Main Chapter 5 - Dead men's vanity
Author notes:
Hi, it's your local writer, Malkuth, speaking.
Apologies for the delayed upload; real-life thingies are rather tedious as per usual. I tried to be as anti-social as possible in order to make more time for my hobbies, but oh well. I haven't been able to write back to any of my pen pals on Slowly either...
On an unrelating topic...
Wait...VOL 16 IS COMING THIS 29?! AND THE COVER LOOKS SO COOL!
Time to kidnap my favourite interpreter and force them to translate the whole thing for me!
Anyways,
Thank you for all the reviews, your continued support and infinite patience. All reviews had been responded to by the site's PM. And thank you all for those~
Matters regarding the guild went smoothly.
Ainzach's promised contract did arrive the following day. The terms were as negotiated—one hundred fifty gold coins per activation. Still, Momonga was expecting a little bit more as the value was said to be the minimal bar.
"This wouldn't be enough... But it's a good start... The mine should give us some more coins... Maybe Demiurge's investigation will yield a better alternative..."
There was still some time for him before he needed to head to the guild, so he thought of investigating something.
"Good morning, sir Momonga; how can I assist you?" the young man's voice said from behind.
"Master Climb, I thank you for lending me your time." The player courteously replied. "I regret to say this, but even with two days of staying here, my sense of direction is still developing. Could I trouble you once more to guide me to a certain place?"
"T-That would be my honour, sir!" the boy said before bowing. He looked pretty happy, as if trained to be satisfied at being ordered around. "Your destination?"
"I heard you mentioned the underground facilities used to produce grain. Of course, I wish to visit to learn more about its methodology, if permitted by the necromancers."
Climb made a thoughtful look for a second before replying with a sad undertone. "Generally, they wouldn't allow us to even go near the entrance... But travelling wizards occasionally are allowed to enter according to my mistress..." He opened his mouth to continue talking but quickly closed it down and bit his lips.
Noticing this with his impeccable perception, Momonga asked. "Are you quite alright, master Climb? Is there perhaps something else I should learn."
The boy shook his head. "I don't want to say this as it's merely a rumour... But talks of something else being down there had been circulating for a while... The roar of beasts, strange figures going in and out at night, flashing lights and strange mists coming out from the entrance is the perfect breeding grounds for conspiracies."
"One of the adventurers did say the morning mist is from the farm... Could they be using Blueplanet's [Zone Humidifier]? Maybe one day I can buy them back..." It wouldn't be a surprise to see another Nazarick item being utilised in such a manner; after all; He had seen several of them being used already.
"W-Would you like to visit there now?" said Climb after noticing Momonga's silence.
"Ah, my apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment." pausing briefly, he continued, "Let us depart."
Walking out of the inn, the two would pass by the bakery that Momonga visited. The boy politely declined when the player asked if he would like some bread, stating categorically that he was full. Could he have some kind of grudge against the place? Demiurge and Sixth seemed to enjoy the pastries, so the matter of taste should not be the problem... Or so Momonga thought.
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"The mist will be even denser ahead. Would you like a lantern?" asked Climb.
"Ah, please do not worry; I can see through them rather well. But still shouldn't you look forward instead of turning to me? After all, it would be a Climb not to tread carefully.
(E/N クライム (Climb) as in クライム (Crime)... get it? ahahahahaha... ha...ha... I'm sorry dear readers, that's the best one I got.)
Similarly to the lukewarm response by the reader, Climb was stone facing so apparently that it looked as if he was trying to twist his face into the pure definition of a stone face.
Momonga wasn't the type to crack jokes often, too, as he could not come up with many, according to his colleagues. Still, he wondered if he had received a start-up to his joking skills as some of his attributes were improved, so he experimented on poor Climb...
"Ah... I see; it must be the auto translation's fault. Yes, that must be the only reason why he did not laugh..."
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"PLEASE DON'T GO ANY FURTHER!" shouted a voice belonging to a possibly young man. Seeing through the mist, Momonga noticed a cloaked figure in black. Typical of generic necromancers seen in video games. Thanks to the hood, most of his face, save for the mouth was partially concealed.
"Klem? Good timing, could you come over here for a bit?!" Climb shouted back.
The necromancer did not reply but began walking toward the two.
"Ah, so he's your acquaintance?" inquired the overlord.
"Yes. He's one of the more social ones; he visited the mayor quite often, so we crossed paths occasionally... I think I can convince him to give you a tour." replied the boy, smiling.
"Calling in favour now, are we?" said Klem as he walked into the two's visual field. He took a brief moment to observe Momonga and made a bow. "Klem the necromancer at your service. What brings you to our humble farm?"
"I would like to purchase a large number of grains for my...experiments. I've heard that this place is the sole supplier of this 'village'... And if possible, I would like to learn the methodology of growing crops underground. Of course, I would offer compensation for your troubles."
The necromancer shook his head. "Sorry, sir, but our supply is exclusively sold to this village's market. You would have to purchase the excess from them if you wanted a large quantity... Although I would be happy to give you a tour... With just the two of us..." for some odd reason, the man stressed the last part of his sentence as if it was something to be taken note of.
Ignoring Klem's weird expression, Momonga pondered. "I see; having Climb be a part of the tour might leak their trade secret... But why would he trust me? Is it because I'm undead? Nothing makes sense... I guess I will just go along for now."
"I see, then I graciously accept, master Klem." turning to Climb, he continued. "Master Climb, thank you for your help once again. If there's anything, you need, I will be more than happy to aid."
"You're very welcome, Sir Momonga."
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Klem led the overlord to what resembled a manhole. It was clear that the mist's leaking from there.
"I shall go in first" the necromancer said before climbing down without waiting for a reply. It seemed the overlord was perplexed by the man's sudden enthusiasm but decided not to say anything.
"Oh my... Sir Momonga... You really do have nice bone structure" Klem whispered to himself... However-
"Wait what the hell was that?!" Looking down, Momonga saw Klem looking upwards whilst still climbing. To say it was creepy...might be an understatement. And the look on his face shook the undead to his core.
Thankfully, his emotional suppressor kicked in before he could send the man into a permanent sleep. "He's just confirming that I'm fine..." Momonga told himself. But after a solid minute of eye contact, he started to doubt that.
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"Hehe...We are finally here..." Klem said, adopting a completely different tone and demeanour.
There was a small reception area with no furniture other than lamps scattered around the room. The walls and floors were made of stone bricks which looked rather like that of a generic JRPG dungeon.
"Follow me! Sir Momonga, our pride and joy will be revealed in no time!" he said as he tiptoed into one of the connecting hallways.
"...What the hell is going on?!" The image of necromancers being dark and cool wholly shattered. Momonga can only hope the rest of them weren't like this...
"First stop, welcome to our limitless fog generator! Our master was the one to come up with this idea!"
Looking at where the man was pointing, Momonga couldn't help but gawk in amazement. There was a Ghost Ship - an undead vessel which could sail through a mist. But not only that, but it also has the ability to generate fog. To prevent it from moving around, it was suspended mid-air by several contraptions.
"Impressive" Momonga muttered. "I imagine this is how you water your plants?"
"Very perceptive, Sir Momonga!" Klem said as he danced his way to a blackboard conveniently placed next to the railings, separating the floor and the suspended ship.
"See this diagram I drew for you. The mist is condensed automatically by a magic item downstairs, turning them into droplets running down the pipes and watering the plants down there. But the benefit doesn't end there! The procedurally spawned undead are also used as fertilisers."
"Hm... the number of crops being produced must be impressive to justify not draining water from the village's reservoir." Momonga said while reminiscing his world's method of industrial farming.
"It is as you say~ Now let's go to our next stop! Usually, the master would be the guide for that section, but he's too busy with his bakery at the moment..." Even though his tone resembled that of a defeated man, Momonga couldn't help but notice a disturbing smile on the man's face.
"B...Bakery...? Your master wouldn't happen to be named Khajiit would he...?"
"You know of him? Very few people know of his occupation down here." puzzlingly said the man.
"...Like master like disciple... I guess..." the overlord thought to himself. Still, a part of him felt like under the guise of this joy and happiness lies a very sinister force.
Descending the stairs, Momonga noticed that the light had turned even more bright. "Would you look at this! Sir Momonga! Our joy of creation brought upon us this!"
The room he entered was frozen solid, with the ice being so thick that it allowed for mirror-like refraction to take place. There were actual inhabitants on this floor; around ten liches were working hard to ensure the ice was frozen.
"Ah, please don't mistake this place for the water condensation I mentioned earlier! This place serves much more...interesting purpose..." he said with a sinister grin.
"And what would that be?"
"Hehehe... Even what your charming smile, I'm afraid I'm not permitted to answer~ Let's move to the deeper parts, shall we?"
Masterfully navigated through the floor, the necromancer made the slippery ice look like asphalt.
Just before Momonga was about to follow, he thought it prudent to use [Undeath Detection] as he was rather curious about the number of them employed in this place..
And the result was...
"...I see... So that's what it was" He could feel it vividly, countless number of slumbering dead beyond the wall. Whatever their purpose may be, he decided not to intervene just for now.
"If only I have some shadow demons...I've put enough strain on Demiurge; Maybe I should consider reviving lower-cost servants to look into this."
Even though Momonga seemingly lost empathy towards humans because of his state as an undead, he thought preventing Carne from destruction would merit him, at least for now.
Although... some weird, twisted resemblances of genuine care grew ever slightly in his soul, could it be that they were simply his first encounters? Or might it be that the overlord still held onto his humanity?
Taking a step forward, the overlord slowly followed the frantic necromancer. He himself need not worry about slipping; after all, one of his anti-immobilisation passive should deal with that just fine.
The elder liches made brief curious glances at Momonga, but promptly lost interest and returned to work.
There wasn't much to describe after that, as the two walked in silence.
After about a minute of that, a diverging path was waiting for the two. One being simple downward staircases whilst the other being a spiral one.
"To the left is our... Mana slave... A good-looking boy he was... But he gave up a long time ago, so he's like a pretty doll now." He then switched his tone from excited to bored as he lazily pointed towards the right staircases. "To our right would be the farm... But am I correct that you wish to see the former more?"
"Mana slave...?" As MP could be easily replenished, in YGGDRASIL, there was no need for such a concept. Though Momonga has seen some niche build that specialised solely in draining MP, they were dubbed as nothing but clowns in the PVP community.
Pondering the idea briefly, the overlord reluctantly agreed.
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The spiral staircase seemed unending; the light so bright a scene ago vanished as if being absorbed by the void. Even with perfect night vision, Momonga still felt as of the darkness was darker than the physical concept of lacking light.
Still, Klem had no problem navigating; perhaps he had some kind of magic item to assist? Or could it simply be muscle memory? Either way, those irrelevant ideas would soon be purged from Suzuki's mind.
Immediately when Klem's feet stepped off the last of the stairway, a rumbling noise echoed throughout a small stone chamber they found themselves in. The wall slowly separates in a different direction, reminiscent of a convenience store's automated entry.
Seeping through the narrow opening instantly was a purple glow, one that Momonga had seen before, not in YGGDRASIL nor his world, but in this cursed plane itself. And follow soon after was a suffocating, putrid, almost physical smell, one that made Momonga grateful for not possessing nostrils.
And the source would soon reveal itself. A throne, cast out some metal alloy, on it placed hundreds of chaos stones which produced a glow exponentially stronger than the one Ainzach showed.
Sat on a throne was a boy with blonde hair and azure, empty eyes... And that would be all the features that a boy his age would typically have. His skin was in an inhuman grey shade, making his veins which glowed in purple and red, that much more visible.
His legs and arms were so slim that they could simply be described as just a light layer of meat on the bone. The nails were unkept and grew like tree branches along with his hair, which was mixed with wastes produced by him.
Several parts of his body even grew mushrooms, some of which withered away, perhaps due to poisoning by the Chaos Stones. Frankly, Momonga was baffled by how this 'boy' still managed to stay alive.
"...What the hell is this?!" Even with the emotional suppressor, the lingering discomfort of witnessing such a thing still clouded his mind but only like that a thin mist. "Damn! Why don't I feel more?! anything!"
Seeing the momentary pause, Klem's smile grew wider as he slithered ever so closer to the overlord. "My my, as expected of sir Momonga, I knew something set you apart from the generic undead. Are you perhaps... feeling empathy?"
"...Nothing of the sort, but I do feel no satisfaction from seeing the innocent being tortured for no reason."
"Oh I see!" happily exclaimed the necromancer. "However, he long lost the ability to feel pain. Now with only ecstasy being the only thing he could grasp, he would generate as much mana as we wish in order to continue experiencing it! And thanks to the stones providing life to him, he need not consume anything! Although. .. he loves to chew his arms but they grew back rather quickly."
Suppressing the civil war in his head, the overlord posed another question. "How exactly does this work? I don't see contraptions transporting the mana, so is it an area of effect buffs?"
"I can't go to further details, but I will you this because you asked so nicely; the hint is that the boy has a talent, a talent of being able to use any magical items."
"A magic item...? Could it be?!"
[All Appraisal Magic Item -ignore_restrictions: Detect Enchant]
The throne of stones glowed momentarily as data of it formed clearly Momonga's mind. He could see it clearly; the names, the origins, the compositions, every possible data were made available to him.
Firstly the overlord's guess was correct, chaos-stones were more concentrated, even purer than the one he had seen before. Secondly, the throne itself had no enchantment, simply a construct of generic slate. However- what had been placed in the middle of it is undeniable, one of the world items.
'Vae Victis' was its name.
And what can this world item do?
It was capable of converting any object within its range into 'energy' which it can store, and later grant as either HP or MP regeneration buff; However, it can only be used on other people's items when they are on the brink of defeat.
The original owner went on a rampage, reallocating his skill points into poison and other shenanigans that would ensure his enemy to be in a near-dead state as quickly as possible. Of course, he had no means of actually defeating his foe, but literally erasing their inventory from existence seemed to satisfy him enough.
Of course, the great devs had foreseen this problem. So they limited the item use to three times per day... However, due to weird interaction with a certain skill, it was possible to indefinitely refresh the cooldown.
So in the end, the community was met with unlimited use items wielded by a troll and his 'helpers', who caused a spike of rage quitters, especially the casual players.
The exploitation would go unpunished, however, as the devs simply compensate the victims with a 1000 yen gacha vouchers. But alas, the funny times of inventory destruction would come to an end as the devs not only patched the cooldown bug but also added restrictions that it can only be used on items owned by its user, thus defeating the point of having it.
Of course, thieves could snatch gears from their opponent and shred them using this item, but throwing the loot into the exchange box would accomplish pretty much the same thing, if not better.
Its whereabouts were unknown after the said patch as the guilds at the time saw no reason to pursue such a useless item. Eventually, this item's existence would be forgotten."
"Is it possible that the true reason this item went off the map is that it was transported here...? Then it must be someone's possession, another player's!... But if they are taken by a weakling like this... could their situation be similar to Nazarick? Or was there a time discrepancy?"
Somewhat proud of his flash of inspiration, the overlord inched closer to the throne and asked, "...How much do you know about this device? Like its composition, for example."
"Slate and chaos stones." The necromancer perfectly recited, with a subtle hint of sadistic hostility. "But that's not what you are asking for... right? You want to know what makes this thing run... correct?"
The necromancer's scarlet eyes glinted underneath his hood, a crawling sensation briefly struct Momonga, but not too long would it be suppressed.
"Uwaa he's making a scary face; maybe I was too hasty?"
Klem found, himself in quite a predicament.
Glancing instinctively at the veiled pouch tied to his thigh, he would decide against using it, an item that secured the minds of the liches on the previous floor.
Originally, Klem was certain that he could take him down. That thought was not without basis, nor was it generated solely from his ego, but that not a single hint of magical power can be seen within the undead, not to mention that Klem had done this multiple times. To capture 'sentient' undead for the studies of his 'master' or perhaps even make use of them.
Yet, something about the skeleton before him was different; he saw for a fact that Momonga utilised spells which could only mean one thing, he was capable of hiding his magical signature.
Gulping at the sight of blazing, piercing, crimson flames for an eye, Klem was simply outright intimidated by the skeleton which made him feel as if it was seeing through every last one of his intentions. Still, he did not make that apparent by showing many signs.
"Even my ring can't see through it. To what tier can you use 'Sir Momonga'? Could he perhaps use the fifth tier...? Regardless fighting him wouldn't be ideal even if he sees too much. There's a very high chance that this item wouldn't work. Sorry gramps, this one's your problem."
Low-tier magic such as [Conceal Mana] could perhaps negate trained human's basic detection, however, with Klem's ring holding the fifth tier spell of [Mana Essense], something like that wouldn't work, hence his assumption.
Before his train of thoughts could begin to crystalised, the undead suddenly interjected. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Is he mocking me?!" Klem cursed internally as he thought of a prompt response whilst maintaining a cordial face and tone. "W-What are you apologising for?"
"I was so invested in this object that I fail to realise the courtesy you have extended so far". He then bowed rather elegantly- "Asking for the secrets on an item of such importance is not befitting of me as a guest."
"...Pay it no mind sir Momonga... It's...natural to be curious about these." Klem made a brief pause to observe his conversation partner's reaction but could not divine anything from the expressionless skull. An uncomfortable feeling began to surge from listening to sentences filled with double meanings... Or so he might think.
Scrambling to take hold of the conversation, he uttered: "It is as you say. But to tell you the truth, I don't quite understand how it works either. Even so, my master would be delighted to discuss this topic; since he usually returns in the evening I would suggest you pass the time with other matters first if you want to meet him today."
It looked as if Momonga would be moved to answer. However, he swiftly glided his right fingers through the air to land on what would've been his right ear.
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Silence.
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For some reason, the flames in the skeleton's eyes disappeared, as if they had been extinguished.
The necromancer wanted to move, to say, to do something. But for the first time after he surpassed the age of a toddler, he found himself unable to move due to sheer pressure.
What could've caused this? Was it some kind of intimidation tactic? Was the undead surprised by something? Was it something Klem did? Or perhaps something else entirely.
But one matter was apparent.
Klem was scared shitless.
Meanwhile... A little bit earlier.
"I will not blame you. Perhaps I would've done something similar after being intimidated by that thing."
The one who said that was none other than the leader of the Sunlight Scripture, Nigun Grid Luin. It was only yesterday that he had been captured by the people of Carne, yet he looked as if he went through ten years of torture... Or perhaps he always looked that way after his scripture's forces were reallocated to fend off the elves and the chaos beats, reducing it to a mere pawn.
Alongside him would be Ian Als Heim, his second in command, who bit his lips after hearing his superior's words. It seemed Nigun misread the situation and did not even consider Ian to spill everything even when not pressured.
Still, not like it mattered...
"What happened to Wil?" asked Ian with the intention to steer the topic away.
"Haven't you figured it out?" curtly said Nigun before sighing deeply. "He's the spy. That's why that little bitch knows our every move."
The second in command did not reply, instead nodding in
understanding.
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The view of Carne slowly shrank as the two slowly ascend the hill, the roads back to Slane Theocracy.
There would be no one to receive them until they reached Kami Miyako not because they failed their assignment, but simply because there was no one left in Sunlight Scripture. Still, to leave them to walk home in such a manner was quite... miserable.
"Sir... might I ask you something?"
"...What?"
"Are you... truly fine with killing everyone in that village?" The second in command's question brought his superior to a stop before turning around.
"What's the point of asking that now?" Nigun angrily answered. "Besides, haven't you been asking that since the beginning of our journey? Shouldn't the answer be clear?!"
"From what I've heard, you let yourself be caught rather easily on your attempt to poison the well... Not to mention the last resort provided by the cardinals..."
"Ha... You mean the sealing crystal?" Nigun's black eyes gave an aggressive look at Ian, however, the second in command was unmoved, which was to be expected after years of working together. "The sacred vault were the weapons of the divine lies are now infested and blockaded by layers of miasmas. Would you enjoy wasting our national treasure on something as meaningless as this? Also, Carne is technically still a part of the Congregation, what do you think that mad marquis would do if we were to take it too far?"
"...Once he's done dealing with the royalist rebels across the nation, he would probably ally with the elves and take a slice of our nation..."
"Precisely, which is why it's imperative for us to finish the war with that impure race and rebuild."
"Hm... So that's what it was... Interesting. I suppose I get the gist of the situation now." A nonchalant androgynous voice suddenly spoke.
Nigun and Ian did not make time to be surprised. They had been ambushed countless times, by just a simple nod, the two divided areas of vision without letting their enemy hear.
"Who the hell are you?!" called out the captain.
... But there would not be a reply, nor would there be anything in sight. Could it be that they both hallucinated simultaneously? Such a level of coincidence could not be true.
With swift moments, Ian threw pouches the size of a palm to areas around him, promptly spreading light blue powder contained within them like some kind of smoke bomb.
But after the dust settled, nothing happened.
"It didn't work?! Could it be out of range? Or perhaps it's not invisible at all." Nigun cursed internally. Due to his experience, he should be able to sense even invisible foe. However, the weight of the situation was immediately made clear to him and Ian.
He had encountered some species capable of high-level camouflage before, as such, the invisibility-detecting powder would not have accomplished anything.
"Powder of will o' wisp... interesting. Was this invention bestowed upon you by otherworldly existence? Or was it the fruits of your labour I wonder? Regardless, much information is to be extracted." continued the voice in the same placid tone.
"Enough with the meaningless ramblings; what are you?!" Nigun swiftly countered. He wasn't expecting an actual answer, of course, as he was simply stalling for time.
"Very well, know this if you must." stoically yet tiredly stated the voice. "I am known as... The Evil Lord Pride-"
Colours drained from the two's faces upon hearing that. Numerous theories materialised in their heads. Could it really be true that the one before them is the Evil Lords said to be destroyed hundreds of years ago?
"That's impossible!" Ian shouted, seemingly losing his composure. Nigun was rather surprised by the sudden interjection of his subordinate, who can usually remain calm in a situation like this.
Nigun carefully considered the situation. Even if the claimant is not an imposter but a true evil lord, why should he be scared? After all, he could've simply used the secret weapon bestowed upon him by his nation. Using a one-time use item against an embodiment of evil seemed justified in his eyes.
"...Impossible?" The voice said in puzzlement. "I merely state what I am categorically called-"
[Widen Magic: Holy Light]
A ray of white light then shone upon the field after Ian's words, engulfing himself and a wide area around him. He and Nigun would be unscathed of course, as the spell only dealt damage to beings with negative karma.
"Holy Kingdom's tricks have their use after all." Nigun muttered to himself.
With his keen senses, he noticed an abnormality in the air where sparkles from the spell were misplaced. There it was; The invisible foe.
[Maximize Magic: Fireball]
The flame accelerated forward like a bullet and engulfed its target within a split second, making some kind of humanoid silhouette about three meters in height, with many limbs protruding from its body. The Sunlight Scripture's leader suffered slight recoil as the spell itself was modified to be able to move at this speed.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw several archangel flames fly by, poising to pierce their blades at their invisible enemy. Not wanting to allow breathing room, Nigun would follow by conjuring four angels of his own.
The sound of blades impacting Pride's body reverberated in the air. However, instead of the noise that one would expect from such an attack, the sound produced was similar to that of a bundled paper being thrown onto the floor.
Instead of inflicting any damage, the summoned angels were knocked back by some kind of invisible force. Not only that, about two seconds later, before they could even plan to get up, their blades simultaneously disintegrated, starting from the tip and eventually to the angels themselves.
Instead of acting surprised, Nigun commanded his summons to charge.
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The results were the same; they were all disintegrated in a blink of an eye. However, it provoked a response from Pride. "... Low-tier piercing attacks can not harm me... But since it is your desire to battle, then I will be happy to oblige, no matter how meaningless it may be!."
A wave of wind tainted by physical condensation of evil blew past the two Slane militants; while not strong enough to make them lose their feet, it was still as strong as an approaching storm.
The flames extinguished as the figure just then invisible turned a bit more perceptible until eventually fully realised.
The three meters evil lord, while having its head resembling that of a man wearing a top hat, one could clearly see that it was not an attire but rather its own skin. The limbs protruding from its body have a single finger, with nails long enough to be compared to a kitchen knife. Its skin is covered by a black composite plate forged by materials unknown to the two.
In its hand held a staff, at the length of a lamp pole with no sharp edges. It too, was made from an unknown material.
While that was happening, Nigun and Ian didn't simply stand by and watch like villains in magical girl anime. The second in command conjured six angel guardians, obviously meant to use them as cannon fodder. At the same time, Nigun called upon the strongest servant of god in the third sphere; the Principality Peace. An angel is more akin to a machine than its children book's counterpart. With the towering height of six meters and halberd of the same length; the angel cast a shadow down Pride as if seizing down a small animal.
Nigun gritted his teeth, knowing that losing concentration might result in his summons returning to its realm.
Of all his long career, he had only called upon Principality Peace once. Usually settling for the weaker Principality Observation which possessed the ability to grant nearby allies a boost in defence.
Like an hourglass being turned upside down at that instant, Nigun knew he must finish the demon as quickly as possible, no matter how possible it may be. So instead of bantering with his foe, which had become quite a signature of his; Nigun ordered the Principality to advance.
The angel flew towards Pride at the speed of a bullet, leaving behind a trail of holy light. It poised its weapon in such an odd manner that almost seem unnatural.
"Unpredictability of an artificial creation you humans worship as a divine messenger, no matter. I shall slay it the same." calmly announced Pride, seemingly unfazed. He held his staff by a single hand, readied to parry.
However- from behind the demon came the guardian angels. Using their shields to push him down, or perhaps simply attempt to make him lose his footing.
"Meaningless!" Pride called out. For the first time, sounded a bit irritated.
With a simple wave of his free hand, the angels disintegrated to nothingness. However, their duty had been fulfilled. Principality Peace reached its striking distance and with its weapon, it moved to pierce through the demon's heart.
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"W...What the...?!" Ian couldn't be helped but mutter to himself in surprise.
Instead of the great halberd, the angel now held the staff once armed by Pride. Somehow, its size changed to match the original. And, of course, in the demon's hand, the halberd would be in the staff's place.
Moving quickly, Pride skewered the angel's head before the before could even flinch. Using his ridiculous strength, the demon would motion the halberd to cleave through the body vertically, splitting it in half.
Instead of blood or innards gushing out, the angel simply disintegrated after a brief delay.
Suddenly, the grounds beneath the demon shook unstably before collapsing downwards, dragging the demon down.
"...!" Even though Pride's inhumane looks made it hard to recognise its expression, its bewilderment couldn't be more apparent.
It tried to leap out, but dozens of hands penetrated the dirt, firmly grasping his feet. Looking closely, they were all from some sort of angelic being. Not only that, three consecutive fireballs hit his face, impairing his visibility.
"Now!" shouted Nigun, looking like he was about to collapse. He had expended much, much more mana than he should be able to do. Perhaps it was because of his sheer will that he still was able to stand.
"Please lend us your power!" shouted Ian as the sealing crystal in his hand—just given to him a brief moments ago—shattered, spilling a brilliant, white radiance out as if it was going to consume everything.
A visage of a gigantic, many-winged entity materialised. With an angelic glow permeating from every part of its holy arrangements, the living below it gleamed in life as if being revitalised. From around twenty arms, one pair held a sceptre like that of a ruler during their coronation.
Ian's blood boiled; perhaps with this, victory was not far from grasp.
Rushing to help Nigun stand, Ian would give out his first order, one that might very well be the last.
"Erase the darkness! [Holy Smite]!"
Complying with the order, Dominion Authority raised its sceptre at the sky. And then- a pillar of light crashed down from the sky at speed greater than lightning. The continuing cascade of its radiance seemed unending.
He briefly glanced at his superior, who had already lost consciousness and was able to stand because of Ian's support.
"That should be it right...?" thought the second in command. Nothing would be alive after being hit by such distortion of reality. But for some indescribable reason, there was an uncomfortable, crawling sensation on the back of his mind.
"Such machination from the ones supposedly serve the divine. How surprised I was to see the methodology of your combat."
Ian's eyes widened as he started to sweat like never before. He turned around, swearing that he had heard something, or rather someone.
"Why so surprised, human? Are you not satisfied with the illusions I provided? Perhaps your definition of grandeur is not the one I can replicate?" the voice said this time in such clarity that the source could be identified easily.
It came from Dominion Authority... Though it couldn't be more apparent who the owner of the voice must be.
Ian then shifted his head at the still radiating pillar, he could clearly see an outline of something being engulfed within it. "But how?!" he shouted internally.
Just when his confidence reduced to the negative and replaced with fear; had he saw the truth of what had been in front of him for the past minutes.
The majestic, radiant pillar of holiness was nothing but. In truth, it was quite the opposite. An unholy glow of deep purple and carmine from a twisted resemblance of a tornado, revolving at speed unheard of in the new world. It emanated a vile, dense aura of what could be described as condensation of evilness itself, so much that Ian felt suffocated.
And what was being encased by it? Even with the darkened atmosphere, the second in command could make out what it was; Dominion Authority. The angel whose majesty moved him mere seconds ago was pushed onto the floor and struggling in vain to float upwards.
"I must commend you two, for suppressing your pride for far longer than I anticipated for mortals..." said Pride as he revealed to be flying above Ian. It seemed out of his many limbs, several pairs formed what faintly resembled wings. "But it mattered not. Even without being enriched by a split second of your false hope, our level of power is far too different."
Ian glanced at Dominion Authority, who was already half-transparent. He solidified his will. Even though there was no chance he could scratch his opponent, he would not simply go down without acomplishing anything.
"What...are you? What do you want from us?" he said, half-feigning a terrified tone.
Pride shook his head slightly as he motioned his limbs upwards.
A pair of magic circles formed under Nigun and Ian, encasing the two in a cage of onyx-like matter. "What is the point of inquiring about something so asinine-" The demon then suddenly stopped talking, instead moving one of his limbs to the area around his non-existent ear. "Yes, as you wish." he muttered softly.
"I've changed my mind, as a reward for amusing meーEven though we shall be talking at lengthーI shall satisfy your curiosity." there was a slight, subtle tonal shift from Pride, as if he was reading off something.
"I am The Evil Lord Pride, the one not mentioned in your myths. Many changes had occurred during my absence, so you two will be telling me all about the nuances."
Ian smiled internally, the fact that this demon gains strength from its opponent's hope and pride, the fact that it truly was one of the evil lords. Those should be enough for his homeland to go on.
"Have you heard all of that? I apologise for not completing my mission in Carne... But this, this repentance of mine...should...benefits...u..s..a...l...l" before his consciousness faded from the pressure so suddenly given out by the cage, he took one last glance at the sky.
Even though his Scripture may be abandoned in terms of manpower, his nation still monitored them via scrying magic. He thought that scholars back home would be able to learn more about Pride, and prepare for its defeat.
Author notes:
The next chapter will not be an extra.
Q: Hey-
A: Hello there dearest readers! Originally, this chapter's name is supposed to be "Momonga's happy tour" (I'm not even kidding, I'm as bad as Suzuki at naming things. Only shower thoughts can give a comparatively more 'profound and deep™ name)
Q: This chapter looks off.
A: You noticed? That was because the way I wrote this chapter, it was spliced and put back together... So it's highly likely that I missed several things, please let me know if you spotted them, I will fix them as quickly as I could.
Q: Why did you bully Nigun? After diverting his personality, I thought you might want to keep him around for further plot thingies.
A: ...Is it not a tradition at this point? Which writer mentions Nigun and not drags him to the abyss?...No comment on the later part...Let's say I'm very fond of the light novel's chapter 6.
Q: You are moving at a snail's pace. Even without your upload delays, didn't you promise to speed things up?
A: I mean, I planned to reach chapter 3 when an actual YGGDRASIL-like game is released so I would say we are on the right track. In all seriousness, I promise that it will get going soon!
Q: Why am I this cute?
A: Because you are my dearest reader~ Thank you for reading!
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Q: Wait... isn't Klem just Clementine?