Tragedy is a common occurrence within life. From birth, a person will always walk hand in hand with tragedy. No matter the age, no matter the social status, no matter the race, and no matter the person, tragedy will come and find them all. For some, it is a regrettable fact of life. You would give your hollow prayers to them, before moving on and preparing for that person to die. For others, it was a righteous comeuppance. You would grin, laughing as they suffered as they do justly deserve.

However, there were a small number of people that were different. A small number of people who, no matter who you were, would always leave a hole in your heart should tragedy find them. These people were too good for the world we lived in. They may not be the purest, or the kindest, or even the most moral people. But they were, at the end of the day, good people. Maybe not to everyone, but to you, they would be the greatest people to ever live. Not because they were strong, or brave, or intelligent, but because they were significant to you.

Perhaps it's a family member? A sister that always cared, a father that always protected you, a mother that always stood beside you, or maybe even a brother who never let you get to yourself. Though, more likely than not, it's a friend. A friend who was always there for you and you could count on it. A friend who would always have your back, even when you didn't know you needed it. A friend, who if they died, would leave the world a darker place for you.

And as Rana watched Emery, she knew just what type of person the other woman was. A friend, an unforgettable and unreplaceable one. A kind woman, who she suspected didn't have a single mean bone in her body. Indeed, Emery was a one of a kind person, and it tore Rana up inside to watch as tragedy introduced itself to her.

It was nothing serious, at least, not at first. But as she continued to monitor Emery, Rana began to pick up on a few things. The woman was beginning to have issues with focus, and was becoming incredibly scatter minded. It was incredibly apparent when actually talking with her. Sometimes, she would just stop talking and stare off into the distance for a while, before resuming as if no time had passed whatsoever.

There were also the sudden and completely random changes in topic. One moment they could be arguing over the ending of a book, and the next she was spouting some nonsense about Darius. Indeed, the man was a common topic for her to latch on. Not that it's very surprising, considering the importance he holds in her mind and heart.

Now, while these symptoms don't seem very bad at first, they did paint an uncomfortable picture for the future. Oh sure, it was minor memory problems now, but what about a few days from now? A week? A month? The woman was beginning to latch onto Darius as a topic more and more, and it wouldn't be long until her mind begins to confuse reality from her imagination. Which is what she was there for.

"Okay Emery, I want you to try and remember what we were just talking about. Can you do that?"

Emery blinked, tilting her head in open confusion. "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't I be? Is something wrong Rana? Did something happen?"

As if she hadn't heard that exact same answer several times earlier. It was amusing at first, though now it was just sad. "Oh? Then please Emery, I'm all ears. Tell me what we were just talking about."

She grinned widely, stretching her arms and falling back into her bed with a content sigh. "We were just talking about what Darius might do for my birthday coming up. It was a shocker to figure out our birthdays are less than twenty days away, but it's so cool! I was trying to convince him to make it a double birthday party, but he was insistent on making it about me. Gah! He can be so annoyingly considerate sometimes!"

Another one. To Emery's credit, she wasn't entirely lying. That was an event that happened, and it did go a lot like how she described. However, they hadn't been talking about that right now. Indeed, they had been discussing the many different kinds of swords and what they were designed to do. It was an engaging conversation, as Emery knew far more about weapon design than she had originally thought. However, just as they were debating the usefulness of dual falchions, her eyes had grown clouded and she began to look off into nowhere.

When Darius said that the sickness would grow exponentially, he really did mean it.

Still, at least the symptoms were mild at the moment. Even if Rana had to explain what was going on to Emery every now and again, at least she would understand what had happened. These effects, these symptoms, they reminded her far too much of her time with the Illagers. Those who were infected with the lapis poisoning often broke down mentally first, before the physical side effects began to show. And considering this was supposed to be an even worse version of that…

Rana sighed, crossing a leg and staring at Emery from the corner of her eye. "I'm afraid that we weren't talking about that Emery. No, we were discussing the many designs of swords and how they can be used in combat. Your knowledge on weapon design is surprising. Though I suppose spending as much time with Darius as you have, you'd be bound to pick some things up."

Emery winced, sitting back up and slouching forward. "Oh… right. I'm sorry Rana, it's just… it's been kinda hard to focus as of late. This… sickness is growing way faster than I thought it would. Or maybe I'm just worried."

To be honest, it was probably a mix of both. Emery has always been a bit scatter minded at times, though that was usually only when she was nervous or excited. Right now, she was probably one of those things. Regardless, she had never been this bad with it. "Well, if Darius- "

"When."

She paused, giving Emery a quick glance. "Of course. When Darius returns, you can put your worry behind you. Until then, it's for the best that you ease your mind. From my understanding of lapis poisoning, the sickness will be thriving off of your emotions. Both negative and positive. Whether it dampens them, or even aggravates them, you will most likely have to be careful as to not get too emotional. After all… well, should this sickness find a foothold in your mind, who knows what could happen. Magic is tricky like that."

A groan escaped Emery's lips, and she began to hug her knees. "You know, telling me that doesn't exactly help with the situation."

Oh? It seems that her friend is feeling a bit snarky today. That's good. "Perhaps. I just assumed that you would prefer knowing about the situation, rather than me simply hiding it from you. Unless of course, you'd rather be in the dark about it?"

Rana made sure to keep her face neutral, and simply stared at Emery. Despite her best intentions, she couldn't stop the slight smirk from appearing on her face. Even as Emery groaned. "You don't have to be so mean about it. Then again…"

Eh? A sly grin had made itself known on Emery's face, and Rana couldn't help but feel a bit worried about it. "What? What were you going to say Emery?"

The grin grew wider, and Emery rested her head on her hand. "Oh nothing. Just… noting the similarities between you and Darius. Nothing major."

A frown instantly made itself known across her face. This woman… she was truly a fiend at times. "Even as a joke, that's not very funny. The Knave and I have very little in common, and insinuating otherwise is just uncalled for."

Snickering obnoxiously, Emery turned and gave her a smug look. "Funny..., Darius said the same thing."

…Gods damn it knave. You really are a bad influence on Emery.

…

Walking is a fucking bore. Like, god damn. It's been fucking hours since I got here, and I haven't seen anything other than these shitty ass caves. It'd be less frustrating if I weren't on a time crunch. I had about a week and a half, seven to eight days, before I began pushing the limits of Emery's condition. Still, she's a strong willed woman. She might make it two weeks, maybe even two and a half, before she crossed the point of no return. So that gave me two estimates. A low ball of seven to eight days, and a high ball of ten to fifteen days.

Normally I'd go with something in the center, nine or ten days. But considering this is Emery's life on the line right now, it'd be best to assume that the low ball is my deadline. It gives me some push room just in case I absolutely need it, while at the same time setting a countdown for one hundred percent safety. Pushing that limit would just lower her odds with passing moment. Not something I was hoping to do.

I ducked under the low ceiling, shimmying my way through and coming out the other side. Let's see, there's netherrack there, some there, and- wait a minute. Am I at a dead end? You've got to be shitting me?! It's been literal hours, and the only thing I've gotten myself is lost!

Take a deep breath Darius. There's still time to double back. If I'm quick, I might be able to find the way out of these caves before the first day is over. All I have to do is crawl back under and-

I paused. The ceiling wasn't as low as it was before. Turning away from the entrance, I looked up towards the ceiling, and grinned. All the way up at the top, was what looked to be a way forward. Awesome, now I just had to make my way up there.

Hmm, I could use the jet pack. But then again, I've only got thirty seconds worth of fuel before I'll have to change the tank. Perhaps running up it will be good? Nah, I'd need way more momentum than what this place has space for. Right, hook shot it is then.

Letting the hook of my gauntlet's grappler go, I swung it around in a circle. There were a few particularly sharp edges to the wall that I could use. Damn, I don't think I'll be able to make it one or two grapples. Way too high for that. Well, time to wing it.

Once the hook was at its lowest point, I threw it upwards and caught onto one of the edges of the wall. Right, let's see if this netherrack is strong enough to hold my weight. Well, more specifically, this armor's weight. Even if I could use it as efficiently as I am, that was only because of boosters and other similar devices. The armor still weighed a ton.

I tugged on the grapple, feeling some resistance. There wasn't much else I could do to test how well it would hold me. Looks like I'll have to leave this one up to fate.

Gripping the grapple line, I yanked myself forward and flew up. Unfortunately, the netherrack couldn't withstand my weight, and it broke. Okay then, I'm in free fall now. Thankfully, I was close enough to the wall that I could land on it. A quick activation of my boot grips, and I was using my momentum to run up a portion of the wall.

Not that the momentum lasted for long, as I could already feel the pull of gravity slowing me down dramatically. Tensing my legs, I took one final step and leapt to the other side of the cave. I quickly spun my grapple, eyeing another pointed ledge and tossing the grapple forward.

It connected, and I pulled myself along it. Much like the other ledge, this one broke not long after I yanked myself to it. That was fine, since I was already prepared for this one.

My armored boots hit the wall, and I began to run up it once more. My momentum, while not as great as before, was enough to get me close to the ceiling. Let's see, a quick eyeball left me with the guess that I could probably grapple to the exit. I just needed to jump off it right…. now!

Once I was in the air, I quickly angled myself. I needed to time this next part just right. Too early, and I might hit the wall. Too late, and I might hit the ground. My body reached the apex of its flight, and I began to descend towards the ground at an increasingly fast pace.

Just as my descent began to pick up speed, I threw my grapple one last time. It landed in the Netherrack, securing itself against the living stone. I yanked myself forward once again, and the netherrack broke once more. This time however, I was close enough to the ledge that all I needed to do was stick my legs out.

Boots landing against the large ledge, I tucked into a roll and bled off the momentum. Standing to my feet, I pulled on the grapple and watched as it secured itself in my gauntlet. The grapple hid itself with a click, the compartment closing and concealing the grapple from view.

I dusted off my armor. First try.

Right, now that that's over, I should get back to the monotonous task of walking forward. Who knows? Maybe if I'm lucky, I'd get to turn left or something. I walked forward, and immediately stopped dead in my tracks once I saw what was in front of me.

"Holy shit on a cracker."

Before me was a large wall-like structure, with a few guard towers along it. From what I could see, the wall itself was rather thick. Meaning, it probably was also a sort of base or something. It was partially ruined, but other than that it was in pretty good shape.

There might be a group in there.

I sank low to the ground, slowly making my way over to the side of the wall. Let's see, considering what I do know about the Nether, this might be one of those newer structures added in by the Nether Update. A bastion or whatever. That means, there will probably be piglins in there. Piglin brutes as well. A magma cube spawner is also likely to be there, so I better prepare for that.

So, options. Well diplomacy was out of the question. In this scenario, it was like trying to win a culture victory in civilization. Possible, but definitely not going to be worth it. Even if I traded with them, there as no guarantee I was going to get anything worth what I paid. Option two, sneaking around them.

Yeah, that was a big fat nope. Stealth tech was never a priority for me, so I didn't have anything that would help. Plus, I was still a dude in heavy ass armor. Any attempts at sneaking would be like trying to rob Area 51 in a grinch suit. And so, I was left with option number three.

Good old fashioned bloodshed.

Reaching back, I grabbed my rifle and shifted it to sniper mode. It's a good thing I had the foresight to add a silencer module to this thing, otherwise I'd be giving out my position real quick. Getting comfortable, I looked through the scope and began to get a lay of the area.

Right. There were three watchtowers, each with about two or three piglins guarding it. They were armed with crossbows, meaning I wouldn't have to worry about getting hit since they wouldn't be able to puncture my armor. Then again, I'm not entirely sure if these crossbow bolts have any magical properties. They could be enhanced with Nether Energy, thus granting them better piercing damage.

So, I've got about seven piglins on the watchtowers right now. I could probably take out three to five of them out before they realize that they need to take cover. It's the last few that are going to be a challenge. They'll likely take cover until they can figure out what's going on. Actually, scratch that. At least one of them is going to go inside and warn the others. From there, it's a dice toss as to what they'll do.

I lined the crosshairs up with one of the piglin's head. I held off however. If I'm patient, I could probably get two of them with one shot. The magically enhanced bullet should have more than enough power behind it to do so. I just had to wait a bit.

The piglin I was scouting fidgeted around, before turning over to the guy next to him and saying something. The other one grumbled, before punching the first piglin and getting up. He was moving, and he was about to walk directly behind the piglin I was watching.

Jackpot.

I pulled the trigger, and watched in morbid satisfaction as both of them went down. The third piglin in the tower froze, shock taking hold of him. I aimed, and pulled the trigger again. Okay, that's one watchtower done.

The other piglins were beginning to realize something was happening. Choosing my next target, I shot him down before quickly moving onto his partner. This one has the foresight to try and duck for cover, but it was too late. The bullet pierced his skull, a shower of blood and gore exploding from his head.

That was all I was able to get, as the piglins in the final tower had already gotten behind cover. I wasn't too certain on the likelihood of my sniper being able to effectively pierce the wall of the watchtower, so I instead shifted it to standby mode and stowed it away. Hmm, now do I stay, or do I go?

Fuck it, I'm on a time crunch anyway. Don't want to waste time waiting when I could just go in with a heavy assault.

I got to my feet quickly, running towards the large bastion. Stretching my arms out to my sides, I summoned Master and Pupil. Alright then, only a hundred or so more feet and I should be at the-

A large door on the bastion opened, and piglins began to pour out of it. I stopped my sprint, my confusion growing. What the hell? Why were they coming out of the heavily fortified base? That's like, the dumbest thing they could do. They should've holed up inside and pressed the advantage of their numbers and their familiarity with the layout. Instead, they're just… rushing me.

Shifting my blades into their hand common form, I took aim and began to fire into the oncoming hoard. The ice bullets from Master hit more than a few of them, either killing them outright or freezing the place hit enough to slow them down. The fire bullets from Pupil on the other hand, were far more deadly. Either killing them immediately, or burning them intensely. Still, they only trimmed the numbers, and gave me time to Observe a few of them.

Piglin

Health: 16/16

Nether Energy: 5/5

Piglin Brute

Health: 50/50

Nether Energy: 10/10

I stopped firing, shifting my falchions back into their sword form and tensing my body. The first one came at me with a golden sword, striking down wildly and clumsily. Blocking wasn't even a thought, as I instead just cut the sword in half with Pupil and followed up with a slash from Master. The piglin dropped, top half sliding off of his lower body.

The others didn't even pause in their assault, continuing forward. One of the brutes came at me with an axe, which I simply tanked and watched as the head deformed against my armor. Reversing my grip on Pupil, I stabbed the sword into the brute's gut, lifting my arm up and slicing through his head.

Deciding to take the offensive, I rested my arms back and threw my twin falchions into the horde. Pupil cut into a few of the piglins, a fiery inferno following it and burning anything that surrounded the blade. Master also cut into the piglins, though the ice from it also helped in piercing their flesh.

I on the other hand, threw my grapple forth and punctured one of the piglins by the head. Sensing danger from behind me, I yanked the dead piglin towards me and gripped its back with a clawed hand. Spinning around, I blocked an attack with the corpse and pushed forward. The attacker stumbled back, and I took the opportunity to throw the body to the side and stab my hand through the piglin's chest.

Another two lunged at me, and I ducked under both attacks. They slammed into each other, their swords cutting into each other's flesh.

Reaching a hand out, I caught a sword headed towards my face and squeezed the blade, shattering it. Taking advantage of my crouched position, I leapt forward and drove my fist into the piglin's face, caving it in.

A brute came rushing my side, axe high ready for the swing. Side stepping the attack, I kicked at its knee and shattered the limb. A quick punch to the head killed it.

They finally must've realized the small group approach wasn't going to work, as suddenly six piglin's surrounded me. Just before they could rush me however, I reached behind me and drew the sword that had rested on my back. Not pausing to get into a stance, I swung the blade around me, and an enemy wave bisected all six piglins.

I leapt once more into the fray, swinging my sword at whatever creature came before. A particular clever brute leapt into the air, swinging his axe down on me. Not that he was successful, as I simply twisted my body around and cleaved him in half.

Another piglin rushed me, and I stabbed it in the stomach. Not taking the time to free my blade, I simply reached to my side and pulled out my super shotgun, unfolding it and firing it at an approaching enemy. The recoil kicked my arm back massively, but the damage was worth it. The piglin's head and the majority of its torso was vaporized, leaving a bloody stump in its place.

I fired once again, taking out another two piglins before I stowed the super shotgun away. Jumping back, I reached a hand out and summoned one of my gauntlet attachments. Hearing it click into place, I aimed my hand and watched as a highly condensed blue flame laser shot from my hand. The beam pierced several piglins, burning them and cauterizing their wounds as they died.

The laser, while powerful, was incredibly resource hungry. So, I vanished it back to my inventory and summoned my whirligig saw instead. I revved the blades, swinging the saw and horizontally bisecting several piglin.

Digging the saw into the ground, I left it spinning and detached the club part of it. I ducked under a wide swing, kicking the attacker forward and into the saw. Not bothering to watch the carnage, I spun around and slammed the club into another piglin, smashing his skull like a watermelon.

A closely knit group of six sprinted at me, still a good ten feet away. I summoned one of my potions, chucking it at the small group as a small cloud of magically reinforced white phosphorus sprang out and chemically burnt them alive.

Gotta love willie pete.

I activated my kinetic booster, entering the overdrive mode and sprinting through the crowd. The sheer speed I was moving at meant that crashing into a piglin would almost instantly kill them, as my bulky armor crushed their frail bodies.

Leaping up a little over a dozen feet into the air, I vanished the club and summoned my kinetic hammer in its place. The hammer whirred, and began to spark with electricity as the electrical energy module mixed with the kinetic boosters.

A large group of them stood before me, at least twenty. They stared in shock as the hammer came down upon them. Stray bolts of electricity hit a few of the piglins, scorching their skin and making their bodies convulse.

And then the hammer hit the ground.

The immediate area around the impact was flattened, cracks appearing throughout the area and Nether lava flowing from them. The piglin closest to the impact were nearly instantly vaporized, while those further away were launched back. The electricity chained from body to body, spreading as each affected piglin had their insides cooked.

Unfortunately, the sheer power from the electricity managed to get through my suit's electrical defenses. The entire thing was put into a forced shutdown as the systems rebooted. Even the life support was offline, meaning that not only was I a sitting duck unable to move, but I would also have to conserve my oxygen.

And that was when an otherworldly screech began to echo within the cavern.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a tall dark figure. It was almost pitch black, with a purple aura around it. Its head was round, almost bulbous with purple eyes. Its jaw was unhinged, revealing rows of sharp and shadowy teeth. It's thin and lanky body made it look almost starved, with visible ribs and bones pushing against its flesh. It was almost as if its flesh was simply stretched to fit its form. Its hands were large, easily twice the size of my own. Each of its fingers were long, and slightly pointed at the end. It's feet by contrast, didn't even really exist. It simply walked on two stubs and somehow kept its balance. The Damned thing must've gotten hit by the hammer's attack.

Enderman

Health: 27/40

Mana: 150/150

The hell? How did it get here? Why does it say mana? And why does it have so much of it? Damn it, that must mean that magic is technically different from mana. Though I had no idea how. I'll have to dissect the body in order to figure it out. That, and use Structural Analysis.

Damn it, now's not the time. I kept my eye on the enderman, watching as it began to frenzy. It vanished, reappearing behind a piglin with its hand through its chest. Then it disappeared again, repeating the process with another one.

My eyes stared down at one of the corpses left by the enderman. There was a fist sized whole in its chest, but it was off. It didn't look like the enderman punctured the piglin with its hand. No, instead it looks like the flesh and meat already there had been pushed outwards in order to accommodate the hand, thus killing the piglin.

Damn it. The enderman wasn't stabbing the piglins with its slightly clawed hand. Instead, it was teleporting its hand through their bodies. This was forcing a stalemate between two forces. Does the piglin win, and the enderman loses a hand, or does the enderman win, and the piglin's body is forced to accommodate the limb? Well, the answer was simple.

The enderman obviously had some form of space defying power. Thus, allowing it to teleport. So, with this power, it would obviously be able to brute force the stalemate into its favor. Now if I had to guess, this wasn't always applicable. More likely than not, it couldn't brute force inorganic objects. But fleshy piglins who were only barely sapient and didn't really wear armor?

That was easy pickings.

My armor rebooted, but I quickly shut everything down but the life support. The enderman hadn't noticed me, meaning that my stillness made me look like a statue or something. Instead, it was focused on wiping out the already shrinking piglin army.

That was good. It gave me time to plan. I watched the enderman as if decimated the piglins, or more specifically, I watched its teleporting pattern. While it seemed almost entirely random, there was a pattern to be seen. Whenever the enderman teleported, it always looked directly where it would show up. There was also a slight delay when the enderman vanishes and when it reappears. A fraction of a second, sure, but a delay, nonetheless.

The enderman teleported its fist into the final piglin, and began to calm down. Its eyes swept across the battlefield, before eventually landing on me.

It vanished, and then reappeared in front of me. The creature stared down at me, bending over slightly as it forced its face closer to my helmet. It was trying to assess whether or not I was alive. Right, I don't know how well it's attacks would work against my armor. However, if I consider the fact that its spacial properties allow it to pierce flesh, then I can hazard a guess. More likely than not, it will use its claws in conjunction with its spacial manipulation in order to try and slice into me. I don't know if that will work all that well, but I didn't want to find out.

Pupil was on the floor, several dozen feet away from me. I could simply summon it to my hand, but I have a better idea. The blade is right about behind the enderman. So, if I give its loyalty enchantment a tug…

The blade flew off the ground, spinning through the air as it came towards me. The enderman stood up to its full height, staring somewhere directly behind me. Just as the blade was going to make contact, the enderman vanished.

Bingo.

I activated my suit, catching Pupil by the handle and pivoting around on my heel. The enderman was back in its frenzy, and it screeched once more before vanishing. Wasting no time, I did my best to sidestep the attack. Unfortunately, the enderman's clawed hand clipped the side of my armor, leaving several large gashes.

It screeched once more, before teleporting behind me again. This time I ducked under it, fully dodging the attack. I tried to go for its legs, but the enderman teleported away before I could land a hit.

This time, I anticipated where it was going to be. It screeched again, and vanished. Rather than backing down, I adjusted my blade and got ready to stab forward. I paused only for a moment, and then stabbed forward just as the enderman appeared.

Pupil pierced the creature's chest, and the enderman gurgled unintelligibly. Twisting the blade, I cut through its chest and up towards its head, slicing through it.

The enderman fell, purple and red mixed blood spilling out onto the floor. I let out a sight, falling to a knee as I caught my breath. That was fucking stressful in so many god damn ways. Whatever, at least that was over with for now.

I got back to my feet, gazing around the battlefield. Piglin bodies lay everywhere, the entire bastion slaughtered. I idly noticed a few piglins with crossbows in their hands. Huh, so that's where the guard dudes went.

Vanishing Pupil back into my inventory, I stretched my arms. I better clean this up and clear out that bastion. May as well turn it into a base for now, and rest up. Don't want to be exhausted in the wilderness when I could rest here and be ready for tomorrow.

And ready, I will be.

…

Yeah, this chapter was supposed to have way more stuff going on, but by the time I finished the fight scene, I realized that I was already at 5k words, and decided to end it there. Don't want a repeat of the tournament arc. A very fun arc to write mind you, but writing three 10k word chapter a week was just draining.

And just a small note from me, while Darius' fighting style with Master and Pupil was inspired by EMIYA, his broader fighting style was also heavily influenced by Dante. They both have a large variety of weapons that they use to great effect, mixing and matching them in order to pull off some killer combos.

Now onto our review of the chapter, which I have decided to double bill because fuck you:

"Wait so there's a dude whose name is humanity"

No, no there is not. Ainzool calls everyone by their Influence. Daria is called Monstrosities, Darian is called Humanity, and Darius is simply called Slumbering One, since he has yet to awaken his Influence.

"So Influences can be as broad as "Death", huh? Since all Aspects are supposed to be attempted clones of the original guy that sent them there, and Darius is supposedly to have been successful, I'm guessing Darius' Influence is Destruction."

Er, how'd you come up with that one? Ainzool's Influence is labeled as Haunted Death when it is revealed. As such, his power is over the dominion of the Haunted, which is why he can use necromancy to such a great effect. The undead are "Haunting" the living in a sense, sticking around and refusing to move on. And as for the "all Aspects are supposed to be attempted clones of the original guy" bit, well that's somewhat true. All of the Aspects of Destruction are cloned from the same guy, and all have the same naming scheme. Ainzool by contrast, does not have this naming scheme, and also does not have the same eye color as the others. And if you consider that he is an Aspect of Death, well I'm sure you can connect the dots.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and you have no idea how much effort it's taking not to call this chapter Highway to Hell.