[Chapter 4.5: Old And New]
"It's a terrible shame Eve has to be in hell for so long." Ainz idly mused as he put down another rectangular item on the ground, using another consumable to conceal it, "Maybe I should go down there and drag her out, or at least have a good word with whoever runs the place. Keeping a girl cooped up like that is just cruel."
He moved a few metres away and took another item out of his inventory, repeating the process of setting it up and concealing it.
"Then again, it is hell, so what do I really expect?" he said.
After trying to crack his back like he used to as a human and being disappointed by the result, he scrutinised his handiwork.
"If this isn't overkill then I don't know what is, though that one appears to be a little crooked."
He walked over to one of the concealed boxes, the illusion no match for his passive eyesight, and made sure it was positioned correctly.
"Now for the bait."
Of course, he himself was also the bait, but apparently someone over at the USSR's department of intelligence decided that Makima was a bigger deal. It would be a lie to say he wasn't slightly offended. The only thing she seemed to have dealt with up until this point was paperwork and trying to sweet talk employees.
His hand disappeared into the void and returned after a moment, holding a pocket-sized, round Makima plushie.
"How did that get here? I suppose Himeno took it from Aki's room and threw it on the floor or something."
He tossed it back into his inventory and continued rummaging through that otherworldly mess.
"That's my staff… That's a wand with [Nuclear Blast], and that is… something… Aha! There it is."
What appeared from beyond the void was a blank mannequin that could take on the shape of other players. Naturally, this thing had one point of health, no stats, and could be seen through by players of even the lowest level. Overall, it was entirely pointless.
Ainz, however, knew better than to throw such things away. Even trash has its uses, as seen by the mannequin transforming into the form of Makima.
The Overlord put it in the centre of his little contraption located on a hill out of town, putting some rocks on its feet so as to make sure a strong gust of wind didn't knock it over.
"Now then, time to help the rest prepare. The gun devil shouldn't be too far off once the Soviets realise what happened yesterday."
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
The Central Executive Committee of the USSR sat in silence. Sweat poured down the brows of the hardened politicians who sat there, all waiting with baited breath for the words of the Head Secretary. While the man did not hold dictatorial power, they turned to him for decisions in times like this, as his experience had gotten them through many a devilish crisis.
"So…" the grey-haired man began, "Dear Makima decided on a preemptive strike, or was it perhaps her handler? Bah, it doesn't matter. The result is the same, and the capitalist pigs are deprived of one of their greatest weapons. They probably did due to them not being able to take care of that monster once it's awake."
All the councillors nodded in agreement; yes, that surely must've been the case.
"We will go forth with the operation. Makima has not displayed overwhelming destructive capabilities, nor has this Ainz Ooal Gown displayed anything of note."
"B-But all our agents who went after him died." one of the men spoke up.
"It could've been a bullet just as well as a devil's power. Assassins are still mortal, after all." the Head Secretary answered, "Ainz Ooal Gown is still a blind spot, but so is his allegiance. Reze still appears to be alive, so we can presume he is not actively hostile. Makima takes priority. We have agreed on the required sacrifice, yes?"
The council nodded once more. A year of the USSR's citizens' lives was a hefty price, but Makima was capable of much, much worse.
"Then let us commence. I hereby make a deal with the Gun Devil: Kill Makima, and you will get a year of the lives of each of the citizens of the USSR. The deal is to take effect in 24 hours."
Everyone gathered could swear they heard the sound of a kalashnikov being reloaded, almost as if something was getting ready for war…
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
Himeno crossed another option off of her disturbingly large board of options, as Ainz unfortunately denied her any love potions he had.
'I know that bony bastard has some, but how the hell am I supposed to snatch 'em if they're in his weird pocket thing.'
For now a love potion was sadly a dead end, as was that mind control spell Ainz had showed off, and anything to make her sexier. To be fair, making her any sexier was already a challenge, but Himeno liked to remain optimistic in the matter.
She tapped her foot on the wooden floor of her apartment and spoke out loud, "What else could I try to get out of him?"
Then someone knocked on her door, knocking the wind out of her lovestruck sails.
"Coming!" she called out, secretly hoping Aki had finally come around to her offer for a night.
To both her surprise and slight disappointment, it was just Ainz. "Oh. You need somethin'?" she asked the suited-up skeleton, secretly wondering if the mage would've looked good with some meat on his bones.
"I simply came here to ask whether you wanted to come along to defeat the gun devil piece that the soviets will send after me. Y'know, to support Aki and all that." he said, only for Himeno's remaining eye to light up.
"Support Aki, you say? When are we going?"
"I was planning to grab the Angel Devil after you and then to begin the battle. Are you on a tight schedule, or…?"
"No, nothing like that! Let's go!"
"Don't you want to hear about my plan first?"
"I'm sure you've got all that figured out. Now let's go!"
Ainz shrugged and teleported the madwoman to the site of the battle.
'She's crazy, but it's kind of endearing.' he thought to himself, 'I just wish she stopped pestering me about ways to charm Aki.'
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
Makima knocked on the door that led to the small apartment the angel devil was afforded. Its exterior was in poor condition, but she wasn't here to lament the quarters of her puppet. No, she was here for something much more useful.
Befitting her role as the superior, she didn't wait for an answer from within, opening the door and entering without a care in the world.
The second the door swung open, she froze midstep.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here of all places, Makima." came a regal voice from within.
"Likewise, Ainz." she answered, regaining her composure, "May I ask what you are doing here? And where is our dear little angel?"
"I only came here to borrow them for a team-building exercise that we are about to conduct. I'll be sure to return him shortly if you need him."
"I see. Is there any chance I could get in on this exercise? I do head the special division, after all."
Ainz put a finger to his chin, "You do, indeed, but I haven't ever seen you fight, and you strike me more as the bureaucratic type, no offence of course. Unless you have some powers you would like to disclose, then unfortunately I must deny your request."
Makima's smile widened by a tiny margin, "And if I were to invoke my authority as the leader of the division?"
"I would say that it was a foolish move, as we are of equal rank as far as our higher ups are concerned, and besides, I was always one to subvert leadership." the Overlord lied.
"In that case, do send him over to me once you're done with your little exercise." she said, taking a step back.
Ainz could almost feel the frustration emanate from the devil as she exited the apartment and rounded the corner, disappearing from view.
"Not used to not getting your way, are we now?" Ainz said, chuckling lightly as he too disappeared from the apartment.
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
"So, why in the world would Makima specifically come to you? I don't think your power would work on me, since, well, I lack a lifespan." Ainz said as he appeared back at what would be the site of the battle with the gun devil, hopefully.
"I… can also make weapons out of the lifespans I stole." the angel answered.
"Huh, an interesting power to be sure. I guess she thinks those weapons could harm me… Just keep that ring on at all times and we should be fine." the Overlord said, "It'll protect you from any mind control she might try to put you under."
"That's great and all, but why are we not just instantly killing the gun devil?" Himeno asked, "You did it back in America, and this piece should be around the same size, no?"
"Well, Aki wanted to do something so I can't deprive him of that."
The devil hunter shot a glare in Ainz's direction, though the emotions contained within were a little convoluted for the undead mage to decipher them on short notice.
"Not to mention, I would like to see if I could negotiate with this devil. After all, if Power is sentient, why would I not be able to force this thing to listen?"
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!" Power yelled.
"It's a compliment." Visecar quickly said.
Power crossed her arms and let a smug smile appear on her face, "Of course it is! I knew that, bonehead!"
"Anyway," Ainz continued, "This contraption will be activated by you guys and contain the devil while I draw its attention. In the event that it can in fact harm me, I will kill it, but if it can't then I'll handle the negotiations."
"And where exactly are we supposed to stand?" Aki asked, "I'd like to keep some distance from that monster."
Ainz raised his hand and pointed to a hill a few hundred metres away from their current spot, "Around there should be good. The mechanism is a pretty simple thing to operate."
"Are you serious? Like, I know that thing is the gun devil, but it can't have that much range, right?" Himeno complained.
"I'd rather not find out." Aki said, "I presume we should go and get ready there, right?"
"Yes, and the rest will of course come with you. Despite being devils and fiends, I doubt they are as sturdy as me."
Ainz snapped his fingers and the group disappeared from sight, leaving him with one very important question, "Well, what the hell do I do until he shows up?"
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
"Just what is he planning?" Makima asked herself as she absentmindedly pet one of her dogs.
There were now two areas which she could only see as blurs, meaning that Ainz was up to something. They were very secluded, and she could only guess as to why Ainz would choose them.
Maybe it had something to do with his powers? She had heard of the concept of ley lines from some old fantasy book she read once out of boredom. Perhaps it was something like that for a ritual?
She sighed.
This really was a troublesome time.
Word had already reached her as to what happened in America, surely by Ainz's hand. With that part of the gun devil gone, the USA was effectively powerless and the soviets became the main threat against her, as they had the remaining piece.
Wait… If what Ainz conducted was a preemptive strike, then the USSR was sure to retaliate soon enough, which in turn meant that whatever Ainz was doing was most likely connected to the remaining part of the gun devil.
But if he found the gun devil to be such a non-issue in America, why the sudden preparations?
And then it clicked.
He wasn't preparing for the gun devil, he was preparing for her.
How exactly he came to the conclusion she was a threat to him remained shrouded in mystery, but it would be discourteous to not prepare in turn.
From what she knew of Ainz's abilities, he could kill her over and over again with little to no trouble, and would quite likely kill her until every last citizen of Japan was dead if it meant killing her. He was, after all, no mere human.
Her current contracts were… subpar for the job, and the angel devil was with Ainz, meaning there was only one avenue left.
"Hell devil," she said to thin air, "I will give you the lives of 100 Japanese citizens in return for transporting me to hell."
Something stirred in her apartment and a fiery portal appeared above her, a hand emerging and throwing her into the domain of devils.
It was a serene realm that consisted primarily of a grassy plain, though the doors that littered the sky did shift the atmosphere from calming to eerie.
Makima looked up at the doors above her, her spiral eyes jumping from one to another, until one opened and the world was consumed by a terrible darkness.
Bisected corpses of astronauts seemed to bubble up from the inky darkness, their hands clasped together in prayer, and from beyond that line of corpses came a devil.
Contorted bodies and faces bound in despair made up the abomination that was the darkness devil, and its diamond-shaped, featureless head appeared to be focused entirely on Makima.
"Ah, I was hoping I would see you." she said, moving slightly to the side as a ray of pure darkness cut through her shoulder. Her voice, nevertheless, remained level and collected, "See, I was hoping you could help me with a little problem I have on Earth."
One of the hands of the darkness devil extended forward and some unknown force knocked Makima off her feet.
She dusted off her suit and continued, "I'm sure you felt it too, how the chainsaw devil changed."
The darkness devil froze.
"So that got your attention?" she asked, "See, this new version of him is a little strong. Too strong, stronger than us both probably, so I was wondering if you'd lend me a bit of a hand. I'd like a few helpers, some of your own maybe? Oh, and I'll compensate you of course, and I think I saw your old friend the decay devil recently. You still want to get back at him from before our war, right?"
No words came from the darkness devil, but neither did an attack.
"Happy to hear you'll help! One last question, you didn't happen to see my sisters recently, did you?"
ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ
Ainz paced around his soon-to-be gun devil enclosure. What was he going to do here in this world after dealing with the gun devil? Deal with Makima? Probably, but what would he do after that? An eternity of devil hunting didn't seem like a very appealing idea, and he didn't exactly have the skills required to take over the world and govern it well.
That probably left one avenue open: he should travel to a different world. After all, if both this place and his old world existed, odds were in favour of other worlds existing as well! Or so he hoped at least.
Sure, he'd probably miss Aki and Power and Himeno, but who's to say he wouldn't be able to visit from time to time? Well, he didn't know that, but still! If travel was possible then he was bound to figure something out!
Yet this train of thought only brought him to a station with more questions. Firstly, how did he get summoned here and could he replicate that process to summon himself somewhere else? Secondly, what kind of world would he want to be transported to?
'It's a little generic, but a fantasy world could be quite fun…' he thought before his palm hit his skeletal forehead, 'I'm talking like an isekai protagonist wannabe… Wait, am I not an isekai protagonist already? This isn't how it's supposed to go though! There's supposed to be beautiful elves and castles, not manipulative office devils and paperwork!'
Yes, a generic fantasy world would do him well as a little respite from the bureaucracy of the 20th century he found himself in. Maybe the fantasy devils would at least use cooler parchment than the bland office paper Makima shoved into everyone's faces.
'I suppose I should worry about that later though. First, how the hell did I get here?'
Chances are it was by the hands of a devil, but so far he hadn't met one powerful enough to pull off a stunt like that.
'Vesicar will probably be able to tell me more, but it must've been a pretty strong one. Maybe that guy who could permanently delete devils, though I don't know what could've been him. Maybe the death devil or something?'
If it took the equivalent of the devils' grim reaper to get him here, it'd take something equally impressive to get him to a different world.
'Let's see: Makima probably counts seeing as how everyone is scared of her, death, war, disease, famine, and darkness seem like good candidates as well. I'll probably need all of them, or at least a few. Man, I wish I didn't send Vesicar away so early, now these questions are just gonna eat away at me during this ordeal.'
Surely the decay devil who once claimed to be so prominent would have valuable information on the subject.
Ainz sighed, laying down on the grass and asking himself a truly vital question.
'Why does travelling between worlds have to be such a pain in the ass?'
Discord . gg / 8966UupbPp
Edited by Korak324
Betaread by: HackSlashBash, WhoStoleMyTea?, SIB
(AN: And now we're onto the climactic ending of V1 of [Supreme Fear]! Just as a heads up, I'll be putting this fic on hiatus after V1 so that the actual Chainsaw Man story can develop. So many things are happening there at the moment that I don't want to go ahead of canon and convolute things. After all, the only horse(wo)man we're missing there is Death. As always, more to come and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!)