...Nazarick...

"What about these 'Gray Scripture' members, my lord?" Demiurge asked when he returned, gesturing sharply to the two shaking figures.

Ainz could not grin physically, but through the subtle shifting of his eyes and slight motions of his body, his most dedicated followers knew when he felt a sense of satisfied mirth. Demiurge saw this now as Ainz reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out two scrolls, and from them he summoned two doppelgangers. "Copy these men." Ainz said, and to the horror of the scripture members, they soon found themselves standing in front of perfect copies of themselves.

"My dear Demiurge," Ainz said, "use your command ability to learn everything there is to know about these two, and have these low level doppelgangers learn it all as well, when they know everything about their lives... right down to the very color of their mother's eyes, and how long they take to relieve themselves, then the doppelgangers are to be released into the same general area that the survivors fled from."

"I see, and then they are to imitate them, get close to and then capture the survivors including their leader, replace him with a doppelganger, and then gain access to all the intelligence available to scriptures that the Theocracy has, and use them to feed false information into their intelligence division?" Demiurge asked with a broad, inspired smile.

Ainz privately thought... "That is much better than what I'd planned to say... if I had just said 'Assassinate the remainder'..." His thoughts drifted off from panic to relief that Demiurge had jumped ahead, and Ainz covered the gap with a faux laugh and then said, "I can always count on you to know my thoughts, Demiurge. Truly, you do Ulbert proud."

"Not at all, my Lord Ainz, I am sure I have barely scratched the surface of your fathomless plans for the far flung future." Demiurge replied with a humble bow, much akin to the one used by Sebas. It made Ainz smile at the memory of his two guildmates, Touch Me and Ulbert... so different in so many ways, but also, in small ways, so much alike, and it was reflected in the little things their creations did.

"After you're done, do as you like with them, whether new nests are needed, or whether you require more subjects for your experiments, I leave their disposition to you." Ainz said indifferently, "They no longer merit my attention." Ainz said, using the line he'd practiced all night the evening before to show off royal indifference to petty issues.

...In Neia's hotel room...

Skana entered and sat in a chair against the wall, she looked over Neia's sleeping face, you could tell a lot about someone by how they slept. Skana knew that very well, she was quite sure that the slightly younger and... still somewhat more innocent Neia did not. Her lip curled up in a half smile and she snorted as Neia shifted, rustling her covers. Looking at her face now in the light of morning, she saw what she couldn't see in the dark the night before, her face was red and the space near where her face lay was damp, she'd obviously cried, perhaps even in her sleep. Skana’s hand fell to the sheets beside her lover’s head. ‘Damp.’

Skana picked up the flyer she'd been given detailing the events of the previous day and read over it again. She thought of the last time she'd seen someone whipped, the deep slashes that had appeared on the man's back, the screams, flesh torn right from bone, the way vocal chords burst beyond hoarseness from screaming. The vision of Neia like that… it set her body to shaking that was only stilled by force of will. But no will was enough to cast the dread thoughts out of her head, and worse... it happened to Neia while Skana and CZ had been having a drinking contest with adventurers not even a half hour's walk away... ‘And you said nothing to me. Nothing? Why? What am I to you, that you say nothing? Is it because I mean too much, too little, or is it something else?’ It was an ugly thought staring her in the face, and she cursed herself for the selfishness.

Her continued looking over Neia’s sleeping form was only stirring up that selfish agitation, until the small woman rolled to one side into a fetal position. It was easy to forget how young she still was, when you saw her standing atop a stage before a crowd, speaking before a king, addressing a god, or daring demon and demihuman to come to her and meet their deaths... she seemed a hundred feet tall. But now as she slept in the bed they'd shared the previous night, she looked... much smaller. Though the age difference was barely present, only a handful of winters… ‘We could not be more different. Worlds apart… in some of the best ways but also… what?’ She asked herself and laid a hand over Neia’s rosy cheek. The flesh gave easily under the faintest pressure, the hardened warrior was as relaxed in sleep as a newborn baby.

That agitation increased and she sat, then stood when that felt wrong and walked to the mirror, and looked herself in the face. Then in disgust she turned away. "You were negligent. You watched her get arrested and did nothing." Her fingers tensed and balled into fists. Her eyes fell to the woman asleep a few feet away.

"She's stronger than she looks, she was hunting demihumans and leading the way for paladins while you were hiding for your life. She was learning how to use a sword and bow while you were chasing boys at home, why would I have worried?" Skana asked the question, and felt bile rise up in revulsion at the question.

"Because she matters to you, because her pain is your pain and your pain is hers, that means you can't let her take risks alone even if she wants to. You can't let her protect you, even if it is from the consequences of protecting her." Her jaw clenched and her clenched fingers tightened more.

"What am I really mad about over this? Am I mad at her? Or at myself?" She asked, and no answer followed, she had none to give. ‘Yes.’ The word rose, nebulous and frustrating.

She thought and thought and caught a glance at herself in the mirror, when she saw through its reflection that Neia had begun to sit up and rub her eyes sleepily. All thought flew from Skana's mind as she went over to Neia and flung her arms around her and squeezed as tightly as she could, which was no small thing for a veteran of Black Justice, and a very confused Neia began to return the embrace. "Good... morning to you, Skana." She said uncertainly.

Skana pulled back and knelt by the bed, taking Neia's hands in hers she locked eyes and said, "I know what happened. You have to promise never to do that again, not without me."

Neia looked at her for a long moment, processing what she'd just heard. Memory of her ripping flesh came back as the fog of sleep left her mind, she started shaking all over again, prompting Skana's hold on her hands to tighten, and the iron eyes of terror that made Neia into the mad eyed archer, welled up, and she gave a small series of nods to Skana."

"You don't have to say it." Skana said as Neia tried and failed to get words out, "The nod is enough." They traded a smile, and Skana stood up. "If you want to talk about it..." She squeezed Neia's hand again, "but until then, why don't you go do what you do best. Go rouse the rabble, go speak, go win people to the cause of the Sorcerer King, I'll oversea the preparations to move on to the next city, from what I understand we can actually take a boat to get there, so it won't take nearly as long to move on, then we can leave this place behind us, and I'll be glad if I never see it again." Skana finished speaking by putting profound emphasis on her final statement.

"Agreed." Neia said softly and stood up to stretch, then gathered her things to go to the bath. "At least it came out alright, and I thought we'd be moving out some time today, but given the brief exchange with Tinamoc yesterday evening, it doesn't look like he's ready yet. I'll see what I can do for the cause, and I'll have to send a message to our headquarters asking that we have priests sent south soon, along with a few bodyguards for security's sake." Only the faintest tremble gave away that her truthful words contained lies in her flesh.

"I'll take care of that too." Skana said, "You just alternate between speaking and relaxing today. But please take CZ with you at least so you have some security. I'll let her know not to let you wander off with anyone else but her."

Neia rolled her eyes as they neared the door. "What would I do without you?" She asked, suppressing a shudder as the memory dancing before her eyes reached the point where she broke the pillars.

"Sleep, bathe, and laugh less, but beyond that, who knows?" Skana said with a laugh and opened the door, certain that this would be a much better day.

...In the streets of Yanana...

People were watching in disgust and confusion as the mad men ranted and raved about the city, they babbled about the judgement of the one god upon the false gods and their followers, they rambled and raved at figures talking to them that only they could see, they shrank in fear and ran screaming when they saw bones on plates, it they jumped and yelled and cavorted wildly, sometimes pausing to let out peels of mad, cackling laughter, before shrieking in terror again. It was hours before anyone bothered to notify guards, and it was even longer before they were taken, dragged away in chains, only to be identified as the ones who had attempted to try Neia Baraja the previous day.

When they were isolated from the general public and placed into a room of stone, they seemed to calm down somewhat, they managed to sit at least, at someone's request. The room was minimalist, nothing but a table and chairs, stone walls, stone floor and ceiling, and a window open to the outside but covered with bars to keep people from getting out.

A priest was called over to the room, someone known to several of the men. "What... happened?" He asked as he saw their mad eyes looking back at him, there was a glimmer of recognition as if they knew who he was, but no glimmer of understanding at his words, "What... happened?" He asked again, more slowly this time.

They spoke in perfect unison, in a monotone that sounded over and over like the beat of a drum, "Divine wrath, divine wrath, divine wrath, divine wrath... punishment comes to who punishes the punishers who punish wrongly, gods unkind to cruel, divine wrath... divine wrath... divine wrath... can't hide, god watches, god whispers, god hears, run, never run, same same, divine wrath... divine wrath... divine wrath... anger not the god... anger not the god..." Their voices gradually grew softer as they spoke, and then as one, a peel of insane laughter came from all their throats, and when their eyes locked with the priest across the table, he felt as if he was gazing into the abyss found only in nightmares. He uttered a desperate prayer under his breath, and for the first time in his life, as he could not tear his eyes away from theirs, and their repetition beat into his skull, he wondered if the gods were actually listening to him.

...Just beyond the border with the Abelion Hills...

Lakyus was relaxed, she loved feeling relaxed, it wasn't something an adventurer got to feel all that often. "Can you believe that?" She asked. "We stayed in a demihuman inn, in a demihuman village, we didn't have to fight, we didn't have to argue, and the village didn't even care that we were there. When was the last time that happened?" The morning sun felt good on her as she rode with her team around her.

"Last time that happened, was when I had to fight the Sunlight Scripture over their attempt at massacring demihumans." Evileye said. "I mean it’s not unprecedented, but it’s... unusual at least, not without something significantly beneficial to them."

"Do you know what the hell the innkeeper was talking about though?" Gagaran asked.

"You mean with that whole 'social contract' thing?" Tia asked. "No idea. I didn't sign any contract, though I guess we did accept this one going into the Holy Kingdom... but that doesn't have anything to do with the Abelion hills."

"How was it that he said it?" Tina asked.

"Under the rule of the Sorcerer King, all who accept the social contract may pass in peace." Evileye repeated.

"At a guess," Lakyus said, "it refers to the expectation that everybody will follow the law of the land, but he's an undead, so who knows, for now it is enough to know that it got us a roof for the night in total safety, and now we're getting in some very useful and very profitable work. By this afternoon we'll be at our first village... kind of odd that it would be so close to the Abelion hills now that I think about it... but that is a question we can ask about on arrival."

There was a collective shrug among the team, and they went quiet as they felt the air change around them, it became oppressive, dangerous, their senses tingled. They tightened their grips on their horses, and then they saw it as they crested a hill. A towering undead monster carrying an enormous shield and a sword almost as long as a man was tall, behind it were twenty or so skeletons, and in front of the monster stood a single black clad human.

"Blue Rose! Danger! Protect the human!" Lakyus snapped and drew her dark sword and spurred her horse forward, the others were only half a breath behind her, she knew that without even looking, her sword was held out beside her and she lowered herself close to the neck of her horse, every instant, every fraction of an instant, counted when it came to the threat posed by the undead towards ordinary people.

The black clad man turned towards Blue Rose as the sound of hooves and shouting reached him, and his confusion became shock and fear, "Bandits! Death Knight, DEFEND ME!" He shouted and the undead stepped in front of him, and let out a terrifying bellow. Blue Rose was not even twenty yards away when they saw what happened, and they reared their horses back suddenly in shock as the towering legendary undead got in front of the human being.

"Halt! Wait!" Lakyus shouted, and the rest of her team, a half a hair slower than herself at realizing what just happened, reared back on their horses as well. Lakyus sheathed her sword and looked to the rest of her team and said very carefully, "Put... your weapons... away."

They looked at her like she'd gone mad, but out of regard for a long built sense of trust, they did as she said.

Lakyus called out, "Wait! We're not bandits, we're adventurers. I mean you no harm, come out please." She said, and the man poked his head out from behind the undead knight, and then seeing that their weapons were away, he stepped out. "You can come closer," he said, "He won't attack without my say so." The man reached out and touched the Death Knight, placing one palm on its arm, and the monster did not react even a little.

"Did you... summon that thing?" Evileye asked incredulously?

The man actually laughed. "Oh, by the god of justice and commerce, no. "I'm no magic user, I'm just a farmer taking a delivery."

"A WHAT?!" Gagaran, Tia, and Tina asked simultaneously.

"A farmer taking a delivery." He said again.

"A delivery of... what?" Evileye asked.

"These." He said, gesturing to the skeletons. "I rent undead labor from the temples to use on the farm. They're not smart, but they take direction well, it makes the work go faster and they're completely reliable."

The mouths of the Blue Rose team dropped in collective shock.

"You have... got to be kidding me." Lakyus said.

"No, it’s becoming a pretty common practice among us." He said.

"Us?" Evileye asked.

"Black Justice followers, we've adopted the faith of our founder, Pope Neia Baraja, who follows the Sorcerer King, her temples to him rent out the undead provided by His Majesty, but only to members."

Several pairs of eyes turned to Lakyus. "Are you still sure about this contract?" Gagaran asked.

"Let’s just say I now want to know a lot more than we did when we started." Lakyus replied.

...That evening in Hoburns, in the private residence of Count Handor...

"I've had enough. He has to go." Handor said to the two men across the table from him.

"It’s not usually an easy thing to remove a monarch." One of the men said.

"But it is usually very easy when you have people on the inside who know where he will be, when he will be there, how long he'll be there, how he's protected while there, and what measure of security he has on him, and how you can get past all of it with ease." Handor said flatly.

"That does make it easier." The man acknowledged.

"And when do you need him done in by?" The man asked.

"Before this month is out." Handor replied.

"So soon? Planning alone can take weeks." The man's companion said sharply.

"You don't have weeks. You don't get it. In a few days Black Justice is going to deliver their sacred text to him, and once he reads it, he intends to not only convert to their faith in public, he intends to ask for the entire Kingdom to be made part of the Sorcerer Kingdom, not just a vassal, a province. That cannot be allowed to happen."

The two men froze up as if they'd been hit with a spell of paralysis.

"No... we do not have weeks." They said in unison.

"Kill him, and throw your weight behind me as King, remember my family is originally from the South, I'm a... transplant if you will, the Southern nobles will back me, especially if I promise to bring down the heretics. I can order Gustav to start arresting heretics, and Black Justice will surely rebel, when they do, I can declare a crusade, pardon Remedios as she was only killing traitors to stop a rebellion from happening... or so I'll say anyway, then put her in charge of a military force to put down the insurgents, and we'll be back to the way things should be in no time." Handor said with promise and optimism in his voice.

"That is not without problems," one figure said. "What will the Sorcerer King do?"

Handor shrugged, "This is a matter of internal affairs, if he protests, we'll offer to allow his followers to leave the Holy Kingdom instead, and he can have the immigrants. He may threaten to withdraw aid, but... you can take his place, right?"

"We'll have to." The other man said. "So we will. But... I understand some adventurer teams have been hired by King Caspond to hunt down rogue demihuman bands and protect 'villages' chiefly Black Justice populations, from the attacks by Remedios, and they've started to filter in and get to work. What will you do about those when you're King?"

"I'll simply cancel the contract, I'll tell them it is void because Black Justice has started a rebellion, and they can all go home. We'll also forbid the trade in undead labor, and require that all of them be returned to the Sorcerer King." Handor replied.

"Returned? Not destroyed?" The figure said disapprovingly.

"They're still his 'goods', destroying so many might give him an excuse to attack." Handor said flatly. "I have no intention of giving him an excuse if I can avoid it."

The two men looked at one another for a silent moment, then glanced back to Handor. "Good enough... we'll make sure he's dead soon, just give us his full schedule as best you know it, we'll slip some people into place, and he'll be dead before the next phase of the moon." One of the men said.

Handor had a wolfish grin as he pictured himself on the throne, looking down on the court, the position he knew they'd always deserved, the one beneath him.