[Volume 3: Let Loose The God Of Death]
[Prologue]
The Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, dwelt deep in the forest surrounding Roswaal's domain. There, far from the prying eyes of those not blessed by the Witch with her love, he checked the book that defined his life, the book that marked someone as a member of the blessed ones.
One could find these so-called gospels in the possession of every single witch cultist. How these were made for each cultist was a mystery, though their origin lay with Echidna, given that they were inferior versions of the Books of Wisdom she had made.
In a word, they were cheap knockoffs. Naturally, they still performed their function of telling the future… somewhat. The future in these books was not set in stone, often cryptic and ever changing. Those who tried to follow them diligently were effectively following the scribblings of a mad man, which to be fair some of them were.
Petelgeuse himself was far beyond the border of madness, thanks to the sloth factor he had ingested which wasn't highly compatible with him, and due to the fact that he was tricked into killing her.
But such memories were lost to time, over a century having passed since then. Now he followed the Witch with all his heart, diligently working to be worthy of her love. Despite his title of sloth, he was by far the most active archbishop.
And now the words of his gospel led him here.
He scraped at his face, his nails tearing into his skin as he looked at the page in front of him.
"Why!? Why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why, why?!" he repeated, as if in a trance.
The pages in front of him were nothing like whatever the gospel had shown him before. It was simply impossible, inconceivable.
They were blank.
He looked at the pages that came before this one, reading them over and over again.
His eyes were bloodshot as the unusually still passage wormed its way into his mind.
'In the realm of the apostle, the fallen star shall stay. There, thou shall meet thy carnal desire.'
Read the final line. After that, it simply cut away. But why!? Why would it do so!? Did the Witch stop loving him!? Did he not do enough!?
All his heart, all his being belonged to the Witch!
So what did the gospel mean!?
He desired nothing more than to meet the Witch, to be embraced by her infinite love!
And yet, why did an ominous feeling creep up his back?
He arched his spine and looked up above, into the starry night, where perhaps answers would lay. Alas, even after he ripped off his own eyelids to better see the world the Witch would one day embrace, no answers came to him.
By all means, this was a cause for celebration! He, someone who understood love, who did everything for it, would have his desire granted! However, no matter how hard he tried to stretch his face into the obscene smile he so often wore, no such thing came.
Some ominous feeling kept surrounding him, as if he was being circled by a predator, ready to pounce and annihilate him.
Indeed, he was being watched by a Death Assassin, but it wasn't that being that he felt. Something… more frightening would come to pass, the lacking message from the gospel was simply an omen of its coming.
But death was such a ridiculous notion! He was a spirit, one who would live on for eternity with his mistress! She would come and beckon him to her, for he was diligent in his love, he was chosen!
He began scratching at the pale skin beneath his robes, drawing blood, "Get out! Get ouuuut! The Witch will love me! I will live!" he yelled, contorting his body as his bones cracked.
Alas, no matter what he did, no reprieve came. The feeling of dread was becoming all consuming; he had to stay strong! He had to stay true to his faith!
His faithful, though disgustingly slothful, fingers would surely make a worthy sacrifice of the vile nonbelievers in the village! Then… Then he would move on to the mansion, and use the silver abomination to bring about his mistress!
Surely the Witch would love him even more for such devotion! Surely this feeling of dread would be destroyed when he would be with her! And then all the world would be embraced by the Witch!
Yes! That would be so wonderful! The end of his long, arduous road was just ahead! But he still had to remain diligent, for the Witch's love was not granted to the slothful!
He stashed away the gospel into his robes, and turned towards the direction of the village.
Yet, as he looked out into the dark forest ahead, he shivered…
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
Ainz cut off the odd connection that he felt for a brief moment.
'I suppose that was Satella, or I at least hope it was. I guess if she could summon me here then it would be no problem to spy on me, but it seems like the World Item can block her sight. If only I could distinguish well enough between her and the Witch.'
The Overlord, so far, had been lucky enough to avoid an encounter with the walking disaster that was the Witch of Envy. Where Satella's presence was dark but calm, he imagined that someone who destroyed a large part of the world would have a more chaotic feeling to them.
Of course, he could just be fooling himself, but he owed Satella one for not letting him get dragged back to the hell he called Earth, so if she could at least get a glimpse of the outside world from her prison then that would be nice.
If it was the Witch, however, then Ainz just hoped there would be no adverse effects. Time would tell, but for now there was a much more pressing matter.
He could figure out a possible line of communication with Satella later, but the whale most certainly would not wait. The beast was not supposed to be intelligent but rather acting on instinct.
This made his job easier, as it most likely wouldn't target the skeleton with the pillar of unknown magic swirling around him immediately. This gave him just enough time to execute his plan.
He looked up at Crusch, who was apparently having the time of her life flying on her undead dragon. Her blow, combined with the blade he had given her, would hopefully prove sufficient and knock the whale to the ground.
His gaze returned to the ground, where Wilhelm and the Eternal Death, which he learned had been named Aeternia by Emilia, were sparring while utilising the [Teleportation] ring. Ainz nodded in approval, 'I'd rather he doesn't get caught in the crossfire, or teleport into my spell by accident.'
Aeternia of course outmatched Wilhelm, but the Sword Devil kept getting back up each time. His tenacity was worthy of one with his title. Hopefully their dynamic duo could preoccupy the flying beast and stop any of that steam from appearing.
In fact, if someone were to be hit by the mist, would he even be able to resurrect them? Erasure is, after all, not the same as death.
If Crusch or Wilhelm were to be deleted, that would surely be a great loss, but if Rem or Emilia would be hit…
He'd rather not even entertain the notion. He was Ainz Ooal Gown, and his plan was foolproof here.
Emilia and Rem would surely be able to keep it frozen to the ground once it was there. In fact, they didn't even have to do so for long. By that point he'd only need around 25 seconds, depending on how high the whale would actually fly.
As he thought of the situation, Crusch landed in front of him. She jumped off her mount and landed gracefully, "Worried? You of all people?" she asked, patting the neck of her temporary undead dragon.
"I like to be cautious, and this situation is no different. By the way, I was wondering about something. Do villages just happen to become damaged and empty sometimes around the kingdom? Have there been any cases like that?" Ainz asked, unsure about one aspect of the mist the whale could produce.
Crusch leaned on the snout of Ainz's summon and said, "A few cases do come to mind, but they are so odd that nobody ever deals with them seriously. They do happen sometimes though, even in my territory."
"So it's true. It doesn't complicate our situation, but it is worrying…" Ainz muttered, looking far into the distance, where the sun was already beginning to come out, until Crusch blocked his view.
"I'm right here, you know? Maybe you shouldn't space out on a battlefield. Anyway, what is true?" Crusch asked.
"Before I get on with that, may I just say that you have gotten much bolder in your way of addressing me ever since we decided on this hunt." Ainz said, surprised by the quite rapid change of attitude in the Duchess.
"We're allies, and we're about to face off against one of the most dangerous beasts known to this world, so do forgive me if I decide to forgo the court pleasantries." she said.
"I see. I'm not too fond of them myself, so I do not mind." Ainz said, glad he could loosen up at least a bit, "But I have been told by… reliable sources that the mist not only eliminates you, but eliminates the memories of you. Naturally, this doesn't change much, since I am not going to let it hit us, but it does make me question one thing…"
"Oh? Do tell, though the idea of such a power is already concerning… How many people have been wiped from history like that?" Crusch asked, looking into the horizon.
"I don't know, but we are going to stop the reason for that soon enough. The real problem is what the existence of the whale means. If you'll indulge me, the whale was in fact created by the Witch of Gluttony. The Witch Cult has a bishop corresponding to each Witch, which must include gluttony." Ainz said, with Crusch nodding along.
"I could ask where you got this information from," she began, looking over at the skeletal dragon next to her, "but given your specialisation, I will simply take your word for it."
Ainz shrugged, "The information is accurate which is what matters. What I am worried about are the archbishops. If the Witch of Gluttony could create the whale, then who's saying the archbishop can't control it? Much more powerful beasts have been tamed in the lands I came from. A good friend of mine was a great hunter, and his familiars could probably rip the whale to shreds."
"That is quite a frightening prospect, but we'll be rid of their pet soon enough. Still, this may explain how they get away with so many things, if they use this thing as cover." Crusch said.
"The whale is one thing, yes, but I'm more concerned with the bishops. Do you think there is much cooperation within the Witch Cult? Between archbishops, I mean."
Crusch shrugged, "Who knows? I doubt it though. A bunch of maniacs like that probably isn't too cooperative."
"I suppose you are right." Ainz said, falling silent for a few seconds afterwards.
"Planning to go after the archbishop?" the Duchess asked, guessing what Ainz was thinking.
"Should such a chance arise, then yes. If a pet of theirs has a power like this, then they could be very frightening opponents. In the worst case they could have a similar power." Ainz said.
'I need to find out what Daphne's authority is. It should have at least some correlation to the bishop.'
"Even if they do, I won't go down without a fight." Crusch said, drawing her sword and getting back atop her undead mount.
Ainz chuckled, "Your resolve is worthy of your lineage. If you find any information on them, send it my way."
"I'll send it with the pyroxene crystal, so you best make my dragon magnificent." she said, kicking her steed on its skeletal spine, causing it to fly off.
'My initial assessment was correct, she is very competent. I'm glad she's on my side, even if it's only for a skeletal dragon.' Ainz thought to himself.
With all due respect to Felt, and the negative amount of respect due to Priscilla, Anastasia was the only real competition left, even if her fangs were dulled after Julius' duel.
Still, he couldn't underestimate the powers that be, especially those in the council of the wisemen. Despite their nearly positive reception of his appearance, particularly by Miklotov, he couldn't drop his guard. Roswaal could probably handle them, but it was best to keep tabs on things himself.
But, whatever troubles he may face, at least he would buy Emilia and himself some good will with this hunt, even though many of the victims of the whale were not remembered.
'Wasn't there a previous hunt for this thing? Roswaal told me about it a bit…' Ainz thought to himself, trying to recall what he had heard, 'Ah yea, wasn't Wilhelm's wife there? Or was it some other Sword Saint? But that means… That means that it didn't use its mist on the Sword Saint. Is there some condition? Were they immune and they knew it?'
The more powerful an ability, the longer the cooldown. That, or it could only be used a certain amount of times before being refreshed. For instance, Super Tier spells took time to cast, and at best it could be done four times per day.
Such spells could turn the tide of battle in an instant, and so could the whale's ability. However, for all Ainz knew, the logic he was used to could be completely useless here.
However, given that the whale didn't appear to use its ability indiscriminately, Ainz decided to not lose his cool completely. The beast was big and deadly, but that just meant it was a big target.
Ainz was not Ulbert; he couldn't fry the thing with a snap of his fingers, or at least he couldn't do so as easily as the Demon of Calamity. In a situation like this he couldn't also count on his instant death spells working. If they didn't immediately kill the beast then they only gave it an opening to act.
Thankfully, there was a saving grace in his arsenal: the aforementioned Super Tier spells. These tended to be highly destructive, and Ainz could only offer a silent prayer that the magnificent tree in the plain survived the conflict after the dust settled.
He felt confident that his plan would work, despite the fact that the knowledge he had from YGGDRASIL said that typically the one to first attempt to use a Super Tier spell would lose. There were ways to change that outcome, such as with the use of cash shop items, but Ainz wasn't willing to use those just yet.
While numerous, his supply of such items was still small compared to the thousands upon thousands of minor healing potions he had. Of course, the largest part of his hesitation was the fact that he had spent real money on them, which still stung, and he didn't want to use them.
Aside from the whale, there were still two other demonic beasts, an entire cult deal with, and the two other Sin representatives that weren't in the Castle of Dreams with Echidna.
Those two in particular could be troublesome specimens.
If memory served, then the two that could possibly oppose him were named Hector and Pandora.
"Wait… Pandora, Hector, Minerva, Echidna… All these names seem familiar for some reason." Ainz said, reaching into his inventory.
He took out Tabula's celestial journal, the one that he had been completing during nights where he wasn't preparing to hunt a deadly beast.
After flipping through the pages, he came to a page he had only briefly read through before.
Tabula, having been the occult maniac that would hyperfixate on certain subjects, had made the journal extremely detailed. For all the planets in the solar system, there were names, superstitions and myths connected with them, everything Tabula was able to get his hands on really.
In his search for knowledge of the astral realm, he had not neglected the appearance of asteroids, though mostly the past ones, as the sky in the 22nd century was far too smoggy to be able to observe them himself, and the media didn't report on such trivial things like a new asteroid.
Ainz's finger scanned the page, finding each name one by one. He finally stopped at the one that concerned him most.
'55 Pandora - Discovered in 1858. Very bright. Named after the woman from Greek mythology that was blessed by all the Gods but released a mass of evil into the world, alongside hope.'
"That can't just be a coincidence." Ainz said, flipping through the book to the star section, a part of the book he had read in more depth.
'Betelgeuse - One of the brightest stars in the night sky, and a part of the constellation of the Hand of Orion.'
"Isn't that archbishop's name something like this? And all the other witches are named back there as well… Was Tabula onto something all along, or is this just a coincidence?" Ainz asked himself.
What kind of odd parallel was this? Did the stars of Earth have some sort of meaning in this world? Could they help him identify his opponents?
If there indeed was a connection, then why would people named after stars try to spread darkness and unleash the Witch?
Time would tell, but he was sure that by the end of it many of these stars would surely be snuffed out…
Edited by Korak324
Pa tr e on DOT com / EdgyTheWriter
(AN from Edgy: And with this we open Volume 3! I hope you are as excited as I am! Stars, beasts, and cultists, oh my! Will Ainz's hunt succeed? How will the kingdom react? And how will Emilia's returning memories impact all of this? Well, I suppose we shall find out next time, and while you wait, why don't you check out [Fallen Down] by hackslashbash? The author and story are both lovely, so give them a look! As always, more to come, and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!)
(AN from Aterro: I hope you all are as excited as I am for what's to come, more glorious moments of our Ainz and a fight grander than any other written in this fic. Look forward to it!)