Hello again. Right on schedule.
This is the fourth of the final... I honestly don't know, maybe eight. The fact that this ongoing arc is the final one certainly won't change, though. I just needed a few additional chapters than planned to end the whole story in a good note.
In any case, let's go on with the show. See you again in the afterword as usual.
[X][X][X]
Psshh...
The bridge door opened, and Ryu's group of three entered in a hurry. Besides Xiera herself, there were several more familiar faces standing around her, namely both incarnations of Matoi, the rest of Ryu's Adventurer team, and also Yukasa, Yamino, and Melrondia. All of them didn't show any positivity in their facial expressions, which clearly implied that something bad was happening.
"Fill us in"
Ryu spoke as he hastily walked towards Xiera along with Hikaru and Lily. Without speaking any words, Xiera put up a large display screen above her. The screen showed the map of the planet below, and there were a lot of red dots blinking on various parts.
"Ugh! Don't tell me those are...!"
Ryu gritted his teeth. He needed no further answers because with what had recently happened it was easy to conclude that the red dots were Darker readings of Dark Falz Double.
"Double's Darkers are invading a great number of major cities"
"Then why are we still here!?"
Ryu, clearly being agitated, asked the question upon hearing Xiera's words. The lives of civilians down below were at stake, but a good number of very capable operatives were standing around in the bridge.
"Calm down, aniki. A number of squads have scrambled already. We all will have our own task"
Yamino spoke, and his words helped to put Ryu's mind back into focus. Without waiting further, Xiera cleared her throat and began speaking.
"I'll get right to the point! Yukasa, Yamino, Melrondia, and Matoi; the other Matoi I mean, not our Matoi... A-Anyway! The Team Ship has been repaired and calibrated. I want you all to return to your ARKS fleet and see their condition after all the combat holding Double off. After that, if possible, bring reinforcements here because with only one ship present we need all the help we can get!"
"Understood"
Yukasa gave his affirmation, followed by a nod from the other three addressed people. Xiera then resumed speaking, with her eyes at Guardian.
"Melrose and Matoi, I mean our Matoi, please remain on standby here because we will need both of you available within short notice if Double shows up again! Ryu and the rest of your team, please assist the cities under attack! Lastly... despite all I have said, I actually have no authority to order any of you around. So, please just do what you believe is right!"
Xiera spoke with a pleading tone and her hands clasped in front of her chest. Ryu saw no reason to oppose her instructions, but he was not sure about it either. After all, he and Hikaru had just recently reunited with Yukasa and Yamino, but following those instructions meant they would separate again soon.
I know I should put personal matters aside, but this still doesn't really click with me...
"So, what are you going to do, aniki?"
Suddenly, Yukasa spoke the question out to Ryu in the middle of his musing. Ryu turned his eyes to Yukasa and stared at his full-of-resolve face briefly, before making a similar expression himself.
"I've been staying on the planet long enough to know that I can't leave it alone. I'll stay and defend the cities"
"Heh, that's so like you. Be careful down there, aniki"
"You better return with reinforcements"
"I'll drag the entire fleet with me if need be"
With a grin, Ryu and Yukasa did a fist bump. Yamino and Hikaru stood still, watching the interaction between the two brothers.
"Watch over aniki for me, aneki"
"Heh, say no more, Yamino-chan"
Yamino and Hikaru gave each other a pat on the shoulders as they finished speaking. Meanwhile, the two incarnations of Matoi were standing face to face, having been talking to each other.
"Ah, I should return your clothes..."
Matoi lowered her head, looking at the lent clothes she was still wearing. Guardian Matoi shook her head and smiled as she spoke.
"You can keep it. You look a lot better now, and I want you to keep it that way"
"Huh? But..."
"Just promise me, that once everything is over, you'll visit me again. We can then talk about things and have fun, just like other normal girls do!"
Hearing Guardian Matoi's words, Matoi went silent for a couple seconds, then she smiled and nodded.
"That's a promise, future me"
Guardian Matoi giggled before she replied.
"I'm not future you, though. And you're not past me. We're different incarnations from parallel universes, that's all"
Matoi nodded hearing Guardian Matoi's words, and they threw a silent, yet cheerful smile at each other.
"Uhh, excuse me. I hate to intervene but shouldn't we... you know, get going?"
The one who suddenly spoke with one hand raised was Alice. Everybody else turned their heads at her and went silent with varying degrees of dumbfounded facial expressions.
Guardian was the one to break the silence by letting out a small laugh before speaking.
"You're right. Let's all get going! Double's Darkers aren't going to stop for us!"
With the words from Guardian, everybody in the room other than Xiera, Guardian Matoi, and Guardian herself immediately left the bridge. All of them had a mission to accomplish, and they were all determined to carry out their missions to the best of their abilities.
[X][X][X]
A couple days had passed after the villagers of Carne Village had seen the unknown gigantic object in the skies. Nothing special had happened after that, and so the people went on with their daily life activities with some lingering feelings of wonder and worry. A team of Adventurers passing by yesterday brought some vague rumor about an advanced civilization consisting of flying cities which made up an entire country, and the flying object could have been one of those cities. The news was taken with a grain of salt by all the villagers, but still left them wondering how advanced that country could be with such a feat of constructing multiple flying cities.
Hekkeran, formerly the leader of team Foresight which was now disbanded, was having a hand-to-hand spar at one open grass field within the village's walls with Peter, the leader of team Swords of Darkness. Thanks to his experiences throughout his career as a Worker, Hekkeran handily defeated Peter without breaking a sweat. Still, they had been doing this as part of their daily workout and Hekkeran had to admit that winning against Peter got slightly more difficult each day.
"I still couldn't win"
Peter spoke while lying on the ground and trying to catch his breath, while Hekkeran stood next to him with arms on his hip.
"You're improving, though. Gotta give you that"
Hekkeran spoke while reaching his hand down. Peter took the hand and the former pulled him up.
"Thanks. Still got a long way to go, but I'll get there"
"That's the spirit!"
Hekkeran bumped his fist to Peter's chest as he spoke, and the latter grinned in response with his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Hey, leader!"
Suddenly the two of them heard someone calling. Hekkeran turned his head with his eyes going wide because he knew the voice. What he immediately saw was exactly what he expected. It was Roberdyck, waving hands towards him.
"Rober! You're back!"
Hekkeran hurried over to Roberdyck with excitement. Over a week had passed since the day Hekkeran had sent Roberdyck to accompany Arche on her return trip to Arwintar, and now he was back here again. He didn't really expect Roberdyck to come back here, so it was quite a surprise.
"Yeah, leader! I just couldn't wait so I took an express carriage ride here"
Roberdyck laughed heartily as he spoke. Hekkeran let out a wry smile because an express carriage from Arwintar all the way here would have cost a lot. Then again, all the former members of Foresight were now very wealthy compared to common standards, the cost of the ride wouldn't be so much of a dent on Roberdyck's pocket.
Nevertheless, since Peter was with him and Hekkeran remembered that Roberdyck had never met him before, he spoke to introduce them.
"Ah, Peter. This is Roberdyck, formerly my partner in team. Rober, meet Peter, Vivi's team leader"
Roberdyck smiled and offered a handshake to Peter upon hearing Hekkeran's introduction.
"Nice to meet you"
"Hekkeran has told me a few things about you. Nice to meet you too"
Peter took the offer, and the two shook hands. Hekkeran then immediately asked a question to Roberdyck. The question which had been leaving him wondering for days.
"So, how's Arche?"
"Ah, that's quite a long story. Let's find somewhere to sit down first"
The group of three then went to a nearby spot where a tree had fallen recently. The trunk of the fallen tree was of the right size to function as a bench for them to sit on, and that was what they did.
"Alright, now where should I begin... Oh, one thing, leader. It was definitely the right call to have me accompany her"
"Oh..."
Hekkeran didn't speak any further, and then Roberdyck began telling his story about everything which had happened in Arwintar from their arrival at Furt family's mansion to the revelation that Arche's sisters had been adopted by the former client Rossaur Ratenoir, and now Arche was taken in as another family member of his.
"If I had not been there, leader... Arche would have killed her own parents out of rage, and she likely would have been arrested for murder instead of getting the happy life she deserved. You really have made the right call, leader, and I can't thank you enough for that"
Hekkeran couldn't help feeling awed with his mouth agape hearing Rober's story and the remarks he had just heard. He had never thought that the decision made from merely a gut feeling back then had made such a huge difference, and he was genuinely glad for it.
"Yeah, I'm glad that I've made the right decision, and I'm also happy for Arche, after all she has been through..."
"Took the words out of my mouth, leader!"
"By the way, what are you going to do from now on? I mean, Arche has gone her own way, Sheep is now with her brother, and Rose went with her. Our team is officially disbanded"
"Well, I've come all the way here, so I think staying here for a while wouldn't be so bad. You seem to be content staying here, as far as I can see"
"Heheh! After all the dangerous works we have done, a peaceful countryside life is a very welcomed change of pace! Anyway, let's go back to the others!"
The trio then stood up and began walking towards the more populated part of the village. Hekkeran looked up to the sky, feeling glad that now Arche has achieved the happy life she deserved and she was now moving forward to an even brighter future.
[X][X][X]
Arche walked out from the front gate of the Imperial Magic Academy feeling quite delighted. She had come there this morning to register herself back and she had expected to face some difficulties thanks to her having dropped out before. However, she was now officially enrolled there once again, having been granted the chance to resume where she had left off without repercussions to boot. She didn't know exactly why, but she could make assumptions that it was thanks to the connections she still had and also the fact that she was quite a special case, having the same Talent as Fluder Paradyne, so the higher ups of the academy likely didn't want to let her slip out of their hands again.
Arche looked up to the sky. The sun was still pretty high but already low enough to imply that it was already a couple hours past lunch time. She had already had her lunch at the academy's cafeteria, so there was no problem in that regard. Right now, she had no more things to do other than going back to her new home; the mansion of Rossaur Ratenoir. Her sisters and Emerile, who technically could be regarded as her new sister, were probably waiting for her already, and for a moment she considered flying there instead of walking, but ultimately decided against it. After all, [Fly] was a third tier spell and she didn't really want too many people looking at her.
Later, Arche was already about halfway through her trip home when suddenly...
Boom! Drrrddd!
"Aaaargh!"
Loud noises of explosions, crumbling buildings, and screams of people echoed throughout the area. Arche turned her head around with her eyes going wide on reflex, trying to see what had just happened.
What she immediately saw was multiple puffs of smokes rising from a number of spots. People would immediately assume that the city was under attack, and Arche was no exception. The first thing which came to her mind within that instant was the safety of her sisters, so she immediately hurried her pace.
[Fly]
Arche flew up. Her eyes looked straight towards her destination, which was Rossaur's mansion, and she immediately made a beeline for it. She arrived within a minute, and she was mildly relieved seeing that the mansion and the area around it was still untouched. But she knew that the dangers, whatever they were, would likely come this way soon, so she immediately landed at the front gate where the private guards greeted her immediately. They looked very alert, implying that they already knew about the situation.
"Welcome back, Arche-sama! Please hurry inside!"
One guard spoke as he opened the smaller door next to the main gate.
"Is everybody alright?"
"Yes, everybody's home and should be heading to the bunker already. Hurry and join them, Arche-sama!"
Arche nodded and went through the gate, which was immediately shut tight after she was through. Indeed, the mansion's basement, where she had once been confined along with Sheep, had been converted into a protective bunker where people could take shelter in case of disaster. She dashed towards the main entrance of the mansion, where she could see the butler of the family, Lavitz, waiting anxiously.
"Master Arche! You're ba-"
Boom! Drrd!
A sudden loud noise occurred behind Arche before Lavitz could finish speaking. Arche looked behind with her eyes wide, and a feeling of horrified disbelief came to her as she saw what had been the front gate a few seconds ago. It was now nothing more than a pile of rubble and toppled over metal gate, along with two bloody mangled corpses of the guards on top. Behind the debris pile, Arche saw two monsters she had never seen anywhere. The monsters had four wheels as legs, a bright red round nose in front of their sinister grinning face, and a similarly red crown on top of their body. Said crown had a red glowing ball floating on top, and a visible blood red aura covering it.
"Master Arche! Please hurry!"
Lavitz shouted, but Arche immediately spoke right after gritting her teeth.
"No! You get into the bunker! I'll draw their attention away!"
"But Maste-"
"Just do it and protect my sisters!"
[Fly]
Without waiting for a reply, Arche flew up and closed her distance to the two wheeled monsters. She was aware that she had to be extremely careful because she currently didn't have her staff and she was wearing a formal ordinary citizen attire for her recent visit to the academy, and therefore her combat prowess was lower than usual.
[Lightning]
Arche cast an offensive spell directly at the two wheeled monsters. Her spell hit both of them at their respective floating ball, but it didn't seem to do any damage. Nevertheless, the spell seemed to successfully draw the attention of the two monsters, since their eyes were now directed at her. Noticing this, Arche flew past the fence while keeping her distance from the monsters. As expected, the two monsters turned towards her and advanced, trying to close distance.
Arche quickly glanced around as she flew backwards to maintain distance, trying to see if there were any other monsters nearby. There were thankfully none within sight for now, but she still had to be careful, especially that she still knew essentially nothing about the two wheeled monsters. By any chance, they might be able to attack from range and shoot her out of her flight.
[Magic Arrow]
Arche shot out an offensive spell towards one of the two wheeled monsters, but once again her attack didn't seem to do any noticeable damage.
Hisssss!
The monsters suddenly launched their floating ball upwards, and as the balls fell back down, they tilted their body forward, making the balls bounce straight towards Arche at incredible speed.
Arche managed to evade the shots for now, but she had no idea how long she could keep this up. The floating balls had already returned to the monsters by this time, meaning that they were ready to shoot again. Arche didn't want to find out how strong those shots were, because by all chances she could end up like the two guards who had been still alive just a minute before.
One of the monsters launched its floating ball upwards again, and Arche readied herself to evade. However...
Clink! Clink! Clink!
With a ringing sound, suddenly spears of light appeared out of thin air around the monster and impaled its round red nose. Less than a second later, the other monster met the same fate and both of them lost their noses. At the same time, the crowns disappeared and the aura surrounding the floating balls seemed to thin out.
Schwing!
Within an instant, someone charged at the two monsters and did a wide slash at the floating balls. Both the floating balls were sliced in half and disintegrated, and the wheeled monsters disintegrated along with them.
While watching everything happening, Arche's mouth went agape because she remembered the distinct sound of the light spear attack, and she also recognized the person who had dealt the finishing blow and slain the wheeled monsters. There was no mistake, looking at the white fluffy hat and the horns coming out from it.
"S-Sheep? Is that you?"
Arche spoke out as she landed on the ground a few meters behind the person, who immediately showed a reaction and turned around. Now Arche saw the person's face, and there was no doubt at all that it was really Sheep.
"A-Arche?"
Right after Sheep spoke Arche's name, someone else spoke from behind.
"You know her, Hikaru?"
Arche looked behind her, and what she saw was a middle-aged man. His clothes gave off the vibes of a noble, and from that she could quickly make an assumption.
"Ah, Ryu-niichan. She's Arche. Friend of Hekkeran and Imina"
What Sheep had just said confirmed Arche's quick assumption that this man was Ryu Seika, Sheep's brother.
"Ah, I see. I'm Ryu Seika. It's nice to meet you, though I wish we were at a better circumstance"
"Yeah. But what were those monsters?"
"Darkers, courtesy of Dark Falz, the enemy of ARKS"
Arche didn't say any word hearing the answer to her question. The only thing going on in her mind was the clear implication that Arwintar was now under attack by vicious monsters which had enough power to be acknowledged by the organization Sheep came from. The two wheeled monsters just now had made Arche feel powerless, but Sheep and Ryu had slain them easily, implying that those had been just small fries. Looking at the implication, a feeling of dread began creeping up in her.
"Get to shelter. ARKS will help defend the city"
Ryu spoke, snapping Arche out from her overwhelming feeling. But she was still confused about the statement.
"H-Huh? You mean..."
"Look"
Sheep spoke, pointing at the sky. Arche looked up, and she saw a good number of bright blue lights falling from the sky. The lights seemed to be falling towards various parts of the city.
"Those are ARKS people like us. Everybody's helping, so rest assured that we will protect the city and its people from the Darkers"
Sheep spoke again, and Arche somehow immediately felt relieved. The city was under attack by monsters which were overwhelmingly powerful, but there was still hope because a nation of even stronger people were here to help. She was not alone.
"By the way, this is the residence of our former client, isn't it? Why are you here?"
Sheep asked the question to Arche, who immediately spoke in response.
"Things happened. Rossaur is now my family, and this is my home now, along with my sisters"
"Ah... I see. More reason for me to protect this place, then"
Sheep smiled as she spoke, and Arche felt even more reassured now. She knew that both Sheep and her brother would have to go soon, so she only spoke once more, wishing for their safety.
"Please be safe, Sheep. And you too"
"You too, Arche"
Sheep nodded as she spoke, and Ryu also gave a nod while smiling. Both of them then immediately flew away, towards the ongoing battle in the city. Arche then went back to the mansion with the intention to take shelter there along with her family. The combat out there was way out of her league, so she decided that she should just believe in Sheep, Ryu, and other ARKS people currently fighting for the city's sake.
[X][X][X]
In the war room of Baharuth Empire Imperial Palace, a number of important figures which included Emperor Jircniv himself were standing around a large conference table. All of them had their breath running a little short, having thrown what they had been doing and dashed here with all their might the moment they heard the news of the city being under attack. They all sported varying degrees of agitation on their faces, and Jircniv was the one who spoke out loud first.
"Give me the latest situation report!"
As Jircniv spoke, his eyes glared straight at the last man entering the room, who was dressed like a military officer of middle rank. The man nervously spoke in response.
"A large number of unknown monsters are rampaging throughout the city as we speak. None of our weapons have worked on them and they could kill anybody with a single blow, so we are forced on the defensive"
"What kind of monsters? How did they get in the city in the first place?"
"We have no idea, Your Majesty. Their form is hard to explain, and according to witnesses the monsters just appeared, as if they teleported in"
"Teleported in? Tch...!"
Jircniv clicked his tongue, clearly displaying that he was upset. From all the knowledge he had so far about unknown monsters with teleportation ability, it was easy for him to make an assumption that those monsters could be the so-called Darkers. He became aware that his capital city was now in a grave situation because unlike in the Re-Estize Kingdom, there weren't any overwhelmingly powerful Adventurer teams like Darkness and Ignite Maximus in Baharuth Empire.
I've been foolishly thinking that Dark Falz Elder would stick around in Re-Estize Kingdom, and now I have to pay dearly...
Jircniv's eyes went to Fluder Paradyne who was standing nearby. He already knew that Fluder actually had betrayed him, silently siding with Ainz Ooal Gown behind the scenes. However, with the currently ongoing situation, Fluder might be the only one who could fight against those monsters. Worse came to worst, Fluder was the one who could get in touch with Ainz the quickest, should the Empire become desperate enough to request aid from Ainz. But that would only be the very last resort.
"Gramps!"
Jircniv called out to Fluder while still maintaining his calm and dignified tone of speech. In response, Fluder looked back at Jircniv with flaring eyes which displayed determination despite his old age, as if he already knew what Jircniv would say next.
However, before Jircniv could begin to speak, the door of the war room opened and a soldier entered with haste.
"Reporting! We've got reinforcements!"
Everybody else in the room immediately turned their heads towards the soldier with their eyes going wide. Jircniv, still not grasping the evolving situation from merely a short verbal report, began speaking to the soldier in order to inquire.
"Explain in more detail!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! A large number of people came down from the skies, and they immediately fought off the monsters. They were fewer in numbers than the monsters, but they were significantly stronger! Some of us managed to speak to a few of them, and they claimed that they were ARKS of Oracle!"
Delighted voices could be heard throughout the room, and Jircniv himself couldn't help feeling delighted as well. All of the people in this war room had been present in the audience session with Ainz Ooal Gown, so they knew about ARKS and the nation of Oracle. With a determined smile on his face, Jircniv immediately began speaking out loud.
"Our allies have arrived! Spread words to our men, and cooperate with them as necessary!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The soldier bowed and immediately left the scene. The military officer in the room also bowed and then he followed the soldier out. Jircniv then looked at Fluder once again and spoke.
"Never mind what I was about to say, Gramps. The situation has changed"
"Indeed"
Fluder replied while nodding. Jircniv then looked straight at all other people in the war room and began speaking, addressing all of them in general.
"While we wait for further news, let us begin discussing plans for recovery after the battle is over"
Jircniv sat upon his throne-like chair, and the rest of those in the room followed suit in their own chairs. In his mind, Jircniv was intrigued about this nation called 'Oracle', and their organization called ARKS. He was now looking forward to having a talk with their representatives, if that would possibly happen in the near future.
[X][X][X]
Pluton Ainzach, the Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild in E-Rantel, was still in the middle of his mundane work of a Guildmaster in his office when suddenly the door was opened in a rush, making a banging sound as it hit the wall. Ainzach's eyes went wide within an instant, looking directly at the staff member behind the door who sported a grim facial expression.
"The city's under attack by monsters!"
Ainzach immediately stood up from his seat with his teeth gritted. He stood up so fast, the chair he had been sitting on was thrown backwards and flipped over.
"What? Again!? Where are they attacking from?"
"The monsters are already everywhere! They... they teleported in!"
Ainzach froze up hearing the news. Strength began seeping out from his body, and his mind began to fade from the overwhelming feeling. Ever since the cemetery incident back then, E-Rantel had never had it any easier. In fact, it was a wonder why the amount of people in the city, civilians and combat-capable ones alike, had never seemed to decrease significantly, either from getting killed by the frequent disasters or fleeing out of fear.
"Okay... Okay..."
Ainzach put his hands on his work desk, taking deep breaths and trying to regain composure. Once he somewhat calmed down, he looked at the staff member and began speaking.
"I hope they're on the move already, but just in case, send a fast messenger to alert Darkness and Ignite Maximus at Shining Golden Pavilion immediately!"
"Yes, sir!"
The staff member immediately hurried away from the place, leaving the office door wide open. Ainzach himself mustered his strength for a moment before he left his office and dashed towards the main hall of the guild building, where groups of Adventurers and civilians seeking refuge would surely gather soon, if not already.
[X][X][X]
Narberal Gamma, currently masquerading as Nabe the Adventurer, flew through the chaos happening within E-Rantel. A large number of unknown monsters had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in various parts of the city, wreaking havoc immediately after. Her order from Ainz was to stay put and be the contact person for Ignite Maximus should they needed to get in touch with Nazarick, and also to be on standby for any urgent news that might come from the guild.
Just a couple minutes before, a messenger from the guild had brought news about this ongoing monster attack, and Narberal had contacted Ainz with [Message] after dismissing the messenger away.
"Momon shall be there soon. Until he arrives, scout out the situation and measure the strength of the monsters. But do not engage them recklessly"
Ainz's response back then had been spoken in a very calm and dignified tone of speech as expected of a Supreme Being like him, and therefore Narberal was now determined to carry out that order.
[Lightning]
Bzzzt! Crackle!
Narberal casted a spell on a group of five chubby monsters who were standing in a line doing nothing. In response, all of them immediately made a huge leap straight towards Narberal with one arm ready to swipe at her.
[Teleportation]
Narberal evaded the attack by teleporting past the chubby monsters. As a result, their attack hit the roof of a nearby building, demolishing the upper floor of it into rubble. Narberal immediately flew away, not wishing to engage them further, as per the order from Ainz. Curiously, the chubby monsters were now chasing her, running forward with their arms reaching forward, which looked somewhat awkward but still pretty fast regardless.
Narberal continued her scouting, flying around the city to spot monsters and casting various offensive spells on them to measure their strength, as per Ainz's order. The cycle kept repeating, until Narberal heard a [Message] notification in her head, to which she immediately picked up.
"Narberal"
"Yes, Ai-Momon-san"
"Go to the center of the cemetery"
"Right away, Momon-san!"
As convenient as it was, Narberal's current position was close enough to the E-Rantel cemetery that it was within sight. Narberal immediately turned that way and flew over the cemetery walls. Just a minute of flight later, the tall warrior figure of Momon was within her sight, and she immediately approached.
"Momon-san!"
Narberal spoke as she landed right in front of Momon, whom she still didn't know yet whether the one inside the full plate armor was the genuine Supreme Being Ainz Ooal Gown or one of her own kin putting on a disguise. Nevertheless, she spoke to report her findings regarding the monsters.
"I have concluded that the unknown monsters are weak to ice element, and at least fifth tier spells are required to deal meaningful damage to them"
Hearing Narberal's findings, Momon nodded and spoke.
"Gut gemacht"
The exceedingly low voice of a foreign language coming out from Momon was all Narberal needed to get her question answered. The Momon in front of her was not Ainz, but one of her kin, the same one who had accompanied her when the group of Workers had intruded Nazarick; Pandora's Actor. However, she already knew that she still had to treat him like he was genuine. After all, Ainz definitely had a plan in motion and he was probably watching right now. Not playing along would be the very last thing she wanted.
"Let's do this, Nabe!"
"Yes, Momon-san!"
[X][X][X]
The fuck...!
Through the Mirror of Remote Viewing, Ainz was watching how Narberal and Pandora's Actor were doing in E-Rantel against the sudden attack of unknown monsters, which Ainz could easily assume were Darkers of Dark Falz Double. Pandora's Actor needed some time to arrive at E-Rantel as Momon, so Ainz had ordered Narberal to scout the monsters and measure their strength in the meantime.
But what Ainz witnessed right now was the fact that Narberal had drawn a huge horde of those colorful, yet unsettling monsters to pursue her all the way to their position in the middle of the city cemetery. Their numbers could easily exceed hundreds, and Ainz had no idea how and why Narberal had done that.
Should I tell them to escape? But they don't seem to be fazed... Should I just believe in them?
Ultimately, Ainz decided to believe in them and watch the event unfold. However, he was still prepared to jump in with [Gate] and drag them out of there should the need arise, though that would be a desperate last resort since doing it would compromise a great number of things.
The Darker horde charged forward, closing their distance to where Narberal and Pandora's Actor were standing, ready in their respective battle stance.
But suddenly, a horde of undead monsters emerged from the graves around and started attacking the Darkers. Ainz recognized the undead monsters as mid-level monsters he could summon using his skills and spells, and thus a question popped in his mind.
Is this the work of Pandora's Actor? What's his plan? Oh...!
Then realization struck Ainz. With the presence of the undead, there was now a battle between them and the Darkers. Which meant they were now distracted and had become easy pickings for Narberal and Pandora's Actor. Moreover, afterwards, people would perceive the event as Momon and Nabe cleverly drawing the Darkers away from the people into the uninhabited cemetery, where undead monsters could potentially spawn and serve as distractions.
You never fail to impress me, Pandora's Actor. If only you were less... embarrassing...
But then, as if not enough things have happened already, suddenly three person-sized balls of light fell down from the sky near the two, making hard impacts. Both of them were immediately on full alert, but they quickly calmed down, noticing that the ones who had just landed were Rose, Lily, and Alice.
Hmm?
Ainz immediately shifted the viewing angle of the Mirror, and he saw that there were more of the balls of light falling down to various parts of the city. He then leaned to the chair he was sitting on, having somewhat mixed feelings.
So ARKS has mobilized their troops. That means they have decided to reveal themselves to the public eye. Doesn't this render the deal we made back then moot? But then again, this is an urgent matter concerning the lives of people. I guess that can't be helped...
Regardless of his concerns about the alliance between ARKS and Nazarick, Ainz leaned forward again, eagerly watching the imminent battle between Darkers, undead monsters, and the group of five.
[X][X][X]
[Shifta]
[Deband]
Alice cast her buffing photon techs, raising the offensive and defensive attributes of everyone around her, including herself. Meanwhile, Momon glanced at Rose and spoke, asking a question.
"Can you confirm what those unknown monsters are?"
"Toy type Darkers, spawned by Dark Falz Double. What about those other monsters?"
Rose gave an immediate reply as she got herself into a battle stance with her katana. In response, Momon spoke as he went into a battle stance as well with a strangely shaped sword made from ice-like material.
"Consider them enemies, as well as useful distractions"
After a small nod to convey acknowledgement, the group of five charged towards the horde of Darkers and undead monsters, thus beginning a massive slaughter.
Within less than five minutes, the city cemetery became barren again like it always had been before. All the Darkers and undead monsters had disintegrated without leaving any trace, and the only thing surrounding the group of five now was the eerie feeling of isolation and nothingness, true to the nature of a cemetery.
Momon lowered his weapon and put it away. He then looked to a distance and spoke.
"I expect that the stragglers have already been taken care of by the other ARKS troops"
"Let me check"
Rose spoke in response, activating her photon interface and looking at it briefly before speaking again.
"There are still a few here and there, but yes. The Darkers will be gone from this city very soon. In any case, we should go. I mean, the three of us"
"Hmm? Why is that?"
"Double's Darkers are attacking multiple cities simultaneously. With only one ship present, ARKS is very shorthanded and we have to either jump from one city to another, or spread ourselves thin. We ultimately chose the former"
Rose spoke as she put down a teleportation beacon which was immediately activated, ready to teleport anyone stepping in away. Alice then chimed in with lowered head and a visibly remorseful face.
"Unfortunately, this means we will be too late for a number of cities..."
Hearing this, Momon only made a slight nod before speaking.
"I see. There is nothing I can say other than wishing you luck. Godspeed, ARKS"
The trio responded with a weak nod, and then they stepped into the teleportation beacon, disappearing completely within an instant.
[X][X][X]
Ainz turned off the Mirror of Remote Viewing after he had seen enough. Everything was just as Guardian had warned. Dark Falz Double was massively more aggressive in damaging civilizations and taking people's lives. Moreover, at the same time ARKS was currently shorthanded and they wouldn't be able to save all cities in time.
After a heavy sigh, Ainz stood up and began walking away from the office room he was in. He has fully acknowledged the danger possessed by Dark Falz Double and how they would be a grave threat to the survival of the world, Nazarick, and ultimately himself.
It's time to get even more... lively...
As Ainz thought those words out, his decorated skeletal hand firmly grabbed the golden handle of an object, one which was never supposed to see the light of day...
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
The battles have started, and ARKS is already showing signs of becoming overwhelmed thanks to their lack of manpower. Meanwhile, Ainz has decided that he's had enough...
See you again next time around.
