Disclaimer: I don't own Overlord which is owned by Maruyama Kugane as well as Arknights which is owned by Hypergryph.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfiction. English is not my mother tongue so please be patient about the grammatical issues. I noticed that there is no Arknights-Overlord crossover yet unless there is one so I decided to write one instead. Set in the year of 1094 during the Kazdel Civil War, and three years before the Chernobog Incident. Which means Ainz will have the time to adapt and consolidate his power in Terra before the main story.
Chapter 001: Ainz Ooal Gown
Suzuki Satoru began to bewilder.
He had thought that once he finished beta testing, he would be greeted by the familiar sight of his room beyond a pane of thin glass, overseeing the skyscrapers of Tokyo.
After all, YGGDRASIL II will be going online next year for real users to play, he thought. However, what he actually saw turned out to be something else entirely.
"…What's this?" Satoru muttered to himself.
He had encountered something he could not understand which perturbed him.
The first thing which came into view was the bright night sky and twin moons? Was he still in the game testing site?
He doesn't know.
He also noticed that the constellations sparkled all around him, and the slow-moving clouds seemed to be trying to cover up their light. He could see the towering peaks of mountains in the distance, and some dead forests at their foothills rippled like waves in the breath of the night wind. It was a sight he could not see in the real world aside from the arcology zones and it was as though he had never left the game testing site at all.
Satoru glanced around at his surroundings again. The landscape was unfamiliar to him. What lay beneath his feet is an arid desert. Granted, there was no way he could know what every single square inch of the new created sequel maps had looked like. Perhaps there was scenery like this tucked away in some corner of the game. There was no way the display would be in error. Various possibilities flashed through his mind.
"Did something happen in the server's database?"
The most likely possibility was that a certain and undeniable reason had led to a breach in one of the private servers of the game company.
He hurriedly opened the communications function that he had shut off until today and then he slightly froze in place a little bit.
The control console did not show up as well as other control options.
"What is happening? What is this?"
As a mix of anxiety and doubt filled him, Satoru tried activating other functions.
None of them responded. It was as though he had been completely cut off from the system.
"…What's going on?" Satoru muttered to himself again.
This was a very abnormal situation.
Satoru looked at his hands. On his right hand held the symbol of the guild, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown.
A relic of the past.
He remembered the time of the first Yggdrasil game when his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, was in its golden age. It was quite memorable for him until it shut down. A few years after its end of service, a new sequel was announced. Satoru was very happy about the news and decided to become one of the first group of beta testers in beta testing Yggdrasil II.
The supreme staff was originally a guild weapon, but was completely modified into a world item by the developers and personally gave it as a gift to Satoru when they recognized his player name, realizing that one of their top beta tester was the former guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown. They were fascinated about their guild's staff and decided to make it as a world item instead.
The staff still retains its original mechanisms, but was upgraded. It was similar to Ginnungagap, but far more destructive and it is very useful against individual targets. Quite a powerful staff indeed and was tested several times before. He doesn't have to worry if another player tries to destroy the staff since it is now invulnerable to any kind of attack, especially theft as the developers made the World Items unstealable which Satoru was relieved.
Satoru shakes that memorable thought and focuses on his dire predicament right now.
It was true that nothing had changed. There was no doubt that those bony hands belonged to him. However, the sensation was different. Precisely detailing the difference was a little difficult, but there was a strong sense that those were his own hands. While they were the same hands from the game, there was a perfectly natural feeling to them, like he was looking at his own hands from the real world.
However, it was his ability to remain calm despite being in a dire situation like this which scared him more than anything.
Unconsciously, Satoru recalled the words his friend had once said.
Anxiety is the seed of defeat; you must think logically and keep your cool at all times. Stay calm, broaden your vision, don't get caught up on small details, and let your thoughts flow.
Satoru fell into contemplation as he continued to search for any settlements in the vicinity. Perhaps he should first investigate his surroundings from the air.
"[Fly]"
He ascended to the night sky and saw that he was floating in the air. Well, that was fine. After all, he had just cast a Fly spell.
Open spaces might offer a good field of view, but it was essentially exposing oneself to the enemy.
While he did not think that anyone would still be thinking of PKing him in the face of this incomprehensible state of events, and it was possible that Satoru was the only one who had ended up this way, he ought to move stealthily until he had unraveled this mystery. That ought to cut down on the probability of being killed by unknown forces. That being the case, this was the first measure he ought to take.
"[Perfect Unknowable]" Satoru cast a spell and turned him completely invisible.
This was a high-tier spell that far surpassed [Invisibility]. Now, he ought to be invisible, barring the use of some special spell or ability. While that was a trivial obstacle to a select group of players, it ought to reduce the chances of him being seen by the enemies. He looked at his bony white hands again and looked down. He could still see himself, and there was no indicator which told him that he was invisible. All in all, he had no confidence that he really was invisible.
He could not find the answer, no matter how he agonized over it.
There were many kinds of skills, but using undead creation skills and others while invisible did him no good. All it would do was expose his position. While he could use them to set a trap, given the present circumstances it might make someone who could have been friendly become suspicious instead.
Should I cover my face up? No, it feels like people who cover their faces are suspicious… good grief.
Is he still on the game testing site after all? No, although it feels like the answer ought to be close to it.
No matter how he thought about it, this simply was not the real world. But even if that were the case, it still left many questions unanswered.
Satoru put that question aside for the time being and cast a spell.
He started with [Message]. He ought to see if he could contact someone else, whether there was a person around.
After a while, he began to grumble.
"I can't connect, huh..."
He definitely could not contact anyone and neither could he log out. It was as though he was trapped in this unknown world.
Then the next thing he will do is to try looking around the surroundings to gather information. In that case, he will use that.
"[Boundless Viewing]"
It's a unique skill to view absolutely everything, everywhere, everywhen, and everyhow at the exact same time and regardless of where or when it is or might be. It can also view out into the boundless emptiness and nonexistence where isolated and locked entities dwell.
His crimson eye sockets glowed then turned golden to view the surrounding areas in this vast arid desert.
Satoru smiled in full satisfaction, and began looking for a populated settlement in the area.
Finally, an image of something like a village appeared in his view.
It appeared to be an abandoned village since he did not detect any sign of life inside the houses. By the looks of things, the village itself was not very developed. Some of its surroundings have black crystals of some sort in varying size. That peculiar crystal reminds him of his previous world which is quite dangerous, but a different color. Maybe a variant of those?
As he zoomed in on the abandoned village, he felt that something was amiss. Some of the buildings were burning in flames. Satoru guessed that there was a battle taking place in the abandoned village recently. So, he quickly decided to find some inhabitants nearby until a large black flame ignited from the far east of the village.
Without further delay, Satoru enlarged the image, he too furrowed his nonexistent brows. The image in his eye showed an ongoing battle happening there.
He looked closely at the fighting. A single person was fighting several armed men in the eastern side of the abandoned village.
They seemed to be humanoids with a pair of horns of varying shapes above their head, some have longer pointed ears, and a slim tail with a pointy end, making them identical to demons and devils of some kind. Does that mean that he was in a demon world or something else entirely? He decided to observe the situation first before taking action.
"Hmm. They're probably demons or maybe devils then, but they look different."
The heavily armed marauders continued to attack aggressively on the wounded individual, who was fighting for his dear life.
It felt like he was watching a TV show about animals and insects, where the strong devours the weak.
The law of the jungle demands: kill or be killed.
Satoru was taken aback a little by how he could make such a heartless thought. A cruel scene was occurring before his eyes, but there was nothing like pity, anger, or worry, basic human emotions anyone should have. Could it be that becoming one of the undead, he no longer considered himself part of humanity? No, how could that be? He struggled to find an excuse to justify his thinking.
He was no hero of justice. He likes heroes, but doesn't want to become one.
Satoru stretched out his bony hand and rubbed his skull head as he thought deeply. After becoming an undead being who was immune to mind-affecting effects, he had become unaffected to scenes like this? Definitely not. Seriously, he sounds like a person in denial and conflicted about himself which was not quite funny at all.
Blood sprayed everywhere as the heavily wounded person kneeled on the ground. While blood filled his mouth, he forced his mouth to move. His vision blurred and he probably did not know what he was looking at. But he still clung to life, and forced some words out, shouting at his attackers with sheer willpower.
"Intriguing. Even though he is on the verge of dying, it would seem that he wants to face the enemies until the end."
Again, Satoru was not an ally of justice. He would gain nothing out of this, he would not help those who were not even his acquaintances. Benefits were not everything, but it was more than half. However, that was if there was a benefit. It would be the very act of saving him. Thinking deeply for a moment, he needed information after all so he finally decided to save him instead.
"I would have needed to investigate their fighting abilities anyway."
Murmuring, Satoru took a bird's eye view of the situation. He looked closely that the demon was still barely alive and on his knees.
"Besides, sooner or later, I'll have to test my fighting strength in this world."
Satoru sighed hard, and then he grinned. Looks like he had no choice but to go save him personally and do some experiment on the enemies.
"[Gate]"
A spell allows its players to teleport anywhere and anytime without limit. It also had no limits on distance and a zero percent chance of teleport mishaps. The spell Satoru used was the most accurate and potent of such spells in his arsenal.
The scene before him changed in an instant.
A lone Sarkaz mercenary was at his wit's end.
He was outnumbered ten to one and completely surrounded by several Sarkaz marauders trying to kill him.
The pain filled his whole body as the infection was getting worse by the minute and his health was deteriorating rapidly for overextending his Arts. It was so great it almost made him collapse.
The taste of steel welled up in his throat, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The sticky ichor welled out of his mouth and stained his chin.
His body was shaky after being hit by a barrage of Arts from the Sarkaz casters and also got pierced by an arrow in some of the body from the Sarkaz crossbowmen.
He could not avoid the blow and swung wildly at them randomly, but his poor balance meant that they easily evaded the attack.
His black sword trembled in his hands as he gasped for breath. The fatigue that filled his body seemed to be whispering into his ear, telling him to just lie down and rest.
"The hunt has entered its final stages. Do not let the beast rest, continue attacking!"
Even though he desperately wanted a moment to recover, they surrounded him and mercilessly attacked him again, one after the other.
He somehow evaded some of the attacks from behind, and parried a thrust from the side. He used the strong angles of his coat to deflect the Sarkaz warrior's charge.
He wanted to counterattack his foes, but he was greatly outnumbered and on the verge of death.
As his strength diminished, he could only take out one opponent at a time, since he lacked the stamina to use Originium Arts. With no way to break through the enemy's encirclement, he felt death closing in on him. His concentration faltered, and he nearly fell to one knee. He desperately tried to refocus so he could fight back at his assailants.
The invisible impacts came again from the Sarkaz casters, striking him critically. The world before him shook mightily.
The Sarkaz mercenary used all his strength to try and maintain his balance. However, something seemed wrong with his body, and the strength that should have held him up was nowhere to be found. The itch of touching the barren spread through his body, and he realized his end was near.
He struggled to rise again, but his body betrayed him.
"Now, let us finish him off, but make sure he is dead."
His well-trained hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he could not pick up his sword. Even so, he could not give up. His gritted teeth made creaking sounds.
He was not afraid of death. He had taken many lives in the past, so he was prepared to meet his end on the battlefield. But he could not accept an end like this.
He could not allow himself to die at the hands of pathetic fools like this, and he could not bear his powerlessness. Blood dribbled out the side of his mouth as he rose to his feet again.
A man who should have been powerless to stand now stood proudly, the mighty force of his presence forcing back them that surrounded him.
Just getting to his feet had him panting heavily. His mind was getting blurred and his body felt like it had turned to mud. But he could not lie down. If he lay down, all would be lost.
Then, what he should do was defeat as many of the enemy as he could, and give them a victory that comes at a great cost.
"You will die here, mercenary. Because all you have to do is accept your inevitable death." The marauder leader said in an arrogant tone.
The Sarkaz mercenary just simply glared at the leading marauder as his cruel mockery reached his ears.
"If only you did not interfere with their affairs, you would not be dying here. You probably don't know about this since you are gonna die anyway. Your existence is far more dangerous since we are being hired from a certain clan to eliminate you at all cost. Also, they're quite generous, giving us some powerful equipment to face a beast like you."
The Sarkaz mercenary looked at them closely. They were all properly geared up with Columbian equipment and judging from their equipment and tactics alone, they must be professional mercenaries disguised as marauders who signed to some powerful clans in Columbia. He wondered who hired them and wanted him dead so badly since he never met them before but based on what the marauder leader said which confirmed his suspicions that he must be indirectly interfering with some kind of conspiracy, but he didn't care about that.
He doesn't matter anymore since this will be his final resting place. His last regret was that he didn't reach his destination.
"You and I will never see eye to eye." He said in a disinterested tone.
"What can that body of yours do? Cease your pointless struggles and lie down quietly. As a final act of mercy, we will kill you without drawing out your suffering."
"If you think… I'm helpless… then why don't you come... take my head? It should be easy… if I'm like this, right?" The mercenary said that to provoke him.
"...Hmph. You're all talk. It looks like you still want to fight. Do you really think you can win?" The Marauder leader taunted him to prove it.
He simply stared straight ahead, his hands trembling as he gripped his sword. He focused on the enemy in front of him, ignoring the marauders that surrounded him.
"What a pointless effort. Truly, you are a stubborn bastard. Fine, I'll be taking your head then."
Sarkaz Marauder Leader slowly approaches the mercenary carefully.
Then he stopped all of sudden and saw something else which surprised him.
Noticing this, the mercenary turned around and glanced behind his back and saw some kind of portal appeared behind him.
Suddenly, someone came out from it and saw a regal cloaked figure appeared before them and reveal his horrifying skull face!
It was a skeletal creature devoid of skin and flesh. He wears an elaborate, jet-black academic gown adorned with golden and violet edges. He looks like a great noble of some kind in one of the Terran aristocracy. He also has a dark red orb floating under his ribs that emanates a feeling of dread that the mercenary felt complete pressure from it. Not only its appearance, he is holding a magnificent golden staff and seven gemstones in the staff's snake mouths.
It was likely that he was a caster since their weapon of choice tends to be either a staff or without one.
"A Sarkaz Lord perhaps?"
The skeletal caster gazed coldly at the Sarkaz marauders standing before them. Perhaps they were shocked by the skull figure's sudden appearance, but their leader simply stared at the skeletal being closely, having apparently forgotten to swing the sword he was holding. It felt like they're being devoured by something.
The Sarkaz mercenary saw him reach out an empty hand and a heart appears from skeletal hand which shocked everyone in the vicinity.
"[Grasp Heart]" The skeletal caster crushed the heart bloodlessly on his bony hand without hesitation.
What happens next was the Sarkaz marauder leader collapses to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Some of the Sarkaz marauders saw what happened and took a step back in fear as their leader suddenly went down all of the sudden.
"What the hell happened?" Sarkaz warrior asked in a nervous tone.
One of the marauders checks their leader's condition only for him to suddenly realized that gravely shocked him to the core that his body was not moving which means…
"T-The boss is dead!" Sarkaz Marauder declared.
"D-Dead!? Impossible! You must be joking right?"
"I-I don't know!? But he is not breathing at all! And I can't sense his pulse!"
While all the Sarkaz marauders were in a state of panic and completely disarray, the mercenary didn't noticed that the skeletal caster moved past him which caught him completely off guard. He was now in front of him and begins to speak to the distressed marauders in a menacing tone that sounds inhuman to their ears.
"Since I've come all this way, I might as well run a few experiments. You all shall be my test subjects."
Hearing this, mercenary tenses up a little. Based on his words he was trying to test his power against his assailants so decided to stay put and silently observe the sudden situation.
Also, he is speaking Higashi weirdly. Does that mean he came from Higashi? A Higashi Sarkaz perhaps? However, the language feels off, he speaks something old or ancient. Different accent? Maybe but his instinct tells him something is not right about this enigmatic being that shows up.
"K-Kill the caster!" A Sarkaz marauder shouted and ordered an attack on the skeletal being.
The Sarkaz casters and crossbowmen attacked him immediately while the warriors charged furiously at him with their cold weaponry, attacking him.
The ranged attacks from the casters and crossbowmen have finally reached the skeletal caster; however, all the casters' attacks were completely nullified and arrows were shattered into complete dust. This greatly shocked the casters and crossbowmen at this. They try attacking again, only to show the same result from before. They realized that their attacks were not working against him.
Barrier? Did he cast a barrier around him? I didn't see him cast it.
What's even scarier was that all the casters' Arts are being nullified by the skeletal caster with ease.
"W-What the hell is this!? Our Arts are being nullified!"
"Even our arrows are not working on him! What is this!?"
"Who is this guy!"
While the casters and crossbowmen were shocked in disbelief at what they saw, the Sarkaz warriors had already reached the skeletal caster's position and they started to pierced, slashing and bludgeoning him viciously. They continue on attacking him relentlessly and spouting curse words at him.
"Die! You monster!"
"That's what you get for being arrogant, you bastard!"
"This is for the boss! You fucking caster!"
However, the skeletal caster did not react to it. He was just standing there without getting a single scratch from their weapons.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but piercing, slashing or bludgeoning. None of these attacks you can muster can do so much as put a scratch on me."
"What!? It can't be! This is impossible!"
"[Triple Magic: Dragon Lightning!]"
The skeletal caster chose to attack his foe with a powerful electric Arts.
A dragon-shaped bolt of white electricity crackled around his arms and shoulders. The bolt flared brightly as it instantly surged out at the marauders that surrounded him.
Some of the Sarkaz marauders saw this terrifying Arts and tried to run only to be electrocuted by the dragon-shaped lightning bolts that shone brilliantly for an instant.
Miserable as their death was, it was still a beautiful sight to the mercenary. Such a power display being shown.
That was the most magnificent electric Arts that I had ever seen.
The light in their eyes faded, and they all collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Their body beneath the armor was charred black and gave off a vile stench.
"Pathetic… they died so easily…in such a weak attack…." The skeletal caster was disappointed at his opponents being killed easily.
It wouldn't seem that the Arts he used was not his strongest, but from their point of view that Arts is quite powerful.
Instead of relaxing, the skeletal caster raised his hand and started casting another spell as he continued to test his powers.
He activated one of his skills and cast it.
"[Multiple Magic: Create Mid-Tier Undead, Death Knight]"
A multiple cloud of black fog appeared. The clouds headed straight for the bodies of the Sarkaz marauders who got electrocuted and then enveloped it.
The mist slowly expanded, and melded with their bodies. After that, the deceased bodies wobbled before slowly rising to its feet like a zombie.
With a wet, dripping sound, several rills of black ichor oozed out from between the gaps in the all the marauders' body. It must have come from their mouth.
The black fluid flowed out without end, until it covered their entire body. It looked like a human being that had been swallowed by a slime. Completely surrounded by the black liquid, the marauders' body began to twist and change.
After several seconds, the black liquid fell off the body of what was now a Death Knights that the skeletal caster had enchanted.
It was now two point three meters tall, and its body was correspondingly bulkier. It was no longer resembled a human being, but a wild beast.
In its left hand it held a large shield that covered three-quarters of its body — a tower shield — and in its right hand it held a wavy-bladed flamberge. These one hundred thirty-centimeter-long weapons were intended to be held with both hands, but the massive death beings could easily wield it with one hand. A dreadful red-black aura covered the flamberge's blade, which pulsed like a heart.
Its massive body was sheathed in a suit of full plate armor made from some black armor, and it was covered in red tracery that resembled blood vessels. The armor was also covered in spikes as far as anyone could see, and it looked like a man-shaped incarnation of brutality. Demonic horns sprang from its head, and one could see its rotted face underneath them. Twin points of hateful, murderous light shone in the eye sockets of its ghastly visage.
The mercenary saw something quite bizarre and horrifying at the same time. Is this even an Arts anymore?
First time seeing such a strange, but powerful Arts in his life. He was not even sure that the skeletal caster's power was even an Arts and could be something else entirely. Whatever that mighty power was, it was definitely newer than he had ever seen.
"Oh shit…." The marauder muttered in despair at the sight of the Death Knights.
In the blink of an eye, the hunters had become the hunted.
"Death Knights, exterminate all of them." The skeletal caster ordered.
All the Death Knights roared. So mighty was its cry that it shook the air, and it was so filled with bloodlust that everyone who heard it broke out in hell.
These Death Knights ran, fast as lightning. The way it charged forward without hesitation was like a hunting hound that had scented its quarry. The death creatures' hatred for the living made it sensitive to the prey that it would soon slaughter.
This was when their despair began.
"Aiiiiieee!"
"U-Uwaah!"
"W-What, what the hell!?"
"It's a monster!"
"Help! Somebody!"
Their panicked squeals echoed through the air. One of them huddled together with his comrades could not bear the oppressive terror and fled with a scream.
An overwhelmingly superior slaughterer, it savored the despair and terror of the pitiful humans who could not even survive a single one of its blows.
They tried an attack, though they were afraid. But even those blades which had made it past their foe's defense could not strike a telling blow through the Death Knight's armor. The result was their swords got shattered after making contact with its armor. The casters and crossbowmen also tried on attacking the Death Knights, only for their attacks to be nullified and arrows being bounced off just like skeletal caster before.
Some of the Death Knights did not use its sword, but sent the marauders flying with a shield bash, and it did so without using enough force to kill. It was clearly toying with them, given the way it did not use its full strength. It was plain to see that the Death Knight wanted to enjoy the dying struggles of these humans.
The remaining Sarkaz marauders were being killed left and right with impunity. The Death Knight only dealt fatal blows in earnest when the marauders tried to escape.
"F-Fall back! Signal the casters and crossbowmen to cover us! The rest of you, do your best to buy some-"
Before he could finish word, a corpse of their fellow marauders gripped his shoulder and without warning bites his neck viciously, eating him alive.
The deceased turned into Squire Zombies. These creatures killed by the Death Knight would become undead of comparable power, haunting the place where they were killed. The damned souls who fell to the Death Knight's blade would become its slaves for all eternity.
Some try to escape, but the monstrous Death Knight doesn't let them and blocks their escape route and slashing them into pieces without mercy.
The mercenary felt like he was trapped in someone's nightmare and he realized that the skeletal caster was an extremely dangerous being he had ever met.
Even if he tried to escape, he was already in a weakened state, completely wounded and severely injured. Not only that his Oripathy was getting worse by the minute and not in good condition to slip away while the skeletal caster and his Death Knights were busy annihilating his assailants. Then a moment of realization hit him, he was only targeting his assailants? That's when he suddenly realized that the caster was actually saving him from the start for whatever reason.
He doesn't know what his intention for saving a mere mercenary like him be, but he felt grateful for the skeleton being.
After finishing off the last marauder, the skeletal caster then turned around and faced him, approaching him.
He concluded that this being was an opponent which humanity could not overcome.
It was a massacre; all the marauders were brutally killed by the Death Knights and annihilated them completely.
Satoru had grown up without knowing the touch of violence in his life…. Well, there was a global conflict and infestation going on from his old world, but enough about that. He did not think that the world in which he currently resided was a simulation, but the real thing is that he just slaughters them without a second thought, even so, he did not feel the slightest bit of fear at the marauders before him who held a sword and crossbow. This calmness allowed him to make a cold, cruel decision which resulted in this bloody massacre in front of him.
"I see… so it's not just my body, but my mind that's no longer human."
However, it would seem those preparations would not be necessary. He turns around to see if his valuable information was still alive.
Satoru looks at the demon humanoid closely, he was a slim young man with short black hair, and crimson eyes. He wore a black hooded trench coat, fingerless gloves, and boots.
The most notable features were his ugly scar on his face and having a dull expression.
"He is badly wounded and not in good condition to get up. I better heal him up. Let's look for a healing potion."
After digging through in his infinite backpack, he found a small phial containing a bluish potion.
He picked up a Full Healing Potion.
A potion that could fully restore HP to full health, regardless of being poison or paralysis. It was planned to be frequently used by high players if the sequel was released. However, Satoru as he was now had no need for this item at all. This was because this potion healed through positive energy. To an undead being like him, this potion was like a severe poison to him. However, he kept many of these items just in case.
"Here, drink this." Satoru tries giving him a healing potion to heal his wound.
However, he was just simply staring at Satoru's face for a long time without getting a response.
"I'm offering you a healing potion, do you understand?"
Again, he was just still simply looking at him and the atmosphere became awkward by the minute.
The saved demon's reaction confused Satoru.
After all, Satoru had saved him in a tight spot, and had even offered him a healing potion. Why was he acting like this in front of him? What was going on here?
Does that mean that the demon in question doesn't trust him at all? Well, understandable that he was saved by a complete stranger with hidden intention and likely saw it as a ploy. Even though Satoru wanted to leave him to his fate at first, he ended up being his savior in the end. He should be crying and hugging him in gratitude. Isn't this sort of thing common in manga and light novels? But the exact opposite is happening now.
Where did he go wrong? Could it be that being instantly accepted was a privilege of the handsome and beautiful?
Wait, he was intensely looking at my face just now. Could it be that he was frozen in fear at my undead face?
Satoru made a blunder; he should have worn a mask instead, but his previous thought dismisses wearing a mask to make him look suspicious was too late.
Before Satoru could utter another word, the demon takes the healing potion from his hand and drinks it immediately.
His wounds heal instantly and check his body, astonished that his wound was completely gone.
"So, he did understand me, what a relief, but why did he take so long to respond to me."
"Now that you fully heal, explain to me on what happen- "
The demon that Satoru saved suddenly falls on his knee, his body starts to disintegrate, causing him severe pain.
Satoru is taken aback, He doesn't know what's happening, he thought that the healing potion completely healed him, but didn't expect this to happen. Was there a side-effect in the potion that he gives to him? No, he can't be? He doesn't know the answer. While thinking of an immediate action to stop this, the demon finally speaks, but in 'English'.
"L-Looks like my Oripathy has finally reached its limit."
Did he just speak in English? Satoru was speaking to him in Japanese before since he understood what he said. It was a good thing that he can speak many languages and was quite useful during his business trip in the zones on Earth.
Also, he mentioned Oripathy. What is that anyway? That's something Satoru doesn't know.
Satoru looks closely at the demon's body. He has some strange black crystal on some parts of his body, like in his shoulders and also on his hands as well.
"What's this Oripathy that you mentioned?" Satoru asked him in English.
The demon raised an eyebrow at him questionably. Did he say something wrong?
"B-Based on what you... said, you don't know what Oripathy is…. That means you're not from here."
Ignorance is frightening. Satoru made a mistake by saying what this Oripathy that he mentioned… Wait? Did he just speak in Japanese just now? Whatever, right now he needs to come up with an explanation to him before the negotiation goes out of hand. He also cautiously prepared to use [Time Stop] and [Control Amnesia]. The former was a tenth-tier spell that stops the enemy for a specific amount of time. No attacks will work or can be used while time is stopped. While the latter was another tenth-tier spell that grants the user some degree of control over the target's memories.
Before Satoru could take action, the demon speaks again in a painful tone.
"Doesn't matter… I'll be dead in a few minutes so…. I'll give you what you want... Name it, caster."
Well, his primary objective wss to gather information about this world from the demon and decide on what to do next after that. He plans to get information and leave him to die since the healing potion is not working but just then, he remembered something.
Saving someone in trouble is common sense.
"…" Satoru sighed and remembered what his clan leader said to him before he became the guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Now that he had recalled that memory, he had no choice but to save him at all cost. Also, he hates letting his effort go to waste after saving him.
He approached the suffering demon and stood tall over in front of him.
The demon mercenary noticed his actions and have his full attention on him.
"How about this, I'll absolutely save you from this Oripathy."
"S-Save me? How? There is no cure for Oripathy." The demon questionably looked at him in doubt.
So, this Oripathy was an incurable disease then. No wonder that his healing potion was unaffected despite curing his wound.
"Well, I don't have a cure for this Oripathy that you mentioned but…"
Satoru looks at the infected demon straight in the eyes and declared his intention to him that would change his fate.
"With your permission, I will be extracting your soul from your infected body and creating a new healthy body for you. How about it?"
"...You're serious?" The demon raised an eyebrow on this nonsense proposition that he came up with.
"Yes, I'll extract your soul and create you a new healthy body so that you can live. Besides, I want something from you."
"What… do you want then… money or something?" The demon painfully asked, trying to stay strong.
Of course, Satoru's real objective was to obtain information, and not money. However, directly asking for information would be strange. However, it was hardly strange to him. It was always a good idea to have a friendly attitude when negotiating with someone else. Also, he could simply have used [Charm Person] to make him talk, followed by high-tier memory alteration spells which he needs to test out first, but decided against it. He will only use that spell as a last resort if the person doesn't want to cooperate.
"I want information about this land and its surrounding areas since I came from a faraway place. So, I hope to have your full cooperation."
The two look at each other for a few seconds, the demon mercenary concedes to him and finally agrees to his absurd proposition.
"…Okay do it then." The demon decided to trust him for now.
"Very well before that. I want you to sign this contract."
A majestic contract appears on his hand and shows it to the infected demon.
This was the Absolute Contract or may even be called oath or pact, it contains conditions imposed by the contract that are absolute; and will always, inevitably, come to pass, no matter the conditions so dictated. The contract cannot be negated, nullified or undone by any external force or being, save by the user himself.
"I read the contract for you since you are not in a good condition. I'll make the condition simple."
The demon slowly nodded for Satoru to go ahead on reading the contract.
"The condition is that you will not tell anyone about my abilities and any sensitive information regarding me to anyone regardless what kind of communication you tell them with or without my knowledge. If breached, your existence will be no more. The contract will be renewed if both parties agree if the situation changes for the better. That's it."
"T-That's it?" The demon just blankly stared at Satoru.
"Yes, unless you want a complex contract."
Satoru is not good at making many conditions or even complex ones as well so he decided to make it simple for the contractor to understand unless he's dealing with a troublesome person that needed to be chained in a hard way. Of course, he can add another condition to bind him by force without the contractor knowing which he can if he betrays him or even gives him false information, but needs to test him first.
"If you sign this contract, your soul will have a new body and the deal is sealed. Your choice."
It feels like a Deal with the Devil vibe. Satoru sounds like a devil who is tempting a human to sign a demonic contract. Well, it was just good business.
"That's… sounds reasonable. I'll sign it."
"Good answer. Sign here.".
A pen appeared from his hands and gave it to the infected demon. The demon signed the contract in his name.
After signing, Satoru looked at it for verification. He nodded and the contract disappeared.
Without further delay, Satoru cast his skill, his right bony hand was glowing brightly and casted straight to the demon.
The spell that Satoru cast was [Soul Extraction]. It was a death-based ability to remove souls from oneself and others. It was also one of the new abilities and powers that Satoru possessed. Also, one of the unique skills that haven't been categorized or even tested yet just like the endless unknown tier spells and skills that he possessed.
The demon mercenary didn't feel any pain after his soul was quickly removed from his body, just completely shocked of what transpired.
Satoru extracts his soul from his body, holding a blazing black soul in his hand.
"Hmm, so this is the power to extract the soul. First time seeing it, but it could be different from its original mechanism that the developers had imagine."
While Satoru was preoccupied and studying the soul with interest, the demon's empty body starts to disintegrate in a similar way to spontaneous combustion as the crystals on his body start to glow, leaving behind a dust of Originium particles that could cause secondary Oripathy infections if the Infected body was not isolated properly.
Seeing this, he quickly moves elsewhere using [Greater Teleportation] and teleported to a safe location.
Satoru teleported to the central side of the abandoned village which he discovered earlier.
Suddenly, a magical screen appeared in front of Satoru's face, showing several enhanced body options. It contains a type of body that he will use to create a new body for the demon mercenary. Not only that, it shows his actual appearance on the other screen.
"Interesting, I can choose what kind of body he will use and still retain his original appearance."
He scrolls down the list to find a suitable body for the demon mercenary and prepares to recreate it.
"Let's see. Maybe I should pick this."
The one that Satoru picked was [Physical Perfection], an infinitely enhanced body with limitless physical attributes and perfect bodily aspects.
"Good, I don't have to worry about his well-being for now. He is strong enough to defend himself."
He also fixes his face by removing his ugly scar indefinitely. So, that's what he looks like without a scar, his appearance was above average while Satoru who is below average back in the real world distressed him on what he saw, but decided to ignore it since he is not confident of his appearance. Anyway, the demon's expression was quite lackadaisical and had an idle look, which gives off an unconcerned attitude.
For now, let's focus on finishing his promise to him and have a conversation with him properly.
"Now let's test this."
Satoru used [Life Recreation], it was an ability to perfectly recreate a person who died in every single detail from their memories, personality, thoughts, their body as it originally was, powers, soul, every detail would be recreated, even down to the molecules and atoms that made them up.
The soul began to shape some form and instantly finished in seconds.
"Looks like recreation was successful." Satoru was very satisfied with the result.
The demon mercenary slowly open eyes and checked his body for any black crystal and any sign of symptoms.
Satoru then shows him a mirror, using the [Mirror of Remote Viewing] as reflection in showing his face.
"Fascinating…" The demon mercenary touched his face, noticing his scar was now gone completely after his restoration.
"So, how's your body, any problem?" Satoru wants to hear if his great performance in customer service was well received by the client.
"I'm shockingly impressed. Not only that you save me from the marauders, but you also recreate my body as it was, but I feel different for some reason."
Contrary to his statement, his expression was unmoving which concerns Satoru, but decided not to point it out to not make the mood even awkward.
"It is a pleasure to hear that." Satoru was delighted at his service.
He noticed that the demon mercenary was looking at his Death Knights and Squire Zombies, who are standing around, unmoving.
"Are you curious about my undead creations?" He asked if the mercenary had interest in his undead.
The demon mercenary turns around with both his hands in his pocket and walks up to Satoru, stopping one meter in front of him.
"Yes, your Arts is quite amazing and bizarre at the same time. Also, very valuable if someone discovers this."
Now that's something that Satoru needs to gather information about. Some kind of natural ability in this world. He will likely look into it.
"Wrong. This is not Arts, I used magic."
"Magic? Arts can be described as literally magic. Maybe your terminology is quite different here since you came from a faraway place after all."
Is Arts just another term of magic in this world? Satoru noted that. He had to be very careful about his words next time. At least he can rely on him to corrected his words if he said something too foreign to avoid miscommunication with the inhabitants here.
"With that said, this is not for free, you know. I expect that you don't spread this information to anyone."
Someone who saved others' life was entitled to a reward for their hard work. Yet, if the savior said they did not want a reward, anyone would find that strange. Then, the next best thing was to make the other side feel that they had paid in some way, even if it was in an intangible form.
In other words, the best solution to the present situation was to allay their suspicions by having them trade information to him. That would put them at ease.
"...Of course. I will not let anyone know about this based on my contract with you since I don't plan on letting myself be obliterated. However, no one will believe that kind of power that you possess. They will think of me as some kind of a madman and send me to solitary confinement. That will be quite troublesome."
"Hmm. I guess so."
"Still, your power would definitely give hope to all the Infected on what you did to me and save them from their grave suffering."
"Infected? Does that mean there is an ongoing global pandemic in these lands?"
It would seem that there was a pandemic going on in this world. He hopes his immunity to any disease will work out. Also, Satoru doesn't have a cure for Oripathy after his healing potion failed to cure this disease, but only heal the body.
"…Yes, a malignant infectious disease called Oripathy when direct exposure to Originium."
"Originium?"
"It is a black, semi-transparent crystalline mineral commonly found in Terra."
Terra? So, that's the name of the world that he was transported to. Also, he finds out about this Oripathy as well and where its origin was. That disease came from a black crystal. So, it is a cancer rock then.
"It is also a common energy source for countries and a highly valuable resource ever since it was discovered in ancient times."
Discovered since ancient times? He may look through their library for its historical records when they reach civilization.
"I see, that peculiar black crystal that I saw in the village earlier is Originium then."
"Yeah, that's the place that I got ambushed after I entered the village. Quite unfortunate, you know."
That explained that some of the village houses were burning that he saw earlier and the place was set as a trap for him. It seemed that the demon was not well liked based on the many assailants trying to kill him.
"Is this Originium also dangerous to inorganic as well?"
"No, Originium is dangerous to organic matter only… you are thinking such a frightening thing. I shudder to think what you said makes it even more dangerous then."
There was a possibility that Originium adapts and evolves into a new stage, becoming even more dangerous. Right now, it is just a theory of his, but he hopes that doesn't happen.
"Before I continue giving you more information, May I know your name?"
"… My name?"
Satoru almost responded by reflex, but in the end, he did not state his real name. However, the demon noticed his hesitation.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me your real name. You can use a fake name or codename if you want. I'll not force you."
Satoru glanced at the demon; he is quite observant despite his skull being hard to read by people. He must be careful around him.
For now, he returns back to his previous thought about his name. He planned to use his player name "Momonga", but it was that name of the guild master of the former Ainz Ooal Gown. He also planned to use his real name, Suzuki Satoru, but that's his old name back from Earth. Nevertheless, he decided on a new name to use and start anew in this world.
Then what should he call himself now? He thought very deeply until something came up in his mind and grinned at that thought.
"...Remember my name very well for I am…. Ainz Ooal Gown!" Satoru declared.
From now on, he will be called himself Ainz Ooal Gown. He will let the entire world know that his name will be widely known in this land.
"That name sounds like a noble name to me. Are you from the aristocracy? Should I address you, Lord Gown?"
The demon mercenary was under the impression that Ainz was a nobleman based on his clothes and name.
Seriously, calling him Lord Gown seemed to be too honorific for him. He decided to be informal with him instead.
"Please you can just call me Ainz. How about you? Since I saw your name in the contract, I prefer to hear it from your own mouth."
Satoru already knew his name, but he felt like letting his new acquaintance properly introduce himself. It was just courtesy from him.
"Hmm. Name's Jaldabaoth, I'm a Sarkaz Mercenary and a Catastrophe Messenger."
Catastrophe Messenger? He is some kind of demonic herald to deliver bad news to its enemies. Whatever it is, his job class seems to be interesting and unique.
It would seem that Ainz had increased his interest in the Sarkaz mercenary and his peculiar job. It's better to make connections with him as of now.
While he was in deep thought, Jaldabaoth moved closer to Ainz and extended his hand, offering a handshake to him.
"Nice to you, Ainz. I hope we get along, I guess."
"Certainly, Jaldabaoth. We will get along just fine."
They shook hands, it was the beginning of a new dawn between the undead and devil which will lead into unexpected prominence in Terra.
