the blood as soon as she had noticed that the Crow had returned and noticed the blood, finding out that it had been Ravel's, signifying that it had definitely found the girl.
Momonga wasn't sure if he should stop the woman as she had tried to kill the poor bird by hugging it, as on one hand the bird had completed its mission with flying colours and at record time, but on the other hand it had completed the mission perhaps even too fast.
'I guess I'll have to think on my feet... I wonder if I should just let the Elder Lich be ganged up on and let it die, or if I should try to save him? His research could be useful, not to mention if it has told Lord Phenix about me, then when Lord Phenix is freed he could blabber about me...' Momonga analyzed the situation, and let a muffled groan as Lady Phenix let the Crow breathe for a moment and turned to hug Momonga's host body as well. 'Guh, she's strong too...'
"You're welcome, of course." Momonga received the woman's thanks with grace, allowing her a moment to compose herself. "It's the least I could do."
"Yet, more than what was expected of you." Lady Phenix took the dismissal of Momonga's own actions and turned it around. "Nevertheless, you don't seem to be the sort who flaunts their deeds, so I won't push it harder. Since we know of Ravel's location, we should look into eating and getting ready to move out immediately afterwards. My reinforcements should be arriving soon, so we can either link up with them here or on our way to Ravel."
Momonga agreed, and expressed interest on the reinforcements the woman had requested. It seemed that the rest of his Peerage was equally curious, albeit Yubelluna and Xuelan looked a bit apprehensive, meaning that the two probably had a hunch on who the matriarch of the Phenix family had called. The most recent additions to 'Momon's Peerage, that being Xenovia and Irina, merely poked their food with little enthusiasm for anything happening around them.
A servant came to whisper something to Lady Phenix, and before she could respond, the gigantic doors to the dining hall were flung open, sending a gale towards the diners.
"Ah, I am most gladdened to see that you managed to respond to my request at such short notice!" Lady Phenix rose up from her seat and curtsy towards the intruder, who walked into the room with indomitability practically oozing from his nearly seven-feet tall frame that was bulging with muscle while still being lean enough to display agility and speed in his movements.
"Of course I would come, for the chance to eradicate those who have caused so much pain to the Underworld and for your beautiful family is simply impossible to pass up, my Lady." The man lifted his arm and grasped his hand, as if he planned to crush his enemies within it. "So, show me to my quarry. I swear to destroy this enemy as the champion of the Rating Games- a defender of the Underworld!"
"Thank you for your resolve, and for your aid, Diehauser Belial." Lady Phenix seemed grateful for the man's resolute words, but couldn't quite keep her venom from infecting her next words from the man's proclamation to be the Underworld's defender: Something that the Maous should be. "Then let us join our forces, and crush the enemies of the Underworld while the Maous scheme and plot and use us as pieces on a chessboard."
"Quite so, quite so..." Belial's words were slightly calculating, and the two engaged in conversation about the battle plan for the assault on Ravel's captor.
'Well then. I... have a feeling that this 'Belial' isn't the Belial I know from YGGDRASIL, but I can't allow myself to be careless... That close-call with Vali almost ended me back then and there, I have to expect that any of the 'big hitters' of this world have some sort of ridiculous ultimate moves...' Momonga turned his attention back towards the food in front of him. 'Haah...I'll need to review what kind of spells I can use here... so far using fire, utility and some holy magic has resulted in positive reactions... somewhat surprising, considering that this is the Underworld, but I shouldn't have assumed... '
Momonga felt resigned as he considered the Holy spells at his disposal, which were quite limited in both capability, power, and synergy. After all, he had learned nearly every spell from YGGDRASIL during Ainz Ooal Gown's PVP-phase and after the massive assault on Great Tomb of Nazarick which had both resulted in hundreds of bodies that could have been used for spell slots with [Dark Wisdom]. If he could actually use the spells was another matter entirely, as Holy spells had a tendency of either scaling with the user's Karma, or requiring a specific equipped item like talisman or icon to cast properly.
Thankfully, Momonga had plenty of rings that could allow him to mimic owning such casting items, but many of the items had equipment limits, meaning that he'd effectively whack his knee with an axe every time he used one.
'Well, I think I should be able to at least cause enough distractions to disappear for long enough that I can converse with the Elder Lich, perhaps see if we can figure out a way for this to end without blowing my cover...' Momonga sighed as he downed a cup of coffee, and froze as he thought about something. '...Hm, since everyone is expecting the 'Supreme Being' to appear, and since my experiment last night proved that I can gain experience in this world... could I use 'That' to give myself an alibi and see if experience-using abilities still used them in this new world?'
A plan formulated in Momonga's mind, while another plan was being laid down between Lady Phenix and Diehauser Belial in front of him.
Sirzechs sneezed, and Grayfia offered him a tissue. "Odd. I don't think it's cold or dusty in here. I think something is about to happen."
"Well, Serafall did tell us that Ravel Phenix has been captured by Fallen Angels, moved to Underworld, and slipped in hints that Issei- no, Momon is something quite different from what we had thought." Grayfia answered while the two walked towards a conference room in order to have a conversation with Beelzebub and Serafall, with Fabium Asmodeus having switched roles with Serafall so that the former would go to the Human World and the latter would take her place in the Underworld, guarding against the Supreme Being's threat. "Momon's Peerage has apparently teleported to Phenix's grounds as well."
"I suspect there may be quite a bit of foul play in here. The puzzle pieces don't fit, but the image still forms." Sirzechs felt resigned. "I was unable to locate Riser even with my magic, so the possibility that the Undead and the Fallen Angels have joined forces is quite likely... This does not bode well. Have we contacted Lady Phenix yet?"
"I sent a messenger, but he has yet to return. I suspect Lady Phenix had him captured. She isn't responding to messages either." Grayfia was troubled. "Either she is moving against us for failing her, or is in league with the 'Supreme Being' after all- she already 'fed' her husband to the Undead, then Ravel, and while the rest of her children are safe with Tannin, I have a feeling they may not be so safe for long. It may even be possible that she had been mind-controlled somehow, since she has been quite spiteful and venomous of late, when she had been nothing but sweet and caring in the past, before the incident... Things are moving at an uncomfortable speed."
"Indeed... We'll have to try to contact Lady Phenix ourselves, and see if we can establish a dialogue- or failing that, if she is indeed in league with the Supreme Being, find a way to evacuate Momon's Peerage." Sirzechs was troubled. "Rias... "
"Indeed." Grayfia agreed, and the two entered the conference room with Beelzebub and Serafall, the latter of whom was busy poking and hugging a troubled-looking pink butterfly-like fairy.
"Serafall told me everything." Beelzeubub noted, and the other occupants of the room sat down to scheme.
"By the way, where did you get that?" Sirzechs asked Serafall, pointing to the pink fairy.
"It's a~sec~ret~ ehehehehe..." Serafall giggled girlishly while hugging the fairy against her bosom. "Mo~kun~ eheheh...."
Sirzechs was more troubled than ever.
"Ah! Noooo!" Serafall let a cry of anguish as the fairy heard her words and attempted to flee.
The attempt was quite futile.