Chapter 2: beast in the capital
Part 1
Almost every human has a tendency to be wary of the night. The darkness frightens us with its emptiness and eerie silence, but this is a lie. Our true fear comes from the fact that we don't know what hides in the darkness. Our true fear is a monster jumping out from the shadows while we least expect it.
A monster much like Lycan.
"Aaah what a bummer! I finally get a chance to go out and look for some real food and I get zilch! Maaaan, and I got all excited too!"
Lycan looked around the capital in a dissatisfied manner from one of the rooftops. He had finally managed to get out of the house and go look for some prey but no one was around.
In a world where goblins, trolls, undead and other monsters existed even if they lived inside a well-protected city people would still avoid going outside of their houses at night unless they went to an inn or someone else's house.
Lycan was preparing to go back home. Although he had managed to sneak out abusing the fact that Yuri and Shizu seemed too busy with something else, he had wasted the entire night looking for suitable prey and had come up empty.
Still it should be fine. Although he had snuck out, he had not killed anyone and thus an earful from Yuri would probably be the most punishment that he would receive tonight.
Just as he was preparing to start heading back to his home…
"My, what a fine night to be out on a walk! Wouldn't you say so as well, mister?"
Lycan immediately turned around in surprise as he heard the sound of a voice casually addressing him.
Lycan was a beast-type NPC as such sneaking up on him wasn't the easiest thing in the world due to his heightened senses. Yet somehow, someone had managed to approach him unnoticed.
Lycan saw that to his surprise, it was not a highly skilled assassin or ranger but instead a young girl. She looked to be just 15 and no older but what was more surprising than her weird two colored hair or her age was the fact that she was wearing what looked to be a suit of armor alongside with a war scythe for a weapon.
Her armor like her hair and even her eyes was two-colored. A mix of black and white pieces that seemed to form a bizarre attire but at the same time caused a sense of uneasiness in Lycan's heart.
Instead of immediately attacking Lycan instead decided to test the waters as he risked falling into the enemy's trap.
"You're right. It really is a beautiful night out. But I'm afraid that I don't know to whom I have the pleasure of talking to on this fine night."
Internally Lycan felt disgusted that he had to put on a dignified appearance as he was technically posing as the son of a noble. Even still, acting so out of character disturbed him to his core.
"The name… well my name isn't really important. I just came here to see you."
Lycan felt a growing sense of unease, if this person had come looking for him than the chance that he and the maids had been discovered was extremely high. He had to confirm and if possible retreat to warn the others.
"Might I ask how you were able to find me? I don't mean to brag but stealth isn't one of my weak points."
Zesshi displayed a childlike smile as she answered in a casual tone.
"Sure, a while ago I sensed an enormous surge of bloodlust in the capital. It was far stronger then what humans should be capable of emitting. I figured I might get lucky if I patrolled the capital tonight and sure enough I found such a suspicious looking fellow like you wandering around."
Lycan clicked his tongue. That meant that she was alerted by his emission of bloodlust earlier. If that was the case than it was his fault that he had been discovered but if he was lucky than killing this girl here and now could still fix that.
"And you decided to come here alone pursuing the source of that bloodlust? How brave."
"Well, if I called the others it would be no fun fighting, so I thought I'd keep it a secret and enjoy myself for once."
Jackpot if she isn't lying than killing here will mean our mission is secure. Now I just gotta kill her quietly and dispose of the body before anyone comes here.
Lycan celebrated internally as his failure could still be avoided and he had the perfect chance to rectify his mistake. Now all he had to do was fine away to kill this brat quickly and dispose of the body.
"Oh by the way. Do you mind if we change locations? If we fight we'll sure to wake up some of the residents and that will probably put us both in a sticky spot, right? I know just the place close by where we can go as wild as we want without having to worry about how much noise we make. Sound good to you?"
Lycan could not help but feel that this was getting to easy. Now all his problems had been solved. He did not sense anyone else close by and the chance that there were more guys like the girl who could sneak up on him were very low. Besides no matter how strong this girl thought she was, against a high level NPC like himself, she stood little chance.
Lycan silently nodded as he started following Zesshi who had turned around and jumped from the roof into an alley. After following her round through a few streets they ended up in a large square that connected four streets with houses surrounding the square on all sides. The square was about as big as half a football field so plenty of room to fight. The only problem was why on earth Zesshi thought this was a place where they could fight freely.
Strange didn't she say that she'd lead me to a place where no one could see or hear us? Yet she brought me to a huge square like this. Far from making noise, if anyone so much as looks out the window of their homes we would be noticed.
Before he could ask why Zesshi had chosen this location Lycan noticed that Zesshi had taken out a strange looking glass orb. The orb seemed to radiate a faint red glow with strange markings appearing every now and then within the orb, only to fade away after a while.
Lycan was immediately on guard.
Even though he had a certain level of magic resistance. Against an unknown opponent with an unknown level of magic power he had to be wary.
"Don't worry, this is just a barrier stone that can set up a barrier around this place so we can fight in peace."
Zesshi revealed a mischievous smile as she tightened her grip on the orb, which began emitting a fierce wave of magic energy.
Quickly the wave of energy swept over Lycan and covered the most of the square. What formed was a dome shaped magical barrier that seemed to isolate any sound or light from outside. Fortunately the light of the barrier itself made everything inside clearly visible.
"Hoooh… never seen a magic item like this before. So now we can go wild as much as we want?"
Zesshi simply nodded, confirming what Lycan said. As long as she didn't break the orb or dispel the magic herself, no one would be able to disturb the two of them. Not even other members of the black scripture could easily break into this place.
"Well then since I can't let you go don't blame me if I kill u. consider it your bad luck that you came looking for trouble by yourself. I'm not gonna hold back even though you're just a little gi…"
Lycan couldn't finish his sentence.
Before his very eyes something glistered.
Without him being able to see the precise moment when she began her approach, Zesshi had already closed the distance between the two of them and now within range had swung her war scythe at Lycan with ferocious intensity.
"Guuuh…"
If only due to his instincts, but Lycan was able to narrowly dodge the attack by a hair's breathe. After jumping back quite a distance in order to give him some breathing space Lycan now realized that this girl was not a person to be easily trifled with.
"Attacking me mid-sentence, not a very praiseworthy warrior's spirit you have!"
"Then don't provoke me by saying I'm a little girl, I'll have you know that I'm older than I look. Besides that attack was just a greeting to see what you were capable of."
Zesshi's expression suddenly darkened as a hint of disappointment showed on her face.
"That said, to only be able to narrowly dodge an attack that weak… pathetic. You call yourself a monster? All the warriors on my team could dodge that in their sleep!"
Lycan simply said nothing. This comment of Zesshi only made him form a horrendous smile on his face. The abnormally large canines inside his mouth shone in the artificial light of the barrier and would make many feel a disturbing sense of panic in their hearts.
Zesshi felt it. This man was definitely the source of the bloodlust that she had felt earlier. She didn't know how but she could sense that in a few moments the real fight would begin.
And then…
The human standing before her disappeared. Gone without a trace or sound. What stood before Zesshi was a beast that emitted a murderous aura that caused even her to flinch. In an instant without any slow metamorphosis but faster than one could blink a monster had taken the place of the man. A monstrous crimson haired abomination with fangs and claws the size of daggers and equally sharp. Even though it stood on two legs it carried no hint of being human. Before her stood the monster known as 'werewolf'.
"Werewolf? Impossible! There's no full moon out tonight, no there's no moon out tonight! How on earth can you transform?"
Unsure if this beast even could understand her anymore what she heard was the monstrous voice of a being that had cast off the notion of being even close to human.
"HAHAHA… you humans are all the same, you see one monster and you think you've seen them all. Only low level werewolves require moonlight to transform. I'm no ordinary werewolf, I'm Lycan Thropius the Crimson Werewolf Emperor."
Zesshi was surprised. In history there have been recordings of werewolves that could transform during a full moon and take on a dozen or more armed soldiers.
But this creature radiated a strength far above that.
Looks like after such a long time. I'll be able to enjoy myself tonight
Zesshi readied herself. Now that her foe had revealed his true power the battle was finally on.
With frightening speed, the two charged at each other.
Now that Lycan had transformed, there was no longer any need to be on guard. Even though he had to admit that this human's capabilities were above what he expected, in this form he truly believed that there was no human that could match him.
Zesshi chose to engage her foe head on. Being overly cautious now would only cause her to lose the initiative.
The fierce dash of the two, the razor sharp claws of Lycan collided with the blade of Zesshi's war scythe. A sharp metallic sound was produced followed by a shockwave of power that flung both fighters several meters apart.
Lycan was stunned.
To be able to not only match him but win was simply unbelievable to him.
He had felt it. Beneath the seemingly innocent and cute appearance of this young girl slumbered a lion?
"I have to give you credit you monster. It's been a looong time since anyone has been able to make me use that much strength but you're still below some members of my team how disappointing."
Lycan felt a deep rage in his heart at what Zesshi said. There was a very profound reason as to why despite his high level he fell behind even some of the lower level NPCs of Nazarick in terms of power.
He as an NPC had 80 levels in the racial category which mostly were used to provide passives and resistances and only very few active skills or stat boosts. As such, because he only had five levels in his job category he could be considered a very weak fighter for his level.
But…
In exchange for that sacrifice of strength, Lycan possessed a skill that very few had and was regarded in Yggdrasil as potentially one of the most dangerous in the game.
"Guess I'll have to fight without holding back anything if I want to win."
Lycan took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the next attack…
"Skill activate [summon Pack]"
Immediately from out of his shadow emerged seven black shapes that then assembled in formation in front of Lycan in order to protect him.
These were 'shadow pack wolves', one of the few active skills that Lycan had was due to a racial class of his called 'Pack Leader' that on top of granting resistance against fear to his nearby allies, allowed him to summon seven of these wolves to aid him in battle.
"Hooh so you're actually going to resort to summoning minions to aid you? Cowardly, cowardly."
Zesshi could not help but mock Lycan's actions. In this one on one duel against two warriors he actually dared to summon other creatures. She could only sigh in disdain as these whelps would not be able to put so much as a scratch on her.
"This is a fight to the death, the winner decides what is right and what not!"
Zesshi and Lycan readied themselves once more for the next exchange. This time both would play for keeps.
"Go my pack"
Waiting for his command the seven black wolves dashed at Zesshi, first spreading out a bit so they could attack her from multiple directions and then all leaping at her at the same time with the intent to rip her to shreds!
"No don't come at me all at the same time!"
Zesshi shouted with a face full of panic. She did not expect that all seven of the wolves would attack her together.
"You'll…
Make this far too easy"
In a blink the face of panic turned to a face of pure joy as Zesshi swung her Scythe sideways at the seven wolves.
With just one horizontal swing, all of the seven wolves had been cut down and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke as they were just summoned beings.
Zesshi felt vexed. The seven wolves were even less of a threat to her than she had thought. But then suddenly felt a cold chill down her spine as a presence appeared behind her.
Lycan had foreseen the destruction of his pack. After their exchange earlier he understood that Zesshi was powerful. That much was clear. Even so, the opening that they created from drawing Zesshi's attention was enough.
Lycan swung his claws downwards. Zesshi was armed heavily but her head was completely unguarded. Using his claws he could easily split her skull open like a piece of fruit.
Lycan roared out as his claws flew at Zesshi.
"Take this you little appetizer!"
His claw penetrated deep into her brain. Her skull was cracked and her insides were leaking out. A one hit kill. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Zesshi fell on the ground…
At least that was what was supposed to happen.
Lycan felt a heavy shock reverberate through his body as if he had hit a solid wall. No even if he had hit a wall he would have smashed through, this felt much harder.
To his surprise, he saw before him how with nothing more than her armguard Zesshi had blocked his claw attack from her blind spot and was comfortably standing around.
"Not a lot of people know this but the martial skill [Immovable Fortress] can be applied to not just the weapon but pieces of armor too. Good thing I'm a genius that figured it out on her own huh?"
Zesshi was mockingly smiling at Lycan while he was still recovering from the shock and surprise he felt. To not be able to pierce through an opponent's defense was to him inconceivable.
Using this opening to her advantage, Zesshi made a spin attack with her scythe.
Lycan tried to dodge by jumping backwards but was tardy in his reaction and…
"Gaaah"
A sharp pain spread through his chest as he felt a warm liquid soaking into his fur that visibly died his crimson coat of hair even redder. Even though the wound was not lethal it still hurt like hell.
She hit me? This pathetic piece of food actually wounded me?
More than the fact that she was able to wound him, Lycan felt surprised that the armor that his opponent was wearing could withstand his attack.
If that armor was ordinary steel I would have still ripped through it, even with her martial skill whatever or without. Could it be…?
If the reason that she was able to parry his attack with just that armguard was indeed what Lycan thought, than that created an opportunity for Lycan.
Even though Ainz had forbidden him from using that power in Nazarick. Here it should be okay.
Lycan smiled as he got in position to launch his next attack.
"You're still going to attack despite seeing how easily I can block your attack huh?"
"Shut up! I'm gonna bite that smug looking face of yours off!"
Zesshi paid no attention to what she believed were empty threats. As she only needed to guard her head where as Lycan was virtually unarmed and wore no armor she had the absolute advantage.
Lycan grit his teeth as he focused his mind away from the pain and on his opponent. He and Zesshi readied themselves as they were about to start what could be their last exchange of blows.
This time Zesshi was the only one that stepped in. Lycan no longer had the strength necessary to match her head on and was forced to play it defensively.
Zesshi charged in low with her war scythe behind her ready to start swinging.
In an instant she got in range and launched what she thought was the last strike.
No man could defend against her. With the speed she swung her scythe with, even if one had activated defensive martial skills beforehand one would be hard-pressed to dodge it completely.
To think this will end without me even using almost any martial skills. Guess I was just overestimating him due to being unable to find a good opponent in the Theocracy.
With a distant thought of disappointment Zesshi executed her attack and with terrifying speed swung her scythe in the direction of Lycan's neck.
Even if Lycan would have worn full plate armor, her scythe still would have cut his head off cleanly. Without any armor or real weapons to speak of Lycan seemed doomed.
However…
"Huh?"
Nothing.
Even though her scythe was razor sharp and could slice through flesh and bone like cutting through butter, she would still feel a slight resistance but now instead she felt nothing.
By some miracle Lycan had anticipated Zesshi's point of attack and started dodging before she had even begun her attack. By lowering his stance enough he had made it possible to have the scythe sweep over him and create this opening.
"Figures you'd aim for the neck! You're still a brat after all, fighting in a textbook style like that."
His speed was inferior to hers but if he knew where she would attack then it was still possible to evade.
Not giving his enemy time to react he swung his claws at her from above again. Zesshi knew all too well that if it she allowed it to hit she would be dead in an instant.
In this situation where she was caught off guard, Zesshi was forced to block the attack with the pole of her war scythe.
Still, with her strength as it is and Lycan weakened due to his wound she didn't even need to use a martial defense skill in order to block. To her all of this was nothing more than a dying struggle.
Sure enough Lycan's attack collided with the pole of Zesshi's war scythe. Even though it could still be considered as monstrously strong, it was far from enough to break her guard.
Lycan's last attack had failed, he had made a large bet and gambled that Zesshi would aim for a sideway swing at his neck in order to create this opportunity bit still failed to get any results.
But on his face, what should have been despair and regret was nothing more than a wide grin that displayed his ferocious teeth in their full glory.
This was what he had hoped for would happen!
The reason that his attack was considerably weaker and was because he knew he couldn't break through Zesshi's guard even at full force but his aim was different. At the moment that his attack hit the pole of her scythe he retracted his claws and grabbed the pole with both his hand tightening the grip on it to the max.
Zesshi understood too late what his aim was and was unable to prevent Lycan grabbing hold of her weapon.
Before she could react her weapon had been immobilized by Lycan and she was either forced to let go of it or struggle in close proximity to such a dangerous monster to get in back.
Having completed his first objective, Lycan lashed out at Zesshi with his fangs as he intended to try bite her head off.
Seeing this Zesshi simply smiled. She let go off her weapon with one hand and put her armored arm between herself and Lycan's gaping mouth.
Seeing this Lycan did not halt and continued his attempt to maul Zesshi to death.
This fool probably thought he can just chew through my armor with his teeth. This heavenly armor that was made by the six great gods or your teeth, it should be obvious which is harder.
Zesshi grinned as she used her armguard to halt the biting attack from Lycan as she placed it inside his mouth intending for him to break his teeth if he dared to try and bite through it.
Sensing that Lycan was really about to try and bite through the armor she grinned as she could not believe that this beast was actually this dumb.
"Ha-ha chew on this you mongrel."
She already pictured the sight of Lycan's pain felt cries sounding through the barrier. The pain he was about to feel would surely cause him to let go off her scythe and give her all the opportunity she needed in order to finish the fight.
As Lycan' mouth closed, she thought that she could already hear the sound of breaking teeth but then…
should have been the sound of teeth breaking inside of Lycan's mouth, Zesshi instead heard the sound of metal that was being torn apart as she felt a sudden chill around the arm that she had used to block Lycan's attack.
Frightened beyond reason and unable to accept what she thought had happened Zesshi kicked Lycan in the stomach aiming for the wound while using all her might to pull her arm from Lycan's mouth.
With a loud shriek of pain, Lycan easily let go of Zesshi's arm and her scythe at the same time.
As Zesshi inspected her armor her worst fear had come to pass.
The armguard of her divine armor that was left behind by the six gods, the very same armor that none of the other members of the Black Scripture had been able to so much as dent in any of the training fights that she had had with them…
"The armguard is…"
"Completely torn off…"
A voice of utter disbelief sounded from Zesshi. It would have taken the highest of magic spells to so much damage the armor slightly let alone tear it off completely. This was inconceivable!
"This much huh? Guess that armor you're wearing is divine class then."
Lycan muttered his observations as he spat out the chunk of armor that he had thorn of earlier. He himself was just as surprised Zesshi. Never would he have imagined that his opponent was wearing was of such a high level.
The secret to Lycan being able to damage Zesshi's armor stemmed from the fact that he had been set with so many racial levels. Racial levels granted passives and thus almost no player in YGGDRASIL would ever skew their character with so many racial levels as it would quickly fall behind in strength, even when compared to players of ten levels lower than their own. However by skewing the werewolf class to such a high degree, a secret skill became available that was considered to be in the top three most dangerous in all of the game.
Item eater. A super rare skill that as far as the players of YGGDRASIL knew, was available to only three races. One of those races was the elder slime class, it had a 0.1% chance of obtaining this skill after reaching level 90. Another race could use this skill after equipping an item that was hard to make even for guilds in the top ten and finally in the werewolf class by skewing the racial levels of werewolves until they become werewolf emperors, there was a very slight chance that their unique skill would be item eater.
This skill was an enemy item destruction skill and was feared and coveted by all. If the divine class items that one used in battle were destroyed then ones stats would plummet fiercely. In group battles this ability was considered incredibly overpowered and was permanently banned from tournaments. But the most dangerous thing about this ability was not even this.
Item eater was the only ability known in YGGDRASIL that could destroy a world class item.
What's more is that a single hit from this ability could render a world class item unusable in battle until repaired and was by many considered to be the only real counter against them.
Even in Ainz Ooal Gown ,the amount of creatures that could use this ability was only three. But Ainz had sent Lycan with the thought that should the world class item user appear then Lycan might be able to destroy it with his ability, which would be a huge boon.
"You insolent mutt!"
Zesshi appeared close to be fuming from the mouth as she shouted in pure anger at Lycan.
"Do you have any idea what this armor is worth? You have just committed sacrilege!"
"Hahaha as if I care about what you pieces of chow consider holy!"
Lycan mockingly let out a heartfelt laughter. To him who could use item eater, an armored opponent was better of fighting naked.
As she heard Lycan's reply all emotion vanished from Zesshi's face completely. A dark chill seemed to emit from her that lowered the temperature in the barrier considerably.
"Is that so?"
Zesshi got in to position to swing her scythe again, however she had kicked Lycan quite a distance away and it seemed in possible to hit him from she stood.
"Well then…
Let me show you…
WHAT I CAN DO."
Zesshi swung her scythe. She took no steps towards Lycan, she didn't dash or teleport to his position either. She swung her scythe through the air and seemed to hit visibly nothing.
Lycan wondered whether this human had lost its mind.
Suddenly a pain as sharp as a blade and very deep penetrated through his body as he felt that he had been dealt another injury that was much more serious than the last one.
He did not understand how he got hurt. Zesshi had not closed the distance and yet her attack had hit him dead-on.
"Did you like that little trick? My weapon can launch air slices. Though it has a limit, it's plenty to finish of someone like you."
As the blood from the wound steadily poured out from Lycan's body, he could feel his consciousness slipping as he began to struggle in staying up.
Never had he felt this kind of humiliation. He had even gone as far as to use his secret ability and yet he was still inferior to his opponent.
"You look like you're in pain. I guess this is as far as you go right? Well it was fun while it lasted."
Slowly but steadily, Zesshi began walking towards the wounded Lycan. She no longer was on guard. Her prey had been wounded heavily and all that was left to do was finish the job.
All in all she thought that the trip had been worth it. Apart from the fact that her divine armor that was left to her by the six great gods had been damaged, she felt content.
"For making me feel this excited for the first time in a long time. I'll show you my sincere appreciation and kill you quickly."
Lycan glared at Zesshi with bloodshot eyes as he could see what looked like the grim reaper closing in on him.
Although as a servant of Nazarick to die in battle was considered a great pleasure, Lycan could feel no pleasure whatsoever. He had always been different and always been shunned. To die in a place like this was something that he could never accept…
Not without at least taking down his enemy with him…
*huff* *huff*
"Guess I have no choice…"
Lycan closed his eyes as he prepared to play his last card.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Zesshi stopped as she felt something was amiss. This creature that just a moment ago she was comparing to a wounded animal ready to get eaten, now was emitting a fearsome amount of pressure that made even her break out in cold sweat.
"With apologies to the innocent citizens that might get caught in this. I'm not a fan of doing things like this but you forced me.
Zesshi sensed that something bad was coming her way and reinitiated her attack. She felt that things will get troublesome if she doesn't finish this beast off here and now.
I hope this barrier thing of yours can hold me cus…"
Just as she was about to attack in order to silence the source of her worry, an enormous wave of killing intent swept over Zesshi as she felt all of her senses screaming danger that caused even her to stop in her tracks.
"I can't be held responsible if it doesn't!"
"BERSERKER MODE!"
In the next moment a violent wave of energy seemed to emit from Lycan as the already enormous beast seemed to grow another size. The wound on Lycan's body started to rapidly heal as he got up.
Even though Lycan had a racial level of 80 he still had five levels invested in the job category. It was just enough for him to obtain the requirements necessary to activate the weakest active skill of the berserker class which increased his healing and other physical stats temporarily at the cost of his sanity.
Zesshi who could still not believe that her opponent was still hiding such a trump card readied herself. The amount of danger that her foe radiated had increased several times and just from a glance it was obvious that he had gotten a lot stronger.
"Looks like you can still dance some more huh. If this goes on…
I might have to…
…Go all out!"
Part 2
At a speed that even Clementine the former 9th seed of the Black scripture would widen her eyes in surprise from, Lycan charged at Zesshi. Even Zesshi who had fought plenty of speed types before was taken aback.
Before she had any time to put a proper guard up, Lycan had already launched his attack. A very wide right hook swing, flying directly at Zesshi in top speed. The fist became ever bigger and was starting to look like a cannonball flying towards her that would rip her head from her shoulders in a blink.
Even Zesshi who excelled at rapidly activating her martial skills could not prepare [immovable Fortress] in time to block. Instead she was forced to take the blow using only her scythe and personal strength.
Who cares if I can't use martial skills? There's still no way that you're stronger than…
Even before she could finish her thought the attack had landed and though by miracle she was able to block the punch itself with the pole of her scythe, the sheer force of Lycan's arm strength lifted her off her feet like a child being pushed around by an adult. The force of the blow was so great the she had flown straight into the walls of the barrier she herself had set up.
She felt it very well, for the first time in her life as the one called 'certain death'. Pain. Not since she had finished her training had there ever been a person that could best her. She who was the strongest monster in human form on the continent, she who could not be matched now felt the most mortal of feelings, pain. This caused her to feel another emotion that she hadn't felt in a long time. Anger.
Before her mind had properly organized her thoughts she felt a sudden urge to cough rising up. Unable to withhold herself, she burst out in a coughing spree. What she coughed up was not air however. A rusty red liquid was starting to leak from her mouth as it dawned on her that she was coughing up blood.
Blood? Internal damage! Damn that freak really did a number on me! Will my gear still heal me?
Zesshi's gear like that of Stronoff had healing properties and normally sustaining this much damage was nothing serious for its wearer. Were it not for the fact that Lycan had ripped off a considerable chunk of it with his ability. If it indeed had been damaged then the wounds inflicted on Zesshi's organs would not be repaired and she would be in a lot of trouble if she was not treated.
"You f*cking beast! I'm the one who carries the title certain death. If u want to die so badly then step right up. I'll show you the power of this scythe and its user."
She received no response from Lycan however. Instead the monster in front of her simply prepared another attack whilst staring at its target with deep dark soulless eyes.
Lycan got on all fours, revealing the true beast that he was, he prepared to pounce like a wild animal attacking its prey.
Zesshi could feel it. If she took the next attack she would most likely be in real danger.
Once again, at an inhuman speed, Lycan charged at his foe with a loud battle roar erupting from his mouth this time as he bared his fangs. A sight that would petrify a few short of all warriors from fear. But it is exactly those few that Zesshi belonged to.
This time she had stood up and prepared multiple martial skills in advance to evade
"I won't be stupid enough to block this time, [Flow acceleration], [Greater Evasion], [Detect Attack]
Using these three skills she was able to predict and sidestep the movements of Lycan who once more had come swinging wide but missed.
What another wide swing? Though the attack is fast, surely he knows I'll dodge it if he does the same thing twice. What is he thinking?
Zesshi looked at the raging monster that it had managed to evade and noticed its eyes were still completely devoid of reason. All that was left was a pair of burning hot eyes that would haunt the nightmares of men both young and old.
Come to think of it he hasn't said anything since he became stronger. No snappy remarks, no mocking laughter and no threats? Is it possible he's lost his mind after powering himself up? I have to confirm.
Zesshi smiled. Even though she hadn't used her real power so far, to use it here would endanger the people living in the houses and because of this she had been hesitant but perhaps she could still settle this without going all out. That would be most fortunate.
Perhaps I'll be able to play around a bit longer…
Part 3
The drops of blood continued to fall and the pavement of the square and were starting to form a puddle of red liquid. This amount of blood loss by now would have killed most adult males, yet somehow Lycan did not seem to die just yet.
Lycan was using every ounce of strength he could just to stay on his feet. The many wounds that Zesshi had caused with her scythe were starting to take its toll on his body and he could feel that losing consciousness was not far away.
With heavy eyes he looked towards the dark figure standing in front of him with a smug smile on her face that told her how self-satisfied she felt right about now.
"Aaah what a shame. It was so fun playing around with you but in the end even you aren't good enough. Though I have to give you points for being the first one to beat me purely in strength since I reached my peak."
Lycan wanted to shout all kinds of insults towards his foe and reach out with his fangs to shred her face to pieces but knew it was pointless. All he could do was continually breathe ragged breaths and try to stay conscious for as long as possible. Even so he cursed Zesshi's cowardly way of beating him.
From the moment he had activated his [berserker mode] Zesshi could no longer compete with him in terms of strength. Even if she could block the actual attack with her martial skills, she would still be blown back due to the sheer amount of force behind it.
For her, who and been trained to fight opponents with all kinds of handicaps the solution was still simple. If she couldn't take the hit she wouldn't and just use her speed and long range of her weapon to continually hurt and wither down her foe.
Although Lycan had a fast step-in, he lacked the flexibility and agility that Zesshi had to keep up this kind of speed as he moved. All that Zesshi had to do was avoid his charge, sidestep and counter with her extending air slash. A cheap and simple tactic but after a few exchanges the results became clear and there was no dishonest way to win a one on one fight to the death.
All that Lycan could do was continue to charge full speed like a bull at a toreador and hope he'd get lucky and she would slip up on the dodge. But no such thing had occurred as Zesshi was too disciplined for such a mistake and he now found himself in an utter debacle on death's doorstep.
Damn, I underestimated her. A being like her wasn't supposed to exist. Am I going to die like this? Here? After being born without a purpose now I'm going to die in a place like this? My berserker mode has long been broken. What do I do now?
Lycan truly at wits end, tried to once again approach Zesshi. He was still searching for the last amount of strength, the last attack, something so he could bring her down with him. Falling in battle after having killed a foe strong enough for even Nazarick to consider her a threat was the greatest of honors. Even Lycan who was a servant without a purpose, he still respected Ainz deeply and would die smiling if he could be of service to him by laying down his life. But after having lost so much blood, so much strength…
"Pointless"
Zesshi having noticed his final struggles could not help but mock his petty last effort.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you anymore. The higher-ups will probably have a lot of questions for such a strange beast suddenly appearing in the capital. Though come to think of it, the things they'll most likely do to you will be even worse than getting killed by me, so maybe worrying is a good idea after all huhuhuhu…."
"Even if I die your fate still is sealed, you have no idea of what kind of enemy you have provoked… idiot brat"
As Lycan spoke those last words he felt the last of his strength leave his body as he fell over like a puppet with its strings cut and hit the now sullied ground with a very loud bang. If it wasn't for Zesshi's illusion barrier keeping the sound still out everyone who lived around the square would have been woken up from hearing the noise of the werewolf falling down.
Not long after his fall his body started to shrink rapidly as the crimson fur started to retract once again. The monstrous face of the mighty werewolf was no more. All that lay on the ground now was a red-haired young man covered in wounds.
"Oi… weren't you listening? I just said I'm not going to kill you. Well looks like he's out cold…
Zesshi looked around deciding what her next step should be in getting Lycan to headquarters while muttering to herself.
"Well first things first, I should dispel the barrier."
After closing her eyes and focusing her magic for a second she felt that sound had returned to the square. She heard the noises of carriages moving through the city far away and street dogs howling in the distance. The barrier had been dispelled.
"Now I should just call some guards and have them take this thing into custody ah but first I should make sure he doesn't bleed to death or escapes while I'm gone that would be troubles…."
Zesshi's muttering ceased immediately. After having trained so hard in her life she had developed a warrior's instincts as well as a hunter's instincts. She had hunted magical beasts in the forests of the Theocracy since she was little and thus she knew the feeling she felt right now very well.
A predator was watching her and death was very close. So close it caused her hairs to stand on end in an instant forcing her to sharpen her senses to the limit as she prepared for battle.
Be it through luck or instinct but she took a battle stance with a very low center of gravity that caused her to shift the initial position of her body and head quite a bit from where it was initially.
She felt it. Something flew passed her head at incredible speed. Faster than an arrow fired from either bow or crossbow, it was clearly imbedded with magic and Zesshi somehow knew it would have pierced straight through her if it had hit.
Magic arrow? No too fast and too small. What kind of attack was that just now? Did they use some kind of acceleration spell on an object? No more importantly can I dodge it again?
"Who's there?!"
Zesshi shouted angrily in the direction from which the attack had come. She expected to see her attacker standing on one of the rooftops of the houses surrounding the square.
However…
No one? I'm sure I got the direction right! Could it be… did it come from much further away?
Zesshi focused her vision and wrecked her memory to try and find from where the attack had come. After a short moment it dawned on her.
… One of the cathedrals?
The capital had six large cathedrals that were a testament to the inhabitants' faith and reverence towards the six great gods and as such they had been built with very high towers from which one would have a very good viewpoint. But to be able to hit her from that far was beyond absurd. Not even a magic caster could accurately hit spells from that far away.
That's a joke right? You could assassinate an entire monarchy if u could hit them from that far away.
As the night went one things started getting more and more ridiculous for her. First fighting a monstrously strong werewolf and then having to deal with an absurdly long range magic attack… too ridiculous.
Just as Zesshi was about to charge over she felt it once more. She cursed her own foolishness as this should never have happened. To allow this to happen to her twice in the same night was beyond shameful.
To allow an opponent to attack her from behind to her was the greatest shame. A hidden presence had sneaked up on her while she was distracted from the long range attack. Zesshi could feel the killing intent oozing from the attacker.
Zesshi, being caught off guard tried to salvage the situation and turn around in a desperate attempt to block the incoming. But…
"Gyaaah"
With only being able to turn her head around, the impact of something incredibly hard and sharp traveled through her cheek all the way to her skull and the rest of the skeleton as the blow reverberated through her entire body while she was sent flying for the second time.
What had she been hit with? Even whilst being thrown to the ground by her opponent she could not help but wonder what ridiculous weapon had been used. To do both blunt and sharp damage to her could only have been a mace or spiked hammer.
Zesshi got up to look at this soon to be dead man who dared to hit her from behind and damage her face.
She saw a hooded figure standing before her, it wore a black mantle to hide both its face and physical appearance. The only thing visible was a pair of spiked gauntlets sticking out from beneath the sleeves of mantle.
Zesshi felt a stream of blood starting to flow from above her eyes where one of the spikes had pierced her. This only fueled the now burning hatred she felt.
"Who the hell do you think you are? No doesn't matter, what use is knowing the names of corpses?"
Zesshi prepared to charge. Her scythe in hand she would close the distance and slice her opponent in half instantly. The fact that he had resorted to attacking her from behind meant that her enemy wasn't strong enough to take her head on. No that was obvious, no humanoid being on the continent could take her on.
She made the first step towards her foe to start the dash and then…
"Aarghrg"
A painful cry erupted from Zesshi, she thought that she would be able to sense the attack as she had done the first time. But she had only been able to do so because she was able to sense herself being in mortal danger. The attack just now hadn't been aimed at her life but instead…
"My leg!"
Having come here heavily armored in her magic equipment she had few unguarded spots on her body. None the less there was a slight opening of skin in her armor in between her kneecaps and her armored boots. But to be able to actually hit that spot in battle would be quite an impressive feat.
None the less it was exactly what had happened. An incredibly fast object had travelled through the slight opening in her guard and had caused a hole big enough to stick a thumb through.
Even for the well trained Zesshi who had faced pain before this unexpected situation had caused her for as short as it was to divert her attention from her opponent to her injury.
A fatal mistake.
"Take this! Skill activate [Shockwave Punch]!"
Although the step in wasn't as fast as Zesshi's, it was still able to close the distance at such speed that she could not dodge it in time.
Zesshi was surprised. Beneath the hood there was actually a clear women's voice. For a women besides herself to be this strong was remarkable but at the same time…
"You think I can't block this much huh? Just try it! [Impregnable fortress]."
The highest of defense skills had been activated and imbedded into her scythe.
Even if this woman did possess significant strength and speed, against this defense skill it would still not be enough. And indeed even Yuri did not possess enough strength to break through this guard but that was not her intention in the first place.
Upon the moment of impact a crystal clear 'cling' sound could be heard from the metal of the gauntlet and the scythe's pole coming together.
Zesshi smiled. Even with her injured leg and internal damage that she still hadn't confirmed whether it was being repaired by her armor's healing properties, even this much of a disadvantage was not enough.
Yuri's attack had been blocked.
Just as Zesshi was about to counter, she felt something. Like what one would feel whilst standing in a vehicle that started moving, she felt a sense of displacement.
Her entire body suddenly felt a great pressure like a hurricane was coming towards her. Before Zesshi could understand what was happening it was already too late.
[Shockwave Punch], amongst Yuri's classes there was a class called single blow which allowed her to use special type of one hit punches with different effects that had a cooldown afterwards. Amongst them [shockwave Punch] was useful in that it had a powerful knockback even if it was blocked.
Zesshi flew far further than the first time. The first punch had knocked her down but this one had send her flying through the air. She felt herself crash through something hard before finally landing on the floor of what appeared to be one of the houses around the market place.
Damn she sent me flying that far. What kind of skill was that? Well at least in here that long range attack won't hit me here probably.
As Zesshi got up she realized that she had overlooked one critical factor. In her quick rage she had forgotten that there was another thing that she had to take into consideration.
"That werewolf!"
After being knocked back into one of the houses she had lost sight of both her opponent and that monster that was still lying unconsciously on the ground.
The two couldn't possibly…
Hoping that her suspicions were wrong and that she would not see what she feared she would, she jumped out of the hole in the house that she had made crashing in and…
No one
Zesshi's fears were right. The appearance of the hooded woman and the long range attack were not coincidences. No if anything it made perfect sense that that weird monster didn't come here alone.
Everything, from the first attack of that long range magic user to the last blow which had sent Zesshi flying. All of it had been to divert her attention from the monster in order to create an opening to save him.
Zesshi looked around frantically, they could not have gotten far. But no matter how much she sharpened her senses she could not detect even the slightest trace of neither the hooded woman nor the wounded werewolf.
As if they had vanished from thin air, the only thing that was left of either was the puddle of blood that Lycan's body had formed.
Faced with this all that Zesshi who had never been so humiliated in her life before, all she could do was let out a angry cry that was could be heard from far away.
"Daaaaaaaaaamn it aaaaaaaaall!"
The hunt had failed.
Part 3
"Lycan, do you have anything to say for yourself."
Lycan who was a level 85 crimson werewolf emperor, had inherent racial traits to nullify fear. But even he could do little more than cower in front of the people scolding him. In front of him stood arguably the strongest warrior of Nazarick 'Ruler Of The Frozen Glacier' Cocytus, the person that strictly speaking was Lycan's superior 'True vampire' Shalltear Bloodfallen and of course the lord of death itself and manifestation of power and divinity in Nazarick, Ainz Ooal Gown.
In front of these three, Lycan could not do more than prostate like a sinner before a god. Yuri and Shizu who were just behind him were doing the same but they were in a considerably better spot the Lycan was.
Lycan was sweating bullets as he could not find the words to respond to his masters. For him who was supposed to be a strong wolf predator kind of guy, he now felt like a little rabbit about to be eaten by a real predator.
After his fight with Zesshi he had been carried off by Yuri to safety and afterwards teleported to Nazarick to be healed up. A series of events that Lycan had a very hard time being happy about as now he was prostrating in the Supreme Being's room about to face what looked like a death sentence.
What fate will await me? By comparison getting chopped up by that kid's scythe right now looks more pleasant. Why did those two simply not kill me before the enemy could capture me alive?
"Do I need to repeat myself again? What do you have to say in your defense before Ainz-sama?!
The one who addressed him once more was Shalltear. Right now she would not think twice about killing Lycan for shaming her in front of Ainz.
Lycan immediately snapped back into reality. Whatever the maids' thoughts were was none of his concern right now. He had committed several blunders the likes of which even the other floor guardians' mistakes could not be compared to, whatever punishment he got would be well deserved.
"…no, this one has no words for his failures. I can only request to give me the appropriate punishment and to not hold Yuri-sama and Shizu-sama responsible for my actions as well."
Although he couldn't normally and especially now shouldn't care about the two maids behind him, becoming the reason for their deaths would surely leave a bitter aftertaste in the afterlife. If at all possible he wished to avoid dragging anyone else down for his mistakes.
"Yuri. And. Shizu. Are. Not. Being. Discussed. Here. You. Are."
"That's right we'll deal with them later. Right now this is about you defying your master's orders and not only that but you lost to a human in battle! How do you intend to clear away the stain you have left on Nazarick's reputation?!"
"That's…"
Shalltear's words carved at Lycan like a knife. If you searched every one of the ten floors of Nazarick you would be hard pressed to find a single servant that wouldn't say "I will take my own life as penance". But Lycan was different, the words that should have come out as naturally as breathing wouldn't leave his throat. Was it due to him existing without a function and place or was it because of his pride that he refused to die such a simple death. Not even Lycan knew the answer.
"Such a useless pawn, my deepest apologies Ainz-sama, this one has caused trouble for you yet again. Even though Lycan isn't technically my subordinate, I request that you punish me alongside Lycan for his mistakes."
Throughout all of this Ainz had not moved a single inch from his chair, all this time he had been simply staring into Lycan with his hollow eyes. By now Lycan was sure that the last words he would hear in his life would not be far away as he awaited his master's judgement.
"Lycan…"
Ah man I'm so dead, damn why'd these two have to save me?
"Can you answer some questions for me please?"
He had not been given permission to raise his head but the out of place moment when Ainz asked these question caused Lycan to raise his head almost involuntarily.
"You. Dare. To. Raise. Your. Head. Without. Permission. How…."
Before Cocytus could finish he was interrupted by Ainz who raised his hand to indicate silence.
"It's fine Cocytus, let him speak with his head raised. Now then my first question and please answer as honestly as possible. Why did you leave the safe house?"
"I'm sorry, Ainz-sama it was to… go out and hunt."
"The impudence, eating humans isn't a right, it's a privilege given to you only when Ainz-sama or a floor guardian gives you his or her blessing."
"Shalltear be quiet!"
"My deepest apologies Ainz-sama, but to go directly against your decree is…"
"I won't repeat myself…"
Ainz turned a cold stare to Shalltear with his hollow eyes and immediately caused her to cease any and all forms of hostility as she returned to her neutral position next to Ainz.
"Now then next question. What was the reason you got beaten? Even though you're not the strongest NPC in Nazarick you should have no problem beating one human, no?"
Lycan swallowed his saliva before answering. To him this question was even harder to answer then the previous one as it hurt his pride deeply.
"Yes, Ainz-sama, the reason is twofold. First that kid is not human. Her race isn't any I know of but at the very least she isn't completely human, the smell is similar but her strength and speed is dimensions apart from what I'd consider a strong human."
"Hmm, that is very interesting. And the second?"
Lycan wavered before answering this one, logically there was no chance that Ainz-sama or anyone else would believe his explanation.
"The second reason… is her equipment. I confirmed it when I used my [item eater] on her gear. What she was wearing was divine class equipment same as her weapon."
At this moment the room had developed an eerie silence, divine class weapons and gear were so rare and valuable that even most floor guardians had at most one or two of these. To be covered fully in them was beyond ridiculous.
Shalltear wanted to begin shouting at Lycan once again but held herself back due to the previous reprimand. Instead the waited for the response of her master.
After hearing this response, naturally Ainz had remained completely calm and unmoved. The ever motionless skeleton face that he had did not betray a single emotion as he calmly responded.
"My last question then. If you fought her without her gear who would…"
"Of course me Ainz-sama!"
Lycan cursed himself internally as he had not only spoken without permission but even interrupted Ainz. His damned pride had gotten the better of him yet again. This however caused nothing but a silent gaze from Ainz. Unsure of what to do Lycan simply continued talking as he prayed internally that he had not offended Ainz.
"Ah… no, I mean… I could feel it that after I unleashed my full strength that she was no longer capable of fighting me head on. After I used [berserker mode] she was forced to stay out of my range and attack from a distance. Without that extending weapon of hers, I'd rip her to pieces, no matter how strong she thinks she is."
"I see, that is very valuable Intel. Though you did go against my orders, thanks to your actions we have been able to confirm quite a lot of my suspicions. This will make things a lot easier. My thanks."
Lycan was surprised that by now his head was still attached to his shoulders and could do nothing but show his heartfelt appreciation to this merciful being that he called his master.
"I'm unworthy of your praise, Ainz-sama."
"Lycan, listen well, you are a very valuable NPC in Nazarick and not just because of your special ability. To be punished for your mistakes doesn't mean you die here. It means you dedicate yourself even harder to your tasks and prevent failures in the future, I have no use for you if you are dead. Let this be a lesson for all NPC's."
"Yes, Ainz-sama!"
All the responses in the room flowed into one as all the servants responded to their master's heartfelt statement.
"Well then, Lycan you will stay by my side until such time that I permit you to leave and report to me immediately when I ask you. Do you understand? I will need your insights on quite a few things."
"I understand Ainz-sama. Though I fear I may be lacking."
Having dodged death solely due to the mercifulness of his ruler, what else could Lycan do but nod his head and agree.
"Well then, as for Yuri and Shizu."
""Yes""
Yuri and Shizu responded as their turn had finally arrived. Even though they were not the cause of the blunder it was due to their negligence and thus they shared the blame too.
Faced with this even the composed Yuri could not help but shudder in fear, unlike Shizu who as usual displayed no emotions. At this Yuri could not help but feel jealous as Shizu's racial traits come in quite handy at times like this.
"Because you didn't pay enough attention or didn't control Lycan properly enough this happened. But like I said this lead to great fortune. As such you are forgiven, as long as you don't allow the same thing to happen twice."
"But Ainz-sama, our lack of attention lead to the near death of one of our comrades, I still request punishment."
"Shizu, agrees."
The desperate plea of Yuri caused the lights in Ainz's eyes to go lightly darker for a second as he pondered on what to do with these two loyal maids.
Haaah what a pain. Maybe it's because Yamaiko who created Yuri was a teacher that's she so strict on punishment but why does every one of these guys have to be so damn loyal? No, I mean it's good that they're loyal and all but they still want to be punished when I say it's okay. What a hassle…
"Fine, Demiurge actually asked me to send a few extra hands to the embassy we recently set up in the Empire. You two can go help him out as a punishment."
"But Ainz-sama, such a thing is…"
"No more arguments, the decision is final. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Ainz-sama"
Looks like I finally managed to settle their displeasure.
"Ahem… now then back to business. Thanks to Lycan and the reports made by Yuri and Shizu with the help of the shadow demon shinobi, we can now begin the next step of our plans. I'll give the floor guardians and servants involved the details later for now you three are dismissed."
Lycan and the two maids stood up and bowed once more to Ainz before leaving the room. Now the only ones in the room with Ainz were Shalltear and Cocytus, excluding the Eight-Edge Assassins on the ceiling.
"Ainz-sama please give us our orders and we will destroy that entire nation at you command. I've been itching to play with some humans again."
"My. Blades. Are. Yours. To. Command. Ainz-sama."
"You two are hasty as always. These things come in a specific order. But you're right this time there will definitely be bloodshed. But seeing as we have become a nation, there are two conditions that must be met before we can start rampaging on their capital."
Ainz lifted his finger like a teacher about to start homeschool.
"First, we must have a reason to attack them, a nation attacking another nation simply for the purpose of conquest is never respected and only feared. We want to be both. Second, we must issue an official declaration of war. After they have been warned and given a chance to surrender that is when we can strike without mercy."
Shalltear and Cocytus even though it didn't show on their faces, they couldn't accept this reason. To follow such procedures and allow lower beings such as humans even a chance to surrender and even need a reason to squash them was something they themselves would not consider. Ainz having sensed their displeasure, decided to soothe their worries.
"Don't worry you two. We already have a good reason to attack them and very soon the declaration will come and I guarantee they won't surrender. Not with their arsenal. Shalltear, if it really was them then I promise you that they'll be all yours."
"You are too kind Ainz-sama."
"And Cocytus, I know you have been dying to prove your worth as a warrior have you not?"
"Yes. Ainz-sama. That. Is. My. Greatest. Wish."
"Then I'll be relying on you both for the next battle. This time there can be no screw-ups."
""By your command we pledge ourselves to the Supreme being. Please use us as you see fit.""
"Huhu… look forward to it, but for now you are dismissed as well."
After the two left Ainz's office he could finally relax a little bit. Even though there were still assassins in the room he no longer needed to speak and act in such a regal way. Now instead he could once again focus on his work and his thoughts in silence.
To think that they would reveal themselves so easily. From the reports, that girl was the only one capable of detecting the presence of the shadow shinobi. If she's the strongest that would be great news. But I still can't shake this sense of uneasiness, best be prepared.
Ainz sat down behind his desk and started skimming through the reports once more, thinking about what Lycan had said.
To be able to wear nothing but divine class equipment could be considered an advantage on their part, even if their levels were lower it would balance out with most of the floor guardians who had one or two divine weapons at most.
How fortunate that we were able to obtain such a crucial piece of information before battle, if I was still human I'd be overjoyed that we now have such a huge advantage over them and won't be caught off-guard. And it's all thanks to Lycan, even though he is such a troublemaker… now that it think about it why were his settings like that again? Ah I remember it was those two idiot love birds.
In Ainz Ooal gown there were two conditions for joining the guild. One was be a member of society and two, play as a heteromorphic race. The unofficial third was that you had to have approval from the majority of the guild in a vote.
After a certain incident however there was almost a case of a fourth rule being instated. The 'don't bring your relationship into the game' rule. In Ainz Ooal Gown there were only three female members,Bukubukuchagama, Yamaiko and Ankoro Mochi Mochi. However the latter one and another member of Ainz Ooal Gown called Nobunaga were a couple in real life. This caused no small amount of trouble for the guild at times. The most horrible was the time that they lost a guild battle because Ankoro, who was a cleric, focused all her healing skills on Nobunaga alone when she should be dividing them amongst all the members and Nobunaga who was a warrior was protecting only Ankoro from incoming attacks. After that there had been serious debate about whether or not they should be expelled from the guild.
If Touch me-sama and I hadn't negotiated for a second chance they would really have been banished but it was ever since then that they got labeled with that silly nickname 'idiotic love couple' as punishment, what wonderful times…
Ainz starting to feel the sadness and loneliness that haunted him again forced himself to focus on Lycan's origins to distract him from darker thoughts.
Let's see Nobunaga-san was if I'm not mistaken the creator of Lupus Regina and Ankoro Mochi Mochi-sama was the creator of both Lycan and the assistant butler Éclair. Ah now I remember it, the NPC revenge story.
When players create their personal NPC's they naturally want to brag and show off. But Nobunaga made the mistake to dedicate his NPC to his girlfriend and made her in her image. Ankoro Mochi Mochi was a very shy and passive person and this reflected in her playstyle and personality, she was bad with words and preferred reading books to talking. No surprise that she ended up as a librarian. When she saw the beautiful naughty and exotic Lupus Regina compared to her… the reaction was not positive.
Ha-ha, I still remember hearing Ankoro-sama's reaction, "when have I ever been anything like that? This is how you wish that I was like isn't it".
Ha-ha… their relationship got quite bad after that though. Everyone was sure they'd split.
When she saw her boyfriend compare her to Lupus Regina she decided to take revenge by creating an NPC in his likeness that represented everything that she always wanted him to be. Thus she created a macho beast who isn't afraid of anyone and never backs away from a fight. This seemed to have something to do with Nobunaga being quite a wimp in real life despite his class and player name. Fortunately the spat between them was resolved but Lycan was already added to the base and Ankoro never felt like giving him a room or purpose as working on it reminded her of her bad time with Nobunaga.
I wonder what Ankoro-sama's reaction would be if she met Lycan now. She would probably apologize to him over and over… well I still don't think she'd like Lupus Regina though… ha-ha…
…..
Even the bad memories and awkward ones in Ainz's mind were now starting to seem ever brighter and silly as he realized that he would probably never see most of them again. Albedo's mission wasn't fully complete yet but almost all the POI's that Ainz had marked came up with no results. All that this led to was Ainz becoming ever more certain that he was alone in this world.
Ainz covered his skeleton face with his hand as he felt that he was about to cry and couldn't let the assassins on the ceiling notice.
It was then that his passive skill kicked it and forcibly calmed him down, leaving only the faintest traces of grief in his heart. No that it would have mattered as Ainz had no physical way of crying anymore.
Damn I can't even cry when I'm sad now? What a horrible skill…
Ainz swallowed his inner thoughts as soon as he had formed them, he realized very well that without this skill he would never have been able to keep up his appearance of a benign ruler as well as he had. This didn't mean however that he was no longer sad.
I shouldn't be like this. I still have lots of things to do. That's right the people that brainwashed Shalltear are still out there. As long as I still rule this tomb they shall know no mercy.
Ainz could feel the outburst of anger freeing him from his remaining feelings of despair as he focused on the goal in front of him. What horrors would he unleash upon humanity if he felt like this in front of them? Ainz dared not think about it.
Even if it's the last thing I do as ruler of this place, I will destroy them completely. I will make sure that they wish they were never born. I swear this on the Name of Ainz Ooal Gown.
Part 4.
Zesshi narrowed her eyes as the magic light that was attached to the ceiling was irritating even for her eyes to look at directly for too long.
Inside one of the holy temples of the Slane Theocarcy's capital. This is a private healing room used to treat high profile citizens of the Theocracy away from unwelcome eyes. For a price that would make commoners widen their eyes in to such a point that they might pop out. From this room right now quite a lot of noise could be heard.
"Just what the hell do you think you were doing?"
Zesshi, who was lying on the table and having her injuries treated looked the other way in order to avoid eye-contact with the person scolding her.
As the fifth legacy of the six great gods there really weren't any men that were allowed to criticize her as she technically qualified as an object of worship. Archon as the supervisor of the Black Scripture was the exception.
"But Ar-chan, I'm already feeling very sad about what happened so can't you forget about it?"
Zesshi turned her head once more and looked at Archon with pleading eyes that would remind one of a student asking her teacher to stop scolding her.
It was a good thing that healing magic was so effective as the damage done to her face by Yuri would have required an extensive surgery and healing period to recover without it and would be quite unpleasant to look at.
"Who are you calling Ar-chan right now? No before that, if you knew that such a beast was in the capital you should have notified the rest immediately. What would have happened if you died at the hands of that beast? You are the last guard of humanity, our final hope that was left to us by the gods. Your value is worth more than this entire blasted capital and you still went alone, risking your life and for what?"
"Now, Now Tado-san. There's no way that 'certain death' would lose right, at least not due to injuries like these? Having treated this child for so long I can vouch for at least that."
The one who was trying to calm down the archbishop was an old man in clerical clothing. He looked like he was in his late eighties as the wrinkles on his face were staring to hide his eyes. His hair had mostly disappeared only leaving a few white strands. This was the head priest of the temple.
His hands radiated a bright holy light as he was in the middle of using a 5th tier healing spell to heal Zesshi's wounds. He was one of the only ones in the Theocracy capable of doing that. And the only one capable of doing so without the assistance of a holy item left by the six great gods. If it wasn't for his age he would a man that any country would pay a fortune for to enlist.
Archon calmed down as he didn't want to speak rudely to the person that was so respected amongst the priests.
"Egyl-sama, it's not about the wounds, she is our greatest weapon. What is she thinking? Although speaking of which, how is her condition?"
Egyl remained silent for a bit as he summarized what he was about to say in his head.
"Several deep cuts and bruises to the face, a hole in her pivot leg with a diameter of 1.5 centimeters, a punctured long and as far as I can tell a spinal trauma. So all in all nothing serious."
What the old priest did not say was that if it wasn't for his ability to use 5th tier healing magic than fully curing the girl's wounds in such a short amount of time would have been impossible.
"You see Ar-chan there's no need to be angry it's all good. And who are you calling child you old fossil? Just how many years have we known each other? Despite looking like this I'm hardly a child you know."
Egyl displayed a warm elderly smile towards her. Even if he had no teeth anymore he would still come off as warm and earnest.
Confronted with this display of caring affection, Zesshi could not say anything anymore. Egyl was the one person she couldn't win against no matter how strong she got. All of her aggression and mockery was always answered with a warm smile and it made her lose all spirit.
Archon sighed as the conversation had gone off topic. He had to start questioning her again while she was getting healed and wouldn't run away from here.
"So. Back to the main topic, what exactly did you face? It should take a dragon lord or god-kin to be able to wound you? Was this monster one of those?"
An eerie silence came from Zesshi. For her failure was unacceptable, even though her foe ran, the fact that she was not able to capture him was already a great blemish.
Swallowing the words she really wanted to say she replied.
"That monster I fought was a werewolf. But don't be mistaken I didn't have trouble beating 'just' a werewolf. That thing called itself a werewolf emperor. It should be the strongest of its kind, a phreak of nature. Before I could finish it off it was saved by some little pest and it got away."
Archon pondered about what to make of this situation. A beast strong enough to pick a fight with 'certain death' was a serious matter. But the answer as to why it had appeared in the capital, Archon could come up with only one explanation after wrecking his brain.
"Did this monster ever say anything about Ainz Ooal Gown?"
That's right only one being that Archon could think of could have orchestrated this catastrophe. The mysterious magic caster whose power exceeded all imagination. The one who according to reports had an entire army of inhuman monsters serving under him. The chance of him being involved was very high indeed.
"He didn't mention serving under that guy specifically but he did mention he was here under someone's orders who seemed to be very dangerous so it's possible."
Archon sighed deeply after hearing those words.
The amount of people that could command a being that could match Zesshi physically were few and scarce. And amongst them he could think of only one of them who would have any reason to send such a being to the Slane Theocracy.
As I thought he's started targeting us. Ainz Ooal gown has laid his eyes on our sacred nation. Depending on how things play out from here it will mean full blown war. But to fight such an opponent in the field is out of the question… what a headache.
Archon almost wanted to begin scolding Zesshi again. Because of her rash actions she might have ignited a huge conflict between the Theocracy and the Sorcerer King. Then he suddenly realized that her attacking this monster might have disrupted the plans of the magic caster. God knows what such a monster was doing late at night in the streets of the city.
Was it preparing a ritual or just out hunting for prey? It's no good I can't formulate a hypothesis with only this much information. Damn why did it get away.
This reminded Archon that there were still other questions that needed to be answered.
"Ah, now that I think about it you said the beast got saved before you could capture it, but what kind of opponents could create that kind of opening?"
Zesshi turned away her head again as she did not want Archon to see the expression on her face while answering.
"There were at least two of them. One of them used long range magic to hit me from what I'm pretty sure was one of the towers of the cathedral of life. The other one was a female warrior with a level of strength comparable to Bahmeth. On top of that she used a weird skill to knock me back all the way through the wall of one of the houses. By the time I got back out they were gone without a trace."
Archon could not help but slightly drop his jaw in amazement at what she said. A female warrior with a level of physical prowess that compared to Bahmeth was one thing. But to be able to cast magic from one of the towers of the cathedrals and hit someone with it at the marketplace went against everything that he knew about long range magic.
Such a spell should not exist. And even so for Zesshi not to be able to dodge it. Unbelievable.
He already had issued an order to all soldiers to comb through the entire capital. Even if the city needed to be turned upside down, he needed to find those individuals as soon as possible. With a magic attack like that at their disposal even the lives of the Archbishops could no longer be guaranteed.
Archon knew full well. The chance that they would be successful in finding these monsters was low. And even if they did. The odds of them being able to do anything against them without the assistance of the Black Scripture was extremely low.
Should I evacuate the capital? No first of all I have to inform the other bishops of what has happened. This could become a threat to national security.
Archon collected his thought's and tried to put them in order so he could decide what to do first. He decided that first off a report needed to be delivered to the other archbishops that warned them of the impending danger.
A monster in the capital, a skeleton lord ruling over E-Rantel and now the fifth legacy of the Six Great gods on a hospital bed. What dark tidings await our sacred city?
As Archon rushed out in order to start dealing with all of these new issues one at a time, little did he know of the darkness that had already begun moving against his nation. And soon what shadows it would face.
Author's afterword:
Thank you once again for reading this chapter through to the end. First off feel free to bash me in the comments regarding the late release, college life is hard. I know that I'm not very good at writing fight scenes but I'm doing a lot off research to make sure I nail the final confrontation so bear with me… Oh yeah that's right, I didn't tell you before but the story is not mine alone. I and my friends come up with the story (yes there actually is an overlord fan group in Belgium) and I write it down in English as their English skills are well… any ways thanks for reading. Don't forget to like and follow, it means a lot and keeps us (me for the most part) motivated.
And as always burn in hell yen press and
GLORY TO AINZ OOAL GOWN