Chapter 4 | A Handful of Hope

 

1

This is what a dam bursting is like. The flood of attacks was enough to make Hekkeran think that.

Yes, the opponents were low-tier undead. They weren’t so terrible to the members of Foresight. But there were no breaks between the wavelike attacks.

After finally defeating two ghasts in the tenth battle since the series had started, he wiped the sweat off his face.

His body wanted a rest, but there was no time for that. He took a sip of water from the leather pouch at his hip and worked to catch his breath as he gave instructions to retreat. As he might have guessed, however, the enemy wasn’t about to allow that.

A combined party of three skeleton warriors with round shields and two robed skeleton mages with staves made its entrance. They leaped out into the party’s way.

“Save your magic!”

“I know!”

“Yeah, I got it!”

Since they had no idea what was coming up ahead, they couldn’t use magic willy-nilly—its outstanding effectiveness had to be saved as a last resort. That’s why they’d been conserving as much as possible so far.

Still, they’d ended up relying on an ability with a limited number of uses per day and almost used it up. That was just how many various traps and diverse types of undead had gotten in their way.

Skeleton archers had been shooting at them from behind a barred door where their swords wouldn’t reach. The monsters were tough because with their resistance to stabbing damage, Foresight’s arrows couldn’t do lethal damage, but Roberdyck exorcised them.

Roberdyck also destroyed the undead throwing bottles of poison with exorcism.

Then there was the joint attack by the floor imitator, which mimicked the floor and used a sticky liquid to trap anyone who stepped on it, and flying undead—also thwarted with Roberdyck’s exorcism.

Roberdyck also exterminated a mob of mixed undead that inflicted all manner of negative statuses—Sickness, Poison, Curse—with exorcism.

Now he only had a couple of uses left, but they had managed to conserve their other spells and abilities. The only tough fight they’d had was when flesh golems—which looked just like zombies—were mixed in with a group of zombies.

“Careful! Multiple sets of footsteps from the rear!”

“Undead detected! Six of them!”

Imina’s voice, and then Roberdyck’s a moment later, caused everyone to tense up. The reason the five skeletons in front of them hadn’t begun fighting was probably to wait and annihilate them in one fell swoop with a pincer attack.

Hekkeran considered what their next move should be.

A list of several tactics sprang immediately to mind. Make a preemptive strike on the enemies in front, wiping them out all at once. Ignore the enemies dawdling up ahead and turn to bash the ones to the rear. Stop for a moment and determine which group is stronger, then crush the weaker ones first. Use magic to detain one side and use that time to beat up the other.

They were all effective, but they all lacked a decisive something. But at that moment, the oracle of intuition descended to him.

“Hekkeran! What should we do?”

“Go back! I think there was a side path! Go down that!”

The second he told her, Imina, bringing up the rear, raced away. Arché and Roberdyck followed. A moment later, Hekkeran did, too.

Imina must have followed the order and run because the distance was feasible. Hekkeran desperately sprinted in order to keep up with the others, who were moving as fast as they could. Naturally, their opponents weren’t about to let them get away, and he could hear the undead footsteps coming after them.

“Eat this!”

Hekkeran took out a sticky alchemical solution and tossed it behind him.

The solution spread slickly across the floor.

Its effects were immediate, and the sound of footsteps vanished.

Intelligent undead might have thought to go around, but there was no way low-tier undead had those kinds of smarts. And he figured that once monsters like skeletons, with no muscular strength, were stuck, it would be difficult for them to rip themselves free.

“Undead detected! Four coming from the right!”

“That’s a wall!”

“No, it’s an illusion!”

Four ghouls descended on them through the wall. The bony, thin undead, lunging with their long, yellow, clawlike fingernails, were terrifying. That said, no one on this team was such a baby as to shake in their boots at this level of horror.

“Don’t underestimate us!”

Though taken by surprise, Imina drew her dagger immediately and stuck it into a ghoul’s neck. A foul liquid that must have been blood glugged out, and one ghoul crumpled to the floor. Roberdyck, next to Imina, had bashed in the head of another with a mighty swing of his mace.

Hekkeran concluded he could leave that up to those two and turned to see what was happening behind them. The undead were definitely giving chase. So maybe it’s safest to spread around some more alchemical solution?

Just as he was about to throw it, he spotted a horrifying monster.

“Elder lich!”

At the same time, he noticed the thunderbolt at the elite caster’s fingertips. Even Hekkeran knew what spell that was.

Lightning. Its effect was a bolt of electricity that pierced in a straight line. There was only one way to evade it.

“Shove the ghouls back!”

Imina and Roberdyck probably had no idea why Hekkeran was ordering them to do that. But they both obeyed without hesitation.

The white lightning flashed past in the hallway behind them just as they piled in past the illusion wall, ghouls and all.

As the air popped and quivered with electricity, a magic circle appeared beneath Hekkeran and his team’s feet. The next moment, they were enveloped in an inescapable pale-blue light, and the scene before their eyes abruptly changed.

“Everyone look sharp! On your guard! …Huh?”

Although the ghouls were gone and their surroundings had changed, their nerves, tensed from repeated battles, hadn’t relaxed. Still, under conditions so strange, he couldn’t be blamed for emitting a dazed murmur.

Hekkeran shook his head and regained focus. The first thing he needed to do—although getting a handle on their situation was up there—was check the status of his teammates.

Imina, Arché, Roberdyck.

The members of Foresight were all in the exact same battle formation as when they’d entered the magic circle—no one was missing.

After confirming one another’s safety, they remained vigilant and took in their surroundings.

They were in a dimly lit corridor. It was wide and tall—big enough for a giant to walk down. The torches mounted on the wall, with their flickering flames, created shadows that moved as though they were dancing. At the end of the hall was a huge barred gate. White magic light came through the gaps.

In the opposite direction, the corridor seemed to stretch on for quite a distance, and they could see by the light of the torches that there were a number of doors along the way.

Overall, it was quiet; the only sound was the crackling of the torches.

For the moment, there didn’t seem to be any monsters threatening to attack. Despite that conclusion, they couldn’t relax.

“I don’t know where we are, but the atmosphere is totally different from what we’ve seen up until now.”

Certainly the feel of this place was completely different from that of the earlier tomb. It seemed more civilized somehow. As the Foresight crew looked around, trying to figure out where they were, only Arché’s behavior differed.

“This is…”

Keenly picking up on the emotion in her words, Hekkeran asked, “Do you know it? Or do you have an idea?”

“I know of a place that is similar: the empire’s arena.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, yes.” Roberdyck voiced his agreement.

Hekkeran and Imina didn’t say anything, but they also agreed. This corridor definitely looked like the one they’d taken from the waiting room to the arena when they’d fought there.

“So there must be an arena over there.” Roberdyck pointed at the barred gate.

“Probably. And since we got teleported here, it must mean…” Enter the arena. Not that he had any idea what was waiting for them there.

“We’re in danger. Long-distance teleportation is said to be tier-five magic. A caster so powerful they can set a trap using magic at that level? I’ve only heard of people like that in fairy tales. Someone with unbelievable magic skills created these ruins. We shouldn’t accept their invitation. I suggest we go in the opposite direction.”

“But if they’re inviting us, couldn’t we try talking to them? I mean, if we disobey, won’t they just get mad and think, Screw these guys?”

“Both ways are dangerous. What do you think, Roberdyck?”

“I agree with both of you, but I do wonder about something Arché said. Did the one inhabiting this tomb really lay the trap? Perhaps he’s simply making good use of something a third party he never met created.”

They all looked at one another and sighed. Standing here debating wouldn’t get them anywhere. They didn’t have enough information, and they weren’t agreeing, but they had to come up with a conclusion.

“Rober is right. These ruins might be five hundred years old!”

“Yeah. Supposedly magic was more advanced back then.”

“You mean the country that conquered the continent but fell almost immediately and only its capital remains? That story?”

“The Eight Kings of Avarice… They’re the ones said to have spread magic throughout the world. If these ruins are from that era…”

“…I see. Then I vote we enter the arena. If he sent us here with a trap, he probably wouldn’t let us get away anyhow.”

At these remarks from Roberdyck, the other three nodded, resolute, and the party set off.

When they approached the barred gate, it lifted swiftly, as if it had been waiting for them. When they passed through it, the scene greeting them was a large open space surrounded by multiple levels of spectator seating.

This arena was no less impressive than the empire’s. In fact, the architecture might have been superior, and the whole area was illuminated with white Continual Light. They could see everything as if it were midday.

Their surprise peaked when they saw the spectator seating.

Innumerable lumps of dirt—figures called golems—were sitting there.

Golems were inorganic life-forms created via magic who faithfully took and carried out orders from their master. Since they didn’t need food or sleep, didn’t get tired, and didn’t age, they were extremely useful as gatekeepers, guards, and laborers. Even weak ones fetched quite a price because of how much time, effort, and money went into making them.

Hekkeran and his team charged quite a lot for their services, but even they would have trouble affording one.

Golems were that expensive, and yet this arena was practically overflowing with them.

Hekkeran took it as a sign of how wealthy the owner of the place was, as well as how lonely.

The group exchanged glances, as they had a number of times since being transported to this place, and advanced into the center of the silent arena.

“We’re outside?”

In response to Imina’s voice, the others looked up. What they saw was the night sky. The lights in the area were so bright they couldn’t make out the stars, but it was still undoubtedly the sky.

“So we got teleported outside?”

“Then if we use Fly we can es—!”

“Yaaa!”

With a shout that interrupted Arché, a figure jumped from a terrace that must have been VIP seating.

That was the equivalent of six stories up, but the figure flipped in midair and made a featherlight landing. It wasn’t due to magic but was simply great physical technique. It was such a perfectly executed movement that even the thief Imina gasped.

Having absorbed the full shock of the landing by just bending its legs, the figure flashed a proud grin.

It was a dark elf boy who had jumped down. His long ears, poking out from his silky golden hair, twitched, and a smile, radiant like the sun, spread across his face.

He wore fitted, dark-red dragon scale light armor, top and bottom, over a layer of basic leather protective gear. On top of that he sported a white vest with golden threading, featuring some kind of crest on the chest.

Imina yelped when she saw that the color of his eyes didn’t match. “Y—”

“And our challengers have enterrrrred!”

He spoke into some kind of rod he was holding, and his voice, which hadn’t changed yet, was amplified to multiple times its natural volume and echoed.

A thunderous pounding noise shook the arena.

When the workers looked around, the golems, who hadn’t budged until now, were all stomping their feet.

“The challengers are four fearless fools who have invaded the Great Tomb of Nazarick! Facing them is the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the most supreme of supremes, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown!”

The barred gate on the opposite side rose. The one who emerged from the dimly lit corridor was, in a word, a skeleton.

The vacant eye sockets of his bleached white skull glowed with red flames.

His clothing was gown-like with a cord around his waist; he was unbelievably thin since his body had no flesh. The reason he wasn’t carrying any weapons must have been that he was a caster.

“What’s this? His second is the captain of us guardians, Albedo!”

All the members of Foresight gasped when they saw the woman who followed behind the skeleton.

Hers was a beauty which surpassed even Raven Black’s Beautiful Princess. If she seemed too gorgeous to be human, it was true—horns curled forward from either side of her head and black wings sprouted from her hips. They seemed too real to be fake.

With the pair’s entrance, the arena-shaking foot stomping changed to clapping. It was a display of joy appropriate for welcoming a king.

Bathed in the thunder of the golems’ unending applause, the pair moved step-by-step toward Foresight.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Arché. “This is all my fault.”

The battle that was about to begin would probably be the most intense the team had ever faced—so intense someone could die. She must have been convinced that she’d driven them into it, that if her situation wasn’t what it was, they might not have taken this job and come to this tomb so underinformed.

But—

“No, no, what are you talking about, little lady?”

“Yeah. We all decided to take this job together. It’s not your fault. Even if we didn’t know about your situation, we probably would have taken it, you know.”

“Yep. So don’t worry about it.”

Hekkeran and Roberdyck smiled at her, and then Imina ruffled her hair.

“Okay, I imagine it’s impossible, but how about we try talking to them first? Arché, do you know what kind of undead that is?”

“I sense it’s intelligent, so probably some kind of elite skeleton?”

The bony figure in the lead waved his hand as if he were shooing something away.

Sound vanished. The golems stopped moving at once, and a silence so deep it hurt their ears descended on the arena.

Hekkeran turned to Ainz, who was steadily approaching them, and bowed with sincere politeness. “First, allow us to apologize, Sir Ainz Ooal…”

“…Ainz Ooal Gown.”

“Excuse me—Sir Ainz Ooal Gown.”

Ainz halted and gestured with his chin as if he was waiting for him to continue.

“We’re sorry for entering your tomb without permission. If you’ll forgive us, we’d like to pay whatever sum is appropriate as reparations.”

It was silent for a time. Then Ainz emitted a sigh. Of course, as an undead, he didn’t need to breathe. Surely, he’d done it to convey his attitude.

“If you find maggots in some food you had sitting in your house, are you guys the type to take them outside and release them instead of killing them?”

“Humans are different from maggots!”

“No, they’re not. Not to me. Actually, humans might be worse. I don’t think the flies that spawned the maggots are so bad, but you’re different. You were brought here by force, with no urgent reason, only to appease your stupid desire for money, and raided this tomb—even though there might have been someone in it—to steal its treasures.” He laughed. “But you don’t have to worry. I’m not blaming you. That the strong should take from the weak is only natural. I do it, too, so I don’t count myself as an exception. It’s precisely because I’d be robbed if someone stronger came along that I’m on my guard… Anyhow, I’m chatting too much. According to the simple law that the weak are meat the strong shall eat, I’m going to take something from you.”

“But we actually do have an urgent—”

“No!” He interrupted Hekkeran in a forceful tone. “Do not offend me with your fabrications. Now, compensate for your foolishness with your lives.”

“What if we had permission?”

Ainz froze. Without a doubt, he was severely shaken. Inwardly, Hekkeran was surprised that his casual remark had such an effect on him, but he didn’t show it on his face. Just when he’d thought it was all over, a ray of hope had appeared. He had to capitalize on it.

“…Nonsense,” Ainz said in a tiny voice. “That’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. A total bluff. I think you’ve caused me enough displeasure!”

His disturbance spread through the room, and the dark elf boy began to look puzzled. When Hekkeran eyed the last of their opponents, goose bumps rose over his entire body.

The beautiful woman behind Ainz still wore her kind smile, but she was emitting enough killing intent to draw a slick of sweat out of his forehead.

“And if it were true…?”

“…No…no…it’s a bluff. Most definitely not true. You’re just sacrifices wriggling in the palm of my hand.” Ainz shook his head and pierced Hekkeran with his gaze. “But I…just in case, I’ll ask: Who gave you permission?”

“You mean you don’t know him?”

“Him…?”

“He didn’t tell me his name, but he was quite a sizable monster.”

“Sizable? That’s…”

Hekkeran desperately tried to think what the goal of this tightrope walking should be. Ainz was obviously trapped. That’s why he wasn’t asking questions. If he asked, the truth or falsehood of the claim would be revealed.

He’s acting just like a human, thought Hekkeran. It didn’t seem like the type of reaction a monster would have—it was cowardly. But this worked in his favor.

“Tell me, what did he look like, then?”

“…He was shiny.”

“Shiny…?”

Ainz seemed caught in another whirlpool of thought, and Hekkeran breathed an internal sigh of relief that he’d escaped another dangerous juncture. He made subtle movements with his fingers to tell his teammates to look around—for an escape route. Their opponents probably wouldn’t kill them until they confirmed his claims as true or false. They’d have to come up with something during that time.

“What did he say?”

We have to watch out for charm or mind control spells…

“Before I tell you, please guarantee our safety.”

“What? If you really received permission from one of my friends, I promise you’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about that.”

A new word—friends.

Hekkeran put the information he’d gathered together in his head. What would be useful in negotiations and pulling information out of Ainz Ooal Gown was that he had friends but didn’t currently have a way to contact them.

Figure out what information one’s opponent is after and pretend to give it to them. That is the way of the con artist.

“…What is it? Why aren’t you saying anything? Tell me what the monster you met said.”

So far his tightrope walking had been a success. Then on to the next line. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants.

“He said, ‘Say hi to Ainz in the Great Tomb of Nazarick for me.’”

“…‘Ainz’?”

He froze. Did I do something wrong? Hekkeran’s expression tensed up.

“He said to say hi to Ainz, did he?”

Hekkeran braced himself. He’d already taken his chances.

“Yes.”

“Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Ainz cackled at Hekkeran’s answer. It wasn’t a good-natured laugh but a throaty, fiery one.

“Haaa… Well, that makes sense. If I take a moment to think about it, your story was all over the place.” Ainz didn’t make a move, just fixed his eyes on Hekkeran and his team. The crimson flames in his orbits gradually changed to a dark sparkle. It was a gaze accompanied by a physical pressure, and the workers backed up a step.

The gaze contained fury.

“You, you gaaaarbage! You came in here! In the place that I! That I and my friends built! With your dirty fucking feeeeet!” Unable to rein in his wild anger, he was suddenly speechless. His shoulders heaved as if he were taking deep breaths, and then he raged on. “And on top of that! You tried to use my friends, my most precious friends! You little shiiiits! You think I can let that stand?!” he shouted violently.

His anger seemed infinite. But all of a sudden, he calmed down.

The change happened so quickly it was as if something had snapped in half. It was enough that Hekkeran and his teammates felt strange.

“—is the kind of stuff I say when I fly off the handle, but you didn’t do anything so bad. You were probably just desperate and told a lie to survive. Honestly, the anger that is smoldering within me even now is just…self-centered… Albedo, Aura, and any guardians who can hear my voice, plug your ears.”

The peerless beauty and the dark elf boy both plugged their ears. The boy stuck his fingers in, and the lady cutely covered hers. They meant to show him, We aren’t listening to what you’re about to say.

“I never liked this plan. I didn’t want to invite dirty thieves to the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Still, I understood that it was the best way, so I agreed to it.” Ainz shook his head in frustration. “Well, whatever. I’m done complaining. I was going to show you some mercy and kill you as warriors, but I changed my mind. I’ll handle you like the dirty thieves you are.” He spoke as if he was talking about something unrelated to any of them and then cast off his robe.

Beneath it, naturally, was a body consisting solely of bones. An ominous dark-red jewel floated inside his ribs. Besides that, his pants, and his greaves, he didn’t have anything equipped. No, he also had a collar on. The chains, not attached to anything, hung loosely.

“Whoo!” A strange shout went up overhead.

When they looked up, a girlish figure with silver hair was leaning out of the VIP section. Hands in some kind of blue gauntlets immediately yanked her back, though.

“…What is she doing?”

“I’ll scold her later.”

The annoyed voice brought their attention back to Ainz, who now had a black blade in one hand and a black round shield in the other.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s get this started.”

He had put a little more distance between his feet. Now he was in a battle stance.

“Albedo, Aura, you can unplug your ears now.”

The two whose names were called replied in unison and removed their hands from their ears.

“I’m in a very bad mood. I didn’t think they’d be like this. I’m going to fight them right up to the moment before they die. The rest I’m leaving to you. Okay, let’s get started.”

Ainz may have been equipped with a sword and shield, but the first thing Hekkeran thought when he faced him was that he wasn’t a warrior or swordsman. In fact, he seemed most like a magical beast who would come at them with superior physical ability.

It stemmed from his casual way of standing, his careless stance. Basically, he seemed like an amateur. But he was an immense power, heavy, pressing in on them. His human-size build seemed to swell and weigh down on them.

The most terrifying thing about having made an enemy like that was if they attacked in a relentless chain.

“You’re not coming at me? Then here I go.”

Ainz charged at the same time he asked.

His speed was shocking, such that the distance between them became zero in an instant.

Next, he brought his sword down from high overhead.

It was an attack that had destructive power but should have been full of holes. When someone with physical ability on another level unleashed it, however, it turned into a one-hit kill.

It’s too dangerous to take this, Hekkeran concluded instantaneously, sensing the sword’s rapid approach.

If he blocked it, he’d have to face that destructive power head-on. And in that case, the gap in their physical abilities would surely result in his being cut.

Then he only had one choice—

With a nasty grinding noise, the sword Ainz had swung drove into the ground.

—parry.

Normally a parry would throw one’s opponent off-balance and create an opportunity to counterattack, but Ainz wasn’t fazed. He resumed his earlier posture with footwork that seemed to indicate he’d known ahead of time what would happen.

Hekkeran realized he’d been wrong about something.

These weren’t the movements of someone who was relying on physical ability alone but of someone who understood how warriors move.

Crap! I was underestimating him! But all I can do now is attack!

Twin swords flashed and angled toward Ainz’s head. Really, when fighting a skeleton like Ainz, crushing weapons would deal more damage and give the advantage, but Hekkeran was better with cutting weapons and wasn’t terribly confident with crushing ones, actually.

What he needed to do in this battle was continue dealing damage, even a little bit at a time, not use big moves hoping for lots of damage when he wasn’t sure if they would land or not.

His twin blades whipped at Ainz’s head.

A normal enemy would get hit.

A first-rate enemy would get off with a scratch.

But what about a super-first-rate enemy?

“Hmph!” Ainz interrupted the swords’ arcs with his shield. An ordinary person wouldn’t have made it in time, but superior physical ability made it possible.

“Magic Arrow!”

“Lesser Agility!”

As the hard sounds of Hekkeran’s two attacks being repelled by the shield rang out, Arché’s spell became an arrow and flew at Ainz. At the same time, Roberdyck targeted Hekkeran and cast an agility-raising support spell.

“Child’s play.”

Ainz didn’t even look at Arché. Just as her shot of light was about to hit him, it disappeared. Arché gaped in shock.

“Magic Immunity?! What kind?!”

“Hmph!”

As if in reply, Ainz struck at Hekkeran’s face with his shield.

A shield blow!

The name of the well-known fundamental move flashed through Hekkeran’s head. He saw it as an opportunity and readied an attack. He would aim for Ainz’s torso, which he figured would be a blind spot due to the shield.

But Ainz easily deflected it with his black blade.

He read my move?!

He just barely evaded the black shield coming at him like a wall by ducking—and a kick from a greave-clad foot was approaching.

A normal kick wasn’t so scary, but it had become apparent through their exchange that the attacks Ainz’s muscular strength unleashed—despite the fact that he was a skeleton with no muscles—were all deadly blows. If one landed, he had to be prepared for a lethal wound.

Hekkeran hurried to roll out of the way. Without Roberdyck’s magical assistance, it probably wouldn’t have been possible. The kick’s wind pressure ripped a few of his hairs out, sending chills up his spine.

“Over here!”

Imina shot two arrows at once. Since she had shouted, it wasn’t a surprise attack, and Ainz was able to deal with them calmly.

The arrows missed their mark and flew behind him.

In the first place, Ainz was a skeleton, so arrows wouldn’t work on him, so she’d been hoping he would just take them without even bothering to evade, but it seemed like things wouldn’t work out that conveniently.

The heads of the fallen projectiles were smashed; they were specially made magic arrows that dealt crushing damage. Since skeletons were weak against crushing damage, if he hadn’t dodged, they would have been very effective.

Still, there was nothing to be upset about. Hekkeran had been able to use the opening to get back on his feet and take some distance. The whole reason Imina had shouted was to create that opening.

Hekkeran charged to counter.

“Twin Swords Slash!”

“Hah!”

Ainz had no trouble blocking the dual slash attack with his single sword. The impact made Hekkeran’s hands go numb.

Man, this guy is tough. So this is what it’s like when a monster with physical ability far surpassing that of a human trains to be a warrior… I guess the reigning champion would be strong!

Fighting in range of a sword that dealt one-hit death consumed an extraordinary amount of mental energy. His brain was screaming its exhaustion, and he attempted to retreat to a more comfortable distance.

But Ainz wasn’t about to let him do that.

“You think you’re getting away?!”

Ainz rushed him. Obviously the one moving forward was faster than the one backpedaling.

Hekkeran was feeling cornered when he heard something whiz past the side of his head from the rear.

It was a high-speed arrow, loosed from cover. For a normal person, it would be impossible to dodge, but—perhaps they should have guessed—the arrow never reached Ainz, with his superhuman reflexes.

“Flash!”

“Lesser Strength!”

A burst of light appeared before Ainz’s eyes. Flash was a spell that temporarily shrank the target’s field of vision a little, regardless of resistance, but it seemed to have been useless against Ainz. He merely exhibited his annoyance.

“Don’t get in my way!”

Ainz clicked his tongue as Hekkeran, with boosted agility and strength, closed in.

“Reinforcing Armor!”

“Evil Protection!”

Arché and Roberdyck fortified Hekkeran with support magic.

Ainz was busy evading, blocking, and countering Hekkeran’s attacks when another arrow went flying for his face.

“…Hmph!” His posture as he moved his head slightly to dodge was appropriate as master of the tomb and becoming of a monster warrior.

Hekkeran took advantage of the support to get some distance and wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his brow during this still short but intense fight.

He’d known it already, but Ainz Ooal Gown was strong.

A human could never hope to achieve Ainz’s physical ability. On top of that, Ainz possessed the skills to take advantage of his body. He was insightful enough to see through feints and perceptive enough to grasp the movements of every Foresight member. He had magic resistance and a magic sword and shield. He had everything a warrior could want.

There was a reason Hekkeran had been able to fight on an equal footing with such a man.

Certainly he was just barely hanging on throughout every exchange. If he tried to parry and mistook the angle of the sword, his weapon would break and he would be critically injured. If he misjudged the range and speed of a swing, even by a tiny bit, he’d be sliced in half. This luck was as if every coin he tossed came up heads—but he was also being protected.

But there was an even bigger reason he was making it through this fight.

And that was teamwork—movement as one, that was only possible between friends who had survived deadly battlefields together and could even read one another’s thoughts.

The compound Foresight versus the solo Ainz Ooal Gown were having a close fight.

Hekkeran extinguished the smile that had begun to form in his cheeks.

Ainz was still unharmed. This wall was thick and high; still, it wasn’t absolute.

Believing that, he swung his twin swords.

The fastest attack Hekkeran could unleash with his magically strengthened body was repelled ever so easily by the black round shield. The flying arrows were slashed in half by the black sword. All the while Arché and Roberdyck’s magic continued to boost Hekkeran.

They heard Ainz click his tongue in displeasure, and the hostility they sensed from him subsided dramatically.

Hekkeran had been thinking to do a follow-up attack but chose to catch his breath instead and backed up. No matter how much Ainz fought, he was undead, so he wouldn’t get tired, but Hekkeran and his team were gradually exhausting themselves. A lengthy battle of attrition would put them at a disadvantage. It was right to rest when they could.

“Just as I thought… I seem to lack a finishing move. And I thought I understood the strength of numbers, but now that I’m outnumbered, I just feel so irritated… Why can’t I take out even just one of these guys?”

When Ainz shrugged, it didn’t bother Hekkeran. He knew he’d meant what he said.

That was the real power of teamwork. Hekkeran smiled as if Ainz had complimented them.

Then the peerless beauty, who had been watching in silence so far, opened her mouth to speak. “Lord Ainz. Perhaps it’s time to end this jest.”

“What?”

“I beg your pardon, but I find it hard to allow these most insolent thieves any more freedom. They attempted to cheat you using the Supreme Beings! Don’t you think the time for mercy is over?”

“Hey, Albedo, Lord Ainz is—”

“No, Aura. Albedo’s right.” Ainz shook his head. “Besides, I think this is plenty. I feel like I gained a fair amount of experience in that fight.”

“Indeed, you have fought admirably. Of course, I would expect nothing less from our ruler.”

“Heh-heh. Really? I’m glad. Coming from a far greater warrior like you, praise kind of gives me butterflies, even when it’s flattery.”

“It is most certainly not flattery. I believe it with all my heart.”

“I see. Then thank you. Now all I need is Cocytus’s critique and opinion on how I should train from here on out.”

Nodding a few times in satisfaction, Ainz turned back to Foresight.

Hekkeran had a bad feeling about this shift in atmosphere.

The intuition he’d sharpened in many a life-and-death battle was screaming, Danger!

“Okay, that’s enough fooling around with swords. Time for a new game.”

The sword and shield spilled out of Ainz’s hands. The moment they hit the ground, they disappeared.

“Huh?!”

Throwing away one’s sword—that was the act of someone admitting their defeat. But nothing in Ainz’s attitude implied surrender, and it shouldn’t have been a situation where he would have to acknowledge his loss.

This confused Hekkeran; he had no idea what Ainz was thinking. “What are you…?”

In response, Ainz smiled faintly. No, Hekkeran had the feeling he did.

The skeleton slowly spread his arms. It was a loving gesture, like the way an angel would accept believers or a mother would embrace her child.

“You don’t know? Then I’ll put it into words for you.” Ainz sneered. “I’ll play with you. Come at me, humans!”

The mood had changed.

Normally when someone abandoned their weapon, their equipment, they would become weaker. But Hekkeran felt like Ainz had grown much more powerful than before. He was assailed by an overwhelming sense of authority, as if Ainz had gotten physically larger.

A being who grows more powerful by casting his sword away?

There were only two answers he could think of. One was that Ainz was a monk and used his body as a weapon. But the way he fought before, the way he dodged, didn’t seem to indicate he was used to that style of combat.

So there was one other possibility—

“—A caster?!” Arché shouted, having reached the same conclusion as Hekkeran.

Yes. Only now did they realize—that the being before them, Ainz Ooal Gown, might just be a caster.

It was only natural that it didn’t occur to them sooner. Who could imagine a caster going head-to-head with Hekkeran, the strongest member of their team and a seasoned fighter?

Casters, especially arcane casters, were more physically vulnerable than warriors. If they had time to train their bodies, it was better spent honing their magic. That was why there were no casters who could brawl on equal terms with a warrior.

That was common sense.

The one before them was a being who turned common sense on its head, but who could have known that?

Hence the pleading tone in Arché’s shout: “Please deny it! Tell me it’s not true!” If he confirmed that he was, it meant that he had more confidence in himself as a caster than as a warrior. What that meant goes without saying.

Using just a little magic could massively improve one’s combat ability. A few fortification spells could make one dramatically stronger, like Hekkeran was right then. In that case—

“You finally figured it out? What a bunch of fools you are. But you’re the mice who tramped into my—no, my friends’ tomb, Nazarick, with your dirty feet! Makes sense that you wouldn’t be terribly bright.”

But as long as Arché was with him, Hekkeran had reason enough to deny that claim. “Arché! Is this guy a caster?”

“No! Definitely not! At least not an arcane caster!”

“Hmm? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t sense any magical energy coming from you!”

“Oh, you’re using detection magic? Do excuse me.”

Ainz spread his fingers so that Hekkeran and the others could see them. They were only bones, fitting for an undead. Each one had a ring.

“If I take this ring off, you’ll understand. I lent one to one of my subordinates for a while…” As he spoke, he slipped a ring off his right hand. And then—

“Uwagh!” The sound of someone throwing up. The mostly liquid vomit splattered the floor of the arena and a sour smell wafted through the area.

“What did you do?!” Imina glared at Ainz as she ran over to Arché.

Ainz responded as though he was confused but still definitely displeased. “What’s this lady doing?! Looking someone in the face and throwing up? How rude can you be?!”

“Everybody run!” Arché screamed with tears in the corners of her eyes.

“He’s a monst— Euwaagh!”

As Arché threw up again, unable to hold herself together, the rest of the team realized why she was vomiting.

It wasn’t as if Ainz had done something. Arché was just so scared and tense—she couldn’t withstand his vast magical power.

In other words—

“We can’t win! His power is on another level! The word monster doesn’t even begin to describe him!” Arché sobbed. “No way, no way, no way!”

Arché shook her head back and forth like a crazy person, and Imina hugged her tightly. “Calm down! Roberdyck!”

“I’m on it! Lion’s Heart!”

Arché, recovered from her fear thanks to Roberdyck’s spell, stood with legs as unsteady as a newborn fawn’s and held up her staff.

“You should all run for it! Humans can’t win against that thing! He’s an unbeatable monster!”

“…We got it, Arché.”

“We understand that very well, Arché. The moment he took off the ring, there was a flood of this intense feeling, like the world was enveloped in it. I have goose bumps.”

“Yeah, saying he’s quite the monster doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

All three of them had surpassed the limits of their caution levels. With nerves even more on edge, they fixed their eyes on Ainz. Their expression said they understood that shifting their gaze for even a moment could result in death.

“We definitely can’t escape.”

“The second we turn our backs to him, we die. Even looking away feels too risky.”

“We need to find a way to buy time.”

“…You’re not charging?” Ainz languidly scratched his skull with a bony finger.

Hekkeran didn’t respond to the provocation. This enemy had combat ability that far surpassed anything he’d ever encountered. There was only one thing to aim for—the moment he started casting, that is, the time a caster was most vulnerable. On the off chance he casts silent magic, it’s all over…

Hekkeran began to muster his body’s strength, as if he were a spring or a bow being drawn.

“Then I’ll start. Touch of Undeath.”

“What kind of spell is that? Arché!”

“I don’t know! I’ve never heard of it!”

With a watchful eye on the black haze enveloping Ainz’s right hand, the unknown magic, Hekkeran tensed his feet so he could dodge at a moment’s notice. His teammates behind him seemed to be spreading out, wary of an area-of-effect attack.

Suddenly Ainz began walking toward him.

Hekkeran blinked in surprise.

His bearing was too nonchalant—full of holes. It wasn’t the way a man who had just displayed the skills of a warrior should walk. Hekkeran knew it was a trap for sure, but he couldn’t fathom its purpose.

Is he planning to do something with his magic? Does that spell only have an effect up close? Or is it defense?

He’d studied the most famous spells, so he was familiar with those, but since he wasn’t a caster, Hekkeran couldn’t figure out what Ainz was up to.

“Stay away from him!” Imina’s shout reverberated, and a series of arrows went flying at Ainz.

She’d shot the three arrows using a skill, but Ainz dexterously batted them away with a bony hand.

“You’re in my way.” His voice was quiet and cold.

The red flames in Ainz’s vacant orbits wavered, and watching his every move, Hekkeran was the only one who understood.

Just as a chill went up his spine, Ainz vanished.

Hekkeran obeyed his instinct to turn on his heel and run. He could see the surprised faces of his teammates, but he had neither the time nor the energy to explain—not when Ainz was standing behind Imina, slowly reaching out with his right hand.

Imina! She hasn’t noticed! I should scream—no! The fact that he’s not in a hurry might save us!

Hekkeran ran, using a martial art to boost his speed, but suddenly hesitated.

Is protecting Imina the smartest thing to do?

Compared to Arché and Roberdyck, who could use support magic, Imina wasn’t all that critical in this battle.

He had no doubt it was better to drop someone who was a burden in order to ensure survival for the majority, but even so—

Shit!

He was making the wrong move as team leader. Though he understood he was essentially betraying his teammates, he didn’t slow down. He was spurred on by not logic but emotion—emotion that told him, Save Imina!

Suddenly, an image of her in bed flitted across his mind. He smiled bitterly at himself for thinking of her smooth body in a life-and-death situation like this.

Still, the energy pumping in his legs increased.

It was the power of a man protecting his woman.

“Move!”

If Ainz hadn’t hesitated upon seeing him charging over, he might not have made it in time, but before Ainz could touch Imina, he bowled her over.

A small yelp sounded as she bit back the pain, and it was obvious Ainz was trying to decide whether to prioritize the man who had appeared in front of him or the escaped woman.

“Over here, you idiot!” Hekkeran shouted and then focused on his martial arts.

The first one he activated was Limit Break. He had to pay for it, but it briefly increased the number of martial arts he could use at once. Next, something inside him hurt like it was ripping, so he used Dull Pain. Then Physical Boost and Sturdy Arm, Strong Blow followed by Twin Swords Slash.

Thus, his most powerful attack was born.

The dual blades traced their arcs.

The more acclimated to the speed of Hekkeran’s swings Ainz had become during their earlier exchanges, the more his timing would be off now, and the more difficult it would be for him to evade. Because Hekkeran had arranged things ahead of time, because getting too comfortable meant the end, this would be a lethal strike.

Ainz wouldn’t be able to react.

He’s mine!

The moment his swords should have been slicing into Ainz’s unguarded skull, the impact he felt was not that of blade against bone.

Perfect resistance to cutting damage?!

As a worker, he’d experienced this sensation on adventures before.

So he’s completely resistant to stabbing and cutting?! Is it even possible for a monster like that to exist?!

As Hekkeran rushed to withdraw, a cold sensation plastered over his forehead. It was Ainz’s hand. Its viselike grip wouldn’t let Hekkeran escape.

“Hekkeran!”

“Imina! He’s completely resistant to cutting damage!” He endured the awful pain and relayed the information he’d gained to his teammate behind him. That was when, still in Ainz’s clutches, he felt himself get lifted off the ground. He lashed out with the flat of his sword, but the undead’s grip showed no signs of loosening.

“No. Stabbing, cutting, or crushing—it doesn’t matter. Attacks from weaklings like you can’t even scratch me.”

“How does that work?! What a cheater! That’s so low!”

“He’s lying, Imina! If that were true, he wouldn’t have to fight so hard. He must have some weakness!”

“You can’t fool us!”

“I’m sad that you don’t believe me. I thought you understood well enough from that conversation earlier, but our close-quarters battle up until now was basically an experiment. You must have taken hope from the fact that you put up an okay fight? I’ll be merciful and hope that you’re able to have nice dreams even in the hell that awaits you!”

“You call that mercy? You shitty, lowlife bastard! Let Hekkeran go!”

Hekkeran heard arrows being fired in rapid succession, but Ainz seemed unfazed and the pain in his forehead remained.

“Are you sure you want to do that? You might hit him.”

The horrible pain in Hekkeran’s head made him scared it might just crack open. He struggled, but his opponent didn’t budge. He kicked him with his steel-toed boots, but only stubbed his toes.

“Does it hurt? Don’t worry. I won’t kill you now. This is the most pity I can take on thieves—Paralysis.”

His body froze. No, he wasn’t frozen but paralyzed.

“Maybe Touch of Undeath was a waste if I was only going to paralyze him?”

Hekkeran’s ears picked up sounds in vain.

He heard a series of bow twangs.

The response was a ridiculing voice. “How many times do I have to tell you…? No, it’s fine, you can resist. You’ll feel more helpless that way.”

Run!

His mouth wouldn’t move, but it trembled.

Even if they ran as fast as they could, this wasn’t a run-of-the-mill enemy they could escape. But fighting was even more foolish. Especially without their warrior to keep the enemy’s attacks at bay, their line would surely crumble.

“So who’s next? You could have all come at me at once, but I suppose that’s not much fun.”

Imina gazed at Hekkeran, who was lying on the floor.

He wasn’t dead, but he might as well have been. She couldn’t think of a way to save him from this incomprehensible monster, Ainz Ooal Gown. Still—

“You stupid—! Common sense said to abandon me! You colossal idiot!”

Irritation welled up inside her.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid! You big blockhead! Moron!”

“…Those aren’t very nice things to say to the man who tried to protect you.”

His words showed he understood nothing about Imina’s feelings. But how could a monster understand human emotion?

“I know that! He’s such a great leader that he’s practically wasted on us!” She took a breath. “But you’re still stupid—to get carried away by your feelings!”

“…What are you talking about?”

She ignored the questioning voice and thought. That was the deputy leader’s job now that their leader was down.

Throw away your hesitation, she told herself. She suppressed the feelings of a woman who wanted to go save her man.

She had to abandon Hekkeran and take the information she’d gained back to the others. She had to tell them what a horrifying monster they’d found in the ruins and possibly put together a subjugation squad.

Evil spirits…

Is this what the king of the demons who ravaged the continent two hundred years ago was like?

She suddenly felt like her world had turned into a myth or something. That couldn’t be true, but she did have a sense of dreamlike uncertainty.

Myths, huh? It’s weird to say that. The ones who would fight this sort of monster were heroes…

That was when it hit her.

Yes, the ones who fought the evil spirits were heroes—the Thirteen Heroes. So the only one who would be able to fight Ainz was a hero.

“Give Hekkeran back! If we don’t return in a certain amount of time, the strongest person in the world is going to storm in here! If you send us safely back to where we were before, we’ll call him off.”

“Another lie?” Ainz sighed.

Sweat appeared on Imina’s forehead. This was true. “No, it’s not a lie.”

“Albedo. Is there any sign of someone strong up on the surface in this area?”

“No, my lord. This must be a silly lie.”

“It’s not a lie!” A girl’s voice sounded behind Imina. “An adamantite-rank adventurer, Momon of Raven Black, is with us! He’s the most powerful warrior! He’s stronger than you!”

Albedo looked shaken for the first time. Flustered, she bowed to Ainz. “I—I beg your pardon, my lord. There was indeed an adventurer. P-please forgive me.”

“Mm… Ahh well, you don’t need to worry about it, Albedo. Momon of Raven Black, hmm? By the way, he… Eh, whatever. He can’t win against me.”

The switch from the previously furious demon king into this somewhat drained, shoulder-shrugging attitude made it seem like Ainz was hiding something, but she didn’t know what it could be.

“Momon is stronger than you!”

“No, you can’t use him to negotiate. Give it up.” Ainz waved her protests away with an unmotivated air. “Okay, shall we get started?”

His vibe said the time for idle chatter was over.

“Arché! Run!” Roberdyck shouted, and Imina agreed. “Yeah! Hurry!”

“Look up! We must be outside. If you fly, you might be able to escape! Even if you’re the only one who makes it, please go! We’ll save you a minute…well, at least ten seconds!”

“That’s quite an interesting proposal. Aura, go open the door. It might be fun to play.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Ainz indicated the door through which Roberdyck and the others had come. Aura jumped, with a glimmer of her shoes, and disappeared.

“Okay, she’s teleported and is probably opening the door now. If you’d like to go, be my guest. Abandon your friends and leave. So who will run?”

Ainz gestured at the door once again. There was no expression on his bony face, but they could understand clearly—the sinister grin, the smile in anticipation of their friendship breaking.

It was true that unlike adventurers, many worker teams formed only out of an interest in money, so there was a higher chance that someone would declare every man for himself and run for it. But Foresight wasn’t like that.

“Go, Arché!”

“Yeah, you should go.” Imina smiled. “You have your little sisters, right? So leave us here and go. That’s what you need to do!”

“But this is all my fault!”

Noting that Ainz didn’t seem interested in attacking immediately, Roberdyck walked over to Arché. Then he took a small leather pouch out of his breast pocket and pressed it into her hand. “It’s okay. We’ll defeat this Ainz monster and come right after you.”

“Yeah. And then you’ll treat us to a drink.” Imina also took out a small leather pouch and gave it to Arché.

“…All right, please go. You can use the money I have stored at the inn, too.”

“And mine.”

Of course, none of them believed that would come to pass.

They didn’t have the slightest hope they would beat this unimaginable being, Ainz.

Arché knew this was their final farewell, and her response was more sob than words. “…Godt id. I’ll leab firsd, then.” She began to cast a spell.

“There are monsters in the air, so even if you try to fly away, you’ll get caught.”

“Fly!” Ignoring Ainz’s warning, she finished the spell. With one last glance at her friends, she flew into the sky.

“Well, yeah. It’s faster than walking, and you don’t get so tired.” He acted as if those things had slipped his mind. “Anyhow, I’m impressed you guys didn’t have a falling-out. I thought for sure you would make more of a scene.”

“You wouldn’t understand. We’re friends.”

“Yeah. It’s not so bad to die as a shield protecting your fri—” Then something dawned on her. “Weren’t your friends like that?”

“Nrgh!”

“Your friends were probably wonderful, weren’t they? We get along just as well as you guys probably did.”

“You’re right,” Ainz murmured quietly. The evil atmosphere of a moment ago had vanished as if it were a lie. “‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’—the Gospel of Mark, was it?”

“We’re fine dying. But in light of the fact that we’re taking the same action as your wonderful friends, please spare her.”

“Nrgh…” Ainz hesitated a couple of moments and then shook his head. “I have no pity for you thieves. Suffer, suffer, suffer, and then die. But in light of the fact that you were willing to give your lives to save your friend, I’ll do something else with her…”

He calmly turned his back to the two workers and called again to the VIP box. “Shalltear.” His attitude said there was no chance he would sustain damage.

But that was true. No matter what kind of attack they used, it wouldn’t reach him. The leeway he showed was due to his understanding of that. The two of them had no way to harm the monster known as Ainz. And so they stayed composed and racked their brains. They at least needed to buy Arché some time.

Even if it felt futile, they had to do it. Imina and Roberdyck exchanged glances and nodded to each other.

Meanwhile, a girl floated down from the VIP box in response to Ainz’s call.

It was a human girl with beautiful, shimmering, silver hair.

She possessed such beauty that it captured the workers’ attention despite the rage driving them.

Suddenly, the gorgeous girl shifted her gaze to look directly at them. Beautiful crimson eyes. Imina felt almost as if they were squeezing her heart. Roberdyck also seemed to be assailed by so much pressure he could barely breathe, much less move.

Even after she looked away, they couldn’t move.

“Shalltear. Teach that girl the meaning of fear. Let her punishment for invading the Great Tomb of Nazarick be the plunge from the naive hope of potential escape into the despair that will occur the moment she faces the truth. Then have mercy and give her a painless death.”

“Understood, Lord Ainz.”

The girl—Shalltear—smiled at him. But seeing the practically sparkling smile gave Imina chills. She knew instinctively that the girl was just a monster wearing pretty skin.

“Enjoy the hunt.”

“Indeed, I shall.” Shalltear bowed deeply and then set off walking at a leisurely pace.

Another Imina was shouting in a corner of her mind that every step that girl took was a step closer to Arché’s death, but she and Roberdyck still couldn’t move.

Shalltear walked by without paying them a fraction of her attention, without giving them so much as a glance. The distance was such that if they ran they could have caught up in no time, but it felt so far.

“What’s wrong? Still not going to move? You could have attacked while we were talking… You guys have better manners than I would have expected.”

He wasn’t making fun of them. He was serious. In a way, he seemed disappointed in them, and that gave Imina a bit of her will to fight back.

“I want to ask something! What—what about that is merciful?”

“I’ll tell you…priest. Here in Nazarick, death is merciful because it means no more pain.”

A silence descended. Mouths would no longer do the talking—only the weapons held in their hands.

“Let’s go, Rober!”

“Indeed! Rrrraaagh!”

With an uncharacteristic battle cry, Roberdyck smashed his mace into Ainz’s head. He’d struck without thinking, using all his strength. He figured Ainz wouldn’t dodge, so he’d put every ounce of energy in his body into it.

The mighty blow connected with Ainz’s face, but as expected, he didn’t seem to feel any pain. Roberdyck unleashed a follow-up attack, thrusting out an empty hand.

“Middle Cure Wounds!”

The target of the healing spell was Ainz—because healing magic naturally hurt undead. But before it could do anything, something like an invisible wall stopped it from taking effect, just as with Arché’s attack spell.

“Ahhhhh!”

With a scream that said she’d pulled out all the stops, Imina drew her bowstring—and let go. Roberdyck may have been right next to Ainz, but she wasn’t so clumsy that she would accidentally hit him. At this range, she was a hundred for a hundred.

But her arrow struck Ainz and fell to the floor without wounding him at all.

He suddenly vanished.

It’s the same tactic as before!

“Teleportation magic!”

“Wrong.”

The voice came from behind her.

“Imi—!”

Faster than Roberdyck could scream, Ainz gently set his hand on Imina’s shoulder. She sensed no hostility whatsoever.

But the effect was absolute. All the strength drained out of her body, and she crumpled. She’d managed to retain a firm grip on her consciousness, but it felt as if her muscles had turned to muck.

“What in the world did you do to her?” Roberdyck asked in a quaking voice. He didn’t take his eyes off Imina on the floor or Ainz standing next to her.

“You find it strange? It’s nothing really, though.” Ainz gave away his trick—with a heartbreaking answer. “It was pretty much the same as what I did before. After silently casting Stop Time, I used Touch of Undeath on my way over—the same spell I used on that man on the floor over there—and then I simply touched her from behind.”

A silence as if space had frozen. Roberdyck found the sound of himself swallowing strangely loud.

“…You stopped time…?”

“Yes. Gotta have a way to deal with time! You guys will have to make sure you get one once you get to level seventy. Ahh, but your lives are going to end here, so maybe not.”

Roberdyck’s teeth were chattering audibly.

That’s a lie. If he could have screamed that, how happy he would have been. How much easier would it have been to deny everything this monster—no, he was more like a god—said, plug up his ears, and curl into a ball?

He’d understood that this opponent was fairly strong.

But stopping time wasn’t something a creature of this world should be able to do.

People weren’t supposed to be able to govern or control the flow of time. So what could he hope to do against an opponent who could manipulate that? It seemed more likely that he would be able to cut down every tree in the great woodlands with a sword.

Ainz Ooal Gown… He was the type of being against which humans could never claim victory, a being in the divine realm.

Roberdyck clutched his mace in both hands—

—and felt something pat his shoulder.

“Ngha…”

His body froze. He knew who had tapped his shoulder without needing to look. Ainz, the godlike being who could manipulate time, should have been in front of him, but at some point he’d disappeared.

A chill poured in from the hand on his shoulder, and he turned into an ice sculpture. He was so immobilized that’s what it felt like.

“No, you can’t.”

How gentle—a voice without a shred of hostility spoke to him. The mace dropped out of Roberdyck’s limp hands and fell to the ground.

“Now, then,” murmured Ainz, gazing at Roberdyck, who had lost all will to fight. “That was futile, wasn’t it? Nice try.”

None of their attacks had any effect. They had no way to deal damage to Ainz. Thoroughly beaten, Roberdyck quietly looked up at him and asked with a calm heart, “I’d like to ask you something. What fate awaits me?”

“Hmm? You’re a faith caster, so yours will be different from theirs.” With those opening remarks, Ainz expounded on his plans. “First, those two. Aura, take them to the big pit. Apparently, the King of Hungry Prolyferum is running out of nests.”

The dark elf’s ears stiffened, and her eyes widened.

“L-Lord Ainz, what about Mare? Could I order Mare to take them there?”

“Er, sure. That’s fine.”

“Got it! I’ll make Mare do it!”

“Oh—sorry. Anyhow, so their fate’s not going to be terribly carefree. Now, about you—ah, but before that… My subordinate who just went chasing after your friend is a faith caster, but the god she believes in is completely different from yours. Or rather, I’ve never heard of your Four Gods. So tell me something: The subordinate deities all have names, but the Four or the Six just go by their type—god of fire, god of earth, and so on. Why is that?”

“Hmm, I don’t know.”

“I see… So they aren’t transcendental beings possessing mystical powers but just deifications of great people from the past…”

“Nonsense!”

“Well, hear me out. That’s just what I think. But you guys say you borrow the power of the gods to cast your spells. Can a dead human help you out like that? I mean, what is a god when you get down to it anyway? Do they really exist? Do you really get your power from gods?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“…Have you ever seen a god?”

“The gods are always with us!”

“From that response, I gather that you’ve never actually seen one.”

“No! When I use magic, I feel a great presence! That is the gods.”

“…Who decided that? The gods? Or the ones who used the power?”

Roberdyck recalled various theological arguments, but he couldn’t find a clear answer to Ainz’s question. It was actually still a point of debate among various priests, but they had concluded that it had to be at least part of what a god was.

Roberdyck opened his mouth to speak, but Ainz bulldozed over him. “Well, supposing that ‘presence’ is beings from a higher dimension—gods—perhaps they’re featureless. At least that’s how I imagine them—basically clusters of power. The difference is what color of paint is drizzled over them… But, well, this is a world with laws of magic, so I’d like to take a jab at myself and ask what I’m even thinking. It wouldn’t be strange if there were gods here.”

“…”

“Sorry. That’s not what I wanted to say. I wonder if it wouldn’t be possible to acquire the power of your gods… To be frank, I want to perform experiments on humans.”

He voiced the exceedingly dangerous idea so simply.

“Experiments on humans?”

“Yeah. For example, what would happen if I changed your memory to make you believe in different gods?”

He’s insane. That was Roberdyck’s instinctual impression.

No, he was talking to an undead. Nothing Ainz could do would be surprising.

Roberdyck had backed up a step, and Ainz watched him with interest. The gaze was like the one a scholar would use to observe a test animal, and it made Roberdyck feel sick.

“Why would you do that?”

“To prove the existence of the gods… Okay, but seriously, my real aim is to see if I can get stronger by understanding that power. And if gods really do exist, I need to determine if they have the emotional and intellectual capacity to become hostile. I don’t believe that I’m some chosen one. I can sense more than one shadowy figure…”

I have no idea what he’s talking about.

“That’s why I need to expand my military. Sure, there might not be any enemies; there might not be anyone stronger than us. But don’t you think it’d be irresponsible to neglect those possibilities as the leader of an organization? If you don’t aim higher and simply rest on your laurels feeling strong, sooner or later someone will pull them out from under you.” Ainz shrugged his shoulders and finished by saying that testing if the gods existed or not was a part of that whole plan.

2

Arché breathed roughly in and out, in and out.

She shuddered every time the wind rustled the grass and trees. She scanned the area like a helpless little animal.

She was in a forest, and there were many places the light did not reach. It was blocked by the branches of the densely growing trees, so almost none of it made it to the ground.

The reason Arché could move through this place humans would normally have a hard time traversing, even though she had no light, was that she was seeing things as if it were midday thanks to Night Vision.

But even though she could see clearly, there was no end to things she had to pay attention to: underbrush that could easily hide a person, huge trees someone could definitely lurk behind, swaying branches…

Arché, a caster, wouldn’t be able to muscle a monster off her if one pounced and knocked her down. Normally, her friends would jump in to save her, but now she had no one to rescue her, no one to take the brunt of a monster’s attacks, and no one to heal her.

In other words, she had to detect enemies before they challenged her at close quarters; she had to keep her distance or run away. Knowing that was precisely why she was straining her attention to keep an eye on her surroundings, exhausting her mental faculties faster than usual.

Under the assumption they were outside, her original plan had been to escape all at once using Fly. But she abandoned that idea when she ascended to the treetops and caught sight of huge, dark silhouettes like paper cutouts circling the night sky as if searching for something.

Having seen those huge bat-like things, she didn’t feel like trying to outfly them. Even if she used Invisibility, she couldn’t fool a bat’s special sensory organs.

Having confirmed the area was clear, she floated up again and proceeded at a sluggish pace.

She was moving far slower than Fly’s top speed in order to take in her surroundings. If she went too fast, even if she was being cautious, she would notice any danger only once it was too late. She could even end up flying straight into a group of monsters. The only way to avoid a scenario like that was to reduce her speed.

Soon, she felt the film of magic surrounding her grow weaker. Fly’s time limit was nearly up.

She landed slowly on the ground.

The problem was what to do next. It wouldn’t be an issue to use Fly again. She could sense that she had enough magical energy for that. But Night Vision was critical, and there was also the cost of maintaining the defensive spell she had cast just to be safe; she also needed to save some energy in case combat became unavoidable.

Of all the spells Arché could use, the tier-three spell Fly was the most advanced. In other words, it made the biggest dent in her energy. As long as that was the case, she wanted to avoid using it, if possible.

But she couldn’t even guess how long it would take her to escape the forest if she couldn’t use the spell that would allow her to ignore the rough terrain and save her the physical exertion of traversing it. And if she couldn’t fly, she wouldn’t be able to confirm her position.

Up until now, Arché had been periodically ascending to the treetops and orienting herself relative to the large tree adjacent to the arena. If she moved without using Fly, it would be easy to lose her sense of direction. She couldn’t see any large trees that could be used as signposts from within the dense forest, and the situation wasn’t such that she could climb the nearest one every time she wanted to check her position.

“I should take a break somewhere,” she said to herself.

If she took a break and recovered some magical energy, she would be able to use Fly many more times, and it would be safer to move in daylight anyhow. Many forest-dwelling monsters were nocturnal.

It would be far safer to spend the night in hiding than to force herself through the dark forest.

But she didn’t know where she could take shelter.

If Imina had been there, she would have told her. If Hekkeran and Roberdyck had been there, she could have rested easy even in a dangerous area. Now, though, she didn’t have any teammates to rely on.

“Imina… Roberdyck…” She leaned against a tree and thought of her friends. “You liars…”

So much time had passed, and yet she hadn’t gotten any word from them.

So they couldn’t escape.

No, she had already known—that they wouldn’t be able to beat that incomparably powerful being, Ainz. Then perhaps the reason she held out a faint hope was that she was a fool…

She sat heavily, rested her back on the tree, and closed her eyes. She was aware of the danger, but she just wanted to close her eyes.

She squeezed them shut and thought of her three friends.

The bark of the tree felt pleasantly cool against her head. Once she had a rested a moment, it hit her how tired she really was. Her elevated tension weighed her down with mental exhaustion.

She sighed.

She relaxed her neck and tilted her head back.

And her eyes nearly popped out of it.

She couldn’t process the thing that appeared in her vivid field of Night Vision.

Something was looking down at her.

It was a girl Arché had never seen before, so beautiful she got the chills.

Her clothes were entirely out of place—a soft-looking raven-black ball gown. Her skin was almost waxy white. She had gathered up her long silver hair in one hand so it didn’t hang down onto Arché.

Even the former noble Arché had never seen a girl this pretty. If she appeared at a ball, all the men would be clamoring for her attention. With that beauty, she could probably get whatever she wanted. The red eyes were so bewitching, she felt like her soul might get sucked out.

Arché immediately came back to herself. Someone dressed like that shouldn’t be in a place like this. Besides, she had her feet planted on the tree and was standing perpendicular to its trunk.

The possibility that came to mind was that she was giving chase on behalf of Ainz. But she couldn’t say for sure that she wasn’t a longtime inhabitant of the forest.

“Are we done playing tag?”

Her faint hope was crushed.

“You’re after me?” Arché leaped to her feet and pointed her staff at the girl while securing some distance.

Meanwhile, the girl seemed to almost have lost interest in Arché and walked down the tree onto the ground. “Better run.”

“If I defeat you right here, I’ll be able to get away safely,” she said, though she was grimacing on the inside. She knew she wouldn’t be able to beat any pursuer sent by that monster stronger than the bounds of common sense allowed. But she put on a brave front to gauge her opponent’s reaction.

“Go right ahead. I have time for a dalliance.” Her attitude said she was fully aware of the gap between their abilities. In other words, fighting Arché was only a game for her.

“Fly!”

Arché cast the spell and began her escape. She didn’t have time to fly sluggishly near the ground. She ascended all at once. Protecting her face with her hands, she sped through the branches and popped out above the trees.

Arché took in her surroundings beneath the night sky. She was on guard against the presence of a monster like those huge bats she had seen before, but she didn’t see any nearby. Then all she had to do was flee.

“Yeah! You can do it! You can do it!”

Just as she was about to get away, a pretty voice cheered her on. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Her eyes roamed, trying to find where the voice had come from. Then in front of her, higher than she was—at some point the girl had appeared.

“Lightning!”

A pale-blue shock ripped across the sky from the tip of Arché’s staff and struck her. It was the highest-tier attack spell Arché could use, but even when it zapped through the girl, her smile didn’t waver.

She’s a being equal to Ainz, Arché realized. That meant she didn’t stand a chance. As she attempted to flee, the girl’s voice shouted gleefully. “My kin!”

Huge wings sprouted from her back. They were like bat wings, only gigantic. An extraordinarily large bat separated from her and took flight. Of course, the crimson-eyed bat couldn’t be a mere beast.

The girl sneered at her as the bat climbed into the sky with audible flaps of its wings. It was a sinister smile that didn’t seem her age at all and made Arché’s blood run cold.

“Now then, do your best to flee…”

Arché flew away.

She thought only of fleeing and flew.

She swooped into the forest to lose the thing chasing her and flew, though the branches hurt her.

The reason she had left her teammates behind was to flee. She had to at least get away. She would do anything to get away.

And how long had she been flying when…? She met despair face-to-face.

A wall.

There was an invisible wall.

Though the world went on and on, a wall stood in her way. She was over six hundred feet aboveground. The wall went that high.

“What…?” she murmured, hopeless. She flew, brushing her hand along it, but wall, wall, wall, wall.

Yes, the hard sensation under her hand remained wherever she went.

“What is this?”

“A wall.”

She was talking to herself, so there shouldn’t have been an answer, and yet… With an idea of whose voice it was, she turned around with a worn-out look on her face.

It was who she had expected: the little girl. And near her flapped three of those huge bats.

“You seem to have misunderstood something. This is the sixth level of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. In other words, you’re underground.”

“This is?” She pointed at the world around them. The sky had stars, a breeze was blowing, and a forest spread across the earth. Her idea that a place like this couldn’t possibly be underground clashed with the thought that these people could probably pull off something like that.

“The Forty-One Supreme beings are the former rulers of this land, as well as our creators. This is a system they built that even we cannot comprehend.”

“They created the world? But that’s what the gods…”

“Exactly. To us, Lord Ainz and the others who were once with us are godlike beings.”

Arché looked around.

She had already accepted it. Having been told all that, what other choice did she have but to accept? She would never get out of this place alive.

“Now then, you aren’t going to run away?”

“Can I?”

“No. Because I have no intention of allowing you to escape.”

“I see.”

She clenched her staff in both hands and lunged at the girl. She was out of magical energy, so she couldn’t use any spells. But she would still fight to run, all the way to the end. That’s what she had to do as the last remaining member of Foresight.

“Yes, yes, nicely done,” the girl responded to Arché’s desperate charge in a bored voice. “Your getaway ends here. How unfortunate that you didn’t collapse into a sobbing heap.”

The girl effortlessly caught Arché’s staff mid-swing and yanked it toward her. Arché lost her balance and fell into the girl. The pair of them wrestled in midair.

In one smooth motion, the girl buried her face in Arché’s neck. Arché struggled, trying to throw her off, but she wouldn’t budge—it was as if they were glued together.

She shivered at an unpleasantly warm breath on the nape of her neck.

“…Oh. You smell all sweaty.”

Arché was a worker. She couldn’t help it if her body wasn’t pristine while she was on a job. It was just par for the course for workers, adventurers, travelers, and anyone outside for long periods of time. If anybody got called dirty, they would just say And? and laugh.

But when a gorgeous girl younger than her said it, she couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

The girl’s face moved away from Arché’s neck. The moment she saw those crimson eyes, she was seized by an intense loathing—because her eyes were like those of a lustful man about to devour a woman’s body.

“Relax. You’ll go to your death painlessly. Be grateful for Lord Ainz’s mercy.”

“!” She’d been about to talk back, but she was shocked—by the fact that she couldn’t move. It was as if her soul had been swallowed up by those crimson eyes.

That was when the true nature of this girl finally dawned on Arché. Her opponent wasn’t a human but a vampire.

“…And now…” The girl brought her face in close, and the tongue that slipped between her parted lips licked Arché’s cheek. “Salty.”

The girl grinned, and despair tormented Arché’s heart.

The girl’s grin widened.

Her lips reached her ears in a smile that threatened to split her face right open. Pigment seeped from her irises, turning her eyeballs entirely bloodred.

Then her mouth sprang open. It had been lined with pretty white teeth, but now it had sprouted multiple sharklike rows of countless narrow, white things reminiscent of syringes. Her oral cavity sparkled wetly, gleaming an obscene pink as clear drool spilled from the corners of her mouth.

The fear welling up from the pit of Arché’s stomach enveloped her.

“Ah-ha! Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Before this cackling monster belching the stench of blood, Arché parted from her mind.

The last thing she thought of were her two sisters waiting for her at home.

“Huhhhh? You blacked ouuuuuuuuut? Then I don’t have to knock you unconscious with magic. Enter the god of death’s embrace right there from your dreams.”

3

Ainz left the job of disposing of the raiders to the others, booted up the monitor in the Throne Room, and browsed Nazarick’s data. The thing he’d been most worried about, their available funds, had barely changed at all, because they hadn’t used any traps that cost money. This was plenty worthy of being called a success.

He smiled—although his skull face didn’t move—at Albedo, who was waiting nervously for his critique, and praised her. “Magnificent. Those raiders were weak, but for humans in this world, they were on the strong side. If you were able to get rid of them with so few expenses, then I have no problem leaving Nazarick’s defenses up to you.”

“Thank you.” Visibly relieved, she bowed deeply. “Lord Ainz, how are you doing on time?”

“Fine. I heard from Pandora’s Actor that although the workers are running late, they decided to wait a day or until they notice some change in the ruins.”

Faced with the reality of not a single worker returning in the morning, the adventurers panicked, but Momon—Pandora’s Actor—proposed that they wait a day. In the event of an emergency, the plan had been to evacuate the base and watch from a safer distance, but an adamantite-rank adventurer’s words carried more weight.

“Then could I trouble you for a moment? I wanted to suggest something…”

“What is it, Albedo? Wait just a second… Okay, no problem.” He checked Hamusuke and the lizardmen on the monitor before turning back around. “Okay, what’s your suggestion?”

“Ahem.” She looked around the room before speaking. “It’s related to something those fools said earlier. I’m wondering how high you are prioritizing finding the other Supreme Beings.”

“It’s our most important task. As long as we’re not putting the Great Tomb of Nazarick in danger, it’s my highest priority,” Ainz answered immediately.

“Okay. I understand. Then I want to propose this all the more. I’d like permission to form a team directly under me that will search for them.”

“What do you mean?”

His tone was unintentionally sharp—because she’d hit on his heart’s hidden desire.

There had been plenty of opportunities to search for his guildmates. But each time he didn’t have anyone to help, or they didn’t have enough intelligence, so he had been continuously putting off making a plan.

What if we searched every corner of this world and didn’t find them? When he thought of that possibility, it was hard to get started. Rather than putting in a lot of effort only to confirm he was alone, he would become a monster bent on improving his reputation; that allowed him to hold on to some hope.

“It was immediately clear that the claims the fools were making earlier were false, but in the future, there may be times when the truth of such a claim is more difficult to ascertain. I would like to form a team that both confirms the reliability of our information and searches for the Supreme Beings. I thought it might be good if I did a detailed investigation and then reported to you.”

Ainz put a hand to his chin and groaned. “I see…” Recalling his earlier conversation with the workers, he felt not anger but emptiness. There was nothing more painful than being kept hovering on the border between hope and despair. It seemed that whatever his personal feelings were, it was time, as head of the organization, to take a decisive step forward, even if it were a small one.

“It wouldn’t have to be you, would it? I want you to continue the fine job you do managing the tomb. Assuming such a team would be outside Nazarick gathering intelligence…it seems like Mare and Aura would be appropriate? Supposedly, there are dark elves out there, so they would even fit in.”

“It’s as you say, my lord. However, there is one thing that worries me, and that is the possibility of reckless actions. For example, just how we might suppose Shalltear would behave recklessly if she caught wind of Lord Peroroncino, it is unclear how Mare and Aura would react if they heard something about Lady BubblingTeapot.”

“I see…” Ainz winced as he recalled Shalltear. “Yeah, you may be right.”

“So I humbly arrived at the conclusion that we should create a team under me.”

“…You wouldn’t get reckless if you found out something about Tabula?”

“You can rest at ease. As the captain of Nazarick’s guardians, I would never do such a thing. I promise.”

“I see…”

The chances of wise Albedo, so skilled in managing Nazarick’s internal organization, running wild were low. Now and then, she did something a little stupid, but she still handled Nazarick while Ainz was away with no problem, so he trusted her.

“Personally, I think Demiurge would also be a good choice, but he’s busy with various other things. Adding the important role of gathering intelligence about the Supreme Beings to his workload would be too much, I think.”

“That’s reasonable. What about using Pandora’s Actor?”

“That is precisely what I would like to do. Please allow me to borrow him as my aide-de-camp.”

“I see. Two of Nazarick’s best minds are unmistakably better than one, but…he also has to manage the treasury. Let me lend him to you when you need him.”

“Thank you. And may I inquire about some related matters?”

Ainz gestured with his chin that she should go ahead.

“If possible, I’d like this Supreme Being search party under me to have strong members.”

“That’s only natural. I’ll provide you with our most elite minions.”

“Thank you. It would also be great if I could get the undead aide you created.”

“That’s a no. That one is level ninety if I remember correctly, but…” The undead Ainz could create with a skill using experience points, such as an overlord wiseman or a grim reaper thanatos, were stronger than NPCs for hire; he could only make one, but it was powerful. The problem was that as long as he didn’t have a way to gain vast amounts of experience here like he could in Yggdrasil, he wanted to avoid using skills that consumed it. “Yeah, no. You’ll be responsible for the team, and Pandora’s Actor will aid you. Let’s make the rest monsters.”

“Understood. Then one other thing: I’d like to keep this team secret from the other guardians.”

“Why? Wouldn’t it be better to have their cooperation?”

“No. If word got out, the guardians and others created by the Supreme Beings may ask to be taken along so they can see for themselves. In the case of a trap, that would mean leaping needlessly into danger. I have superior defensive skills, so I’m confident that I could escape and make it back if it was just me, but with others along…”

“That makes sense. Okay, Albedo. We’ll do it your way.”

“Thank you, Lord Ainz!” She bowed so low her long hair completely covered her face.

“That’s fine. More importantly, I’m counting on you, you know!”

“Yes, my lord! My secret special-ops group on orders of the utmost importance will be sure not to disappoint you!”

Ainz cocked his head in his mind. That seemed like a strange way to respond. Well, whatever.

“Okay, let’s select your subordinates. Instead of having you pull ones who are stationed in Nazarick, how about we create some new ones? How many in their eighties do you want?”

“For now, fifteen would suffice.”

“Fifteen? Isn’t that kind of a…?” Having said that much, Ainz shook his head. Searching for his old friends was critical. In that case, fifteen was barely even an expense. “No, you’re right. Okay.”

“I also wanted to ask your permission to grant Rubedo commanding authority…”

“Rejected.” His answer was immediate.

Rubedo was the strongest individual in Nazarick. In a pure melee fight, she was stronger than Sebas, Cocytus, or Albedo. Compared to Rubedo, whom Ainz probably couldn’t beat fully equipped, even Shalltear seemed weak.

The only ones who can beat her are those stationed on the eighth level, and that’s only if we also use a World Item. I doubt she could actually take one of them, but…

“Since the test to boot her up was successful, I don’t feel the need to do anything with her for the time being. More importantly, why would you need that much combat power?”

“It’s embarrassing, but shall I tell you?”

“Go ahead?”

“I just thought since I had the opportunity, I should try to make the strongest team possible.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!” It was incredibly childish, but still, Ainz could understand how she felt, so he burst out laughing. The emotion was suppressed at once, but he still felt ripples of pleasant feelings.

“Lord Ainz!”

Albedo seemed upset, but Ainz grinned at her—although his face didn’t move—and said, “Sorry, sorry. Er, yeah. That’s very interesting. I see. Then let’s give your little sister commanding authority.”

“Are you sure it’s all right?”

“Sure, it’s fine. You should make your dream team. Besides, maybe I’ll make use of their power for something else in the future.”

“Thank you, Lord Ainz!”

She was bowing so deeply he couldn’t see her expression, but he assumed it was her usual smile. When he turned his attention back to the monitor, Entoma entered the Throne Room.

She strode directly to a place near the throne, got down on one knee, and bowed her head low.

“Do excuse me.”

“What is it, Entoma?”

She verbally acknowledged Albedo’s stern query without changing her posture and then replied, “I’m here to report that it’s time for Mistress Aura and Master Mare to depart.”

“I see… Raise your head.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Entoma gave another clipped acknowledgment and looked up.

“I have some time, so I’ll go see them off. It would be tactless to just say good-bye via magic. Sorry, Entoma, but please go ahead of me and tell them I’m coming.”

“Understood.”

With her eyes on Entoma as she stood and walked away, Albedo asked Ainz, “Lord Ainz, did that not displease you? It shouldn’t have been Entoma but one of the other maids. I’ll reprimand them.”

“…What?”

“I just thought hearing that rude little girl’s voice would—”

“Ohh, don’t worry about that. On the contrary, I was the one who recommended it—wait, Entoma!”

“My lord! What is it?” She turned around flustered, but Ainz stopped her from returning and instructed her to speak to him from where she was.

“What did you do with the rest of her? Were you sure to make good use of all her parts?”

“Yes. One of the silk hats took her head. The dead man’s struggles shared her arms. Master Demiurge took her skin. The rest went to feed Grant’s children, so I think we can say everything was put to good use.”

“Okay. That’s fine, then. It’s our responsibility as the ones who hunted and killed her to not waste anything. Any hunter would surely do the same. It’s like a memorial offering.”

“How kind you are, Lord Ainz. But of course a Supreme Being would show such mercy, even to a dirty thief. Any member of Nazarick would surely be moved to tears if they heard what you said just now.” Albedo’s voice had become emotional.

Even Entoma’s unusual eyes seemed to contain a hint of respect.

“Er, well, sure… In the end, it’s my feeling on the matter; I don’t intend to coerce you all into it. That said, I still think it’s polite to use all the parts of those we kill to our advantage.”

“Understood! Then we’ll make sure to use the others to the fullest as well.”

As the pair of them bowed, Ainz had the same sensation he did when his buttons were done up a hole off, but he answered “good” nonetheless.

4

There were a number of meeting and sitting rooms inside the Ministry of Magic complex. The one Fluder was heading for was the sitting room with the most luxurious furnishings. It was only used when the emperor or someone of similar rank visited.

He stood outside and checked his appearance.

His robe was a first-rate article he could have worn to a soiree hosted by the emperor, and the perfume he’d applied on the sleeves and collar was giving off a pleasant scent.

Normally, Fluder had nothing to do with politics or society. Or rather, his wish was to focus solely on his magic research, so he found other things bothersome. Still, he knew he wasn’t in a position where he could insist on ignoring them.

He didn’t want his appearance to tarnish the empire’s dignity.

All right, I’m fine.

After confirming nothing was amiss, he knocked on the door and opened it.

There were two adventurers in the splendid room: a warrior wearing raven-black armor almost like the kind the death knight he had just visited wore and an eye-catching—even Fluder’s, for a moment—beauty.

Momon from Raven Black. Beautiful Princess Nabe…

“Apologies for keeping you waiting.” Fluder quietly closed the door and suddenly realized something felt strange.

That’s odd…

Still at the door, he squinted at the peerless beauty.

“…I can’t see it?” Fluder, with his eyes, should have been able to see something else overlapping her figure. He was so shocked that he couldn’t, he murmured in spite of himself.

Fluder had been born with a talent: He could see auras around casters that showed what tiers of magic they could use.

But even though Raven Back’s Beautiful Princess Nabe was a caster, he couldn’t detect an aura.

Detection defense?

That was all he could think. In that case, a question arose: Why would she be using detection defense? Normal adventurers normally didn’t go so far. It was a nuisance to allot some of their power for that, and they weren’t often in a position where they had to be wary in such a manner. On top of that, meeting someone with detection defense active could be considered rude.

Of course, the side using a detection ability has no manners, either…but why would she conceal her power?

Fluder’s talent was known far and wide, so perhaps it was a measure against it, but that didn’t answer the question.

A suspicious voice called out to Fluder. “Is something the matter?”

“Ohhh, how rude of me.” Fluder took a seat facing Momon. Still, he couldn’t help glancing at Nabe out of the corner of his eye.

“Ahh, I see. Well, shall we begin?”

Begin what?

Before Fluder could ask, Momon continued, “Nabe, maybe it’s about time you took off your ring.”

“Understood.”

She took off her ring. That moment—

—it was like being hit with a bomb blast.

“Wha—?!”

He thought he might scream.

Nabe was giving off an overpowering amount of energy.

It wasn’t as if he could feel actual air pressure. This was a torrent of power only people with the same talent as Fluder could see.

He curled up and shivered like someone being blown on by a northerly wind.

“This…this can’t…”

This can’t be. It’s just not possible. This kind of power, greater than his own, shouldn’t have existed.

And yet, he couldn’t force the rest of his denial out. The scene before his eyes was reality. His ability had never betrayed him before. That meant it was true that this woman’s power far surpassed his own.

“Tier seven…? No… Could this immense rush of energy…be proof of…tier eight…?”

If that were the case, she had reached the mythological realm.

Fluder could no longer speak. The fifth tier of magic was the heroic realm. And the sixth tier, which Fluder had reached, was untrodden territory. Someone who, nevertheless, could effortlessly enter the next tier had suddenly appeared before him; no wonder he was speechless.

And she was such a pretty young lady.

Maybe her appearance doesn’t reflect her age?!

As he trembled with astonishment, Fluder noticed out of the corner of his eye that Momon was removing his black gauntlets. Then he took off one of his rings.

“!”

For an instant, the world whited out in a flash, and Fluder had the feeling he had lost consciousness.

What had just happened was incomprehensible. Even Fluder, who had been alive over two hundred years, who could use the highest tier of magic humans had ever reached, could not understand it.

“Wh-wh-wh-what—what in the world?!”

Something hot flowed onto Fluder’s cheeks, but he had neither the presence of mind nor the energy to wipe it away. The shock was that upsetting.

Who could have predicted it? Who could have guessed that the man hailed as the Dark Warrior was actually an arcane caster at a level Fluder could only dream of?

“If she’s tier eight, then…tier nine? No… What…? Ohh, dear gods…”

The overwhelming amount of energy bursting from Momon the Dark Warrior easily transcended Nabe’s. If he’s beyond Nabe, who’s at tier eight, then how high is the tier he uses?

The question from a corner of his brain was answered by his soul.

The tenth tier… It was the absolute realm, presumed to exist, but which no one had ever confirmed. A being from that supreme realm had arrived before him.

Fluder had stood and now kneeled before Momon, tears still streaming down his face.

“I believed in lesser deities who governed magic. However, if you are not one of them, my faith has just been extinguished—because a true god has just appeared before me.” Fluder vigorously prostrated himself, banging his head into the floor. The pain was nothing compared to the irrepressible joy in his heart. “I realize it’s impertinent, but you have my gratitude in advance! Please grant me your wisdom! I wish to peer into the abyss of magic! I beg you! I beg you!”

“And how much will you pay for it?”

The voice was cold like a sheet of ice—ask anyone and they would have agreed—but Fluder could only hear it as sweet music to his ears. He knew, of course, that it was toxic, but what did that matter?

He would pay any price with zero hesitation, even offer his soul.

“Everything! Yes, I will give everything I have to you, my lord, master of the abyss, the ever profound one.”

“…Very well. If you will give me everything, then I will make my knowledge yours. I’ll grant your wish.”

“Ohhh! Ohhhhhh!” Fluder cried tears of joy, still grinding his head into the floor. His heart, which had been a hard nugget of envy, melted. He had been waiting over two hundred years, but the possibility of realizing his dream was finally at hand.

Ecstatic with excitement, he edged toward Ainz without raising his head and kissed his master’s greaves. He had originally planned to lick them, but he worried it would displease this god, so he compromised by taking a tip from a composed corner of his mind and drawing the line at using his lips.

“That’s enough. I acknowledge your devotion.”

“Ohhhh! Thank you……master!”

“Your first order is to send sacrifices to my castle!”

“Gramps! Gramps! What’s wrong, Gramps?”

Fluder, lost in thought, came back to himself at the sound of a voice calling him. The shocking encounter from several days before still loomed large in his mind and immediately beckoned him to a fantasy land if he relaxed his focus.

Fluder blinked several times and remembered where he was, then bobbed his head to the one addressing him.

“I beg your pardon, Your Imperial Majesty. I was just thinking.”

There was only one person who called Fluder “Gramps”—the emperor of the Baharuth Empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix. And this was his office.

Normally, the room didn’t have so many people in it, but today it was unusually crowded. There was Jircniv himself, along with four guards; Fluder Paradyne, the empire’s most powerful wizard; ten of Jircniv’s most trusted retainers, who were sharp enough to supplement even the emperor’s unparalleled intelligence; as well as one of the Four, said to be the strongest knights in the empire, Lightning Baswood Peshmel.

They all sat where they pleased and had been debating imperial policy. The papers scattered everywhere spoke to how heated the meeting had become. Some of the participants were even starting to lose their voices.

The young emperor, known also as the Fresh Blood Emperor, said something to Fluder that he never said to anyone: “Don’t worry about it. I cause a lot of trouble for you. I’d like to hold back a bit, since you’re getting older, but I can’t seem to help but rely on you. Forgive me.”

“I’m grateful for your kind consideration, Your Imperial Majesty, but I am your faithful servant. Please order me without compunction.” Fluder accepted the emperor’s sentiments and bowed slightly.

He’s grown into a fine young man, thought Fluder, looking at the handsome youth.

Fluder had begun serving the empire about six generations previous.

He hadn’t gotten along with the emperor at the time, six emperors ago. Still, his elite magic ability found him in one of the highest positions at court almost immediately after he was invited.

Consequently, he was a little closer with the following emperor, and at the same time he was granted the position of principal court wizard, he was engaged in the magic education of the emperor’s heir.

Three emperors ago, he began passing on all sorts of wisdom as a more general teacher and became deeply involved in policy.

Then came the current emperor, so precious to him.

Fluder had witnessed generations of emperors, and there was not a single incompetent one among them. Each of them seemed chosen by the gods in their excellence; they were all children blessed with aptitude (although the first one he served was in the prime of his life). Even in that splendid company, the current emperor was exceedingly bright. Although it had been in the works for two generations, the reason they were able to declare the country an absolute monarchy was his ability.

Fluder loved Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix.

He’d poured himself into his education as if he were his own son. He was sure the emperor thought of him as a second father, too.

Still…

Even if he loved him like his own son, he would cut him off.

I want to peer into the abyss of magic, Jir. To do that, there is nothing I wouldn’t abandon, even a charming boy like you.

“So, Your Imperial Majesty, are you all right with completely canceling this season’s invasion of the kingdom?”

“Yeah. Looking into that demon Jaldabaoth is more important. Gramps, did you come up with anything?”

“I’m afraid not, Your Imperial Majesty. We’re looking, but we haven’t found any documentation.”

Yes. That was his story.

“Sir Paradyne, can you not investigate using magic?”

Fluder put on a prudent expression and half closed his eyes. “Certainly magic possesses omnipotent potential, but…”

“Sorry, Gramps. You tend to ramble about that stuff. Better skip ahead.”

“Understood, Your Imperial Majesty.” Fluder looked disappointed and continued in the tone of a teacher instructing a dull-witted child. “There are ways to counter magical searches. For instance, do you know the walls of this room have a barrier to keep sound from escaping? There are other examples. Detection magic obstruction is one.”

“Aha… So there are all sorts of methods for countering, and that makes it difficult…”

“Yes. And we would have to consider ourselves lucky if our spell getting negated were the end of it. Casters in higher realms sometimes prepare counterattacks against detection magic—spells that could even kill someone if they weren’t careful.”

What use could my level of magic be to the Supreme One? …There is truly no one more worthy of the words Supreme One than him… I must show him I can be useful as soon as possible…

Several people made sour faces when he mentioned that one could be instantly killed in a counterattack, but Fluder wasn’t interested in their opinions.

“In that case”—one of the retainers picked up a sheet of paper—“does the fact that you managed to locate what appears to be the base of the caster Ainz Ooal Gown mean that you’re superior to him?”

“Don’t be naive!” He suppressed a bitter grin and spoke forcefully so they would sense his irritation. “You’re being too optimistic. When we noticed that he had saved the village of Carne—no, that he had saved only the village of Carne—we were monitoring the entire vicinity when we discovered the ruins. Since we had never heard of them before, we continued monitoring and just happened to see the caster Ainz Ooal Gown enter them. You’ll land yourself in trouble if you forget that it was nothing more than serendipity!”

He meant it in part. Only a fool would take the Supreme One lightly. Well, he’d done it, too, but how pitiful it was to be ignorant.

Fluder inwardly sneered at his previous, foolish self. What a truly dark time that was.

“I beg your pardon.”

Fluder accepted the apology with a raised hand.

“Oh, speaking of which, Gramps, what happened with the workers we sent in?”

“I received the first report via Message from a spy I had tail them, and it appears they’ve been wiped out.”

Jircniv counted the days on his fingers, and his eyes widened just a little. He had heard they sent multiple rather outstanding teams. If they were really all annihilated in a day, or maybe even only half a day, that would be surprising.

Of course, Fluder wasn’t surprised. He thought it was an utterly natural outcome. But the expression he put on his face was one of disbelief.

“…Really? Still, we can’t rely only on magic intelligence. When will the adventurers be back?”

“When no one returned, they decided to withdraw immediately, but it will take about four more days.”

“So to get information from the returned adventurers, it will take…at least five days? I guess we can’t make any moves during that time, then?”

Message was not a very reliable source of intelligence. The farther away someone was, the harder it was to hear them. But there were other reasons that many nations didn’t trust the spell enough to use it for important matters.

The most famous incident was probably the tragedy of the country called Gattenburg.

Gattenburg was a human nation of mainly casters that three hundred years ago made it possible to rapidly share information by connecting its cities with Message. They trusted Message too much, and just three pieces of false intelligence plunged the country into civil war. The cities fought one another, and when monsters and subhumans attacked on top of that, the country fell to ruin.

The bards sang many other tragic tales, such as the one about the man who killed his wife after hearing she was unfaithful, but it turned out to be a lie.

For all those reasons, there were few people who trusted Message. Rather, people who trusted it too much were liable to be called fools. Jircniv was one of the people who didn’t put much faith in the spell. He did use it, but he made it a rule to have an additional source for his information. He never relied solely on magic.

“But what an idiot. If he had hired a worker team out of E-Rantel, things would have gone more our way. His incompetence is why we can have him dance in the palm of our hand, but at the same time, it’s a problem if he’s too incompetent. We need him to be a better decoy.”

“It’s just as you say, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Jircniv furrowed his brow at Fluder’s agreement.

The plan they had created upon accepting Fluder’s proposal at a meeting several days ago had two objectives.

One was to grasp Ainz Ooal Gown’s personality.

Fluder had noticed that Ainz Ooal Gown’s presence hadn’t moved from the ruins for a few days. This led them to conclude the ruins were the caster’s base, so they sent the worker teams in to gauge Ainz’s reaction.

How would he react to someone intruding into his home—moderately or severely?

From the fact that the workers had been wiped out, they had grasped one facet of his personality.

The other object was to sour the relationship between Ainz Ooal Gown and the kingdom. The best would have been to hire workers from E-Rantel, but unfortunately that’s not how it happened.

He wasn’t that stupid…

The only information that had gone to the count was that there were some unexplored ruins. It would have taken guts to hire kingdom workers for the shady purpose of ransacking ruins in kingdom territory on behalf of a noble from the empire. Hiring workers from the empire was the best they could have expected him to do.

But that wouldn’t sour the relationship between Ainz Ooal Gown and E-Rantel, much less the relationship between him and Re-Estize as a whole. So to accomplish the second goal, they had to make sure word of the ruins got to the Adventurers Guild in the kingdom as well.

“Momon’s visit to the empire worked in our favor.”

“It sure did. He’ll probably be the one to tell the guild over there that the workers were all killed in those unexplored ruins. Once they know the empire is targeting the ruins, they’ll get serious and mount their own expedition.”

They had shoehorned adventurers into this plan expressly for that purpose. Of course, they hadn’t exercised the emperor’s authority at all. They had used spies to spread intelligence.

They had to make sure the story of this incident ended simply as one lone noble acting recklessly. That way, even if the empire’s involvement came out, Ainz Ooal Gown’s anger would be directed at the count they had manipulated, and Jircniv would be able to work things to his favor.

“So then we’ll have kingdom adventurers invading the residence of Ainz Ooal Gown, who is known to react severely. How will this immensely powerful caster respond to the kingdom? And what will the guild do after he inflicts his revenge on them?”

Looking forward to it. Jircniv smiled and then confirmed just to be sure, “So we understand the power of Ainz Ooal Gown. He’s strong enough to obliterate worker teams with no trouble. And we can pin all this neatly on one stupid noble, right?”

“Of course. We were very discreet, so only the people in this room know what really happened.”

“Okay, that’s fine, then. I just wanted to— Huh?!”

A vibration like the rumbling of the earth interrupted him. The furniture shook and the windows rattled, but it didn’t feel like an earthquake. It was more like something huge had crashed into the ground, with one big jolt.

“What was that?! Find ou— What a racket. What’s going on?!”

Jircniv could hear screams coming from not only inside the room but outside as well. The room had thick, sturdy walls, so the voice had to be incredibly loud. Or was it more than one? What could have caused something so out of place as a shriek in this place?

A guard who had peeked through a gap in the curtains into the courtyard, where the screams seemed to be coming from, answered with a pale face. “Your Imperial Majesty! It’s a dragon! A dragon has landed in the courtyard!”

For a moment, everyone was dazed. The couldn’t understand what had just been said. Well, how could they have? Though they knew he wouldn’t lie, they all rushed to the window to confirm with their own eyes.

They practically ripped the curtains off the window, they yanked them so hard. When they looked through the semitransparent glass and saw the dragon sitting imposingly in the middle of the courtyard, all their jaws dropped.

“Wh-why is there a dragon here? Where did it come from?”

“Foreign affairs minister! Was anyone outrageous enough to ride a dragon into our courtyard supposed to visit today?!”

“No, I’ve heard nothing of the sort.”

“Have you ever met the dragons from the Council State? Is it one of those?”

“…It doesn’t look anything like descriptions I’ve heard, and I heard them from a diplomat, so they should be reliable.”

“Still, the biggest problem is how it was allowed to penetrate this far! The emperor is here! What is the Imperial Air Guard doing?!”

With their tough bodies wrapped in hard scales, life spans far longer than humans’, and magical ability on top of various skills, dragons were the most powerful beings in the world. Of course, their strength ran the gamut; there was no lack of dragons who had been slain by adventurers, but looking back through history, neither was it rare for cities or even whole countries to be destroyed by angry dragons. The destruction of a city in a country to the south twenty-odd years ago was still fresh in everyone’s memory.

One of those fearsome beings landing in the courtyard of the imperial palace was an unthinkable emergency.

Even Jircniv himself was swallowing hard and waiting to see what would happen when he saw two small figures get off the dragon.

If he squinted, he could make out two children with brown skin like they had suntans.

“They must be dark elves.” Fluder calmly stated the pair’s race.

“Sir Paradyne! What is that dragon?! Who are those elves?!”

“Well, I don’t know this dragon, either…”

Knights surrounded the children who had dismounted, as well as the dragon itself, as a matter of protocol. The knights were the empire’s pride, but they looked awfully unreliable opposite a dragon. It truly was the strongest creature in existence.

From the knights’ ranks, one man with a shield in either hand stepped forward.

“Whoa, whoa. He’s going? Well, he’s the only one who really could…but wouldn’t it be a shame to lose him?”

The one who approached the dragon was Unshakable Nazami Eneck.

He was one of the empire’s top fighters, said to be the strongest of the Four in a defensive battle. He was resistant to many different types of energies but looked utterly flimsy compared to the dragon. Everyone had to nod in response to the comment that seemed to imply it was Lightning Baswood Peshmel’s comrade’s final hour.

“Your Imperial Majesty, please evacuate!”

“Where would I go? Where’s even safe?”

The retainer regained composure at Jircniv’s scoffing reply.

“But!”

“I get it. I get what you’re trying to say. But I’d be a laughingstock if I fled the imperial palace, even if were up against a dragon. It doesn’t seem like a Council State dragon, but if it did this knowing I wouldn’t be able to run away… I’ve heard dragons are clever, but this one appears informed of our political situation as well.”

He was purging the nobles, but that was on the military strength of the knights. If word got out that he abandoned the castle when a dragon appeared, there was a good chance the nobles would think, So that’s the extent of his power? and rebel all at once.

He wasn’t about to let a mob defeat him, but the empire would still lose a chunk of its might.

Whether I fight or run, it’ll end in a loss. What a nasty move to make. Who is that dragon?

More people had gathered in the courtyard. There were the forty men from the emperor’s guard and sixty knights, plus arcane and faith casters.

“I’m not sure a hundred and twenty people is enough. I think I should go, too, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Jircniv furrowed his brow slightly. Fluder was the empire’s greatest trump card. He wasn’t sure if it would be profitable to play him against a dragon. The thing that finally ended his hesitation was his belief that Fluder would surely be able to escape in a worst-case scenario.

But Jircniv didn’t know that Fluder volunteered to go to avoid having to teleport the emperor to safety.

“Thanks, Gramps. If possible, can you get Unshakable to fall back?”

“Understood. However, our opponents are unfathomable. They may be astonishingly powerful, so you should prepare to run.”

With that, Fluder flung open the window. Then he threw himself into the air and flew up into the sky with a flying spell.

“Uh, can everyone hear me all right? I am Aura Bella Fiora, servant of Ainz Ooal Gown.”

Just then an incredibly loud voice echoed out.

“The emperor of this place sent some rude guys to Lord Ainz’s home, the Great Tomb of Nazarick! Lord Ainz is not amused. So if the emperor doesn’t come to apologize, we’ll destroy the country!”

Jircniv grimaced. Who reached that conclusion and how? How had they followed such a fine trail of evidence?

Looking around the room, he was met with shocked faces. Realizing what he had in mind, they all shook their heads.

“For starters, we’ll kill all the humans here! Mare!”

The dark elf standing next to him thrust a staff into the ground. That instant, it seemed like a huge, localized earthquake occurred in the courtyard—the only reason there was any doubt was because Jircniv didn’t feel a thing. Still, with the dragon and the dark elves as the epicenter, the ground shrieked, ripping open a pattern of gaping fissures more intricate than a spider’s web.

Knights, guards, casters—everyone except Fluder in the sky was swallowed up by the earth.

The dark elf, casually standing there, must have skillfully kept her allies out of the area of effect. When she pulled the staff out of the ground, the fissures sealed up just as suddenly as they had opened. In fact, they closed up so quickly that the spiderweb shape appeared again as ridges of dirt.

None of the knights who had been gathered in the courtyard were anywhere to be found. Everything was over all too quickly.

“Okay, then! We killed them all. Next, we’ll kill everyone in the castle… Er, wait, we don’t know which one is the emperor, so I guess we won’t do that! But if he doesn’t come out soon, we’ll destroy the city! Emperor, please hurry up and get out here!”

“Y-your Imperial Majesty,” a retainer asked, pale faced and shuddering. “…Do you think by coming on a dragon they mean to say we ‘stepped on the dragon’s tail’?”

Jircniv willed himself to stop trembling. It wouldn’t do for the emperor, the only absolute being, the man who held all power in his hand, to show fear in front of his retainers. “Ainz Ooal Gown… Who is he? No…this isn’t the time.” He shouted out the window, “I am the emperor, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix! I want to talk! Messengers, would you mind coming over here?” He faced his retainers. “Prepare our warmest welcome! On the double!”

He turned from his retainers as they practically fell over one another rushing out of the room, back to the dark elves, who were watching him. “…I underestimated him. If these are his subordinates… Maybe he’s too much for me to handle…? But I can’t back down now. If you want to negotiate…then our next battle will be fought with words, Ainz Ooal Gown! I’ll thwart whatever it is you’re planning!”