Chapter 1: Adventus Magni Daemonis
The Great Demon of Catastrophe, the World Disaster, Ulbert Alain Odle found himself in a place where only fire and death reigned supreme. It was a dark land filled with storms and howling souls. The sky was so polluted that if a human inhaled it, he would fall sick and die.
"Dammit, when does this stop!" The great demon thought to himself. He knew he had the right path and that in front of him was nothing more than the castle of the Devil, Ruler of Hell. He considered defeating this boss for years but never really had time for it. His bosses always demanded more of him, just until he would fall old and they would dispose of him.
"Just these guys left, and then I'm free to fight this dude." He finishes the last remaining demons and continues to walk up the stairs into the castle. It was more of an arena, to be precise. And inside was a massive throne made of various bones and skulls, the Devil himself on it. His looks were just as told. Big, horned, red, and with a wide grin that showed all the world's evils. Razor sharp teeth and claws and enormous wings behind his back. At sensing Ulbert entering his domain, the Devil stood up, growing to his full size of 8 meters. Now they were face to face. The Demon of Great Disaster and the Devil himself. But the staredown didn't last long as the boss decided to attack Ulbert with a flame attack. He opened his mouth, and quickly after that, a burst of fire shot after Ulbert.
"Not today!" He quickly teleported into the air, taking a safe distance from the boss. And as he finished his attack, he looked up to him, only to see Ulbert cast his grandest spell, which not even he could evade.
"[Grand Catastrophe]!"
The entire castle and a radius of 2 kilometers were engulfed in a flaming light. Everything the spell touched got destroyed or died right away. Ulbert withstood the damage with a simple barrier he sealed and released before casting the spell. And as the light settled, Ulbert looked for the boss in the arena. To his luck, the structure had immunity to destruction, so it couldn't be destroyed.
"So you're not finished after all." He saw the boss still moving, his boss bar having about 20% left. He did quite the damage but used much of his mana. Wounded and furious, the boss jumped up into the air to punch Ulbert into the ground. But he saw it coming.
"[Triple Maximize Magic: Reality Slash]"
With each attack hitting the Devil, he grew slower in momentum but not stopping entirely. Just as he was about to reach Ulbert, he was hit by something. A huge meteor fell from the sky, bringing the boss back to the ground where he came from. Just as he got up, he noticed more incoming, he tried to dodge them, but the meteors were too massive. With that, he had to withstand the damage with his own body.
Ulbert observed the boss bar, which went to 5% from all the meteors he launched at the Devil. But he wasn't dead yet.
"My mana might last me for one last 10 Tier spell. Let's do this!"
"[Maximize Magic: Omega Blast]"
Ulbert fired at the Devil, the pure energetic spell from the stars hitting the Devil, purging the boss into nonexistence.
4%
3%
2%
1%
[You have defeated: The Dawnbringer]
With that, he could feel the stress leaving his body as the adrenaline slowly stopped coming. He finally did it. He killed the Devil himself. The enemy of all creation. The Ruler of Demons.
"I am the Greatest Demon to ever live! Suck it, Satan!" He shouted at the corpse, which slowly turned into particles and disappeared, leaving a shining object floating in the air behind. Ulbert could only guess what it was. "What is this?" Ulbert questioned, slowly approaching the anomaly. His gamer instincts told him it could be a trap or a rare item dropped by the Devil. He wasn't an easy boss, so he had to drop something.
"[All Apraissal Magic Item]"
His eyes widened at the sight. He found an item beyond what he thought to find. A thing that only the most skilled and lucky players could possess. An item that could break the rules of the game and beyond.
"WHAT THE FUCK! A fucking World Item! No, it can't be! I finally found one!" He knew Momonga had one, and the Tomb itself had ten more or so, but finally, he found one himself, without anybody else's help. His Achievement. Something he could be proud of.
[Ring of Lucifer]
Classification: [World Item]
Lore: Thus you have fallen from grace, banished to the pits of Hell for thy sins against all that is holy. Be the Ruler of Demons, yet remain in Hell for eternity for it to be your prison.
"This is insane! I have to test it out! Last day of Yggdrasil, and I found this! What bad luck. But at least I can have some fun with this! Let's see what it does."
He put it in his inventory and equipped the item. Soon after, he saw some changes being made to his body. A flaming aura surrounded him as he grew feet, similar to a humanoid. Still, his grey hide remained in place. He conjured a mirror to take a quick look at himself, noticing his eyes changed from a yellow to more of red color, and his pupils were slit as before, being simply pupils a goat would have.
"Excellent! I look more dreadful than ever! Hahaha…" He continued to laugh hysterically as he looked at his reflection. One last dance was all that he needed. He deactivated his new aura, disabling the flame effect so he could finally see a thing. "Now, let's have some fun."
With his newfound ring, he could simply open gates from the demon world to wherever he wanted, just like a regular gate. Stepping through, he was greeted by the scenery of Midgard. Of course, it wasn't the spawning area. It was a relatively undiscovered region by the players who lived in this world. He didn't want to get pk'ed the second he entered this world.
"That forest has some mobs from level 30 to 70, so it is the perfect place to test my new world item." With that said, he used his world item to enable some abilities he got. He grew in size, his features changing into a more muscular state, similar to a second stage of a boss. Behind him, two massive pitch-black feathered wings appeared, similar to the ones a fallen angel would possess. Now he didn't need no [Fly] spell, as he simply used his new wings to fly into the air. Now just before him was the forest full of monsters, called the [Weeping Woods], a mid-level area best for farming exp. Within a few seconds, he dropped down, landing on top of a forest troll and killing it instantly. Then, alarming all other monsters, they charged Ulbert with no regret. But he simply sliced through them with his claws, his physical strength being enhanced so much that he didn't need magic to kill them.
"I got not much mana left, so this is all it's going to be. Still, it is fun to be a physical fighter for once." He found fun. After all this time, he found it again. "If I could just tell my guildmates what I found, but they aren't here anymore. They all have been overloaded with work that they stopped playing, even Momonga…" His fury grew with these thoughts. He got faster, killed more and more monsters through and through.
23:58:00
"No, it can't end like this! It just can't! There needs to be more to this! It has to be!"
23:59:00
"Damn, you all! Fuck the world, fuck the devs, fuck my boss! I don't want to live like this any longer!" Killing these trolls didn't satisfy him anymore, but he did it just because of his immense hate building up.
23:59:50
"Fuck it all! Hell, I'll miss these times…"
He flew into the air, leaving the monsters in the forest. They continued to look at him. Their AI locked onto his being. But they didn't know that soon they wouldn't exist anymore. They would simply be erased.
Ulbert closed his eyes, awaiting the view of his ceiling at any moment. His miserable life was ready to hug him and grab him back into reality, for him to lose all sense of hope of ever breaking this hell cycle.
23:59:59
…
00:00:00
…
00:00:01
00:00:02
…
"What?" He knew the time was up but didn't feel anything. "What's going on?" He asked himself and decided to open his eyes, just to see something incredible.
He was still flying in the air, but not above the forest in Midgard, above a completely foreign city, which he didn't notice as any city in Midgard. It was dark, yet with his [Dark Vision], he could see clearly that this was nothing he knew of.
"Is this a new update? Is this Yggdrasil 2.0? I don't see a hud. Maybe they thought to make it more realistic. But it feels different." He noticed things he could only do with his natural body. He felt the wind pass him, the smell of fresh air entering his nose.
"Smell? Nothing could replicate smell in Yggdrasil. Maybe they hid this technology for this long just to introduce it now? If so, it is time to give the devs one of my best performances as the new Ruler of Hell! If they let me keep my avatar, so be it!"
"Hahaha-" He laughed for a second, feeling his whole voice to have changed. It was more profound, sinister, and full of authority he wouldn't imagine his real voice to have. It was the perfect voice for one such as him.
"A voice changer, how neat! Now then. It is time to let these people know who the World Disaster is!" He activated one of the ring's abilities, [Devil Aura], encompassing him in hell flames that destroy everything he touches. He spread his wings and descended onto the city with a wide grin. Just before he was about to impact, he stopped mid-air, levitating above the city.
"NPCs, so this must be a starter city, perhaps. Wow, their expressions are pretty real, seeing a demon like me." This only further made him love the new update. It was just too realistic how the AIs reacted to him, with their faces changing drastically from fear to dread.
"What is that?"
"A-a demon, here?"
"Don't look, Peter. Don't look!"
"Wow, their dialogue even matches the situation. That mother even tries to protect her kid! What's this AI about? The devs must have gone crazy, hahaha."
The humans looked at the vast being engulfed in flames with anxiety and fear. They were simple farmers, smiths, and alike. They knew of stories of the Evil Deities, but for such a demon to appear here, they would have never thought.
"Now time for the show. Since I'm the new head of Hell, Ulbert Alain Odle seems a bit too kind.
"Hear me, as I am the Great Demon of Catastrophe, the World Disaster! I am Baphomet, Ruler of Demons! Now, be grateful to feel my hell flames, mortals, as I destroy thy city with mine flames!"
"[Inferno]"
It didn't take long for the humans to notice what was about to happen. But some were too shocked to move or had no hope left to escape. The pressure the demon was emitting was extremely high, making the humans shake with fear. Just then, fire engulfed the streets as a huge storm of flames consumed all, burning everything in its vicinity to ashes and dust.
"Weak, they're not even level 5 or so. Mmh, what is that?" He noticed some humans closing in on his location. They wore gear, low Tier but still gear. Even some mages came with them. They were about a dozen, ready to attack the great demon.
"Mmh, what is this? I wasn't expecting my prey to come to me." He dashed at the group, and just then, they noticed how big of a threat the demon was. They couldn't even react as flames crushed the nearest adventurers.
"What happened?"
"I-Impossible!"
"[Fireball]!"
Their expressions changed from fear to dread, seeing how the demon easily defeated some of the best gold-plated adventurers. The mages decided to attack the monster with spells, but they were reflected by a barrier surrounding the Devil. "Attacking a demon with fire, how classic."
"Wha-" Before the mage could say anything, he felt a burning sensation fill him, and that was when he noticed he was about to die. They all burned away, not even surviving 10 seconds with the great evil.
Bells rang loud and clear. Some guards noticed it and began investigating the situation.
"What is happening?" He asked himself. He decided to ask a witness personally. He grabbed a man running, putting him against the wall of a house. "Tell me, what happened there?!"
"A-a a demon! A demon!" The man said, then using all of the strength he had left to free himself from the grip of the guardsman, running away a second time.
"By the gods…" One of the other guards said, looking towards the dance of flames that happened from where the peasants were running from. He could see, just like his fellow soldiers, how flames were thrown around like they were nothing by the creature in the night sky.
"We need to evacuate the city! This is a threat greater than us!" The commanding guard said, putting the other two out of a trance.
Ulbert had a lifetime enjoying the town's destruction with his whole being. "Weird, I didn't know destroying things was SO much fun. But suddenly, I have this feeling. Huh. I guess it makes more fun now."
He sees a young girl before him, her legs being wounded, making her unable to walk. And as she saw him approaching, she tried to crawl away, but to no avail. She turned around slowly, facing the demon with all she had left. It just stood there, looking at her with a slight grin on his face.
"P-please d-don't kill me! Plea-
Before finishing her sentence, claws ripped her stomach apart, letting a flood of blood leave her body as her life ended in one quick swipe. And that's when he realized. When the great demon had a different look rather than hate on his face. He took some steps back from the shock, recalling what just happened.
"No, no, no, the law forbids any kind of gore, and that was like that in Yggdrasil. There was no gore. There can't be!" He thought he would puke, but he felt nothing. "Strange, I would have vomited at this, but I haven't." He didn't understand it at first. "Maybe this is real? But that would be impossible."
"[GM Call]"
"Nothing. Huh." He focused on finding a log-out button but to no avail. "I can't believe anything anymore."
Just as he was in thought, he was interrupted by another group of adventurers, this time in bigger numbers. At the front were the normal kingdom's soldiers who bravely marched towards the demon, spear in hand but filled with fear. Behind them were the adventurers, changing from big warriors to small and agile rogues. And at last were some mages, readying themselves to cast spells.
"There it is! Attack!" One of the guards spoke, and all the soldiers slowly pointed their spears toward the demon and closed in on him. The adventurers followed closely, just like the mages.
"[Magic Arrow]"
"[Ice Spear]"
"[Fireball]"
"They are using Yggdrasil spells, no doubt about that." He said, while the casted spells only touched his passive nullification, not even touching his skin.
"We're not coming through! Our spells seem to do nothing!" A mage shouted, the others agreeing, seeing their ineffectiveness. Ulbert could only watch as they communicated with each other, and he found it fascinating; if this was real AI or not.
"Just support us then!" An adventurer said. But Ulbert could only smile. They didn't even know who was before them. In Yggdrasil, his name was quite popular, as were his deeds.
"I guess Im killing them now. But I don't feel a thing. Interesting."
"[Flames of Hell]"
Suddenly, like a lightning strike, flames shot out to the casters, burning them alive in the fire of Hell as screams filled the air.
"So an 8th Tier Spell can easily kill them. I should go lower."
The other adventurers and soldiers were shocked by that display of power; some tried to run, but others realized it was too late. Just as they turned around to look back at the Devil, they saw a huge wall of flames coming near them. Their faces were already marked with dread, and soon as the inferno touched them, they perished instantly. Adding themselves to the pile of ashes on the ground.
"I should leave now. I need to think things through." Just as he finished his massacre, he stretched his wings far and took off into the night sky. He flew and flew until the sun eventually rose, finding himself in front of a forest. While flying, he thought to himself many things.
"Was that a smart move? Now that it happened, I can't change it. I guess I'll live with it. But man, this forest is big!"
Wherever he looked, there were trees. And as soon as he found a good spot, he decided to land.
"[Life Essence]"
He looked around to find nothing living near him. "Good, now to the next step."
"[Create Fortress]"
With that, a 30-meter tall tower appeared, and due to Ulbert's roleplaying manner, he made it so that it looked like a true demon lord's lair. As he entered the tower, he returned to his standard form, feeling himself shrinking in size and his wings disappearing.
"I could really use something to relax right now." With that thought, he teleported into the master room, and inside, he found what he was looking for. "Perfect, time for a bath." With a snap of his fingers, he let his equipment disappear into his inventory and simply went into the bathtub, it already boiling with warm water, at the perfect hotness for a demon of his caliber.
"I never thought taking a bath was that fun. In-game, it was just to roleplay and for some effects, but now I feel how the high-ups feel every day! Must be nice."
Suddenly 5 minutes went by, then ten and at last one whole hour. During this time, he did nothing more than think about what happened and what will happen.
"I'm in a new world. Still have some doubts, but that's my conclusion. And what am I gonna do? Everyone seems weak, so I could easily dominate this new world. Mmh, yes! Thats it! Ruling the world! Never will someone tell me what to do again! Only myself! And maybe someone from Ainz Ooal Gown will come here as well. It isn't impossible! We can finally spread our influence over the whole world! Or rather my influence."
After thinking he had enough, he left the bath, cleaning himself with a simple fire spell. He had a natural immunity to fire as a demon, so it only tickled him a little.
"Huh? What was that?" He felt something, or rather someone, knock on his door. He didn't expect any visitors any time soon. Quickly, he teleported in front of his door, opening it in a quick movement for a huge wave of air to burst into the tower. And before the door, he saw two simple humans. Two girls, one wounded and another frightened to death. Two sisters, he thought.
"P-Please, help us!" The big sister asked, desperate for a savior. From her looks, one could see that she was at the end of her power. But she didn't even look him in the eyes. She didn't know what he was, who he was. But his face was perfectly covered by the shadow of the trees, hiding his goatlike face perfectly.
…
"Why?" He asked, just with one word. The girl looked confused but tried to explain nonetheless.
"There are K-knights in our village. T-They came and… and they killed everyone! Please, mister!" She called out again and again. But the man before her didn't say a thing, not yet.
"Enter, quick." He said. The girl realized what he said and took her sister with her, and went into the tower. "Go upstairs. There are doors open. Enter there." The girls ran up the stairs, not noticing the beautiful interior of their host out of fear of death. He then turns around to face another pair of daring guests, arriving just now.
"More visitors?" He asked openly, now seeing two knights in plated armor before him. But the knights weren't as calm as Ulbert, seeing the huge tower in the middle of the woods.
"What is that?" One asks, astounded by the building.
"I do not know, but where is the girl?" The other replied, caring not as much for the tower.
"Right here." Suddenly a voice appeared just as the tower's doors closed.
"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?" One asks, trying to focus his eyes on the newcomer, but he couldn't recognize his face, as if the shadow itself wanted whatever hid in it not to be shown to any being.
"Your doom." Just then, he walked out of the shadows, the sun's light finally revealing what was hidden for all this time.
"A-A beastman here?" One said, surprised by the goatlike appearance Ulbert bore. He slowly took some steps back, knowing beastmen could be quite strong. But this one seemed more regal, wearing even something.
"I think we should go back now." The other said, having a bad feeling about this. But just then, they could feel an incredible pressure being released by the being in front of them.
"A beastman? Me?! You can't be serious!?" Suddenly, flames surrounded Ulbert, making his appearance even more dreadful in the eyes of the knights as his anger grew visible. "I am far more than a simple beast!" With a regular pace, he walks towards the knights, still angered by their unknowingness.
"No beastman can do that!" The other finally realized his mistake and knew why he angered the being in front of him.
"That's not a beastman, you idiot! That's a demon!" The other explained, holding his sword with everything he got. "For the six!" He charged at the demon with all of his strength. In his mind, he prayed for the six to grant him the power to defeat this fiend. He could feel the sensation when his blade would carve through the demon's intestines, but sadly that didn't happen. And somehow, he knew it from the beginning. He simply didn't want to believe it.
Instead, his sword somehow bounced off the demon, not getting near him, as if a steel wall protected him.
"What is thi-" Not even finishing his sentence, he was thrown to the side by the demon, flying into a tree and breaking his neck instantly.
"No, it can't be-" Without saying another word, Ulbert grabbed his neck and threw the man to his colleague. Killing him as well.
"Mmh, what now?" He thought to himself until not so soon after, a red circle appeared before him, and a low-level imp was summoned.
"You! Go seek the village these knights came from. Don't show yourself, and tell me when you are there." The imp didn't say a thing and went on his way into the darkness of the forest.
Ulbert simply teleported into his tower, in front of the room the girls were hiding. Before entering, he asked, "Is everything fine?"
At first, the girls were surprised to hear his voice all of a sudden, but remembering it was their savior, they seemed to relax again.
"Y-Yes. Thank y-you for helping us." The elder sister said, still hugging her sibling with all her strength.
"I can see that you are wounded," Ulbert says, slowly stepping into the room, making his face visible to them after all that time. "Let me help you."
"W-What?" The older sister says, taken aback by the visage shown by Ulbert. She didn't know their savior wasn't human. She had already too much to think about. "P-Please don't hurt my s-sister!" She said loud, making Ulbert stop in his tracks.
"I see. But I am not here to harm you." He said while reaching into a void, surprising the girl even more. What he took out looked like a vial with red liquid in it. "Catch."
He threw the vial at the girl, who subconsciously tried to catch it with her hands successfully at that.
"You have to drink it."
She didn't know what to think right now. Was he trying to help or not?
"No, don't drink it, big sis!" Her little sister yelled, stopping her sibling from drinking the health potion.
"I wouldn't offer you poison now if I went all the way to save you. It is a simple health potion. Drink it." With that said, an aura of malice surrounded the goatlike man, making the two fear him even more.
"O-Okay, I'll drink it! But please don't harm my sister!" The elder sister said, drinking the red liquid at a slow pace. It didn't have any smell or taste. It was just like water but thicker. Now she could feel her body changing, the wound at her back healing with a sensational feeling she never felt before. She touched her back, noticing nothing left of the wound she was dealt. The man or thing didn't lie after all.
"Do you feel better now?" He asked. For Enri, it was still weird hearing such a voice coming from such a being.
"Y-Yes. Thank you.." After all, the man was just trying to help her. She noticed it just now.
"Good. You can leave whenever you want. Just make sure you get out of here tomorrow. The door is open." Ulbert said, turning around, ready to leave the room. But just then, he was halted by the girl's voice.
"Please wait! W-We don't know where to go." She said, her little sister nodding with tears in her eyes.
"And why is that?" He asked, only turning his head towards them.
"T-These knights came into our village! They killed villagers and destroyed our homes! Please, if we return, they will kill us!" She pleaded with the goatman to feel some sense of empathy. But she received nothing more than silence. The man held his hand up to his ear, an unknown gesture to the two girls.
{So you found the village, and the knights are still there. Splendid. I will arrive shortly. They could surely have some intel about this world; if not, they will be used for other purposes.}
Just then, he turned around to the girls, the two of them awaiting an answer, their patience running thin.
"Mmh, [Sleep]."
He pointed his hand towards the two, casting a spell that would put them into a sleep state. After doing that, he teleported above his tower, spreading his wings and flying towards the village. Flying above the village, it was pretty clear what was going on. He knew its whereabouts as he could feel his imp being there. The knights gathered all the villagers and waited for a signal.
"Well, time to play again." He went into a dive, using his whole momentum to land on one particular knight.
"This is the last one we could find. Now where are the other tw-" Before he could finish his sentence, he was made flat by an unknown object coming from the skies. Dust made its way into the air, disturbing the vision of each knight.
"What happene-" A clear bang could be heard, and as the dust settled, there stood a big furred creature with two pitch-black wings at its back and surprisingly in an elegant outfit. The being was nothing like they ever saw, a beast of legends. It has thrown a knight into a wall, destroying that wall with the knight, showing its pure strength alone could kill.
"Time to die!" It proclaimed, its voice deep and dreadful just as its appearance. Shortly after, it ran at the knights with speed faster than they could follow and went through knights left and right as if they were butter.
"A-Attack that abomination!" The captain commanded but feared nothing could stop that thing. He sees how it cleaved through his soldiers easily, not even having a wound on itself. But as he was lost in thought, he didn't notice his head rolling away from his body, his vision slowly fading as he entered the afterlife.
And just in a matter of seconds, all the knights were dead, disposed of by this being that appeared out of nowhere. There were only the villagers, and he left. They looked at it with fear in their eyes, not knowing if it was their savior or murderer. They didn't know what to say until it spoke, utterly different as it did before.
"You are free, but I ask a price for your life." It said, slowly approaching the villagers. "Do you understand?" It asked, and with that, it looked at the chief directly. He gulped and nodded at the creature.
"Good, I need information, nothing more." The village chief was surprised. He didn't expect that at all. He thought the monster was about to ask for newborn children for it to eat, but information was something he could provide without cost.
"I need every map and every scroll which contains information about your surroundings and this world."
At that, the chief stood up, knowing what he had to do. "W-Well then. I am the chief of this village. I s-suppose you could follow me?" He said. The being nodded and let the man proceed to his house. On their way, the chief dared himself to ask something.
"M-May I know how to address you, s-sir?" He asked, waiting for a response. He didn't like the silence, the unending pressure of the being behind him trying to flatten him at any moment.
"You may not. I have come here for information. Nothing else." It said, cold and firm as ever.
"O-Of course. If you would wait for a moment for me to retrieve your p-payment." He waited for a moment until he disappeared into a house. Not much longer, he came out with scrolls upon scrolls in his hand. It wasn't much, but enough for him to almost lose one or two while carrying them outside.
"This here is a map of our surroundings. The others only have minor pieces of information for us villagers to learn. Like the current king of our kingdom and what nations surround us. If you may?" He offered the scrolls, shaking with fear. Just then, Ulbert grabbed them all and put them into his inventory.
"Well, that was all that I wanted. Goodbye." With that said, the goatlike being disappeared into flames, leaving nothing left but air to breathe. It took some time for the chief to realize what happened. But he only stood there, waiting for any return of the being. But minutes after minutes, nothing appeared. Suddenly another villager came to him.
"Chief! There are horses approaching! Soldiers!" This took him out of his trance, and he made his way to the border of his village. He tried looking to the horizon with his old eyes but only saw riders coming. He couldn't decipher what or who they were, not yet.
But as soon as they arrived, he could say they were not enemies, as they stopped at a relatively safe distance from the villagers that stood strong to defend their village one last time.
"I am the Warrior Captain of Re-Estize! Say, who is the village chief here?" One man asked. His visage was bold as a warrior, his muscles visible even when relaxed. This man was known all around the kingdom, and for him to appear was a comforting thought for the villagers.
"I am, Warrior Captain. What brings you to our village?" He asked.
"There have been reports of attacking knights plundering and destroying villages one after another. May I ask? No, I already know that they were here. But how did you survive?" He looked at the buildings around and noticed some damage, and just behind one house, he could see a body in the corner, unmoving.
"Yes, the knights were here. But, well, how do I explain this, I-I can't describe it. It is absurd. But a creature, almost the size of a house, came from the skies. Having grey fur and a goatlike face, yet horns sprouting out of his head. A-And he carried wings! Never in my life have I seen such a creature…A-And it killed all knights…" He explained, making Gazef look at the man with a shocked expression. He didn't outright believe the man, but his face said it all. He had seen some horror that touched the innards of his soul.
"Can you show me what that creature did with the knights?" Without saying a word, the chief made way for the Warrior Captain to enter. He went past him, near the village plaza where the massacre happened. The knights were now covered by cloth to hide the gore. Gazef went to remove the cloth, only to see that the knight hidden by it didn't have a stomach left. There was a huge hole in his chest, big to fit a human through. Within seconds he hid the corpse again, not wanting any children to see it accidentally.
"It seems you're right. Whatever did this was a monster indeed. But what did it do afterward? And why are you still alive?" He asked. It was the obvious thing to ask about, knowing a monster came which could pierce steel and carve a hole into a human body.
"W-Well, we thought that as well. It is kind of absurd, but it wanted information. So we gave him everything we had, from maps to scrolls."
It didn't make sense for the Warrior Captain, a monster that killed the knights and then asked for compensation. Almost too absurd to believe it. But the villagers were still alive, so it must be true.
"Then you're in luck. But still, I need to report this to his majesty. We must face such dangerous beings before they can harm anybody else. Especially in the borders of the kingdom." Gazef said. The chief nodded in agreement. He certainly didn't want to see that thing again.
"Captain! Troops are surrounding the village! From their looks, they are from the Theocracy!" One of his men said. Gazef could only let out a confused sound but soon realized what was happening.
"So that's what's happening. I see. The Theocracy really cares that much for me." The chief didn't know what the Warrior Captain was talking about, but he didn't mind much. "If you excuse me, I need to face another troop of incoming hostiles. Put all your villagers into one house, and if you see them coming, evacuate immediately." He said the chief tried to remember his words carefully.
"As you say, Warrior Captain." He went on his way to call all the villagers into his house. It was one of the last ones that weren't damaged.
The Warrior Captain did the opposite of hiding. He went on his horse and called his troops to him.
"This is the Theocracy we speak about. They are strong, don't be a hero, be careful." He said, his troops nodding in agreement and chanting some warrior shouts. "Then let's show them what we are made of. You charge right past them while I attack them!" He said, but they didn't initially want to believe his words.
"Are you sure? You know we can fight beside you?" The Vice Captain asked, worried about Stronoff. He was an important man. Instead, they should sacrifice themselves instead of the Warrior Captain.
"I am sure. Someone has to deliver the message to the king. First, that the Theocracy attempts to assassinate me, and second, that a monster is roaming free around Carne Village." He explained, and the Vice Captain could only accept those words. It was an order from their captain, so he must follow them.
"Then let's charge them!" Gazef shouted, and the troops galloped towards the casters. They could see them from 200 meters away, awaiting them.
100 meters.
50 meters.
"Now!"
Gazef said, jumping from his horse to face the casters while his troops were running by. Seemingly the Theocracy didn't care much about them and only focused on Gazef.
"The famous Warrior Captain. Gazef Stronoff. For you, it should be an honor to be killed by the Theocracy. You are deemed as dangerous. But not for long. Angels attack!" Nigun said, and the angels started approaching Stronoff with energy swords. They tried to attack him, but he slammed his sword into the first one, pushing the Archangel Flame away. But the second one could successfully pierce him. But Gazef didn't give up. He used the pain to turn it into anger, and his blade slashed at the angel, but he didn't cleave right through. His sword was repelled back, forcing him to activate a martial art.
"[Body Strengthening]!" He shouted. Suddenly he glowed in a red light as his muscles got stronger, and he successfully cut the angel in half, destroying it. But his Achievement was dwarfed as he saw just another angel being summoned like it was nothing. Not to his surprise, his men charged again at the magic caster, only to be taken down faster than him.
"Impressive, as expected. But that is the best you can do." Nigun said, a broad smile appearing on his mouth as he ordered more angels to attack him.
"I am Gazef Stronoff, Warrior-Captain of Re-Estize! And I won't allow such bastards like you to stain the kingdom's lands! [Sixfold Slash of Light]!" Just as the martial art suggested, six slashes of light appeared and killed 6 Archangel Flames instantly, actually surprising Nigun for a bit.
"Now, that was unexpected. I must say, you are quite strong. But you can't hold forever. After we finish with you, we will kill all the villagers in that village there. It is the will of the gods, after all." Nigun said, smiling like a maniac after saying such a line.
"Then you have to fight me first!" Gazef said, taking a stance again, ready to kill everything that was to come his way.
Ulbert was back at his tower already. He was in the master room checking out some abilities of his new World Item. And it fascinated him every time.
"So the Devil can take many forms, just as in the lore, even fair ones. Meaning…" He focused on changing his appearance, and as he made himself a picture of what he wanted to look like, he could feel his body changing. It was a strange feeling but not unwanted.
He appeared more humanoid as he lost his furr and gained human features. He was pale, almost like a vampire, possessing sharpened ears just like his creation Demiurge, and his eyes were still the same, red with a black slit-like pupil, just like before. He was standing at 2 meters tall. But decided to make himself smaller, just about 1.80 m. He thought this was an appropriate height for this form. His hair was long and straight, going down his shoulders and reaching his chest. His hair was pitch black, just like his eyebrows. They were slender, with a hint of evil in them. Ulbert never guessed he would look this good, but with his newfound powers, it was possible indeed. And he was way younger than his former self, thinking his age to be about 21. And he was pretty charismatic.
"I must say this form-changing ability is quite good."
He decided to change his form again, abandoning his demonic features altogether. His ears became round, his fangs disappeared, and his teeth became more human-like. And his pupil changed to a rounded form, but his eyes remained red but less bright.
Now he looked utterly human, ready to fool everyone.
"I have a ring that should hide my being from every divination attempt, meaning they shouldn't notice that I am a demon." He was quite pleased with his new appearance. Nothing he would be able to possess in the real world. "Now, back to the village, my imp reported that there was some activity." He used [Perfect Unknownable] to make himself completely invisible, teleporting just above the village. He then looked around, noticing quite the commotion near. "So there's the party." He neared the battlefield, trying to hear what the magic caster was saying to the Warrior Captain.
"Now, that was unexpected. I must say, you are quite strong. But you can't hold forever. After we finish with you, we will kill all the villagers in that village there. It is the will of the gods, after all."
Ulbert couldn't believe what he was hearing. What gods would deem it necessary to kill some innocent villagers who had nothing to do but live their life?
"Then you have to fight me first!" The warrior said, facing the Archangel Flames even when wounded. Ulbert was quite surprised he didn't give up. He knew this man would surely die if nothing happened now.
"They use Yggdrasil summons. As weak as they are, they are still from Yggdrasil, mmh."
Just as the angels were about to attack the man, he cast some strange magic that enhanced his body, making himself glow for a second. To Ulbert, it was something new.
"I never heard of a warrior skill like that? [Mental Enhancement]? Weird."
But the warrior didn't seem to be able to continue any longer. He collapsed, falling to his knees as his stamina ended.
"Now, embrace the light, Strono-" Before Nigun could continue, a figure appeared behind the warrior captain. Just like that, as if it teleported there. Just then, Gazef felt a hand on his shoulder, and then he was gone. Opening his eyes for one last time, he found himself in a house surrounded by villagers.
"What?..." Then he collapsed, falling unconscious but not dying this day.
"W-Who are you? How did you get here?" Nigun asked, panicking at seeing the unknown individual appear out of thin air behind the Warrior Captain and then proceeding to let the captain disappear. He looked like a human and wore some interesting clothes of relatively high quality. Never had he seen something like the person before him was wearing. And the strangest thing was that around him were two hands made from some sort of dark organic material. They correspond to the hand movements of this being, a peculiar talent indeed.
"Believe me. You do not want to know who I am." He said in a threatening tone, making some of the magic casters shiver. "But I want to know who taught you how to summon these Archangel Flames."
Nigun couldn't believe the question the stranger made. He made such an entrance to ask such an overhaul question. "What a stupid question to ask! Angels, attack!"
Two angels closed in on him, but the stranger seemed undisturbed by them. Simply looking like he was bored out of his mind. When the Archangel Flames were about to attack him with their energy swords, their weapons bounced right off their target. As much as they tried, they couldn't come close with their weapons.
"What?! All Archangel Flames, attack!" He told all the angels to face the stranger, he knew there were barriers made of magic, but even they couldn't be held up for long when facing that many enemies. But before they could reach Ulbert, runes appeared around his hand as he pointed towards the incoming hostiles.
"[Firestorm]" He cast, killing all the surrounding angels around him in an instant. Not even ashes were left, as the angels disappeared right after their health touched zero.
"Impossible! It can't be! Then, Principality of Observation, attack that caster!" The Principality conjured a mace in its hand as it neared its target. It took a swing, and Nigun was already smiling at the fact that the caster would soon be dead meat. Just as the Principality was about to attack, the man spoke.
"[Hellflame]" A single fire was produced by his finger, floating towards the giant angel. And as it touched it, it was engulfed in an instant, killing the angel just as fast as the Archangels Flames before.
"I-Impossible! With a single spell! Impossible!" Nigun said seeing the display of power from this person was something he didn't expect at all.
"No way.."
"It can't be!"
The other casters seemed frightened by the fact that the man before them could end a high-tier angel with just one spell. But Nigun started laughing, even surprising his fellow colleagues.
"Hahaha, stranger, I do not know who you are, but you are powerful! I do not know how you have hidden yourself from the world for that much. But be grateful! As you will now experience the full power of the Theocracy!" He removed something out of his robe, a crystal, to be exact. "I would have invited you to the Theocracy if we had met under other circumstances, but now you must die!"
Ulbert instantly knew what the crystal was. It was used to seal a summoned creature inside. And it could go all the way up to the 10th Tier.
"I hope this will not be another Principality for you," Ulbert said, getting a laugh out of Nigun.
"Oh, no, no! This is the highest Tier of angels! Embrace its light, stranger! As it will clean you!"
If the man spoke the truth, and he was about to summon a Seraphim, Ulbert had to actually try to kill it. But he had a feeling that it wouldn't be the thing he expected.
"Behold! Dominion Authority!" The sky was embraced in a warm light as an angel in pure white appeared, surrounding the area with its aura. To Ulbert, it did nothing. And he started chuckling innerly.
"It is only right to tremble before the mightiest of angels! Be sure that it is the greatest honor for such an angel to be summoned for you." Nigun awaited a response, but nothing came except the slowly growing laugh of the stranger.
"Hahaha, what a joke." Ulbert laughed hysterically, making Nigun turn serious again.
"No, it can't be! You cant be stronger!" Nigun screamed, not believing a thought of it.
"This is all you have? Pathetic."
How dare he call the highest angel that. Nigun needed to destroy this man that was committing such heresy, such blasphemy.
"Use [Holy Smite]!" He commanded the angel, who attacked Ulbert with its smite. In seconds, divine power was cast upon Ulbert, making Nigun grin. But that didn't last for long.
"Pain. Interesting, hahaha…" He started laughing, still under the effect of [Holy Smite]. It did damage him, but its damage was so minuscule that it didn't even hurt much.
Niguns eyes widened at that scenery. He couldn't believe it. It must be some kind of illusion.
"No, not again! How do you do it? Not even the Evil Deities survived that attack! You… You cannot possibly be human." Nigun gulped. What could this being before him be? There was no way he could defeat it, knowing not even Dominion Authority could kill the stranger. "What in the world are you!?" Nigun screamed, demanding to know the truth, even if it would break him.
"If you really want to know, I warned you." His voice sounded deep and filled with malice, now even more evil than before. His form, to the Sunlights Scripture's surprise, changed, his features transforming into a beast covered in grey fur. Horns sprouted off his head, and bright red eyes showed themselves. Out of its back grew two enormous pitch-black wings, spread to their full size.
"Now you see," Ulbert said, while a flaming aura surrounded his body slowly, his sharp teeth visible as he grinned with his goatlike visage.
"A-A demon god?" Nigun said, his eyes watering while his body trembled with fear and dread. The other magic casters were the same. They couldn't move out of fear.
"I am more than that. I am a World Disaster!" He said, then jumping at the Dominion Authority and using his claws to slash the angel in half. Now the light was gone. Only darkness remained.
Nigun couldn't think straight anymore. This was something he had to inform the Theocracy about. If this being were to unleash his power onto the world, only the Godkins could stop it. But it was too late. Surrounding the demon were two waves of fire, and like lightning, they sprung at the magic casters, burning them all alive in hell flames.
Nigun had to save his life somehow. He needed to survive. He went on his knees and started praying, not to his gods but to this demon.
"I beg of you! Spare me, and I will give you everything you want! Please!"
Just then, the World Disaster was standing right before him, looking at Niguns small frame like he was some sort of toy.
"No." He said one word, and in a millisecond, he grabbed the man's head and cast [Control Amnesia] to read his memories. It was tricky initially, but he got the drill after some seconds. He didn't like that it drained his mana faster than his regeneration, but that was the cost of using this spell.
Ulbert read Niguns mind, finding information about the Theocracy, its teachings, and what Nigun has done in their name. Slowly his anger rose, and his grip around the man's face closed in, making blood leave Niguns face and a burned smell leave his body. Just when he had seen enough, he fuelled Niguns body with fire, torching him from the inside until there was nothing but ashes left. Suddenly, he felt something.
"I can feel something spying on me. I don't have any items to block that immediately. So let's do it manually."
"[Undisturbance]" Right then, a crack could be heard. It was like a mirror had broken into several pieces. "They shouldn't have seen much. But this Theocracy, I can't believe they even exist! If I find the time, I will wipe them off this world for good."
Back at E-Rantel, many adventurers volunteered to help clean up the city and find any possible survivors. It was a catastrophe that befell them. A demon of great power decided to attack them, destroying half the city in progress.
Ainzach was right outside the city, having set up a tent temporarily to control the operations done by Adventures. He had sent many into the town to retrieve any survivors.
"So you found no one left? Is that right?" Ainzach asked, the silver adventurers nodding in silence. "Mmh, what a shame then. Go search for bodies then, tell the others as well." The adventurers did as said, leaving the guild master's tent.
Ainzach then removed a scroll from a bag, deciding to write a message to Blue Rose personally. It was a time were heroes were needed.
To the Adamantite Adventurer Team Blue Rose
It is I, Ainzach Pluton, Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild in E-Rantel. I hope this message arrives to you in good health. And for the reason for my writing, we have been attacked. A demon decided to burn half the city to the ground. And from the information we could retrieve, its name is Baphomet, Great Demon of Catastrophe, the World Disaster, Ruler of Hell. We don't know if the titles are accurate, but it's power is certainly. No adventurer in the city could kill him, at least those who faced the demon. From its appearance, it has fur like an animal and a goatlike face, sprouting two horns from its head and two black wings from its back. It is enormous, to our reports about the size of a house. So I write you to plead for your help to defeat this demon, and you will be rewarded plenty, of course.
Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild,
Ainzach Pluton
After finishing the letter, he took a pigeon out of a cage, wrapping the scroll around its foot. He let it fly into the sky, hoping it would find the place it was looking for.
Discord . gg/ h6cpJ5d3xh
Here's my discord invitation code. Join if you're interested in becoming a proofreader of my next chapters, or you just want to hang around. Both work.
Another fanfiction haha! I wanted to release this for a long time, but eventually, I found the time to correct some grammar, and now here it is!
And yes, Ulbert is supposed to be that dramatic, don't tell me it's too cringy or something. That is simply Ulbert enjoying his new form too much.
And because Ainz got no emotions as an Overlord, a demon might not be far from that, just with some emotions you would expect of a demon. Ulbert has emotions, but they are either set to nonexistent or pretty high. Like empathy is 0. And boost to rage is like 2x. But, this still isn't the deciding factor for how he will behave; it simply influences him. Rather his personality is important, and well, Ulbert, he is quite the evil maker.
Again if you find any errors feel free to tell me via reviews and tell me if you like this story or not!
World Item Stats and Lore:
World Item: [Ring of the Devil] A world item granted by killing the Devil himself. It gives the user the abilities of the former Ruler of Hell to conjure demons and rule over the demon world. It boosts the owner's personal stats, and if the owner is a demonic being, more perks are available. Such as ascending the [Throne of Hell], summoning hordes of demons as a skill, and fueling one's power the longer they are in the demon world. Once a day, the owner can activate the unique ability of the ring that allows him to gain levels like a world enemy. The duration is unknown. The ring also provides access to the demon world, where all the demons reside and get sent back after death. This allows him to make relations with certain demons from the demon world, binding them to his will.
Given Abilities:
[Devil Aura]: Surrounds oneself in hell flames which harm everything it touches
[Lucifer]: Acknowledges the owner as the rightful ruler of Hell/Demon World
[Fallen Wings]: An active ability that allows the owner to own wings just like a fallen angel
[Shapeshift]: Allows the owner to change his form freely, but it doesn't change his stats
[True Form] Similar to shapeshifting but does enhance the stats and other abilities
...
[Hell Gate]: Allows for the owner to open a gate to the demon world/hell
[Bend Demon]: Allows for the owner to dominate demons weaker than level 80 to his will