Sorry for the wait on all my stories! *Bows in apology* I had finals coming up, Wrestling practice every day until 6, then up to 3 hours of homework. And on the weekends I often had to do some Boy Scout stuff. I have been working on some stiff as we got closer to Christmas, so there should be/should have been a mass update of some stuff around the New Year. Anyway, here's the new chapter (finally). And now we get to the variance in the plot of FMA. Let me know if there are any errors. Enjoy!
Nemesis Lyonner: If Ainz wanted a Human body to taste food, he would most likely mind control someone and feel what they do. Otherwise, I assume he can, in fact, taste food, as he can feel things without skin or nerves, and talk without a tongue, so why not taste food. Also, this Ainz has been around for a while. This takes place much later in time after the LN plot, (Unspecified time) and he is immortal, so it doesn't really matter.
Many Reviewers: I changed the Jack the Ripper scene to have him be level 30, and alchemically strengthened body parts making it 45-50.
REDthunderBOAR: Interesting. Cry of the Banshee would work against Homunculi, but I assume it would also hit anyone else who is human nearby, killing them. Also, it would kill them, but it would only use up one soul in their philosopher's stone, not the entire thing.
Ainz moved to push open the door, and froze, his enemy sensing ability alerting him. He whirled around, grabbing a weaker version of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown from his pocket dimension. Something came at him, like a spear. "Anti-Life Cocoon" He chanted rapidly. Blue lightning, similar to Alchemy crackled and a green barrier formed around him. The attack slowed when it hit the barrier, but punched through with slight difficulty. Right before it impacted Ainz, the projectile curved drastically, and wrapped around him and Barry.
"Hey! Let me go!" Barry cried in outrage. Ainz observed the material which wrapped around them with contempt. It was dark, one of the darkest substances he had ever seen, and was writhing like a snake. One red eye was apparent on the side of the restraints, and stared at him in curiosity. A mouth appeared, unnaturally large and full of sharp teeth.
"What are you?" the mouth asked, sounding eerily like a small child. "I don't recognize you. Are you a new type of experiment that Father made?"
Ainz chuckled, and lazily walked forward, breaking free of the restraints as if they did not exist. Thanks to a ring he wore, any restraining attacks were practically negated. "I assume you are a Homunculus? That explains how you broke the barrier. It is nice to meet another one of you. I had the pleasure of dealing with Lust. In fact, I was the one who took her out."
The shadows, as he could now make out what they were, recoiled in shock, warily observing him, forgetting Barry. "You killed Lust? I heard it was a State Alchemist!"
Ainz grinned, his pale skull shining in the light. "Was it?"
The shadow frowned. Ainz sighed. "Anyway, this has gone on long enough. I assume these shadows are not your true form, which means that your body is far away. I cannot kill you if that is the case. Barry, if you will?"
The shadow flinched as Ainz spoke, giving away that what had been said was true. Angrily, multiple shadows struck at once. Right before they impacted Ainz, they vanished, having been cut at the base by Barry's claws. The shadows regrouped, and circled Ainz cautiously.
"Triple Maximize Magic, Summon: Will 'o the Wisp!" Ainz said. Once again, alchemical lightning crackled, and three balls of light, about the size of basketballs appeared. They gave off an enormous amount of light for their size, nearly lighting up all of the room. The shadows shrieked, and vanished, unable to survive in the dark.
"Wow, that was pretty cool! That wasn't alchemy, was it?" Barry asked.
"No Barry, I equipped an aesthetic item that changes what my spells looked like. I used to have the runic aesthetic before, and now I have the lightning mage one equipped. That would give me an excuse if I use it around other people."
"Clever!" Barry complemented, then seemed to droop slightly. "I wish those shadows were something I could actually cut up!" Barry cried, as they moved forward. Ainz nodded absently, moving to the large doorway in front of them.
The door opened with a creak, and the two beings walked in. The Enemy Awareness spell had worn off earlier, so Ainz cautiously looked around for any Homunculi. He stopped as he realized that Gluttony was sitting in the middle of the room.
"I smell... metal, and death, and something else. It smells good!" said a high pitched voice from the homunculus. Gluttony peered at Ainz, sniffing more. "Hey, you smell like the guy who stabbed be ealier!" he realized.
Ainz tilted his head. "And how would you know that?" He asked the dim-witted homunculus. "I doubt I am who you think I am."
Gluttony stood up, shaking his head confidently. "No, I smelled him! It was faint, but I smelled it right before he got me. You are him!"
Ainz cursed the ridiculously short duration on the Perfect Unknowable spell, and that he couldn't cast anything higher because of the armour. 'Now hopefully Gluttony is stupid enough to not connect the dots...'
"And that means, you killed Lusty!" Gluttony pointed out. "Now I'm going to eat you!"
Ainz groaned silently, internally shouting. 'Goddamn it RNG! Of all the times for a bad luck roll, it happened right when I needed to not lose my cover! I guess I need to kill him now, but I have to be careful not to blow up the entire building above me.'
"Now, you are in our way. If you could just-" Ainz began.
With a roar, Gluttony charged, and Barry moved forward to intercept. His bladed fingers shot forward, and impaled Gluttony. Gluttony shouted in pain and surprise, and Barry extended his other blades to impale Gluttony to the floor.
"Man, these are so useful!" Barry wondered, as Gluttony snapped off the end of the blades. Healing slowly, the rotund homunculus stared at the claws. "That's Lust's power?" It muttered, looking back and forth between Barry and the blades on the ground. Ainz realized what Gluttony was thinking about, and shouted for Barry to move back. Gluttony's eyes glowed red, and a seam tore down his front. A spiky mouth of some kind appeared on Gluttony's stomach, and an eye, eerily close to the one in Truth's Gate appeared.
"You took her from me!" Gluttony roared in anger. Ainz frantically thrust forward his staff, rapidly chanting.
"Mass Fly, Haste, Indomitability, Paranormal Intuition, Fi- Get down!" He cried, as a beam of gray energy erupted from the eye, heading straight towards Ainz and Barry. Thanks to the Flight from the Mass Flight spell, they flew out of the way, but Ainz had to rapidly fly in a loop to avoid the beam as Gluttony turned to face him.
Landing on the ground as the beam stopped, he turned to see the door behind him gone, with parts of the wall missing, as if it had been torn out. The edge of the hole was perfectly smooth, proving the beam was some kind of magic based ability, but using the Philosopher's stone instead of magic.
Ainz summoned an Obsidian Sword, which pointed and launched itself at Gluttony. As it flew towards the now hulking homunculus, the beam shot out again, and the sword vanished. Not destroyed. Not stopped. Vanished, as in it was no longer there.
"Well, shit." Ainz said, his emotion nullification unable to prevent him from cursing in time. "That sword was resistant to magical attacks, and the beam should have at least shown a sign that it was breaking the sword. Therefore that beam literally deletes whatever it hits from existence, as far as I can tell. Either that, or it gets moved to somewhere else, although I don't know where."
Barry's permanent smile grew. "Well, then I just have to avoid it? Good!" Before Ainz could stop him, he leapt forward, slicing off Gluttony's arms right as the beam fired again. The beam pierced through Barry's arm and leg, leaving him unbalanced.
"Gate" Barry fell through the gate that opened beneath him, which was set to drop him off at the underground base.
Ainz turned, frustrated. His eyes glowed blood red in frustration. 'If I could stop him, that'd be nice, but the thing is, it doesn't matter how powerful my attack is, he'll just heal. So if I could do a lot of weaker attacks, since he cannot defend...'
"Time Stop." Gluttony turned to fire yet another beam, but Time Stop, took place. With the blue lightning effect, a sphere formed around Gluttony, stopping everything within. The homunculus, the debris, even the beam attack stopped moving. Now that there was about 30 seconds of silence before the Time Stop wore off, Ainz began rapidly casting other spells. "Triple Maximize Magic: Fireball, Triple Maximize Magic: Dragon Lightning, Grasp Heart, Hold of Ribs, Wall of Skeleton".
The spells launched at Gluttony were mostly lower level, around tiers 4-6, but would deal damage over time or incapacitate Gluttony, hopefully using up his regenerative abilities. They all froze as well when they made contact with the Time barrier. After he was finished with the spells, the barrier flashed twice, then collapsed. The spells suddenly began moving again, and impacted the homunculus. Rib bones shot from the floor, impaling and holding him still, as the lightning and fire burned away his flesh, melting it as it healed rapidly. Gluttony shrieked as his Philosopher's stone cracked, and he collapsed, shuddering, and his hole that shot the beams closed up, unable to stay open under the stress. Finally, a wall of skeletons rose, clawing slowly at Gluttony, who could barely move.
Ainz glared murderously at the now weakened creature, and growled, about to obliterate the creature over and over. Then he paused as his emotions settled. 'If I had known about the disintegration beam before, this would have gone better. Unfortunately, I don't want to destroy half the city in what is sure to be a long fight, and Barry is injured. I must go.' From behind him, a loud crashing was heard, as if someone was breaking something. 'The shadow creature must have gone to get reinforcements. This situation is not going my way.' With a final wave of his staff, Ainz summoned back his armor, and used a Gate to leave.
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
"Ow, this really stings!" Barry said as his undead body healed slowly. Ainz stared unapologetically as the Barry sat in the bed.
"You shouldn't have just run in like that with no preparation whatsoever. Fortunately, you are technically a Player now as you have a true soul, so you will get stronger from combat and level up. As you are undead you should heal from any wound unless it poisons you or has a damage over time effect. I plan to return to there soon, although with better reinforcements now that we know of Gluttony's abilities. As a punishment, I will have you train."
"What do you mean?" Barry asked.
"I mean, you will be placed into a room with some of my minions, and will fight them non-stop for three days straight. In that time I expect you to be experienced enough to hold your own fairly well against most Homunculi." Barry nodded.
"Anything to be stronger!" he cried.
"Good!" Ainz boomed. "I will return once the time is up. The minions will be summoned by a Lich I created earlier."
Ainz turned from the room, his cloak billowing behind him in an unseen breeze. He quickly had a small extremely stable underground fighting space excavated by a crew of Skeleton Miners Level 30. After summoning two Overlords (and using a few Experience potions) he had them setting up a wave system for the minions to attack Barry to the point where he wouldn't be overwhelmed, but just enough to help him grow rapidly.
'Geez, this is really frustrating. These homunculi are wild cards, I can't keep doing this without proper preparation. First, I should check how the tunnel system is going.'
Ainz used Fly to zoom through the tunnels, and marveled at the amount of excavation there was already. He was worried about the walls though. Although they were made by the Elemental, if the Elemental were to be killed, any tunnels held up by its power would collapse. So to counter this, as he flew, Ainz periodically summoned Skeletal Workers* as he went through the tunnelswho began structurally reinforcing the walls with wood beams.
He stopped in midair when he turned a corner to see the Elemental floating at the end of the hall waiting for him.
"What is it?" Ainz asked the summon. The Elemental gestured to the side, down another tunnel. Ainz blinked in surprise to see a tunnel made by someone else. "We hit an underground path? Hmm..."
Ainz summoned an Elder Lich to work with the Elemental. "Go map out these tunnels, and avoid detection. If in combat, do what is necessary to escape and return here. If followed, summon reinforcements and go get Barry from the training room. If the defenses are breached, only then contact me. If possible, capture whoever you meet."
"Of course, my Lord." Mordant, the Elder Lich, replied. The two beings floated down the corridor.
Ainz set a few spare Skeleton Workers to build a reinforced door at the entrance to the unknown tunnel that could be well defended. He also placed an Undead Vulture in an indentation in the wall as a lookout who would alert him if his minions were incapacitated or unable to. It was better to be paranoid than to be dead.
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
The Next Day
Far over Central City, Ainz was using a Bone Vulture to search for signs of the Homunculi. There had been a few locations that may lead to underground areas, but it would be unwise to go without Barry and a few Elder Liches for a frontal assault. If he was going to fight, it would be on his terms. He heard a commotion below the vulture, and navigated the summon closer. 'It seems the Elrics are attempting to draw out that serial killer, Scar. Hmm, but why?' Drawing closer the vulture was finally able to hear in on their conversation.
"-if we're in danger, then the homunculi would have to come help us. They wouldn't want their little sacrifices to be lost." Ed was explaining loudly.
'Idiot. You don't spout stuff like that in a public cafe.' Ainz thought irritably.
"Speaking of sacrifices, what do you think about that Ainz guy. You know, the one with the armor?" Ed asked.
Al sat in silence for a moment. "He's hard to figure out. He's nice and protects people, like during the fight with Lust, but is really emotionless."
"Yeah! I know, right?" Ed exclaimed. "He also has that "Skin Condition" or something. I bet that he had something from his skin removed by Truth when he committed human transmutation!"
Al sighed. "Brother! We don't know if he did that!"
Ed sighed. "But don't know what he looks like! He also knows things he shouldn't! And he calls me pipsqueak, just like that Envy dude! And that weird symbol on his chest, it doesn't look Cretan or Xingese, so it must be important."
Al thought about it for a moment. "Oh yeah, He asked about Greed's ability before anyone was told about it, and his armor sounded hollow!"
Ed smacked his fist into his other hand. "That's it! We are going to find a way to see under his armor!"
Al nodded. "It'd be better to know the truth rather than the possibility of him being an enemy."
"The Truth is never gentle, little Alchemist." Ainz murmured softly. He watched as they moved around and used more Alchemy to attract Scar. Ainz blinked in surprise as the Colonel arrived as well. "Well, now if the Colonel is in trouble, I have to go help. I cannot afford to lose him." His Bone Vulture cawed and dove sideways as a shuriken flew past. 'What the-' on the roof nearby stood the Xingese Prince and one of his bodyguards. The bodyguard, having just thrown the shuriken, reached for another. Ling stopped her with a wave of his hand.
"The aura on that bird feels like that Armored Alchemist. I say we ignore it for now." The bodyguard frowned at the decision, but backed off. Ainz guided the bird to land by Ling, and he chuckled as it bowed at him. "What, you understand me? Besides your chi, you're pretty cool!" he said excitedly. The two Xingese people turned as they sensed something below. "I can feel them. The Homunculi." Ling said.
To his surprise, King Bradley was with Gluttony, who was looking rather nervous about being outside for once.
The four groups, the military, the homunculi, scar, and Ling's group all began fighting. Ainz observed the movements with an expert eye, and made a decision. He used a Gate and arrived where Barry was going through his intensive training. "BARRY!" he shouted, equipping his armor.
"Yeah Boss?" Barry cried back.
"I believe you may have a chance to cut something up!" Ainz responded.
Barry's star shaped eyes widened. "Yippee!" he roared, and jogged over.
Ainz stretched, bones creaking beneath the armor. "Well, I suppose it's about time we make our entrance." He waved his staff, and created two Gates. Barry grinned and cackled.
"HEEEEERE's BARRY!" he cried as he dove into the portal. Ainz grinned, and strode through the other one.
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
Ling winced as he stumbled slightly on the path. "Lan Fan, hang on! We're almost safe!" He knew that was false. Gluttony was close behind, and quite agitated for some reason. Wrath was close behind, taking his time as nothing could get close to him. Suddenly, the chi in the air twisted unnaturally, and he stopped. In the air in front of him, a blue swirling oval appeared, blocking his path. At the other end of the alley, Gluttony turned the corner, red eyes practically glowing with hunger. "I can smeeeelll youuuu!" he whined with his high voice.
"Gah, what is this?" Ling said in frustration. Suddenly he heard something on the other side of the portal.
"OUTTA THE WAY!" a familiar voice cried. "Barry?" Ling muttered, but moved to the side anyway.
Gluttony launched himself at the duo, who quickly sidestepped. A slime figure with what appeared to be blades for hands launched from the portal, kicking straight into Gluttony's stomach. The homunculus cried out, flying down the alley and slamming through a wall. Barry, for that was who it was, stood up to his height of seven feet and chuckled madly. "I finally get to cut something up!"
"Barry, is that really you?" Ling said curiously. The figure nodded. "Yup! Ainz got me a new body and everything, and I'm way stronger! Plus I have blades for hands!"
Gluttony rose, sniffing the air. "That smell..."
Barry turned. "Shit."
"I REMEMBER THAT SMELL!" Gluttony roared, belly beginning to split.
"Not this time!" Barry cried, sprinting forward much faster than any human ever could, and stabbed Gluttony's stomach with one hand and his arm with another. "Looks like you can't finish opening up and heal at the same time, huh?" he said cruelly. "This is for nearly cutting me in half!" He began tearing at the fat homunculus, cackling as he did so. Blood splattered the walls, but vanished after a few moments of being separated from the body. When he heard movement to his side, Barry quickly threw up one of his blade arms to block the incoming rapier.
"Ah so you're the other guy I was supposed to look out for! Good this the boss warned me about you!"
Wrath smiled genially. "Ah, you must be Barry the Chopper. How nice to meet you. May we dance?"
"Gladly." Barry replied as they began exchanging blows.
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
Ainz left the Gate just around the corner from the fight with Scar. 'Hmph, they can't take care of one guy? I get they're trying to attract the homunculi, but don't get killed while doing it!'
Scar raised his tattooed arm, and lunged at Edward, who frantically realized he couldn't dodge. Suddenly, the flat of a blade crashed into Scar's side, and the Ishvalan flew into a building. "Need assistance?" Ainz said, readying himself for combat.
"Wait, don't-" Ed began.
"Relax pipsqueak, I get what's going on. I won't kill him." Ed glared, but it was apparent how exhausted he was when he didn't react any more.
"The Armored Alchemist. You have only just become an Alchemist, but show great promise. I will show you god's wrath, and strike you down." Scar growled.
'Meh, I guess literally everyone knows I've "met" Truth, so why not.' Ainz shrugged. "Please, I've met the god of this world, and he definitely wouldn't be described as an angry guy."
Scar frowned, confused at the wording of the statement. "Regardless of your beliefs, you must die."
"Have fun!" Ainz said cheerfully, and didn't move when Scar leapt at him. The Ishvalan's hand crackled with Alchemy as he made contact with Ainz' helmet. Ed and Al cried out, and Mustang shouted aloud. They were shocked to see the Alchemical reaction fizzle and blast Scar backwards. Ainz stood there looking completely unhurt, and only a little dust on him which he brushed off. "This is finally going to be a challenge. How wonderful." he murmured to himself.
"What material is that?" Scar growled.
Ainz clapped his hands together in an excited movement. "I'm so glad you asked!" he began in a fake cheerful voice. "It's just a little thing I whipped up earlier, but it won't matter to you, as you can't transmute it! Meaning you cannot harm me." His voice suddenly deepened at the end of his sentence.
Scar frowned. "Nothing is impossible to transmute."
"Ah, so you admit you are using Alchemy?" Ainz taunted. He raised a palm at Scar, and snapped. Suddenly the air sharply turned and pulled towards the Ishvalan. He leapt back, but was caught by a rope of air and was slammed into the floor. The air dissipated, and Ainz lazily drew his swords. "Hmph, and I thought this would be fun."
Scar deconstructed a steel beam into the shape of a sword, and charged at Ainz. He ducked under Ainz's initial large swing, and rolled behind the armored man. With a chilling Clang! the transmuted blade shattered against Ainz's helmet, which vibrated like a gong. Ainz winced and stepped back at the sound. 'You'd think my natural protection from confusion would stop that, but I guess vibration or volume wouldn't set it off.' Scar lunged again, throwing a left hook. Ainz snapped at Scar, and the wind blasted him backwards again. "Haven't you learned?" Ainz asked the fallen man.
Scar leapt back angrily as Riza Hawkeye shot at him, and he deconstructed a wall. The resulting mayhem cut off Ainz from the Ishvalan as well as everyone else. Ainz sighed as he now had an excuse to leave. "I wish Scar had been a challenge, but I guess it's time for me to go contact Barry."
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
Barry frowned as another cut appeared on his face, and it began healing. "Man, you are really fast, for an old man!" he cried out.
Wrath just glared at the annoying being that was on par with him. Wrath narrowed his one visible eye as Barry seemed to be listening to someone that Wrath could not see nor hear. "What do you mean they're gone?!" Barry shouted. Barry glanced to see both Gluttony and the Xingese duo long gone. "Fine, I'll go get them! Let me know where that fatty guy was and they're sure to be there!"
"Who are you talking to?" Wrath asked.
"Nunya."
"Nunya who?" Wrath asked angrily.
"NUNYA BUSINESS!" Barry snapped angrily, extending his claws in a mimic of Lust's move, and stabbed Wrath's shoulder as the older man was unable to dodge the wide spread of the blades. Wrath stepped back to recover and Barry began muttering to himself.
"Damn it, I was supposed to protect them!" he groaned. "Now Ai- I mean the Boss, will kill me and then resurrect me, just to spite me." Barry leapt upwards, landing on a nearby roof easily. "Well, it was fun fighting you, maybe someday we can do it again!" He called to Wrath. He backed off and leapt across the rooftops to where Ainz directed him.
Wrath growled, and turned to see some soldiers running towards him. "Fuhrer King Bradley sir! Are you alright?" they asked worriedly.
Wrath focused his face into a cool mask. "No, I'm quite alright, it was nothing, please continue dealing with Scar."
"Y-yes sir!" They saluted eagerly.
Wrath turned to eye the retreating slim figure, and began thinking about this unknown faction that seemed to have only recently appeared. Father would want a report of this...
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
'Gluttony is at the train yard. I'm busy dealing with my cover as an alchemist, and I couldn't go that far that fast. Help out there, subdue Gluttony, and wait until I arrive.'
"Roger that Boss!" Barry shouted gleefully as he dove towards Gluttony.
Gluttony, only just healing from Scar's deconstruction attack, turned to see the blades flying at him. "Eat yo-" was all he could say before his face was cut clean off by Barry's blades. They extended through Barry's forehead and through the ground behind his body. To his surprise, the body began moving, and threw Barry to the side, where Edward, Alphonse, and Scar were. "Who are you?" Ed cried out in shock at his appearance.
"You don't remember me? Come on Al, we go way back! You helped me find my body and I helped fight Lusty?" Barry complained.
"Wait... you're Barry! Barry the Chopper!" Al cried. "You're still alive?! We thought you died!"
"Finally! Someone remembers me!" Barry cried in joy, causing quite a strange scene as he hopped up and down in joy and cackling, narrowly missing cutting himself each time.
"Why do you look so different?" Ed asked.
"Simple, I know a guy who made me a new body that works even better than my old one! Unfortunately, he explicitly mentioned not being able to do it again soon. Didn't want to piss off the Truth or something." Barry said. he covered his mouth in surprise. "I shouldn't have mentioned that."
Ed glared angrily at the fearful chopper. "You'd better explain yourself soon!" Ed growled.
"Sure thing Ed-O!" Barry saluted.
An explosion went off from a manhole cover nearby, and Ling leapt out, holding a bomb in his hand. In one swift movement, he shoved it down Gluttony's throat, who cried out in shock and outrage. Then he exploded.
Ed quickly transmuted strong metal cables at Ling's request, and they tied up the still expanding Gluttony. A car pulled up, and Barry waved. "Hey if it isn't that woman from before, the one who shot Lust!" Riza, for that's who it was driving the car, glared furiously. "It's nice to see you too. I'm incognito, so get in!"
Barry lifted the Homunculus, who probably weighed at least 300 pounds, quite easily, and dumped him in the car. "Let's go! My boss should be fine so long as I help protect Ling!" They nodded and rapidly left.
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
Ainz used Gate and placed himself to a point where it would appear he had been there the whole time. He moved out just as an an explosion occurred. Coal dust filled the air, and their gaze was obscured. With a clap, he blew away all the dust, and Scar was gone. The next few hours were hectic, filled with investigations from the government, and contacting Barry when no one was looking.
"Barry, are you alright?"
'Sure thing Ainz! I'm all good!' came the response. Ainz could hear voices in the background asking questions, and Barry replied in kind. 'Yeah Ling? I'm talking to Ainz. What, Hawkeye? Oh yeah, he fixed me up real good! Sorry Ling, I can't help with immortality, as I can still die. No Gluttony, you can't eat me.'
"Barry, don't use my name in this!" Ainz whispered angrily.
'Don't worry, it's just Hawkeye and Ling!' Barry explained.
"And Gluttony, remember?" Ainz explained slowly, as if Barry was five years old.
'Oh. Whoops.'
"Yes. Now, are you safe?"
'Yeah, we're at a safe house a little ways from the slums.'
"Good, I'll find my way there soon."
The most memorable moment was when the Fuhrer came in.
Flashback Start
"Ah, Armored, how are you?" Bradley asked kindly.
"Quite well thank you. How are you?" Ainz returned.
"I'm fine, just recovering from a few hits that a man landed on me during a brief scuffle, nothing to worry about." The Fuhrer waved off.
Ainz knew the Fuhrer was lying, he could see it in his eye, and his stance. The spare hits Barry must have landed clearly was a knock to the Homunculus' ego and his skill in dodging and swordsmanship.
"What I wanted to know was if you knew who this other man was that fought me, and if anything of note happened during Scar's fight." Bradley asked.
Ainz paused to choose his words wisely. "Well, I know that what Scar does requires him to know the makeup of what he is breaking down. He was unable to break down my armor, which is a relief because it would have exposed me to the sun. I made the alloy myself."
Bradley widened his eyes. "You made a new combat ready alloy yourself? What is it?"
"Well, that would be telling. Alchemist's secret after all. I am still testing it of course," A total lie. "And I may send it to the military soon for testing." Probably not. "I have no clue who the man that you fought was, but I am aware that there were more combatants on the field, such as a large man who fought another Xingese man? Do you know them?" Ainz asked curiously, keeping a perfect emotionless mask in place.
Bradley accidentally glared slightly. "No, of course not. If you have any more information, please let me know." The older man stood and left the room, and Ainz let out a chuckle as the door closed fully.
"I'll play your games, Old Man... but be ready to play mine." Ainz said aloud, and began preparing for what to do with Gluttony.
Flashback End
-Ainz-Ooal-Gown-
Ainz stopped in surprise as he left the military building. Roy stood there with the Elrics in the car. "Get in." was all that was said.
A few hours later they were in a shed, with Ling, his bodyguard, Barry, Roy, Riza, a doctor, and Gluttony was tied up somewhere. They sat in silence as Lan Fan, Ling's bodyguard was getting automail surgery in the background. They sadly listened to her muffled cries of agony.
"I'm-" Ed began.
"No, don't apologize. I'm the one who suggested it, remember?" Ling said sadly. "We both had something to gain out of it so it made sense. When I went in search of immortality, I knew I must be ready to make certain sacrifices. But I wasn't ready for this. Lan Fan was though."
They sat in silence a while longer. Ainz sighed and shifted from where he sat on the floor.
"I think it's time I explain a bit of my story to you guys." Ainz began.
Ed raised his head, hope in his eyes. "You mean..."
Ainz sighed. "Yes, I'll tell you everything."
New Creatures (All are in more detail in the Appendix):
Barry the Chopper (Is now level 45, and rising, due to exp potions and fighting against monsters of increasing difficulty for a day straight)
Skeletal Worker (Level 25)
These undead workers died during cave-ins a long time ago. Their restless souls have been yearning to finish digging the tunnel they died in. Experienced at constructing and stabilizing tunnels. Equipped with mining helmets and pickaxes, these creatures are mobile in the dark, and tend to hang around old mines.
Will 'o the Wisp (Level 5)
Although weak, these small fairy-like creatures give off large amounts of constant light and are quite adept at leaving a 'bread-crumb trail' of sorts to ensure you do not lose your way.
Getting closer to Ainz revealing what he is to a few select people. It's gonna happen sooner or later at this rate, especially with scenes inside Gluttony. He won't give away all the facts, but a lot of what he knows. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I postponed stuff because I wanted more plot in this one, so it was one long fight scene.
Sorry, no Late Christmas Omake in this story, since Ainz isn't friends with anyone well enough to celebrate with them (except maybe Barry) and it isn't the right time of the year in the plot. Plus I don't know if Amestris celebrates Christmas.
However *Drum Roll* I am excited to announce the remake of the Green Eyed Demon of Nazarick! It should be uploaded at the same time as a lot of my other stories (right now) and it features a new(er) plot, with better romance, less forced plot, and a Harry who is better with romance and pranks than the oblivious idiot from the books. This is a late announcement, as I had to make large edits to this chapter, and I had finals.
Fun Fact: A recurring theme throughout the Anime series is that, whenever Gluttony is in a battle, he is killed an inordinate number of times in quick succession. In fact, if one includes the time he was reborn, Gluttony has died more than any other Homunculus in the series.