"Ains-sama!" - Regular Speech
'Haaahh…so tiring!' - Thoughts
{Message} - Telepathy
[The Goal of All Life is Death!] - Magic Spell/Skill
Chapter 4: The Battle of Carne Village
Several Days Later
Throne Room, Sanctum of Shadows, Great Tomb of Nazarick
Grandia Bloodragon relaxed on her throne as she observed the large courtyard that was immediately in front of her. It was filled with one-hundred Heteromorphic NPC characters, kneeling to her in obeisance.
At the very front of the kneeling figures were six NPC's that were standing rather than kneeling, the officers of the small army at her command. Exia Shadowhound was one of them, obviously, bus so was her second in command of the [5th Star], Rowen Pierce, who was a female Oni.
The leader of the [1st Star], Artemis Faranger, was a fox-type beastwoman wearing camouflage-type clothing, as well as a dark green cloak, although she could change the pattern of both to suit wherever it was she was scouting. A long Japanese-style bow could be seen in her hand.
Alanna Bloodreaver, the leader of the [2nd Star], wore the basic outfit of the SSS, a kunoichi uniform, with her long silvery hair tied up in a bun at the back of her head. She carried a single long katana, the type referred to as a Nodachi, over one shoulder. Her ruby eyes gazed at Grandia with utmost respect.
Muse of the Goddess, the leader of the [3rd Star], was a Doppelganger. As such, she had no true original form, but took a form similar to Pandora's Actor, with long and dexterous fingers and a blank mask-like face with only a hole each for her eyes and mouth. She specialised in using concealed weaponry and short weapons, as well as poisons. She wore the standard kunoichi uniform as well.
Finally, ARI2 -4242564 Omega, the leader of the [4th Star], was an Automaton. With long black hair and a pair of blue eyes with targeting symbols in them, she was an expert at long range warfare, proven by the sniper rifle across her back. Her uniform was pretty much the same as the others and people just called her Arisu Omega for short.
"Rise." Grandia's voice echoed throughout the chamber, which was then filled by the sounds of a hundred Automatons, Doppelgangers, Lesser Vampires, Dark Elves, Beastmen and assorted other Heteromorphic races stood up from their kneeling position.
Grandia stood also, her tall form moving sinuously and gracefully as she paced up and down the dais that her throne sat upon, gazing at her troops in return. The last few days had been exhausting for her as she had built forty additional NPC's to round the SSS up to the level of strength they had been designed to be at. It turned out that, unlike Momonga, who didn't need to sleep, a Vampire, even a [High Daywalker], needed at least an hour's sleep every night to function properly, preferably four.
"My children!" she called out to the army before her as she halted before her throne, "I have returned! Now I have returned I shall not leave you ever again!"
The roaring cheer this brought from her army brought a smile to her face. After letting the roar of approval go on for a minute, she put her hand up, getting silence immediately.
"The Great Tomb of Nazarick has been teleported, somehow, to another world from Niflheim," she continued, "this much will be readily known by members of the [1st Star] who have been patrolling the area. We are now in a large grassland, in the middle of it, by all reckoning. Mare Bello Fiore, one of the Guardians of the Sixth Floor, has covered the walls in dirt and grass and created dummy hills around us, while several other Magic Casters have placed powerful illusion spells over the top of Nazarick to conceal us from above and from scrying.
"I am unsure as of this time what my friend, Momonga-san, has in store for us, but we will support him with all our might. You are all my strong right hand, the Shadow Star Sisterhood and we shall prevail…together!"
This time the roar made her ears reverberate.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Momonga's Room, Ninth Floor
The Elder Lich gazed at his bed in dumbfounded surprise that didn't show on his skeletal face. He put his hand to the side of his head. "[Message]."
{Momonga-san?} Grandia replied almost at once, {Is there something the matter?}
"I need you to come to my room on the Ninth Floor at once." He told her, "I've found something…odd."
{On my way.} The Vampiress replied before the link went down. The Elder Lich nodded as he lowered his hand. He wasn't known for being alarmed easily, being sent to other worlds and trapped inside his YGGDRASIL Avatar to one side, so if he needed to see someone on the double, his guild knew to go and see him.
Two minutes later, Grandia strode into the room in her usual attire and a curious look on her face.
"What have you found?" she asked Momonga, who pointed at the headboard of his bed with one bony hand. She peered at it before her jaw dropped.
Carved into it was the status section of Momonga's Console.
Name: Momonga
Gender: Male
Race: - Heteromorphic
- Overlord
Rank: Guildmaster
To Next Level: 398/240000
Epithet (s): - Lord of Undeath
- Supreme One
- Strongest Magic Caster
Karma: Negative 500 (Extremely Evil)
Total Level: 100/120
Racial Levels: - Skeleton Mage (15)
- Elder Lich (10)
- Overlord (5)
- Supreme One (10)
Job Levels: - Necromancer (10)
- Master of Death (10)
- Eclipse (5)
- Summoner (15)
- Master Necromancer (10)
- Death Sorcerer (10)
Status Ranking
HP: 60/100
MP: (Exceeds Limit)
Physical Attack: 35/100
Physical Defence: 70/100
Agility: 40/100
Magical Attack: 90/100
Magical Defence: 95/100
Resistance: 95/100
Special Ability: 100/100
Total: 695+
Grandia actually staggered into a chair at this. She looked between the Lich himself and his status before saying "Is this…for real?"
"As best I can tell, yes." Momonga replied, "That is what my status was the last time I checked it in YGGDRASIL…with one difference. I was Level 100 out of 100, now I'm Level 100 out of 120. Do you think this means what I think it means?"
"We need more evidence first." Grandia demurred half-heartedly.
"Have you checked your room here since we arrived here? Momonga asked.
"No, I have alternate quarters in the Sanctum of Shadows and I've been busy building the Shadow Star Sisterhood up to scratch." The Vampiress answered with a thoughtful expression on her face, "Nothing like this was there."
"Let's go and investigate your own bed then." The Elder Lich said and strode out of the door, Grandia dogging his steps. Grandia had been the first member of the Ains Ooal Gown Guild other than the members of the Original Nine, so her room was just after Bukubukuchagama's room. Unlike Momonga's, which was pretty much only the bare essentials, Grandia's was decked out in deep reds and cream, with a wide bed…including an intricately carved headboard, with a new addition of a blank area that started to fill itself in as soon as Grandia walked into the room.
Name: Grandia Bloodragon
Gender: Female
Race: - Heteromorphic
- High-Daywalker Vampire
Rank: Vice-Guildmaster
To Next Level: 1754/240000
Epithet(s): - Slayer of Dracule
- The Vampiress who Conquered the Sun
Karma: 100 (Neutral)
Overall Level: 100/120
Racial Levels: - Vampire (10)
- Vampire Princess (10)
- True Vampire (10)
- High-Daywalker (5)
Job Class Levels: - Princess of Darkness (10)
- Blood Drinker (10)
- Fencer (15)
- Swordmaster (10)
- Armoured Mage (10)
- Sword Dancer (10)
Status Ranking
HP: 100
MP: 56
Physical Attack: 78
Physical Defence: 71
Agility: (Exceeds Limits)
Magical Attack: 50
Magical Defence: 65
Resistance: 60
Special Ability: 100
Total: 680+
"This…confirms it." Grandia said weakly, staring in disbelief at her own Status Console. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, aside from the experience bar and the level limit.
"Agreed." Momonga sounded excited, "Whoever trapped us here must have altered things so it was as if a new expansion added on to YGGDRASIL's programming! It means that even if we get killed and lose five levels as usual, we can regain them by accruing experience as normal!"
A slow smile spread across Grandia's face before it was replaced by a frown. "Why can't we access our Consoles normally then?"
"Because this isn't a game." Momonga replied as he paced back and forth, "This is a real world. Someone, somewhere, has managed to materialise a digital environment, complete with Non-Player Characters and Players. Additionally, they bound our spirits to our Avatar bodies and actualised the personality settings of the NPC's. They aren't bits of data anymore; they're actual living (or unliving) beings! As our strength comes from our levels, those had to be included as well, but for whatever reason, they also allowed us the chance to become stronger still. It's entirely possible the offsetting counter to that is that we cannot assign status points and that we have to visit our rooms in order to view them or acquire new Job Classes."
"Wait, so the Attribute Points are going to be auto-assigned?" Grandia grimaced. She hated it when games did that.
"Considering that we could be stuck here without the ability to level up or see our strengths, I find it to be an amicable compromise." Momonga pointed out reasonably.
"I…suppose." Grandia sighed, "How have you been getting on?"
"I still haven't found the Mirror of Remote Viewing." Momonga sighed in irritation, "I have Sebas searching for it as we speak. Once it is found, I'll learn how to use it and scout out our surroundings in more detail."
"That's good." The Vampiress replied with a grimace as her throat burned with thirst, "Look for some humans while you're out there; I'm really, really thirsty."
"You mean you haven't drunk any blood since coming here?!" the Lich sounded concerned.
"It isn't something that I absolutely need to do." She defended, "A [High-Daywalker] only has to drink blood every fortnight or so and it hasn't been that long."
"True, but when was the last time you did drink blood?" The Guildmaster asked, "The last time you logged on was a month before the last day of YGGDRASIL. Did you drink any blood then?"
Grandia wracked her brains before nodding. "Yeah, a Wyvern's."
"That explains why the hunger pangs have only just manifested." Momonga muttered before turning around and heading out. One of his guild members needed him to find food and he was going to oblige her.
Grandia had mixed feelings about needing to drink blood and, more to the point, wanting it to be human blood in particular. [High-Daywalkers] were vampires who had mastered the uncontrolled bloodthirst that made [True Vampires] go berserk as they slew their enemies. As a consequence, they lost a bit of the power boost gained as they drank their enemy's blood, but the control side of things more than offset that ever so slight disadvantage, along with being almost immune to sunlight and silver and greatly resistant to [Holy] type attacks.
She was also aware of how her vampiric instincts viewed humans; as cattle, as a food source, as prey, as something so far beneath her that it wasn't funny. The main issue was that some part of the psyche that had been Satou Nayuta agreed with her new body's instincts on a practical level. She could tear her way through ordinary humans as if they were paper cut outs with her newfound strength that she had built in YGGDRASIL. She was the second-fastest player in the entire game, only outdone by someone with the Divine Equipment of two messenger gods. She was as high above a human as humans were above an ordinary ant.
Still, her mind was mostly human and she had no intention of losing to her body's urges. This meant she would have to start meditating every day. Her father had been a modestly skilled martial artist and had taught her the basics as a child. She hadn't practiced since becoming a wage-slave at a certain Japanese super corporation, something which she regretted. Still, it was like learning to ride a bike; you never forgot once you learned how.
Grandia would master her new vampiric instincts and make them work for her, not the other way around. She had been human for over twenty years; she would remain human in spirit as long as she could now that she was a vampire. Grandia the vampire and Nayuta the human would have to learn to coexist.
Later
Momonga's Office, Ninth Floor, Great Tomb of Nazarick
"Ah, so you finally found it." Grandia said as she entered the room to see her friend struggling with a large oval mirror that was floating above the coffee table. Next to him, Sebas Tian stood at the ready to carry out his master's commands. He bowed at Grandia as she entered.
"Yes. It turned out that Peroronchino-san played one of his little jokes on me by hiding the mirror in his sister's room instead of putting it in the throne room as I asked him." Momonga grumbled, "He was one of the last to really leave, so he hid it. Now that I come to think of it, several of my items went missing after he asked to have a look through my inventory and I haven't had time to find them yet. Sebas, kindly look for any items on the Ninth Floor that might have come from my inventory."
"At once, Momonga-sama." The butler bowed before vanishing in a blur. Moments later, he returned with an armful of items that had Momonga facepalming at the antics of his friend. Grandia just chuckled.
Once the Elder Lich returned his items to where they belonged, Grandia stood at his other shoulder as Momonga tried to figure out how to use the Mirror of Remote Viewing, a magic item that allowed the user to view any location they desired within the world it was used in. It had been of little use in YGGDRASIL due to the fact that many low-level spells and items could block it.
When they neglected to do that, however, it showed player levels and locations. Highly useful when used right. Momonga growled again as he barely made the image reflected on the glass twitch.
"Sorry for making you accompany me in this, Sebas." He said as he tried again.
"Not at all, Momonga-sama. The ever ready to act butler is how Touch-Me-sama created me. I stand ready to carry out your orders, Momonga-sama." The butler bowed.
"Very good…oh! I think I have it now." Momonga said eagerly. The mirror now showed a group of buildings with humans running in between them frantically. "What's this? A festival of some sort?"
"No, Momo0nga-sama…I believe that village is being plundered." Sebas said shortly, his eyes narrowing at the mirror. Touch-Me had despised the strong picking on the weak, which he had built into his personal creation.
Momonga magnified the image in time to see a man in a villager's tunic throw himself at an armoured knight while yelling at someone who was likely his daughter, probably telling her to run.
Grandia growled angrily when the knight merely reversed the grip he had on his sword and impaled the brave man in the back. "Momonga-san, I want to go there and drain those knights dry."
Momonga pondered that for a moment. Grandia did need to feed and killing these knights would make a good test of how strong this world's human warriors were, but he was loath to move without having proper intelligence. Plus, he was slightly disturbed by how unaffected he was by the death he was seeing.
He caught sight of Sebas, awaiting his command and was strongly reminded of the time that Touch-Me had saved him from being PK'd for the hundredth time by a group of human players, back before Ains Ooal Gown, before the original Nine, when he was just Momonga, the Skeleton Mage. His words from that day struck him suddenly.
'Saving people in trouble is always the right thing to do!'
"Yes…let us go then." Momonga stood up and addressed Sebas, "Have Albedo and Exia meet us there in full war regalia, Sebas. Grandia and I are going to punish the unjust. While we are away, raise the security level of Nazarick to maximum."
"By your command, Momonga-sama."
"Grandia, have some of your [1st Star] follow us and be ready to move at a moment's notice." He continued.
On the mirror the girl, dragging a much younger girl by her hand, was being chased into the forest by three knights. Grandia removed her [Ring of Ains Ooal Gown] and replaced it with another one she drew from her inventory.
"This is the [Ring of Loki's Mischief]." She told Momonga, "This is what it does."
After a moment of concentration, Grandia's form blurred until it wasn't the vampire Grandia Bloodragon standing before them, but an ordinary human woman with blond hair, creamy skin and sapphire blue eyes.
"I'd better change my clothes too. [Create Greater Item]!" Grandia commanded, her armour flickering as it was replaced by ordinary leather armour and a long red cape. Her two weapons were also replaced with ordinary looking rapiers.
"Let us go then." Momonga said as he summoned the [Staff of Ains Ooal Gown] to his side, "[Gate]!"
Same Time
Carne Village Outskirts
Enri Emmot didn't hesitate to throw herself in front of the sword that would have killed her sister, Nemu. She let out a cry of pain as the blade sliced open her back and collapsed to her knees, cradling Nemu in her arms.
"Enri…!" Nemu wept as she felt the blood flow down her sister's back.
The knight who cut her chuckled as he raised his blade again, to finish her off.
'Nemu…I have to get Nemu out of here, if nothing else!' Enri lamented as she closed her eyes and panted from the pain.
The blow she was expecting never came and Enri cracked an eye open before both of them flew open in shock.
A large purple rip in the air had appeared out of nowhere in front of her, which made the knights step back uneasily. Magic Casters were uncommon this far out on the borders of the Re-Estize Kingdom and not even the legends of the Eight Greed Kings or the Six Great Gods had tales of the likes of this.
Then, from the rip, what Enri could only describe as a horror emerged. An undead monstrosity, clad in billowing dark purple robes. It stood half-again taller than even the knights and its skeletal head and arms were all that could be seen of its actual body. In one hand, it clutched a large golden sceptre that radiated frightening power.
Then another being emerged from the rip and Enri felt her heart flutter. A woman emerged, impossibly beautiful, with long golden locks cascading down her back, her blue eyes raking over the scene with intelligence and discernment. She wore form-fitting leather armour, with a knee-length red cape fluttering behind her. At either side of her waist were two rapiers, obviously of high quality.
Both of these being exuded such power that the village girl though she was going to faint from it. She was trembling like a leaf and shifted herself so that Nemu was somewhat protected from both the mysterious beings and the knights, although she wasn't sure which to be more frightened of now.
The Lich reached out with its free hands and made a clenching gesture as it said, in a voice full of dread, "[Grasp Heart]!"
A pulsating muscle appeared in its hand and Enri quickly tucked her little sister's head away from the scene as she realised what it was planning to do. With a swift motion, it crushed the organ in its hand in explosion of blood and flesh. One of the knights gurgled and collapsed onto his back, dead.
'Who…or what…is this?' Enri had to wonder. Undead were all mindless monsters, as far as she was aware, that attacked the living with reckless abandon and fervour. Yet this Lich had deliberately ignored her in favour of one of the knights…
Grandia's POV
As the knight collapsed, Grandia raised a mental eyebrow at how utterly indifferent she was to the death of a human by a 9th Tier Necromancy spell.
{Try not to kill them all, please Momonga-san.} She sent through their telepathic link, {I have to feed on some of them.}
{I'll do my best.} Was his reply, {Huh…that was almost too easy to cast. Almost no resistance from him whatsoever. I'll lower the bar and try a 5th Tier Spell next. I didn't feel anything when I killed him.}
{I felt the same.} Grandia replied, {Damn, that girl got cut badly. I'd say a potion will be needed to heal her.}
{Later.} Momonga replied before moving forward to stand between the two cowering girls and the knights.
"M-Monster!" one knight shrieked in fear.
"What manner of man can so easily kill defenceless women and children, yet be to terrified to raise a hand against me?" Momonga asked rhetorically. Both he and Grandia knew the answer; a coward.
"Heeee!" the knight dropped his sword and shield, fleeing as fast as his armour would let him.
"I'll have you help me test my power, whether you like it or not!" Momonga's eyes glowed as he pointed a single finger at the fleeing knight, "[Dragon Lightning]!"
A single bolt of blue lightning erupted from his finger and lashed out at the knight, electrocuting him to death in less than ten seconds. As he collapsed, Grandia considered this.
{He can't have been any stronger than Level 10.} She sent to Momonga, {If that. Those girls have to be about Level 2 or 3, the older one at least.}
{Agreed. Are you going to chase the other one?} Momonga replied.
{Two Minutes.} She said as she rushed after him, leaving a blur in her wake. The third knight had bolted as soon as the other one had dropped his weapon and was a fair distance away by that point, but it took her less than twenty seconds to catch up with him. by luck or skill on his part, he swung around and chopped at her with his sword. To Grandia, he might as well have been standing still.
She batted the sword away with an impatient gesture of her hand and ripped his cuirass from his body before sinking her fangs into his neck and drinking deep. The human tried to pull her from him, but he might as well tried to lift a tonne of granite for all the good it did him. His struggles puttered off until he hung limply as she drained his body dry.
"That hit the spot." Grandia licked her lips as she savoured the taste of human for the first time in her life. Unlike the times she had sucked on a bleeding wound in her past human life, the taste of the human was rich and strong, energising her as it sated her thirst.
As she allowed the corpse of the human to drop to the ground, she pointed at it and said, "[Create Lesser Vampire]!"
The body twitched, writhed and then stood up, face pale and ruby eyes shining as he awaited her orders.
"Standby here. Kill any human wearing the same armour you are currently wearing." She ordered brusquely. Lesser Vampires were strong, but utterly stupid. Just in case it got any ideas, she added, "You are forbidden to leave this spot unless a target appears."
With that, she rushed back to Momonga, to see him stopping Albedo, fully clad in black armour, from killing the two girls with her battleaxe.
"OK, so what's happening here?" she sighed.
"Grandia-sama!" Exia, her ears concealed by the headband she now wore and her tail tucked away, blurred into existence before her, on one knee, "The humans are refusing our lord's generous gift!"
It took a moment to clear things up but Grandia eventually puzzled out that it was Momonga's bad word choice that caused the problem. Taking the potion, she kneeled next to the girls.
"Hello there. Sorry about Albedo; she's a bit…on edge." she said, "Might I know your name?"
"E…Enri. Enri Emmot." The older girl said shakily.
"Enri. This is a healing potion." Grandia held up the bottle full of red liquid, "That wound on your back could make you die of blood loss if you don't drink this. I swear on any god you care to name, that is all this will do, heal you."
"O…OK." Enri reached for the potion, unstoppered it and drank it down. The effect was instantaneous; the large, weeping wound on the girl's back glowed white and sealed shut. Enri's face, previously pale, became flushed with colour again as the potion restored the blood she had lost. Grandia also noted several scars and cuts on her arms fade away.
"Feels better, doesn't it?"
"Y-Yes…thank you." Enri looked startled at how well she felt.
Grandia nodded before noticing the missing corpse. "My lord, what happened to the dead knight?"
Momonga looked uncomfortable. "I tried to create a [Death Knight]. It worked, but used a dead body as a medium, unlike in our world. I ordered it to kill the knights and it just…ran off before I could do more than order it to not harm the villagers."
The vampiress felt like facepalming. What was the point of a shield monster if it didn't stay to shield the caster?! She hadn't had that problem with her [Lesser Vampire], but then, she had ordered it to remain stationary unless an enemy came within range first.
"Live and learn, my lord." She said aloud, "Might I suggest that we place protections on Miss Enri here and make haste to capture some knights before your [Death Knight] kills them all?"
"An excellent suggestion, Grandia." Momonga replied before turning to Enri, "Girl, do you know what magic is?"
"Yes." Enri nodded, "I have a f-friend who is a pharmacist. He practices magic."
"Perfect. I am also someone who practices magic, a Magic Caster if you will." Momonga said and raised his hand, "[Anti-Life Cocoon]. [Wall of Protection from Arrows]."
Two magic circles sprang up in front of his hand as the magic activated. Grandia nodded in approval of his choice in spells. [Anti-Life Cocoon] would prevent any living creature from coming near them to attack them up close, while [Wall of Protection from Arrows] would divert any missile weaponry or lesser magic from attacking them.
A green dome appeared around the girls, who gazed at it in awe.
"As long as you remain inside the dome, you will be safe from any of the scoundrels who have attacked your village." Momonga told them, "Just in case, take these."
He tossed a pair of small horns tied to leather loops to the two of them. "Should you be threatened by a powerful enemy, blow those [Horns of the Goblin General]. An army of goblins will be called forth to do your bidding. Do not hesitate to use them if needed."
'Trash mobs, Momonga-san?!' Grandia mentally tsukkomi'd at him, before realising that goblins would likely be more than enough to face any enemies the girls would face in this world, considering the relative weakness of the knights.
"Let us go, Grandia…we have knights to kill." Momonga said darkly, "Albedo, Exia, follow us."
""At once!"" the two NPC's replied.
"Wait!" Enri called out, making the Lich pause, "Thank you so much for saving us! We can never repay this favour."
She bowed deeply, her freed sister copying her.
{She's going to ask for your name, Momonga-san.} Grandia sent, reading the girl's intent easily. It was common sense to ask for the name of your saviour in this situation.
{…my name…Grandia-san…I think that some of our guild mates might have been transported here as well.} Momonga said telepathically as he said aloud, "It was nothing. Thanks are not needed."
{Momonga-san, there's no proof of that.} Grandia said gently.
{Even if the chance is low, I have to try and find them!} The Lich argued back, {I have to try, and how better to go about it than using the name they once stood under?}
Grandia understood then just how much Suzuki Satoru, Momonga, missed his guild mates. She knew that, outside of YGGDRASIL, he had no one; no parents, no lovers no friends, no acquaintances even. No one except the members of the PK Guild Ains Ooal Gown. She was much the same, as her family had died in a stupid traffic accident and she had drifted away from all her friends as a wage slave.
{Go ahead…Ains-sama.} She said with a smile.
Momonga nodded.
"Can I know the name of the man who saved us this day?" Enri asked.
"You shall remember it well!" the Elder Lich declared as he spun around to face her, "And tell all of my powers! I am Ains Ooal Gown! In the past, there were none who did not know this name and so it shall be once again!"
Carne Village Proper
With a chilling roar, the [Death Knight] lashed out with its sword, bisecting three knights horizontally in a spray of blood and visceral gore. Of the fifty man knight group, only ten were left. Most of those casualties were dealt by the [Death Knight], but Carne Village's inhabitants had accounted for at least five of those casualties.
'Just more proof of how low-levelled these pathetic knight really are.' Grandia thought with a snort. She and the others were floating above the village using the [Fly] spell or [Amulets of Flight].
Momonga, or Ains as she supposed she should call him now, had placed a [Mask of Envy] over his skeletal face to hide it as well as wearing [Járngreipr], a type of strength enhancing gauntlet, to cover his hands.
"Cease, [Death Knight]!" he ordered, "You have served me well."
The undead knight lowered its sword and stood still at its creator's order.
"Now then…" Ains looked at the ten men in armour, who he doubted very much were actually knights. Real knights would be far more powerful. Bandits of some sort? Raiders of a different country? It didn't really matter. These men were dead men walking.
As he landed the disguised undead man continued to speak eloquently.
"You 'knights' who have slain so many of these villagers are left with a simple choice; put up your weapons and live at my mercy or continue to resist and die. You have seen the power of my [Death Knight]. Meagre fake knights such as yourselves are unworthy to become smears on its blade, but I will do so should you resist further. Well gentlemen? Your decision?"
"Go to hell!" one knight roared and charged right at Ains in a foolhardy charge.
Grandia landed on the ground in his path and impaled the man through the visor so quickly it was almost like teleportation. One minute he had been charging bravely forward, the next he was only held up by the rapier that skewered his head.
"He made his choice." She said blandly as she jerked her blade free, "What say the rest of you?"
To a man, the fake knights surrendered quietly.
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Next Chapter: Dominion Authority
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