Part 3:
Aslight pause ofsilence filled the corridor as the two stared each other down, one with an expression of surprise. She had clearly not expected to be seeing someone so out of place in an underground sanctum.
"Who the hell are you? I heard some explosions and screams of agony! Where is the monster that caused that havoc? Is it still behind you?"
Zesshi screamed out in pure frustration. Those shockwaves and blasts were enough to make the whole sanctum quake violently. It would take an incredibly powerful group of mages and warriors to break through the sanctum's defences or at least some kind of terrible beast. Zesshi had been looking forward to fighting this insane force in glorious combat, only to find that the one that entered the room was some kind of grandpa in a butler costume. Therefore, the real monster or intruders must be still behind him.
"Who knows? But you certainly shouldn't judge a book by its cover, miss…?
Although Lycan had already told Ainz and the guardians that she called herself 'certain death', it was still common courtesy to ask for one's name if the other party did not know yours. At least that much respect must be shown even to your enemies, of this Sebas was strongly convinced.
"Zesshi Zetsumei is all you need to know, geezer-san."
Not the least bit bothered by Zesshi's comment, Sebas merely smiled politely as he responded.
"Is that so? Well then, Zetsumei-san, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sebas, a butler in service of…"
"So this is where you were, you bastard?!"
An enraged voice rang and interrupted from behind Sebas as a huge crimson figure leaped from the breach and entered the corridor.
"Hmm, you've certainly healed up well, little mutt. And I thought I had good health insurance. Just what kind of priest could heal injuries that quickly and thoroughly?"
Ignoring the insensitive questions, Lycan was simply foaming from the mouth due to sheer anger as hatred began to overtake his mind. To see the person that caused him to almost be sentenced to death and disgrace both his name and the name of Nazarick made him feel as if he could just rip her to pieces, which if he was allowed to do so, he would definitely make sure he did.
Unable to suppress his rage any longer, Lycan prepared to pounce on Zesshi and rip that smirking face right off her body along with the rest of her head with it. But just as he was about to leap at her…
"Halt, Lycan!"
A dark voice bellowed from behind him as it commanded him to stop. Even though he should have lost all reason this voice still caused him to freeze in place like a sculpture as if this voice had seemingly completely restored his sanity.
Zesshi on the other hand had lost her senses for a bit. Although her bout was brief, she had gotten a good grasp of Lycan's personality and traits. Someone who was as proud and arrogant as him would not be chained easily, which made one wonder who the hell could command such a creature with just a simple order. Although the answer if one thought about it was quite obvious.
An even bigger monster
"Well, well. So this is the worm that Lycan told me about. Quite the accurate description."
From behind the butler emerged a malicious figure that stared intently at Zesshi with scarlet glowing eyes as he examined her with the same curiosity that a scientist had when he was about to dissect a newly discovered specimen.
Following behind the skeleton appeared another humanoid, only this one had a tail sprouting from behind him which clearly meant that he was not all human. Even more than that was the dangerous aura that he gave off as his false smile made even Zesshi feel a bit uncomfortable.
"I take it you are the one called Ainz Ooal… whatever?"
Zesshi mockingly asked as her lips curled into a mischievous smile that portrayed how fearless she was even in the face of a threat this serious.
"Ainz Ooal Gown. I feel honoured that you know my name. But where are my manners, allow me to introduce my comrades. You've already met Lycan Thropius, and this is my butler, Sebas Tian and one of my closest aides, Demiurge. Please take care to remember our names and faces. They might just be the last ones you see in this life."
The voice carried neither anger nor malice but simply a cold tone of indifference that could not possibly have come from someone who still valued the life of others. As was expected from an undead, the weight of a life to him was absolutely zero.
"Sure, whatever you say ehh… what was your full name again, you can just call me Zesshi by the way?"
Unable to withstand the annoying taunting from Zesshi any longer, even Demiurge lost his composure. There were very few things that he would be irked by, but someone purposefully insulting the great name of Ainz Ooal Gown was definitely one of those.
"Insolent worm! Aspect of the Arch Demon [Hellfire Freath]"
Demiurge's mouth glowed bright as he inhaled deeply and proceeded to breathe out again, only this time he also spit out a veritable volley of flames that flew towards Zesshi at quick speed, burning with a tinge of something far more sinister than ordinary flames.
Seeming the approaching blaze, Zesshi merely smirked as she simply continued standing in her place while the flames engulfed her body completely. These flames contained a tinge of demonic fire and therefore would not burn out the oxygen in the room but that was hardly the point as these flames could easily melt steel and would only subside if its master willed it. No human could survive within this conflagration for very long and any second now it was expected that Zesshi would start issuing miserable shrieks of burning agony.
But there was only silence and the sound of the flames crisping and defiling this holy place with their demonic malice.
"You're wasting your time, Demiurge, magic attacks won't work against this foe because she's wearing an item that negates all forms of magic damage."
"Correct! You know your stuff well, Sorcerer King. A little too well I'd say, even."
An elated voice rang out from within the fire as the flames in the centre started to disperse, revealing what was inside.
Amidst the flames stood a figure that seemed completely unbothered by the excruciating fire surrounding her. The only thing that seemed affected by the flames was the black robe that she had been wearing, which was charred beyond repair. But the rest of her attire seemed completely fine.
As her black robe burned away, a mysterious white armour appeared beneath it. It was evidently not weak, as a vicious holy glow endlessly shone from it. Various religious symbols were engraved upon the chest armour as well as on the rerebraces. Her face was now concealed by a shimmering white helmet that seemed intricately crafted as its smooth construction gave an impression of belonging to a mighty holy warrior. She must have been hiding it underneath her black cloak. A thin white cape draped over her shoulders engraved with golden embroidery completed the sacrosanct feeling of the outfit.
Looking at the unhurt appearance of Zesshi who wore such a mysterious armour Ainz did not show any signs of surprise that she survived the attack unfazed. Instead, he looked relieved and turned to Sebas as he calmly spoke. "Say Sebas, do you know how the champion class is obtained?"
Sebas looked at his master slightly surprised. To be asked about one of the classes that his creator Touch Me-sama possessed at a time like this was puzzling to him.
"Yes, Ainz-sama, it should be won in some kind of tournament as a prize correct? If I'm not mistaken, then Touch Me-sama was one such holder of that class and became one of the strongest beings in Nazarick partially because of it."
"Indeed, Touch Me-san was an incredible warrior who was almost unmatched amongst the other warriors of YGGDRASIL, however there was just one opponent that even he could never beat."
"Ainz-sama, you can't mean that this child…"
Sebas looked worriedly as he peered at Zesshi once more. The thought that this little girl could beat his own master made him uneasy to his core. It was not fear that he felt right now but rather unimaginable shock.
"No, it's not her, but rather the previous owner of that armour she's wearing."
In YGGDRASIL, the World Champion class was considered something of a legend. From the very first tournament where one could win this class as a prize, it was a highly coveted reward. Entire guilds would flock with all their warriors to try and claim this class for their own. Anyone that would be able to secure this as part of his build would most likely become one of the server's elite fighters and could even receive invitations to join guilds like the Blood-Demon guild or even the Alliance despite these guilds being already maxed out or on long term internships, they were just that valuable. Only nine players had this class so it was no surprise that their names were common knowledge amongst all warrior class players.
However…
Even amongst those, there was one player who stood head and shoulders above the rest. Just one player who managed to break through the very small limitations that the World Champion class provided and reached an even higher level. Originally, after you get the World Champion class, one's other stats would drop quite a bit to make up for the overpowering level of strength that came with the class. But there existed a method to make up even for that weakness.
In the YGGDRASIL lore, it was stated that the ultimate nemesis of the World Champion class was the World Disaster and the World Destroyer classes. Both held destructive power that was easily on par with the former. But it was specifically the World Destroyer class which was the exact opposite to the world champion class. Besides the event to obtain the class being an all-out brawl in contrast to the tournament held to obtain the World Champion class, the World Destroyer class was so powerful because it boosted the stats of all your other classes instead of being ridiculously overpowering on its own. In other words, if one could obtain both classes they would cover each other's weaknesses and create a ridiculously strong character that few if any other warrior characters in the game could match up against.
This was easier said than done as both of these classes were so sought after, the chances of both falling into the hands of one player were extremely small. Still, one player managed to succeed against those immense odds and became so strong that the entire warrior community called for a nerf to either of the two classes. The infamous 'sh*tty' developers refused, seeing as it would be unfair to the other players who had invested so much effort into obtaining either of these two classes only to have it become weaker than other classes that are more easily procured.
The player that achieved this insane feat was none other than the warrior amongst the six addicts, a player named Rajah. All of the six had names that meant king in different languages, but on the server they were hated for dominating the game with an immense amount of cash items and never-ending grinding, which was why each of them had earned an individual nickname that fit what the other players thought of him. Rajah's nickname was "abusive uncle".
To make matters even worse, he possessed the World Item known as Armor of Schonenberg, an item that could block out all magic damage for a certain period of time. This limited the amount of ways you could defeat him to a number that you could count on one hand.
But Ainz had expected to see the armour here; if anything he had expected to see Rajah or rather one of the other six addicts here as well. This was why he had brought Lycan along for the fight. If only one of the six addicts was still alive and guarding this place, then dealing with him was still within Ainz's capabilities,but if all six remained, he would retreat and bring back the full force of Nazarick.
If necessary, Ainz could create an opening for Lycan to use his "Item Eater" on the World Class item and make it possible to attack the enemy with magic. But seeing that only his outfit was left, it meant that most likely Rajah and the other six had already left this world, one way or another.
"World Class Item holder Rajah! Huhu, it's been ages since I've spoken that name."
"Hoho!"
A surprised voice rang out from beneath the vizier of the helmet as Zesshi had clearly heard something that surprised her deeply.
"To think an undead like you knows the true name of the God of Light! Where did you learn this? Only the archbishops and awakened godkin like me know the true names of our gods. Are you really hundreds of years old and have you met them by any chance?"
"You have a lot to say for someone who should have been turned into roasted meat. Well, it's true that I have met these so-called gods of yours, but you should not think that I carry any sympathy towards them. In fact, I've more than once had a bout with a couple of them."
Although, it was impossible to tell due to the obscured vision of the helmet, Zesshi gave off a feeling of being absolutely gobsmacked. To hear someone say that they had tangled with creatures that were widely regarded as true divine entities was stunning to say the least…
"That's a lie, right? I know very well that you're powerful, but even you couldn't possibly match up against beings that can only be described as divine."
Ainz did not bother trying to argue with this creature as he had come to understand that humans were a race that refuse to believe the truth even if you told them directly if the alternative meant falling into absolute despair.
"Well, whether you believe or not doesn't matter. From here on out, we'll let our actions decide who is right. But first, there's something I'd like you to tell me. You… are just buying time for your comrade or comrades who are currently activating your nation's final trump card, correct?"
Although she appeared to be still and unmoved by Ainz, a slight twitch sprang from her nerves as she heard Ainz's words.
This bastard really did already know about all the nation's trump cards before coming here, and it is safe to assume that he had already made ample preparations against them!
"I'll take that silence as a confirmation. Well then if you'll excuse me, I have business with what lies behind you, but feel free to fight to your heart's content with my two subordinates over here; I can assure you they're not the least bit weaker than myself."
"Ainz-sama, surely you flatter us too much, how can we match up to someone of your calibre?" Demiurge responded to Ainz's flattery with a slight smirk on his face.
"Wait, Ainz-sama, what about me? Surely with my prey in front of me you can't expect me to sit back and relax while Demiurge-sama and Sebas-sama take my kill?"
Lycan pleaded passionately with Ainz. Although he submitted to the strong, it was still difficult for him to ignore the immense urge in his heart to simply lash out at Zesshi who was right in front of him.
"You will stay back and support only if necessary. In the unlikely event that we can't win without removing her armour, only then are you allowed to move out. That item must be procured intact unless it's absolutely necessary to destroy it."
"But Ainz-sama…"
"Sit!"
Like a dog that was commanded by his angry owner, Lycan reluctantly sat down in place like a dog usually would. If an ordinary human or Lupusregina were to see the giant werewolf emperor sitting down like an obedient pet, they could very well cry out in laughter; Lupusregina especially would bust a gut from laughing if she ever saw him like this.
"Aren't you being a little bit too complacent telling me your plan like that, and whoever said that you're getting past me in the first place when I'm right…"
"[Teleportation]"
In a flash of light Ainz had vanished before Zesshi's eyes, causing intense anger to swell in her heart, to think that this mage would actually be arrogant enough to try and get past her with teleportation magic.
She immediately turned around only to see that Ainz was already halfway the corridor and steadily on his way towards the inner sanctum's treasury. Without thinking and with almost supersonic speed, she dashed towards Ainz as she readied her war scythe to swing down upon Ainz's skeleton head and cleave him in two!
The corridor that led inwards into the treasury was long and wide with two files of pillars supporting the ceiling. It was made so that in an event of breach, it could be collapsed so that the treasures inside could be buried outside the reach of those who would misuse them. This time, Archon had chosen to believe in Zesshi's prowess instead of collapsing the tunnel to buy himself more time as it was not unthinkable for Ainz to be able to easily get past such a blockage. A bad choice, as such an obstacle would delay Ainz longer than a single warrior ever could. But because the corridor was so long despite Zesshi charging at him with an absolutely astounding speed, he still had enough time to say these words.
"Like I said, my subordinates are quite strong too you know."
Just as Zesshi was about to swing down her scythe upon Ainz, she felt a monstrous killing intent behind her as her hairs stood on end from the sheer danger that was being emitted from it. With incredible or rather superhuman reflexes, she cancelled her strike and instead prepared to block the incoming attack. From her left side came an insanely strong roundhouse kick flying her way launched by none other than that weak looking butler character that had walked in when she was expecting a dragon instead.
As the heel of the foot made contact with the steel pole of the war scythe, Zesshi felt an immense force pushing against her that was stronger than anything she had ever felt before. Even when Lycan had charged against her with his 'Berserker Mode' and landed the first strike, she had still been able to somewhat receive the attack despite being blown back. This time, she could not even mount the slightest bit of resistance as she was violently sent flying like someone had kicked a pebble on the road to see how far it could go.
"Gyaaah!"
A girly sound came from the flying as Zesshi was flung straight into one of the pillars that held up the ceiling and even flew with such force that she and her armor crashed straight through it and slammed into the wall with a solid bang.
While Zesshi's figure was being kicked into the wall like a ragdoll, Ainz didn't so much as look back at how Sebas had stopped her foolish charge. To him, Zesshi was already dead, or at least a resolved problem as Sebas and Demiurge should be more than capable of dealing with her. All that was left was to secure the one item that could destroy all his plans: Ahura Mazda!
As Ainz walked onward and finally disappeared into the room at the end of the corridor, Zesshi lay unmoving with her back against the wall, seemingly having lost consciousness from a single blow. The two guardians simply watched patiently as they made no effort to approach the body.
"Young miss, don't you know it's rude to pretend you're asleep in the presence of others?"
Demiurge's voice rang without the slightest bit of anger of hesitation as he looked at Zesshi's body.
"So I couldn't fool you that easily, huh? And here I was thinking you were just arrogant fools who were probably overconfident in their strength. Turns out you have some brains too."
Without any problems to speak of, Zesshi effortlessly got up as if that strike from before had never landed. The armor that protected her from magic was apparently good at shielding physical damage as well.
Looking at the sight, neither Sebas nor Demiurge had expected anything different. This woman had won in a one-on-one fight against Lycan. If she couldn't resist at least this much, then the status and prestige of being a high level NPC would be next to useless, even if it was Lycan who was amongst the weaker half of the high level NPCs.
"Hmm, Sebas, if it's okay with you I think I'll leave the front to you and provide support."
Sebas took a second glance at Demiurge who seemed to contain no malice and decided that perhaps his master's words really did have an effect on him so he could just take them as they were.
"Very well then."
Readying himself Sebas stepped forth raising his fist and tightening his white gloves. This did not in any way enhance his abilities, but it was simply his habit of steeling himself before a fight.
"What's this, old man? You really think that you're my match with nothing but your fists against me and the full power of this relic and my weapon?"
Sebas did not say anything and merely placed himself in a combat stance with his point of gravity lowered and his weight completely distributed between his two feet. All that remained now was for Zesshi to attack.
"Alright then, here I come!"
Zesshi dashed forth with her war scythe in tow. She already knew that this man was far beyond ordinary as he could catch up with her at full speed and send her flying with just a simple kick. But it would still not be enough. Not when she too had her trump cards.
Before she reached her opponent, before Sebas was within her range of attack, she swung her war scythe sideways towards her enemy, making a swiping sound as it cut through the air, seemingly hitting nothing.
This was the exact skill that she had used to gain the upper hand against Lycan. The technique was wind based and therefore invisible to the naked eye. Combined with being near soundless, it was very difficult for any opponent to evade or even see the attack coming. Her pulling out one of her best moves was a testament to her high evaluation of Sebas despite what she said. In reality, she was extremely cautious of this foe that had send her flying with one strike.
Still it would not matter, even if Lycan had told them about it one could still not dodge it without experiencing the timing between the swing and the impact, keeping this in mind her victory became that much more of a certainty.
If it was anyone other than someone of Sebas' level.
Sebas didn't bother dodging in the slightest. He merely stretched out his palm as he gauged the trajectory of the attack. Normally, any man foolish enough to try and block an air slash with only his hand would lose that very same hand as a penance for his foolishness. But Sebas was obviously different.
Without a single sound or other indication that the strike had approached its target, the fabric of Sebas' glove tore open as a slight cut could be seen on the cloth, but no visible injuries or blood appeared from this tear whatsoever.
Zesshi doubted her own eyes as thousands of thoughts ran through her head like a stampede, causing her head to almost swell from bewilderment. If her opponent had dodged, she could understand, even with that having been thought impossible she could still accept it. If he had blocked with some kind of magic or defensive skill she could understand, but…
"How the hell did you block my air slash with just the bare palm of your hand? That's absolutely impossible!"
Zesshi's shouts fell upon deaf ears as Sebas ignored her wails of doubt and disbelief as he casually started walking to her like taking a stroll to the park.
As he continued to be stared at by Zesshi, he simply kept calmly walking forward until…
There was not the slightest indication. Most warriors called it a phantom strike, the art of being able to start an attack and already be at the enemy's throat before he realised what had happened. Many warriors could train their whole lives to try and conceal all signals that their body made before attacking and they still would only barely scratch the surface of this art. But Sebas, with little effort, did exactly that and attacked in a way that Zesshi barely had any time to realise what had happened when Sebas' fist was already within inches of her face.
As Sebas' puch got ever bigger until it appeared to be the size of a cannonball, Zesshi desperately tried to get the pole of her war scythe between his punch and its target which was her head. Only someone with the inhuman reflexes that she possessed could try and pull this off in this situation, nonetheless.
"[Invuln… Uwaaaaaah!"
By miracle, Zesshi managed to squeeze her pole between Sebas' punch, but even she could not activate her martial skill in time to try and fully block the attack. Instead, she pushed back by the force of the blow, just barely avoiding being sent flying again.
"Miss, are you fighting at full strength? If you aren't, please feel free to attack with full force this time, I may not look it, but I can take a hit or two."
Sebas merely smiled earnestly as he looked at Zesshi. Although he could not tell her expression, he had a feeling that beneath that helmet right about now was quite the unsightly look.
"You bastard!"
… He was right
Zesshi fumed with rage! All her life, she had always looked down upon all who challenged her. Even Lycan, who could be said to be an admirable foe, was in the end inferior. But this old man actually dared to challenge her directly and demand that she use her full force. It was beyond aggravating.
"OK! Heard you loud and clear, old man! So you want to see what my full power is like?! Well then pay close attention! [Stride of Wind], [Phantom Dancer], [Evasion Boost], [Greater Evasion Boost], [Ability Boost], [Greater Ability Boost], [Supreme Ability Boost], and finally [Death God Slice]!"
Enraged by her opponent, Zesshi consecutively activated all her strongest martial skills as she finally dashed forward at an even greater speed than before. Her scythe now glowed with a faint light that seemed to radiate a chilling coldness that seemed out of this world as she swung it towards Sebas' neck with pinpoint accuracy.
This time it would hit. Of this, Zesshi was convinced. Even if her opponent was freakishly strong and fast, this time he would be caught off guard and…
At this moment, time seemed to have stopped. This was not due to some form of magic or ability as Zesshi's armor would shield her from such things. Rather, this was the result of her concentration and senses being heightened to beyond even her usual limit. Through them, she was able to see with incredible accuracy what was happening and yet her brain refused to believe it which was why time seemed to have frozen for just an instant as she tried to understand what she saw.
Before her very eyes, the scythe which she was in the middle of swinging down upon her enemy was easily grabbed and halted in place. This alone made her reel as not even she could stop the motion of this attack once it began. And yet there it was undeniably, her attack had been stopped by a black hand which seemingly had sprung from the darkness of the void as a large gaping hole had manifested itself in the corridor through which this hand had swiftly reached out and grabbed hold of Zesshi's scythe as it was moving towards its target.
Before she could even react in any kind of way, another incredible thing happened as something or rather someone invaded her timeless world and began to move as if nothing was wrong. This figure was none other than Sebas, who had been waiting for the opening to strike and was not about to let it slip through his fingers.
In truth, he didn't need to wait for an opening with someone of only this level. But the armor and helmet which outstripped even his own equipment made it somewhat difficult to properly deal with Zesshi in one blow. His attack needed to be of such a kind that Zesshi would not be killed but also could not flee as soon as she found herself outmatched. Hence the best kind of attack would have to be…
"64 concussive blows [Bellowing Punch]"
Sebas' fist glowed with an intense light and began to vibrate violently as even the air around it seemed to quake from the power contained within. It was an incredibly easy and precise strike, but effective as it finally struck towards Zesshi and hit her right in the face.
Although the helmet protected her from the fist itself, the vibrations that were transmitted through both the steel and the air rattled Zesshi's brain to the core as she felt her head spin. The secret of this punch was that it was imbued with a powerful stun effect that even none of the other guardians could properly defend against. Zesshi was not even worth mentioning as the effect of the punch quickly kicked in and caused her to fall lifelessly to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Not a single trace of joy or elation could be seen on either guardian's face as they had never doubted the outcome of this battle for a second. Although they could sort of see why Lycan had lost, it was still not enough to even consider her a threat to Nazarick's strongest.
Lycan himself had been watching the spectacle from a distance and could but click his tongue as he saw the ease the two had dispatched his greatest adversary with. For someone like him who valued strength above all these two were like living gods compared to him.
"Looks like she's out cold…"
Sebas looked at the unmoving body of Zesshi who no longer so much as twitched after that last blow. In the end, Demiurge's assistance was completely unnecessary, but this was to be expected when someone of Sebas' level was involved in the fight.
To everyone his own trade.
Demiurge could but sigh as he took another look at Zesshi's corpse which still hadn't so much as spasmed after getting hit like that by just one skill punch from Sebas.
"Well, that's to be expected. Still she hanged on longer than I would've thought for a lesser…"
Demiurge's words were cut off by a terrible explosion combined with an eye-blinding flash of light that shone with a radiant resplendence and was clearly divine in nature. The entire corridor lit up as the light enveloped every nook and cranny of the room with its brilliance as a gigantic wave of residual holy energy swept over everyone in the corridor. Although it was just the aftershock of the divine attack that had been launched, it was still enough to make even Demiurge frown in slight disturbance followed by a shout of sheer panic.
"Ainz-sama!"
Surprisingly, it was Sebas who was the quicker one to react this time. Faced with the threat of losing their master, no matter how small the possibility, caused them to throw all reason and logic out the window as the two dashed towards the entrance to the treasury at max speed. They did not bother to cover their rear as the only one behind them was the unconscious corpse of Zesshi who although was a tough nut to crack could not inflict any real harm on them whatsoever.
At least, that was how it had been so far…
"Wait for us, Ainz-sama!
"… Hmm?"
For just an instant although it was hard to call it even that, for just the smallest fraction of a second a vague disturbance formed inside Demiurge's heart. For just one small moment he felt it. Fear
As he turned around to look at the cause of this worry, his entire vision went white as he was bombarded with a vicious stream of energy. His entire being screamed out as, for the first time in as long as he could remember. He felt pain coursing through his entire body, his very essence rejecting the energy that was trying to corrupt him. Only one type of attack could make him feel this kind of suffering.
"Khhhhg, divine magic?"
Likewise, Sebas had also felt the disturbance behind him, only to turn around and likewise be attacked with a vicious stream of energy that tried to erase his entire being. Contrary to Demiurge, this attack was not a stream of white and holy energy, but rather a dark current of negative energy most known for being associated with undead. He himself did not have as high of a resistance against magic attacks as Demiurge so he could more clearly feel as this unholy energy tried to invade and corrupt his body, draining it down to a lifeless husk!
"Such vile magic!"
Sebas' words were not an understatement. The attack that had been launched at them was from an unknown spell but its power was tethering somewhere between a 7th tier and an 8th tier destruction type spell. No adventurer or hero or sorcerer from the human world could survive this kind of attack and would be reduced to ash by the divine stream or would corrode into a pile of bones if attacked by the negative stream of power.
But despite this.
As the two streams of energy faded and the enemy's attack ended, the two still stood their ground, their appearance looking slightly more dishevelled, but their faces containing a dark gloom of intense killing intent. Whoever saw these expressions would normally freeze from sheer panic, but the one that these stares were directed at merely laughed unceremoniously as she saw that the two had survived her onslaught.
"Haaah, and here I thought I could kill you if I got the drop on you. Such a pity, really. On the other hand, it would be too boring if you ended up dying from just one of my serious blows."
The first grim and menacing Demiurge cracked another sly smile on his face upon hearing Zesshi's words. While it was true that her attack had done some damage to him and Sebas, it was far from being fatal. Spells below the ninth tier could do very little to affect them. Zesshi's spell attack, though inconceivably powerful for a human, was not an equal to even an eighth tier spell. If this was her full force, then she was still an opponent that the pair could handle.
As if reading her opponent's mind, Zesshi frowned. That last attack was her breaking the boundaries of full power that had been sealed for so long. From the moment of her birth, she had been capable of wielding both holy and unholy energy to use as she pleased. But there was one complication, a secret side effect to being born with these powers manifested itself the day that she truly became an 'awakened' godkin. That year, a bloody conflict erupted amongst the back then Six Archbishops who clashed with each other internally and even mobilized their secret scriptures against the other archbishops. And at the centre of this conflict was none other than Zesshi, who back then, was only ten years old, but the carnage she witnessed was not something that even a veteran could handle without going insane.
Her very existence was a contradiction to everything that the religion of the Six Great Gods stood for. For centuries, the Slane Theocracy had preached the purity and supremacy of the human race and the cleanness of their gods who washed away the 'filthy' demi-humans from their lands and established the rumoured first true human nation which over time had become the Slane Theocracy. The blood legacies that they had left behind were considered the inheritors and protectors of the gods' will to keep humanity 'pure'. But all this shattered and resulted in a conflict only a step away from a civil war as her existence came to light. The fifth legacy of the Six Gods.
Demiurge didn't notice at first. Perhaps the pain from the divine attack had momentarily dulled his perception, but now he could see it clearly as he stared with a sense of shock at his opponent. Zesshi no longer even compared to how she looked before; clearly she had broken some kind of seal on her as from her body radiated the power of both heaven and the netherworld as a mix of divine and negative energy swirled in maelstrom of grayish energy that caused even the two level one hundred warriors to be on guard. But this was still not the most surprising as from the back of her armour had seemingly burst open to allow what was trying to break out to escape. From Zesshi's back, three pairs of wings had sprung. With on one side three pure white wings as white as fresh snow that shone as bright as a full moon and on the other hand three wings as black as umber that radiated a foul and malignant dark aura.
"Impossible! A hybrid?!"
Demiurge let out a slight cry of surprise. How could he not think of this explanation as he had been trying to produce a creature like Zesshi for months now? Through trial and error in experimenting with different races of various types his research had yielded few concise results and one real conclusion. For whatever reason, the breeding of all but a few species to create a hybrid was impossible. Apart from certain races like elves whose blood and genes were very compatible with other races, it was almost impossible, if not completely impossible to create a hybrid that could possess mixed features from both races. But seeing Zesshi before him caused his entire hypothesis to be thrown out the window, which made his blood boil, but also caused joy in his heart as this meant that he could reopen the project with Zesshi as the key.
Looking a bit closer, it also became visible that though the white wings looked like something that belonged to an angelic being, the black wings looked like they belonged to a dead bird with most of the feathers mangled or stripped from the wing, and one of the three wings was even broken for half of its length with the stumped bone clearly in view. Evidently, someone had quite badly attacked Zesshi in the past and tried to cut off her black wings for whatever reason, but stopped, or perhaps was stopped after cutting off half of the first wing.
"Hoho, looks like someone didn't like those black feathers as much as the white ones. If Albedo saw this she might burst out in tears thinking what she would do if she couldn't show her beautiful wings off to Ainz-sama after they had been attacked like that."
Hearing the insensitive remark, Zesshi didn't move, although behind the slit of her helmet, a horrendous expression of rage appeared on her face as her white eye turned even brighter and began to shine with a slight radiant brilliance while her black iris seemed to turn into a dark vortex that kept swirling as if trying to suck the world in. The subject of her feathers was one that even Sylvan would not dare to tread upon as he would be courting death. The person who had done this to her she had taken revenge on to the extent that what was left of him could be buried with a teaspoon. In the entire world, not a single soul had dared to touch upon this matter and live to tell the tale and yet this demon actually verbally jabbed at her with it right away!
"There won't be enough to make a grave for you when I'm done with you, you fiend!"
Demiurge looked over his shoulder for a second. In this commotion, he had actually forgotten why he had lowered his guard in the first place. Behind him in the room where Ainz had gone, a power of unknown origin had exploded and possibly wounded or endangered Ainz. What they needed to do now was deal with this bug as fast as possible and rush over to their master immediately after that. But with her tough defences and now surprising power up, not to mention the item that negated magic damage, the best way to achieve victory would have to be…
"Sebas, although it's wasteful, let's end this fight with our battle modes."
Sebas looked at Demiurge with surprise as he showed a genuine smile for the first time.
"How peculiar, for once we are of the same mind. I was just about to suggest the same exact course of action."
Although it irked Demiurge that he and Sebas came up with the exact same idea, from another point of view, it was good that another NPC could think and analyse situations and make the same decisions as him who had the highest intellect. This was a promising sign for the future of Nazarick after all.
"Heeeh, you're telling me you weren't actually being serious until now? Give me a break! The two of you could go toe to toe with a dragon lord from where I'm standing and yet you're still holding back? There's a limit to how strong you can be in this world!"
Although she didn't show it, Zesshi was actually nervous. She had pulled out all her cards and now was at least successful in preventing these two monsters from following their master into the treasury. If she had guessed correctly, than Archon must have activated the true last resort of the Slane Theocracy and may very well have killed the Sorcerer King. In that case, all she needed to do was stall or kill these two to give Archon a chance to release the light. But if these two were still holding back their full power, then even she was not confident in her ability to stop them.
The corners of Demiurge's and even Sebas' mouth twitched slightly upward as a vicious killing aura swept forth. The two's bodies became clad in a menacing flow of energy that matched, if not outstripped, Zesshi's. Before her very eyes, her foes began to morph and shed any semblance of being human.
She had long ago guessed that they were not human, but the sight of their seemingly true appearance left her shell-shocked as their monstrous form and power made even her tremble.
Demiurge had been clad in evil black flames that did not give of a heat but instead gave of a bone-chilling air of malice that touched upon all who saw it. From those very same flames, a monster sprung forth. To call it anything less would be an offense as absurd strength combined with a malevolent look on its black-furred face.
Before her stood a demon just over two meters in size. It still had half the body of a man, or at least a humanoid, but its head and legs belonged to a beast along with a pair of bat wings. They were still not spread, but from their size, it seemed that if this demon willed it, they would touch both walls of the corridor with ease, their crimson red colour only matched by the chest, arms and back from which they had sprung. His human body was even more impressive as the amount and size of muscles would cause even the fiercest warriors or most well trained adventurers to sigh with envy and respect upon seeing them. Even Bahmeth, who could be said to have the greatest physique in the nation could not hold a candle to the muscular build of this creature. If women saw this body upon any mortal man, they would wait in line for a chance to be able to place their hands upon such a firm chest if not simply throw themselves at him.
But this body belonged to no man as its head betrayed. Upon his shoulders rested the head of not a human but a beast. A black goat to be precise. Its burning red eyes stared intently at Zesshi with a look that could inspire complete madness in the heart of any mere mortal who saw it. Standing on his two black goat legs, he seemed incredibly at ease considering that he was facing the absolute strongest human in the world.
Next to him stood an even more awe-inspiring figure. In the same place where an old man had stood not mere moments ago had appeared a bright white flame column that enveloped the old man. As the man disappeared, another being had taken his place, completely unharmed by the flames around him, he had appeared from the pillar of fire and now stood strong with a prideful look on his face as he measured whether Zesshi could even count as his opponent. A look that was only reserved for the strongest being in the known world. A dragon!
This creature however was a little different from an ordinary dragon. It stood not on four but still on two legs and still had a physique like the human whose place he had taken. Wearing only a single brown cloth undergarment and two brilliant golden arm bracelets, he displayed the full beauty and splendour of his white scaled body with two marble white wings behind his back that seemed ready to take flight. This creature even more than the demon gave off an air of being a sovereign amongst his kind and amongst all that crawled beneath his feet. This fusion of human and dragon made even Zesshi quake from excitement.
"A dragon and a Demon God…"
These few simple words were all that Zesshi could muster to say as behind the slit in her helmet her eyes had long since widened to the maximum as she could not stop shaking. To an ordinary man it may look like a lamb that was shaking before the slaughter but to any that knew Zesshi's personality…
"HAHAHAAH! To think today I'll get to fight not just a dragonoid but even a Demon God! Such a great day!"
Her trembling was not out of fear. The thing Zesshi craved the most in her life was not power or friendship, love or wealth. Her greatest dream was to fight a legendary being and lose, her greatest desire was to experience the thrill of fighting to her absolute limit and to see that even that was still not enough to reach the pinnacle. But no matter whether they were man or beast or even monster, none had come close to satisfying her.
"Well then, let us begin! Who wants to go first? Or maybe you want to come at me both at the same time."
The two monsters looked at each other briefly. Both were of the same mind. With the condition of their leader in question, they could not afford to dally around here. The best solution to the problem would be to have one of them go after Ainz while the other held Zesshi back here. But with an opponent of unknown strength in front of them, it would be wiser to first capture her and then go and meet up with Ainz.
The white dragonoid gave a slight nod to the goat demon before both leaped in Zesshi's direction at incredible speeds.
Zesshi stretched out her arm as another wave of divine and negative energy burst forth towards the two incoming monsters. This time the stream of energy released was even greater than the first one and could easily wipe out entire groups of enemies in an instant.
As the two monsters saw the approaching twin streams of energy, they did not so much as flinch and simply pushed through, ignoring the corrosive damage that was being done to them.
In truth, it wasn't very difficult to resist Zesshi's attack; the first time they had simply been caught off guard by a mix of circumstances. This time, they faced the attack in their battle forms and had preemptively prepared
Seeing that her attack no longer was as effective as before, Zesshi merely snorted as she changed stances and once more firmly gripped her war scythe whilst cladding it in both dark and holy energy. Although even her two legacies being proven ineffective was shocking, it still was within her expectations of these two monsters' capabilities.
Zesshi knew that this next moment would be a deciding point in the fight. If she failed, it could spell the end for her, but if she succeeded then there was still a chance of victory no matter how small.
"Weapon skill [Reaper Death Slice]!"
The blade of the giant war scythe lit up in a bright white glow as the two energies around it began to swirl even more violently. In this moment Zesshi's movements and that of her scythe seemed to exceed even what Sebas and Demiurge had expected to be her limit.
As the blade came sweeping down, Sebas moved to intercept the attack barehanded. As a monk with his dragon bloodline activated, there were few things in this world that could still penetrate his defense. Although he was still lacking compared to Albedo and could not resist the vicious attack power of Cocytus' wisdom king strikes, besides that he was unmatched in physical combat.
Both sides felt that their power was unmatched and that it was laughable that they would have to yield and neglected any thought of retreat or dodging as they charged at each other. Even with the several humiliations that Zesshi had to endure, she was still confident that this special skill combined with her two legacies could not possibly lose out to some dragonoid scrub. Likewise, Sebas had no doubt that Zesshi would not be able to cause the slightest amount of harm.
But in the end with these two conflicting ideologies only one could be proven as the stronger.
As the two made contact, another shockwave of energy burst out as Zesshi's scythe cut down onto the Sebas' scaly arm whilst her two energies streamed out of the scythe, encompassing the surroundings, but within this flurry of power, the conflict between the two inhuman beings had finally yielded a clear superior.
"A scratch…"
A soft voice rang resounded as the wave of energy settled down.
"How…
"How the hell can my full power attack only leave a scratch on your body you cheater!"
Zesshi's voice seemed beyond deranged as she exclaimed her disbelief. Even when she attacked with her full power, all she managed to do was slightly scratch the surface of Sebas' scales. Even though she had released her power to the extent that she was surprised how well her body was holding up, she was still inferior to her opponent by such a large margin.
Seeing that his opponent was wide open, Sebas used the opportunity to launch a quick punch aimed straight at Zesshi's head. This punch contained no special power of ki, but if allowed to hit, would easily lop Zesshi's head from her shoulders. But Zesshi still managed to once again block the attack despite her disorderly mental state.
As it took everything she had just to try and block the dragonoids' punch, Zesshi felt a chill up her spine as an unfriendly aura appeared behind her.
Now that she had unleashed her hybrid legacies, she had developed a kind of zone similar to the martial technique field where nothing inside was beyond her notice. And yet somehow a presence had breached this zone, and from nowhere had appeared the black goat demon that was standing behind the dragonoid not a moment ago.
"Aspect of the archdevil [Arch Devil's Claws]. End of the line for you, little hybrid!"
The goat spoke with a slightly more nefarious tone and voice than before as it transformed one of his hands and made it sprout vicious looking claws which looked sharp enough to cut through steel like butter. Even with her sacred armor and helmet, there was no guarantee that they would be able to stop claws that looked that menacing.
Faced with this kind of peril, Zesshi was backed into a corner and had no other choice anymore.
"Damn you for making me use this skill! [World Guard]!"
Zesshi's Helmet began to emit a faint white light that covered her entire body from head to toe with a thin mystic veil. Just as the demonic claws seemed to strike at Zesshi's guard, instead of the sound of flesh tearing a rather hollow sound rang out as they bounced off from their prey. The price she paid for using this power was not small either, as she could only use the power of this helmet once a day and its defensive power would plummet afterwards, but considering she was able to prolong her life with it a little longer, it was more than worth it.
Not letting this opening slip, she used her scythe to pole vault over the goat demon and make a graceful landing behind him as she was able to show off her successful escape from his clutches… literally.
Zesshi was breathing heavily as she still stared in shock at the two abominations that she had been put up against. With just the tiniest fraction of a second that she had been given to react, she was able to narrowly escape defeat. But if things continued like this it would be only a matter of time before she was beaten to the ground.
Zesshi could no longer afford to hold back even the tiniest bit of power as it would cost her dearly. Even if it could wreck her body and the whole corridor with it she had to use her greatest attack, exerting everything she had and pouring all of her two energies into this move alongside her heart and soul. This would be the final move.
Having collected her thoughts, the aura around Zesshi became much darker as an unseen amount of killing intent burst forth from her body alongside an even greater stream of the two energies that gushed forth like a geyser. Zesshi waved her hand as she commanded these two powers to fuse with the blade of her war scythe once more, only this time the amount infused dwarfed that of the simple attack from before.
"Take this! With the full power of my legacy unleashed! Legacy martial skill [ECLIPSE SLASH]!"
As Zesshi roared and swung her scythe towards Demiurge and Sebas the corridor, no… the entire sanctum seemed to tremble as her unleashed power hurled towards them. An air slash as wide as the corridor propelled forward infused with the full power of Zesshi's divine and negative energy streams. If not stopped, it would tear through everything in its way all the way to the end of the corridor right down to the treasury.
Zesshi knew that she could not hold up her foes any longer as her power paled in comparison to theirs. The only reason that she was able to keep up with the two of them in the first place was because of her armour combined with the fact that in this underground corridor they had to suppress their power to prevent it from crumbling. Not even her unleashed strength could change that.
All she could do now was go all out or bust. With her full power unleashed to even beyond a point that she thought she could push herself. The combined power of her two legacies, her various martial skills and her divine weapon's special ability to create air slashes. This was everything that she had and she sent it straight at Sebas and Demiurge who did not look like they were going to dodge anytime soon.
As the air slash approached, neither Demiurge nor Sebas said anything as they merely exchanged glances before both readying their stance.
The air slash was rapidly approaching as the wave swept down column after column and was not ten meters away from the two of them and closing when…
"Looks like I'll have to get a little serious too."
The white dragon reaffirmed his stance and pulled back his scaly fist as he tightened his grip until cracking noises could be heard. Like he had done when he took down the reinforced door, he gathered white energy into his right arm and fist as he prepared to strike. The only difference was that the amount of Ki that gathered this time far surpassed that of the last time.
"Eight immortal blows [Greater Yin Strike]"
As his fist struck out towards the incoming attack, the entire corridor shook as it if could collapse at any second. From Sebas' fist, the sound much like a massive cannon exploding rang out as the concentrated Ki inside his fist burst forth and transformed into an actual stream of concentrated air pressure that made the destructive power of cyclones pale in comparison.
This massive wave of air pressure shot towards Zesshi and her approaching attack and eventually collided in a deafening explosion in the middle of the long corridor.
The blowback caused Zesshi and the two guardians to widen their eyes in astonishment. Neither side expected that the other side's attacks would be a match for their own. They could but watch as the fearsome stream of wind and energy pushed back against them.
The two powers both tried to push the other back as if the two attacks had become sentient and refused to give way and yield before the other. This power struggle only lasted for a short moment though as a clear superior became visible…
"Impossible, my full power that I have never unleashed before that contains enough strength to kill a dragon lord is actually being pushed back by just one punch."
Zesshi witnessed as her attack was being broken apart by the horrendous air pressure canon that her foe had seemingly created by just punching his fist once. Now she could but watch as the stream of air pressure tore through her attack and headed her way with no chance for her to dodge.
To think that after all this time when I finally let loose, immediately I get destroyed haha…
The air pressure finally slammed into Zesshi's body and blew her off her feet like a leaf caught in a hurricane. Not even her mystic armor or helmet could protect her from the force of the blow as she was sent flying all the way to the entrance through which Sebas and Demiurge and Ainz had come in. The force of the blow was so great that it even ripped apart the walls around the entrance and burst through further into the inner sanctum, causing mayhem deep within its halls.
Looking at the destruction caused by a single attack from Sebas, even the demonified Demiurge could but sigh internally. Although both were of the same level and status within Nazarick, if Sebas ever did decide to duke it out with him it would more than likely end in a lopsided battle. Even if he was superior in terms of intellect and had been more useful to Ainz than Sebas, if an enemy that could stand on the same footing as their lord ever appeared then Sebas would be vastly more useful than him. But the chance of that happening was negligible.
Sebas looked into the distance with a cold glint in his eyes. He could still sense that Zesshi was alive, which was within expectations but still praiseworthy. Collecting his thoughts on what to do, he finally shouted out.
"Lycan, go and restrain that woman! Ainz-sama wants her alive! As soon as you've located her, call Shalltear and Cocytus to come and escort her to the frozen prison."
Lycan, who had gotten out of the blast radius the moment he had sensed that Sebas was about to use one of his Eight Immortal Blows, swiftly leapt into action and stormed in the direction that Zesshi had been flung as he howled to indicate that the order had been received.
Although it was a bit risky to send Lycan who harbored such a grudge, the two guardians had other matters which needed attending.
Without exchanging a single word, the two guardians transformed back onto their usual appearances and dashed towards the other end of the corridor to ensure that their master was still alive. Although, considering that it was Ainz-sama there could be almost no doubt that he would be fine. Finally, they reached the door to the treasury and busted it down with a single strike.
And once they entered….
As the two stormed into the treasury by bursting down the last door with ease, their eyes fell upon a smoldering pile of bones that lay on the floor.
It was clear that it had been hit with an enormous amount of energy and had instantly been reduced to this sorry state.
The battle in the treasury had already come to an end. And all that remained now was this ashen pile of bones and the sound of two creatures simultaneously crying out to their master.
""AINZ-SAMAAAAAA!""
Author's afterword:
Unlike Ainz, I'm certainly still alive and what a story actually. I commute every weekday on the very metro line that was bombed but as luck would have it I wasn't going to school that day cuz believe it or not I took a break to be able to finish this story quicker! Thank you fanfic!
God the amount of research I had to do on medieval armours and what not for this chapter is ridiculous. Sorry for the delay, you can blame THE ABSOLUTE HELL THAT WRITING A FIGHT SCENE IS for that :/ To my great surprise BD6 was released so banzai! I try to make fights as interesting as possible but it's not easy when Nazarick is more OP than Saitama (gonna get a lot of salt for that remark) so anyways after this only 1-2 part(s) left plus epilogue sad right? Don't worry this won't be my only story of overlord but more on that later.
But for now and as always
Burn in hell Yen Press and
GLORY TO well if he's still alive that is…
PS: for anyone who saw the april first thing on skythewood, know that I had no hand in that but can't deny I found it extremely funny and pleasant to see my work posted on sky, albeit as a joke.