Hello again!
I know it's not the day yet, but I wish you all a happy Lunar New Year. If I wait until the next chapter to say this it will be too late lol.
Putting that aside, here is the next chapter. See you again in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
Lower Fire Month (9th Month), 4th Day, 23:40
The group of five adventurers flew at a height above the rooftop of the buildings within the Warehouse District of Re-Estize capital. Below them, there was a heat of battle between the army of demons and Darker monsters. The Darker monsters were a lot fewer in numbers, but they were individually strong. Even the smallest, weak-looking ones were capable of killing an Overeating easily. The larger, intimidating ones lived up to their appearance, wrecking every demons that got too close.
The demons could still hold out because so far all of the Darkers were melee attackers, so demons capable of ranged attack, flight, or both, could keep their distance and whittle their enemies down. The advantage was not absolute because despite being melee attackers, some Darkers were capable of flight, such as those round fish Darkers.
One thing that would seem weird for anyone not in the know was the sight of some demons fighting each other. Ainz already knew that those demons had been infected by the Darker spores, seeing that there were quite a good number of Darker dead bodies across the streets.
"There!"
Ainz heard Narberal shouting. Ahead of them was a rather spacious area, probably the town square area or such. There were several Darker dead bodies in the area, and what Ainz saw in the middle of the square was Demiurge fighting three large unknown monster, which were probably Darkers. These particular Darkers were very large, about seven or eight meters tall with fairly humanoid body structure but without the head. They had long armored arms which would touch the ground if they bowed just a little, making their stance a little similar to a gorilla. Their torso could as well be their head because the shape and the two large bright spots near the sides could be interpreted as a face with the eyes.
"Alright, stop for a moment!"
Ainz shouted, and everyone stopped their flight, floating in midair.
"Ryu, identify the Darkers"
"Wolgahda, sub-boss class of Darker. Weakspot is the small face between the two bright eye-like spots"
"I see. It seems Jaldabaoth is holding out well"
Right as Ainz said that, one Wolgahda was slashed by Jaldabaoth and perished, but its body didn't disintegrate.
"Ryu-san. Isn't that... Demiurge-dono?"
Kinda expected this already...
Ainz knew that either Ryu or Lily would recognize Demiurge immediately with only a single mask as his disguise. Ryu might still pretend to be oblivious since he knew that Ainz and Momon were the same, but Lily would definitely point that out.
But the other one is the one making this complicated the most...
Ainz was specifically thinking about Alice, who, as expected, began asking questions.
"You know him? Is he one of the subordinates of Ainz Ooal Gown?"
And as expected, she jumped into the correct conclusion quickly.
"Well, yes. I think so. But, I believe the most important thing to do is to clean up the Darker dead bodies. We can ask questions later, alright?"
Both Alice and Lily nodded, and Ainz was relieved in his mind.
Good job, Ryu. That saves me the speech.
"I believe Ryu is correct. Let's save any questions for later and assist Jaldabaoth by cleaning up the Darker dead bodies first. Nabe, toss me to the square and assist Ryu's group"
"Sure, Momon-san"
As intructed, Narberal dropped Ainz in the middle of the square not too far from the spot where Demiurge was fighting the remaining two Wolgahdas. Right at this time another Wolgahda had been slain.
Ainz took his Frost Pain Modified from his inventory and jumped towards the dead body of the recently slain Wolgahda. With a single downward slash, the dead body disintegrated. Ainz felt relieved that this improved replica of the magic sword owned by Zaryusu was good enough to disintegrate Darker dead bodies, which meant it was also likely eligible to kill Darkers properly.
Ainz repeated the same action to the other dead body of Wolgahda, and it also disintegrated into smoke. Ainz then looked at the last Wolgahda, and noticed that it jumped at him, doing a full body dive. It slid through the ground bulldozing everything in its path. Ainz jumped up, evading its attack. At some distance away it stopped sliding, but it quickly turned around and did the full body dive again.
This time, Ainz didn't intend to evade.
"Icy Burst!"
Ainz used the special ability of the sword, shooting out a wave of cold, freezing air at the coming Wolgahda. It was a success. The Wolgahda was stopped in its tracks by numerous ice pillars which pinned it in place.
Ainz then jumped forward right at the Wolgahda and stabbed the weakpoint Ryu had mentioned with the Frost Pain Modified. The Wolgahda wailed for a moment, and then it perished with its body disintegrating.
Good, this is sufficient to properly kill Darkers.
The rest of the group landed next to him soon, and then they all directed their eyes to the single figure of a demon; Demiurge, or known as Jaldabaoth at that moment.
"Let me do the talking. But stay alert as well"
Ainz said that, and everyone else in the group nodded. He then walked a few steps forward to Demiurge, who was standing still without any speech. Ainz noticed that Demiurge still had his [Razor Sharp Claw] activated.
"Jaldabaoth! I am aware we didn't have a good start the first time we met, but the situation has changed. Are you still capable of reason?"
Ainz shouted at a distance. He was prepared, so even if Demiurge immediately attacked he would be able to dodge for sure. Albedo had not contacted him yet, so it was likely Demiurge was still not fully lost yet. However, Demiurge seemed to begin laughing.
"Ahhh... hahahaha... The situation has changed... I am fully aware of that already... However... Right now I am already at the brink of being unable to control my own actions... I advise you to run away, unless you want a hell of a suffering..."
Good, Demiurge is still not fully taken over by the Darkers yet.
"Ryu, come here"
Ainz made a gesture for Ryu to come near, which Ryu complied.
"What do you think? It seems he is not fully taken over yet. Do we have a good chance to cure him?"
"If he is still at that stage, there's a way to cure him without beating him up"
What Ryu had just said felt like a new beacon of hope for Ainz.
"How?"
"He just need to stay still for a minute while I touch him and flush my photon energy into him"
"Alright"
Ainz then looked straight at Demiurge again and began shouting.
"Jaldabaoth! You are getting infected by the spores of the creatures you fought, namely Darkers! This man besides me can cure you, but you need to stay still as he does the work! Can I trust you to do that!?"
"Eheheheh... Unfortunately... I really can't... I'm afraid I can't... hold this... for another... second... Ugh... UUUUURRRRGHHH!"
Ainz immediately knew that Demiurge was no longer able to fight the urge of violence. Up until recently, he had the three Wolgahdas as targets to vent out the urge, but now there were no targets other than the group.
"Oh no... Stand back!"
Demiurge twitched like an epileptic. Ainz could see that he was still struggling against the infection, and seeing the unsightly scene filled Ainz with a number of emotions. Sadness for seeing the suffering of his friend's child, guilt for making a mistake which had led this to happen, and anger at whoever was behind this.
Demiurge, I'm really sorry for this. I made a mistake and you have to suffer for it. I will end your suffering, and I will make the Dark Falz pay for what they have done to you!
Ainz charged at Demiurge, fully intending to kill him and end his suffering.
However...
"AAAAAAAARGHHH!"
SLASH!
SPLORCH!
THUD!
Ainz stopped, not believing what he had just seen.
Demiurge had amputated both his arms simultaneously with a single slash from his own [Razor Sharp Claw]. The cut part squirted a lot of blood, and he dropped down to his knees.
"W-What have you done!?"
Ainz just couldn't hold his feelings as he shouted. The sight of Demiurge committing a self-harm was intolerable. His emotion override managed to suppress him, but the fact presented in front of him still remained.
"Eheheheh... Now I can stay still... Do your work..."
THUD!
Right after saying that, Demiurge fainted with his face on the ground. The cut off arms lost their claws and reverted back to normal looking arms.
"Ryu!"
Ainz looked at Ryu while calling him out. Ryu nodded and immediately ran to Demiurge, followed by others including Ainz himself. When he got close, Ryu kneeled next to Demiurge and put his hands on Demiurge's back. Soon, Ryu's hand let out blue glow followed by Demiurge's whole body. Along with the blue glow, some dark red particles were visible, oozing out from Demiurge's body.
"Is he going to be all right?"
"I don't know. He will be cleaned from Darker infection in a minute or two, but with this kind of wound..."
"Nabe, do we still have more of the [Heal] scroll?"
"No, I'm afraid we only had one to begin with"
Hearing what Narberal had just said, Lily looked at Ainz with a face full of guilt. Ainz noticed that, and so he spoke before Lily could say anything.
"No need to be sorry, Lily. We will find another way"
"Ah, pardon me. Maybe I can do something"
It was Alice who suddenly spoke. Ainz remembered that she was capable of healing lost limbs to regrow, though with the catch that the regrown limb would be unusable for a few days.
Well, Pestonya can treat him in Nazarick afterwards. There's no loss for letting her try.
"Go ahead. I don't want Jaldabaoth to die from blood loss after all this effort to reason with him"
"Alright"
Alice then approached the still unconscious Demiurge and began casting a spell.
[Boost Maximize Magic: Cure Light Wounds]
Ainz sighed in his mind as Alice casted the spell.
Oh come on. That much metamagic will leave you dry. Haven't you learned? But then again, this is Demiurge she was trying to heal.
Demiurge's body radiated a green glow, and the wounds at the amputated spot were closed. However, his arms didn't regrow. Ainz had already expected this, since an Archdevil like Demiurge would need much more than mere low tier healing magic to be healed properly.
"I think that's enough, Alice. That should be sufficient to at least prevent him from dying from blood loss"
"Alright"
"Let's all keep watch on our surroundings while Ryu does his work"
Everyone else nodded and they surrounded Ryu and Demiurge in a circle formation. Fortunately, nothing happened despite the heat of battle all around at a distance.
One minute later, there were no more red particles coming out and Ryu stopped his doing.
"That should do"
Ryu stood up, and Ainz came closer to Demiurge.
"Jaldabaoth, are you awake? Can you stand up?"
Right after Ainz said that, Jaldabaoth grew sinister wings on his back, floated a bit, and landed on his two feet. The wings then disappeared.
"I feel... calm. The violent urge disappeared. So it is true that you cured me"
Demiurge looked at Ryu as he said that, and then he continued.
"It shames me to admit this, but I suppose I owe you one"
Ainz then spoke, seeing if he could still maintain the facade.
"Jaldabaoth, now that we can talk properly, I want to ask if we can be allies, even if temporarily"
Demiurge was silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking behind the mask.
"Normally I would never ally with humans, but since I owe you a favor, I will go along with you for now"
"Are you still capable of fighting?"
"Indeed, without my arms I can't do physical attacks. But I am still capable of casting powerful magic"
"Do you have more subordinates? Against the threat we are facing we may need all the help we can get"
"Indeed I have, but I have ordered them to retreat. I didn't want to risk losing another"
Now, what should I say next...?
Ainz wanted to summon Yuri and CZ, who were supposed to play as Jaldabaoth's demon maids along with Solution, Lupusregina, and Entoma during this operation. But right now there were two people still in the dark about his identity, and if possible Ainz wanted to keep it that way. So now he was thinking of a wordplay which would make Demiurge call those two without sounding suspicious.
But then again, I accidentally blurted out some suspicious words to Lily just recently. She probably had known already, and Alice being sharp as she is, the chance of her also figuring my identity is quite high...
Ainz was quite overwhelmed with the current situation. Despite being an undead with an emotion suppressor, there was still a feeling which would never be suppressed by the system. The one feeling which had been accumulating steadily over time.
Tiredness.
I'm tired...
I'm tired of all this facade...
I'm tired of playing the all-knowing, almighty leader...
I'm tired of being someone I'm not really am...
Ainz was tired ever since quite a while ago. However, he had been enduring it for fear of being abandoned by the guardians and every other residents. He didn't want to have that happen, no matter the cost.
No matter the cost... What a fool I am...
That phrase sounded really stupid now. It has been presented right in front of his face that harm befalling the guardians was among the cost of keeping up all the facade, and that also included death like what had happened to Entoma. Being abandoned would be terrible, but seeing them all getting harmed for this facade was too great of a cost. Ainz had realized that too late.
That's it! I've had enough! To hell with getting abandoned if they will be harmed otherwise!
"Demiurge! Return to Nazarick and rest up!"
Pretty much everyone were surprised by what Ainz had just said. Demiurge in particular seemed to be surprised the most, and then he spoke.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Who is this 'Demiurge' you are talking about?"
"Demiurge, by the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, drop the act"
Demiurge was speechless, and then he dropped to one knee.
"As you wish, Ainz-sama"
"Return to Nazarick, and have Pestonya heal you up. Also, tell every other guardians in Nazarick to be ready for battle but don't join the fray unless I say so"
"Yes, Ainz-sama"
"Narberal, call CZ and Yuri. Tell them to come immediately"
"Yes, Mo..Ainz-sama"
Narberal then began using [Message] while Demiurge stood up.
"Go now, Demiurge. Also..."
Ainz was silent for a few seconds.
"After this is over, I will have an important announcement. Will you be there?"
"There's no question, Ainz-sama. I will be there even if I have to travel an entire world's worth of distance"
"I see... Now go"
Demiurge bowed, and then he went away using [Greater Teleportation]. Ainz then looked at the rest of the group, who were still silent so far.
"There you have it. I have been lying to you all, all this time"
All of a sudden, Lily hugged Ainz.
"W-Wha...?"
"Thank you, Papa"
"What?"
"You have been secretly watching over me all this time, right? From the day you created me"
"Uhh..."
"From the moment I was created, I was prepared to devote myself to serve my master, no matter how bad I would be treated. Even if I were to be treated as a worthless slave, I would never complain. You created me to serve Ryu-san, and I am happy that Ryu-san is a very caring master"
At this moment, Ainz wanted to stop her misunderstanding and come clean. But he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her happiness.
"But not only that. You went all the way out to watch over me, even though there is no need for you to do that. To have both a caring master and a caring creator, I can't be happier than this!"
Ainz felt awkward inside his mind. Ryu probably felt the same, and he visibly showed signs of it from the minor body movements he made.
"Ryu-san! Papa! I love you! Both of you!"
Suddenly, right after speaking the declaration, Lily's body emitted a quite blinding light. Everyone there, Ainz included, got surprised. Ainz had no knowledge at all about the ongoing thing. However, as if something out there knew his question, Ainz heard a message projected inside his mind.
**NOTICE**
Special Requirements Fulfilled
(The Master Is Someone Else) (Rescued The Dog) (Papa of Dog) (Loving Daddy – Creator) (Loving Daddy – Master) (Happy Dog) (Loved by Dog – Creator) (Loved by Dog – Master)
The class levels of Lily Vangraf will now evolve.
[Loyal Dog] level is increased to 10.
Acquire new class: [Devoted Dog]
Equipment restriction removed.
Checking optional requirements.
Optional requirement fulfilled: (Melee Fighter)
Acquire new class: [Fighter]
Optional requirement fulfilled: (Mid-Level Slayer)
Acquire bonus stats.
Optional requirement fulfilled: (Cheated Death)
Permanent Death restriction relaxed. Resurrection is now possible if performed within 5 minutes.
No more optional requirements fulfilled. Proceeding to next step.
Lily Vangraf will gain some classes of the Master.
ERROR!
Unidentified job class detected in the Master. Could not complete the step.
Diverting to the Creator.
Step complete.
The following classes have been acquired:
[Warrior][Champion][Battlemaster]
Calculating levels of new classes.
Calculation complete.
Lily Vangraf now possesses the following classes:
Loyal Dog Level 10
Devoted Dog Level 10
Fighter Level 15
Warrior Level 15
Champion Level 15
Battlemaster Level 10
The Creature Within Level 27
Total class levels of Lily Vangraf exceeds threshold. The class levels and stat boosts from the temporary class [The Creature Within] will be ignored.
W-WHAAAAAAAAT!?
Ainz couldn't believe what had just happened. According to the message projected in his mind, Lily had just evolved from a weak level 5 NPC into a level 75 warrior type NPC, which meant she was now stronger than most Pleiades. He had no knowledge at all about this kind of thing happening in YGGDRASIL, ever. All he had ever heard about the [Loyal Dog] NPCs were the grievings and mournings of the players who had lost their NPC thanks to the PK-ing nature of the game which naturally would get the NPC killed. The playerbase had unanimously agreed that the NPC was just a troll move by the shitty devs.
But seeing what had just happened, Ainz understood one thing.
The devs were even shittier than he had been thinking of.
Seriously!? Those requirements are fucking unrealistic! Who in their right mind would assign a unique, one per player NPC to another player!? And both have to be doting daddies to the NPC to boot!? Really!? What if one of the players is female!?
Putting the complaints aside, a level 75 NPC was still far weaker than a top tier player, but with proper setup they could still hold the fort for a while to buy time. Moreover, with their quirk of not being counted against guild base level limit, they were essentially a free, one time use, additional layer of defense.
If we had known this back then, we might have had a bunch of free NPCs to guard Nazarick. But oh well...
Lily's new classes were definitely copied from Ainz's converted [Perfect Warrior] classes. Ainz wondered what would have happened if he had not been under the effect of that spell, but since it was already past, there was no use thinking about it.
First, he had to explain things to Ryu, who obviously had a lot of questions. At this time, Lily had stopped shining and she also looked quite confused. Her physical looks were still the same.
"Lily! Are you alright? What just happened?"
"I-I have no idea, but I'm fine I think"
Both Ryu and Lily looked at Ainz, hoping that he would have answers. Thankfully, he indeed had answers thanks to that projected message.
"Ryu, we have triggered an evolution. In short, Lily has become stronger"
"What?"
"Oh, so Lily just got a special kind of lair-bellup"
Both Ryu and Ainz, and everyone else in the group, didn't have the slightest idea about what Alice had just said.
"Excuse me, what did you say?"
"Lair-bellup. That's what we say when someone breaks through their current limits, and they experience a permanent increase in their overall abilities. It is an ancient term known since more than 200 years ago"
Lair-bellup... could it be that the phrase is actually 'Level Up' but distorted by time? That pretty much confirms that there are players who arrived in this world before me.
"I see. It seems the final thing needed to trigger the evolution was... that love declaration. A-Anyway, we can save that for later. We need to-"
WHOOSH!
CRASH!
Suddenly, something big flew by right above the group and crashed through many buildings. It turned around, crashed through more buildings, and landed at the square. Ainz saw that the creature was a 10 meter tall tortoise standing on two legs, like a famous monster from ancient kaiju movies. From the color of the body and the single large red core on the head, Ainz could easily conclude that this was another Darker.
"Ryu, identify"
"Zeshrayda, boss class Darker, Head core or neck core, lightning element"
"Neck core? I don't see neck core"
"Neck core is more vulnerable but is only exposed if the Zesh is toppled over"
Right after Ryu said it, both CZ and Yuri arrived via [Gate], probably casted by Shalltear. They looked ready for battle in their Pleiades uniform. The portal disappeared right after they came out.
"Good, you have come. Listen up, I want you to fight that monster alongside us. Use everything at your disposal, especially the new moves you gained recently"
"As you command, Ainz-sama"
"Let's go!"
The whole group immediately charged at the Zeshrayda, which immediately roared and dropped to its belly, resulting in a full frontal body slam. Nobody got hit because it was still far in front of the group.
"Evade to the side!"
Everyone heard Ryu's warning and immediately sidestepped as the Zeshrayda launched itself forward like a freight train with what seemed like jet engines on its back. Nobody got hit, and the Zeshrayda drifted around, ending in a standing position.
"Zonde!"
Both Ryu and Alice casted a Photon Tech simultaneously. The Zeshrayda got struck by two lightning bolts from above, one being quite larger than the other. It was staggered, and then it turned around.
"Incoming!"
The Zeshrayda shot out numerous dark energy bolts from four cannon-like holes located on its shell. Some of them had a sharp needle-like shape, while the rest were round spheres. The sharp ones had some homing capability, turning towards their target as they flew.
"Maximize Magic: Chain Dragon Lightning!"
Narberal casted a spell which pierced through the energy bolts, destroying them and hitting the Zeshrayda as well. Some energy bolts still went through and hit the ground, causing explosions which thankfully didn't hit anyone.
"Break the legs to topple it over!"
"Got it, Ryu! Yuri! Take the left! Our left!"
"Understood, Ainz-sama"
Both Ainz and Yuri charged towards the Zeshrayda, which turned to face the group after shooting those energy bolts. Yuri slowed down to a walking pace and charged energy at this point.
"Straight Charge!"
Yuri zoomed right to Zeshrayda's right leg with a straight punch coated in energy. It was a direct hit, and then she followed up.
"Backhand Smash!"
Yuri did exactly as she had shouted; a single strike with her backhand.
SMASH!
The sound of the impact was unnaturally loud, and the armor covering the Zeshrayda's leg shattered with that strike. The Zeshrayda started to lose balance as the result.
"HA!"
Ainz struck the other leg using Frost Pain Modified with all his strength. The leg's armor also shattered, and the Zeshrayda fell on its back, exposing its neck core.
At a little distance, CZ calmly aimed her gun in a one-knee position. A pale flickering blue light came from the sky, covering the Zeshrayda's head and torso. The light coverage gradually shrunk every second as it got brighter, until only the exposed neck core was covered by a quite bright vertical light. Both Ainz and Yuri knew what this was, so they jumped away from the Zeshrayda.
"Satellite Cannon"
A bright pillar of light fell down from the sky, striking the Zeshrayda with an intense explosion. After the light pillar disappeared, everyone could see that the Zeshrayda was no longer there. It has disintegrated, and what was left there was a large, deep crater.
"Woah..."
Ryu didn't hide his astonishment. Indeed, the environmental damage was greater than the test back in the Amphitheater, mainly because the Amphitheater was made to be resilient compared to the ordinary structures in this world.
In any case, now Ainz has confirmed that the Photon Arts bestowed to Yuri and CZ were sufficient to fight against large Darkers, so the smaller Darkers in the area should be no problem for them.
I still can't risk sending them to kill Darkers in the city. Putting the Photon Arts aside, they are not much different in combat prowess than Entoma. They might get killed by the Dark Falz lurking around somewhere.
Before Ainz could think further, a red portal appeared near the group. The thing which soon came out from the portal was a four meter tall humanoid. Seeing the large mohawk thing on its back, Ainz could conclude immediately that this was the Dark Falz.
"Ryu, is that what you told us about? Identify"
"Falz Hunar. Humanoid form of Dark Falz Elder. Chest core. Lightning element"
Before Ainz could say anything in response, the Dark Falz spoke.
"Interesting. An ARKS along with a group of powerful people, though with one weak, worthless bug"
The Dark Falz spoke out his comment on the group. Ainz could easily conclude that the 'worthless bug' was Alice, since she was the only ordinary local adventurer in the group and Lily had just evolved her levels. Still, he was quite surprised seeing that the Dark Falz was less aggressive than the Darkers and seemed to be capable of reason.
Ainz stepped forward and began speaking.
"What is your objective here, Dark Falz?"
The Dark Falz laughed hearing Ainz's question, but then it replied.
"I'm here to fight a good battle. Simple as that. Also, hasn't that ARKS guy over there told you that my name is Elder?"
"Alright, Elder it is. Answer my question. Did you kill a demon maid recently?"
Elder folded his arms, and answered soon enough.
"Indeed, I fought and defeated an insect creature in maid uniform. Her name was Entoma"
A feeling of rage began building up in Ainz's mind. The one who had killed Entoma was right in front of his eyes. The one who had disgraced Nazarick. Ainz wanted to avenge her right then and there, but he needed to be careful since he still didn't know the strength of a Dark Falz.
"She fought well. That was a good battle"
What?
Ainz couldn't help feeling surprised hearing what Elder had just said. He had been expecting Elder to gloat over the victory and blabber about how weak Entoma was. However, what had just happened was pretty much the total opposite, and the rage within Ainz's mind nearly disappeared. This was like back then when a member of the guild got PK'ed, but the perpetrator commended him for giving a good fight. That commendation extinguished all the resulting anger within the guild members, reminding them that YGGDRASIL was still just a game for fun and he was being a good sport. That player eventually had become a friend of the guild members, though sadly he never got invited into the guild since his character was a human.
No, this is no longer a game. I must still remain cautious.
"So, what do you want? You want to fight all of us?"
While still with his arms folded, Elder replied to Ainz's question after laughing once more.
"That would be interesting, but I know my limits"
What? Is he outright admitting that he can't win against us? Or was it just a bait to make us lower our guard?
Ainz looked at Ryu, hoping that he would give some explanation. Ryu had his holographic interface floating in front, seemingly scanning Elder.
"He's in a weakened state. I have a high chance to win even if I fight him one on one"
So he wasn't lying. But why coming here right in front of us? Is there something he is planning?
"Here's the deal. I want to have a duel with one of you"
"Why should we accept if we can kill you right here and now?"
"Because otherwise this city will become a nest for my minions, unless you don't mind that happening"
Hearing what Elder had just said, Ainz looked at Ryu. His knowledge about this matter was still limited, so he expected Ryu to confirm wheter Elder was telling the truth or just bluffing.
"He's not lying. Without ARKS Fleet to clean things up, this city can turn into a den of Darkers easily. I can't do much all by myself"
"That ARKS guy gets it. If you accept, no matter the result, I will leave this city alone and my minions will do the same"
Ainz looked at Elder again.
"How can we know that you're going to keep your words?"
"Now that's a difficult one. I will just leave it to your judgement, hmm?"
Ainz actually had the option to have the guardians capture Elder, or kill him outright. However, despite being weaker than usual, there was no telling what Elder was capable of, or what he was planning in his mind. In addition, Elder had the ability to teleport away at will, which may or may not be blocked by teleportation disruption spells, since his teleportation method was definitely not the same as what Ainz knew. If Ainz attempted this and Elder got away, nobody knew what kind of retribution would come from Elder at a later time.
Alright, I will try honoring his offer for now. If he lies, then I will have the guardians pile up on him.
"Alright, deal! I will take you on!"
"Then as promised, I will have my minions retreat"
Elder snapped his fingers, and then the noise of battles far away dissipated.
"Let's begin immediately then!"
Elder flexed his right shoulder, while his other arm made a challenging gesture, telling Ainz to come at him immediately. At this point, the rest of the group flew away to give space and landed on a nearby roof to keep watch.
"Woargh!"
Ainz jumped forward, charging straight at Elder. Thanks to Ryu, he knew about the fact that Elder had a sword but preferred to fight bare handed. That was an element of surprise lost from Elder.
CLANK!
Ainz jumped and slashed vertically with his ordinary sword, deciding to save the Frost Pain Modified for later. Elder blocked the sword with his armored arm, then counter-attacked with a kick. Ainz dodged narrowly and landed about two meters away in front of Elder.
Being a four meter tall creature, Elder looked quite intimidating to Ainz who was only half as tall. Ainz still had little to no knowledge on Elder's capabilities, so he remained cautious despite Ryu saying that Elder was weaker than normal.
Elder jumped up and did a diving kick with his leg enveloped in dark energy. Once again, Ainz evaded. He then immediately launched himself straight at Elder's chest core, intending to strike it. However, Elder blocked his attack again with his armored arm, and then he immediately countered with a punch.
CLANK!
Ainz took the punch head on, getting thrown away but ended up landing on his two feet. There was pretty much no damage sustained.
I guess he really is not strong currently.
Ainz charged at Elder again and did a flurry of slashes, all aimed at the legs since the core on the chest was too high to reach without jumping, which would put him vulnerable to counter attack again. Elder blocked some slashes, but most of them were taken directly without causing much damage since the legs were as armored as the arms. Ainz then jumped away to dodge a retaliation kick.
"Interesting! Wooooaaarghh!"
Elder unleashed a fiery aura of dark energy while seemingly charging power. Ainz could tell that Elder was getting serious from this sign, and might possibly start using the sword.
CRASH!
Elder slammed the ground he was standing on, causing an explosion and numerous pillars of dark energy which spread from him in outward spiral motion. Ainz dodged the dark pillars which dissipated shortly after.
As expected, Elder took the sword which had been hanging on his back. Ainz put away his ordinary sword and took out the Frost Pain Modified.
Ainz and Elder immediately clashed each other's swords. Ainz could follow Elder's movement quite easily thanks to the enhanced perception as part of the [Perfect Warrior] spell. He had no problem blocking Elder's attacks.
"Hahahaha! This is interesting! But why don't you give me all you got!?"
"Oh, so you knew"
"Of course! I can tell that you are holding back!"
Despite saying that, Elder somewhat sounded happy as they kept clashing swords. Ainz merely wanted to observe Elder's capabilities, but then he decided to answer differently.
"If I get serious, you will quickly lose. That wouldn't be a good battle, no? I also want to enjoy this moment a little longer"
"Right! You are quite an interesting man! Hahahaha!"
"Are battles your only objective?"
"Yes! To hell with reviving Profound Darkness! Let the others do that job! I only want to fight!"
"What?"
"Don't mind that! None of your business!"
"Playtime is over, then!"
CLANK!
CRACK!
Ainz slashed with all his strength right at Elder's sword. The clash broke Elder's sword, making the blade look chipped all over instead of the smooth curve previously seen. Elder seemed distracted for a moment, and then he put the sword on his back again.
Ainz, in response, put away the Frost Pain Modified and went back to his ordinary sword. Though this time he dual-wielded them.
"Why did you go back to those boring swords? Breaking my sword doesn't make me any weaker"
"Because this!"
Ainz then quickly switched the way he held the swords into backhand grip.
"Raging Waltz!"
Ainz launched himself straight to Elder's chest core and did an upward jumping slash. It was a direct hit because it had seemed to take Elder by surprise. Ainz then followed up before he even touched the ground.
"Ooorchestraaa!"
Ainz did a flurry of combination attacks with his swords and kicks thrown inbetween, ending with a vertical stab with both swords directly at Elder's chest core.
"UGH!"
Elder fell on his knee as Ainz jumped away to make some distance. The broken sword fell off his back and by chance stabbed the ground, ending like a sword in stone waiting to be pulled out.
"Photon Arts? Hahahaha! Interesting!"
"You want more?"
"I'll pass. It's my defeat. I thank you for a very good fight! See you again later! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Elder then jumped backwards and disappeared into a red portal which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Ainz was glad that those two Photon Arts were sufficient to defeat Elder. In truth, the two Photon Arts he had just used had consumed all the MP he had left. Unlike normal warrior skills from YGGDRASIL, Photon Arts consumed MP upon use, and having [Perfect Warrior] active had a side effect of depleting his MP nearly completely.
After breathing an imaginary sigh of relief, Ainz noticed the sword which Elder had left behind. Soon, the sword was enveloped in red smoke.
Is it going to disintegrate like Darker dead bodies?
Soon, the smoke dissipated, and what was left there was something curious.
Hmm?
The sword had returned into pristine condition, and it had shrunk to the size of a greatsword which could be wielded by humans. Ainz approached the sword, observed it for a bit, and pulled it out from the ground. His allies approached him as he lifted the sword to take a closer look. Ainz noticed that Ryu looked quite astonished.
"Ryu, do you know about this?"
"Elder Pain. That is the name of Hunar's sword. Very, very rarely, the sword shrinks like that instead of disintegrating after being left by Hunar"
In other words, this is a rare drop? Interesting... I should bring this to Nazarick for study.
"So, we have repelled the Dark Falz for now, is that correct, Ryu?"
"Yes. He will return, but not for a while. Hopefully the fleet will come before then"
Ainz breathed a sigh of relief. The chaotic night was finally over. There were still things to do, but the hardest part was done.
Now, the next hardest part.
"Now, before the adventurers come, I need to address a few things"
Ainz approached Lily and Alice, and then he bowed.
"I apologize for hiding who I really am"
Both of them seemed quite surprised by the sudden gesture. Ainz looked at Lily before continuing.
"Lily, I didn't do this to watch over you. This has been all for my own interest. I'm not a loving father you envision me to be, and I don't deserve your love"
"Papa! Don't say that!"
Before Lily could talk further, Ainz looked at Alice and continued.
"Alice, we haven't known each other for long, so I have nothing to say. No excuse or such. However, I hope that you will keep this fact a secret. Things will get complicated if people know my true identity"
"I don't know your deal, but alright. I have seen enough madness tonight, and I'm tired. I don't want any more complications"
"You have my gratitude"
Ainz then looked at CZ and Yuri.
"Return to Nazarick. Bring this to the armory"
Ainz gave the Elder Pain to Yuri, who then immediately went away along with CZ after receiving it. After that, the group proceeded to scout the area to make sure there were no more Darkers, dead or alive. Indeed, Elder had kept his words. All monsters remaining in the area were Demiurge's summoned demons. Not even Darker dead bodies could be found, as if they had never come.
"Ryu, tell me. Is Elder really like that? I expected him to be more... villainous"
"I can't say for sure, but it seems he does hold a certain standards of honor"
He might get along well with Cocytus if he was not an enemy...
In any case, the chaotic night was over, and a feeling of worry began to creep up inside Ainz's mind. He had decided to come clean to his guardians about how he was not the Supreme Being they envisioned him to be, and he would announce it as soon as this current matter was over.
I really want to live up to their expectations, but... I just can't.
Demiurge got badly wounded, and Entoma is dead.
Yes, they can be healed and resurrected, but the fact that harm has befallen them doesn't change. Harm that could have been prevented if I have been more competent, or didn't get too busy keeping up the facade.
However, despite the resolve, Ainz was still worried that the guardians would be so disappointed in him and decide to leave. They were the legacy of his friends, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like if he got abandoned by them.
This is a conundrum. If I continue the facade, I will eventually screw up again and the consequences might be even more fatal. If I come clean, they might become disappointed in me and leave.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
With this chapter, the main course of Vol 6 is complete. The next chapter will be the epilogue of this arc to wrap things up, and after that I plan to write up a filler arc or two before proceeding to cover Vol 7.
Also, I'd like to say thanks to MajorShipper519 for the thorough comment. I'd like to not say anything whether I agree or disagree with your points, but one thing for sure is that they got me thinking, which is a good thing. I will definitely reflect on those for the future arcs.
See you later.
