A/N: I apologise for this chapter taking so long to get out, it was partly due to things picking up in my life and work, combined with me not being able to do fight scenes well. xD If it makes up for it - this chap is almost twice the length of a normal one. Anyway I will keep this short, enjoy!

Inside the City of E-Rantel
Several hours after the Kingdom Army's arrival

Not long after the destruction of E-Rantel's gate, the Primal Earth Elemental that Ainz had summoned reached its expiration time and subsequently disappeared back into the earth while Ainz had let several troops pass into the city. During the planning of the attack on the city, Ainz had volunteered use of his [Fly] magic to scout out some of the city and found that his instructions to Demiurge were carried out perfectly.

Ainz had instructed Demiurge to ensure the inhabitants did not feel too safe in their defenses, as it was mostly simple skeletons and zombies that were responsible for early attacks by Khajiit and Clementine and therefore easy to deny entrance to reinforced areas of the city. Demiurge in his reports had targeted the Guild Building first as it was the main source of resistance with the summoned lesser undead and a few Death Knights that had been created through Ainz and Pandora since coming to this new world. Since then smaller pockets of resistance had sprung up throughout the city, which suited Ainz's purposes just fine.

Once the several smaller resistances had been established Demiurge had instructed the undead under his command to target the high-level adventurers to keep overall defenses of the city low and ensure evacuation of the city was slow and dangerous and to keep the gathered survivors surrounded until the eventual rescue. A benefit of the situation was the further testing of the orders that the undead were able to understand and comply with. Despite being mostly mindless, zombies and skeletons could not only understand simple 'attack this', 'wait here', 'kill that' instructions but could even carry out more complex orders as well as specified timed instructions to be obeyed later through an activation phrase. One that Ainz was about to test out now.

Ainz along with a small contingent of troops personally assigned to him by King Ramposa III, complete with their own crest of a single magician's stave, were currently fighting their way through the central part of the city that they had been assigned to liberate from the undead. Unfortunately none of his troops seemed to display any knowledge or skill with martial arts and Ainz felt that heavy losses to his personal troops would damage the reputation he was cultivating, so he had taken to leading them from the front of the formation.

"But sir, we've been instructed to protect you. Please think of your safety, Sir Ainz, and return to the rear..." one of the troops, a man named Clovis, had told him as they approached a large gathering of undead around the governor's mansion - if the map of the city was to be believed.

"Young man... if a leader does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?" Ainz had questioned back to him. Besides, Ainz thought. I need to be close enough for most of the undead to hear me.

"[Mass Hold Species: Undead]!" Ainz shouted.

Ainz did not actually cast the spell, but even so, most of the common troops did not know this and only saw the results. The undead within hearing distance all instantly froze all of their movements as they had been instructed to do so as part of the activation phrase that had just been uttered by Ainz, to freeze in place for a specified amount of time. The troops were encouraged by this as they all rushed forward towards the helpless undead and began cutting them down one by one.

When the surrounding undead had been cleared Ainz noticed a few injured surviving adventurers were among the horde. He walked up to a stunned magic caster, a silver ranked adventurer judging by his plate around his neck, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've done well, we'll take over from here." Ainz said as he turned back to call on Clovis, the same soldier from before. "Clovis, see that this man and his companion are treated for their wounds." he said as he continued down the street to the now visible mansion.

"Who was that?" he heard the boy say to Clovis. He walked far enough away that he didn't hear the reply amid the sounds of slaughter as the remaining troops were continuously cutting down the rest of the undead that surrounded the mansion.

It was an hour later that Ainz had finished taking stock of the situation at the mansion. Thousands of residents of the city had taken shelter on the grounds of the estate and for the actual mansion itself, it was convert to a command center for the leadership of the city watch and to Ainz's surprise, the guild-master of the Adventurer's guild, a man named Pluton Ainzach. Ainz himself felt a brief surge of amusement that both of them shared the name of Ainz. Ainz had barely finished the summary of the situation of the Kingdom Army's advance when the colossal roar of a skeletal dragon interrupted their meeting. They both rushed outside to see the carnage that had unfolded.

Several mummified bodies and spots of decayed earth greeted them as Ainz recognized the effects of the disease-ridden breath of a skeletal dragon. Right on time. He thought amid the chaos as civilians were running away in panic as the dragon had landed and was killing with swipes of it's great claws, long tail, and noxious breath. Through the use of a [Fly] spell he grew close to the beast and quickly summoned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, invoking one of its abilities as the people fled from the scene.

"[Summon: Primal Fire Elemental]!" he said, louder than necessary to gather the attention of the surrounding crowd of people trapped on the estate with the beast. The air grew unbearably hot close to where the elemental was summoned and the surrounding air was heated so quickly it created a wind outward as the molecules expanded. He heard the crowd gasp as the bone dragon's jaws, who's first reaction was to use it's noxious breath on the elemental that appeared as it was instructed, were snapped shut mid-breath as the elemental overpowered the dragon's mouth and clamped it shut and superheated the bone as it melted and welded its mouth shut to keep the creature from using its breath again. The ensuing fight was short-lived for Ainz, though not unimpressive or unexpected since the elemental had at least 70 levels over the dragon, if Satoru remembered correctly.

Having dealt with the dragon, Ainz cut his meeting with the guild-master, Pluton Ainzach, short as he informed him he needed to meet with Gazef, the Chief Warrior as quickly as possible and left the estate through a [Fly] spell after instructing the remaining troops to take care of the citizens.

Somewhere in E-Rantel
With Prince Barbro…

"Hey, Mister!"

Crown Prince Barbro of the Re-Estize Kingdom was awoken with a start by two words that came from a child-like voice. As his awareness returned, he glanced around the room he was in and realised it must have been nighttime as the building was very dark and the only light coming into the room was from the moonlight shining through a single window at his back. The smell of raw meat heavily permeated the room and through the little light entering the room, Barbro saw several hanging forms of what he assumed to be some type of skinned animal like a cow or goat strung up to the ceiling. A small figure of a girl in a maid's outfit stood before Barbro in front of a large, thick table that Barbro recognized as a butcher's block.

"My name is Entoma, thanks for waiting while I dealt with the troops who followed you here to this abandoned building." the girl said innocently as she gestured to Barbro's sides and around the room, spinning as she did so.

Drip. Something red splattered on Barbro's shoulder. Drip. Drip.

Barbro looked up and his eyes widened as he was staring into the face of one of his personal soldiers, hanging from the ceiling. The man's eyes were bloodshot as he stared back at Barbro with a panicked 'Mmph!' as he swayed from the spiderweb that encased his feet and most of his body as well as a large glob of web that encased his mouth.

"Oopsie... one is still conscious. Well… normally I'd deal with him myself but I don't want to get too full with snacks before I get to the main course. I haven't eaten all day… but I guess a bite won't hurt, just to wet the throat, of course." Entoma said conversationally as, to Barbro's horror, shapes on the ceiling started to move toward the helpless soldier as Barbro could hear several sounds of 'squish squish squish' for a moment before the soldier was dropped from the ceiling and hit the ground with a painful 'crack' and 'Mmph!' from the soldier as he was dragged to the butcher's block by a human-sized spider that dropped down several seconds later.

Barbro tried to take a step back in fear but found that his feet were glued to the floor by the same sticky web that encased the soldier. He tried to pull on his leg with both of his strong arms to no avail as Entoma continued speaking. Barbro found her face peculiar since he laid eyes on her and realised with a start why… she never blinked and her mouth never moved as she 'talked'. Her cute face was frozen in time.

"Did you know?..." Entoma said as she watched the spider eat away at the web covering the side of the soldier as they pulled his arm free of the webbing that encased it. "... My creator was a fan of something called 'horror films' and had a fascination with spiders among other things. My minions created from my 'Spider Talismans' are based on one that was native to his world called a Brown Widow and its paralytic bite is similar in nature."

The soldier's arm was spread away from his body on the table as Entoma stepped up to the edge of the chopping block, looking down at him. His arm twitched every now and then but it seems he did not have enough control over it to actually move the appendage. Barbro saw a quick flash of white from Entoma before a sound echoed in the quiet room that sounded like an arrow hitting a wooden stump.

Thud.

"MMMMMPPPPHHHH!" Barbro heard the soldier muffle out as his arm stopped twitching… and rolled down the table away from his body. Barbro could see the bloody stump, that was where the man's arm was previously attached to his body, drip blood onto the table as though it was cleanly cut, but by what, Barbro could not see as Entoma had not moved an inch. There was only a thin line of white web embedded into the table.

Entoma spread her appendages out in front of her as though in prayer, for Barbro saw with a start that she did not have hands for her arms terminated in a stump not unlike a spider's leg, as she said in a grateful voice, "Itadakimasu! (I gratefully receive!)" before picking up the dismembered arm and placing it under her face.

'Crunch crunch munch' filled the room for several seconds as Barbro saw with growing horror that the arm was disappearing under the face of Entoma as the muffled sound of bones snapping and muscle being ripped apart filled the room before he felt a pain at his thigh that seemed to slowly spread through his body. He looked down to see one of the spiders had bitten him. Scared out of his wits at the display and the growing terror in his heart... the venom flowing through his body quickened with his heart and after some moments, while Entoma was enjoying her meal, he found that he had lost control of the feeling of most of his body and could only stiffly stand with the help of the web encasing his feet.

"I will leave your mouth free... For it is your screams that I was ordered to hear the most." Entoma said as she finally finished and turned towards him. The spider that had bitten Barbro soon freed him from the web that was encasing his feet and he was dragged towards the table not unlike the other soldier, who's body he passed on the way. The man's pale skin and dull-unfocused eyes gave away the fact he was going to die on the floor of this room, possibly like Barbro himself.

"O-ordered? W-Wait… please! I'll give you anything! I'm… I'm rich! I-I can give you whatever you want!" Barbro pleaded to the monster as her underlings spread him out on the table, just like the soldier from before.

"But Mister Barbro… you are already giving me so much!" Entoma said, pleasantly disagreeing. "I rarely get to see such a low-fat meal squirm in such a way." she said as the only door in the room opened before Barbro. He turned and saw a figure in the doorway.

"T-thank god! I-I order you, help me!" he shouted before he realised he did not recognise the form. In the doorway in the darkness stood a humanoid form and as it stepped closer Barbro could see that it was definitely feminine, judging by the bottom of the white dress that trailed along the ground, though not human as she had feathered wings sprouting from her waist.

"Lady Albedo!" Entoma said as she kneeled before the figure.

"Be at ease, Entoma. I'm not here to interfere. I came merely to watch justice as it is rightfully doled out..." Albedo said as she sneered at Barbro. "... Though I am envious that you are the first to be given such an honor. Lord Ainz should not have to come down from his mountain to teach piss-ants their lesson. As his wife, I have to respect this."

Lord Ainz?! Wife?! ...That damn traitor!…

"I was just explaining to this human how much he is already helping me." Entoma said as her face scurried up her head and Barbro realised with dread that it was not actually her face but a bug. Entoma's true face eyed him through her many, spider-like eyes as she continued. "For while a woman's meat is tender and juicy because of its fat, and a child's still tastes good because of the freshness of the meat…" she said as Barbro could see a white substance gathering within her deep maw. "...It is the fat-less meat of a muscular man that is most helpful to a woman trying to keep her figure." she finished as Barbro saw a flash of white as something exited her mouth and went straight to his extended arm.

Thud.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Barbro screamed in agony as his muscular arm was severed from his body. Though most of his body was still paralyzed, Barbro found out quickly that some of his pain receptors were still working as intended. Entoma grabbed Barbro's dismembered arm and sniffed it from one end to the other before she started to consume it in front of him.

Barbro shut his eyes trying to block out the sounds of his own previous flesh being munched on and deposited into the monster's gullet. The room was silent for some moments before he heard Entoma let out a contented sigh as he was twitching in pain but unable to lose consciousness. "That really hits the spot… but it's just not the same if the prey isn't still wriggling…" Barbro heard the rustling of fabric and a few soft footsteps and Entoma's next words came directly by his ear. "What's that?..." she whispered conversationally. "... you say I can have the other one too, mister?"

Barbro ground his teeth through the pain and tried to move his remaining arm to get up, crawl away, or do anything else but let this monster devour him but to no avail. He felt his arm being moved and something wet and slimey touch his fingers. "N-NO! NO NO NO, PLEASE! I'LL-" CRUNCH. "AHHH!"

A few minutes later, when there was nothing left but a blood stain on the chopping block that was being slowly sucked up by her servants, Entoma Vasilissa Zeta felt a strange urging that must have been programmed by her creator and she complied with the feeling as she put her limbs together once more and said, "Gochiso sama deshita! (It was quite a feast!)".

Manners for maids were important, after all.

E-Rantel Cemetery
A few hours after the defeat of the Skeletal Dragon

Gazef had finished clearing out a horde surrounding one of the larger store-houses in the city that had been converted into a stronghold against the undead by the city watch when Ainz had arrived, flying through the sky toward him. He recalled the conversation that led them to the heart of the undead outbreak, the cemetery.

"Gazef," Ainz said. "I fear the ritual must be almost complete. The negative energy here is more intense than I've ever felt before and a skeletal dragon attacked the governor's mansion. The perpetrators must be using it to buy time to finish the ritual and escape the city while the army deals with the fallout."

Gazef agreed as the logic was sound. "But we don't know where they are, Sir Ainz."

"I've spoken with the city guard and observed the energy surrounding the city and they seem to converge on one point, the cemetery." Ainz said. "We need to finish this quickly, Chief Warrior. I've used up a lot of my strength and resources getting the gate open and the powers afforded by my mask to deal with the skeletal dragon. We can't afford to wait, we need to strike while the iron is hot."

After an hour of fighting their way through the city; Gazef, Ainz, and the rest of the army that was lead by Gazef arrived at a massive horde that surrounded the cemetery. Not only was it the familiar forms of zombies and skeletons with a few exploding corpses, there were a few undead ogre-sized knights that Gazef had never seen before. Through considerable effort, Gazef and Ainz had managed to break through the defensive line and enter the cemetery proper while the rest of the troops continued to fight.

"Gazef, we don't have time. We need to stop this now. The troops can take care of the fodder while we strike at the head." Ainz said when Gazef had turned to help out the rest of his forces.

Not long after, Gazef eyed the two forms of the monsters responsible for the near-destruction of E-Rantel in the tombstone-covered clearing. To Gazef's surprise, they were both women. One wore a set of lumpy copper-colored armor over her chest, waist, arms, and one of her shins. Even from the distance Gazef was currently at he could tell the armor was mostly for show and provided little defense against attack, with copper being a very soft metal. Those are adventurer plates… he realised with a start. Stiletto's as weapons… this girl must be very fast and judging by the plates… some type of assassin.

The other figure was a remarkable beauty dressed in a plain brown cloak. Her straight pitch-black hair was pulled into a delicate ponytail. Were Gazef in any other situation he would have compared her beauty to Princess Renner herself… however, as it was he could only guess that her beautiful exterior was in complete opposition to her cruel, black, and shrivelled heart if she was responsible for all the death in E-Rantel. She might even be using the stolen lives of the previous townsfolk to keep her beauty… he would make a note to ask Sir Ainz if such a thing was possible.

While striking quickly was his forte, Gazef feared Ainz would not be able to handle such a fast opponent on his own as a magic caster. The state of his body would make it difficult to avoid quick, deadly attacks from weapons from an agile fighter. Sir Ainz apparently had the same thoughts as he said to Gazef, "You take the fighter, I'll handle the other one."

"Yes, I - the necromancer Nabe - shall be your opponent, Lo-...Ainz…Ooal Gown... Sir." said the girl in the cloak, Nabe.

Such a formal way to give respect to an opponent? … Gazef thought questioningly.

"Y-you know my name already?" Sir Ainz sounded embarrassed to Gazef. "Ah, y-yes of course, you must have... heard my message throughout the city earlier...? That was mostly for the citizens, but I guess it can't be helped that I also introduced myself to the enemy as well."

The only figure Gazef did not yet know - the copper armor-clad woman, spoke up as she tapped one of her weapons against her shoulder. "-and I know all about you, Warrior-Captain. The most famous fighter in the kingdom versus little Laaady~ Clementiiiine~? Ahaha-" she said as she dual-wielded her other weapon and licked the blade. "-you're red on the outside with that armor, Mister Stronoff, but I'll pry you open and see if that's true for the insiiide~ as~ weeell~."

Gazef grew serious as he drew his weapon, Razor Edge, with a grin. "Try it." he goaded. Out of the corner of his eye Gazef saw the woman, Nabe, appeared to want to kick things off with a bang as she extended a lone finger after sticking out her arm towards Ainz.

"[Lightning]." she intoned in a bored voice. Were all magic casters so...stiff?

Gazef saw the flash of light as the spell impacted on some type of barrier that Ainz had around him as he shot back with a spell of his own. "[Fireball]." Nabe was fast, Gazef noted, as she deftly dodged out of the way as the spell impacted into the ground where she had been previously, throwing up dirt and debris. The two threw a few more spells back and forth at either other as Gazef continued to eye Clementine and keep an eye out for stray spells. Gazef noticed after a moment that Ainz was herding Nabe away from the two fighters with his destructive magic. Ainz acted more like a traditional caster with slow deliberate movements while Nabe was much more swift and faster, not unlike the speed of a thief or archer. After a moment the explosions grew further away and it was not long that Gazef could not physically see the two combatants any more through the fog that had recently developed around the area.

Good luck, Sir Ainz. Gazef thought as Clementine had apparently waited long enough as she drew inwards on herself into a strange crouched stance Gazef had never seen before.

"[Martial Art: Possibility Sense]." Gazef whispered under his breath.

Abandoned E-Rantel Cemetery shrine
2 minutes after separating from Gazef
With Ainz…

"Nabe…" Ainz said as he reflexively rubbed at his temple with one hand, Can I still get headaches? He wondered. "I know that I had to resort to ordering you to not be so formal with me while in the city, as I couldn't have you running around calling me 'Lord Ainz' while we were fighting, but…" Ainz said as he tried to formulate his next words.

"...I think somehow you took it completely in the other direction and now are a little too casual." he finished.

Narberal Gamma was seated in a beautifully crafted white chair in front of a small cloth-covered tea table. She had just finished pushing a service cart filled with tea and sweets into the room before she had seated herself and asked Ainz if he wanted some. Nabe, the food will go right through me, literally... He had thought in exasperation as Nabe looked up at Ainz in surprise, still holding the tea cup close to her lips.

"But Lord Ainz," she started. "I assure you, Lady Shalltear said that this is how she got to know Princess Renner."

We already know each other! You don't have to re-write our whole relationship to stop referring to me as your master in public when you're supposed to be undercover! Ainz wanted to shoot himself as he mentally facepalmed before his emotional override kicked in. ...and she reverts right back to 'Lord Ainz'... Damnit, forget it. This will have to be a discussion for later. "... About what I just said, never mind. If it helps you to keep your disguise as my 'enemy', I will allow it." he relented, turning to the only other figure in the room.

"Demiurge, are you sure we won't be overheard?" Ainz asked.

"Of course my lord. There are a few undead outside creating the occasional blast and a few Eight-edge Assassins are scattered throughout the area and will warn of anyone approaching." Demiurge replied.

"I see." Ainz said. "What of Khajiit and that boy, Nfirea Bareare? Is he ready for the completion of the ritual?"

"Yes, my lord. I've been assured by Khajiit that the negative energy has reached a sufficient level that the transformation can be attempted. Nfirea Bareare has been physically healed and I look forward to conducting our experiments through him and the Crown of Wisdom… though…"

"Yes. Deterioration of his health while in his current vegetable state could be a problem…" Ainz started. "... if he cannot eat, sleep, or rest it will be an issue keeping him alive. Tell me, I read your latest report of the Ring of Sustenance…?"

Demiurge grinned as he saw his master's meaning. "Yes, my lord. Through equipping normal humans with the ring we've found through our live autopsies, with Neuronist's help, that the rings of Sustenance not only eliminate hunger, thirst, and the need for rest but actively fulfills those needs for every cell in the body. This has a side-effect of also greatly reducing the normal speed of ageing as the body does not have to burn the energy to complete these processes." Demiurge said, mirroring his report of his findings earlier.

"Good. Equip the boy with one of the rings and he can help us in not only managing the undead, but also allow us to document the exact rate that aging is slowed by." Ainz ordered. "Also, inform Albedo to collect the Rings of Sustenance from Mare and Aura and ensure they start eating the proper meals for growing children. The rings are currently stunting their growth."

"By your will, Lord Ainz." Demiurge said as he bowed. To think my findings could immediately benefit Nazarick… Lord Ainz I must be content but to follow you when you are 20 steps ahead of even my, admittedly, dull shine of brilliance by comparison... Demiurge thought as his metallic tail wagged in reverence.

"Furthermore," Ainz said, interrupting Demiurge's musings, "I've seen the report from Khajiit and Clementine on the catalogue of items that they have knowledge of… specifically, I am most interested in the equipment of this 'Lady Kaire' that he spoke of. As soon as we return to Nazarick, I wish to speak with him."

-
Outside E-Rantel Cemetery Shrine
With Gazef...

This woman is fast was Gazef's first thought as Clementine had lept nearly ten feet from her crouched stance to try to stab at his face, which he blocked one weapon with his sword and knocked the other away with the back of his gauntleted hand.

clang - clang

Gazef found out, after he tried to try a fast horizontal slice through the air in front of him, that she was also extremely flexible like a cat as she swiftly turned into a dodge in the form of a reverse flip and nearly kicked the butt of his sword out of his hand on the way back.

I haven't fought an opponent with this style before but I can't afford to hold back. Sir Ainz has already expended much of his magic and the quicker we end this the sooner more lives will be saved. Gazef wasn't going to play the normal fighter's game of testing out their opponents. He couldn't afford to.

With the Kingdom's treasures afforded to Gazef by King Ramposa, as the mightiest warrior in the Kingdom, it was extremely unlikely that this woman would be able to match him in combat. Normally an honorable person like Gazef would not use such equipment in a normal fight in order to grow in his own abilities as a warrior - but to protect the people of the King he'd sworn to serve, sometimes things must be done differently. Before the creation of the Slane Theocracy, Re-Estize Kingdom, and the Baharuth Empire: the settlers that would later become the first citizens of Re-Estize brought with them a few treasures that had been collected by humanity up to that point. The Kingdom of Re-Estize at some point decided to, as the saying goes, to 'put all their eggs in one basket' and equip the strongest fighter in the Kingdom with all 5 of the holy treasures.

The two most noticeable ones were the armor and sword Gazef was currently using. Razor's Edge was a magically enchanted sword that was so sharp even after centuries of use it could still cut through armor like butter. The Guardian Armor was a reddish-gold full-plated metal armor set made of folded steel and adamantite - the strongest metal known to man - provided the wearer resistance to death magic and lethal effects there weren't physical.

The other less-flashy items were the Cloak, gauntlets, and Amulet. The Amulet of Immortality, despite its name, did not actually provide immortality but slowly regenerated the body. It could not only heal wounds but prevent prolonged sickness and with time could correct injuries such as broken bones through extended wear. The Gauntlets of Endurance granted endless stamina allowing the user to not physically tire, but they would still become mentally exhausted through prolonged martial art use among other things. Finally the Cloak of Slashing increased the damage of slicing attacks made by the wearer. These five items made up the treasures of the Kingdom.

"[Martial Art: Mental Enhancement]. [Body Strengthening]." Gazef breathed out.

"Haaah?" Clementine said in a confused voice. "You want to go all out too? Cmooon~ I rarely get to fight more than a few seconds. Don't be in such a rush, thats some hard armor you have there." she said with a wicked grin as she spun and balanced her weapons through her fingers..

Gazef ignored her. "[Pace of the Wind]." If I can match my speed with hers I can overpower her quickly… I usually specialize against large groups with my [Fourfold] and [Sixfold] slashes of light, but I can't use those against a single opponent. Stiletto's can block well but I don't think even with [Fortress] she could withstand one of my blows.

Clementine seemed pissed at being ignored. "Grr… Fine. Have it your way." she said as she crouched again. "[Pace of the Wind]. [Ability Boost]. [Greater Ability Boost]! [Greater Evasion]!"

Because of my gauntlets Gazef thought, she will lose a fight that relies on martial arts… does she plan on dodging everything? He didn't wait for her to charge at him again this time, if she spent her energy on dodging then she couldn't attack. "[Martial Art: Full throttle]!" Gazef cried as his speed and strength increase tremendously through [Pace of the Wind] and [Full Throttle] and he closed the distance on her faster than she had before. She dodged his first blow as she tried to dance around him. Just what Gazef was waiting for as he cried "[Instant Counter]!" as his body forcibly regained it's balance as he immediately shifted his swing back towards her she can't dodge this attack! He was right.

Her eyes widened in a crazed way, "[Invulnerable Fortress]!" he heard her whisper as she blocked his two-handed attack with one stiletto and brought her other one quicker than he had ever seen towards an opening in his armor plates under his arm.

He had just enough time to shout "[Instant Reflex]!" as he recovered enough to shift his body just enough that her attack bounced off the side of his armor with a clang as he quickly shifted his weight to one foot and lashed out with a powerful kick, a move he planned on teaching Princess Renner's bodyguard, Climb. He felt it connect against her unprotected stomach with an "-Urk!" as she skidded backwards several feet and spit out blood. Gazef wouldn't make the same mistake attacking with overwhelming force again. Not if she could block it with one hand, no he would use his whole body against his opponent. Their surroundings were filled with the displacement of air, dirt, and one sound soon after that.

Clang - clang… clang - clang

E-Rantel Cemetery Entrance
With Ninya…

Ninya and the rest of the 'Swords of Darkness', after hours of navigating through the city and running into a guard that said that both the Head Warrior and Chief Wizard had came this way, finally arrived near the cemetery where the army was stationed… the and battle didn't look great. Even from their position on the hill they saw several troops being cut through by a few more of the Ogre-sized undead that were guarding the entrance of the cemetery. They had watched the situation for a moment before Lukrut, who was the least out of breath, suddenly said, "That way looks pretty bad and I don't see Sir Stronoff down there either. His armor is too flashy to miss, he must already be inside. I know an alternate way into the cemetery… it's in the cellar of the a building on the west side."

"Lukrut, I would ask how you would know of such a thing but it's probably something to do with a girl, so I'm not going to." Peter finally been fully healed from the potion he had taken earlier in the day and seemed to be in good spirits in Ninya's opinion, judging how he had recovered his humor as well. "Alright, I don't fancy fighting our way through that, so let's try this other entrance of yours." Several minutes and one broken window later, as they couldn't initially open the door that was barred, Lukrut led them into an eerily silent and empty tunnel of a cellar as they navigated it with a torch. Several more minutes of walking through the dark passageway they arrived at a solid wooden door. Lukrut, after listening for a moment, opened it and the group was greeted with the inside of one of the storage rooms in an abandoned shrine in the cemetery.

After quickly searching the building they found nothing out of place but in one corner of a room near the exit of the building Lukrut stopped so suddenly Ninya almost bumped into him. "...what is it?" she asked. The ranger crouched and eyed the ground for a moment.

"Someone has been here recently… it's very faint though." Lukrut said. "... let's just continue, I don't like being in places like this. I feel like the shadows have eyes." They exited soon after. They were greeted with a loud blast of a sound as they set foot outside.

BOOOM! BOOOM! CRAAAACK!
Ninya's eyes widened. Was that an [Explosion] spell and [Lightning]?

Dyne's grim face seemed to echo her thoughts. "I'm not going near that." he said pointing in the direction of the sound.

Lukrut looked around for a moment. "If the infestation broke out around the cemetery, we should start with checking the main cemetery shrine, it's the largest. We might find a clue... It should be this way." he whispered to the group as he took point, leading the way with his bow. It was a minute or two of walking before they grew close enough to the building to hear a sound they all knew.

Clash… Clash… The sound of metal striking together. The sound of battle. They cautiously crept closer before finally they saw flashes of gold and copper along with two figures dancing around each other. They quickly realized one of the figures was Gazef judging by the color, which means his opponent-Ninya didn't get to finish that thought as the ground around the group broke apart and Ninya screamed out reflexively as she felt something grab at her leg and smacked the rising zombie with the head of her staff - one of the few monsters she could effectively bludgeon to death with it.

The 'Swords of Darkness' were able to quickly kill the initial wave that appeared around them and though they were easy to take in numbers, it would be much harder if they were surrounded. "We need to stick together and keep moving, we-" Peter was cut off as he looked at Ninya. "Ninya, watch out!"

"Damnit, I'm your opponent!" Ninya heard a distant voice yell as she turned around just fast enough to get stabbed into the shoulder with a piercing weapon.

E-Rantel Cemetery
With Clementine…

She couldn't help it. This is just too good! She started laughing as she activated the [Mind Control] spell she had stored into her weapon she had just stabbed into the silver-plate she had spotted first.

"-aha ha aha ha!" she giggled to herself. Gazef will you kill this person to get to me? Ahaha No matter the answer, I WANT TO SEE! She thought as she whirled herself back to face Gazef, putting the adventurer in front of her. "Heal me." she whispered into the silver-plate's ear as she pulled out another stiletto from a sheath at her back.

"I can't. I don't have a healing spell." her mind-controlled drone replied back in a monotone.

Even better! … though I guess I should drink that blood colored potion now. That elder lich's information about Gazef was right on the mark. She quickly gulped down the clear glass bottle as the other adventurer's were dealing with the undead ambush she had meant to lead Gazef into - and discovered to her dismay the red liquid tasted nothing like blood… more like dirt and grass. Yuck! She thought as her weariness and bruised muscles and small cuts from Gazef's sword - several close-calls - were closed and her mental fatigue washed away as well. She suddenly felt like she had woken up after a long night's murder session… refreshed.

Ooooh… I wonder if I can have some more of those to extend my playtime. heheh- "-Eheheh. Oh Gazef, meet my new friiiend~. I'm sorry, I don't know his name though. It was kind of sudden~." she said as Gazef stopped not far from her. "-That's far enough. Any closer and they start to die." she ground out. What will you do, Gazef?

Gazef stopped. He looks like he just swallowed a bug! Ahahaha- "If you slay even one of them, you'll be dead before they hit the ground." he promised.

Ahahahaha! B- "-But Gazef, dear, I never said I would be the one doing the killing." she said. She leaned into the ear of the silver-plate in front of her. "Attack one of the other adventurer's with one of your spells." she said in giggling voice.

The adventurer slowly turned and raised their staff into the air. "[Magic Arrow]." they droned. Clementine was startled as the spell raced forward between the undead and struck their archer in the back with a "Gah!".

That spell never misses! Since it's not a lethal spell and non-corporeal… his armor won't affect it. Since I'm a fighter I haven't given away that I have spells stored in my weapon till just now… I have to strike at him before he realises I might have more and has some defense against it.

"Fire as many [Magic Arrow]'s as quickly as you can at that man." Clementine whispered as she pointed at Gazef's stoney-face.

"You damn monster! This ends here! [Full Throttle]! [Flow Acceleration]!" Gazef cried as he dashed towards her at tremendous speed preparing to swing as she dashed forward as well.

"[Flow Acceleration]!" she mirrored as she moved to get inside his guard.

"[Magic Arrow]." she heard her drone behind her as a magically-launched arrow flew over her head and impacted against the free arm of Gazef, pushing it out of position.

Yes! "[Invulnerable Fortress]!" she cried with glee as her stiletto impacted against Razor's Edge and held it there for the moment.

"[Instant Reflex]!" Gazef yelled as he brought his injured arm out to bash her face, just as she was bringing her other arm around to stab at the joint of his armor at his sword arm. She twisted back and to the side to dodge his blow with the help of [Greater Evasion].

YOU'VE BEEN TOO SLOW THIS WHOLE FIGHT, GAZEF! she thought with glee as she brought her stiletto into the small gap of his armor and finally landed a solid hit on him as her weapon's blade became slick with blood as she activated the stored [Lightning] spell within it. "You won't beat Windstride~ Clementine~!"

"Aahh! E-[Enhanced Magic Re-] Gazef struggled to get out as his muscles uncontrollably locked up due to the electric current running through his body and armor.

Clementine flipped her now free weapon she had used to block Razor's Edge, the one stored with an [Fireball] spell, into a reverse grip and moved to stab it towards his neck, laughing the whole time. "ahaHAHA! Bye Gazeeef~!"

"[Wave of Force]!" came a voice from the sky as Clementine looked up just in time for her to see a visible wave of power slam into her and knock her painfully against the ground with a "-ACK!" as the air in her lungs was painfully forced out of her at her collision with the ground and her body uncontrollably bounced and skidded several feet away from Gazef. She didn't have to look at her arm, which she had landed wrong on, to know that it was most likely broken judging from the intense pain coming from her forearm. She glared up at the flying masked form of the undead Elder Lich, Ainz.

"...YOU-!" she started but paused when something clicked in her mind. He interfered… ahaha… he interfered… ahaHAHAHA HE INTERFERED!

It's not a duel any more!

With Gazef…

Damnit, that was close. Gazef thought as he brought his body back under control. "You finished off the necromancer? … But the undead are still active?" Gazef asked Ainz once he had floated closer to the ground through his [Fly] magic.

"No." came the reply. "She fled. I feared she might try to backtrack to your fight." Ainz said before his head jerked in the direction of the silver-plated adventurer's that were finishing off the few undead near them. "It looks like I was not wrong." he said as the Necromancer Nabe appeared from thin air near the injured Clementine, who was weakly laughing, and picked her up.

"Get up maggot, we're not done yet." she said to Clementine. "[Fly]." Nabe said as she slowly lifted off the ground and began to float over the adventurer's that were still dealing with the few remaining undead gathered around the cemetery shrine entrance.

"Don't let her get-" Gazef said as he began to run at the cemetery shrine before he heard the still mind-controlled silver plate.

"[Magic Arrow]." the silver-plated adventurer said as once again they cast another spell at Gazef who was growing frustrated at the delay. The spells weren't lethal, but it didn't make them hurt any less. Gazef cursed under his breath as he re-directed himself towards the adventurer as he felt the spell tear into his arm through his armor. They weren't able to fire off another spell before he was upon them, knocking the staff out of the adventurer's hand. Gazef noticed they were under some type of spell by the purple rim around their eyes. Seeing that crazy woman's weapon was still sticking out of the poor kid and Gazef had first-hand experience of the spells stored in her weapons, he wrenched the stiletto out of the poor souls shoulder and immediately their eyes re-focused from their previous glazed look.

"Lukrut!" the adventurer said as they turned back to one of their companion's who was being tended to on the ground now that the undead in the immediate area were finally dealt with. Gazef gave them all a glance and saw that most of the party were alright, before nodding to Ainz as they both continued on, Gazef traversing the ground with Ainz hovering nearby into the entrance of the Cemetery Shrine. As Gazef had expected, there were several undead within the shrine itself and with the narrow corridor it was slow going as they had to be dealt with one by one with a careful swing of Gazef's sword. It took nearly a minute to get through the small hallway that opened up into the slightly larger central chamber.

The room was filled with more undead and Gazef could see at the other end of the room was Clementine unconscious against one of the stone pillars and Nabe kneeled before a floating purple stone upon a raised dais. The stone glowed with an eerie light not dissimilar to the item Sir Ainz possessed that he said would clear the surrounding area of corruption. It was Sir Ainz that spoke up next.

"We're too late. She has started the transformation already. I'll buy you some time to get closer, but we have to interrupt her now. With this much negative energy she might become something more than an Elder Lich, if that happens we'll be in real trouble." Sir Ainz said to him as he flew over Gazef's head and started throwing spells at the the other caster from the air as Gazef tried to cleave through the undead on the ground. The room was once again filled with the sounds of battle.

"[Six-fold Slash of Light]!"

"[Lightning]!"

"[Wall of Skeleton]."

It took three consecutive uses of [Sixfold Slash of Light] for Gazef to break through the necrotic encirclement that surrounded him. He made a mad dash toward Ainz and Nabe.

"[Explosion]!" Ainz shouted. Instinct had taken over Nabe as she moved to try to dodge the attack like she usually did, but with the small enclosed space there was nowhere to run. She realised this a little too late, it seemed.

"[Shield Barrier]!... Ah, nooo!" she cried as she magically protected herself and reached out a hand to try to grab at the stone, she didn't make it before the explosion went off and Gazef saw that it was nearly centered on the glowing stone. The area around the dais erupted into fire and wind for a moment before Gazef heard the sound of a piece of glass breaking as the stone shattered before the entire room was engulfed in a visible wave of negative energy so thick the whole room appeared black just before Gazef himself was blown off his feet and slammed into the wall with a painful 'crack'.

Further away Gazef heard a distant 'clack clack clack' of something wooden hitting the stone floor.

It took him a moment to gather his wits and steady vision before he heard footsteps coming from down the hallway, Gazef looked over to see the adventurer group from before entering the room and they all saw Gazef as he was struggling to his feet. They soon saw Gazef and moved to help him and Sir Ainz, who was laying on the floor on the other side of the room across from Gazef.

The silver-plated archer that was previously injured, Lukrut was his name if Gazef recalled, came to check up on Gazef with a, "Are you alright?" Gazef nodded an affirmative before looking around the room for Nabe and Clementine, but they had both appeared to have vanished. Gazef only saw the bodies of several of the undead unmoving spread about the room before he heard a soft gasp in the direction of the rest of the group that was checking on Sir Ainz.

Gazef moved closer to Sir Ainz, who was still unmoving on the ground. Gazef then noticed an object on the ground not far from Ainz. It was the man's mask.

Ah, the nobles had a similar reaction when they saw Sir Ainz's face. That did not appear to be the reason this time... when Gazef reached the group they all looked away from him and Gazef saw why.

For it was not Sir Ainz's scarred face that Gazef was expecting… but the bleached-white bone of a skull that all men carried under their skin. Gazef froze in shock for a moment before he kneeled before the body of Ainz, praying for the easy passing of a fallen comrade into death's embrace.

He was closest out of everyone near the blast… an explosion of negative energy like that is lethal to the living but to see the effects myself… Your death won't be in vain, Sir Ainz. The King will know of your dedication to the people of the Kingdom as a hero.

Gazef had just finished his silent prayer before before he heard the rustling of fabric and a soft "Uggghhh". Gazef stiffened. That sound did not come from any of the adventurer's or Gazef himself, it was the familiar deep tone of Ainz Ooal Gown.

No… God's above…

Gazef quickly placed his hand back on his sword, which he had sheathed, as Sir Ainz's body began to move and his empty eye sockets filled with red pinpoints of light. Most of the other adventurer's stiffened in alarm and all took a conscious step back as they readied their weapons.

… Don't make me do this… not to a man like you, Sir Ainz. Damnit. Fates like this should not befall upon good men.

Gazef drew Razor's Edge and the sound of it filled the silent room before a deep hesitant voice filled the room.

"... Gazef? … what are you doing?"

A/N: I know! Cliffhanger! I'm sorry! _ There won't be many though.
With the story passing 40k words (personally I never read anything less than 40k words on FF) my updates will be much slower as honestly updating every day or other day is not going to be sustainable for me with everything else I have going on. If it's a chapter I really want to show (read: lemons and such) I will get it to you guys faster but updates will now be a couple of weeks apart. Not what folks want to hear, me included, but I don't want to burn myself out writing.

Massive amount of reviews to thank for last chapter, as it was out for a little over 2 weeks. At the time of this writing those were:
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