Alright. Hello again, and still right on schedule.
Although, I have to honestly say that I'm not sure if I can keep up with the schedule in future chapters. I mean, this very chapter was initially planned to be the final chapter, but I went a little too far in developing the plot and characters, and the rest is history. I'll still try to post chapters every two weeks like always been, but from now on I can't guarantee it.
Nevertheless, the show goes on. See you in the afterword.
[X][X][X]
[Boost Magic - Shard Buck Shots]
The spell cast by Evileye conjured a multitude of sharp crystals shooting forward in a scattered pattern. The majority of the shards punctured the body of the monster she was fighting in front of her, which looked like a large chubby doll.
The monster was thrown back by the force of the spell, but it soon got back up and stood on its feet again.
[Maximize Magic – Crystal Lance]
Evileye cast another spell, conjuring a larger crystal which was immediately shot right at the glowing core on the chubby monster's stomach. It was a direct hit, sending the monster reeling back and falling down. The monster then disintegrated into red mist which soon dissipated and left no trace.
Evileye had no time to celebrate her victory, because the one she had just slain was merely one of the many which was now all over the capital city of Re-Estize. Countless people; civilians, guards, and Adventurers alike, had fallen to these aggressive monsters which attacked anything that moved. Blue Rose, the only team present which could put up a decent fight against the monsters, had exerted their utmost effort to help in evacuating the people and also defending them from attacks. However, a single team could only do so much.
"Hhraaah!"
Not far from Evileye's location, Gagaran was ferociously fighting a bunch of smaller monsters. They looked like colorful boxes with a pair of arms for locomotion, and their main attack method was to open their 'lid' and throw some explosive projectiles on their target. The projectiles were slow, so Gagaran could get clear easily, but it was easy to assume that getting hit directly by even one would be fatal.
Moreover, there were also similar small monsters looking like colorful cauldrons with inflating, glowing cores on top and they had attempted to jump at Gagaran multiple times.
"Ha!"
Wham!
Gagaran deflected another of the cauldron monsters with her weapon, sending it to a group of other monsters. Upon contact, the thrown cauldron monster exploded, killing itself along with other monsters around it.
"Those funny-looking ones are suicide bombers! Be careful!"
Evileye shouted, giving Gagaran a heads up. In response, Gagaran grinned.
"Which one? They're all funny-looking! Ha! Just kidding! I got it!"
Evileye put one hand over her forehead and shook her head, seeing that Gagaran still could joke around at a time like this. At a fair distance ahead, Evileye could see Lakyus and the twins fighting off more of the monsters, and they seemed to fare well.
Evileye then looked to the sky, which was partially obscured by puffs of smoke rising from various parts of the city. The current situation was looking grave. No one could have predicted this kind of catastrophic event happening again. Especially not within a few months after the demonic disturbance. To make matters worse, this time there was neither Darkness nor Ignite Maximus in the city. So everything regarding city defense mostly depended on Team Blue Rose.
Emphasis on mostly.
As Evileye was still looking to the sky, a red humanoid figure zoomed across at a distance, raining a barrage of projectiles down from its otherworldly-looking weapon. Most of the monsters hit by the projectile were slain within a few hits. There were larger ones which weren't slain by random hits, but it was not difficult to spot their weak points.
Azuth Aindra, the leader of the Red Drop team and also Lakyus' uncle, was the person inside the flying red suit of armor. The armor suit, named Armor of Reinforcement, was Azuth's core strength, with which he had slain enemies stronger than any Adventurer in the Kingdom could ever hope to beat, including Evileye herself.
Azuth had a lot of combat experience under his sleeves, so it was a given that he eventually noticed the weak points of the tougher monsters which didn't immediately die with a random barrage of bullets. The nose of the wheeled ones could be destroyed to remove the crown protecting the core floating above it, while the house-like ones would randomly protrude three cores at its front, two of them being fake. A few accurate hits at the real core would slay the house monster like any other.
The situation was not exactly a good one, but there was still hope. However, there was one thing which concerned Evileye the most. The fact that the corpses of the monsters only disintegrated if slain using magic reminded her about the time when she had been informed about Darkers and Dark Falz. If these monsters were Darkers, then the corpses that didn't disintegrate would begin spreading spores which would infect people and make them go berserk. That was why the Blue Rose team had an additional task of cleaning up the streets from monster corpses using magic attacks and enchanted weapons. Azuth had made sure they knew that his armor suit couldn't use enchanted bullets all the time. There were limits to that, and the same applied to the spells his armor suit had access to.
Still, things had been going decently well. Azuth would slay the monsters on sight from above, while Blue Rose down below would slay stragglers left behind and disintegrate any monster corpses they noticed. However, the capital city was big, and there was no way they could cover the entire city, even with their teamwork.
To make matters worse, the team spotted a monster far larger than any others they had fought. It was at least seven meters tall and its features were somewhat humanoid, having one head, a pair of arms, and a pair of legs. But everything else about it was in no way human, looking like a bunch of colorful shapes put together to form a bulky figure.
It was easy to notice that the large monster's weak points were what would be the equivalent of a human's elbows and knees, because those parts were essentially glowing red cores unlike other parts which were visually more solid and sturdy. Therefore, all the members of Blue Rose silently agreed to target their attacks at those four glowing cores.
Whoosh... Jrrg!
As the large monster walked in approach towards the Blue Rose team, Azuth landed in front of it, putting himself between the monster and the team. Azuth in the suit was taller than any human, being about three meters tall, but he still looked somewhat small compared to the monster.
Before anyone could say any words, two strange puppet-like creatures appeared near the large monster and immediately conjured objects around each, immediately wrapping around them and resulting in two more of the large monsters. Within that instant the situation had evolved from Blue Rose and Azuth versus one large monster into versus three large monsters.
"All of you, stay back"
Azuth's voice could be heard from the armor suit, speaking to all the members of Blue Rose. Nobody opposed the command because they knew the fact that they were fighting against monsters they had never seen before, so there was practically no information about the danger levels of the monsters. Azuth was currently the strongest and most mobile among the present combatants thanks to his unique armor suit and weapons, so he was the best candidate to test the waters, and in the case things turned south he would have the best chance to escape.
Moreover, there was not much choice because a bunch of the smaller monsters were now flocking towards them from behind, possibly having been called by the three large monsters in front of them. At the very least, they should hold the line so Azuth could fight the three large monsters with no intrusion.
"Everyone! We must hold them from reaching Azuth!"
Lakyus shouted her command, and the rest of the team nodded. They all immediately charged towards the horde of monsters, while Azuth began his attack on the large monsters.
Less than five minutes later, the members of the Blue Rose team stood in a mild feeling of triumph. They had managed to slay all the monsters in sight, although with great effort exerted. Needless to say, they were no longer in prime condition now, having exhausted a notable portion of their mana and stamina. In addition, Gagaran had an injury on her left arm after covering for Tia in the middle of the battle.
Azuth fared well on his side. Attacking the weak points of the large monsters had been a little troublesome because their bulky body and the way they moved around during their attacks had helped in covering those weak points, but Azuth's superior firepower and mobility had immensely helped him in scoring hits. After all four glowing cores of one monster had been broken, the bulky frame of that monster fell apart, revealing the puppet-like creature which had been hiding inside. Azuth chuckled seeing the fact that these large monsters were in a sense similar to himself, and then he obliterated the puppet-like creature with a barrage of enchanted bullets. The remaining two large monsters met the same fate not long after, and Azuth retreated back to the Blue Rose members who were having a short break to recuperate.
"Sorry that I was careless"
Tia spoke to Gagaran who was being healed by Lakyus' healing spell. Gagaran just laughed in response.
"Hahaha! Don't sweat it! You're not as strong as you used to be yet!"
"The same applies to you, so watch yourself"
Lakyus spoke as she ended the healing spell. Gagaran smiled as she flexed the healed arm around. Azuth stood closer to the group, and then he spoke.
"While we've won this skirmish, the battle is far from over. It's hard for me to say this, but the capital city is done for, if you ask me. It's best for you to run away"
"Don't say that, Uncle Azuth! We can beat those monsters! We can defend the city and protect the people!"
Lakyus spoke out her denial, clearly wishing to stay and defend the city from the monsters to her last breath.
"Yes, but look around. We all know that the monsters we slew were just a few of many. Even I have my limits, and I for sure know that I won't last long enough to exterminate every single one of them before exhausting myself, and that is assuming there'll be no more of them coming in"
"Then why are you still here if you want to run away that badly?"
Lakyus asked the question with a tone of speech which clearly displayed that she was upset. Azuth remained unfazed under the armor suit as he replied with a straight tone.
"Look, I alone can still escape even if those monsters surround the entire capital. I'm staying here and fighting so more people may have more time to escape, however little. But unless some miracles come down from the sky, I remain with my words that it is best for all of you, along with the King and his families, to escape. Aren't you being a little too naive, thinking otherwise?"
Lakyus gritted her teeth hearing Azuth's words. It was a hard pill to swallow, but he had a point. The invading monsters were strong enough to put up a hard fight against Blue Rose. Despite Azuth's armor suit being tremendously stronger, he was still a human under it, and he would eventually exhaust himself. Still, Lakyus clenched her fist in front of her chest and spoke back to Azuth with a face full of resolve.
"It doesn't matter! As the protector of the people, there are times when I must fight no matter the odds! If I'll fall, I'll go down fighting!"
"Don't be stupid!"
Evileye suddenly spoke out loud to Lakyus, who showed a surprised reaction.
"I don't mean to corner you, but your uncle is right"
Evileye stepped forward and approached Lakyus as she spoke. Lakyus was still speechless at this point, and so Evileye resumed.
"Your resolve was no excuse to throw away your life. It's not a heroic feat, but nothing more than a suicidal escape. If you want to protect the people, you must always be around to protect them. Otherwise, who will?"
Lakyus lowered her head, seemingly taking in the words from Evileye and pondering about it. However...
"We've got company!"
Azuth looked back, noticing that a bunch of the colorful monsters were approaching fast. He and the entire Blue Rose team got themselves ready for another skirmish against the monsters.
But before the battle could begin, a barrage of bullets came from above, raining down upon the monster horde which soon all disintegrated. It was not Azuth's handiwork because he was still there standing on the streets, and the members of Blue Rose all knew it. Therefore everyone there looked above by reflex.
What they immediately saw was a humanoid figure diving down from the sky. At first glance, it was easy for them to take the figure as an armor suit like what Azuth was wearing because while very different, there were somewhat similar features.
The suit hovered, slowing down its fall before landing on its two feet near the group. The members of Blue Rose team could only stand still with their mouths agape, because compared to Azuth's three meters tall suit, the one which just came dwarfed his, being around ten meters tall.
"Are you alright?"
A masculine voice came out from the huge suit. Everyone was a little surprised at first, but hearing the question made them feel a little relieved because it gave the implication that whoever in that suit was an ally.
"Yes, but who are you?"
Azuth asked the question with a fairly unfazed tone of speech, but it was noticeable that he was awed at the huge suit.
"We're ARKS of Oracle, and we're here to kill Darkers"
The words from the suit essentially confirmed that the monsters attacking the city were indeed Darkers, the monsters Ryu's team and the undead Ainz Ooal Gown had told them about.
"Did you say 'we'?"
Azuth asked another question, inquiring about the point which everyone else should have noticed as well.
"Yes. Look up"
Once again, everybody looked up, and what they immediately saw was more of the huge armor suits diving down from the sky, along with blue balls of light alongside them.
"We came as fast as we could, but it seems we were still a little too late. We apologize for that"
"Save the apology and get to killing those monsters. The sooner the better!"
Azuth spoke without restraint to the ARKS in the suit, true to his character. The suit seemed to respond by making a nodding motion before speaking.
"You're correct. Be careful out there"
The suit then flew away quickly, heading off to battle along with the rest of the newly-arrived reinforcements. Azuth then turned his head to Lakyus and spoke.
"Well, it seems a miracle really came down from the sky, and humbled this suit of mine while at it. Hahahaha!"
Lakyus and the rest of her team smiled in relief. The situation had been grim a minute ago, and the city had experienced a significant loss, but a new light of hope had arrived. They now knew that the city would survive, and it would eventually recover.
[X][X][X]
In the Palace Shelter of Slane Theocracy, the Pontifex Maximus and all of the Six Cardinals were sitting around a large conference table, on which various magic items had been installed to keep them in touch with the situation outside despite being physically isolated.
"Three members of Holocaust Scripture and four of Black Scripture got injured but they are safe. The number of monsters in the city is still high but they are gradually thinning out"
A voice came out from one of the magic devices, giving the people in the Palace Shelter the latest situation report regarding the monster attack.
"Good. Anything to report about civilian casualties?"
Raymond, the Cardinal of Earth and also the one most well-versed in regards to the military among the people there, spoke to the device. There was a brief silence, but he soon got his answer.
"We are still unable to report exact numbers, but sadly we are positive that the number of civilian casualties has broken a thousand..."
Raymond, and also the rest of the people in the Palace Shelter, lowered their head in defeat and let out a sigh. He then spoke with a noticeably more depressed tone of speech.
"I see... Maintain current strategy, and report to us immediately if anything unusual happens"
"Affirmative"
The communication link ended, and Raymond sighed once again, leaning to his seat.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Raymond"
The Pontifex spoke, trying to encourage Raymond. Berenice, the Cardinal of Fire, followed up right after.
"That's right. Nobody can ever prepare for this kind of disaster. If you ask me, we have done well enough that the casualties didn't break ten thousand. Not that I'm taking the casualties we have lightly..."
After Berenice was done speaking, Dominic, the Cardinal of Wind, spoke with his arms folded.
"Yes, we can and we will mourn the fallen later, but for now our task is to prevent the number of fallen people from rising further"
Most other people in the room slightly nodded, silently agreeing. The Pontifex then looked at Raymond and spoke with a slight smile.
"Raymond, I'm glad that it seems you have made the right call, as far as I can see"
Raymond looked back at the Pontifex, and he immediately replied.
"Ah, yes. She and the Captain have secured many more areas than others. I have recently got a testimony from the Captain that Guardian Angel's blessings on her were very effective against the monsters. Thanks to her, the capital city has significantly less casualties than other cities"
"That means the monsters attacking the cities are very likely Darkers..."
The Pontifex spoke as he turned his head towards a different magic device. Still images of the various monsters attacking the city were floating above it, and everybody in the room had agreed on how strange and unsettling the looks of those monsters were, and it wouldn't be wrong to say that the monsters were otherworldly.
"I wonder why Guardian Angel didn't come to assist us"
The Pontifex mumbled in low voice, not expecting any answer because he was fully aware that Guardian Angel likely had her own reason for entrusting the defense of the capital city to Zesshi. However...
"I think I have your answer for that"
Ginedine, the Cardinal of Water, spoke to him. The Pontifex immediately turned his head towards Ginedine with his eyes slightly wider. Without waiting further, Ginedine spoke.
"I have just received news from my... private network. The monster attack is happening in every major city of the Re-Estize Kingdom and Baharuth Empire as well. There are no news yet about other nations, but they are possibly under attack too, looking at this situation"
Some gasps could be heard in the room. If the news were true, it would mean that humanity could be facing its greatest test right now, similar to the rampage of Evil Deities two centuries before. Not many nations had survived that catastrophic event, and it was worrying that the history would potentially repeat.
"All hope is not lost, though"
Ginedine spoke again, prompting some reactions from the others. He then immediately resumed.
"I also received news that in some of the cities under attack, a number of mysterious people came down from the sky and fought off the monsters before quickly leaving. Some people managed to talk to one of them, and they claimed to be... ARKS of Oracle"
The face of everybody else in the room immediately showed delight as they looked at each other.
"Do we agree that perhaps they aren't here because they are busy defending other cities which couldn't help themselves, and they will come here eventually?"
Nobody opposed the Pontifex's assumption because it was the most logical idea which they could think of.
"I believe you know what to do, Raymond"
The Pontifex spoke to Raymond, who immediately nodded and spoke to the same magic device which he had used before.
"To all those whom this message reaches! We know that the situation looks bleak right now. Many of our sacred and ancient structures have been lost, and many of our people have fallen, but fear not! Guardian Angel's army is on their way and in the end, we will be saved! All we need to do is to keep fighting, protect the people, and buy enough time so when they arrive, we all can stand tall and proud knowing that we have lasted against the adversary! Keep your eyes to the sky for the signs, and remember that there is still hope!"
The Pontifex and the other Cardinals smiled hearing Raymond's inspiring speech. With that, the morale of the people should rise, and now they only needed to wait with high hopes that Guardian Angel's army would arrive soon.
[X][X][X]
Crisis had been overcome in E-Rantel. The monsters which had suddenly attacked the city had all been eradicated. Some civilian survivors walked on the streets in a daze, not believing that they had survived the disaster. It was a surprise to many people that for a monster attack of that scale, the amount of human casualties was very low. From the words of several witnesses, the low amount of casualty had been all thanks to the action of Nabe, the Adamantite Rank Adventurer who had drawn the attention of countless monsters to her and lured them to the city cemetery where undead had spawned and served as distractions so both Nabe and Momon could eradicate them all. All the people; civilians, guards, officials, and Adventurers alike, were truly awed by the feat Darkness team had accomplished.
In truth, according to the testimony of Momon himself, the monsters Nabe had drawn had been largely slain by the people coming from the sky who had identified themselves as ARKS of Oracle, which included the other Adamantite Rank team, Ignite Maximus. Naturally, this sparked the rumors about the recent sighting of a flying city, raising speculations among civilians and Adventurers that the ARKS people had come from that city. Despite that, people still highly appreciated Darkness for having significantly minimized casualties from the monster attack, and they were now unanimously regarded as heroes by the people of E-Rantel.
So far, that was the information Janus could gather. He had witnessed everything from the start, seeing for himself the sudden appearance of unknown monsters. In fact, he had slain several of the monsters before many of them had been drawn away to the cemetery. After that, the ARKS people had come down from the sky and Janus had sat out of the battle, choosing to only watch unless there had been a poor civilian he could have saved within reach.
Right now, Janus was sitting atop the roof of one building overlooking the streets near the Adventurer's Guild. His focus was not entirely on his sight because right now he was talking through [Message].
"What's the situation over there, Rigrit?"
"Like yours before, lights from the sky came down, revealing themselves to be the people from ARKS of Oracle. The capital city of Re-Estize has been saved, but from your story I can say that it fared worse than E-Rantel in regards to casualties"
"I see. It seems the Darkness team over here has made the right decision. I won't deny that right now I feel impressed"
"Janus, if you haven't thought of this already, I'm telling you that you should get in contact with Darkness. With this kind of crisis looming over and ARKS being low on manpower as Guardian said, we will need all the help we can get. Now's no longer the time to care whether Darkness are Players or not"
"Indeed..."
"I should get in touch with Tsar, so I'm cutting this off. Good luck over there, Janus"
"You too, Rigrit"
The [Message] link ended, and Janus looked down to the streets. What he saw right now was a bunch of people flocking over Momon and Nabe, expressing gratitude for their heroic feat. Janus turned his head towards the sky, seeing that the sun was already near the horizon, which meant that the day would turn dark in about one hour.
No point in laying low now. The sooner the better.
With that in mind, Janus jumped off from the roof and landed within Momon and Nabe's line of sight. His landing startled a bunch of people and put the two into alert state.
"You have finally decided to show yourself. Are you an enemy, or an ally prospect?"
Momon spoke in a straight tone with a clear implication that he had already noticed Janus ever since the day he had tailed the team. It was within expectation, but Janus couldn't help being slightly surprised anyway. Nevertheless, Janus spoke with a gesture which displayed that he meant peace.
"I mean no harm. Perhaps I should introduce myself first. You can call me Janus. I am a wanderer, and..."
Janus halted his speech, hesitating whether he should really say what he was about to say next.
"And what?"
Nabe spoke with a sharp glare directed straight at Janus, and that was what prompted Janus to make the decision.
"...and father of Alice Vegelshaft"
Some people around could be heard gasping upon hearing the words Janus had just uttered. Momon slightly relaxed his posture before speaking in response.
"I see. The person in question isn't here to confirm your claim, but I will believe you for the time being. So, what do you need?"
"I want to talk to you, but can we go to a place more private?"
Momon made a slight nodding gesture, then he spoke.
"Very well, we are right in front of the Adventurer's Guild, so we can immediately go in and use one of their rooms. Come with us"
Janus then followed the Darkness team to one of the small rooms within the guild, usually used by teams for discussions on matters related to their jobs. Once all three of them were seated, Momon spoke to Janus with his arms folded.
"We're alone now, so what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Before I begin, there is one question I want to ask. Do you know someone with the name Ainz Ooal Gown?"
Nabe showed a reaction, while Momon remained calm. He then gave his reply.
"I have never encountered him directly, but I have heard stories from some people who have, saying that he was an undead and a very powerful magic caster. What is the matter about him?"
"I see"
Janus then proceeded to tell Momon his stories of encountering Ainz Ooal Gown, along with the fact that Ainz was planning to make his existence known to all people, and also the fact that ARKS had already made an alliance with Ainz. He still remembered to omit details which he felt unnecessary to tell, such as Ainz being a Player, and one member of Ignite Maximus being Ainz's daughter. Momon kept sitting upright, looking calm and collected while hearing the story from Janus.
"I see. So by revealing himself to public, he plans to draw out the Dark Falz behind the Darker attacks and deal with them himself"
Momon spoke after Janus finished, still sounding as calm as ever. After a brief pause, he resumed.
"Helping the currently understaffed ARKS with his power... how benevolent of him, contrary to his nature. But that aligns with the testimonies of several people I met not too long ago, so I am not so surprised. In any case, what do you want from me after telling me all this?"
"Well, looking at the crisis which is very likely going to be on global scale, I'm asking if you would cooperate with us, and by extension, with ARKS and Ainz Ooal Gown in fighting against this crisis. Because at this rate, any help we can get will be highly appreciated"
Momon, still looking stoic, lowered his head briefly in silence before he began speaking once again.
"I see where you're coming from, but I can't give my answer just yet. Ideally, I want to see this Ainz Ooal Gown and have a conversation with him myself. Still, rest assured that I and Nabe shall at the very least protect the people of this city like we just did, should the Darkers attack again"
Hearing Momon's answer, Janus made a weak nod before speaking.
"Understood. I shall take my leave, then. Thank you for your time"
Janus stood up, but right as he began walking away, Momon spoke to him.
"Oh, one question before you leave. Are you planning to stay around in E-Rantel for the time being?"
Janus stopped walking, and he answered without looking back.
"Yes. I currently have no reason to leave the city. I'll stand guard and protect the people, same as you"
"I see. I appreciate your decision. Take care of yourself out there"
"Hmm..."
Janus resumed walking away, leaving the room and soon the guild building. Some people took a curious glance at him, but he paid them no heed as he jumped to the roof of a nearby building and dashed away. Momon had given him a fairly good response, but he still had no idea whether that would remain once Momon met Ainz for real, if ever.
[X][X][X]
"The Darkers are finally gone, but there's still no sign of Dark Falz Double..."
Xiera spoke as her hands danced over the interface displays around her. The expression on her face didn't show the slightest sign of delight. Guardian and Matoi who were standing behind her looked visibly worried, especially the latter.
"They're really a pain to deal with..."
Guardian spoke to herself in a rather low voice with her hands clenched. It had been clearly shown that the large scale Darker attack had taken an untold number of casualties in the native population. Casualties which could have been significantly minimized if ARKS had been in their full capacity instead of only one ship separated from the rest of the fleet.
Psssh...
The bridge door opened, and the ones entering were a group of three consisting of Rose, Lily, and Alice. Xiera immediately turned her seat and greeted them.
"Welcome back! Thank you for the hard work!"
The three girls walked in, with exhaustion clearly written on their faces, except Lily's. Guardian could only wonder whether it was because her face was mostly covered by her helmet, or she really possessed an inhuman amount of stamina. Probably the latter because after all, she was a special kind of person.
"Hey, Guardian..."
Rose suddenly spoke to Guardian, still with an exhausted face.
"Hmm?"
"Who's this girl who just wouldn't stop pestering me for a fight? If it weren't for that nice-looking man I would've fought her for real!"
"Pardon...?"
Guardian tilted her head, not immediately catching what Rose was talking about. Noticing this, Alice stepped forward and began telling her story.
"We were fighting against the Darkers in a Slane Theocracy city, and right after we were done, there was this strange-looking girl who thought that Rose was you. Of course, I immediately explained that Rose was not you but your twin sister. But then she kept asking Rose to fight her. Thankfully someone soon came and scolded her, then apologized for the disturbance. I mean, he bowed to us while pressing the girl's head to make her bow with him"
Hearing Alice's story, Guardian immediately realized what had happened there. She then chuckled and gave her reply.
"That must have been Zesshi and the Captain of the elite squad. It's kinda a long story before I met all of you, but indeed she was a strange girl. Still, make no mistake. Her fighting capability is comparable to mine, and so is the Captain's"
"Wait! Are you serious?"
Rose asked with her eyes going wide, and Alice also showed a reaction of surprise. Guardian just smiled as she replied.
"You remember me saying that I had help from two people against Apostolo Dragon, right? They were those two"
"Seriously..."
Rose rolled her eyes and shook her head with a sigh, while Guardian silently felt glad that Rose had not fought Zesshi. No matter who would have won if that had happened, the collateral damage would have been devastating for sure.
[X][X][X]
"Eeeeek!"
The horrified scream of a woman echoed through the streets somewhere within E-Rantel. Those who heard the scream, most of them being volunteer survivors still able-bodied enough to do some quick cleaning up before dark, immediately turned their heads towards the source of the scream. Some of them even ran to approach the woman who was clearly scared for her life, having fallen to the ground on her bottom and shivering.
"What's wrong!?"
One young man who got to the woman first asked the question. The woman, while still shivering, put her hand forward and pointed towards the nearby dark alley. The man looked towards the alley in response, and what immediately came to his sight put himself in the same frightened state as the woman.
"W-Whoa! One monster's still here!"
As soon as the young man shouted, something slowly walked out from the alleyway. Other people nearby soon saw it and recognized that it was one of the monsters which had suddenly attacked the city. This monster in particular was the one which looked like a large chubby doll. It was possibly, and most likely, a straggler which the Adventurers and ARKS people had missed.
"Waaa! Get the Adventurers!"
Most people immediately ran for their lives as they screamed, not bothering to look if there was anybody unable to escape. The young man who had approached the terrified woman tried to pull her up, but he himself was overcome with fear that most of his strength had left his body. After all, no normal person would be able to stand ground against a monster which could rip apart an Adventurer with one move. He was basically gazing at a certain death right now, as the monster walked closer with its arms wide open.
The monster soon got close to the woman and the young man who froze up in their fear. It then raised one arm, clearly preparing to slash at them with its claw.
But the monster didn't get to attack, because a pool of dark energy appeared under its feet and spewed black rope-like tendrils which instantly immobilized it. The black tendrils then dragged the monster down into the dark pool which swallowed it whole and disappeared without a trace as quickly as it had appeared.
Both the woman and the young man had no idea what had just happened. Just a couple seconds ago, they had been staring at certain death, but now there was nothing remaining in front of their eyes.
"What a pest..."
Before long, a deep masculine voice was heard from above. The two people looked up, and what they immediately saw was the figure of an undead skeleton in gaudy robe and wielding a glistening, decorated, golden magic staff, hovering above while slowly descending to the ground. In their mind, the figure of speech which would best describe their situation right now was none other than "Out of the frying pan, into the fire".
As the undead figure stepped on the ground, the sound of people rushing in could be heard from a distance.
"Is that the monster?"
A familiar voice belonging to none other than Momon of Darkness was heard, followed by a reply from someone nearby.
"N-No! But isn't that an undead? Slay that thing anyway, Momon-dono!"
"No, wait. I can sense it. That one is powerful, and that magic staff looks very dangerous... I can't just fight it right off the bat"
All the people who heard Momon's remark were immediately horrified, seeing the fact that the undead standing over there had enough power to be acknowledged by their hero. But nevertheless, a few people mustered their courage to approach the two poor persons frozen stiff near the undead and pulled them away as silently as they possibly could. The undead did not pay them any heed, likely deeming them not even worth looking at, which was a blessing in itself.
"Fufufu, I am glad that you did not fail to recognize my power"
The undead spoke, standing upright while facing straight at Momon, who was in battle stance with one of his greatswords pointed forward.
"Who are you and what's your business here?"
"Ah, how rude of me, coming into someone's territory without introducing myself. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, and I am here with one purpose; a proposal"
"Proposal? If it involves putting the people in harm's way, there's no way I will accept!"
Ainz remained unfazed hearing Momon's words, immediately replying without changing his straight and dignified tone of speech.
"On the contrary, my proposal involves keeping the people safe. So, are you willing to hear me out?"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Momon relaxed his posture and motioned to all those behind him to stand down, much to everyone's shock.
"...What is your proposal?"
Ainz folded his arms, letting the golden staff magically float by his side, and then he began speaking in the same tone of speech as before.
"I happen to know more about those monsters than anyone else in this kingdom. They are mindless berserkers bent on destroying everything within their sight, and there exist greater beings orchestrating those puppets, playing with the lives of all sentient creatures without regard. I have suffered the impact of their... disgusting behavior, and therefore I have decided that I can no longer simply watch. I wish to establish a base on the surface of this land. A fortified, impregnable nation that can fight back against this menace of indiscriminate destruction... and I think this city could become a good place to start"
"In short, you want to take over the city. Even if that was my decision to make, why should the people just accept that?"
"Because they shall have a tremendously better chance of survival when the monsters attack again. In case you are still unaware, other cities across multiple nations in this entire world were attacked by the same monsters simultaneously, thus forcing the people of Oracle and their ARKS to make a choice of which city to save first. Before you ask, I know about ARKS because I have made contact with them, and even forged alliances with them. If you choose not to immediately trust my words, you may confirm it with the Ignite Maximus team, since most of their members belong to ARKS, no?"
Reactions of surprise followed by worried whispers could be noticed among the people gathering behind Momon. Of course nobody would have expected Ainz to know that much already. Momon remained calm, standing upright with his arms folded as he heard Ainz resuming his speech.
"Nevertheless, this city was one of the fortunate ones, having been put at the top of their list, and also having you as their protector. However, there is no telling if it will remain that way, no? So, what do you think? As I see it, as someone who has personally fought these Darkers, you should have a better grasp of what it is that we face than most"
After a brief silence where Momon seemed to contemplate the situation, he spoke to Ainz in a straight, firm tone.
"I must admit that you have a point, Ainz Ooal Gown... However! Everything from that mouth of yours sounds too good to be true for the people. I believe you are expecting something to gain from this, aren't you? No would-be ruler acts without regard to their own needs. I wouldn't believe otherwise!"
"Ho-hoh. A very wise observation. What shall I gain from this, you ask? I shall gain the first city for my own nation, and I shall make it the capital, where people thrive with prosperity and safety. And eventually, other cities and nations shall follow my lead towards a united front against these pests calling themselves Darkers and Dark Falz!"
Ainz spoke the latter half of his speech with his arms wide open, a clear display of asserting dominance. Anyone hearing those words could immediately conclude that he had an ambition to conquer the world, and intended to start with E-Rantel. Under normal conditions, no one with the right mind would accept such a thing. There was no telling what kind of things would happen if E-Rantel fell into the reign of an undead, known for their hatred against the living. Even if this one seemed oddly rational and logical, and also charismatic in its own way. However, just as some in the crowd were about to offer dissenting opinions...
"Very well! I support your proposal!"
All those hearing Momon's words were visibly surprised, but nobody spoke out against him. The only audible reactions were some gasps of shock here and there. After all, he was not only an Adamantite Rank Adventurer, one of those deemed living legends, but also the hero who had proven himself by saving E-Rantel from great disasters twice over. Who could argue against a figure like that?
"Umu... A wise decision. With this, we are a step closer to the founding of a great nation! Let it be known that the name of this nation shall be Guardian Kingdom, and I, Ainz Ooal Gown, shall be the Guardian of The World!"
Right after Ainz spoke the last part, the golden staff floating beside him shone brightly, almost blinding all people seeing it. Then, within an instant Ainz and the magic staff disappeared with a flash of light. All the people around Momon looked at each other with facial expressions displaying a mixture of worry and uncertainty, knowing that their lives would soon experience a significant change, for better or worse.
[X][X][X]
Afterword:
Well, Ainz didn't get to establish Sorcerer Kingdom in this story, founding Guardian Kingdom instead. One can only wonder how he came up with that name this time around. In any case, a certain someone might find the name awkward...
Next chapter won't be a numbered chapter, but an intermission chapter instead. Just a heads up.
See you again next time.
