Overlordly broken

by oblivon2991

"Everything has a beginning has an end" as the saying goes. In the last day of the popular VRMMO named YGGRADASIL in the notorious guild named Ainz Ooal Gown not only Momonga remained to upkeep and manage the guild. There was an another member who helped him and stayed with him until the very end. Let's find out what happens next. (Completed. Complete rewrite coming when ready)

10. Nasty, nasty Shalltear

Thank you for reading my fanfic and giving me a chance.

My mother language is not English so please be patient about the grammatical issues.

I don't own the Overlord(オーバーロードŌbārōdo?) novel or anime series created by Kugane Maruyama.

I would like to thank the wonderful job what the Skythewood translator team done with the light novel translation.

Without their hard and persistent work, I surely couldn't write this story.

Please review it I know I will make mistakes what I will intend to correct and try to learn from my mistakes and improve myself.

Thank you!

Now let's continue this little insanity of mine!

---

A figure with a seemingly unnatural broad-shoulder clad in majestic black academic robe what was trimmed with gold sat behind a big office desk. The desk seemed to make from the most valuable materials what a person can found.

The chair was also seemingly made from the rarest and most expensive material what only a royalties could allow themselves. It was elegantly crafted. The pillows what was tailored to the chair was royal red and it seemed very comfortable. Assuming the posture the figure who is sitting in the chair at the moment.

The room where this figure clad in black academic robe sat was similarly designed. Everyone who entered this office could see it was designed to a workplace to a very high ranked individual or more like a royalty itself.

The figure clad in black academic robes head was a bare skull. He was Momonga or now on Ainz Ooal Gown.

He was the current guild master the guild Ainz Ooal Gown and the leader of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

Besides him, a pale impeccable beauty stood vigilantly if you looked at her you could easily mix her with a goddess. Her hair was lustrous jet-black. She has golden irises and vertically split pupils; on her left and right temples are two thick horns protruding crookedly, and on her waist are a pair of black angel wings.

She wore a pure white dress with silky gloves covering her slender hands, and a golden spider web necklace that covers her shoulders and chest.

She was Albedo the Guardian Overseer of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

At the moment when we started this chapter and peeked in the working Ainz room. Albedo and Ainz just started the daily examination of the reports of the Floor Guardians and the denizens of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.

This was one of Ainz job since he and Esdeath arrived in this brave New World.

He spent his days with reading reports, granting permission for tasks, practicing his magic and make experiments with it, exploring Nazarick and solving minor things. He often smuggled books from the library of Nazarick.

The mentioned books themes were variable but most of them were themed around: How to Lead a successful business or how to be a better leader. He smuggled out these books due he is not wanted to show his inability to lead to the denizens of Nazarick. So he soughs to patch this inability of his.

He sometimes went out to the outside world of course with a heavy escort to inspect the work of his subordinates whose worked outside.

The only times when he was outside beside this when he masqueraded himself and Narberal Gamma to adventurers and they went to the Dragon Kingdom to become adventurers. His cover name was Momon and Narberal Gamma cover name was Nabe.

Very soon they become a famous adventurer duo who earned mithril rank in record time. This happened due to the Dragon Kingdom liked to hire adventurers against the raids of the Beastman Country. A country ruled by beast men whose raided the Dragon Kingdom to satisfy their insatiable hunger for food. The beast men raids have become more violent after each of their attacks.

The duo. Dark Warrior Momon and the Beautifull Princess Nabe become famous in the draconic kingdom.

The beast men feared them in the battlefield and the human soldiers drew strength from their mere presence.

Even the queen Draudilion Oriculus recognized their prowess and talent and sent them a great amount of reward and a thank you letter what she personally wrote and signed to thank their hard work.

He could do all of this things due his inability and unnecessity of sleep what came with his undead body.

So his days passed by this order. One after another.

He was totally exhausted of course not physically but mentally.

The Human mind was not designed for such things as constant wakefulness. Sometimes he just secluded into his room closed his door and just laid on his bed by doing nothing just staring his room ceiling.

The other thing what can relieve his stress was Esdeath media system what she gladly allowed him to use. Sometimes he just listened to some music, sometimes played with games and sometimes he watched one or two films.

Now he was very glad because of Esdeath's foresight. At first, he thought.

„Why you spent soo much money and resource to implement such useless thing. It is a wasted money."

But now Momonga was very glad because of Esdeath brought along her plan while they were still in YGGDRASIL.

He often felt. Without this media system. His brain would melt down in any moment.

Because of her hard work, numerous real life money and in-game resource spent. She could implement this wonderful system into her personal quarters.

Of course, sometimes Esdeath when she was not adventured in the outside world. She often helped out Momonga with the reports and the paperwork.

Both of them are really hated the paperwork! As every normal usual people should.

But now Ainz was the in the line who had to do the paperwork.

He and Albedo were inspecting the reports as we previously stated when suddenly they heard two elegantly spaced knock on Ainz enormous double door. What separated his personal quarter from the corridor.

„Who is that?" asked Ainz

„It is Sebas Ainz-sama. May I get the permission to come in? I have an urgent message."

„Come in!"

The two sides of the double door opened automatically as Ainz waved his hand.

A figure who appeared before Albedo and Ainz was Sebas Tian. The head butler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. His creator was Touch Me one of the forty-one Supreme Beings.

He is the leader of the Pleadies Six Stars. Although he is not one of the Floor Guardians, his power rivals theirs and he is independent of the Guardian's chain of command. Sebas walked inside Ainz suite then bowed before him and Albedo respectfully.

„Tell me Sebas. What news do you brougth? I gave you Sollution and Shalltear a mission. You have a mission or not?"

„Yes. Ainz-sama however, a terrible thing happened. I did not want to believe even when I was on the spot." He said with a respectful and sad tone

„ Tell me what happened."

Sebas bowed his head and started his monolog. „Shalltear Bloodfallen-sama has betrayed us."

Albedo eyes widened and her face started to twitch. This twitching what caused her sudden anger and stupefaction made her face totally inhuman and frightening.

If Momonga had still had eyes his eyes would widen too.

„WHAT?" he said this with an angered tone while he jumped up from his chair. Suddenly after a moment of anger, his passive skill kicked in and calmed him down.

„Did you heard what I heard Albedo. He said Shalltear betrayed us?"

„Yes, Ainz –sama that was what he said," Albedo said with a stiffed voice because she could barely contain her anger. But she was in the presence of the Supreme Being so she suppressed her feelings as good as she can.

„Sebas. Tell me everything that you know about the chase and the last position where was Shalltear was last seen."

„As you wish Supreme One!" he bowed

„Shalltear-sama, Sollution and me were on a mission as you assigned us."

Ainz nodded signing to Sebas to continue.

„According to my fast investigation on the scene, everything went fine until. The charioteer named Zack to ride us into his bandit friends raid spot where they tried to kidnap us. Everything went according to our plan. The bandits had been taken care of and Shalltear –sama made one of the bandits into a puppet what led her to a bandit hideout."

Ainz nodded again. „Continue."

„Shalltear-sama only brought herself with her two vampire brides. We lost the contact with her on this point because she went her own way with her two vampire brides and she said us to not interfere."

After a while, I went for her search. I could not locate her. Her vampire brides seemingly have been destroyed. So I decided the best solution is to return back to Nazarick and report the chase to you Ainz-sama.

„Hmm. Thank you Sebas you may leave."

Sebas bowed then left.

Ainz placed his skeletal hand on his chin. He looked very pensive.

„Shalltear is immune to the mind control effects. What should happen to her? Was she dissatisfied with me? Or there are other things what I did not recognize yet? In any rate, the best sollusolutiono recall everyone from outside. We need to investigate this chase immediately!"

Ainz looked to Albedo.

„How should I serve you Ainz-sama?"

„Call back everyone to Nazarick and Increase the defense of the tomb to the maximum level."

„I understood. I will do it immediately!"

„Now go. I have to make the necessary steps."

Albedo bowed then left. After she left Ainz [Messaged] to Esdeath immediately.

[Message]:"Esdeath-san! Come back immediately!"

[Message]:"What happened Momonga-san?"

[Message]:"Shalltear seemingly betrayed us. We had to investigate the case. Code black!"

[Message]:"I understood! I am going right away!"

After this, he terminated the spell.

---

Scene Change: Outskirts of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick:

After Esdeath left the fortress city E-Rantel she retreated deep into the forest near the city while she verified that no one is following or observing her.

She activated her [Gate] spell and teleported to the decoy forest where Nazarick resided.

The first thing that she saw after using her ability was a picture of a dense forest. There was nothing suspicious in the forest. It looked like any other forest. It packed with trees many other vegetation and animals.

The forest and the dense vegetation of the kind one might find on the plains, and it gave the impression of having been there for a long time. Many similar mounds dotted the landscape as far as one looked, giving the impression that they covered the surrounding region.

Of course, this was not the case.

This landscape had been created by Mare, one of the Guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Buried beneath these mounds and the forest were the surface walls of the Tomb.

As Esdeath stepped out from the [Gate] she started to sprint with a speed what normal human eyes can no longer follow.

Once she reached a certain point, the scenery changed, and she felt as though she had pierced some sort of thin membrane. The hilly terrain vanished, and the familiar scenery of their home filled Esdeath eyes.

This was the sign that she had breached the protective layer of illusions.

„It was almost four days since I wasn't here. Strange how people can miss things what they barely know." she chuckled

„I surely need a good bath after my long absence. I smell quite funny." she smelled into the air with her improved smelling. „Ugh. Stinky."

Then she entered the sole entrance to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

As she neared the bone-white steps of the mausoleum, she discovered countless forms before her. Suppressing her feelings of anxiety, she stopped before them.

"Welcome back, Esdeath-sama," said a definite sound what sounded like a teen boy. It was soon followed by a chorus of other greetings and welcomes.

The four maids behind Zero Rei were members of the battle maids (Pleiades), and behind them were a line of level 80 vassals.

Zero Rei wore a finely designed black butler pants with butter vest and a long shirt with a tie. On his hand he wore a pair of black butler gloves and one of his cybernetic eyes was covered with an eyepatch.

He looked like a teen whose face was always static and bored.

His hair was straight black medium length what almost covered his ears, his stature and features were cool and elegant, giving him an air of wisdom and proficiency.

„Ainz-san management skill surely improved in this last few days or it was Albedo who arranged this welcoming party? In any chase this is a bit too much." thought Esdeath then sighed internally

„Greetings everyone." Esdeath greeted them with a wave

I see Zero-san you and Demiurge-san had arrived back from your mission. How did it go?"

„Unfortunately we are not finished with our business yet. But after things settled in Nazarick we are going to continue it as we planned. Besides that, it was quite uneventful. The meat bags whose we encountered was very weak."

„I see… Anyway good work. I am proud of you!"

Hearing this Zero Rei face changed a bit for a moment. Instead of his always static and bored expression. A little smile appeared on his face.

„I am not worthy your praise, my creator."

Zero Rei bowed more deeply to his creator than before.

Then Esdeath patted gently Zero Rei head.

„Don't say such things. Hard work deserves praise. Now however if you excuse me I have an appointment with Ainz-san. He can be quite troublesome if you make him wait. So bye bye everyone. Oh, one more thing I almost forgot about it.

Can you give my ring back? It would be quite troublesome to sprint through Nazarick to reach the throne room."

Zero Rei bowed deeply and presented Esdeath guild ring to her.

She accepted it and equipped in her ring finger. With that, the ring disappeared from her finger. The chase what caused this was an enchant what Esdeath placed on her every ring and such shining jewelry or item.

She does not want to look like a pimp because of her nine ring of her fingers and her other shining items. Ainz looked cool when he wore them. But he was an undead magic caster whom such things fit. But Esdeath is not designed her character in that way and surely she would have looked ridiculous if she wore them openly. It was just not her style.

This ring permitted its wearer to freely teleport throughout the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Esdeath removed it during any excursion to the outside world because Momonga feared that it might be stolen.

She waved backward while she left her creation and the other vassals of Nazarick in the entrance of the tomb.

She could not directly teleport into the Throne Room, so she used the Ring's power to send herself to the room (the Lemegeton) which directly connected the Throne Room.

---

Scene Change: Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick: 10h floor throne room.

After Esdeath arrived in the Lemegeton she hurried in the direction to the throne room.

After opening the massive doors, Esdeath entered the throne room, heading for the crystal throne. As she walked, she greeted Ainz who conversed with Albedo.

„Greeting Ainz-san. I came back as you ordered me. Sorry for being late but I just could not risk to anyone follow me. So I had to leave the [Gate] from a little bit farther from Nazarick."

„Greetings Esdeath-san. We anticipated your arrival. Come we have much to discuss."

„Can you explain to me what happened? You only said in the [Message] to immediately come back to Nazarick referring to „code black" what is the highest level of alert and you also said Shalltear betrayed us. And then, when she betrayed us, how did Sebas — who was in the same place at her — react? Did he not betray us along with her? Please explain me."

„There were no signs of his betrayal. It just happened in an instant. I even questioned Sebas. According to him, they encountered a group of bandits. After that, Shalltear headed toward the bandits' hideout in order to capture them. Nothing suspicious occurred during that time, and she vocally proclaimed her intent to render loyal service to me."

„Did something happened what making her this way? What about the vampire brides what she took with her."

„They are seemingly destroyed. By whom is unknown."

„I see.." Esdeath looked pensive. „Did you checked the master source?"

„Yes, but come take a look. maybe I overlooked something."

Esdeath walked to the throne and she stood near Ainz. After this, he opened the Master source.

"Master Source — Open."

A translucent window appeared before their eyes. It looked like the console, but was completely different from a window had multiple pages within it, each covered in densely-packed characters.

This was the administration system for the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

It recorded the daily maintenance costs, the numbers and types of vassals present, all sorts of magical traps and gimmicks and so on. One could exert large-scale control over them all from here. While they had still been in YGGDRASIL, one could access this system from anywhere, but after some experimentation, Ainz found that in this world, the system could only be operated from the heart of the dungeon, the Throne Room.

With practiced movements, Ainz brought up and enlarged the NPC status page.

This page recorded the names of all the NPCs made by the guild members. After changing the sorting method from alphabetical (katakana) order to level order, from highest to lowest, their eyes traveled down the list — and then Esdeath eyes halted on a single spot. Then, she silently turned his gaze to Ainz bony face. With a wide-eyed expression.

Amidst a sea of names written in white, only Shalltear Bloodfallen's name was shown in black.

Esdeath knew what this change meant, but— She is not wanted to believe it. So she rubbed her eyes once. Because she still not wanted to believe what she saw.

She looked over it twice, three times, and after realizing that a chill ran through her spine. She is not wanted to believe what she saw. But it was there in the front of her eyes.

"...Is she dead?" she asked while she pointed to the interface with her index finger

"If she were dead, her name would have vanished and left a blank space. In all likelihood, this represents betrayal."

„Well. This is troublesome." Esdeath said with a calm tone. But Ainz knew his friend too well. Behind this calm tone was unburdened rage what you are not wanted to bring on yourself. If you know what is the best to you?

The last time when he heard her speak like this. It was when they were in still YGGDRASIL. A guild wanted to bribe her to betray her own guild. When Esdeath said no they started to threaten her with promises if she did not accept their deal they will start to farm her nonstop.

In response, Esdeath marched into their guild hall. Destroyed their guild weapon and farmed each member until she leveled back them to level 1 and after that, she continued until they dropped all their high data content items. After that, almost all of them left the game. So she basically destroyed another guild single-handedly. It was not the highest ranked guild in the game. But still, they were the guild what ranked around the 40-50th place on the server.

Ainz nodded "Yes indeed it is quite troublesome."

As Ainz replied thusly to Esdeath, he recalled the meaning of this change when he had last seen it in YGGDRASIL.

Albedo and the other NPC's called it betrayal, but that was slightly different from what the system was displaying. Indeed, broadly speaking it was similar to betrayal, but this color change occurred when a third party used mind control to make an NPC take hostile actions temporarily.

Shalltear and Ainz were both undead, which meant that they were of races that were immune to all sorts of mind-affecting effects. How had Shalltear been mind-controlled, then?

It was easier to accept the fact that Shalltear had simply betrayed Nazarick. For example, she might have been unhappy with her treatment and someone on the outside might have offered her better terms, thus leading to her treachery.

If that was not the case, it meant that something had happened when they had come to this world which was outside the scope of Ainz's and Esdeath's knowledge.

„Maybe this is some kind of special effect what can only found in this world or…"

Esdeath recalled Nfirea's face. Indeed, perhaps a talent-holder like himself with some unknown power could have affected an undead mind. Then suddenly she thought an another option. Her eyes widened.

„…or? What is it Esdeath-san? What's on your mind?" for a moment Esdeath face looked like who found the answer the question of the life

She turned to Ainz and started her monolog. „If we assuming that other players like us come in this world from YGGDRASIL there is a chance with them they brought those items what we all know capable of breaking the game rules."

„Do you mean.."

„World Items," they said in unison

Albedo suddenly interjected.

"If you allow it Ainz-sama. I would like to I propose that we assemble a strike force immediately."

„ I wish to nominate myself as the commander of this expedition, and if you permit it, I would like to have Cocytus as my executive officer and include Mare in our forces, Ainz-sama."

At this moment Ainz suddenly realized something. Could it be that the vassals who had welcomed Esdeath back were intended to eliminate Shalltear? As he brought them back to mind, he noticed that there were many vassals among them who were a rare sight in Nazarick, the ones who possessed holy-elemental attacks which were effective against the undead. And Zero Rei assassination skills can be quite effective against Shalltear because in his arsenal there was poisons and traps against every kind of enemy what he can encounter in YGGDRASIL. So there was poisons and traps whose can quite effectively counter and weaken undead as well.

These choices were perfect for destroying Shalltear. It was clear that Albedo was very serious about this.

Shalltear Bloodfallen was very strong. In fact, she was the strongest of the Guardians, barring Gargantua. Therefore, one would need the team members selected by Albedo to be absolutely certain of defeating her, or else one would have a very hard time.

"Do you approve?"

"No, it's too soon to come to that conclusion. Let us verify the reasons behind Shalltear's betrayal first."

Esdeath nodded

„Ainz-san is right! We had to investigate the chase thoroughly before we act. We can't make any hasty decisions. There is surely a reasonable explanation why Shalltear did what she did."

Albedo gritted her teeth internally. „Even now she wants to separate me from Ainz-sama critical situation like this."

„I understand Esdeath-sama." Albedo deeply bowed

If Shalltear was unhappy with how they had been treated her, then the same thing might happen to the other vassals. Thus, they would have to take the appropriate measures to avoid such situations in the future.

Ainz had to solve this problem not as a guild master, but in his capacity as the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. It was far too early to despair, and if — though it was impossible — Shalltear had actually been mind-controlled, then he needed to save her.

It would greatly undermine his efforts and his authority as a ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick if he could not solve such things.

Ainz could ask Esdeath to take care of Shalltear if the situation requires it. But what if this act makes him seen as a weak ruler who always is relying on his enforcer to upkeep his rule.

This and many similar thoughts stormed through Momonga mind only in just a few second.

A superior who put on a high and mighty face but did not save his subordinates while they were in trouble was not fit to be a leader.

"Then, do you know where Shalltear is? Have you pinpointed her location?"

"My sincerest apologies, but we have not confirmed that yet precisely. I considered that Shalltear might attack Nazarick, so I had her direct subordinates placed under arrest, and dispatched other vassals to reinforce the 1st Floor."

"Really now. Then, let's go visit your elder sister to see if we can divine Shalltear's location."

---

Scene Change: Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick: 5th floor

The 5th floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an extremely cold region that had been modeled after a glacier.

A bluish-white iceberg stood in the middle of an endless expanse of white land, like a tombstone. It seemed to glow from within and confused the senses. Snow fell from the heavy, overcast sky above, whipped into a mad dance by the freezing wind which carried frozen vapors on its gusts. In the distance was a frozen forest covered in snow, which looked like giants clad in robes of purest white.

The bone-chilling wind ruffled Ainz's clothing, which fluttered in the wind. Esdeath was walked beside him with her usual divine class equipment what designed to look like a white military uniform with a white military cap what was adorned by the symbol of the Ainz Ooal Gown. On her shoulder hung her white long coat like a cape.

Albedo walked before them, she led her masters to her sister chamber like a good tour guide lead his/her, customers.

Normally, there would be an environmental effect here which applied cold damage and slowed movement. However, operating it required money, so it had been left deactivated.

In truth, the NPCs were equipped by the guild members who designed them. There were only a few of them which Ainz could confidently say he understood thoroughly, apart from Pandora's Actor. That said, he had gone over all their data after coming to this new world.

The trio looked at the majestic two-story mansion before them.

This building seemed strangely out of place in this frozen land. It was like a house from a storybook and seemed to be surrounded by a fairytale atmosphere.

However, its surface was covered with a layer of ice, giving it an uncomfortably cold aura. In fact, the name of this building was about as far from a fairytale as one could get.

Its name was the Frozen Prison.

All of Nazarick's enemies were locked up here.

"Let's go." announced Ainz.

With those simple words, Albedo pushed open the frozen main gate. Though it was covered in a thick layer of ice, the gate still opened easily, as though it were welcoming a visitor.

A wave of cold air washed over them in the instant the gate opened. This was because the interior of the Prison was colder than even the freezing environs outside.

It was only after the chilling wind swept over her that Albedo began shivering. As Ainz saw this, he reached into his pocket dimension and withdrew a crimson cape, whose hem was decorated with flame-like patterns.

"Wear this, Albedo. It is not highly enchanted, but it should be enough to ward off the cold."

"To think you would lavish such a gift upon me! My deepest thanks! I shall treasure it all my life."

„Do you need one too Esdeath-san?"

„Nah. I am fine but thanks, Ainz-san. You know my abnormally high resistances and my aether body don't let me feel any kind of these effects easily. But thanks anyway."

Ainz nodded then they continued their little journey

"...Ainz-sama, shall I summon Neuronist? It is unthinkable that she would not come to lead the way, thus forcing the supreme overlord of Nazarick to advance by himself…"

Albedo broke the silence

"It's fine. Though it's not a bad thing, she talks too much. There is a matter we need to settle as soon as possible and I would like to avoid wasting time."

"Understood. Then, after all, this is over, I will lecture Neuronist and caution her not to babble too much."

"No, no, no need for that. It does not displease me."

"But…"

"It is fine. We love you all, regardless of your merits or flaws, because you were all made by our friends of the past. The fault is mine for being unhappy with such meticulously crafted people."

After a while, they almost reached Albedo sister Nigredo room.

"...Albedo, we're almost at your big sister's room. Are you ready?"

Albedo's flighty and overjoyed expression turned serious in an instant.

"Understood. Then, I shall retrieve the doll."

"Umu. Give it to me."

Albedo reached a hand toward the wall, and a pale white hand reached back out, depositing a doll to her hand. It was a baby doll, which was about the same size as an actual baby.

Ainz accepted the doll and looked it over without averting his eyes.

"How revolting."

The doll was a caricature of a human infant, its distorted features resembling a Cupid doll. Its large, round eyes were particularly disgusting. Ainz furrowed his nonexistent brows and directed his gaze to the end of the corridor. There was a large fresco there, painted on a wall which contained a door.

Esdeath overtook them. She pushed open the door, which slid open with no sound or resistance — and they were greeted by the sound of crying babies.

It was not just the sound of one or two voices. Nor was it the result of an echo.

Tens, hundreds of crying voices fused into one and reached their ears. However, they could not see any babies in the room.

Still, although they could not see them, they were definitely there.

In this empty room, bare of all furniture, there was a cradle, and a woman gently rocked it.

"It's about time to begin, no?"

"It should be. Please be careful."

As though on cue, the woman's movements froze. Then, she reached her hands into the cradle, and gently retrieved the baby within. No, that was not a real baby, but a baby doll.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong."

She shook it forcefully and then cast it aside with all her strength. The doll shattered into pieces when it hit the wall.

"My baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyy—!"

A sound of grinding teeth came from the woman, and with that, the crying noises from the floor and ceiling grew louder. Soon, the source of the sound revealed itself, and lumps of flesh which resembled translucent babies emerged.

"To think Tabula Smaragdina-san put so many monsters in here… how much money did he spend on this?"

„If you ask my opinion. Too much... He was always obsessed with such things. But this is one of the reasons why we liked him don't we?" Esdeath chuckled

„Indeed."

In games like YGGDRASIL, one could place pop monsters within dungeons by paying the appropriate in-game or real-world currency. However, they would not come back to life after being destroyed, so they were more of a luxury to players. Those players that did not focus on roleplaying would not emplace such monsters.

The fact that he had put in so many Carrion Babies here, despite their low levels, was a testament to the meticulous nature of Tabula Smaragdina.

"You, you, you, you, took, took, took, took, my baby, my baby, my baby, my babyyyyyyyyy—!"

Esdeath chuckled „She really resembles you Albedo-san."

„Wha... Really?" Albedo gasped while she flustered

The woman seemed to take the leisurely conversation as some sort of provocation and broke into a run, her killing intent driving her as swiftly as the wind. The woman in the black mourning clothes took unnaturally large strides as she charged, closing the distance to them in but a few steps.

The woman stabbed forcefully at Ainz with her scissors—

"Your child is here."

"Ohhhhh~"

She cradled her beloved child with infinite compassion, as though she would never let it go. Then, she gingerly placed the baby back in the cradle, before turning her face, shrouded as it was by her long hair, to the trio:

"Momonga-sama,Esdeath-sama and my lovely little sister. I trust you have been well?"

„I hope you are well Nigredo-san. Do you eat regularly? Do you have everything that you require?"

„Yes, Esdeath-sama."

she bowed her head

"It's been a while, Nigredo. You seem… yes, I am glad you have not changed."

The reason why Ainz could calmly handle this chain of events was because he had witnessed this madness before, in the game.

Esdeath usually just laughed such things in their old life what freaked Momonga out. So this was not surprised him.

„Back then, I was so scared that I screamed."

His guildmate said he had made a new NPC, and asked the other guild members to come see it with him. In the end, everyone had shrieked together only Esdeath laughed whole heartedly like a madman. It felt quite nostalgic now when he looked back on it.

"Nee-san, it's been a while."

Indeed, this Nigredo was Albedo's older sister. In other words, she was an NPC created by the player Tabula Smaragdina.

If one said that Albedo was the incarnation of his love for gap moe, then Nigredo would be the character that represented Tabula Smaragdina's love for horror movies.

Perhaps Nigredo felt that covering her face was being disrespectful to Ainz and Esdeath but on the other hand, they would have preferred her to carry on as normal.

Her true face was creepy, to say the least. It had no skin, only exposed muscle.

Her mouth had no lips, yet held a beautiful set of teeth. Her eyes shone brightly in the absence of eyelids. An observer might think her beautiful if they looked solely at her eyes or teeth, but taken as a whole, her face inspired nothing but revulsion.

"Then, Momonga-sama, how may I—"

"—Ah, my apologies. You were not in the Throne Room so you did not know, but my name is no longer Momonga. I am now Ainz Ooal Gown. Please address me as Ainz from now on."

There was a gasp of surprise, and then Nigredo slowly raised her head:

"I understand, Ainz-sama."

"Then, Nigredo, I came here to seek your help. Could I make use of your abilities?"

"My abilities? Is it alive? Or unliving?"

"...Probably counts as alive… should probably be living… I'll tell you straight up, the target is Shalltear Bloodfallen."

"The Floor Guardian? ...Forgive my rudeness. If it your order, then I will carry it out at once, Ainz-sama."

Though her voice seemed doubtful, Nigredo immediately complied with the request.

„Please, Nee-san."

In response to Albedo's request, Nigredo raised her thumb playfully before casting a variety of spells. There was quite the variety of them.

Esdeath watched fascinated how Nigredo locate Shalltear because not long ago she too asked her to locate Nfirea and she wanted to ask her the how the process is working. But she can't due to her working circumstances. But now she can see it.

It was actually quite simple. She analyzed the process step by step. She could replicate it easily. Not as thoroughly and effectively as Nigredo but she could be able to stand with her own raw version and then refine that from then on.

Now, that her Processor job class and her energy perception abilities let her analyze things more thoroughly through an another perspective. Maybe she and Ainz could start to establish theories and rules how their abilities and this world magic works really.

Like when humanity first started this process with physics and the environment. Now they had the chance, the ability and the resources to truly understand how magic are really working.

Through experiments and observation.

She saw with her energy perception how the magical energies are different from the simple raw energy and how the magical particles come interaction with the environment.

Nigredo was a magic caster, and she was one of the highest-level NPCs in Nazarick. Though one could not tell from looking at her, she had been designed to specialize in divination and information gathering. That was why Ainz had come here to ask for help with locating Shalltear.

Soon enough — as befitting a person with her skills — Nigredo swiftly announced the results.

"Found her."

"Put it on a [Crystal Monitor]."

She cast another spell, and a [Crystal Monitor] appeared, displaying something which looked like a vast expanse of forest. Someone in armor was standing amidst the trees.

Ainz praised her:

"Amazing. You discerned the location of the target with pinpoint accuracy. I'd expect nothing less of a specialized magic cas—"

As the image in the monitor became clearer, the praise vanished.

The person depicted there was dressed in a suit of red-colored full plate armor which looked like it had been drenched in blood. It wore a swan-shaped helmet which left only the face exposed. Plumes of avian feathers sprouted from either side of the helmet, while the chest and shoulders of the armor had been styled into the shape of wings. Crimson skirt armor covered the lower body.

She held a huge, strange-looking lance in one hand, resembling a pipette one might use in a science class.

This was Shalltear Bloodfallen. She possessed levels in Valkyrie — a divine magic caster class which specialized in fighting power — fully ready for battle.

"The Spuit Lance! That's the divine class item that Peroroncino-sama gave Shalltear!" Albedo exclaimed as she saw Shalltear's weapon.

„That one of the most troublesome weapon what I ever meet.

But it can be neutralized. You only need to poison your own essence with something that will not damage you but the lance could not convert to healing energy what essence it leached from the target to heal the bearer."

„ Or you need enough defense to neutralize completely its damage. Without it will damage you and it will leech the equivalent amount of life from you as damage it caused. So if it can't damage you it's leeching properties will not work." muttered Esdeath under her nose but Momonga heard it all thanks to his increased hearing

„Very thorough explanation Esdeath-san." nodded Momonga

„Thank you." She scratched the back of her head embarrassed

Ainz looked back to the [Crystal Monitor]

Ainz had enough divine-class items that he could equip them to every slot on his body. However, this did not mean that they were easy to come by.

YGGDRASIL's magic items were made by embedding data crystals into items, but not all data crystals dropped by monsters were equal. If one wanted to make a divine class item, one would need several data crystals which were classified as "high-rare drops". In addition, one would need to make the container for those data crystals — a sword, for instance — out of extremely rare metals and the like.

As a result, it was fairly common for even level 100 players to not own a single divine-class item.

The Spuit Lance which Shalltear Bloodfallen possessed was such an item.

Its name sounded silly, but its power was extremely insidious. When embedded in a weapon, some data crystals allowed their user to absorb a certain percentage of damage dealt and use it to replenish their health. The Spuit Lance was specialized in doing so.

"...Let's head out now."

"Eh? Ah, please wait! Since Shalltear is already fully equipped, it's possible that hostilities will begin on sight, so we need to select several guards to defend your person."

"We don't have time for that; if negotiations break down, we'll retreat immediately—"

[Message]:" Forgive my intrusion Esdeath-sama."

The one who [Message]-d Esdeath was her Aether Clone what she left behind to monitor the situation in E-Ranter.

Before she left the guild she told the guild master if they ever need her. Leave a message for her in the inn where she usually resided.

[Message]:"I am a little busy here. But speak your mind."

[Message]:"Yes! Someone from the adventurers guild looking for you. You said I let you know if anything happened. So I have taken the liberty to let you know. I hope I will not disturbing anything important."

[Message]:"What they want. It is about the events of the last night or some other work?"

[Message]:"It is about an another work. It concerns a certain vampire." Esdeath eyes widened

[Message]:"Did they mentioned about the vampire appearance? Like her hair color or her armor?"

[Message]:"No regretfully. In the message, there was a minuscule amount of information about a vampire who is appeared near the fortress city not long ago. They counting your appearance as soon as possible Esdeath-sama."

[Message]: „I see… Thank you to relayed this message to me. Go to the forest to the coordinates what we discussed earlier. We don't want to them to be suspicious about our true identity, don't we? And please bring forth Hamusuke with you."

[Message]:"Yes at once!"

„Ainz-san I have a few interesting clue what can lead us who taken control over Shalltear. But I had to head back into E-Rantel to confirm and contain the situation."

„It is truly necessary Esdeath-san. In a situation like this…"

„It is Ainz-san. My Aether Clone reported it and she said it was utmost importance. I trust my creations with my very being. She reported me soon the adventurers guild will send adventurers after Shalltear and we all know how that will end. Don't we?"

„Then go Esdeath-san. I trust your judgment just hurry back as fast as you can."

„I will try."

„While you will be away we will investigate the chase on the spot. Meet us in the spot if you finished your business."

„Very well. Now if you excuse me. I have things to attend to. I will hand my ring to Zero Rei to safe keeping." She bowed in Nilfgaardian style then left Ainz with Albedo and Nigredo.

After Esdeath was out of their sight she activated her guild ring and teleported to the entrance of the first floor. There she changed her adventurer outfit and changed her appearance to that what everyone saw in the adventurer's guild.

She had to keep up her appearances if she wanted to avoid the unnecessary attention.

She shrank around 160cm. She became more skinny and her skin changed to a darker tone. Her ears become more elflike and her red and white heteromorphic eyes with black sclera. Changed to likewise heteromorphic eyes but instead, her usual eye color she changed them to her adventurer self-eye color. One of them was purplish blue the other was emerald green with little yellow distortions. She changed her face to resembling that late teen's adventurer what everyone saw and know in the guild.

This kind of transformations was quite painful at first but for now, Esdeath became quite accustomed to it.

She then handed her guild ring to her creation Zero Rei who waited for her loyally in the entrance the tomb since she left. She handed him to her ring.

„I hope I don't make you wait too long. Please take hand the ring to Yuri Alpha Zero-san. After that. In three hours head to the coordinates what we discussed earlier. "

„ It was not fatigue Esdeath-sama. I am your loyal obeying servant I will do anything for you."

„Thank you. Now you can go. Do whatever you want until you had to go the place where we discussed. If someone asks you why don't you work say them you are on leave by my permission. "

„I am really sorry master but I can't do that. This servant can't possible rest while its creator working so hard to the betterment of her environment and home. Please allow me to refuse your kind offer."

„Very well. It is your decision after all. I authorize it. But now. I bid you farewell. I have things to attend."

Zero Rei bowed deeply reacted to this Esdeath patted gently his head. Then turned around and started to sprint away from the entrance of Nazarick.

After she left the illusion what decoyed Nazarick. She sprinted a few minutes. Just because she is not wanted to raise suspicion about Nazarick position. For mere human eyes she was barely visible but with her new body, she felt she barely jogged. Combined this with her unlimited stamina what came with her race this was nothing.

After a few minutes, she activated her [Gate] spell and teleported the coordinates what she discussed with her Aether Clone.

When she arrived Hamusuke and her decoy already waited for her.

After she exchanged the information what her Aether Clone gathered she sent her back to Nazarick.

After she vaulted Hamusuke.

Hamusuke shuddered because of the sudden weight.

„Milady you are really heavy. This faithful servant of yours could not possibly run back with you with his full speed."

„Do you say I am fat?" Raidyn said this with an overly exaggerated angry yet comical tone. Almost all of the people could see through this sarcastic comment.

But Hamusuke was not one of them. He shuddered again and postured himself in an apoplectic posture. „N-No Milady. But your armor and equipment are very heavy. I can't possibly mean to hurt you."

Raidyn looked at him a little serious then she can't keep it any longer and started to laugh.

„Oh, Hamusuke you really can't make a difference between a sarcastic tone and serious tone. I don't want you to carry me to the fortress city of course. I only want you to carry me after we left the forest. The forest border is close enough to the city. So you can easily carry me from then onward. I only push you to your limit because I want you to be stronger. Without barriers to fight off you could not possibly advance forward. Do you understand what I want to say? Do you?"

Hamusuke expression change from a desperate look to overly plucky. „I understand Milady. This faithful servant of yours does his best."

„This is the only thing what I expect from you. But now chop,chop. We have an appointment."

With that, they started to sprint into the direction of E-Rantel.

Raidyn and Hamusuke headed to the adventurer guild with full speed where the guild master and the other mithril ranked adventurers whose resided in the Re-Estize Kingdom already waiting for her.

---

Scene Change: Adventurer's Guild meeting room:

Raidyn entered the guild meeting room

"Come, come, come, Raidyn-san, pull up a chair."

Raidyn is not wanted to break the chair due to her Ultra Greatsword immeasurable weight. So she simply put her weapon down in one of the corners of the meeting room with a big bang the sword reached the floor.

Everyone eyes widened because they know only really heavy objects makes that kind of sound when they placed onto the floor.

There were six men in the room. Three of them were stout-looking men girt for war, while one of them looked similarly imposing despite his lack of arms or armor. He was the one who had risen to beckon Esdeath over. In addition, there was a skinny, neurotic-looking man in a robe, and finally, a fat man seated in the innermost part of the room.

Esdeath took a seat, under the eyes of everyone else, and then the standing man spoke once more.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the head of this city's Adventurer's Guild, Pluton Ainzach."

He was a powerful-looking middle-aged man.

He had an aura of a mighty veteran about him. There was no doubt that he was an excellent warrior.

"This is the Mayor of E-Rantel, Panasolei Gruuze De Rittenmeier-san."

Esdeath nodded, and Panasolei waved slightly in response.

He was fat — no, frankly speaking, he was almost entirely made up of fat. His belly was rounded and flabby, and his chins were overflowing with adipose tissue. The excess of fat made him look like a bulldog.

The hair on his head was sparse enough that his scalp reflected the light, and what little hair which was left had already turned white.

"Raidyn-san pleased to meet you."

Raidyn nodded then said „Likewise Rittenmeier-san."

Perhaps it was because his nose was stuffed up, but he made buhiiii noises when he spoke.

"And this is the leader of the E-Rantel Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer."

The skinny man — who looked as frail as a bamboo pole and seemed at least somewhat anorexic — nodded to Esdeath.

In return, Esdeath nodded back.

"And these three are much like yourself Raidyn-san, members of the adventurer teams which are the pride of E-Rantel. From the right to the left are Igvarge-san of Kralgra, Perote-san of Tenrou and Moknak-san of Rainbow."

Those three men each had metal plates around the necks — made of mithril — and each gave the impression of being commanding and even powerful. Their equipment was nothing more than junk in Nazarick standards, but they were still far above the gear sported by most adventurers in this city.

Each of them had different looks in their eyes, but they all shared the same common thread of curiosity.

One of them — the representative of Kralgra, Igvarge — glared icily at Esdeath and asked:

"Before that, there's something I'd like to ask you, Guildmaster Ainzach. I've never heard of the name Raidyn before. Since she's a mithril-plate, she should have done something noteworthy, right?"

There seemed to be a little hostility in his voice. However, Ainzach seemed to pay it no heed and cheerfully replied:

"Her feats include taming the Wise King of the Forest, as well as settling the graveyard incident last night."

"Graveyard incident?"

Unlike the confused Igvarge, Moknak of "Rainbow" exclaimed in surprise.

"You don't mean the incident concerning the appearance of vast quantities of undead?"

"Buhiii~ you're quite well informed. I instructed that the matter not being made public due to receiving some troubling news. Where did you hear that from?"

His words were frequently accompanied by a buhiii, probably due to a blocked nose or some other reason. Nor was there much intonation, probably because he was using his mouth to breathe. It made his words sound strange, as though he were reading off a script.

"Forgive me, Mayor. I merely overheard this, so it's difficult for me to tell you where exactly the news came from. In addition, I do not know much of the details."

The two of them looked at each other and they smiled as their eyes met. Moknak's smile was forced, while the Mayor's was uneasy.

"Hm~ it rings false to me, but forget it. There should be a lot of people who know about the undead running wild. Buhiii~ forgive me, I interrupted by accident."

"It's fine, Mayor. In any case, the Guild concluded that due to his contributions in that incident, Raidyn-san is a mithril-ranked adventurer."

"Just one incident? Just by handling one matter? No adventurer who's gone through rank placement examinations would be happy with that, am I wrong?"

He was not even pretending to be polite anymore. Igvarge displayed his naked aggression on his face, and then someone spoke coldly from the side.

"Hmph. Frankly speaking, I have to say that I'm not happy about Miss Raidyn mithril rank either, Guildmaster."

The man who cut in was the head of the Magician's Guild, Rakesheer. There was a derisive expression on his face, though Raidyn understood that it was not directed at herself, but at Igvarge. However, Igvarge did not realize this and smiled at Rakesheer in a friendly way.

"I'm glad you see it my way, Guildmaster-san."

"Ku, kuku."

Rakesheer's lips grew even thinner, as though he had heard something amusing. It was not a friendly gesture because he had a scornful look in his eyes.

"Is that so? I feel that our views are diametrically opposed."

"What do you mean by—"

"Really, that's enough out of you, Igvarge-kun. There're people in the Guild who feel Raidyn-san was worthy of an orichalcum or adamantine plate."

"What?!"

Igvarge's face seemed to be asking how that was possible.

As he saw it, Rakesheer's mocking smile grew so wide that it twisted his entire face.

"Raidyn-san broke through a horde of thousands of undead all alone— no, she had the Wise King of the Forest as well, for a total of two people — and defeated the people conducting an unholy ritual."

"—Anyone with some stealth training could do that!"

Rakesheer sighed, in a somewhat exaggerated way.

"Indeed, you are correct. Initially, I felt that this was not enough to qualify Raidyn-san for orichalcum or adamantine rank. However, the discovery of a set of bones bore testament to Raidyn-san's might."

At that point, Rakesheer turned to Esdeath in her metallic suit and hooded long coat, a stern look in her eyes.

"...That is to say, the bones of a Skeletal Dragon. Raidyn-san slew a frightening undead creature that possessed absolute resistance to magic."

"Well, uh, yes! Skel-skeletal Dragons are strong! But mithril-ranked adventurers can still def—"

"—Can still defeat two of them at the same time? As a magic caster who only uses her sword as a secondary weapon?"

"Say what?!"

Igvarge's gasp of surprise was joined by the other two adventurers. Then, there was a subtle shift in their attitude as they looked toward him. They were like inspectors trying to plumb the depths of a lake.

"We found the remains of two Skeletal Dragons at the scene. Could your teams break through a horde of thousands of undead, slay two Skeletal Dragons, and kill the hitherto unknown masterminds of this conspiracy in such a short time? Other adventurers were present at the graveyard, and they reported the presence of twisted spirits like Wraiths. Could you have penetrated such deadly ground?"

Igvarge bit his lip, unable to respond.

"Then, let me ask you another question. She is mainly a magic caster, which means that she would have been completely useless against Skeletal Dragons and their complete magic immunity. Under these circumstances, with only of her physical prowess … no, even with the Wise King of the Forest by her side as well, could you have made such a great accomplishment?"

The guild master bowed to Esdeath and said:

"Please allow me to thank you on behalf of the city, Raidyn-san. If not for your swift response, many more lives might have been lost. And while I can only speak for myself on this matter, you have but to come to me with any request you have and I will do my best to fulfill it."

„ If you allow me one question Raidyn-san," interjected Rakesheer

Raidyn nodded

„How could you defeat two skeletal dragons without using your magic? You are mainly a magic caster or not."

„As a guild master said Rakesheer-san. I used my partner to beat those dragons."

she said with a definite tone

„What partner? Raidyn-san you said before you working alone."

Raidyn stretched her hand a pointed to her Ultra Greatsword on the meeting room corner. „Rebellion helped a little bit."

„Ahh. I see. You mean your huge sword. What magnificent weapon. Is it enchanted? Such weapon really worth such strong name. I hope you will allow me later to examine it."

Raidyn lips curled in a smile then said. „Maybe later Rakesheer-san. Maybe later."

Rakesheer nodded in response. „Of course. The business comes first."

"Anyway. Thank you for your praises Guildmaster. But I was simply fulfilling Bareare-san's request, and I solved a problem along the way. You know I always said: the best customer is the satisfied customer."

Rakesheer laughed, and there was an undercurrent of respect amidst his laughter.

"It seems you are truly worthy of an orichalcum… no, an adamantine rank. To think someone could take such a mighty accomplishment and pass it off which such humility, as though it were nothing of note. I heard that you can use the magic of the 3rd tier as well… is that correct?"

„Maybe yes maybe no Rakesheer-san. I like to keep my cards hidden until I had to use them. But later if you want and I and you had a few free minutes we can speak about magic related things. If you want of course."

„That would be wonderful. „Rakesheer smiled widely

Igvarge's face and ears turned red as he watched the way Esdeath and Rakesheer spoke lightly to each other. Then, he bellowed:

"We could do the same thing if we got everyone together! Besides, it's her fault that she's Doesn't get any teammates right? She can't get anyone because she's no good!"

"I understand that you all value strength, but that is not the topic we are here to address, so why don't we settle the matter quickly?"

"Thank you, Mayor."

"Before that, shouldn't we show some basic courtesy and remove our helmets and hoods?"

Igvarge cut in once more with mocking words. He was not incorrect in saying so, but he was also being quite annoying. The other adventurers frowned as well.

"It's fine. This time, he has a point. I have been somewhat rude."

However, the false face what Esdeath revealed when she removed her hood was a beautiful one. They could barely see her face because of her hood.

„A-a Dark elf? A bea.." Igvarge cut his words and become embarrassed because of his sudden dirty thoughts

„Is that a problem?" asked Raidyn

„Shut up Igvarge! No, of course, it is not a problem Raidyn-san. Adventurers protect all humanity from monsters and as such, borders do not exist for them. As a fellow adventurer, I am ashamed at your griping about the unspoken rules which govern our guild."

As the voice castigating Igvarge's second interruption rang forth, he realized that everyone else in the room felt that way, so he reluctantly fell silent.

"...Well, it's because of this sort of thing that people have loaded opinions of foreigners and other races. So I thought this is the best option to avoid such things."

„I see. But back to the business."

"Well, it's because Raidyn-chan was late fashionably. But we happily listen once again the guild master description." Igvarge said with a much friendlier and honeyed tone than before.

Raidyn bowed her head. „I apologize again for my late arrival."

Esdeath lowered her head in apology. She had experienced this sort of thing before as a program engineer. In her past life, she had to meet his customers needs even when it was not quite possible. So he needed to apologize often.

Ainzach nodded then started his monolog.

"To summarize, about two nights ago, some adventurers patrolling the outskirts of E-Rantel encountered a Vampire. Five of them were killed by the Vampire. I have gathered all of you here because of that incident.

The sole surviving adventurer had been too afraid to give a proper description and had only noted details like clothing, hair color, and the like. However, the thing that had stood out most clearly was "silver hair and a large mouth."

„This is definitely Shalltear by description. I can't let the guild send another enforcer against Shalltear. It would cause world wide panic and maybe blew Nazarick anonymity. As a matter of that girl. I or Ainz-san had to alter her memories. But I can do that later."

"I see. I'm not too clear about this incident myself, but I would be wasting everyone's time if I asked for a full explanation. I'll ask if anything I don't understand comes up."

"Understood. Then, gentlemen, do you have any questions?"

"When you say 'the outskirts', where exactly do you mean by that?"

"It's a place about three hours' walk from the north gate. There's a large patch of a forest there, and the incident took place within the forest."

"What rank were those adventurers?"

"They were iron plates."

"...I'd like to ask, but why have you brought so many adventurers on board for just one Vampire? Is there going to be a competition of some sort?"

"He's got a point. Platinum-ranked adventurers can deal with a Vampire. I have no idea why you've gathered so many mithril-ranked adventurers."

"The answer for that is simple: because that Vampire is very powerful."

Everyone looked to Rakesheer in surprise as he interrupted.

"A very powerful Vampire…"

"Could it be you're trying to say that the opposition is a high-end Vampire… the Vampire Lord 'Landfall' who was mentioned in the Saga of the Thirteen Heroes?"

"How would you describe it, in terms of the size of a comparable military force?"

"A military force… that's a somewhat tricky question."

Rakesheer racked his brain and then spoke again.

"Let me get this out of the way first, this is just my personal opinion and it's by no means a final, unassailable assessment. If you want to think of it in terms of a group of fighting men, given the fact that the undead does not tire, nor do they eat or drink… I guess you could compare it to an army of ten thousand."

"Say what?!"

As though picking up the baton from Rakesheer, Ainzach continued speaking:

"To continue where Theo left off, only about 20% of the adventurers in the Kingdom can be considered to be at or above platinum-rank. There are around 3000 adventurers in the Kingdom, so among the 8 million people of the Kingdom, there are only about 600 platinum-ranked or higher adventurers. Do you understand now? Platinum-ranked adventurers are that rare."

"Is that so. I wish I did not understand, but I do. Then, with this situation in mind, I would like to ask you adventurers: are you confident in eliminating this creature? If not… well, then how about asking the Warrior-Captain Gazef-kun for help?"

Gazef Stronoff. He was the mightiest warrior of the Kingdom, superior even to adamantine-ranked adventurers. A man that was arguably the Kingdom's ace in the hole.

However, Ainzach immediately shot that proposal down.

"It may be true that no warrior is capable of beating Stronoff-dono. However, if Stronoff-dono faced a party of adventurers that was weaker than himself, the victors would undoubtedly be the adventurers. This is because adventuring parties have many methods of attack and defense — to continue the example of using Stronoff-san, the party can use four times the amount of magic and martial arts as Stronoff-san. The impact of this difference is particularly marked when facing monsters who possess unique special abilities."

"The ideal solution would be to recruit orichalcum and adamantine-ranked adventurers for this. But before it comes to that, I would like the strongest adventurers in our city to set up a defensive line to keep the Vampire from invading us."

One could follow an army of ten thousand by their tracks and evade them easily. In addition, prodigious quantities of supplies would be needed to keep such an army on the march, so it would be difficult for them to do battle for long.

However, what if that army was compressed into a single person? And what if that person was able to use [Invisibility] or was adept at covert operations?

"Well, in lieu of that, what do you think of everyone just deploying together?"

The adventurers promptly shot down the Mayor's proposal.

"I doubt that would be possible. In order to work as closely as that, we'll need to craft intricate battle plans, but the more complex the plan, the more likely it will go awry when something unexpected occurs. Rather than risk that, it would be better to not work together and just operate independently. Speaking of which, why did that Vampire appear there? What news does the Guild have about it?"

"About that… since the enemy is a powerful Vampire, the Guild does not have the full details on it at the moment. Just as we were about to put a scouting party together, the incident from last night occurred, which dispersed our forces."

"...I see. So you're worried that these two incidents are linked?"

"Indeed, that is so."

"Didn't Raidyn-shi take care of the graveyard incident? Was there anything on the bodies of the masterminds that would tie the two events together?"

"From their belongings, we learned the enemy was from Zuranon."

The faces of the three adventurers turned grim.

However, Esdeath already heard that name from Clementine. So she could easily answer their question when they ask her about it.

"That undead-controlling secret society? I guess they really are linked with that Vampire."

"So their aim was to trigger incidents within and outside the city to split our forces? Or are both of them decoys, and is the real plan about to begin… this is terrible."

Allowing Shalltear's appearance to become public knowledge would be a very bad thing. Although Esdeath did not know exactly how it would play out, allowing Shalltear's current appearance to disseminate through the city — perhaps even through the nation — would make covert actions very difficult in future.

„You are all wrong. The vampire has nothing to do with the necromancer band named Zuranon."

"Why is that, Raidyn-kun? Do you know something about this?"

„I know that vampire. I chased the creature for a long time. Through many countries and landscapes. I have a contract to eliminate her so as every professional I collect information about her and then hunt her down. She is a very crafty creature. Do not underestimate her!"

"What?!"

„The truth is I became an adventurer to collect information about them."

"Them? Raidyn-kun, did you just say 'them'?"

"Yes, I did. There are two of these Vampires, and one of them, the silver-haired female, is known as Seras Victoria." „Heh. Hellsing reference."

"Is, is that so? So Seras Victoria her name.. Since we know that female Vampire's name… It's about time you told us your true identity, no? Which country are you—"

„As I said before. I came here to collect information about those vampires. I have no allegiance with countries. Which country I am from? Let's just say. I am from everywhere and nowhere. I am a wanderer a witcher."

„Witcher? If you allow me Raidyn-san the question? What is a witcher?"

Raidyn smiled bitterly. „A witcher or hexer as many people call us is someone who has undergone extensive training, ruthless mental and physical conditioning in preparation for becoming an itinerant monster slayer for hire. We are independent of every country and we remain neutral in every conflict what does not threaten the world with extinction."

„If you allow a few more question Raidyn-san. Where is the school where you learned your profession? Who is the contractor who placed the bounty on the head of the vampires and how many Witcher roams the world now?"

„The coordinates of the witcher schools are highly guarded secrets. The contractor wishes to remain anonymous. I can only say one thing. The contractor is a very high ranked person in the land where I came from. And lastly as far as I know I am the last Witcher. But I am not sure about it because of our wandering and lonely lifestyle.

So maybe there is a few of us out there."

The Mayor nodded slowly, and as Ainzach saw this he bit his lip and looked intently at Esdeath.

"I will handle the reconnaissance. If I find the Vampire there, I will slay it on the spot."

Though they could not see her face fully, they could feel the confidence and determination brimming in her voice.

"Then, ah, the other teams will—"

"—Will not be needed. If they come that will only cause unnecessary bloodshed. You can't fight a high ranked vampire in groups because whose untrained to fight them becomes either the vampire puppet or a light snack for them." she pointed to the chase

With this, she waved off all opposition to that plan.

That gesture was not a wise one, not among fellow adventurers of equivalent rank. However — all the adventurers here were grizzled veterans of countless life-and-death struggles. They could sense that her attitude was not born of recklessness, narcissism or pride, but had been cold, carefully calculated. At the same time, it spoke volumes of Raidyn's own strength and competence in the theme that she could make such a statement.

It seemed as though her petite figure was growing before their eyes, and the pressure they felt made them imagine that the room itself was shrinking.

This woman was a hero.

Ainzach choked her words back, and then took several deep breaths. In fact, everyone present was doing the same, and the Mayor even opened up his collar, his sweat flowing freely.

In a quiet voice, as though whispering into Raidyn's ear, Ainzach asked:

"—What about your payment?"

„We will discuss it later after I defeated the vampire. Until that, I would like an orachiulum rank at very least. That would make my information gathering more easier in the future."

Everyone present gasped in realization.

Adventurers did not work for cities or countries, but this city did not have any orichalcum-ranked adventurers at the moment. If she became one of the highest-ranked adventurers of this city, everybody would know her name. In addition, the rarity of orichalcum-ranked adventurers meant that their fame would spread even further. In this way, people would come to her with dangerous missions, and it would allow her to learn about powerful Vampires.

A chair screeched, and as all eyes went to the source of the sound — needless to say, it was Igvarge, who had been looking Esdeath all this while.

"I can't bring myself to let you go alone. Be-besides, it's still not clear if that Vampire is as strong as you say. And what if the vampire is stronger than you anticipated. You will need help! We're going with you!"

„This is strange. Firstly time this guy was very rude and hostile. What changed him so drastically?" thought Esdeath

The reason why Igvarge could still muster up his courage to Esdeath despite being shaken to the core was pure because of because she fell in love in Esdeath when she saw her face and he wanted to Esdeath acknowledge him.

However, his fellow adventurers did not approve of his attitude. Perote spoke in a barbed tone:

"Igvarge, that tone of yours—"

"—It's fine."

Esdeath readily agreed to the request. However, there was no kindness in that reply; the following words were cold and ruthless.

"But I warn you… you most likely die if you come with me. Your entire party might be killed as well, for all I know."

That matter-of-fact tone did not sound like a threat, nor did it sound like a joke. It was a flat prediction of the future, which sent a shudder through Igvarge's body. In fact, everyone present was chilled to the bone by that statement.

„That's my only warning for you. Witchers do not accidentally work alone. But if you insist you can come along. I don't really care." she said with a neutral tone

"Of, of course!" he said joyfully

He was bluffing, but he could not back down here. He could not run away from this. How could he, an adventurer of equal rank, disgrace himself before someone in power like the Mayor? And what could Raidyn think about him if he back down now?

"It's all well and good to be confident, but is there any basis for that confidence? Of course, we know that you are strong, but surely you must know that the foe is no pushover either. Frankly speaking, we're not sure if we can leave everything to you either. If… if for some reason you're defeated, we need to think about what to do after that..."

„I have a plan in every occasion."

"What is your plan?"

Esdeath pulled out her black katana from its sheath and showed it to the intrigued Ainzach.

The sword was exquisitely forged and black and red lighting flashed around it.

"...It can't be! It's impossible, unbelievable…" Rakesheer shouted, before panting:

"I once read an old tome… they say that the Theocracy possesses powerful magic items which they consider their national treasures. This is one of them… a high-quality item what can hold magic within itself. How did you come to possess such a thing?!"

„This sword contains a spell strength equivalent to the 8th tier."

„What?! What did you just say?!"

The exclamations that Esdeath had evoked from Rakesheer were like the cries of a strangled chicken. Even the man's face had distorted to quite a frightening extent.

Nor was it just Rakesheer who was shocked. Everyone — no, everybody except the Mayor had an expression of fear or surprise on their stunned faces. Any adventurer with even a meager bit of experience could understand the value of the item which Esdeath had shown to them.

"...The 8th tier… you're lying, right?"

"...It might be a fairytale, but if it's really magic of that level… it would be nothing short of mythical."

"Are you kidding me?! What kind of nonsense is that?!"

The three adventurers — even Igvarge — stared intently at the sword within Raidyn armored hand, with frightened looks on their faces.

"Forgive me! Could, could I inspect that sword for a bit?"

"Why?"

"That… it's just a magic caster's curiosity. I vow I will not do anything strange to it! If you wish anything as collateral, I can pledge everything on my person, for instance, this belt—"

Rakesheer was already unbuckling his belt before he finished. Esdeath replied in an annoyed tone:

"I understand, there's no need for that sort of thing. Here, have a look."

„Kukuku. I enchanted my sword previously with [Greater False Data] to only show the ones its true properties whom I want everyone else who try to observe it without my permission only sees a little portion of its true power." thought Esdeath while she smirked inwardly

"Ah, sorry about this, but may I touch it too?"

"Me too!"

The black katana passed through several hands before reaching Rakesheer, who stared dumbly at it, like a woman who had finally obtained a jewel she had long thirsted for. No, one could say that he was a boy who had found a treasure he had always sought.

"Amazing… ah, yes, Raidyn-dono, may I cast a spell on it?"

„Go ahead."

"[Appraisal Magic Item], [Detect Enchant]."

The look on the man's face grew even more exaggerated after he cast those spells, and then—

"Awesome!"

—There was no trace of the man from earlier. Instead, his innocent eyes radiated a look of pure delight, and even his tone was different like he was a teenager again.

"It's true! It's really 8th-tier magic! That's all my spells can tell me… but it's awesome, really awesome!"

"Don't lick it, please. Don't lick it please!" Esdeath swore internally

"Get, get a grip! What the hell are you doing!"

Ainzach rose to his feet and drew close to Rakesheer, disturbed by his friend's sudden bout of insanity. Indeed, everyone was looking at him with an expression of shock or disgust. Such behavior was unsightly, coming from a man so highly-placed in the city.

"You idiot! How could anyone get a grip? This is seriously awesome! It's got an 8th-tier spell inside it, though I don't know what spell it is!"

"Raidyn-dono! Where, where did you find this sword?! Tell me!"

„It was in the possession one of the monsters what I slew during one of my contracts. And answering the question what spell it contains. Well, I am not entirely sure about the sword real ability but after I inspected its enchantment thoroughly I discovered one of its ability. It can store raw magical power. The sword is enchanted to be able to store the raw magical power what the bearer is channeling to it. After a while, this charge can be released in a form of a devastating attack."

„Amazing! Incredible! To think about such weapon can exist. This sword must be what you can quite easily mention amongst the legendary weapons what the Black Knight bore."

„Where did you get such contract Raidyn-san?"

„Sorry trades secret," she said blandly

„I see…" Rakesheer said with a disappointed tone

„Can I have it back?" asked Esdeath

Rakesheer bit his lip as he heard Esdeath's matter-of-fact reply.

„Okay…" (insert the Ok.. guy meme face.)

Rakesheer looked around, then reluctantly returned the sword to Esdeath. As he watched Esdeath sheath the sword back to its sheath, he suddenly exclaimed:

"Back to the point, I — I oppose Raidyn-san going forth to slay the Vampire!"

A shocked silence settled over the room once more and Ainzach palmed his face. He grimaced, and then asked in a severe tone:

"...Why the sudden opposition? Well, I already know why, but still — I have to ask."

"Oh, that… it's because it would be too much of a waste."

„He's gone completely insane," Ainzach decided as he looked to his friend and decided to discard his opinion.

"Well then, leaving Rakesheer's words aside…"

"Please wait! The magic of the 8th tier is practically of a divine level! How can you use such a valuable weapon on a mere Vampire?"

„Rakesheer-san if you may allow me," interjected Esdeath. „As I said before the sword can be rechargeable through channeling magic in it. Of course, it will take some time but it will be not destroyed by the process. So you do not have to worry about the sword integrity."

„I see… Then I am relieved. Thank you for your calming words Raidyn-dono."

Raidyn words returned Rakesheer to his senses. The slight blush in his cheeks was probably due to embarrassment at his earlier actions.

"...Then, Raidyn-chan, we'll be leaving everything to you."

Raidyn just nodded

Raidyn stood up immediately „ I am going right now. Vampires suffer a penalty of slowed movement under daylight."

"Penalty? Eh, a weakness, then? They do move slowly in the day. Our side will be ready soon."

"Then, we'll meet at E-Rantel's main gate in an hour."

"One hour? Isn't that a bit too soon? There's still a long time before sunset."

„There is no time. The battle can be prolonged util the night advent. Then we will lose that little advantage what we have now. Time is short. Decide. Either you prepare yourself under one-hour and come with me. Or I am departing alone. The choice is yours."

"I get it. We'll prepare ourselves right away."

" Everyone else defends E-Rantel until I return. I do not wish to return after not having encountered the Vampire to find that a troublesome situation has developed. That will be quite disappointing."

Said Raidyn while headed outside of the guild meeting. While she headed outside she grabbed her Ultra Greatsword from one of the corners then left the room.

In the end, there were only three people left in the room; Panasolei, Ainzach, and Rakesheer, who still had a lovestruck expression on his face.

"I apologize for showing you that embarrassing side of myself."

"It's fine, don't worry."

Rakesheer also felt that it had been quite an unsightly display on his part, but even so, he found it difficult to conceal his excitement.

He had met Lizzie the herbalist some time ago, and she had eagerly shared the matter of the potion with him. As he listened to her excited exposition back then, he had regarded her with cool eyes and wondered if it was truly worth shouting about. Now, however, he wanted to laugh at his past self.

He now understood the uncontrollable surprise and emotional upheaval one felt when an unattainable object appeared before one's eyes.

"Was that truly such a valuable item?"

Rakesheer fell silent. This was because he was struggling to suppress the boyish glee which was welling up within him.

"Yes. That sword could change everything we know about magic, enchanting, and smithing. The fact is, magic above the 6th tier only resides in the legends. That was the first time I personally saw something like that."

"Then, can we trust her?"

"Do you think she's in cahoots with the Vampire?"

"I think the possibility of that is very low. What do you think, Rakesheer?"

"I agree. There are better ways to pretend to kill the Vampire and then conceal her."

"If wealth was her aim, she could sell that sword and never have to worry about money for the rest of her life. Someone as strong as her could rise in fame quickly enough. The fact is, quite a few of the city guard are already calling her a legendary hero."

Panasolei nodded in agreement.

---

Scene Change: Streets of E-Rantel:

Esdeath sped through the streets while she riding on Hamusuke in a napping position.

The warm wind touched her bare face, blowing over the location which corresponded to her heteromorphic eyes.

Looking down, into the sidelines she saw the earth flying past her beneath Hamusuke's feet, like a loosed arrow.

Although Hamsuke could maintain its balance well, it was still a Djungarian Hamster, albeit a gigantic one. Although Hamusuke body structure made almost impossible you to ride him as a normal person. She could easily keep her napping position on the back of Hamusuke.

„It'll be easy to swing my Ultra Greatsword while riding Hamsuke; It would be quite terrifying to the enemy. Imagine it. A petite girl with a big ass sword standing on a giant hamster while the hamster running towards you with its full speed. It is quite comical and terrifying at once."

Esdeath chuckled

„Anyway, it would be so much waste to place a saddle on him. His fur is soo soft!" Raidyn cuddled against Hamusuke soft fur while smiled

She was a dazzling sight, skilfully guiding her gigantic hamster mount while lied on its back as it roamed the city streets.

They were a team of four people, and they seemed better equipped than the members of Swords of Darkness, with whom Esdeath had traveled with earlier.

The four mounted men rode in a formation shaped like an isosceles triangle, and they too looked like they had sprung from a movie.

Esdeath quite liked riding Hamusuke. She thought about him as a cool unique collectible mount. What in her best knowledge only she owned.

"That's an impressive-looking creature you're riding there Raidyn-san."

„Thank you very much! I like him very much myself too." Raidyn smiled

Those words came from one of Igvarge's comrades as he tried to strike up a conversation with Esdeath. Unlike Igvarge, there was no hostility in his voice. Instead, it would seem Hamsuke had piqued his adventurer's curiosity, and his words were filled with wonder and awe.

"What manner of beast is that? Is it famous?"

„He is the Wise King of the Forest. Oi. Introduce yourself."

"Ehhhh?! What! That legendary monster?!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Esdeath could see Hamsuke waffling its whiskers in pride, and its ears twitched in time with the movement. It was probably paying attention to Esdeath's conversation, given the way it was shuddering under her.

The staring man's eyes went wide as he exclaimed in surprise.

„It is as milady said. This humble creature in the past bore the name of the Wise King. But now the milady tamed it and gave it a new name. And with its new name comes new purpose. The milady named this humble creature Hamusuke. And it will serve milady all of his power."

"Hamusuke please look forward. I don't want to use force to cling to you if you collide with something or someone."

"Understood! Milady must be worried about her servant's body!"

"Oh, that's amazing, to think you can maintain your balance in such a precarious position. This would be pretty dangerous, even for someone with a good sense of balance like yours, no?"

Raidyn looked at her side where her traveling companion ridden his horse „Nah... It is pretty easy. You only need to get used to it."

„Don't you intend to put a harness on him. It would make your ride easier on him."

„It is not necessary. His fur is too soft and precious to stain it with such things as a saddle. Besides that, it is a good exercise to develop better balance sense."

„Thank you milady! To praise so much this humble servant. This creature will serve you more loyally now on!"

„ Just look forward. I don't want to fly off from you when you accidentally collide with something or someone."

„Right!" Hamusuke answered with a dedicated tone

Just having Hamsuke with her was a huge boost to her fame, and the combination of the Wise King of the Forest's staunch loyalty to herself and Nazarick was far different from the fear it inspired in others. The first would make people think highly of Esdeath and consider her to be a noble adventurer. Although it did not mean much to her, she wanted to continue developing in that direction since she had the chance to do so. This was also because she wanted to be regarded as a hero. As a hero, you had a much easier time if you want to collect information. And because with fame comes high ranked jobs and with high ranked jobs came connections in high places. And with high ranked connections come more precise information.

"Oi, Raidyn-san, we're here."

After indicating that it understood, Hamsuke gradually reduced its speed. Unlike a horse, Esdeath could communicate directly to Hamsuke.

Esdeath leaped down Hamusuke with a double flip then she landed graciously.

"Then, let's go. What formation should we take when moving?"

"We'll take the lead, you can follow behind."

„Then be careful. Who know what you might find in the forest."

Much like the forest near Carne Village, the woodlands here bore no signs of human habitation and were very difficult to traverse.

„We are almost here."

After they had traveled some distance, the sound of weapons being drawn one after the other came from the rear. Esdeath halted and leisurely looked back.

"Is something the matter?"

"Something is not right here. There is something observing us. I just feel it."

With this, she incapacitated the four adventurers with four distinct strikes with her palm.

„Zero-san, you can come out now."

With that, Zero Rei revealed himself and jumped down from the branch of the three where he waited for his master.

He bowed. „Your servant is here as you commanded."

„Who is this milady?" asked Hamusuke curiously

„Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you. I am sorry. Zero Rei he is Hamusuke. Hamusuke he is Zero Rei. My servant. He will escort you back to Nazarick." he looked Hamusuke

„It is a pleasure to meet you meat bag."

Hamusuke shuddered. „M-Meatbag?"

„Don't worry. I created him that way to call every organic lifeform this way. Except a few of them."

„Please, Zero-san. Take this four back to Nazarcik to further interrogation. And please take Hamusuke with you too and show him around in Nazarcik."

He bowed then requested a gate from Nigredo

„M-Milady. You said there are monsters where you live. They will try to eat me?" he said in a panicked tone

Esdeath grinned to Hamusuke scarily. Then chuckled evilly. „Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows? In any event, they will surely not touch you without my permission. So you do not have to worry."

„That's relieving milady. Thank you!"

„Now. Please follow Zero-san through the [Gate]."

„Right!"

With that Zero Rei, the still unconscious mithril ranked adventurer team and Hamusuke disappeared in the [Gate].

With she turned the direction where they located Shalltear then she started to sprint unnaturally fast to the location where she discussed the meeting with Ainz.

To be continued…