VOL7 OVERLORD

VOL7 OVERLORD
Chapter4-Thin Hope


Part 1[edit]


The attack was similar to a flood from a broken dam. That is how fierce the attack is.


Enemies were only hordes of low-level undead. They were not fearsome enemies to Foresight. However, what could only be referred to as a human wave attack showed no signs of stopping.


Hekkeran wiped the sweat off his face after defeating the tenth group of opponents since the start of the battle, set up the ghost (spark ghost).


Even though he wanted to rest, there was no time for that. He gulped down a little water from the pouch on his waist, and gave a sign of retreat as he calmed his breath. After all, or rather, as expected, the opponent had no intention of giving them the slightest time to rest.


A group of three skeleton warriors, with mage-like robed skeletons mixed within, jumped up to block their path.


"Save 'where' yours!"


"I know!"


"-Enough, I get it."


In a situation like this where they could be shocked at any moment, magic - which could easily handle any situation - was an ace that they could not simply use. Because of this, they should save as much of their mana as possible.


Even so, some of their abilities with limited use per day were exhausted. This was the result of being flooded with a large number of traps and undead.


There was a skeleton archer lined up behind the barred windows, and beyond the reach of the sword. It was difficult to deliver a crushing blow because the skeletons were resistant to puncture attacks, but Roberdyck was able to repel the undead.


He was also able to finish off the undead who constantly threw poisonous bottles at them.


He repels flying undead and 'floor imitators' who attach their victims to the floor with body fluids.


And he also expelled a team of several undead who made various disease statuses such as plague (plague), poison (poison) and curse (curse).


All of this puts a heavy load into the daily use of the 'Turn Undead', leaving only a few remaining uses. Instead, they managed to save on other abilities as well as mana. The only difficult battle was with a golem that had meat mixed with an undead battalion.


"The danger! A few footsteps from behind!"


"Reaction Undead! There's six!"


Along with the warning from Imina - followed directly by Roberdyck - the pressure is getting higher. The reason why the five skeletons in front of them did not attack was probably because they were waiting for an opportunity to carry out a siege attack.


Hekkeran considered their next move.


Several options appeared in his mind. First, they could make a preemptive strike to the opponent in front of them and knock him down. Or they could launch a sudden attack on the opponent in front of them, then spin the pursuing attack. This plan requires good observation skills to decide the manpower of the troops in front and behind them, then face the weaker group first. They could also use magic to block one side, then take the opportunity to break through the other.


All plans are effective, but no one can turn the situation around. While inspired, Hekkeran decided to trust his instincts.


"They're! What do we do?"


"Run! There's a way to the side! Back out there!"


As Hekkeran's voice rang out, Imina, who was the rearguard guard, ran over. Arche and Roberdyck followed. One step behind them.


The fact that Imina was running meant that it was not an impossible distance. Not wanting to lag far behind his teammates, Hekkeran ran as fast as he could. The opponent would not let them escape easily, of course; the footsteps of some undead could be heard following them tirelessly.


"Feel this!"


Hekkeran took a bag of chemical bags and threw it behind.


The chemical liquid scattered and spread to the floor.


The results could immediately be seen and those footsteps stopped abruptly.


Undead possessing intelligence might make a detour, but such thinking was impossible for the lower undead. What's more, the skeletons had no muscles, and therefore made it very difficult for them to break away when trapped.


"More undead reactions! Four from the right!"


"It's a wall!"


"No, it's an illusion!"


The four ghouls groaned as they charged through the wall. Although they were thin-skinned undead who had nothing but skin and bones, they were still a terrifying sight when attacking with their long yellowing claws. Even so, no one on this team was frightened by such an attack.


"Don't take me for granted!"


Seeming unaffected by the siege, Imina instantly unsheathed her short sword and swung the sword towards the neck of the ghoul. Dirty-looking liquid flowed out from him in exchange for blood, and eventually collapsed. Beside Imina, Roberdyck swung his mace weapon with all his might and smashed the skull from the ghoul.


After being judged safe leaving the two of them alone, Hekkeran turned his attention towards the back. They are still being pursued. Does he have to throw one more bag of glue just in case?


As Hekkeran was about to cast it, a form of dreadful undead appeared within his vision.


"Elder's Lich!"


At the same time, he noticed a crack of lightning in the lich's hand. Hekkeran is very familiar with the spell.


'The 'Lightning Strike' produced a straight line of piercing lightning, and there was only one way to avoid it.


"-Push those ghouls backwards!"


Neither Imina nor Roberdyck understood why Hekkeran gave this order, but they obeyed it without hesitation.


A white lightning flashed in the passageway as the four of them pushed the ghouls through the illusionary wall.


As the air trembled with cracking sounds, Hekkeran felt a circle of magic become active under his feet. A moment later, they were enveloped by a pale blue light that they could not avoid, and the scene before them changed.


"Be careful! Stay alert!...?"


Even though the ghouls were gone and the surroundings had changed, they were still on the edge of battle. Even so, after such an unexpected event, it was not surprising if they became flabbergasted for a while.


Hekkeran shook his head, in order to refocus. The basic thing he had to do - although studying their current situation was also important - was to ensure the safety of his peers.


Imina, Arche and Roberdyck.


All the other members of 'Foresight' had maintained their formation when the magic circle became active, and nothing was lost.


After ensuring each other's safety, the four of them continued to observe the surrounding situation.


This place is a wide corridor, rather dimly lit and has a high roof. Even giants can walk freely here. The flickering flames on the torches in the distance gave a fickle illumination and in their light, even long shadows seemed to dance. In front of them was a kind of grating gate looming over, and from the box gap on its surface, a white beam, magic light shone translucent. Behind them, the streets extended into darkness, and along the way, several open doors made the corridors within them visible, illuminated by torches.


It seems that they are not directly in danger. Once they realized this, the tension on them subsided.


"Although I don't know where this place is, it seems to have a very different atmosphere than what we've seen before until now."


The style of this place was completely different from the tomb they had just left behind. In fact, signs of civilization can be seen here. The members of 'Foresight' surveyed the circumstances surrounding them, and while trying to understand where this place was, only Arche's attitude was different from the others.


"This place is..."


Observing intently the meaning behind his words, Hekkeran asked Arche:


"Did you know? Or maybe you have a lead?"


"- I know a similar place. Grand Arena in the Empire."


"Well, you're right."


Roberdyck snorted in agreement. Although Hekkeran and Imina did not say anything, they also had the same opinion as Roberdyck.


When 'Foresight' made their debut in the arena, there was a place similar to this as they walked from the waiting room towards the arena.


"Then back there should be the arena."


Roberdyck pointed towards the barred gate.


"It should be so.. Then being teleported to this place means... does this really mean that?"


"Give us a fight to watch" is probably what it means here. They don't know who or what is waiting for them.


"-It's a danger. Long-range teleportation otherwise wrong is a level 5 magic. Being able to use such magic as a trap was only heard in stories. This place must have been built by someone with abilities in magic that could not be imagined. It is not advantageous for us to accept the invitation of the opponent. I suggest we head in the opposite direction."


"But if we accept the opponent's invitation, won't there be a way to survive later? Refusing the invitation only angered the other party?"


"Both sides are dangerous. Rob, what do you think?"


"There is a reason for each argument. But I doubt what Arche-san said. Was this really a trap set up by someone who was currently here? Lest they just use something created by an unknown third party?"


They looked at each other and sighed simultaneously. There is no point in staying here and discussing the matter further. They do not have enough information and their opinions are not the same, but they have to make a decision now.


"What Rob says makes sense. Who knows, maybe it was made five hundred years ago."


"Ah, in the past there were indeed many more advanced magic techniques."


"Do you mean the creature that dominates the continent and whose country is almost destroyed, which to this day only lags its capital."


"- The Eight Greed Kings (Eight Tamak Kings). They were considered as the ones who spread the existence of magic further to the corners of this world. If these are the remnants of that era, then it's possible..."


"..Apparently so. Then I prefer to head to the arena. Anyway, since we were brought here by a trap, they won't let us escape."


In response to Roberdyck's statement, everyone nodded as they braced themselves, and began to move.


As they drew closer to the barred gate, it rose upwards at a great speed, as if it had been waiting for them all along. The first thing they saw upon entering the arena was the row upon row of spectator benches surrounding the arena.


The arena had an impression that was not inferior to those in the Empire. In reality, it might even be more powerful, as this arena was filled with lanterns the result of the 'Continual Light' spell, which illuminated the floor as brightly as during the day.


All those in 'Foresight' were stunned, especially when they took a quick look at the audience above them.


Because sitting there were countless clay figures, dolls known as golems.


Golems were not living beings created through magic means, carrying out their master's orders obediently when they received his orders. Without the need to eat or sleep, and never suffering from exhaustion or even damage due to time, they were valued as guards and workers. Moreover, their production takes time, effort and costs, even the weakest can spend a huge amount of gold coins.


Even Hekkeran as well as the others, who had a good income, had difficulty in buying golems.


They were precious creations, and this arena seemed to be filled with them.


To Hekkeran, it signified how rich the person who owned this arena was, and also how much loneliness he felt.


As if they had come here several times before, they looked at each other's faces before walking into the middle of the arena without speaking.


"Outdoor?"


Reacting to Imina's voice, all they could only see in the sky was darkness. Because the light from around was too strong, exceeding the bright light from the stars, even so, there was no doubt that the one above the arena was a vast open night sky.


Responding to Imina's voice, they looked up, and looked at the night sky. The illumination that was around was too strong to defeat the light from the stars, but even so, it was impossible to miss the fact that this arena was open to the night sky.


"Then, we can use 'flight' magic to escape-"


"TOOOOOOOOH!"


Someone jumped from the balcony of the VIP box, right with a voice interrupting Arche's sentence.


The figure that was in mid-air was descending from a height that seemed to be about the same as a six-story building, making one wonder if he might just have wings while descending on the ground gracefully. There was no magic used here, only pure physical ability. Even Imina who was a rogue was like holding her breath because of her perfect movements.


The figure who sucked up the impact by just flexing his knee was smiling widely.


In front of them stood a dark elf boy.


The long ears that came out between the golden strands of his hair moved slightly, giving off a majestic impression like the sun.


He was fully clothed in tight clothing, light leather armor, made from the side of a jet-black and dark-red dragon, inside a white vest he wore with a gold thread decoration. An emblem is sewn into the chest area of the jacket.


Looking at her mixed eyes, Imina was flabbergasted in surprise.


"-uh!"


"The challenger has arrived!"


The boy spoke towards the stick-like object he was holding, and made his speech louder so that it echoed throughout the arena.


The area shook along with the carefree and joyful voice of the boy.


Looking around, the seeming golem that had remained silent so far was stomping its feet against the floor to make a sound.


"The challengers are four foolish and reckless men who infiltrated into the Great Tomb of Nazarick! And, facing them was the master of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Supreme King of Ainz's death! Oooh! Gown-sama!"


The barred iron door on the opposite side inside the arena was raised upwards along with the sound of the dark elves. From the darkness of the road ahead, a creature set foot under the glare of light. Literally, he's like a bone.


A deep red light flickered within the eye hole of the white skull.


He wore clothes like a robe, and since there was no muscle in the place where the robe was bound should be at the waist, it seemed too thin to be believed. Judging from the absence of weapons in hand, maybe it was a magic caster or something.


"Ooh! And walking behind him is our Guardian Overseer, Albedo!"


The Foresight members held their breaths as they looked at the woman who was following behind like a servant.


She was the 'unmatched sight' that even defeated the 'Beautiful Princess' of the Darkness team. Her beauty could never be achieved by an ordinary human, with two gently curved horns from either side of her forehead. On his waist was a pair of black wings. They look so real that there's no way they're artificial.


The arena grew increasingly thunderous with a stomp of the feet, as if welcoming the arrival of two newcomers, before becoming a thunderous clap of hands. It was a fitting welcome like the arrival of a king.


The two men approached 'Foresight' among the thundering claps of hands from the surrounding golems.


"-I'm sorry," murmured Arche. "We ended up like this because of me."


What was to come next was probably the most grueling battle they had ever faced. One or more of them will die. Arche probably felt that they were already stuck into that terrible situation because of him. Without his debt, perhaps they would not accept this job to go investigate the tomb which they obviously did not know anything about.


Yet -


"Hey, hey, what kind of shit is this kid saying?"


"Yes. Taking this job is a group decision. It's not your fault. Aren't we still going to take it without your personal problems?"


"That's how it is, so don't worry."


Hekkeran and Roberdyck smiled as they spoke, and Imina patted Arche on the head.


"Then, even though planning is useless right now, we should still have a discussion. Arche, can you recognize that undead?"


"- Looking at him who looks so possess intelligence, maybe it is a higher grade skeleton type?"


The Skeleton in question, Ainz, waved in front of them. The movement looked like he was rubbing something.


The voice disappeared. In an instant, the movements of the golems stopped, and once again they entered into a silence that was almost deafening. Hecker bowed sincerely to Ainz, who slowly faced them.


"First I want to apologize, Ainz Ooal. dono."


"...Ainz Ooal Gown."


"I'm sorry, Ainz Ooal Gown-dono."


Ainz paused and raised his chin, as if he was waiting for the subordinates to continue their words.


"We would like to apologize for entering your tomb without your permission. If you can find in your heart an apology for us, we will gladly offer you compensation for our sins."


Time passed in silence. Then Ainz sighed. Of course, as one of the undead, Ainz did not need to breathe. But he did it so he could send the message.


"Is that how you do things from where you come from? After someone else sits in your house and leaves behind the trash scraps that cast maggots, do you really show forgiveness more than a quick death?"


"Humans aren't maggots!"


"They are the same. At least, that's how they are for me. Or, no - perhaps humans are even inferior to them. If a maggot is born, the fault lies with the fly. You are, however, different. You were not forced, nor had a certain compelling reason to come here, but purely out of greed, you attacked a tomb that there might be people living in, with the intention to plunder its treasure!"


Ainz's laughter echoed throughout the coliseum.


"Ah, don't take heart. I don't blame you. It is only natural that the strong dominate the weak. I did too and I don't consider myself an exception to this rule. More precisely because there might be someone stronger than me so I became wary... Now, the time for jokes is over. According to the strong principle of eating the weak, I must take one thing from you."


"No, actually, there's a-"


"Shut up!" Ainz uttered it in a voice that did not allow for an apology. "Don't make me angry at your lies! Then now, you will pay for your stupid mistake with life."


"What if we have permission?"


Ainz. Apparently, that's exactly about it.


He was surprised by the one sentence that had such a great effect, but he just didn't miss it from his face. When everything seemed lost, a ray of hope shone through the darkness. Obviously, he had to take it.


"...It's bullshit."


It was a sturdy little voice, almost on the fading edge.


"Just bullshit, it's nothing but a prank. What do you get instead of making me angry?"


His sense of unease spread, and even the dark elf boy beside him started to look unsettled. As he turned to look at the last man, goosebumps split throughout Hekkeran's body.


The beautiful woman behind them was still smiling. Yet he exuded a murderous lust that made Hekkeran sweat big.


"And what if it's true?"


"...No. gabe..No. gabe..Not likely. It's totally impossible. You should all offer to dance in the palm of my hand..."


Ainz shook his head and stared intently at Hekkeran.


"But.. however. I... yes, it is also true, just for example, I will hear you... Who gave you permission?"


"Don't you know him?"


"He...?"


"He didn't leave his name, yet he was a huge monster."


Hekker desperately thought of the safe line to avoid the hidden dangers.


It was a question only asked by someone who was silent about not being able to decide, because by asking so one would know whether it was right or wrong.


It was purely the attitude of a human being, Hekkeran thought. It was not a reaction from a monster, but a coward. This is a good opportunity.


"Tell me what you see."


"...He's very very very big..."


"Very very..."


As Ainz arrived at another round of introspection, hecker reflected that they had avoided danger again, and let out a sigh of relief. He gestured to his friends with a small movement of his finger, saying to them to find a way out. Ainz would not act without ascertaining the truth of the lies of the sentence of Hekkeran. Only this was when they could think of how to escape from here.


"Did he say something?"


Who knows, someone might have used a towing spell or a dominating spell or some other special ability...


"Before that, I hope you can guarantee our safety."


"What's?... If you really did get permission from one of my friends, then your security must be guaranteed. Don't be afraid."


A new word - friends.


He was analyzing the information he had just obtained. From the moment of the negotiation, he learns that Ainz Ooal Gown has friends, who are currently out of touch.


The secret of fraud is to extract information from the desired target, then force him to make a mistake.


"...What then? Why just shut up? Let me hear what the guy you met told you."


To this day, the trick worked. Well, then, this is the next step. His hands were sweating a lot.


"He said to misrepresent Ainz in the Great Tomb of Nazarick."


"..Ainz?"


His anxiety suddenly stopped. Hecker realized, and an expression of 'oh shit' spread all over his face.


"...He said, say something wrong to Ainz?"


Hekkeran. After all, the sentence that has been spoken cannot be taken back.


"...Yeah." yeah."


"Kuhahaha!"


Ainz laughed when he heard Hekkeran. This is not a happy laugh. It was a laugh that was very well described as unstable.


"Well. Though actually, if you think about it calmly, there are a lot of holes in the story."


Ainz's movements stopped, and he faced Hekkeran. The burning deep red flames within his eye hole turned dark, covered by the black color surrounding him and making his pupils reduced to a red light. Hekkeran and the others took one step back, as if Ainz's line of sight was exerting physical pressure on them.


In that gaze lies the purest wrath.


"BASIC YOU'RE SAMPAAAAAAHHHH! HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU PUT YOUR SHOES ON! YOUR DIRTY SHOES INTO THE NAZARICK THAT WE, MY FRIENDS AND I, CREATED!"


It was so strong that the anger made Ainz unable to say anything more. Ainz's shoulder blades moved as if he was breathing, then he continued.


"AND YOU! HOW DARE YOU USE MY NAME, FROM MY FRIENDS! HOW DARE YOU USE THAT TO LIE TO ME! YOU FILTH! DON'T EXPECT IT TO BE FORGIVEN UNTIL ANY TIME, UNTIL WHENEVER I WON'T FORGIVE!"


Ainz shouted with a raging tone.


It is not surprising that his anger is gone forever. However, her feelings of hatred suddenly disappeared, and she regained her usual calmness.


It was a sudden change, as if those emotions were just turned off. The sudden change was enough to make Hekkeran and his team, who faced Ainz, think something was strange.


"..Even if it makes you angry, the mistake is not you. Of course you will tell an embarrassing lie to save your life. To be honest, I'm still very angry... I guess I was hoping too much. Albedos. Auras. And all the Guardians who can hear my voice, everyone, cover your ears!"


The extremely beautiful woman and the dark elf boy listened carefully. The boy stuck his finger into her ear, while the beautiful woman gently covered her ear with her hand. This was undoubtedly to show that they would not listen to what he was about to say.


"From the beginning, I rejected the plan to invite these loathsome thieves into my Great Tomb of Nazarick. Even so, I understand if this is the best method and I accept it."


Ainz looked up again, then regretfully shook his head.


"Well, iu only. The plot is over. As a final pardon, I'll give you a death start as a warrior, but now I'm changing my mind. Now I'm gonna throw you away like a real thief."


While talking as if it was someone else's problem, Ainz revealed his robe.


Usually, there is only a bone below. A dark red ball was floating under his ribs, emitting a terrifying feeling. She had nothing to wear but her pants and shoes... No, there was one more item. There was a leather necklace surrounding his neck, with a chain, broken from half to bottom, strung on the necklace.


"Ohhhhhh!"


A strange sound came from above them.


Looking up, they could see the upper body of the silver-haired girl leaning out of the VIP city. He was instantly pulled by an arm wearing what looked like a blue glove.


"...What else is he doing?"


"I'll go to nag her later."


The moment they managed to regain their focus and consciousness towards Ainz, he had already taken out a black sword and a round black shield out of nowhere.


"Then I'm ready here. Let's start."


He stood with his legs slightly widened - It was a horse.


"Albedo and Aura, you can take your hands off now."


The two so-called people immediately reacted, and returned their hands to the side.


"I'm in a very bad feeling situation right now. I didn't think I'd meet people like this. So I'm gonna play with them without killing him, and I'm gonna leave his banishment to you. Now, let's get started."


As Hekkeran gazed towards Ainz who was wearing a sword and shield, Hekkeran's first thought was that his opponent was neither a warrior nor a swordsman. If pressed, he would say that he was like a monster, a kind of monster that would use their incredible physical abilities to outperform opponents.


Both his attitude and his horses looked like amateurs. Yet he exuded a heavy pressure, looking greater than life.


For a creature like this, the most deadly move they could make was simply to attack.


"won't come? Then let me go there."


Ainz rushed over as he retaliated.


His speed was terrifying so that it could shorten the distance between him and his opponent in an instant.


Stabbed with a huge slash down from above.


The attack had many gaps, but it had an enormous crushing power. In the hands of a powerful being with amazing physical abilities, the slash was like a sword attack that could kill anything it went through.


Facing it directly is very dangerous.


Hekkeran decided on this in an instant, as he felt the sword at high speed descending towards him. A harsh obstacle would turn this into a contest of strength, and he knew that he would lose if he fought against Ainz.


Sport because of that, there is only one choice


Ainz's sword descended heavily to the ground, the unmissing echo and the vibration of the steel against the steel dissipated in the air.


deflecting attacks and directing them to places other than his body.


Usually, the attacker will become out of balance after being fended off, and this is the main opportunity to strike back. Ainz did not even move. As if he knew a certain sequence of events was about to happen, then he returned his horses back to their original positions.


Heckeran realized that he had made a big mistake.


Lothawat! I underestimated! But, all I can do is keep fighting!


He's after Ainz's head. The Martial Art he used was -


"[Twin Blade Strike]!"


Two shining sword arches formed in the air as the swords scissored towards Ainz's head. Usually, a blunt weapon would be more effective against an enemy with a skeleton type like Ainz, but Hekkeran was more formidable with a slash weapon, and not how confident with a blunt weapon.


Hekkeran's main goal was to try to deal damage to Ainz. He gave as many attacks as he could against Ainz, no matter if they hit or escaped, hoping that at least one of them would be able to penetrate and attack him.


The two twin swords pointed rapidly at the enemy's head.


Ordinary people would definitely take it in full.


A first-class opponent would probably just scratch it.


What about the elite enemy?


"Don!"


Ainz carried his shield to cut the path of the swords. Ordinary people would definitely not be able to succeed in doing so, but with incredible physical strength and speed superior, it was possible.


"[Magic Arrow]!"


"[Lesser Dexterity]!"


As the shield intercepted two attacks, Arche's spell sent white lightning hurtling toward Ainz. At the same time, as the sound of metal clashing was still ringing in the air, Roberdyck cast a spell to increase agility.


"Kids' toys."


Ainz did not even bother looking towards Arche. The light bullet flickered and disappeared slowly before it touched Ainz. A surprised expression appeared on Arche's face.


"Thickness to spells? But from where?"


"Hmmm!"


In reply, Ainz swung his shield at the face of Hekkeran.


"Hard shield attack, isn't it!"


The basic general fighting ability ringed in his head. Hekkeran decided to turn this danger into an opportunity, and made his move. He pointed it towards the abdomen, the reason being that the large size of the shield would create a dead corner within its defense.


However, Ainz easily swept the weapon of Hekkeran aside with a black sword.


He knows!


Hekkeran's eyes followed the wall-like shield as it approached, and he could barely dodge the attack - then the armor boots kicked him from below.


He will not be afraid of ordinary kicks. However, through their brief firefight, he was well aware of Ainz's incredible strength - despite having no muscles - any attack he made could definitely kill him in a single strike. Receiving such a blow was tantamount to receiving a fatal wound.


Hecker rolled in panic. Without Roberdyck's support, it would have been impossible. The empty space that was the target of the kick severed several strands of Hekkeran's hair, and a chill rippled through his spine.


"Here!"


Imina sent out two arrows from her bow. Since he shouted the attack, it was not a sudden attack, and Ainz casually dodged the arrow.


The arrow slid past Ainz, as it escaped its target.


For starters, the arrows were ineffective against monsters with a skeletal type like Ainz. He only hoped that Ainz would not bother to avoid it and casually accept the arrow, but it did not seem that it would happen. The arrows had flat heads, like a shovel; they were magic arrows specially designed to deliver blunt attacks. If the arrow was not avoided, it should be able to give the intended attack to a skeleton-type opponent.


At least, that was how it should have been, but even so, no one was regretted. Hekkeran took the opportunity to stand and slightly widened the distance between himself and Ainz. Imina's shout also gave Hekkeran a chance to rise to his feet.


"[Twin Blade Strike]!"


"Well!"


The two slashes were easily condensed by a sword. The shaking from the stalk sent vibrations throughout Hekkeran's arm.


Truly a troublesome person, is this what happens if you give warrior training to a monster with superhuman abilities? How strong is he really?


The price to be paid for constantly using the deadly style drained his mental stamina drastically. Hekkeran's brain felt like it was shouting because of such exertion, so Hekkeran decided to retreat.


Of course, Ainz would not allow it.


"I'll let you run!"


Ainz. Indeed it can be expected - moving backwards is indeed slower than the forward movement.


The moment Hekkeran would be overtaken, something whistled through the air as it flew past the side of his face.


An arrow at high speed came from behind Hekkeran, hiding from behind his body. Normally, ordinary people would not be able to avoid it. However, against Ainz with super reflexes, it was still not enough.


"[Flash]!"


"[Lesser Strength]!"


A bright shining light exploded in front of Ainz. Whether he held it back or not, the spell would definitely make him blind for a moment, yet it seemed to be useless against Ainz. What only the rays did was disturb him.


"People who are pretentious interfere!"


Ainz clucked his tongue against Hekkeran, who shortened his distance thanks to his increasing strength and agility.


"[Reinforce Armor]!"


"[Anti-Evil Protection]!"


Spells of support from Arche and Roberdyck strengthened Hekkeran's defenses.


After dodging Hekkeran's attack and curling his sword, Ainz would counterattack once more as the other arrow flew towards his face.


"Hmmm!"


The easy manner in which Ainz dodged the arrow by simply twisting his face did match his title as the ruler of this tomb, and a monstrous swordsman.


Hecker used the fleeting gap created by the support attack to retreat, and sweat poured down his body from the momentary yet intense fight.


He already knew this, but Ainz Ooal Gown was indeed very powerful.


His physical abilities were completely untouched by humans. Worse, he has the technique to make full use of his superhuman strength and speed. His observational ability could see through any hoax. He had measured every member of Foresight. Coupled with his endurance of magic and swords plus the spells and shields he created; he was a warrior most wanted by everyone.


But there was a reason they could fight on par with a creature like this.


To be honest, Hekkeran had already been pressured hard to maintain his position. If he were to misread the angle from the fall of the sword and escape in fending off, his sword would definitely be destroyed and he would probably suffer fatal injuries. A small mistake in estimating the speed of the black sword would result in itself being neatly split in two. The fact that all the coins he threw were heads alone did not make the slightest bit of luck.


However, there is another reason that is even more important than this.


That reason is cooperation.


Precisely because they all work together, and are very aware of each other's thoughts, so that they can move and act like one organism.


This was how the united group of 'Foresight' could defend against the most powerful individual, Ainz Ooal Gown.


A faint smile was raised on Hekkeran's lips.


Until now, Ainz was untouched. Surely, he is very strong. But he is not invincible.


With this kind of determination in his heart, Hekkeran swung his twin swords.


Hekkeran's sword attack, the fastest that could be produced by his inflated body, was condensed by a round black shield. The arrows that shot in were blocked by the black sword. Arche and Roberdyck took advantage of this gap to strengthen Hekkeran even further.


Even since Ainz clucked his tongue, his enmity towards them reduced drastically.


After considering whether to suppress the attack or not, Hekkeran decided to retreat and calm his irregular breathing. The undead Ainz would not tire no matter how long or how hard he fought, but a human like Hekkeran and the others would become exhausted. Stalling this fight is a bad idea. He should rest whenever he has a chance.


"So, as I thought, I still can't deliver a deadly blow. I thought I already had the upper hand in strength, skill and knowing what you can do, but when I actually fight, I still feel a nervousness, why haven't I knocked you down?"


Ainz shrugged his shoulders in annoyance. Heckeran, who was looking from across Ainz, did not feel particularly irritated by Ainz's trivial tone.


To be honest, this is the advantage of working in a team. He smiled as if he was being praised.


In the midst of all this, the beautiful woman who had been silent until now finally spoke.


"Ainz-san. Maybe we should have ended our playing time here."


"What?"


"I'm sorry for my insolence, but I find it hard to believe you continue to allow freedom to******* this lowly, these thieves have dared to use the name Supreme Being to deceive you. Maybe it's time for you to forgive them?"


"Hey, Albedo. If you talk to Ainz-sama like that-"


"-No, Aura, that's a good point."


Ainz shook his head.


"And that's enough. I've gained enough experience from this fight."


"really awesome. As I guessed from the Emperor who ruled me."


"Huh, really. Well, it's worth celebrating. Even though I know you're comforting me, the praise of a warrior whose abilities far exceed mine still makes me happy."


"I never once had any intention of lying to you with a false compliment. Every sentence is the truth."


"Is that so? Then thank you. Cocytus can judge me later, and I still have to hear your opinion in future training sessions like this."


After nodding a few times and looking very satisfied with himself, Ainz turned his body towards 'Foresight'.


The air between them had changed, and Hekkeran had a bad feeling about it.


His instincts that had brought him through various life and death situations shouted at him; there was a great danger here.


"Then, the time to play around with the sword is over. Now is the time for a different kind of entertainment."


Ainz threw away the sword and shield he was holding to the side, then disappeared before touching the ground.


"What?!"


Throwing away one's weapon was a commonly used sign to give up in a fight. However, Ainz's attitude was not even the slightest sign of giving up.


This is not a surrender signal.


Unable to know what Ainz was thinking, Hekkeran was filled with confusion.


"...What are you gonna do?"


At this moment, Ainz smiled. Or rather, he looked like he was smiling.


Slowly he spread his arms. It was an act akin to an angel welcoming a faithful servant, or a mother welcoming her child into her arms; a loving welcome to what lay before her.


"You don't understand? let me tell you in terms you can understand" Ainz laughed. "I'll mess with you, so give your best effort, man."


The mood has changed


He had released his weapon and shield. It should mean that he's weakened. But Hekkeran had a hunch that Ainz in front of him was now even stronger than before. It was true, it seemed as if Ainz's body was physically growing in front of their eyes, his presence was so stifling to the chest.


A creature that gets stronger when it throws away its weapons.


In retrospect, only two answers remained. One was he was one of the warrior monks who forged his body into a weapon of a living being. But if that's the case, his fighting style - the way he dodges attacks - doesn't seem honed enough to be called one of them.


Then, the alternative


"He's a magic caster?"


The voice belonged to Arche, who came to the same conclusion as Hekkeran.


Such is. This is a question that exists. The creature in front of them, Ainz Ooal Gown - was he a magic caster?


It was understandable if they had not considered this before. Who could have imagined if the magic caster could fight on par with Hekkeran, who was the most powerful and most skilled fighter in the team?


Magic casters - especially arcane magic casters - have weaker bodies than warriors. After all, if one had the time to train his body, he would rather spend that time learning magic. Therefore, magic casters that could fight on par with warriors did not exist.


It was a simple natural thing.


A creature that could turn that knowledge in its head - who could have imagined such a creature would stand in front of them?


Therefore, Arche's voice brings hope if it is not true, and hopes that his hypothesis is rejected. Because if it was true, it meant that Ainz was much more confident in his abilities as a magic caster than he was in becoming a warrior.


What that means, no one needs to say that out loud.


Even chanting a few spells could improve battle performance enormously. As demonstrated by Hekkeran, a few enhancement spells make a dramatic difference. But if that's the case


"Have you finally realized? How stupid of you all. Well, it's natural to estimate this level of intelligence from a pitiful pest, who sprinkles your shit into my Nazarik - no, ours."


However, as long as Arche existed, Hekkeran and the others could reject it.


"The arche! Is he really a magic caster?"


"No! I'm so sure! At least, he's not an arcane magic caster!"


"Hm? And what does that mean?"


"-I can't feel any magic power from your body."


"Ahl. So, you used a detection spell then. It's not polite."


Ainz showed his hand to Hekkeran and the others. As expected of an undead, there was nothing but bones. He stuck out his fingers to show each of them, on both hands, wearing a ring.


"When I take this ring off, you'll understand. I also lend it to my subordinates."


After saying so, Ainz took off a ring on his right hand. Then-then


"Yumuuoooggh!"


It was the sound of vomit. A sticky liquid splashed on the arena floor, and a sour and rancid smell flew around 'Foresight'.


"What are you doing?!"


Imina looked at Ainz, from where she rushed to help Arche, Ainz seemed uncomfortable, but still replied in a displeased tone.


"What do you mean, what did I do with that girl? There's a limit to how disrespectful you guys are, throwing up when you see someone's face."


"-Everything, run!"


Arche shouted, and tears flowed from the corner of his eyes.


"He this is mon-uuuuuurrrrrgggghhhhhhhh!"


Unable to hold it in, Arche vomited again. At that moment, Hekkeran understood why he was vomiting.


Ainz did nothing to him. However, he was unable to withstand the combination of terror and stress caused by the immense magic power that surrounded Ainz, and finally he vomited.


And that means-


"- We can't beat him! His strength was truly at a very different level! Even the word monster could not describe itself!"


Arche began to wail as his tears streamed down from his cheeks.


"No way impossible impossible -"


Imina hugged Arche tightly to her chest. The girl shook her head as if she had gone mad.


"Calm down! Roberdyck!"


"I understand! [Lion's Heart]!"


Under the influence of Roberdyck's magic, Arche managed to ease the panic that gripped him. Like a newly born deer, he rose up in a daze on trembling legs, using his cane as a crutch.


"everyone, we have to run now! It was not a creature that could be defeated by humans! It was a monster that wasn't playing!"


"I understand, Arche!"


"Yeah, I know. When he took off the ring, the whole world seemed to change. I feel creeps all over my body."


"Yes, the strong word does not come close to the understanding of this monster."


The danger level of the three people had already reached the peak. They stared at Ainz with nerve injuries that were even tighter than before. Their expressions were very understanding even just by losing the slightest bit of vigilance could take their lives.


"It looks like they won't let us run."


"When we show our backs, we'll die. Even though I feel that just turning our eyes away is enough."


"We have to buy time or we can't."


"...Didn't come?"


Of course, Hekkeran would not be provoked by Ainz, who lazily scratched his skull with one long finger. The combat power of the opponent far exceeded that of any creatures they had ever encountered. That means they can only rely on one thing.


When Ainz started chanting - a magic caster was in his most fragile state when he started casting spells. If he used a spell without being spoken, then the game began, but even so, it was a very small chance that existed for them.


As if pulling a tight bow, Hekkeran gathered his strength from within him.


"Then I'll go [Touch of Undead]."


"What kind of "magic is that? Arche!"


"Eitherway! I've never heard of it before!"


The black fog that enveloped Ainz's right hand was an unknown magic that made them all wary. Hecker strengthened his legs, preparing to dodge at all times. The comrades behind him were also very wary of attacks with wide area effects, and began to daydream.


Instead, Ainz started walking towards them.


The eyes of Hekkeran are widening. It was a method of movement that was completely caught off guard and defenseless. It was not the movement of a man who was a capable warrior. He knew it was a trap, but he did not know what Ainz was after.


Was he trying to use magic for something ... or was it a melee-type spell? Or is it a survival type?


Hekkeran was familiar with the more famous spells, but Hekkeran was not a mage, and could not understand Ainz's intentions.


"Surge!"


Imina's furious cry pierced through the air, as if an arrow had just shot towards Ainz.


Using a special technique, he had launched three arrows at once, but Ainz deftly dropped everything from the air with a bone-dwelling hand.


"...You're the one who got in the way."


It was a small but cold voice.


The red blaze inside the empty eye-hole flickered, but only Hekkeran, who was in front of it studied Ainz's every move, noticed it.


As the feeling of uneasy feeling attacked, Ainz's body disappeared.


Hekkeran turned around, trusting his instincts. Inside his eyes, he saw the surprised face of his comrades. But there is no time to explain. Especially to Imina. Ainz was standing behind Imina, slowly extending his hand towards Imina.


The imina! He is unconscious! I have to - no, this is not the time to act free like that!


As Hekkeran used his martial art to move at full speed towards Imina, a beat of confusion flowed at Hekkeran.


Is it wise to protect Imina?


Compared to Arche and Roberdyck, who could use supporting spells to strengthen people, Imina was useless and her level of importance was relatively low. It is best to increase the average rate of their chances of survival is to throw away the wooden blocks that fall to their feet.


However


Goddamnit!


This is the wrong thing a leader does. Although this was equivalent to betraying his comrades, Hekkeran did not slow down his legs at all. Emotions that beat reason in this matter.


He wants to save Imina. That'sallthatis.


An image of Imina sleeping on her bed appeared within the eyes of her heart. Hekkeran smiled bitterly at him, because in a life and death situation, all he could think of about Imina was her body that had no attractive curves.


Even so - Hekkeran even gave more strength to his legs.


This is the power of a man who wants to protect his woman.


"Surge!"


The sudden attack from Hekkeran made confusion, then made a gap. Before Ainz could touch Imina, he was pushed aside.


Ainz had already decided which one was his priority - reducing their wounds, the small moaning sound in his head saying - the man who appeared in front of him, or the woman who was loose.


"Hey! it's me, you idiot!"


Hekkeran continued his shout with martial art.


First, he used 'Limit Breaker'. There was a price to pay, but it could increase the number of martial arts he could activate at the same time. Next was a technique that made his body feel like something was being crushed inside, 'Dull Pain'. After that 'Physical Boost', 'Iron Fist' and the improvement of the 'Twin Blade Strike'.


His strongest attack was born from all of this.


His twin swords glittered.


Hekkeran relied on the fact that Ainz was accustomed to the sword attacks of Hekkeran from the previous swordfights, so a sudden change in speed would confuse Ainz's senses and make it difficult to avoid. It was the previous estimate of an attack that would end this battle in one hit.


Ainz did not react to that.


Get her!


As Hekkeran imagined his sword slashing through that defenceless skull, the sensation flowing in his hand was definitely not the feeling of steel cutting through bones.


Immune to slashes?!


He had the same experience when his adventure as a worker.


He's immune to both slash and stab attacks? What kind of monster is he?!


As Hekkeran tried to retreat in panic, he felt a slight sensation of ice enveloping his forehead. It was Ainz's hand. Heckeran felt like his head was clamped by a catokan, wanted to run away but unable to move.


"They're thrift!"


"Imine! He's immune to slashes!"


Heckeran tried to avoid the painful wound and reported what he learned to his colleague. While he was clasped in the head, Hekkeran felt his entire body being lifted up. Although he smacked the hilt from his sword into Ainz's arm, the grip on it showed signs of slacking off.


"Wrongly, no matter if you use a puncture, slash or blow of a blunt object - none of the attacks you can produce can give me a single scratch."


"..That's... Whahuh? Really, what kind of trickery do you play? That's not fair!"


"He lied! Imina, if that is indeed true, then there is no reason to fight at all. He must have some kind of weakness!"


"- I won't be persuaded by it!"


"It's sad when you can't even believe the truth right in front of you. I imagine you should have realized everything from close combat, and the conversations we had, if you were nothing but a test subject. Did that little battle give you hope that you could win here? Think of it as my forgiveness to you in the country to come."


"What kind of a fuck is that? Dirt policy,*********fucking*, release Hekkeran!"


The arrow arrived at the same time as his voice. But Ainz remained unmoved, and the wound on Hekkeran's forehead continued.


"Do you really want to do that? You might be able to hit this guy."


The wound left Hekkeran gripped by terror, a terror that at any moment would make his head might be crushed by the hand that was holding it. Although he had tried, Ainz did not move a single millimeter. It was like striking a steel beam - the only thing Hekkeran hurt was himself.


"Does it hurt? Don'worry. I'm not gonna kill you like that. A pathetic little thief like you doesn't deserve that pardon - [Paralysis]."


Hekkeran's body froze. No, it's not frozen, it's paralyzed.


"Hmmm, if I use 'Paralysis', then maybe 'Touch of Undead' is free."


Heard that sentence, but he did not understand it at all.


The thread from Imina's bow hissed as she sent out a continuous stream of gliding projectiles, but the reply was just a quiet laugh.


"So, how far can you go. No, please, try as much as you want. It will only deepen your sense of despair."


Run.


Hekkeran's lips did not move making the sound he wanted.


This was an opponent that they could not avoid just by running. But fighting him is just more stupid. This was indeed true especially when the vanguard guards were already defeated, the battle line would collapse.


"In that case, who will be the next target? Of course, you can all come at once, but it's going to be too boring, right?"


Imina turned to look at Hekkeran, who was lying on the floor of colosium.


He's not dead. But he looks like that. There is no way Imina can save Hekkeran from the grasp of the monster who rejects logic known as Ainz Ooal Gown. Yet despite that


"-Basic stupid! Naturally, you should just leave me! You idiot!"


Imina angry.


"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid! You idiot!"


"...Directing a scorn on a man who gallantly risked his life protecting his comrades would only enrage the tofu."


It was a statement that showed a completely lacking understanding of Imina's feelings. Again, their opponent was a monster; trying to make him understand human emotions was impossible.


"I already knew that! I don't deserve to be a great leader!"


Imina breathed.


"But still! You're still an idiot! Rely on your emotions like that!"


"...What's?"


Don't confuse...


Imina thought to herself. He tried to suppress the feelings of a woman who wanted to save her man.


He had to dispose of Hekkeran and bring this information back. He had to tell the outside world about these ruins, about the terrifying monsters that lived within them, and depending on how later, they might have to gather a punitive army to deal with them.


- Demon God...


Two hundred years ago, the Many Demon King living in the barren continent must have looked like that.


It felt as if the world he lived in had already been touched by myths and legends. It was definitely not like this, but a part of him, deep down, insisted that this was just a dream.


Legend, huh? It sounds weird to call it that. It was the hero who had to fight a monster like this


An inspiration flashed.


Such is. The ones fighting the demon gods were Thirteen heroes - they were heroes. In that case, the only person who could fight Ainz was also a hero.


"Return Hekkeran! If we do not return within a certain time, the strongest humans in this world will force their way into this tomb! If we can return unharmed, you can use us to negotiate!"


"What is this, another lie?"


Ainz sighed, a faint haah voice. Sweat is flowing profusely in the alias Imina, it is indeed genuine.


"No, I'm not lying."


"Albedo. Is there anyone else who could be considered strong on the surface?"


"Nothing, I'm sure he's just talking meaningless lies."


"That's not a lie!"


The girl behind Imina shouted.


"The adamantite adventurer Momon from 'Darkness' is there! He was the greatest warrior of them all! He's stronger than you!"


For the first time, Albedo looked agitated. He looked towards Ainz, panic was written on his face, and lowered his head to Ainz.


"Ma-I'm sorry! There are such creatures! Mo-Please, forgive me!"


"Mmmm. ah, yes, I didn't even notice it, Albedo. Momon from 'Darkness', hmm. About him. Forget it, it doesn't matter. He can't beat me."


Ainz had behaved like a demon king until now, but the way he dropped his shoulder just now indicated that something was hidden. What he's hiding, no one knows.


"Momon is strong! Stronger than you!"


"..Ah, well, it's hard to serve as a basis for negotiation, surrender."


Ainz waved his hand lazily to shift the topic.


"Then shall we begin again?"


It's time for the empty conversation to be over.


"The arche! Run away!"


Roberdyck shouted, and Imina agreed.


"Yes, run!"


"Look up! It might be outside! If you fly, there's a chance you can escape! Run, even if it's just you! We'll try to buy time for you, a minute, no, ten seconds!"


"Well that's an interesting idea. Aura, open the exit. I'll entertain them."


"I understand!"


Ainz pointed towards the direction where Roberdyck had entered. The aura jumped, the bottom of his shoes glittered, and his body disappeared.


"Then now, Aura had already opened the gate. Please just run away. Leave your colleagues. Who wants to run away again?"


Ainz stretched out his hand. His face that was only bones could not show any expression, but from his gesture, it was quite clear. If he had meat, it would have already turned into a cruel smile. It would be a smile that looked forward to these comrades falling into contention within the group.


Workers are different from adventurers; they form groups based on the power of money and the benefits of relationships, and in situations like these, their chances of running are very high. However, Foresight was different.


"Arche, run now!"


"Yes, run," Imina smiled. "You still have a sister, don't you? Leave us and go. That's what you're supposed to do!"


"How can I? It's definitely my fault!"


Looking at Ainz who had no intention of forcing an attack, Roberdyck walked towards Arche, then took out a small leather pouch he was holding.


"It's okay. We'll defeat Ainz's monster and come to you soon."


"When that happens, you have to buy us a drink."


Imina also pulled a small leather pouch from the one she was holding.


"Then go, use the money I left at the inn as you please."


"Mine too."


"...I'll look forward to that. Then I'll go first."


Of course, none of the three of them really believed him.


Defeating a being called Ainz, whose strength was far beyond what they had imagined, was something they could not even hope for. Arche knew this was their last farewell and she held back her tears as she cast her spell.


"There are monsters in the sky that might still catch you even if you run..."


"-[Glow]!"


Ignoring Ainz's warning, Arche's spell became active. He looked towards his comrades once for the last, then flew into the air without saying anything.


"...Ah, is that how it will be, well, it is less tiring than running," Ainz said in his usual manner.


"However, it's amazing that you decide without fighting each other. I thought I'd see you're actually a disgusting one showing up here."


"You'll never understand. That's because we're partners."


"Indeed right. Dying to protect a colleague is not a bad thing - "


A flurry of shadows appeared on Imina's head.


"-Are those your comrades the friends you were talking about?"


"Yuuu!"


"Your colleagues must be amazing individuals, right? Then our relationship is as close as they are, and you."


"It's true."


The vile atmosphere disappeared as if it had never existed, and Ainz continued in a calm tone.


"There is no greater love than this; to lay down one's life for the life of one's friend - so it is written in Mark."


"...It's okay even if we die. However, for the sake of the bond that we have, that you, and those wonderful companions of yours, please let him go."


"M..."


Ainz hesitated for a few seconds, then shook his head.


"There is no forgiveness for thieves like you. All that awaits is suffering for the sake of suffering, followed by death. But for the life you're willing to throw away for your friend, you can say goodbye to him. Shalltear."


Ainz carelessly showed his back to them, then called out towards the VIP box. There was no chance he would be injured, and it showed his attitude.


No, that's the truth. There was no attack they could use and it worked. It is only a fantasy after understanding the truth. The two people did not have a method that could injure a monster called Ainz. Because of this, they could calmly turn their heads. At the very least, they had to buy time for Arche to escape.


Even though they had no cards to play, they still had to. Imina and Roberdyck exchanged glances, then nodded.


On the other hand, a girl's voice came from the VIP box responding to Ainz's voice.


She was a human girl with hair that glittered like platinum. Although the two people were filled with anger, they could not prevent being flabbergasted by her beauty, their eyes were drawn to look at the girl.


Suddenly, the beautiful girl changed her line of sight looking towards the two of them. His eyes are red. Imina felt as if their hearts were squeezed. Similar to Roberdyck, he had trouble breathing with the pressure on his chest.


Even though the girl's eyes had already turned away, Imina still felt like she could move freely.


"I understand, Ainz-sama."


The girl - Shalltear - smiled at Ainz. However, when Imina saw that smile from the side, a chill poured down her spine. It was her instincts that said that this was a monster covered in extremely beautiful skin.


"Please enjoy the hunt."


"That was my intention."


Shalltear bowed deeply to Ainz before leaving. Every step she took was getting closer to the end of Arche's life, yet even though Imina knew that in her mind, there was nothing she could do about it. Imina and Roberdyck are unable to move.


Shalltear walked past them without showing any signs of ignoring them, without even paying the slightest attention to them. Perhaps Foresight could instantly shorten the distance between them and Shalltear if they ran after her, yet she looked as if she was far away.


"What'sthis? still not coming? If you have time to talk, you have time to fight... I don't know how honorable you are."


Ainz was not underestimating Imina. Ainz's sensitive attitude was sincere. In response to that, Imina's fighting spirit somehow began to return.


"Wait on! One question, please! What's going on here, where's the pardon?"


"A priest, then, I'll tell you. In Nazarick, a death without longer suffering is sufficient forgiveness."


Silence fell towards them. They no longer had conversations with words, but with weapons.


"Come, Rob!"


"Yes! Ohhhhhh!"


With an uncharacteristic battle cry, the charging forward Roberdyck swung his morningstar weapon at Ainz's face. It was an attack with full force. The place because he thought Ainz would not dodge him then he put all his energy into the attack.


Although Ainz received the attack with all of Roberdyck's strength, he did not react with pain as expected. Roberdyck continued his attack, extending his empty hand.


"[Cure Moderate Wounds]!"


The healing spell was addressed to Ainz. When the magic with the healing type opens, the undead will receive damage. However, just like the incantation attack cast by Arche earlier, the spell was lost uselessly crashing into an invisible wall.


"Ohhhh!"


Imina tightened her bowstring as she shouted. Then - he let go. Even though Roberdyck was next to Ainz, he wasn't bad enough that the attack would hit Roberdyck. However, within this distance, there was no way he could escape.


However - the arrow hit Ainz, then fell to the ground without giving any damage at all.


Ainz disappeared.


It was the same tactic as before.


"Teleportation!"


"less precise."


As expected, the voice came from behind.


"I-i"


Before Roberdyck could finish, Ainz's hand gently leaned against Imina's shoulder. There was not the slightest bit of hostility in that hand signal.


However, that touch has a visible effect. The entire strength in her body vanished, and Imina could only fall slumped to the ground. Although Imina's brain was fully functioning and conscious, her body felt like a puddle of numbed and silent mucus.


"What did you do to him?"


Roberdyck asked in a trembling voice, as his eyes turned from Imina to Ainz, who was standing beside him.


"Is that surprising? That's nothing special."


Ainz continued his explanation in such a way as to destroy the spirit of Roberdyck.


"Virtually the same as before. After chanting the mantra with a soft 'Time Stop' (Stop Time) I moved here and cast the same spell as I used on the man, 'Touch of Undead'. Then, I touched it."


The feeling of silence seemed as if the distance between them had frozen. Roberdyck's gulping voice was really loud in comparison.


"..He stopped time..."


"Oh yeah. The preparation for the anti 'Time Stop' spell is also important, understand? you will have it when you are already at level 70. Oh yes, you will die here, so for you, this is pure knowledge."


Roberdyck clenched his teeth.


She lies. If only he could say that. If only he could reject everything that this monster said - this god. It would be best if he fell to his knees and flanked his ears to prevent the speech from coming out.


He understood that Ainz was indeed very strong.


However, even with those considerations, stopping time and such was something that should not exist in this world.


Time movement is a flow that cannot be controlled or controlled by humans. What could he do against an enemy capable of such a feat? Cutting an entire tree with a sword was an easier goal in comparison.


Ainz Ooal Gown's. He was a creature that could not be defeated by the human race. He was a man standing on the Sacred Peak.


Roberdyck clasped his gun in both hands


and he felt a light pat on his shoulder.


"Well..."


Roberdyck's body stopped moving. He didn't have to look to know who had done it. It was Ainz Ooal Gown - a god-like being that could control the flow of time - that was supposed to be standing in front of him. When did he lose sight of her?


The coldness that flowed to him made it feel as if he had turned into an ice sculpture. Therefore, every feeling and freedom had been snatched from his body.


"It's free, isn't it?"


Such was the speech with a soft voice that did not bring the slightest trace of hostility to Roberdyck. The Mace he was holding fell from his already powerless fingers, onto the ground


Then, Ainz muttered as he looked towards Roberdyck who had already lost his fighting spirit.


"Well, a wasted effort. I thought maybe I could sweat."


Totally free. Every tactic and trick he tried could not be done for even just a little damage to Ainz.


The defeated Roberdyck closely looked at Ainz silently, then slowly asked him.


"I want to ask. What will we be after this?"


"mm? Is it because you are a divine magic caster and you thought you would not end up with the same state as the two of them?"


With that as an excuse, Ainz began his explanation.


"Then they both. Aura, take them to the big cave. Gashokukochuuou says he's run out of nests."


The dark elf's ears moved, then his eyes widened.


"D-ainz-sama! Mare! I can tell Mare to go instead, right? Make him go there instead!"


"Oh, hm. No problem for me."


"I understand! I'll tell Mare to go there soon."


"For that, I'm sorry. There is no good fortune to be faced by them. As for you - the subordinates I sent to pursue are also divine magic casters, but the gods he trusts are completely different from the gods you worship. When it's time, I don't know who the four gods you worship are. Therefore, I have to ascertain their details. As their subordinates, you have their names, but whether they are the Four Gods or the Six Gods, these names are nothing but only job titles, such as the Fire God, the Earth God, etc, that so?"


"That's, I don't know about it."


"Oh so. so they are not the most superior beings who possess mysterious powers, they are nothing more than the great humans of the purified past"


"-how could it be like that?!"


"Alright, listen. It's just my theory. But if that's the case, if you did borrow the power from those gods to be able to make your magic work, could the dead give it to you? Or is it a god? Do they exist? Did you really use the power of the gods?"


"..What are you trying to say?"


"..Have you ever seen your gods?"


"My god is always by my side!"


"That means, you never really see it in person, do you?"


"No! when we use our spells, we feel the presence of the Almighty. That's our god!"


"..And who says if that presence is a god? The god himself? Or someone who uses another power?"


Roberdyck recalled the theological debate he had taken up. There was no clear answer to Ainz's question. Until now, the priests still debated hotly about whether it was evidence of the existence of Gods.


As Roberdyck was about to speak, Ainz interrupted him.


"...Well, let's just say that these super-dimensional beings - which we generally give the term gods for that purpose - do exist, indeed, I wonder if that means they were indeed originally colorless entities. Simply put, they are a blob of strength. Because pulling their power would make their colors different and change things.well, they did exist within a world with magic laws, indeed, I just want someone to talk to about it. It's not funny if there really are gods."


"..."


"I'm sorry. It's off topic. The power of the gods you trust. I don't think we can learn it. So do you want to take part in human trials?"


"..human trials?"


"really so. For example, when we changed your memory to a god you believed was someone else, what happened after that?"


He's gone mad. That was Roberdyck's deepest and most sincere thought with the situation.


No, he's an undead. It's not strange what he's doing.


Ainz took a step back, looking with deep interest at Roberdyck. The gaze was like the way a student would observe his lab animals, and it made Roberdyck want to vomit.


"Why, why do you want to do it?"


"To prove that gods do exist, uh, I wouldn't bother with that joke. Actually, I want to become stronger by understanding the nature of that power. And if those beings you call gods really exist, I wonder if they have emotions or thoughts. I want to make sure of that. As for me, I never considered myself a chosen being. To be honest, there are many others like that."


Roberdyck really had no idea what Ainz was talking about.


"Therefore, expanding military preparations is important. Of course, it's possible that the opponents don't exist, or if they do exist, none of them are as strong as us. However, don't you agree that the leader of an organization shouldn't be that reckless? After all, if we were satisfied with our victory, then our legs would seem to be cut from below us when we were not expecting it. Ensuring the existence of the gods is one part of it."


Ainz shrugged as he finished it.


Part 2[edit]


Breath Arche panting.


Every time the grass swayed due to the wind, Arche's entire body would tremble. Like a small beast, he looked around in every direction with fear.


The surroundings were a forest, and there were many places without light. The wooden canopies nearby blocked the light from the sky, and almost nothing came to the surface.


Although this environment usually makes it difficult for humans in terms of navigation, in lieu of lighting, Arche uses the mantra 'Darkvision', which makes the surroundings look as bright as day.


However, even with this spell, he still needed a lot of concentration to choose a grass that could be used to hide by someone, a wooden rod that might hide an opponent behind him, and listen to the creaking branches as they sway in the wind.


As an arcane magic caster, if Arche was confronted by a monster that then attacked him, he could not get rid of it alone. Usually he would get help from his comrades, but the ones who would help him, who would give him protection, or cure him, were all absent.


That meant that all he could do was watch out for the approaching enemy, keep his distance, then run away. Arche felt tense because he was well versed with this reality, and it sucked up his mental strength even more than usual.


His original plan was to be able to get out, it meant that he had to run away with the 'Flight' spell'. But when he was already flying above the trees, he saw a giant creature flying in the sky that seemed to be looking for something, so he ignored the plan.


After he confirmed the existence of the giant bat, he could not make it try to turn it into a contest of speed. That's because even though 'Invisibility' can fool the sense of sight, it can't fool the special sensory organs of a bat.


After making sure the surroundings were safe, Arche once again flew at a snail-like speed.


He continued on as slow as possible with the 'Flight' spell as he wanted to observe the surroundings. If he were to do it at full speed, he would not be able to react quickly enough even though he was on alert and saw a threat, and that meant he had to jump into the mouth of any monster that was chasing him. To avoid this, he deliberately lowered his speed.


Finally, Arche felt the layer of magic energy surrounding him getting thinner and thinner. The flying spell used was almost exhausted.


Slowly he went down to the ground.


The question now is what he should do. Sprucing up the 'Flight' again was no problem. He could feel having enough 'where' for it. However, 'Darkvision' was also an important spell, and he also had to keep 'where' enough for the spells to survive when there was a battle.


The 3rd level 'Flight' spell was one of the spells with the highest level that Arche knew how to use. It also meant that the spell was one of the spells that sucked up the mana from the spells he had. If possible, he wanted to avoid using that spell.


Ignoring the current state of affairs, even he did not know how long it would take to get out of this forest without using spells that would add to the fatigue. And without the ability to fly, he could not even confirm the current location.


When here, Arche often climbed up the forest canopy and used large trees behind the coliseum as a road marker. If he remained in the forest, he could not see the huge trees, and he could not climb trees anyway.


"...Where can I rest..."


Arche muttered to himself.


If he returned his mana through sleep, he could use 'Flight' even more often, and moving under the sun would be safer. This is true for forests, where monsters tend to appear at night.


It might be better to roll somewhere and wait for dawn, rather than force yourself to continue in the dark forest.


But Arche doesn't know where it's safe.


If Imina was here, she might know. And if Roberdyck or Hekkeran is here, he can rest easily in dangerous areas. However, his reliable comrades were not with him.


"Imina, Roberdyck"


Arche coiled next to a large tree, and thought of his comrades.


"the liar."


Still no word from them after a long time.


As I thought, they couldn't escape.


No, it was something he had known from the beginning. There was no way they could defeat the ridiculous entity known as Ainz. Even so, was he really stupid because he had hung up the hope of seeing them again?


Arche sat on the ground, leaned his back against a large tree, then closed his eyes. He knew it was dangerous, yet he still wanted to close his eyes.


As the memories of his three friends appeared in the memories, he tightly closed his eyelids.


The icy sensation from the wood on his head was very comfortable. After resting for a moment he finally realized how tired he was. The pressure on him turned into emotional exhaustion, and it continued to increase without stopping.


"-Haaa..."


Arche let his head rest on the tree.


Then he opened his eyes wide.


'Darkvision' colored the world tonight with a bright and fresh color, but he had no explanation for what was inside his eye area.


Someone was staring at Arche.


Arche had never seen him before, and his eyes seemed to be fixed on the sight of a beautiful girl.


The girl was dressed in a soft velvet dance party dress in dark black. Her skin is as pale as a candle. A hand rubbed his long, platinum-like hair, which looked like it was going to rub Arche's face.


Although Arche was a noble child, Arche had never seen a girl as beautiful as this before. If she appeared at the official party, the men would gather to her like moths to the fire, purely because of her beauty. His dark red pupils emitted an irresistible attraction that seemed to draw Arche's soul into them.


But Arche immediately regained consciousness. There was no way someone like that would be in a place like this. Especially not someone whose two legs are on the trunk of a tree, standing parallel to the ground and opposite to gravity.


Clearly this was a hunter sent by Ainz. Still, it was not impossible if he was the occupant of this forest after a long time.


"Because you got to."


His fleeting hope had completely broken off.


"A hunter."


Arche jumped away to open the distance, pointing his wand at the girl. The girl did not seem to be interested in Arche, then neatly walked down from the tree trunk towards the floor.


"It wouldn't be nice if you didn't run"


"- If I beat you here, I can run safer."


Although he said like this, Arche smiled bitterly in his heart. There was no way he could defeat any hunter sent by Ainz, a creature beyond the limits of anything natural.


Knowing this, the reason why he said so was to gauge the other party's reaction.


"Then, please, even though I can only play with you for a moment."


His attitude said that he really understood the difference in strength between the two of them. Which was to say, if he were to fight Arche, he wouldn't be playing around at all.


"-[Glow]!"


Arche cast a spell and started to run away. There was no slow and comfortable flight he showed on the ground. In one quick move he was already at a height, covering his face with both hands as he pierced through the forest canopy and slid through the air.


Under the night sky, Arche looked around him once more. He was wary of a monster similar to a bat that he had seen before. However, it seems that it is nowhere. Thus, all that was left was to escape.


"Yes, yeah, go, go,"


A beautiful voice called for Arche, who desperately tried to escape. Heart jerked. Staring around, Arche tried to see where he was coming from.


Coming from the front and top of the Arche.


Since when was he - that girl who had just been there.


"[Lightning Bolt]!"


A bluish-white lightning sprang from the head of his staff and split the night apart. This was the strongest attack spell of the Arche. Although the lightning pierced the girl, the smile did not disappear from her face.


Arche is sure. This was a creature on par with Ainz, it meant that there was no way Arche could defeat him. The girl cheerfully spoke to Arche, who wanted to run away immediately.


"[Come, family member.]"


A pair of unusually large wings stretched from behind the girl's back. They were shaped like bats, yet much more, much larger. An unusually large bat flew from behind him, as if it had slipped from his body. And of course, no bat with dark red eyes sparkling like this was just an ordinary ferocious beast.


The girl smiled from beside the giant bat, whose wings were flapped continuously splitting the air. It was a smile that made Arche's body freeze like ice, a smile that didn't seem to match someone the girl's age at all.


"Then, please continue to escape."


Arche escaped.


He flew with all his energy.


He flew into the forest to remove traces of his hunter, and tree branches scratched his body as he flew.


Since Arche had left his comrades to escape, it meant that he should be able to escape from here no matter how. In his memory, he would do anything to make that happen.


And after flying for some time, Arche was faced with despair.


It was a wall.


An invisible wall stood in front of him.


The world indeed continued far away, but Arche's body was blocked by that wall. The Arche was now two hundred meters above the ground and an invisible wall to this height.


"- This is-"


Arche muttered to himself as despair sucked into his heart. He flew and felt his surroundings with his hands. However.cold, wall, wall, still a wall.


No matter where he flew, his hand said something hard was blocking him.


"What is this?!"


"Of course, a wall."


It was an answer to the murmur addressed to himself. Arche turned around, knowing who he might have seen.


It was just as he had expected. The girl from before. But now he was with three giant bats as his bodyguards.


"Although it seems that you are getting the wrong impression. This is the 6th floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. That means you're underground."


"..This is?"


Arche pointed to the world. The sky, the stars, the gently blowing wind, the forest that extends as far as the eye can see. Although he did not think this place could exist underground, when it came to these people, even such an impossible thing was still possible.


"41 Supreme Being, our most glorious Creator, has ever led this place. This place was created by them, and even we don't understand everything."


"...They created the world? It makes them like gods..."


"really so. To us, they are beings of the same level as the gods. The gods with Ainz-sama as their leader." Ainz looked around.


He has to accept it. No matter how, after seeing all this, the only thing he could do was accept it.


There's no way he could come back alive.


"Well then, don't run away?"


"- Is that possible?"


"Of course not. There was never the slightest intention of letting you out in the first place."


"-is that?"


Arche clasped his staff tightly in both hands and attacked the girl, he could no longer use spells as he had run out of mana. However, even in the most desperate situation he still had to try his best until the very last moment. This was the task of Arche, the sole surviving member of Foresight.


"Good, good, you've done everything you can."


The girl's reply to Arche's determined attack was a little better than the disappointment of being bored.


"Then your little attempt to escape ends here, though it's a pity that I can't see you crying."


The girl easily caught Arche's wand with one hand, then jerked it towards her. Arche is thrown off balance and falls into the girl's arms. The two people finally hugged each other in mid-air.


...


...


Inside this position, the girl buried her face into Arche's neck. Although Arche tried to rebel, the girl who stuck like glue could not be released. He breathed warmly at Arche's neck, and Arche's body trembled.


"..Mm, it smells like sweat..."


Not being able to keep the body clean is an integral part of the worker's life for Arche. This is true for all workers, adventurers, travelers, and anyone who spends time outside. Even if they get dirty, the appropriate response is "Then why?"


However, she still felt extremely shameful as it had already been said that way by a girl who was younger and prettier than her.


The girl's face left Arche's neck. A feeling of disdain flashed at Arche as he looked into those deep red eyes. Inside those eyes burned a desire for a woman's body, tinged with the same desire of a man for a woman.


"Just calm. You will die without suffering. Thank you to Ainz-sama for his forgiveness."


"--!"


Arche wanted to respond, but instead all he felt was shock - shock at the reality of his immobile body. It was as if those deep red pupils had stolen his entire soul.


In the end, Arche realizes the true identity of the girl. He's not a human, but a vampire.


"...And then..."


The girl's face drew closer to Arche, her tongue slid past Arche's lips then licked her cheek lightly.


"...Salty..."


The girl laughed, then despair engulfed Arche's soul.


It just made the girl laugh even harder.


Her lips separated to her ears. The red color of his iris spread out swallowing each eyeball.


With a cracking sound, he opened his mouth. What used to be neatly lined white teeth now is something that makes people think like medical syringes, in many rows like those of sharks. His stimulating voice was bound with a lewd tone, and saliva was seen dripping out clearly from the corner of his mouth.


Then, terror enveloped the Arche completely.


"Mahaahaha!"


Arche's brain lost consciousness facing the laughter of the blood-stained monster.


The last thing on his brain was the face of his two younger siblings waiting for him.


"Ooooh? Fainted yet?... Then there's no need to make you faint with magic. You can embrace Death in your dreams~"


Part 3[edit]


After entrusting the cleansing of the intruders to the others, Ainz sat on the throne and began to turn on the monitor. When he looked through Nazarick's data, the things he focused on the most were the changes that happened to the total amount of funds, which were minuscule. This is because the biggest cause is because it does not activate various traps that eat large amounts of money. From the circumstances so far, today's experiment could be judged more than successful.


Ainz smiled - although it was impossible to appear on his face - to Albedo who was tense-faced and was waiting by his side, nervous to hear the judgment from Ainz, then praised him.


"That's great. Although the intruders this time around are a bit too fragile from our point of view, they are considered as a terrifying force in this world. And you can even finish it while keeping expenses to a minimum, it seems that from here on out, I can be really calm when entrusting Nazarick's defense to you, Albedo."


"I'm so grateful."


Albedo bowed her head deeply while making a relieved expression.


"By the way Ainz-sama, is the time right?"


"No problem. I've heard from Pandora's Actor, the adventurers have decided to wait a few more days, or until there's a change in the ruins, before leaving."


The fact that no workers returned even when it was morning caused panic among the adventurers, and they hurried to report it to Momon-Pandora's Actor, who advised them to wait a few more days. Usually, when something unexpected happens, the most appropriate thing is to retreat to a safe location and measure the situation once again from there. However, the circumstances are different due to the presence of an adamantite rated team.


"Then, can I take a little of your time? Actually, I have an offer that I hope Ainz-sama is willing to listen to."


"What's up, Albedo? Can't you wait a little more?...Okay, no problem now." After confirming once again the situation from Hamsuke and the lizardmen once again on the monitor, Ainz faced Albedo. "What's your offer about?"


"Yes" Albedo looked around her before continuing, "this is about the things the fools mentioned earlier, regarding the search for Supreme Being, what level of priority should we give?"


"The highest. Take whatever action is necessary as long as it does not bring harm to the Great Tomb of Nazarick or leak our existence in the process."


Ainz immediately replied.


"As I thought. I've understood. In that case, this is my offer: please allow me to personally select the members and lead the unit assigned to search for the Supreme Being."


"What exactly do you suggest?"


Ainz's voice was deliberately made to cool once again. It was because he was aware of the dark emotions that were dwelling within him.


There were several opportunities in his search for colleagues, but each time the plan was put on hold for reasons such as 'lack of manpower' or 'lack of information'.


If they could not find Ainz's comrades even after searching every corner of the world, this kind of thinking was the reason why Ainz could not make up his mind. Rather than making sure that he was the only one left in this world, it would be easier for him to rely on expectations through the gathering of sufficient fame, his comrades would definitely be able to find him.


"Yes. Although we can decide right away that what the fools say is a lie, I believe there is a time in the future where it will be difficult for us to judge it. For this reason, I think it is necessary for us to have a unit assigned to decide the accuracy of the reports received as well as to search for Supreme Being. It would be better for me to investigate them beforehand, then report my findings to Ainz-sama."


Ainz held onto his chin and muttered, "is that so..." As he recalled his previous conversations with the workers, what he felt was not anger but a sense of emptiness. There is nothing more painful than dancing between hope and despair. As the head of an organization, he must get rid of his personal emotions and make the decision to move forward whenever a very important moment arises, even if it is just a small step.


"Albedo, there's no need for you, right? I was hoping you could stay here to set up Nazarick for me. About the need to go out and find information... Aura and Mare are not better suited? because Dark Elves exist in the outside world."


"As you say. However, if that was the case, I would be worried if they 'moved wildly'. For example, I can imagine Shalltear would definitely be rushed and careless if information regarding Peroronchino-sama was found. I'm not sure what kind of action Aura and Mare would take if information about Chagama-sama's Book was found."


"It turned out so.." after thinking about Shalltear, Ainz smiled bitterly. "It's true, it looks like he'll act that way."


"That's why I hope you'll consider allowing me to form my own unit."


"...If the information regarding Tabula-san is found, will you also 'move wildly'?"


"Please calm down. As the person who holds the position of Supervisor of the Nazarick Guardians, I would never do such a thing. This is my promise."


"...It turns out so."


It was very unlikely that someone like Albedo, who was indeed capable and wise in arranging Nazarick's operations, would move wildly. Although there were some things that stuck on his way, he was able to manage Nazarick without a problem as long as Ainz was not there, which showed that he was worthy of trust.


"Personally, I believe Demiurge is well suited to this task as well. However, he was burdened with many other responsibilities at the moment. I think it might be too much to add the task of finding information on Supreme Being on top of the work that currently has to be handled."


"That makes sense. What about Pandora's Actor?"


"Yes, as I expected. Please allow me to borrow Pandora's Actor to be my adjutant for this task."


"It turns out so. Even in Nazarick, you two are among the smartest, so it seems less likely to make a mistake if you both handle it together.... Although there was also the task of arranging Nazarick's treasure... Alright, as long as you need it, you can have priority borrowing it."


"I'm very grateful. And also, is it okay for me to add some advice?"


Ainz raised his chin, hinting to Albedo to continue.


"For the task of finding Supreme Being, I want to choose only those who are capable."


"of course. I'll give you the highest ranking subordinates."


"I'm very grateful. After that, if Ainz-sama deigns to create some undead aides for me, it will be of great help."


"That request I will reject. It's true that the adjutant I made can be up to level 90, but-"


The undead that could be created by Ainz's special skill, which required the consumption of his experience points - Overlord Wiseman and Grim Reaper Thanatos - one of them would be stronger than any mercenary NPC. However, Ainz wanted to avoid using any skill that consumed experience points for now, because at the moment he has no way to quickly regain that point like he can in YGGDRASIL.


"Truely, it's best not to do that. Albedo will be in charge of her team; her aide is Pandora's Actor. The rest will be chosen among the monsters."


"I understand. There's one more suggestion I'd like to make, if possible, can we keep the creation of this unit a secret from the other Guardians?"


"Why? Wouldn't it be better to accept help from another Guardian?"


"No, if the handling of reports received is poorly regulated, it may result in leaks of suspicious information before it can be ascertained. If that was the case, the other Guardians or those created by Supreme Being might end up wanting to come check it out anyway. If the information received was a trap, it would put everything in danger. Since I have specialized in defense, I might be able to escape. However, I fear it is difficult for others to successfully retreat."


"A valid reason. Okay, Albedo. Do as you please."


"I'm so grateful! Ainz-sham!"


Albedo bowed her head deeply, causing her long hair to hang down, covering her face.


"good. I'll leave this matter to you then."


"of course! This secret and special unit will carry out the most important orders. We will definitely not let Ainz-sama regret his decision."


Albedo's response seemed a little strange. If he had to express his feelings inwardly, it might look like a head tilted in confusion.


Well, forget it.


"Then, choose your subordinates. Take the newly created ones, as long as they're not assigned to anything else. How much do you need from those who have a level of around 80?"


"I'm sure fifteen is enough for now."


"Fifteen? Isn't that a little too much.." Ainz stopped talking and shook his head. Finding his colleagues is an important task. Well then, he shouldn't be stingy about her. "Ah, so? I get it."


"Then, I want to ask for one more thing. Is it possible for me to give the order to Rubedo anyway?"


"Rejected."


Ainz immediately replied.


The strongest individual in Nazarick, Rubedo. his combat potential was well above Sebas, Cocytus and Albedo in pure close combat terms. Shalltear would be considered weak in comparison, even the fact that Ainz himself in full equipment seemed to lose to Rubedo.


Only a few who could possibly win from that one were those placed on the 8th floor, and only if they used world-class items. As I expected, I don't think they will be able to put up a good fight against that individual, otherwise...


"The experiment to start activating Rubedo was more or less successful. I don't plan on moving it now. Besides, is there a certain reason that you need such a high amount of combat power?"


"I'm ashamed to say it, do you still want to listen to it?"


"No problem."


"It's rare that an opportunity like this happens, so I want to create the strongest team."


"Hahahahaha!"


It was a childish but understandable explanation from Albedo that caused Ainz to burst into laughter. Although Ainz's emotions were almost suppressed, a pleasant light feeling still lingered like a wave spreading in the water.


"Inz-sama!"


Ainz smiled at Albedo, who gave off a confused expression - although Ainz's facial expression did not change - and then gave the following reply.


"Sorry, sorry. Uh, ahem. That was funny, okay? All right, then, I'll let you take control of your brother's orders."


"Is that okay?"


"No problem. Go ahead and make your team. Maybe in the future, this team of yours could even be used for something else."


"I'm very grateful, Ainz-sama."


Albedo bowed her head deeply once more, hiding her face from sight. Not even Ainz could see his expression, Ainz imagined Albedo would make a gentle smile as usual. Just as Ainz was about to turn his attention back to the monitor, Entoma suddenly walked into the throne room. With his back straight and upright, Entoma walked until he arrived at the throne. With one knee touching the floor, he bent over.


"I'm sorry for interrupting."


"What's up, Entoma?"


Replying to Albedo's harsh tone, Entoma replied "Yes" without changing his kneeling attitude.


"I'm here to report that it's time for Aura-sama and Mare-sama to do the next part of the plan."


"Is that so?.. Lift your head up."


After replying once more with the short phrase "Yes", Entoma raised his head.


"There's still a little time left. So let's get them right. It's not nice to do that telepathically, so I had to trouble Entoma to go and tell them both myself."


"I understand."


Albedo looked at him without making a sound of Entoma's figure as she stood up and walked away from the throne. He then carefully observed Ainz and asked.


"...Ainz-sama, are you feeling unhappy? They should have told a maid other than Entoma to come. I'll go and reprimand them later."


"..What's for?"


"Because of letting Ainz-sama listen to that little girl's impolite voice once again-"


"Ah, I don't feel disturbed at all. Moreover, I am the one who called Entoma-Wait! Entoma!"


"Yes! Is there anything else I can do for you?"


Ainz made a hand gesture to Entoma who rushed back, indicating that it was okay for him to answer from where he was.


"What happened to the other parts? Are they being used well?"


"Yes, his head was given to the Silk Hat Demon. His arms are split between the Deadman Struggler. Demiurge-sama took the skin. The remaining parts are given to the children of Grant to be made partying. All in all, I'm sure every piece has been effectively utilized."


"Is that so? Well, then, it's okay. It is the responsibility of a hunter not to throw away the scraps of his quarry. Every hunter would do the same. Think of this as a funeral service."


"Why. Being able to show such kindness even to the dirty thieves who had dared to infiltrate, as expected of a Supreme Being. If Ainz-sama's words were heard by everyone in Nazarick, they would definitely be touched and shed tears."


Ainz finally felt depressed after hearing Albedo's words filled with emotion while looking at Entoma's shining eyes, filled with respect.


"..Umu. Yeah, ahem.. This is just my personal point of view; not something I hope to impose on you. But from his negligence.just think of this as a form of ethics to not waste any waste."


"I understand. In that case, we should make better use of the others!"


Seeing the two of them bowing, Ainz felt that somehow, somewhere, something seemed to be wrong, and made clear with a "you" remark".


Part 4[edit]


Ministry Magic has several conference rooms used as reception rooms, and Fluder is currently heading towards one of the most beautiful spaces. It was a room only used by the Emperor, or those who represented him, when it arrived.


Before entering, Fluder checked his clothes.


The robe he was wearing could be considered a first-rate outfit suitable even for a large banquet held by the emperor, and the perfume on his neck and sleeves also had a must-have smell as well.


Usually, Fluder does not think too much about political and social issues. But more to, to be able to concentrate on magic research, he considers the others are trivial things in comparison. However, due to his position, he still had to maintain vigilance over these things.


His own success was related to the dignity of the empire, although this was not done intentionally.


Good, no problem.


After confirming himself if his clothes had no gaps, he knocked on the door and entered.


There were two adventurers in this luxurious room. One of them was a warrior with jet-black armor, reminiscent of the Death Knight he had stared at not long before, and beside him was a woman whose beauty even caused Fluder to be shocked for a moment.


So this is Momon from 'Darkness' and 'Beautiful Princess' Nabe.


"I'm really sorry for making you wait this long."


The fluder smoothly closed the door, then felt uncomfortable.


...How strange...


He stood before the door, staring at the peerless beauty.


"..I can't see it?"


Fluder's eyes should have been able to see the amount of magic talent a person possessed, but he inadvertently let out his shock in a loud speech from not being able to see it.


Fluders have a natural talent that can determine the level of magic that a person is capable of, just by observing the aura released by a magic caster.


Despite hearing that "Beautiful Princess" Nabe from 'Darkness' was an arcane magic caster, the Innate ability of Fluder was unable to see any aura around Nabe.


An anti-detection spell?


This was the only conclusion he could draw, yet it raised another question. Why would someone protect themselves from any investigation? Ordinary adventurers did not need to use this. It was difficult to determine one's strength, and as a result, few people bothered to take a precautionary stance towards the situation. Besides, it was impolite to cast this kind of defensive spell when meeting someone.


Well, I was also very disrespectful myself for already using my detection ability to them... Yet why were they trying to hide their level of strength?


Fluder's talent was already well known, so was it a deterrent against him? He can't draw any conclusions.


Greeting Fluder, who was still surprised, Momon said.


"I'm sorry, is something wrong?"


"Hohoho, sorry for being so disrespectful."


Fluder sat in front of Momon, but he could not take his eyes off Nabe who was standing next to Momon.


"Ah turns out so, so that's what happens, then let's start."


Start what? However, before Fluder had a chance to ask, Momon continued speaking.


"...Nabe, I think it's time to take that ring off."


Nabe took off his ring, and in an instant


Fluder felt as if he was being buffeted by a storm.


"What!"


He exclaimed without thinking anymore.


Nabe exuded an incredible power.


This incredible storm of pressure was actually non-existent. Only Fluder and others who had similar abilities could sense a burst of power crashing at him.


His body trembled violently, as if he was hit by an extremely cold northern ice wind.


"Ti-it's impossible..."


Not likely. How is this possible? How could there be anyone stronger than him?


However, even though he tried to reject her, what appeared before his eyes was still a reality. Until now, his ability to see the level of a magic caster had never made him fail.


"Level 7...No, with such an enormous amount of energy, do not-don't... proof of the 8th level..?"


If that was indeed true, then that was the limit of the realm of legends.


Fluder was no longer able to speak. The 5th level was already a world of heroes, and the 6th level achieved by Fluder was a world that no one had ever reached before. However, someone who had easily reached a higher level suddenly appeared in front of him.


And it was a young and beautiful woman.


Does his age not determine his appearance?


As Fluder was still trembling in surprise, he caught sight of Momon also taking off his black gloves, then removing one of the rings he was wearing.


"---!"


In an instant, the world seemed to be tinged with an extremely bright light, and Fluder felt his consciousness fade away.


What happened before his eyes could not be explained. Even Fluder, who had lived for over two hundred years, someone who had already reached the highest peak of magic that could be achieved by humans, could not understand what was happening.


"What... what... how is this possible?"


Fluder felt something warm flowing down her cheek, yet she did not bother to wipe it - or rather, she no longer had the strength to do so. The shock had caused his emotions to drop into chaos.


Who can see this coming? The one who was revered as the Dark Hero was in fact an arcane magic caster who had reached a level that even Fluder could never reach.


"If it is the 8th level, not the 9th level... No! .... Hoooo, god!"


The incredible energy released by Dark Warrior Momon easily outperformed Nabe himself who was beside him. If Momon could defeat Nabe, who was roughly at the 8th level, then what kind of magic level could Momon achieve?


Fluder answered the questions in his brain with his soul.


Level 10. Although it does exist in legends, there has never been anyone who could provide absolute proof of its existence. Someone who was in a position that could do so had deignedly appeared in front of him.


Fluder who was still standing as before, knelt down in front of Momon with tears streaming down from his eyes as he spoke.


"...My faith lies entirely in the gods who rule and lead magic. But if you are not that noble being, then I will immediately retract that faith, for the true god has appeared before me in the end."


In his hurried manner kneeling before Ainz, Fluder banged his head against the floor. But the pain he felt was nothing compared to the happiness he felt flowing out from the bottom of his heart.


"I know it's rude, but let me kneel here! Please enlighten me with your knowledge! I want to stare deep into the abyss of magic! I beg! Very once!"


"...What are you willing to give in exchange for that?"


The sound was ice cold. If a hundred people heard it, they would all answer the same thing, but what Fluder heard was a sweet voice that calmed his heart. Even if he knew the sound was laced with poison, why?


Fluder did not hesitate in the least, even if it meant giving his soul instead.


"Everything! Yes, I will offer everything to you noble! Master of Hell! The most noble creature!"


"...Very good, as long as you are willing to offer anything, what I know will be yours. Therefore I will grant your hope."


"Oh! Oooooooohhhh!"


His head was still pressed on the floor, Fluder was crying out of great pleasure. The jealousy that had been freezing his heart for a long time seemed to have melted away. Eventually after a long time, his wish from two hundred years ago might finally come true.


The overjoyed fluder did not raise her head, but instead crawled towards Momon's feet and kissed him. Although he wanted to lick it first, he realized that his god-like master might become irritated if he did so. So he compromised, describing himself in fragments clearly going to himself in the corner of his brain.


"alright. I accept your loyalty."


"Hooo! I'm so grateful!.. My lord!"


"Then now, I will give you the first commandment. Send sacrifices or offerings to my place of power-"


"Grandfather! Grandpa! What's up, grandpa?!"


Fluder, who was thinking about the past, regained consciousness after noticing someone who was calling her. The shocking encounter a few days ago still gripped his heart, and if he did not focus, his mind would probably drift into fantasy again.


Fluder instantly remembered where he was, and slightly nodded to the person who greeted him.


"Pardon the disrespect of the servant, Your Grace, the servant's brain is elsewhere."


In front of Fluder who was the only person he called grandfather, the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, and they were currently inside the study room of the Emperor.


Usually, there was not this many people in the room. The one currently present was Emperor Jircniv, who was accompanied by his four bodyguards. The Empire's highest-level magic caster, Fluder Paradyne was also there. Plus, even though the emperor had incredible intelligence, he had ten trusted ministers who were quite capable of helping him. One of the four Imperial Knights, 'Lightning' Baziwood Peshmel, was also present.


They were all seated at designated spots, and to date, they were discussing future plans for the Empire. The papers strewn all over the room spoke of how powerful this meeting had become.


The young man called the Blood Kaiser began to speak to Fluder in a tone that no one else would dare to use.


"No, don't worry about that. It must be tiring for you to do a lot of work considering your current age, so maybe you can do it casually, but in the end it still remains a job that only grandfather can do. Sorry about that."


"I am very grateful for His Majesty's kindness. However, I am the most loyal noble subordinate. Please give the order to the servant."


Fluder, who had come this far, nodded his head lightly.


Ah, I raised a really good child, Fluder thought while looking at the pretty face of the young man.


Fluder has served the Emperor for six generations now.


At first, he did not have a good relationship with the Emperor from six generations ago. Even so, she had become an expert magic caster back then, so when she was recruited, she finally reached the most prominent position even among the royal witches.


Because of this, his relationship with the royal family grew closer over the next five generations. When he got the position of head magician for the first time, he started educating the emperor's children from the fourth generation onwards, but it was basically related to magic.


Even since the third generation, he has taught them various subjects, mostly about politics.


And now was the current emperor - a child who was greatly adored by all.


Up until now, he had seen many different types of emperors but none of them were capable. All of the children were talented as if they were chosen by the gods - yet even though the current emperor was young, his talents and abilities shone beyond the previous emperor by a wide distance. Although it can be denied that Fluder had helped the preparations since two generations ago, the autocratic centralization of power within an emperor could be done only because of the extraordinary abilities of the Jircniv.


Fluder loved Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix.


He had educated the emperor and regarded him as his own son, and Fluder believed that the Emperor also regarded him as a father.


Yet despite that


Fluder was still willing to throw away someone he saw as his own son.


I want to stare deep into the abyss of magic, Jircniv. I will not lose sight of that goal, no matter what I have to sacrifice. Even though it's an interesting kid like you.


"Then, your majesty, is this why we call all attacks into the Kingdom?"


"really so. The details of the Devil who calls himself Jaldabaoth are much more important. Grandpa, did you find anything from your investigation?"


"It's a pity not, your honor. Although after investigation, we still can't find any information about him."


Right enough. That's how it happened.


"Paradyne, can't you investigate through magic?"


Fluder squinted his eyes and looked towards the person speaking with a serious expression on his face.


"Indeed true magic can be quite extraordinary, yet it is-"


"-Grandfather, sorry. But if grandfather starts talking about the subject it will take a long time. So, it's better to just stop it from now on."


"I understand, your honor."


For a moment, Fluder looked disappointed, then put on the tone of a teacher and began advising the person who looked like a student who constantly missed the point.


"There are many ways to prevent investigation with magic. For example, did you know that this room is protected from stealing hear talks with magic? There's also something else that's protected in this room, and the magic investigation is a bit of that."


"..I-i understand. Since there are so many ways of prevention, it would be difficult to do that."


"really so. However, we will be lucky if the magic just fails. The high-level talking magic caster prepares prevention for retaliation against that spell. Some of them could even kill the spellbinder directly if things got serious."


How could someone with abilities like me compare to the Supreme Being? There was no one else more worthy of the title of Supreme Being than him. I have to prove my usefulness to him quickly...


Some people became pale in displeasure when they heard Fluder talk about being killed, but he ignored them.


"Enter it in the calculation.."


One of the ministers took a sheet of paper.


"There is a place that seems to be the fortress of a magic caster named Ainz Ooal Gown. Since Paradyne-sama found it through magic, does that mean that person is weaker than Paradyne-sama?"


"That's too naive!"


Fluder shouted loudly as he tried his hardest to forcefully suppress his desire to smile bitterly. It shows how nervous he is.


"Your thinking is too naive. Consider that he had saved Carne village, or rather, just Carne village. Thinking so, I placed the observation of the magic area around the whole and pure area because I happened to see someone who looked like Ainz Ooal Gown enter that place. If you forget that this is nothing more than a coincidence, you will regret it."


Part of it is true. Taking Supreme Being for granted is a stupid move. No, despite the fact that he used to be like that as well, he realized how terrifying that fool was.


Fluder laughed inwardly over how stupid he used to be. He really doesn't know anything.


"I'm sorry."


He raised his hand to apologize.


"Ah ha, by the way, Grandpa. What happened to the workers who entered the suspected fortress?"


"Although our spies, who were trailing them, only sent out preliminary reports through 'Message', they expected the workers to have all been wiped out."


Jircniv flicked his finger, and slightly opened his eyes. He had indeed heard that many qualified groups of workers had been sent, but it was a truly shocking incident to be because they were finished off in just one day, or maybe even just half a day.


Fluder was not really surprised because it was the result of what he had expected, but still showed a surprised expression.


"....Is that so? But by the way, it is information gathered through magic, and you know how unreliable it is. How much time will it take for the adventurers to return?"


"Considering it as an emergency situation where none of the workers returned, they should have immediately retreated, so it would still take about four days in total."


"Including the time it takes to gather information from adventurers... At least five days. So before that, we won't be able to take any action."


'Message' was unreliable, as its contents became increasingly blurred after passing a long distance. Many countries do not rely solely on 'Message', for some reason.


One of them is a tragedy in a land called Gartenberg.


It happened in that country three hundred years ago. It was a land founded by humans that was mostly magic casters with cities centered around the rapid exchange of information using 'Message'. But because they trusted too much in 'Message', when they received three forged messages, a civil war broke out between the cities. Then the cities were destroyed when monsters and demi-humans attacked them.


There are also other examples, such as the singing of bards singing about a man killed by his wife based on false information.


As a result, few people believed in 'Message'. On the contrary, anyone who relied too much on 'Message' was considered a fool. Jircniv is one of the smarter people. While he was using 'Message', he was also gathering information through other sources. He would never believe just one spell.


"But, the Earl is really stupid. If he hired workers from E-Rantel, things would probably be smoother. She may be dancing in my hands because of her incompetence, but too much of her incompetence is a problem as well. If he's going to be the bait, he should at least do the job well."


"As His Majesty says."


Fluder's agreeable attitude made Jircniv raise an eyebrow.


There were two reasons why he received Fluder's offer in the meeting a few days ago.


First, is to gain an understanding of Ainz Ooal Gown's character.


After Fluder's investigation, they confirmed that Ainz had not left the ruins in a few days, so they considered the place his lair and sent workers inside to measure his reaction.


It was to see if he would face those intruders with a decent attitude or a harsh one.


The massacre of the workers had already shown one personality.


Another goal was to sow the dispute between Ainz Ooal Gown and Kingdom Re-Estize. Therefore, it would be much better if the workers were hired from E-Rantel, but unfortunately, it is not an option.


He can't be that stupid, can he?


All the information provided by the Earl was about unexplored ruins. Knowing that he was going to investigate the ruins that were within the Kingdom territory, he might not have the courage to hire people from the Kingdom anyway. Hiring workers from Empire was ultimately inevitable.


But in the current situation, the relationship between E-Rantel and Ainz Ooal Gown, as well as the Re-Estize Kingdom would not completely collapse. If he was anxious to expect to complete his second goal, he would have to leak information about the existence of the ruins to the Adventurers Guild within the Kingdom anyway.


"Momon came to the Empire at the right time."


"I agree. Information about the unexplored ruins and the slaughter of the workers would naturally flow to the Guilds within Kingdom Re-Estize through his report. They will start to conduct more serious investigations as desired by the emperor."


It is for this reason that adventurers are not allowed to take part in this at all. Of course, they did not use the authority of the emperor, but rather through spies who leaked information to the nobles.


This case should be handled as a foolish noble going wild. They could reject the Empire's involvement, and Ainz's hatred would be directed towards the Earl, while Jircniv could take a more amicable approach.


"After the adventurers within the Kingdom infiltrate Ainz Ooal Gown's unforgiving fortress, what will the Kingdom react to when they discover an extraordinarily powerful magic caster living there? And what would the Adventurers Guild within the Kingdom do after they retaliated against it?"


Jircniv smiled as he looked forward to the carefully prepared plan.


"I understand the power of Ainz Ooal Gown. He was strong enough to eradicate the group of workers. Our plan is to clean up the riot with a noble chief. Has it been done?"


"Of course, it's been done carefully. No one outside this room should know the situation."


"Then, just in case - what is it?"


The vibration on the ground cut Jircniv's sentence in the middle. The windows and all the furniture around it were shaking violently as well, but it was different from an earthquake, it felt like a collision caused by something very big hitting the ground, create a large shock wave (shockwave).


"What's going on?! Go and make sure of it - damn it, what the hell is going on?"


Even inside the room, Jircniv could hear a shout coming from outside. The walls of this room were made very thick and sturdy, therefore the sound had to be very loud or it took a lot of people who were shouting. What was going on outside that made people scream like this?


Answering Jircniv's doubts, a guard retorted from the gap between the window coverings. He came from the middle courtyard, the source of the voice, and his face turned pale.


"Your Majesty! There's a dragon! A dragon landed in the courtyard!"


For a moment, the atmosphere in the room froze. They could not study the sentence directly, or rather, they thought it made no sense at all. Even though they knew that the guard had no reason to lie, everyone still rushed towards the window to ascertain the situation on their own.


Jircniv pulled a mosquito net and peered through the semi-transparent window, everyone's jaw wide open from seeing a dragon sitting in the courtyard.


"Me-Why is there a dragon here? Where did the dragon come from?"


"Minister abroad! Did you hear anyone who was being insolent riding a dragon and landed in the middle of the courtyard?"


"I didn't hear one!"


"Is there an appointment with the dragon from the council members? isn't that it?"


"...Their appearance is different from what I heard. The description of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should not be wrong."


"No, the biggest problem is that the creature has been left so far! The emperor is here! What are the palace guards doing?"


Dragons could be said to be the strongest beings in the world, with powerful bodies wrapped in sturdy scales, a lifespan that exceeded that of ordinary humans, as well as all sorts of special abilities and magic. Of course, there were exceptions anyway, and some dragons had been slaughtered by adventurers in the past, too, yet there are many cases where cities and even lands are destroyed by the fire of angry dragons. One such city in the south had been destroyed some twenty years ago.


When such a creature appeared in the middle of the imperial palace, it was an enormous emergency.


As Jircniv gulped while looking at the dragon, two small figures descended from the dragon's back.


If one squinted his eyes, they could see that they were dark-skinned children due to the sunlight.


"They look like dark elves."


Fluder calmly expressed the race of the two children.


"Paradienne! The dragon, where did it come from? And where did these two come from?"


"The dragon is something that even I myself do not know..."


Naturally, the same was true for the two people who had just descended, and the dragons that had landed inside the courtyard were immediately immediately surrounded by knights. Although those knights were the pride of the Empire, in the presence of a dragon they seemed to be nothing short of reliable. As expected of the strongest being in this world.


Among the knights, a man holding a shield in each hand advanced forward.


"Oi, oi. Is he going out? Well, how else, even though losing someone seems like it must be a very unfortunate thing."


The one who moved forward was one of the Four Imperial Knights, 'The Immovable' Nazami Enec.


Nazami was one of the most powerful warriors in the Empire, and in terms of defense he was considered the strongest of the four Knights. But even as a warrior who could withstand many types of attacks, he still looked too small and nothing compared to a dragon. It was a sentence uttered by "Lightning" Baziwood Peshmel, as if confirming the death of his companion, and no one denied it.


"Your Majesty, I beg you to step down!"


"Then tell me, where can we retreat to? Where's the safe place?"


Answering the ministers' offers, Jircniv snorted.


"But Your Majesty!"


"I know what you're all gonna say. But ignoring the palace would make as a laughingstock. Even though the opponent was a dragon, which did not appear to be from the Republic of Agrando, and if the dragon made such a move knowing I did not run away... then the dragon may have the same intelligence as I've heard, it seems that the dragon knows the political situation of the Empire very well."


Although Jircniv bound the nobles very tightly, it could only be done with the help of the knight army. If news spread that he had escaped from the capital because of a dragon, the nobles would probably think that Jircniv's combat power was indeed weak, and eventually they would join forces and defect. Although he would not lose to an irregular horde, the combat power of the Empire would fall drastically.


Even if we fight or retreat, there is still a great loss. This is really an annoying chess move, what is the story behind the dragon?


In the end, the number of people who were on the page increased again. Forty palace guards surrounded the dragon, along with sixty knights, and even along with many arcane and divine magic casters were also present among their numbers.


"Only a hundred and twenty people really do not calm down. Your Majesty, how about letting me join them?"


Jircniv's eyebrows slightly shriveled. The fluder is the Empire's biggest ace. However, it is still unclear whether the sage let him face the very dragon, which is a species known to be powerful. Therefore Jircniv hesitated, but he also believed that Fluder could come out safely back to him even in the worst of circumstances.


But there was something Jircniv did not know.


The old magic caster made a nest so that Jircniv could escape by using the Fluder teleportation magic.


"I understand, grandpa. Can you tell 'Immovable' to back off anyway?"


"I understand. However, I cannot be certain of the strength of these people. They're supposed to be very strong, so if you want to step back, you should start making preparations now."


With that said, Fluder opened the window. He flew by using flying magic and glided in the sky.


"Then now, can everyone hear me? I am a servant of Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, Aura Bella Fiora!"


Right at that moment, another resounding voice spread in the air.


"The emperor of the country has sent a bunch of brash people into the Great Tomb of Nazarick where Ainz-sama lives! Ainz-sama is very unhappy, so if the emperor does not apologize, we will destroy this country!"


Jircniv's face changed. How did they reach that conclusion? How do they connect the parts of all those little clues?


As he looked back into the room, he found shocked expressions staring back at him. Then, when they realized what Jircniv had in mind, they shook their heads.


"For starters, let's kill everything here! Mare!"


Another dark elf standing beside him pushed his staff towards the courtyard. In an instant, a local earthquake seemed to have rattled the courtyard. Because the earthquake was locked up, Jircniv did not feel much of a strong tremor. However, the earth cried out and an intricate pattern of cracks opened on the ground, like a spider web with elves and dragons in the middle.


Except for the Fluder floating in midair, the knights, guards, magic casters, everyone else was cut down by the earth.


Those dark elves must have put themselves out of the effective range of the earthquake, since they were not exposed to its effects. The dark elf calmly pulled back his staff, then as quickly as it happened, the twitching that was on the earth closed once again. the spider-web-like pattern of the cracks covered itself in the opposite way from the moment they appeared, returning the earth to its original shape.


The knights gathered in the courtyard were already nowhere to be seen. That's a really surprising conclusion.


"Good, they're all dead now, if he doesn't show up on his own soon, we'll kill everyone in the next town... Since we do not know which one is the emperor, we will destroy this entire city and stop caring about anything! So get out, get out, Emperor, wherever you are!"


"Yes-Your Majesty!"


The trembling servants called out to him with pale faces.


"...I was just about to say we stepped on the tail of the dragon, but in the end, it came."


Jircniv tried to control his trembling. As an absolute being who grasped the authority of an Emperor, he should not show fear in front of his subordinates.


Ainz Ooal Gown.. No, now is not the time to think about it.


Jircniv turned towards the window and shouted.


"I, Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, want to talk! O messenger, will you two continue this discussion inside?" Jircniv then turned his head towards the servants, "Prepare the best welcome for our guests! Soon!"


As his servants rushed out, Jircniv looked back at the dark elves.


...I underestimated them. After all, if these are just subordinates.how could I not be able to handle them? Even so, I can't back down here. If they want to negotiate, then we have to do a sentence war. Ainz Ooal Gown, I will destroy your ambition here!