[Re: He Who Is Beyond Sin]
[Volume 1:The Brightest Will]
[Prologue]
A hand composed of shadow crept through the void between worlds, the barrier broken through force of will and persistence that only the mad or the desperate were capable of.
The owner of that hand searched for something, for someone, who felt the way she did. Loneliness and the pain brought on by it, the despair of hopelessness and the stubborn refusal to let go.
It lashed out through the void, changing its path erratically and with no rhyme or reason
Then it appeared. The symphony of the abyss was interrupted and a dissonant note played. A light shone in the distance, a mere dot for her but a sign nonetheless. The hand sped up, moving directly towards it. Isolation radiated from this soul like heat from a campfire. Perhaps it wasn't the strongest, but it was in reach.
Yet all of a sudden something else happened. The void seemed to disappear and be erased by a light that was almost all-encompassing. This one was an endless well, almost a mirror of her own torment.
Hope seemed to be alien to this soul. Perhaps it was there, mere cinders of what it once was, but those times seemed to be so distant. Her hand launched at the light, trying to snatch it and make it hers for all eternity, but a power she couldn't overcome blocked her way.
She clawed at the wall, a veil that seemed unbreakable to her. How long did this last? Seconds? Hours? Days? Millenia? In her obsession, in this void of her own mind, such things were useless and lost all meaning.
Eventually something seemed to happen and the soul burnt even brighter. Were it not for her desire to claim it, it would have blinded her. For a split second, the barrier disappeared and she reached across worlds.
Her hand grabbed the soul and pulled it, looking for a heart to take and make her own, only hers.
Curiously however, the one she grabbed seemed to have no heart…
[Chapter 1: More Than One Can Chew]
Momonga finished recalling the names of the flags and looked at the clock in the top right of his UI.
[23:59] it read. One minute remained until the end.
"It's been fun." he said, overlooking the glorious throne room. The intricate, marble-like pillars that seemed to reach almost infinitely into the distant ceiling, the glorious red carpet, and the intricate carvings. All of it would be gone soon.
This included the NPCs that now stood by his side. The lovingly created Albedo, the stern Sebas, and the ever dutiful pleiades.
"Still," his grip on the [Throne of Kings] and his [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] tightened to the point the game began counting it as attempts at dealing crushing damage, "why did you all have to leave me alone, even today?" he asked weakly, a tear rolling down his cheek in real life and out of his VR headset.
The answer was, of course, obvious. It was as obvious as it was hated. Responsibility. YGGDRASIL, for better or for worse, was just a game. An escape from reality, and a temporary one at that.
Touch Me had a wife and kids that he had to take care of; Ulbert had a job he needed to hold on to, and so on. Satoru Suzuki, Momonga, the Guild Master of Ainz Ooal Gown, understood this.
But understanding something doesn't mean one has to accept it. The last words of HeroHero resounded in his head, "I hope we'll meet again, huh? One can dream…" he said, sighing and closing his eyes as the clock struck midnight.
However instead of the silence of his empty room, filled only by the fan of his computer, the sounds that assaulted him were much more numerous and varied. His eyes shot open and the world lost its colour.
He looked around frantically, seeing humans, demihumans, carriages, an unfamiliar town and God knows what else. His brain went into overdrive, analysing the gear of his potential adversaries, "Okay, that seems like some common trash? Unless this is a new region! Or maybe it's a skin?! Have I been teleported into some guildbase?! What the hell is going one?!" he yelled.
In an instant, the torrent of his emotions calmed down and became like a placid lake, a green light briefly covering him. "Hmm. This calmness is not normal." He looked at his hands, "Didn't an Overlord's lore mention something about control over emotions? How the hell could they have managed to implement that?"
Then he turned his gaze to the surrounding area, "And it appears I froze time on instinct… At least I know magic works in this civilian zone." he looked around once more, seeing that no one except for him moved in this frozen moment. "They can't be a threat to me if they don't even have resistance against that. But are these beastmen coexisting with humans? That's quite different from the lore."
There appeared to be multiple instances of beastmen interacting with human merchants, and human customers interacting with beastmen merchants. Some appeared to be more humanoid than the typical ones in YGGDRASIL, possessing only cat ears or a tail, while others seemed to be taken straight from the game. Did the devs decide to release a demo and change up their art style?
Deep within himself he felt his mana pool slowly draining. He could sustain this spell for more than an hour still, but it was best to err on the side of caution and not allow his mana pool to deplete very much. Besides, there was almost never a point where keeping time stopped for more than a few seconds had any use.
Taking one last glance he noted one thing that seemed to be identical to the game, hinting at the fact that this was most likely some bullshit prank pulled by the devs, "No heteromorphs around here? Knowing my luck I'll pull everything at once if I don't disguise myself.
Out of his inventory he took out a red and green mask with blue crystals for eyes. It had a mocking, almost intimidating smile. This was the [Mask of Envy], a reward for being online for more than two hours, and thus dateless in the eyes of the devs, between 7am and 10pm on Christmas Eve.
Alongside that he pulled out some obsidian coloured gloves that matched with his impressive mantle. They were just some cosmetic item, but they would be good enough to cover his skeletal hands with. He also put away the [Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown] that seemed to have teleported with him.
The only thing that could give him away now was his impressive stature, being easily above 2 metres tall. However, both human and beastman characters were able to grow to that stature and thus he probably wouldn't get bothered by the NPCs.
Yet he remembered another problem and looked above his head. His nameplate, which should have normally been there and exposed him in cities, unless he used a proper disguise, was gone, "Odd. Is this whole thing a bug or a leak for YGGDRASIL 2? The lack of the UI is kind of annoying, but at least I memorised all my spells. Maybe it's just broken and invisible?" he asked himself.
Alas, such thoughts were irrelevant for now and he decided to move to an alley, planning to resume time there. He navigated his way to one that seemed out of sight and turned the corner, only to immediately avert his gaze. "Okay! This is certainly not allowed?! What the hell are the devs thinking?!" he said.
In front of him was a man with a female companion, who happened to be on her knees. While the visual looked rather silly in frozen time, the problem was the existence of the scene itself. The member of the man, which Ainz had to admit was of a respectable size, was fully exposed.
If such a thing were to happen in YGGDRASIL, the company would have been buried beneath lawsuits and various charges until the game was shut down. Merely roleplaying such a thing was a bannable offence.
Momonga took another glance at the pair, "Wait. If this is here then… The lack of UI, the emotions disappearing.`` He looked around once more, taking in the surroundings. Now that he paid attention to it, everything seemed so much more vivid.
"What kind of isekai bullshit is this!? Those stories went out of fashion decades ago!" he yelled, only to have his emotion suppressed. "However, it appears I'm stuck here. Everything still works and appears to be instinctual. Then again, I did have thousands of hours in the game, so I can't be too surprised about that."
He left the pair in the alley and moved to another one, actually letting time flow once more. "I suppose it's time to familiarise myself with this world." he said, his deep voice resonating in the alley and attracting some unwanted attention.
"Well, well, well. Who do we have here? Some stuck up noble? Hop out of those robes and maybe we won't kill ya." said a pale, skinny man with blueish hair who appeared from out of the dark end of the alley. He wore what seemed to be a slave collar and wielded two knives.
Next to him stood a burly, tanned man, whose physique was less than athletic to put it lightly. On the other side stood what appeared to be a… child? He was even wearing a hoodie and had a bowl cut!
"I'm afraid I can't do that. Besides, why is there a child with you when you are out to mug people?" he asked, tilting his head and putting a finger to the bottom of his mask.
"Who are you calling a child?!" asked the short one, a vein appearing on his face that was so prominent that it caused Ainz to wonder if it may not burst.
"Oh? Are you then a representative of the local dwarf population?"
The boy, or perhaps man was more apt, puffed out his chest, evidently proud of his heritage, "As a matter of fact I am!"
"Fascinating, your species was typically much more stout, at least to my knowledge. And this is rather convenient, now I won't have to bear the guilt of killing a child." Ainz said, straightening up to his full, intimidating height. He let just a tiny bit of his aura slip out, straightening the hair on the back of the necks of the thugs in front of him.
"A-and what makes you seem so sure about that, huh? You're the one that's gonna end up dead!" said the one holding knives, putting them in front of him in some kind of amateur fighting stance.
Ainz stretched out his hand, "This is what makes me so sure. [Grasp Heart]." A projection of the man's heart appeared in Ainz's palm and he squeezed. Phantom blood splattered his clothes, and very real blood stained the stone in the alley as the man coughed it up and dropped to the floor, dead.
"To not even resist a 9th Tier spell… I would say I expected more, but I really didn't. In that case, [Dragon Lightning]." Brilliant light arced out of the top of his finger, taking on the shape of a magnificent dragon. It turned towards the larger man at an almost 90 degree angle, a quirk of the spell given that it was homing, unlike its 3rd Tier counterpart.
The behemoth of a man, still staring at the fresh corpse of his friend, didn't even notice the bolt hit him in the head and fried it into a fine mush. Smoke erupted from his corpse and his eyeballs melted into a runny liquid that ran out of his sockets and onto the ground, mixing with the blood that was still pouring out of the mouth of Ainz's first victim.
"P-please! Don't kill me!" cried the dwarf, but Ainz ignored him. He walked slowly towards him and took off one of his gloves. There were plenty of spells he could test out, and this included some of the ones activated by touch. As miniscule as this dwarf's stats most likely were, absorbing them could still give him a boost via [Energy Drain].
"How close this is to an isekai story, I even had the pleasure of encountering you worthless thugs. Were I weak then perhaps you would have served some purpose, but now you are useful only for experimentation." he said, revealing his skeletal hand.
The dwarf fell on his ass and tried to scramble away, but Ainz reached out for the poor thing and grasped it by the neck. As the bones made contact with the neck, the flesh turned brown, then black, until it eventually fell away. Within a few seconds, the dwarf went limp and Ainz felt his lifeforce disappear, blood pouring out of the freshly created hole in his neck.
He made a noise akin to clicking his tongue, even if he no longer had one, "Tch, I forgot to turn off my negative touch." After sighing, which seemed to have the same relaxing effect as when he was human, he put his glove back. Thankfully, the phantom blood from [Grasp Heart] disappeared after the spell was cast.
"Now then, what do I do with these corpses? It'd be a shame to waste them. [Summon Unde-" His spell was interrupted by the sound of someone running above him. He turned to see a child jump from roof to roof, seemingly carrying something, but, even with his now exceptional eyesight, he couldn't make out what exactly it was.
"Does this city have a crime problem?" he asked himself, presuming the girl to be a thief of some sort or another. "I suppose when you don't have to worry about acid rain and being tracked everywhere, simple pickpocketing becomes a much more viable means of survival."
His prediction seemed to be correct, as a few seconds later another girl ran into the alley he was in, "Stop! That's mine!" she yelled in the direction of the rooftops.
Ainz looked at her and analysed her, looking for any indication of her originating from YGGDRASIL. She had white hair and amethyst eyes, although she seemed to still be young. Her dress was wonderfully tailored, matching her white and purple colour scheme. A large flower also was in her hair, the colour of fresh snow, which was the same as her skin.
Overall, she looked cute and would be considered beautiful by many, if not all, but what struck Ainz more than her clothing not being enchanted, were the slightly pointy ears that were revealed when she ran in.
'A half-elf?' he mused, but there was a bigger problem at hand, 'Do I need to kill her now? Leaving witnesses would hardly be beneficial. And why am I being so nonchalant about this?! Must be this undead body! Or maybe Ulbert has infiltrated my mind. Okay, maybe not that one, I would have blown up half the city if that was the case.'
She finally seemed to notice the mage standing around the three bodies and pointed at him, as one might before casting a spell, "Who are you?! What did you do to these poor people?!" she called out, her voice as accusatory as that of Touch Me when he scolded Ulbert. In fact, the whole colour scheme kind of matched with Touch Me as well.
'If I am possessed by Ulbert and you resemble Touch Me then run, little girl!' he thought to himself, chuckling internally before responding to her question, "I believe I have the right to self defence, do I not? These men threatened to rob and kill me, only they didn't have the strength to go through with it."
The eyes of the girl however didn't change, still radiating both innocence and judgement, "That doesn't mean you had to kill them!" she said.
"Then what about that thief you are chasing? If you let them live then they might come steal from you again, or worse, try to kill you and those you love. What I did" Ainz said, stepping over one of the bodies and moving towards her, "was simply a preventative measure, do you not agree? How would you feel if your inaction hurt those you love?"
He towered over her and the girl took a step back, her mouth opening and closing like that of a koi fish, evidently unable to think of a comeback.
Ainz pressed his advantage, "If you would forget this little incident, then I believe I can prove to be of assistance when it comes to catching that thief. Tell me, do you know what magic is?"
A third voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a high pitched one at that, "Of course she knows magic! She's going to the greatest mage in all the lands!" it said. What appeared to be a tiny cat floated in front of Ainz and landed on the half-elf's head.
He recognized it for what it was, "A spirit? Are you a shaman of some sort? Additionally, may I ask your name?" The spirit was different from the ones in YGGDRASIL, but evidently becoming the highest form of undead mage granted him several bonuses, and the fact that this being was composed entirely of mana gave its nature away.
Spirits also existed in YGGDRASIL, whether ancestral or otherwise, but, as most things in that game tended to be, they were mostly rather monstrous. This cat was pretty cute. Ainz technically could use spirits as well, if things such as wraiths counted. However, these new spirits maybe were different and perhaps he could acquire some as well. 'Getting a fire or holy spirit could cover my weaknesses very well. I suppose that's my plan of action.'
"My name is Satella." the girl murmured, the appearance of the cat seemingly returning her tongue rather than stealing it, "And I'm a spirit user. This is my spirit, Puck." she said, the cat on top of her head waving to Ainz, seemingly unperturbed by the small massacre behind the mage.
"A beautiful name. Now then, do you accept my offer then?" he asked. The girl's eyes at first widened, although he couldn't decipher why so. She quickly recovered however and nodded.
"I doubt these men had anyone to return to. If I may." he said, waving his hand and casually casting a silent [Incinerate], which was a Tier 6 spell that dealt a small amount of damage, but was great for burning away organic material and low level obstacles. Flames consumed the bodies and, after a few seconds, there was nothing left but ashes on the wind.
Puck floated next to him, narrowing his eyes, "What kind of magic was that? I can't say I've ever seen it and I've been around, you know?" he asked, the suspicion in his voice rather thinly veiled.
Ainz, while not a brilliant diplomat, had been decently successful as a salary man when it came to negotiations. And those weren't your standard ones that you had in the past, these were the negotiations of the brutal 22nd century, so such pitiful attempts at masking one's emotions were not enough to fool him.
He, seemingly unlike this spirit, had plenty of both negotiation and RP experience, "Perhaps you are not familiar with such arcane practices in this land. I came from afar and my journey was long. Still, that was a simple fire spell. I'm sure local magi can produce a similar effect. Now then, do tell me of your troubles with the thief."
"Can I first ask your name?" she said, seemingly now forgetting that he was still responsible for the death of three people, criminals, but still people. Or perhaps whatever was stolen from her was just of such great value?
'She seems a bit naïve for her age. Well, that makes it simple I suppose. But, my name?' Images of his friends flashed through his mind, and that of his dear guild, 'If they somehow are here, then I will make sure they know I have arrived as well.' he thought to himself before speaking up, "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown."
Satella tilted her head to the side, "That is really foreign. Well, Mister Gown, I was walking through town with a really important gem and some little blonde girl stole it! And I really need it back, but I can't find her!"
Ainz put his hand to the chin area of his mask, 'An important gem? Is she a noble or something? What a lucky encounter! Except for the whole seeing the dead bodies part. I suppose I should be thankful that she didn't at least run to the guardhouse, although her calm facade could use some work.'
"Do you have something connected with the gem? Like a locket or chain?" he asked. Satella nodded, taking what seemed to be a steel chain out of her pocket.
"What do you need it for?" she asked, "I thought we were going to go after the thief and we really should hurry, she was very fast!"
Ainz put a hand in his robe and discreetly took out a [Locate Object] scroll, using it within the confines of his massive robe as well, deciding not to risk exposing more of his magic, "To go after the thief we need to know her location. I have a spell that can help with that." He pointed south, "She is heading somewhere in that direction. As I've mentioned, I come from afar and don't know the city very well, so please lead the way."
"Of course, Mister Gown. Thank you for your help and, if I may, when did you arrive in Lugnica?" she asked, walking out of the alley and out in the bustling market.
"Please call me Ainz, there is no need for such titles. I arrived today in fact. Dare I say I was shocked by the amount of beastmen." he said, trying to squeeze more information out of her, 'So this place is called Lugnica? This girl seems like a treasure trove of knowledge, although I do feel slightly bad about all this.'
"Really? Are they not common where you're from?" she asked, Puck now gone from her head and presumably dematerialized back into his spirit form.
"They weren't uncommon per se, but there was quite a racial divide. To see them live here peacefully is quite the change of pace. How is it for you, as a half-elf?" he asked.
The girl suddenly froze and her speech briefly faltered, "I-It's fine… Nothing out of the ordinary."
If Ainz would have had a tongue he would have bit it, what was he thinking?! Almost squandering a vital source of info like that. Still, her reaction meant he would have to investigate further later on, "Of course, my apologies for asking such a personal question. What else can you tell me about Lugnica?"
"The royal selection is about to happen soon, so we don't have a king or queen. Things are ok, I suppose. The only thing that might interest a mage like you are the knights." she said, beginning to walk forward once more.
"Oh? Why would melee combatants be of interest to a caster such as myself?" he asked, even though any information on the military strength of this country was valuable information.
"Some of the knights use spirits and magic, not just swords. Maybe you'll get to meet them eventually!" she said.
'Knights with spirits? Did they combine classes or is this something unique to this world? I've gotta keep an eye out for them. Hmm, maybe if I use [Dark Wisdom] on some locals or knights I could gain some fancy, new abilities?' he thought to himself, undisturbed by the morbid suggestions his mind gave him. Survival was a priority for now, and for that he needed any additional power he could get. Those thugs were weak, but who's to say that was the case for everyone.
They continued this walk with Ainz occasionally pointing towards the area where the gem was. Frankly, this was nice. The company was whatever, as the girl's knowledge, while most likely much vaster than what she let on, was unavailable to him without risking a collapse in their relations.
But the fresh air, the clear sky, things that were just an hour or two ago completely alien to him, now surrounded him. They walked over a small bridge, under which real, clean water flowed! Such a thing was unheard of in his world! Oh how he longed to take off his mask and feel the breeze on his face, or skull rather.
Alas, both this and asking Satella about the undead seemed foolish, so he refrained. Instead, he decided to look at the surrounding architecture. The city looked clean by his standards, which may have been slightly skewed, but the roads were paved and there were no houses in disrepair around here.
Fresh fruit and products were put out on stands and caused Ainz to lament his new, fleshless body. Perhaps it was optimal for combat and very useful, but bodily pleasures that now could have been available, as things as simple as apples were a luxury back in his world, were instead useless. 'Maybe there's an item somewhere in my inventory I could use?'
His discreet rummaging through his inventory was however interrupted as Satella motioned towards a small girl that looked like she was crying just a moment ago, the tears still within her eyes, "Let's go help her." she said, the determination in her voice like a castle wall.
Ainz tilted his head, "Are you sure? The thief is still on the move. I'm sure the girl will be fine." he said, attempting to begin the siege. Alas, his verbal warfare proved useless and Satella hit him with a glare that would have moved the heart of any mortal. Unfortunately for her, Ainz was no longer a mortal.
However, fortunately for her, this was a chance to earn some good will and information, "Fine, let us go." A smidgen of guilt appeared in the half-elf's eyes for dragging this stranger along with her whims, but her decision had already been made.
Satella walked up to the girl and gently tapped her on the shoulder. A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes, only to be quickly extinguished, as she looked away once more. "I may not be the one you're looking for, but I can help you find your parents if you need me to." she said gently, crouching down in order to be at eye level with her.
No response came from the girl, who tried to slowly move away from Satella, prompting her to speak once more, "Um… I just want to help, so please don't cry." she said, her voice so kind that it would have caused even the most down of heart to be reinvigorated.
Yet it seemed that nothing short of magic would fix the situation. Thankfully, Ainz happened to have something up his magical sleeve, a total of 718 cards in fact, and one of them would surely be appropriate. 'This must count as a side quest, right? I hope this works.' A gloved hand exited his robe and he pointed ahead of the girl, "[Blessing of Titania]."
A small, greenish humanoid, that from a distance looked like an orb of light, appeared in front of the child. It floated around and left behind a magical, sparkly trail. It immediately caught the attention of both the girl and Satella.
Ainz walked up to the child and pointed at the fairy, "This one will lead you to your parents. Come." As expected of a child, the girl followed the sparkly creature that made its way through the crowd, Ainz and Satella following behind.
"Is that a fairy? Are you like a spirit user but with fairies?" asked Satella, her eyes sparkling just as much as the child that was the intended target of it.
"Yes, it is a fairy. I don't specialise in dealing with them and my relationship with their queen is… tenuous, but they offer a hand sometimes." he answered, thinking back on the Titania raid boss. It wasn't a requirement for getting the [Blessing of Titania] spell, which led you to your objective via the least dangerous path, but the fairy dust was too good of a crafting material to pass up.
"You know their queen?! Could you introduce me one day?! Please!" she said, practically skipping at this point. It was very cute, even if a bit off to see someone of her age do so, especially given that she was a half-elf and most likely much older than she looked, if the rules of YGGDRASIL and fantasy in general still applied that is.
Ainz chuckled, "Perhaps, but there are other matters at hand, are there not? Besides, it appears we're here." he said, pointing ahead and dispelling his magic, lest he drew unneeded attention.
The spell disappeared and the child was immediately hugged by an older woman who Ainz presumed to be her mother. He coughed into his fist, attracting her attention, "Miss, please do not let your child get lost again. It was no trouble this time, but tracking magic is not common." he said.
"Thank you so much!" the woman said, identifying them as her daughter's rescuers, "Please, let me host you as thanks. I would hardly let the nameless saviours of my child leave without a full meal."
Ainz shook his head in response, "I'm afraid we have to decline, there is urgent business to take care of. However we do not have to remain nameless. I am Ainz Ooal Gown, and this here is Sa-"
"I'm Emilia." said the half-elf, interrupting him, "It was our pleasure!" She grabbed Ainz's sleeve and began pulling him away, her steps hurried and expression downcast.
With this opportunity to spread his name, even if just a little bit, and learn of the existence of fairies, utilised to its fullest, he turned to Satella, "Why did you not wish to share your name? Afraid that she will name her next daughter that way and it'd lose its uniqueness?" he jested.
"N-no. That's my real name. Satella is the Witch of Envy. You seemed like a foreigner, so I wanted to see if you'd recognize the name…" she said, her voice filled with both guilt and remorse.
"How cunning of you, Emilia, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to trick me anymore.'' he said, "Now then, the thief seems to still be in the city, or at least the item. Shall we?" he said, graciously overlooking her trick. She nodded and they began walking once more, although Ainz had other ideas in mind, 'Perhaps she is not as naive as she seems. I can't let my guard down.'
With such thoughts swirling in his head, he decided to observe his surroundings closely once more, looking for any sign of his world's influence. The buildings resembled some of the more rural cities from Europe that were documented in books about the 21st and 20th century, with red shillings and sand coloured bricks. However, as they kept moving from what he presumed to be the centre of town, the houses became more and more run down.
Holes began appearing in the streets, walls became discoloured, and the figures of the people became thinner. Perhaps he had fit in with the rich citizens due to his majestic robes, but both he and Emilia stood out here. 'I just hope I don't have to kill anyone else in front of her. At that point I'd need to [Control Amnesia] both her and her spirit. Unless the situation became serious.'
They reached a run down shack that could have barely been called a building. "The gem is in there. Would you prefer I retrie-" Before he could finish his sentence, Emilia already walked to the door, opened it and spoke.
"I found you! Where is the gem! It's really important!" she announced, Ainz following quickly behind her, lest the thief turn violent. The icicles that floated around Emilia ironically didn't cool the situation down.
Inside there was the girl Ainz had seen running. Her clothing and child-like body made it seem like Pereroncino would appear out of the ether at any minute, but to Ainz's great disappointment, such a thing didn't occur. She had short, blonde hair and red eyes, which almost made Ainz mistake her for a vampire. Alas, she had no fangs and her complexion wasn't nearly as pale as in the undead species.
Seated next to her was a massive, black man, with grey, massive, bushy eyebrows, as if he had two mops on his face, and plenty of scars. His height would have exceeded even Ainz's, were it not for how hunched his back was. He chugged the ale from his mug, causing his cheeks and nose to redden by just a slight bit.
Ainz looked around the area. The wood was decaying, the tables were dusty, and the armour and flasks on the shelves were of less than stellar condition. 'I have a feeling this is the fantasy equivalent of a pawn shop. Why else would have the thief come to a place like this?'
The pair, reacting to Emilia's entrance, drew a knife and grabbed a club respectively. "No way! If you want it then come and get it!" said the girl, "I don't know how you found us, but that's how it'll be."
Ainz stepped forth, his footsteps causing the boards to creak ominously, "Emilia, shall I?" he asked, both his hands hidden in his robe for now, but his mere presence causing the atmosphere to become oppressive and the air to thicken anyway.
"If you think you can come into my shop and try some funny business, you've got another thing coming." said the man, hitting his open palm with the massive, wooden club.
"Yea, you tell 'em Rom!" said the girl, as if she was a fan cheering on her favourite fighter.
Emilia meanwhile ignored them and cringed slightly at what Ainz's question implied, the taking of a life evidently still rather much for her when not needed, "Maybe let's, um, not resort to violence? Okay, Ainz?"
The pressure disappeared, as if it was only a mirage, and the masked caster nodded, "Fine, even though you seemed ready for that. Would you allow me to take over? I believe I can negotiate rather effectively."
Ainz walked over to the pair, who began to slowly put away their weapons, though they were both still within reach of them. Emilia followed after him and sat next to him, opposite of the thief and the man named Rom.
"May I know the names of who I am dealing with? I am Ainz Ooal Gown, and this is Emilia." he said, as basic business etiquette dictated.
"I'm Felt, the best thief around!" she proudly declared, pushing her non-existent chest forward. Ainz could have sworn he heard sirens in the distance, but he kept listening anyway, "And this old man is Rom, the owner of this place."
"Wonderful. In that case shall we get down to business? You know what we are here for. Where is it?" All he knew was that it was just a valuable gem, so he wasn't exactly surprised when they put a triangular stone with a golden, dragon-like carving on the table.
"This is very important to me, you know? It's not nice to steal!" said Emilia, more disappointed and disgruntled than angry. On one hand the girl seemed ready to skewer the two with icy spears during her entrance and on the other she seemed like a teacher whose student was caught stealing the sweets of another, 'What a mixed bag she is.' Ainz thought to himself.
He took her statement as confirmation that this was the genuine article. It certainly didn't look all that impressive, but maybe it was some kind of heirloom? Either way, recovering it would be a great way to earn good will and then turn that good will into information, which was worth more than any amount of gold, especially now when that gold didn't facilitate swift resurrection.
He promptly took out a random, low level gem from his inventory and put it on the table. It was a ruby as large as his hand and beautifully carved. The eyes of both Felt and Rom nearly fell out of their heads, same as Emilia's. "I presume this will be sufficient as payment?" he asked. He could have paid with coins, he had millions of YGGDRASIL coins after all, but that was practically announcing that he was from there.
The existence of other players was still very much on the table and thus such a gamble was not something he was willing to take. Besides, a single gem didn't even put a dent in his supply.
"Y-yes." the girl muttered, finally breaking out from her shock and reaching for them ruby.
However the peaceful negotiations were not meant to last. The door opened and a tall, beautiful woman entered. Her body was covered in a cloak, which she soon unveiled and if Ainz could have whistled he surely would have; although his curious biology probably allowed it, he just didn't know how to.
She had the deepest V neck he had ever seen, the black garment covering only her sides and a little bit of cleavage, before actually functioning as clothing below the waist. The purple flower in her raven black hair, her purple fur mantle from the cloak, and deep, purple eyes were very enticing.
Unfortunately, such charms were now useless against Ainz and his guard was immediately raised. The woman's seductive aura persisted as she looked over the people in the room, but something more dangerous was mixed in.
"Oh, how unfortunate for you that you're here already. Not that I mind. However, it seems my plans have broken down." As if out of thin air, two kukris appeared in her hands, both black as night.
Felt and Rom grabbed their weapons immediately, reacting to the bloodlust emanating from the strange woman. Emilia prepared her magic and Puck materialised next to her.
Ainz simply stood up, gazing at the woman curiously, 'No enchantments? Although she does seem to be decently strong, more so than Emilia. A level 30 to 40 rogue estimated by her aura. Unless she has something up her sleeve?'
"And who are you?" he asked, hoping his adversary would be so stupid or confident to reveal their name.
She did a faux bow, "You may call me Elsa, the bowel hunter. But it's not like you'll live for long enough to use it." she said, launching at Emilia with great speed. To Ainz however she didn't seem terribly quick.
"I suppose I should deal with this interruption." he said, pointing at her, "[Maximize Magic: Lightning]" Light emanated from his finger once more and was going to hit its target directly, but the woman jumped and turned her back towards the spell. It hit her flowing cape, which soon collapsed into dust.
"A consumable equipment that absorbs a spell? How useless." he muttered, not even bothering to dodge the knife that was thrown at him. If anyone would have been paying attention to him, rather than to their respective enemies, they would have seen the knife suddenly lose all momentum and drop to the floor, "It appears my [High Tier Physical Immunity III] is still active." he muttered.
However no one heard him, instead being busy fighting to the death. "Huma!" Emilia cried out, a thin barrier of water covering her and deflecting the knives that were directed at her.
Felt stood back and used some sort of wind-based projectiles to attack, while Rom swung his massive club at the intruder, missing over and over.
Elsa bounced from wall to ceiling to floor and to the wall again, stabbing and slashing whenever she got an opportunity. Despite being outnumbered, she still held her ground rather well.
Ainz watched this spectacle unfold, half heartedly throwing spells towards Elsa and praying that she didn't run into them. Luckily, it paid off and he could get a chance to look at this world's magic system.
"El Huma!" shouted the half-elven girl, lances of ice shooting out one by one towards Elsa, who evaded them with frightening ease.
'El Huma? She used Huma before right? Is that El like metamagic, except it can change the spell entirely? Fascinating' he thought to himself. He cast [Mana Essence] and glanced at everyone in the room.
Emilia had a considerable supply of mana, much larger than what a mage of her level should have had. If Ainz's was beyond 100, hers was maybe a 75. However it seemed that most of it was consumed by her spirit at a rapid rate. 'That seems like a really garbage summon.' he noted to himself before looking at the others. Rom, Felt and Elsa barely had any mana, but it was to be expected from melee combatants.
A pained grunt echoed out as Elsa landed another strike on Rom, cutting open his thigh and making him fall to his knees. "Soon I'll get to see your guts! Although I doubt a giant like you has particularly nice ones…" she said, jumping away from another ice lance that was shot at her.
'He's a giant?! That can't be true! He's tiny by those standards! He's not even an ogre!' Ainz thought to himself, sending an acid arrow towards Elsa, instead hitting a piece of armour that was behind her, the green solution eating through it and also the floor which it hit afterwards.
Puck kept sending shard after shard of ice at Elsa and tried to freeze her in place. He hit some glancing shots, but it seemed the assassin was too agile, even with the pain she should have been feeling. Suddenly, he yawned, "Lia, it's getting late." he said.
Indeed, the sun outside was nearly down, although it was hard for Ainz to notice as he wasn't bothered by the darkness thanks to his racial passive [Dark Vision]. 'Is that cat finally going to get serious?' he asked himself.
So far the creature and Emilia had both done nothing that a level 20 or 30 cryomancer couldn't. Sure, summoning a few spears at once was impressive, but it's not like they were devastating, and that was the strongest spell she used! It only seemed to be around Tier 2 or 3!
Emilia seemed to panic at the spirit's statement and got distracted for a brief moment. "No, Puck! We can't win this without you!" she said. Yet that brief instant proved to be a fatal mistake.
The bowel hunter lunged at Felt, cutting open her stomach, which obviously wasn't armoured. Blood sprayed forward and she fell to the floor, clutching her stomach with her stained hands, desperately trying to keep her internal organs from falling out. It was a miracle she wasn't entirely bisected and that she maintained consciousness at all, or it could have been a sign of the frightening skill of the bowel hunter.
"No!" yelled Rom, lunging at her with his club. All reason seemed to be gone and moves resembled that of a mad berserker. He towered over Elsa, the match up most likely looking ridiculous to any outsider that would have seen it.
Yet prodigious size alone does not dissuade the sharpened blade, and she sliced open his stomach as well, before flipping over an icy lance that was sent her way.
"Oh what pretty colours!" she said, her face red and pupils dilated, "I can't wait to see yours as well!" she continued, pointing one kukri at Ainz and one at Emilia. The half-elf's face was green and tears were in her eyes, the warmth from them gone and replaced with both icy anger and sadness.
However the world seemed to become cold all of a sudden. This wasn't the chill of autumn or the cold of winter. No, this was death's icy grasp. The hair of everyone in the room stood up. Puck's instincts began to go haywire, Rom and Felt got distracted from their wounds, and Emilia turned to the magician that had mostly stayed out of the fight so far.
"I believe it's time to end this." Ainz simply said, his majestic, purple robe billowing in a wind that seemed to only affect him. Even Elsa stopped moving for a second, before turning her head to the wizard and grinning.
"And what will you do? You've barely done anything? But this feeling… Mmmmhh." She moaned, biting her lower lip and drawing blood from, "What a splended feeling! I can't wait to play with your guts!" Her glee didn't only border on madness, it went into that territory and beyond it
Ainz raised his hand and uttered a simple Tier 4 spell, "[Triple Maximize Magic: Bone Lance]." Three lances of bone, each massive in size and of pure white colour, launched themselves at their target. His permanently smiling mask seemed to turn into a frightening grin as Ainz became even slightly involved in the fight. Although from here on out it wouldn't be a fight, but an execution.
Elsa didn't have time to evade, one hitting her left hand, one her right, and the final one piercing her directly through the chest. This however didn't stop their momentum and she was sent flying into the stone wall next to the fireplace. The bone lances embedded themselves into the wall and pinned her to it.
Despite being rather confident of her demise, Ainz decided to add something else into the mix, "[Shockwave]." He didn't even bother to maximize it. An invisible force ripped through the air and hit the unmoving Elsa. It drove the lances entirely through her body, mutilating it in the process.
One of her arms seemed to be ripped off entirely and her ribcage was inverted by the force. To add insult to injury, the entire wall collapsed onto her, the only sign of her body being there was the pool of blood that leaked out from under the rubble.
The aura disappeared as Ainz disabled his [Aura of Despair I]. With calm, collected steps he walked towards Rom and Felt. They were useless and mere thieves, but Emilia's expression when they took fatal blows told him that he could make himself seem even kinder if he would heal them. It would also serve as a nice experiment concerning his healing potions.
But before he could make it to them, Emilia dashed in front of him and hovered her hands over Felt's stomach. A green light emanated from them and the wound slowly began to close.
Ainz took one look at the puddle of blood and stated the obvious, "That won't be enough to save her." he said, his voice cold and disconnected, like a scientist who was watching a lab rat die, which he effectively was.
"Do you have any way to save them?!" Emilia asked, almost frantic, most likely due to the fact that she had very little mana left. Perhaps Puck could have healed them more effectively, but he dematerialized after Ainz activated his aura, presumably it was something to do with the hour.
Given that these rats still had a use, Ainz nodded, "As a matter of fact, I do." His hand disappeared into the void he called his inventory and returned with two ornate bottles, each holding red liquid inside.
He took out the cork and, before Emilia could ask if it was blood, the liquid reached Felt's body. A bright, green aura emanated from her body and, after a few seconds, the girl was already up on her feet. Ainz did the same with Rom, and the effect was the same.
These were useless to him and only minor healing potions, which would instead damage him since he was undead, thus it was a small price to pay for some positive reputation.
"What are those? I don't even have a scratch on me!" said Felt, peering intensely at Ainz. The feeling of dread that emanated from him before he killed Elsa was hard to forget, but him saving her from certain death erased any suspicions she had.
Rom walked up to his tiny ward and ruffled her hair with his massive palm, "I agree with Felt. I feel ten years younger; although I sure hope my liver got fixed as well." he said, chuckling at his own quip.
"Do you not have health potions in this country?" Ainz asked, to which Emilia shook her head, "Well, they are what they sound like. Imagine condensed healing magic that has been turned into a liquid, handy in a pinch."
Emilia looked at Ainz and tilted her head, which was a gesture so cute that it surely would have made many give up their hearts, "But, what were those spells? I've never seen anything like it!"
Ainz began sweating internally, necromancers tended to be disliked in fantasy settings, so he had to be diplomatic about this, "It comes from a different era. I specialise in the darker side of magic…" he said.
Thankfully, the girl didn't summon any icy spears, not like those could damage him, and she didn't cringe at his statement. Instead, she put a finger to her chin and asked, "You mean Yin magic? I thought that only dealt with shadows and things like that though."
"I can tell you more about it, later that is. I believe we still have some unfinished business." he said, looking at the two other people in the room, and then at the gem that seemed to have avoided any sort of collateral damage from the battle, resting soundly on the table where it had been before.
"I can handle the rest of this. Thank you for your help! Would you like to come with me to Roswaal's mansion? I can't just not reward you for all this help!" she said, crossing her arms and becoming ready to argue with her mysterious, foregin benefactor.
Ainz grabbed the area of his mask that would coincide with the chin and thought about her proposal, 'It's not like I have anywhere else to go. Besides, this quest was kinda interesting. Wait, she mentioned a lord?'
"Lord? Are you the daughter of a noble perhaps?" he asked, hoping that it was so. Someone with influence typically had a large house, and a large house typically had a library, one he could consume in its entirety and gain valuable knowledge about this new world.
She shook her head and Ainz's spirit deflated, "No, I'm just participating in the Royal Selection and he's the Margrave supporting me, Roswaal L. Mathers." Ainz froze, the information being more effective than any ice magic ever could, and Emilia giggled nervously, seeing his reaction, "I may or may not have forgotten to mention that."
Ainz pointed at the stone on the table, "In that case I presume that gem has something to do with it."
"Yep!" She walked over to the table and picked it up, and it began to glow, "If the Dragon Insignia glows then it means you're a valid candidate for the selection. That's why I need it." she said.
Felt appeared to want to say something, but Ainz was quicker, "In that case I suppose I shall accept your offer. Is there some transport to the mansion or shall we use magic?" he asked.
"Well, only Roswaal can fly, so there should be a carriage waiting for me at the capital, not far from the place we met. Just say you're with me and I'll be along in a jiffy!" she said.
Presuming she wanted to talk with the two criminals, he looked at them both intently, two red dots appearing in the blue crystals of his mask, which caused the pair to flinch.
"Who do you think we are to hurt the friend of our saviour?" asked Rom, taking a step back from Ainz due to the glare.
"Y-yea! That's right! We'd never do something like that!" added Felt, moving slightly behind the large Rom.
Ainz turned to Emilia, "If you do not arrive in half an hour, then I will find you." He held out his hand and Emilia gave him a strand of her hair, knowing what he was getting at. Satisfied that his source of intel would in the worst case cost him a charge of a resurrection wand, he went out the backdoor and discreetly teleported to the alley where he initially met her.
Were it not for the timely arrival of a redheaded youth with striking blue eyes and the uniform of the knights of Lugnica, the woman that should have been a corpse would have surely attacked once more.
However, even when one person that was above her paygrade left, another entered, and she decided to leave, thankfully unnoticed by anyone. The wall the [Shockwave] hit her through, although turning her into mincemeat and pushing her blessing to its limit, also put her outside, and no one noticed her slip outside of the rubble.
Emilia turned to the newcomer, "Sir Astrea?" she asked, recognizing the handsome Sword Saint. To see him wandering the poor district was an unusual occurrence.
"Lady Emilia, how fortunate to see you here. I caught wind of a thief that stole the insignia from you." he glanced at the glowing stone on her palm, "However it seems my assistance is not required any more."
Felt suddenly snatched the insignia from Emilia's hand and, right as Reinhard was about to stop her, he noticed that it kept glowing. "What?" he muttered softly.
"See!? It's still glowing!." she said, before gasping as Reinhard knelt before her and grasped her hand.
"What is your full name, my lady?" he asked, his voice gentle but his grasp firm.
"F-Felt. I'm just an orphan, I don't have a surname. P-please don't hurt me, I only steal to survive!" she pleaded, tears forming in her eyes and Rom moving towards the pair.
"No, my lady. This glowing means you are a royal candidate." he said, loosening his grip slightly.
"B-but, isn't this just because she's here?" Felt asked, pointing at Emilia.
Reinhard shook his head, "No, it requires direct contact." He picked it up and the gem returned to its dull, dark red colour, "See? Unfortunately this means you have to come with me."
He picked her up in a princess carry and tossed the insignia towards Emilia, who looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed, "Not very knightley, Sir Astrea, kidnapping a girl like this."
The Sword Saint sighed, "Alas, circumstances dictate such behaviour is necessary. I believe we'll meet again, Lady Emilia." And with that, he ran off…
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
Ainz sighed, exiting the alley once more, "I just hope she doesn't get herself killed. I'd have to use [True Resurrection] probably, and for that I'd need to switch rings… I can't have her die. If she becomes the future ruler then I can have all the resources in the world and search for my friends, or I could find a way to summon Nazarick. If resurrection doesn't work then it'd be a disaster. If it does though, then maybe I could use an auto-resurrect one on myself if I ever find someone strong and return by death?" he muttered under his breath.
Suddenly an odd feeling overcame him, as if something caressed the outside of his ribs. He touched the outside of his robe which hid the area, having closed when he initially arrived, but there was no flesh there to have such a feeling occur.
'Is this that phantom itching Tabula mentioned after he got his prosthetic? I hope that doesn't happen with this body.' Thankfully, the feeling lasted only a moment and soon disappeared. It was odd, but then again, perhaps that was just his robe rubbing against his body in a weird way thanks to the [Teleportation].
He went out onto the plaza once and, while dusk had certainly made it less lively, there was still quite a large amount of people moving from stand to stand. Another thought came into his mind, one that was much more pressing than resurrection, namely the fact that 'I've no clue what carriage I'm looking for! I should've asked for details! How am I supposed to know what a Margrave's carriage looks like?! Should I [Message] her? Does this world even have [Message]?!'
Consumed by his own thoughts and worries, he mindlessly walked around the street. If the crowd from a few hours ago had been here, then his massive pauldrons would have undoubtedly caused him to bump into many of them in this focused state, but alas the streets were empty enough for the people to avoid him successfully.
Yet a voice called out to him and broke him out of his stunned state, "Hey! Aren't you the mage that brought my daughter home?" Ainz turned to look at the man. He appeared to be a merchant, wearing a black vest with no shirt underneath. His green hair was tied back and in his mouth was a twig.
"Unless it is a common occurrence for a mage to guide a child to their parents, then yes, I am. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown." he said, walking up to the man's stand where several fruits still lay.
"Kadomon Risch. My daughter told me all about your magic trick. Please, take a sample of my wares, I'm about to close down shop for the day anyway." Kadomon said, gesturing towards the various fruits in front of him.
Ainz recognized some of them, such as the bright red apples, but the rest seemed unfamiliar. For all knew they might have been native to Earth as well, but he had been far too pure to afford such luxuries there.
Ironically, now that he could, food lost all meaning, "I would accept your generosity, however, I ate just recently. And so has my companion, although she's dealing with some other business right now. But if I may ask for something else a merchant can offer."
Kadomon raised his eyebrow, "Ask and I'll see what I can do, but I'm just a humble fruit merchant.
"Even a fruit merchant deals in information, does he not?" Ainz asked, chuckling and the man joined him in his half-jest.
"Of that you are right. What is it you want to know?"
"I am looking for a certain Margrave Roswaal L. Mathers' carriage, as my companion instructed me to do so. I believe it was supposed to be somewhere around here, but I do not know the design of the Margrave's carriage. Would you happen to know even just a vague description?"
The man nodded, "I do as a matter of fact, happened to do some trade with his domain back when I was in a trading guild. The Margrave is a man of… curious taste. Look for something black and gold, shaped like a circle near the main castle gate." he said, pointing north.
"Thank you for the information. Farewell." Ainz said, raising his hand and leaving.
While the castle was impressive, it was nothing compared to Nazarick and thus Ainz paid little attention to it. There seemed to be an area similar to a parking lot for carriages, with many odd, bipedal lizards replacing horses. He spotted the one he presumed to be the Margrave's, but not because of its appearance.
Emilia stood next to one of them and waved to him with the energy only the youthful were privy to. He approached her and returned her wave with only a fraction of the energy. "Where were you, Ainz? I was beginning to get worried!" she said.
"My apologies, it seems I lost track of time and wandered for a bit. I presume the meeting was resolved." She answered by taking out the glowing stone and smiling.
"In that case," Ainz opened the door to the carriage and extended his gloved hand to her, "shall we?"
(AN from Edgy: Hello one and all! You may or may not know me for my other Overlord fanfic [Drowned Madness Walks The Land], but now I'm taking a crack at this wonderful crossover. Well, what can I say? Review! And check out my other work! Oh, also, the cover is a commissioned piece from cyberwolfsart; go check them out! As always, more to come and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!)