A young elven child, covered by the darkness of the night and several invisibility spells, was watching the City of Priestella from afar, using a spyglass. She was surrounded by several beasts, disguising themselves in the foliage and environment.
The young elven child sat atop a small hill, with trees providing a wide view of the city from afar. She was currently camping in the hill, bringing whatever small luxuries she was allowed to.
A large snake, its invisible form rippling in the ground as it slithered like disturbed water, was using a camouflage spell, not an invisibility spell. The main use of the large snake beast, around three meters long and ten to fifteen inches wide, was for surveillance.
The young elven child had other beasts for surveillance, and most of them were superior to the large snake, but since the city was surrounded by a large body of water and had lots of canals. The large snake proved to be quite useful, albeit only in this situation.
"Finally, what took you so long?"
The young elven child, Aura Bella Fiore, said with a raised brow. The large snake rose its body and whispered to Aura's ear.
"I see, you were almost spotted several times? Well, I guess that can't be helped. The city has above-average magic casters."
Aura murmured, gesturing for the large snake to then blend in with the environment as she continued using her spyglass to spy on the city. The spyglass wasn't ordinary; it had a deep zoom feature, allowing the user to spy on something almost a thousand meters away.
"I wish I could use some spells," Aura muttered as she moved the spyglass away from her face. The spyglass strained her eye and face, forced to observe through one lens.
"Ainz-sama wants us to be invisible because the enemies or the cities may have magical surveillance capabilities. We'll stick to magical enchanted items, sister." A meek voice from behind irked Aura; she hated being reminded. She wasn't Shalltear.
"I KNOW MARE. You don't have to remind me, I was just commenting, now go back to your station and help prepare the baits!"
"A-alright! I am sorry!"
Mare Bello Fiora said, putting up his frail persona quite flawlessly as he scattered away and headed to the man sitting on a wooden makeshift bench.
The man wore an all-white suit and slacks, also topped with a fedora hat.
Muzan Kibutsuji's eyes were vacant; they only returned to life as Mare's footsteps approached. He was pondering about something, about escape, and then maybe a plea deal if he proved his worth.
"Y-you're up!" Mare said while avoiding eye contact.
Muzan, who has lived for thousands of years, easily saw through Mare's acting. Muzan didn't bite or comment on the flawless acting; he kept his thoughts to himself. Individuality was frowned upon in Nazarick, especially among its subdued subjects.
Muzan simply stood up and stretched his body as he walked forward, slowly descending from the hill with his hands in his pockets.
"Remember, Kibutsuji. The Sorcerer King is generous to its subjects if they've proven their worth and mettle. Fail, and you'll still have your uses, even dead."
Mare had said with a jittered tone, betraying the outright threatening sentence. Death was not the end, Muzan had learned this way before.
Muzan was given a 'badge of honor' (having his insides be ravaged by cockroaches), 'initiated to be a useful subject' (Neuronist Painkill's prodding), and last but not least, 'proven his loyalty to Nazarick' (Almost had his mind scrambled by magic).
Muzan had learned that he was the first to surrender to Nazarick and was actually given some leniency due to his novel surrender. The guardian who had captured him outright lied on the surrender terms when they first found him; there was no fair treatment nor any acceptable process.
Well, knowing the monsters of Nazarick, cockroach torture was probably lenient to them. Muzan thought as he curled his lip. Muzan then grinned. Pain was nothing to him; he had gone through worse. In exchange for his submission, he was given access to some unique abilities.
"When all this is done. I will make it to Japan. My Japan. I have the time and patience to prove it. I just need the right opportunity to leave."
Muzan thought as he continued his way to the city of Priestella. He was on the sidewalk, the dirt path, slowly making his way into the city. He was not in a rush. A wooden carriage rattled past him before coming to a halt a few meters behind.
The driver stepped out of the driver's seat as he knocked on the carriage's door several times while eyeing the walking Muzan. The men inside were roadside bandits, and they had just found their first meal in a week. Muzan looked rich and was walking alone.
"Easy prey." The driver bandit said as three more men stepped out of the wooden carriage while openly brandishing their steel weapons. Muzan noticed them and stopped, but didn't turn; instead, he waited for the bandits to approach.
"Hey, you there, sir? You lost? There's a toll here in these roads, you know?" The driver bandit said as the three other bandits smirked, sniggering from behind. Muzan turned to them and then swiped the air with his arm, hand firmly straightened.
The four bandits all hummed in confusion at the gesture, then laughed.
They thought the man was a delusional noble who thought power applied even when they were outside of any civilization. The driver bandit stepped forward, then dropped backwards, and a loud thud hit the dirt road.
"Huh? Why did I fall?"
The driver bandit tried to stand, but he couldn't feel his legs. As he struggled to rise, he looked forward and saw his lower torso still standing while blood gushed from the wound. He had been cut in half, and his upper body was bleeding profusely from his stomach.
The driver bandit couldn't scream; blood was quickly leaving his already dying body. He collapsed again, and a wet and warm slosh hit his head. He looked back to see his three bandit companions already dead, their heads severed.
"I should've been a priest...." The driver bandit then closed his eyes and stopped breathing.
(The next chapter is Mahoraga, Jin Woo, and Reinhard versus Muzan.)