35 「TheHuntBegins」

With her hands clasped together in her lap, she sat there in the living room of a mansion belonging to a woman and a man she had never met before. Across from her on the adjacent side of the room, was the man. Her eyes barely left her hands as all her thoughts were clouding her mind.

"Your sister's name is Tuare, correct?" Sebas had a strong voice, aged in wisdom, yet it had a sweet and formal taste to it like cheese and fine wine.

She looked up to the man, her eyes tracing him from his black slacks to his butler's coat and up to his dashing and sculpted face. His grey hair was not of vulnerability, it showed his intelligence and his insights. This man was a man of heart and great power.

As she met his eyes, Ninya could only nod. "Yes," a smile printed itself across her lips.

She could still remember her blond hair, how the blue eyes of hers shined in the light. She wanted so very much just to see her sister. To make sure she was alive, to make sure she was alright.

Despite the smile which covered her lips contradicting what she was truly feeling, Sebas could see it.

The girl had become so strong just to find her older sister and save her. He himself could ask the same questions that his Master's friend had. What would she do after all this work to save her sister? Yet, that wasn't the type of person he was. Like his own Creator, Sebas had a liking for Superhero Stories, and he himself could even be fashioned as one.

All someone had to do was ask for help.

All his master had to do was tell him to go.

Ninya, the girl in front of him, was surely in distressed. Even if she didn't know how close her older sister was at this very moment, she was anxious and very nervous. What if her older sister blamed her? What if when they found her, it was too late? She couldn't stand the idea of that being so…

The two awkwardly sat there until suddenly without any warning, a being of power emerged from thin air. Pearly, unscathed bone, fiery red beads in the abyss of a skull's eye sockets. Ainz Ooal Gown was seated in the third sofa in the room. The Guild Weapon known as the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown stood in his left hand and beside him; standing, was none other than the Succubi Albedo.

A sweat drop formed on her forehead. From as far as she knew, Ainz and Momon had been the same person. However, she was virtually unaware of his true nature of being an Overlord or let alone a Lich. He was just supposed to be a magnificent sorcerer capable of taking out an entire Special Operations Unit from the Slane Theocracy.

However considering he had put himself on the line to save the living, could it be that he holds no hard feelings towards the living? That he doesn't hate them?

Oddly enough, she felt as if he was smiling. Yet she couldn't quite tell what expressions he was making. He was a skeleton after all.

"Momon-san, how'd yo--"

Albedo immediately cut her off as she addressed him as a friend, rather than the 'Lord and Savior' that he was known to be by the Floor Guardians. "You lesser lifeform! How dare you address Lord Ainz so casually!?"

"Uh oh!" Reaching out a hand for the powerful woman's shoulder, "Albedo!" Momonga was able to quickly calm and get Albedo to cease her hostilities. Making sure that the woman didn't kill the last of what he saw as a human friend here in the New World.

"I'm sorry Ainz-Sama, please forgive me!" She bowed her head and withdrew herself from the conversation, planting herself on the couch in a dignified, yet small, manner.

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Momonga nodded, "All is forgiven. Just don't do it again." Though he had forgiven her, he knew that the next time she just might forget again. This wasn't the first time she had acted out as he was addressed by someone else oh so casually.

There were very few humans whom he had yet to bond with, or have a mutual respect for.

"Ninya, if you please?" Momonga gestured towards the girl, asking her to continue asking her question.

"How'd you make yourself look… Alive?" Her smile opened enough to show her teeth, a bit of her tongue. She was imagining how Jack would answer with a roundabout request like 'Define Alive.'

Momonga's jaw opened slightly before he closed it again. "Illusion Magic," to him it was a simple trick to fool those who could not see through the illusions of others.

Ninya nodded slowly, "Wouldn't light projection magic do better?"

Momonga saw that she had a point. If someone couldn't be fooled by a mental illusion, the projection of light could definitely make a solid appearance, like a hologram. However if the projection was out of sync, it would definitely clip and give the visual illusion away.

"Did Ci-- Did Jack teach you new tricks?" Momonga gave a hardy laugh, as he was amused. Though the way he said it sounded like he looked down on the living, saw her more as a pet or convenience.

"Ainz-sama," Sebas was facing his Lord and Supreme Being. "May I ask the reason for your presence?" He had already recently reported to Narazick shortly after their arrival and the day after.

"You may, Sebas. Jack has asked to use you in an operation, in which you will work side by side with Ms. Ninya here." He gestured towards Ninya with his free hand. "Search and Save her older sister. I have given my consent."

Sebas kept his eyes on the being he perceived as Lord Ainz, he stood up and bowed. "As you wish, Ainz-sama." As he stood erect, he stared upon the Overlord with grace, "Where shall we begin?"

Ninya looked back and forth between Sebas and the person she knew as Momonga.

"Jack has been lead to believe that she is being held in the last Brothel in the Capital. However he is currently holed up with..." Ainz appeared to clear his nonexistent throat, "political matters."

"Ho-holed up?" Ninya was immediately worried. She knew the reason why he had left her here, or at least believed she knew. She believed that the Nobles would try to subjugate him in the name of the Kingdom and have him work for them.

Yet unknown to her, that isn't how it worked out.

"Focus," Momonga instructed as he turned to Ninya hearing her worrisome voice, "Your sister needs you, how long have you been fighting and training to save her? Remember the friends you've lost along the way. Always." He worked on her sentiment, to make her think of something else other than Jack as he knew that Jack could take care of himself.

Ninya shrank a bit into the couch as she let her mind slow down so she could think clearly. Part of her also knew that Jack was okay, and she wanted to believe it.

"Jack had me get this for you," Momonga spoke calmly as he took an object out of his item box.

In his hand was a steel black staff just about her height and perfectly balanced. There was even a grip placed based on where she always held her own wooden staff from. The item was decorated with golden inlay which depicted the Four Swords of Darkness, connected by ominous vines. At the very top of the staff was a magic stone surrounded by four wavey spearhead-like blades, similar to the Staff of Saruman the White from Lord of the Rings. And at the bottom, it looked like an oversized Philips head screw driver which could be used for piercing purposes.

This weapon he held out to her, Ninya could hardly believe her eyes. It looked like it had been essentially crafted for her by Jack. It even had his initials in the weird latin-based characters which were decorating his sister's tomb.

Standing from the couch, her hands held in front of her, folded over one another. She took two steps towards him, bowed her upper body and took the item in her two hands. Embracing the cold feeling of the metal on her skin, she stood straight and stared down at the item.

The golden inlay began to shift and soon enough, it was rearranged into words she could understand.

"The Staff of Darkness, Seraph." As she tasted the words on her tongue, she could only stare at it. The weapon was named after one of the highest ranked angels.

"Interesting name choice..." Momonga poised his thumb and index finger over his chin, caressing it slightly as he too was interested in the weapon. It was clearly orchestrated just for her, and it was protected against even the highest appraisal magical and couldn't be put in an exchange box for gold.

The Staff had become an Essential Item.

"I didn't choose it," she looked up to him, "It named itself."

Momonga paused for a moment hearing her say this and took a gander. While he couldn't appraise it, he was quick to notice the embedding was moving about the staff like that of a snake. The weapon, it was intelligent. It was an intelligent weapon, one that could be considered an artificial life form. Perhaps the staff itself was a golem!?

Just as she went to sit back down on the couch with the item on her lap, it started to spasm slightly like liquid. Suddenly as if it had become living ooze, it leapt from her hands and onto her own wooden staff which was propped up on the arm of the couch.

It consumed it and took its place, reasserting its form as it did so.

"Did… Did that staff just eat the other staff?" Momonga and the three others in the room just stared at the item as it would stand independently from the couch before absently flopping onto Ninya's lap.

Ninya just sat there, staring at it as if a shadow had been cast over her face.

"Um..."

Albedo appeared to lean to the side slightly to get a better view of the staff, but in reality, she was just using it as an excuse to be leaning into Momonga. The man whom she had been programmed to fall deeply in love with. "Ainz-sama… I think it leveled up."

Momonga wouldn't blinked if he could, instead his eyes just flickered in and out. "Could it be based on his assimilation magic…?"

Ninya blinked several times when she heard this word, Assimilation, from that of Momonga's disembodied voice. "Assimilation Magic?"

"It allows him to assimilate other beings and magic in order to get stronger. He got it from a wish."

Ninya slowly nodded before she placed a hand on her stomach and went wide eyed. "Like an Experience Potion?" The assimilation of other beings and becoming more powerful? That sounded an awful lot like the whole Experience Potions, being different depending on the 'ingredients.'

"Experience Potion…?" Momonga looked at her without an available expression. "Perhaps." From this very question he was pretty sure Jack not only used assimilation, but tricked Ninya into drinking the byproduct. Which if he was still effected by mortal morality as he used to while he himself was human, would have been disgusted with the idea that he had essentially turned her into a one-time cannibal. "Why?"

"Aft-after drinking a potion Jack gave me… I… I raised in knowledge and magic tier," she was breathing uneasily. "I recently found out that I'm capable of casting tier six magic."

Momonga was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. "That's most impressive..."

Ninya looked at him with her mouth hanging open slightly at the side, "Did I drink a person?"

"No," Momonga didn't hesitate to say no. It was immediate, as if he knew the question was coming. "The Assimilation magic discards the physical being and assumes form of the data left behind."

"...Data?" Ninya knew the word, but it seems that she ate words rather than flesh? That didn't make much sense, but him saying things like this did make her feel a little better. "Where did he get this data you speak of?"

"When probably went after the organization the girl formerly belonged to, the girl who killed your Party. They were sighted near E-Rantel and he went out to intercept them."

"Organization?"

"The Black Scripture."

Ninya could recall him saying something about wiping them out at some point prior to them coming here. She just had no idea what he used or how he had done so. They were a powerful group, Demi-Gods according to that of the Slane Theocracy.

Her chest began to tingle slightly, like the bones wouldn't stop shaking. Since he couldn't kill Clementine, or save her friends, he went after the people they originated from?

And he intercepted a military unit that crossed the border of the Kingdom!?

Ninya just stared at him, her eyes felt like they were shaking now. Was this excitement? Was this fear? She closed her eyes and rested back into the couch, taking solace from the cushions.

Momonga's eyes rested on the staff for a few more seconds before he turned forward. "Sebas, I leave the rest to you. I have been asked to attend at the Royal Palace."

"Understood, Ainz-sama. We will take our leave to begin the operation." He bowed his head again, Ainz and Albedo vanishing as quickly as they had arrived. As he then took an errect posture, he turned his head to take a glance at Ninya.

Staring at the staff which seemed to be purring in her hand, she caressed it with her thumb.

He was quick to noticing that the staff itself was emitting an ambient Calming Aura of the Fifth Level. Once the initial panic had settled, she was completely fine.

That smile was across her lisp again. The one which seemed to be able to be cherished by just about anyone and everyone who had seen it. Sebas was beginning to understand the reason behind Jack's attraction to her aside from her Convictions, Morality, Shy and Humble demeanor.

In a way, she was cute. And soon enough he was beginning to wonder, what would she look like if she allowed her hair to grow out to boast her feminine charms?

Shaking his head subtly, he made his way out of the room.

Ninya rose from the couch and quietly followed after him. She held the staff awkwardly in both hands, continuing to examine it as she walked behind him. Using the sound of his shoes to guide her out of the house. Soon enough they would be out on the stone streets of the Capital.

She quickly noted the presence of soldiers along with the patrols. Did something serious happen?

Sebas walked casually, as if he wasn't even bothered with the sight of armed men.

She followed closely, walking up beside him and assuming a calm posture as she walked with the staff horizontally at her side. Ninya didn't seem to know where they were going, but he appeared to know the way or at least the general location.

As they walked through the cold hard stone streets of Re-Estize, they came to a stop at the entry of an alley. It was empty for the most part, but there were plenty of buildings here.

Ninya's eyes darted from door to door. None of the places looked suspicious, and they didn't have signs over them. The brothel clearly wasn't advertised. "My sister is somewhere around here?"

Sebas nodded, "I've personally observed a noble walk down this alleyway after leaving his carriage. He didn't take his personal entourage with him… He was gone for hours and returned, his knuckles were bruised and he smelled of sweat, blood and pheromones."

Ninya bit down on her lower lip hearing about the bruises on some man's knuckles and him smelling of blood. Could it be that they beat the women here?

The two began walking down the alleyway. Ninya's eyes were stuck on Sebas however, watching as he intently listened to his surroundings. Just what was he possibly going to hear?