The Undead King
Chapter 1: Player vs Player.
It seems my role as Momon will quickly be coming to an end. I have figured out that other players have been showing up in the New World, and I would rather not be caught with my pants down, unable to defend myself. That being said though, I have some hope that my friends might appear as well. I tapped my chin as I thought to myself.
"Lord Momonga! Supreme Beings are attacking The Great Tomb of Nazarick! Shalltear is already in combat on the first floor, and our demon scouts, as well as our pop monsters, have been wiped out!"
"Damn! I didn't expect this to happen so quickly!" I don't even get any prep time!? That's not fair! Well, at least Albedo agreed to call me Lord Momonga, instead of Lord Ainz. If my friends found out I named myself that I would be laughed out of existence!
"Albedo, have everyone, including Shalltear Bloodfallen retreat to floor two. Activate all traps, and stall them with any weak low-level monsters we have left."
"Of course!" Albedo dashed out of the room, leaving me completely alone.
"I see."
"Who!?" My bony arm suffered a gash, as his blade cut into it.
"Well, this is going to be a problem... he's undead so swords are no good!"
"That hurt, but now it's my turn! Maximize Magic, Reality Slash!" The man frantically tried to withdraw his sword from my bony arm, but it was stuck. This actually really hurts, but thanks to my undead passive, I'm not panicking.
"GAHHH!" "SMASH!" The masked Ninja fell to the ground, and I quickly removed his mask.
"A woman!? Oh, dear..." I am currently inside the throne room, so it seems somehow a Ninja was able to sneak past Shalltear undetected. Shalltear can see invisible units thanks to being a Vampire, so I have no idea how they snuck past. This can't be the only one.
"Albedo, return immediately! Albedo!?" Great my communication spell is being blocked by something inside this room. I looked around and scanned the room carefully. So far I haven't seen anything, but that doesn't mean something isn't hiding in here somewhere.
"Well, if you aren't going to come out then... Fly! Blessing of Magic Caster! Infinity Wall! Magic Ward Holy! Life Essence! Uh!?" Something warped the light in front of me as if the light was being swallowed by a black hole. They're attacking now, but I can see them!
"Reality! Huh!?" The strange light warping entity disappeared without a trace. Did they really run away from a magic caster?
"UH!?" I felt a blade pierce my back, but it didn't hurt as much as I had expected. "Reality Slash!"
"UHHHHGH!" "THUD!" The Ninja fell to the ground, and his sword was still stuck inside my back. He grazed my bones but didn't seem to hit anything vital. I'm glad I'm an undead, or that would have been the end of me.
"It's no good, we aren't equipped to deal with him! Let's retreat!"
"Captain Garfiel, I understand why you decided to attack this place, but they're way too high level. We already lost two men, and their lives are entirely on you!" I could hear them bickering, but they were nowhere to be seen. The strange light warping entity came back, followed by many more. The Ninja are using Shadow Stealth to hide their appearance, but upon moving they could be seen. If they're perfectly still, however, you cannot find them. I would chase after them, but that would be foolhardy.
"Albedo!?"
"Yes, Lord Ain... I mean... Lord Momonga!"
"I'm injured, Ninja attacked me, somehow they had infiltrated all the way to the throne room!"
"WHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTT!?" I closed my message spell. I think she broke my eardrums with that scream!
"Awww... what a pain..." I sat down on my throne, to rest a bit. It wasn't long before I heard many footsteps coming towards me. Hopefully, the enemy didn't get reinforcements!
"LORD MOMONGA! LORD MOMONGA!" Albedo slammed through the large doors and dashed over to me. "YOUR MESSAGE GOT CANCELLED, SO I THOUGHT THEY HAD GOTTEN YOU, MY LORD!"
"Albedo! Get off, I'm in pain!" Albedo handed me a health potion, and I quickly guzzled it. "That's better."
"We managed to catch every single Ninja. What should we do with them, my Lord? Can I do as I see fit with our new prisoners... perhaps some molten lava torture on their genitalia!?" What the fuck!?
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Albedo. How about we don't? If we torture them, their friends will come back with a vengeance!" She wasn't kidding about the molten lava genital torture! She's ruthless!
"Which one... did that to your arm, and back?" I pointed to the two that attacked me, and they began to sweat profusely.
"Those two. Do you see the nicks in their swords? That happened from striking my bones." Albedo grabbed them both by their legs and dragged them out of the throne room. I don't even want to know what she's going to do to them!
"OW! THAT HURTS! LET GO! IT HURTS! EEEEEKKK! LET GO OF THE GOODS!"
Cocytus got here late, and finally ended up in the throne room. He looked incredibly frightened by something.
"Lord Momonga, Albedo was dragging them by their..." I held my arm up to Cocytus.
"That's okay, I don't need to know..." Cocytus nodded at me.
"Demiurge."
"Yes, Lord Momonga?"
"What do you think we should do?"
"Well, we need to be able to stop infiltration by Ninja. I propose we add powerful Gargoyle statues to floor one. Anything that passes them, invisible or not will activate them.
"Very well, make it happen, Demiurge!"
"Of course Lord Ain... I mean Momonga!"
"Lord Momonga." Lupusregina bowed before me.
"What is it, Lupusregina?"
"Entoma thought she saw a group of Supreme Beings of Nazarick."
"HUH!? WHERE!?" Entoma nodded at me.
"I only saw them briefly in the village near here. Lupusregina and I visited for... pleasure... and I saw a group of Supreme Beings leaving the village. I couldn't stop them in time, because they were in a hurry."
"I see..." I wonder if they're looking for the Great Tomb of Nazarick? They were so close to finding us...
"Which direction were they headed in?"
"Towards the Re-Estize Kingdom. They're actually still in the city. I sent my bugs to watch over them, and they finally caught up. They're staying in the Blue Whale Inn."
"GREAT WORK ENTOMA! THAT'S A HUGE HELP!" I've never once been this excited before. I want to see my friends once again! Entoma's antenna poked up and moved around as I complimented her for her good work. Is she happy?
"Gate. I'll go in as Momon, and meet with them." I headed for the Inn and nearly ran through a carriage full of people. Nabe had followed close behind me.
"Watch it! I almost ran you over!" The man angrily waved his fist as me, as if to show how annoyed he was with me.
"Sorry! My bad!" I had made it to the Inn, and I could see Entoma's bugs on the ceiling. Walking inside I was met with a lot of adventurers having a nice drink. It seems this Inn doubled as an adventurer hotspot!
"Shalltear!? Why did you follow us here!?" Shalltear smiled wide at me.
"I heard my creator, Lord Peroroncino was here!"
"SHALLTEAR BLOODFALLEN!?" A man jumped up with Climb. I think his name was Brain Unglaus. What reason does he have to fear Shalltear?
"Who the hell are you!?" Shalltear pointed at Brain.
"THAT'S THE MONSTEROUS VAMPIRE THAT KILLED MY MEN!"
"What? Are you fucking insane!? I didn't kill anyone!" Climb grabbed Brain's arm.
"Hey, Brain let's not get into trouble, okay? That's the last thing Gazef would want."
"Fine..." Brain's eyes were still wide, but he decided to leave Shalltear alone. I didn't think about this at first, but he might know who brainwashed Shalltear. Perhaps I should... have him interrogated?
"Hey Brain, wait a moment, would ya?" I grabbed his shoulder.
"Oh? I don't think I know you." He tried to pull his shoulder away from me, but I gripped him with an iron grip.
"The name's Momon, I'm an adventurer. I showed him my adventurer badge.
"I see, well what do you want with me?"
"Shalltear Bloodfallen was brainwashed when she had attacked you. That's why she doesn't remember doing so."
"What? Someone was strong enough to brainwash that monster!?" Great... it seems he doesn't know anything about it...
"I apologize, Shalltear Bloodfallen. I had no idea you were under someone else's control. That explains so much." I'm getting far too distracted here. I haven't even found my friends yet.
"You're forgiven... you inferior being."
"What was that!?"
"She was just joking, Brain!" A cold sweat dripped down his face.
"I still can't believe you're not actually hostile. I expected you to cut me down." Shalltear shrugged at Brain.
"Evileye!? What are you doing here!?" Climb shouted out, and I could see Evileye run up to me.
"MOMON! I THOUGHT THAT WAS YOU! WHAT A COINCIDENCE MEETING YOU HERE!" Shalltear glared at Evileye.
"You're a Vampire as well, right Shalltear?" Shalltear nodded at Evileye.
"I'm a True Vampire though, so we're actually not exactly the same thing."
"I see..." Evileye sounded disappointed by that.
"Not that I don't want to chat with you guys, but I'm kind of here on important business." Evileye sat down at our table.
"Oh come on, Momon! Live a little!"
"YOU!?" Evileye removed her mask, and her crimson eyes glared at something behind me. Turning around I could see who it was.
"Entoma what are you doing here!?" This is bad... normally I keep things far more organized, but I jumped the gun when I heard about my friends. I'm just far too excited to see them again.
"Hisssss!" Evileye and her friends jumped up.
"Evileye, wait! Entoma was brainwashed when you guys fought, the same as Shalltear. She isn't really evil!"
"Really? I don't know, she seems to remember me..." Entoma walked up to Evileye and sat down beside her.
"Let's get along, Evileye?"
"Fine, but only because Momon says you were brainwashed!"
"Do you know who could have done such a thing Evileye?" She shook her head at me.
"Sorry, Momon, but I have no clue." Entoma pulled out a green biscuit and ate it. "You don't eat humans?" Entoma shook her head.
"Of course not, see I eat these green biscuits! See?" "Crunch, crunch, crunch!"
"Momon? Momonga?" My eyes darted towards Peroroncino, and Shalltear was already attached to his side. She wasn't going to let go either!
"LORD PERORONCINO!" Shalltear is really adorable!
"I can't believe I found you so easily, Momonga. We were looking for an adventurer named Momon because I knew it was probably you. No one's named Momon!" Evileye looked at me curiously.
"Well, technically Entoma found you, and I followed her bugs, Peroroncino." Entoma nodded before us, and her antenna flicked and bobbed around.
"Momonga is your real name? That's amazing! Can I call you Momonga from now on?"
"Sure, why not... Peroroncino, how many others are here?" Peroroncino threw his arms up energetically.
"Well there's me of course, my sister, Tabula, and Touch Me. I haven't seen anyone else yet." I'm so glad my friends are okay, and there's a lot of them too! I honestly would have been happy with just a single one of them.
"Great, would you all like to come back to, Nazarick?"
"Of course! We've felt so exposed out here by ourselves! A nice safe place would really get rid of the stress! I'll go get everyone!" Nazarick? That's not a place I've ever heard of... Evileye thought to herself.
"Can I come to Nazarick as well, Momonga?"
"No."
"AWWW!? PLEASE!"
"NO!"
"I WANNA GO! I WANNA GO! I WANNA GO!" What's this!? She's acting like a child!
"You're just going to use me up, and throw me to the side, Momonga!? Do I not mean anything to you!? How can you just leave me all alone now!? I need you Momonga! Don't leave me all alone!" Everyone began to glare at me as if I was a despicable monster!
"Fine! Stop making a spectacle! People are gonna get the wrong idea!" I could see Evileye grin wide at me. This woman is trouble! She was intentionally being extremely vague so that my reputation would be ruined! Oh well, I found my friends anyway. Momon is no longer a facade I have to put up with.
"We're here, Momonga! It's so good to see you!"
"Hey everyone! I'm glad you're all okay!"
"Momonga!" Touch me grabbed me tightly.
"Too tight! TOO TIGHT! TOUCH ME STOP SQUEEZING ME SO TIGHTLY!"
"Oops, sorry." I think he dislocated my spine!
"Oh, dear..." "Pop!" I think I fixed it. Ow...
"Well, without further ado, let's go straight to Nazarick. Do you guys have a room?" I can't open a Gate here, or everyone will see I'm an undead.
"Hey, Momonga!"
"Yes, Brain?"
"I wanna come as well." You gotta be kidding me!? Brain is useless to me if he doesn't know anything about Shalltear's brainwashing, but I don't want to cause a scene here.
"Fine." Brain and Climb followed right behind us.
"Momonga, follow me, and I'll take you to our room!" I followed Touch Me, and we quickly arrived inside a tiny room.
"I don't think we're all going to fit!" Everyone somehow managed to squeeze in. To say I felt like a sardine packed into a can would be an understatement!
"Don't panic, please." I took off my helmet and showed them my undead face. For some reason, none of them were startled by this.
"That's so cool, Momonga! Are you a lich?" I nodded at Evileye.
"Yes, yes I am." Well, this is unexpected... I was expecting at least some resentment.
"I know how you feel having to hide your true identity. People are cautious of me being a Vampire, which is how I got my nickname Evileye. I wore a mask to escape just like you."
"Well, it's not quite the same thing, but thanks. Gate!" Nothing happened!?
"Momonga, something wrong?"
"My Gate spell, won't work. Maybe it needs more room to activate?" We quickly snuck up to the roof. "Gate! Nothing!?"
"You out of mana or something?"
"No..." This is strange. Either other players caught onto us, and are blocking our spell, or Aureole Omega is denying me access to Nazarick. Both are bad. "Let me test something. Reality Slash!" I could see a building next to ours get cut in half.
"Uh oh..." I hope no one was inside!
"Momonga!? What were you thinking!?" That wasn't a good idea. Why did I aim it so low to the ground!? I should have cast it into the sky!
"Well, maybe no one was inside?"
"AHHHHHHH!" I could hear someone scream in agony as the building collapsed in on itself. "SMASH!" Damn!
"Maybe... maybe it was only a minor injury!?" My friends' faces cringed at my response.
"OH GOD! IT HURTS SO BADLY! SOMEONE HELP ME! I'M BEING CRUSHED! OHHH! THE AGONY! THE ABSOLUTE AGONY!"
"HUH!?" Why is my luck so bad!?
"Momonga, let's go see if they're alright!" Bukubukuchagama was right... I quickly put back on my helmet.
"Okay, let's go!" "Thud!" I jumped from the roof and landed with a loud thud.
"Hey is anyone in here!?" I looked around the rubble, but couldn't find anyone inside of it.
"YES! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELP ME! MY HOUSE FELL ON MY LEGS! I CAN'T FEEL THEM ANYMORE!" I crippled a man! Quickly I lifted the heavy foundation off of his legs.
"Here." I handed him a health potion.
"Thanks a lot! I thought I was a goner!" He drank the potion, and his legs immediately healed. "That's odd... so quick." The man got up and stretched his legs. "I owe you one! A freak accident like that only happens once in a blue moon, but I seem to have terrible luck!" Luck had nothing to do with it... at least not his luck!
As I turned to walk back towards my friends, I saw the man rise up behind me. He was some kind of monster. "Easy prey..." Perhaps he was the one blocking my Gate spell?
"And who are you?" The creature looked down at me as it laughed loudly.
"You know, for such a little creature you sure are brave. You're looking death in the face! How are you not afraid!? Are you mad!?"
"Good grief... you picked the wrong party to screw with." The creature began to sweat, as it backed up. I could see the sweat running down its face like a faucet.
"Momonga, I'll take this one out. No reason to waste mana on it." Touch Me stood before the massive sixty-foot demon and awaited its attack.
"Fuck this shit! You're so scary!" His very essence itself frightens me. He shows absolutely no fear at all. It's not natural! The demon thought to himself.
The monster before us ran into some kind of dark Gate spell and disappeared.
"Well, here goes nothing. Gate." My Gate spell opened this time but quickly fizzled out. Something is terribly wrong!
"Gate!" My Gate opened this time, and we all ran through it. We ended up in a faraway town I had visited once.
"Momonga, where the hell are we!? This isn't Nazarick!" Bukubukuchagama sounded concerned, but so was I. I can't imagine our NPCs would betray us, but it can't be ruled out. At least we still have Shalltear Bloodfallen.
"Sorry, I felt a dreadful situation was imminent if we stayed there. If my Gate spell to Nazarick is being blocked, then it means Aureole Omega has gone rogue, and possibly more of our guardians. We can't trust any of them." Everyone looked stunned by what I had just said, but it was the truth.
"Crack!" Something behind us stepped on a twig, and I instantly spun around to face the noise.
"Albedo... Rubedo..." How did they find me so quickly!? There's no way they had tracked us... right? "WAIT! THE SPELL THAT FIZZLED OUT! YOU TAGGED ME!?" We can't fight them right now. We'll have to escape at all costs.
"Gate." Everyone quickly ran through my Gate, and I slammed it shut behind us. "RUN!" My friends took off running in the opposite direction, but Touch Me quickly stopped, upon noticing I wasn't following them. If they tagged me, I can't escape Nigredo's ability to track me. This is the only way my friends will be able to escape.
"Momonga... I won't! You come with us, or I'll die with you!" Damn it Touch Me!
"THIS IS ALL I CAN DO! RUN AWAY YOU DAMN FOOL!" Touch Me stood right beside me, his will was unwavering. "Fine... you win!"
I took off sprinting with them, but oddly enough we weren't being chased as I had expected. If Rubedo wanted too, we would be slaughtered. My friends and I could defeat Rubedo normally, but they aren't equipped with anything more than cheap new world armor and weapons. With the rest of the NPCs backing up Rubedo, we just can't survive an encounter with them.
"Momonga, use all of your mana." What!? Is he insane!?
"Touch Me, without my mana I can't even fight!" Touch Me grabbed me tightly and got right up in my face.
"If you run out of mana, they can't track us any longer!" Well, he's right, but...
"Fine. Magic Mine. Magic Mine. Magic Mine." I left a ton of powerful traps behind for any pursuers, but unfortunately, the people from the town were bound to run into them by mistake. It can't be helped I guess.
"I should have enough mana for one more spell. Gate!" We all quickly sprinted through my Gate, and it shut behind us. I had Gated us close to a large alcove I had visited once on my adventures.
"Well, it's not much, but we can take shelter here." The sea behind us was rough, and dusk was quickly approaching
"Growwllll..." I could hear my friends' stomachs growling.
"I'll make a fire." Touch Me got down and began to rub two sticks together before Entoma lit them both on fire with a single lightning spell. "That works... I guess..."
"Entoma, Shalltear, can you stealthily gather some wood and food? I think we're all more than a little exhausted."
"Of course, Lord Momonga!" Shalltear and Entoma shouted in unison.
Fortunately, I had planned in case of trouble and had brought a lot of water along, but I didn't plan enough for this. If we had the time to safely do it, we could visit a nearby town, but it could put us in great peril.
"THAT WAS SO FAST!" Shalltear was back within minutes with a large colossal black bear. It had to be at least forty feet tall, and it was extremely bulky as well! Behind Shalltear followed Entoma, who had at least ten times the wood we needed. Her bugs were carrying massive amounts of it. "That'll... do!"
Touch Me smiled wide. "Now I watched a video on how to skin, and gut an animal! Allow me to..." Shalltear skinned the bear and gutted it with expert precision, in a matter of seconds.
"Already done Touch Me. A Supreme Being such as yourself shouldn't be required to do something so trivial!" Touch Me looked so disappointed.
"Yea... trivial... sure..." Touch Me seemed to perk up as the fat, juicy bear meat was cooking over the fire. I could see him salivating through his iron helmet. "That smells so good!"
My friends quickly ate their bear meat sandwiches, and fell asleep. If I'm going to be honest, this was the closest thing I've had to a real adventure since I had gotten here. I watched my friends sleep, and kept a lookout for any trouble. Fortunately, the rocky alcove rerouted smoke and blocked all light from reaching the road. We should be safe here, for now at least. I just hope we can stay safe long enough to gear up for a fighting chance.
What has happened to the NPCs?
