Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord
A/N: I received more support to continue this fic than I initially thought I would so... Here I am continuing it. Keep in mind that half of this chapter was written all the way back in like late September, and the other half was written mid-December. So, please tell me if there are any disparities in the writing style that is easily noticed. Also, I haven't written in a few months so I may be a little rusty. I've never been the most accurate self-judge though( I either overestimate or underestimate myself) so just tell me in the reviews if I am.
Nazarick, 3rd Floor:
Shalltear hummed happily as she strolled behind her fellow guardians with gleeful abandon. To accompany her elated disposition was a slight red tinging her deathly pale cheeks, if one were to look at her visage they would see joy incarnate. Her vampiric ancestry made it all the more difficult to accept the dewy look in her generally bloodthirsty eyes. Her red pupils shone like twinkling stars. Truly Shalltear had turned into a beacon of joy,and this beacon of joy, who was practically skipping along as she walked, suddenly ground to a halt.
The reason for this abrupt pause was the fact that four pairs of eyes now had their gaze on her, three of which belonged to the same person. Shalltear's overflowing joy was momentarily set aside by her confusion.
"What is it? Cocytus? Demiurge?"
Neither party answered her question, causing Shalltear to grow suspicious. The air between them suddenly grew tense. Anyone who witnessed this three-way stare down would have surely felt like the air around them was condensing.
It was Demiurge who cut through this tension.
"It was nothing... I was simply wondering why Ainz-sama decided to give someone who is so easily distracted by her joy the role of leader for such an important mission."
A smile crept on Shalltear's features as she heard Demiurge's words. A feeling of superiority settled in her heart as she mused to herself.
"My exploits in the Dwarven Kingdom were not for naught after all. Ainz-sama has regained enough trust in me to put me in charge of Demiurge and Cocytus, and on an important mission too. Ahhhhh! I'm so happy I could burst."
Drawing on her feeling of superiority, Shalltear shot Demiurge a wide, almost mocking, grin.
"Don't be so selfish Demiurge. Until recently you've been the one going all over the place completing all sorts of orders for Ainz-sama. This time it is simply my turn."
A bitter smile formed on Demiurge's face as he turned around and resumed walking,Cocytus followed after him.
Shalltear reverted back to her joy filled self as she trailed behind. Though this time her joy was accompanied with her quiet muttering.
"Ahhh, I'm so happy. If only I could have heard this command from Ainz-sama himself... Oh well, it can't be helped this is an urgent mission after all~"
The giggling Shalltear was a sight to behold for the residents of the 3rd Floor. The servants of Nazarick,particularly the denizens of the 1st through 3rd floors, knew their master as a sadistic, cruel woman, whose mood was as fickle as a flower. One moment she could appear calm as a lake, the next she would be tearing a Vampire Bride in half with a frown on her face.
So, needless to say almost all the NPC's the trio of guardians passed would gawk at the sight of Shalltear. They could not believe that the gleeful, almost childlike woman they were looking at was really their master.
In all of Nazarick, there was only one person who could make one of the floor guardians this happy, that was their absolute ruler, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama. As they realized this, small fires of jealousy lit up in the eyes of the previously gawking vassals. But they quickly suppressed it for fear of angering the target of their jealousy.
This same exact treatment was given to Shalltear as they walked through the first three floors of Nazarick. However, Shalltear's joy remained untouched and she went through the whole thing in a dreamlike state, as she slowly shambled after Cocytus and Demiurge. Demiurge however now had a frown adorning his face. But Shalltear was too full of euphoria to pay attention to him.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Demiurge called out to Shalltear.
"Shalltear, get a hold of yourself! We have an urgent mission, hurry up!"
Demiurge's voice cut through the cold, crisp air outside Nazarick and reached Shalltear. Upon hearing Demiurge, Shalltear seemed to snap out of her trance.
"Ara? We're outside Nazarick already... I didn't even notice."
After a momentary shock, Shalltear's face turned impassive.
"Right, of course. My apologies, it seems I got caught up in my emotions."
Demiurge simply nodded in response.
Shalltear took a few deep breaths, to fully calm herself down, then began heading towards Demiurge. She looked around for Cocytus but found that he strangely wasn't anywhere within her vision and was hiding his presence.
"What's he doing... ?"
Shalltear made to turn around, but Demiurge suddenly made a sharp movement and drew Shalltear's attention back to him. She saw him leaping to the side as if clearing the path for something. Confusion filled Shalltear's head as she struggled to grasp what Demiurge was trying to do. And in the instant that Demiurge's feet alighted on the ground after his leap to the side, Shalltear stopped thinking about it.
This was because Cocytus' presence had returned directly behind her. Before she could fully register that he had reappeared Cocytus surged forward like a massive wave and hit Shalltear's exposed back with one of his strongest offensive skills,[Immovable Wisdom King Strike].
Cocytus' large blue fist drove into Shalltear's unguarded back, prompting a scream of pain and surprise from Shalltear. Flecks of saliva shot out of her mouth as her bones broke, and her body was wracked with pain. Her petite body was sent flying out Nazarick. Her body tumbled over and bounced several times untill she was a good distance away from Nazarick. Shalltear painted the blades of grass beneath her with the crimson shine of blood. She gritted and gnashed her teeth as she struggled to get onto her feet, despite the intense pain that threatened to consume her.
A million thoughts were racing through her head, but her head was pounding too hard for her to make sense of any of it, she felt like she could hear her beloved master's voice yet her ears rang too much for her to listen to his voice. She gulped in large swaths of air in an effort to calm her breathing, and as she managed to get one trembling knee up to support herself. She felt a leathery, gloved hand place itself on her shoulder. Accompanying it was a sudden breeze of cold air, Shalltear should have been resistant to cold effects. But she felt the sting of the cold anyway, and in the next moment her world changed.
Her eyes widened as she noticed that beneath her feet was not the grass and soil of the plains where Nazarick lay, but instead the grass and dirt of a forest. The vast sky that so openly hung over her was now replaced by a forest's canopy. Rays of sunlight broke through a scant few openings in the ceiling of leaves, but it didn't bother Shalltear who, like many inhuman creatures, possessed Darkvision. Shalltear had regained enough strength to get up on her feet, albeit a little shakily. She forced her knees, which were still trembling from the aftereffects of Cocytus' strike, to support her body as she stood up straight to survey her surroundings.
"A forest? Wasn't I... at Nazarick?."
Shalltear, who had forgotten for a moment what had happened in her shock, gasped as everything clicked into place for her. She leapt back, equipping her full gear mid jump. When she landed she was encased in crimson red armor, white wings sprung out of her back, and she was wielding her beloved Spuit Lance. Yet despite donning her gear, Shalltear did not feel strong.
"Damn it, Cocytus' [Immovable Wisdom King Strike]... I took that hit full on without any defensive skills or magic, I wasn't even wearing my armor. I'm lucky that my health wasn't halved... Well at least, now I can heal myself with [Time Reversal]."
Shalltear narrowed her eyes at the two motionless beings in front of her, who had done nothing but watch her all this while. And in low menacing tones she spoke.
"Demiurge...Cocytus... What is the meaning of this. Have you betrayed our master, the supreme being who stayed behind? Have you betrayed Ainz-sama?"
Despite her predicament and obvious disadvantage, the killing intent Shalltear let off with every word she spoke was surprisingly potent. Even Demiurge, and Cocytus, beings who were supposed to be comparable to her were unsettled by the sheer killing intent that her child-like figure radiated.
However, they soon recovered their sense of calm after taking a good look at Shalltear. She was trying to hide it, but anyone would have been able to tell that she was badly hurt. It probably took all she had just to remain standing.
"That's right Shalltear, we serve a new master now. One truly well deserving of the title of 'Supreme'."
Demiurge's words brought up an insatiable fury inside Shalltear. Shalltear gripped the handle of the Spuit Lance with enough strength to crush the heads of ten men as she gnashed her teeth. She wanted nothing more than to attack the foolish heretics before her, but she knew that if she attacked them in her current state, she would have no hope of winning, however that was assuming she couldn't heal herself. As she thought about this, a sadistic smile grew on her face.
"Hey, Demiurge, Cocytus... Did you know? I can take on both of you at the same time and probably win."
A cold laugh sailed through the air between the guardians
"Shalltear, of course we know that. However, can you really do that in your current state? I realize you can heal with [Time Reversal], but that leaves you with only 2 uses of that skill left... can you really fight the two of us properly with one of your trump cards diminished?" Demiurge looked up, seemingly peering beyond the canopy that hung over them, a smug smile of satisfaction plastered on his face. "And besides, me and Cocytus aren't fighting you alone."
Shalltear grit her teeth in frustration and anger at Demiurge's nonchalance over their crime towards Ainz.
"This insolent bastard. I swear on Ainz-sama's name! I will make him pay for this transgression; how dare he bite the hand that fed him."
As she felt a third presence of equal strength as the two before her, if not stronger, enter the vicinity. Shalltear crouched into a battle ready stance and prepared herself to fight.
"I could cast [Greater Lethal] for healing but that wouldn't work out very well. In this battle my victory will be decided by how much I can damage them before they kill me and activate my resurrection item. Starting out with full health would be smarter, and I should use Einjelhar."
Shalltear activated [Time Reversal], and Einjelhar at the same time. Strength and vitality once again coursed through her body, healing her injuries and allowing her to stop her slight trembling and adopt the body tensity that she needed. A pure white copy of Shalltear shaped into existence beside her, and the two guardians merely smiled at her. Shalltear made an annoyed "tsk" sound. She didn't like this sense of dread that filled every corner of her heart. She felt like she was merely dancing on the palm of her enemies and she hated that feeling. Somehow despite her lack of experience with fighting enemies from Nazarick, Shalltear felt a sense of deja vu at her current predicament.
"Perhaps these are remnants of my memories from the time I pointed this weapon against my own master... Ah! That's right, Ainz-sama contacted me. Even if I lose here he'll definitely save me, just like he did back then... Actually, it doesn't even make sense that Demiurge and Cocytus would betray Ainz-sama like this. I've had my fair share of disagreements with them, but they're not the kind of fools to oppose the Supreme Beings like this. Which means..."
Shalltear's expression darkened when she remembered why she was with Demiurge and Cocytus in the first place.
"Azazel, huh. So, he must have been the one who got me last time as well. This bastard... I'm going to bring his head to Ainz-sama if it's the last thing I do!"
With an expression that could kill, Shalltear shot out at Demiurge like a speeding bullet. She felt Cocytus engage her Einjelhar behind her, but Demiurge remained unmoving.
"What the hell is he doing?!"
Despite the impending threat of impalement, Demiurge merely stood there with a smile. This action filled Shalltear's heart with frustration and suspicion. Whether fortunately or not, her suspicions were soon answered when, just before her lance reached Demiurge, she was struck by something large and fast. Her body's forward momentum was completely cancelled out as she was sent flying. She landed on the ground with a loud thud after snapping a few trees in half.
She quickly cast [Negative Impact Shield] as she felt the foreign presence from earlier quickly close in on her. It stopped just outside of the range of her spell. And with her health partly revitalized from [Negative Impact Shield] she had recovered enough vitality to quickly jump back and place some distance between her and the unknown assailant. However, she quickly regretted this decision when upon trying to spot her assailant she was instead met with a giant cannon that seemed to be charging some sort of energy beam.
"Fuc-"
Shalltear barely had the time to curse in frustration before a blinding light erupted from the cannon and engulfed her. Shalltear let out guttural shrieks of pain as the condensed beam of explosion-type magic lit her senses on fire. Shalltear felt like every fiber of her being was getting torn apart as the light burned it's way through her body and armor. By the time the light dispersed, Shalltear could barely see what was in front of her.
She had not however entirely lost her ability to sense presence's and from what she could tell she was now surrounded on three sides by her assailant, Demiurge, and Cocytus which meant that Einjelhar was temporarily tied down. Straining her senses, Shalltear noticed a 4th presence that seemed to be keeping Einjelhar busy.
"Shit, the momentum of the battle is completely against me. I've lost all control of the flow..."
As Shalltear desperately wracked her head trying to think of a good battle plan, her unknown assailant finally stepped out from the shadows where he was a few seconds ago. He was a large grey dragonoid, and in his burly hands was a sword gleaming with the shine of silver. As she got a closer look at him she realized that her assailant was the same person they were supposed to eliminate.
"Azazel..."
Shalltear let out a small gasp
"So, have you two betrayed Ainz-sama for the sake of this disgusting reptile? Demiurge..."
Shalltear turned her eyes to the right where Demiurge was stepping out from the bushery.
"Cocytus..."
She then turned them in the opposite direction where Cocytus emerged from. As she engaged her two former comrades in a mental stare-down, the third presence grew irritable.
"Shouldn't you keep your eyes on the enemy who actually hurt you?"
The cold voice shattered the silence and an equally chilling presence made all three NPC's shudder.
"Tch."
In a panic, Shalltear quickly turned her attention to Azazel. When she turned her gaze she saw a huge fist zooming towards her. It seemed to be a mere punch but Shalltear's instincts told her that with the current amount of health she had left, if she let that hit her directly she was going to die.
"[Force Sanctuary]."
A white barrier arose around Shalltear. Just before the fist hit it she saw the image of a giant roaring dragon superimposed over it.
"Seems my instincts were correct... Hmph, I'm going to show this bastard what happens when he underestimates Shalltear Bloodfallen."
Azazel's expression was a mix of shock and intrigue when he realized that his attack had failed to break through the barrier.
"Hah! Of course your pathetic attack wouldn't break through. That was an absolute-defense spell."
While she mocked him in her head, outwardly Shalltear seized the opening his shock gave her.
"[Force Explosion]."
Azazel drew a trail of smoke as his body was blown backwards by the spell. In that same instant, Demiurge and Cocytus approached Shalltear.
"[Wall of Stone]."
Using the stone that erupted from the ground as a stop-gap measure, Shalltear cast two offensive-spells back to back.
"[Vermillion Nova]!, [Brilliant Radiance]!"
Pillars of fire and light rose up from underneath Cocytus and Demiurge. As Cocytus was burned and Demiurge was purified, Shalltear flew out from her stone enclosure to find the dragonoid.
Upon leaving the cover of her stone walls, Shalltear was tagged by an arrow of silver. She gave out a hiss of pain as steam came from his.
With her outstretched hand, Shalltear formed a large javelin of light, and with a loud snarl she threw it at the arrow's source with all her strength. This Javelin was one of Shalltear's strongest attacks and if she imbued it with enough MP it would turn into the perfect strike that couldn't miss and inflicted an anti-healing curse on the target. But of course the dragonoid didn't know that, so Shalltear could barely contain her joy when he tried to avoid it only to end up having his left arm practically torn off. Shalltear let out inhumane laughter as she prepared another javelin for his right arm. Unfortunately her joy was cut short when she felt two extreme sources of hostility lunge at her from behind.
With an irritated scoff, she turned around and threw the [Purifying Javelin] at Demiurge who had assumed his bulky final form. Despite his form's increased defensive capabilities, the javelin still tore through Demiurge's outstretched arm and into his shoulder.
While Demiurge fell back down to the ground, Shalltear lifted her lance and blocked Cocytus' katana which had been on a path for her neck. A blast of cold air rammed into Shalltear as Cocytus used [Ice Pillar]. With the skill providing him footing to stand on Cocytus equipped his three other katana's and launched a ferocious three-point attack. One sword flew towards Shalltear's leg's, another tore through the air aiming to sever Shalltear's torso from the rest of her body, and the last one went towards Shalltear's neck in order to support Cocytus' first strike. As strong as Shalltear was, she had no hope in blocking this series of highly skilled attacks and even less hope of surviving it with the amount of HP she had left.
In a desperate attempt to avoid the coming strikes, Shalltear threw herself downwards. She crashed into the ground with a loud thud, throwing up huge amounts of dust in the process. The dust remained suspended in the air for what seemed like forever but when the dust finally settled, Shalltear stood there in all her splendor looking like she wasn't even hurt in the first place. The truth was, however, Shalltear was dangerously low on health.
"Not yet, I can't use my [Time Reversal] yet, it's still to early."
Shalltear examined her surroundings and summarized the current battle situaton.
"I've completely turned around the tide of the battle. With this I should have higher chances of winning. Demiurge is still pinned to the ground by my javelin, and that Azazel should be licking his wounds somewhere. For now Cocytus is the only real threat remaining. I might be able to go for a while longer without using another [Time Rever-"
As if mocking her thoughts, a sharp pain suddenly sprouted from Shalltear's right arm. Shalltear let out a shriek of pain as she was once again struck of to the side by something large and fast. Shalltear glanced up and saw Azazel who was now supposed to be one-armed standing in front of her wielding a two-handed war hammer with silver spikes, and his arm seemed to be completely fine.
"H-How?!"
Shalltear practically choked out her words in her disbelief. Seeing her confusion Azazel let out a loud, boisterous laugh.
"It seems you thought that your little anti-healing curse could hinder me. Unfortunately for you I don't need to heal my arm when I can just get a new one."
Shalltear gnashed her teeth in anger, and was about to charge him when she felt yet another wave of cold from above. She looked up just in time to see a giant icicle of ice looming above her head
"That damned Cocytus."
Shalltear scrambled to get out of the icicle's path as she cursed Cocytus in her head. However, it was too late. Shalltear managed to evade the actual icicle, but the aftereffects of its crash caused her to slip, and before she could stand back up properly her leg was caught by something leathery. Shalltear looked down to find a leathery rope coiling around her body.
"Wh-What is this?! I should be immune to all binding, so why?!"
To make matters worse, a still single-armed Demiurge appeared behind her and wrapped up her already binded self in his one remaining arm. Azazel looked at Shalltear with what seemed to be contentment before taking out an item of some sort. Shalltear's heartbeat quickened as he approached her with item in hand. Her mind raced for answers and her body struggled for freedom. But it was useless, the more she struggled the tighter the rope went and Demiurge wasn't letting go any time soon.
"Einjelhar! If it can get over here and free me for an instant I can turn the situation around! What the hell is keeping it away for so lo-"
Just as Shalltear had found hope that hope was promptly dashed as she felt her Einjelhar's presence disappear
"Im-Impossible"
She blurted out loud
"That fourth presence I felt defeated Einjelhar?! What the hell was he?!"
"Oh? Did you think he was just a high-level summon or something?"
Shalltear's ire grew as the dragonoid mocked and taunted her.
"Wait, I still have one more use of [Negative Impact Shield], I can st-"
Unfortunately for Shalltear, the rope that had caught her seemed to restrict the usage of skills and spells. With her options being crossed off one by one, Shalltear began to panic and struggled even more to get free of the rope.
Azazel, oblivious to all that, kept talking.
"Well in a sense you're correct, but he isn't a normal summon. But you don't need to know anymore than that, for now just go to sleep?"
As he said that he crushed the item right next to Shalltear's ear. In the next instant Shalltear lost conciousness.
E-Rantel, Mayor's office:
Ainz sighed as his emotional passive was yet again triggered by his black history.
"Does he have to be so dramatic everytime he says my name?"
"Ainz-sama?"
The source of Ainz's inner conflict brought him out of his thoughts.
"Is there something... WRO-"
Ainz spoke over Pandora's Actor, stopping him from triggering the emotional passive yet again.
"That's enough. Pandora's Actor why have you contacted me?"
"Ah, yes about that. Ainz-sama, might I know the reason for leaving the world items of Demiurge, Cocytus, and Shalltear in the treasury. Needless to say this isn't a complaint. On the contrary, I am quite excited to once again organize these wonderf-"
"Pandora's Actor, what did you just say?!"
The panicked shout that had just exited Ainz's mouth was not a good fit for the wise master of Nazarick that was revered by all the NPC's. Realizing this Ainz quickly recovered his senses, and after clearing his throat, and stealing a few glances at the subordinates in his office he once again spoke in a much calmer manner.
"I apologize for my outburst, please banish it from your memories. Now then Pandora's Actor, what were you saying about Demiurge?"
"Ah yes, about that. It seems Demiurge and the others are setting out on a mission without their world items. When I asked Demiurge why they were leaving the items behind he merely said that it was your order. Please enlighten this UNWORTHY one. It is my deepest regret that I am unable to comprehend my creat- no, my father's thoughts.
"Huhhh!"
In that moment, Ainz was more thankful for his undead body than ever before. While internally his mind was set ablaze by the storm of thoughts, worries, and anxieties that assaulted it, to the NPC's looking at him from the outside he was the picture of regal calm. His face resembled an unshakable stone which did wonders to hide his inner turmoil.
As Ainz's non-existent brain was overworking itself, a message arrived from Albedo. While on any normal day Ainz would have a few lingering feelings of apprehension about a call from the guardian overseer. In this moment there was nobody else he wanted to hear from. Ainz accepted the message eager to hear an explanation for Demiurge's bizzare actions.
"Ainz-sama, Demiurge and Cocytus have betrayed us! I apologize for not noticing sooner! Demiurge had returned from the mission safe and sound so I had thought he would be alright!"
After having received his explanation, Ainz quickly regretted answering Albedo's call. He wished that he could turn back the hands of time to when he was still ignorant to the truth.
"I did it again... After observing the new player for a while I quickly concluded that he was an easy person to take care of. I didn't even think of the possibility that he was baiting me. Because of me the children have been taken. What do I do? Do I fight them myself? Do I order Albedo to assemble a team for it? What if this is a trap? While the enemy didn't strike when Shalltear was the one being mind-controlled, there's no guarantee that the same thing will happen this time."
Ainz, who was drowning in panicked thoughts, had grown ignorant of his surroundings, yet despite that Albedo's next words came in surprisingly clear.
"Ainz-sama, what are your orders? No matter the cost this one shall accomplish it."
These words were by no means uncommon for Ainz. In fact it would not be an overstatement to say that he heard such words several times in a day. Yet somehow in this moment Ainz's undead heart was struck by these all too familiar words.
"I see. I was worrying uselessly huh. Even if I'm unable to save them effectively, if it was Albedo she'd definitely be able to do it..."
"Albedo, thank you."
Ainz had thanked Albedo several times since she gained sentience. But to him there was no moment other than now where he felt as thankful.
"E-Eh? A-Ainz-sama? ..."
Unfortunately, this meaning did not transfer properly to Albedo who had been caught off guard by Ainz's sudden admission of gratitude.
Ainz, who had made peace with hinself over the situation, paid this no heed as he began barking out orders.
"Forget it for now. Albedo I want you to pinpoint a location for Demiurge, and then assemble a team for retrieval and interception."
"It is already done. I've had Nigredo track their location to a forest in the outskirts of the Slane Theocracy. She was, however, unable to pinpoint their exact location due to interference from a high-level barrier. The team I have assembled consists of Sebas, Aura, Mare, five hundred Eight Edge Assassins, A unit of Aura's magic beasts, and one of Mare's familiars. I have also had Demiurge, and Cocytus' direct subordinates temporarily detained."
While normally Ainz would have been surprised at the amount of preparation that Albedo had already finished, for the time being he did not have the luxury for surprise.
"I see, then Albedo I want you to bring Nazarick's alert level to the max, and inform Pandora's Actor of the situation. Tell him to temporarily leave the treasury and aid in Nazarick's defenses while we're gone. We can't cross out the chance that the enemy is attempting to lure us out and attack the base while we're gone. Inform Pandora's Actor that he will temporarily be in charge, and he should immediately contact us if enemies show up at Nazarick."
Ainz hesitated for a moment before adding an extra order
"And tell him that if the situation calls for it... he is permitted to activate Rubedo
"Understood."
After ending the call with Albedo, Ainz immediately created a gate to where the forces were on standby and stepped through. Upon emerging from the dark portal, the first thing Ainz saw were the kneeling figures of Albedo's assembled force.
"Stand."
With a regal wave of his hand, Ainz gave a single order. And like a machine all the forces stood up at the same time. Every single one of then had a serious air about them, even the normally jovial Aura, the warm Sebas, and the fidgety Mare were still as stones. Despite being slightly taken aback by the tension, Ainz proceeded to give out orders.
"The Eight-Edge assassins and magic beasts will not take part in the fighting unless ordered to, you will merely form an enclosure around the targets and prevent escape. Aura, I will allow two magic beasts to join the battle. Have the rest aid in the enclosure effort."
"As you wish, Ainz-sama"
Aura and all the addressed vassals bowed and spoke at the same time.
After giving out his orders, Ainz turned to the side and merely awaited Albedo's return. As if reading the atmosphere Albedo suddenly appeared in her battle armor and with Ginnungagap.
"Ainz-sama I have accomplished your orders."
"Good, well then. Let us depart."
Albedo wordlessly moved to Ainz's side and produced a crystal mirror. Reflected in the mirror was a lush and thick forest.
"So, this is where we'll find Shalltear and the others..."
Ainz cast a [Mass Teleport] spell and in the next moment he and his vassals found themselves breathing in fresh countryside air. Of course, in Ainz's case he wasn't actually breathing anything in seeing as he was undead. They were currently situated at the edge of a large forest. Since Shalltear was within the forest, normally they would have teleported further in so as to retrieve her in an easier manner. But the giant red barrier surrounding the entire forest prevented from this happening. Without making a sound, Ainz approached the barrier and placed a single bony hand on it's surface.
"[Maximize Magic: Dispel Barrier]!"
The barrier shattered like a broken mirror and then dissipated into nothing.
"[Maximize Magic: Cage of Death]!"
A new dark purple barrier rose up to take it's place. In the instant that the barrier was replaced. Ainz began barking out orders.
"Quick, begin the enclosure. Make sure there isn't a single gap!"
Before the words even finished leaving Ainz's mouth the vassals he had given orders to had already set out. After most of them had left, The guardians went up to his side in a line. For a long time none of then spoke, despite this however there was an unspoken understanding between them all. And the same fiery thoughts burned inside of Ainz's heart.
"Whoever you are... whoever did this. I'll make you pay!"
Slane Theocracy, Forest in the outskirts:
Azazel finally let down his guard when the sleeping Shalltear was taken away by Cocytus and Demiurge. Normally, undead don't need sleep but Azazel had used an item that forcefully afflicted targets with a sleep status effect. A prerequisite for it to work was that the target had to be low on health. Thanks to Shalltear withholding on using her healing spells the item had worked like a charm.
"So, that's my third NPC, huh. And I still have one wish on the ring left... Things are progressing nicely. Now then, I suppose I should heal up."
The reason Azazel had not returned with Demiurge and Cocytus was because the Slane Theocracy had not been made aware of his identity as a dragon. Therefore, he had to revert to his human form before returning. Unfortunately the wounds he received in dragon form would transfer over to his human form. And even if he healed the wound as a dragon it would remain on his human body until he healed it as a human.
Grumbling about this annoying necessity, Azazel took out a high-grade [Potion of Healing]. Taking in a deep breath, Azazel reverted to his human form. In that instant his body was hit with a wave of pain so intense he almost blacked out. The sharp burning sensation that started from his left arm spread throughout his whole body making Azazel feel like he was being burned alive.
Moments before he lost consciousness he managed to break the potion case with his grip. The bright red liquid splashed over his fist and dripped onto the top of his shoes. The burning sensation was soon replaced by an incessant throbbing which disappeared soon after, giving way to a feeling of refreshment. Azazel sighed as he wiped his forehead, which had been soaked in sweat due to the pain.
"So, I'm an armless human now..."
He absentmindedly reached a hand for the stump that his left arm had turned into.
"I wonder how Zesshi would react to this."
After calming his heartbeat and drying off his sweat, Azazel used a teleport scroll and his world was changed. He found himself at the pick-up point that the Slane Theocracy set for the Operation: Catch Shalltear... Or at least he was supposed to. Just before Azazel used the scroll, the barrier he had asked Sorviez to create had been torn down and in it's place a new barrier arose, and his teleport failed.
The moment he realized what had happened it was already too late, several presences had shown up and formed an encirclement.
"Tch, so he's already here."
Realizing who was behind the recent string of events, Azazel quickly transformed back into a dragon and drew out Mjolnir in a sword shape.
"For now, I should run. I don't know how many people that bastard brought but I probably can't handle it on my own."
Azazel turned around to make a break for the edge of the forest, but before he could take even a single step; the earth beneath him began to shift. As if preparing for the advent of some sort of God, the trees and small mounds of dirt in front of Azazel moved aside one by one. Eventually even the ones on Azazel's side began to move. When everything finally stopped, a clearing in the forest had been created. On one end of it was Azazel and on the other end was a group of eight. Aura Bella Fiora with her two favored magic beasts beside her, Mare Bello Fiore with his Dragon familiar, a knight in black wielding a bardiche, an aged man in a butler uniform, and finally the symbol of all Azazel's hatred and frustration.
"Momonga"
He spoke almost breathlessly. The moment the name left Azazel's lips, waves of killing intent came from the four people beside Momonga. The most potent of which was the one from the black night. But Azazel didn't care, right then and there in that instant all he could see was himself and Momonga. When confronted by the symbol of his hate, Azazel was barely able to stop his rising blood-thirst from taking over his more rational side. For a long time the two just stood there staring at each other until finally Momonga spoke.
"Where are they?"
Ainz's tone seemed emotionless but upon hearing it Azazel was taken aback at the intense emotion he instinctively felt from the undead magic caster. Sadness, rage, frustration, and self-doubt were whirling around in one big storm. Faced for the first time in his life with such intense feelings, Azazel was unable to answer.
"I see."
Divining some sort of answer from Azazel's silence, Ainz's words echoed disappointment which snapped Azazel out of his trance like state. And with that exchange as the opening, Momonga attacked first, he stretched out his hand and mimed a gripping motion. Azazel had made his move almost immediately after Momonga moved.
Azazel, when he was still in YGGDRASIL had spent countless hours researching everything there was to know about the guild [Ainz Ooal Gown], and thus he had instinctively sensed Momonga's opening attack and made the appropriate counter move.
As soon as Momonga had clenched his fist, Azazel's entire body stiffened as if he was petrified. Sensing his inability to move, the black knight and the butler charged at him from the left and right sides respectively. The knight with a strike to his neck and the butler with a punch to the torso. Azazel stood still and merely waited for the strikes to hit his body, and hit him they did. The resulting shockwave from their attacks displaced the air so violently that the surrounding trees very nearly toppled.
Yet, Azazel's body had not moved an inch, and both the knight and butler's bodies had stiffened as if they were paralyzed. This was a result of the skill Azazel used to counter Momonga's [Grasp Heart]. This was the [Indomitable Dragon Pride]. This was an absolute defense skill with several prerequisites for proper usage. This skill would paralyze its user for a given amount of time and if he wasn't attacked during this time he would lose 20% of his health. However, if he was attacked, the attacks would be nullified and the attackers would he paralyzed for a moment. This was why the knight and butler were now helpless in front of Azazel.
Capitalizing on this opportunity, Azazel hit them aside and lunged at Momonga in one swift motion. However, before he could even make it halfway towards Momonga. A fist made of rock sprouted from the ground beneath knocking him upward. Subsequently, a large vine sprouted from the ground and slapped him away.
At the same time Azazel saw the ground underneath Aura rise up to form a pillar of sorts allowing Aura to jump high above the battle ground and unleash a torrent of arrows onto Azazel.
"Mare, that pesky bitch!"
Azazel skillfully cut down the arrows that were on a collision course for him and let the other arrows pass him by. He was about to make another run for Momonga but he was stopped by the presence of the one's he had hit away earlier. Behind him coming in with an axe kick was the butler, and appearing suddenly in front of him with some sort of teleportation spell.
"[Mjolnir-transform: Shotgun], [Valhalla Fallen], [Mjolnir Skill-boost]!"
In a show of pure skill, Azazel instantly made a move that counter-attacked the ones currently attacking him and attacked the onlookers as well.
Upon seeing the bright light flashing from the white shotgun ,Hildr, every single person in the vicinity prepared a defensive ability. Mare cast defensive magic upon all his comrades giving them a faint green glow, Aura summoned a turtle type magic beast and hid in it's shell, Ainz summoned a death knight to protect himself and the exposed familiars and summons of Aura and Mare, and Albedo stood in front of the pack crisscrossing her arms and activating some sort of defensive skill, which was evident due to the faint silhouette of a castle wall taking shape behind her. Meanwhile Sebas pressed his attack, but after seeing that his axe kick dealt no damage to Azazel. He switched gears and used Azazel's back as a springboard to leap away. All of this happened within the span of a second.
In the next moment, a light pillar that was several orders of magnitude stronger than the one Azazel had used in the Elven Forest arose. When the light finally died down, Azazel found a less than favorable result. Aura, Mare, Ainz, and all the people who were behind Albedo had their defenses shattered but aside from that they were completely fine. He also sensed Sebas' presence still lingering behind him.
"Damn, who is this woman! What was that skill just now?!"
The source of this poor outcome was the succubi standing in front of Azazel. The black knight who had assumed a vanguard position had her helmet completely destroyed and large bits and pieces of her armor completely torn apart. All that was left clinging onto her body were a few scraps of metal.
"That was an attack capable of wiping out your average level 100 party, and this bitch just tanked it? What the fuck is going on!"
While Azazel was busy recovering from the shock of witnessing the succubi tank his world item-augmented attack. Momonga took the chance to have the succubi restore herself.
"Albedo! Get back!"
Albedo immediately obliged jumping to the back of the attack line and bringing out several health potions. This sight broke Azazel out of his trance and he attempted to stop her from recovering. But before he could take a single step forward, a black hole was thrown at him.
Needless to say this was a present from Momonga. Azazel flew up and backwards to avoid getting sucked into the black hole, but as he was fleeing he came into contact with something hard. Azazel attempted to dive down as soon as he realized what he had just bumped into.
"I completely forgot about that butler!"
However, it was too late. Two big black arms wrapped themselves around Azazel locking him in place. Azazel turned his neck and saw a black dragonoid with grey fur lining the top of its head staring back at him.
"So the butler's a dragonoid, and the black knight's a succubi... What else am I going to find out? Mare's a boy?!"
Momonga quickly took advantage of Azazel's position and cast a ferocious spell.
"[Triplet Maximize Magic: Reality Slash]!"
Three dimension-cleaving blades came rushing at Azazel. The first cut through his left arm completely severing it and cutting halfway through the butler's left arm. The second cleaved most of his chest in half, and the third cut through his right arm and did the same to the butler. The pair then simultaneously fell to the ground. A leather whip came and attached itself to the butler's leg and dragged him back towards the back of the enemy's line.
Meanwhile Azazel was left there as a majority of his wounds closed up, and his arms sprouted back. Of course it was only his physical body that healed, Azazel's actual remaining health had not healed much from the damage reality slash dealt. Unfortunately for Azazel he wouldn't have time to heal that damage as Momonga didn't plan to leave him alone for long.
"[Hold of Ribs]!"
Multiple large rib shaped bones sprouted from the ground and pierced Azazel, who had managed to stand up. This effectively held him in place as Mare launched a giant rock stalactite which then pierced through Azazel's midsection. He tore it out and tossed it aside allowing the hole in his abdomen to rapidly start to close up, but the attacks didn't end there.
Just as the [Hold of Ribs] expired, Momonga cast [Triplet Maximize Magic: Greater Thunder], and Aura jumped up into the air to fire another rain of arrows. The lightning fried Azazel's insides and the arrows pierced through his skin.
Then the familiars decided to join in the big chameleon crawled up towards Azazel and shot lightning rays from his mouth which singed Azazel's already cooked insides. The wolf made several slashing motions towards Azazel which turned into wind blades that chipped at his scales, and the dragon came in and engulfed Azazel in flames.
"Shit! I'm getting completely beat down over here. I have to turn this around or I'm going to die here!"
Azazel grit his teeth and flapped his wings several times to clear the flames. When they dissipated, Azazel made his move he transformed the shotgun into a hammer and then proceeded to smash the chameleon into the ground with it. Using his free hand he grabbed the wolf ,that had lunged at him, by the throat and tossed it aside. He then transformed the hammer into a spear and stabbed the dragon with all his might opening up a gaping hole in its chest.
But before he could gain anymore momentum than this the dragonoid butler came rushing in and struck Azazel squarely in the chest, sending him back a few meters. Azazel panted and heaved as he observed his surroundings. At the moment the three familiars had moved to the back of the line to heal their wounds with Albedo while the two elves, Momonga, and the butler kept him busy. But it seems Momomga felt that this wasn't enough, and so for the first time in the battle he used his specialty.
"[Create High-Tier Undead]!"
Four Pale Rider's took shape infront of Momonga.
"Shit, Fuck. Did you have to summon the Pale Rider's you bastard? I'm already in enough shit without having to deal with your undead."
Azazel breathed in and out slowly as he resolved himself to launch a do-or-die last spurt.
"This is it. This moment will decide if I leave this place with my life intact."
Momonga, Aura, Mare, and the butler watched Azazel closely, preparing themselves to counter whatever move he decided to make. But none of them could have expected the nightmare that came next. Azazel used a special skill that he unlocked after achieving the maximum amount of levels in the [Legendary Draconic Knight] class. This perk was the ability to use three skills simultaneously in one instant. This would cost over half of your Extra XP bar but it would momentarily allow you to achieve a feat that should normally be impossible.
In an instant Azazel's attackers were assaulted by three skills. First, they were all paralyzed by Azazel's [Royal Dragon King's Roar]. The effect was particularly strong on the butler who had been forces onto his knees. Second, they were all blown away by the [Dragon King's Gale Storm]; the shockwave from this attack was so powerful that it defaced the land. Lastly, a tornado had taken shape around Azazel forming a wall around him as well as providing him with a springboard for escape.
"That attack should keep them busy for a while. I need to get out of here!"
Azazel flew with all his might to the top of the barrier that kept him trapped. He transformed [Mjolnir] into a lance and struck the barrier. It flickered, but remained standing. So, Azazel struck it again, and again, and again. It was only on the 6th strike that it finally broke down.
But six strikes was more than enough for the people down below to recover. Before Azazel could teleport away a vine wrapped around his leg and dragged him back down to the ground. Slamming him hard in the process. The sudden drop forced Azazel to drop his teleport scroll and he was now on the ground surrounded by his enemies and without a means to teleport. Momonga stood at the forefront of all these enemies and gave Azazel a stare as chilling as death.
"It's over. Give up now."
Azazel merely stared right back into Momonga's empty eye sockets, unwilling to utter a word in reply.
"So, even after all that it wasn't enough... Looks like I have to use the ring."
Momonga raised a hand as if to announce Azazel's death, but before he could do anything with it Azazel raised his own hand and quickly shouted "[Wish Upon a Star]! Take me to the pick-up point!" while simultaneously reverting to his human form. The last thoughts that swirled around Azazel's head before he blacked out were
"It's not over yet Momonga. It will be someday, but that day is not today!"
Slane Theocracy, a forest in the outskirts:
Ainz stood in deep thought as his surviving vassals kneeled before him.
"Hmm, this battle wasn't my style. I had next to no information about him which led to that difficult drawn-out battle. Ah, no matter. No use in regretting it now, I had little time to make a decision and with this we ended up learning more about how the enemy fights. He even used a few trump cards. So, far this is a loss-loss situation for both of us. I wasn't able to retrieve Shalltear and the others, but from the looks of it this player is acting alone. Either that or he refused to ask for help in order to deceive us. But the question now is... what's my next move?"
Albedo who emerged from the sea of kneeling individuals to kneel a little closer began giving a report which drew Ainz out from his thoughts.
"Ainz-sama, we found a high-level dragonoid nearby. However, it seemed to be in a trance state and stood absolutely still no matter what we tried. In addition to this we've retrieved three arms that belonged to the dragonoid we encountered. It is likely that this individual is the one known as Azazel."
Ainz cupped a skeletal hand to his chin.
"Umu, I see. Have the arms brought to De- brought to Neuronist Painkill for an in-depth analysis. As for the dragonoid... kill it."
"Understood"
"Ah! Albedo, Wait a moment."
Ainz stopped Albedo, who was about to leave to fulfill his orders.
"Azazel was a dragon-type species, yet my World Item which is meant to cripple dragons seemed to have no effect on him. This means he had a World Item, but throughout the battle we didn't see anything particularly noteworthy enough to be the work of a World Item. That being said, do you have any guesses as to what his World Item was?"
Albedo thought for a moment before answering.
"Ainz-sama, I believe it was a type of skill-augmenting World Item. That attack of his that incapacitated me was simply too strong to be a natural skill."
"Hmmm, I see. Certainly, an attack that can incapacitate Albedo in an instant is most likely caused by a World Item. So, then what did his item look like... Was it the weapon? Transforming Weapons are certainly rare, but that's no guarantee that it was a World Item."
Ainz returned to reality when he realized that he had forgotten to dismiss Albedo.
"That is all, you may leave now. Albedo."
Ainz turned away from Albedo, as she left to fulfill his orders, and surveyed the scene of the battle.
"That Azazel, he's almost as strong as Touch-san in his tenacity and durability. Aside from a few skills ,however, his offensive capabilities can't really compare..."
Ainz's non-existent eyes landed on the last place where Azazel was before he teleported away.
"Should I use [Wish Upon a Star] to bring him back... No, if he has more wishes or if he was just hiding his allies earlier, I'll just end up on the losing end. Better save the ring for our next encounter."
With his contemplating finished and his decisions made, Ainz placed the battle he had just gone through in the back of his mind. After a while, Albedo returned to Ainz's side.
"Ainz-sama, I have accomplished your orders."
"I see, good work. Now then, let us return."
Ainz turned around and summoned a [Gate], but before he could walk through it Albedo spoke again.
"Ainz-sama..."
"Hmm?"
Confused, Ainz turned back around and saw that Albedo and the other guardians were prostrating themselves before him. Albedo, as their representative spoke.
"We were unable to accomplish Ainz-sama's objectives. We are deeply sorry. Please punish us as you see fit."
"Even our lives are things we can easily give for compensation."
"We are ready for anything."
"T-That's right! A-Anything."
Sebas interjected, followed by Aura, then Mare.
"Albedo... Aura... Mare... Sebas..."
The guardians trembled slightly as Ainz called on each of their names.
"None of you are at fault. You did the very best that you could. Rather, it is I who has failed you."
"A-Ainz-sama!"
All the guardians cried out in protest, but were stopped when Ainz raised a hand.
"I will not take any disagreements on this matter, however if you still believe that you were at fault... then know that I forgive you and you are absolved of all your sins. However, as punishment I will have you do your very best to not fail in our next engagement with the enemy."
For a long time the guardians just remained kneeling just processing what Ainz had told them, but unable to take it any longer Aura and Mare ran up to Ainz intending to grovel at his feet. When they instead received a hug from Ainz they finally broke.
"Ainshh-Shamaaa!"
Aura and Mare simultaneously burst out in tears as they called out their master's name with a mixture of love, joy, regret, and shame. Sebas maintained his solemn face and stiff posture, but the faint trembling of his shoulders betrayed his true feelings. Albedo, who was also attempting to quell her emotions and remain impassive, shook all over. But somehow Ainz felt that her shaking was of a different nature than Sebas', despite being undead he got chills all over when he looked at her.
"Now then everybody, let us return."
Hearing this Albedo and Sebas finally stood up, with smiles on their faces and firm resolve in their eyes.
"We are grateful for your benevolence, we swear once more that we will grind ourselves to dust in your service."
All the guardians said this, even the sniffling Aura and Mare. Then they disappeared into the [Gate].
Slane Theocracy, Capital City:
When Azazel came to, he was staring at an unfamiliar roof, on a soft bed. He attempted to sit up and found that while his body reacted normally; he felt weaker than usual. As if a portion of his strength had been cut off.
"Oh? So, you're finally awake."
Azazel turned his head and saw Zesshi Zetsumei, standing by the entrance to the room he was in.
"What happened?"
"You died."
"..."
"When you teleported to the pick-up spot, your body was a mess. You lost two arms and you had several other fatal wounds. I don't even know how you managed to use a teleport scroll. You died of blood loss a few seconds after your teleport, but that ring on your finger started glowing and then it resurrected you."
Azazel's heart was sent into turmoil as his head processed this new information.
"I lost a level..."
While for most players, one level wasn't a big deal; for Azazel one level cost him a lot. This was because he had gained two special skills on his 100th level. The first was the trump card he had used, in his fight against Momonga, when he tried to run away. And the second was a sensory skill called [Draconic Sense: High-grade]. It allowed him to sense the presence of a creature that was within a certain vicinity. It would take nothing less than a level 95 thief to catch Azazel unaware when this skill was active.
"Is that why I didn't sense Zesshi's presence?"
Sensing that Azazel was lost in his thoughts, Zesshi decided to leave.
"Well, it seems that you're very busy. I'll leave you alone for now."
With Zesshi's sudden intent to leave, Azazel decided to place the matter of his levels on the back burner and bring out something else that's been weighing on his mind.
"Hey, Zesshi... can I ask you something?"
Zesshi didn't say anything; she merely tilted her head questioningly.
"Why do you want to marry me? That is to say, why do you like me?"
Zesshi's confusion deepened
"What's this all of a sudden?"
Azazel remained silent for a while before resolving to continue.
"When I fought Mo- Ainz Ooal Gown. There was this moment before the fight when he asked me where his NPC's were and... and there was just so much emotion in his voice. I could feel instinctively how much he really cared. And that planted a seed of doubt in my mind. About my own feelings, my motives, and my goals... All my life I'd never been on the receiving end of positive emotions. It's always been scorn, disappointment, or indifference. I don't really know what it's like for others to care about you, and being faced by emotions as intense as the ones Ainz was emitting... made me question myself. While Ainz has strong motives for wanting to face me, my motives remain the same as always. And for a while I thought that was okay, but that emotion filled voice of his makes me view my own motives as shallow...I've known nothing but hatred for most of my familial life, and now that I'm being faced against someone who actually fights for people other than himself. I don't know if I have the right to face him as an opponent. I thought... I thought maybe learning about your reasons for liking me might help me put things in perspective a little more."
Halfway through Azazel's monologue, Zesshi's face turned from confused to serious. After he finished, Zesshi remained silent for a long time, seemingly contemplating something, before finally answering Azazel.
"I can't solve your dilemma, but I can answer your question... I like you because you're strong. I've decided long ago that I won't be the kind of strong person to protect and pull up the weak and instead look for a person who can stand side by side with me on equal terms. It just so happens that you're the first man to meet that criteria."
"Why? Why would you choose to marry someone for such a shallow reason like that?"
Zesshi seemed to hesitate. But after the moment passed she seemed to brush it off.
"Because it's what I've decided."
Azazel locked eyes with Zesshi, with silent resolve to press for answers.
"Zesshi-san, I won't pry any furhter than this so please. Tell me the truth."
Zesshi pursed her lips in annoyance and the pair stared each other down. They seemed to have an invisible wrestling contest with their gazes; this went on for a while before finally Azazel won and Zesshi finally consented.
"My mother... was a strong woman, possibly the strongest in her time, but her strength wasn't enough. One day somebody stronger than her showed up and devoured her, had his way with her, dominated her. These were the circumstances of my birth and as a result I learned the law of the world from an early age. Strength was everything. The strong devoured the weak, and the weak were there only to cower in fear or live ignorantly until the day they are called upon to fulfill their purpose; to become sustenance for the strong. Sure, there were cases of the strong sheltering the weak. But this wasn't common and when the protection disappears the weak goes right back to being food. So, what was the point of protecting them in the first place."
"I see..."
Azazel responded slowly.
" So, it was my strength you cared about not me."
"Yes."
Zesshi spoke abruptly, causing Azazel to flinch and cast his eyes downwards.
"It seems I will never know the affection of another person...even if I get affection here because of my strength it will never be a part of me. I'm only this strong because I came from a game."
"At first that was why I cared."
Zesshi kept talking, surprising Azazel who thought she had finished.
"I found your weak personality unappealing, and ill-suited for a man of your strength."
Noticing an odd shaking in Zesshi's voce, Azazel looked up and was shocked to see that she was blushing profusely.
"But it's strange... for some reason when I think about it now. I don't think your weak personality is so bad after all."
Zesshi had slowly inched towards Azazel as she spoke, and as the last of her words left her lips she bridged the gap between them and pressed her lips against Azazel's. The wide-eyed Azazel didn't even have time to think about kissing back before the warmth quickly dissipated as a bright red Zesshi pulled back.
For a moment, Azazel just stared at her in shock unable to process what had just happened. Zesshi took the opportunity to leave the room, and Azazel was left with yet another thing to ponder.
A/N: And we are done! It took me quite a while to finish this chapter. I worked on it for like 6 days(2 months and 20 days) but I finished it now so here you go. Please leave a review! Oh, and I'm going to start responding to reviews by writing a review response section because it's easier than PM. Also, this is like the longest chapter yet. It's around 10,700+ words. It's only a thousand words longer than chapter 2(the longest chapter on this fic) but uhh hopefully that's enough to make up for the 2 month absence(It's not)
P.S Was the Azazel x Zesshi moment a little too rushed? I feel like it was rushed but the story I have planned out doesn't really give much room for more moments like that from them so I guess it's fine, but I don't like rushed things so I have mixed feelings on that. ( - My sentiments on this entire fic) Oh, and the next chapter will probably come out either really late December(30th or 31st) or within the first 10 days of January. (Or possibly two months, but that's not very likely...)
P.S.S Has anyone noticed that I "talk" differently in my author's notes now? IDK I tried to keep up a like formal-ish way of speaking when I was still updating this fic but after two months I just kinda forgot how to do that so to hell with it.