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Overlord - Chapter 6
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1
No traces remained of the deadly battle that had just occurred on the plain. The blood dampening the grass was hidden by the setting sun, and the scent of it was dispersed on a capricious wind. There were two figures standing there who had seemed to come out of nowhere.
Captain Nigun of the Slane Theocracy’s Sunlit Scripture turned to look at them, bewildered. One appeared to be a caster; he concealed his face with a strange mask and wore unrefined gauntlets. As if to prove his high status, he was wrapped in an extremely expensive-looking raven-black robe.
The other was completely covered in raven-black full plate armor. It was a magnificent suit, not one a person could find just anywhere. He could guess from looking that it was a first-class magic item.
The newcomers had appeared in the place of Gazef right as Nigun and his men had had him cornered. And now, Gazef and his men were gone. It must have been some kind of teleportation magic, but Nigun couldn’t think what spell it might be. Two unknown individuals using magic he’d never heard of—he couldn’t be too careful in this situation.
Nigun had all the angels fall back and form a wall to protect him and the others; they took a bit of distance from their new adversaries. Then, he stayed on his guard to see what they would do. The magic caster took another step forward.
“How do you do, people of the Slane Theocracy? My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. Feel free to call me Ainz.” His voice crossed the distance on the wind. When Nigun didn’t say anything, the stranger Ainz continued. “And behind me here is Albedo. First of all, I’d like to make a deal with you, so might I trouble you for some time?”
Nigun searched his memory for the name Ainz Ooal Gown, but nothing came up; it was possible it was fake. For the time being, he decided to go along with their story and get some information. Having made that decision, Nigun gestured with his chin to continue the conversation.
“Marvelous… It seems as though you’re willing—thank you. Very well, there is one thing I must say up front and that is you cannot win against me.”
His tone of voice contained complete certainty. He wasn’t bluffing or talking crazy; Ainz believed what he said from the bottom of his heart.
Nigun furrowed his brow slightly.
This wasn’t the kind of thing one would say to Slane Theocracy elite.
“Ignorance is a pitiful thing. You’ll have to pay for yours.”
“Hm, I wonder about that… I’ve been watching the whole fight. The only reason I came is because I was absolutely certain I’d win. Don’t you think I would have forsaken that man if I thought I couldn’t beat you?”
He makes sense.
A caster should have other ways to approach the situation. Arcaners, sorcerers, and wizards generally wore only light armor. For that reason, they had a better chance of winning if they avoided close combat and used Fly to shoot Fireball or some other spell from a distance. So for him to come and meet them face-to-face meant he must have some trick up his sleeve.
How did he interpret my silence? Ainz continued speaking. “Now that you understand that, I have some questions. First, a little something I’m curious about: The angels with you appear to be tier-three summons magic flame archangels—is that right?”
Why are you asking if you already know?
Paying no attention to Nigun’s bewilderment, Ainz went on. “It seems like you’re summoning the same monster as from Yggdrasil, but I’m curious if you call it the same name or not. Most of the monsters in Yggdrasil have names from mythology; I’m pretty sure many angel and demon names are from myths. The most common source of angel and demon names is Christianity. It feels very unnatural for there to be ‘archangels’ here when you don’t have Christianity. It would seem to indicate that there are others like me in this world.”
I have no idea what he’s going on about. Annoyed, Nigun countered with a question of his own. “That’s enough talking to yourself for now. Time to have you answer a question of mine. What did you do with Stronoff?”
“I teleported him into the village.”
“…What?” He hadn’t even been expecting a reply and the confusion showed in his voice—he realized why. “You fool. If you lie, all we need to do is search the village an—”
“It most definitely is not a lie. I just answered when you asked, although there is a reason I told the truth.”
“To plead for your life? If you don’t want to waste my time, I’ll consider it.”
“No, no, you misunderstand. Actually, I was listening to your conversation with Captain Gazef. You guys have a lot of gall.” In reply to Nigun’s ridicule, Ainz’s tone and vibe changed. “You declared you would kill the villagers that I took the time to save. Does that strike you as a very nice thing to do?”
Ainz’s robe flapped dramatically in the wind. The same gust maintained its force and blew through Nigun and his group as well.
The wind blowing over the plain had just happened to come from Ainz’s direction, that was all. Feeling the chilly wind all over his body, Nigun cleared away the thoughts that had popped up in his head. That wind didn’t actually smell like death… It was just my imagination.
“That’s some big talk, caster. And what about it?”
Although he was feeling a bit overwhelmed, he maintained his taunting attitude with a sneer. The commander of one of the Slane Theocracy’s ace special-ops units, the Sunlit Scripture, Nigun, was not going to be fazed by one guy—no—he couldn’t afford to be.
But…
“I mentioned a deal before. How it goes is you surrender your lives without a fuss, and this won’t hurt a bit. If you refuse, the penalty for your foolishness is the pain and despair that you’ll die in.”
Ainz took one step forward.
It was only one step, but he looked huge now. The members of the Sunlit Scripture took a step back, overawed.
“Ahh…” From near Nigun came a handful of hoarse voices—they were scared.
This presence was unbelievably overwhelming. Nigun himself had never been so overawed, so he could understand his men’s fear. Even the courageous Nigun, who had made it through many a life-or-death situation and taken countless lives, felt like he was going to be crushed by the pressure exerted by this unknown caster, Ainz. It probably affected his men even more.
Who the heck is this guy?!
What is this caster really? What kind of face is under that mask?
Ignoring Nigun’s panic, Ainz’s ever coolheaded voice continued. “Here’s the reason I told you the truth: I don’t care if I tell you because you’re going to die anyway.” He slowly stretched out both hands and took another step forward. He looked a bit like he wanted a hug, but the sinister curve of his gauntlets gave the impression of a magical beast that was about to strike.
A chill ran from the tips of Nigun’s toes to the top of his head. He’d had this feeling before—a premonition of death.
“Angels, charge! Don’t let him get any closer!” Nigun shouted orders in what turned out to be more of a hoarse shriek.
He didn’t do it to improve morale. He was just scared of Ainz Ooal Gown coming toward him.
Two flame archangels attacked at his command. Flapping their wings, they flew through the sky, slicing through the wind. After making a beeline for Ainz, they ****** their swords without a hint of hesitation.
Albedo will probably step out in front of him. That’s what everyone was thinking, but they couldn’t believe their eyes. Not because something happened—just the opposite.
They didn’t do a thing.
Ainz took both swords without moving a muscle. He didn’t use magic, evade, get shielded, or defend; he didn’t do a single thing but get stabbed.
Surprise turned to ridicule.
His presence, how strong he was—it had all been just talk. It wasn’t that Albedo hadn’t tried to protect him—surely the angels had just been too fast. Once their jig was up, these two weren’t so tough.
Nigun sighed in relief along with his men in spite of himself. Feeling ashamed for his earlier panic, he looked toward Albedo. “You wretches, trying to fool me with those ridiculous bluffs…” Then, a question formed. Why hasn’t Ainz’s corpse fallen to the ground? “…What are you doing? Pull the angels back! Shouldn’t he have fallen by now?”
“W-we’re ordering them to pull back, but…”
Hearing his subordinate at such a loss, Nigun snapped his attention back to Ainz.
The angels were flapping their wings hard. They were like butterflies trying to escape a spider’s web. Two of them slowly parted to either side. But they were moving unnaturally. They moved away from each other as if someone were forcing them. And then Ainz, who had previously been hidden in their shadow, was clearly visible in the gap.
“I told you, didn’t I? You can’t win against me. You should take people seriously when they warn you.” His quiet voice reached Nigun’s ears.
For a moment Nigun couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Ainz was standing there perfectly fine despite swords sticking out of his chest and gut.
“No way…” One of Nigun’s men groaned what he himself was thinking. Judging from the position and angle of the swords, Ainz should be fatally wounded, but it didn’t even look like he was in pain.
Of course, that wasn’t the only surprising thing.
In Ainz’s outstretched hands he held the necks of the two angels. They were struggling to escape, but he wasn’t letting go.
“This can’t be…,” someone mumbled. Angels were summoned monsters, and their bodies were made up of the summoner’s magical energy, but that didn’t mean they were light. They weighed slightly more than an adult human male, plus they were wearing heavy armor. It would be no easy feat to hold that up in one hand. Maybe a muscle-bound warrior who had gone through the most rigorous training would eventually be able to do it, but the man before them was a caster, which meant that rather than muscle, he had poured his efforts into increasing his wisdom and magical energy. Even if he were using magic to increase his strength, if the base number were low, the effect wouldn’t be so great.
So why would he do it? And more than that, why is he fine with two swords sticking out of him?
“This has to be some kind of trick.”
“O-of course! There’s no way he could be unharmed with two swords stuck in him!” Shouts went up in a flustered panic. As a special-ops unit, they’d been to the brink of death many times and survived harsh battles, but they’d never seen anything like this. It would have been impossible even for the angels they summoned.
As Nigun’s and his men’s confusion deepened, a calm, even voice of someone who must not have been experiencing pain reached their ears. “Greater Physical Damage Immunity—it’s a passive skill that makes me immune to damage from low-level monsters and weapons that don’t have a ton of data. It can only nullify attacks from up to level 60. In other words, any level above that and it wouldn’t have any defensive effect whatsoever; I’d take damage like normal. It’s all or nothing…but it seems like it’s been pretty useful, huh? Now, then, these angels are in my way.”
Ainz took the two angels he was holding and smashed them into the ground with tremendous force. He’d put so much power into it that it felt like the earth shook along with the slamming noise.
The angels died, turned into countless particles of light, and disappeared. Naturally, their swords also disappeared.
“I thought if I could figure out the reason the angels are named the way they are, I could figure out why you can use Yggdrasil magic, but I guess I won’t worry about that right now.”
Nigun’s opponent straightened up slowly, still muttering nonsense. That nonsense was part of his mysterious horror. Nigun swallowed hard.
“Okay, have you had your fill of this dull child’s play? I take it you refuse to make a deal with me. So now it’s my turn.”
Ainz the angel killer straightened his posture and stretched out his hands, as if to show he wasn’t carrying anything. In the uncomfortable silence, his words felt infinitely loud. “Here I go! This is a massacre!”
Nigun felt like he’d been stabbed in the back with an icicle and wanted to throw up. He felt something that as a veteran slaughterer he’d never felt before.
We should retreat. Fighting with Ainz without knowing for sure we can win is too dangerous.
But he dismissed that gut feeling. They’d had Gazef cornered a moment ago; they couldn’t just watch their prey get away now.
Ignoring the warning from deep down, he shouted orders. “All angels, attack! Now!”
All the flame archangels abruptly headed for Ainz.
“You guys really like to play, huh? Albedo, fall back,” Nigun heard Ainz’s awfully calm and collected voice say in the midst of the angel attack. He didn’t seem the least bit anxious about having no way to escape the angels that were bearing down on him from all directions.
It seemed like he was about to be skewered by countless swords, but before that could happen, he cast a spell: “Negative Burst!”
The earth rumbled below them.
All at once, a wave of black like the reverse of light with Ainz at its center swallowed up the area. The pulse took all of a moment, and the results of it were instantly clear.
“This… This can’t be!” Somebody’s voice was carried on the wind. The scene before them was that unbelievable.
There had been more than forty angels. They were all obliterated by the wave of black light.
It hadn’t been counter magic to cancel the summons. The way the angels had been blown away by the black wave meant damage. In other words, he’d wiped out the angels with damage-dealing magic.
A violent chill went through Nigun’s entire body. Gazef Stronoff flitted across the back of his mind, along with the words he’d said:
“Gah… The foolish one is you. There’s someone in that village who is stronger than me. His power is so unfathomable I’m not sure all of you would be enough to take him… There’s…agh…there’s no way you’ll be able to kill the villagers if he’s protecting them.”
The words matched the scene before his eyes.
That can’t be possible! Nigun dismissed Gazef’s words from his head and frantically talked himself down. The strongest group he knew of was the Black Scripture, and their members could wipe out angels. So all he had to do was keep in mind that Ainz was at least as powerful as them. Even if he was Black Scripture–level strong, with their numbers they should be able to take him.
But could a Black Scripture member wipe out an angel with just one spell?
Nigun shook his head and cleared away his questions. He couldn’t ask that now. If he realized the answer, he wouldn’t have any way to proceed. So he put his hand on his ****** pocket and took courage from the magic item inside.
He was convinced that as long as he had that, they’d be all right.
His men, who didn’t have that support, were coping in a different way.
“Yea-yearrrrrgh!”
“What the hell?!”
“He’s a monster!”
Upon seeing that their angels were useless, they began shooting off any spell they felt they could rely on, shrieking all the while:
“Charm Person!”
“Iron Hammer of Righteousness!”
“Hold!”
“Fire Rain!”
“Emerald Sarcophagus!”
“Shock Wave!”
“Stalagmite Charge!”
“Open Wounds!”
“Poison!”
“Fear!”
“Curse!”
“Blindness!”
They threw all kinds of spells Ainz’s way.
Through the hail of magic, he kept his relaxed attitude. “As I thought, these are all spells I know. Who taught them to you? Someone from the Slane Theocracy? Or someone else? There are just more and more things I want to ask.”
A being who can kill angels in one shot and can’t be harmed with magic…
Nigun felt like he was trapped in a nightmare.
“Eaaagggghhhhhh!” Driven mad by the ineffectiveness of their magic, one of his men took out a slingshot and, emitting a strange scream, launched a pellet. Nigun wondered what effect that could possibly have against a guy who was fine being run through with two angel swords, but he didn’t stop him.
The heavy iron pellet flew straight toward Ainz with enough destructive force to easily break a human’s bones.
Suddenly there was a sound like an explosion.
One moment.
It only took one moment.
They were in the middle of a battle, so it wasn’t as if they’d looked away. Yet there was Albedo, who should have been behind Ainz, standing firmly in front of him. Did she teleport? In the place where she had been standing, some dirt was scuffed into a mound where she had kicked off. That strange sound had been the impact…
Moving in a blur, she swung her bardiche in a full arc. It left behind a neat, sickly green afterglow.
A beat later, the man who had launched the pellet crumpled to the ground.
“…Huh?!”
No one could grasp what they had just seen. Our side attacked, so how come our man got taken out?!
Another subordinate ran over to confirm the man’s status (dead) and cried, “A-an iron pellet cracked his head open!”
“What? An iron pellet? …You mean the one he just launched?!”
He shot it, so how did it kill him? A voice on the wind delivered the answer.
“Sorry about that. My subordinate here used a couple skills, Missile Parry and Counter Arrow, to reverse the attack… It seems like you had some defensive magic up to block projectiles, but if the counterattack is stronger, the barrier would break, right? It’s nothing to be surprised about.” Having said just that, Ainz ignored Nigun and the others and turned to Albedo. “But Albedo, you know a projectile that puny wouldn’t hurt me. You didn’t need to—”
“But Lord Ainz! To do battle with you, Supreme One, they must at least meet some minimum threshold of attack. That pellet… It was too great an insult!”
“Ha-ha! If we said that, though, they’d be completely disqualified. Right?!”
“P-principality observation! Engage!”
Responding to Nigun’s hoarse voice, an angel that hadn’t budged the whole time spread its wings. Principality observation was a fully armored angel. In one hand it carried a mace with a large pommel and its other hand was equipped with an oval shield. Its legs were completely hidden by long skirtlike hitatare.
The reason this angel, stronger than an archangel, hadn’t moved until now was its special ability. Appropriate to its name “observation,” it had the power to raise its teammates’ defense just by watching. However, this ability would get canceled if it moved. So having principality observation stand by was the wisest choice.
The fact that Nigun had given it orders showed how shaken he was. It was as if he were grasping at straws, not even caring what could be done as long as something was.
“Albedo, fall back.”
The angel took its orders and flew immediately to Ainz. Without losing any momentum, it began beating on him with its sparkling mace. Ainz took it straight on with his gauntleted left hand, seeming put out by the hassle.
These blows should have broken his arm, but they didn’t seem to affect Ainz. He remained unperturbed as he took two, three hits.
“Sheesh… I guess it’s time for a counterattack now? Hell Flame!”
From the tip of his extended right hand’s finger sprang a small black flame, flickering faintly as if one breath could extinguish it. It caught on to principality observation but was laughably tiny compared to the angel’s gleaming body.
However…
With a whoosh, principality observation went up in flames. The resulting heat was so intense that Nigun and his men, even at a distance, couldn’t keep their eyes open.
Within the roaring blaze that threatened to burn up even the heavens, the angel’s form melted and disappeared. It happened all too quickly. Then, having burned up its target, the black flame also faded away.
Nothing was left behind. It was as if both the angel and the black flame had never been there at all.
“Th-that’s absurd…”
“In one shot…?”
“Eeeegh!”
“How can that beeee?!”
Nigun’s yells mingled with the chorus of confused voices. He didn’t even realize he was shouting. He was just saying whatever came to his mind. He had no sense of how loud or shrill he was.
Principality observation was a high-level angel. Furthermore, its ratio of ability points for attack to defense was 3:7. It had the highest defense of all the principalities that could be summoned on the same tier of magic.
Plus, Nigun had a talent that strengthened any monsters he summoned. The effect wasn’t huge, but the powers of monsters he summoned were stronger. That meant that there were not many people who could defeat a principality observation summoned by Nigun.
And to do it with just one spell—he’d never seen anyone capable of something like that in his life. That was impossible even for the members of the Black Scripture, who were near the limits of human potential as far as Nigun understood them. In other words, Ainz Ooal Gown’s power was superhuman.
“Impossible! That can’t be! There’s no way you can destroy an elite angel with just one spell! What kind of monster are you?! Ainz Ooal Gown—how could I not have heard of you before? What the hell is your real name, you bastard?” He’d lost all semblance of composure. All he could do was scream his inability to acknowledge what had just happened.
Ainz spread his hands apart. The gleam of the setting sun made them look stained with blood. “Why didn’t you think it was possible? It seems to me that maybe you’re just ignorant. Or maybe it’s just how things are in this world? Allow me to answer one of your questions.” Everyone quieted down in anticipation, which caused Ainz’s voice to sound extra loud. “My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. It’s not a pseudonym.”
This wasn’t the answer they’d wanted, but Nigun could sense the pride and joy coming through in every word. It all left him speechless. A mysterious answer from a mysterious stranger—it made sense in this messed-up situation.
Nigun felt like his shallow breathing was obnoxiously loud.
The wind blowing over the plain was obnoxiously loud, too. His heartbeat felt abnormally loud. Someone’s heavy, irregular breathing sounded like they’d been doing sprints.
He thought of various ways to console himself, but the sight of Ainz taking both of those swords, the sight of him wiping out all of those angels with one spell, etc., drowned it out with, He’s more of a monster than I ever could have expected. I can’t win.
“C-Captain, wh-what should we do?”
“Figure it out yourself! I’m not your mother, dammit!”
The frightened look on his subordinate’s face after being yelled at brought Nigun back to reality. He couldn’t lose composure in the face of this unknown monster.
As the sun set, darkness swallowed the world bit by bit. And along with it, the jaws of death seemed to open, ready to swallow everything up. Frantically suppressing his fear, Nigun gave orders.
“Defense! Anyone who wants to live, buy me time!” With trembling hands, he took a crystal from his ****** pocket. The chains of fear bound his normally quick subordinates and their movements became sluggish. Even a soldier who wasn’t afraid of death would hesitate when asked to act as a shield against such a monster, but he had to get them to buy him some time nevertheless.
Two hundred years ago, when an evil spirit had been terrorizing the continent, a single angel was said to have destroyed it. Sealed in this crystal was magic to summon that most powerful angel. It had the capacity to take out an entire city with ease.
Nigun had no idea what it cost or how much effort was needed to summon this angel, but if he could kill this unfathomable foe, Ainz Ooal Gown, then it would be worth it. More than anything, they’d all be doomed if he didn’t use the crystal and then Ainz stole it. Those were the excuses he used in his head. In reality, he was just scared to become a lump of meat like the many beings he’d slayed.
“I’m going to summon the highest-level angel! Buy me time!” Dangling that carrot perked his men right up.
Their flame of hope blazed, and Ainz must have noticed, but he didn’t do anything to stop it. He was just muttering things Nigun couldn’t understand. “So he has a crystal with magic sealed inside…? From the sparkle, it doesn’t seem to be super tier. And it’s probably an item we had in Yggdrasil, so…the highest-level angel would be…seraph class? Albedo, use some skills to guard me. I highly doubt it would be a seraph a sphere, but even if it were a seraph the empyrean, we’d have to fight with all we’ve got. Or…I wonder if it could be a monster specific to this world?”
While Ainz stood, unmoving, the crystal glittered in Nigun’s hands as it broke down as crystals did when used. Then, it was as if a sun that had been trying to hide suddenly appeared at ground level. The plain was filled with an explosive white light and a faint scent tickled everyone’s nostrils. The legendary angel of whom tales had been told throughout the ages arrived before him and Nigun reacted joyously. “Behold, the noble dominion authority!”
The angel was a cluster of sparkling wings. Inside, a hand was holding the symbol of sovereignty, a scepter, but besides that there were no legs or a head or anything else. Its appearance was certainly strange, but no one could doubt that it was holy—from the moment it showed itself, the air was purified.
Before this supremely good being, Nigun’s subordinates’ emotions exploded and they burst into applause.
This will be able to kill Ainz Ooal Gown.
It’s his turn to be scared.
Know your folly before the power of the gods.
Faced with the object of their delight, it was all Ainz could do to string a few words together. “That’s it?! This is you getting serious? This angel…is the ace up your sleeve?”
Ainz’s astonishment banished Nigun’s insecurity from earlier; he started to even feel pretty good. “Yes, that’s right! This is the highest-level angel—I know you can’t help but be frightened. Normally it’d be a waste to use something like this, but I took the liberty of deciding you were a worthy adversary.”
“What the heck…?” Ainz slowly raised a hand and put it over his mask. Nigun could see the gesture only as stemming from despair.
“Ainz Ooal Gown. I summoned the highest-level angel against you—I respect you as an opponent. Take pride in that! You are a tremendously powerful caster!” He solemnly shook his head. “Honestly, I’d like to welcome you as a brother. It would be great to have someone as powerful as you for an ally…but forgive me. My orders this time don’t allow for that. But we will remember you, the caster who forced us to summon the highest-level angel.”
In response to Nigun’s admiration came a cold voice. “This is truly… ridiculous.”
“What?” Nigun couldn’t comprehend what had just been said. From his point of view, Ainz was nothing more than an offering to this angel. But he seemed far too relaxed…
“Albedo, I’m sorry…for actually taking precautions against this kids’ stuff. You even used some skills for me…”
“It was nothing, Lord Ainz. If you consider the possibility that something more than we were expecting could have been summoned, it makes sense that we should try to lower the chance you would be injured as much as possible.”
“Hm? Well, you’re right, of course. Even so, I can’t believe that this is all they could muster. I’m stunned.”
The two of them were giving off the strong indication that even bothering with Nigun and his men any longer was absurd. Nigun began to get hot under the collar. “How can you act this way before the highest-level angel?” he bellowed at them as they chatted in a leisurely manner, ignoring it. His delight was canceled out by their overwhelmingly superior attitude and his previous insecurity and fear returned. Ainz Ooal Gown couldn’t possibly surpass even the highest-level angel, could he? “No! It can’t be! It can’t be! It cannot be! No one should be able to beat this angel! It even beat an evil spirit! No human can win against this angel—you must be bluffing! This has to be a bluff!” Nigun no longer had the means to control his emotions.
He couldn’t accept that there could be an enemy of the Slane Theocracy who was stronger than their strongest angel. Nor could he accept the fact that that enemy was standing in front of him. “Use Holy Smite!”
There was a realm of magic humans could never reach: tier seven and above. In the Slane Theocracy they were able to use some of those spells by performing large-scale ceremonies, but a dominion authority could use them on its own. It wasn’t the highest-level angel for nothing.
The spell Nigun asked for, Holy Smite, was a tier-seven spell. In other words, it was a spell of ultimate power.
“Okay, okay. I won’t budge, so bring it on. Will you be satisfied, then?” Ainz’s response was totally easygoing, as if he were yielding at a stop sign.
That attitude frightened Nigun.
This angel was the strongest being on the continent, possessing ultimate power—it had even defeated an evil spirit. There shouldn’t be any way to take it out.
But what if there were?
What if the mysterious caster before me right now could do it?
That would mean that this man is far stronger than an evil spirit.
How could such a powerful overlord exist?!
In response to its summoner’s wish for an all-out attack, the dominion authority’s scepter shattered. The shards began slowly revolving around the angel.
“Aha. A once-per-summons special ability that amplifies spell power? It seems dominion abilities are also the same as in Yggdrasil…”
“Holy Smite!”
The spell was cast and a column of light shone down—at least, that’s what it looked like. With a roar, the pale, pure light enveloped Ainz as he held a hand up like a visor.
The seventh tier—this was a spell impossible for a human to cast.
Beings of evil would be “cleansed” by absolute purity. Even if they were good, they would meet the same fate. It was just a difference of whether a little bit of them would be left over or they would be completely expunged. That’s what a spell that transcended human potential could do. It would be strange if it couldn’t do something like that.
…But Ainz was fine.
The monster had neither been expunged, nor fallen to the ground, nor burned to a crisp, nor anything else—he was standing there on his two feet. He was even cackling.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Just what I’d expect from a spell cast by a being strong against evil… So this is what it’s like to take damage? This is pain, then. I see, I see. But even in pain I can think clearly and my movements are not inhibited.” The column of light faded despite not having done much of anything. “Marvelous. Yet another experiment completed.” His voice was unconcerned—no, it actually sounded content somehow.
Realizing that, all Nigun and his men could do was twitchily grin.
There was, however, one person who was furious.
“You lower…you base scuuum!!!” A shriek cut through the air. Its source, Albedo. “You lower life-form bastaaards! How dare you cause our loved and respected master, Lord Ainz—the man I love, the man I suuuuper love—to be in paaain?! Know your place as garbaaage! Death is a fate too merciful for youuu! I’m going to give you the maximum pain that exists in this world and mess with you till you go insaaane! I’m going to burn your limbs off with acid, make minced meat of your man bits, and force-feed it to youuu! When you recover, use magic to heal him! Aaaah, I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so much my heart feels like it’s going to explode!” Her armored arms flailed.
It felt like the world was warping around that spot. The sign of something twisted by an evil faith in death battered them like a bomb blast. It was wriggling violently beneath that full suit of armor. Something big was trying to burst through. Even though Nigun could see that was the case, there was nothing he could do but stand there stock-still and watch as a monster that would surely sully the world was born.
There was only one person in the universe who could stop Albedo. He quietly raised a hand and said, “Albedo, it’s fine.”
Even just that was enough to stop her short.
“B-but Lord Ainz! The lower life-forms, they—”
“It’s fine, Albedo. Aside from the unexpected fragility of their angels, everything has been going pretty much according to my plan. So why get angry?”
Hearing those words, Albedo put a hand over her heart and bowed her head. “You’re always right, Lord Ainz. It’s so fitting that you would have such a carefully laid plan. I am deeply impressed.”
“No, I mean, I’m glad you were anxious for me and got mad, but… Albedo, you’re more charming when you smile.”
“Tee-heeeee! Ch-cha-charming! Ahem. Thank you, Lord Ainz.”
“Well, then, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Nigun, who’d been going numb watching how carefree they were, came back to himself at this address. “I know what you really are! Evil spirits! You’re evil spirits!”
Nigun had practically no knowledge of beings who could do battle with high-level angels. There were the six gods, which included the one he believed in; the kings of dragons—the most powerful race—dragonlords; the legendary monsters who were supposedly so strong that one could take out a country, nation breakers; and evil spirits.
It was said that the Thirteen Heroes defeated the evil spirits and sealed them away. It made the most sense to Nigun to consider that blast just a moment ago the seal on an evil spirit being broken.
And if they were evil spirits, Nigun still had a slight hope that it would be possible to defeat them, as long as he had his angel.
“Again! Beat him down with Holy Smite!” Ainz said he’d felt pain last time. So maybe he took damage? He’s standing, but maybe that’s all he can manage. Innumerable maybes occupied his mind. If they didn’t, it would surely break.
But Ainz wasn’t about to let him attack twice.
“It’s my turn, isn’t it? Know despair: Black Hole!”
A tiny dot appeared on the dominion authority’s glimmering body. Before everyone’s eyes, it grew bigger and bigger—a vacuum.
It sucked everything in.
Soon nothing was left and it had gone so laughably, stunningly easily.
With the brilliant dominion authority lost, the light in the area dimmed all at once. The wind rushing over the plains, rustling the grass, seemed to echo. In the midst of the silence, a hoarse voice spoke. “What are you…?!” Nigun asked the impossible being again. “I’ve never heard of a caster by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown. But then, there can’t be someone who can take out the highest-level angel in one shot. It would be wrong for such a person to exist.” He shook his head weakly. “All I know is you’re vastly stronger than evil spirits. It doesn’t make sense… What ar—?”
“I’m Ainz Ooal Gown. Once this name was known by all. But I think that’s enough chatting, don’t you? Any more than this and it’d be a waste of time for both of us. To prevent further time wasting I’m going to let you know ahead of time that I’ve cast anti-teleportation magic around here and I have men waiting to ambush you throughout the area, so know that escape is impossible.”
The sun had sunk completely below the horizon and the land was wrapped in darkness. Nigun felt like this was the end, and it was obvious that that was the case.
Suddenly space broke over his crouching men—like a clay pot shattered. But it was back to normal in an instant, leaving no trace of the abnormal view.
As Nigun floundered for an explanation, Ainz gave him one. “Sheesh, you should be grateful. It looks like someone was trying to monitor you with intelligence magic! Luckily, I was within range and my attack wall activated, so I don’t think they managed to get more than a peek. Sheesh, if I’d have known this would happen, I would have linked it with a higher-level attack spell…”
Those words were a revelation for Nigun. His home country must have been checking in on him periodically.
“If I only use Explosion boosted to have an increased area of effect, they might not learn their lesson… Anyhow, that’s enough fooling around, I think.”
Realizing what he meant, a chill went down Nigun’s spine. The taker of lives’ life was about to be taken. And he was so scared he couldn’t stand it. Just like everyone whose life he had taken so far, he was terrified to have his life stolen away. The eyes of his subordinates gathering on him was bothersome.
He felt like he might start to cry.
He wanted to cry and scream and beg to be spared, but Ainz didn’t look like he was big on mercy. So he held back his tears and groped frantically for a plan. But no matter how much he thought, there was no one to support them. In that case, all he could do really was depend on Ainz’s mercy.
“W-wait! I’d like you to wait a moment, sir—Lord! Lord Ainz Ooal Gown. Please wait! I want to make a deal! I swear you’ll come out ahead! I’ll pay you whatever you want if you’ll spare our lives—no, even just my life!” In his peripheral vision he could see his subordinates staring agape at him, but they were no longer his concern. What was important now was his own life, nothing else.
Besides, his subordinates were replaceable, whereas he was not. He ignored their resentful voices and continued. “It must be hard to satisfy such a great caster as yourself, but I will match your desired amount as closely as possible. I may not look it, but I’m quite a valuable asset to my country. I’m sure they would pay an exceptional sum. Of course, if there is something you would prefer besides money, I could arrange that as well! So please, I beg you, spare my life!” Having said all that in one breath, Nigun gasped a few times. “S-so, how about it, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown?”
In response to Nigun’s desperate supplication came a soft, friendly woman’s voice. “Did you not refuse Supreme Being Lord Ainz’s most merciful offer earlier?”
“But—”
“I get what you’re saying. ‘Even if I took that deal, I would’ve been killed! I want to live!’ right?” The suit of armor’s helmet moved in a way that all but said, Good grief. “That attitude is plain mistaken. Lord Ainz wields the power of life and death in Nazarick, so when he says you will die, you lower life-form humans bow your heads and wait for the end, full of gratitude.” She spoke in a tone that said she believed every word from the bottom of her heart.
She’s insane. This woman has no means of rational thought—she’s completely bonkers. Fully realizing this, Nigun turned to Ainz with a glimmer of hope.
Ainz had been silently listening to their conversation up to that point, and when he realized they were waiting for his decision, he shook his head with a “sheesh.” “Let’s see, I think it went something like… ‘Quit your futile flailing and die quietly. I’ll take pity on you and kill you painlessly.’”
2
Night had fallen on the plain. Walking along, Ainz looked up and noticed again how full of pretty stars the sky was.
Maybe I went a tad overboard.
As long as Albedo was watching, he couldn’t do anything clumsy. As master, he had to carry himself properly in front of his servant. Partly due to that, he might have gotten a little too carried away, but still, he’d been playing his part as if his life depended on it.
So did I pass or not? As long as she’s not disappointed in me…
Ainz didn’t know she was thinking, Holy cow, you were so cool, Lord Ainz! Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee! beneath her close helmet, so he ran over again in his head how he had acted that day.
“But Lord Ainz, why did you save Gazef?”
I wonder… He didn’t feel like he could accurately explain the workings of his heart at that moment, so he said something else instead. “It was a problem we brought on them, so I figured we should be the ones to solve it if we could.”
“Then, why did you give him that item?”
“That was strategic planning. Him having that was handy for me, too.”
The item he’d given Gazef was a cash store item from Yggdrasil—one Ainz had quite a few of. He didn’t think he’d be able to acquire any more, but giving one away this time was not a major loss. On the contrary, Ainz was happy for their number to decrease.
Those items were consolation prizes for the five hundred–yen gacha, so having so many just reminded him how he’d wasted all his money and ended up poor. But that wasn’t all. After pouring so much cash into it and finally getting the super-rare item he’d been after, his former guildmate Yamaiko got it on her first try. The shock from that still remained in his mind as a hairline crack.
He’d thought to throw them away many a time, but when he remembered that each one had cost five hundred yen, he couldn’t just chuck them.
“Well, I could have used that item or not, but either way was no loss for me, so…”
“Wouldn’t it have been better for me to wipe them out? There was no need for you to go save that lower life-form… I didn’t sense any truly formidable signals in the area. I don’t think there was any reason you needed to go personally.”
“I see…” Ainz didn’t have this signal detector built in, so that was all he could say.
In Yggdrasil, he could tell roughly how strong an enemy was compared to him by the color its name was displayed in. He could also get information from walk-through sites or his guildmates’ intelligence magic.
It was a little bit nostalgic.
I should have learned some intelligence magic. Ainz regretted not having those abilities. Of course, he wasn’t sure if it would function the same here, but he probably wouldn’t have had to take risks like he had that day.
Well, it’s no use crying for the moon. Ainz decided to think about something else.
“Albedo, I know how strong you are and I trust you, but you shouldn’t take things so lightly. Consider the possibility that someday an enemy could defeat me. That’s especially important now when we don’t have much info about this world. That’s why I had Gazef do some work for me out there.”
“Aha, so you sacrificed a pawn to test the strength of your enemy. Truly, that is the proper use for the inferior human race.” He couldn’t see her expression under her close helmet, but the tone of her voice was cheery as a flower garden.
He’d been wondering for a while, but as a former human, current undead, Ainz wanted to know if she really hated humans that much.
Not that he felt sad or lonely because of it. On the contrary, as the captain of the floor guardians in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the headquarters of a guild made up of grotesques, it was probably the correct attitude. It seemed that way to him anyhow.
“That’s right, but of course, that’s not all. If you reach out to help someone when they’re on the verge of death, they’ll be extra grateful. Also, since the enemy we were up against was a special-ops unit, even if they were to go missing, their country probably wouldn’t be able to launch a high-profile search for them, so I felt like if I had the chance I wanted to intervene.”
“Ahh, I’m impressed as always, Lord Ainz. Such deep thoughts… I suppose that’s why you captured the commander and his men alive? Brilliant.”
Hearing Albedo’s praise, Ainz felt like bragging. He was making quick decisions and engineering plans with no inconsistencies or impossibilities. Maybe I’m executive material after all? he was thinking, all self-congratulatory, until he heard Albedo’s concerned voice.
“But Lord Ainz… I wonder if perhaps taking both of those angels’ swords was not the best course of action…”
“Oh? I figured I had confirmed that Greater Physical Damage Immunity was working using those knights outside the village when we first arrived in Carne.”
“Yes, that is as you say. I witnessed it with my own eyes. However, it is unforgivable that you should have been stabbed with their vulgar blades while I was standing by right next to you.”
“Ah, you’re right. I acted without thinking of you, even though I was having you protect me. Sor—”
“And what woman could approve of her love being stabbed, even if he were unharmed in the end?”
“Um, indeed.” Never knowing what to say in these situations, Ainz gave a short reply and headed back toward the village. Albedo didn’t particularly seem to want a reply and followed him without saying anything else.
When they entered the village, everyone came out to greet them, led by the death knight. In the midst of their countless praises and thanks, Gazef Stronoff appeared.
“Oh, Captain. Glad to see you up and about. I would have liked to save you sooner, but that item I gave you takes a little while to warm up. I apologize things got so down to the wire.”
“Not at all, Sir Gown. I am grateful. After all, you did save me. By the way, what happened to…?”
Sensing a change in his tone of voice, Ainz took an inconspicuous look at him. He had already taken off his armor and was dressed lightly in regular clothes, completely unarmed. His face was covered in bruises and one of his eyelids had swollen up—his head seemed just like a misshapen soccer ball—but his eyes twinkled.
When Ainz looked away slightly, as if it were too bright, he spotted a ring on Gazef’s left ring finger.
He’s married… I’m glad we didn’t make his wife cry! Ainz thought as he continued his act. “Oh, I drove them off. I figured it would be impossible to take them all out, and I was right.”
That was a lie, of course. He’d sent them all to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Gazef squinted for just a moment, but neither of them said anything. The atmosphere was tense.
Gazef was the one to end it. “Wonderful. You’ve saved us from danger so many times now, Sir Gown. However can we thank you? You must stop by my manor if you are ever in the capital. I would like to give you a proper welcome.”
“Oh? Well, then, I may take you up on that, thank you.”
“You won’t come with us now, then, I take it? What are your plans, Sir Gown? My men and I will rest here.”
“I see. As for me, I intend to head out, although I haven’t decided where
I’ll go yet.”
“It’s already night. Traveling in the dark is…” Gazef trailed off. “Please excuse me, Sir Gown. You’re strong enough that you don’t need me to worry about you. I hope you’ll remember me if you come to the capital. My gates will always be open for you. And I don’t have words enough to thank you for allowing me to have one of the suits of armor from the knights who initially attacked Carne.”
Ainz nodded and judged that everything he had come here to do was finished. Somehow or another, a lot of unexpected things had happened and he had stayed longer than he meant to.
“Let’s go home,” he said in a voice only Albedo could hear. She nodded happily in response, although she was still wearing her armor, of course.