Alright, I still managed to keep up with my schedule. Hello again.
This is the first of the remaining five chapters planned, but things may still change depending on how the plot unfolds over the course of the next two chapters. I should be able to decide by then.
See you in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
Lily was now in the special arena where she was requested to show off her capabilities against a training dummy which, to Ainz's amazement, looked like a real gorilla-like monster. Along with others, Ainz watched the data collection procedure in a separate room which had seats lined up in front of a large screen showing the arena live. He was seated at the back line, with his subordinates standing upright and lined up behind him.
However, Ainz's focus was not there because he still couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he now had a freeloader inside his head, who was none other than Dark Falz Elder he had absorbed using [Dark Wisdom]. He wanted to get rid of the freeloader if possible, but there were several problems and questions regarding that matter.
First, Ainz had no idea how. Ainz had never heard of a case like this before, and therefore no information was available on how to get rid of Elder. Information gathering would be the first necessary step.
Second, Ainz was not sure whether he should let his Floor Guardians know about this situation. He didn't want them to worry over him, and in addition, he didn't want them to get crazy ideas.
While they probably won't do that, I don't want them to try cracking my skull open or get the idea of conquering ARKS and forcing them to find a 'cure', if that exists in the first place.
Third, in the case Ainz managed to get rid of Elder, would he still get to keep the power he had gained? Would there be other possible adverse effects? Personally, if Ainz had to choose between power or getting rid of the freeloader, he would pick power. Over time, the voice in the head would be just a mild annoyance, a cheap price to pay for the power he had obtained so he could survive better.
Lastly...
Can Elder actually hear everything I think, like right now?
Ainz didn't hear anything from Elder after thinking the question out. But in any case, having someone eavesdropping anything he spoke and thought was in no doubt a horrible predicament. If that was really the case, Ainz's greatest secret would be eventually exposed to Elder without realizing.
It's not like he'll leak it anywhere in his current state, but in that case I absolutely have to keep him inside for all eternity.
While keeping his head straight forward to the large screen, Ainz tried speaking to Elder with his mind.
"Hey, are you there?"
"Yeah, so what?"
There was an answer this time. Ainz then tried asking the question right away. There was no guarantee that Elder would give an honest answer, if any. But there was no loss in trying anyway.
"Do you hear everything I think?"
"Huh? Are you an idiot? Of course not! I'd go mad from the noise before long in that case!"
The hostile answer was upsetting, but nevertheless had a point. The mind of any sentient being was never clear-cut. Being able to constantly hear what someone's thinking without filtering would end up as perpetually hearing mostly illegible noise, and it wouldn't take long until the poor one went mad from it himself. Once again, Ainz was silently thankful to his sci-fi enthusiast friends that he was able to immediately understand Elder's answer.
"Is that so? Then why now you can hear what I'm thinking?"
"Beats me! Maybe because you want to talk to me? Either case, it's more convenient this way!"
Elder actually could be right on both accounts. He would only hear Ainz's thought if Ainz meant it to be heard by him, and indeed it was convenient, even though questioning about how it worked would bring nothing more than headaches.
The data collection was still ongoing, but Ainz was still deeply pondering if he could discuss the situation with someone else, especially the one sitting right in front of him, who was none other than Melrose.
Melrose has multiple Dark Falz sealed inside her. She has never explicitly told me, but the implication is strong that those Dark Falz are in the same situation as Elder inside me. In that case, as weird as it feels, she is my senior when it comes to this matter.
Having made a decision, Ainz reached his hand forward and put it on Melrose's shoulder. She immediately turned her head back in response, which was natural.
"Melrose, there is something I need to discuss with you in private. Do you know a place?"
"Huh? Hmm... yeah, I know one place"
"Let us not waste any more time then"
Ainz stood up from his seat, leaving every other person there slightly confused. Albedo immediately spoke the moment Ainz's body was standing straight.
"I shall accompany you, Ainz-sama"
Ainz, fully expecting it, shook his head and spoke.
"No. The topic I am going to discuss with Melrose requires secrecy. For the time being, nobody other than Melrose and myself are allowed to hear anything about this matter. Therefore, I want all of you to stay with these people until I return"
"But Ainz-sama-"
"Did I not say that this requires secrecy?"
The red light inside Ainz's eye sockets glowed slightly brighter as he asked the question, which startled Albedo and the other Floor Guardians.
"My apologies, Ainz-sama... Please be safe..."
With her head lowered, Albedo spoke with a tone of speech which showed defeat. Ainz and Melrose walked out of the room and went to the place the latter had mentioned.
"Alright, we're here"
The walk only took a couple minutes thanks to the assistance of teleporters. Looking at how the hallway looked with many doors lined up, Ainz could easily guess that this area was the dormitory of ARKS.
"Is this your private quarters?"
"Yes, it is. A far cry from your grand tomb, but it's still my home"
The door opened, and Ainz walked in. To his surprise, the room behind the door didn't look like a standard dormitory room at all. Instead, everything was like inside a log cabin, complete with a panoramic view outside the balcony, which didn't look like the inside of an ARKS ship at all.
Melrose guided Ainz to a spot where there was a rectangular table complete with two seats, one at each end.
"Please take your seat"
Melrose took one of the seats, and Ainz promptly took the other. He briefly glanced around at the furnishing of the room which had some weird objects placed randomly, but he stopped caring about that because there was a more important matter.
"So, Lord Ainz, what is the secret topic you want to discuss with me?"
"Right now I consider ourselves as equals, so just Ainz will do. After all, we both have a Dark Falz inside us. Multiple in your case"
"Yeah, true"
Melrose leaned on her seat and folded her arms. Unlike most other people, she seemed to immediately agree with the 'being equals' matter instead of insisting to treat Ainz with reverence, and Ainz felt good about it.
"Anyway, I would like to talk about having Dark Falz inside. The truth is, it seems now Elder can talk to me like a voice in the head. Is it the same for you?"
"...Yes"
Melrose narrowed her eyes as she spoke and leaned forward, seemingly interested.
"How does this actually work? Are they occupying your brain or something?"
"Beats me. All I know is that they are somewhere inside me in what I call my 'mind space'. We can speak to each other whenever we want- Hey, wait wait wait!"
Melrose suddenly spoke in a strange way, and within an instant someone appeared next to her. At first glance, it was a man who looked just like Elder, but his skin was brighter and the hair was pale blue. Also, parts of his clothing were blue instead of maroon like Elder's.
"Hey! I know you're there, other me! Come out!"
Ainz had no idea about the sudden event. Did Melrose's Elder just break out from her? But as if she read his mind, Melrose spoke to Ainz.
"No, Gettemhart didn't break loose from me. That's his projection"
"Projection? Can you do the same, Elder?"
"I won't know until I try"
A second later, Elder appeared standing next to Ainz, still looking the same as ever. He stood straight with his arms folded, facing straight at Melrose's Elder, whom she called Gettemhart. The latter also folded his arms and seemingly grinned.
"Heh, so this is the me from that other dimension. Still dominated by the Dark Falz, eh?"
"Watch your tongue, moron! I am what I am!"
"Ha! Calling me a moron is just like calling yourself a moron, moron!"
Both versions of Elder threw a death glare at each other, raising the tension within the room. Ainz grew worried that they would actually fight and destroy the room in the process, but instead his Elder just spoke in response.
"Nevertheless, we both are caught in an interesting situation, it seems. How did you get absorbed by that ARKS?"
"Heh? It's a long story, but why should I tell you?"
"If you don't want to tell me, so be it. I'll take my leave"
Elder turned around and disappeared within an instant, returning to the inside of Ainz, wherever that was. The other Elder grunted and then disappeared as well. Melrose let out a small sigh, and then she spoke to Ainz.
"Sorry for the interruption. Anyway, is there anything else you want to talk about?"
Ainz put his hand over his chin briefly before speaking again.
"How are you able to handle multiple Dark Falz inside you? Are you not burdened by the fact that you basically can no longer have any moment of solitude?"
"It's sometimes bothersome indeed. Whenever they talk I can hear everything, even though they weren't talking to me. There have been times when they got so noisy I had to step in and shut them up. But other than that, I have no problem. After all, there are more important things than a personal moment of solitude. In fact, I've been saved by them recently on the planet below"
"Oh, sounds interesting. Mind telling me?"
"Well, a demonic being, called as Evil Deity by locals it seems, invaded my mind fully intending to possess me. But they all beat it down and killed it"
Ainz leaned forward, slightly nodding in acknowledgement. The fact that having a Dark Falz inside could be handy in repelling a demonic possession was a piece of interesting information. Getting possessed was not something Ainz had to really be worried about, but knowing that he now had some kind of added 'ace' up his sleeve felt quite good.
However, Ainz noticed that Melrose's facial expression showed cringe just now, and he couldn't help wondering. Melrose seemed to notice, and so she spoke.
"I got scolded. They reminded me that I merely got lucky the Evil Deity's possession method happened to align with their location inside me, so they could thwart it. Otherwise I would've been doomed. Yeah, okay! I'm sorry! I'll be careful next time, alright? Sheesh...!"
Ainz couldn't help chuckling a bit seeing the seemingly lively relationship between Melrose and all the Dark Falz inside her. Despite the burden she had to bear, she seemed to be quite happy, although Ainz still couldn't put away the possibility that it was just a mask she put on.
"Anyway, I just remembered that there is something I need to warn you"
As Melrose spoke, her facial expression suddenly turned serious. It was clear that she was about to talk about something important.
"Unlike the one in me, the Elder in you is still a Dark Falz in nature. You should be careful. Not from Elder, but from something else"
"Oh, what is it?"
"Other Dark Falz from Ryu's dimension. To be exact, Dark Falz Double"
"What about them?"
"Dark Falz Double is drawn by instinct to gather all Dark Falz, by force if necessary. Now that you have one Dark Falz in you, they will eventually come to you"
"Hmm, let them come, then. They shall witness the might of Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown"
Melrose narrowed her eyes hearing Ainz's confident words, but before she could speak, Ainz resumed his speech.
"Make no mistake. I never underestimate my adversaries. Now that you have informed me, I shall proceed to fortify my defenses and make further preparations as necessary. For your kind warning, you have my gratitude"
Melrose scratched her head with a skeptical look displayed on her face before she spoke.
"Alright, at least I'm glad you understand that part. However, please don't absorb Double when you come out victorious"
"I would need an explanation for that"
"In the assumption that events in Ryu's universe have been the same as mine, right now Double has already absorbed all other Dark Falz by devouring them. If you absorb Double, all Dark Falz will be gathered within you, and you probably will be forcibly used as the host of Profound Darkness, which will be the end of the universe"
Ainz put his hand on his chin. Even though he still didn't know what Profound Darkness exactly was, there was no question that it was bad news. More information was obviously needed, but asking everything right now would take too much time. Ainz knew that being gone from the sights of his Floor Guardians for too long would get on their nerves soon enough, and he didn't want to imagine what would happen if they snapped from the overwhelming anxiety.
Having made the consideration, Ainz stood up from his seat and spoke.
"I shall put your warning into consideration. Thank you for making time for me. Now, let us go back to the others"
Melrose nodded and stood up from her seat. The two of them then left the private quarters and went back to the place where the others were. By the time they arrived, it seemed that Lily had just completed the data collection because she was there with the rest of the group, being patted on the shoulder by Ryu.
"Welcome back, Ainz-sama"
Albedo noticed Ainz and immediately greeted him. Ainz just made a slight nod in response as he approached Lily, who immediately noticed.
"Where have you been, Papa?"
Ainz then replied while caressing Lily's head.
"I have been having an important talk with Melrose. So, I take it that you are done?"
"Hmm!"
Lily nodded as she made the cheerful reply. Soon after, the entire group was once again gathered at the bridge. Matoi was no longer there, while Xiera, who had been busy with all the interface in front of her, turned her seat around and spoke with her usual excitement.
"Thank you for all the useful data! With this, the development of the new class is now back in full speed! Also, when I said 'useful data' it also included the Fighter ship you've let us analyze! Now here comes the good news!"
Xiera went silent, quite likely holding the news on purpose to build up excitement. After a couple seconds of smiling, she finally spoke again.
"Photon calibration has been successfully completed! Now all ships, including Laguz itself and its systems, will have no problem operating within the mutated photons of the planet's atmosphere!"
Ainz could hear the joyful voices of the ARKS people near him, and he fully understood their joy. With the ARKS systems fully operational again, they could go back and forth between the planet and this ship freely instead of being stranded like they had been before. For Ainz himself, it was also good news because this meant he would be able to maintain connection with ARKS as a whole organization instead of just a few of their members.
Nevertheless, Ainz felt that it was time to go home to Nazarick, and therefore he spoke to Xiera.
"Pardon me, but I believe it is time for me to return home. I am glad that everything on your side is now fully operational, and I hope we shall continue to maintain contact and provide assistance to each other as necessary"
"It was all thanks to you, Lord Ainz! Without your timely assistance it would have taken a lot longer! We will make sure to repay you properly!"
Ainz made a single nod in response before speaking.
"I shall be waiting for the good news"
Ainz then raised his hand and casted the same spell he had used to transport his Floor Guardians to this ship.
[Gate]
"Albedo, Cocytus, Shalltear, and Demiurge. Return to Nazarick through this portal. I and Sebas shall return later"
"As you command, Ainz-sama!"
Albedo, acting as the squad leader of the four Floor Guardians, spoke her affirmation. They all then entered the portal and disappeared from sight. As expected, the portal became badly distorted right after all four of them passed through. Therefore Ainz dispelled the portal, and looked at Xiera afterwards.
"I assume you no longer need the Fighter ship I modified, no? I shall return home using that"
Xiera nodded and spoke in response.
"Alright! It should be still in the same place you left it. It's ready to go anytime!"
Ainz nodded, and then he looked at the others near him.
"Anybody wishing to come along with me?"
Ryu's group looked at each other briefly and had a short discussion before Ryu spoke to Ainz.
"We will stay here for now. There are a couple things some of us still want to do here"
"Very well. I shall see you later then"
"See you later, Papa!"
Ainz casted another [Gate] as Lily bid him farewell. This time the portal would lead him to the parked Fighter ship which he would use to return to Nazarick. As Ainz and Sebas walked into the portal, he felt glad that his trip to the ARKS ship had turned out well, with himself getting powered up to boot. He also now had the information of another Dark Falz coming for him sooner or later, and therefore he should prepare his defenses. All in all, he would be very busy again soon.
[X][X][X]
The sun was about to set in Carne Village. Most of the villagers, including the goblins and ogres under Chief Enri's command, were already preparing to end their activities of the day. However, on an open field at one corner of the village, a girl was standing straight with her eyes closed in an attempt to concentrate her focus. This girl was none other than Viviana Veyron, the sister of Tsuareninya Veyron. She was still working hard in learning the [Lightning] spell, the book of which had been given by Ainz Ooal Gown, the great benefactor of this village.
Viviana opened her eyes, filled with resolve. She was determined that today would be the day all her efforts would bear fruit. She then raised her hand forward, eyes focused on the training dummy made of hay at a distance. She took a deep breath without taking her focus away from the dummy and began channelling her mana towards the tip of her hand. And then...
[Lightning]
FLASH! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
A bolt of lightning came out from Viviana's hand, going straight at the dummy with the appropriate speed of a lightning bolt. The bolt struck the dummy directly, setting it on fire and reducing it to ash within seconds. Viviana froze up seeing everything happening, her eyes going wide and her mouth agape. But just a couple seconds later the wide open mouth gradually became a huge smile.
"I... I did it... I did it!"
Viviana jumped up with her clenched hand raised straight up. All her training had finally shown results. The lightning bolt she just casted was not as big as the one she remembered being casted by Nabe, but it was still a fact that now she could cast the same spell, and now she felt overwhelmingly delighted from the achievement.
Fssshh...
"Huh?"
The book she had been learning the spell from suddenly disintegrated into particles of light which immediately scattered and disappeared, leaving nothing as if the book had never been there in the first place. Viviana was surprised seeing this, but she soon realized that this was probably a sign, telling her that she had succeeded in learning the spell.
"So you finally did it, huh?"
Viviana was startled hearing the voice coming from directly behind her, but she soon regained her composure because it was a familiar voice and this had happened several times already.
"Ah, yes, Lupusregina-san"
Lupusregina, one of the many subordinates of Ainz Ooal Gown, smiled with her hands on her hip. There was no telling whether she was happy or not though, because she wore that smile so often it might as well be her default face.
"Alright, I'll report this to Ainz-sama"
Lupusregina turned around right after she spoke, but Viviana quickly spoke to her.
"Ah, please wait a moment, Lupusregina-san!"
"Hmm? Is there something?"
Lupusregina turned her head, glancing back at Viviana. The latter quickly spoke again, not going to waste time.
"P-Please give Ainz-sama my thanks!"
"Alright, sure"
Right after speaking, Lupusregina vanished from sight within an instant. Viviana didn't know whether she had gone invisible or teleported, but in any case the message had been spoken. Feeling a great deal of relief, Viviana let herself fall back-first on the grassy ground. The smell and feeling of grass around her helped her to relax and release all the tensions she had, and she now felt that she could fall asleep right then and there.
But the bliss didn't last for too long, because as she gazed upon the dusk sky, Viviana noticed something strange.
"What... is that?"
What Viviana saw was an object floating in the distant sky. It was partially obscured by clouds, so it was very easy to assume that the object was unfathomably far up there. However, even at that distance the object was as large as Viviana's palm with her arm stretched as far as she could.
"Hey, Vivi!"
Before Viviana could ponder further about the mysterious object, she heard someone calling out to her. She quickly stood up and saw two guys rushing up to her. One of them was Peter, the leader of her team, while the other was Hekkeran, the leader of the Worker team who had visited the village about a week before. He and another member of his team, Imina, had returned and decided to stay in Carne Village for a while, and Chief Enri had accepted them without much question.
"Peter! Hekkeran-san!"
"You see that huge thing, too?"
Peter asked, which Viviana quickly responded with a nod. The two guys stopped as they arrived right in front of her.
"I didn't notice it until Imina told me. Now everyone in the village knows and everybody's wary"
Hekkeran spoke while gazing at the distant object with a serious facial expression. Indeed, anyone would grow wary seeing such an impossibly huge object looming over, even though it was still very far up there. Viviana had a faint knowledge of a floating castle in a country far south, but she was fairly certain that this unknown object in her sights was far larger than that castle.
But then, it suddenly vanished. There was no movement or any other visual sign. The object simply disappeared without any trace left behind. The group of three could only gaze at the dusk sky in confusion, not having the slightest bit of idea on what had just happened.
"...I haven't been dreaming, right?"
Viviana asked while still gazing at the sky. The one who immediately answered was Hekkeran.
"If it was only you, I'd say so. But all three of us saw it. No, the entire village saw it. That thing was definitely there until just now"
"Yeah, indeed"
Peter spoke along with a slight nod, agreeing with Hekkeran, who then spoke again.
"Call me paranoid, jumping logic, or whatever, but do you think that object had anything to do with Ainz Ooal Gown?"
"Can't be, right? I know that Ainz-sama is powerful, but... I'm now not sure myself. You could be right"
Peter replied while sounding clearly uneasy. Viviana, also feeling uneasy, spoke to the other two.
"I guess... we can only go home and sleep for now? Maybe Lupusregina-san will have some information tomorrow, I hope"
"Yeah, I guess so"
Peter spoke his short affirmation, while Hekkeran just made a small nod. The three of them then walked away from the place and returned home, hoping that whatever object they had seen was not a bad omen or such.
[X][X][X]
Thump!
Ryu landed on the ground not far from the front gate of E-Rantel. It was almost night already so visibility was not really good, which could be a blessing because dropping down from a Gate Ship was quite a flashy show. As he stood up, the rest of his team landed nearby. The team was still fully intact like before the trip to Laguz because each had their own reason to return to this planet.
"Wow, is this the ARKS way to drop down onto a planet? Pretty rough"
Alice spoke her remark as she stood up. Ryu didn't deny that because indeed it was pretty rough, practically diving down from the skies at a much higher speed than normal freefalling, while being protected from fall damage by the photons of the Gate Ship's systems.
"Without a Telepipe beacon placed, dropping down like this is the way indeed. Anyway, now that we're back on this planet, let's reconfirm our main goal"
The group stood closer to each other in a circle formation, and then Ryu resumed his speech.
"Our group will be the liaison between ARKS and Ainz, maintaining close contact with him through Mo- I mean, Lily's brother. At the same time, we'll be the first responders whenever Darker attacks occur within our reach"
Everybody else made a single nod of affirmation as Ryu finished his speech. Mel Rose, who was currently Rose, spoke to put in her remark.
"Just a reminder. Since everything's back in operation, the phrase 'within our reach' can mean anywhere. Although, by the way..."
Rose turned her head towards Guardian before resuming.
"Why are you here too? I mean, you're Guardian. Surely you have more important missions to do than sticking with us, don't you?"
Guardian then replied with a straight tone.
"I have my own mission by sticking with this group. Also, I want to remind all of you again to use your new equipment carefully"
Ryu didn't say a word as he pulled out his new rod weapon, courtesy of Guardian. Compared to his old Weddle Park which was an eleven star weapon, this so-called Resonant Tephira was a fifteen star rod which of course far outclassed the former. Its look was fairly simple, looking like an ornate magic staff made of silver-colored metal with a blue crystal at the tip with a ring of small energy blades revolving around the said crystal.
Hikaru also pulled out her new katana, the blade of which was entirely bright red while the scabbard was a gradient of black and blood-red color. Like Ryu's new rod, the katana was also a fifteen star, named Rengokuto Guren.
Alice wanted to stick with the staff Ainz had lent her, so instead Guardian had given her a talis. It was a fourteen star talis named Motav Grimoire, which appropriately was shaped like a black book. It was a very suitable weapon for a Techer like her because it allowed her to cast the charged version of support Photon Techs without actually charging them.
Rose and Meru also now had another copy of Rengokuto Guren and Resonant Tephira, respectively. Compounded with the new, better photon armor units they now had and also the recent battle against Elder leveling them up, the overall strength of the team had been vastly increased.
Ryu was frankly baffled on how far ARKS of Guardian's universe had advanced. In his ARKS, even a twelve star weapon was a very rare commodity only a small percentage of operatives could get their hands on. But in Guardian's ARKS, it seemed that anybody could obtain a fifteen star with relative ease, seeing that she had handed them away from her stash so casually.
"Yeah, that's a given. Nobody wants to accidentally destroy a city. Anyway..."
Ryu quickly cleared his throat as he put the rod back into his photon inventory, and then he resumed speaking.
"Before calling the day off, let's head to the guild and see if anyone really saw Laguz and raise a fuss"
"Yeah"
Rose agreed with Ryu, followed by everyone else. The group then activated their flight spell and flew straight to the Adventurer's Guild. Because it was almost night, there weren't as many Adventurers as the day. However, it was quite clear that the few teams inside the main hall looked uneasy.
"Oh, it's you!"
Ryu heard a familiar voice, and indeed it was the Guildmaster, Pluton Ainzach. He rushed from behind the staff counter and approached Ryu.
"I'm glad your team is here now! Momon's team has not returned yet and we've been quite agitated!"
"Let me guess. An unknown flying object spotted in the sky?"
Ainzach's eyes went wide after he heard Ryu's guess, which was spoken in a rather low voice. Ainzach replied accordingly in a low voice too.
"Why, yes! Do you have any idea what that thing was?"
"Well... can we talk about it in a more private room?"
"Oh, alright"
Ainzach then led the group to his office. Once everybody was in, he closed the doors and windows, making sure nobody else outside would hear anything.
"I apologize that there aren't enough seats for everyone"
"It's alright"
Upon hearing Ryu's answer, Ainzach remained standing behind his desk as he asked a question.
"So, from your answer back then I suppose you know about the flying object. What was that?"
"Well... before I tell you, I think I need to tell you one thing about Oracle which we've been keeping to ourselves. Please sit down"
Ainzach complied, sitting down on his seat while Ryu also sat down on the seat right across the desk. Ryu then put his arms folded on the table as he spoke again.
"Oracle... is actually a cluster of flying cities traveling among the stars. The flying object people saw back then was Laguz, one of those cities and also the city Mel Rose and Guardian come from"
Ainzach froze up hearing Ryu's words. His eyes sporting an empty gaze with his mouth agape.
"I... I know you're not joking. But, it's honestly difficult to believe. Why did it disappear, though?"
"Invisibility. Its activation was a little late because of a Darker attack and some other things, but from now on it should remain that way"
"I... I see..."
Ainzach lowered his head with his arms folded on the desk. It seemed he was still trying to process all the information he just got. Ryu himself was still not sure about something, so he decided to ask.
"Ainzach-dono. There's something I need your insight for"
"Huh? What is it?"
"Should we reveal to the public that the massive flying object was an ARKS city? While it should prevent panic, I worry about possible future impact if public knows how different our civilization is"
"Ah... yes. You have a valid concern there"
Ainzach put his hand under his chin, going into a thinking posture. Less than ten seconds later, he looked straight at Ryu and spoke.
"I think for the time being we should keep it to ourselves. As long as the city can maintain its invisibility, panic will subside soon enough without the need of intervention. However, we might have to prepare for the possibility that someday ARKS will need to wholly reveal themselves to public"
"I see"
Ryu spoke while making a small nod.
"Hey, may I chime in?"
The one who suddenly spoke was Alice. Ryu turned his head towards her and replied immediately.
"Yeah, sure"
"I suggest that we spread some vague rumors about a faraway country consisting of flying cities, so there will be less shock on the general public in the case the ARKS city is revealed again for some reason"
Ainzach nodded hearing Alice's suggestion.
"Good idea. Hmm, how about we word it like this?"
Ainzach stopped to clear his throat, and then he resumed speaking.
"On another continent in a far off land, there exist flying cities which make up an entire country. Their civilization is beyond what people can possibly comprehend, and therefore it would be the best not to think about them too much"
Ryu let out a wry smile hearing Ainzach's speech. It was actually a pretty accurate depiction of ARKS, but it still felt somewhat weird hearing the words coming out from Ainzach's mouth. Nevertheless, he had no reason to oppose, and therefore he spoke.
"Well, I can go with that. What about the others?"
Ryu turned his head, looking at the other members of the team one by one. They all gave either a nod or a shrug with no opposition.
"Alright. So, would you help spreading the rumor, Ainzach-dono?"
"Leave it to me!"
Ainzach put one hand over his chest with a face full of confidence. With that, the matter about Laguz being shortly visible to the natives of this planet was seemingly solved, at least for the public of E-Rantel. For now, he would remain on standby according to his new mission until the two ARKS converge.
[X][X][X]
Deep in space, a planet has been annihilated. Its demise was quick, as quick as a toy being broken by a rowdy child who no longer had any interest in it.
That was an eerily accurate analogy, because the one who had annihilated the planet was Dark Falz Double, taking the form of a pair of twin children, one boy and one girl.
"This is boring"
"This is no fun"
The twins talked to each other, sounding bored while floating in space. But their boredom didn't last for too long because they both noticed something, immediately turning their head towards a direction.
"Hey hey, do you sense what I sense?"
"Uh huh. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I see Elder playing with... another Elder?"
"Yeah yeah. There are two Elder playing. How interesting"
"They didn't invite us to play. They are so mean"
"Yeah, so mean..."
The twins were briefly silent, and then they looked at each other with a smile.
"Let's pay them a visit!"
"Yeah! Let's scold them for not inviting us!"
"Yaaaay!"
The twins were then engulfed in a red vortex, coming out soon after as a single entity shaped like a giant toy castle with six towers around it. After giving out a brief fireworks show, the giant toy castle blasted off towards their destination, with a creepy childish laugh echoing throughout the vast, deep space.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
The main antagonist of the final arc has been revealed and is now on their way to New World. It won't be long until ARKS and Nazarick have to depend on each other against the oncoming threat.
Since a good number of major characters have received a power upgrade, I have decided to put an updated character sheet below.
See you again later.
Updated Character Sheets
Author's note: Whenever "PP" is mentioned in the sheets, it means Photon Point, which is the ARKS equivalent of MP/Mana.
Name: Ryu Seika
Height: 173 cm
Appearance: See cover image or gallery
Class: Force level 72
Sub Class: Techer level 70
Skill Build: Thunder Element and Dark Element focused
Main Weapon:
Resonant Tephira Rod (15 Star): Improves the perks of Phantom Class.
Special Perks And Equipment:
*. Photon Inventory. Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Julius Nifta. Creates an energy sphere which pulls everything within a certain radius into it and disintegrates those touching the sphere.
*. Photon Flare: A skill from Force class which temporarily boosts attack power. Lasts 45 seconds with 90 seconds cooldown.
*. Photon Convert: A skill from Techer class which significantly accelerates regeneration of photon energy at the cost of reducing max HP by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds with 120 seconds cooldown.
*. Ring of Minor Protection. Guards against all low level ailments.
*. Ring of Nullification. Guards against harmful spells up to tier two. Has three charges which replenishes each day.
*. Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed by non-ARKS in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Evasion, Pace of The Wind, Flow Acceleration.
Name: Lily Vangraf
Height: 148 cm
Appearance: See gallery (Link at author's profile)
Class:
Loyal Dog (Level 10)
Devoted Dog (Level 10)
Fighter (Level 15)
Warrior (Level 15)
Champion (Level 15)
Battlemaster (Level 10)
Equipment:
Helmet of The Valkyrie
Armor of The Valkyrie
Gauntlets of The Valkyrie
Greaves of The Valkyrie
Twin Swords Starlight Wings
Ring of Nullification: Guards against harmful spells up to tier two. Has three charges which replenishes each day.
Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell.
Special Perks:
*. Starlight Wings: Enables a variety of unique attack moves and also counts as a piece of any equipment sets.
*. Wings of The Valkyrie: Equipping 5 pieces of Valkyrie equipment set enables access to [Valkyrian Flight] spell.
*. Photon Arts: Various foreign attack moves, bestowed by Ryu
*. Armor Enchantments: A plethora of enchantments on her armor, bestowed by Ainz.
*. Class Skills: A plethora of skills from the new classes gained from her evolution.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
Name: Alice Vegelshaft (Liz)
Height: 157 cm
Appearance: See Gallery (Link at author's profile)
Level: 27
Talent:
Hierophant of Language: Able to instantly learn a new language if certain conditions are met. Also can instantly bestow knowledge of already known language to other people at great mana cost.
Job Levels:
Wizard: Level 6
Sorcerer: Level 5
Elementalist (Fire): Level 6
Scholar: Level 7
High Wizard: Level 3
ARKS Classes:
Techer level 55 (Main)
Force level 40 (Sub)
Equipment:
Wizard's Robe
Simple Short Dress
Leather Trousers
Leather Boots
Grand Staff of Element Continuity: Gradually reduces mana cost of casting spells for each consecutive spell of the same element from the previously casted spell. Effect dissipates over time and immediately disappears upon casting a spell of a different element.
Motav Grimoire Talis (14 Star): Support type Photon Techs require no charging time to cast the charged version.
Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell.
Travel Pack: A storage bag capable of storing much more items than its appearance would suggest.
Special Perks:
*. Photon Techs: Various foreign spells, bestowed by Ryu.
*. Photon Flare: A skill from Force class which temporarily boosts attack power. Lasts 45 seconds with 90 seconds cooldown.
*. Photon Convert: A skill from Techer class which significantly accelerates regeneration of photon energy at the cost of reducing max HP by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds with 120 seconds cooldown.
*. Having Techer as main class greatly increases the potency of support type Photon Techs.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed by non-ARKS in close distance.
*. Misc. Items: A number of useful items given by Ainz.
*. Martial Arts: Evasion.
Name: Mel Rose (Meru and Rose)
Height: 144 cm
Appearance: See Gallery (Link at author's profile)
Class: Force level 76 (Meru), Braver level 76 (Rose)
Sub Class: Techer level 75 (Meru), Fighter level 75 (Rose)
Skill Build (Meru): Fire, Dark, and Light element focused.
Skill Build (Rose): Full offensive glass cannon
Main Weapon (Meru):
Resonant Tephira Rod (15 Star): Improves the perks of Phantom Class.
Main Weapon (Rose):
Rengokuto Guren Katana (15 Star): Increases the power of counter attacks.
Special Perks And Equipment:
*. Photon Inventory: Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Ketos Proi. Gradually heals and significantly regenerates PP while it is active.
*. Photon Flare: A skill from Force class which temporarily boosts attack power. Lasts 45 seconds with 90 seconds cooldown.
*. Photon Convert: A skill from Techer class which significantly accelerates regeneration of photon energy at the cost of reducing max HP by 10%. Lasts 30 seconds with 120 seconds cooldown.
*. Katana Combat: A skill from Braver class which allows 20 seconds of invulnerability as long as the user wields a katana. Can be ended early with a damaging shockwave. 90 seconds cooldown.
*. Compound Photon Tech: Devastating photon techs from combining two elements. Only Force and Techer class can use this. Available techs are Fomelgion (Fire-Dark), Barantsion (Ice-Light), and Zandion (Wind-Lightning).
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed by non-ARKS in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Enhanced Magic Resistance, Impenetrable Fortress, Evasion.
*. Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell
Name: Sheep (Hikaru Seika)
Height: 155 cm
Appearance: See gallery (Link at author's profile)
Race: Deuman
Class: Braver Level 72
Sub Class: Hunter Level 70
Skill Build: Reckless glass cannon.
Main Weapon:
Rengokuto Guren Katana (15 Star): Increases the power of counter attacks.
Briste Insignia Katana (? Star): Enables activation of "Gate Break". Can only be equipped by Hikaru Seika.
Reserve Weapon:
Vibrace Bow (10 Star): Increases damage against Darkers.
Special Perks:
*. Photon Inventory: Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor. A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing. Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Photon Blast - Ketos Proi. Gradually heals and significantly regenerates mana while it is active.
*. Iron Will: A skill from Hunter class which gives a 75% chance to survive a fatal damage with 1 HP and become briefly invulnerable with increased attack power afterwards. Has neither a cooldown nor a usage limit, so one can fight recklessly if they feel lucky.
*. Katana Combat: A skill from Braver class which allows 20 seconds of invulnerability as long as the user wields a katana. Can be ended early with a damaging shockwave. 90 seconds cooldown.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed by non-ARKS in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Enhanced Magic Resistance, Impenetrable Fortress, Evasion.
*. Flight Necklace: Enables the use of [Fly] spell
*. Gate Break: A state where Hikaru gains overwhelming attack power, lifesteal effect, and becomes capable of using Photon Arts of Phantom class despite not being Phantom herself. However, while in this state Hikaru's maximum HP is decreased by 50% and she takes damage every second. Effect can be deactivated at will, but she might become incapacitated after prolonged usage.
Name: Melrose
Title: Guardian
Height: 144 cm
Appearance: See Gallery (Link at author's profile)
Race: Human
Class: Phantom Level 90
Sub Class: None (Phantom Class is not compatible to have any subclass)
Main Weapon:
Lightstream Floraxion Katana (15 Star): Running out of PP will fully refill PP and increase damage further for 30 seconds. This effect has a cooldown of 2 minutes. Enhanced with an effect which slightly recovers the user's PP upon taking any damage.
Atlas Zemus EX Rod (15 Star): Taking fatal damage will leave the user surviving with 1 HP, invulnerable for 5 seconds, and refills HP to full. Only works once, refreshed by resting. Enhanced with minor lifesteal effect.
Resonant Horkos Rifle (15 Star): Amplifies the class perks of Phantom class.
Reserve Weapon:
Austere Sorcerer NT Rod (15 Star): Improves user attributes after using a Photon Blast depending on the summoned Photon Beast. Effect is reset after resting. Enhanced with an effect which slightly recovers the user's PP whenever any enemy is defeated within range.
Special Perks:
*. Photon Inventory: Works the same way as Ainz's inventory system.
*. Photon Armor: A defensive invisible energy shield, giving protection to the whole body.
*. Photon Clothing: Enables instant change of clothes.
*. Grim Assassin Photon Weapon Camo: Changes the visual appearance of compatible weapons into the appearance of the camo. Grim Assassin is compatible with Katana, Rod, and Rifle type of weapons.
*. Photon Blast - Julius Nifta: Creates an energy sphere which pulls everything within a certain radius into it and disintegrates those touching the sphere.
*. Dark Blast: Borrows the power of Dark Falz residing within, transforming into an alternate version of their respective battle form.
*. Stealth Tech Charge: Charging a photon tech grants invulnerability for 1 second.
*. Photon Absorption: Able to copy Martial Arts performed by non-ARKS in close distance.
*. Martial Arts: Shukuchi, Whirlwind Slash, Impenetrable Fortress, Godkin's Blessing.
