Chapter 3
Part 1
"What kind of training exercise was that supposed to be? You seriously call that torture training!?"
The outburst came from Captain Hansen, who had rushed in immediately upon returning to the camp. He was followed in by Leinas, though having missed the chance to stop him before he could reach, she stopped with a mix of dejection and resignation.
Although he had rushed in suddenly to start yelling, it wasn't enough for Tanya to even look up from her desk, as she continued to scan over two brick-like tomes.
"I was curious about what was so important that you would barge in here to yell about, but is that all? Are you ready to accept your punishment for that?" (Tanya)
After a delay of several seconds, he finally earned a bored response. This only served to fan his anger. Ignoring all else, he continued to yell.
"You dropped my men in the middle of the frozen mountains with only their swords and armor! They had their fingers frozen and their arms torn off by monsters on that mountain!" (Hansen)
"Just that much is normal training, of course. They properly made it back in more or less one piece, the rest can be healed easily enough." (Tanya)
"Are you insane? Even if you heal those injuries, three-quarters of the knights are trying to either go home or retire!" (Hansen)
"You're the one who said your men were elites. To cry about a few missing arms, you call yourselves men?" (Tanya)
"This isn't something humans can handle!" (Hansen)
"I properly reduced the difficulty to the level of humans, neither the dragon attacks nor my simulated artillery barrage made it into the final plan. The men from the Kingdom weren't complaining, while the ones Neia brought seemed more excited than anything, to say nothing of the goblins and the rest. Why is it that you're the only one here?" (Tanya)
"That's, ridiculous, we can't be the only ones who…" (Hansen)
He looked over towards Leinas, though going by her unchanging face, she didn't share his indignation at the situation.
"Leinas." (Tanya)
"Yes!" (Leinas)
"How was the training expedition for the group you led?" (Tanya)
"Coincidentally, one of the royal knights I led had previous experience with a similar mission. As such, we were able to handle the cold without too much difficulty. We had few encounters with monsters while in the mountain, so injuries were minimal. However, from the other commanders' reports, our group was the exception. Aside from mine, only those squads which were mixed with the Holy Kingdom did well. The rest were decimated, and would be incapable of combat if not for the healing you provided. The Captain who was attacked by an Ice Boar could be said to have the worst luck." (Leinas)
"I see. Perhaps it would have been better to leave the dragons in after all. From the results, would it be appropriate to mark the cause of the failure as poor personnel selection on the part of the emperor?" (Tanya)
"His Majesty wouldn't-" (Hansen)
"… What else do you expect me to call you?" (Tanya)
He didn't get the chance to finish another line before he was dismissed.
"This is a waste of time. Whatever temporary promotion put you in charge, I'm revoking it, return to your own unit. Leinas, either take his position yourself or let his next-in-command do it. You can send away the ones trying to quit, they aren't worth the supplies." (Tanya)
"Are you sure? They may not have handled the mountains well, but those knights are still a capable group. Sending them away after just that much would be a loss." (Leinas)
"It's an issue of adaptability. Going just by results, it's clear that lizardmen vulnerable to cold wouldn't do well, but while they hunted pelts to wear, those knights kept wearing their steel armor even as the metal froze to their skin. I need soldiers, not single-minded knights. Besides, if they break this easily, they'll just fall apart as soon as the battle plan falls apart, that is to say at first contact with the enemy." (Tanya)
"Understood." (Leinas)
"Good. Don't bother me with this again. And Captain, worrying about your men is one thing, but recall that this is a military organization. Learn some self-control or leave now. If you still can't figure it out, I'll court-marshal and shoot you myself." (Tanya)
Soon after, Tanya was once again left alone. Shortly after confirming both of them had left, she picked the tomes up and stowed them back into her inventory. She stood up and called a subordinate.
"Hanzo." (Tanya)
"Yes." (Hanzo)
One of the invisible ninja-like monsters revealed itself, kneeling in the corner of the room.
"How far has your infiltration of the Theocracy's holy city progressed?" (Tanya)
"They have evidently begun preparing for an invasion starting several weeks ago. We were able to infiltrate minor meetings and document stores, but those held by their heads of state cannot be accessed. Nine individuals they consider to be elites have been confirmed, of which only one can be considered a threat above an average orichalcum. We could not proceed further than the second basement floor without risking detection. Would you permit us to proceed?" (Hanzo)
"Yes, prepare to do so. I will force a meeting with them. I expect they'll pull guards away for it, so see if you can get further than that. Prioritize locating any other powerful enemies, but do not engage in combat." (Tanya)
"As you wish." (Hanzo)
"Now then, let's start by spreading some discontent." (Tanya)
Part 2
Ninety-nine out of one hundred people would describe the Holy City of the Slane Theocracy as an architectural marvel. As the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful of the three human nations in the immediate area.
If the Imperial capital of Arwintar is a modern metropolis built with the latest in magic technological development, then the Holy City is a sacred relic representing the great lost magic of the past.
There was a stark contrast visible between the inner city with its massive stone walls – built centuries ago during the golden age of the Six Gods – and the outer city, which was built, renovated, and rebuilt several times in the decades since. Despite their antiquity, it was those mansions at the core of the Holy City which stood firm no matter how many hundreds of years had passed, a testament to the skill and power of the gods, who were said to have built it by hand.
Never in its long history had the inner wall been breached, and the pristine jewel of a city within untouched by threats of any kind. Over the years, a number of priests and bishops said to their followers that those indestructible walls could stand even against the wrath of the ancient Dragon Lords – though that claim had neither been tested, nor would the official representatives of the Theocracy dare to say something so arrogant, lest they actually provoke one of them into trying it out.
And at the very core of the circular walls stood the greatest of the gods' constructions: The Cathedral Tower.
Rising to a height of sixteen stories, the immense white spire was clearly visible from any point in the surrounding capital. No human alive knew by what technique or magic the tower could be built. Some legends even wrote that the whole tower had been dropped from the heavens by the gods, so that it might serve as their residence in the mortal world. Only gods, dragons, and perhaps the eldest of the elves knew the truth behind its origin.
Contrary to popular belief, the Cathedral Tower was neither lavishly decorated nor strongly fortified. If the comparison had to be made, the tower was an office building, with floors upon floors of workspaces and meeting rooms. Certainly, the furniture in these rooms was worth a fortune in its own right, but it was much more a practical collection than gaudy finery. Few would look upon it and imagine such a domain was meant for their gods, instead of a particularly wealthy monarch.
Truthfully, the innermost sanctum was not in the sixteen stories of the tower, but rather hidden in the three underground floors below. It was these which housed the true heart of the Slane Theocracy.
The first basement floor was directly accessible through a passage in the Cathedral Tower, hidden not on the ground floor but the next floor above, moving down directly through a pillar to the secret below. Fewer than three hundred individuals – mostly Cardinals, Archbishops, and the elite Six Scriptures – knew of its location.
With the greatest of barriers and defenses created by the Six Gods, it was here that the heads of state met to discuss truly important matters. Not even 'Thousand Mile Astrologer' could hope to scry the contents of conversations which took place within these walls.
The expansive first basement floor was made up of several rooms: One displayed maps of worlds unknown, another had an entire wall created out of a stained glass window, which was lit by sunlight despite being underground. Each was mystical in its own way, but most famous among them was the central chamber, which held nothing but a large round table.
For reasons unknown, this chamber was known as the 'Gilded Hall', despite being the plainest by far. Although vast, not a single speck of gold could be found no matter where one looked in the room. Many theorized about the origin of the name, but much like the construction of the tower itself, the secret behind why the Six Gods had given it such a name was lost through the centuries.
Perhaps the written records which had survived since then held the truth, but unfortunately not a single person capable of reading their language had lived through the great war against the Eight Greed Kings. With the writings undecipherable, only the name itself had passed mostly intact through centuries of oral transmission to the present day.
Going even further underground, the two floors below were a labyrinth filled with an uncountable number of traps and secrets. In these depths, immensely powerful archangel sentinels roamed as if they were common monsters, repelling any and all trespassers. Not even the Pontifex Maximus himself could travel unharassed; the sole exception were the three god-kin, whose presence was completely ignored by these guardians. As such, not even the current residents of the Cathedral Tower could honestly claim to know even half of its secrets.
In the furthest reaches of this citadel, an impressive treasury could be found, a most holy sanctuary filled with the treasures left behind by the Six Gods. Since any defender weaker than the archangels would be worthless, only a single semi-permanent stood watch by the stairs to the second floor: the strongest trump card of the Theocracy, the undefeated special seat of the Black Scripture, known only as 'Certain Death'.
Even more than the underground of the tower itself, her existence was a secret known to fewer still, truly characteristic of a secret ace. Being centuries older than anybody in the human government, only an outline of her past was known to them. Some honestly believed that her very name was lost to history, forgotten by herself in her pursuit of revenge.
But, all that was irrelevant in the face of her absolute, overwhelming, unfathomable, transcendent strength. She was the ultimate guardian of humanity, but precisely because of that, she – and the divine equipment she was outfitted with – could not be moved for anything less than a world-ending threat.
The issue currently facing the executives assembled in the Gilded Hall could be argued to be exactly that.
The highest-ranked Pontifex Maximus.
The Cardinal of Fire, Berenice Nagua Sandeni.
The Cardinal of Water, Ginedine Delan Gwerfe.
The Cardinal of Wind, Dominic Ire Partouche.
The Cardinal of Earth, Raymond Zag Lauransan.
The Cardinal of Light, Ivon Jasna Dracrowa.
The Cardinal of Darkness, Maximilian Oreio Lagier.
The Chief Judge; The Head Legislator; The First Minister; The Grand Marshall; The Head of the Research Institute.
Twelve people comprising the highest authority of the Slane Theocracy rarely gathered all together in one conference like this – under normal circumstances.
Meeting twice in the course of a year was already rare, but they had already met once when the Black Scripture was defeated by the vampire, Honyopenyoko, a second time immediately following the Empire's declaration of war, and a third time two weeks after its devastating end.
With the turn of the new year, these conferences had gone from yearly to monthly, biweekly, and now weekly at the very least.
Their unease was apparent from the moment they sat down around the table, skipping the cleaning ritual which would have prefaced each meeting only a month prior. Following a quick prayer to the Six Gods, then promptly jumped into business.
The first topic was the same as ever:
"Raymond, are there any updates from 'Thousand Mile Astrologer'?" (Ivon)
"Since last week, the last of the groups sent off to the mountains returned. Observing the camp has gotten difficult, but she's been watching the entrance to see that they're bringing in massive quantities of both supplies and ammunition. Worst case, they're ready to march." (Raymond)
"And the king himself?" (Ivon)
"… Nothing new. She caught a few glimpses of the Sorcerer King, he still hasn't moved." (Raymond)
A collective sigh of relief went out from everybody except Raymond and Ivon. It was nearly the same news as they had heard each week, but continuing to hear that the Sorcerer King himself was continuing to rest at E-Rantel was a comfort in itself, no matter how powerful the army might be.
"So he truly is exhausted and still recovering from all the magic he used in the Holy Kingdom… getting information out of the paladins was worth the risk." (Ginedine)
The old cardinal summarized the conclusion they had reached after carefully contacting some of the surviving paladins from the Holy Kingdom. In exchange for a considerable amount of monetary aid, they were able to hear enough stories about the Sorcerer King to hear that particular tidbit, the weakness which had resulted in him retreating from the first fight with Jaldabaoth.
"If not for that Momon, we could have taken the chance to control him with the Supreme Treasure… why has he not taken the chance to stab the monster in the back himself?" (Dominic)
Cardinal Dominic made his frustration known. Not only had the person who had been meant to protect the people of E-Rantel failed to turn against the Sorcerer King in his moment of weakness, but they had instead gotten closer. It had gotten to the point where Momon leading the army against them had been a serious possibility, but they had been spared from that as well.
"If he tried and failed, it might well mean the death of every single human being in the city. Anybody who could fight with that weight on their shoulders would already be inhuman." (Berenice)
They could understand his reasons, but knowing didn't change the fact that the more time went on, the closer the situation approached to the worst possible case, that is to say a full alliance between Momon and the Sorcerer King.
Between the mysterious explosion which killed the Miko Princess, the annihilation of the Sunlight Scripture, the loss of the Crown of Wisdom and its still-missing thief, and the untimely deaths of three members of the Black Scripture against the vampire, the Theocracy's elite forces were irrecoverably crippled, and with the worst possible timing. The best plan they had required finishing the war against the Elves, then quietly recovering for a decade, but that door had quickly been shut when the Empire and Kingdom capitulated in short order.
"… If we do nothing, we will certainly be crushed, yet there's no guarantee that we have the means to resist on our own… how many men have we gathered thus far?" (Raymond)
"Eighty thousand, spread throughout the cities. This is the limit of what I can do without making it obvious that a war is on the horizon. Once the day comes, I can add another sixty thousand within a week. My worry is, all but perhaps one thousand would be no more effective than children in front of Death Knights. On paper, we outnumber them ten-to-one, but I can't see this as anything but hopeless without the God-kin taking part." (Marshall)
For the first time, the Grand Marshall spoke up, but the well-trained semi-professional army they could raise would inevitably become mere cannon fodder. Recruiting as many as he had had been a herculean task, but in the end those numbers just made him feel hopeless.
"Even without them coming for us, the people are crying for war. At least we could avoid a border with the Republic, but that excuse is impossible with the Sorcerous Kingdom. The more time passes, the more they cry for us to save the people of E-Rantel and the Kingdom. At times like this, I envy the Emperor, who could make it through just by bowing down and begging for mercy… if we tried that, it would just mean that our replacements declare war a year later." (Maximilian)
Another collective sigh spread through the room, except this one was a sign of disappointment. Surrender had been seriously proposed more than once, but in practice it was impossible on more than one level. Not only would it require trusting undead to rule over them peacefully, but the very citizens they were sworn to protect would revolt against them for trying to do their jobs.
"Searching for the other Dragon Lords was a hopeless endeavor, while the Platinum Dragon Lord thinks both sides his enemies and would happily watch as we destroy each other…" (Ivon)
"The retired Black Scripture are a solid addition, but they can neither compare to the active members, nor do we even have the equipment to field them at peak strength…" (Dominic)
There had been hope in several such plans a few months ago, but once actually put into action, the results ranged from dubious success to outright failure. The sole saving grace was that the Elves were falling back to their capital, no longer in possession of the manpower to continue their guerilla attacks. Were the Theocracy to pull back now, there was little chance for pursuit, so a two-front war could be avoided.
"Where do we go from here? If we could at least get the time to-" (Raymond)
A heavy knock came from the large silver door.
"Report." (Raymond)
Raymond wasted no time asking for information. Only a couple people would come knocking here, and somebody who chose to interrupt this meeting would undoubtedly have a vital reason for doing so.
The heavy door smoothly slid open, revealing a young, androgynous man. All eyes turned towards him, as well as the armor he was wearing. It was surprising enough for him to come personally deliver news, but more surprising still for him to do so after having prepared for combat.
He, the first seat and captain of the Black Scripture was arguably even busier than the cardinals themselves, especially now when he was training the replacement members.
"There is a matter requiring your immediate attention. A demon claiming to be from the Sorcerous Kingdom has arrived at the front of the Cathedral Tower. She has requested a meeting with each of you, by name." (First Seat)
The room quickly broke into a commotion. It was impossible for these twelve members to be named, with this timing, by coincidence.
"Is it in the waiting room now? How should we best handle it?" (Ivon)
"No. According to what I was able to get out of the bishop who she spoke to, she refused, saying, 'It's such a nice day, and this looked like such a beautiful city, so I will do some sightseeing while I have the chance.'" (First Seat)
Those who understood the situation immediately paled. Several tried to speak, but Dominic was the first to get clear words out.
"Are you saying that demon is currently parading through the streets of our Holy City?" (Dominic)
"I have not confirmed, but that is what her words imply." (First Seat)
"Find her immediately! No matter what happens, do not allow her to provoke an attack!" (Raymond)
Raymond shouted orders. Nominally the role should have fallen to the Pontifex Maximus, but nobody objected to Raymond's words. Despite his young age, he was the near-unanimous favorite to succeed the post, so the aging pope let him take over to gain experience and legitimacy.
Following that command, the first seat rushed out of the room.
"Dammit! This is too soon. Prepare the public conference on the third floor, we must at least earn a few more weeks, no matter what it takes." (Raymond)
Tanya sat back on a park bench, perfectly still. With her eyes closed and metallic tail pinned behind her back, she appeared to be a somewhat pale-skinned foreign girl. Only a short distance away, a trio of children were playing with the elementary magic one of them had been taught, making use of it to construct a crude model of the city by molding the earth into shape.
At one point they tried bringing her over to join in the game, but quickly gave up when she didn't respond. She was asleep, and most likely couldn't use magic, or wouldn't be interested in what they were doing.
They lost interest in simply building, then started alternatively building up the tower and kicking it down, merrily enjoying the day.
It was a peaceful scene, a veritable powder keg as far as the soldiers riding through the city were concerned. As they only had a vague physical description to work off, the lack of the commotion they were expecting to hear conversely made it harder to find her.
"The entrance is on the second floor. There should be a group exiting through it now." (Tanya)
Tanya silently relayed her observation of the tower through a [Message].
"Understood. We have sighted the group, and will pass behind them as soon as the last exits." (Hanzo)
The squad leader Hanzo responded in kind.
"There is some barrier blocking me from observing the underground floors, in a missing volume of fifty meters. If they are the same height as the tower's floors, expect three basement floors. Proceed with extreme caution." (Tanya)
No reply came, as the Hanzo she was communicating with passed below the ground level at around the same time.
Ironically, the barriers designed to obfuscate the secret floors created an obvious missing space which all but guaranteed that there was something hidden underneath the tower. Entering an unknown space was always a risk, but everything they had known thus far pointed them to expect that nothing here could both detect and kill the Hanzos, whose levels were in the 80s.
They were likely capable of killing everything in their path, but as they were the few monsters available to her of the 'too expensive to lose' category, there was no need to take the risk. They were ordered to retreat with the intelligence they gathered at any sign of real danger.
In all likelihood, they would do their job without issue. Her concern was the meeting to come. Coming to any agreement was extremely unlikely, but it was worth trying to avoid the war, in the event they were actually willing to unconditionally surrender from the start.
Ideally they would try bringing out the World-Class item right now, at which point she could just kill everybody in the room and seize it, making her job to come much easier. But, reality was unlikely to work out so easily.
She turned her attention to the young man approaching her. Given how much of her mana she was currently allowing to leak, being found was only a matter of time, though the soldiers riding past evidently couldn't detect it.
Surprisingly, he appeared to barely be halfway through his teens below the fake face he wore, though powerful youths were hardly a rarity in this world.
More importantly, he was powerful. He was the first human she had seen who she would not have been able to overpower with raw physical strength alone, and although his equipment seemed weaker than hers, it was a remarkably close comparison.
Though she wasn't making any effort to hide her presence, simply being able to recognize her as abnormal was worthy of praise. She bumped her analysis of him up by a notch.
There was no question that this was the first of the powerful individuals identified by the Hanzos, the so-called god-kin.
"Excuse me. Are you the envoy sent by the Sorcerous Kingdom?"
"Well spotted. And you are?" (Tanya)
"The Cardinals are prepared to see you. Please follow me to the Cathedral Tower."
Predictably, those words drew attention from the surroundings. By appearing here, his identity as a member of one of the secret Six Scriptures was effectively blown, but maintaining that cover had long since ceased to be a priority for them.
Tanya slowly opened her eyes, looking at the man with a gentle smile. At the same time, she stood off the bench and let the tail stretch out behind her. Gasps of terror echoed around them, with children and adults alike hastily retreating at the sight.
"Of course, after you." (Tanya)
The room which Tanya was led into next was already filled with the high-ranked executives she had named; surprisingly, not just one or two, but all twelve of them together, thirteen counting the one who had led her in. He exchanged no words with the others, but continued to stand by the door behind her, spear at his side.
From his position, he could try blocking the door, were he ordered to do so. On the other hand, standing opposite the others meant he would be unable to act as a guard, should the need arise. Most likely, at least a few of the twelve were confident enough in their martial ability to not require a guard, at least not under normal circumstances.
In her eyes, the twelve together didn't add up to the one behind her. With that being said, her purpose here was not to fight.
At first, the exchange was that of simple pleasantries. Starting from the most formally dressed old man in the center – the Pontifex Maximus – each of them gave a painstakingly slow introduction. Going down the ranks, they spent the better part of a minute per person listing titles and territories.
She didn't particularly mind stalling for time since she was still trying to create a distraction for the Hanzos, but found it difficult to understand why they would choose to do the same, being the organizers.
As she watched, the cardinals repeatedly exchanged glances with each other. For the most part, they were looking at neither the current speaker nor herself, instead collectively focusing their attention on one of the other cardinals at a time.
They were listening, only not to the speaker.
Getting an idea, Tanya began to spread her perception throughout the room. The mass of intertwining enchantments and barriers around the tower added some difficulty to the task, but she was nonetheless able to filter those out and locate the ones she had expected to find.
From there, she started digging into the web of magic spread throughout. It might have been a form she had not seen before, but there were enough similarities to the spells she did learn to work off of.
By largely ignoring the superfluous introductions in favor of concentrating on decoding the magic, she was able to figure out the rest in only a few minutes.
Upon tapping into the web, an older woman's voice started flowing directly into Tanya's head.
"-ger confirmed from her description. Without a doubt, she's the same one."
At the same time, each of the men momentarily glanced at the sole woman sitting to the right of the Pontifex.
Tanya resisted the urge to break into a malicious smile.
So magic for this exists, after all. Unencrypted communication is dangerous, you know. Never know when somebody might intercept your strategic discussion.
She began listening in on the hidden discussion between the cardinals.
"The general was sent to personally negotiate with us, are they dangling her as bait trying to get us to start the war?" (Maximilian)
"It could be a double with the same appearance. The aura of a common low-ranked demon is more fear-inducing than this." (Dominic)
"Wait, Dominic, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Remember the battle in the Kingdom's capital? There's no chance somebody who can win against Jaldabaoth, weakened or not, could possibly be a common demon. It's safer to start with the assumption that the two are equal." (Ivon)
"Ridiculous. If the Sorcerer King had minions who could fight evenly with the Jaldabaoth, he would never risk going to the Holy Kingdom himself. Besides, why would something that powerful choose to serve another? At worst, we assume it's one of those 'maid demons' the paladins spoke of, ranked 150 by the adventurers' system, which was able to ambush the Demon Emperor with the Sorcerer King's direction." (Dominic)
"If that's true, half the Black Scripture could deal with her, provided we can get her away from the swarm of Death Knights and Soul Eaters. She's here as bait precisely because taking the first strike here is so tempting." (Raymond)
"We cannot. The Undead would not bother with tedious diplomacy without reason, simply invade with the forces they already possess. Perhaps us being the aggressor is one condition for sending Momon against us, or a ploy to turn the Holy Kingdom into our enemies. Frustrating as it may be, we must give them the initiative." (Ginedine)
"Agreed. Even if we could win the first battle, it's all for naught if we sacrifice the war to do so. At very least, how much time does the Black Scripture need to recover?" (Raymond)
For the first time, a question was directed to somebody outside the cardinals. Most likely having already expected this question, the captain answered without delay.
"Two more months for Cedran and Beaumarchais to recover from resurrection, six for the new members. As for Kaire-sama's replacement, she is currently capable of making use of the Supreme Treasure, but only for establishing temporary control; its full power is beyond her." (First Seat)
"Then at very least, we are not without cards. Still, even surviving such a war, the destruction would cost us centuries of progress. If there is still a chance to avoid it, we should sacrifice what we must." (Raymond)
Confirmation, at long last. Unfortunately, the introductions ended there, and with them the flow of information from the secret discussion likewise went quiet.
Raymond raised one hand, and with the room silent, started speaking.
"Now then, should we proceed to business? What is it that you came here to do?" (Raymond)
Tanya shrugged.
"There's no need to be so tense, Raymond. I do have a bit of business for later, but can't we start with a chat about politics?" (Tanya)
Nobody said anything in response, but confusion echoed through the telepathy. She wanted to commend their ability to maintain a straight face, as expected of lifetime politicians.
"See, I've taken some time to read up on the history of this country." (Tanya)
She pulled out a pair of tomes, sliding them across the table.
"Wha-" (Maximilian)
The books stopped directly in front of Maximilian, whose astonishment leaked. He was predictably surprised, seeing as they had been 'borrowed' from his private collection.
"What are those books?" (Raymond)
"I put this away just last week, when- no, the textbook is one thing, but that notebook was hidden away, even I haven't gotten far in translating it, just how-" (Maximilian)
In contrast to Raymond's calm question, Maximilian was letting his thoughts leak to the others, all while darting his eyes between Tanya and the books.
"The diary in particular was interesting. At first I thought this disorganization was a result of six people with no experience in governance creating a country, but they were more grounded than expected. It's you, or rather your ancestors, who strayed from the proper system to get to today." (Tanya)
"You dare call-" (Dominic)
"Dominic, please wait. She is trying to provoke us, be careful." (Raymond)
The old cardinal started leaking hostility at the implied insult towards the Six Gods, but he was stopped by Raymond, who privately added a second warning.
"Maximilian, what's in that diary?" (Raymond)
"One of the notebooks of the God of Light, nearly all untranslatable. It must be a bluff." (Maximilian)
"You have six sects and three branches of government so clearly separated in the legal code, yet you seem to have completely missed the point behind the separation of power. The constitution they originally wrote was fine, until it was rewritten by generation after generation of cardinals, becaming what it is today, having lost half the meaning behind universal rights… then there's the public representation which somehow became an assembly of priests, then just bishops writing up laws… the judiciary becoming restricted to priests… compared to the government they were trying to imitate, it really is disappointing to see what you let it turn into once there was nobody who understood it left to direct you." (Tanya)
"What are you implying?" (Maximilian)
"I'm sure you've already realized it; six people who never planned for their own deaths left gaps, six gaps which you filled with six sects and six cardinals, whose powers and responsibilities are ambiguous but nonetheless above the three branches, as they were when they lived. Simply put, the system would have worked had you not turned it into a theocracy after they were killed off." (Tanya)
"After the defeat of the Six Great Gods at the hands of the Eight Greed Kings, the sects were expanded to fill the vacancy, but the government did not fundamentally change as a result." (Maximilian)
At this point, the discussion shifted into Maximilian's specialty as an active historian and former member of the judiciary, so he began to dominate the debate.
"Our Slane Theocracy is and always was a theocracy." (Maximilian)
"There's a clear difference between the two. They tried to direct you, but the position was never intended to be permanent. To begin with, half of them didn't even like being seen as gods, they made that very clear in the writings they left behind. At least, they tried to, but either that was lost to time and language barriers, or at some point those in power decided the legitimacy of their position was too important to risk." (Tanya)
She paused with that accusation, but continued before Maximilian could respond.
"That's how we come to you, the hypocrites who protect humanity by slaughtering villages of our innocent citizens." (Tanya)
With those words, the cardinals in the room froze. Not purely by their own volition, but rather by the wave of bloodlust being sent in their direction by the small demon. Several broke out in cold sweat, while the man behind her began to ready his spear.
"The region near E-Rantel is, and always was the domain of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. How does the Slane Theocracy intend to atone for this blatant, unprovoked belligerence?" (Tanya)
"… what are your demands?" (Raymond)
Raymond got the question out. Per their plans, as long as they were reasonable, the concessions they were willing to make were considerable.
"The complete and permanent dissolution of the church, to be replaced by secular authority from the Sorcerous Kingdom; disarmament of all military forces, public, private, and secret; unconditional investigative and judicial authority for the Sorcerous Kingdom to find all responsible, and see justice done." (Tanya)
"From the start, they never intended to negotiate." (Ginedine)
The elder voiced the thought each of them had immediately upon hearing her demands. Even one of those would be an oppressive requirement to enforce on a vassal, but all together they would completely strip the Slane Theocracy of any sovereignty it might have.
"Impossible." (Pontifex)
"I see. I came seeking a peaceful resolution, but evidently you have no interest in reconciliation. How truly unfortunate." (Tanya)
She stood, speaking with a truly devastated-looking expression as she scanned the room.
"In the name of His Majesty, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerous Kingdom of Nazarick, the Baharuth Empire, and the Re-Estize Kingdom hereby declare war against the Slane Theocracy." (Tanya)
The Captain leapt into action, aiming for the first strike. He himself was well aware that attacking an opponent's defenseless back was a despicable act, but it was no time for honor.
"Magic Seal-" (Tanya)
Only a moment before his spear struck his target, she muttered those words without turning to face him.
Three large orange circles appeared in front of her, arranged as a triangle, with each facing a different direction.
Recognizing the danger, he aborted his attack, turning to jump between her and the cardinals.
Whether it was skill or intuition, pulling back before she said the word 'release' made her abort her own attack. Indeed, three maximized [Explosion] might not quite have been fatal for him, but it was far too more than he could defend against in that instant.
In other words, everybody else in the room had already become a hostage to be used against him.
"As a diplomat, I didn't intend to personally begin hostilities, but I may be forced to retaliate if attacked." (Tanya)
She began calmly walking towards the door. Without being interrupted, she left the tower.
The tension in the room did not calm until several minutes later. When the captain finally lowered his spear, Raymond asked him a question, which carried a hint of depression.
"Can you win against that?" (Raymond)
"I cannot for certain say… but alone, I think not. In the worst case, that magic might have incapacitated me on the spot. But… something of that degree could not defeat 'Certain Death', that I can assure you." (First Seat)
Part 3
Tanya returned to her base to find the Hanzo squad leader who had already arrived and was waiting for her return. She addressed the kneeling Hanzo.
"I noticed you retreated shortly after entering the underground section, what did you find in there?" (Tanya)
"My apologies, Tanya-sama, but you have been recalled. Please proceed to Nazarick immediately." (Hanzo)
"Hm? What's this all of a sudden? Now is not a good time, I need to organize the army to begin marching. Can't this wait?" (Tanya)
The Hanzo hesitated momentarily, then repeated the request.
"… Please proceed immediately. We have been tasked with summoning you, using force if absolutely necessary. We ask you not to make us resort to such means." (Hanzo)
She raised an eyebrow at the threat. True to his words, the rest of the squad was standing by in the next room, fully prepared to arrest her were she to resist. Escape wouldn't exactly be difficult since they had no means to prevent teleportation, but doing so now would cause more problems than it was worth.
"Alright, then. Who am I reporting to?" (Tanya)
"Demiurge-sama is awaiting you at the supply depot in the great forest. We will escort you to the location." (Hanzo)
"No need, let's go now." (Tanya)
They had their own teleportation arranged for the group, but for her, it was faster to do so herself. Grabbing the Hanzo, one quick [Greater Teleportation] placed them just outside the door to the central mausoleum of the fake Nazarick.
"Excuse me." (Tanya)
"Enter." (Cocytus)
When Tanya knocked on the outer gate, the answer came not Demiurge's, but instead from Cocytus's rigid voice.
The wooden door was pulled open, and she was directed to enter by Cocytus. She entered, followed by the Hanzo she had brought along, and he closed the door, following behind them.
For every few short steps she took forward, his immense mass thundered once behind her. Like a rhythmic drumbeat pressing her forward, his footfalls echoed behind her as she neared the center.
A minute later, she turned the corner and passed into the room. Her attention was drawn to the center of the room, where a small throne assembled out of bones and skulls stood empty. Demiurge quietly stood just behind it, flanked at one side by Mare, while Cocytus took his place at the opposite end. Lastly, the Hanzo passed forward, kneeling at Demiurge's side.
Tanya stood at the center of this formation, surrounded by a Floor Guardian at each side; altogether, a frightening amount of force had been assembled here.
Without minding the implied threat, she faced Demiurge and spoke.
"Per your summons, I have arrived. What do you require of me in this busy time?" (Tanya)
"Very well. Urgent as you may call this situation, I don't expect anything will change for your friends with just a few days, and neither will those days significantly affect the preparedness of our enemies. I believe with that with that, we have skipped the excuses, so shall we proceed to the main point?" (Demiurge)
True to his claim, those few words were in effect an abridged version of where their conversation would have proceeded in the following minutes. Since those topics had just been addressed in a matter of seconds, the next would unavoidably be his main goal, which – based on her surroundings – would not be praise.
"… Of course, please proceed." (Tanya)
Those few seconds were enough for Demiurge to seize away any initiative she might otherwise have held.
"Your actions have far overstepped the limits of the authority lended to your position." (Demiurge)
"I do not recall any restrictions on the means to complete the mission being given?" (Tanya)
Demiurge gave a relaxed shrug with a wry smile, as if disappointed by having to explain something so obvious to a stupid child.
"Any Guardian who takes independent action outside Nazarick must be accompanied by at least five servants, each with a level of 75 at minimum." (Demiurge)
"Yes, so what?" (Tanya)
She had indeed heard a similar explanation once before, but that a restriction should have nothing to do with her.
"Although we are unlikely to encounter anything strong enough to threaten us, there are always unexpected circumstances such as those who ambushed Shalltear. Dying would be one thing, but being captured or controlled to leak the information you have about Nazarick is unacceptable. The Hanzos were lent to you for a reason, and in case it wasn't clear, their purpose was not for you to endanger everything by taking worthless risks!" (Demiurge)
"Is that all? What, with this reception I thought you would have something actionable." (Tanya)
In response to his rage, she made a show of relaxing. Behind his glasses, Demiurge's gemstone eyes twitched once at the mockery.
The heavy clang of metal against stone rang from the side. Cocytus had struck the ground with his halberd, leaving a small ring of frost where the weapon landed.
"We. Are. Servants. Of. The. Same. Master." (Cocytus)
After a few seconds, Tanya bowed slighlty.
"… Excuse me." (Tanya)
"You believe the gains to have outweighed the risks?" (Demiurge)
"Yes. By intercepting a discussion they believed to be private, I was able to confirm the possession of an item with domination abilities. Furthermore, the previous wielder was recently replaced, having been killed. The circumstances line up perfectly, they are the ones responsible for brainwashing Shalltear-sama." (Tanya)
The redirection was a success.
"Can we start killing them all now?" (Mare)
"Not yet, Mare. As much as I would love to go skin them myself, Ainz-sama has made his will clear, and we wouldn't dare to steal his prey." (Demiurge)
"So, we don't touch them, but level the city to send a message?" (Mare)
"Please wait, Mare-sama. Taking such rash actions would drive the culprits to flee, which would obstruct Ainz-sama's objective. If you wish, I will call to request your aid once it is required." (Tanya)
"Ah, yes, let's do that then." (Mare)
Weapon of mass destruction secured.
Mare's area-of-effect magic was comparable to Ainz's own. For all intents and purposes, any force he faced off against would face certain annihilation. Taking his harmless outward appearance into account, he became the perfect trump card for reversing the situation against an entire army.
Of course, they would be on guard once he was revealed, but that single use against an unprepared army would be devastating. Trekking through snow and deserts was difficult enough, but she didn't want to imagine having to lead a division through an area under the control of an arch-druid of his caliber, in which the entirety of nature had literally turned hostile to her.
No amount of preparation could break through that defense. Perhaps with access to heavy artillery and an unlimited supply of ammunition, she could saturate it with enough shells to erase everything that moves, but not even that would guarantee that the air and earth wouldn't suddenly turn toxic or rise to consume any passerby.
Winter in the Federation couldn't possibly compare to that nightmare.
Her attention returned to Demiurge.
"Is this sufficient, Demiurge-sama? May I return to my work now?" (Tanya)
"For the time being. I will relay this news to Ainz-sama personally. We will see to creating a fitting execution for the criminals; continue your work to lure them out. You may continue using the Hanzos as before." (Demiurge)
"Thank you very much. On the topic, Hanzo, you never finished your report, what did you find in the basement underneath that tower?" (Tanya)
"Our apologies for the delay. We were able to scout the first basement floor, which contained a number of document stores, conference rooms, and official residences. We examined several of the current documents, and delivered copies to both yourself and Demiurge-sama. Unfortunately, we were unable to proceed beyond the floor, as we encountered an individual we were not confident in passing undetected. Per your orders, we retreated." (Hanzo)
"Somebody you couldn't sneak past?" (Tanya)
Fitting for their levels, Hanzos had a range of ninja-class skills and magic to support their stealth. Passive and permanent [Perfect Invisibility], second only to [Perfect Unknowable], which they could also cast. Numerous short-range teleportation and escape skills such as hiding and traveling through shadows. There were a few astral-type monsters which were better still, but were a Hanzo serious about hiding, over half the Floor Guardians would be unable to reliably detect them.
"That's quite something. How were they able to escape detection up until now?" (Tanya)
"The target is a half-human, half-elf female, classes assumed to be mostly pure warrior, level estimated at 70 to 80. Equipment is an even mix of legendary-class and divine-class, details unknown. We believe that rather than evading recognition, the target has never left the basement, and as such was never identified up until now." (Hanzo)
Tanya, together with all three Guardians who had just listened to the report, were exceedingly surprised by the details.
"Perhaps I was underestimating their threat after all…" (Tanya)
"That level alone is quite something for this world's standards, but for them to have equipment superior to us Guardians, it certainly is beyond our expectations. It should be equipment passed down from the ones they call gods, and all but confirms their identity as former YGGDRASIL players. If you were to fight somebody like that, Cocytus…" (Demiurge)
"Easily. Done. One. Who. Simply. Inherits. Weapons. Not. Prepared. Specifically. For. Them. By. Their. Creator. Cannot. Hope. To. Achieve. True. Mastery." (Cocytus)
His tone betrayed a sliver of excitement at the possibility of facing a worthy opponent. True to his design, he was a warrior through and through.
"Let's go report this then?" (Mare)
"Yes, our priority is informing Ainz-sama of everything we have learned here. He may have already predicted this outcome, but it is nonetheless our responsibility to confirm his conclusions." (Demiurge)
"… Ah, right, I'll leave that to you. If possible, could I request some reinforcements who can imitate a human form? The enemy is a warrior, so I would like some front-liners to stand in my place." (Tanya)
"I will deliver your request alongside our report. Dismissed." (Demiurge)
Part 4
Two days later, the army of 12,000 was arrayed opposite a large, heavily fortified city.
Unlike the fortress city of E-Rantel, which had been layered with fortifications over the last century to stand against foreign invasions, this city of Terrerence – sharing the name of the God of Earth – had been reconstructed from a normal city into a stronghold in only a year, approximately 300 years ago, in response to threats by a now-destroyed coalition of nations to the north.
The city originally stood on a relatively flat plain, but in that year, the very earth upon which it was built was raised by several meters until it had been terraformed into a small hill. The work required to accomplish such a project would be unimaginable in any other country, but the collaboration of two individuals with appropriate Talents had sped the work by leaps and bounds – or so the story goes.
As a city, it was not quite as large as E-Rantel, but its colossal walls and towers were truly majestic. Just beyond those walls, a there was a moat with the scale of an artificial major river, and beyond that still: nothing. Trees which might serve as materials for siege engines had been cleared, grasses tall enough to conceal intruders were cut or burned, without a single farm, ranch, or granary which a besieging force could use to feed themselves.
If there was one problem with the current fortifications, it was that they were fundamentally designed with human or demihuman opponents in mind. Outlasting a besieging army comprised of undead or demons who didn't need to eat was a futile effort, and while sixty-meter walls would be nigh impenetrable against even giants, there existed countless monsters and heteromorphic beings who could fly, climb, or even seep through gaps in the portcullis.
Of course, in theory such monsters would not gather in large enough numbers to breach the defenses, but that assertion ironically came only a few decades prior to the invasion of the Demon Gods.
Thankfully, though far from a perfect victory, the city's defenses were sufficient to hold out until reinforcements could arrive, and the attacking Demon God was slain.
Morale among the men manning the walls was high. This was the first bastion of humanity against the monsters invading from the north, and they had received reserve soldiers in large numbers, including elites from the capital.
Those elites did not share the same sentiment. Two men watched from the turret of one corner tower. The older of the two looked to be at least fifty, and he held a primitive bronze telescope. After a short time, he sighed and handed it off to his partner, who similarly brought it to his eye and used it to look off into the distance. His response was identical, a depressed sigh.
"We're here as sacrifices, aren't we…"
"I'm not seeing anything which can break down these walls, at least. Lizardmen, goblins, skeletons… undead knights? They're definitely powerful, but don't seem the type to climb, maybe we can hold out after all?"
"That would be nice… the human hippogriff knights look to be the only flyers, so unless they can get behind us to open the gates, they can't get in. Although, there's no chance we can ride out and drive them away, numerical advantage or not, so we're stuck here. With the enlarged garrison, we've got a month of food and water at best."
"So it comes down to reinforcements, help our men don't need to know isn't coming. 'Delay them to the end', they said. We must buy at least a few more days for the capital."
The older man was resolute in his determination, while the younger was more cynical. He was prepared to die here, but accepting such a direct order to die hopelessly was difficult.
"Just like with the Evil Gods, the heroes will save the day once the entire population is already being digested by monsters. Now, that's our position."
"Stop it. Those people out there, they need their legends to fight today."
"You're right, I understand. It's just…"
"Enough. Leave the conversation here, we should get back to the preparations, let the men see us at work."
The two were members of the Earthwall Scripture, one a veteran and the other a newly-promoted member. Unlike the rest of the Six Scriptures, theirs was not secret in that their identities were publicly known. In fact, they were regularly promoted: whenever the Black Scripture destroyed a powerful monster, or the Windflower Scripture captured an infamous criminal, it would be these 'heroes' who would parade through the street to receive the credit.
The benefits were twofold: The secret Scriptures would have their involvement concealed, and the people would get their heroes. To the soldiers garrisoning the walls of this citadel, having two such masters at their backs was incredibly reassuring. The true abilities of these agents would hardly be relevant once the battle had already started.
"Hold on, sir, take another look, they're starting to move."
He passed the telescope back over to the older partner in a hurry.
"They're advancing? Without siege weapons? What are they doing?"
With a flash, a blast ran across an entire face of the walls.
That was the last thing these two members of the Earthwall Scripture saw as the tower they were standing on moments ago collapsed, and they fell for a hundred meters towards the ground below.
Two hours earlier.
Roughly twenty people were gathered in a hastily assembled command tent. While the majority of the soldiers was still in the process of steadily gathering into ranks, they had arrived at the head of the army, took one look at the fortress before them, and promptly had this tent set up for a meeting.
"So, how are you planning on assaulting that fortress?" (Tanya)
She didn't get a response. Over half the members assembled were only looking towards the ground, refusing to meet her eyes.
After several regular sessions of hellish training, they finally received a night of good rest. Come dawn, the entire camp had been awoken by Death Knights marching by the rows of tents, drumming on their shields. When they unsteadily assembled, they learned about the war with the Slane Theocracy, and were ordered to begin marching in only two hours.
A certain degree of protesting was understandable.
Although they might have suspected that this would be the case, having the situation actually turn so suddenly was a blow to morale. Of course, the men knew their duties, and to begin with, neither the Kingdom's soldiers nor Empire's knights ever actually had a choice to refuse.
Out of all the human forces, only Neia's volunteers were enthusiastically giving their support, but the support could not exceed what was realistically to accomplish.
"For us, it is most likely impossible. Not only are we outnumbered, but we lack the equipment to fill the moat or destroy the gate. At minimum, we would require an additional week to transport lumber for rams from the forests surrounding E-Rantel."
The man was a paladin from the Holy Kingdom, but having been captured shortly after the fall of the great wall, he spent much of the conflict in a prison camp, where his right arm was removed and disfigured to prevent ordinary healing magic from restoring it. Such was not an uncommon story, but his skill as a commander and dedication to the cause since its early days had earned him his place at Neia's side.
Neia herself was present as well, now equipped with the same gear as the time she had traveled as Ainz's temporary squire. Accompanying her was another woman who served as her assistant and manager, but as her knowledge of military affairs was limited, she only listened without joining in the discussion.
"Aside from small villages, it was His Majesty's magic which broke down the gates and let us liberate the larger cities. We once had the chance to infiltrate a city with CZ-senpai and the rebelling Zern, but the Theocracy would have no such traitors among their number." (Neia)
Tanya nodded.
"Certainly, there is that option, just using magic to level the city." (Tanya)
Several faces paled at the suggestion she muttered. Evidently, nobody doubted that she could do it, only a question of whether she would.
"An indiscriminate killing would prevent the master from negotiating peace with the human country later. Please reconsider such measures." (Goblin Strategist)
It was Enri's Goblin Strategist who spoke in defense for the people of the city.
Historically, air raids against civilian centers could just as easily unite the country against foreign invaders, rather than breaking their will to resist. Even in her own war, a simple harassment of Moskva had gotten her censured, if only as a formality to appease their diplomatic corps – even though negotiating with the communists would never have been possible to begin with.
"Unfortunately, we do not have time for a siege. Think of it as a worst-case solution. However, were the walls to be removed, would the situation change?" (Tanya)
The old paladin thought for a moment before replying with an explanation.
"Our defensive tactics are very similar to the Theocracy. As we approach the wall, they will send large numbers of summoned angels, either for direct attacks or to drop firebombs on our men. In either case, they could not stop the likes of Death Knights, but our casualties during the charge would be severe." (Paladin)
"We can just shoot those things down before they reach you."
The representative of the lizardmen was smaller than most, the former chief of their 'Small Fang' tribe who had since become the head hunter of the combined tribe, named Suukyu Juju. As he said, the hunters he led had become proficient in using their new weapons.
Let alone third-tier angel summons like the Archangel Flame, even fifth-tier summons didn't last long against their barrage. As demonstrated in a mock battle against the few summoners from the Empire and Holy Kingdom, the result was utterly one-sided.
"Hah, their monsters fly towards you in straight lines, hitting them is even simpler than regular hunting. Just charge ahead and we won't let them reach you." (Suukyu)
Seeing the doubt in the eyes of the paladin who normally relied on the strategy of summons, Suukyu laughed and proudly boasted about the skill of his hunters.
All eyes turned back to the paladin, who sank back into thought.
"Without angels, I'm not sure how else they could respond. They would be down to arrows and fireballs, but with His Majesty's undead with their shields as the vanguard, the men behind them would be protected, and once it turns into a melee, the Theocracy's soldiers would break and rout." (Paladin)
The paladin had run out of ideas for what opposition they might expect. He had watched the Death Knights and Death Soldiers provided by Ainz take the role of practice opponents for other knights and paladins, almost never receiving a single scratch during their matches.
Only somebody at the level of an adamantite-ranked adventurer hope to stand against them; even if only a small crevice could be made in the wall, as soon as a single one of the undead made it through, any defenders on the opposite side would quickly fall into chaos.
"Does anybody have any further issues with these tactics? If you have any concerns, speak up, raising objections will not be punished." (Tanya)
Nobody spoke. Unfortunately, even if Tanya offered the chance, few would dare to oppose her suggestions, flawed or not. The issue became even worse when the subordinates in question were of the fanatically loyal variety.
As the doctrines she followed throughout her career were written with a completely different army composition in mind, overlooking something obvious became increasingly worrisome, particularly when it came to missing some common sense specific to this world.
"Prepare your individual units to attack two hours from now. Our undead will lead the vanguard, followed by other heavy infantry and shield-bearers. Archer and crossbow units may close the distance as they see fit to screen the infantry against summoned monsters. Finally, aerial cavalry should take care with interception from angels, and provide support as they see fit." (Tanya)
She allowed another pause to listen for objections, but still heard none.
"We attack two hours from now, with my magic as the signal. Dismissed." (Tanya)
Tanya spent some time watching the entire army from above.
This had gradually grown into a habit, observing the army from the sky as they moved into formation. Unlike the dirty, shell-riddled trenches hiding soldiers of the last world, the knights ran around like shiny insects, making for a much more engaging subject.
Not having to avoid airburst shells from enemy artillery also helped, as did the invisibility magic.
Only five minutes remained now until two hours, and each regiment was in formation, hearing speeches from their respective commanders. At the very front, a squad comprised of a few dozen of the undead stood ahead of each, similarly ready to move, but of course there was no need for them to give motivational speeches.
There was inherently satisfying about watching the mass of people moving according to her orders.
Since the start was rapidly approaching, she descended towards the ground, landing gently without becoming visible.
"… What are you doing?"
"… Don't talk to me, I'm invisible." (Tanya)
At the place where she landed, Keeno was already waiting, similarly invisible.
"That half-assed invisibility? Trying to find somebody who can see through it?" (Keeno)
"…" (Tanya)
"See a tall man with a scar on his face? Leading a bunch of magic casters with flat hats covering their faces?" (Keeno)
"Acquaintance?" (Tanya)
"The scar was a parting gift from Lakyus." (Keeno)
"Nobody like that, the two in the closest tower are the only ones with half-decent equipment, but they're amateurs who couldn't notice me standing a few meters behind them." (Tanya)
"Really…? Shame, guess we'll be sitting this one out then." (Keeno)
Despite being well within range of archers on the wall, the casual conversation made their disdain obvious. If nobody could so much as see through ordinary [Invisibility], then they really were throwaways to buy time for the main army to fortify, likely inside the walls of the Holy City itself.
"Well, fine. It's time to start, so go back to playing cards." (Tanya)
"What are they going to do, throw toothpicks at me?" (Keeno)
"No, but I was about to take the first strike…" (Tanya)
Keeno hastily took several steps back and raised a wall in front of her. She cautiously peeked around the side.
Without minding her antics, Tanya leveled her rifle towards the base of the corner tower.
Glowing formulas appeared, spread, and quickly collapsed into two rings. Between these two, a bulb of light gradually increased in intensity. Seconds later, it reached a blinding intensity.
Then, she squeezed the trigger. The base of the tower exploded, throwing fragments of stone across the section of wall perpendicular to the one they were facing. Without stopping the attack, Tanya swept the beam across the wall which the army had spread parallel to, reaching the end of the wall and cutting down the other tower as well.
The entire wall, ramparts cut away from the earth, began collapsing into the moat below. Ramparts, defensive catapults, ballistae, and humans all collectively fell from the wall, breaking against the rocks below.
She had not breached a section of the wall with her attack, but rather entirely removed one side of the embankment, complete with the concentrated defenders preparing to face off with her army.
All was quiet while gravity worked, until tens of thousands of tons of debris reached the moat below. The thundering crash echoed across the plains, followed by a brief drizzle as the displaced water from the moat rained back down on them.
"Hm… the angle was mostly right to fill the moat without collateral damage, but I couldn't quite leave a path all the way up the hill… seven out of ten, I suppose? Oh, well." (Tanya)
Once the rumbling settled down, she criticized her own handiwork. Having failed to accurately adjust for the additional power, her aim had shifted slightly, and so the walls had not collapsed as projected.
"Did it get louder since last time?" (Keeno)
"It's a concentrated optical formula, boosted using the same theory as a simplified laser, with a pair of modified defensive shell as replacement mirrors to amplify the charge." (Tanya)
"… Right." (Keeno)
This took a lot of concentration to maintain while it charged, but since the magic power was redirected instead of forcibly compressed, an equivalent amount of power took less mana out of her.
Of course, Keeno had no knowledge of how the science behind lasers worked, even with that quick explanation.
"It's unusually quiet… they were supposed to charge with the signal, why aren't they moving? Ainz-sama gave the same order to the Empire's knights with his magic, but they just stood in place, is it a difference in culture?" (Tanya)
"No, that's probably not it…?" (Keeno)
"Ah, I haven't sent the order to the undead yet, that must be why." (Tanya)
She nodded with that revalation, then broadcast an order to each of the liches in command, using a modified message based in part on the spell she had seen the cardinals use.
"Charge."
Undead soldiers simultaneously raised their shields and began charging. Following after them, the rest scrambled forward.
With the strongest defenders arranged on the wall facing the enemy army having suddenly been disintegrated, the entire city rapidly fell into a panic.
Instead of a coordinated resistance by dozens of angels, only two flew towards the attackers. Archers and soldiers rushed in opposite directions, while priests ran straight into the front lines.
It turned into a rout within minutes.
That night, Terrerence fell.
"Didn't you originally say you couldn't fight to take the city like His Majesty?" (Neia)
"I didn't participate in the battle, I only opened a bit of a hole in the wall?" (Tanya)
"… That reasoning is correct." (CZ)
Part 5
When dawn broke, Tanya was in the former governor's mansion, having long since given up on getting any rest during the night.
Her personal involvement in the conquest was virtually nonexistent when excluding the first attack. Although she continued to act cautiously while expecting an ambush by some hidden reserves, no such attack came.
The single noteworthy action she took was razing the grand cathedral of the Earth God – which had become a final citadel for the remaining defenders – to the ground.
Was it necessary to do so? No, but the presence of enemy combatants gave her an excuse to do what might otherwise be considered a war crime, and so the religious center burned.
Even still, no hero came out to try saving the city. As far as she could tell, the Theocracy had truly been intent on abandoning the city and its defenders. In fact, based on the civilian population present in the border city, they had not even taken the time to evacuate its citizens, despite obviously preparing for an attack.
As a direct result, she had struggled less when it came to dealing with the 20,000 defenders compared to now figuring out a way to police the 300,000 ordinary citizens who lived in the city.
In a sense, the problem was already solved: with Death Knights patrolling the streets, civilians and soldiers alike barricaded themselves inside their homes, hiding from the avatars of death stomping around outside. However, these were the strongest fighting force available to her, and more than a few would need to be left behind, since even garrisoning all of them would leave them outnumbered one thousand-to-one. Furthermore, leaving the undead unattended without a controller raised the odds of them running amok and causing an incident.
That night, while the city was being pacified, she was occupied with justifying the need for additional reinforcements to Albedo and Demiurge, while simultaneously planning out her future actions and receiving reports from her own subordinates on the state of the city.
By the time the sun rose again in the early morning, she had long since worked beyond what resistance to the sleep status her equipment afforded, and wanted nothing more than to doze off for a few hours.
Alas, she was given no such mercy. A knock came from the door.
"Your Highness, this is Neia Baraja. May I enter?" (Neia)
"Even if you don't announce yourself, I know who you are. Come in." (Tanya)
The fatigue in her voice was audible even as she tried to conceal it.
Somehow, while she was busy with other matters in the early days after the army assembled, the titles associated with her had quickly spiraled out of control. Rumors started with misinformation by the goblins, who heard the story from their summoner and took it as fact, and quickly became the leading theory for how she got to her position. Add in her relationship with the Sorcerer King – close enough to be on a first-name basis, according to several sources – plus herself not thinking to deny the fact immediately, and it quickly became an established identity. By the time Tanya noticed that half the army was convinced that she was royalty, it was too late for her to disavow.
Even if she were to privately deny them, the rumors had gone too far to contain. With no other choice, she tentatively decided to just go along with it. Having that claim to legitimacy would help justify her actions, and more likely than not, the rumors would be harmless in the end.
Perhaps due to this understanding, Neia had taken it upon herself to interact personally whenever possible, whether to deliver reports, request information, or on occasion, just to talk about Ainz. Looking back on it now, the last of those options might actually have been the most common.
It wasn't entirely clear how she rationalized this with the story she had made up when they first met, but she seemed to have an unusually high tolerance for ignoring common sense whenever Ainz was involved in the explanation.
Regardless, the circumstances were convenient as well, as the girl was well-liked, followed orders, and had a natural talent for inciting a crowd. Although, constantly being compared against an idealized Ainz was a little uncomfortable.
"Since you're here in person, I take it the fighting is mostly over?" (Tanya)
"We have publicly declared our victory. In the announcement, we guaranteed the safety of all who surrender their weapons and remain inside their homes for the duration of the occupation… is this acceptable?" (Neia)
This was something she had gone ahead with before getting explicit permission to do so, but as far as Tanya was concerned, her judgment was correct. There was nothing to be gained by exterminating the surrendered militia except antipathy.
Neia's own heroic equipment advertised her rank, and the reputation of the 'Faceless One' had even spread internationally. Without a doubt, the promise was infinitely more believable coming from a fellow human, even a suspicious girl who covered her face with a visor.
"No, it's a perfect result. You've exceeded all expectations, well done." (Tanya)
"Thank you very much; I will relay those words to those responsible." (Neia)
"Do you have an accurate estimate of the casualties yet?" (Tanya)
"Yes. Thirty-five men were killed during the attack, with a further seventy-six heavily injured beyond our priests' ability to heal immediately." (Neia)
"And, the enemy's?" (Tanya)
"We do, although it is only a rough measurement. According to the Theocracy's plans, the number of defenders on the north wall numbered two thousand, all of whom were killed with your attack. Excluding them, six thousand were slain during the conquest of the city proper. Finally, approximately ten thousand remain in the city, having surrendered their arms and armor." (Neia)
"I see." (Tanya)
Neia brought news of an overwhelming victory,but Tanya's response was somber.
I killed two thousand people yesterday. Without resistance, using a single formula, all too easily. In only a few seconds, the amount of blood on my hands grew by an entire digit, and honestly, I doubt I would feel much even if I were to add another zero or two. Linking power with obligation is understandable when it comes to politics or leadership, but with literal strength, there's a point where you eclipse everybody capable of holding you to that responsibility. In both body and mind, I've passed beyond being human. The thought of that is scarier than anything else.
The soldiers of the Theocracy were her enemies. Everybody who stood behind the battlements in defense of the city, veteran or volunteer, hero or drafted militia, did so with the knowledge that they might die. Naturally, given the chance, they would kill her just as she had killed them.
Yet, there was an insurmountable gap between Tanya as she was now, and the men armed with pikes and longbows manning the wall. No, even if it were her as an Imperial aerial mage, they would have been no more threatening than children with sticks.
Were she so inclined, Tanya had the option of landing on the wall before spending the next several hours beating every single one of its defenders into submission with nothing but her fists, conquering the city without a single casualty on either side, and come out of it without a single injury.
She chose not to do so. This was a war, and she had neither the need nor the obligation to provide such an exaggerated mercy. They were hostile to her, and killing them was only reasonable. Unfortunately, when it came to humans, reason would often become secondary in the face of emotion.
To her, they were only unknown enemies, but to others, they were siblings, parents, friends, and lovers. No matter how hopeless the disparity in power, there would always be those who sought to kill her in the name of revenge.
As a result of her actions yesterday, the time when she could sleep without wearing armor was likely pushed back by several generations.
When Tanya came to this realization, she leaked a sigh.
"Is everything alright, Your Highness? Was your magic power exhausted from using that great magic attack?" (Neia)
"It's nothing to worry about, we can continue advancing at the current pace." (Tanya)
That variant optical formula had been the first time Neia – or most of the army – had actually seen her use magic for combat. Up until now, Tanya had limited herself to using simple utility magic, instead of anything more powerful or destructive. In that sense, being treated as a monster wouldn't be outside expectations, but Neia earnestly appeared to worry for her health instead.
The last time she heard those words, the Sorcerer King had drained his own magic saving them from the demihuman armies they couldn't defeat themselves. His mercy left him too weakened, and as a direct consequence, he was defeated by Jaldabaoth in their first battle.
The months that followed had been agonizing. She spent every waking day gathering the search party so they might find where Ainz had fallen even one day sooner. Before she knew it, her objective was no longer finding the one man who could save her country, but instead to save the Supreme Being who had opposed that Demon Emperor, the incarnation of justice whose mercy must become known to the entirety of the Holy Kingdom.
The magic Tanya had used was beautiful; only the blossoms of white flame cast by Ainz could be compared, the power exclusive to the mighty which erased everything in its path.
Such a power must surely come at a great cost. If a magic caster as powerful as the Sorcerer King could become exhausted from repeated battles, then surely this little demon had her limits as well. For the sake of her men, she had spent enough magic to leave herself in this languid state.
Even if His Majesty was infinitely generous, Neia would never forgive herself if one of his trusted servants were to die because of her inattention to their safety.
It might be a needless worry, but that was the least she could do to repay her debt, and to be useful to His Majesty.
"I have contacted the Sorcerous Kingdom to request an additional garrison of undead; they will be delivered later today. Pick a few hundred to stay behind as mediators, for the gentle side of policing the city. Prepare to depart for the Holy City tomorrow at dawn." (Tanya)
"Ah, you, you were planning on leaving immediately?" (Neia)
"Is there a problem? You said it yourself, the people won't come out as long as the Death Knights are patrolling the street. Rather than letting them get used to their presence and learn their movements, we should finish up quickly." (Tanya)
"But, we haven't met the Theocracy's main forces, who may be on the way to reinforce this city as we speak. Facing them with their own prided walls would be best." (Neia)
"The colleague I called for is among the best at this. Defense won't be a concern, no matter how many they throw at him; If anything, that would make our job easier." (Tanya)
"Even still… since you brought down the city so far ahead of schedule, because of that, wouldn't it be better to rest for a while?" (Neia)
"Ah…" (Tanya)
She'd evidently spent too long with 205th, to the point where it had distorted her standards for what to expect out of soldiers. They were the sort who would cry and complain when she ordered them to fight for 40 consecutive hours, but would still get the job done in the end.
Ordinary semi-professional soldiers would expect to rest for some time after a battle – though it wasn't the safest idea to let them sit idle for too long, lest the men try to do something unspeakable to the people of the city.
"… Very well, I'll arrange for an additional day. I'll overlook it if the alcohol rations don't add up in the next survey, but keep it within reason. I won't accept that excuse if the men violate any international laws during the night." (Tanya)
"Thank you very much!" (Neia)
Somewhere along the line, their respective understanding had shifted, but since the discussion reached a mutually satisfactory conclusion, neither took notice of the discrepancy.
Raymond slowly read the report given to him.
Then, he returned to the top, and started reading it again.
He continued to read the page repeatedly, without saying a word, his face a mixture of sorrow and disbelief.
"Sir?"
The messenger, worried by the level-headed Raymond wearing such an expression, called out to him.
"Just one day…? Terrerence, was supposed to delay them for at least two weeks, fell in a single day? Its walls cut down by a sword of light?" (Raymond)
The contents were ludicrous, but neither Raymond nor 'Thousand Mile Astrologer' would ever give a report in jest.
"How should we proceed?" (Messenger)
Raymond continued to stare at the page, deep in thought. The details written therein must contain a way out. He started mumbling to himself.
"The general brought down the north wall with a single attack, but then withdrew, letting the undead take the city itself… why… why not press the attack herself, or just target the defenders directly… unless, it could only be used that one time? The city was overrun without resistance, yet the army stopped to rest… can't fight after attacking once? If that's the case, then… if we are prepared to endure that damage… then we could… What is the current state of the Second Army?" (Raymond)
With the last question, Raymond raised his head; this was no longer his thinking, but a query for information.
Though the man's current role was that of a messenger, he was also an understudy of considerable rank within the Theocracy's elites. He needed no delay before answering.
"The Second Army and Holocaust Scripture have successfully withdrawn from the Elf Kingdom. As expected, the elves had no strength to pursue them. They merged with the returning Fourth Army, and are currently garrisoned southeast of the Holy City – 60,000 strong." (Messenger)
"Relay this report to the Grand Marshall, and give him this message: The Sorcerous Kingdom struck Terrerence mere hours after arriving, without even stopping to rest. For reasons unknown, they are in a hurry to finish this war, so their next action should be to march on the Holy City itself, leaving only a token garrison. Destroy as many of the roads connecting the two cities before they can use them. At the same time, have the armies circle around them and retake the city. If we can time this perfectly, we have just one chance to cut off their supplies and catch them between the rock and the hard place." (Raymond)
Part 6
The past few weeks had been a chaotic mess of frustration for Owen Conley Declan.
First, he received orders to withdraw the Holocaust Scripture he led from the outskirts of the Elven Capital. The decade-long war against the elves which he had been called in to end, after months of preparations and whittling down their strength, was now to be abandoned before he could launch a decisive strike to assassinate their king.
The command came to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but no matter how much he tried to protest, it was irreversible. Their new priority was to focus on the greater threat, the Sorcerous Kingdom who were preparing to invade the Theocracy.
Not long after the army settled down, the war officially began. This was within expectations, but only three days later, his orders were to retake the Fortress City of Terrerence.
Not to reinforce the city, but to reclaim it – the impregnable city had already fallen.
Owen shuddered when he thought about the monsters guarding the city for the undead king: Death Knights, the legendary undead who could threaten entire cities, numbering approximately one hundred.
The city had been assaulted and razed in a single day, before any evacuation could begin. In other words, it was likely that the Death Knights' ability to create Squire Zombies out of people they killed would be applied to every single one of the city's 200,000 citizens.
Even if they were only slightly stronger than ordinary zombies, the horde was immense. Their soldiers were stronger, but their fatigue would quickly build against the tireless undead. Without counting the Death Knights themselves, clashing against the squires would have devastating consequences.
No, fighting them in the field was not an option.
Thankfully, there was no need to do so. These were undead who existed only to kill living things, not human soldiers under the command of a capable general. They had none of the abilities required to use the city's defenses to their advantage; In fact, those walls would limit them, serving only to box them in.
With no archers, magic casters, or summoners manning those walls, they need only burn the city along with the host of undead, who would be trapped inside its walls.
Certainly, burning what had once been their own city was an unfortunate loss, but it was no doubt already a ruin ravaged by the undead. As for what were once the citizens of the city, it was their failure in not giving them ample time to escape, but there was no longer a choice except to aid their spirits in passing on.
On their way to the city, they fashioned catapults and trebuchets, pushing them forwards as they marched. Attacking Terrerence required one to bring siege weapons from far away, but with their numbers, the speed of their advance did not slow significantly.
All throughout this process, Owen remained in constant communication with headquarters in the Holy City, who themselves were carefully monitoring the enemy army.
Espionage was performed with a combination of information-gathering magic and direct physical observations, thereby minimizing the possibility of misinformation. Not even the most complex illusions could perfectly deceive both methods.
Communication was performed using [Message] magic, but this was done using several independent communications, each of which was verified using a password known only to the speaker and listener. Any disparity between the messages would discard the message; even if one of the messengers were to be captured, sending false orders was all but impossible.
These methods had been tried and tested for years against the elves, refined to the point of perfection. On top of that, the very same army of veterans who developed them was now putting them to use. For them, these techniques were practically second-nature.
And so, they were able to coordinate their movements flawlessly, reaching Terrerence only one day after the Sorcerous Kingdom's army had departed.
Owen, ever confident of his strength which could rank even among the members of the Black Scripture, rode at the head of his column. As the city finally came into view after several days, he could only gape at the unexpected sight.
"Why is there a forest here…" (Owen)
There weren't supposed to be trees in the vicinity of the city, since invaders could turn them into rams or other siege equipment, that was why they had brought their own from so far away. Yet there it was, a lush forest which blended with the scenery as if it had always been there.
"Am I seeing things, captain? The city's supposed to be surrounded in flatlands, right? Right?"
His men shared his disbelief as they observed what had become of the city. By all accounts, this shouldn't be possible, but there was no reasonable way to deny what they were all seeing.
Because of his experience, the inconsistency raised every possible alarm Owen could imagine.
"Men, proceed with the utmost caution! Assume that forest contains enemies on par with, if not superior to the elites of those elven bastards! Load the siege engines at the edge of our range, but do not carelessly enter the forest!" (Owen)
His booming orders resounded throughout the army, who had fallen silent at the alien sight before them. Nearby officers began scrambling around to spread those orders to the rest.
Confirming that the rest of his men were following behind him, he slowly began to lead the army towards the city.
The Holocaust Scripture were experts in guerilla warfare, equal if not superior to the elves who had resisted a superior army for years with those tactics. They counted a number of high-level rangers and druids among their members, and in most circumstances, a dense forest would be the perfect staging ground for them to show off their specialization.
Approaching armies would be misdirected to wander in circles, monsters lured to attack, soldiers led into traps, nobles and officers assassinated. During their regular missions, even demihuman forces with their own talented rangers would be encircled, entrapped, and overwhelmed with ease.
Despite that, the forest before them filled them with nothing but unease. Those gaps between trees which drew them in, seemingly wandering around to manipulate their perception of distance.
They continued to advance in a loose formation, slowly approaching the edge of the forest, where their own catapults should just barely be able to reach over the walls of the city.
How did they take the city so quickly, when all four walls and gates are still intact, anyway?
Owen idly thought this as they made their way towards the forest.
Suddenly, his shoulder was grabbed from behind. Reflexively, he turned, ready to draw his sword, but it was only his subordinate.
"What is it?" (Owen)
"Captain… how long have we been in the forest?"
"What? We're still approaching the…" (Owen)
He looked up over the shoulder of the man, at the trees behind him. He then spun around to the direction he was originally facing. Trees. All around, nothing but trees.
"When did we…" (Owen)
The sentence trailed off as he scanned the surroundings. Using his foot, he marked a line in the earth, indicating the direction they had been walking. Noting one distinctly large tree directly in front of that line, he slowly began looking around, trying to get a grasp of the environment around them.
Once he completed a full circle and again looked in the direction he had originally been walking in, he reconfirmed the distinctly small tree indicated by the line. Nodding to himself, he took another step forward, but stopped. An incongruity stuck in his mind.
"Hey, where did the rest of the squad go?" (Owen)
There was nobody around to hear his question.
Now fully alert, he drew his sword. Without minding which direction he had originally come from, he continued to carefully scan the surrounding trees for movement.
All around, rustling could be heard from the bushes shrouded by the long shadows cast by the midday sun.
"[Enhance Sense]" (Owen)
Calmly, Owen activated a martial art, not for combat, but to focus his attention to the surroundings. He let every tiny sound enter his ears, trying to get a picture of any living creatures moving in the area. However, the only sound he could clearly make out was that of trees walking. Nothing out of the ordinary.
No matter where he looked, there did not appear to be any enemies nearby, so he took a deep breath to calm his breathing. Glancing downwards, the ground was clear, with neither leaves, branches, nor distinctive marks. He cautiously took a step forward, but stopped mid-step. His foot was caught in the vines which had always been there.
Thinking to cut them apart with the sword in his hand, he tried to move his arm. To his disappointment, the arm was wrapped in vines which felt as hard as a thick bundle of steel.
When did that happen, he thought to himself, but no answer came to mind.
He decided it must have been there since he entered the forest, since it seemed to be the most reasonable explanation.
Owen was completely immobilized, but didn't think much of it.
With him unable to twist his neck by more than a few degrees in any direction, he simply continued looking forward without any particular interest.
After a couple seconds or days passed, he wasn't sure which, a child in a thick brown cloak entered his field of view.
How strange, he thought. He wasn't entirely sure why, but something felt strange.
"Little lady, do you need this ranger to help lead you out of this forest?" (Owen)
The words came out slowly. He stopped to think for a second after each word, as the next one took some time to pop into his head.
"One didn't die? Weird, does he have some resistance…? Oh, well, he seems pretty far gone already. I guess I should call somebody to pick him up?"
The dark elf girl gave a disinterested sigh.
"She said there might be somebody strong, but nobody came. This was a waste of time…"
Part 7
Their march from Terrerence to the Holy City was relatively uneventful.
This wasn't to say that they never encountered any resistance from the Theocracy, but after the first few scouting parties began developing a strange occupational hazard of sprouting oversized crossbow bolts from their chests from what they thought was far out of range, they stopped approaching within a kilometer of the outriders. Aside from those few who were too brave for their own good, they never encountered any large-scale opposition.
Likewise, Mare sent no reports about what was happening in Terrerence. Either they had realized they were being drawn into a trap and abandoned the city to cut their losses, or otherwise they simply had not committed any forces which he considered noteworthy enough to send a report about defeating.
Although direct hostility was minimal, they instead faced every possible means of slowing down the advancing army: Roads were torn up with magic, granaries cleared out, wheat fields either prematurely harvested or, if that wasn't possible, burned to the ground.
Unfortunately for them, their Holy City was on the northern end of the country, only a few days' march from the border. The Theocracy simply didn't have the land area to stop them, so rather than attacking into a proper elastic defense, the harassment served only to stall them a little.
Given the Sorcerous Kingdom's ability to resupply by [Gate] and a number of food-producing magic items, trying to starve them out was a fruitless effort. Still, the paved roads they had expected being replaced with a wide swamp of magically-produced mud certainly did its job in slowing their march, if only by a couple days.
It was no Barbarossa, but the army arrived at the walls of the Holy City exhausted and weak.
But, this was fine. The Theocracy had no way to capitalize on their fatigue to counterattack.
As had been repeatedly demonstrated on the way here, the mud was certainly effective at obstructing horses and humans in heavy armor who had to trudge through it, the lizardmen just laughed at this pathetic excuse for a swamp and skipped across, outflanking any would-be ambushers with a speed not at all inferior to light cavalry.
Then there were the undead at the core of the army, who would be in perfect condition no matter how far they had to march. Lesser skeletons and zombies might get bogged down by mud, but these could simply charge across without caring. A few extra kilograms of mud on their massive bodies wouldn't slow them in the slightest.
Those sentinels atop their towers could only watch as the invading army began pitching tents and entrenching themselves merely a couple kilometers past the outer wall. Unreasonable as it seemed for the besieging army to act so carefree while outnumbered by those very defenders, it was as if they were daring them to sally out and charge the camp.
For the remainder of the day, they didn't do much, only set up camp, rested from their travels, and let the undead dig some fortifications.
Come dawn, a stone fortress stood opposing the city walls: A massive tower, some thirty meters tall. Certainly, it was small when compared to the inner walls or the Cathedral Tower itself. The outer walls which encircled the entire city, however, were similarly sized.
According to the sentinels watching continuously through the night, it was not built up, but rather sprung out of the earth, as if by magic. They couldn't begin to guess at the scale of the ritual required to create an entire fortress in a single night.
What was its purpose? It was certainly imposing and leaving it would be a disgrace for the Theocracy, but shame couldn't win wars. Just as the encampment was built out of range of the walls, so too would attacks from the tower be incapable of reaching the defenders.
A second day came and went, and again neither side made moves to attack. A few bolts were exchanged when somebody came close, but they were near the limits of their maximum range, so accuracy was abysmal, and even an ordinary person could duck down or step aside to let a bolt pass by them harmlessly.
The tower stood firm, and was now being surrounded by trenches and smaller banks of earth, serving both as cover and to obstruct enemies trying to break through.
In truth, neither side fully understood why they were setting up to defend. They were told to expect and prepare for a defensive battle, but little about how they were going to get the Theocracy to abandon their advantageous defensive position to instead charge their own fortress.
When Neia tried to ask on behalf of her commanders, the explanation she received was filled with unknown, untranslatable terms, something about artillery observers, indirect fire, and threats of range asymmetry to force a response. Half her words seemed to be spoken in an entirely foreign language, so the communication fell through.
After some confusion, Tanya gave a much simpler summary: threaten an attack they can't ignore to flush them out.
On the dawn of the third day, the invaders got into position. Archers and crossbowmen stood atop the tower and inside trenches, guarded by mixed ranks of knights, heavy infantry, and undead. Humans, goblins, and liches spread enhancement magic among the soldiers, preparing for an imminent battle.
Yet, they were making no effort to attack. The conspicuous movements of the undead army at the front lines acting with perfect synchronization induced terror and drew attention. Only a few men, tasked specifically with watching the girls at the core of the formation – directly in front of tower – did so without looking away.
The Faceless One and Maid Demon exchanged a brief conversation. Of course, discerning the contents from atop the wall was impossible.
Then, after a brief pause, the Mage General raised her staff, and a magic circle shaped like a dome, ten meters in radius and covered with mechanical-looking patterns spread out to cover all three of them.
Constructing the Super-tier magic circle struck Tanya with an excruciating pain she hadn't felt in a long time. It was like a splitting headache, except that her consciousness was dissociated from her body to the point where she couldn't clearly tell where her body ended and the formula began.
Her ability to simultaneously perform multiple extremely delicate manipulations of the magic surrounding her had grown exponentially in the past months, but even with that taken into account, she was pushing the limits of her capability.
However, her discipline was paying off, as there were no abnormalities in the formula.
She was not using Super-tier magic, at least not in the strictest meaning. According to the rules of YGGDRASIL's game system, one could only learn and cast their first Super-tier spell upon reaching level 70, which she was certainly nowhere near. On the other hand, she was capable of using 10th tier magic – which should similarly have been above her level – without issue, if only a few times until her mana was exhausted.
What was the difference?
When compared to regular tiered magic, Super-tier magic might well have more differences than similarities. Their uses had a daily limit and long cooldown between casts, which was applied even to nearby allies; Learning them used a different set of spell slots from ordinary magic; Using one did not consume any MP.
The list could be expanded if one were to look at even finer details, but above all else, the last point stuck out as absurd to Tanya.
How is it possible for magic to not use magic? It was an absurd notion. To an experienced mage, it made about as much sense as removing the existence of mass and telling a physicist to explain the difference. It was the magical equivalent of having the universe itself burn the rulebook and flip the table.
Anybody capable of actually doing this would have to be a supreme deity to whom reality itself was merely an opinion.
So, what was Super-tier magic? Ainz described it as being part magic and part skill, but the next question would obviously become, 'what are skills?'
Tanya could learn to make use of the third-tier [Animate Dead], yet Ainz's [Create Low-Tier Undead] was impossible to reproduce. Despite observing him with the maximum possible attention to detail, she could not detect the activation of magic. He activated the skill, and the effect triggered, without any visible magic manipulation on his part.
They were something exclusive to YGGDRASIL's system and its players, but unlike the tiered magic which had been learned over the centuries, skills would never spread beyond the players, NPCs, and monsters which came directly from YGGDRASIL. A lich created in Nazarick would gain skills such as [Negative Energy Touch], yet an equivalent lich which naturally spawned would have no such ability. They could learn spells with very similar effects, but the result was subtly different.
Without the game's systems for learning skills, it was no longer possible to gain new skills in this world.
Tanya could never learn Super-tier magic, not in the way that Ainz used it.
In spite of that, the discussion did not end there. The question of how magic could be cast without cost was still unanswered.
It was impossible. Ainz was incredibly powerful, but that power was not boundless. He could not use magic without expending MP, so there must be another explanation. Even magic was bound by its own laws, which could be studied as with any other science.
Gravitational force did not come into being only after being accurately explained. Even without an accurate understanding of the kinematic laws of planetary motion, a soldier could drop a big rock on his enemy all the same.
In much the same way, magic had been used before the invention of the modern computation orb. treating it as a black box with semi-predictable properties. The efficiency was horrid by any reasonable standard, but it could be done.
Magic cannot be used without a cost. Therefore, Super-tier magic is not activated by its caster, but rather on their behalf, by some external system – designed to imitate the game's mechanics – which provides the requisite mana while enforcing restrictions such as recast time.
In the end, this was nothing more than a hypothesis, one which was likely impossible to prove. With only a bit of inductive reasoning to imply its existence, trying to form any decisive conclusions about it would be silly.
Fortunately, Tanya did not need to prove the theory, only to make use of its effects. Her conjecture was that the casting of Super-tier magic was not itself meaningful, but instead served as a key for triggering the system to activate it. In the same way, that key could be replaced with a 'cash item', a substitute key without the casting delay.
Once the key was provided, the system would lend an immense power in the form of Super-tier magic, enough even to instantly kill a self-proclaimed god. The explanation was workable, if somewhat self-fulfilling, and the identity of the culprit with enough power to create such an absurd system on a planetary scale wasn't difficult to guess.
Provided such a concept really existed, it might also explain unnatural phenomena like 'levels', which can apply even to the world's natives, yet don't naturally belong in reality.
Of course, everything up until now was merely speculation, but this gave her something to test. Super-tier magic was a key, and keys could be forged.
This magic circle dome was identical to the one demonstrated by Ainz, down to the thousands of arcane symbols and images in constant flux. Unlike his spell, the white dome she had created was covered in several places by pale green formulas, serving as scaffolding to better control the massive spell. The resulting amalgamation lacked the brilliant purity of his magic, instead turning into something more mechanical than mystical.
Appearance aside, with the assistance of her own formulas, Tanya could control a formula functionally indistinguishable from the original, at least in theory. To reach the required level of precision, she had no choice but to slow the spell down to a manageable level, stretching the same contents out to over one hundred times the original.
In conclusion, it was exceptionally slow, both painful and difficult to activate and maintain, but at last, after thousands of iterations of trial and error, she finally got the spell to a working state.
Alas, for Tanya, there was no option to stand still and kill time until the spell took effect. For the entire duration of its preparation, she would have to concentrate all her attention on its formation. It wasn't as though she was locked into position and unable to move while casting as Ainz described, but even the simple act of walking around too much could easily break her concentration and disrupt the spell.
Essentially, it carried all the drawbacks of YGGDRASIL's Super-tier magic, except they were exacerbated to the point where the magic had absolutely no practical value for combat. Despite all its faults, it had its advantages as well.
For one, she was maintaining the large-scale formula, but it was not being used to actually influence reality in any way. Mechanically, it was nothing more than a light-show, and its mana consumption was appropriately low – less than her own passive regeneration, even.
Compared to using the entirety of her own meager magic capacity to reach an equivalent level of destructive power, the offensive Super-tier spells made for an excellent first strike, on the rare occasion her enemies would let her start the battle by preparing for a couple hours.
Aside from those spells meant for combat, there were a number of others she was intending to learn, such as terraforming with [The Creation] or manipulating space with [Change The World], though whether her imitation would be able to properly control either was yet to be determined. Finally, there was the enigmatic [Wish Upon a Star], which was already practically at the level of divinity.
Those possibilities promised to occupy years of her time to properly study every available effect, but that was a problem for the future.
Currently, she was more interested in making use of an indirect effect of Super-tier magic: One look at the massive formula was enough to announce its threat. None of the guards currently falling into a panic atop the wall had witnessed its power, but each had likely heard at least a few dubious rumors about the most recent Battle of Katze Plains.
There was no option for them to ignore this threat. Without an in-depth understanding of Super-tier magic, which it was extremely unlikely anybody in the Theocracy possessed, they had to assume that the same dreadful magic was currently being directed towards the core of their capital city.
Actually firing the spell was secondary; Tanya merely needed to bait out their 'Black Scripture' and their 'Supreme Treasure'. Once they came out, she could freely abort the spell and entrap them at her leisure. Until then, she could only focus on maintaining the spell while passively watching the two armies shift into action.
Getting an accurate understanding of a large-scale battle while actively fighting enemies on the ground was an extremely difficult task. The ability to send reports and relay orders amidst the chaos was vital to coordinating a simple horde into a functional army, and even the best commanders would be impaired without a clear view of the situation.
Over the years, technological developments such as the telegraph, radio, and telephone would better connect soldiers into a network, but this world had no such convenience. No doubt the existence magic such as [Message] had hampered its development, since a simpler alternative existed to electronic communication.
Specific doctrines on how to coordinate this magic were of course military secrets, with each nation developing systems and spells for improving their use. The unnamed telepathy network used by the cardinals was a recent invention for this purpose, one which had no spell equivalent in YGGDRASIL, as that functionality was instead provided by an in-game guild chat, but could not be extended to others who were not themselves players belonging to the guild Ainz Ooal Gown.
There were already a number of undead researchers working tirelessly in the great library to develop an equivalent spell and resolve some of the issues with [Message], including its lack of security against forged messages. However, a head-start of several centuries meant that the Theocracy, and to a lesser extent the Empire under Paradyne's guidance, could be considered far superior to the Sorcerous Kingdom in this regard.
Both countries had long since learned the importance of aerial reconnaissance in the form of magic casters using [Fly], often prioritizing this task above having them use third-tier magic offensively. Between using a few fireballs to burn a dozen common soldiers or providing a clear view of an entire army's movements, the latter was nearly always a superior choice.
The Kingdom had rarely employed this tactic, in part because of the extreme scarcity of magic casters, but also because their drafted levies weren't exactly trained to follow order much more complex than 'advance' and 'retreat'. For them, coordinating a hundred thousand foot soldiers would be no less herculean a task with a little more information on the fine details of the battle, so acquiring it was not a priority.
On the other hand, the Empire under Jircniv had been carefully specializing the Royal Air Guard for mage-hunting, using the vastly superior mobility of hippogriffs and griffins to dominate the sky and keep enemy magic casters grounded, thereby crippling the enemy's ability to scout, seizing the advantage for their own army.
Summoned angels could counter them to some extent, but since they were nowhere near as fast or powerful as the flying cavalry, a large number would need to be simultaneously created to repel their attacks, and even then, they lacked the speed to properly counterattack.
To Tanya, the concept was extremely similar to a primitive version of artillery observers, though not nearly as specialized, nor anywhere near as capable. Where the observers she knew would maintain an altitude of close to two kilometers and remain easily thirty kilometers away from the enemy, [Fly] magic was capped at around two hundred meters, with fifty being the norm.
In other words, unlike observer mages who flew outside the range of everything on the ground except artillery with airburst shells, these magic casters were well within the reach of a good arrow or crossbow bolt.
For the magic casters from the Theocracy, their target was within sight – wrapped in a dome of magic, clearly visible from any point on the wall. Yet, there was nothing they could do to her.
Any attackers, whether summoned angel or flying magic caster, would first have to fly through a hail of arrows and fiendishly accurate heavy crossbow bolts with enough power to ignore magic defenses outright.
Were they to miraculously dodge every one of those attacks, they would next have to fight their way through several dozen flying hippogriff knights, each of whom had a partner magic caster riding tandem. Of course, while continuing to evade the aforementioned barrage.
Finally, were they to somehow navigate an impossible number of projectiles and enemies, there was still the Demon Maid's invisible projectiles and the Mad-Eyed Archer's glowing arrows, either whom was easily capable of outranging the hundred meters or so a [Fireball] could travel.
Could they penetrate all three layers of defenses to reach the caster? No, not a chance. In the hour since the spell started, not a single angel had even made it close to the passing the first defensive line before getting filled with arrows and dissipating into particles of light.
For Captain Hansen and the Royal Air Guard tasked with stopping nonexistent threats who made it through, there was nothing to do but idly fly in circles above their camp. He had nothing to do except watch the progress of the battle from the sky.
"… This is what war has become?" (Hansen)
Up in the sky, even though the griffin's cruising speed was nowhere near its top speed, even the magic caster holding Hansen's back wouldn't be able to hear him clearly unless he spoke up.
At a little under one kilometer, the altitude a pure griffin could maintain was incomparably superior to a hippogriff. If not for its riders, the creature could climb higher still, but this much was more than sufficient for observing the situation and diving to attack any enemies flying below.
From such a height, none of the clattering from the battle on the surface could reach him; the only sound audible was that of the wind against his armor as they flew. Despite this, Hansen had enough experience to understand that the battle was abnormal.
The Theocracy obviously hadn't been expecting to be the ones attacking. Their attack was rough and poorly coordinated, with angels coming out one by one rather than as cohesive waves. The cavalry they sent out had rushed ahead of the infantry, their charge failing spectacularly before they could crash into the Death Knights.
Following after them, the mass of soldiers were basically only joining the fray as quickly as the single large gate would permit. Without knowing how much or how little time they had until the demon's magic would activate, they couldn't spare the delay to bring the entire garrison outside the walls and charge in a cohesive formation.
He watched the armored soldiers sail through the air upon being struck with the massive tower shields which the undead knights were using.
The scene, without any sound, could almost be called comedic.
If not for his awareness that those men were fellow humans being slaughtered in droves.
There was neither the honor of fighting as knights, the skill of competing magic casters, nor the dignity of two tacticians facing off with their armies. This was only a disorganized crowd of desperate men charging into a killing field to be massacred. Men desperate to protect their home, their families from the invaders who would exterminate them.
His griffin banked to the side and slowly made a turn. Hansen looked at the camp being defended. The tower which had been constructed with a single spell, and the demon who stood in front of it.
He hadn't been there to see it himself, but the accounts he heard from the knights were the same: The pure-white arcane dome which towered over the palisades of their forward base, the black mist which consumed an entire wing of the Kingdom's army, the abominations which rose out of the muck to trample an entire army.
There was no doubt in his mind, this was the very same magic. As much as he found it hard to believe there could exist other monsters on the Sorcerer King's level, there was no other way to describe the scene before him.
Except, this time the target was not one wing of the Kingdom's army, but the entire capital. Were those 'goats' to rampage, the number victims would not end at a hundred thousand.
It would be a calamity.
If that magic was meant to demonstrate the Sorcerous Kingdom's power, just what is this meant to accomplish?
Is continuing to watch this really the Emperor's justice?
Hansen urged the griffin to descend. When they neared the ground, he called to the man behind him.
"Sorry, could you get off and act on your own for a while?" (Hansen)
"Captain? Is something wrong?"
"The situation in the sky is stable, I need to withdraw to the base for a bit. Join up with the men on the ground." (Hansen)
The magic caster looked a bit doubtful, but nonetheless nodded and jumped off the griffin's back, then started flying under his own magic while descending towards the second line.
Satisfied with the man's safety, Hansen turned again and flew in the direction of the magical dome.
One walking headache approached from the sky.
Tanya didn't him more than a glance as he landed a short distance away, jumping off his griffin and starting to run over.
This erratic behavior received a confused look from Neia and utter disinterest from CZ, but neither made any moves on top of that.
Hansen ran up to the dome, then slowed down and cautiously passed through it, stopping a short distance in front of Tanya.
"General, please stop this! The citizens of the Holy City are not the enemy!" (Hansen)
She ignored the nuisance.
"This isn't right! You can't do this!" (Hansen)
She continued to ignore him, or rather didn't want to expend the concentration necessary to reply.
"General!" (Hansen)
He yelled for a third time while taking another step closer, his hands unconsciously readying his spear.
In a flash, Tanya struck him with her rifle's stock. Though it felt light, it was a relic-class item, worthy of being called a sacred treasure. Even as a melee weapon, it was incredibly capable, and she currently couldn't spare the effort to hold back her strength.
With a crack, the blow caved in his breastplate and hurled him outside the dome.
For just a moment, the symbols flickered due to her distraction, but stabilized immediately after.
"Somebody execute him for that." (Tanya)
She wasn't sure if he was actually still alive, but it felt appropriate to trust his sturdiness if nothing else. On any other day she would have taken responsibility herself, but at the moment even getting those few words out was demanding.
The griffin which was standing by a short distance away roared when its master was attacked and tried to rush her, but its charge was stopped after a single step with an unseen attack blowing off half of its hind leg. As it staggered in confusion, a second silent shot from CZ tore through its head. The monster fell dead without understanding what happened.
She took a few steps towards where the man was lying, but stopped, her magic gun half-raised.
A different woman, one who should have been at the front lines. Despite wearing heavy full-plate, she had run up with enough speed to be out of breath, arriving just before Hansen had been thrown out. She came with her spear ready, but as it was yet unclear whether she was an enemy, CZ simply waited.
"L-Leinas, help m-" (Hansen)
"Ah, dammit, I thought you'd do something stupid when you flew back, but you went and actually did it. Imbecile." (Leinas)
"- do something about that-" (Hansen)
She ignored his pleas, placing one foot on his chest just above the wound to press him down, her spear at his neck.
"… why?" (Hansen)
He was barely able to squeeze out another word as he coughed the blood filling his lungs onto the spearhead.
"I spoke to Her Highness, and learned of her curse, and the magic items of His Majesty to suppress it. There is only one lord I must serve, and it is no longer your emperor." (Leinas)
There was anger in his eyes. The wound was severe, but he was not yet dead, and tried to brace with his arm to lift himself, but as expected when his opponent was one of the imperial Four Knights, the attempt was futile.
"-damn, you-" (Hansen)
In his state, Hansen's struggle was unable to shift her balance. Leinas drew the heavy spear back slightly, then quickly struck with an explosive force.
With a final twitch, his struggling stopped. Confirming this, Leinas stepped off the body.
"Your orders have been fulfilled." (Leinas)
Her words were quiet, yet resolute.
Tanya continued to manipulate the massive-scale magic circle around her. Nearly two hours had passed now, though to her it felt like she had been working for a full day. Even though it wasn't actually consuming any mana to use, the mental exhaustion was certainly building up.
Still, according to the previous trial run, so long as there were no abnormalities from using it in battle, the casting time was coming to a close.
She began casting with the expectation that she would be attacked. While it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that she wasn't, needless to say, the source had not been the ones she was waiting for.
A few more minutes passed, and as predicted, she felt the burden of the spell vanish in an instant. The 'system' accepted the 'key', taking over the Super-tier magic from her and preparing it to activate. In a second, the dome expanded with a tower of a dozen circles of varying sizes growing above her.
The spell was ready.
As for Tanya, just as she gave up control over the spell, she started to panic.
Dammit, what the hell? They should know what this is, why isn't anybody coming, I'm here trying to destroy your city, are you really going to let that happen?
I feel like a child waving a nuke around for attention, only to get radio silence in response. Ah, this could be bad. I didn't expect them to actually let me finish, but picking a different spell was definitely the right choice, else this really would be a disaster.
Did those cardinals seriously flee the city with the treasure? If so, I am genuinely screwed. Ahh, Demiurge would definitely try to kill me for that. Time to run away?
The spell wasn't supposed to be used, only threatened as bait. With that in mind, she was glad to have had the foresight to at least not pick the most destructive Super-tier spell out of all the options.
The tower of magic circles finished, now level with the thirty meter fortress she had created before. In the end, it was barely necessary, with the disappointing response from the Theocracy.
The spell was fully prepared, the only course left was to fire.
With a sigh, Tanya raised her rifle, aimed directly upwards. Even without using it as an actual gun, it was the scepter this spell was linked to, and so the triggers were shared.
"Pseudo-Super-tier spell – [Sword of Damocles]!"
Part 8
A single bolt of light shot into the sky from the center of the great magic dome. As it passed through the center of each ring, they rose into the sky, vanishing alongside the bolt. For a few seconds, everything was silent, as onlookers from every direction watched the beacon fly into space.
Several hundred thousand people held their breath, unsure of what was to come.
One second, two. All was quiet.
The next, the clouds above the city were pierced by a new bolt, incomparably greater than the first. Its brilliant radiance glowed greater than the sun itself, drawing all eyes to the center of the city just in time to watch the bolt of pure light from the sky strike the Cathedral Tower.
White stone and a cloud of dust flew out in every direction with the blast. Moments later, the force of the shockwave passed through the inner city, breaking windows and knocking anybody near enough off their feet.
As every single man, woman, and child in the Holy City watched, the last base of their Six Gods was shattered into mere rubble. When the dust cleared, only two of its floors were left intact, surrounded by nothing but rubble.
Super-tier spell, [Sword of Damocles]. An 'orbital weapon' with an enormous damage bonus against structures. Like automatons and magic guns, this spell was first introduced with the "Valkyrie's Downfall" expansion, in response to complaints about the lack of an effective counter to enemy players holed up inside fortifications.
Its direct damage against enemies in the field was mediocre compared to [Fallen Down] even before adding the bonus damage against undead, but only a base on the level of Nazarick's floors, with all the cash items spent to improve them, could survive a direct strike.
Were the spell used, the defenders would effectively have two choices: Sit still and take the hit, pitting their own base's defensive bonuses against the amplified damage of the spell targeting a structure, or come out to stop the spell, which would do little against a group of level 100 players when attacking them directly.
If they chose not to respond, the damage their base would take – and thus the cost to repair afterwards – could easily exceed the profit from winning the fight. On the other hand, by leaving, they would have the advantage of fighting against an enemy who had already expended their Super-tier magic before the battle started properly.
With or without the existence of this spell, battles would favor the defenders, but after its introduction, PVP raids against enemy bases suddenly became much more engaging assaults, instead of the slow, grinding sieges of the past.
For a PVP-focused guild role-playing as evil such as Ainz Ooal Gown, the spell became a staple for flushing stubborn opponents out to fight. Although, by being among the first adopters who started making use of the spell shortly after its release, a number of smaller guilds who hadn't heard of the spell had lost sections of their bases due to their not understand the spell's effects, causing a spike in Ainz Ooal Gown's infamy. That series of raids had been one of the many dominoes which triggered the 1,500 member raid on Nazarick, as a number of guilds tried to take revenge for these attacks.
With the decline of the guild's membership, it had been well over a year since the last time Ainz participated in an offensive raid, so the spell had been gathering metaphoric dust in his spellbook.
From a couple kilometers away, Tanya watched her attack land, the explosion bloom to life as the tower burst into bits. A few seconds later, the infrasound passed by her, the pressure wave only lifting her hair slightly as if by a sudden gust of wind.
She smiled as the ground shook, once from the initial impact, followed by a few light aftershocks as massive bricks struck the ground.
"There's something strangely satisfying about watching explosions, or rather, causing them." (Tanya)
These words were spoken to nobody in particular, and indeed were mostly drowned out by the rumbling of the earth.
With the spell no longer taking up the entirety of her concentration, she set about raising her defensive shell, restoring her numerous support formulas, and reconnecting her perception to once again bring the entire world within detection.
Everything surrounding her was laid bare. Immediately, her calm smile turned ferocious. She raised the rifle and rapidly fired three times. Two were parried out of the air, but the third struck flesh – no, armor.
Appearing out of invisibility which had been cancelled by receiving that attack, the very same Captain of the Black Scripture drew back, clutching his wounded shoulder.
"I almost didn't see you there, welcome, welcome! You have no idea how happy I am to see you all right now!" (Tanya)
Tanya merrily called out to the would-be attacker. The cheerfulness was genuine, for they had not escaped as she had feared, but instead waited until this moment. She had been prepared to take the first hit with her defenses partially down as she was preparing the Super-tier magic, but this timing was truly the best possible outcome.
She fired two more shots, neither directed towards the captain himself, but instead to the distance, past either side of him. The first struck a large shield as it was blocked from hitting a mage behind him, the second deflected by a man with a large axe, who swung it with incredible dexterity to parry the shot aimed for his foot.
"Hm… ten of you, is it?" (Tanya)
While making a point of leaving the assassin-looking man keeping his distance out of her count, she again called out to them. The rest, with the invisibility evidently no longer effective, cancelled it to minimize their wasted magic.
Still, only eleven, the extra who the Hanzo mentioned isn't here, either. Are they still holding back? More importantly, did they bring the item?
The wielder should be female, and a replacement member. Just from watching their movements up until now, Tanya couldn't say for certain which it was. One woman dressed like a priest, another as a loose mage, and the third, a girl in a decorated silver dress.
Going by age it should be the last of the three, but the staves held by each of them appeared ordinary enough, so she couldn't identify the weapon with certainty.
"… How to proceed?" (CZ)
"Pull back and watch for now. I'm going to play around with them for a bit." (Tanya)
"… Understood." (CZ)
CZ confirmed her orders, then jumped back, out of the partial encirclement by the Black Scripture.
This was the signal for the second scenario: The enemies were capable, and the World-Class Item was unconfirmed.
Broadly speaking, they had prepared for three situations.
The first, the enemies were pushovers, and the mind-controlling item was in plain view, or they opened by attempting to use it. In the case of the former, Tanya and CZ would sweep through them immediately, incapacitating them to take the item, then calling for cleanup. As for the latter, Tanya would focus on seizing the item without delay, then either fight or retreat after stealing the item, depending on their strength. Either way, combat would begin immediately, and CZ would respond without being ordered otherwise.
In the case of the third, the enemies would be overwhelmingly powerful, to the point where the two of them would be overwhelmed within a minute. Should that happen, the Hanzos watching over them would close in, delaying the enemies long enough for a team comprised of several Floor Guardians to be called in, who would then take over the fight.
Incidentally, there was a fourth case, one which Tanya had not been informed of. In the event that she was successfully mind-controlled, CZ was to immediately abandon her and retreat, then proceed with the third plan. Were CZ to be targeted with the mind-control, Tanya had similar orders to abandon her, proceeding with the first plan to seize the item by any means necessary, or the third if the enemy could not be defeated. Her loss would be unfortunate, but the gold cost of resurrection was only a tiny fraction of what Shalltear's had taken, so it was considered just barely permissible.
With this second plan, Tanya would take the lead in fighting, engaging the Black Scripture with a single opponent to bait the use of the World-Class Item. CZ should currently be communicating with the rest of Nazarick, who in turn would be prepared to launch an ambush at a moment's notice, should she feel the need to escalate to the third plan.
In other words, she could call for relief at any time, at the cost of only a minor demerit to her combat record. With that, she was free to take part in some light exercise of her own.
Tanya started walking forwards. Without caring about the other members moving to encircle her, she continued to boldly approach the captain directly.
"Come on, show me what you have, self-proclaimed 'strongest protectors of humanity'!" (Tanya)
She dashed to close the last few meters to the captain, drawing a dagger from the air. Gathering a mass of mana into her arm, she applied a massive boost to her strength for a single moment, using the dagger to strike aside the spearhead with the force of a truck.
The unthinkable power of the strike, delivered by a ranged combatant who had suddenly charged into melee combat, was easily enough to knock the spear out of her way.
Although, he unexpectedly persistently held onto the spear, returning it to its original path only a fraction of a second later, but by then she had already passed by his ideal range, placing the two of them close enough to embrace.
Her right hand no longer held the rifle, which had been stored during the maneuver, but instead smashed into the center of his chest as a fist with the exact same obscene power. A thunderous crash resounded as he was thrown away by the impact.
The next instant, she was again holding the rifle, crouching to take a shot at the person now flying away. One shot hit, the followup deflected with the spear as he spun in midair, landing on his feet and sliding across the ground to stop some twenty meters away.
"Wow, all that and you're not even half-dead? That equipment is impressive, yet the user's skill is a disappointment…" (Tanya)
In a single second, she had rushed him with the peak of her magical enhancement, trying to incapacitate the strongest enemy present early. Despite attacking with strikes powerful enough to transform an ordinary human into chunks of meat, the equipment he was wearing, in conjunction with the bonuses from his own relatively high level, meant that he suffered nothing worse than a couple broken bones.
Still, the way Tanya saw it, his strength and equipment was being wasted on the user. She had switched weapons three times in the span of a second to get past his guard, yet the first was enough to break it, if only for an instant. It seemed his age was genuine, and he lacked individual combat experience, particularly against powerful humanoid opponents.
This was her conclusion, and while it wasn't exactly wrong, in reality it was a simple difference of speed and power. She had moved an exorbitant amount of magic into strengthening her body, boosting her physical status to be on par with Cocytus, if only for that single second. No human was capable of responding to that, and escaping severe injuries was a considerable achievement.
"Dammit, she still has magic to spare! Her peak is likely compatible with the Vampire, fight with the assumption that getting hit means instant death!"
He shouted orders and a warning while righting his fighting stance, but did not charge in again immediately.
"Vampire?" (Tanya)
Tanya tried to provoke some more self-incrimination out of him, but the only response was a pair of [Shock Lances] from either direction: 4th tier spells which were effectively a straight upgrade to [Lightning].
Theoretically, they were more effective than most magic against demons, but this assumption was only true for natural resistances. The elemental resistance provided by her armor made it her third-highest resistance, after fire and darkness.
However, that was irrelevant, since elemental resistances would only apply to attacks which could hit her body directly. She completely ignored them, and both bolts scattered harmlessly against her defensive shell, filling the air around her with a white electrical fuzz.
Neither of the two casters – the cloaked wizard and mage woman – seemed surprised by this outcome. Instead, the ones who might suffer as a result were three melee attackers trying to simultaneously close in on her from different directions.
The bolts, had they hit, were meant to have stunned her momentarily, allowing each of them to deal a harsh blow to her. In the current state, the light where the magic clashed with her shell would still have blinded her to the incoming attacks, except that Tanya's detection was primarily magical, not optical. It instead served the opposite purpose, concealing the target they were supposed to be attacking.
This coordination, organized on the fly against a largely unknown opponent, was impressive. The teamwork which could suppress even a mid-class dragon was admirable, but the individual strength of most of the members was far too low to be a threat. That captain alone might be higher-leveled than the Pleiades, but taking the two teams as a whole, they were vastly inferior.
Three massive weapons: axe, sword, and spiked shield, struck her directly – and passed through.
Simultaneously, the colossal man wielding the axe was stabbed in the back of the knee with a long, pitch-black dagger. The curse it carried covered his leg, and with his balance ruined by having one leg disabled, Tanya swept his other foot with a low kick, filled with magic to the weight of a dump truck. His plate boots were high-class, yet utterly inadequate against her attack.
With his remaining leg shattered into fragments, he began falling as per gravity's request, but not before swinging the oversized axe down, putting his collapsing bulk behind the weapon for an earth-shattering swing.
At a speed faster than he could perceive, this too was lightly sidestepped by Tanya, who followed up with a knee to the chest, turning the 'Strongest Human' into a cannonball bound for the man with the sword, who aborted his attack to catch his ally.
Using their combined momentum, the two withdrew towards the priest woman, who had finished healing the captain's injuries. Tanya ignored them, allowing them to retreat while turning to the third, a slightly smaller (but still huge) man holding a pair of shields.
While still at near melee range, she took a single step back and again drew the rifle which had vanished earlier, aimed for the man's head, and shot once.
The mass of energy pinged off his tower shield harmlessly, but in the process of defending himself, he was made to block his own line of sight for just the instant it took her to close in, once again empty-handed.
"[Paralysis]" (Tanya)
He failed to fully resist, but was nonetheless strong enough to recover after only a second. However, in that second, Tanya grabbed the shield herself. Upon doing so, she jumped up, flying into the air while still carrying both the man and his shield. If not for the paralysis, he could simply have released the shield, though he was presently incapable of doing so.
Compared to Tanya alone, his body weight was a major burden, but the two were nonetheless ten meters above the ground after only that brief lapse.
As he regained the use of his limbs and tried to let go, Tanya immediately reversed her momentum, applying that very same acceleration in the opposite direction. The weight which made lifting him difficult now served to hasten his fall as Tanya used his own shield to smash him against the supreme blunt weapon that was the earth.
The impact left a crater under his back. While he was definitely from it unconscious, the collision was not fatal.
"Thirty seconds in, and only two disabled… I'll admit, you're doing better than I had expected. You're a tenacious lot, but is that all?" (Tanya)
The battle saw a momentary lull, and Tanya again taunted the remaining Black Scripture. Two members were out of the fight, while she had not taken a single scratch. Their magic shown to be laughably ineffective, the strongest members present instantly overpowered in hand-to-hand combat by a single mage.
A chain flew towards her with incredible speed, but this too bounced off her defensive shell, finding no purchase to latch on to, nor anything which could be bound. Her response was a penetrating formula shot without bothering to look at her target, which returned with a far greater speed, passing through his right shoulder before he could even blink. Blood and bone flew from the wound, and the disconnected arm dropped limp onto the floor.
A summoning circle appeared in front of another member, but-
"[Death]" (Tanya)
One word from Tanya, and the gigantic lizard perished before even fully emerging into the physical world.
There was no need for her to even look away from the captain. Giving an exaggerated bow,
"My apologies, I seem to have miscounted, make that four. Please forgive my mistake." (Tanya)
The captain himself was the only one worth her attention, the rest were nuisances not worth the effort of counting. At this rate, the only future for them was a humiliating defeat – or so she implied.
They had gone into the battle assuming her magic would be exhausted, yet here she was, overwhelming them with physical might alone – or so it appeared to them.
Enhancement magic in this world would take the form of a discreet spell, not the continuous formulas she had been trained to use. This absolute difference between them was far from sustainable, though at the current rate the battle was progressing, she would win with plenty of leeway. At least, against this group.
Her worry rested in the unrevealed last member, the other 'god-kin' said to be equipped with weapons and armor on par with the Guardians. She needed to overpower them enough to force the use of the World-Class Item, yet displaying overwhelming force required her to burn an appropriate amount of mana.
Since the moment combat began, simply winning had never been her concern.
"Would you like to continue?" (Tanya)
She gave one more push.
The captain shot forward like an arrow, spear glowing and poised to strike, leaving a straight trail directly towards her.
With such a primitive trajectory, dodging it was certainly an option, but she instead received it head-on.
"[Penetrate Maximize Magic: Smite Evil]!"
The tip of the spear met Tanya's defensive shell, leaving a web of cracks from the point of contact, but failed to pierce her defenses.
His spell, on the other hand, shot out from the point, passing through and for the first time, hitting her directly… and, it tickled. She could only tilt her head in confusion, honestly surprised by the complete lack of effect from what seemed to be a trump card of his.
"Use it!"
He shouted a command. This should have been issued after she was staggered by the attack, rather than mildly puzzled. Regardless, Tanya made no effort to respond.
From the side, the girl wearing a silver dress, who up until then had limited herself to buffing her allies, closed her hands together as if in prayer. The eastern dragon engraved on her clothing began to glow, brightening by the second.
"Tch. [Force Explosion]!" (Tanya)
Tanya blew away the captain still engaging her, then took aim at the girl.
Before she could shoot, the dragon came to life, leaving the garment to rush towards her.
Her view was dyed with the dazzling brightness, as the dragon passed into her, clouding her entire vision with an indescribable luminance.
Everybody was still. The captain who had been shot a distance away, the girl who activated the items, the remaining members, and Tanya herself.
One step forward. Nobody moved except her. Nobody could move except her.
[Silent Time Stop]
The unreasonable magic which isolated her into a motionless world of her own, as Tanya now calmly walked towards the caster.
I see, so it wasn't a weapon, but the dress itself, that is their sacred treasure? I expected some flashy weapon, but a Chinese dress? Your reasoning is ridiculous, evil god. No wonder I didn't recognize it, I was looking for the wrong thing the whole time.
She caressed the dress the girl was wearing, but without being able to interact with the outside world, all she felt was the texture of smooth stone. Taking it like this would be impossible.
This is it, without a doubt. Well, if a World-Class Item can be an infinitely-powerful wooden club, surely it can be a dress as well. Fine, then.
Tanya took one step back, pressing the barrel of her rifle directly against the girl's head.
I hate to do this, but you're an enemy combatant. Something like that is too dangerous to be left alone.
There were a few seconds left in the [Time Stop]. All time-manipulation spells lasted precisely thirty seconds from the moment they were cast. It took lots of experience for a player to learn how to add the base activation time of an attack spell, its casting time, and a manual delay to time its effects for immediately after time returns to normal.
That was the case for tiered magic. Tanya only needed to prepare a formula and shoot.
With her aim set, she waited until precisely 29.9 seconds had passed since the start.
At the exact moment color returned to the world, she pulled the trigger.
In the same instant, their victory was certain, and their defeat assured.
The demon who was pinned in place by the captain's attack was controlled, but when they next blinked, she was gone. When they next spotted her, she was holding onto the headless body of their newest member, the promising young enchanter tasked with succeeding the Supreme Treasure.
Tanya grabbed the fabric of the dress, tearing it off the girl's body with her full strength. Except, as expected of a World-Class Item with functionally infinite durability, what tore was not the cloth, but the girl's arms as they were dislocated to disrobe her in a single motion. Without a speck of blood to stain it, the garment was in Tanya's hands before anybody could respond.
"[All Appraisal Magic Item]" (Tanya)
World-Class Item #76, [Downfall of Castle and Country (Ruinous Beauty)]. Unconditional mind-control, bypassing all resistances and immunities. Item's user must be either female or sexless. Full activation consumes 10 levels for permanent control, or 24 hours of control at no level cost. Limit one simultaneous controlled target. Effect which cannot be cancelled willingly without first killing the target. Upon successful activation, item cannot be reused for 72 hours.
I see, so it really was something like this.
A log of information flowed into Tanya's head upon her reciting the appraisal spell. There were some additional bits of what she could only assume to be in-game lore, but she ignored those.
She jumped into the air, flying above them, as if having lost interest in them now that time treasure was hers. A number of magic attacks came towards her, but she continued to simply ignore them and allowed each to disperse against her own defenses.
Doing so was admittedly an outright waste of magic, but the task was already finished. Nobody would blame her even if she chose to retreat at this point.
She quickly signaled her success to CZ, who would in turn relay that to Ainz.
All in all, she was uncertain about how it would go for a time, but at long last, her mission was over.
Immediately after this thought passed though her mind, she dove forward as a large sickle passed by where her neck had been only moments prior.
She hadn't let down her guard, the attack had simply come flying towards her at a speed where she could no longer evade effortlessly.
The sudden assault failed to actually cut her. However, she felt a chill upon noticing that her shell had been cut through as if it wasn't even there.
She immediately restored it while putting in twice as much mana to strengthen it, preparing a short-distance teleportation spell to escape again, but no pursuit came. The girl who had appeared out of nowhere only continued standing in the air, looking over the current state of the Black Scripture.
"They told me to come back you up just in case, but… you lost this badly, really?"
"Our initial estimate was far too simple… she overwhelmed us singlehandedly… the Supreme Treasure was ineffective, her true form may be that of a Demonic Dragon Lord…"
The captain staggered to his feet, the injuries from taking a 8th tier spell point-blank without defending having been piled on the fatigue and minor wounds from before.
"Oh. So it really was her? Ah, dammit, why'd it have to be a girl…"
Upon hearing of her teammates' annihilation, she merely looked at Tanya with sincere disappointment.
"Well, she seems like she'll at least make for an…"
Her sentence was interrupted by the sight of a silver dragon of pure light rising out of the dress the demon was wearing.
"… Eh?"
She could only let out a stupefied sound as her consciousness was dyed white, and vanished into nothingness, consumed by the very same World-Class Item.
No, did she really expect me to fight her…? Maybe on a good day, but if she came before they brought out the item, I really would have had to call for Plan C.
… To think the day would come when I stop time to change clothes in the middle of a battlefield.
There didn't appear to be any problems with her field test. For once, an experimental item seemed to be working exactly as described.
"Now then, answer my questions. Is every member of your 'Black Scripture' currently gathered here?" (Tanya)
Tanya directed her question to the girl still standing in the air, in a half-conscious state.
"No, there is one additional member, 'Thousand Mile Astrologer', who has locked herself in her room and refused to take part in the battle."
As soon as the order was issued, light returned to her eyes, and she began going beyond answering the exact question to honestly explain their circumstances in detail.
"Her combat strength?" (Tanya)
"Not much to speak of, around second from the bottom. Her specialty is information-gathering."
"Lead the Hanzos to capture her alive, as well as anybody of importance you encounter. Recover them, the complete contents of your treasury, and all intelligence documents." (Tanya)
"As you wish."
She ran through the air towards the center of the city. Though still invisible, the Hanzos broke off to follow after her, in accordance to the orders which applied to them as well. From the way the girl could understand the meaning of 'Hanzos' without seeing them, some additional information was likely being transmitted through an invisible link between them.
Based on their exchange, Tanya made the assumption that this was as much a charm as mind-control, since the girl was willingly offering additional details and opinions she had not been explicitly asked for. This was [Downfall of Castle and Country (Ruinous Beauty)], the treasure representing ultimate beauty which could bewitch a king to drive his country into ruin by his own volition; the label worked on several levels.
Tanya looked back down on the few still-standing members of the Black Scripture. After having their hope crushed before their eyes no less than three times in quick succession, they were looking understandably dejected. Even the ineffective magic attacks had entirely stopped now, though she was unsure whether this was due to resignation or running low on magic power.
For the sake of completion, she shot the assassin slowly trying to edge away from the group with his invisibility. He was not seriously a threat, but letting any of them escape would cause more problems down the line. Before he noticed he was being attacked, he fell clutching his heavily bleeding leg.
Then, she waited. It was almost time.
"This whole time, have you been holding back to capture us?"
The captain was standing again, having healed up using a magic item. His resilience continued to impress her. It was far too late to change anything now, so she lost nothing by simply answering him honestly.
"You noticed? Well, close, but not quite. I was given strict orders forbidding me from granting that mercy, new members aside." (Tanya)
Seeing his confusion, she clarified the reason.
"You controlled and forced him to kill one of his beloved children… there is no possible way you could have angered him any more than that. At this point I'd honestly recommend killing yourselves while you have the chance, but… even that might not be enough to escape at this point. Sorry." (Tanya)
From him, there would be no pity for others as a former human. Those who had laid their hands on one of his prized treasures, even if unknowing and in self-defense, would receive no forgiveness.
In that moment, he understood the full situation, and smiled.
"So that one was yours, after all… if you don't mind hearing one last request… she's a strange one, but please fulfill her wish."
Was this a sliver of trust in return for her sincerity, or simple desperation with nothing to lose?
Tanya gave no answer, instead opting to turn kneel in the opposite direction.
On the ground behind her, a void tore the empty air, and through it stepped a skeleton dressed in a majestic robe, and a bright dark elf holding a scroll nearly as tall as her.
The Black Scripture didn't need to be told, this was without a doubt the Sorcerer King.
"Good work. Those are the ones responsible for that incident?" (Ainz)
His commanding voice was enough to strike fear into all humans present. Just as she had implied, they were even worse than insects in his empty eyes; his similarity with the god they worshiped did not ease their terror, but rather intensified it to a new level. The being they had made an enemy of was, an unliving god.
"They are, without a doubt. I confirmed the effectiveness of their sacred treasure myself." (Tanya)
"Then there is no need for further delay. Aura, use it." (Ainz)
Aura unfurled the scroll – [Depiction of Mountains and Rivers].
One could call it irony for them to be trapped by a World-Class Item in the end, brought out by Ainz due to his caution after they had used one before. If not for a series of incredible coincidences, this entire war might never have been.
The landscape was painted over, and they vanished. Ainz looked at Aura, who nodded in confirmation, then both of them descended into the painted world as well.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Theocracy's desperate attack was turning into a rout. Eight thousand corpses littered the area, but the majority of the army retreated back behind the gates, shutting them behind themselves.
There was no need to pursue them. With their own trump card having been turned against them, it should only be a matter of time until she and the Hanzos return with the majority of their government in tow. If they still refused to surrender, the city could simply be taken using overwhelming force. All threats were neutralized and the World-Class Item was in her hands, so there was no further use for subtlety.
Regardless, the cleanup and post-war manipulation would fall to Demiurge, so there was no need for further action on her part, aside from standing guard at the return point while Ainz finished whatever he needed to do inside the sealed world.
In the meantime, her thoughts were elsewhere.
… Can I change out of this thing yet?
A/N: Well, that went long. Hope it was worth the wait.
A few months ago, the chapter was originally supposed to end with an ambush by the Platinum Dragon Lord's armor, who overpowers Tanya until Shalltear arrives to as reinforcements. PDL recognizes Shalltear from their first encounter, and from that starts to put together the whole story, about the relationship between Ainz, Momon, and Shalltear.
At least, that was the plan. Then Overlord 14 came out, and we saw the cover art.
Yeah, that scene got scrapped.
