"My. Thanks. Ainz-sama."
Ainz looked on across the landscape. All he saw were the lying bodies of the Black Scripture and the unmoving corpse Ghoul of Kaire. With this battle the fate of the Theocracy had been sealed and he himself could now breathe a slight sigh of relief as his biggest headache was resolved.
…
….
…...
As Ainz walked past the unmoving corpses of the Black Scripture he felt a vague sense of pride and happiness.
Like a gamer that had finally beaten the last level of a game or the last boss. After all this time that he had worried and strategized on how to defeat this hidden enemy, he felt extremely satisfied seeing his foe lying motionlessly beneath his feet. He cared not for what horrible fate awaited them in Nazarick.
"You… will… l-lose…"
A faint voice could be heard from one of the bodies but Ainz had a little trouble seeing which one. That was until he noticed that Sylvan's body was still slightly squirming, trying to move as much as it could, which was millimeters at best.
"Oh, you're still conscious? I gotta say that you are most tenacious for managing to stay awake after all that."
Ainz looked at Sylvan in the same way a butcher would look at the cattle about to be slaughtered. The battle was over and he had won, that was all that mattered now.
"My fate is u-u-unimportant… you will still lose in the e-end… the Light will be unleashed and there's nothing you can do about it."
"I'm well aware. Which is why I had this place shielded both from magic and the naked eye. Your nation will not use an item like that carelessly so I should have plenty of time to rip it from their filthy hands in that hidden crypt in the capital, right?"
Sylvan's face contorted as if Ainz had punched him in the stomach. If he already knew and had countermeasures in place than that meant…
"Ah... Aaah… Ainz Ooal… Vi… run…"
"There there, it's alright now. You've fought admirably, now let Shalltear take good care of you and your friends. The day that we will see each other again will come, though you will probably not be the same by then."
Ainz patted Sylvan's shoulder as two death knights carried away the now completely motionless Sylvan along with the other members of the Black Scripture.
After the transport was complete and the Firewall had been dispelled, Ainz looked at the capital in the distance from the same spot where Pandora's Actor had stood previously.
Demiurge stood next to him and awaited an opportunity to congratulate his master on another victory.
"Demiurge…"
"Yes, Ainz-sama."
"Prepare yourself and Sebas. There's still one matter that we need to see to. Summon Lycan as well, he could be useful."
"Will we not take Cocytus and Mare with us?"
"They've already done enough for today. Let them rest. Besides, I want to rely upon you two for a change."
"Understood, Ainz-sama. Then where will we be going?"
Ainz continued to look at the direction of the capital and without turning his head around replied, "You need to ask? To the capital!"
Part 5
With great effort and with great displeasure, Palyntana opened her eyes. Before her she saw what looked like a stone floor, which was odd considering the last thing she remembered was fighting on the plains outside the capital.
With even greater effort she tried to lift her head as well in order to try and understand where she had landed.
She found herself staring at a place she was unfamiliar with.
All that she could deduce was that she was inside some kind of stone room with no sunlight and nothing more than a few candles that illuminated the room quite poorly.
Her eyes felt sleepy and heavy but just as she wanted to wipe the rheum out of them she noticed…
Huh? My arms?
She finally realized that no matter how much she struggled her arms and legs were held tight.
Her entire body had been bound to a wooden X shaped cross, leaving her no chance of resistance. As if that weren't enough she suddenly felt that it was rather chilly for some reason.
"My clothes?"
Palyntana screamed out as she realized on her that she was, on top of it all, naked.
In her entire life she had never bared herself to anyone other than her mother or maids. In this position she had no way to cover her herself up even the slightest.
The shock finally caused her to begin remembering and understanding why she was in this position as horror started appearing on her face.
A torture chamber?
It finally dawned on her. She had been taken prisoner by the henchmen of the Sorcerer King and was about to be interrogated and/or tortured.
Barely keeping the tears from falling, she started to panic and struggled to undo the chains around her wrists.
Even when she tried to use her magic she found that it was useless as the restraints seemed to jam her magic somehow.
Truly desperate, she began imagining the various things that would be done to her. Considering the fact that she was naked, it was not difficult to imagine that she would be abused not just physically but also sexually with losing her purity being one of the least horrible things to happen to her.
Palyntana bit her lip in frustration. She had been born into a poor family that left her with no hope in life other than to be married off to some rich pervert that would treat her like a possession if not a slave.
With no light in her life she had thought of taking the easy way out countless times. It was not until the priest had come around to test the magical talent of the local children that she had been discovered to have a powerful aptitude for a certain type of magic.
Her talent was so good that she was pulled from her backwater village and brought to the capital in exchange for her parents being provided with adequate support.
She still remembered how excited she was when she first rode into the capital as a young girl, thinking that the Six Gods themselves must reside in this place.
After she completed her training in Reconnaissance, Divination, and Illusion Magic she was recruited by the Windflower Scripture and then secretly transferred to the Black Scripture a year later.
A lifetime of promise and potential…
And now she was reduced to this: a naked prisoner in some filthy chamber where she would most likely die after being subjected to countless methods of torture.
She thought back on how she predicted darkness enveloping light, thinking it was the Dragon Lord resurrecting. She still didn't understand why her prediction had been wrong but she felt that it was an appropriate description for the moment of her death. This badly lit place fit that prediction quite nicely…
As she continued resisting images of what awaited her popping into her mind, she heard the door on the other end of the room open and she quickly closed her eyes and tried to turn away her head.
Even if she could not cover herself, she absolutely refused to look her torturer in the eye as he did his foul deeds.
"Ara, so you're finally awake. Had a good rest?"
Palyntana felt surprised. She never expected to hear a female voice here of all places. What's more, she felt that this voice sounded vaguely familiar, although she couldn't place where she had heard it before.
"Well then, since wasting time with small talk is pointless why don't we start? But first you can begin by looking at me."
Palyntana did not move a muscle. No matter what she would not give her torturer the pleasure of seeing her face twist in pain as they performed their dirty task.
There was a short silence…
"Haah, I initially decided to go easy on you since you're a girl. But seeing this rebellious attitude is rather depressing… ah, I have a proposal. If you don't open your eyes and look at me right now then I'll go skewer your other friends first and then return after you've cooled off and feed you what's left of them. Sound good?"