In the capital of the Baharut Empire, Albedo and Shaltear remained in a tall building, looking towards the heavily militarized city with worry. They had been teleported away and arrived at the outskirts of the capital staring at one another in confusion.
'He has taken Solution hostage... how do we explain this to Ains-sama!?' They asked inwardly the main question. But there were also secondary questions.
'Why didn't he take us hostage as well?'
Albedo ran her mind over and over thinking. With his capabilities, he could have easily taken the three of them without an issue.
'Could it be this is part of his plan...? He left us just so we would inform Ains-sama, trying to lure him using Solution as a hostage. If we inform him, Ains-sama will just play right into his trap' She bit her nails in anger and frustration, killing intent welling up in her heart towards Osiris.
Next to her, Shaltear's questions were similar but a bit twisted as she bit her nails.
'Why didn't he take me instead!? How am I going to get his blood now? If we inform Ains-sama, he will surely order an offensive, I can reach him then...'
"We should inform Ains-sama, Albedo–" She said only for her thoughts to be shut down.
"We can't!"
"...?"
"If we do, Ains-sama will surely come and try to save Solution. Although his army is great, he will have a great disadvantage if he plays into Osiris' schemes, who knows what he has prepared".
'I can't allow Ains-sama to incur any more losses against Osiris. The only thing I can do to remediate this is–'
*BOOOMMM!!*
A massive explosion interrupted Albedo's train of thought. She looked towards the north of the city to see an explosion that wrecked the peace in the region. Both monsters turned to look at it and saw something they recognised, crimson flames.
"What is going on?".
Both ladies cast a spell at the same time and flew towards the source of the black flames. There they found nothing short of a horrid nightmare for mortals. Crimson flames burned copses to the crips, wails of despair among those who lived, they looked like royalty. And in the middle of it all, two individuals fought.
Two powerhouses of which one, Albedo and Shaltear recognised with amazement, shock and even a bit of fear. Albedo had seen his death personally whereas Shaltear had regarded a remnant of Nazaricks records.
He was supposed to be dead.
"Demiurge!" Albedo screamed, her wings flapped and she headed into the battlefield while Shaltear contemplated still in confusion.
The individual resembled a humanoid salamander with long claws and he was fighting a titanic man with a massive axe, a member from black scripture, the strongest human. His body was all bloodied and burned by the crimson flames as he stood at the front in his fruitless endeavour of trying to protect a noble manor of the city.
That manor was now engulfed in flames.
"Retreat!" He screamed at his underlings upon seeing that in front of him, there was not only one humongous threat but instead, two. The second individual she saw made Albedo's eyes watery as she approached the onslaught.
It was her sister, Rubedo.
Sadly, she didn't receive the welcome that she expected. As she approached her sister with a joyful expression, the other being stared at her like nothing different from flying raw flesh.
*BAANG!*
*WHOOSH!*
Albedo felt something harsh impact her right side and saw with amazement how Shaltear was donning her armour and pushing her away from an incoming strike that split a building in two.
It was a spell cast by her own sister, aiming to destroy her.
"Rubedo!".
The call of her name made the humanoid monster flinch, an opportunity that Shaltear took to glide away as Rubedo and Demiurge analysed them and wondered if they were members of Black Scripture that came to the Strongest Human's aid. However, the gaze of confusion in the man's face told them the answer; he had no idea.
"They are no longer who we once knew, Albedo!"
Light-based arrows shot towards Demiurge who spread his hands open to receive the attack.
A spell was cast by Demiurge, high-tiered magic that shrouded the region in darkness and dimmed the light of the arrows that Rubedo easily deflected with her body extending into blades and odd ominous shapes. The Strongest Human looked in confusion at how monsters attacked one another and began planning his retreat, taking advantage of the situation.
"Demiurge! It is me, Albedo!" She desperately tried to reach them while also keeping her distance from Shaltear, but those words entered deaf ears. Rather, Demiurge was irritated that an unknown variable was delaying his operation.
'Ray-sama won't appreciate tardiness. Let alone, this woman knows my name?'.
"I don't know who you are or how you know that name, but you shall all die in the name of Ains Ooal Gown!".
"A-Ains Ooal Gown... you said?"
Like in front of the worst nightmare, Shaltear gauged the situation wouldn't get any better with little information and decided to yank Albedo away. When they did so, in the middle of the darkness that wanted to cover the world they saw the faces of their comrades appearing one by one.
The pleiades: The Dullahan Yuri Alpha, Werewolf Lupusregina Beta, Arachnid Entoma Zeta and even the Aureole Omega.
"In the name of Ains Ooal Gown~".
The next thing she knew, a rampage of high-tiered lightning, light, darkness and fire spells was being thrown at them in what resembled a cataclysms that had fallen in the capital city.
Shaltear took Albedo away from the scene swiftly evading a barrage of spells that came their way. Even as they fled the Pleiades chased after them with boundless killing intent. Albedo and Shaltear fought back tooth and nail, recognising the power for which Nazarick was infamous.
And that power was now being held hostage by Osiris.
Soon, it became obvious that they wouldn't be able to outrun their combined offensive. Albedo cast her halverd and with a strike sent Yuri Alpha flying into a building, crushing her and feeling apologetic soon after. She wasn't able to fight with her whole strength against her past comrades.
!!!
"Shaltear!" Albedo screamed.
A group of undead and vampires were summoned, but rather than fight, they engulfed Albedo in a protective domain and pulled her out of the domain of Demiurge's spell 'Dark Mantle'.
Lupusregina and Entoma weren't going to allow the Succubus to flee, they had completely switched targets from the Strongest Human and against Albedo and Shaltear whose mana pools were greater and therefore, bigger threats.
Shaltear got in between, not even bothering to regenerate her arm.
*BOOMMM!!*
An explosion of darkness surrounded her body and impacted both of the Pleiade's bodies, sending them crashing into the distance and away from Albedo.
*WHOOSH!*
*COUGH!*
The last thing Shaltear saw as she spat a mouthful of blood was a gigantic sword penetrating her chest from the back, it was Rubedo. The sword (which was Rubedo's own body) emitted a dark aura that permeated Shaltear's body.
She prepared to deliver the killing blow when a voice resonated.
"Let her go, Rubedo-chan, this vampire has an appointment with master".