City of E-Rantel, Residential District, Southwest Side
Ainzach secured the strap of the belt at his waist, making sure it is tightly bound. Attached to the belt is a scabbard. With nicks and gashes here and there, the scabbard is obviously worn out and is already old. And even the hilt of the sword looks worn out, similar to the scabbard it is sheathed into.
As he does this, his pace has slowed down and the distance between him and the man he is following has increased considerably. To keep up, Ainzach jogged after the guy and voiced out his complaint.
"Hey, I told you to slow down, didn't I? Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?"
"Shut up. Talk to me again and I'll kill you."
The man in pure white full plate armour, General Gustavo, didn't even slow down or turn around while replying. Along with his great mace on his right hand resting onto his shoulder, as well as the billowing white cape with the insignia of the Kingdom printed into it, he really looks overwhelming no matter what angle you look at.
Aside from his two-meter height and extravagant equipment, there is also another reason why he looks so intimidating. His face, which is twisted in pure anger, strikes terror into the hearts of every person who sees it.
The citizens can't help but step away from his path due to the pressure he releases. Most of them, who recognized who he is, muttered out his name in surprise and backed away in fear after seeing his expression. This caused a commotion among them, for the great general who is entitled as the God of War is extremely furious right now.
In contrast to him, Ainzach wears a worried, confused expression. His pace is also irregular. Sometimes slowing down, then ending up jogging soon after to catch up with the general. It's painfully obvious that he is unsure what to do: whether to keep following that person or not.
One could even say that he looks uncool right now.
However, there is a proper reason to his uneasiness at this moment.
During their important meeting along with the city mayor at the Adventurer's Guild earlier, a wounded soldier barged into their room, informing them about a dreadful news.
According to him, the carriage driver, who rushed into E-Rantel and reported about a hostage-taking situation, began attacking the soldiers in the vicinity around him.
Hearing about this and seeing one of his soldiers heavily wounded, General Gustavo immediately got enraged. That's why he rushed outside and headed towards the location of the said attack. Worried about his safety, Ainzach rushed after him without thinking too much. And now, he's starting to regret it.
For starters, blindly rushing into these kinds of situations is just plain stupid. The general should've had sent someone else to confirm the situation first before making a decision.
What's more, this sudden situation is definitely related to the hostage-taking situation earlier. The ones behind these events definitely has an ulterior motive behind this all. And whatever that motive may be, it is anything but a good one. If they act rashly without planning ahead, they would easily fall into the enemy's schemes. There would be hell to pay if that happens.
But what's more strange is Gustavo's reaction. Of all people, he is not the type of person who will let his emotions cloud his judgement. Not that I'm saying that he is heartless and uncaring, but letting his emotions take over his judgement is not like him. He had sent thousands of his men to death countless of times before without even batting an eye. Getting enraged just for seeing a single one of them heavily wounded is definitely weird.
"Gustavo, stop for a moment. We must gather information about this first and plan ahead before making a decision. Rushing in blindly like this is a fatal mistake. Calm down and-"
Ainzach's speech was immediately stopped by the blade pressed onto his neck. And of course, the culprit is the person he is talking to.
Seeing this, the civilians gasped in surprise from the scene. Arming yourself may be allowed inside a city, but unsheathing it and aiming it towards another person, in public of all places, will get you arrested. Aside from being locked into the slammer for a week, your weapon will also be confiscated. That's why armed or not, people who gets into fights only uses their fists and restraints themselves from drawing their weapons. They would still be in jail for a week, but their weapons won't be confiscated.
And thus, drawing weapons inside the city is a taboo. Even the soldiers on duty will be penalized if they drew their weapon without a good reason.
But the bigger problem is, despite being a part of the army and is allowed to do the said act, the one who is doing it is the general himself. And what's more, he is aiming it towards the adventurer's guild master. Among all people in this city, he should be the last person to do something like that.
For comparison, between a mere squire with a weapon and a general with a weapon, it is easy to determine which one is more intimidating. And for someone like General Gustavo to wield one, it will definitely raise alarm to anyone who sees it.
I knew it. Something is wrong, after all.
"I told you to shut up. One more word and I'll really slit that noisy mouth of yours."
Without even flinching even though a blade is pressing onto his neck, Ainzach wryly grinned at the fuming Gustavo.
"Hooh. Sounds scary. Well, why don't you do it? Kill me. But before that, look around you and you'll see what will happen if you kill me here right at this moment."
The general, despite being on the verge of exploding, followed Ainzach's words and looked around him. The fury on his eyes slightly dissipated after seeing the citizen's terrified expression from his actions. The ones whose gaze he rested upon scampered away in fear to his glare.
Probably realizing on what's happening due to his actions, Gustavo's attention towards Ainzach has considerably lessened.
Aiming for this moment, Ainzach reached out his hand and placed it onto General Gustavo's forehead.
"[Clear Mind]"
Ainzach's hand glowed slightly after he chanted a spell.
The general, caught in surprise, instinctively pulled away from Ainzach's reach. But it was too late, for the magic has already took effect.
"What have you-"
"Calm down. I didn't do anything harmful."
The general had a bewildered expression after hearing Ainzach's words, obviously at loss on the current situation.
"Phew. Seems like my guess is right, after all. Welcome back."
He was greeted by Ainzach with the same wry smile he had earlier. But this time, it has some gentleness on it unlike earlier.
"Ah, that dumb look of yours tells me that you're at loss right now, aren't you? Very well, let me enlighten you. But first, would you mind taking this thing away from me? I don't really fancy having sharp things aimed at me, you see."
"Ah, sorry."
General Gustavo pulled back his sword and sheathed it back into the scabbard. He also laid the mace onto the ground with a 'there you go'. Unlike earlier, every trace of anger in his eyes had completely dissipated, making it seem like that boiling rage earlier is just an illusion.
Well, that description is not exactly wrong, though.
"Everyone, please calm down! Everything is now under control! You can now go back and resume your respective businesses!"
Hearing Ainzach's reassuring words, the civilians somehow returned to their senses and bustled away. Some of them hurriedly walked away while most of them walks slowly, being wary for any sudden change between the two people who started the commotion.
Ainzach sighed with a face of satisfaction as he sees how the bustling atmosphere is gradually recovering.
"Now then, can you explain to me already on what's going on?"
"I know, I know. Well, from what I have seen, I think you were bewitched."
Gustavo's eyebrow slightly twitched from what he heard.
"Bewitched? By who? And why?"
"First of all, you are not the kind of person that would lose your cool for something so basic. I bet you don't even flinch even after seeing your soldiers get massacred during a war. That's why seeing you so angry means that something is wrong."
"Hmm. I can't deny that. After being on the battlefield for too long and seeing hundreds, no, thousands of my comrades die, I have learned how to shut off my emotions for my own mental and emotional health."
"Yes, that's right. And secondly, I recognized a certain smell."
Gustavo sniffed his arms and armpits from hearing the word 'smell'. Seeing this, Ainzach tried to hold back the laughter that tried to escape his mouth, and he was somehow successful in doing so.
"Not that, idiot. I'm talking about a different smell."
"Che. You should've said earlier. Don't make me so confused."
"You're the one who went ahead of yourself and did it, idiot. Don't blame me. Anyway, what I'm talking about is a sweet, suffocating smell that reminds me of vanilla."
"Sweet smell? ...Now that you say it, I recall smelling something like that just recently. But I can't seem to remember where. Hmm.."
While Gustavo tried his best to scramble around his memory, Ainzach's face turned serious.
"...It's from that wounded soldier earlier."
Recalling the same memory, Gustavo's eyes widened in surprise.
"That's right! Now I remember! How did you know? And why aren't you unaffected?"
Ainzach raised his left hand and wriggled his middle finger, emphasizing the ring in it.
"Mighty Ring. I found this ring on a castle ruins during my adventuring days. On this ring, an enchantment named [Unyielding Spirit] is imbued. It grants me immunity against any mental attacks up until 4th tier. That's why I was spared from the effects of that smell."
"You mean, that smell has a bewitching effect in it?"
"Exactly. There is a flower called Agitating Flower. It grows on the plains far south inside the Theocracy's territory. Just like how its name says, the smell of it causes an individual to be extremely angry for unknown reason. When grinded into powder and enchanted with [Preserve, it can be useful for certain situations. I used those regularly back on my days. That's why I recognized it by its smell."
"So that's what it is... Because of that smell, I felt extreme anger and decided to take revenge to the said perpetrator of the incident."
"Yep. Well, you should be thankful that I was able to spot it before it comes to the worst."
"Heh. Who would be thankful to you? Admit it that you did it to save yourself from me."
This time, of was Ainzach's eyebrow who twitched in annoyance, annoyance towards Gustavo's pride.
"Hey, hey. Look here. Stop being so full of yourself and just thank me for saving your ass. If not because of me, you would've-"
Ainzach's retort was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a group of horsemen swiftly heading towards them. Since they were all wearing an armour that has the same design as the Kingdom's standard issue, the two of them didn't get alarmed.
Those horsemen encircled them and the one in the head stepped down from his horse and clasped his hand over the other before giving a bow towards Gustavo.
"Greetings, general. My name is Lieutenant Lucas. I am one of the commanding officers assigned at the Southwestern Wall under the E-Rantel's garrison troops. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
"The pleasure's mine, Lieutenant. So then, what is your purpose for coming to me?"
"I have come to inform you about an incident. The person who reported us about the hostage-taking incident, the allegedly carriage driver of the hostages, has gone missing from the southwest barracks. The soldier who was guarding him at that time was also found dead, with his uniform gone. After deploying a search party, I have decided to inform about it to you. Bumping into you here by pure coincidence can only be considered as luck."
"W-what? The carriage driver is missing? What do you mean? Isn't he causing a havoc at the southwest barracks?"
"Huh? No, there's no such situation, General."
"What? Then, does that mean it is fake? That news by that wounded soldier?"
"Huh? Wounded soldier? I didn't receive any notifications about such occurrence."
Gustavo and Lucas can only stare dumbfounded against each other, both of them at loss in the current situation.
As Gustavo and Lucas explains each other's side and tries to comprehend the situation, Ainzach is busily pondering on his thoughts, trying to figure out on what's going on.
As if a lightbulb of inspiration has lit inside his head, Ainzach's eyes widened in surprise, which then turned into fear, terror, and despair.
Gustavo, who caught a glimpse of Ainzach's face as it becomes extremely pale, turned towards him and tried to check out what's going on.
"Oy, Ainzach. What's wrong?"
When he lightly tapped Ainzach's shoulder, his eyes filled with dread immediately turned towards him, and it made Gustavo flinch in surprise.
"Whoa. What's wrong with you?"
Gustavo felt a sense of foreboding from Ainzach's current form, especially when he started to breath heavily, as if he is having a panic attack.
"Oy Ainzach. Seriously, what's-"
Smacking his arm away, Ainzach leapt to the horse Lucas was riding and straddled it. After giving it a rather strong slap at its rump, the horse gave out a whine before running off at full speed, almost throwing off its rider.
Gustavo and the soldiers were left in the dust, leaving them at total loss for Ainzach's motive to suddenly run away like that.
Those eyes earlier. Those eyes full of fear. Why does he have those? And where is he going? That's the direction to the guild where we were from. Did he forgot something? Well, we did rush away after I stormed out of the place due to that scent from thatsoldier-
While he is busy pondering his thoughts in his head, the beginning of the tragedy struck at the same time.
BOOOOOM!!!!!
About just 50 meters away from their location, a pillar of flames bringing forth smoke, debris, and human limbs, along with a very loud booming sound, has suddenly occurred. The smoke and dust rose up high into the sky as if it serves as a landmark for the location of the tragedy.
The debris showered down onto the houses, pedestrians, and structures near it, destroying the structures and crushing down innocent human lives in its vicinity.
As Gustavo watches this event with a dumbstruck expression, an object came falling towards his direction and landed with a splat on the ground, splashing blood and gore around the place. The object bounced and rolled towards him, and eventually came to halt before his presence.
And that object revealed its true form.
It, of all things possible, is a decapitated head of a person. Not just any person, but the head of someone he had just conversed with earlier.
The head's identity is-
Adventurer's Guild, E-Rantel, 2nd Floor
A man with bloodstained leather armour is tightly pressing a squirming creature, which is a female human, against the wall while cupping her mouth to keep the sound of her screams from leaking out her mouth.
Behind them, lying on the floor, is a rather big figure of another human, motionless and headless. His head has rolled away somewhere in the room, hidden from plain sight.
From this figure's headless stump, blood freely flowed out, accumulating over time and forming a small pool of blood below him.
The stench of iron from the blood kept spreading out, filling the entire room with its stench. Because of that smell and the spectacle of a headless person before her, the woman struggled to get away and run towards safety.
For some reasons, she is currently naked from head to toe, leaving everything bare before the person in front of her.
As he continues to press her down, his hands travelled from her smooth stomach up to her ample bosom, playfully drawing his finger in a circular motion on top of one of them. This action made the woman in his clutches squirm even more strongly. As she continues to struggle to escape, her tears also continue to stream down her face form the extreme fear she is experiencing in this current situation.
"Now, now. Don't you worry so much. I'm just going to borrow your body for a bit. I just need to 'devour' you a little, you see."
As he said that, he smiled maniacally towards her, licking his lips in anticipation.
The woman's eyes widened from what she heard and concluded that she would rather kill herself than let this man have his way. Determined to at leastmake her death of some use before she kills herself, she tried to scream for help and alert everyone in the guild about the current situation.
But before she could do it-
"Mmm!!"
The mysterious figure strongly crushed his lips against hers, forcefully and passionately at the same time. Due to this, her struggling has become more desperate as she tries to move every muscle in her body just to escape. But no matter how much she tries to struggle, his vise-like grip on her wouldn't budge even for an inch. She can only shed tears as her cries gets muffled by the man violating her.
She felt extreme disgust and helplessness towards herself for being so weak at times like this, with tears of regret flowing out of her eyes.
Her nightmare increased even more when she felt his cold, rough hand travel her entire body, and she tried to cry even harder despite her voice being muffled by his mouth.
Due to regret, she began cursing herself for not being able to do anything, cursing herself for being useless, cursing herself for being a weakling.
But most of all, she hates herself for feeling pleasure from his vile actions towards her. She cursed herself hundreds of times as pleasure surges her from body due to his skilful touch.
Please! Please just kill me! Please just let me die!
Her hatred to herself has fuelled her desire to just die already. She doesn't care about anything anymore. She doesn't want to suffer anymore. She doesn't want to feel this pleasurable feeling from being violated anymore. She just wants to end this already. To stop hating herself. To stop feeling this helplessness. She just wants to die already.
Thankfully, her last wish in her life will soon come true.
The woman felt her body's strength to weaken steadily. Her entire strength feels like it is being sucked out by the man violating her through her mouth, sucking up all of her life force until there's nothing left.
A few seconds later, every single drop of her energy has completely disappeared. She can't even struggle anymore, no matter how much she tries to move her body.
Probably because he had already finished his objective, he let go of her and dropped her like an abandoned ragdoll. She didn't even feel any pain when she made contact with the ground. In fact, she can't feel her body anymore.
With her last remaining consciousness, she tried her best to open her eyes. And she immediately regretted doing so.
Her smooth, white skin has shrivelled up like a dried husk, every single drop of moisture gone. Her long, brownish hair has turned into white, similar to those old folks. Her muscles have also shrunk, to the point where she can't even determine if there are any left. No matter how much she tries to wiggle her finger, it won't move an inch.
Giving up her hopes to live, she raised her view. And what she saw made her want to scream her lungs out in frustration.
The man, the man who violated her, has turned into a woman. No, not just any woman. His body has turned exactly the same as hers. Her hair, her face, her eyes, everything. It was like she is looking at a mirror, or more like, at a twin of herself. And thus, she finally understood on what happened.
Full of regrets up until the last moments of her life, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep, never ending slumber.
"E-hem!"
Confirming that his voice has turned into similar as the woman's, the man now turned into woman smiled satisfactorily.
"Oh. I almost forgot to change into that one."
Saying so, he went towards the sofa and took the dress he laid onto it earlier. He was worried that the dress was badly damaged after that woman's struggle as he tries to take it off earlier, but it seems that it's not that much after all.
Confirming that, he took off his leather vest and bloodstained shirt and dropped them on the floor beside the pool of blood.
"Huu. Now that is comfort. Turning into a woman while wearing that vest was a bit uncomfortable since my chest area got tight. I'm glad I'm now liberated from that hardship."
While speaking his thought out loud in a feminine voice, he gently touched and groped his bosom.
"If I was a human, I would be quite aroused by this thing. But since I'm not, this is just a dead weight, a heavy baggage. Oh well, it's part of the disguise. For the sake of perfection, I will take on anything. Even warts and skin allergies."
He wore the dress up and checked his reflection to the mirror hanging at the wall. He twisted and turned, checking if there are any errors or inconsistencies between his new appearance against the real one. He even tried out various smiles and grins until he found the one he likes the best.
"In this form, no one will notice me as I spread this stuff all around the area."
From the leather pouch he brought with him, he took a glass vial filled with greenish smoke inside it. There are several more vials of the same appearance inside the pouch.
"But still, I still can't believe that these tiny things can blow this whole place up with just a little ignition. Gotta be careful with these or else I'll be the one that gets blown up. Whew."
Grimacing from the vial's content, he gingerly put it inside the dress' pockets along with the rest inside the pouch. All in all, there are about a dozen of them, all filled with the same greenish smoke.
There is also a folded piece of paper inside the pouch, and he also took it and placed it inside his pocket.
"Alright. All preparations, done. Time to start the third act for today's performance."
Saying that, he headed into the door and went out of the room, closing the door of the room tokeep the smell of blood and carnage inside it from leaking out.
He went straight to the end of the hall and turned to the right where a set of staircases is present. While walking normally as if nothing has happened, he climbed down the stairs down to the first floor of the structure.
He was greeted by the sight of 50 or so humans, adventurers, rowdily chatting between each other about various topic. Some are even getting heated up, turning into shouts and jeers from both sides. The people behind them, probably their teammates, tried to break away the fight before it escalates.
Due to the ruckus the said group of adventurers are causing, almost everyone else inside the same building aimed their attention to them.
He blended between the crowd so naturally that none of them even paid attention to him. Not that he dislikes it. In fact, he prefers it this way.
As he is walking by, he took out some vials from his pocket, uncorked it, and placed it around unnoticeable areas. He dropped them below tables, slid them under the chairs, and tossed them inside some rooms with doors wide open. He also left one of it inside the room where he was from earlier.
When he has finally used them all up, he headed towards the exit and observed the situation. After a few moments, he saw a faint, greenish smoke steadily spreading all around the place.
Concluding that it won't be long until the adventurers figure out on what's happening, he took out the neatly folded paper and unfolded it. Actually, that paper is not just a normal paper but a magic scroll. And in that scroll, a spell is imbued.
And that spell's name is [Decay].
Activating the spell, his hands started to glow a faint, purple light. Any object he would touch with that is going to rot and decay until nothing is left.
Grinning evilly, he touched the wooden beam from a spot where it won't be obvious, calmly exited the building and disappeared from the shadows.
Meanwhile, the wooden beam steadily began to rot, consuming it entirely up to its very tip. And at the uppermost edge of that beam, a flame lamp hanging on a nail is present.
After a few more moments, the nail was consumed, and the lamp slipped off and started to fall down into the floor.
The moment it broke, and the flames touched the greenish smoke on the floor, the countdown for the Kingdom's downfall has been hereby announced.
City of E-Rantel, Southwest Side, Residential District
Gustavo's knees weakened and trembled from the sight before him. The large pillar of pitch black smoke, the dust, and ashes all around the place, the screams of the citizens around him as they try to run away from this location, the cries of pain from the people who were crushed and impaled by the falling debris, and the heat from the flames coming from the burning houses around him left him dumbstruck.
These events all happened in a sudden that he was caught completely off guard, and his brain was yet to understand everything that is happening right now.
But most of all, the decapitated head of a certain person before him caused the biggest shock to him. It reminded him of his memory back on his golden days, where the allies he had gone through thick and thin together will just suddenly turn out to be already dead the day after. It was a painful memory, an experience that taught him a painful lesson:
The death of any person can occur at any moment.
After being kept at the rear line for 8 years, he almost forgot about it. No, he didn't forget it. His understanding towards it has changed. People die every day. Seeing one or two daily won't shaken him.
But in the battlefield, there is a big difference. That is, the number of deaths. The longer the war goes by, the more people die. Even just in a single second, the number of deaths is tremendous. That's how it is on the battlefield.
Gustavo was reminded of that fact by today's occurrence. The person you have shared your meal with might be the next one to be skewered by the enemy's spears. It is not a rare occurrence. He had countless examples of people he had shared a memory with to die the day after.
Gustavo knelt down with one knee on the ground and reached out for the head. Without any hesitation or signs of disgust, he reached out for it and gently closed its eyes.
"What a shame, mayor. I was even looking forward for the feast you are supposed to prepare. Being one of this city's biggest gastronomist, I'm sure you know your plate and you will definitely prepare the best dishes of E-Rantel. I'm not really a religious person, but I pray that whoever god there is out there somewhere, please guide this great man's soul to where it belongs."
Sending his sincere prayers for Mayor Panasolei with a hint of humour, Gustavo stood up and turned to his soldiers behind him, who are also in a state of shock.
"Listen up! Now is not the time to space out! A terrible incident has occurred in our city! As this city's protectors, it is our duty not just to protect the people, but also to save them during the times of need! Now, go! Help out the people who got caught up with that explosion and bring them to safety! I'm counting on you!"
Gustavo's powerful gaze travelled around the dazed soldier before him, directing his ability towards them.
"HA!"
All the horsemen got their senses regained after they heard General Gustavo's powerful, yet clear voice. Without further ado, they all set off towards the location of the incident to save the people who needs to be saved.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Lucas, whose horse was stolen by Ainzach, started to strip off his equipment and laid it one by one on the ground. He is probably planning to run after them and lightened his load. Face filled with conviction and with his sprit surging with power after hearing the General's majestic speech, he didn't even notice that his troops, his men, has left him behind, their commander, without hesitation.
However, his objective was soon cut short.
"Lieutenant Lucas, I have an important order for you."
"Ah, um, ye-yes! Order me as you see fit!"
"Very well. See this head over here? I want you to recover it and bring it somewhere safe for now, like at the barracks. We cannot bury an empty casket, especially for someone like him. As one of the commanding officers, I want you to tighten the security inside the city. Let no one come in nor go out for the moment until we finish conducting a full-scale investigation about this incident. If there are complaints, tell them that it is my order and they must directly bring their complaints to me. Got it?"
"Yes!"
After receiving his orders, Lucas looked around the place for anything he could use to carry the head with. He then found a cloth sack on the sidewalk and gingerly placed the head inside.
"General, I will now head to my office and do as you have ordered. As soon as I get there, I shall send some of my men to serve as your bodyguard. Do you have any other inquiries?"
"None. Tell them that I will be at the site of incident. Also, send another 50 or so and have them form a security line around the area. Inform all other commanding officers in this city to have their men to patrol the entire city and ease the citizens. They must've been terrified from that explosion. Prevent chaos from happening at any costs."
"Understood!"
After giving him a short bow, Lucas, along with the late Mayor Panasolei's head, jogged towards the Southwestern Barracks, where his men are located to execute Gustavo's orders.
Now then, what should I do. I have already ordered out the basic emergency response towards this kind of situation. After that, I need to have an investigation conducted about the incident. Man, I'm going to be busy again.
Gustavo's calm demeanour is just an act born from experience. If let his anger take hold of him, he won't be able to execute the proper measures and act accordingly to the situation. Yes, just like earlier. Because of that effect of that Agi something flower, he lost his cool and blindly charged towards the Southwestern Barracks, the place where the said carriage driver was located.
I really don't get what is happening. I'm not good with puzzles. If Diego is here, he could probably figure these things out. People like him and Ainzach-
His thought were cut off when he remembered Ainzach, who rushed towards the guild just before it blew to smithereens.
"Oh, shit."
Cursing under his breath, Gustavo, leaving his mace behind, ran at full speed towards the guild's location, dodging and avoiding the people who were running away opposite to his direction.
While running, he frantically looked around him, trying to locate Ainzach.
And then, from the corners of his vision, he saw a dead horse lying down on the sidewalk. It was the same horse Ainzach stole. On its flank, a huge splinter of wood pierced through, probably from the guild building which was blown off by the explosion.
He quickly headed towards it and checked its surroundings.
"Ainzach! Ainzach!"
He received no reply. The only sound he could hear is the cracking of the flames as it burns through the houses around him.
"Ainzach! Where are you!"
"Here!"
Receiving a response, Gustavo immediatelyturned towards the direction of the voice. But instead of Ainzach, it was a woman. Gustavo felt betrayed, but then he recognized the woman's dress. It was the same one as the guild's uniform for their receptionist.
With that in mind, he rushed towards her and saw that blood flowed out of her forehead, a partial of her dress bloodstained.
"Are you from the guild?"
"Yes. My name is Natalie. Ainzach-sama is injured, he needs your help, General!"
"Leave it to me! Now, where is he?"
"Over here!"
The woman walked towards an alley and gestured him to come forth. Gustavo found it suspicious but concluded that Ainzach might've been blown off towards that place.
The woman kept walking some more all the way to the edge of the alley and stopped there.
"Here he is."
Gustavo recognized a figure of a man lying face down on the ground, motionless.
"Ainzach!"
The woman stepped aside and gave him way as he knelt down to examine the person.
He turned the person around, then quickly realized that it is not Ainzach but some stranger he doesn't know.
"Hey, this is not-"
During the time he knelt down and inspected the person on the ground, he didn't notice the woman as she drew a dagger from her dress, slowly retracted her arms, and aimed for his neck.
By the time Gustavo noticed this, it was already far too late as the dagger is already very close, when suddenly-
BZZZT!!
"AAAAGHH!"
A flash of bluish light, followed by a loud, high-pitched screech from behind him, rang out in the air and broke the serene atmosphere.
Gustavo immediately jumped away from the woman and drew his sword. The woman, panting and seething in pain while tightly grasping her hand, glared at the sky where the flash of blue light came from.
Gustavo followed suit and raised his vision. Above them, a beautiful woman with long, black hair in ponytail is slowly descending from the sky, her brown cape softly billowing from the wind.
Seeing her otherworldly beauty, Gustavo immediately recognized her from the descriptions and rumours he heard from his men.
"Nabel? You're Nabel from Darkness, right?"
"What?! Why is that bitch here!?"
Hearing her vile words, Nabel released an immense amount of killing intent towards the woman, who shuddered visibly.
"Hooh. For a lowly maggot like you to call me that, seems like you need to learn your own place."
"Hiii!!"
The woman, who immediately realized on what will happen to her, turned tail and ran away from Nabel. But it was far too late.
"[Electrosphere]"
A ball of lightning, about the same size of a fist, formed on Narberal's open palm. After that, she hurled it towards the running maggot and hit her directly.
The woman shrieked loudly as the electricity burned her skin, along with her clothes. When it was finally over, she fell into the ground, still alive and breathing.
Seconds after, her skin began to deform, expanding and contracting, and her form turned into someone, something completely different.
With a thin, frail body same as a humans', as well as a bright, red skin, the creature's identity was revealed.
"A pseudo doppelganger, huh. How disgusting."
Lighting began to spark from her hands, and the same ball of lighting earlier began to form. But before she could fire it off-
"Stop."
A low, deep voice rang out, and Nabel immediately dispersed her magic away.
From the entrance of the alley, a fully armoured figure approached them step by step, his presence getting bigger by every step. Clinging on his shoulder is another person, dragging one of his foot just to be able to walk somehow.
Gustavo sighed out in relief when he recognized the struggling person. It was no other than Ainzach. His sword and shield are nowhere to be seen, probably dropped off somewhere. His right foot is also injured, a piece of bloody cloth tied around his leg.
"I'm glad to see you're well, General."
"Me too, Momon-san. For that person clinging on you like a cockroach, not that much."
"Hmph. Said the person who was desperately crying out my name earlier."
"Wh-?! D-don't spout nonsense! I never called for you! I didn't even look for you! You liar!"
"Haha! Look at how flustered you are! Are you that worried for me? My, how adorable."
"Che!"
Gustavo just shut his mouth and kept himself from further embarrassing himself in front of the smug Ainzach and the Darkness duo.
"You two seems close."
"WE'RE NOT!"
They both instantly replied in unison from Momon's comment, startling even themselves for it.
"Ah, um, sorry, Momon-san. I didn't mean to shout."
"Likewise."
"Now now, don't worry about it. Anyway, what should we do about this one?"
Gesturing towards the twitching Pseudo-doppelganger the ground, their expressions turned serious once more.
"This thing is most likely involved with this incident. Seeing that it has the same appearance as that lowe- I mean, -that female receptionist at the guild, I have no doubts to my conclusion."
"Woman? Which one are you talking about, Nabel-ou-san?"
"Ou-san?"
"No, it's nothing, Nabel-san. Just a fumble of my tongue. Anyway, can you please tell me which receptionist you are referring to?"
"I don't know. I only recognized her by face."
Receiving Narberal's cold reply, the light in Ainzach's eyes slightly dimmed.
"I saw her closely. I believe I can describe her clearly."
"Really? Then, please do."
Gustavo placed his fisted hand below his chin and closed his eyes. He is most likely recalling her image from his memory.
"Long, brown hair, small mouth, blue eyes, roundish face, average sized nose, pretty eyelashes, smooth, white skin, and a rather well-endowed bre-chest.
Gustavo opened his eyes once more after he had finished describing the woman as best as he can.
"It's Anna."
In a low voice filled with confidence, Ainzach identified the identity of the woman whose appearance was taken by the said monster.
"She is the one who brought that wounded soldier to us earlier. I don't know if you noticed, but aside from that soldier, there is another person aside from him who came to the room. It was Anna."
"Now that you've said it, I think I do recall something like that. So, are you saying that she has been fooling us all along?"
"Most likely not. I want to analyse this further in a peaceful environment. Anyway, I don't think this is the appropriate place to discuss about this. We're in a midst of a burning residences, after all. For now, let's lock this fucking vermin somewhere secure and let's head somewhere where we could discuss about this properly."
"I agree. We also have to properly heal your leg, Ainzach-san. I just wrapped that cloth for temporary treatment. We need to have it healed."
"Thank you for your concern, Momon-san. A potion or two should be enough. I have some of them stored in my office, so there's no-."
Ainzach's sincere smile and his gentle eyes suddenly froze, his face facing Gustavo but his gaze seems to be directed far away to the horizon.
His sudden silence alarmed both Gustavo and Momon, and the quickly inquired him for this occurrence.
"Ainzach? Is something wrong?"
"... office.."
Barely a mumble, the two didn't clearly hear his reply, so they approached him a bit closer.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"...gone.."
"Eh? Speak louder. We cannot hear you."
"...It's gone... The office... The guild... It's all gone..."
Ainzach's expression turned empty, and his eyes lost all its light. It's as if he is in a trance, his thoughts jumbled up and he is having a difficulty in comprehending it.
"Ah. It just sank in, didn't it?"
"Seems like it."
Momon and Gustavo nodded at each other, confirming their conclusion for Ainzach's sudden change of behaviour.
It seems that the reason for his abnormal, calm demeanour even though his guild has just been destroyed is because it has not completely sunk in yet. And now that it has finally sunk in, he was rendered speechless due to the jumbling emotions of confusion, anger, denial, grief, despair, hatred, fear, terror, and emptiness inside his head.
"If this goes on any longer, he might break. Momon-san, if you would."
"Got it."
With a swift, hand chop on the back of his head, Ainzach's vision dimmed and he lost his consciousness.
Azure Falls,ValeriaMountain Range, Draconic Kingdom Territory
A lone hippogriff soared in the wide, open sky. Down below, the towering mountains of the Valeria Mountain Range dyed with the vermilion rays of the sun as it sinks behind the mountains makes a striking comparison with the crimson, orange, and yellow tints of the sky. Along with the overshadows of the west side of the mountains, a very beautiful scenery is born.
If it were to be described in words, it would be called 'harmonious'. It's as if this whole scenery is a marvellous, wonderful painting that can never be replicated by any artists or painters in the world.
Filling his eyes with this beauty, the man riding the hippogriff had a jovial, blissful expression. The scenery that can only be seen from a high vantage point fills him with happiness. Along with the tepid temperature blowing in his face, nothing but happiness filled his entire being.
"Haaaaaah... How wonderful... This world really is beautiful..."
Spouting out his heartfelt emotions, he stretched out his arms out wide and yawned to his heart's content.
"Too bad we have to lay waste to this wonderful world. Really, what a shame."
Lightly tapping his ride, the hippogriff dove downwards with a speed that would make a normal person faint, fully confident that it won't faze his rider even for a bit.
The distance between them and the ground quickly shrunk, and the scenery below can be finally elucidated. The trees, the rocks, the plants, and other small thing can now be seen clearly.
Before them, a long, steep cliff about a hundred meters tall stretched all the way to the horizon.
On top of a portion of the cliff, a river with a sky-blue water flows to the edge of the cliff and creates a waterfall. Thus, this waterfall was named as Azure Waterfall due to its colour.
The hippogriff flew towards the cliff, straight into the middle of the waterfall, and charged without hesitation.
With a splashing sound, the hippogriff disappeared into the raging waters without a trace.
Seconds later, the hippogriff appeared at the other side of the waterfall and landed into a naturally formed stone platform leading to a cave.
The rider hopped down from his ride and stood on waiting. His companion, the hippogriff, got shrouded with a bright, white, light. A few moments later, the light dimmed away until it completely disappeared, and a completely different being replaced the hippogriff from earlier.
Although its figure has the same shape as a human, it is definitely a demihuman due to the pointed fox like ears covered in white fur on top of its head, as well as the nine long, golden fluffy tails sprouting from its waist.
Her straight, golden hair is cut short just right at her shoulders, revealing her smooth, alluring nape with just a small sway from the minimal movements of her every step.
Her clothing has the same base as the man, just slightly different. Hers is a clothing called a yukata, with bright, golden fabric as smooth as silk as the base and is securely bound by a pure, white sash called obi.
Her face has a tempting, seductive beauty that would make high ranking courtesans pale in comparison. No men would be able to resist her charm even just after a single glance.
Even just a single glance would drive any healthy men wild.
This overwhelming beauty gracefully walked towards the man in kimono with a klack klack from her geta sandals.
"Sorry for the wait. Well then, shall we go?"
"Yep. Let's go, Kumara."
Side by side, the two walked towards the innermost section of the cave.
Torches placed on the walls of the cave illuminates the whole place. The cave has a dome-shaped ceiling, smoothened and chipped in shaped by hands. That's why, even though it is a cave, it looks more like a wide tunnel instead. There are also no rocks and pebbles on the ground, which is also polished and smoothened to the utmost limits.
Various demihumans line up at the walls, all of them wielding various weapons. There are even ferocious monsters that were chained like guard dogs before the doors on the walls.
The entire cave is silent. Only the rattling of the chains and the clacking sound from Kumara's geta sandals can be heard. Then, out of nowhere:
"Since Raiel failed on defeating Momon, will you send someone else to do it next time?"
Kumara, who has been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up and broke the silence in the atmosphere.
"Nope. He cannot be underestimated. Momon's true power hasn't been revealed yet. I wanna see his true power first before I decide on what to do with him. If we act carelessly, we might find ourselves in trouble, you see."
"You're being that careful towards him? He's just the same being as some of those Thirteen Heroes, right? Even I can handle them all by myself."
"Tsk tsk tsk. You don't get it, do you? Those Players in the Thirteen haven't reached their peak of strength yet. If I remember correctly, the term used is 'max level'. Beings like them, once they reached their max level, are very strong. Yes, just like us."
Hearing Senshi compare Momon as the same level as them, Kumara's expression turned serious.
"Do you mean, he has also reached the peak?"
"I told you, didn't I? I don't know. That's why I'm going to find it out."
"And if he is? What will you do?"
"Hmmm.. I'll tell Him about Momon of course. It is what we came for, after all. All of these planning's and preparations is to root out beings like him who are hiding in the shadows. Plus, I don't know how many of them are out there. Remember that silver-haired girl who arrived later on? She's not trying to hide her strength at all, unlike Momon and that ponytail girl. Her aura is leaking all over the place. She is undoubtedly at max level. And if my evaluation is right, you, Kumara-chan, won't stand a chance. Even I might have to be serious. Plus, I don't know how many of them at max level are out there. Who knows, I might even need to draw my sword for the first time ever."
Senshi lightly tapped the sword in his waist with an excited look in his face, plainly showing that he is anticipating for that time to come.
"Heeeh. I see. So you're looking forward on meeting her, huh. Well, good for you, isn't it? You finally found someone who can go hand in hand with you. Well, sorry for being weak. Really, I'm sorry."
"Eh? Kumara-chan? Are you being jealous? Hey. Are you jealous?"
"Hmph. Whatever!"
Kumara turned her head away, her cheeks puffed up and her lips pouting in anger. Seeing a seductive beauty like her pout like that would make any men's hearts melt in cuteness.
Well, except for one.
"Ueeh? Why did you come to that conclusion? I am looking forward for the fight, okay? The fight only. I am not interested in her as a person, only as an opponent. Okay?"
"Liar! You always complain about being bored for not finding any worthy enemy up until now! Always complaining that you wanna go all out! You must be overjoyed now, aren't you? Fine, then! Do as you like! Go play with anyone you like! Jerk!"
"I told you, that's not it! Why won't you listen to me first? I only want to fight her, that's all. It doesn't mean I like her, okay? In the first place, why would I like someone else when I already have you in my heart?"
"Eh?"
Upon hearing the last sentence, Kumara's face suddenly lit up and her gloominess was gone, replaced by a flustered face.
"N-nothing! Forget it!"
"...I-is that so. I thought I heard something.."
The two spend the rest of the time walking in silence, unable to face each other due to a single reason: they are both blushing too much that they can't wipe off the grin from their faces.
Soon after, they have finally arrived at their destination.
Right in front of them, an enormous double door made of pure metal stands proud and tall, towering every being who faces it.
Two enormous beings reaching 10 meters tall stands before the door, with a mace made out of a whole tree in each hand.
Despite that, they only cover about two-thirds of the door's height, meaning that the door is about 15 meters tall. It really is an enormous door.
"Welcome back, Senshi-sama."
One of the giants gave the greeting while the other one bowed down towards them.
"Thanks. Are the others already here?"
Senshi, who somehow managed to recover from his previous slip of tongue, acted naturally as if nothing happened.
"Yes. The other 5 are already here, awaiting your arrival."
"I see. That's great. Then, can you please open the door?"
"Understood."
The two giants pulled the doors open, and with a loud, deep, creaking sound that echoes inside the entire cave, the doors have finally been opened.
Frankly, they would be able to come in even though those humongous doors have been opened only slightly. But being who they are, it cannot be allowed for them to pass through only halfway opened door. If they did, those giant will be harshly punished so they patiently waited until the doors have been completely opened before they pass through.
After giving the giants a smile of gratitude, Senshi, followed by the still flustered Kumara, entered the room beyond those doors.
If the size of the doors were surprising enough, then the size of this room is overwhelming. Although this is supposed to be inside a cave, the entire walls have been smoothened and polished until it doesn't seem to be made of rocks anymore. It has become as smooth and as shiny as a marble tile, radiating the countless [Continual Lights] in the entire room.
The room's size is astounding to the point where you wouldn't believe that it was made by hand. Although the aesthetics of the room is not that impressive, the sheer size alone would leave anyone speechless.
After all, who wouldn't be shaken if they entered a room that is 20 meters tall and with width that can fill up thousands of individuals inside it?
At the innermost area of the room, a gigantic throne sculpted from an entire boulder can be seen. The backrest is long and wide, almost reaching the ceiling of the room. Layered with pure, melted gold and polished to perfection, the throne glitters brightly from the room illumination of the light.
Flanking the both sides of the throne are dragon bones. Not just an old dragon bone, but two sets of complete, undamaged, and neatly attached legendary-sized dragon skeleton.
Upon reaching the age of 750 years old, fully-grown ancient dragons ascends to their final ascension, the legendary class. Legendary class dragons are immensely powerful beings capable of causing unspeakable amount destruction to the whole world. By this age, their scales' hardness turns into something that is equal to adamantite, the hardest material known to the entire world. A single breath attack from them could destroy an entire small sized city, or even medium sized ones.
And yet, those nigh invincible beings are reduced to no more than aesthetics, ornaments in this place. What's more, there are two of them. Just how strong is the being that defeated those with minimal damage could possibly be is unimaginable.
Wordlessly, Senshi walked towards the throne and knelt down beside the 5 other creatures who have been there before him. Beside the throne, another creature, a giant, walked down the steps and knelt down beside Senshi.
Except for Senshi, the rest of the 5 are alone. Their subordinated might have been left outside of the room. Only Kumara, who is Senshi's sole subordinate, followed him inside and also knelt down behind him.
And on that throne, the figure of a being is calmly seated as he looks down towards the all.
In one word, that being's size is titanic.
Not that its an exaggeration, for the race of that being is a Titan. One of the rarest, oldest, and most powerful being in the world.
The superior cousins of giants, the Titans. They are one of the rarest races in the world. In the entire written history, in the entire world, about only 3 of them were documented to be seen or encountered. Part of the reason may be because the written records were destroyed by the Demon Gods' havoc, but the fact remains that they are very rare.
No one really knows the reason behind their very small population. There are several speculations that explains about it, such as Titans are said to be gods who descended in the world. They were even worshiped back in the past, some are probably and is currently still doing the same somewhere in this world.
The striking difference between them and the giants lies in their appearance.
For starters, giants are basically enlarged humans between 8-15 meters tall. Their bodies' construction is similar to the humans', just bigger.
Meanwhile, Titans have four arms. Two on the left, two on the right. They can control it naturally and individually just like how humans do, just an extra set more.
Another appearance difference is their size. As already mentioned, giants are 8-15 meters tall. Meanwhile, Titans are 20-25 meters tall. That striking difference makes them visibly superior to giants.
Secondly, the giants' abilities and the Titans' are also different.
Depending on their habitat or their behaviour, giants gain traits that differentiates them between their kind. Giants that lives on cold places are called Frost Giants, while giants that loves to battle are called War Giants.
In contrast, Titans don't develop any other physical mutations or adaptations in their lifetime, no matter where they live. The reason is because they are completely immune to any abnormal statuses. It's not just a mere resistance but a complete immunity against the said aspect. Whether may it be weather, diseases, spells, curses, or whatever that can cause an abnormal status. They already have the protection against it since birth, so they won't have to evolve or adapt anymore.
The third difference is their lifestyle.
Giants lives in a colony, just like humans. They build houses or shelters and lives in it.
Meanwhile, Titans are pioneers and are natural loners. They love to travel on their own, living their entire unexplainably nigh eternal lives in solitude. They never settle down on one place until their last breaths.
Long story short, Titans are very, very powerful creatures. Hailed as gods, they can truly destroy the world if they come in numbers. They can trample anything and everything in their path, destroying any enemies that stands in their way.
Even legendary-class dragons, no matter what type of element or abilities they utilize, cannot win on their own.
And one of those almost invincible, godlike beings is calmly seated right in front of them. Radiating an aura that would make fainthearted beings tremble in fear, it was truly a monstrous being. Despite being an enormous room, his aura itself makes them feel as if they were being crushed by a physical weight.
That being who seats in a throne fit for kings is the master they serve. The master they swore their loyalty and fealty to, the one they wish to serve eternally.
And his name is Horogus.
Currently unknown in the entire world, he will soon become one of the strongest beings to walk upon this world. In the future, no one would not recognize that name, hailed as a God, and is one of the eternal legends.
Soon, he would be known as 'Horogus, the Lord of Destruction' , the creator of chaos and the harbinger of calamities.
The dawn for humanity's struggle for survival is slowly drawing close.
to be continued...
