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Interlude: Goddess (222)
🕑 Added 2023-10-21 16:23:13 +0000 UTCInitially, Ainz, rather recklessly, had counted on Arthur taking another sip of alcohol to calm down once again, maybe even hoping that another sip could rob her of her short-term memory. Perhaps, she could even forget the fact that she had shared some very embarrassing facts with Ainz, why not, when he’s asking for something impossible anyway?
But such a miracle didn’t happen.
After going through all the stages of alcoholism, again. From complaining about her past to trying to get Ainz to help her find her beloved Morgana so that Arthur could ask for forgiveness, and maybe even get back with her ex. Luckily, this time Arthur at least didn't start talking about a future takeover of the world, finally Arthur fell into slumber… Before waking up a dozen seconds later, now questioning Ainz about the current state of affairs in Chaldea.
And then, as soon as Ainz turned toward the door to leave, Arthur had once again reached for a can of beer. Fortunately, this time, Ainz was ready.
And so, having correctly determined that Arthur, who was completely unable to tolerate alcohol, was at the same time ready to develop alcoholism at the first opportunity given to her, was deprived of the beer Ainz had brought. At the same time, Ainz made an internal note to himself to inform Olga of the absolute necessity to keep the alcohol supply under control and as far away from Arthur as possible. No matter how much her fellow alcoholics might complain.
Even if her bouts of alcoholism passed so quickly, the mere fact that she could fall into a completely deranged state after the first sip was disturbing. The fact that she was unpredictable in that state, veering from trying to discuss the conquest of the world to complaining about the Knights of the Round Table that never, according to her, respected her authority. That they refused to follow her orders without the approval of those by Merlin? That was particularly dangerous.
Still, there was a significant upside to such an alcoholic frenzy, however, in that Ainz had stopped worrying about a possible confrontation with Arthur. To be more precise, rationally, he knows that she was still one of the most dangerous, and, personally, perhaps the worst opponent for him. The situation could only be worse if she was a Paladin specialized in killing undead summoner-mages. That is, if she was literally created as a counter-build to Ainz, but Ainz had not heard of such builds in all of YGGDRASIL, not among the bosses, not even among the World Enemies…
Thankfully, being an RP build, it’s really rare for even Players to create such a build.
Though World Enemies didn't need such narrow specialization, having the power of dozens of Players at a time made specialization unnecessary.
In any case, while rationally, Ainz realized that Arthur was a powerful enemy, an overpowered one even, and someone that would be difficult for him to control, given their past history with him. Any possible loyalty seemed more of a dream than any feasible plan at the moment. Even so, Arthur's actions under the effect of alcohol simply made him look at her in a new light.
It was too hard to square the powerful and dangerous adversary with the drunken girl sobbing on his shoulder, complaining that her father wouldn't let her sail boats down the creek.
Of course, that didn't mean that Ainz suddenly stopped seeing her as a potentially murderous opponent. Ainz would have been wary of any Servant who possesses five Noble Phantasms, even from this world, that’s simply common sense, let alone the King Arthur of YGGDRASIL.
But his perception of King Arthur had been broken…
Ainz hoped that Arthur had also begun to see him a little differently after her drunken confessions, but Ainz could not be sure of that, given the pact he had made not to revisit what had happened here. In any case, Ainz could only hope that he had gained some positive rapport with Arthur.
It couldn’t get any worse in any case.
Though, such libations from Arthur did cause Ainz to touch on other thoughts after he left her room.
"How many King Arthurs even exist!?" It was with this thought that Ainz went to return the unopened cans of beer back to the refrigerator.
Ainz had been aware of the existence of different versions of Servants since his summoning to this world, after which he had even personally witnessed the conflict that had arisen over the summoning of two Neros to Chaldea. But the number of King Arthurs was beyond anything in his imagination.
With the King Arthur coming from YGGDRASIL, he had already met four Arthurs. There’s the Arthur who I just left behind who’s probably already drinking again, the Arthuria dressed in black, then the one dressed in blue, and lastly the Goddess of Camelot… And if he counts Nero as some sort of ancestor of Arthuria there would be six of them, and something even told Ainz that this was not the end.
Who knows how many more Arthurs he would meet along the way? Would there be another Servant with as many alternate versions? That Ainz didn't know, but on the other hand, why not? Each new piece in the collection only increased his collection, so Ainz could even rejoice a little at that… Even if just having palette swaps seemed like a copout, at least they’re each unique in their personalities? In his perception, they were different collections, but the first version of any collection would always hold a special place in his heart.
Well, Ainz would like to spend his time on other things, preferring to act according to things as they are rather than what they could be, collecting variant versions of Servants notwithstanding.
The matter of fact is, there are three Arthurs in Chaldea, with two of them arriving just being summoned not even hours ago. Ainz had already dealt with one of them, and had even established some semblance of understanding with each other – and the other possessed a World Class Item.
Another World Class Item, this time, Ainz was absolutely certain that it was a tangible World Class Item that he could try to retrieve… But it was this thought that kept Ainz on his toes.
The first time, Ainz's attempt to obtain a World Class Item failed because, as it turned out, Tesla didn't have a World Class Item, only an extremely powerful ability that mimicked the effects of such a thing. The second time, the floating castle of Semiramis simply could not be carried back to Chaldea due to its size, and Ainz doubted that Semiramis would deign to hand it over now. The third time, the spear of the Goddess scattered right before his eyes.
So now for the fourth time, Ainz was at a crossroads, should he once again try to get a powerful new artifact into his collection?
His instincts as a collector were literally screaming 'yes', he should very much do it, but his paranoia, developed from previous failed attempts, warned him that it all looked… Too easy. Like it was a trap. Some incredible universal karmic trap designed solely so that another failed attempt to take possession of a World-Class Item would finally break his self-control and cause him to drop to his knees and weep with helplessness.
Technically, of course, this was impossible due to his Emotion Suppression, but Ainz's paranoia whispered to him that this was exactly what would happen if he failed to obtain the World Class Item again for the fourth time. But if he simply refused to do such a thing, could he even look himself in the mirror and call himself a true DMMO-RPG Player! Giving up an outstanding loot for fear of losing was simply absurd!
That was why Ainz didn't know what he was supposed to do with the Goddess, especially considering that she was a newly summoned Servant that Ainz had no actual connection to… Other than the fact that he had killed her in Singularity in the past. Which wasn't exactly a great excuse for bonding.
Life isn’t a Shōnen anime, after all, where having a fight to the death is an excellent way to make friends.
And so, as was usually the case, and especially since the meeting with Arthur had begun his likely series of meetings with the newly summoned Servants, Ainz's feet directed him automatically to Olga. A person whom he had informed of the need to watch over Arthur, and the need to wrangle the alcohol supply, and learned of the new location of the Goddess. And also that Ozymandias, to whom Olga had refused to convert a dozen rooms at once into his personal quarters, was expecting Ainz's presence in his chambers to discuss the current situation.
Apparently, to demand the space he was entitled to.
Ainz, however, thinks about it and remembers his past bosses from a world that seemed so far away to him, which after all his experiences seemed strangely more fantastic and less important than his years in YGGDRASIL. He decided to ignore him for the time being. In the first place, he had already decided to meet the Goddess. And in the second place, what humble small worker could deny himself the pleasure of a little postponing of contact with an arrogant rich man who demanded that he immediately drop all his business and come to solve his problems?
So, hiding a small vindictive smirk on his face, Ainz headed in the direction of the Goddess' chambers. Perhaps petty vindictiveness wasn't the best quality for the best boss that Ainz wanted and aspired to be… But he was also allowed to have his little human weaknesses sometimes, wasn't he?
***
A knock on the Goddess's door caused her to freeze for a moment. From the way she felt the feeling exuding from beyond the door, it was Ainz… Now her Master. And that face made the Goddess freeze in indecision.
The Goddess of Camelot, King Arthur, created a new, twisted history of mankind, a legend in which King Arthur preferred a holy blade to a holy spear, a fiction, a lie and a strange absurdity. And yet from now on, her reason for existence, her legend, created whole cloth by the action of the man beyond the door.
The Goddess of Camelot, once it was the title that had rightfully belonged to her, and now she was not entirely sure that she should have held the name King Arthur. The name represented a powerful Servant, the King of Camelot, perhaps one of the greatest lancers in history. Her humanity and her divine essence and legend tells that she was supposed to be the cold, powerful and aloof King of Knights. And yet at the same time, the Goddess wasn't entirely sure if she was supposed to follow that code of behavior, because this was Ainz, her Master.
The Goddess was never supposed to even exist, let alone become a Servant, her existence in the Singularity as much as a violation of reality as her current existence as a Servant. And thus, she had no clear knowledge, no understanding of her condition. Should she have shown her status as royalty and demanded Ainz articulate the reason for his appearance before allowing him inside? Or should she act as a loyal knight, rush to open the door, respecting his status as her Master? As a Servant in the Master's service to prepare a throne for him? As a Goddess, to demand that he kneel and beg for her audience?
The Goddess's musings paralyzed her and so, after a repeated knock on the door that made her thoughts run in her head and her body freeze in indecision, the Goddess heard the sound of a knob being turned. It seemed that she had forgotten to lock her door, a blessing perhaps to take the choice of opening the door away from her.
Once again, the Goddess met the man that had brought her low in the Singularity. And now, free from the battlefield and the chaotic nature of her summoning, it was as if the Goddess was seeing the being before her for the first time.
Power – the rational mind of the Goddess realized that the man, the being, before her was immeasurably powerful, alien to all of humanity and the world by his nature. And yet, is also the wise protector of Humanity that had saved the entire world from her actions, from her thoughtless plan and willingness to sacrifice hundreds for the sake of dozens. He was the one who had allowed her to finally find peace, and had evidently saved Humanity more than once, continuing to save it further, time after time. He was intending to meet Solomon in battle, the magus of all magi, a battle that would have been insanely stupid for anyone… Anyone but him.
Many such thoughts were swarming in the Goddess's mind at the moment, and instead of any reaction, she just continued to stand there, frozen like a wax figure. At least until she was brought out of her thoughts by a flicker in front of her eyes that almost made her grab her spear. A second later, though, the Goddess realized that the strange flicker in front of her eyes was the palm of Ainz's hand, trying to get attention from the stupefied girl.
“Are you alright?” Determining that the Goddess did react to his actions, Ainz took a step back from the girl, causing her to sigh.
“I guess… I am, yes,” the Goddess answered, so unsure and thoughtful that she couldn't even convince herself, then she lowered her gaze and sighed. The goddess wasn't sure that honesty was the best policy at the moment, she wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave, not just with Ainz, but in general. And so she could only speak the truth and let it be what it would be. "No, I'm not okay. Not okay at all, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, and it’s causing me to be unable to act.”
“Oh, ahem?” Ainz blinked, looking at the Goddess, then nodded thoughtfully. “If you're thinking about your specific orders at the moment, then…”
“No, not that,” The Goddess looked up, after which she thought for a second and nodded clearly. If she had already decided to be honest and straightforward, perhaps that was what she should be. The goddess knew that in the original legend, King Arthur was like that, so it was probably the right thing to do to act that way. “I don't know what to do… At all.”
“At all in the sense of…”
“At all," And the Goddess answered unequivocally, unwittingly stopping Ainz in his tracks to get a hint.
"All of it.”
“I see…” Ainz nodded, though unknowing to the Goddess, Ainz was internally sweating, shocked that his old reliable idea of just repeating what a speaker said to him failed, deciding to use his second favorite phrase, acting as if he understood something.
“I mean…” Ainz cheered up inwardly, pleased that once again his favorite phrase had once again worked, making his interlocutor explain more, rather than relying on his non-existing social skill to divine whatever it is they wanted.
To which she only exhaled before trying to explain her situation. "I… I don't exist.”
The admission seemed to have shocked Ainz, if the situation was not so serious the Goddess might even think that the surprised look on Ainz’s face was quite funny.
“I have no name, no legend, I exist as a literal fluke, a mistake, a random legend born of an attempt to correct the errors of the Singularity.” The Goddess said without much emotion, acting in a manner that was familiar to her, that is of the Lion Goddess that she was in the Singularity. At least then, to her detriment, she had an idea of what she was and what her goal was.
Still, uncertainty accompanied her thoughts, but not sadness or anything like that. What was the point of grieving over an event that had already happened and that she had no influence on, much less, something that is the reason for her existence?
She could only accept what had happened, and move on.
Besides, it wasn't that she wanted to deny her existence entirely, to wish that she didn't exist at all. The Goddess actually liked to live, not exactly in the sense that she was afraid of death. Perhaps later on, the Goddess would decide that she should during the further formation of her own personality. But at the moment, she would rather prefer the former out of the two options offered, to exist or not to exist. The pursuit of life… Wasn't that supposed to be the basis for any human being's life?
However, what could Ainz know about it? The situation of creating a Servant out of nothing, due to the error of correcting reality, due to the impact of the world and the Singularity, such a situation was unique, and even an existence like Ainz would not…
“Ah, like Jalter then? And the blackened Arthuria… I guess Nero too? The white one at least-” -Ainz reacted easily to the Goddess's words, as if the problem she uttered was actually something routine for him, making the Goddess frown. “I mean…”
“I'm not the only one of my kind?” The Goddess looked at Ainz incomprehensibly, shock coloring her expression.
“Jalter had faced the same situation, and Arthuria had managed on her own, with Nero… The difficulty with her was due to a, uh, personality crisis." Ainz glanced at the Goddess, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, I suppose the closest to your situation is the one with Jalter's own. She, ahem… She's not exactly an ordinary Servant, either.”
At those words, the Goddess frowned, before her face brightened as she reached a conclusion. If there were more Servants who had passed through her path, wasn't that a good thing? After all, it meant that the Goddess could use their experience to solve the problem before her!
“And…” The Goddess glanced at Ainz, waiting for the answer to the question that had caused her paralysis, unsure of the direction of her life. “How did she solve this problem?”
At those words, Ainz frowned in response before slowly starting to answer, measuring each word. “I can't be completely sure, however… I think she started communicating with her parallel version? So in your case, would it be Arthuria… Though the one in Chaldea is not formed from the original legend either. Or maybe just with King Arthur? No, maybe it would be better for you to talk with Arthuria, the King Arthur from YGGDRASIL might be the closest to the original Arthur, but she’s from a different world entirely. Hmm, this is quite a complicated question… but one for later, that’s not where Jalter started.”
Noting internally all the names mentioned by Ainz, the Goddess looked at Ainz carefully. “What was it that started it?”
“A name.” Ainz sighed, then thought for a moment, as if considering whether he should share that information with the Goddess before looking at her, "You have a name?”
The Goddess opened her mouth for a reflexive response before she froze again. Ah, really… Did she have a name?
The Goddess of Camelot. That was her title; the title of a King Arthur that shouldn't have existed, but that had been spawned by the disruption of human history due to the effects of the Singularity. Was it her name? Of course not, but was her name ‘Arthur’? She, the Goddess of Camelot, was a 'version' of King Arthur, could she then lay claim, demand to being called what King Arthur had once been called, Artoria Pendragon?
She might share the same beginnings, but she was radically different, so much so that the name sounds alien to her.
And if not that name… What else could she call herself? Just call herself by a random name as if it meant nothing? No, if she was to stand on her own feet as an independent Servant, something more than just an accident in this world. If she wished to gain something more than just a set of abilities and Noble Phantasms bound together by a shell called 'the version of King Arthur summoned in the Lancer class… '
She needed her own name.
“Arthuria… Lancer.” Ainz's voice caused the Goddess to shift her gaze to Ainz and his slight brooding look before he snapped his fingers. “Altria?”
The Goddess blinked, looking at Ainz. “What?”
“Arthuria, Lancer… King Arthur's alter-ego.” Ainz smiled, as if pleased with his ingenuity.
“Altria.”
Upon hearing Ainz’s idea, the Goddess fell silent, rolling the name over in her head and on her tongue thoughtfully.
Altria Pendragon… Altria Pendragon… Lancer, King Arthur, Altria Pendragon.
It’s perfect.
The Goddess covered her eyes, accepting her name, before with a deep breath she could feel herself being anchored, no longer an existence in drift. Opening her eyes, she looked at Ainz seriously.
“I accept your name, Master. From now on, I will be known as Altria Pendragon, Lancer, Goddess of Camelot, Knight of Chaldea.”
Ainz took half a step back, as if the weight in the Godd… No, Altria’s words had struck him, before he nodded slowly. “Well, not a bad outcome… Good.”
Altria nodded once more in response, before a realization struck her. The first step in her journey had been taken, but how much more lay ahead, Altria didn't know, but at least, thanks to Ainz, she now knew exactly where she had to go.
Arthuria was who she had to see next.
“Ahem, okay,” Ainz however interrupted Altria's musings, causing her to turn around to him with a mute question in her gaze. “I didn't originally come in for this reason… Your Spear.”
Altria looked at Ainz and frowned for a moment, raising one eyebrow, asking a clarifying question- “Rhongomyniad?”
“Yes, your Noble Phantasm,” Ainz nodded, then looked at Altria carefully. Ainz's gaze literally chained her to her seat, causing her to tighten up inwardly. The question that was to follow was obviously incredibly important to Ainz, and so Altria inwardly braced herself. Perhaps she could never fully define who she was at the moment, but even so, she was still Ainz's Servant, she had just sworn to be a Knight of Chaldea. And that meant she couldn't afford to back down.
“Can I… Hold it?” Ainz's request was not at all what Altria had expected. She frowned for a moment, trying to see if she'd heard it right, but looking at the way Ainz continued to watch her carefully, Altria answered uncertainly. "I guess… You can?".
Not that she was the kind of person who couldn't part with her favorite weapon, but such a request was… Strange to say the least. Servants very rarely fought using each other's weapons, a literal impossibility barring some very special circumstance, as a Servant’s weapon is literally a part of them as much as their limbs are. Perhaps Prometheus could, with his legend as a thief that stole the god’s flames could, or someone like Lancelot whose legendary swordsmanship could perhaps allow him to use another Servant’s weapon.
It would certainly be all the more strange for a Master to use a Servant's weapon… Especially in a non-combat situation.
But Ainz was an unusual Master. Altria had realized this when she had first encountered him in Singularity. And so, a little hesitantly, not because of doubt, but because of a lack of understanding of the current situation, she materialized her spear, and then held it out to him.
A moment later, as soon as Ainz's palm touched her spear, Altria felt the irregularity and unnaturalness of Ainz surrounding his figure with an underlying haze in Altria's own perception, rushing forward, towards Rhongomyniad. Goosebumps ran down Altria's spine, causing her to involuntarily jerk forward toward her spear and grasp it, a mental image had pierced her mind like lightning. The realization that if she let go of her spear and gave it to Ainz, she would lose Rhongomyniad.
Finally and irrevocably.
Altria didn't know if such a thing was possible. No, moreover, until this moment she was absolutely certain that it was impossible. The tower, the chain linking the world of the real and the legendary, of which she, Altria Pendragon, was the guardian and prisoner, no force could change her fate and nature. Nothing could separate Altria from her Rhongomyniad…
No force other than the one she faced in that second.
An unexpected tug wrenched the spear from Ainz's hands, causing him to stagger from the sudden pulse of force, momentarily pulling away from Altria and looking at her with a concerned, almost wary and guarded look. Altria, however, grasped her spear reflexively and drew it to herself, frozen, looking into Ainz's face, Ainz, in turn, froze, looking into Altria's face.
There was a tense pause in the air, during which both participants continued to stare at each other, before Altria recovered first. Slowly lowering her spear, which had been held forward in a sort of threatening gesture, as if she were ready to defend herself against Ainz's attack. A reflexive response, though one that she could now somewhat understand.
Her legend, as hodgepodge as it is, what would happen to her if she were to lose one of its main pillars? What would happen to Altria should she lose her Spear?
“I apologize… Master,” Altria said slowly, catching her breath as she had unknowingly held it when she had felt that strange sense of danger.
“What happened?” Ainz shifted his gaze from Altria to her spear, exhaling, as it seemed to Altria, disappointed but somehow not surprised.
“I-" Altria, faced with the simplest and most expected question, frowned for a moment before covering her eyes and lowering her face down slightly in apology. "I apologize but… I felt something… Strange. Like if I had put Rhongomyniad in your hands, I won't see it again. Ever again.”
“Hmm?” Was all reaction Ainz gave, before he muttered something to himself, too low for Altria to hear. "Not to say that's not true…”
“What?” His words slipped past Altria, causing her to look at Ainz in confusion. Ainz, however, only shook his head and exhaled. "Of course, it couldn't have been that simple…”
Ainz pulled back, looking into Altria's face, who, not quite understanding what the conversation and possible conflict was about at the moment, simply reacted by doing nothing.
“So I guess there's no point asking for Rhongomyniad now…” Ainz looked away thoughtfully, so it was more of a surprise for him when he heard Altria’s words.
“If it is necessary…” Altria answered, a little forcefully and quietly, but still clearly, looking into Ainz's eyes.
“What?” Ainz blinked at the unexpected development, then looked at Altria, waiting for clarification of what part of her worry about the missing Rhongomyniad he didn't understand. "Didn't you say yourself that if you gave me the Rhongomyniad, you felt that you’ll never get it back?”
“Yes," Altria answered clearly, then exhaled. She was not happy with it, but she had already vowed to follow her Master. “I am willing to give up the Rhongomyniad if necessary.”
Ainz could only blink owlishly, hearing Altria’s declaration, while Altria only looked into his eyes with determination. There was a brief pause between the two.
“I mean… Are you willing to sacrifice your Rhongomyniad? Give it to me?” Ainz stared thoughtfully at the Servant across from him, repeating the words over and over as if trying to make sure he understood what Altria was saying, to which Altria nodded. Certainly, she didn't really want to do something like this, however…
“Yes.”
“Why?” Ainz asked the question simply.
“Because I have already sworn and become a Knight of Chaldea and your Servant,” Altria answered simply, silencing Ainz instantly. “If I have to say goodbye to Rhongomyniad to fulfill my oath… Well, that is a loss I am willing to make.”
Ainz only responded to these words with a silent stare at the girl, as if to try to see the truth of her statement, but she simply honorably withstood his silent questioning without compromising her words. Ainz, in response to this, slowly took his gaze away, closed his eyes, inhaled, exhaled, then spoke as if addressing himself. “So, that's how it is… Here it is, another obstacle in my way, huh. Maybe I should just give up on my desire?”
“Master?” Altria's voice made Ainz disturbed the strange mood that Ainz was giving out, back to staring at his Servant with some dissatisfaction, as if he was holding back from doing something that he really wanted to do.
“I will not hide it, Altria," Ainz raised his gaze to the girl. "I want, really want, your Noble Phantasm, and I would really like to possess it, however…”
Ainz exhaled slowly before grinning crookedly. “At least for my own peace of mind… You are my Servant, are you not?”
“Yes.” Altria nodded calmly at Ainz’s question.
“Certainly, as I have already sworn…”
“And your weapons, directed at my command, are also considered my weapons, are they not?” Ainz interrupted Altria's words, causing her to hesitate for a second before nodding nonetheless.
“Yes, I suppose so…”
“In that case, we can consider your Noble Phantasm to be mine as well… Just in your custody, can't we?” Ainz glanced at Altria, forcing her to consider the proposed scheme and, finding nothing but semantics in it, still nodded in response.
“Then let’s think of it as if I have finally acquired one… Yes, that’s acceptable. World Item Get!” Ainz nodded, shouting some incomprehensible words, confusing Altria, causing her to stare at Ainz with a mute question. However, instead of answering, Ainz simply grinned at her.
"Sometimes you have to decide what is more important to a person… To be a good boss or to be a collector.”
Altria tried to catch the wisdom in those words, but despite her best efforts, she still failed to do so. Ainz only gave her a pensive look before his grin slowly faded, exhaling irritably. "It's still strange to lose something you never even possessed… But sometimes it's even more frustrating than losing something you did.”
A moment after saying that, Ainz exhaled irritably and walked away, leaving Altria alone to ponder his last words, trying to determine what great wisdom was hidden in them.
Sadly, she failed.
Comments
Ильдес Бактибаев
hello, this chapter came out well, I liked the goddess’s feelings about her existence. I only have two questions for the chapter. 1 goddess is the usual Arturia Lancer (so Arturia, which you can get and play for her in FGO) or is it just the same goddess from the Camelot Singularity. 2 Where are the legendary comments from the players, this is one of the funniest moments in all of fanfic and they are not here.
protegy
Lovely work as always
Abaddon Lucifer
Good, thx.
Giovanni Laurito
Una riflessione di ainz e altria epica.
