Mass for the Dead Chapter 17

Eve of the Storm (嵐の前夜) is the seventeenth main story chapter in Mass for the Dead. It was released to the public on February 21, 2023.

Main Summary
The name of God is heard causing turmoil. Although the threat has temporarily disappeared, the possibility of a mysterious and disturbing presence is a source of anxiety for Nazarick.

Meanwhile, upon Gazef's return a large-scale plan is hatched in E-Rantel...

Episode 1: Sea of Possibilities
In the depths of the Chaos Zone, Enhela announces the name of the god that he and the protagonist worship—-Kuyō, an existence the same as the Six Great Gods who even united can not even hold a candle to.

This first time the protagonist has heard that name, but for some reason he feel emotionally disturbed. Surako looks at her partner with concern, worried if there is some truth to the priest’s ravings.

Soi who has been observing the situation, notices that the homunculus who is normally calm and reserved is clearly upset, and wonders what is the significance of the name that Enhela mentioned. Soi interjects as even though she is not a believer in the Six Great Gods, she is aware of the extent of their power and influence. For someone to say such a belittling thing about the gods is arrogance.

Enhela doesn’t argue with her, his only interest being on the protagonist’s reaction. The expression on the homunculus’s face though is enough for the priest to see that his brother has not remembered everything. But the other hand, when he hears this name, his heart is moved with turmoil. Enhela offers to help the protagonist know the true nature of his turmoil, only if he follows him.

He does warn that depending on the role he has carry, they may be destined to be hostile to each other. It's not Enhela’s intention to play rough with his compatriots until he’s decided that's the case. The protagonist refuses and even though he can't deny that his heart is conflicted, he doesn’t take his position lightly enough to entrust himself irresponsibly to a stranger.

Affirmed that he intends to stay with the Sorcerer Kingdom, both Surako and Soi back the protagonist, with the latter threatening Enhela if she does it cease soliciting their comrade.

The Deputy Pontifex Maximus finds it a pity. Just as he decided it was time to get little rough——he is struck by lightning g and a fireball. The attacks leave him mostly unharmed but he now knows that there are others laying in wait to ambush him. Enhela praises them for bringing reinforcements, though the adventurers feign ignorance. Since Enhela surmises the attackers in hiding are related to the Sorcerer Kingdom, the protagonist bluffs stating that the group specialize in anti-chaos beasts, and assassination warning Enhela that he will be erased if there is any sign of aggression.

There is silence from Enhela, but judging by the level of attack he received he knows that the protagonist is not bluffing. Not wanting to fight an unknown force, Enhela opts to retreat, though Soi asks the priest if he really can as he is outnumbered. Enhela displays another surprising ability, summoning a Crack behind him, which he uses to slip through with his two unconscious comrades Nigun and Ian. Before Enhela goes, he promises to see them again in E-Rantel.

The adventurers are shocked not knowing what to make of what they just saw. Surako still unable to believe that Enhela could summon such power still wonders if it was a trick and that he is just invisible.

The rest of the Pleiades emerge from hiding. Yuri taking the lead reports that it’s not invisibility as her glasses detect nothing. Lupusregina confirms that there is no sign of anyone using [Perfect Unknownable]. There is nothing for camouflage and neither are any of the insect summons receiving anything, which CZ and Entoma attest to. For the moment it truly appears that Enhela is gone, allowing everyone to breath a sigh of relief.

Narberal is still confused how Enhela was able to use teleportation magic as such technique should be impossible in the given environment, but then again she wonders if what they witnessed was truly a form of magic. Even more disturbing was the sight that the human was able to call upon a Crack and use it to his leisure.

Yuri states that CZ who was hiding and waiting at a relatively close distance, to the conversation shared the general flow of the exchange. She asks if there is a relationship between Enhela and god he worships. The protagonist though cannot say, so Narberal presses the issue of why Enhela seemed so familiar to the homunculus and referred him as "brothers"? If anything the protagonist is a creation of Nishikienrai, Herohero and Beast King Mekongawa and such words said by the priest are obviously fake and disrespectful. Still there is some suspicion from Soi as they cannot risk bringing back a hostile existence to Nazarick.

The protagonist does not blame them for their wariness, and informs them that Momonga is already aware of this and was afraid that revelations would cause a seed of discord, so he ordered the protagonist to keep it to himself. Sadly it appears his efforts were for naught as someone else has exposed him. The protagonist no longer trusting himself of his own existence decides to come clean to his friends.

Narberal shock, asks if then it is true that the protagonist is an imposter. To the protagonist the word imposter is not incorrect but not quite correct. He explains that his existence was never "real" and believes that he is actually born from the other side of the Crack or in the Sea of Possibilities a realm where all possibilities of all things lie dormant. And confesses that the Supreme Beings they mentioned did not see the value of creating him and hence he is actually just a possibility.

This leaves everyone shocked that the protagonist is a being from the Sea of Possibilities. CZ though recalls that there have been cases before in which a potential existence materializes and appeared in Nazarick through the Cracks. Thus what the protagonist is saying cannot be completely unheard of. The protagonist continues stating that he was not suppose to exist at all in Nazarick, and was not created by the Supreme Beings like them, nor was he summoned into being like Slimeko. He is fundamentally different from those who exist as part of Nazarick. He really is just a fake existence that should or should not exist.

The revelation is far much worse than Narbeal suspected. Lupusregina objects as from her memory the protagonist has always been a creation of the Supreme Beings and existed in Ashurbanipal. Soi supports this as well, adding that they always known the protagonist being the "Deputy Diplomat Assistant". However when the protagonist ask them to recall when they first saw him and who they learned of his title, none of the Pleiades can coax a memory of when they first met him before coming to the New World. Soi though remembers that Herohero and the others were talking about creating the protagonist, but that's just about it.

Again the protagonist underlines that the Supreme Beings were talking about an "idea", citing he was never really created by them, just a concept in progress. He never really had a name when his supposed creators mentioned him and suspects that his name was just complemented to him by the Sea of Possibilities. In any case the protagonist admits that he was never supposed to be created as he was judged unnecessary for Nazarick and should not exist. But it seems that despite being a foreign entity, three people who know he exists even though he should not raises his concern of the danger he poses. Yuri understands now and deduces that some kind of influence is being exerting over the maids to accept the homunculus as a normal existence and a part of Nazarick.

The protagonist suspects that this influence has spread to the entire dungeon and even in the Master Source of the Throne Room. The only one unaffected by this, is Momonga who avoided the incident that struck Nazarick and did not even know who the protagonist was when they first met. From this the protagonist believes that his existence is causing the incidents in Nazarick. In other words he painfully admits that this may mean he is Nazarick's enemy. Narberal is left shock that the protagonist has decided what his fate his, and wonders aloud if he had been deceiving them since the start. But the protagonist continues, stating after coming into the Chaos Zone, which is his birthplace, he had a sudden experience or "divine revelation" as if someone planted hidden information in his head that laid dormant until now. There is now doubt that what Enhela says is true, that they are brothers, created by Kuyō, however he feels that there is some inconsistency that the entity was born in the Sea of Possibilities like himself, but there is definitely a relationship.

That being said, the protagonist pleads the maids to treat him as an enemy and that it is now impossible for him to return to Nazarick. Having made his decision, the maids and the protagonist are left unable to saying.

Episode 2: Threat Outline
The happy first news comes to Nazarick via  [Message] that Solution and the others retrieved from the other side of the Crack. The moment was fleeting when the Pleiades report about their encounter with Enhela, and about the protagonist’s decision. Momonga is nervous as he awaits the return of the Pleiades to make x plain more in detail.

When the they arrive in the Round Table Room, Momonga is aghast when he hears of the name Kyubo, leaving him emotionally distraught. He goes through a mental crisis until Albedo manages to snap him out of it. Just to confirm, he asks Solution if Enhela truly said the name "Kuyō the World Eater".

When she confirms this, Momonga mused that the priest had said that the Six Great Gods would be no match for Kuyō even if they united. To himself Momonga is well aware that the boast was no lie, as Kuyō was the final boss that existed in the background story for YGGDRASIL and classified as a World Enemy. It was so strong that even a six-player team with six legions has a low chance of winning. Now worried that the World Enemy has materialized in this world, Momonga has no doubt that Kuyō could be the one responsible for destroying Nazarick.

To his subordinates he tells them that its still ambiguous if his Kuyō is the same one that Enhela is referring to, but it's still a development they cannot ignore. Solution acknowledges this to be true, as her assessment of Enhela's personal strength makes it clear he is a threat to even the Pleiades. She is not sure how the priest can compare to the Floor Guardians. Momonga remembers that there were four people who held the same rank in the Slane Theocracy, which means they cannot ignore the war potential of the nation. In addition there is a possibility that a few of the Six Great Gods are still alive, And while the four unknown people may not be around the level of Floor Guardians, the possibility that they could be the deities could be very high. More worrisome beside Enhela's power level to the Floor Guardians and Momonga was that he was able to use teleportation magic via the Cracks.

However Momonga draws attention to the more pressing issue, the treatment of the protagonist after the unsettling revelations on his origins. Slimeko who is present at the meeting is silent on this as Momonga informs the women that he will be gathering the Floor Guardians to solicit their opinions and make a careful judgement. For now he orders them to retire to their rooms and rest. Before they leave, Momonga offers them to provide any opinion on the protagonist's fate. The Pleiades are mute on any response, which somewhat disappoints the Overlord. While they do not treat the protagonist coldly, not do they expose him as a potential threat and call for his elimination, the maids are unable to provide anything of substance to give a defense for their former colleague. Momonga finds himself in a moral dilemma as he cannot accept someone who might pose a danger to Nazarick. In the meantime, Momonga takes solace in the fact that the maids and Slimeko are safe and welcomes them home.

After that, Momong summoned the Floor Guardians to discuss the protagonist's fate. Albedo is the first to speak stating it is too dangerous to allow the homunculus to be allowed back into the dungeon. Demiurge shows concern that while the purpose of the protagonist is unknown, Enhela is currently seeking to gain custody of their former ally. If they leave the protagonist outside of Nazarick, there is risk that he may spill what he knows about them to the enemy. Momonga proposes that he could use [Control Amnesia] to alter the homunculus's memories just as he experimented with CZ, but his skill is still not the stage where he is confident enough to erase a subject's knowledge. In regard to that Demiurge offers to acquire more guinea pigs for experiments, and adds whether they decide to keep or kick out the protagonist out of Nazarick, there is still risk.

Albedo believes letting the protagonist loose in the outside world is better, as they could use him to act as a trap and spread false information. And while she holds not hostility towards the protagonists, her main concern is that the protagonist's "brother", Enhela could use him to invade Nazarick through their connection. What she says makes sense, given what they known about the Cracks, and Momonga is even leaning towards kicking the protagonist out.

Cocytus voices that having the protagonist in Nazarick despite his past loyalty is still dangerous. This is seconded by Shalltear though reminds everyone the danger is minimal at this point as the protagonist had long since relocated to E-Rantel and thus has not returned to Nazarick that often in the past. Aura wonders if they really should expel the protagonist, but asks if letting him stay in the human city for now is alright?

When Mare voices his confusion, Aura underlines that Enhela is now targeting the homunculus and currently is based in the city, thus it is not age for the protagonist there. Demiurge admits that is a concern, but it already has been factored in. Momonga now perplexed asks his follower to elaborate, which the demon complies, explaining that that their priority is to limit the protagonist return to Nazarick and not prevent handing his identity to the enemy, then it's certainly better to allow him to continue to work in E-Rantel.

For one it would mean he is isolated and also it would allow them to prepare a strict security system and anticipate an attack by Enhela. Aura still wonders if keeping the protagonist in the city is really fine. While there are several problems with the plan, mainly the biggest one is that the other party may have the power of a Floor Guardian. In order to prepare for this, they would also need to have a suitable force on standby.

Aura then begins to see that Demiurge plans to have a Floor Guardian or two in case there is a bad compatibility between the attacker and the battle. However Mare points out that having too many Floor Guardians outside Nazarick is dangerous, but  considering the defense of Nazarick, and the current problem, Demiurge believes that should give Enhela top priority, as that they should at least have a Floor Guardian accompany the protagonist.

In short, whether or not the protagonist is located in E-Rantel or somewhere else, makes no big difference as long as they have a standby as an escort and the security system is in place. For now the protagonist will keep his post as Territory Guardian in E-Rantel. And while the city may not hide the protagonist’s presence,  a secluded location would be more dangerous to leave the protagonist as then Enhela would be more likely to make bolder moves than in the human city where his movements are being watched by other parties.

Momonga affirms that the protagonist will remain in E-Rantel. And although he is unsure if the homunculus will be hostile to them in the future, he would for the time meaning use him to glean as much information from the mysterious Enhela. For who will be given the task to guard the protagonist, Sebas Tian is elected by Albedo to assist Solution in monitoring the protagonist. The butler humbly accepts the task without any issue. Now that what is to become of the protagonist has been settled, Momonga addresses his followers with a question of his own which is what they think of the homunculus now that they know what identity is.

The Floor Guardians are silent at first until Aura speaks first, at first unwilling as what she will say will seem disrespectful to the Supreme Beings. Momonga begs her to be honest, which the dark elf complies, stating while the protagonist creation may not have been made into existence from Nazarick, or even a creation of the Supreme Beings, she still regards him as a friend.

The fact that she feel this way may be the result of the incident that Narberal and the others seem to be undergoing. This is the same for Shalltear who after hearing everything about the protagonist cannot allow herself to cast out the protagonist who she considers a friend. Mare believes that they should just have to be more cautious around their associate. From Demiurge,——even if the protagonist is just a possibility, he thinks it matters little as the homunculus is still an existence that was devised by the Supreme Beings. It was only due to circumstances that the protagonist was never realized, and just because he was not created like the other NPCs does not necessarily mean he had no value.

Momonga thinking about this noted that having an NPC with diplomatic abilities was useless in YGGDRASIL. If anything the protagonist even though was just a concept discussed through small talk among his three old guild mates, it was enough for the homunculus to be resized in this world.

Sebas admits that it's hard to dismiss the homunculus so coldly. Cocytus feels the same as he has much respect for the protagonist as he is still a legacy of the Supreme Beings. Albedo comments that she is also half sympathetic and half vigilant. But her duty as Overseer Guardian, compels her to remain vigilant.

Momonga contemplates on their responses on their impression of the homunculus before ending the meeting that outlined the threat of Enhela and the potential World Enemy, underlining that they should try to remain calm.

Episode 3: And What's Happening
Despite falling into a complicated situation, the protagonist returns to E-Rantel, deciding to continue his duties as a Territory Guardian. There with Surako they are greeted by someone on their rounds. Since Sebas Tian choose not to come out from the shadows, the protagonist guesses the person is not a threat. It turns out to be Ninya who Surako and he had not seen for awhile.

Ninya engages in a conversation, feeling nostalgic. Evidently the protagonist heard that she is quitting as an adventurer. Ninya though is on the fence on whether she should retire, as her comrades would be unhappy if she quit.

Aside from Ninya, the other three members of the Swords of Darkness were attacked and disappeared shortly after the Cracks began appearing in E-Rantel. The protagonist sympathizes with Ninya which brightens the girl, thinking that her comrades wherever they may be would be proud to hear that. Although for her missing comrade Lukrut, Ninya guesses that he would have tried to get Narberal to recognize him.

Onto brighter topics, Ninya reports that some good has come from all this. After so many years of searching, Ninya finally reunited with her long lost older sister. Actually, it seems that she have been in this city for a while and now Ninya is currently helping her sister with her work and thinking about what to do next.

Due to the course of events, Nemu Emmot is currently in their care, but lately, little by little, is starting to smile again despite the loss of her previous guardians. The magic caster admits that her woes are minor as many other people are having a hard time adjusting, so she should be feeling blessed. Ninya gets emotional, elicitin some sympathy from Surako. Ninya then leaves thanking them for listening. Once she departs, Surako comments to her partner that the human girl appears more haggard.

Rather than dwell on the state of Ninya, the protagonist motions the slime to follow him and together they head towards the Adventurer's Guild. There they head to a private room, where Gazef Stronoff in a formal suit is waiting for them. Gazef thanks them for meeting with him, given the protagonist's busy schedule though he jokes that the two have unusual constitution. Speaking of which the warrior Captain is confused on some things that he hopes the Territory Guardian can elaborate. Gazef having gone missing and losing his wits, is still coming up to speed of what happened in E-Rantel. This includes how the protagonist repelled Jaldabaoth and was given the mantle of Territory Guardian. Though the feats of the protagonist are a lot to take in, Gazef accepts it, but is more interested in another conundrum.

He of course is referring to how the protagonist who was supposedly sucked through the Crack at the same time as Gazef, and was able to be still in E-Rantel, devoting himself to the city's recovery in the aftermath of invisible disaster. Surako watching the dialogue between the two, becomes nervous as she wonders how the protagonist will hide the fact that she, Solution and the protagonist were replaced by doppelgängers during the time when they were left incapacitated in the Chaos Zone. Thus to the public Gazef was regarded to be away for months, whilst their body doubles maintained her team's presence in the city.

The protagonist has already prepared a well-though explanation for this occasion. He explains that the last they met whilst in the Chaos Zone, his team attempted to exit the dimension through a Crack, however when they emerged from it, instead of coming out to the present, they emerged to the past. Seeing Gazef confused, the protagonist continues his cover story, that after passing through the Crack, the team arrived in E-Rantel, in the midst of the disaster that befell the city when it was being attacked by a large number of Chaos Beasts and invisible attackers. Before that the him of that time was still existing, and so there were two existences of the protagonists, one that remained in E-Rantel and another that was sent through the Crack.

The concept is a little beyond the Warrior Captain, so the protagonist simplifies it that on the day he disappeared from E-Rantel's side of the Crack, was when he and Gazef were transported to the other side. Then the two reunited after regaining consciousness. The protagonist was the first to cross back through the Crack. When the protagonist arrived back in E-Rantel, he found that several weeks had passed since the disaster even though moments passed while on the other side of the Crack. Upon his return he helped formulate a way to rescue hie teammates with the Sorcerer Kingdom. He then stepped into the Crack again where to save Surako and Soi and then met with Gazef who left to return back to the human world. The protagonist and his party were occupied in fighting Chaos Beasts and then went through a Crack to hopefully return home. Though the protagonist claims that they found themselves in the past which Gazef finds hard to believe. But Gazef owing to his experience that when he returned to E-Rantel with Climb and Brain Unglaus, he found that several months passed, eventually accepts it to be true given the fact that it proves time passes differently in the Chaos Zone through some unknown magical phenomena.

The protagonist has avoided telling Prince Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself of the details of the story, and hence refrained from making it public as it could throw the internal affairs of the Re-Estize Kingdom into chaos, especially now when the nobles believe that the king is dead. Gazef still has smore questions, and so the protagonist explains the concept of the "time paradox" phenomenon he read from the archives of the Sorcerer Kingdom, that if events that transpired were changed, it would have dire effects and could cause the world to collapse. This of course is just a convenient lie to maintain the protagonist's body doubles, but the mixture of lies and truth convince the veteran warrior due to the protagonist guile.

Despite the state of his kingdom, Gazef does not hold it against the protagonist as he was serving the greater good of maintaining the integrity of the world. Instead he feels grateful for the Sorcerer Kingdom's efforts in purging his body of the contaminants from the miasma. The protagonist is modest of Gazef's recovery admitting that the study of Gazef was more due to interest in advancing the Sorcerer Kingdom's technology, thus its top secret agenda. However the cancellation of the pollutants were an accidental opportunity which they capitalized to bring Gazef back.

Gazef asks why only he and the protagonist are able to work in the "other side". The protagonist is unsure, but theorizes it may be due to their bodies' experience with contamination. The answer satisfies Gazef who accounts that ever since the contamination has been cured from his body, he has been filled with power that he can hardly believe is within him, feeling strong enough to even repel the Demon Emperor.

In response to Gazef’s assessment, the protagonist confesses that his power has some limitations. So it wouldn't be strange for Gazef to have such restrictions at any time, and asks him be careful. For their discussion about the “time paradox”, the Warrior Captain agrees to keep quiet about it.

Gazef also mentions about the upcoming trilateral meeting with the other nations. The meeting being a convention to hash out a common policy with the other nations. Knowing the surmounting tasks ahead the Warrior Captain thanks the protagonist for their hard work ahead of them and invites the adventurer for a drink when they have time.

It is deemed that it will be awhile for them to act casually at least once the the four countries are out of their current predicament. Gazef takes a moment to observe the scene outside the window where undead are battling Chaos Beasts near the anomalies before, highlighting the change in scenery in the city before he leaves.

Episode 4: Join Forces
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Episode 5: Enemy's Target
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Episode 6: Rally
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Episode 7: Achievement
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