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Non-Canon: REMINDER! This page is considered as among one of the many pure game contents found exclusive in Mass for the Dead only. It includes the new standalone characters that had a first-time appearance in the game. Meanwhile, the old characters had a different role and fate than from the main storyline in the official books. For that reason, it has no connections to the canon story materials of Overlord Light Novel series. The content that you had read here are based on the Overlord mobile game. |
Valkyrie Oblige (ワルキューレ・オブリージュ) is a game event in Mass for the Dead that was released on November 30, 2024 to December 14, 2024.
Background[]
"I want to train" – that was merely the complaint of someone who had become acutely aware of her own lack of ability after repeated missions.
However, the proposal of someone who tried to respond to that complaint turned out to be far removed from the intention of the person who had muttered it...[1]
Incident[]
At a certain place not far from the Inner Sanctum of the Slane Theocracy, where few priests venture, a set of footsteps echoes strangely. They belong to the 11th Seat of the Black Scripture, "Infinite Magic" who appears despondent, with a look on her face that looked like it was the end of the world. The magic caster mutters weakly to herself of wanting to train. The woman though is unsure of anything anymore, with what's going on with her nation or even the world.
Ever since the world cracked and Chaos Beasts emerged from the Cracks, every country has been busy dealing with the fallout. On top of that, there's the massive amount of miasma that spewing out from the spatial anomalies, dealing damage to humans and monsters that have been contaminated that needing cleanup. Though it sounds like a joke when 11th Seat says it, the reality says it isn't as she hasn't had any time to rest.
The rest of the Theocracy is no exception. Because of the Chaos Beasts that have appeared in various places, the Six Scriptures, who are supposed to be the finest of the best...and even the Black Scripture have been greatly affected. Even with all the trouble they've had up until now, the Black Scriptures aren't even in peak condition. While the Captain of the Black Scripture is able to be active in the field, there still that issue with a certain person losing her memory. In her honest opinion, the 11th Seat finds everything is a mess now. And on top of that the Deputy Pontifex Maximus is also missing. She is referring to Enhela Read Gahi, and according to Cardinal Lauransan, he disappeared almost at the same time as the miasma incidents started happening all over the country. It's been months since then, and it seems they still haven't found the body.
Well there are others besides Enhela who the Theocracy lost. Including those who died or were injured, leading it being difficult to fill in the gaps. Unfortunately that means the living have to take responsibility. It seems whether they want it or not, troublesome situations are always arising and the "responsibilities" they are forced to bear are increasing. 11th Seat hates the trouble, but missions appear to come whether she likes them or not. Including the ones that are definitely more than she can handle. Though she admits that taking on such big responsibilities are too much trouble due to her dislike for "trouble" and "responsibility".
Therefore no matter how serious a mission is, there was no change on her dislike for it. However, no matter how hard she tries, there is little chance that her mission or the intentions of her superior who are forcing it upon her will change. But more than anything she hates being caught off guard, just like the other day while on a mission.
To elaborate, unlike the other nations, the Slane Theocracy worships not only the Four Great Gods, that include the Gods of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind but also the God of Light and Darkness. It is a nation that maintains strong unity with the goal of protecting humanity. The epitome of this solidarity is the Theocracy's elite unit, the Six Scriptures ---although it is rumored that some of its members have reached the Realm of Heroes, and for a long time its true nature was unknown to other countries.
----Until the world came apart. In order to deal with the crisis, the Tripartite Alliance was formed between the three remaining powers---the Kingdom, the Empire and the Theocracy. After that, a new nation calling the Sorcerer Kingdom came into contact with the alliance and joined, which dramatically changed the situation.
The Sorcerer Kingdom includes races other than humanity, such as demi-humans and dark elves, and their national character and customer were different from the other three countries. However, despite the initial doubts from each country, the Sorcerer Kingdom not only played a part in dealing with the Cracks and Chaos Beasts, but also successfully implemented a series of groundbreaking measures in the reconstruction of E-Rantel, the allied nations' base, and steadily built up an impressive track record.
Time passed, and rescue operations for those left behind on the other side of the Crack resumed, due to the delay in response caused by the miasma damage in each country. Then, some time passed, on one of the rescue operations, inside Crack, the 8th Seat of the Black Scripture, "Huge Shield, Myriad Barriers" and the 11th Seat of the Black Scripture, "Infinite Magic," were participating in the four-nation joint rescue team as the Theocracy's fighting force.
The 8th Seat and 11th Seat fought side by side in exterminating the local Chaos Beasts in the Chaos Zone. Their enemies having ceased appearing, the 8th Seat believed that they wiped out all the Chaos Beasts in the area. Though to 11th Seat it almost seemed to be no end of them. Her partner is just relieved that they were able to resolve the matter themselves, as it saves save to the Theocracy. Of the two who were dispatched to the rescue team, only 8th Seat had yet to fully regain his power. But the reason why he was sent anyway from the Black Scripture was precisely to save face.
Despite this, 11th Seat finds it shameful that it is now an indisputable fact that the Theocracy, the protector of humanity, is being protected by its allies...the other countries. Hence why she and 8th Seat were sent out, even though they were supposed to be the Theocracy's "secret". The 8th Seat muses that even if they, the Black Scripture, were on top, they are in a situation now where they are now trying to make a comeback no matter what.
After the incident with the miasma, the higher-ups became naturally divided on whether or not to rely on the Sorcerer Kingdom. Still they accepted that they had no choice but to rely on the Sorcerer Kingdom out of a rational decision. But not all of them agreed. Even accepting the undead as a fighting force is something they have put off due to the emotional conflict it would bring. As a result, the extent to which the Theocracy relies on the Sorcerer Kingdom was limited, and their reconstruction was slower than the other countries, and because of this delay, they were left behind in terms of their contributions to the Alliance. To the 11th Seat, if this is what the leaders of the Theocracy, who are supposed to lead humanity, are doing, then its only normal for the higher-ups to be anxious and don't care what happens.
The two are joined by an armored Gazef Stronoff wanting to see if they are alright. The 11th Seat and 8th Seat respond they are fine, having cleared out the Chaos Beasts they were fighting. The 11th Seat makes small talk with Gazef asking how he was doing in his fight with the monsters, commenting it looked like he was struggling. Though in truth the Black Scripture member notices that the Warrior Captain doesn't appear to have any serious injuries or fatigue, despite him being in what was a tough fight due to fighting to protect his teammates.
Her thoughts then go back to the Warrior Captain, who while treated as a hero in the Kingdom, in the eyes of the Black Scripture was not seen as nothing special. That was then, as now, when one has been contaminated by the miasma and recovered, like Gazef, one becomes stronger than before. And for Gazef it looks like he is stronger than she imagined.
The sound of a horn alerts the warriors that another unit has encountered new enemies. From the sound, Gazef deduces that they might be dealing with a new Chaos Beats, and thus asks the Black Scripture members to come with him. When Gazef and the Black Scripture rushed over, they found themselves in a middle of a battle with a horde of Chaos Beasts.
The 8th Seat guards the 11th Seat from attacks, commenting that the commotion is more than he imagined. His female companion though finds the Chaos Beasts to be not very strong and suitable for practice. But they're a lot of them and giving their allies trouble. The 11th Seat is eager to fight, despite her partner reminding her to not let her guard down.[2]
During the battle the 11th Seat uses ice magic to freeze the Chaos Beasts. She takes back what she said previously, thinking that the monsters were just small fries, but now she finds herself at a disadvantage as the Chaos Beasts separated her from her partner, which speaks that some of them are intelligent. The Black Scripture member suspects that the Chaos Beasts are receiving instructions from an something with intelligence.
Suddenly a Giant Chaos Beast lumbers over, heading towards the female magic caster. 11th Seat finds that she won't be able to defend herself in time, but she is saved when the Chaos Beast is cut down by Leinas Rockbruise. The Imperial Knight, after saving 11th Seat, gives her an icy merciless glare telling the magic caster to not wait up. The 11th Seat recognizes the knight which Leinas finds sarcastically amusing, from a member of the Theocracy's "secret unit." Though the knight wonders if that term now can still be used. The 11th Seat quietly gives the other woman her thanks, though Leinas tells the Theocracy woman to thank her after the mission is completed before going back into the fight. Alone the 11th Seat is annoyed at the lack of respect given to her, but they fall to deaf ears.
Back to the present, the 11th Seat still remembers the event. Not sure to call it good or bad luck, but in the end she was still saved by the female knight. Once the operation was done, 11th Seat returned to her home country and gave her report to the Cardinals. Fortunately she was not reprimanded for being saved from danger by a knight from another country during the mission.
But the 11th Seat feels no sense of accomplishment. Even if that knight and her fellows are the strongest in the Empire, they are no doubt weaker than her and the other Black Scripture members. And yet she was being helped by them, which shocks her being helped by someone from another nation and the humiliated of having her pride hurt.
The 11th Seat complains on how things ended up like this, wondering if it because she was exhausted? Or because she was with a bad partner? She thinks it's one of those things. To her it's not as bad as during that mock battle, but her pride is still hurt...and feels wanting to crawl into a hole. The 11th Seat wants a vacation and go train, saying this multiple times.
At that moment, the 11th Seat was certainly in such a cornered state that she did not have time to look around him. However, to her it seemed much better to let out an unseemly complaint than to dwell on the failures of the mission. When someone from behind asks her if everything is alright, bringing 11th Seat out of her complaining.
The 11th Seat of the Black Scriptures, "Infinite Magical Power," who was drowning in self-loathing as she recalled her own failures turns and suddenly shakes with fear upon seeing who the voice belongs to. The person with a special rank in the Black Scripture: "Certain Death" Antilene. Seeing her only brings terror to 11th Seat's mind, panicking on why she is present as she is a person she least wants to talk and insecure wondering if Certain Death heard her tirade.
11th Seat tries to explain that she came back from reporting to the cardinals. Antilene is aware of the mission, she did with Huge Shield, Myriad Barriers, that they were providing rescue support for people who had been blown across the Crack. The 11th Seat admitted that there were a lot of Chaos Beasts in the Crack that they had to eliminate, to which Antilene states that it must have been a tough job. In response 11th Seat still in fear of Antilene denies that the job was that bad, and that it's nothing for her to be worried about at all, desperately trying to think clearly in an attempt to somehow divert the attention of her formidable colleague away from herself.
The magic caster is worried that if anyone were to pry into her issues, it would cause a lot of trouble, so she wants to keep it under wraps somehow. She claims to Antilene that while it's true that at that time she was fighting the Chaos Beasts one after the other and let her guard down a little, so she was caught off guard and in danger. Now that Antilene knows, 11th Seat hopes that the end of the conversation. But Antilene remembering that the other woman had said earlier that she wanted to train and so would be happy to go out in the field with her.
The 11th Seat is apprehensive of the very idea. She and tries to deny that it's not necessary as she is absolutely fine. Antilene though doesn't think its too much trouble as she has time, unlike the 11th Seat who is on missions. The 11th Seat tries to politely decline, insistent that its not really necessary, in fear of training with Antilene. She even says that the training she needs is not the physical but the mental kind, thinking maybe she just needs to go to the mountains and sharpen her mind alone.
Antilene hearing that knows a place that seems just right and suggests that they go together. The idea does not sit well for the 11th Seat. Even so Antilene still wants to set something up if she gets permission, and plans to go to the cardinals right away. The 11th Seat can only look in horror as she trembles on the future outing with the Extra Seat. The magic caster is extremely worried, but thinks that the training date won't happen given that the cardinals are extremely overprotective of Antilene and won't give permission to go out so easily. But then again, that's what she used to think.
A few days later a cheerful Antilene reports to the 11th Seat that she got permission. The other woman can hardly believe it, that the training date has been decided. Having told, Raymond Zarg Lauransan, the Cardinal of Earth then met with the other Cardinals in the Inner Sanctum that the request from Antilene came on behalf of Infinite Magic, who realized how inadequate her power was during the recent Chaos Beast subjugation. That she especially felt that she needed to become stronger mentally as well. Upon hearing this, Antilene offered to give her some special one-on-one training.
Upon hearing this, the cardinals were quite taken by the news with surprise and joy. Never imagining that Antilene would be the one to suggest special one-on-one training with the members of the Black Scripture, a key fighting force that is helping the Theocracy overcome a difficult situation. Especially since that girl, normally doesn't seem to care much about others, would try to help the other members of the team. They find this truly miraculous progress.
Raymond mentions however, the place Antilene chose to train in is outside of the Theocracy, the Azerlisia Mountains. So obviously not going to be just the two of them. Another cardinal recalls that apparently, this is where the Extra Seat headed when she left before, wondering if she must know the area well...or maybe she chose a place she was somewhat familiar with.
There aren't just monsters and beasts there, but even Chaos Beasts. Perhaps thanks to her long-standing training against Chaos Beasts, the risk of her going berserk, which was what she was worried about, has decreased, but...in that case, the cardinals think it might be a good idea to have some guards there just to be on the safe side. Of course, they'd do their best to limit contact with the women so as not to interfere with their training as it would be the safest option.
Raymond finds this all to be true, but is a bit worried about whether Antilene will be happy with it, but think it's unavoidable in order to meet her request as much as possible. Still, he finds that this training...maybe will be an opportunity for her to "grow" in the sense that she can use her powers for the benefit of others. And notes that it may be difficult for Antilene to regain her memories, but it's a good opportunity to learn what is necessary to become a God-kin...and her role as the "strongest being."
Antilene actually didn't think they would give her permission so easily, but...they told her, "[They'll] be counting on her to take care of the Infinite Magic." That as the strongest, she should not only do this for herself, but help her friends with their training.
So the Extra Seat was in high spirits after receiving permission from the cardinals, in stark contrast to the unhappy expression on her face. In a sense, the 11th Seat, who was faced with a "trial" that was even more severe than a mission, literally felt as if she had been thrown headfirst into the depths of hell.[3]
And then a few days later, the Extra Seat and 11th Seat traveled to the Azerlisia Mountains, far to the north of the Theocracy. At the peaks of the mountain range, the women are attacked by three vultures which are cut down by Antilene. She reminiscences that it just like last time, commenting that there are a lot of magic beasts, and a great place to train,
She is conversing to the 11th Seat, though the magic caster is not listening, as she is in obvious discomfort, shivering from the extreme cold. Antilene takes notice of this and tries to convince her companion to pull herself together. Even if the Extra Seat says that, the 11th Seat says that she doesn't want to rely on equipment or anything like that. Antilene feels the same as the best way to build mental strength is to hold on by sheer willpower, without relying on the power of equipment as much as possible.
The other woman internally supposes that is true as she wanted to train her mind, but...thinks there's no need to prohibit measures against the cold in a place where they are, voicing that it's cold enough not to endure without any equipment. The opposite can be said from Antilene who points out that if she relies on the power of her equipment all the time, what is she going to do in an emergency? The 11th Seat has no answer, and Antilene states that she is not trying to make fun of her, but she thinks it's no good if she can't always demonstrate her abilities, whether she has equipment or not.
Thus, isn't it also necessary to train her mind so that she can withstand missions and battles no matter what the circumstances? 11th Seat is about to respond, but Antilene cuts her off saying now is not the time to keep talking as apparently not only magical beasts appear around here, but Chaos Beasts as well. And warns the 11th Seat could die if she is not careful.
Three perytons land in front of 11th Seat in a move to strike, but the magic caster uses ice magic, killing them. Antilene seeing her partner's fast reaction guesses her body is starting to warm up now and appears to be in good shape.
11th Seat laughs and supposes the other woman is right, but is stunned when Antilene says that if it keeps up like this, she thinks they'll be able to start training soon. The magic caster still can't believe she is training with Antilene, as no matter how much training she does, it still a bit too harsh. Even now, she is just barely able to move, and it's still cold and her body isn't in the same condition as usual.
Antilene ushers her partner that they should try training after one more battle, much to 11th Seat's dismay. The next battle appears to be with three Giant Chaos Beasts. One attacks, injuring 11th Seat, who then casts magic but it is ineffective. 11th Seat is frustrated with her attacker, as it's completely different from the previous ones and magic seems useless.
The giants lumber menacingly towards her, who having tried to dodge, lost her balance and fell to the ground. Unable to move the Black Scripture member laments this is just like what happened to her before as she prepares herself, instinctively closing her eyes—when the Extra Seay appears in front of her. Before the 11th Seat had time to comprehend the situation that had just unfolded before her eyes—Antilene cuts the giants down with her scythe in an instant.
11th Seat is stunned as Antilene asks if she is alright, as comments that the giants were a type she has never seen before. For the 11th Seat, she offers a hand. As if shaking off the momentary stumbling that occurred, the 11th Seat took the outstretched hand and, gathering momentum, rose to her feet. The magic caster after much hesitation thanks her colleague having saved her.
Antilene though is ashamed not stopping their hunt, as 11th Seat was fighting nonstop and was getting tired. She should allowed 11th Seat to take a break when the time was right. To the contrary, 11th Seat, believes she was the one who got careless so there's no need to worry. That's not possible to Antilene as the two of them came to train, not to die...if something were to happen to either of them, it would be completely wrong.
Aside from the mission, her main purpose this time is 11th Seat's training. To achieve that, she needs returns to the home country without dying. But, mentally notes that it's her duty now to help 11th Seat with her training. A responsibility she has to fulfill no matter what. For now, Antilene declares that it would be nice to find somewhere where they can take a rest. That isn't possible at the moment as aerial Chaos Beasts soon appear. Seeing that it will be a difficult fight, the two women then steel themselves against the attackers.
Around the same time that the Extra and 11th Seats fought the Chaos Beasts, Aura, Mare, and Lupusregina were seen patrolling the mountain range from the Great Forest of Tob. During their patrol, Aura wonders aloud if the place mentioned in the report from Evil Lord Envy is definitely around where they are. Mare states that the report said that "they" were wandering around here...but there doesn't seem to be anything right now.
Lupusregina listening asks if it's in another place. That may be the case to Aura, as it seems that a new species of Ice Chaos Beasts is spawning from a different location from the Crack that is managed by Nazarick. The demon just happened to see it around here, but she can't deny the possibility that they may have actually wandered in from somewhere else.
Lupusregina thinks would be easier to find it if they could trace the source of the cold like before, but this time it seems that the Ice Chaos Beasts aren't emitting enough cold air to reach the foot of the mountain. Because of these differences, they have to be careful and consider the possibility that they may be a completely different species. Even if they look similar, their strength may be different. Mare asks what should they do after this? Suggesting that maybe they should use the area as a starting point to go see other locations. Aura believes that is appropriate as she'll thoroughly search every place in the area that she hasn't been to yet.
Their planning is interrupted when they hear clashing blades indicating sounds of a fight. Lupusregina takes a look to see, and comments that this situation seems like something she's seen before. There and behold they see Antilene fighting along with her female companion, killing flying Chaos Beasts. Mare sees the familiar face, as the half-elf woman from the Theocracy they met in E-Rantel. By deduction Aura assumes that the woman fighting with the half-elf is from the same nation.
Mare remembers that Antilene came to the area before, though wonders why she has returned. More Chaos Beasts are seen dying at the hands of the two women. Aura on the other hand has no idea what is going on, maybe thinking they should wait and see how things go. The dark elf tells Lupusregina, to report to Momonga and then once she is done to please become invisible a little distance away. Following Aura's instructions, Lupusregina sneaks off to report to Momonga. Aura witnesses this and then taking out her bows tells her brother Mare to head out.
A shower of arrows kills the three aerial Chaos Beasts. This causes Antilene to pause wondering where those arrows came from. The two dark elves then reveal themselves, and Antilene definitely recognizes the two from the Sorcerer Kingdom. Aura then greets Antilene saying it has been awhile, and though it may be nosy of her wants to help out.[4]
The two groups wipe out the Chaos Beasts, and Aura and Mare greet Antilene. Aura is glad to see her, though guesses Antilene is curious to know why elves are in the mountain range. Mare is shocked that Aura is willing to divulge such information, but his sister hushes him, reminding Mare that they are pretty close to the Crack to the "hunting grounds", so it would be better to get away before "they" notice them. Besides, there's no doubt that the two other strangers they detected in the mountains they spotted are connected the Theocracy.
Antilene notices that 11th Seat is confused on the dark elves, so she tells her colleague that she knows them and are of the Sorcerer Kingdom. This surprises the magic caster that the Extra Seat is familiar with the dark elves. The four people moved to another location as Aura suggested, all the while introducing themselves to each other and updating each other on their recent situations.
Mare though asks for the 11th Seat's name and Antilene, wondering if the details of 11th Seat's identity, such as the Black Scripture, are still a secret even from the Alliance. Thinking of a good pseudonym, Antilene introduces the 11th Seat as Rei, taking inspiration from Cardinal of Earth's name.
Aura is energetic in meeting "Rei", much to the magic caster's incredulity. The female dark elf is brought up to speed that Antilene came to the mountains to help train Rei. Mare though asks why since Rei appears as strong as Antilene. Rei while faltered by the comparison, says that not actually correct. She is unsure of the dark elves, their status in their nation, as well as Antilene's relationship.
Antilene tells the elves that her friend has recently been taking part in the Quadripartite Alliance's joint rescue teams, so it seems she wants to get used to fighting Chaos Beasts, even if just a little. Antilene heard that sometimes Chaos Beasts appear in the Azerlisia Mountains, so she thought it would be the perfect place for training.
The 11th Seat to herself want Antilene to stop talking, finding it embarrassing, feeling she ended here, because she was caught off guard by someone of a lower rank. How Antilene said something like "[She] wants to get used to fighting" then...it makes her feel even more sad because she feels like he's being called inexperienced without really being told.
Aura understands the situation, having heard about the rescue teams, from the protagonist. And while she doesn't know if she'll be participating in the future, it would be wrong to just keep doing nothing. If that ever happens, she'd like to do anything, even if it's just a little, that she can do now.
Antilene is glad Aura agrees with her, although personally she doesn't know yet if the day will come when she will join in the rescue efforts. But she doesn't think that either she or Infinite Magic are weak. If she has the power and can do something, she thinks it's probably right to take the initiative, even if it's just a little help from a friend.
Antilene and Rei, also known as the 11th Seat, and the dark elves Aura and Mare, while exploring each other's circumstances, for the time being, were proceeding calmly and without any turmoil. Not only did they both come to the Azerlisia Mountains to find out more information, if possible, but they both shared the same goal, so things didn't get out of hand.
Antilene sees that Aura and Mare were investigating the area from the Great Forest of Tob to the mountain. Aura explains that there are Cracks here and in the Great Forest of Tob. Every so often, the protagonist and the mountain dwarves sometimes come to her and Mare for advice about the Chaos Beasts and so they try to visit this area regularly.
Antilene is surprised at hearing that they are familiar with the dwarves and asks if the Sorcerer Kingdom has ties with them. To be precise, previously, when the Sorcerer Kingdom got familiar with them when they were building a bathing facility in E-Rantel, which led them to inspect the Dwarf Kingdom. As a result they got to know the dwarves there, now they often come to the Sorcerer Kingdom for advice on various things.
Antilene muses that this fulfills "mission and responsibility of those with power." That being said, Aura says that everyone is just doing what they can. Them and maybe even the protagonist. And Antilene who has the skills to help Rei with her training. This brightens Antilene somewhat. The 11th Seat though sees the Extra Seat's expression, commenting to herself that it's the same one she has even when dead. It seems that ever since she lost her memory, she's been acting a bit absent-minded, and doesn't seem interested in her surroundings. Still, it's hard to imagine this from the "person" before she lost her memory.
Aura tells Antilene and Rei last time she came to the mountains, quite some time ago, a Chaos Beast that she normally didn't see appeared forcing her to defeat it. She doesn't remember seeing them anywhere else, so she can't deny the possibility that they may only be found in the Azerlisia Mountains. If it's appearing from a Crack in the vicinity, it wouldn't be strange if it appeared again, so she and Mare wanted to check it out just to be sure.
Antilene is curious about this "Special Chaos Beast" and asks more questions on it. Aura though doesn't know if they've adapted to the environment here, but they give off an abnormally strong cold air, so just being near them makes one feel really cold. So much so that it was affecting the surrounding environment as well. The dark elf is sure the place where it emerged was...not far from where they are she thinks.
Antilene then asks if Aura and Mare could tell her where this type of Chaos Beast came from. Rei sensing where this is going predicts that Antilen wants to fight it. That is Antilene's objective, as it seems that the Chaos Beast is ravaging the surrounding environment with an abnormal cold. If they encounter one, it might be a good idea to exterminate it while they're training.
To Aura it makes sense, although Mare isn't sure in letting these two interlopers meet with the Chaos Beasts, worried they might notice something they are not supposed to. While that's a risk, the human Rei is also strong, but not as strong as Antilene, so this is a perfect opportunity to see the strength of the two of them. Besides--Aura points out if they go together, they can keep an eye on the cave so no one knows it exists, so there's no harm in the two joining them.
Aura then welcomes Antilene and Rei to come with them so they can show the way, and help them with their training. Antilene takes the news positively. 11th Seat though is distressed as now that the people from the Sorcerer Kingdom are coming along too, making things look more troublesome.[5]
Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but right now it feels really tough to the 11th Seat. She tries to convince the group otherwise of this action, timidly saying that while she has no objections to the proposal made by Antilene and everyone from the Sorcerer Kingdom, they will still need to withstand the extreme temperature and powerful cold attacks that the Chaos Beast brings, so they'll need specialized equipment.
And she is ashamed to say that today, that since they are engaged in "spiritual training," neither she nor Antilene have not brought any equipment specifically designed to protect them from the cold. Rei hopes that this restriction will be enough to dissuade a hunt for the Chaos Beast,
Aura agrees that if Rei or Antilene lack equipment to protect them from the cold, it might be a bit tough going up against the Chaos Beast. The 11th Seat is thankful Aura agrees with her, saying that if they do so, they would only be a hinderance and really doesn't want to bother everyone in the Sorcerer Kingdom, so she hopes to do this again another time. To the magic caster, it's bad enough being with Certain Death, but on top of that, she wants to avoid acting together with a mysterious force like the Sorcerer Kingdom at all costs.
Aura, seeing Rei's state of almost bowing down to her, was deep in thought again—but has an idea, saying that if they can take measures against the cold, there won't be a problem. In that case, she'll go to her higher-ups and report back to the Sorcerer Kingdom and see if she can borrow some equipment.
Both members of the Theocracy are in shock of this. Antilene is grateful that Aura would let her borrow some items, but asks if this is really okay? Aura assures her that it's fine, as anyway she was the one who told Antilene about the Chaos Beasts in the first place, and part of her training, but she still needs some help. It's only natural that she and Mare assist and prepare the necessary equipment.
Antilene decides to take Aura up on the offer, much to Rei's dismay seeing all her work in politely declining going down the drain. But takes solace in the fact that from the Theocracy's perspective, it may be necessary to cooperate in order to obtain information about the Sorcerer Kingdom and to repay the debts that have piled up.
Aura then heads away to make contact with her superiors, asking them to wait until she finishes reporting. The dark elf then uses a [Message] to contact Momonga, informing him of all that transpired in the mountains. Momonga is already aware of the situation with the dark elves contact of the women from the Theocracy as Lupusregina already briefed him. Even so, the person Antilene brought, although not on her level, the magic caster seems to be quite powerful by the standards of the New World. He supposes that "other person" is also a Theocracy dignitary, or someone close to it.
Aura told Momonga that she told the two about the Chaos Beast she and Mare were investigating and asked Rei if they could join forces to defeat it...but asks if she did something unnecessary?
Momonga though feels that it was not so, as he guesses Aura probably thought that by working together with the newcomer she would be able to see and understand their capabilities first-hand. If that's the case, then it's not unnecessary at all. Aura has one last thing to explain to Momonga, that Antilene and Rei had not brought any equipment suitable for training in cold climates, and that she would like to borrow some equipment for the two of them to protect themselves against the cold air emitted by the Chaos Beasts.
Momonga muses that training without any protection from the cold seems a bit reckless or too much, as removing necessary resistances would only increase the danger. Though wonders if there is any kind of benefit, like a bonus to experience points. That would make sense, to him guesses. However if there are training methods unique to this world or the Theocracy, they might be useful hints for his further growth and for helping the NPCs regain their powers.
For the most part, Momonga has no objection to lending the equipment, but the other party is Theocracy and asks if there are any complaints. Aura reports that Antilene seemed willing, though the other person, Rei seems to be unsure. Momonga chalks this up to being hard to say what the average national from the Theocracy thinks about, commenting that it's a miracle that Antilene doesn't seem to have any aversion to the magical bacteria.
However, the theocracy would likely want information on the equipment possessed by the Sorcerer Kingdom. The Sorcerer doesn't intend to give away information easily, but if the equipment isn't that powerful, he should be able to give out the bare minimum. But if he could get information on powerful people in the Theocracy in exchange for that minimal information, it would be well worth lending it to them. That said Momonga says he will have Pandora's Actor prepare the equipment and deliver it to Aura right away. Before she cuts the communication, Momonga tells Aura about a few things he wanted her to check later.
After reporting to Momonga, Aura returned and told Antilene and the others that she had received permission to borrow some equipment. The four of them waited for a while, sharing information about the Chaos Beasts they were after, when two skeletons approached. Rei seeing them at first thinks they were enemies. Antilene who is watching comments to herself that she felt the same when she saw the undead in E-Ranel and tells her colleague that its fine as the undead are just bringing the equipment.
Aura tells the women that she received word from her home country that they would have their equipment transported all the way here. The dark elf thanks the skeletons for their hard work. As if responding to Aura’s words, the undead lowered what was strapped to their bodies to the ground. It was a package wrapped up as if it were an important item. After the undead left, Aura unpacked her luggage. Sure enough, what came out was equipment with a design Antilene had never seen before and seeing the vibrant color asks if the equipment can trulu protect against the cold.
Mare assures the half-elf that it does. And Aura while admitting that it may look a little odd compared to what other nations have, she guarantees it works. Antilene is willing to try it on, save for Rei given it is handed by the undead. But Antilene said that there was no point in complaining about it as it was not like the equipment is cursed with anything that will turn her undead or anything.
Rei still is suspicious of the equipment, thinking that they might be cursed. Aura watching the exchange, finds this to be interesting, wanting to see to what extent people from the Theocracy who have the ability to fight the undead also have an aversion to them. Hence why she intentionally had the skeletons carry the equipment at Momonga's request. But from her observations it looks like Antilene doesn't seem to mind it as much as she did before, so the dark elf guess it's just a matter of personal preference.
Mare tells the women that the equipment shouldn't have any curses or any other negative influences on it. Even Aura claims that its safe since she used the same type of gear before and nothing happened. Antilene reminds Rei that without the equipment then they will not be able to handle the extreme cold. Rei having no more energy to argue then concedes to wear the equipment.
Both women then appear in their Christmas Costumes, Antilene finding it acceptable, but worried if she is wearing it wrong since its her first time. Rei though is concerned if her own outfit, which is a bit skimpy looking could use more cloth. Though Mare states that the equipment has proper measures in it.
Equipped with equipment borrowed from the Sorcerer Kingdom, the two dark elves then guide the newcomers into the mountains. As they walk, Antilene notices that ever since she put on the equipment, she hasn't felt any cold at all, wonder if it's been given some kind of special enchantment. Rei also changes her opinion of the equipment, finding it fluffy and warm, which Antilene finds ironic given her apprehensive behavior previously.
Aura then informs the two that they are just about to reach their destination, and advises that they take a short rest. From the looks of it, Aura can see that the two look quite comfortable in their gear. Antilene really appreciates the equipment that was lent. She recalls the Chaos Adaptive Equipment...the technology of the Sorcerer Kingdom in that it is more advanced than other countries. Aura is happy to hear that, confessing she was worried that the two would be uncomfortable with the equipment given its from the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Antilene apologizes, though Aura understands given her nation's reputation as a mysterious country. She just hopes that the protagonist and the others try their best to correct this image, but supposes that it will still take some time. Aura soon detects a noise, hushing everyone, from the sound and interval she concludes that they belong to the footsteps of Chaos Beasts, several of them. Seeing that they are close to their destination, Aura invites the party to follow her.[6]
The party soon find themselves fighting three Chaos Beasts. Aura seeing them tests their strength by shooting a volley of arrows, which the Chaos Beasts respond by smashing the ground around the area. As reported, their appearance is very similar to the "Ice Chaos Beasts" that emerge from the controlled Crack in the mountain range. The main bodies of the Chaos Beasts are covered in ice and earth almost like a copy, so Aura wonders if their body structures are the same.
To her this means that these Chaos Beasts are also emerged from somewhere in the soil that was contaminated by miasma. Aura thinks that it's strange on why this type of creature only appears in the mountain range, and she's also curious as to why it's not emitting cold air strong enough to reach the lizardman village like before. Although that's probably more of the research area for Demiurge than for her or Mare.
What the twins need to find out is where the source of the outbreak is, but Aura is sure Lupusregina and the others have already traced that as well. Aura then silently communicates with Mare via their necklaces to destroy the Chaos Beasts, but advises not to show off too much power.
Aura resumes her attack on the Ice Chaos Beasts with Antilene and Rei. Antilene is having no problem fighting the monsters, though the same cannot be said about Rei as her magic does not seem to be effective. Though the group manages to destroy the three Chaos Beasts. Aura comments on Rei's strength, and that her cooperation with Antilene was perfect.
While Antilene takes the comment in stride, Rei feels useless for not being a force to be reckoned with. Certain Death was definitely holding back, but the magic caster also feels the dark elves are actually much stronger. Antilene distracts her when she asks that although she ended up fighting a different opponent than she had planned, if this was still good training. Rei responds in the affirmative not wanting to contradict.
Come to think of it, Aura remembers that the two were trying to "train" without any cold weather protection at first and asks if that is a usual Theocracy training method. It is not as stated by Antilene, only a preference by Rei wanting to train her mind. This draws curiosity from the dark elf, who asks if Rei this different from gaining resistance to mind-affecting magic or something.
Antilene doesn't think that's the case, but asks Rei if that what she actually meant. All Rei says that it's something like the idea that one's mindset is related to their strength in battle, or something like that. In reality the whole "mental training" thing was just a bunch of empty words she used trying to get out of training with Antilene.
Aura sees that from the looks of it, it doesn't seem like there's any special training method. but thinks it's possible that Rei's hiding something. but if she was planning on hiding it, she wouldn't have said that the purpose was training in the first place, and neither would Momonga. But there's no need to risk prying too much and making people suspicious, so Aura guesses that's it for the discussion.
Having used up the time for training that they had received permission for in advance, and after the unexpected development of coming into contact with the Sorcerer Kingdom, the two Theocracy member's seclusion in the mountains came to an end.
Aftermath[]
The group traveled to E-Rantel to reunite with their compatriots and there they said their farewells. For the members of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Aura, Mare and Lupusregina met with Momonga, Albedo and Demiurge to discuss what they had experienced. Other than defeating the Ice Chaos Beasts without issue, Aura reported that the Theocracy woman, Rei, was not as powerful as Antilene, but she seems to be a very powerful person by the standards of the New World. Also, although it was a coincidence that they encountered the Theocracy people in the Azerlisia Mountains this time, it seems that it was not a lie that they had come there for training.
Momonga also hears from Aura that the reason why they didn't take any measures against the cold wasn't because of any training method specific to the Theocracy, but simply because it was part of their spiritual training. The information is minimal which Aura and Mare apologizes, but Momonga tells them that there is no need for them to apologize. But it is clear that Antilene and Rei are important forces for the Theocracy, so it's enough that they've gotten to know their strengths and abilities a little better. Despite the sudden encounter, the Sorcerer King tells them that they did a great job.
Demiurge then gives a report on the "Ice Chaos Beast" that the twins recently discovered. Following the footprints, Lupusregina and the others investigated and found a new Crack, revealing the undiscovered "Ice Chaos Beast" monsters. Just like last time, they emerged from a Crack which was buried underground, and then crawled out onto the surface due to a collapse of the ground or some other factor.
In any case, the "Ice Chaos Beasts" that were discovered this time are stronger than the one that was discovered last time. This means that there will be new hunting grounds to regain their power. Also, Aura and the others were wondering why it wasn't emitting an intense cold air with a wide range of effect like last time.
Demiurge honestly does not know. Or rather, it should be said that this was already known to some extent. The cold air that the "Ice Chaos Beast" emits changes depending on the amount of soil it is surrounded by and the degree of contamination. Similarly, the quality and quantity of contaminated soil affects the number of Chaos Beasts that appear at once. These properties are also used to control the temperature around the Crack within the mountain range, which has been under our control for some time now.
Aura remembers that the outside of the cave where the Crack was situated was not frozen either. At first she thought the monsters were just being discrete but looks like Demiurge has once again solved the mystery.
Demiurge wishes he could brag, but the clues to unraveling these properties were casually hinted to him by Momonga. Hearing that Aura and Mare says that is to be expected, praising their master. In reality Momonga has no idea what they are talking about.
Unfortunately, according to Demiurge, there are still many things that remain unknown, such as the detailed mechanism by which the quantity and quality of contaminated soil affects the strength of the cold air emitted by the Chaos Beasts...But this discovery is an important clue that could lead to a Crack.
Momonga and the others thus view this to be useful, as each and every bit of information they have grasped or uncovered will be of great use in increasing Nazarick's military strength in the future. After thanking his subordinates, Momonga knows that this information coud be useful to others who wish to strengthen themselves. Hence he would like Demiurge to warn the mountain dwarves again and share the information with them.
However, if there are other capable people in Theocracy besides Antilene, it is possible that this could cause problems with the puppetization plan in the future. Until now Momonga has kept a certain distance from the Theocracy, but in order to prepare for such a situation, he may need to find some reason to investigate the situation inside.
Momonga wishes wishes they had prepared for that in the past. In his thoughts, even though Enhela has been destroyed, the Theocracy is still something he cannot let his guard down. Even if it isn't a threat from the "Devourer of the Nine Worlds" like that Enhela, it would not be strange if a threat other than a player is lurking. Even if I were to encounter such a being again, he must protect Nazarick and the NPCs here at all costs.
Ending on that, the scene switches to the Inner Sanctum, in the Slane Theocracy. Having returned to the Theocracy from E-Rantel, the Extra Seat and 11th Seat reported to Cardinal Raymond and the 1st Seat about their training.
The cardinal is fascinated that during their training, they defeated an unknown Chaos Beast that emitted a powerful cold air. What's more the 1st Seat, comments that they were working with dark elves who are important figures in the Sorcerer Kingdom. And if he is to understand they borrowed the equipment specially, which is impressive that the dark elves were willing to oblige.
Antilene confirms that the dark elves were the same she met at the send-off party in E-Rantel, so she was not completely "strangers" to them. This time, it seems that the twins went out to investigate using information about the Chaos Beast as a clue.
The 11th Seat explains that Antilene was the one who was mostly interacting with the elves. This is all interesting to Raymond as even though they met by chance, it was surprising to think that Antilene was the one who was almost solely responsible for all the interactions with the people from the Sorcerer Kingdom she had become acquainted with.
After the Extra Seat and 11th Seat had left. Raymond and the 1st Seat who remained behind then continued to listen to the report from the bodyguards assigned to the two of the women. From what the 1st Seat just heard, their testimonies are almost identical to what Certain Death and Infinite Magic said. That includes the fact that the Sorcerer Kingdom saw the two of escorts and contacted the women anyway.
Raymond asks if there were any suspicious people in the vicinity? Aside from the undead that brought the equipment, that is. As far as the escorts could see, there was no sign of anyone like that.
The cardinal sees, as supposes that since it's the Sorcerer Kingdom they need to consider the possibility that there was actually surveillance there and the bodyguards just didn't notice. The 1st Seat finds this incredible wondering if was some kind of surveillance tool or magic that cannot be detected even with the ears and eyes of Theocracy personnel. To him it is truly unfathomable.
Raymond states that currently their troops of the nation are stationed in E-Rantel are friendly towards the Sorcerer Kingdom...no--rather, they proactively welcome the help they receive. He thinks this may be an opportunity to explore a part of the "enigmatic" country. Also, depending on how things go from here on out, it might not be a bad idea to approach them and use the Sorcerer Kingdom as a strategy.
After completing their reports, the Antilene and 11th Seat walked down the long corridor for a while, but eventually the Extra Seat stopped in front of the door to her room. Before Antilene retires to her chamber, 11th Seat was about to say something but initially is hesitant but manages to work up the courage to thank her this once. Not only for joining her in the training but--although they met by chance, Certain Death helped her converse with the people of the Sorcerer Kingdom and acted as an intermediary.
Antilene replies that 11th Seat need not thank her. 11th Seat's the one who made the decision and pushed things forward on her own, and she feel like she may have done something wrong. And Antilene is sure her colleague had a lot she wanted to say. Infinite Magic admits that she was surprised when she found out that she would be training with Certain Death...but now, she's grateful.
Antilene is glad to hear her say that. And that if there is another opportunity, to not hesitate to ask her if she'd like to help her with training. After Antilene retires to her room, leaving 11th Seat alone, the latter laughs to herself commenting that something is off, before walking alone down the hallway, recalling the events that had taken place up until that point.
Infinite Magic feels that at least until they went to train together, she didn't think they'd ever talked like that...as friends. It maybe because Antilene lost her memory, even if she recalls what happened in the past, it doesn't feel real, eve if there are some facts from the past that can't be changed.
Antilene is no doubt still extraordinary...but she seems very different from before to the 11th Seat. She and her were together throughout the training, and although it was a bit off at the beginning, 11th Seat thinks she became less defensive towards the end. This makes her wonder that if this mean that it's become much easier to talk to Antilene than before.
Thinking back on how Antilene managed to convince Raymond, the 11th Seat dismisses that thought. Since the current situation where Certain Death hasn't regained her memories remains unchanged, the Cardinals and the Black Scripture needs to be careful for the time being. This is so troublesome to the Black Scripture member, who begins muttering to herself sarcastically, thinking of a person who was no longer nearby. A slight, light smile appeared in her eyes and on his lips.[7]
References[]
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 0: Prologue
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 1: I Want To Train
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 2: Pride and Pressure
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 3: Training In The Snow
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 4: Thoughts Behind The Snow
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 5: Starting Afresh
- ↑ Valkyrie Oblige Episode 6: Each Person's Results